Front Porch Tales (Large Print Edition) [LARGE PRINT] (Paperback)

by Philip Gulley (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
These warm and inspirational stories skillfully illustrate the kinds of values that nourish the soul and enrich your life-values you want to pass on to your children and to future generations. A new, large print edition of the perennial CBA best-seller.

About the Author
I was born in February of 1961. My mother went into labor while she and my father were watching Gunsmoke. My father was taken with that program and wanted to name me for one of the characters. Unfortunately, my cousin was named Matt, which left the name Festus for me. My mother, a Catholic, wanted to name me after her favorite pope, Cletus. They compromised by naming me Philip, the guy in the Bible who became a disciple of Jesus and was never heard from again.

I live in the same town where I was born. I moved away at the age of 19 to work, where I met my wife, Joan Apple. We were married on June 2nd of 1984 at the Quaker meetinghouse in Paoli, Indiana. I began attending Marian College in Indianapolis where I studied theology and sociology. I then enrolled at Christian Theological Seminary where I graduated with honors, to the utter amazement of everyone who knew me.

While in seminary, I became the pastor of Irvington Friends Meeting in Indianapolis. While there, our two sons were born, and I began writing essays for our church's newsletter. One Sunday, Paul Harvey, Jr. and Dina Kinnan attended our meeting for worship and began receiving our newsletter. A few months later, they were approached by a publisher with an offer to write. Already committed to a publisher, they recommended my writing instead. I was invited to send the newsletters I'd written to the publisher, who agreed to publish them. That was my first book, Front Porch Tales. I've been writing ever since.

In 1998, my family and I moved back to my hometown. I took a year off to write, then agreed to become the part-time pastor of Fairfield Friends Meeting, a small Quaker meeting near my home, where I continue to minister.

I write five days a week, usually in the morning. I knock off for lunch and a nap, then am back at it until my boys get home from school. Once a week or so, I travel somewhere to give a speech. This is not nearly as exotic as it sounds. If humanity has invented a more dismal way to travel than the airplane, I'm not aware of it.

I don't work on Saturdays, unless I've goofed off through the week and need to catch up, a not uncommon occurrence. Sundays are spent at Quaker meeting for worship and in my recliner, asleep, with the newspaper in my lap. I have single-handedly raised the Sunday afternoon nap to an art form.

This marriage of pastoring, writing and speaking is one that appeals to me. Each activity complements the other. I once spent a summer during college working for the state highway picking up roadkill. Compared to that, what I do now is a breeze.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Walker Large Print; Lrg edition
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802727522
• ISBN-13: 978-0802727527
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,030 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Warm Tales With Real Substance & Wisdom, January 4, 2005

By	Jason E. Smith "Impatient Reader" (Maryland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Front Porch Tales: Warm-Hearted Stories of Family, Faith, Laughter and Love (Hardcover)

If you find the whole genre of 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' type books to be annoyingly sappy and over-the-top then this book is your antidote.

It features real stories from real life whereby the author (a Quaker pastor) draws real substantive wisdom. Where Chicken Soup and the like were "cute" or "charming", Gulley is challenging. There's plenty laugh out loud comedy here too, and enough sweetness to aggravate a toothache, but those elements are the icing instead of the cake.

Gulley talks about raising children to be tough, the capacity people have for mid-life change, prayer, loss, flexibility, the home, the dignity of work, the debilitating effect of television, why we need more listening and less psychology, love between a husband & wife, and many other subjects. Nearly all of these short essays are punctuated with surprisingly relevant scriptural anecdotes from the Good Book.

On the first page, Gulley wrote, "I thank God I was born before Nintendo video games and all the other things that keep kids from getting out and exploring their environs. My parents turned off the television set and sent me outdoors, where I met all kinds of interesting people, like Mrs. Harvey and Doctor Gibbs and Mr. Welty."

And he isn't kidding. This is a superb read that--through the window of the author's life--manages to search out so much of what's wrong with the world, offers beautiful alternatives, and does it all with the charity, humor, modesty, and self-depreciation proper to a Christian.

Highly recommended!

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll read it over and over again!, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Front Porch Tales (Hardcover)

I'm 13 and I'll admit I only bought this book because I had a gift certificate to a local Christian bookstore and I couldn't find anything to buy in the young adult section. But after being bored one day I picked it and it's dusty cover off of my bookshelf and started reading it. I'm glad I did. Philip Gulley writes in an easy manner that anyone can understand, even a teenager like me. His stories make you laugh, even though I don't think he tries to be funny. It just comes out natural in his writing. I've read the book twice and got my mom to read it and she liked too. I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read mini-stories, because that's what the book is. You can put the book down and not have to worry about remembering characters' names or other details. It's full of stories that will make you laugh and also warm your heart. So why are sitting here reading my review? Buy the book on Amazon today! If I'm 13 and I liked it, I think you'll like it too. Thanks for reading my review. Bye!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes you just need some peace..., October 16, 2001

By	"wwteacher" (Cairo, GA USA) - See all my reviews

Philip Gulley's books give me a sense of peace, calm, and quiet seasoned with a generous helping of humor that always lets me end my day on a happier note. I've read most of his works and especially enjoy the characters who make me think, "I KNOW that person!" "Front Porch Tales" has joined my other favorite book, Clyde Egerton's "Walking Across Egypt" as my gift of choice to dear friends and loved ones.