Why this blog?

Several reasons really. The main reason is that we want to write and share peoples' stories so that people will be encouraged to draw near to God. We are also forgetful people and we want to remember what God has done in our days. We also want to share our lives with those that we love that are near and also that live SO far away! Finally, we want to give an opportunity for others to be heard and to be prayed for by us. Please feel free to share your stories of listening to others with us at listentotheirstories@gmail.com. It can be stories of rejoicing or stories of pain.. or anywhere in between. Just a side note,   If I (heather) am posting there is likely to be many grammar errors and probably spelling too. Please forgive me ahead of time. I have never written and posted anything before.  It will be my heart though I promise.

We recently attended the Storyline conference (http://storylineblog.com/conferences/sandiego2014/) here in San Diego. It was the final push we needed to share our story but more importantly to listen to others stories. Shauna Niequist took her time during the keynote to invite others up to tell their stories. Mike Foster's wife Jennifer took time to listen to me talk about Lyme. Allison Vesterfelt listened well and was so gracious as Jer and I talked with her. Each of the speakers shared their hearts and their stories in front of 1,700 people. We feel so thankful. One person in Mike Foster's breakout session though asked  "what if we don't have anyone to share our story with?" Honestly, this was the final straw that lead to me writing this blog. Everyone should be listened to. Everyone should tell their stories. We each bring a unique voice to the world that God has given!

Our hearts are to listen to the people and things that are in our path. To listen deeply. Those we already know and those we don't yet know. We want to encourage you to learn to do the same right along with us. If we write about people or share stories here.. we will change names and identifying info if needed.