Category Archives: Five Minute Friday

Five Minute Friday: Mercy

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The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Mercy

A few days ago, I was standing in line to buy lunch at a fast food place. There were many people in line to order and just as many in line to receive their food. I was there for a few minutes doing what I often do in crowds – people watching.

I noticed someone also waiting, and I totally judged this person in my head without even thinking about how I consider myself a non-judgmental person. I did not judge her fairly at all and based her character solely on the way she presented herself. I played out a few scenarios in my head in the minute or two that I waited for my food, and then went about my day.

About 30 minutes later, I ended up having contact with that same person in another setting. I was flabbergasted at myself when I realized that she was the person I had not so positive thought about, and I probably flushed with embarrassment, even though she had no idea of the thoughts that raced through my head just 30 minutes earlier.

You know what? I was completely wrong about who I assumed she was, and I’m thankful for the lesson. I do try to consciously be a non-judgmental person and not fall into the trap of assuming or pre-judging a person before I know the true person. I can honestly say that I make a conscious effort not to be judgmental. I learned much about myself that day.

You know what else? It’s mercy that reminds me that I am human and far from perfect. While I may have not presented any actions against the woman through judging her before I knew her, in my heart I was not giving her a fair chance. Mercy is there to save me from negative behaviors and tell teach me that while it’s not okay to assume I know what kind of person someone is just by looking at them, it is human nature to do so. Mercy also reminds me that lessons like this should make it easier in the future not to fall into that trap again.

I also pray that Mercy comes along and reminds someone else that I am not the person I may appear to be when they judge me before knowing the real me.

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Five Minute Friday: Comfort

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The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Comfort

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Somehow I got out of the habit of not writing for Five Minute Friday. I actually missed the comfort of knowing that once a week I could just let the words spill out of me without over thinking what I was going to post and if it was going to be epic.

I don’t know about you, but I often find comfort in some of the smallest things. One area, in particular, is habit and continuity. I like having things planned out, so when something is already planned out for me, it’s (usually) even better! I also find comfort in familiarity. I’m probably not alone in these comforts.

Lately I’ve been reaching to food again for comfort and having a really hard time breaking that habit. I’m working on it, and I’m also looking at getting my medications adjusted, because I’m pretty sure that they are contributing to the increased appetite. I’m about halfway to my ultimate weight loss goal, so I don’t want something adding to the already difficult road that I am on.

So what do you find comfort in? Are your comforts positive, negative or a little bit of both. Obviously, I have a little bit of both. That’s probably normal, too.

STOP

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Five Minute Friday: Stay

Posted in Five Minute Friday, NaBloPoMo, November 2012 by

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Stay

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So the first thing that popped into my head when I read today’s prompt is the song, “Stay Just a Little Bit Longer” by Maurice and the Zodiacs. You know, the song from the 60’s that was re-introduced to my generation when it was featured in Dirty Dancing in the late 80’s? Yeah, that song. Now I can’t get it out of my head to come up with anything worthy for this post!

*clears mind*

Last weekend ended up being one of those weekends that I needed to recharge. This introvert had been on the go way too much, and my weekend was filled with various activities that first meant that I was not going to get my much needed recharge. What ended up happening was that my Saturday plans were cancelled, plus I started feeling ill (not because the plans were cancelled). Because I wasn’t feeling well, I ended up not doing anything all weekend and cancelled my plans on Sunday, as well. I stayed home all weekend to sleep, relax and read. My Weekend Staycation was just what I needed! I felt revived and energized by Monday morning.

This weekend is filled with several activities again, and next weekend we’ll be in Detroit visiting family for the holidays, then I’ve got another full weekend after that. I am thankful I was able to relax and stay home last weekend in preparation for a busy three weekends in a row. Christmas will be right around the corner, so I’m sure most every weekend until the end of the year will be a little bonkers. MAYBE I’ll find another Staycation weekend somewhere in there.

“I had a lot of dates but I decided to stay home and dye my eyebrows.” – Andy Warhol 

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Hey! Thanks for reading! I have a question for you. Do you have any experience being a mentor or being mentored? If so, I want to hear about it! 

