Newsletter Archive

God has always been calling out to us, trying to woo us back

September 30, 2024

Last time we looked at two stories, the song Pretty Fair Maid in the Garden, and the movie Cast Away. In both stories, a woman is in love with a man who has gone away and not returned — one to war and one on a plane that went down in the middle of the…

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I will still be waiting

September 9, 2024

Last time I gave you an assignment. I asked if you would listen to the song Pretty Fair Maid In The Garden, by Tim O’Brien. It can be found on the album Fiddler’s Green. Hopefully you have a music streaming service, but if not, you can still find the lyrics online if you search the…

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Our story has always been a love story

August 20, 2024

I believe it’s time again to pause and find a specific story we can use as an example. My thesis from the beginning has been that there is only one story of humanity, God’s Story, but it has never been easy to see. For humanity’s story began a very long time ago and none of…

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“You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children – with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.”

July 29, 2024

Last time we finished with The Jesus Storybook Bible and mentioned how the author, Susan Lloyd-Jones, summarizes this book and the whole Bible itself, with the phrase: You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children – with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. 1…

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The only way we can truly be happy is to turn and repent of our independent strivings, our desire to make sense of this life on our own, and return “home” to the Father.

July 16, 2024

Were you surprised that most stories conform to just seven basic plots, but even more, all seven are different aspects of the very same, overarching story – “in the end darkness is overcome, and light wins the day?” All seven plots are different aspects of the same, universal struggle between good and evil. This struggle…

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The Seven Basic Plots of God’s Story

June 28, 2024

After thirty years of research, Christopher Booker discovered there are only seven basic plots in most of the stories ever written. Even more, they are all aspects of one universal plot — “In the end darkness is overcome, and light wins the day.” Mr. Booker believed this incredible fact could be explained by the theories…

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In the end darkness is overcome, and light wins the day.

June 14, 2024

Last time we described the seven basic plots Christopher Booker discovered in over thirty years of research. No one could ever read all the stories ever written, even with a hundred and thirty years; but I believe Mr. Booker read a very representative sample, as much as anyone has ever read. Read his book, all…

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After thirty years of research, Christopher Booker concluded there were only seven basic plots in all the stories ever written

May 29, 2024

After thirty years of research, Christopher Booker concluded there were only seven basic plots in all the stories ever written. Quite a claim. Might the truth be somewhat different? Possibly. Is there a great deal of truth in what he discovered? I believe so. Here they are (and I apologize for the length of this…

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Might there only be a small number of plots in all the stories ever written? 

May 14, 2024

Last time we talked about the basic plots in stories. Might there only be a small number of plots in all the stories ever written? People have suggested this from time to time, but no one had ever seriously investigated it. Until . . . Christopher Booker. He had been writing a book which focused…

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The truth is all around and deep within, we cannot escape it

April 30, 2024

Last time we finished with Ebenezer Scrooge, one of my best friends. We spoke about the fact that God speaks to us through stories, that He influences storytellers, often without their awareness. But more — we all know the real story of our lives, for God placed this understanding deep within our hearts. It manifests…

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Welcome, I'm Sam!

A fellow traveler on this journey we call life and this path we call the Christian faith, wanting to share the incredible things God chose to reveal to me. Stories have always been a mirror in which we can see ourselves, if we only look more closely. We are all like the children of Israel in the wilderness, wanting and needing to establish ourselves in the promised land. Stories can help us to get there, and to flourish there.

I can't wait to get to know you!

Best,
Sam

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