I began to write these newsletters when the first volume of Once Upon A Time was released in the summer of 2023. To be completely honest, being a first-time author and virtually unknown, I needed to do something to promote the book.

But I realized very quickly how much I enjoyed doing the newsletter, for it gave me an informal and frequent way to talk about stories in general and how God had used them so powerfully in my life. Most of all, it gave me an opportunity to pass along just what God had taught me about stories — what they truly are, what they have always been, and the enormous potential they have to help and guide us, to heal, and even transform us.

This is how I started these newsletters; here is the very first one, from August 15, 2023.

Why do so many of us love stories? Why are we so drawn to them?

Do you remember how much you loved to be read to as a child? How much your own children loved this, or even your grandchildren?

Before modern times the best way to escape the routine and mediocrity of everyday life was to read novels, to be whisked away to another world, where almost anything might be possible. Today more of us escape to screens for stories, but often, with the very same intention.

Is this the main reason we love stories — to escape from the doldrums or even the difficulty of everyday life? Do we like them only because we need a tonic to soothe our souls?

Or could there be some greater reason? Could we be looking for something, some kind of answer, something we very much need?

The subtitle of Once Upon A Time is — “a collection of short stories for those trying to find their way home.”

Is that anything more than a cute tagline?

Are not we all, one way or the other — trying to find our way home? What might that even mean?

I hope you will join me in this newsletter as we explore the meaning and significance of stories together. Why stories are so important to us, why we are so taken with them, why we may even . . . need them.

Sincerely,

Sam

And so, why do we love stories so much? Why do we spend so much time reading and watching them?

Could we just need a break from our normal routine, the mediocrity of it, but sometimes the stress of it? Do we just need something to soothe us, to help us regain our equilibrium; like a warm bath works for some, or a good workout for others?

Or, could stories fulfill a more primary need? If so, what might that need be?

What might we all need . . . more than any other single thing? Can we know? And is it possible, that stories have something to say about this, that this is their story?

I’d like to come back to the beginning once again, where we first started. To look at this with fresh eyes, and with different examples. I hope you will continue on the journey.

Next time,

Sam