Hey there!

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Five Minute Friday blog link-up.

Every week we gather around a single word prompt and free write for five minutes flat . . . no overthinking, no editing, just write! 🙂

Sound like fun? Learn more about how it works here.

This week’s prompt is: PROMISE

We have a VERY special guest joining us this week — my daughter, Dineo!

She has grown up just a little bit since this photo was taken 12 years ago as she focused very intently on writing in her notebook:

Now she’s almost fourteen (gasp!) and she graciously (ahem, she says I should replace “graciously” with “reluctantly”) agreed to share a five minute free write on the prompt, PROMISE.

Here’s Dineo:

A promise can be many things.

A guarantee, a threat. It brings about many emotions. Disappointment in a broken or forgotten promise. Excitement and expectation for a future because of a promise. Dread for a fulfilled promise.

Most importantly, it brings hope for the future.

One of the most significant promises ever made was made by Jesus in the book of Matthew:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” — Matthew 7:7-8.  

This gives us hope.

We can go about our days knowing there’s a God who cares for us. All we need to do is ask, seek, and knock, and He’s there.

God is there for us all the time, and the promise isn’t conditional or based on what we do or fail to do. All we have to do is call upon His name, whether it’s in the morning or in the middle of the night, and He’s listening.

That is one of the greatest promises of all time.

***

Want to read more about our family story?

I shared the story of Dineo’s birth in Cape Town, the meaning of her name, and much more in my memoir, A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging.

Click here for a signed copy,
or place an order on Amazon.
(affiliate links used)

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** TWITTER PARTY ANNOUNCEMENT **

Speaking of family, last week on Thursday evening during our weekly FMF Twitter Party, my youngest was trying to get my attention. I told him I was busy with Five Minute Friday stuff, and he made the comment, “Five Minute Friday seems more like Three Hour Thursday.”

It’s true.

This coming August will mark FIVE YEARS since I took over this amazing writing community that I so love and adore — which means that almost every Thursday night for the past five years (with the exception of my annual Christmas breaks), I’ve been on my computer for at least two hours, sometimes more.

While I really do enjoy our weekly Twitter parties, I’ve decided to take a temporary hiatus over the summer months. We WILL still have our weekly blog link-ups here on the site every week, and I will be present in our private Facebook group. (Click here to join the Facebook group if you’re not already in it.) But from May 30th through Labor Day, I won’t be actively involved in the Thursday night Twitter parties at #fmfparty.

During June through August the sun goes down much later here in Michigan, and since my kids are getting older (12, 14, and 17) and won’t have to get up early for school during their summer break, I’m anticipating that we’ll have more opportunities to have family time (read: more opportunities for me to drive them around to various activities). I don’t want to be saying no to them or feel as if I have to rush home on Thursday evenings because of my commitment to the Twitter party.

Of course you’re very welcome to keep gathering without me! 🙂 There’s absolutely nothing stopping you from hanging out together at #fmfparty each Thursday through the summer. I’ll do my best to schedule tweets sharing the prompt, and will still make the link-up go live at 10pm EST each week. So really, the only thing changing will be my presence (or lack thereof) at #fmfparty for a few months.

Thank you for understanding! I’m still planning to hang out with you next Thursday, May 23rd, for my last #fmfparty until September. Would love to see you then!

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Before we go, I also wanted to make sure you know that Hope*Writers is opening its doors next week!

Sign up here to join the waitlist!

Hope*Writers is a membership community of working writers who are committed to supporting one another and helping each other grow and reach their goals. It’s a vibrant online community with a wealth of helpful resources and a plethora of answers for any writing-related question you may have. 🙂 Join the waitlist here. (affiliate links used in this post)

Whew! That was a lot to cram into one week . . . Now it’s your turn!

Share your own five minute free write on the prompt, PROMISE, below: