God's Story: A Narrative Adaptation of the Bible

The sons of Israel spent their days shepherding their father’s flocks. On one occasion, Joseph went to his father and spoke poorly of his brothers’ work. When his brothers learned of this, a hatred for Joseph began to grow in them. When Joseph turned 17, Israel made him a beautiful robe and when his brothers saw the gift they hated him even more. One night, as Joseph slept, he dreamt that he and his brothers were tying wheat together into bundles. Suddenly, his brothers' bundles of wheat gathered around Joseph’s bundle and bowed down in front of it. The next morning, Joseph enthusiastically shared this dream with his brothers. Offended by the implication that they would EVER bow to their younger brother, their hatred for him continued to grow. Soon after, Israel sent Joseph to check in on his brothers, who were some distance from home with the flocks. His brothers recognized him coming from a distance because of his ornate coat. At that moment the same whispers heard by Ca...

The threat of Esau’s wrath was like a phantom hound pursuing Jacob as he fled. Exhausted, he risked stopping to sleep for the night with nothing but a rock for a pillow. During his fitful rest, he saw a vision of angels walking up and down a stairway, which connected heaven to earth. God stood at the top and said, “I am God, beloved by Abraham and Isaac. The land where you now lie will be given to your descendants. They will be as innumerable as the dust of the earth. Because of the promises I made to your father and grandfather, and by my great love for humanity, it will be through your line that all the people of the world will be blessed. And by this same love, I declare that I will always be with you, and will protect you wherever you go, and will bring you again to this land as I fulfill every promise I have made to you.” When Jacob woke up, he thought, “This place where I have slept is sacred. I will name it ‘Bethel,’ the house of God. ” He then took the rock he had rested on and...

In the generations that followed, Noah’s family did indeed multiply and begin to replenish the earth as God commanded. But the weed of evil that had nearly choked the goodness out of the world before the flood was still alive in each generation as they slowly spread and formed the ancient tribes and kingdoms of the world. They retold and adapted the story of the great flood until it became nothing but a legend in the minds of many. And as it has always been, when left to their own devices there were some who turned away from the knowledge of God entirely. But God would not allow them to be lost again. Knowing that humans, in the weakness of their flesh, would forever struggle to worship a spirit, God chose to sow the seed of humanity’s redemption through a man. This calling went to Abram, a wealthy descendant of Shem, born in the land of Ur, and now living in Haran. God spoke to Abram, saying, “Leave this country and travel to a new land that I will give to your descendants. To fulfill...

Before towns, like blades of grass, were sprouted, Before life, into the earth-born, was breathed, Before mountains, adamant, were molded, Before seas, immeasurable, were delved, Before stars, infinity’s dust, were forged God exists. Wellspring of perfect love, overflowing. Boundless in might. Holy and beauteous. Author of wisdom. Arbiter of truth. The Creator, sustainer, and master Of the whole of creation, for all time. God is a spirit, infinite, unclad in the raiment of creation, a being self-sustained beyond our existence. Out of an abundance of passionate love and creativity God created all things seen and unseen. God spoke and there appeared heaven, the dwelling place of spirits. Again God spoke, “ARISE my angels. Spirits wise, powerful, and ageless. My beloved and honored servants, hear me and obey.” Their existence is to venerate the creator in all things, each embodying the facet of God’s mind from where each originated. But though they are spirit, in nature they are n...

Hello and welcome to my first behind the scenes podcast for my narrative Bible adaptation. So, in the main podcast I read one chapter of my adaptation per week, but I also wanted to create a short companion podcast each week that addresses the creative choices I made. For anyone who is either simply interested in my creative process or has questions about what I chose to leave out, rearrange, or focus on, this will hopefully be of value to you. This week, I am doing two behind the scenes podcasts. For this first one I want to explain the origins and overarching purpose of this writing project and in the second, I will discuss specific choices I made in chapter one. Before my son Isaac was even old enough to walk, he was an eager listener, and later an avid reader, devouring whatever stories I put before him. We quickly moved on from Dr. Seuss to longer works like Oz series, Harry Potter series, and the Hobbit, which holds a special place in my heart because it is the entry point ...