 

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NaBloPoMo November 2012
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Five Minute Friday: Quiet

Posted in Five Minute Friday, NaBloPoMo, November 2012 by

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Quiet

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Overall, I am not a quiet person. I never have been and never will be as long as God continues to bless me with a voice. There have been numerous times in my life where I have been called out for being too loud and talking too much. Sometimes I wish I was more aware of it, but mostly it’s just who I am. I can even remember back to grade school having comments on my report card to the effect of, “Tonya is a good student and very sweet, but she talks too much.” I feel the need to excuse myself when someone points it out, and honestly it’s embarrassing, though I’m sure necessary. When I first started working from home on Fridays, my husband said that I would babble on and on and on when he got home from work because I hadn’t had anyone to talk to all day. Luckily he didn’t mind…too much 🙂

Despite being quite a talkative person (and a loud one at that), there are times when I relish the quiet. Usually in the mornings I’m not quick to turn on the tv or even talk for a while. Also in the evenings after work, David and I might watch a tv show or two during/after dinner, but there are plenty of days where I just want quiet. I’ll turn the TV off and read.

Also, I absolutely despise talking on the phone these days unless I am in the car when there is nothing else to do. I’m pretty sure it comes from working in my previous call center jobs where I had to talk on the phone ALL DAY for 8 hours (or more) a day. Before 2006 when I got my first call center job, I loved talking on the phone! Now that I am not in a call center job, I still hate talking on the phone, but there is still a big portion of my day that involves talking, even if it’s not the full 8 hours a day. I live by the rule that I prefer texts or emails unless it’s an emergency or you absolutely cannot text or email (such as driving). I may or may not be guilty of not answering the phone just because I don’t want to talk.

Believe it or not, this loud mouth does like quiet…sometimes 🙂

STOP

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NaBloPoMo November 2012
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Five Minute Friday: Roots

Posted in Five Minute Friday, NaBloPoMo, November 2012 by

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Roots

START

Each day this month I am posting to Twitter and Facebook something for which I am thankful. This morning before looking at the Five Minute Friday prompt, I wrote,

“‎30 Days of #Thanksgiving, Day 2: I am thankful to have parents who are always there for me & raised me with good values & responsibility.”

When I looked at the prompt for this morning, ideas were already coming to my mind, but nothing was too terribly clear. I decided to go ahead and find a quote about roots to see if that prompted any more clear words for writing. This is the quote I found:

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” – Denis Waitley 

I guess this has been God’s way of saying that I have some pretty awesome parents who taught me how important responsibility is. While they have taught me independence, too, I also know that they are still right there behind me to catch me if I fall. Instances like this morning are how God speaks to me. Today he’s showing me that my roots are strong, and I will continue to weather the storms and thrive in the sun.

STOP

P.S. After publishing this post, WordPress reminded me that this makes my 100th Post!

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NaBloPoMo November 2012
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Five Minute Friday: Voice

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The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Voice

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My writing voice is something that I have been coming to love more and more throughout this month as I have challenged myself to write every day this month for 31 days. I knew before October began that I was comparing myself way too much with other writers and bloggers, and that was contributing to me not feeling like I was worthy to call myself a writer. I felt like because I wrote differently that no one would want to read my words. For a while I even tried writing like the other bloggers whose writing I enjoy reading, but I felt so fake. I felt that it was no longer me, and I started to lose my voice.

So what really began with participating in Five Minute Friday where I just write without planning, I started to do that more and more frequently. Some days I had a general idea of what I was going to write in my head, but I found that I truly enjoyed the entries where I just wrote my feelings and let the words flow freely without worrying so much about how I compare to others. It was MY voice coming out in those words and not what I assumed people would want to read.

Still, I find myself slipping every once in awhile and wondering if maybe I wrote like other people would like me more. Putting it like that makes me feel like I’m still going through puberty and worried that no one will be my friend. I guess maybe my blog is still going through puberty, and one day it will blossom into what it is meant to be in this world…unique, just like everyone else! 🙂

STOP

“A choir is made up of many voices, including yours and mine. If one by one all go silent then all that will be left are the soloists.
Don’t let a loud few determine the nature of the sound. It makes for poor harmony and diminishes the song.” 
― Vera Nazarian

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Five Minute Friday: Grasp

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The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Grasp

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I grasp for ideas on what to write. Why is it so difficult, sometimes, for me to make decisions? I often think that I see too many sides of something to pick between multiple options. I want to participate and become a better writer, but I fear that there is no one topic that I know well enough. I fear that I am not good enough or that my topic won’t be of any interest to anyone else…or even myself.

