Good-Bye Shack; Hello Swallows of Kabul!

Good-Bye Shack; Hello Swallows of Kabul!

I would definitely recommend November's Book, The Shack, as a great, thought provoking read. I thought the story brought a practical perspective to spirituality. If you believe in God or don't believe in God this novel will challenge your thinking in a great way!

I hope our next book, The Swallows of Kabul, will be just as good!

HAPPY READING!

My Favorite Part of The Shack

Chapter Fourteen, Verbs and Other Freedoms, page two hundred and five,

"Then let's use your two words: responsibility and expectation. Before your words became nouns, they were first my words, nouns with movement and experience buried inside of them; the ability to respond and expectancy. My words are alive and dynamic-full of life and possibility; yours are dead, full of law and fear and judgement. That is why you won't find the word responsibility in the Scriptures."

This is such a great piece that it is the only one I will put in this post. Thoughts on this one......

Happy Reading!!

Emotions are the Colours of the Soul!

A few more interesting quotes from 'The Shack":

Chapter Twelve, In The Belly Of The Beast, page one hundred seventy nine,

"As well -intentioned as it might be, you know that religious machinery can chew up people!" Jesus said with a bite of his own. "An awful lot of what is done in my name has nothing to do with me and is often, even if unintentional, very contrary to my purposes."

Chapter Twelve, In The Belly Of The Beast, page one hundred eighty one,

"..This whole thing is a process, not an event. All I want from you is to trust me with what little you can, and grow in loving people around you with the same love I share with you. It's not your job to change them, or to convince them. You are free to love without an agenda."

Chapter Thirteen, A Meeting Of Hearts, page one hundred eighty five,

"Mack, just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomlish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors."

Chapter Thirteen, A Meeting Of Hearts, page one hundred eighty seven,

"Honey, you're a survivor. No shame in that. Your daddy hurt you something fierce. Life hurt you. Lies are one of the easiest places for survivors to run. It gives you a sense of safety, a place where you only have to depend on yourself. But it's a dark place, isn't it?"

"Lies are a little fortress; inside them you can feel safe and powerful. Through your little fortress of lies you try to run your life and manipulate others. But the fortress needs walls, so you build some. These are the justifications for your lies. You know, like you are doing this to protect someone you love, to keep them from feeling pain. Whatever works, just so you feel okay about the lies."

Chapter Fourteen, Verbs and Other Freedoms, page one hundred ninety six,

"Emotions are the colors of the soul; they are spectacular and incredible. When you don't feel, the world becomes dull and colorless. ....."

We are nearing the end of the first book on Tea Time please let me know what you think. Is this a good format? Any suggestions? Please let me know some of your book recommendations.

Happy Reading!!

Comment Challenged! Sorry.

I want to offer my apologies to the readers that have tried to comment and have not been able to do so. Thank you for sticking with me. I was playing around with the comment functions today and I found that if you have a problem publishing a comment:

Click the profile link
Then click anonymous.
Then add your name to your comment so we know who you are.

I hope this helps. Please email me at littlemrsw@yahoo.ca if you continue to not be able to leave your comment. Your thoughts are wanted and appreciated!
Happy Reading!!

WILD AND BEAUTIFUL!

More from November's Book, The Shack:


Chapter Nine, A Long Time Ago, In A Garden Far, Far Away
Page one hundred thirty eight

Sarayu stepped toward him until she had invaded his personal space. "And well you should, Mackenzie, because this garden is your soul. This mess is you! Together, you and I, we have been working with a purpose in your heart. And it is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process. To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive - a living fractal."

Chapter Ten, Wade In The Water, Page one hundred fourty two,

"It is your desperate attempt to get some control over something you can't. It is impossible for you to take power over the future because it isn't real, nor will it ever be real. You try and play God, imagining the evil that you fear becoming reality, and then you try and make plans and contingencies to avoid what you fear."

Chapter Twelve, In The Belly Of The Beasts, Page one hundred seventy five,

"But why do we keep all that crap inside?" Mack asked.
"Because we believe it's safer there. And, sometimes, when you're a kid trying to survive, it really is safer there. Then you grow up on the outside, but on the inside you're still that kid in the dark cave surrounded by monsters, and out of habit you keep adding to your collection. we all collect things we value, you know?"

"So, how does that change, you know, for somebody who's lost in the dark like me?"

"Most often, pretty slowly," Jesus answered. "Remember, you can't do it alone. Some folks try with all kinds of coping mechanisms and mental games. But the monsters are still there, just waiting for the chance to come out."

"So what do I do now?"

"What you're already doing, Mack, learning to live loved........

Please don't feel obligated to comment on the snippets I pull from the book, let me know the parts you liked or didn't like. What do you think about the book in general, would you recommend it?

Happy Reading!

What do you think?

Here are a few more snippets from November's Book,

Chapter Six, A Piece of Pie, Page ninety five:

"Mackenzie, the Truth shall set you free and the Truth has a name; he's over in the woodshop right now covered in sawdust. Everything is about him. And freedom is a process that happens inside a relationship with him. Then all that stuff you feel churnin' around inside will start to work its way out."


