Your memoir might take up “residence in someone's soul” and become “their blood and self and purpose”

 

Do you recognize the opportunity you have—as well as the responsibility—to write your stories? Maybe right now you can’t imagine how God can use them to bless your readers—your kids, grandkids, and great-grands, friends, even strangers. But keep reading. . . .

 

Your stories are important. Writing them is more than a hobby—it is a ministry.

 

You and I are just ordinary people living ordinary lives, yet God is acting on our behalf every moment of every day.

 

Take time to observe what He is doing.

 

Notice the ways Bible passages come alive—how they come true, how they are relevant—in your family.

 

Remember our theme verse here at SM 101:

 

“Always remember what you’ve seen God do for you,

and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren!”

(Deuteronomy 4:9)

 

If you’ll put your stories into writing, you’ll be doing what Deuteronomy 4:9 urges all of us to do.

 

You have stories only you can tell.

“Someone needs to tell those tales. . . . For each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.” (Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus)

Read Morgenstern's words again:

“You may tell a tale 

that takes up residence in someone's soul, 

becomes their blood and self and purpose. 

That tale will move them and drive them 

and who knows what they might do 

because of it, because of your words. 

That is your role, your gift.”

 

You are part of a story much bigger than yourself. Your story is part of God’s story and God’s story is part of your story.

 

Invest time and effort into connecting your stories with God’s stories. Don’t keep them to yourself—give them to others to read!

 

“We’ll tell our children what we’ve known

and what our ancestors handed down to us.

We won’t keep these stories to ourselves.

We’ll tell the next generation about God’s marvelous deeds.”

(Psalm 78:3-4)

 

 

Tuesday Tidbit: From generation to generation

Here’s your 15 seconds of inspiration, your Tuesday Tidbit:

“Some of the best stories

are those spun from everyday life

or from our past.

Family stories are held together

and handed down

from generation to generation

in stories.

And these strong cords of memory

actually become

the ties that bind.”

Chuck Swindoll

(emphasis mine)

Who are you, that you should write your story?

You? Write a book?

You might be asking yourself, “Who am I, that I should write my story? I’m not a Moses, or a David, or a Paul, or an Abraham….”

But wait! Moses killed an Egyptian. Then he hid in the desert for 40 years.

And later, when God told him to confront Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses made all kinds of excuses. He balked and squirmed and wailed, “O Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:13).

Here’s the point: It’s not that Moses was so great—it’s what God did: He enabled Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of milk and honey—and so much more!

Then there’s David, and Paul—it’s easy to think of them as saints, but they really messed up sometimes. Their lives were a mixture of faith and willful disobedience, spiritual successes and failures, yet God used them in mighty ways and continues to do so today. It’s not what David or Paul did, it’s what God did.

“Abraham is … one of the most important men in the history of the world. What makes Abraham so important … is not his sterling character (which he did not have), his outstanding intellect (which may have existed but it is not mentioned), his charming personality (he could be pretty annoying) or substantial personal accomplishments (he had few, apart from his pilgrimage to the promised land). What Abraham is remembered for is his faithfulness in obeying God’s call to undertake a long and demanding journey. …It was not so much what Abraham did, but what God did.… In Abraham we see not so much a saint in action; rather, the faithfulness and graciousness of God.… In Abraham we see an ordinary man who is used by God, not because of who Abraham was, but because of who God is.…” (Richard Peace, Spiritual Storytelling).

So, write your stories—not because of who you are, but because of who God is.

Your stories are important not because of your sterling character, outstanding intellect, charming personality, or personal accomplishments.

Your stories are important not because you’re a saint in action, but because of God’s faithfulness and graciousness.

Like Paul and David and all the rest of us, your life has been a mixture of:

faith and willful disobedience,

belief and unbelief,

hope and hopelessness,

innocence and guilt,

spiritual successes and failures.

Your stories are important because you are saved by God’s grace. Your stories are important because—within His grace—you are His and He is yours.

Take the spotlight off yourself and, instead, focus it on what God has done.

It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves.

Our only power and success come from God.

(2 Corinthians 3:5, NLT)

…Our adequacy is from God.… Therefore, having such a hope,

we use great boldness in our speech [or writing].…

(2 Corinthians 3:5, 12, NAS)

God wants all of us to tell our stories!

Depend on God to make you adequate for this awesome task.

Use heavenly boldness in your writing.

Your stories can help your readers

become all God created them to be.

Let’s not keep our stories to ourselves

Saturday Snippet: “We need a father movement”

“We need a father movement,” writes Lloyd Ogilvie, “and Father’s Day is a good day to begin. What I have in mind is more than simply honoring fathers with parties and gifts.”


In Silent Strength for My Life, Ogilvie continues, “It’s time for fathers to break the silence about what the Lord has done in their lives.”


When a father keeps spiritual matters private, what message does he send his children about the importance of faith?


Ogilvie starts his message with these words, “Teach them to your children and your grandchildren” (Deuteronomy 4:9). Sound familiar? Look near the top of this blog and what do you see? Deuteronomy 4:9, worded a little differently.

Ogilvie says kids are “very curious about what makes their parents tick. If fathers can orate on ‘Now when I was a boy …’ why not ‘Let me share what’s really important to me.…’”


So, to our men followers of S M 101: Katinga, Wayne, Matt, José, Baboo, and other men reading this blog: What about Lloyd Ogilvie’s challenge?


If you’re reading this, you’re probably already writing your stories, but I know you know men who are not writing their stories. How can you inspire them to tell their kids and grandkids what God has done in their lives?


You could recommend this blog to them, for one thing.


You could also recommend blogs I listed in the right sidebar. (I’ve run across other blogs I’ll add soon.)


What additional resources can you recommend to us? We welcome them!


Leave a comment below or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spiritual-Memoirs-101/208789029139817), or e-mail me at GrandmaLetters@aol.com and put “Spiritual Memoir” in the subject line so it won’t look like spam.


P. S. Did any of you take the Six-Word Memoir challenge from Wednesday’s post? (For details see http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/06/3-opportunities-4-cautions-and-fun-6.html) If so, be sure to share your six-word memoir with us!


Happy writing!