Happy Five Minute Friday time.

The assignment this week was, quite frankly, challenging. The FMF prompt was TRY, which should be easy peasy. But my mind kept wandering off in different directions {that’s why I call them free range thoughts} and trying to herd them into a coherent five minutes was quite a challenge.

I wonder if my fellow writers at Kate’s place on Facebook at  http://www.fiveminutefriday.com had the same challenge. After this post, I’ll take a peek at the offerings from my writing soulmates. It’s always exciting — and often informative — to see how my fellow FMF friends develop their thoughts in a variety of different genres.

I’ve been sharing snippets taken from Five Minute Friday: A Collection of Stories Written in Five Minutes Flat. They are a testament to the value of the exercise. This week, I’ll share some perspective from Sarah who I hope inspires you to check us out.

“So many times, since I stumbled across Five Minute Friday, I have been blessed and encouraged by it. Not only in my own blogging but also in the community of bloggers that   participate. I love how each word prompt can go to so different a place in each person’s heart and mind! Though it’s been a while since I had time to participate, now that life is slowing down a little, one of the things that I am most looking forward to is getting back into Five Minute Friday.”

If you get a chance, stop by. Or, better yet, try your hand at focused, unscripted writing for just five minutes. And share it on Kate’s website.

But for now, the timer is set for five minutes, so let’s see what kind of a herdsman I am. GO …

One thing I always told my children was, “Try” or “Try it.” I felt it was important for them to go beyond their comfort zone and experience more of life.

When they were frustrated with an assignment or ran into a wall with a problem or essay, the message was the same. “At least try.” When they were outside playing and were faced with a new challenge, it was the same “try” message. If there was something different on their plate, they would be told to at least “try it.”

It’s no different for me. I’ve told myself to “try it” more times than I can remember. I was willing to try new directions in my career. I was accepting new techniques. I entertained efforts to expand me beyond my safe comfort zone … sometimes kicking and screaming. But, nonetheless, I have been open to trying new things.

It’s most evident in  my faith life. I was always quite comfortable … STOP

… with my own safe, personal faith life. But I was encouraged to move out of my comfort zone and make my faith story more public. I transformed from doing faith to living and sharing faith. In fact, for the next two weekends, I will be on the other side of the pulpit {in New York Sunday and Maine the following week — please keep me in your prayers}.

The message is simple. Try. You may not be successful; you may not like the taste or texture … but if you don’t at least try, you’ll never know.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Remember, much of God’s work is invisible. But God is at work all the time.