A year ago, I faced a decision that required much processing and prayers before coming to a conclusion. The offer was flattering, humbling to know someone believed in me, and surprising that God laid my name on the asker’s heart.
Jennifer Dukes Lee graciously offered me the opportunity to keep the doors open for the Tell His Story community. I accepted and a year later here we are spending time together each Tuesday. It is a blessing and gift to know that you all want to be here and find the time to encourage each other. In appreciation for this last year, I wrote a letter of thanks to Jennifer. Please read to the end for a giveaway announcement and to read some words that Jennifer wrote especially for all of you.
Dear Jennifer Dukes Lee,
Thank you for the invitation to stand in this space and open my doors to the Tell His Story community. It has been a whirlwind of a year. As Tuesday rolls around each week, I take a minute to thank you silently for the opportunity and gift you gave me a year ago.
The doors were already opened wide through your gift of storytelling and invitational spirit. I just opened them a bit wider to continue to welcome the new, steadfast, and those seeking a place to feel encouraged. It has been a year like no other, not just in taking over Tell His Story, but personally, as family dynamics changed multiple times.
Thank you for laying a foundation of trust, truth, and transparency. You made it easy for me to continue forward. When you entrusted this little corner of the online world to me, you empowered me to grow my gift of encouragement and hospitality. I am forever grateful.
What I thought I knew about the community turned into what I know about the hearts of these visitors and those who stay awhile. They tenderly hold precious stories as if they would break if dropped. Encouragement is their love language as both a giver and receiver. Learning about God and His truth is a community activity. We cheer each other on and gather around other members who are struggling in any way.
Your faithful follower, friend, and now keeper of the Tell His Story Community!
Mary
The month of June is the perfect time to celebrate the one year anniversary. I reached out to Jennifer as a way to say “hey, look how far I have come and thank you for this opportunity.” She in turn responded graciously with the following words of encouragement and her willingness to giveaway a copy of It’s All Under Control, her latest book.
Grace and peace to you, the writers of Tell His Story!
I think of you often, and am filled with happiness over the ways that Mary has nurtured and stewarded this community in the past year.
Let me encourage each one of you today as you do the important work of telling stories. Like you, I know the frustration of the blinking cursor when words won’t come. I know the trepidation of hitting “Publish” on a story that feels exceptionally vulnerable. I know the heartache of rejection.
And, like you, I also know the joy that comes in knowing that my story has made a difference in the life of someone else.
Yes, my friend, your story makes a difference.
Words hold power, ever since God first spoke these four: “Let there be light.”
Stories have been a Gospel-proven means by which we can understand one another – and by which we can understand ourselves.
We need your story.
That’s what Tell His Story has always been about.
Keep up the good work of storytelling, dear ones.
You are the chroniclers, the people who help others make sense of the world with your words.
Story is how we know that, no matter what happens, we can get back up again.
As I reflect on this community today, I think of a song by Katherine Hankey — a song that has been my anthem during my years as a storyteller. May you carry these words, like a song, in your heart today.
I love to tell the story;
more wonderful it seems
than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.
I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;
and that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.
I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.
Love,
Jennifer
With grateful hearts and encouraged souls, let’s move forward this week knowing God sees and knows who we are and is blessed by our creative hearts.
With gratitude,
Take a minute to leave a comment about what you are most grateful for and you will be entered to win a copy of Jennifer’s latest book, It’s All Under Control. I loved this book and found it was the perfect encouragement in my stage of life. This book also comes with a companion bible study. You can find them both on Amazon, HERE, and HERE.
Please visit Jennifer Dukes Lee on her website and leave her some love. The giveaway for Jennifer’s book will end on Sunday, June 16 at midnight. You don’t want to miss next week as I share some of the top posts from the last year and also you have the chance to win some more books!!!
Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
Congratulations on a year of hosting this wonderful link-up. I would say Jennifer pick a beautiful place for this to continue. I am grateful for you and Jennifer.
Thank you! I am grateful you are a wonderful part of this community.
