Todd Stocker's Blog, page 17

The Importance of Telling Stories

Stories are powerful.  Over and above simple knowledge transfer, stories bring the hearer deeper into the experience of understanding.  Stories give personality.  Stories give context.  Stories infuse meaning.  Someone once said, “Stories give color to black and white information.”

I was reminded of this truth recently when I was listening to my dad tell stories to my son.  Mesmerized, my son relived episodes from my father’s boyhood – laughing when my dad told of how he broke up with an old girlfriend in a not so traditional way – entranced when my dad told of a difficult time in our families history.

Stories.

Whether you work in ministry, business or teaching, it is imperative that when you communicate, you do so through story.  Tom’s Shoe’s CEO, Blake Mycoskie said,

“I realized the importance of having a story today is what really separates companies. People don’t just wear our shoes, they tell our story. ”

Here are some key questions to ask that will help you to add life to dull information through stories:

What has happened in my past that applies to this situation?
How does this apply to what I’m working on today?  
How will I be changed because of it?
What person or people group can I tell a story about that help illustrate a point?

Stories are a powerful way to influence the next generation for the better so TELL YOUR STORY!

Peace!

Makenzie – 2.1 Miles Away

I don’t know how many of you have a physical location in which you can say your life changed forever.  As I write,  Google informs me I am 2.1 miles away from mine.

Four years ago this evening, Makenzie finished her last pirouette, landed her last leap, and smiled one last time for the camera that loved her.  Four years ago this evening, she headed home as a passenger in a car that drove the last 2.1 miles of her life to the intersection that I now mostly avoid.  Four years ago this evening, God lifted my beautiful daughter from a horrible wreckage and said, “Welcome Home.”

It is a funny thing how my human experience is now interwoven with concrete and traffic lights.  I ponder how my mind continues to bring up joyful memories and grieving feelings.  But I also praise God’s way of death for Makenzie. Instant. Unaware. Painless.  I am so very thankful that her location – where she rests – is free from all that is ugly.

So today, I choose to celebrate in the location.  Later, I will walk the lake shore that provided a beautiful backdrop for her last photo shoot.  I will sit on the dock in the place where she sat and I will venture to that intersection in which everything changed.  But I will not grieve.  I will only thank God because she is in my future and not in my past.  She is home; safe and sound in the protection and grace of her Savior, Jesus.  What more could a parent ask for.

Sleep tight, button nose.

Peace!

The Beauty of Duty – Memorial Day

I know many who served in wars.  Afghanistan, Korea, the World Wars.  Men and women who gave up their freedoms, home comforts and safety to ensure that we are secure and that our liberties remain in tact.

While we, who have never donned a uniform, admire their bravery, courage and effort, not one of my veteran friends see what they did as a brave thing.  They don’t call themselves heroes.  They don’t beat their breast in self acknowledgement.  For them, it was simply what they felt called to do.

“It was much like a job description,” said one. “Everyday, we simply reminded ourselves of our mission and what needed to be accomplished.  Then we went out and did it.  It was our duty.”

Today, I remember the duty that ensures freedom.  I remember the millions who did what they did to help make our country great. I remember that they gave their best so that I could strive for mine.  Praise God for men and women who continue to do what they do for the safety of the multitudes.

Peace!