The One with the Story.

I've seen things recently about writers writing. "You should do it everyday" "Writers always have homework." I've never considered myself a "writer" [but golly, I do like quotation marks]. I enjoy to write - I've always been a visual person, so writing my feelings and thoughts and reading others thoughts and opinions is how I absorb the world around me. I take it all in and process it through my words.

Recently though, I've felt like there are too many other people out there who can do this better. They majored in communications or journalism, took classes on different writing styles and how to find your voice. or just quite bluntly, they have a better story to tell. better ideas to share. just better.

but then, after some thinking, i realized I was right. they are better then me. but they aren't better than the LORD. The LORD has given me my story. Placed me in certain situations, with certain people, and has given me a love for writing. so why can't I tell the story the LORD has given me?

I recently read an e-book, Be Quiet and Say Something, by Jessi Connolly of Naptime Diaries [don't forget, I read mom blogs as if I'm a mom]. But in this litte book, she talks about how we all have influence. We all have people in our lives who are there to hear our story, and the same goes the opposite I think. I need to hear other people's story.

For an internship, I took the StrengthsFinder test. My top five strengths were: [be prepared to completely understand me as a person]

• Learner (I like to learn, duh)
• Belief (certain core values)
• Input (i archive random facts and knowledge)
• Intellectual (I like to sit and think)
• Context (look at the world and people in context)

It's the last one that I think has the most relevance to people's stories. I understand people so much better when I hear about who they are and where they come from. I get a sense for their passions, their mistakes, and what brought them here today. But I've also learned people aren't going to share their story (usually) without some sort of encouragment - usually in the form of another story. 

That's what I hope to start doing better. Share my story as I see it. as I live it. as the LORD writes it.  

Alana.


PS. After I wrote this, I was looking around at my blog [because its been a while, lets be honest] and noticed both in my top heading and my about me, I talk about a story. Glad I'm getting back to my roots.