Getting Started with Sharing My Story....Why?

Psalm 22:22
I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.

Today starts my personal challenge and a challenge I give to you. As I prepare to begin a study on sharing your story of how God has worked in your life, I share with you who may be looking for a place to begin as well. Let's make the month of September a month where we take time daily to reflect on who we are in the  Kingdom of Christ. How did we get here...to where we are today? How can we share our stories with others? Does our story even matter? How can my story really bring others to know Christ?

Why testify? Why share our beliefs? Our stories?

Scripture can be found throughout the Bible about testifying, about sharing our testimony of God's work in our life. What better way than to share through story? Even in the Bible stories are told to share God's work. People are more interested in hearing a story, to find that something we share is similar to something they have gone through themselves. They like to be able to relate to an experience.

Does our story have to be perfect? No. And guess what! You don't even have to be a great writer or speaker, you just have to learn what your story is and then be bold enough to share it just like is says in Psalm 22:22. Be willing to share God's name, to praise him to others.

As we begin this walk of discovering our own testimony, I ask that you spend a few moments in pray prior to drafting your story. Each evening I will post some scripture, a question to reflect on, and then I will share my own story as it relates to the question. You see, I do not feel that we have just one story. I feel we have many stories and we just have to learn how to find them. They may be right on the tip of our tongue or hiding in the depths of our mind waiting for the cobwebs to be cleared. Give yourself permission each evening to really explore and open up your heart and mind to hear God as you reflect. Give yourself permission to draft out a messy story. Just get the thoughts down. Then challenge yourself throughout the month to seek opportunities to share your story with others.

I leave you tonight with a prayer and look forward to tomorrow when we will begin digging deep into our testimony seeking out where the first seed began to take root.

Father God, I ask that you prepare us for the month ahead. I ask that you open up our hearts and minds and help us to listen for you. Help us to become stronger in our faith as we journey down this road of reflection and begin to do so much more than just share scripture with others as we learn to share our story. We seek to do just as you have charged us: become fishers of men, praise your Holy name, and testify to others. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.