This is how we silence the voice of the inner critic ~{click to tweet}
Every Friday for nearly four years writers have gathered here for a kind of free write flash mob. We all spend five minutes writing on the same topic for just five minutes. And then we link up over here.
{This is a bunch of us doing a “live” write at the Allume Conference last month. It. Was. Awesome}.
How to Join:
Want to know how Five Minute Friday got started and how to participate? All the details are here. And if you don’t have a blog, you’re very welcome to just leave your five minutes of writing in the comments.
Meet the #FMFParty Writers:
And did you know there’s a whole community of writers that connect online before the prompt goes live on Friday nights? They use the Twitter hashtag #FMFParty and are about the most encouraging group around.
It’s for newbies and old-timers, it’s for the broken-hearted and rejected, it’s for the lost and found. This community who opens wide its arms to everyone as they write, think, dream.
In the words of Gretchen:
Some rules were made to be broken. Especially when it comes to writing prompts and blog link-ups like Five Minute Friday.
“There is no way in the whole wide world I can write in five minutes,” admitted one beautiful and talented blogger I know.
But Five Minute Friday isn’t about timed writing—it’s not a contest. Five Minute Friday is about not letting perfectionism get in the way of getting our words on paper or on screen.
I’ve found that God often has a real message for me in the Five Minute Friday word for the week. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than five minutes to get that lesson into words. I’ve even written a post on one aspect of the word, just to get it linked up on Friday, only to realize the next week that it was another area He wanted to speak to me about.
I know that some of my friends find that the word often probes so deep into their story that their Five Minute Friday posts never see the light of their blog. But we’re not writing for the rest of the web; we’re writing for that audience of One, and often to process the lesson or healing He is leading us through.
Don’t let the fact that you may not publish your post keep you from writing it.
The only hard and fast, “no ifs ands or buts” rule of Five Minute Friday is to leave some comment love for the person who linked up before you. But if I’m honest, I’m sure there’s been a time or two I’ve completely forgotten to do that. That’s the beauty of the Five Minute Friday community, though—there’s always more than one visitor from the link-up, and there are faithful commenters like Denise who comment on every single post they visit (and she visits a lot!). T
The Five Minute Friday community isn’t built on rules: it is about grace and freedom and throwing caution to the wind to write, whether it’s for five minutes or fifty.
Now, set your timer friends, clear your head, for five minutes of free writing without worrying about getting it right. These are your people. The poets, the mothers, the bloggers, the writers, the pencil and paper artists. Let’s do this.
1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community..
OK, are you ready? Please give us your best five minutes on:::
Fly…
I’m tired and he’s persistent.
This kid who’s all gangly arms and legs and that short, shorn hair that emphasizes his blue eyes, so much like mine.
I’m always annoyed that he ends up in our bed more than half the nights. I always try to boot him back out. But he keeps coming in and keeps snuggling up and keeps grinning like a crazy Chesire cat.
How does a mother resist?
Even a mother who likes her leg room. Who wants to sleep without small, snuffly sighs in her ear. A mother who’s flat done with being up at night. Who doesn’t like to share her pillow.
Maybe she just doesn’t even write for five minutes? Maybe she closes her laptop, unplugs her electronics, silences her phone and goes to find that boy with his long legs and wide grin and meets him in the middle of the bed.
Before this day, this age, this time. Before it flies.
STOP
Lisa-Jo, the mental image of your grinning, snuggling Cheshire cat made me giggle out loud. I love it. YES to embracing this season, and the way he is within it. And grace to you as you do. May your sleep hours be supernaturally multiplied. So appreciate your heart. For real. So much.
I am reminded to embrace this season as well. As my 8 year old climbed into my lap for one last hug, I knew it wouldn’t be much longer that he could sit there. I snuggled next to him tonight, too. I am sure he will end up in my bed before morning. I love that you encouraged me to close the laptop, turn off my electronics and find my boy with the long legs. Always so moving and encouraging.
I had just shared on Facebook earlier today a video my friend Melody Ross made from a blog post she wrote called “You Will Fly Again”. I hope it’s okay to post it here. It is so beautiful I just had to share it with you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRC1GGOgMTM
What a beautiful spirit this lady has. ♥ Thanks for sharing, Anita…
“goes to find that boy with his long legs and wide grin and meets him in the middle of the bed.”—-Yes! that. So sweet. Thanks for the constant reminder to enjoy this exhausting ride called motherhood. Love it Lisa Jo!
