The Story of Our Lives:

Journey, Awareness, Relationship

 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: ● What duty did Oka have in his

first ministry?
● Remember? >>
● What church did William go to
● Why? after his NTU YISS?
● Story of our lives ● Philip had an emotional
● God's personal story experience waiting for
confession, what happened
● Your story? when he ran in to the
confession room?
● When growing up as a little
boy, my grandmother used to
tell me stories and give advice.
What did she say about eating
rice?
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: ● Stories - people remember

stories
● Remember?
● Lives - of people we know. And
● Why? >> important parts of their story -
● Story of our lives their life story
● God's personal story ● Something interesting, these
little stories have become part
● Your story? of our larger story as a group.
If you've been coming to this
ministry, and heard these
sharings, they become part of
your own story
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: ● Life: one big story

● Remember? ● People: many little stories
● Why? ● Christianity: one HUGE story
● Story of our lives >> ● And God...
● God's personal story ● Uses the little stories to
influence the huge story
● Your story?
● Uses the huge story to
influence the little stories
● Both sets of stories share in
each other
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: ● We share not just in the story

of the whole Bible, but even in
● Remember? God's personal story - in Jesus'
● Why? story - every year
● Story of our lives ● That's what the Mass readings
and the Gospels are,
● God's personal story >> installments of a story, one
episode at a time
● Your story?
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: ● What's it about?

● Remember?
● Why?
● Story of our lives
● God's personal story
● Your story? >>
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● “Christian life is not a measure

of the good and bad in our
● Movement >> lives at any given time. It is
● Journey the movement of one's whole
life.” ~ St. Thomas Aquinas,
● Captivating acc. To Fr. Timothy Radcliffe
(What's the point of being a
● Life
Christian, pg 41)
● Importance ● A movement... in other words,
a journey – a journey to God
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● The best stories are about

journeys - not just descriptions
● Movement - movement!
● Journey >> ● LOTR, cheering Frodo on as he
● Captivating makes it to the volcano at Mt.
Doom, to destroy the ring -
● Life think about everything that
happened for him to get there
● Importance
● MFSE, Jesus on His journey to
destroy sin at Mt. Calvary –
think about everything that
happened for Him to get here
● TSOL... what mountain are we
going to?
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● A great journey is a captivating

story
● Movement
● People interested in stories,
● Journey more interested in stories
● Captivating >> about journeys
● Life ● Guess what? Someone else is
captivated
● Importance
● Sitting in a special cinema
screen in Heaven...
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● The Story of Our Lives is made

up of smaller stories
● Movement
● Like a TV series... episodes,
● Journey arcs, standalones, mini-sodes,
● Captivating guest stars, recurring
appearances
● Life >>
● Life mini-sodes eg. Praying
● Importance over that car... hearing another
person's story and how I
played a part
● A crossover, eg. Flintstones &
Jetsons, supercool! God
weaves through these mini-
sodes, billions of them. How
cool is that?
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● What's so important about

your journey? Your story?
● Movement
● Journey
● What's the most important
● Captivating book out there?
● Life
● Importance >>
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● The Bible?

● Movement
● Journey ● The Bible is just a bunch of
excerpts...
● Captivating
● Life
● It's not the most important
● Importance book
● Important book >>
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● Book of Life

● Movement ● What do you think it contains?
(hint: look at the title of this
● Journey slide)
● Captivating ● Phil 4:3, Rev 20:12, Rev 20:15
● Life
● Importance
● Important book
● Most important book >>
 The Story of Our Lives
in
The Book of Life

● Phil 4:3 “And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women,
for they have labored side by side with me in the gospel together
with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are
in the book of life.”
● Rev 20:12 “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before
the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was
opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by
what was written in the books, by what they had done.”
● Rev 20:15 “And if any one's name was not found written in the
book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Journey ● Book of Life

● Movement ● What do you think it contains?
(hint: look at the title of this
● Journey slide)
● Captivating ● Phil 4:3, Rev 20:12, Rev 20:15
● Life ● He's helping you create a big
● Importance story of your life out of the
mini-sodes
● Important book
● Then He's weaving
● Most important book >> everybody's story into an even
larger story, part of His story
of all life
● Eternal importance! How you
will spend eternity, your whole
salvation, depends on the
story of your journey
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● There are hints

● Know your story >> ● What's your deepest desire in
life?
● Beginning
● Trajectory
● A companion
● How God speaks to you
● Revel in your stories
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● There are hints

● Know your story >> ● What's your deepest desire in
life?
● Beginning
● God can use that desire
● Trajectory
● A companion
● It drives your story
● How God speaks to you
● Revel in your stories
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● “To begin my life with the

● Know your story
● Beginning >>
● Trajectory ● When does the protagonist
● A companion
● How God speaks to you
● Revel in your stories
beginning of my life, I record
that I was born...” ~ Charles
Dickens
become aware he's in a story?
● Sophie's World
● Me in that retreat at
Kingsmead Hall...
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● Keep note of your story

