Writing Your Life Story with God as Your Guide
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About this ebook
The author takes you on a journey of discovery through different seasons of your life. Learning from the past, where you might be going in the future, and what you believe to be true are the answers locked up in your mind, heart and soul. Learning to write will give you the answers; jump in and enjoy the adventure that awaits you.
Aileen Walther
The Rev. Aileen Pallister Walther is a Deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida and is the director of the Center for Christian Women’s Spirituality. She is a former editor and one of the writers in God’s People in Prayer, 32 Women of Influence in the Bible, and Women Remembered in Scripture and Today. She is a graduate of Whitaker School of Theology, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, and Asbury Theological Seminary, as well as a student at the University of The South’s School of Theology. She lives in Sanford, Florida with her two birds.
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Book preview
Writing Your Life Story with God as Your Guide - Aileen Walther
Writing Your Life Story with God as Your Guide
By The Rev. Aileen Pallister Walther, Deacon
SMASHWORDS EDITION
* * * * *
PUBLISHED BY:
RPJ & Company, Inc. on Smashwords
This book is also available in print at: http://www.store.rpjandco.com.
Copyright © 2002, 2009 by The Rev. Aileen Pallister Walther.
Cover Illustration: Don Canonge, Graphic Designer, Wycliff Bible Translators, USA Headquarters, P.O. Box 628200, Orlando, FL 32862-8200. Used by permission.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible. The Living Bible is a compilation of the scripture paraphrases previously published by Tyndale House Publishers under the following titles: Living Letters, 1962; Living Prophecies, 1965; Living Gospels, 1966; Living Psalms and Proverbs, 1967; Living Lessons of Life and Love, 1968; Living Books of Moses, 1969; Living History of Israel, 1970. Copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. All rights reserved.
BECAUSE HE LIVES, (William J. Gaither & Gloria Gaither) © 1971 Gaither Music Company/WJG, Inc. All rights controlled by Gaither Copyright Management. Used by permission.
Smashwords Edition License Notes
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Dedication
In memory of my mother, Ellen Rose Pallister, who opened the world and ideas of books to me.
In thanksgiving, for all who have written the stories of their lives with God, from the days of the cave men and women to today.
In thanksgiving for all members, past and present, of the Spiritual Journal Writing group of Holy Family Episcopal Church.
In thanksgiving for God’s blessings, for they endure. The Rev. Aileen Pallister Walther, Deacon
Acknowledgments
This book is the fruit of the efforts of the members of the Spiritual Journal Writing Group. I give thanks for the opportunity to write about my life, ministry, and experiences along with the other members of the group. God is our leader, and through God’s guidance Writing Your Life Story with God as Your Guide is presented to you, the reader. My special thanks go to all who have provided examples in the book of spiritual journal writing, especially: Olga Baker, Carla Boswell, Ann Coliskey, Muriel Ho-Yen, Catherlene (Cathy) B. Hubbard, Wanda Noronha, Maisy Panton, Dee Yurdock
Thank you, also, to Mr. Don Canonge for designing the cover and preparing the book for publication, and to Ms. Dee Yurdock, for her many hours of typing, writing, and assisting with the Spiritual Journal Writing group and our publications ministry. In God’s Peace, The Rev. Aileen Pallister Walther, Deacon
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 What is the Story of Your Life with God?
Chapter 2 Why Should You Write the Story of Your Life With God?
Chapter 3 When Can You Find Time to Write about You and God?
Chapter 4 Where Is the Story of Your Life with God?
Chapter 5 How to Begin Your Story
Chapter 6 What to Do When You Get Stuck
Chapter 7 How to Use a Bible Passage
Chapter 8 How to Use a Current Event
Chapter 9 How to Use a Scene From Your Life
Chapter 10 How to Use Poetry
Chapter 11 How to Use a Guided Meditation
Chapter 12 How to Use a Song
Chapter 13 To Write or Not to Write?
Chapter 14 A Book Between You and God
Chapter 15 No Secrets
Chapter 16 A Mind for God
Chapter 17 A Heart for God
Chapter 18 A Soul Searching for God
Chapter 19 Memories of Celebration
Chapter 20 Memories for Healing
Chapter 21 Hope for the Future
Chapter 22 Living in the Present
Chapter 23 Teaching Scriptural Truths as a Result of Writing Your Story with God
Chapter 24 Using Lessons from Life
Introduction
Welcome to Writing Your Life Story with God as Your Guide. The book was born in the week-to-week meetings of the Spiritual Journal Writing group of Holy Family Episcopal Church. And yet it had its beginnings much earlier. Each person who has shared examples of her life with God in this book has a yearning to communicate with God in writing. Where did all of this begin? For some, through the Scriptures, with others, through questions offered up to God, and for others, through readings of men and women on the same journey, asking the big questions of life. Who am I? Who is God? What does God want of me? What do I really believe? And, finally, what difference does my life with God make—for myself, for others, and for the world in which I live?
For myself, I am a person who asks questions. As I have asked these questions, I have found answers that have shaped my life. Many in our world search and do not find answers that work and many still seek. Many live in a world without foundations. The people who write in this book have found their answers in the story of Jesus of Nazareth and His revelation of God in a world very different from our own. We believe this story is critical to understanding our own story up to the present time and eternally. We believe this understanding will change our world if we let it do so. Whether you have found your answers as we have and wish to go deeper with God as a Christian, or are still on your journey, we invite you to use this book. It is a tool for self-discovery, venting, deeper understanding of the mysteries of life, and, hopefully, deeper faith.
Your life is a story with many chapters. You probably only know a few of them. Let me invite you to discover more, or reflect on past chapters. As I have done so in my life, I have been enriched and grown as a person and as a Christian. In the Spiritual Journal Writing group at Holy Family, we explored many themes. We have called our group Spiritual Journal Writing.
If you are not familiar with journal writing, do not let that term put you off. Journal writing is merely a term for opening your heart in writing. Whatever is on your heart is fit material for this very personal writing. My prayer for you is that, whatever you call it, you will open your heart to God. My prayer for this book is that it may be a tool for you to open this very precious gift of God, your heart, and thus lead you to your life, and that your life will bless those other gifts of God we call people.
The Rev. Aileen Pallister Walther, Deacon
Chapter 1
What is the Story of Your Life with God?
The written story of your life with God is a spiritual discipline that leads to maturity and growth. When we write, we open our hearts, minds, feelings, and souls to God so God may direct our writing. What appears in writing is a love letter in which no subject is forbidden and total honesty is the goal.
There are two kinds of spiritual writing. The first is a private exercise in which we pour