What's your story?

I've been back from Chicago for a week and a half but I'm still trying to process everything that I heard. The Story 09 conference was incredible; great leadership, innovative and more creativity than I can even describe. It would take 50 posts to convey everything that I learned, but I'm going to focus on one thing.

Donald Miller recently released his new book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. If you're content with your life, please don't read it. It jacked me up entirely. I bought it several weeks ago but I didn't read it until I was flying to Chicago. If reading the book wasn't enough, Donald spoke at the conference as well. By Wednesday night I was wrecked.

The premise of the book is this: you are telling a story with your life. It might be a great story or a horrible story, but either way you're telling it. You are the leading character, for better or for worse. The whole story line revolves around the choices you make.

I'm a writer, so I think a lot about characters, plot lines and settings. I have a whole collection of people who live in my imagination, just waiting for an opportunity to leap onto the page and start living their stories. What I've realized in the past ten days is, I spend more time thinking about their stories than I do living mine. My fictional characters have all kinds of adventure, romance and suspense. I spend nine hours a day at my laptop. I'm not living an adventure, there is a most definite absence of romance, and the only suspense I have is whether my pay check will cover my bills. That's not a good story.

I've realized that some part of me believed that once I write the bestseller, my life (my story) will really begin. Here's the scary part though; Donald Miller had already written the bestseller and moved into the new condo and he still had a story he didn't like. The condo didn't make the story any better and neither did the bestseller. Those things may have changed the setting, but they didn't do anything for character development. He had to make choices to change the story he was living; not just the stories he was writing.

I want to live a better story...and I have no excuse not to. I belong to (arguably) the greatest church on the planet, I have great friends, a supportive family and enough sense not to play in traffic. I should be living a great story!!!

I've decided that my problem is based primarily in selfishness and fear of the unknown. I say I want adventure, but I don't like talking to people I don't already know. I say I want suspense, but I sit on my couch instead of taking a risk. We don't even have time to enter the romance debate, but suffice it to say that I have some hang-ups there too. And the downside to all of this: writing a bestseller won't change any of it.

So here I am, again, at the foot of the cross asking God to heal me some more. I want to live a great story...a story that makes Jesus famous and brings glory to God. That's probably not going to happen sitting on my couch.

What's your story? Are living life to the full or do you have a remote in one hand and cheetos in the other? I don't want to have another conversation about somebody else's adventure; I want to be living my own. Any thoughts on how I can get started?

Help me and get free stuff (really)

As some of you know, I'm in the process of writing another book and designing an accompanying website. I need your help. The website will be a place for people to unload the shame they've been carrying around with them. They will do this through sharing their stories and reading the stories of others. In order to help people feel safe enough to share their shame, other stories need to be already posted for them to read. This is where you come in.
I am asking you to considering sharing your story (or at least a part of it) with future readers of the website. Your story can be a past victory, a current concern or anything else that speaks to the issue of shame. Whether your story involves sexual sin, addictions, abortion, neglect or anything else; I need your input.
I believe that God wants this book written and this website up. I, personally, would rather not deal with any of it (as shame seldom brings out the best in people)...but, more than my comfort, I want to obey God. You can email me your story (send it to templebuilder2000@yahoo.com) or send it to this website as a comment. If you wish to remain anonymous, I suggest sending it as a comment because that doesn't require an email address. Comments that come to this blog are sent to me before they are published online. I will ensure that materials sent to me are only published on my upcoming website.
As an incentive, I'm going to try something that I've seen on Anne Jackson's blog (if you don't already follow her, I would suggest that you start...she's a great writer and she's hysterical!!!) I am going to give away 5 copies of my first book (Straight from Hell) to people who send me their stories. In order to be eligible for the drawing you must provide a way for me to contact you (so anonymity may not be the way to go).
Send me your story (via email or as a comment on this site), your contact info, and I will enter you in the drawing. Winners will be notified privately via email.
Thank you in advance for being willing to share your stories. I believe that we can make a difference in somebody's life...but sometimes we first have to be willing to show them our scars. Thank you for your willingness.
Send your stories, pray for me and we'll watch God move. All gory to Him!!!

baseball bats and God

The other night I was asleep in my bed when I heard my roommate holler, "Donna, someone is trying to get in through my window!" I was on my feet and standing in the hallway about a half-second later. "What?!?" She said it again. I went back into my room, put on a sweatshirt and grabbed a baseball bat from my closet. "Grab your cell phone", I told my roommate as I headed to the door. I flicked on the light, walked down my driveway and turned the corner of the house. I wasn't really thinking; I just went into combat mode. I prayed as I walked out of the house but I wasn't sure what I was walking into. Nonetheless, I walk into the night.

On Emily's windowsill was a little black and white cat, just sitting there. I laughed.

I told Emily to come and see; and we both laughed. As we went back into the house she said, "So that's it? You just grab a baseball bat and walk straight into it?" I told her that I would rather be taken out in my driveway facing my fear than to be cowering in my house, afraid of what might be there.

I went back to my room and as I was laying in bed God whispered to my heart. He told me that is the way He wants me to write my books...to just grab a bat and go. I was convicted. I've been supposed to write this book on shame for the past 2 years. I'm a little afraid of it and, well, kind of ashamed. But, I've made a decision that I'm going to do what God says. I'm going to grab a bat (pen) and go.

I should be launching a new website, hopefully in the next few weeks. I will let you know when it happens and then I'm going to need help from all of you (and your friends, relatives, co-workers and the guy you just met on the elevator). The website will be gathering stories about shame and those stories will help shape my new book.

Please be praying that I will grab a bat and go. Be blessed, in Jesus' name.

All glory to God!