Jump David Jump

Children. Not Intended for Commercial Use.

As far as I can tell, I have taught my baby sister 3 things:

1. How to tackle (go low and wrap the legs)

2. How to play catch (and spit)

3. Ben Folds Five (a band which I believe was the beginning of her taste of good music)

It's safe to say that (besides item 3) I pretty much wanted to teach my sister how to become a brother. But since gender reallocation wasn't working out, I began to see Heather's natural talents develop. She truly is a unique blend of her 3 older siblings. From Leslie she received a strange quality I know absolutely nothing about... she became fiscal. I barely even know what that word means. From Angie she became a giver and a lover of all, which leads to a lot of crying. She is always looking for someone to help. In fact I have to laugh when she recounts the time she and her husband took a homeless guy to a chili cook off to make sure he was fed, but instead he ended up getting drunk and wandering off. So much for helping the homeless... Or when she came to me to brainstorm a clever way to deliver gifts to the strippers at the local strip-club to show them that they were loved. (Ha! I love it!)

And I don't know what she got from me, but it probably wasn't anything positive.

Bringing the Story to Chicago

It has been incredible to share God's story over the past year. I say this story belongs to God because... well, I never would have written it this way. Seems to me He's writing His own story and was kind enough to invite me in. In the past 12 months, God has been gracious enough to stir up some opportunities for me to share this story at universities, churches, cancer support groups and even an elementary school in the middle of an Ohio cornfield.

I must say I was shocked when Ben Arment wrote me an email and asked me to speak at Story Chicago. The event will be held at Park Community Church on September 23-24. It's such an honor to be sharing with such an amazing group of speakers.

• Dan Allender - best-selling author, professor at Mars Hill Graduate School
• Charlie Todd - creator of Improv Everywhere in New York City
• Princess Zulu - AIDS victim from infancy, advocate for the oppressed
• Jason Fried - founder of 37Signals, creator of Basecamp, author of Rework
• John Sowers - president of Donald Miller's The Mentoring Project
• Shauna Niequist - former creative director at Mars Hill, author of Bittersweet
• David Hodges - formerly of the band Evanescence, award-winning songwriter
• Leonard Sweet - futurist, author of 40 books, professor at Drew University
• David McFadzean - creator of Home Improvement, producer of Roseanne
• Richard Walter - accomplished screenwriter and professor of film at UCLA
• Sean Gladding - member of Communality, a new monastic community
• Andrew Klavan - author of True Crime (Clint Eastwood) and numerous novels
• Gary Dorsey - founder of Pixel Peach Studio in Austin, TX
• Music by Vicky Beeching, Kari Jobe and Carlos Whittaker

All of the tickets are sold out, but I would ask that you would pray for me as I "tell the story", because as you can see from those I'll be sharing with... I'm completely out of my league! Feel like I was just called up to the pros! I must admit I feel the pressure to stay 'smart' things, use clever analogies and be funny. That's how I typically deal with this type of stuff. But I must remember that the only thing God has called me to do is be a witness. Just tell the story of what is happening. That is enough.

Check out the legit website for Story Chicago.