9How can you improve on the Christmas story? You can't. In Telling the Story, Jody Seymour brings the reader to the manger from eight different perspectives. You will relive the story from the point of view of some of those who were there. You will hear from the innkeeper who found no room; a bewildered yet hopeful Joseph; a shepherd who gave a special gift; a man who was lost in Bethlehem on that blessed night; a potter who shared a gift shaped by love; a stargazer who was willing to risk a long journey; a census-taker whose life was changed; and a frightened, angry Herod who wondered, ""What child is this?"" As a companion to these stories, Jody offers some poems to bring life to the old story that Christian pilgrims celebrate during the seasons of Advent and Christmas. Jody Seymour is a retired United Methodist minister. He is the author of eight other books, including Lost but Making Excellent Time: Transforming the Rat Race into a Pilgrimage (2009); Finding God Between the Lines: New Insights from Familiar Passages and Places (1997); Marking the Gospel: A Devotional Commentary on the Gospel of Mark (2011); and The Christian Skeptic (2015). He lives in Davidson, North Carolina.