O my people, listen to my instructions.
Open your ears to what I am saying,
for I will speak to you in a parable.
I will teach you hidden lessons from our past—
stories we have heard and known,
stories our ancestors handed down to us.
We will not hide these truths from our children;
we will tell the next generation
about the glorious deeds of the Lord,
about his power and his mighty wonders.
Psalm 78:1-4
The Psalmist Asaph exhorts us to share our stories for the sake of growing in faith (turning away from idols and turning toward God), hope (believing that God will redeem and restore again), and love (sharing the mercy God has shown us).
If you’ve ever wanted to write or tell one of your stories of grace but weren’t sure how to begin, this post is for you. Today, I’m going to walk you through a simple way to do this in a story feast setting. If you’re not yet ready to share your story with others, you can follow these instructions to write some of your stories.
If you’d like 20 summer story prompts for free and a “pretty” version of the instructions for story feasting to use with a group, make sure you sign up to be a Living Story Subscriber. You also might want to check out the free YouTube series on sharing stories at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7Ye1tLnHUSbOfvV5rUDUpesurZutmADb.
Why Story Feast?
God has written his very image into your story. He has sent you as his ambassador to tell his story. As you share your story with others and listen to others’ stories, you will grow closer to your sisters and brothers in Christ and open doors for the hurting world to hear the gospel. A Story Feast is an intentional way to gather a group together to share stories.
Food for the Feast
Invite everyone to bring something. You can choose a theme or just go with pot luck. Do an entire meal or make it simpler with apps or desserts. Some of my favorite recipes have come from story feasts, and the cool thing is you often get to hear a story related to the food:-)!
Story Topics
If you want 20 summer story prompts on printable cards, be sure to sign up here. Otherwise, there are as many story topics as there are stories, but here are a few to get you started:
• best/worst school story
• a story of rescue
• traditions of holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.
• first job story or work story
• stories of waiting
• vacation stories
Our Bible study group used to choose a theme related to our Bible study and take a break from our regular study to have a story feast.
Help People Write Their Stories
Here is one way to approach writing a story to share:
1. Set aside 15 minutes. Brainstorm by writing down topics/titles that come to mind.
2. Set aside 30 minutes. Choose a topic, and answer a few questions about it. Here are some questions to consider:
Describe the senses — what you heard, tasted, felt, saw, smelled…etc.
Who were the people involved?
What happened? Was there a conflict? Was there a resolution?
What did you or do you see about God in the story?
Is there any redemption or revelation in the story?
3. Set aside 30 minutes again. Using the questions above, write out the story. Try to keep it rather short — around two pages. Sharing time is usually limited to around 10 minutes at the feast.
Plan the Feast
Although sometimes stories just come out as we linger around the table or living room together, often the time needs to be a little more structured.
- Allot a certain amount of time for eating, then gather to share stories.
- Give an allotted time — usually around 10-15 minutes works well. (Tell your guests ahead of time, so they will know they won’t have time to share every detail).
- Consider beginning with a brief gospel-centered devotional or by reading a Scripture related to the topic.
- Remind everyone that they aren’t “required” to tell a story (tell them this when you invite them, too — more people will come!) Then remind them it will be fairly dull if no one does. Usually one brave soul begins, and often others decide to tell their story or remember one to tell if they haven’t before.
- Share stories.
- Provide a little time for feedback or observations. Remind people that they don’t need to try to fix anyone’s problem, just listen carefully, especially for hope and redemption.
- After the feast, within a day or so, return to the story and jot down a few new things you noticed after telling your story.
And that’s all it takes to have a story feast. If you have questions about this process, please feel free to contact me. Also, don’t forget to sign up for 20 summer story prompt printable cards!
For reflection and discussion:
Have you ever written or told stories of your life? What was that experience like?