This post brings back great memories! As an empty nester (which I wrote about in my FMF this week) I would say embrace this season and enjoy waking up with those feet pressed into your back, no pillow, and clinging to the side of the bed because they are sprawled in the middle. My daughter used to stand in the bedroom door, put on that pouty face and say “I need Mommy love” …..then I would throw back the covers and she would jump in bed with me and snuggle. It will FLY by! Thanks for the trip down memory lane :)
I don’t have time to blog, punctuate or edit. I am dashing out with the kids to the library. Here are my terrible thoughts about the word ‘fly’. Two minute Tuesday would be better suited!
Fly.
Incessant.
Around my head with persistence.
Determined to irritate.
Where is he?
Behind the curtain.
Distract me from my thoughts.
Enabling my procrastination.
Tomorrow he is gone.
Legs to the ceiling.
Fly.
I love this – ‘Enabling my Procrastination’
I can let myself be distracted by anything
They are certainly not terrible thoughts in any sense, I love how the pace imitates what it’s like when you’re actually searching for a pesky fly you can hear buzzing but can’t see!
Love this… :)
Yes, we must never let time just pass by. We should take hold of those moments and opportunities to show love and appreciation because time does fly and there is no going back, only moving forward with every moment.
Fly
Well he does know best.
To shuttle back and forth up and down without thought of gain?
The view alone would bring awe
It’s a daily lower of a type instead to and fro
Red light, green light, down the boulevard
Rushing past to make it in time to wait
Wait for your turn, the point, result, or maintenance to be over just to keep it all in check
Turn for what? Spending to gain- this?
Yet we r like sheep evaded for the slaughter
Oh but to take a fresh look to slow down and watch the flight
Of passerbys, rushing, turning, even laughing and enjoying the time
Don’t miss it- cause well it doesn’t stop
Time that is
If we r going on our moments of moving and going too fast looking around instead of above will miss the moment to consider the lost one needing directions, child looking for a hug, husband wanting to connect, or a mother wanting to be just noticed.
We allow ourselves to fly even without wings, slowdown and double check your view.
Jesselee, This is an important reminder of how we don’t live in the moment enough. Like Martha in the Bible, I can be worried about so many things and neglect the important.
Jesselee, I found this inspiring too. We need to slow down in our lives. Sometime, if we breathe, slow down, take a look around, we can see so much wonder and find the love of God which will make us “fly” in a new way. ;) thanks for your inspiration.
Lisa,
Yes the children fly around and whirlwind our homes and hearts! It’s a wonderful thing. :) the messy love! Just like us. Loved whie unloveable.
Jesselee
what a beautiful and poetic post. Thank you so much for this amazing link up every week Lisa!
Jessica
http://mybeautifulli.blogspot.com/2013/11/five-minute-friday-fly.html
Lisa, I could have written that post word for word…trying for 5 years to get my bed back to myself but often giving up to the smiles and cuddles of the littles who are only little for so long…thanks for making me feel not alone!
Why do I need to fly to get anywhere important? I love the act of traveling, don’t get me wrong. I see some great places and have some fond memories of vacations.
I am talking about the type of flying that I need to do to see family. It seems that everyone has their family nearby, especially on holidays like Thanksgiving. Me, I can’t go “over the river and through the woods” in my Honda Accord to get to my grandchildren. No, I have to fly to the South from the North by way of the West and change planes in the East. Flying!
HEY! There is the back of my head while gettin’ my FMF on! LOVE IT!
I love that time flies in a way. We are one day closer to God, but when I look at my daughter. I want to freeze it. I don’t want my time to fly away with her just like you want to make every moment precious with your little one. Thank you for blessing me today.
Gretchen, I am surprised at the number of times I have been in the middle of writing something for Five Minute Friday and then realized that I needed it to go much deeper. I have saved that piece and started all over to write something else for the link up.
I did that last Five Minute Friday. My son crawled in bed as I was writing to snuggle. And I knew them that I had to turn the laptop off and just snuggle. Some interruptions aren’t interruptions at all. They are memories. :)
Thanks Lisa Jo for the word FLY on this Friday!