Page one hundred and one:

"Love and relationship. all love and relationship is possible for you only because it already exists within Me, within God myself. Love is not the limitation; love is the flying. I am love."


Chapter Eight, A Breakfast of Champions, Page one hundred and fifteen:

Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from known to unknown.
-Author Unknown

How are you liking this book? What are your thoughts?

Happy Reading!

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Here are a few interesting parts of Chapter Five that I have picked out to comment on. Let me know what your thoughts are on these paragraphs or others.

We routinely disqualify testimony that would plead for extenuation. That is, we are so persuaded of the rightousness of our judgement as to invalidate evidence that does not confirm us in it. Nothing that deserves to be called truth could ever be arrived at by such means.
-Marilynne Robinson, The Death of Adam

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, page 74

On the long stretch up the Gorge, Mack felt a creeping panic begin to penetrate his consciousness. He had tried to avoid thinking about what he was doing and just keep putting one foot in front of the other, but like grass pushing through concrete, the repressed feelings and fears somehow began to poke through. His eyes darkened and his hands tightened on the steering wheel as he fought the temptation at every off-ramp to turn around and go home. He knew he was driving straight into the center of his pain, the vortex of The Great Sadness that had so diminished his sense of being alive.


Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, page 78

And finally his heart exploded like a flash flood, releasing his pent up anger and letting it rush down the rocky canyon of his emotions, turning his eyes heavenward, he began screaming his anguished questions. " Why? Why did you let this happen? Why did you bring me here? Of all the places to meet you-why here? Wasn't it enough to kill my baby? Do you have to toy with me to?" In a blind rage, Mack grabbed the nearest chair and flung it at the window. It smashed into pieces. He picked up one of the legs and began destroying everything he could. Groans and moans of despair and fury spat through his lips as he beat his wrath into this terrible place. "I hate you!" In a frenzy he pounded out his rage until he was exhausted and spent.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, page87

Thoughts tumbled over eachother as Mack struggled to figure out what to do. Was one of these people God? What if they were hallucinations or angels, or God was coming later? That could be embarrassing. Since there were three of them, maybe this was a Trinity sort of thing. But two women and a man and none of them white? Then again, why had he naturally assumed that God would be white? He knew his mind was rambling, so he focused on the one question he most wanted answered.
"Then," Mack struggled to ask, "which one of you is God?"
"I am," said all three in unison. Mack looked from one to the next, and even though he couldn't begin to grasp what he was seeing and hearing, he somehow believed them.

Happy Reading!

Wow!

Wow! I think there is enough in this book that we could be into discussions for days. I don't want to give my overall thoughts yet so I post about each chapter.

Starting with the note:

Mackenzie,

It's been a while. I've missed you.

I'll be at the shack next weekend if you want to get together.

Papa

Do you think that the author,W.M. Paul Young, received a note from God??

Does God send notes? Does he talk to people? I believe anything is possible, especially with God!

"There is was. Papa was Nan's favorite name for God and it expressed her delight in the intimate friendship she had with him."

Calling God Papa has definitely stirred up some discussion even in my own household. I would love to have a relationship with God where I felt comfortable calling him Papa. I don't yet but maybe some day I will.

My heart broke for Mack and his family in the next few chapters. A Mother and Father's worst nightmare and there was nothing that could have prevented it. The tears were flowing as I read about the tragic event.

Please click on comment below each post to add your thoughts. I will be continuing with more posts this week.

Happy Reading!

Mack and His Family

Well, it isn't November yet but I couldn't wait to write my first post about this book. What do you think?

I really enjoyed reading the Forward, written by Willie, because it gave me a chance to get to know Mack and his family.

Here are some of Mack's traits that stick out to me:

"In a world of talkers, Mack is a thinker and a doer."

"The thing is, he usually makes uncomfortable sense in a world where most folks would rather just hear what they are used to hearing, which is often not much of anything. Those who know him generally like him well enough, providing he keeps his thoughts mostly to himself. And when he does talk it isn't that they stop liking him-rather, they are not quite so satisfied with themselves."

Anyone know someone like that? A long the same lines, I have a friend that is so full of life and energy that after talking to her you are inspired. Not as much that you feel bad about yourself, more of you feel like you can do anything.

"He can speak intelligently about most anything and even though you sense he has strong convictions, he has a gentle way about him that lets you keep yours."

I love this. I hope one day to be like that, to be able to stand for something but also to resonate acceptance.

"He's become one of those rare people who are totally at home in their own skin."

Over the years I seem to get more and more comfortable with who I am, but I know I still have a long way to go.

The last part of the forward I want to mention was :

"He seems to have a love/hate relationship with religion,...."

I have to say that religion has confused me more than anything. To believe in God, I had to get to know him myself.

Share, share and share some more. What are your thoughts? Please leave comments and to be able to see other comments click on the comment link at the bottom of the posts. Let me know if you have any problems. You can email me at littlemrw@yahoo.ca.

Happy Reading!!

November's Book

The Shack, Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity, WM. Paul Young, is our book of the month.

Mackenzie Allen Philips's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant THE SHACK wrestles with the timeless question: Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain? The answer's Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

As you read, or when you are done reading this book, please post your thoughts. Hopefully we can have a lot of fun with this.