Happy Friday! Time for my Five Minute Friday contribution. Check out the amazing five minutes takes at Kate’s place on Facebook at fiveminutefriday.com by our special community of writers.

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 Angela who I hope inspires you to check us out or, better yet, try your hand at focused, unscripted writing for just five minutes. And share it on Kate’s website.

“When I felt stuck as a writer, Five Minute Fridays showed me that was only in my mind. Sometimes I wrote my FMF piece only in my journal, because the prompt brought out raw feelings I wasn’t ready yet to share. Still, it helped me find my words again when I wasn’t sure I had anything to say.”

The timer has been set for this week’s prompt, CHALLENGE, so I guess it’s time to GO…

Challenge. Hmmm.

We all have challenges. Some are lifelong; other specific to the day or situation. They could be physical, emotional, or spiritual.

But the biggest challenge is how we react to those challenges. The biggest challenge is to keep moving forward and not get mired down in the past. Easy said. Not easy to do.

We have guidelines to follow, natural law, spiritual law, man-made law. But in the end we are challenged to live our lives the best way we can, each and every day. Again, easier said than done. So the challenge becomes shrugging off the dust of yesterday and facing today head on with an eye on tomorrow and our eternity.

I think we were placed here in this time and space to make our sphere of influence in the world a little bit better than we found it … to touch people positively … to bring Good News to a world full of darkness. That’s the challenge we face each and every day.

So, here’s my challenge. … STOP

… Take time each day to reflect on the joys and challenges of the day {morning prayer}. Take some  time every day for yourself. Take time each day to reach out to others positively. Take time every day to look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. Take time every day to count your blessings and acknowledge where they came from {nighttime prayer}.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly — Langston Huges