I appreciate you and your encouragement here, Mary. Congratulations on the anniversary! And thank you, Jennifer for generously offering your book as a giveaway. Right now I am thankful for God’s sufficient grace and for His never-ending love! Love and blessings to you both!
You’re welcome, Trudy! Seeing you here is such a sweet gift each week. May you feel God’s grace daily and know you are loved endlessly!
What a great day to commemorate! I am so thankful for your real estate on the web! laurensparks.net
It is always great to celebrate an anniversary, isn’t it? Blessed to have you here each week, Lauren!
I’m most thankful for the reminder that I’m not alone. It’s easy to think sometimes that you’re the only one with a heart for Jesus, but each week these linkups encourage me in more ways than I can even appreciate really. Thank you, Mary, for you hard work here. Congratulations on your anniversary! And thank you for the encouragement and the ground work you did, Jennifer!
I love knowing I am not alone too. Spending time in community with other encouraging writers allows us to see exactly that–we are not alone. I love having you here, Ashley!
Congratulations on your Anniversary! Telling His stories are so important. I love the quote from Billy Graham, “If you want to change someone’s life, tell a story!” – It does! How blessed are each of the stories shared here! They speak Life!
Thank you for sharing the Billy Graham quote. It’s my new favorite quote about story and writing. It’s a blessing to have you here, Maryleigh! May we all continue to share our stories for God’s glory.
Thank you Mary for hosting this community & Jennifer for your words above!
Our experiences & stories about God’s workings in our lives are so very important as we are living memorials to His love & faithfulness in our lives!
Sharing our lives through our stories shows He is a very personal God indeed!
Bless you both,
Jennifer
What a beautiful way to state the importance of story, Jennifer. The idea that we are living memorials to God’s love and faithfulness adds another layer to the importance of sharing our stories. Thank you for being part of this community!
Congratulations on your one-year anniversary, Mary. You are doing a great job. I have not been with the community that long, but I have enjoyed being part of it.
What I am most thankful for? I think I would have to say the people the Lord has brought into my life, both online and off. The people he brought me in contact with that led me to Him in the first place. The wonderful friends I have face to face. And the wonderful online friends I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know, people I would never have known about without places like this. Thank you, Mary, for being faithful here. And thank you all who are part of Telling His Story. God bless you all.
You just described why having communities like Tell His Story is so important. Growing in friendship online as well as in real life is a gift I don’t look on lightly. Thank you for joining guys here, Diane. I appreciate you.
Thanks so much for picking up the baton and continuing the Tell His Story Link-up’s legacy which Jennifer began.
Happy Anniversary! We all appreciate you hosting. 🙂
Thank you, Karen! I appreciate you being here.
Happy Anniversary! I always love coming to this link up and am so grateful for all the encouragement and the great reads too. I am touched by both of your hearts for all of us. Many Thanks 8)
Thank you, Debra Jean. I love having you here. It’s people like you that make the Tell His Story community better.
I so much appreciate this space and your obedience to respond to God’s call and opportunity through Jennifer. Your place here is one I look forward to each week. Your words and openness encourage my heart and help me take risks in my own writing as well. Jennifer chose wisely.❤️
You are a faithful member of this community and I am so grateful that you join us each week. What a blessing to know I help you take risks in your own writing. I’m looking forward to more stories honoring God in this next year.
That was one fast year! Jennifer couldn’t have chosen a more gracious host for THS. I’m sure there were learning curves but you mastered them and you are stewarding THS most excellently!
Thank you for these kind words, Susan! It was a very fast year and there was a lot to learn on the technical side, but really hospitality is just about opening the door. I love that you are part of this community.
Happy anniversary!! I have only been a part of this for a couple months but Mary, I’ve so many encouraging posts that I’ve read in the time I’ve been a part! Thank you both for the space here for me to share my stories. I have many things I’m grateful for but I’m so very grateful for time as time gives way to family and friends, it gives way to me being able to work as a Hope Coach encouraging others and time allows me to blog for Christ who gave me all that I have…..Im thankful for so much!
Thank you for sharing what you are grateful for. There is nothing like family and friends and when we are given the gift of time it is a gift to be able to share it with those we love. I’m blessed to have you here, April.
