The Colonel's Motivational Quotes of the Day!

Good morning my RP Family. An interesting topic today, for me anyhow. Telling my story brings to light some things I wish to forget, but it was through those events that helped me to turn my life closer to God’s desire for me. I pray that each of you will find that closeness by sharing your story and developing a closer walk with our God. Have a blessed day today and always.

Taken from ministrymatters.com

TELLING OUR STORIES
May 23rd, 2017
By Peter Surran

Benefits of storytelling

Storytelling is as natural as breathing. When something happens in our lives, whether good or bad, we want to tell someone — and we feel like we’ll burst if we don’t! When we see a loved one in the evening after a long day, we want to hear their story. We greet them with that simple, universal question, “How was your day?”

Since storytelling is such an integral part of our lives, it’s unsurprising to learn that it has benefits beyond entertainment or information. According to a December 2016 article in The New York Times, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are beginning to offer storytelling programs for their residents. Some participants have written full memoirs as part of these programs, while others have simply written short sketches about their lives. Regardless of the participants’ output, the effects of these programs have been profound. Through simply telling their stories, these older adults have found confidence and peace. It has often led them to forgive themselves for past mistakes or helped them process their feelings of grief.

Studies have found that storytelling benefits younger children as well. Practicing this craft improves language skills and memory, develops imagination and enhances cultural understanding. If these benefits can be found for groups as divergent as older adults and young children, what are the implications for the large group of people in between? It would only make sense that the list of benefits found for these disparate groups would apply to people of any age.

Storytelling and empathy

The nonprofit organization StoryCorps has embraced the importance of storytelling and the attendant benefits by providing spaces for people to interview one another and to share stories together. The group states that its mission is “to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.” This ambitious mission points to the myriad benefits and possibilities found in sharing stories.

Indeed, storytelling is an act that many see as beneficial for the process of peace. In a May 2015 article on the website Insight on Conflict, Kirthi Jayakumar explored storytelling as a way of creating empathy and a means of making peace. Jayakumar says that when people listen to the stories of others, they “learn to empathise at the tragedies they learn about, and gain from the strength that is developed.” Hearing the stories of others challenges the preconceived notions we hold. It also gives the storyteller a safe space to tell the truth and heal. In this exchange, the storyteller and the listener begin to lay the groundwork of peace together.

This use of storytelling highlights not just the benefits of telling stories, but also the value in listening to stories. Through stories, we “learn about life beyond our direct experience,” says Jude Treder-Wolff, creator and host of a monthly storytelling show called (mostly) TRUE THINGS. Wolff explains that storytellers can engage our intellect and imagination simultaneously. We don’t just learn about new concepts, we actually experience them. This relates directly to the peacebuilding nature of storytelling described earlier. “Stories connect strangers through what neuroscientists call ‘empathic transportation,’ ” Wolff continues, “which binds listeners in an intangible but powerful way.”

Storytelling and evangelism

In a 2013 article for Forbes, Jim Blasingame states that the “Holy Grail of storytelling is when someone else tells your . . . story to others.” Blasingame’s principle is clearly illustrated in John 4. The woman at the well gets a big surprise in verses 17-18 when Jesus shares her story, the one about the five previous husbands and the current living arrangement with a man who isn’t her husband. She’s so impressed, so shocked that she simply replies, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet” (verse 19). As her interaction with Jesus unfolds, this initial impression slowly morphs into a deeper question, “Could this man be the Christ?”

Her question prompts her to transition from the listener to the storyteller. She tells the story of her interaction with Jesus and invites her listeners to hear the story themselves: “Come and see a man who has told me everything I’ve done!” (verse 29). She wants them to know what she has experienced, and she wants to know if they have the same question about Jesus’ identity.

When they arrive, we see the value of listening to stories directly from the source. The people meet Jesus and are so awed that they invite him to stay for two more days. Once they listen to Jesus themselves, they tell the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this one is truly the savior of the world” (verse 42). The woman’s story about Jesus got them there, but Jesus’ story about himself convinced them.

