i am story

Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.      Luke 2:52
When people ask me what “I do?”, I like to tell them “I’m a professional story teller!” I speak. I write. I’m a blogger, photographer, audio-recorder, rinse and repeat. I’ve worked as a broadcast journalist, photojournalist, speech writer, and a copy writer.

I’ve worked for publications,
         radio stations,
                   TV stations,
                            and advertising agencies.

I’ve been a PR agent, and a Mad-Man, (without going to work on Madison Ave in NYC).
         I write words for public announcements and newsletters.
                   I’ve produced 30-minute TV programs, and 30-second radio commercials.
 
I’ve been a preacher and a teacher, and most recently I was a professor of mass communication.
         Like I said, “I’m a professional story teller!”
 
Without a doubt, my most successful communication projects, presentations, or publications have most often been wrapped around a story.
 
People love stories.
         People get wrapped in your message when it’s a story.
                   I believe in the power of story.
 
Story is where we came from.
         Story is where we are right now.
                   Story is where we’re going.
 
Story defines who we are.
         Story connects us to family, and introduces us to complete strangers.
                   Story helps us to learn how to tell others who we are.
 
Story makes strangers new friends.
         Stories are powerful.
 
A good story has an introduction, problem or conflict, supporting characters, and a hero or protagonist that ultimately finds resolution. Maybe that hero is you? Maybe it’s somebody else?
 
A story is full of unknowns and questions, but somehow, we find a tie that pulls everything together so that we have answers.
         Story eventually answers our questions. Or, leaves us with an intriguing mystery.
 
A story is personal. It has a human element. If the story were about ideas and concepts it wouldn’t connect with you, the listener.
 
Stories have action with passion. It takes us on a journey from one place in time to another. It feeds our desire to want to hear more about the resolution
 
Stories are provocative.
         Stories are full of suspense and tension, so hold your breath!
 
Recently, I read a book by Donald Miller called, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.  What I found out is that not only do I write, blog, speak to tell stories… but, I AM a story! A living story. A story for which I am the author. I get to decide what the conflict is! How I overcome obstacles, and ultimately, how the resolution is to come about in MY story.
 
While we are living stories, unlike a movie or, ink-on-paper, we cannot turn to the end, or fast-forward through the hard times or the boring years.
         Sometimes our day-to-day story is boring!            At other times it’s very compelling.
 
If you are the author of your own story, then you get to determine what’s about to happen, what the stumbling blocks will be, and when you are about to get out of our comfort zone.
 
If you are the author of your own story, it’s not a flash back, but a sneak peek, a flash forward!
 
Maybe our greatest challenge is to believe that this problem or issue we are experiencing is only temporary. 
  
In my communication classes, I teach my students that in every life there is a turning point.
A turning point is an event or encounter at some point in time that makes such a profound impact that it changes the way we think, and the way we live out our lives. 
 
Are you living out your story with a happy ending? Will you hear, “Well done my good and faithful servant?      If not, write a better story!         You only get one lifetime story, write it well!
 
“One day you will tell your story of how you have overcome what you are going through now, and it will be part of a survival guide for somebody else.”
 
A new friend recently told me, “We don’t have Agape fellowship because we don’t know each other’s story!"

The best way to fulfill our mission of reaching the next person for Jesus, is to tell them the story of Jesus.  Tell The the story of how Jesus changed your life, and how different your life is now, and how different it will be every day for the rest of your life - because of the story of Jesus

I believe in the power of story and that our lives should be tales worth telling.
Don't you?

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