A few weeks ago I was in church, sitting with my parents, and my mom’s friend reached over and handed me a devotion book. I handed it to my mom thinking that it was for her. As it turns out, she was handing it to me. It’s a very small book with a one-page devotion per day. There’s a verse to go along with a story and then a section that is called “Deeper Walk” that gives a few more scriptures to read that go along with the story. Continue reading “Thursday Thoughts: Waiting”
BOOK REVIEW- THE SHACK
I have a long list of to-be-read books that I keep filed away in my brain. A very long list. I have been looking for one in particular that’s been on my list a while: The Shack. I looked at thrift stores and Goodwill stores for a very long time, but I never was able to find it. (I think I know why I wasn’t able to find it; it’s a hard one to let go of.) So when I first moved back to Alabama and visited the Goodwill and actually found it, I was very excited. But true to form, I was already in the middle of another book, so I decided to put The Shack on my shelf until I could get around to it.
Then Came the Movie
I knew I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie and had big plans to quickly read it once summer started so I could head to the theater. That didn’t happen. I started the book, was pretty captivated by the story, and had every intention to finish it quickly. But when a book is deep or super thought-provoking, sometimes I get intimidated, so I set it aside for a few weeks. When I picked it back up, I finished it in two days.
Here Comes the Religion
Okay, not really religion. 🙂 But I do want to tell you why this book made such an impact on me.
The main character, Mack, is dealing with The Great Sadness that has descended on him after the disappearance of his child. He receives a letter from “Papa” (God) in his mailbox asking him to meet him at the shack, which is the scene of the crime. He ultimately decides to go to the shack and there he does indeed meet Papa. But he doesn’t just meet Papa; he meets the entire trinity in the form of actual people. Jesus is there and so is the Holy Spirit. The way Paul Young writes them is what really peaked my interest. Papa is a black woman, Jesus is a middle-eastern looking man, and Sarayu (the Holy Spirit) is an Asian woman.
Here’s why this is so interesting to me: God was exactly what, who, and how Mack needed to see and get to know Him. It was eluded to in the book that sometimes “religion” is sort of formal, and that God really just loves His children and wants them to love Him too.
Now, I also want to say with a very loud voice- THIS IS NOT THE BE ALL/END ALL BOOK ABOUT GOD!!!! Please go to your Bible for the most true version of God and for the most inspiring stories about God and all of His wonders and promises and goodness. I’ve never gleaned more truth, inspiration, and information about God as I have from the Bible.
With that said, The Shack is an outside of the religion-box way to look at a relationship with God. And that right there, relationship, was the biggest thing I took away from this book. I like this quote by Jesus from the book:
“Because we want you to join us in the circle of relationship. I don’t want slaves to my will; I want brothers and sisters who will share life with me.”
I just loved that. And it is reinforced throughout the story. God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, they want to be a part of our lives. They want us to include them in everything we do. Because whether we remember it or not, they’re always there. Why not have a relationship with the one who created you, the one who died for you, and the one who guides you on your path of life?
I think that’s what I walked away with-a bit of a challenge- to not forget to keep the lines of communication open at all times with God. Remember that old hymn that goes, “and He walks with me, and He talks with me”? He’s always there, why not talk to Him? As a result, in your personal daily walk with God, you find yourself thinking about Him more. Your thoughts become His thoughts. You start to want to do things that would be pleasing to God.
The other thing that really stood out to me about the story was that everyone’s relationship with God is unique. We are all in different stages of life, have different spiritual maturity levels, have different backgrounds and life circumstances. This is what makes our relationship with God so unique. My story will not be like yours, but I promise that my God is also your God. We may talk to Him differently; we may go to different churches; we may read different adaptations of the Bible. But God is God, and He loves you, and He loves me, and He just wants you to love Him too. Your life will be so much better if you do.
So, if you’re interested, I encourage you to read the book. It is such a beautiful story of one man’s journey through a very great sadness and the relationship he develops with God as this terrible situation is redeemed. And if you’re not a reader (shame on you), 🙂 then you need to watch the movie! It was expertly cast and follows the main theme of the book perfectly. It was very well done. It’s available at the public library here in Greenville for free with your library card!
If you’re interested in more information about the movie or book, please visit the website. It is a great resource to find out more about this story.