So I grasp some more. I look through several ideas, thinking that I’ll know when it’s right. Right? I finally come up with a couple of ideas but none really feel right. That’s when I remember how much I enjoy Five Minute Fridays and have even blogged in a similar manner when it’s not a Friday. I pick just one word and write about it. I can do that for 31 days!

Oh, gosh! Can I come up with 31 words for the month in which to blog? It was easier than I expected. It was in my grasp before I even knew it, and I have a few other words on standby in case I’m just not feeling my voice flow into my writing with one or two of my choices.

Won’t you join me in a 31 Day Challenge the month of October to write about a topic every day? If you can’t think of a topic, I’ll be glad to share mine with you. I’ll be writing 31 Days of Journaling Prompts. I have chosen a single word for each day of the month, and at 12:01am Central Time, I will post what the word is and write about that topic. It’s like every day in October will be a Friday…at least as far as blogging goes 🙂

“A sense of humor… is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.” – Hugh Sidey

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Five Minute Friday: Focus

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The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Focus

START

Oh, Focus. You and I are but distant acquaintances, not close friends like we should be. I am easily distracted and tend to let my mind wander when I should be focusing.

Just like now.

The more I think about what to write, the less the words come to my head, and then…

Oh, look at that shiny thing over there! I have new mail! There’s a Facebook Notification! I need to check that person’s blog! Oops, I need to pay that bill! When is my next appointment? What should I cook for dinner? I should start on my grocery list!

Yeah, that’s me.

I’m working on it, though. Starting this week, I am following an online Bible study on Contentment that will likely contribute to better Focus. I’m eating better, exercising and living a healthier lifestyle. That’s got to count for something, too! Next I’m going to see about getting more rested sleep or find out what might be causing my restless sleep.

But yes, Focus. See? I almost got off the subject again. It’s a challenge for me!

“We can always choose to perceive things differently. You can focus on what’s wrong in your life, or you can focus on what’s right.” – Marianne Williamson

STOP

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Five Minute Friday: Graceful

Posted in Five Minute Friday by

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Graceful

START

Graceful is a word that no one has ever (or should) use to describe me. I have never been a dainty, balanced, graceful person. I played rough as a small child and ended up in the hospital to get stitches more times than my mother was willing to admit. I vaguely remember trying ballet or dance when I was around 5, but I truly only remember going once or twice. I’m not exactly sure why, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with my lack of being graceful. I should ask my mom.

I played soccer when I was in elementary school when it wasn’t cool for girls to play. Several seasons I was the only girl on the team or one of two. I wasn’t necessarily a tom boy or anything, as I loved playing with Barbies, too. I guess it was just a way for me to do something that didn’t require me to be too terribly girlie.

In college, every morning I tripped over the same broken area of tiling in the main building. It happened so often that my college roommate and another friend who would walk to class with us would warn me before getting to that part of the building, and I would STILL trip over it. I’m still that person today who trips over imaginary things on the floor.

But I’m okay with all of this now. Sure, I used to dream of some day being a graceful and elegant woman, but a long time ago I stopped trying to be someone I’m not and decided that I could live a much happier life if I just embraced who I am. It works!

“Women wish to be loved without a why or a wherefore; not because they are pretty, or good, or well-bred, or graceful, or intelligent, but because they are themselves.” – Henri Frederic Amiel 

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Five Minute Friday: Change

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The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or over thinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Change

START

We all want things to get better, to be better to live better, everything must be better, but we don’t like Change AT.ALL!  It’s more that we’re reluctant to change because we fear the unfamiliar. We know how things are working right now, so let’s not rock the boat. Change also means learning something new or forming a new habit. No, thank you! I’m not signing up for that!

How do things get better if there’s no change? It’s simple. They don’t. Isn’t there a cliche or quote or something that someone said once, and it’s been repeated a bazillion times? It goes something like, ‘You can’t expect to get the same results if you always do the same thing.’ I’d research it, but this is a 5 minute post 🙂

So we’ve got to get over it and accept that unless we’re complacent with how things are now, then things are going to have to change. Complacency isn’t always bad, of course. If you’re happy and you know it (clap your hands), then maybe change isn’t necessary. However, if you’re only complacent because of fear, then you’ve got to step out of your shell and go for it! Here’s one quote I’ll look up, only because I know exactly where to find it quickly:

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

STOP

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