CONTENTS

• JUST VISITING
• FEATURE ARTICLE:
  Keeping Family Stories Alive
  by Norman & Ann Bales
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  Just Visiting

  We're a bit late getting the newsletter out this month. We've been visiting family members who have been facing health crises, and we spent a month away from home. Two of our loved ones passed away during the last month, so it's been hard to get the newsletter together. However, I would have to say that our experiences with family members over the last few weeks inspired this month's feature article.

  During the last few days I've been engaged in a study of the life of Joshua in the Old Testament. Joshua was quite a storyteller. When he reached the end of his days, he thought it important to tell the story of God's people. Notice how he began his final challenge to the people of Israel. "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods'" (Joshua 24:2). At that point he began rehearsing the history of the Hebrew people. The story was centerpiece of his exhortation to faithfulness. Story is powerful for families as well, and that's what our visit is about today.

  Norman

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  KEEPING FAMILY STORIES ALIVE

  
  by Norman & Ann Bales

  Dale Smith is a friend of ours, who is something of a professional storyteller. He's written books, done storytelling programs for children, and lectured on human relationships all over the country. Recently Dale posted the following thoughts on Facebook.

  "Storytelling is so important! The stories we are told as children shape who we see ourselves as being, what the world around us is like, how valued we are, what our potential is, etc. Telling your kids about your victories can be great--about the failures, and how you overcame, anyway, can be even greater! Be a storyteller!"

  Recently we travelled to some places where we lived as children. Each visit brought forth one or more stories. Some stories were not known by other members of our family. We've already lived three-quarters of a century, and if we don't get them down pretty soon, the stories will die with us. Those we visited had other stories that we didn't know. Either we had forgotten them, or we didn't know about them.

  We agree with Dale. Stories go a long way toward defining us. The Bible is full of them. It starts with the creation story, and ends with an advance look at the story that's yet to come. We know a great deal about human nature because of these stories, and we know a great deal about how God relates to us from reading them. The story of Cain and Abel does more to convince us that jealousy is a bad thing, than the simple command - "don't be jealous." On the other hand Joshua's story goes a lot farther toward convincing us that we need to serve the Lord, than a directive that reads, "serve the Lord."

  But how do we get stories down? Recently, I was reading about a man who wanted to write down the significant stories of his life for the sake of his grandchildren. He was frustrated because he was in advanced age. He had already written a thousand pages, but that only took him up to age 26. Obviously he needed to do some serious editing. There are many ways to record them - longhand, typewriter, computer, audio recording, personal interviews with someone who asks leading questions. The important thing is to get them down.

  We've recently walked through some cemeteries, and we've noticed that several generations of a family are often buried near each other. That means they probably lived out their lives in the same community. Today's society is much more mobile than that. Our own children live in four different states. It's not a good thing to lose your sense of roots. Those of us who are older have an opportunity and a responsibility to keep family roots alive. That's why we need to be story tellers.

  * * * * * If you have questions about marriage and family relationships, you can " ASK THE COUNSELOR" Address your questions to Mikal Frazier. Her address is mikalmft@bellsouth.net

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  Central Church of Christ
  1500 First Avenue NW
  Cedar Rapids, IA 52405
  (319) 362-1540

  E-mail:
  Norman Bales: Norman's e-mail address: nlbales@allaboutfamilies.org
  Ann Bales: ann@allaboutfamilies.org
  Mikal Frazier: mikal@allaboutfamilies.org
  "Jim Bales"jbales@prcoc.org
  Web:allaboutfamilies.org
  allaboutfamilies.org/sh
  

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