GO
The freedom of fly, not having control, but in control. Look at the hawk, she flies, way up nothing holding her up but something invisible, she must tilt her wing and ride on the currents of air and wind that hold her up but she can not see the invisible but she knows it is there because she is airborn, born on the air, the way to be alive, I must be born and stake my life on the invisible, the invisible that is there and bearing my weight even though I can’t see it! I once begged God that I wanted to free fall for him, tired of sitting in the pew praying, too boring :) He answered my prayer, gave me a situation that I could only get through if I trusted, trusted the invisible was bearing me up, was doing it all , I just had to cock my wing in that direction to stay up in the air, to survive and co operate with His Will!
STOP
Wow Lisa Jo I didnt see where that was heading 5 minutes ago!
Glory and Praise!!!
The last sentence made me gasp.
Help!!! Every week I try to participate…but the blue linky DOES NOT show up when I view from a pc! I’ve read the directions over and over and over. I’ve been participating for weeks and going on to Twitter and finding other bloggers and trying to connect that way (because I don’t want to “ignore” the rules). But I couldn’t figure out what everyone was talking about until I viewed it from my mobile and that is when I finally saw the blue linky! Does anyone else have this problem? I’m going to try and link up via mobile after I post this morning, but I just wanted to throw this out there. No one else I know seems to be having the same problems…anyone know what I could be doing wrong here?
I don’t have children – I can’t think of time from that perspective — but I can from the deep hurting of loneliness at this holiday season. I miss my parents – I miss our traditions. The flying of time is bittersweet and scary. It brings unwanted change – the undesired foes fear and times guilt. Flying is scary. I fear heights – and this flying of time bids me soar into the unknown. I, however have a Pilot who knows the way.
Cathie, I so relate to the flying of time being scary, I am amazed that we both came to the same conclusion… our Pilot knows the way. What comfort I find in those words. ((hugs))
The days (and nights!!) are long….but the years are flying. Thank you for this. We’ve been having rough nights dealing with teething and this puts it in perspective.
Also, I love Five Minute Fridays. What a wonderful idea. Thank you.
Here’s my first contribution to FMF:
Fly
Come fly away with me… I want to go to the wind, to the shore, to the horizon, run and escape, dream and drift!
Let’s fly. I discover the light of the moon in the clouds up above. The twinkle of stars draws me in. I long to hug clouds and sail upon the wind. Let the good Lord take me home.
I fly in my mind to my mother’s side to hold her hand and sing her a lullaby. To tell her I miss her and give her more hugs. In my mind she recognizes me and smiles.
I drift to a future so beautiful and bright where we’re all reunited, no pain and no tears. There I will hold the babies gone before me. I will dance and rock them and sing.
I cling to the promise, it will all work out alright. I fly into the arms of my Father.
You got me even before I read your post – I love this quote: “Don’t let the fact that you may not publish your post keep you from writing it.” This week I did just that. I’ve been working through some things and God has been healing my heart of past hurts and I wrote all about it. And then deleted it. I didn’t need the world to read about it, I just needed to get the words out. I usually save that stuff for my journal, but for some reason that day I needed to write it as if I was writing to someone. Turns out that someone was me. :) (And I also have a boy who loves to invade my sleeping space at night. The one positive is he’s a little heater and I am so cold at night that it works. Until he kicks my head!)
Fly…how I’d love to fly and soar to far away lands where heeds are so great. To drop down and hug and hold, pray for and feed those who need it most. My heart soars and flies to those places but my feet may never hit the ground. Trusting that God hears the cry of my heart for them and sends angels in my place. Flying…my prayers shoot to the heavens in their behalf with tears and heartache but hope in the God who hears. Fly…Father, fly to them. Carry them. Meet them face to face today and lead help to their side. Father reveal Your love in color and substance. Father, Fly.
This will be my first 5 minute Friday post and im a little nervous as I do not have a blog but do love to write…so bear with me.
