Stepping outside

“The lazy person claims, ‘There’s a lion out there! If I go outside, I might be killed!’” Prov. 22:13

I’m finally kicking off my blog, and it’s to try to win something I already own - tickets to the Don Miller seminar. Like many things in my life right now, I'm not surprised by this oddity. It's actually in good company with several others. This one’s roots, however, originated late last year when I picked up a copy of Don's book – A Million Miles in a Thousand Years – and was incredibly inspired by it. You see it got me thinking about my life as a story, and I ended up declaring to God that I want to write a story that brings honor to Him and accomplishes what He would like me to accomplish. Well, that’s about when things began to get interesting...

In fact, I could really say that Don Miller and God are sort of shaking up my life right now, but I do think it’s in a good way. Don doesn't even know me, of course, but that hasn't stopped him from interfering... In fact this morning I was pretty darn mad at him for putting this blog contest out there. My thoughts went from admiring his and/or his staff’s promotional brilliance to being extremely thankful I had already purchased my ticket and didn’t have a blog site, so entering the contest was out of the question. And then it happened... I began to get this crazy feeling that I should enter. I debated it, even tearfully, which made me wonder: "what's up with the tears?" Then I realized what was holding me back. I’m afraid. Afraid to be vulnerable. Afraid to fail. Afraid to do a lot of things, actually.

Yet, you can see what happened... Here I am, blogging happily (well, almost happily – I’m getting there) with the best of them. So what is the story I want to tell? I.e.: Why should I attend this seminar (and am in fact already planning to hang out with the crowd in Portland this fall)?

It’s because I found out a few months ago that God is calling me to write. It's that simple, and that unbelievably profound to me. Specifically, God’s calling me to write about my grandparents who have been dead for more than 40 years, but when alive, they told an amazing story of faith in God. My grandparents were the first missionaries (from any denomination) to northern Cameroon, Africa, arriving there in 1918. Their story never should have happened for many reasons from a human perspective, but that did not stop them, or God. Their story is a reminder of what can happen when God speaks to people and when people answer. It’s a cause and effect illustration, repeated over and over, that needs to be shared with youth and others today, and it seems I am to write about it.

But there’s yet another story... It’s the story still being written in time - the story of me telling their story. It includes the surprising circumstances of how my call to write my grandparents’ story was delivered - via a Cameroon man from the very people group my grandparents shared Christ with so many years ago. Dieudonné Djoubairou is a Moundang Pastor in Cameroon, and I just happened to meet him on Easter Sunday while he was visiting a church in Wisconsin. He’s my new-found brother, now back in Africa, but close in friendship and email.

So you see, once alerted to it, deciding to attend the upcoming conference was a no-brainer for me. I registered early. Any help or encouragement I can get in learning how to write my grandparents’, and my own, story is desperately needed. Entering this contest and kicking off this blog, however? Well that’s another, yes, story. I've resisted personal blog-writing for a few years, but now unwittingly, Mr. Miller, and God (of course, wittingly) has pushed me over the edge to do what I've been avoiding doing for various reasons – with fear of course being number one. (Yeah, there’s a little theme going here…)

If, oddly enough, I should win this contest, my wish is for Dieudonné to be able to come from Africa for the event. However, if that's not allowed by the rules, I would love to invite along a U.S. friend who is encouraging me in this journey.

Finally, Don, and any who read to the end of this – I sincerely thank you, and – welcome to my blog. If you chose to return, we will explore stories from Africa and everywhere, together. And I assure you, there are many thought-provoking stories to be told…

Always, Annie

p.s. If you would like to attend this expected-to-be-awesome seminar or enter this contest, here is more information: www.donmilleris.com/conference/

Living a Better Story Seminar from All Things Converge Podcast on Vimeo.