Thursday, June 14, 2012

Stories are Inspiring - Discipleship 179

Have you ever considered that you and I are living stories? Our lives paint pictures and create waves that affect others around us, both positively and negatively. We also live in a culture that is fascinated with story. There are three basic elements to a story. Consider how your awareness of these elements may help you in your role as a leader, a parent and a friend.

1. Author - Every story has an author. The author is someone who creates a picture or a platform...something we call a story. If we agree that each of us is a living story, we are all authors and are all constantly writing, painting, demonstrating and living in the story (that is our lives) we are creating. What is fascinating about authorship is that we live in a world who's story has already been told, but as living, breathing and interactive sub-stories to this broader unfolding story, we still have the opportunity to be involved in this greater unfolding story. How we use our ability to tell our story is where we often find significant differences as authors.

2. Audience - Stories are meant for audiences. When we are stitching together an epic tale, we are often doing so while keeping in mind who our target audience might be. Our goal as an author, a living story, is to see how our own story might have an impact or make an impression on other living stories. Are we writing, speaking and communicating through our lives with our audience in mind, or are we simply trying to entertain ourselves? No one really loves going to the movies and sitting by themselves, alone in a theatre, do they?

3. Willingness to share - The last element of a story is its' willingness to be shared. Perhaps you've heard it said different in terms of giving your life away. We all can agree that we invest our lives in something. Sometimes what we invest in has great meaning, and at other times our investment might have lesser significance. The challenge we have is finding the courage to share our story, our lives, with those whom we desire to influence and impact. 

These are three elements of story. What might you add to the conversation?

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A Little Something from Psalm 8

 Had a lot of fun with this one.