The Power of Story, Part I: Why I Believe in Story by Annette M. Irby

Finding Love on Bainbridge Island books with bookmarks and pen*

A woman stood chatting with me about fiction during one of my book signings. The Bible bookstore was stocked with gifts, Bibles, cards, journals, and of course, books. My stack of novels decorated the table. Her husband joined her. Where she had been kind and wore a generous smile, this man brooded. He wore a scowl, and he glared at me and the pile of books as if he might catch something by proximity. His wife and I were discussing story and she glanced at her husband, almost afraid, and said, “I used to read a lot. Now, my husband doesn’t want me to read fiction anymore.”

The man’s scowl deepened. 

“One of the reasons I write fiction,” I answered her, “is because Jesus used story to bring the truth to people. It’s a powerful tool—all those parables.”

The man kept glancing between me and the books on the table. I have no idea what he was thinking. Maybe he'd decided all Christian fiction was useless. Perhaps he thought romance wasn't something God condoned, as if God didn't invent it and doesn't live in an unending romance with His people. Finally, the man urged his wife away, but not before I saw what he carried—a box of gospel tracts. 

Hmm... 

Jesus didn’t carry tracts around. There are many, many ways to share the good news.

Jesus didn’t scowl at friendly people making wholesome conversation about uplifting works.

Jesus didn’t tell people not to read. He never denounced story. In fact, all of time is His story, which I’ve heard explained is the reason we label the past “history.” 

In his parables, Jesus used stories to touch people, nudge them to lower their guards, and teach them truths. People could relate with relationships in His parables, like the prodigal son parable. Parents likely related to the father who worried and waited for his son to return. Sinners might relate to the desperation and regrets of the lost prodigal. Saints might relate to the older brother and how he felt excluded while, motivated by bitterness and harassed by jealousy, he set himself up as judge.

Story changes lives, and Jesus demonstrated this in His parables. That’s why I believe in their power, that and I've seen this play out in my own life. As for that frightened and controlling man? Jesus probably has a story that can help him.

Write on, friends.

Come back next week for part two as I discuss the power of themes in story.

Your turn: Have you ever watched story change someone? Has story ever changed your life?

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FL on Bainbridge Island, Washington

Finding Love on Bainbridge Island, Washington by Annette M. Irby

Releases 5/1/18 from Mountain Brook Ink. Kindle Unlimited members can read the first two books in the Washington Island Romance series for free. Print version available now! The Kindle version is also free if you buy the print version.

Neither of them is ready for a relationship, but love may not give them an out.

Jenna-Shea Brown considers herself a broken therapist. Years ago, she witnessed something that caused PTSD. She can’t let her boss or her patients know about her battle. Who would want to trust her to help them, when she can’t help herself? She’s finally able to find a fresh start in her family’s beach cabin, but the renovations aren’t complete. Her parents have hired her ex-boyfriend to finalize them, but his negligence led to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time all those years ago. 

Liam Barrett is trying to prove he’s nothing like his deadbeat dad. He’s working hard, yet still failing. Adrenaline and adventure offer him a diversion, but maybe he can’t escape his genes. He’d like to make things right with Shea, but he’s unsure if she’ll forgive him. Meanwhile, he’s challenged to forgive his father. He’s also worried about Shea and all these episodes she won’t explain. Now that they’re back in close proximity, he’s falling for her again. But can anything heal the past?

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Annette M. Irby**

Annette M. Irby has been writing since her teen years when she sat pounding out stories on a vintage typewriter just for fun. Since then, she’s joined Christian writing groups and launched blogs so she could share the joy of writing. She likes to say she’s addicted to color as flowers and seascapes inspire her. In her off hours, she enjoys gardening, photography, and music. She lives with her husband and family in the Pacific Northwest.

Learn more here on her Seriously Write Page.

Links to connect with Annette:

Website: www.AnnetteIrby.com

Twitter: @AnnetteMIrby

Facebook Reader Friends Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/252272708574760

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/annette-m-irby or @AnnetteMIrby

Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/annette_m_irby.com   

Book Review Blog: www.annetteirbyreviews.blogspot.com

* Photo of books tack credit: Annette M. Irby

** Author Photo credit: Sarah Irby at Irby Photos

With Many Such Parables... By Marianne Evans

Marianne Evans

With many such parables, He spoke the word to them as they were able

to understand it. ~ Mark 4:33

Know what I love? I love the truth of Jesus being a storyteller. Isn’t it an awesome image? As authors of Christ-centered books, we assume the same daunting but blessed task of the earliest disciples. We are the word-weavers, the scribes, the storytellers of our modern world. We are the keepers, and crafters, of our era’s parables.

Wow. Think about that—not in a prideful, self-righteous way, but in the context of a Christ-centered legacy. I read a devotional recently that shined a spotlight on that fact and left me thinking long and hard about applying it to my writing craft and ministry. Jesus’s favorite teaching technique was the use of short, fictional stories that illustrate a spiritual lesson or truth. He shared his mission, his ministry, through stories. Sound like a familiar occupation?

Taking a page from the lesson plan of the Great Teacher, I find myself looking at each book I create as a message. Not a sermon, nothing preachy or lofty, but something real and relatable that just might touch people’s lives and hearts. Affirm faith, as I like to say. That’s what Jesus did when he shared the Parable of the Talents, The Widow’s Mite, The Prodigal. As authors, we entertain. As authors, we illuminate by using our words, the story ideas given to us by Divine inspiration. As authors, we carry on that legacy.

May I repeat? Wow. 

Now, let’s take that a step further. What is the basic ‘teaching’ of your work? What is the theme of your writing and/or ministry as an author? What is God prompting you to share? What ways is He challenging you to move from familiar pathways and explore other avenues, whether writing or life related?

Give it some thought, and prayer, and trust the Spirit nudges and replies you receive in the silence of that meditation. God bless, friends, and write-on!! 

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Click to Tweet!

Christian authors: The crafters and keepers of modern-day parables.

Christian authors: The word-weavers and scribes of Christ's legacy.

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Marianne Evans is an award-winning author of Christian romance and fiction. Her hope is to spread the faith-affirming message of God’s love through the stories He prompts her to create. Devotion, earned the Bookseller’s Best Award as well as the Heart of Excellence Award. Hearts Communion earned a win for Best Romance from the Christian Small Publisher's Association. She is also a two-time recipient of the Selah Award, Then & Now for Best Contemporary Romance and Finding Home for Best Novella. Marianne is a lifelong resident of Michigan and an active member of Romance Writers of America, most notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served two terms as President.

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Country music bad boy Chase Bradington is on the comeback trail. Fresh from rehab for alcohol addiction, and transformed by the power of Christ, Chase is battling to rediscover the music he loves and a career he nearly ruined. Then he meets up and comer, Pyper Brock, and instantly sparks ignite.

Pyper knows of Chase’s reputation, so despite a rampant attraction to the handsome and talented icon, she soundly dismisses his romantic overtures. Decades ago, her father, in a drunken rage, tossed her and her mother onto the streets. No way will Pyper make the mistake of falling for a man whose done battle with the bottle.

What happens when Chase’s quest to win Pyper’s love breaks down chains of resentment and eases the long buried wounds of her childhood? And what happens when Pyper’s father shows up in Nashville, clean, sober and seeking a chance to apologize?

Can Pyper follow a pathway to peace when it comes to her father? Can she fully trust Chase? Above all, can a sin damaged past be released in favor of forgiveness?

Available in print and e-book formats:

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Christian Book ~ Pelican Book Group