Here’s this week’s installment of Five Minute Friday. You might remember the task is to write for five minutes on a specific prompt word. The initiative was started by Lisa-Jo Baker (http://lisajobaker.com/) who thought about writing and how often our perfectionism gets in the way of our words. And she figured, why not take five minutes and see what comes out — not a perfect post, not a profound post, just five minutes of focused writing. I’m proud to be one of the hundreds of bloggers who take part each week and look forward to reading what others write. It’s always a treat reading different interpretations on a common word.

This week’s prompt is STORY.

Here goes. The timer is set for five minutes {clock starts now}

This should have been a walk in the park. Easy peasy. After all, I’m a writer by trade and stories are my business.

But it wasn’t. As I thought about it, I realized it isn’t that easy. Sure, we all have a story … either an individual story or the tapestry of our lives. But getting it out is an entirely different matter. It’s more than just stringing words together.

We like to think when we tell our story, we tell it warts and all. That’s always a successful approach. But when you’re writing someone else’s story, well, the warts sometimes get in the way.

Bloggers by nature tell their stories. That’s why we blog. But there are thousands, millions who do not share the stories. Many of them are related to us.

I wish my mom and dad had shared more of their story. There are gaps that should be known. There is history that is lost.

We have an opportunity to draw out those stories from those we love. And I do mean draw out. STOP

Well, that’s it. But I will add our individual and collective stories are multi-layered. I, for example, am comfortable re-living the moments of my life with Karen and the kids and sharing those moments with followers. I am comfortable sharing my faith, hopefully igniting a spark in someone else’s life. Other bloggers share their life and faith experiences, most quite well.

I would be remiss, however, to not plug my daughter’s book, What’s Your Story?  Everyone has a story…but sadly, we don’t always know what to share or how to share. This short, eight-day devotional-style book will help. (available at http://www.journeywithd.com/)

Whether you have been a follower of Jesus Christ since you were three or if you are just beginning your journey, this book will unleash opportunities as you realize your story within the greater story.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: The test of good manners is to be able to put up pleasantly with bad ones.