The photos above are my target audience whenever I write a story. They are Ken, Karen, Lauren and Rachael. Karen is our daughter; Ken is her husband and their two adult children.

This is a message to all of our LifeStory authors plus those who join us in the future, our children and grandchildren are our target audience.

When we think of story we should think of putting on paper the re-creation of our life experience. We try to avoid putting on paper what we think, what we know, or what our opinion is, these are articles for publication. Story, as we are defining it, is a memory of what we have experienced. It is a handy way to carry around our life experience.

Think of story as a container of what has happened to you, the good, the not so good, the spiritual, the not so spiritual, the joy, the sorrow, the interesting, the humorous, the fascinating, the mischievous, and even the boring. Our children and grandchildren need to know what has happened to us more than just word-of-mouth, a very unreliable source. They need to read our narratives, our captured words not the hearsay of what might have happened.

LifeStory traditionally takes a break July and August. Come September we are back in business accepting new authors either in face-to-face groups or via our Electronic Group on this web site. Join us for the sake of your kids and grandkids, they barely know who you are and what you have experienced.

We are a senior adult organization that is distinctly Christian. We are not ashamed of our theological and doctrinal bias. We rest solidly on the awesome Incarnational story of God invading history in the likeness of his Son, Jesus Christ, its his-story tailor made for you and me.

And by they way, do your grandkids know your incarnational story of redemption? Write it down! Give it to them! Stop worrying about the inheritance you are about to give them and worry more about passing on your heritage. You will be glad you did.

J. Paul Turner, co-founder, The Center for LifeStory Writing

We were delighted to discover that Sharon Lippincott, Western Pennsylvania author and well-known life story writing coach, found our web site. Her blog address and Amazon link to her book are below. Here is what she wrote about us:

Every now and then I come across a website about lifestory writing that is worth mentioning. Today is one of those days. I just came across the site for The Center for LifeStory Writing, sponsored as a ministry by College Church of the Nazarene, Olathe, Kansas.

The site includes a long list of enjoyable stories, I have not read all of them yet, but the several I did read were delightful.

While there, read some stories. You are sure to get some great ideas for tales of your own, and it is always interesting to read stories written by regular people, rather than the super polished ones in books on library shelves. There is also a link with guidelines for submitting stories

I am adding this site as a permanent link in my blog sidebar, and I will be happy to add others, as long as they give actual advice or post stories, and are not primarily commercials for products and services.

Click Her Blog Here: The Heart and Craft of Writing

Click here and order her excellent book: The Heart and Craft of Life Story Writing

Be sure and mark Sharon's blog as a Favorite Place and check in now and then.

6. We know that the only thing death cannot destroy is eternal life and earthly memory.