Today’s prompt: RESTORE
The word “restore” makes me think of a local church called “Restoration Place.”
I suspect people may go to Restoration Place seeking for their spirits to be restored, but the real work happens inside and can take place anywhere.
I want to write something positive tonight (because I feel my writing lately has tended toward deep introspection with an essence of despair (not to sound maudlin — it’s been a year.))
Therefore, a word of gratitude to the people, places and things that restore me daily. It really doesn’t take much.
My Facebook friend Lisa, for example, shares her vivid nature photography. I don’t think she and I have ever met in person, but she restores me with these gorgeous images that remind me there is a force out there bigger than ourselves that places beauty in our paths. Thank you, Lisa, for capturing it so beautifully.

Gulf Fritillary
Photo Credit and all rights: Lisa Baggett
A friend texted me yesterday to set up brunch this weekend. That gives me something to look forward to, at a restaurant I haven’t been to before. I know from prior experience with her that the shared laughter, empathy and support will be restorative.
I’m in a new (additional) freelance situation this week. The fact that the owner took the time to tell me that I am appreciated, picked up screen share (do you pick up screen share? Set up, I guess) to teach me a skill I needed because I hadn’t used their social sharing platform before, and in general set a positive tone refreshed my faith that sometimes a strange set of situations …
** end of five minutes**
… some Slack conversations and a bit of serendipity can lead to a bright moment or two.
I’m also still in my (old) freelance situation and, although anyone who is hanging out with me on Twitter at that time of the evening may wonder why I tweet almost every night that I am happy to wake up early for work I like, all I can say is the same thing I say in many of those tweets. I don’t take this for granted. A decade+ of Monday dread showed me otherwise, and it’s worth sharing over and over when something revitalizing happens.
Welcome to this week’s Five Minute Friday. Our instructions, via creator Kate Motaung: “Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.” (But I can’t resist spell checking, as you can imagine.)

Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
Totally not the point of your post, (which was great, btw, because it was honest and where you are at…) BUT the names of churches these days sometimes make me chuckle… You are so right- it can happen anywhere.
I agree about the names of churches! That would actually be a fun post to do if there were a way to do it as thoughtful observations without ridiculing others’ choices. Something to think about!