If you’ve read this book and would like to discuss it with me in the comments, please do. I loved it so much! It definitely went on the list of my favorite books. If you’ve not read it, I really encourage you to. You won’t be disappointed.
Welcome back to Thursday Thoughts! I decided to not post on Sunday since it was Easter. It’s a pretty important day, and I just didn’t feel right about “promoting myself” on such a sacred day. I hope that y’all were able to spend some time with family and with Jesus.
**Note** I started this post with the intention of telling you about several of the books I’ve read lately. This book was first on my list, and I couldn’t stop writing about it. It meant a lot to me and for whatever reason, the words just poured out. Perhaps someone out there needs to know that this book exists. I don’t know. All I do know is that I felt compelled to only share about this particular book. I hope that your week has been better than mine. (Perhaps that’s why I was only able to get words out about this book.) It’s been a tough week for some reason. Anywho, I hope you enjoy today’s post and hope that your Friday is delightful!
Lately I’ve been reading a lot. I have been reading every morning during my quiet time/devotion, and I’ve been listening to audio books like they are about to disappear off of the planet. Since I’ve been reading so much, I thought I’d share in case any of you are looking for something new.
Discerning the Voice of God– Priscilla Shirer
I borrowed this book from my dear friend, Christy. She snapped a picture of a page from the book and sent it to me one day. I told her I hadn’t read that book before, but I do love me some Priscilla (Fevernt and War Room, anybody? That movie was amazing!), so she was kind enough to lend it to me.
Honestly, I didn’t think I needed this book. I felt like I had been hearing from God just fine without a book to tell me how to do it. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as I opened the book, all sorts of “bad” was after me. I kid you not! I read this book during my morning devotion time, which is in the very early, dark hours of the morning. It’s just me and Jesus, and I prefer it that way. But reading this book was an invitation for the devil to make me so stinking tired the moment I cracked open my Bible. There were mornings that I would start reading my Bible and accompanying devotion, and I would nod off to sleep, like instantly! There were days I didn’t even get to Discerning the Voice of God.
But those mornings that I did….y’all… God is so good. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed from moving back to Alabama, it is that my relationship with God has changed. And not necessarily for the good. I left a great church that I really, really liked. I was starting to get involved and had my routine of how my weeks would play out with church now involved in my schedule. So moving here threw everything out of whack. My quiet times weren’t spent in the prayer closet I had made for myself because now I don’t have a closet I can walk into. I don’t even have a spare corner in this apartment. Needless to say, this book couldn’t have come at a better time. God knew I needed it because I couldn’t hear from him like I used to. Because I was falling asleep while he was trying to talk to me! 🙂
I am so thankful for people like Priscilla Shirer (and countless others) who have shared so much in book form about their relationship with God and how to follow him. There’s no better tool than the Bible to help you on that journey, but I know that the Bible seems old fashioned and confusing to some people, so it helps to have a “guide”.
I guess my point in writing this post is to share that God is great. He meets you right where you are and right when you need Him most. We knew moving back to Alabama was for a reason. And unfortunately it’s been a reason that hasn’t necessarily been pleasant. We’ve lost four family members in the short time that we’ve been here. But God knew that our families needed us. God knew that we wouldn’t have been able to attend all of the funerals and family gatherings if we were still in Louisiana. So, maybe not all of the time we’ve been back has been good, but it’s been because of God. I knew He was speaking to us when people told us about possible job openings here in Alabama. I knew that it was God speaking when we were told we could move into this apartment. And I knew it was God speaking when Christy sent me that picture of this book. He spoke to her too to offer it to me, and she listened. I’m so glad she did!
If you need to hear from God, please get this book. It won’t be the answer to your problems, but it will teach you ways to have your ear inclined to Him. To listen with the ears of your heart and not just the ears on your head. It’s chock full of scripture and powerful stories, personal and biblical, that are explained to even the most elementary of Bible students. A warning, though: be prepared to have all kinds of things get in your way. It’ll probably seem like every time you sit down to read a chapter that something will happen to get you to not read. Deal with the situation and go right back to reading. God doesn’t put stuff like this in people’s lives unless they are intended for a good purpose. And the devil don’t like that! But push through and do it anyway; you will be blessed.