Book Review: The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

I recently finished reading this book for the second time.  I don't know how I missed this book when it was released in 2007, but I am happy I got to read it now.

If you are like me, and had your head in the sand when the book was widely discussed and shared, pick it up now and read it.  It is a very influential work of fiction.

Click below if you want to read more.

The Redemption of a Grinch

I wrote this a couple years ago, and found myself needing the message again.  I have felt like Ebenezer Scrooge lately, or even like this Mr. Grinch.  I have allowed external negativity to become my internal state.  If I'm not careful, I may find my heart shrinking as I put my focus on the wrong things, and forget to think about the good things.  I need to put my actions into loving others.

Enjoy this one again.  Merry Christmas!

Every year, I find enjoyment in the classic Christmas movies.   One of my favorite movies is "The Grinch That Stole Christmas."  The vile grinch is described so well in the song.

Upcoming Movie - The Song

I came across this movie trailer on Facebook the other day, as Kyle Idleman was promoting it on his page.  Kyle is one of my favorite writers.  If you are not familiar with his work, just check out some previous book reviews of mine: Are You a Fan or a Follower?; Gods at War; or AHA - Awakening. Honesty. Action.

You Won't Relent

Yesterday, our worship team sang this song.  

I was captured by the description of the song, taken right from scripture from the Song of Songs:

"Place me like a seal over your heart,

like a seal on your arm.

For love is as strong as death,

its jealousy as enduring as the grave.

Love flashes like fire,

the brightest kind of flame.

Many waters cannot quench love,

nor can rivers drown it."

~Song of Songs 8:6-7 (NLT)

You see, our Lord has that incredible level of passion for us, the kind that possesses, demands, and desires so deeply.  This is the level of passion that normally burns out between two people, but with our God, will never end, not even in death.  

I shiver with joy, knowing He desires me that much.  

Honoring my Mothers

I am blessed with two mothers.

My mother's name is Karen, and she could be described as a person of great moral integrity.  She is very bright, and could grasp new concepts quickly, and would want to make sure everything is just right.  She is very private and would be mortified that I put her photo out here for everyone to see.  She loves my brother and I, but we didn't always hear about it.  She's a woman of few words, but every word spoken is one of wisdom and grace.

My other mother is my mother-in-law, Connie.  While she is a person of great moral integrity, she is vastly different than my mother.  She is the life of a party, always telling great stories and jokes to make you laugh.  She's a hoot to be around.  She loves attention, and this photo was her idea.

Both of my mothers are believers.

I was reminded of the book of Ruth in the Old Testament.  Ruth was a foreign woman who became close to her mother-in-law, Naomi when her husband died.  Even though Ruth could have gone home, she chose to stay with Naomi when they would go back to Naomi's homeland.  The entire book is compelling, as you can see very plainly the love these two women had for each other.  This verse, often used in weddings, was actually Ruth speaking to Naomi.

"Don't ask me to leave you and turn back.  Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live.  Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.  May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!" ~Ruth 1:16-17 (NLT)

Let's take some time to honor all the mothers you have in life.  Happy Mother's Day!

Life Lines

Many of you may remember I began sailing last summer.  If you want to recall my first solo sailing trip, click Winds.  We are associate members of the Commodore Decatur Yacht Club, and we try to get on the lake every chance we get.  The club membership is open for anyone interested in sailing, and it only costs $75 a season to belong (family).  The club has five boats available for associate members to use, once the senior sailors deem us worthy to sail alone.

Damage to the keel

We received news this past Monday that the choppy wind conditions caused one of the club boats to break free from the ropes (lines) that bound it to the dock.  Because the lines snapped, the boat drifted against some rocks and caused damage to the keel (the weight on bottom) that made it nearly sink.

Investigating the damage

After some investigation, the senior sailors determined the lines were not adequate to keep the boat secure.  We learned that we must use double-braided ropes to secure the boat to the dock.

This made me think about the lines that keep us tethered to God.  If we are not firmly anchored to God with double-braided cords, our lifelines may snap, and we could find ourselves drifting away toward dangerous conditions.

What are some of these lines?
1. Attend a church that teaches Bible truth.
2. Read the Bible, a little each day.
3. Think about the things the Bible teaches.
4. Pray.  Again, I say pray.
5. Spend your free time with other believers who encourage you, and who can keep you accountable.
6. Learn how to love others the way He loves us and act on it.

There are more... name them!

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT)

Bond of Friendship

Samwise carries Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom

Lord of the Rings is a movie that continues to captivate me.  I was especially fascinated with the bond shown between the Hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.  From the beginning of the story, Samwise commits himself to ensuring Frodo is safe from harm, and fulfills his obligation to destroy the Ring of Power.  Throughout the movie, Samwise provides food, protection and sage advice for Frodo.

