A Good Word Wednesday #74 STORY

A little bit of goodness, encouragement and hope in your mailbox today

Dec 13, 2023

Good Word of the Day: Story

I love a good story. Doesn’t everyone?

Stories help you remember, escape, and connect. They can transport you to another place.

Everyone has one. What’s your story?

Where do you come from? Where were you born and raised? What attracted you to your spouse? How old are your children and grandchildren? So much detail goes into why you are the person that you are.

Some people love to tell all about themselves — to waiters, sales clerks, patients in the waiting room, anyone who will listen. While not everyone wants to chat and hear all your details, we all long to connect with people. It’s how God made us. He made us to need each other. To be seen and heard.

Some of us have more stories to tell than others because of our age and experience. I’m reminded of a conversation a few years ago with my oldest granddaughter, Leah, on a family trip to the Oklahoma City Zoo. When questioned why she made some bad choices, she explained that it was because of her “dark past.” I literally laughed out loud. At the time, Leah was only seven years old. How much of a dark past could she possibly have had?

Later that morning, as we were watching the chimpanzees in their exhibit, one of them sat quietly and seemed to be pensively concentrating. I asked Leah, “What do you think he’s thinking about?”

She thought a second and said, “I don’t know.”

I replied, “He’s thinking about his dark past.” It was Leah’s turn to laugh out loud.

Following that experience, I was in Atlanta visiting friends. While I was there, we attended church together. The topic of the pastor’s sermon was the same as this blog, “What’s your story?” He illustrated the fact that we remember things more easily through stories. He asked, “What was Cinderella’s story?” We know her life story easily because we’ve heard it repeated, watched it on Disney, and read the book to our children. It’s a story of tragedy turned to triumph. A riches to rags, to riches story. I’m sure right now you are thinking of a fairy godmother and a lost slipper. My personal story isn’t that dramatic. I don’t have a dark past. I haven’t been rescued from a life of crime, or drugs, or anything dramatic really. I’m a preacher’s kid and was mostly good. I married a good man. I have a safe, comfortable life. I try to help people. That’s the end of my story.

But because I know Jesus, He gave me a story to tell. It is one of rescue from sin, darkness and death. That’s a powerful story I can tell to others. In fact, He compels me to go into the neighborhoods, byways, and around the world to tell that good story.

And really, as the pastor in Atlanta said, “It’s not a story until you tell it.”

So what’s your story? Have you told anyone recently? Who is one person you could tell?

Of course, we find the best stories in scripture. This time of year, the story of the birth of Christ has all the elements of a riveting story: fascinating characters, unexpected plot twists and turns, and the underdogs are involved as the intricate story unfolds. And the best news is, it isn’t fiction. This page-turner brings real hope, life and light to everyone who pauses to hear the life-changing story.

Wednesday in the Word

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while^[^a^] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.” (Read the whole story in Luke 2:1-20 and other birth of Jesus stories in the gospels. Take time to share your story and this story with your family this Christmas.)

Share Your Good Words

Good Questions of the Week: What good descriptive words would you include in telling your story? Such as confused, lost, alone, ordinary, complicated, seeking, lost, found. What is your favorite Bible story to tell? Please share. I’d love to know.

Good Unseen People

Photo: She Is Safe

The following excerpt is from a story that will be included in my upcoming book, Unseen People: Sharing Light and Life with Your Neighbors and the Nations. Click the blue link below to see the progress of the book. When you get to the page, scroll down to THE UNSEEN PROCESS — How The Book, Unseen People Is Being Born.

I hear voices. I don’t see dead people, but I do hear voices. Sometimes it is a voice that makes me doubt who I am and what I do and makes me wonder why I’m here. Maybe you hear those voices too.
It makes me consider, why am I here on Earth? Why did God make me and place me on this planet in this place in time? After many, many years on this earth, you would think I wouldn’t let these voices get into my head. But they do from time to time. So to quieten them, I will offer a few answers.
Read the full story here: This Is Why I'm Here

Unseen People book

Good Words I Recommend

A Good Book: What Great Storytellers Know: Seven Skills to Become Your Most Influential and Inspiring Self, Bernadette Jiwa. What Great Storytellers Know

A Good Story to Share: Storyworth You have a story worth sharing. Write your story one week at a time with inspiring prompts, then get them printed in a beautiful hardcover book.

A Final Good Word

One of my favorite parts of my work with She Is Safe and with my nonprofit writing business, DLS: Communicator for Global Good, was telling the stories of those who were being helped. It could have been a woman in the mountains of Indonesia who was prevented from a life of sex trafficking. Or a young woman in a crisis pregnancy center receiving options before ending the life of her child. Through my work during those years, I had many opportunities to meet incredible people and tell their amazing stories.

My love for good stories is one of my earliest memories. It included my Momma, Dr. Suess, and the smell of a brand-new book. My love for reading poured over into the lives of my children and grandchildren.

What are some of your favorite stories that you love to read again and again? If you could pull one book from your shelf or forward a link from your Amazon list, what would it be? The cold late fall and winter months are great times to settle in with a cozy blanket, a hot drink and a compelling story.

It’s a good time to spend a few minutes writing your faith story. Who will you share it with? If you need someone to read it, feel free to share it with me. I’d love to know your story. I can guarantee your story is unique. No one else shares your same story. The world needs to hear yours.

Thank you for reading these words and my stories. I’m deeply honored to share this time with you each week. I am compelled by God to share my gift of words with you.

“And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.” Isaiah 30:8

And this…

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. Jeremiah 30:2

I’d love to hear from you. This is your chance to share with me whatever is on your heart today. Please share. I value your thoughts!