Fly:
As my eight month old son kicks himself in his bouncy chair whining for my attention I am running around trying to get my never ending to do list accomplished. I know that I will have two whole days this weekend to spend time with him but also know that I will never get this time with him back. The time where he actually wants my company, the time where he lights up like a christmas tree when he sees me, the time where his snuggles are more therapeutic than any medicine in the world. These moments are short and fleeting because he will grow up whether I’m ready for him to or not. The piles of laundry, stacks of dirty dishes and unvaccumed floors will still be there tomorrow, but this glorious moment when my baby is begging for me to give him love might not. Time is FLYing by and I will never get these moments back. All these thoughts go through my head in about a split second. A split second that is just long enough for me to put down the dirty dish in my hand,pick up my son, go into his room and spend the rest of the night playing with him. These moments in his life are FLYing by every time I close my eyes and I vow to spend every one with him. Funnily enough I dont regret a single minute.
I don’t have a blog–well I do but it is so rarely used I don’t even know how to log in anymore. Here is my contribution.
Fly
Flying around my womb, this little boy did summersaults and cartwheels, squealed past monitors and kicked my kidneys. Flying, he zooms around the world—watching, learning, wondering, exploring, laughing. Flying, he pays no attention to ignorant looks or shushing fingers. Woosh, goes the door, the window, the Legos across the floor. A karate yell coming from his mouth, his arms flying in both directions at once, he doesn’t know how to stop until he crashes.
Flying—my heart soars for this man-child. My hopes and dreams abound as I see how far he could fly if I could just direct his motor. But I can’t. I must allow him to fly—loving him, holding him on those brief bounces down from the clouds. He is on a journey, flying from one dream to another, one person to another. He land within one width of a room or strip of the grass and takes off—able to fly for the sheer joy of flying—he wants no directions, he craves on the attention and love of those around him. He flies from the heart and one day he will soar. Will I have kept him grounded enough that his flight will serve him well and keep him safe—or will he crash—Dear God in heaven keep him safe and help me to let him fly.
I have a flier and a crasher, grinner and drive by hugger. I agree, give me courage to let him fly and strength to help the crashes. Most importantly, “keep him safe.” Good luck on being is mommy copilot, or ground control, or flight instructor (these metaphors are fun)!
Fly….the moments between September and June, When my baby girl will graduate high school. Everyday I feel as if someone has set an hourglass and I am raicing Father time And I must grasp as many meaningful moments with her as possible each day. So many things that I still want to teach her, so many things I still want to do with her. While my head knows her leaving the house doesn’t mean we will stop doing things my heart can’t seem to grasp it. Time is slipping away and I would like to turn it back …
Hello Laura
what a beautiful post. It has the same bittersweet poignancy of a speech at my Toastmasters club years ago when a father spoke about his mixed pride and sorrow as his son left home. I hope the coming months deepen your relationship with your daughter. May you be given the grace to release her when the season is right, and in God’s time come to rejoice in new forms of companionship with her as your precious young woman’s independence grows.
I’m starting to suspect I’m called to develop my writing, so have been tidying up a blog for my occasional sermons and trying to learn how it’s done. My biggest problem may be the hours and hours of painful editing it takes me to get anything written, so rapid writing challenges such as yours may help.
Below my effort at scribbling by hand for 5 minutes, forbidding myself to edit as I type it in beyond deleting irrelevant sentences that wasted a minute at the start – how the time flies. I really was reflecting on Kiwis and geese yesterday morning before I found your challenge! I think you said that posting in the comments was okay, so I’ll send this before I look at what others have written and feel too embarrassed. It looks like you are mostly Christian American women? As a New Zealand bloke, I only tick the first category, so I hope I’m not gatecrashing – when it comes to online society, I’m still shuffling around grubbing for worms in the dark like the nocturnal Kiwi.
——————–
Fly:
I’ve amassed a filing cabinet of notes from my reading over the years, and am thinking I should type up favourite quotes for others. Twitter seems a logical platform. Today I’ve been thinking about Twitter titles. “Wild Goose Quotes” appeals – the Celtic symbol of the Holy Spirit flying high and wild and free, as God’s wild and free and uncontrollable wind sweeps through our lives in grace. But for the account name? Coming from New Zealand, “kiwiquote” is short and punchy and alliterative. But Kiwis cannot fly – what opposite birds. How incongruous! Then I thought some more – how appropriate! Are we not all birds of God who’ve forgotten the use of our wings, but in His grace, by His Spirit, He calls us to follow the wild goose and fly?
Flightless birds are my favorite and remind me that everyone has a purpose, even if it isn’t what others do or would pick for you.