More than once, Samwise saved Frodo's life.

This reminded me of a bond of friendship that is shown in the Old Testament, David and Jonathan.  Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.  When Jonathan's dad, King Saul, wanted to kill David, Jonathan warned David.  Jonathan helped David hide, and they parted in tears, swearing loyalty to each other in the Lord's name.

I find myself thinking about the emotions of this bond.  Very few friendships in this world could be defined as strongly as the bond shown by David and Jonathan, or even the bond shown by fictional characters Samwise and Frodo.

What keeps us from bonding so tightly?  Let's explore the definition of bonding.

Bonding is the ability to establish an emotional attachment to another person.  It's the ability to relate to another on the deepest level.  When two people have a bond with each other, they share their deepest thoughts, dreams, and feelings with each other with no fear that they will be rejected by the other person. ~Dr. Henry Cloud

Can you think of anyone in your life you have this level of trust and intimacy with?  If you cannot, think about why.  Do you have fears of rejection based on some past experience?  Do you have anxiety about your own shortcomings that keep you from sharing with others?  If so, think about our heavenly Father.  He made you in His own image.  He knows your deepest thoughts and failures, and He loves you.  He will never reject you or forsake you.

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God.  

Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.

If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.  

We love each other because He loved us first.

~1John 4:7, 18-19 (NLT)

Consequences of Isolation

Yesterday, Amazon faithfully delivered a Blu-Ray of Disney's Frozen.  I admit, I am watching it for the second day in a row.  I loved the story about true love and how the writers shifted away from the old Disney formula of a "true love's kiss" and into real sacrificial love.

Today, I found myself thinking more about the damage the girls' parents'  mistake did to each of their girls.  By hiding them in the castle and isolating them from others, and even from each other, they both suffered.

Elsa was not allowed to ask forgiveness from her sister from accidentally hurting her.  Instead, her parents directed her to hide her talent and sheltered her.  They did not allow her a controlled setting to learn her talent where mistakes would be allowed and accepted.  As a consequence, she grew up lonely and afraid.  When she ran away from people, she let it go, and determined life was better alone.  When her sister confronted her, she was still dangerously uncontrolled.

Anna, her sister was lonely herself, but headstrong and way too trusting of people.  She fell in love with the first man who paid attention to her.  Alas, but this man had unscrupulous intentions.  He only wanted the power of the being married to the princess.  He even later admitted to planning to kill the queen to become the king.

The story continues to lessons learned about true love, for both the girls.

The pain of isolation reaches deep inside of us.  Some of us retreat deeper into the isolation, building fortified walls to protect us from the pain around us.  Others of us are so desperate for others' approval we fail to recognize the warning signs of the people who "friend" us.  Where is the happy medium?  How do we face our fears, and how do we know who to trust?

The Bible talks about how to do this. Solomon has many words to describe deception.  "People may cover their hatred with pleasant words, but they're deceiving you.  They pretend to be kind, but don't believe them.  Their hearts are full of many evils." ~Proverbs 26:24-25 (NLT).  Solomon also says this: "There are 'friends' who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother." ~Proverbs 18:24.  Solomon knew the definition of a true friend was shown in the actions of true love (or agape).  We have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to be real with others, yet be discerning enough to know when they are being real with us.

It takes practice.  Get out and be real with others.

Valentine's Day - What Should We Celebrate?

Jack and Rose fell in love in just 4 days

Romantic Love is what gets celebrated on Valentine's Day.  We often imagine some kind of great affirmation of love from our spouses and loved ones today, don't we?  I spent the week thinking about love the way God designed us to know it.

I grapple with the concept of love as the Bible describes it.  I have a lack of feelings most of the time that really frustrates my family.  I liken myself to Mr. Spock, as I wrote in an earlier blogpost: Love Beyond Life, not really accepting feelings like most people, but choosing instead to bury them until they burst out.

I knew there were several Greek words used to describe love.  I thought about the differences they represented.  If you are not familiar, you can see the description by CS Lewis on Wikipedia here.  Basically, the Greeks felt there needed to be different descriptors for the kinds of love and feelings (or non-feelings) we have.  One of these, most closely aligned with Valentine's Day is the concept of eros, or limerence.  This is the same concept for an intense "falling in love" kind of feeling.  Limerence is a word coined by Dr. Dorothy Tennoy in 1979 to describe that obsessive feeling of the intense "crush" or falling in love with another person.  To me, this also describes eros.  You see it celebrated in movies like Titanic.  People in the state of limerence believe they will feel this way forever.  That just isn't true.  It will fade.

