Tell Me A Story

My daughter's often ask for this each night at bedtime, my 4 year old is fine with me reading her a couple of children's books, but my 9 year old, wants a made up story, off the cuff and on the spot! I am NOT good at this! my husband is VERY good at this this, I on the other hand usually spout out some ramblings about a mermaid finding forks and other human treasures and using them for things like hair brushes, which sounds a little to much like a certain Disney film we all know about and no doubt if you have kids have seen hundreds of times. I usually say something like, I'm tired or I'm not good at make believe stories, I'm good at real stories, so my daughter then say's "well, tell me a real story". Tell me a real story. This is exactly what we do each and every day, we tell a real story with the lives we are living. My husband and I were not telling a very good story with the lives we were living, and what's worse was our story was heading toward tragedy, through poor choices that were made. Ten months ago I got a huge wake up call, My story, Our Story needed to change. We didn't even realize that the story we were living had characters in it that were living selfish lives, consumed with the idea's of how our own needs should be met and no (or not much) regard on living to meet the needs of others. Living that kind of story leads to a very unfulfilling and unsatisfying, empty and even self destructive end. Through the pain and tears of this last ten months, the things that have been stripped away are making way for a clearer picture of a more beautiful story. And I am grateful for that. No I am not grateful for the actions and things that took place, but I am grateful that those things, those poor choices, led us into a fire where all the worthless things in our lives have been and are being burned away. We are still a work in progress of course and will not ever arrive at perfection, but we press on. So we began asking the question, "How do we tell a better story with our lives?" At the beginning of June we attended a conference in Portland OR, called StoryLine and it was put on by the Author Donald Miller at this conference Don shared his vision that he is passionate about, and that is that we are telling a story with our lives and we have the ability to edit our lives, just as you would if you were writing a screenplay for a movie. Would you want to watch a movie that was based on the story you are living? are you the character you want to be in the story you are living? Is your story going where you want it to go? if not..... the good news is that we don't have to just sit around in the audience of this story and wish we could get our money back at the end. We can live a better story. One that overcomes conflict, one that changes people's lives, one that other people are inspired by, one that is lived with intention. What I have realized through this experience is that my story has been me focused for far too long! what a boring story! no wonder I am often left longing for more. So I began to think, what kind of stories inspires me? who do I admire? what do I wish I could change about my life and the story I am currently telling? What need do others have that God could use me, use us, to help meet? and the idea's are endless! because the needs are endless, there are hurting people all over this world, people in other countries need clean water, shoes and food, people in this country need clothing and shelter, people everywhere need love, married couples need hope, children need families, mentors and friends. People NEED people, relationship, God's Love. What would happen if God's children stopped just going to church on Sunday and then going out to lunch afterward, then went home and back to our busy lives? I began to think.... there has to be a better way to learn God's word, to learn the gospel. A way that is better than just reading it and wondering what I can get out of it for me, and I think the better way is in living it. Are you telling the story you want to tell with your life? whether you realize it or not, you are telling a story everyday, are you the character you want to be? would you root for you if you were watching you on the big screen? I want to live a better story, how about you?