The Shack

Yesterday I started and finished the most amazing work of fiction that I have read in a decade. It has staunch supporters and very vocal detractors. There has been much ado about a little book called The Shack.


Let me just say that this story embodies the most personal portrayal of the God-man dynamic that this blogger has ever seen. If you are happy in your religiosity, then please do not read this book because it will shake the religious cobwebs from your heart to experience our Abba Father in a completely fresh way.

The author, William Young, paints a stunning picture of the Trinity and shows how from the relationship within the Godhead flows the love that is our Father God. He manages to put into words the thoughts that I have been trying to formulate but did not have the capacity to express. I can tell you that I will never view my relationship with Papa in the same light again.

If you are ready to go deeper with God, if you long to move past the form and function of "Church" as usual, if you crave a truly personal relationship with your Father, then you should beg, borrow, or buy a copy of this book.

The Shack will absolutely breathe a breath of fresh air into your spiritual life. Not since I read Hinds Feet On High Places has a work of fiction moved me this completely toward a deeper walk with Father.

If I had the financial wherewithal to do it, I would buy 3 or 4 cases of this book and give a copy to everyone I know and some that I don't know. It is just that good. Please, if you have not read this book yet, drop whatever you are doing and do whatever you have to do to get a copy of The Shack. You will not regret it!

Please enjoy your reading of The Shack. I look forward to hearing how much it touched and changed your life. I, for one, will not be the same.

Oh, and Papa wanted me to tell you that "He is especially fond of you."

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Shirking Responsibility

I have to admit it - I have been remiss in my blogging today. Instead I spent the day cleaning the house, playing with my kid, and reading a book - not necessarily in that order. So, in order to compensate for my lackadaisical mentality I thought I would give you a tip for when you go out to eat on Sunday.

I found this blog post on a friend of a friend's site. He talks about what a horrible witness we Christians can be immediately after we scramble out the sanctuary doors on Sunday. I didn't feel very convicted by this because I'm too poor to eat out on Sunday (or any other day of the week) right now. I will, however, be thinking about it next time I walk through the doors of a restaurant on Sunday.

Besides, I have had enough friends who have been servers at restaurants to know that leaving a decent tip and a kind word go a long way. In addition, I always try to consider what a server might be dealing with in his/her personal life before I make it more difficult by being a pain in the you-know-what.

OK, enjoy this post, and remember not to forget what you learn when you sit down to eat your Sunday dinner!

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Entymology Lesson

I thought I would share a bit of information I gleaned today by being totally freaked out by a bug. Most who know me know that I am not a "bug person." I'm OK with the ladybugs, June bugs and love bugs, but past that I have a freak out reflex that is something to be marveled at.

I walked out of the house this morning to play with Avari in her pool, and this is what I found:

It was sitting on our back patio (if you can call it a patio - it's very small). Our dog immediately approached for further investigation. Eyewitness reports say that the bug jumped off the ground a good 6 inches, landed, jumped again and landed on his back (I was in the house retrieving the camera, which was probably best for everyone involved, especially the bug). After his incredible display of jumping prowess, the bug played possum while we examined him. I have to say that I took this picture at very close range. Of course, the whole time under my breath I was praying, "Dear Lord Jesus, please don't let this thing jump at me, or Avari will be scarred for life by my reaction." She already has a more than healthy fear of bugs thanks to me!

Don't worry, all you bug lovers out there, we followed the prime directive (my husband has been exposing me to Star Trek, of late). We released him unharmed back into the wild.

Anyway, if you ever see one, this is an Eyed Elator, also called an Eyed Click Beetle, and his scientific name is Alaus Oculatus. Apparently, the adults are harmless to humans and drink nectar from flowers. The false eyes are there to scare off would-be predators. Let me tell ya, it worked for me!

So, there's your entymology lesson for today. Do you feel smarter?

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Are You Crazy? - Proverbs 3:5-6

Have you ever turned your life over completely to God? Have you ever truly and with no holds barred given Him the control? Do you still have that one thing that you hold back from your Father? I did until a couple of months ago.

There is a scripture that many of us know by heart. It is Proverbs 3:5-6, and it says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

We quote it, but do we live it? In my estimation I had always been a good Christian. I did all of the things you are supposed to do. I went to church when the doors were open, I volunteered, I had personal devotional time, etc. However, I always lived in a little bit of fear of what God would require of me should I completely surrender to Him.

Then I did it. I let go and told Father that He could do whatever He wanted with my life because it belongs to Him. Now, I do not in any way say those words lightly. He asked us to do something that seems like lunacy. He told us that in order to live in His fullness we needed to relinquish control. For us that meant that my husband resigned from his teaching position to write a novel. That doesn't sound too crazy until you realize that I am a stay-at-home mother, so there is no second income on which we can rely.

We are in the process of living out Proverbs 3:5-6. We are trusting our Father with our whole hearts because our understanding tells us that we have lost what little sense we had to start with. You should see some of the strange looks we've been given when we have shared with others about what God has told us to do. Please do not mistake me. We have some wonderful friends and family who have gone so far as to be excited with us about this new adventure (you know who you are). However, we have seen some really confused and puzzled faces from others. I don't blame them. A while back I could very well have been one of those people. Now, I know that there is an amazing peace that comes from being obedient even when everyone else is asking, "Are You Crazy!?!"

In reading this scripture once more, I have seen something that I never noticed in my previous perusals. It is in verse 6. It says, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." I can tell you that I have walked in circles in my spiritual journey enough times to recognize the value of a straight path. Imagine, trusting in Father to the point where you never have to walk in circles around the same issue again. That sounds like heaven on earth to me.

