Stories and storytelling make up most of our days around the offices of TAB Media Group and what we do each week related to The Baptist Paper.
We love sharing your stories and showcasing what God is doing through His people.
Exploring the many layers that make up a person or situation allows us the opportunity to move beyond surface-level reporting.
We also like stories. We like to hear them, read them, watch them and write them.
Whether the story is to inform, educate, inspire or connect, accuracy and clarity are a must.
Other helpful aspects of storytelling are transparency and authenticity, as well as descriptors that show rather than tell — and a dash of brevity for good measure.
When it comes to telling someone’s personal story, my goal as a writer is to try to figure out what makes the person tick — what motivates him or her.
Additionally, I love to dig deep enough to find the unique gift inside people that if set free could make the world around them a better place.
In fact, if I could have a super power, then I would love for it to be exactly that — helping others find and harness their own super powers.
It’s important to me to always leave a place better than I found it, and I can think of no better way to do that than to encourage everyone I’m privileged to meet to be the best version of themselves.
God gifted each of us uniquely, and we all have a part to play in this messy, exhausting journey called life.
Some days take us down, no doubt, but on the other days we can pull deep from within to make up for lost time, push through the darkness and brighten the world around us.
Keeping our eyes on Jesus
In doing this, it is important to keep our eyes on Jesus and allow His strength to carry us.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t seem to remember this lesson no matter how many times God demonstrates His power.
So often I want to attempt all that is in front of me in my own strength.
Once I’m exhausted and finally willing to concede defeat, then I give it to God. And, of course, that’s when the cool stuff happens.
Why I continually try to handle life in my own strength still baffles me.
I love Jesus and have dedicated my life to serving Him, but so often I find myself going and doing on my own rather than sitting still at His feet and absorbing what He wants to share with me.
I love activity and being part of as many things as humanly possible, and sometimes that means I fail to rest properly — and it always interrupts any attempt at exercise (of course, I’m not too sad about that one).
Problem-solving and troubleshooting are fun for me.
Helping others find peace within themselves and discover ways to calm the frustrations surrounding their worlds energizes me.
Thinking around it all
Oh, and don’t forget brainstorming — I’m always ready to brainstorm.
I probably like it more than I should.
In fact, it has gotten me in over my head a few times. Once I thought I was only helping a friend think through all the options. However, my friend took my animated assistance as volunteering to take care of the issue. Yikes!
I am an eternal optimist saturated in idealism. Will we achieve all that my imagination might dream up? Most likely not.
But I have no doubt we will get much closer to the goal than we would have by deciding to settle for less than our best.
