"Tell me a story." Countless parents and grandparents have heard that request from children. People of all ages are captivated by a good story.
Storytelling helps us makes sense of the events of our lives, the world around us, and God. When we tell stories, we speak a world into being-just as God did in the creation accounts in the book of Genesis.
"Everyone is a storyteller," says author Michael Williams. You don't have to be a professional storyteller to be able to tell good stories. In this book on storytelling as spiritual exploration, Williams shares stories from his life and offers practical prompts that guide us to tell our own stories. He reminds us that we have been spoken into being as part of a much larger story. Using poetry, personal narrative, and retellings of biblical stories, Williams leads us to a deeper knowledge of the power of narrative.
The stories that capture our attention shape us into who we are now and the persons we will become. Not all stories serve us well, however. Stories of fear stop us in our tracks and become roadblocks on the journey, while stories of fantasy, no matter how alluring, are dead-end streets.
Spoken into Being points to a path beyond fear and fantasy, a way toward encounters with God, in whom all things are being made new.