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</script> <p>I love stories.</p> <p>This month in Sr. High I’m trying something different. <strong>I’m handing the microphone over.</strong> I’m handing it over to the students and leaders who have a story to tell. Since Sno-Camp I’ve been engaging in really great conversations with students about their faith and the journey that God is currently taking them on. It’s been really inspiring and encouraging for me. I’ve been blown away by the things God is teaching them and their desire to live an authentic faith. <a href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/YouthBand.jpg" rel="lightbox[312]"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-314" title="YouthBand" src="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/YouthBand-300x222.jpg" alt="YouthBand" width="168" height="123" /></a></p> <p>There’s this spirit of commitment that I noticed coming off of Sno-Camp. A desire to stay committed to their faith and not fall back into old traps and distractions. True commitment means living your faith each day rather than just sticking it on a shelf and pulling it out when it suits you. Faith can’t be ignored or it becomes empty and meaningless. Real faith is something that engages you in your everyday life.</p> <p>And that’s why I love stories. Stories are real. They’re everyday. They’re relatable. And they’re powerful.</p> <p>Many of my favourite passages in the bible are ones in which Jesus is interacting with ordinary people and the way in<a href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Amy.jpg" rel="lightbox[312]"><img class="size-medium wp-image-316 alignleft" title="Amy" src="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Amy-300x222.jpg" alt="Amy" width="178" height="131" /></a> which their lives are shaped by these encounters. In Mark 5, Jesus heals a demon possessed man who then goes on to tell his story to the people in his village “how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” (v. 20) In John 4 Jesus sits down at a well and strikes up a conversation with a woman. This encounter is so life changing that she goes home to tell others of her story and “many [...] from that town believed because of [her] testimony.” (v.39) Peter, arguably the most passionate of all the disciples, comes to meet Jesus as a result of his brother Andrew coming to tell him that he has “found the Messiah” and bringing Peter to Jesus. (John 1:41-42) Yup, ordinary people, encountering Jesus, and sharing their stories. There’s something so powerful about it. <a href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Ivanna.jpg" rel="lightbox[312]"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-319" title="Ivanna" src="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Ivanna-300x214.jpg" alt="Ivanna" width="209" height="148" /></a></p> <p>I find that the most profound way to read and understand the bible; as a collection of stories of real people experiencing God and trying to figure out how to now live their lives as a result of that experience. It’s life-changing, it’s difficult, but it’s real and it’s honest. When you read it this way you begin to hear the human voices in the stories. You hear everyday people like you and I just trying to understand how to make their faith authentic and a part of their life. They’re scared and they’re exited, they’re struggling with their own failures, and they’re trying and learn how to just let go and trust God.</p> <p>I really love stories.</p> <p><a href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Caleb.jpg" rel="lightbox[312]"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-321" title="Caleb" src="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Caleb-300x210.jpg" alt="Caleb" width="219" height="153" /></a>So this month, I’m just praying that God would use the stories of the students and leaders just like those stories in the bible to encourage, challenge, and relate to others who are just trying to figure it all out. It’s so exciting to hear the way in which the students are encountering God and seeking to understand how their faith fits in to their lives. It’s so much more than just a belief system or a set of rules. Faith is life. Faith is real. Faith is your story.</p> <p>Last night we heard some of those stories. Amy Hoover, Ivanna Turco, and Caleb Crowe each shared the things God has been teaching them lately. God is at work and it is just so cooL!