Stories Stick

My friend Kim Whitaker and I talked last week about how much we love a good story. It can be a fanciful fictional fable or a tantalizing true tale. Good stories can teach, inspire, and motivate. They can muster belly laughs or tearful emotions. A well-timed story inserted into even the most boring lectures can captivate our wandering attention. Stories stick.

Good bedtime stories often stir children’s imaginations. They have favorites they want to listen to over and over. Stories on the big screen have the power to cause even the most rambunctious little ones to sit perfectly still. They may have seen “Frozen†or “The Little Mermaid†a hundred times but are always ready to watch it one more time. Stories spellbind.

The elements of every good story are the same. There are heroes, villains, and supporting characters who rise and fall with the plot within a well-described setting. They delight, intrigue, and fascinate us until “they all lived happily ever after.†Stories satisfy.

God created the most extraordinary story of all time and has graciously allowed us to step into it. This year, I chose a different sort of Bible for 2024. It is the Day-by-Day Chronological Bible with Daily Readings Guided by Dr. George H. Guthrie. (That’s a mouthful, I know.) After a week, I am hooked! This arrangement of Scripture forces one to focus on God’s word as a story – a true story. God is not only the author but also the heroic main character. 

Through the creation story, we see how God was intentional in the process of creating our amazing world for us to enjoy. Even when Adam and Eve rebelled, God’s great love and mercy reigned supreme. God had a well-thought-out plan to redeem His precious creation from Noah to Abraham, Jacob to Moses, Joshua to David, Solomon to Zedikiah, and Elijah to Malachi. He would send His Son to teach us all how to love Him and one another. His Son would also teach us how to die to ourselves so that we can make our way back to the Garden that God originally intended for us to enjoy. 

More than anything, God wants us in a loving relationship with Him. After we accept Jesus as our Lord, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. He empowers us to resist sin and revel in our standing as children of the King. God placed us in families to help us get an inkling of His love. He put our families into His family – the church. 

The growth of the church always fascinates me. To know that you and I are a part of that ongoing storyline is incredibly overwhelming. The sacrificial work of the apostles, Paul, Luke, Timothy, Titus, James, and Jude, convicts, inspires and motivates. 

If you’ve been around church life for years, you may have read through the Bible several times. You may know all the characters in all the stories and even studied all the settings. I hope you’ve become intimate friends with the Hero of the story we find ourselves in the middle of. 

Sadly, I once haphazardly read Scripture because I knew it was the Christian thing to do. It did not satisfy. I’ve cherry-picked verses to prove I was right about some theological point. It did not stick. Yet, when I began reading it as a story written by my very best friend, I became spellbound. I want to read it over and over again. God’s tantalizing true story continues to teach, inspire, and motivate us to return to the Garden. With this story, we can all live happily ever after!

What is your plan for reading God’s story this year? 

“But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!†(Jeremiah 20:9 NLT)

*******************

P.S. By the way, Kim Whitaker has a new book out, Finding the Pieces. Its pages drip with stories of divine appointments and God’s providence, protection, and provision. You may laugh out loud at times and blink through tears at others. Order your copy today (click here) and travel along with Kim. To quote another good friend, “Kim is the most fascinating person I know!†And if you’ve ever wanted to travel to Italy, her stories will take you by the hand and lead you through her narrow streets.

A book sitting on top of another book.
A book sitting on top of another book.

Donna Jackson

When Did Your Journey Begin?

By Donna Jackson | July 29, 2025 |

It fills my heart with happy to introduce you to my Jamaican friend, Kaidean Rice. I’ve watched her love for God grow into a beautiful display of joy and peace that only comes from walking hand-in-hand with Jesus. Read her description of how her journey began and be inspired to move a little closer to…

Replay the Stories Behind Your Scars

By Donna Jackson | July 22, 2025 |

Mothers often habitually latch onto childhood misadventures and hit the replay button for anyone willing to listen. (I’m shamefully guilty of doing that with my children.) However, no one seemed to enjoy it more than my mother. My mischievous spirit definitely gave her plenty of material for storytelling, enough to make listeners’ eyes glaze over.  Mother…

A Summer Read for You

By Donna Jackson | July 15, 2025

Looking for an uplifting summer read that inspires a deeper love for Jesus? What if there were a miracle greater than physical healing? Would you want it? Follow Denise Johnson’s battle with Stage 4 cancer and discover how you can transform your struggle into something you might not expect. This is by no means a…

Do You Know Who You’re Talking To?

By Donna Jackson | July 8, 2025

Before I began teaching full-time, I substituted for seven years in a K-12 school. My days with kindergarten children found me counting objects, naming colors, giving sounds to letters, tying shoes, and wiping noses. I soon learned that staying aware of middle-schoolers’ raging hormones was essential. And a week with twelfth graders required extra study…

Hope for the Tired Soul

By Donna Jackson | July 1, 2025

Recently, I came across an unfamiliar theological term. Naturally, the schoolteacher in me did what I used to tell my students to do when they encountered a new word – I looked it up! I had heard the words ‘orthodoxy’ and ‘orthopraxy’. (Don’t let those words stop you from reading further. This is going to…

Who’s at the End of Your Pipeline?

By Donna Jackson | June 24, 2025

If you’ve ever built or remodeled a house, chances are you’ve had pieces of PVC pipe lying around. When these pipes are new, they are pristine, clean, and white. That’s good since drinking water usually flows through them. However, over time, these pipes can develop residue that sticks and restricts water flow. This buildup can…

A Fresh Fragrance

By Donna Jackson | June 10, 2025

Arguably, most of us are addicted to something. Some are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Others to pleasure, power, possessions, or a combination of other things. As for me, I am addicted to a judgmental spirit. There! I said it out loud (sort of)! I spent most of my years focused on being an outward…

Overcoming the Slow Erosion of Hope

By Donna Jackson | June 3, 2025

Knowing that God is working THROUGH us to accomplish something of eternal value warms our hearts with joy; however, God working IN us is another matter. More often than not, exchanging our fleshly desires for godly ones is not a quick yank. It’s more like slowly peeling a Band-Aid off a hairy arm. The hairier…

Chasing a Rabbit Born of Water

By Donna Jackson | May 27, 2025

You’ve laced up your boots, strapped on your backpack, and headed down a well-worn and familiar path. Before seeing them, you can picture every tall tree, mossy boulder, and narrow stream. You smile when you see your own boot prints etched in the dirt along the way. You know the trail by heart because you’ve…

Graduating with a Friend

By Donna Jackson | May 20, 2025

As I watched my oldest grandson graduate from high school, a tsunami of memories washed over me. There were 699 in my graduating class. On graduation night, names were called, and faces came forward that I didn’t recognize. Unlike my grandson, I didn’t graduate with a whole lot of honors, but I was good friends…