You know what is so amazing about all of this? It is that even though we are in the worst financial shape of our lives thus far, even though we are not sure how Father is going to pay our bills, even though my understanding says that I should jump ship now, I am completely and totally at peace. I cannot control this situation. Sure, I could run out and get a job to pay the bills, or I could try to force my husband to do so. All that would accomplish is us walking around the same mountain again. I don't know about you, but I certainly do not want to be like the children of Israel walking around in a desert for 40 years complaining when the Promised Land is 50 feet away.

So, what does all this mean? Simple, it means that if we are willing to release our hold on the controls of our lives, God will take over and guide us in expert fashion through this maze of life. It translates exactly as the scripture says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Do not keep even the smallest piece from Him. Give Him everything in your life down to the most inconsequential thing. "Do not lean on your own understanding." We can never know what Father knows; our flawed view of our situation will always lead us in the wrong direction. "In all your ways acknowledge him." There is no part of our life in which He does not want to be involved. "And he will make straight your paths."

The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years when the trip should have taken a matter of weeks. Talk about wasting a lot of time. I mean, I'm not sure how you feel, but the land of milk and honey sounds way better than a desert full of nothing.

That means, you can call me crazy all you want, but I'm going to take the advice of the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon. I am going to trust in Father with my whole heart, let everything I do flow from Him, quit depending on my analysis of the situation and take the direct route to wherever He is leading!

Blessings and a safe journey to you!

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Organic Matter

Wow, I have been so used to writing every day that it feels like it has been forever since I have written anything. It has been a busy few days for us, especially Sunday. We kicked off a new ministry at our church on Sunday. It is called "realife." It is a ministry to reach out to the 18-40 age group in our congregation. I am almost hesitant to write this post as I know that there are readers who are affiliated with my church. But, I did not start this blog to pander to anyone. I started it because I felt God was telling me that I should do so, and as this is supposed to be a Father-directed venture, I will continue writing as Father directs.

Let me say that I am still undecided as to how God wants me involved in this venture - "realife." On the one hand I know that my generation is one who is slipping through the cracks of traditional congregational churches everywhere. On the other hand, I'm not sure that I should necessarily be concerned about this. I know, I know. I just heard a lot of jaws hit the keyboards out there. I am in no way saying that I have no concern for those who are not serving my Father. My heart breaks to think of those that I have seen walk away from Him (not from a congregational setting - from Him). However, I have been a leader and a follower in various congregations. What I have seen over and over is that someone sees a lack of a certain type of person in a congregation, and they decide that there needs to be a new program to "reach out" to that demographic.

Now, I'm probably going to get a lot of angry comments and e-mails about this post, but I simply have to say what I believe my Father is speaking to me. A program, a meeting, another night of the week is not the answer. We wear people out with our programs and functions. Do you know who ends up coming to those things after a while? The same group of people that come to every other "ministry" of the church. My question is this: Are we really meeting needs and developing relationships between ourselves and others and God by doing all this? Or are we just creating another service for people to attend?

The "church" philosophy has become - "get 'em in the doors and God'll minister to 'em." You know what - that's not how God designed it. In the early church we see Jesus sending the disciples out to minister to others. He didn't say "build a big ginormous really tricked out building, invite them to come to a special function and they shall be saved." He commissions us to reach out to others. Congregations have developed this "convenience store" attitude. They can drive in and pick up whatever kind of "ministry" they need. Then they drive home with not much to show for it. Just think about it - there's children's church, youth group, young adults ministry, Sunday school, ladies meetings, men's ministries, singles groups, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

What I hear over and over from people is the thing they really desire is not another ministry or another opportunity to go to a building. Their hearts' desire is for relationship. I can tell you after enough years in traditional church (whatever form it may take) that relationships are not built by sitting in services. We have to start being intentional in our relationships. We make time for the things and people who are important to us. So if we feel like we are not connected to anyone in our congregation, we need to take it upon ourselves to build the types of relationships that will help sustain our walk with God.

When we were kids, we just walked up to another kid and said, "hey, do you want to be my friend?" You know what I've found, that still works most of the time. Oh, you're still going to have the people that will look at you funny and walk away. Far more often you'll find that the person you are reaching out to is reaching right back. We are relational beings. Father created us to be that way. That means that just sitting next to someone in a "service" is not going to satisfy our need for spiritual relationship.

This one thing I have learned from my own experience: you cannot fabricate something genuine. It drives me completely bananas to hear someone say that they are reading this great book about how so-and-so grew their congregation to 10 bazillion people, and we're going to do the same thing so that will happen for us. People, people, people - God just does not work that way. Just because having a church service in a swimming pool worked for Church ABC does not mean that Church XYZ in Antarctica should try it. Have we ever thought that God might give us creativity and direction for our situation if we let Him?

God will give us a living, organic way to minister to those around us if we will avail ourselves of it. Let's be purposeful in our relationships with others and our relationship with God. Quit depending on a "service" to fix what ails you. God is much more personal than that. Congregational settings can be wonderful, but they cannot meet all needs. Sometimes, they aren't the answer at all. I feel that way more every day. I love God more, and somehow, I love "services" less.

I crave something real and sincere in this day and age of special effects, lies and debauchery. A living thing, an organic being is not birthed from something unliving - inorganic, if you will. When will we wake up and realize that simply offering another time for people to be at church is not the answer? When will we instead, get into people's lives, build relationships with other Jesus-lovers for the purpose of taking this journey together?

In any case, this is my goal. Jeremiah 29:13 (in my top 5 fav scriptures) says, "You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart." Regardless of where God sends me - in or out of a congregational setting - I love my Father and will serve Him unconditionally.

This is my final question to you today: Will you be my friend? Won't you join me in this journey?

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