Staff Picks: Stories that are Good and True

Quaker pastor Philip Gulley captured my imagination right around the time Chip and I married. His stories are ones to curl up in a chair with. The apostle Paul wrote, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable … think about these things.” Gulley’s stories allow what is good and true to be thought about. Some of my favorite memories are Chip and I enjoying these stories after a long day. Gulley is one of my models for good storytelling. He is a master at helping us find ourselves in the story, just like those stories Jesus left with us. Here’s a teaser from For Everything a Season:
I was born deep in winter. Each birthday my father phones to recount the events surrounding my birth. Our sons are asleep in their bedroom under the eaves. My wife and I are sitting in front of the fireplace; she is doing her needlework and I am reading a mystery. The phone rings. I ease out of my chair, walk to the kitchen, pick up the phone and say, “Hello.”
It is my father. No “Hello.” No “How are you?” Just the same question each birthday: “Have I ever told you what happened the night you were born?”
“I don’t believe so,” I tell him.
“Well, it was eight o’clock in the evening when your mother went into labor. I remember the time because “Gunsmoke” was just starting. There was a terrible snowstorm. We could barely see the neighbor’s house for
the snow …”
For the rest of the story, find the book on this week’s “Staff Picks” table in the lobby along with my picks for other “too-good-not-to-share” books and
resources. Remember to share your own “picks” with us!
Contact / Location

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123-456-7890
123, New Lenox, Chicago IL 60606
info@yoursitename.com

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5:30pm

Sunday:
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