DO IT FOR THE STORY!

Don't you just love it when God pursues you with a message and just seems to add to it layer by layer?  That's what He's been doing with me lately.  He's been pursuing me with the message of "my story."  I even made it the theme of our VBS this summer:  "Invite God into Your Story!"

And I've been doing just that...inviting God into my story.  And more than that, asking for my story to be a part of His story.

You know, we always think about getting to heaven and getting to ask the saints of old to elaborate on their stories--or to thank them for inspiring us.  But do you realize they can't wait to ask us about our stories?  They are going to want to know what it was like to live with the Holy Spirit residing in us.  They're going to want to know about walking around every single day with that kind of power.  That thought alone has given me pause.  What am I going to tell them?  What did I experience that they didn't get to experience?  How powerful did I allow the Spirit of God to be in me and through me?

I picked this book up yesterday at Mardel and read it in a single evening.

The subtitle caught my attention for good reason and I couldn't wait to see what he said.  Joel says he was a nerd as a teenager.  But his dad would tell amazing stories of his childhood or teenage years.  And Joel realized he had no stories to tell.  So his philosophy became "DO IT FOR THE STORY!"  He was tired of living a careful, wallflower existence and saying "no" to adventure.  So he began to say "yes" to life and adventure just so he'd have a story to tell.  His book is full of God-adventures in the Antarctic, South Africa, Haiti and more.

If you want a story, you have to take advantage of what is in front of you.  Say yes.  It may mean overcoming some fears.  It may mean you'll do things you never thought you could do.  It may mean practicing something until you do it with excellence.  But most importantly, it's saying "YES" to God!  It's inviting Him into your story, asking for divine connections, and stepping out in faith.  It's awakening to the things around you and the adventures and fun God wants to share with you.  It's saying "YES!" to the Spirit of God and agreeing to go, do, and say whatever He wants.  It's listening intently and obeying.  It's a faith adventure!  And in the process, you're going to discover the very purpose for which God created you.

I'm all in!