The story of my life...

I love to tell stories.

...especially if they make someone laugh. Maybe that's why I enjoy blogging. It's a chance to tell my stories to anyone & everyone who is willing to "listen" to them. Plus, at least this way I don't have to worry about boring anyone. (If they don't want to know...then they don't need to read!)

I like to hear stories. Funny ones, yes, but meaningful ones too. Thought-provoking. Ones that challenge me to think. Challenge me to be...more.

This evening I listened to a sermon by Andy Stanley. It is a series of messages dealing with how to make wise decisions & he spoke about the story of our lives.

As I thought back to Bible study this Spring & learning about finding contentment in the midst of "seasons", he reminded me that every season we go through is a part of our story. What seems overwhelming in the present, becomes a few sentences in the future - as we describe that season of our lives. For better...or for worse.

No matter how big a decision you may currently face, or how complicated your life is, at some point in your life, it becomes nothing more than a story that you tell. In every transition in life, and in every decision that you make, you write the script. Whether it's a positive time in your life, or a terrible, surprise season...your next decision is simply an extension of your story.

You don't get to decide what happens to you. BUT you do have full control over how you respond to what happens to you. And how you respond becomes part of the story that you tell.

He told the story of Joseph - how the decisions he made at crucial moments in his life, shaped his story. It was a God-honoring story. In the midst of injustice, false accusations, prison, and family dysfunction, Joseph chose to honor God in his decisions. And the reality is that his response to God (in worse circumstances than I probably will ever have to face), was obedience & acceptance.

I sit back & just think, "Wow."

What story do I want to tell?

It's not only a story I tell to my children, but it becomes part of their story too.

I want it to be funny, for sure. But more than that, I want them to see God in my story.