I learned that love goes beyond the feelings of affection, but into the unselfish acts of God.  This is described as agape.  God gave his life for us so that we would not have to face the consequences of our sin.  This type of love is reflected so well in the gospels.  God calls us to love others in the same manner.  Agape is not as much a "feeling" of love, but the action of love.  What are the specific acts of agape?  Think about the charitable acts of others.

It is bond of friendship, or phileo, that fascinates me the most.  This is the hope of long-term love when the eros fades.  This is a noble love and Jesus Himself used this term for his feelings for his disciples.  It is the legendary friendship of David and Jonathan.  It is the kind of love that sustains the test of time.

Today, think about the people in your life, and think about what acts of agape you could do.  Think about your spouse, and remember the eros.  What can you do to spark the passion in your marriage?  Finally, think about those you have a phileo bond, and show them how grateful you are that you have them in your life.

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way.

It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance.

~1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)

Fathers

Even Superheroes had fathers.  Today is Father's Day, and I wanted to write about one of my favorite Superheroes who was blessed to have two fathers: Superman.  I haven't been able to see the latest Superman movie Man of Steel, but I understand it is a good version of the timeless story.

Clark Kent grew up in the small farming community of Smallville.  He was a child of conflict and fear when things happened to him that he could not explain.  Clark relied on his father, Jonathan, for guidance and support for his struggles, as well as for his strong moral foundation.  It was Jonathan who revealed Clark's origin, and showed him his spaceship.  Clark was devastated to learn he was not of this world, but of a world he had not ever heard of before.  

He spent years trying to find his own identity.  I write about this in a different post about Superman called Secret Identity.  It wasn't until he found a way to learn about his birth father and home world that he found his calling.  Jor-El was man who loved his son, Kal-El, so much that he would send him down to this world to be safe from the tyranny and demise of Krypton.  Jor-El also dreamed of the day that his son would lead the people of earth to a better place.

I often think about my earthly father, the one who raised me, and taught me right from wrong.  He is the man I loved as I grew up, and he is one with whom I share my love of all things geek.

It wasn't until I was grown and in college that I learned about my heavenly father.  I learned about a God who loved me so much that he would give His own son to this world to die, so that I would not have to.   Guess what? My heavenly father can be your heavenly father too.  All the details can be found in the Bible - specifically in the book of Romans.  Will you choose to find Him?

"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." ~John 3:16 NLT

Love Beyond Life

Spoiler alert... don't read this if you haven't seen the movie, Star Trek Into Darkness!

Do we know what it means to love these days?  I just went to see a great movie last night, and was surprised by the message I took from it.  We saw the new Star Trek - Into Darkness movie, and I must admit, I had read a spoiler before going to see it, so I thought I would know what lesson I would take and write about.  I was wrong.

"We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us.  So we ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters." ~1John 3:16 (NLT)

Towards the beginning of the movie, Spock is willing to lay his life down for the "needs of the many." What he doesn't understand is just how much his death would impact his friends, and how hurt they were that he would just willingly put himself in harms way.  He says later, "I did feel those feelings when my world died, so I choose not to feel.  It doesn't mean I don't care."  Kirk wonders how he can do that.  Personally, I know I have buried feelings and not allowed myself to feel.  I never knew that others would perceive me to not care.  

Later in the movie, we see a twist... and Kirk is given the opportunity to lay his life down for his friends.  We see Spock run down to see his friend dying.  He says to Spock, "how do you choose not to feel? I don't want to feel scared."  But, we see Spock with tears in his eyes say, "I don't know, I seem to be having difficulty right now."  Spock suddenly experiences very real emotions.  

When Kirk dies, Spock feels rage and a thirst for revenge at the loss of his friend.  

This is what the disciples must have experienced when Jesus died.  There must have been tremendous pain, fear, confusion and anger at the loss of their beloved friend and leader.  How much more pain would they have to endure?  

As we go through life, we start to see more and more that life is pain.  We see how much more we need our friends to care for and love.  We need to think of them when we consider eternity.  Will they be joining us in Paradise?  These are the friends we give our lives for.  

"This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.  There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." ~John 15:12-13 (NLT)

Great Power, Great Responsibility

"With great power comes great responsibility"

Who doesn't love Spiderman?  The story is a familiar one; one that gets told in a variety of ways.  Little geeky guy who loves justice, but can't seem to get a break, gets a gifting that renders him exceptional.  Little geeky guy suddenly is able to do many things he couldn't do before, but now faces temptation to succumb to worldly treasures he didn't have access to.  Little geeky guy makes a choice to use his power to serve justice, at the expense of those worldly treasures.

Spiderman gave up his worldly dream of love with his friend, Mary Jane.  In this version, you hear that familiar line, "With great power comes great responsibility," as he walks away from her (to protect her).  I think this way of illustrating responsibility really hits home.  He was willing to walk away from her, to let her move on, to help her be safe and protected, but at great personal pain.