</p> <p>Thanks,</p> <h6>* <a href="http://springvalestudents.org/srhighsite/podcasts/thursdaytalks/Once%20Upon%20A%20Time%201.mp3" target="_blank">Audio Available</a></h6> <script type="text/javascript">tweetcount_url='http://benbartosik.com/?p=312';tweetcount_title='Once Upon A Time: The Power Of Real Life Stories (1)';tweetcount_cnt=1;tweetcount_src='RT @benbartosik blogged';tweetcount_via=false;</script><div style="float:left;margin-right:10px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.backtype.com/tweetcount.js"></script></div><a href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://benbartosik.com/?p=312&title=Once Upon A Time: The Power Of Real Life Stories (1)&srcTitle=benbartosik DOT com&srcURL=http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik"target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/plugins/wp-google-buzz/icon/small_horiz.png" style="opacity:1;filter:alpha(opacity=100)" onmouseover="this.style.opacity=0.7;this.filters.alpha.opacity=70" onmouseout="this.style.opacity=1;this.filters.alpha.opacity=100"/> </a> </div>  <h3 id="respond" class="post">Leave a Reply</h3> <form action="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform"> <p><input type="text" name="author" id="author" value="" size="22" tabindex="1" class="text" /> <label for="author"><small>Name (required)</small></label></p> <p><input type="text" name="email" id="email" value="" size="22" tabindex="2" class="text" /> <label for="email"><small>Mail (will not be published) (required)</small></label></p> <p><input type="text" name="url" id="url" value="" size="22" tabindex="3" class="text" /> <label for="url"><small>Website</small></label></p>  <p><textarea name="comment" id="comment" cols="100%" rows="10" tabindex="4" class="text textarea"></textarea></p> <p><input name="submit" type="submit" id="submit" tabindex="5" value="Submit" class="btn submit btn-teal" /> <input type="hidden" name="comment_post_ID" value="312" /> </p> </form> </div> </div> <div id="right-col"> <div id="logo"> <h1>Ministry Commentary with a Hint of Professionalism</h1> </div> <ul id="right-content"> <li id="text-2" class="widget widget_text"> <div class="textwidget"><a href="http://twitter.com/benbartosik"> <img src=" http://springvalestudents.org/Benbartosik/tweet.png" alt="http://twitter.com/benbartosik"></img></a> <script src="http://widgets.twimg.com/j/2/widget.js"></script> <script> new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'profile', rpp: 1, interval: 6000, width: 250, height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: '#333333', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#000000', color: '#ffffff', links: '#4aed05' } }, features: { scrollbar: false, loop: false, live: false, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: false, behavior: 'all' } }).render().setUser('benbartosik').start(); </script></div> </li><li id="text-4" class="widget widget_text"> <div class="textwidget"><a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Benbartosik-dot-com&loc=en_US"> <img src=" http://springvalestudents.org/Benbartosik/email.png" alt="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Benbartosik-dot-com&loc=en_US"></img></a></div> </li><li id="tag_cloud-2" class="widget widget_tag_cloud"><h5 class="widgettitle">Article Tags:</h5><div><a href='http://benbartosik.com/?tag=culture' class='tag-link-50' title='3 topics' style='font-size: 10.545454545455pt;'>Culture</a> <a href='http://benbartosik.com/?tag=design' class='tag-link-49' title='2 topics' style='font-size: 9.2727272727273pt;'>Design</a> <a href='http://benbartosik.com/?tag=ministry-thoughts' class='tag-link-47' title='12 topics' style='font-size: 22pt;'>Ministry Thoughts</a> <a href='http://benbartosik.com/?tag=random-thoughts' class='tag-link-52' title='3 topics' style='font-size: 10.545454545455pt;'>Random Thoughts</a> <a href='http://benbartosik.com/?tag=social-media' class='tag-link-45' title='1 topic' style='font-size: 8pt;'>Social Media</a> <a href='http://benbartosik.com/?tag=sr-high-updates' class='tag-link-54' title='1 topic' style='font-size: 8pt;'>Sr. High Updates</a> <a href='http://benbartosik.com/?tag=thursday-talks' class='tag-link-48' title='10 topics' style='font-size: 19.454545454545pt;'>Thursday Talks</a></div> </li> </ul> </ul> <br /><br /><br /> </div> </div></div> <div id="footer" class="clearfix"> <div> <ul class="footer-pages clearfix"> <li class="first"><a href="http://benbartosik.com" title="benbartosik DOT com Home">Home</a></li> <li class="page_item page-item-183"><a href="http://benbartosik.com/?page_id=183" title="About the Author">About the Author</a></li> </ul> <br><p><big><strong>© Copyright benbartosik DOT com. 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