In August of 1990, I wrote the first pages of a journal that stuck.  Like many people, I had made numerous attempts at writing my thoughts and feelings and after a week (or less) never wrote again.  But this time I kept writing.  Having something very deep and dear to write about: my wife’s very complicated twin pregnancy, that less than a month from the beginning of my journaling would end with the death of my daughter, Gretchen – before she was born – and the birth and tentative start of my now 20 something year old daughter, Lindsay, has a way of keeping the story going.  I continued to write in my journal faithfully.  I continued to record my story as our third child, Matt, was born and surprised us with raising a son with Down syndrome.

In the fall of 2000, while enrolled at Belmont University in Nashville, to complete my Bachelor degree, I took a class titled: “Telling Stories – Experiencing Life.”  Through the process of writing essays, coloring pictures, telling stories to one another, I realized and confessed aloud that I was a writer.  It didn’t matter if I sold insurance for a living (what I was doing at the time), or serving as a Lutheran pastor (what I had really wanted to do since I was a child…and what I do now), I was born and wired to write.

And so in the spring of 2003 I worked my way out of a 20 year insurance career, took a year of sabbatical and began work on a book.  A year later I took a staff position at my home congregation as Director of Christian Education and Family Life, and in the summer of 2007 began the candidacy process to become a Lutheran pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, being ordained on January 3, 2011.

Needless to say the book took a back seat to all my life and career changes.  The work I have done – most of it nine years ago – has sat under lock and key since then.

A long story in a short version…

I seem to get “messages” in three’s.  That has happened in the last week (I will tell that story later).  It is time to write.  I don’t even think there was such a thing as a blog when I was writing before (at least not one that I could manage).  So here I go.

For those of you who are going with me, I covet your prayers and conversations and comments along the way.  You are free to be honest as long as you are not mean.  I sold insurance for 20 years so, trust me, I’ve heard most anything that could be said about me that might hurt my feelings.

Let the writing begin!

Matt Steinhauer

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