One Hundred Tons of Ice: And Other Gospel Stories

By Lawrence Wood

This is a collection of thirty-one beautifully written and wonderfully moving sermon-length reflections that read more like stories from Lake Wobegone. Wood weaves together history, legends, and references to popular culture seamlessly with biblical passages to create reflections that are both inspirational and educational.

"A modern Scheherezade, this gifted United Methodist preacher unspools a series of compelling stroies as he seeks to draw out the presence of God in the historical, the legendary, the ordinary, and the bizarre events of human life. . . . This debut collection has the potential to be a book for all seasons." --Publisher's Weekly

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0664226876
• ISBN13: 9780664226879
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.56 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 20 years and up

Customer Reviews

chronicle of one man's growth of faith

One Hundred Tons of Ice is a chronicle of one man's growth of faith as he witnesses the events of life and nature with an eye to reality and a heart bent to Heaven. It is an inspiring book that will encourage you to see God at work among us in ways previously unnoticed-- new revelations of old gospel truths. At times it challenges the mind, but unfailingly feeds the soul.

Great Stories, Mediocre Reflections

The stories are the real winners in this book--a collection of the personal, the ordinary, the bizarre, and the off-beat. The author tells these true stories in a simple yet alluring way, making the reader salivate for more. And the connections between the stories and the accompanying biblical reflections are unexpected and thought-provoking. But when it comes to the biblical reflections themselves, the author's commentary is mostly flat and unsurprising. I found myself wanting a lot more stories and a lot less of the author's reflections.

Lessons for Life

I have read this book twice and given it as gifts to several friends who work to make Gospel teachings a model for their everyday lives. There is something here for everyone--joy, sadness, hope. I especially recommend it to those in any profession related to Christian education or the ministry...it should be in every church library.

Review for One Hundred Tons of Ice..., by Lawrence Wood

One Hundred Tons of Ice and Other Gospel Stories is a delightful book of stories. Rev. Wood shares interesting historical information from the mundane and sometimes not so mundane events in the lives of people. He then uses those events to share the Christian faith in a refreshing perspective. I truly enjoyed the book's sense of God being in all things. Rev. Wood has an insightful way of sharing the wonder of God. What "spiritual imagination"!

What a Super Book

This book is really wonderful, and so well written! In the essay, "Swing Time" Lawrence Wood tells how Fred Astairs clips have been held back from being used to honor Ginger Rogers, but have been sold for use in "Dirt Devil" commercials. Then he ties that observation in to how people who want to profit from the image of Jesus Christ could stand to be introduced to the real Jesus Christ. After relating a very appropriate passage from Ecclesiasticus, he says, "Fame or obscurity, they were all the same to Jesus of Nazareth. He was mindful not of image, but reality..."Again and again Wood takes an obscure or bizarre story, turns it around in front of us until the Gospel shows through. But these are not the internet-forward type of miracle stories that are to remind us that sometimes miracles happen. Most are stories of everyday occurrences to typical people which show that God is active in these lives.One story, "A Sticky Situation" tells of a huge molasses spill in Boston in 1919. The story is a great read in itself, the way Wood writes it. But he takes it several levels deeper when he connects it to the lasting consequences of sin in our lives--and the cleansing power of grace.I couldn't have any higher a recommendation for this book. I am a pastor, but I wouldn't encourage my parishioners to buy it--I want to steal stories from it for years.