Storytelling is the primary way that faith is shared throughout the Bible. In Acts 2:14-36, we read about Peter’s sermon on Pentecost. In his sermon, Peter tells the story of Jesus. He says that Jesus was “a man whose credentials God proved . . . through miracles, wonders, and signs, which God performed through him” (verse 22). Even with all this evidence that the story Jesus told about himself was true, he was still betrayed and killed. Yet, Peter says, the story doesn’t end there, because “God raised him up!” (verse 24). This basic story about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is the essential proclamation of the Easter faith of the church, and Peter skillfully weaves it into the larger story of salvation.

This is how evangelism is carried out — Jesus’ story is woven into our own story. We tell the story of how we were one way, and now, through Jesus, we’re a new, better way. Even the acts of mercy and justice we do can be viewed as yet another opportunity to share our story so that others might come to believe.

Storytelling and growth in faith

The benefits of storytelling for Christian faith don’t end with evangelism. Our continued growth in faith requires even more storytelling. In the early Methodist movement, each member of the society was plugged into a class meeting. During the meetings, the participants asked one another, “How does your soul prosper?” or “How is it with your soul?” The members were invited to tell the story of their walk with God, the good and the bad.

The main hope behind group meetings like this was to share stories with the goal of sanctification, which means “to increase in the knowledge and love of God and in love for our neighbor.” By honestly sharing our stories and holding one another accountable for the parts of our stories that don’t fit in with the larger narrative of salvation, our growth in knowledge and love of God and neighbor is greatly aided.

Storytelling, then, can be a means of growth and transformation for people of all ages and in all contexts. Therefore, storytelling is fundamental for Christians. Through it, we evangelize by telling about our encounters with Jesus. We grow in our faith by sharing the stories of how we’re being challenged and shaped in our daily journeys. When we share our stories with one another, they become a powerful tool for transformation.

Good Sunday morning COL Mikel J. Burroughs and thanks for taking on this important topic.
Story sharing can be difficult. However, it is necessary. It is important for the teller but it is also important for the listener(s). Your story is one of survival and it can become one of victory for you. I work with grief and loss clients and one of the most powerful tools is telling the story...you can see it in their eyes, in their body and in their tears. They are not victims, they are champions of survival.

LTC Stephen F. SPC Douglas Bolton Sgt John H. TSgt Joe C. SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Maj Marty Hogan MSgt David Hoffman SGT (Join to see) LTC David Brown CPL Dave Hoover CMSgt (Join to see) Maj Marty Hogan CPT Jack Durish CW5 Jack Cardwell SCPO Morris Ramsey SP5 Mark Kuzinski LTC (Join to see) SPC Mark HuddlestonLt Col John (Jack) Christensen Sgt (Join to see) COL Mikel J. Burroughs

Good Sunday morning my friend COL Mikel J. Burroughs. [This is my second attempt at posting].
"Sharing & Telling Your Story' is an intriguing prospect.
Some long-winded folks with less to actually state can dominate that kind of event. The reticent and shy with more they can relate tend to need to be motivated to share their story.