I love it here on Tuesdays, friend … you are a lovely, responsive hostess and it’s been fun watching this blogging season unfold for you!
Mary, I wish we were face to face today, because I’d high five Atta Girl! you and raise my coffee cup HIGH in celebration of your year long commitment to this space and this community.
Blessings to you!
I’m grateful for fellowship with Christian bloggers!
Also, for the opportunity to grow myself as I parent! It’s way more intense and challenging than I would have expected if I had thought about it before!
Thank you, Mary, for this online space to tell His story. Being a newcomer the last few months, I was not aware of the history here. How amazing of Jennifer to entrust you with this community. You are doing a marvelous job!
I like how Jennifer said words hold power. I often say there is power in story. And our story is part of God’s bigger story…His-story. No matter what we endure in life, His goodness and love are highlighted in every chapter and written on each page.
I love new and old friends and having you here has been a blessing. Jennifer opened her doors for Tell His Story for years. I loved Jennifer’s encouragement on writing too. You described it so well by saying God’s love and goodness are highlighted in every chapter. Thank you for being here.
Mary, thank you for making the “Tell HIs Story” community so welcoming. Thank you for giving us a place and an opportunity to share our words with others each week. I look forward to the encouragement and fellowship I find whenever I visit. I hope you have many more anniversaries here at this space. Blessings to you!
Thank you, Laurie! It is a blessing to be surrounded by such an encouraging group of writers. Thank you for being a regular here at Tell His Story.
Happy anniversary, Mary! It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. Thanks for all you do in hosting the link-up. You make it such a welcoming and friendly community and I have lived getting to know you more.
Thank you for your sweet words and faithfulness in joining the linkup each week. I appreciate you.
What a wonderful idea to reach out to Jennifer in this way, Mary! I so appreciate her spirit and yours. I appreciate your gracious words each week, my friend. Congratulations on one year!
Time flies when you’re having fun, right?? It’s hard to believe a year has gone, but isn’t just like God to continue to bless what He created? Thank you for Betsy for your faithfulness in being part of this community.
Mary, you have made this space a delightful place of words and encouragement. I look forward to visiting each Tuesday, reading your words, and reading what others post. Thank you for carrying on where Jennifer left off. So thankful for you, friend.
You are so very welcome! I am honored that Jennifer handed the reigns to me, but even more so that God blesses this community by showing up in this space each week. Thank you for being such a beautiful friend and encourager.
Happy one-year anniversary at the helm of Tell His Story, Mary! I appreciate your gracious hostessing. And thank you, Jennifer, for starting this encouraging weekly get-together.
I always have a hard time with superlatives, but what I am most grateful for is God’s direction and rescue of my soul. At a crossroads at the most vulnerable time of my life, he brought me to Himself and away from any number of destructive courses I could have taken. I will be forever grateful.
What a beautiful testimony, Barbara! God chose you and your journey has not been a mistake. You have a gift for sharing your story so beautifully at your place. Thank you for your kind words today and for being such a faithful member of this community.
What a gift you both have created in this space. I am grateful for each of you and for those that come each week to share words!
I am grateful for you and how you take the time to leave a comment and encourage all of us with your writing. Thank you for being part of this community.
Dear Mary & Jennifer,
I have always been blessed for having been here! I so appreciate the encouraging heart of you both. May we continue to share our stories and may they always point others to His story! Blessings!
Joanne- this community is so much richer and blessed because of your weekly visits and encouragement. Thank you for always knowing just the right thing to say.
Mary/Jennifer,
I love visiting here each Tuesday. Mary you have carried the torch graciously. I am most grateful for how, through all the suffering I’ve been through in life, God has always showed up in a huge way when I was most vulnerable. He has never forsaken me, has ALWAYS been faithful, has brought me through each valley and has raised me up “out of the slimy pit and given me a firm place to stand.” He gives me hope and confidence.
Blessings to you both,
Bev xx
You have a way of always encouraging me and pointing me back to God even through your challenges. I am grateful for you and how you faithfully let God speak through you with your own writing.