The key to benefiting from our pictures and stories is to first uncover our faith-building memories. Remember Faithbooking is finding the deeper spiritual meaning in the events in our past and learning to see the Lord’s activity in our present and future.

Remember and write about the SIGNPOSTS in your life.
Edith Schaefer, author, speaker says, “One of the ways we describe the unfolding of God’s will is by the observance of “signposts. Signposts are answered prayers or significant events, which prove to be pivotal in the direction of our day to day living….At each signpost is an awareness of God’s hand working behind the scenes, orchestrating a master plan and the gentle pointing of our family along a certain path to achieve His plan.”

Now some of you may be thinking, I really don’t think the stories of my life are that marvelous or miraculous. Perhaps if I would have survived an earthquake in India or inherited a castle in Scotland or discovered I had a brother who had been separated from the family at birth living just a few blocks from me…then I would have miraculous stories to tell.

The truth is, our daily lives are brimming with signposts that God has used in a miraculous way to direct and strengthen us. Events such as:

Your salvation: How did you come to know the Lord as your Savior
Your marriage: If you are married, what were the circumstances that brought you together; what were struggles and victories. Are you re-married?
How you got involved with your job or ministry: How are you influencing people around you through your work?
Who has inspired you in your faith?
How has music influenced your faith? Favorite songs or hymns, choir involvement?
What scripture verses have impacted you?

Or you can write your stories according to these categories:

• Birth and Beginnings
• Baptism and Belonging
• Growing up in Christ
• Making Choices
• Disappointments, Failures, and Forgiveness
• Gifts and Talents
• Disciplines of Faith
• Courage Fear and Feelings
• Holidays, Joys, and Surprises
• Generations of Faith.

To help you discover more signposts, Alan Wright poses these questions in his book, The God Moment Principle.

1. When have you had an amazing rescue?
Remembering God's rescue yesterday is the key to being able to rest and be at peace today. We must remember how dangerous life is in order to remember how greatly God has been at work saving us. Begin with childhood memories or recall the pivotal moment of near-accidents or life-threatening circumstances that you survived. Pay special attention to illnesses from which you have recovered. All healing is actually a rescue from danger and is ultimately from God.

2. When have you done the right thing even when it was hard?
Every moment in which you have felt convicted of selfishness and drawn toward a holier way is a God Moment. To find these moments, replay moments in your mind when you opted for purity - choosing good friends, giving money to charity, helping others. Including these stories in your Faithbook will refresh your heart with the confidence that God's way is the best way. In my Dad’s faithbooking, he wrote the story of how he quit smoking. He believed the Lord gave him the strength to give up something that he was addicted to.

3. When have you had a valuable adversity?
Sometimes it's not until everything is stripped away that we discover the best things in life like love, community, and joy. God never wastes adversity. Our most difficult moments may also be some of our greatest God Moments. Review your past for moments of adversity that saved you from worse destruction or taught you a great truth. Can you think of times in which a temporary fall, though humiliating, saved you from a permanent fall or gave you something unexpected? When God “ redeemed what the locust destroyed”?

We are searching for ways God used Satan's evil intent to protect us from something worse. Consider even your most acute, painful moments: Loss of a relationship - loss of a job - loss of a dream. Consider all the moments you thought were failures. Alan Wright says, "Deep humiliation welcomes the greatest blessings in life. Every deeply anointed man or woman I know has endured a season of humiliation in the desert."

How to transform your stories of faith into an album:
The above questions can form the basis of an amazing Faithbook album that can be accomplished two ways.

Option ONE: Digital Storybook. Creative Memories has created free downloadable software with templates (click here for sample pages) with several of these questions already included on the pre-decorated pages.

You simply download the software, drag and drop your photos onto the pages, type your story and you’re done. A completed album is sent to you from the Creative Memories Photo Center. This is a fast, reasonably-priced method for ensuring future generations know your stories of faith.

Another benefit to the digital album is that you can order multiple copies. When Dad and I created a Faithbook of his life, he ordered copies for his ten brothers and sisters and his 12 grandchildren, and his three children and of course, one for himself; 26 books!! This was possible with the digital Storybook album.

I also worked with my husband Mac on his Faithbook, and it was one of the most impactful experiences of our marriage. I loved hearing Mac’s reflections on experiences we’d shared and I’d included in my own Faithbook.

Option TWO: Create a traditional album using scrapbooking products.
I’m proud that our creative teams have worked on a variety of Faithbooking products that you’l l love using to create your Faithbook.

A selection of Creative Memories products you may use may include:

Creative Memories 7x7 Sentiments album
Christian Inspiration sticker pack
7x7 Page Protectors
Tape Runner (acid-free adhesive)
Acid-free black pen
Acid-free ruled paper for journaling
Expressions of Love or Friends and Family
Concordance included on this Web site. A concordance is an index of scripture by topic.