Paul writes about the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12-14.  Paul declares that there are different gifts given by the Spirit, and that we should use our gifts to help each other.  What is really neat is that he takes the time to really emphasize love as he discusses the gifts.  We need love to be able to use the gifts that were given to us by the Spirit.  If we don't have love, we are nothing.  Our gifts would be useless.  We have a responsibility to love others.  Really love them.

"Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1Corinthians 13:7 NLT)

Sacrifices for Love

I just finished up the three book series of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I admit, I didn't rush right out to see the movie when it came out, but am now eagerly awaiting the release on Blu-Ray.  I highly recommend the book series, and if you like that one, then also read Suzanne's Gregor the Overlander series.  She creates such believable unlikely heroes that compel you root for their successes.

This is not a story about successes, though.  This is a story about sacrificial love.  Katness Everdeen is a young girl put into the role of caretaker of her young sister, Prim and her fragile mother.  She hunts for them, provides food for them, and is the overall protecter, since her father died in a mining accident.  She lives in a world of post apocalypse, a world of ruthless oppression by a dictatorship.

Part of the dictatorship requires 24 child gladiators, two from each region, to participate in fights to the death of all but one.  Gladiators are selected by lottery.  It is a sentence of death for those selected.

Prim was selected.  Katniss is horrified and rushed to volunteer to go in her place.  This is sure death for Katniss.  This death will be full of pain, humiliation, and agony.  It would not be quick.

In the Bible, Christ understood what he had to do to pay the penalty for our sins.  He did not want to die in that manner, but he understood that was the only way to save us.  He had to take our place.  He had to die in a manner of beatings, pain, humiliation and agony.  Only in this way are we free from our own burdens of sin.  Christ would only do that in his great love for us.

I know many people would say they would die for another.  However, I wonder if the death included days of beatings, pain, humiliation and agony, would we be so eager?  I can hardly stand to watch or read about the kinds of torture that takes place in our world today.  Would I be able to endure that to save the ones I love?

Would you?

He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn't say a word.  Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheered, he took it all in silence.  Justice miscarried, and he was led off -- and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people.  They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a grave with a rich man, even though he'd never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn't true.  (Isaiah 53:7-9 MSG)

Ultimate Sacrifice

... either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.

The story of Harry Potter is one series of books that I have enjoyed.  I know the idea of Harry Potter's magical world is very controversial to believers, but bear with me a moment.  Harry is a young wizard filled with many wonderful traits: kindness, goodness, loyalty, bravery, and above all, an intolerance for the dark arts.  It would be quite difficult to summarize seven books in a single blog, but I do want to highlight the sacrifice Harry made.  

There is a dark wizard, one who terrorized the magical community with his murders and thirst for power.  He was obsessed with immortality and committed many heinous acts to split his soul.  He was less than human, and would not die.  Indeed, when Harry was tasked to kill the dark wizard, Voldemort,  he discovered the prophesy reflected in the image above, "...neither can live while the other survives." Harry was anguished when he discovered that to kill Voldemort, he must die.  The reasons are outlined in the book series.

Harry does resolve himself, and did sacrifice himself for the "greater good." Here is the really neat part; he didn't stay dead! His sacrifice defeated death and the dark wizard, Voldemort.  

Who does Harry remind you of?  If you said Jesus, give yourself a gold star!

  Read the book of John in the bible, and see what kind of a man he was, and then read about his sacrifice and defeat of death.  He remains alive today.  Discover the man who is God for yourself.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13 KJV

Secret Identity?

Which identity was real to him? Clark Kent or Superman?

Do you ever wonder if the Superheroes had identity issues?  In the stories of the comics and movies, you sometimes see them struggle with having two personas.  I feel the story that most illustrated identity crisis was the story of Superman, as told by the writers of the TV series, Smallville (WB).  The series portrays young Clark Kent struggling as a teenager, growing up awkwardly with powers that grew.  Often times, he hated his power and his responsibilities, and only longed to be simply "average."  In the end, we see how he finally accepted his responsibilities to the planet Earth, and how he embraced those with great honor.

Sometimes, life as a Christian brother or sister feels just as conflicted.  We have additional responsibilities that were given to us, as the gift of life was given.  Sometimes, we would choose to ignore that responsibility, trying to stay "average," which is also known as "worldly," or even sinful.  God calls us to rise above the worldly ways, and adopt his Godly ways.  We are called to love - God and his people.  What does it look like to love that way?

This is best illustrated in the book of Galatians.  When we love others the way God intends us to love, we demonstrate fruit: we have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (chapter 5, verses 22-23).  I think Superman demonstrated these traits.  Can we?

"When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.  Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against these things!" ~Galations 5:19-23 NLT