Simple Things: A Story Journey

“We’re doing a Story Journey tomorrow to go along with our church’s yard, garden and bake sale. We’re featuring Laura Alary’s book, What Grew in Larry’s Garden. We’re so excited.” My good friend, Laura Duggin, minister...

Our Stories in God’s Story

by Sharon Warkentin Short The need to make sense of our lives seems to be a fundamental human drive. We all do it by interpreting our individual experiences in light of some larger controlling story. The “small stories” of our everyday lives take on whatever meaning...
Exploring Your Muse

Exploring Your Muse

By: “A story is a picture that I have in my head that I wish you could see. In order to move that picture from my head to yours, I use everything I have: my face, body, voice, my sounds and words. And when you laugh, it doesn’t say, ‘That was funny.’ When you laugh,...
Experiencing the story of  God’s love as a child

Experiencing the story of God’s love as a child

By: It was cold and snowy as I drove downtown to the church early that Sunday morning. I shivered as I walked into the cathedral-like Presbyterian church where I worked as the Christian education director. I wondered if there would be any children in Sunday school. As...
Experiencing the story of  God’s love as a child

The power of stories

By: As he left worship last August, Ted commented to me, “I bet if we had been telling these stories about ourselves, we wouldn’t be where we are today.” On this particular Sunday the mayor of the city, the school district superintendent and the...
Building relationships by telling our stories

Building relationships by telling our stories

By: A quotation in the New York Times Magazine has captivated me: “Every life is a story worth remembering.”1 Jesus’ life is a story on which we base much of our living as Christians. We actively remember Jesus’ life, his story. Jesus’...
About John and his vision

About John and his vision

By: I had heard rumblings about a coordinator of technical and social media, and was excited when I saw the notice. I immediately sent in my application, interviewed with the task force, and was thrilled to learn that I had been the one chosen to fill this important...
The story of the sex slave

The story of the sex slave

By: There are lots of stories in the Bible that are never read in church, or taught in church schools, or even get discussed in adult Bible studies. They are the embarrassing underbelly of the Bible. How are we to regard them? Are they mistakes that somehow got by the...
The power of story

The power of story

By: Bible storybooks Ralph Milton, Lectionary Story Bible, Years A, B, C. Wood Lake Books, 2007-2009. Illustrated by Margaret Kyle. Milton knows how to spin a yarn. An experienced and gifted storyteller, he draws the listener into the story, even when it deals with...