It was a blessing to meet my new friend, Gorman Woodfin, while we were both covering the Royal Premiere of Voyage of the Dawn Treader in London. He is an optimistic and very kind soul! When he told me about his wonderful book, it was clear that this is a book Beliefnetters should know about.
The Hollow of His Hands: Amazing Stories of God’s Care
was originally published in 2001 yet has seen a recent revival. The profound meaning of the stories and their deeply inspiration message, have moved readers to rediscover it again. It is published by Multnomah Books.
Gorman is a Virginianative and appears on CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network) Television programs. With a wide-ranging television career, Gorman has produced majornational award shows, acted extensively on stage, helped raise funds for localPBS programming, hosted various CBN and regional cable productions, andappeared in various regional and local commercials.
We spoke to him about The Hollow of His Hands and the wonderful stories that make the book come alive.
LSB: Whatinspired you to write the book?
GW: Imaginegetting sucked up in the vortex of a massive twister or being a part of thehistoric Apollo 13 Moon Mission or becoming a skilled artist in a magicalspiritual moment that would change your life forever.
I haveone of the most amazing jobs on the planet! I get to fly all over the country (and sometimes overseas) and talk topeople about what God has done in their lives. My job with CBN was the catalyst for writing, “In the Hollow of HisHand: Amazing Stories of God’s Care.” I’ve now been in this position for 15 years. My title is Senior Producer/Reporter.
CBN gaveme permission to re-interview the people I had selected to be in the book. When the book reaches the “royalty phase”half of the royalty payments will go to the people in the book. Many of them have their own ministries and Ihope to help them help others.
Where did you find the people you featured?
All thepeople in the book were story assignments I was given by my Assignment Editorat CBN. Some of the stories were foundin major magazines, one was highlighted on CNN and Oprah, while some weresubmitted to us.
What made you choose their stories?
At thetime of writing the book I had been in my job for about 6 years. These 17 true-life stories were the mostdramatic stories I had covered for CBN. I also wanted a variety of stories. There are survival stories, historical stories, healing stories andstories about people turning to God. Butanother major factor in the stories is that they are real and at times”gritty.” Some of the stories deal withcurrent issues like drug addiction and posttraumatic stress syndrome.
What isthe take away lesson or message in the book?
The focalpoint of each story is that GOD IS AMAZING. When people read the book I do not want them to focus on me as theauthor or even focus on the people in the stories. The focal point is that–at that point intheir lives–how God miraculously delivered and protected and lead them in theirlives.
I If is filled with so many wonderful stories, but were there one or two that changed your life or way of thinking?
I loveeach story in the book but two that touch me deeply are the Jerry Woodfill,Apollo 13 story and the Chip Gillette, Wedgewood Baptist Church story.
InJerry’s story he is the man who first heard the famous words, “Houston, we have a problem.” He served as a major consultant on RonHoward’s movie, Apollo 13. Jerry was anatheist when the Apollo mission started but over the course of the dramaticrescue of those brave astronauts, Jerry turned from atheism to starting anamazing faith walk with God.
In ChipGillette’s Wedgewood Baptist Churchstory, he was the first officer on the scene of an incredibly sad event. A lone gunman tried to kill hundreds of kidsat a Christian concert. While severalpeople did tragically lose their lives that night, there were unbelievablestories of how God protected and defended hundreds of teens that night. I do not want to give too much away but Godlead Chip to a memento that helped Chip make sense of God’s presence in such acatastrophic event.
What is your hope for the holidays?
My hopefor the holidays is for people to experience the true meaning ofChristmas. Instead of the commercialismand materialism that comes during the holidays, I hope that people find thetrue elements of Christmas. That peopleconnect to the true themes of the holidays like giving to others, finding truepeace in their hearts and taking time to cultivate their own personalrelationship with God.
As a special treat, see Gorman’s Narnia segments on CBN:
Read Previous Post