Fly
Start
“Da.” My son spots the plane in the sky amongst the clouds, our warm bath puffing up train like as we both point and repeat “da, da.” “Da.” We are really saying do you see it? Yeah! Right there, flying next to the tree. Do you hear it. Yeah it’s loud. Soon da might be a new word in his multiplying vocabulary that amazes me everyday but for now, “da” is an entire conversation about airplanes, flight and sound all in one beautiful syllable!
Stop
Hi Carmen!
This is my first time here. I think I’m supposed to comment on the post before mine so I am looking at yours! I love it that you wrote about planes and so did I! I love those first words of kids and the beginning of a speaking relationship with them! I wish you well and loved your writing!
I have to fly to Vegas on Friday. I don’t want to fly. I don’t like to fly. I get nervous leaving my kids, but I’ll do it because I’m doing it for someone else, to show them love. So today when I think fly I think sacrifice. I make a little sacrifice, I interrupt my week to make someone else feel loved. I was supposed to go shopping for Christmas outfits. I. I. I. This is the battle. Letting go of the I, I, I’s, the I wanted…, I deserved…, I needed… To let it all go and say I am so blessed that “I” don’t need anything. Life would actually be better if I didn’t do that and I took the time to put a smile on someone else’s heart instead of my own. Then actually the smile on my heart would be bigger and last longer than if I had done what I originally wanted. Why is this battle constant. Why does it keep coming up? Why haven’t I learned to fully conquer this battle. That’s ok I give myself grace. I’m at peace with decisions I’ve made in the past and I have hope in the future. To fly!
I loved your sentence that said, “So today when I think fly I think sacrifice.” Great sentence! And also loved that you’re interrupting your week to make someone else feel loved. It’s good for us all to think about putting a smile on someone else’s heart instead of our own. And I agree about our smile being bigger and lasting longer than if we had done what we originally planned. I enjoyed reading your thoughts! Hope you had a great trip!
Hi Lisa,
All lovely posts from everyone on today’s prompt, “fly”. Loved to read a few of them. I had thought of visiting every blog that would be posted before mine, but they are too many, many to visit. It’s because I’m the last one at this time and I was delayed to write today. Will try to visit a few anyway.
Regards,
Raspal
Fly. I don’t have any idea about what to write. I fly in a plane. My thoughts fly…especially when I’m worried. “What’s gonna happen?” “How will I get through this?” “God, please help me.” My thoughts are scattered. I’ve done this before and never posted. I usually think a couple of minutes about what to write before I start, but not this time. I’m throwing caution to the wind and my fingers are flying over the keyboard to write this whole thing in five minutes. The last time I flew on a plane I thought I was going to die. While looking out the window the plane wing took a dip. I thought, ”This is a really sharp turn.” The wing kept going down and I heard gasps from the other passengers. The pilot corrected and then we dipped to the other side of the plane. “Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.” The words were slightly audible. I think the man I was sitting beside probably heard me. The wing I saw looked like a toy plane and I thought we were going to roll over and go down. I thought that was it. But it wasn’t. Yay God! And now, I need to fly in life….we only get one chance.
What a great spin on this. I love just throwing caution to the wind. I think we get our truest writing from that. http://bellesbazaar-heather.blogspot.com/2014/02/fly-5-minute-post.html
Lisa,, thanks for hosting Five Minute Friday. I really do enjoy this exercise and everyone’s writings. It just perks me up to do something out of the ordinary! I finished my writing on Friday but didn’t get it linked up until late!!
I love this idea! Just found you over at Creative Home Keeper. I would love to participate in this exercise. Thanks for making it available…
Fly—such a small word for so great an idea. How is it possible for someone to even imagine they could fly? For someone to look at a bird in flight and say, “I want to do that someday.” Then to act upon this imaginable idea, flying, takes not only imagination, but courage. And it’s the courage of that first person who carves out the path for others to follow. Courage causes the great people to go on while the fearful fail. So we must have courage to fly in our own worlds and not allow fear to ground us.
Those days do fly and those legs do grow. My 6 year old is looking old and don’t even talk to me about my 9 year old and half her life at home being over. sigh. http://bellesbazaar-heather.blogspot.com/2014/02/fly-5-minute-post.html