Last week I spent a few days at the Re:Create Conference in Franklin, Tennessee. It was probably the best conference I have ever attended. I was surrounded by fellow “creatives.” Every speaker was first rate. The music and media were sublime (and live!). The fellowship and learning opportunities were incredible. And the food was the best conference food I’ve ever had.

Best of all were the words of wisdom that I am still pondering and contemplating. Over these next few posts I’m simply going to share some quotes with you. I like thoughtful quotes and quotations. When they are easy to remember they have an impact. The best quotes spur me on to action.

Here are some quotes from our first speaker, author and communicator extraordinaire, Patsy Clairmont:

• If you have a loss it gives you the opportunity to realize the benefit of that loss and make up for it.
• We want to know people’s stories because: 1) In their story we want to find answers for our own life, and 2) We want to know the story-tellers’ secret to success.
• Own your story: Be consistent with who you are and what people see you to be.
• Creatives are good at making something that isn’t right sound good (touchè!).
• Clairmont quoted Faulkner: “The past is never dead; it’s not even past.”
• Make opportunities to look back and see how God has worked in your life.
• We are closest to being most fully ourself when we are functioning in our gift.
• Ask questions that matter; get to the heart of things.

I suppose one of the points is to pay attention to our own story, and to learn from the stories of others. Through it all, God works to carry out His own narrative, and to have His own impact on our life. As a result of this talk I hope to reflect on how God has worked in my life in the past, what it means for today, and where it’s going to lead tomorrow.

I’m also going to try and ask better questions…questions that matter. The Faulkner quote reminds us that who we are today is a product of our past. God is still working. He has used people, places, and things to mold and shape us. Ultimately, it is the narrative of His own Word that shapes us in the way the matters most: He takes sinners and makes saints.

What can you learn from your own story, and what have you learned from paying attention to the stories of others?