● Know your story ● Trace it out
● Beginning ● High points
● Trajectory >> ● Low points
● A companion ● God points
● How God speaks to you ● Where does He point to?
● Revel in your stories ● Live that story
● Not someone else's story...
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● A quiet companion on our

journeys
● Know your story
● He's been everywhere with me
● Beginning
● My tracing of trajectory...
● Trajectory
● And now it also feels like I've
● A companion >>
been everywhere with Him
● How God speaks to you
● Got led into Bible study
● Revel in your stories
● Followed Him thru His
journey, His story... thru the
Old Testament & New
Testament
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● A quiet companion on our

journeys
● Know your story
● He's been everywhere with me
● Beginning
● My tracing of trajectory...
● Trajectory
● And now it also feels like I've
● A companion >>
been everywhere with Him
● How God speaks to you
● Got led into Bible study
● Revel in your stories
● Followed Him thru His
journey, His story... thru the
Old Testament & New
Testament
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● Me?

● Know your story
● Beginning
● Trajectory
● A companion
● How God speaks to you
>>
● Revel in your stories
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Awareness ● Know your stories. Know your

mini-stories, your mini-sodes.
● Know your story Revel in them, for they are
● Beginning yours, yours to celebrate and
share.
● Trajectory
● A companion
● How God speaks to you
● Revel in your stories >>
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● God

● With whom? >> ● Others
● Share your story
● Quality depth
● Remember
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● Humanity's stories are already

interwoven - we reinforce that
● With whom? interconnectedness, that
● Share your story >> relationship, by verbally
sharing those stories with each
● The Word other
● Many ways
● My opinion
● Quality depth
● Remember
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● 'Logos' can mean word,

sentence, account, story, order
● With whom?
● This world & our lives are
● Share your story about a certain order of things,
● The Word >> a certain story
● Many ways ● We pass it on by spreading
that story, that Logos
● My opinion
● God spoke you into existence,
● Quality depth
so you can speak Him to
● Remember others
● Something magical about
words, we create when we
speak...
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● Even the popularity of

FaceBook & Twitter
● With whom?
● People want to hear the
● Share your story story of your life
● The Word ● Technology is a good tool
● Many ways >> but... don't over-rely on a
tool
● My opinion
● Don't lose human contact...
● Quality depth God thought we needed it
● Remember
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● Go Deep...

● With whom? ● Have deep conversations with
people. Take time, share your
● Share your story story
● The Word ● Not shallow, wasteful, banter
● Many ways
● My opinion >>
● Quality depth
● Remember
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● The best way, the traditional

● With whom?
● Share your story
● Quality depth >>
● Even secular world
● And in Scripture?
● Remember
way... Go out, meet, share...
● One person to another
● Not just for couples, for
everyone
● Not common for 2 guys?
Too romantic for guy & girl?
● Christians were never just a
common people and you don't
have to be a romantic Catholic
to be a Roman Catholic
● 'Brother' and 'Sister'
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● Quite often Christians forget

● With whom?
● Share your story
● Quality depth
● Even secular world >>
● And in Scripture?
● Remember
what is good for us, and the
secular world somehow picks it
up and uses it... though for
other reasons
● Business books: Never have
lunch or dinner alone, always
invite someone to join you
● Recent NY Times Health article
'Talk Deeply, Be Happy?'
 The New York Times: Health Section
March 17, 2010
'Talk Deeply, Be Happy?'

By Roni Caryn Rabin “We found this so interesting,

Would you be happier if you spent
more time discussing the state of the
world and the meaning of life — and
less time talking about the weather?
It may sound counterintuitive, but
people who spend more of their day
having deep discussions and less time
engaging in small talk seem to be
happier, said Matthias Mehl, a
psychologist at the University of
Arizona who published a study on the
subject.
because it could have gone the other
way — it could have been, ‘Don’t
worry, be happy’ — as long as you
surf on the shallow level of life you’re
happy, and if you go into the
existential depths you’ll be unhappy,”
Dr. Mehl said.
But, he proposed, substantive
conversation seemed to hold the key
to happiness for two main reasons:
both because human beings are
driven to find and create meaning in
their lives, and because we are social
animals who want and need to
connect with other people.
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● Jesus seems to always be

dining with someone
● With whom?
● tax collectors, pharisees,
● Share your story lawyers, public officials,
● Quality depth fishermen, political
activists, good listeners,
● Even secular world distracted people, worriers,
● And in Scripture? >> people who liked him,
people who were
● Remember suspicious of him
● Even sends disciples out 2 by
2 (Mark 6:7)
● Why?...
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Relationship ● 'Go Deep'

● With whom?
● Share your story
● Quality depth
● Remember >>
● In rugby: if you're too 'flat',
you're trying to outrun God,
and you won't catch the ball
He's passing to you
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Conclusion ● The story of our lives is about

a movement, a journey
● So... >>
● You need to know it, be aware
● End of it
● And you need to share it,
relate it to others
 The Story of Our Lives:
Journey, Awareness, Relationship

STORY: Conclusion ● So what's your story?

● So... ● Is it in the Book of Life?
● End >> ● Is it a good journey? Will you
be captivated by it if you were
God?
● Where are you going? Are you
telling anyone?