The Stories must be told

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ has been called "The Greatest Story ever told" and one of the movies about the life of Jesus is Entitled as such. There is power in the narrative. Whether it is in literature, the stage, film or audio drama, music all of these mediums are making an impact upon our lives.
We are drawn to the stories being told and we are drawn in by characters and their various relationships, by the events taking place, by the story line and of course by the message being delivered.

Stories - there are stories that are fiction, purely created by the author and their are stories that are real life stories, biographical, autobiographical, historical events, places, inventions etc. Regardless of fact or fiction, each kind has the power to make us think, inform us, move us and even the power to change us and the course of our lives. The writer of Proverbs says that words have the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Funny, I am writing a blog post and this is how I am procrastinating in writing my NanoWrimo novel. It is motivating me to get writing because it is November 4, 2012 and I am publicly stating that I am participating in the challenge of writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I have written every day but I am slow out of the gate, lagging behind my fellow writers.  

We need stories, we desire to be a part of our own story and to be intentional in playing our part.  In googling "the power of story" the search yielded 4,220,000,000 findings. You read that right: 10 digits in the billions.  Here are some quotes from my search:

"Gripping tales teach us, persuade us, and define us." from Psychology Today

"We put away our grammar books and Mr. Hatch said, Conley, today we are writing stories...you can write anything you want."   Susan Conley from TED Talks 

"If you don’t believe in the power of story watch an audience at church the moment the preacher says “Let me illustrate this point with a little story.” Folks who were restless stop fidgeting and listen. Even kids suddenly tune in. An audience that may have drifted away suddenly comes right back to the speaker and sits attentively at his feet. The entire audience is galvanized by even a simple story."  
from Mark Roberts at Westside Church of Christ Irving, Texas

"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho" from Luke's Gospel where Jesus tells the story that answers the question "Who is my neighbor?" 

“Child,' said the Lion, 'I am telling you your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy

During my thinking and listening time, this is what came to my mind:

"And God said....." Genesis 1  "the Word was with God and the Word was God...." John 1  "Write what you see in a book...." from the Holy Bible, the very Word of God from The Greatest Story Ever Told

God is Spirit. He is Greater than ALL. God is the Truth. God chose to reveal His Son through the written and spoken Word of His Prophets, sent Him to walk among us fully God and fully man, a mystery for sure and then continued to have His children record this Life in the Gospels, had Paul write letters to the Churches, the saints, to close brothers and finally God revealed to John, the Beloved Jesus returning in power and the end and that there will be a new heaven, a new earth and a new city.  The story of stories is to go forth and be proclaimed throughout the world. The story has been preserved through the millenniums for us.

No matter where we are in life and in the world we want to hear the stories that not only inspire and move us, but also that disrupt and challenge us. We want to stay connected - this is precisely why the stories must be told. And with that perhaps I will get going with my nano novel and see where my characters take me today.