My story summarized.
1. I was conceived in London, England early in 1956. My British parents moved to Philadelphia in the summer of 1956 and I was born on October 9, 1956.
2. There are pictures of me in a stroller in West Philadelphia and playing at Cobb's Creek park - but I have no memories of that.
3. My memories are from growing up in Upper Darby, PA which is west of West Philadelphia.
4. I desired to become a soldier by the time I was 10-years old [my desires were mercenary, soldier, hit man :-) - I realized that becoming a soldier would be required for either a mercenary or a hit man - the hit man desire went the way of the Dodo :-)
5. I experimented with alcohol and drugs as a teenager and spent some time behind bars for breaking and entry. No charges were pressed [1] for taking sodas out of a gas station and taking snacks out of a Catholic parochial school.
6. After graduating from Upper Darby High School in June 1974 [I was recovering from surgery and did not attend the event.] I worked in the summer and then enlisted delayed entry a couple weeks after my 18th birthday. I signed a contract for 12B combat engineer with a $2,500 bonus if I completed 12B AIT.
7. On November 11, 1974 I took the El to downtown Philadelphia and went to the MEPS where I processed and received a plane ticket to St Louis with orders from the Reception Station at Fort Leonard Wood.
8. I graduated from BCT on January 23, 1975 and was marched to 12B AIT. I graduated 12B AIT with a broken foot in a cast. I had taken the final APFT with the broken foot and my combat boots strapped as tight as possible. :-) I received my check for $2,000 [$500 was taken out of the bonus for taxes]
9. I spent some time initially at Ft Campbell, Kentucky assigned to A Company, 20th Engineer Battalion [Combat], then USMAPS at Fort Monmouth, NJ. I was nominated for appointment to USMA, West point by the Congressman who represented where my family lived.
10. I reported to West Point on July 3, 1976, was assigned to H-3 the entire time, and graduated on May 28, 1980 and was branched infantry.
11. Infantry officer training at Fort Benning, follow-on assignment at 1st Battalion, 52nd Infantry Regiment at Warner Barracks, Bamberg FRG [Feb 1981 - July 1984]; back to Fort Benning for IOAC and company command of A-9-2; CAS3 at Fort Leonard Wood [TDY and return]; assignments at UAITC Fort Benning until April 1989; Operations Research Systems Analysis Military Applications Court at Fort Lee, VA with follow-on assignment at U.S. Army Concepts Analysis center in Bethesda, Maryland [July 24, 1989 - October 1, 1992]
12. Personal. The Lord regenerated my heart on September 29, 1987 or so. Married my first wife on October 3, 1987. First son Daniel Blake Ford born at home in Columbus, Georgia on September 13, 1988]. Second son, Caleb John Ford born at Bethesda, Maryland on February 27, 1991. Adopted first adopted son James Ethan Bunn and changed last name to Ford in 1992. Moved from Gaithersburg, Maryland to Sterling, Virginia in spring of 1993 coincident with LMI moving from Bethesda to Tyson's Corner, Virginia. Involuntarily separated on May 16, 1995 and divorced in September 1996.
13. Involuntarily separated as Regular army officer on October 1, 1992 and accepted a USAR commission. Accepted employment with Logistics Management institute on November 2, 1992 in Bethesda, Maryland. Mathematical Modeling group
14. October 8, 1999 introduced to the woman who would become my wife at Community Church of Sterling Annual Conference. We were married on December 11, 1999.
15. Promoted to LTC in May 2000, mobilized in November 2001 until May 2004. Mandatory transfer to retired reserves on May 28, 2008. VFW helps me by putting packet together for VBA. Initially rated at 89% service-connected disability by VBA.
16. Terminated from LMI on June 30, 2013 as Affordable Care Act is implemented. Evicted from our family home in June 2014 soon after death of my father-in-law [God had notified me that Pablo would die - first time God ever told me anything like that.]
17. Moved in with my darling wife to take care of her mother following the death of her husband in June 2014 - Sterling Park, Virginia.

Images:
1. Passage of Time in my life updated.
2. 1993 LMI Mathematical Modeling Group unofficial photograph.
3. 1999-12-11 Marriage of Stephen and Maria Elena Ford.

Neil Diamond - The story of my life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYsv2qa1BTc
FYI (Join to see)SP5 Geoffrey Vannerson Alan K.SGT Denny Espinosa CPO Charles Helms SSG Jose M. Hernandezsanchez MAJ Rene De La Rosa SGM Bill Frazer LTC Bill KoskiSGT Tim Fridley Sgt Kelli Mays LTC (Join to see) SPC Douglas Bolton SP5 Mark Kuzinski SP5 Jeannie Carle SPC Chris Bayner-Cwik SSgt Jay Dee COL (Join to see) Col Carl Whicker