Live the Adventure

In this week's episode, Dennis Jernigan shares the story behind his song, "Live the Adventure", from the album "The Chronicles of Bren: Captured – Songs for the Journey". That mp3 is available at https://www.thechroniclesofbren.com/store/captured-songs-for-the-journey-album/ The lyrics can be found below.

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You will find the show notes and lyrics below:

Welcome to The Dennis Jernigan Podcast. The purpose of this podcast is to help you find healing for your wounds; find hope in your despair; find intimacy in your loneliness; find refuge from the storms of life; Basically, to help you find a deeper walk with Jesus. There is one thing I know after having lived all these years: God wastes nothing. Not our sorrows. Not our wounds. Not even our failures.

Hi. I am your host, Dennis Jernigan. Today’s podcast is gonna be a bit different from most of my podcasts. This is the story behind the final installment of the music from my fantasy book series, The Chronicles of Bren: Book One: Captured. The collection of songs is called “Captured: Songs for the Journey.” 

This week’s episode is the story behind the last song in the series. That song is called, “Live the Adventure.”

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Helen Keller

I love that quote. It almost captures my heart for this series of books. Almost. I have adapted a  personal version that has influenced the writing of these stories of and from the land of Bren.

“Life is either a grand, daring adventure or it is nothing at all.” Dennis Jernigan

My love of writing and my love of hearing great stories of people who have overcome impossible circumstances has led me to write…in spite of whether those writings are ever considered great or not. The reason I wrote The Chronicles of Bren series and The Bairns of Bren series is simple. I wanted to leave a legacy for my children and grandchildren for generations to come. As a part of that legacy, I endeavored to write stories which depict the realities of life. Life is not easy. Life is full of sorrow. Life brings times of wounding of both body and soul. Life brings times of disappointment and even betrayal. 

My goal is to leave my family a legacy that explains how life, even with its many hurtful episodes, is meant to be lived with joy. And just how does one do that?

I personally believe that if one sees life and its circumstances - both good and bad - from the Lord’s point of view, insurmountable mountains become molehills. Impassable rivers become rites of passage. Unbearable grief becomes an opportunity to receive comfort. Fear is replaced with love. Rather than being something to somehow endure, life becomes the most grand adventure because a life lived with the Lord ever-present at one’s side sands away the bitterness of life revealing a many-faceted treasure of great worth. 

Forgiveness and humility replace bitterness with the heroic heart of a benevolent conqueror. My desire, as a dad and granddad, is that my heirs would come to see themselves as overcomers.

I believe Almighty God created the human imagination as a means of revealing His nature to mankind and as a means of helping the human mind understand and begin to unravel the wonderful mystery of Who God is. The gift of imagination has helped me see how even things that are meant to hurt me can be seen from a different point of view - and perspective is everything.

Why write in the fantasy genre? Simple. God used fantasy to rescue my heart and mind when I was just a young boy. I felt trapped in what I now call stinkin’ thinkin’ concerning my identity. I felt I was being held captive in my own mind but God did something amazing during my boyhood that carried me through to the day He set me free. 

From the time I was a little boy and all the way into my marriage and adult life, God has used fantasy, mythology, and imagination to rescue and save me. Just a quick case in point. Wh