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I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling.  The introductory remarks helped to set the stage for some of the things in the story which differed a bit from the standard nativity story.  I found it humorous, enlightening, and moving.I do wonder if perhaps the closing remarks about the making of the disk, the credits, etc. might have served better after the closing guitar music.  That way the instrumental piece could have served as a cooling down period for people to think about what they'd heard before jumping right into the credits.  Also, if someone doesn't want to listen to the credits on subsequent listenings they could still hear the music.  (Not that the credits are inconsequential, but I doubt if anyone would buy the disk particularly because of the exciting reading of the credits! :-) )
Peace,
JoKeR

How does the stereotypical review start? "I laughed. I cried." ("It was better than 'Cats' -- I'll see it again and again" :-). Well, I did laugh, and I did cry. RLP has a real talent for writing stories, but hearing it read aloud with great background guitar music brings it to life in a whole new way.

As the retail world gears up for another Christmas season and we're bombarded with non-Christian messages about Christmas, "A Christmas Story You've Never Heard" strips away not only the secular trappings, but all the things we thought we 'knew' about the Christmas story. It takes the few things the Bible does say about it, and fills it out with life in early Israel and real characters to bring it all to life, and focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

The Sunday School class I attend is going to be listening to and discussing this CD during Advent -- so I have no review to write yet. All I can say is that everyone listened to the first chapter online and then voted "yes" to go ahead and do this. So, at least chapter one is getting rave reviews from our class.

Wonderfully enlightening, entertaining, and thought provoking. This is an absolute gem and listening to it will become part of the Higgins family Christmas tradition. Thank you Gordon.

Shalom
Tim

I was thrilled to find the package fr the preacher in the mail this weekend. Before my kids were properly put into bed I began listening and was immediately hooked. I didn't have time to listen to the whole thing, but that was ok, because I decided that this year, THIS would become our families Advent calendar of sorts.....we will listen to it during the days leading up to Christmas, together....anxious for the next part, but knowing we need to wait...atleast for a little while...

Thank you, Gordon. It is wonderful hearing your voice!

elisabeth aka sozzled

Excellent! I listened to it alone as soon as it arrived in the mail. The story brought both smiles and tears. I asked my husband to listen to it on his way to work. (He has a long commute.) He finally decide to listen today. He emailed me when he got to work and said,
"I can't believe how good the story was. I decided to put it in CD player and at least be able to tell you that I listened to a little bit of it. I was immediately hooked. It's SO good. I was laughing and crying. We've got to have the kids listen. How about we do that on Christmas Eve as a family?"
I think this will be a new Christmas Eve tradition for us. Thank you RLP!

my sunday school (jr hi) started the tape this morning--you would have loved their response during your intro--about how the Christmas story as we know it is not all true..they moaned and whined about how they didn't like that. I told them to trust me--they wanted the truth (this, after they told me of their friends' cutting, and their parent's divorce, and their mom's cancer)...and sure enough, they quietly (a miracle in itself) listened and I could see their faces...feeling Joseph and Mary's pain in their journey....they started listening the most when Joseph said "damn" and when the word, "bastard" got cut off, and when Mary might have been called a "whore"...you had their full attention then....We all laughed when you brought up Joseph's epiphany about Mary being a little like Esther, and Lot's daughters and Rahab, because we have been studying these women in the Old Testament--how beautiful to see that correlation and to tie in the Old T. with the New....thank you so much for this gift...of storytelling and truth.

I just wrote a review of the CD. It's right < a href="http://www.theooze.com/articles/article.cfm?id=1283"target="_blank">here.

Beautiful, brilliant. The Christmas story has never made me cry before! I am up to part seven and can't wait to continue at the first available opportunity.
 
One comment/suggestion - next time a slightly longer pause between parts to give us time to gather ourselves ready for the next bit - the emotions you evoke are sometimes very strong!!
Thank you Gordon for bringing God's indescribable gift to life.
www.blogsprogress.blogspot.com

What a gifted storyteller! This will be a treasured part of our preparation for Christmas from now on. Thank you for capturing these stories on tape; I remember hearing one years ago that you told on Sunday, and it greatly moved me to picture Mary and Joseph as real people. Please keep writing...Blessings,
Kathy

I loved the story when I read it.

I love the audio book version and it is even better, because it is a physical thing that I can give to other people so they can enjoy it too (it is much harder to get people like my mom, who loves the story and wants to give it to all her friends for Christmas, to check out a blog)!  

I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said, and probably more eloquently than I can manage at the moment.  I am looking forward to receiving my next five copies, because the first six are already gone.

I just started teaching Sunday School at the end of November for our church's High School aged kids. My wife Nikki had a good idea to start with the different versions of the Christmas story from the Bible. The kids really liked reading the two versions, and were intrigued at how much of what we traditionally think of as fact was not in the Bible. One point I had hoped to convey to them was how extraordinary the story of the birth of Jesus really is since Joseph and Mary were young, ordinary people, very much like them and their families, that were selected by God to carry out the most important event to ever happen to man. Last week Nikki received the CD in the mail and was listening to it as I was working across the room. What I heard seemed so very perfect for what I was trying to accomplish. We listened and discussed Gordon's story over the next two Sundays, stressing that these two people were not much older than each of the kids in the class. The humanity that was brought to the story, the doubts, fears, the sense of relief, and finally the realization of the magnitude of what was happening, was so vivid that it really touched those kids, and they understood how truly amazing the birth of Jesus really was. Terrific job, just outstanding. Please know that you have made a difference.

Bill Thompson, Westminster PC, Arlington TX

Gordon,
Thanks for a wonderful story. I am looking forward to sharing it with our Bible study group at our Christmas gathering. Really enjoy the gritty historical perspective that filters throughout. The only "minor" criticism I would offer is to vary the pace of your delivery a little more. Maybe I'm slow, but I really had to listen quickly to pick up on every word. Sure, you made me work for it, but it was well worth the listen.

Just got your email and appreciate the info, but as I would tell any of my favorite authors..."Come on, write faster. I can't wait six damn years for the rest of the story!"

All in jest G man, you know we luv ya. Keep up the great work.

M

More than half of my High School age Sunday School class were scheduled to be rehearsing for the Pageant this morning, so I brought in the CD and we listened to it. They enjoyed it, cussing Elias and all. (One girl caught my eye every time an expletive was uttered.) It made them think about the story at a level they really hadn't ever done before.

As in most years advent passed in a flurry. An essay to hand in, a new job, asthma attacks. It was the 27th December before I had chance to listen to the CD. Hearing such a different view of the story left me feeling that I hadn't missed out on everything after all, it warmed me heart and soul to listen to the story told in a more rough and raw way than we usually get these days. Thankyou.

I downloaded and burned my own cd to listen to today. Loved it. It brings the simple tale to life. It will be high on my list of gifts for friends at church next year. Thank you, Deacon HM