Sun screen, Books, and THE SHACK

   Hey! It's E here. Well I have been sick for the past week (and still am) so I apologize for not posting anything. I will hopefully make up for it in the next few weeks! In this post I just feel like talking about a bunch of random stuff! Namely...things that are simplex...hopefully. I'm not quite sure how that's going to work;)

   I figured that I would start with sun screen! Why sun screen? You ask? Because it really is a great invention! Just think about it for a moment...(a little bit longer than that)...it's a simple lotion that you rub (or spray) on your skin to protect it from a specified form of non luminous radiation, otherwise known as UV rays, or the Sun! Isn't that crazy?! And we all take it for granted! (at least..I know I do) just imagine what would happen if sun screen had never been invented! To think...all those people enjoying a day at the beach, only to go home with ugly red welts on their skin! (Ok, that's not the best picture to have...but I'm sure you get the idea!) I think that sun screen is simplex, how 'bout you?

   Mirrors are also cool, and yet so very simple! Glass, Metal, and a Frame! That's all that a mirror is! Amazing isn't it? And yet a mirror shows you a whole different world! A completely different way of looking at things! And yet, everything that you see in a mirror is just the reverse of the real thing! So simple and yet complex. I always have wanted to be able to go inside of a mirror and see what it's like....I wonder....

   Ohh dont get me started about books! Too late!..Books and their mysterys. When I walk into a library, I sometimes feel sad. I'm sad for the books that never get read...the ones that sit, almost droopy like, just collecting dust because no one reads them. And I love the feel of a old book that's been read time and time again, so that the cover is worn and the pages have marks on them from years of fingers passing over each word. I love the smell of old books, with yellowing pages, so fragile you're almost afraid to touch them. If only I had more time...to be able to read all the books in the world! Both good and bad...the stories of people, their struggles  and victorys, conveyed through ink. New books are just as good...to open the cover of a brand new book that has never been read since being printed. The cover crackles quietly and the pages inside are crisp and white. The black letters are firmly pressed to the page, lined up like little soldiers, some round and fat and others tall and thin. Oh the joy of poring over words that tell a fantastic story spun and woven through an authors hand is so incredible it's hard to put into words. If books were ever banned from being read I don't think I would be able to live. And somehow eBooks just aren't the same.....well I'll stop there before I go too far..though feel like I could continue on forever about books!

   The last thing is God. But I don't know if He is simplex, maybe...hmmm. I know that everytime i try to figure him out, I  just get more Confused!  I'm currently reading a book right now (big surprise) that's called 'The Shack' by William P. Young.

   I'm nearly fininshed with it, and I have to say it is truly an amazing book about God and His mysteries. If you know me, then you would probably know that I say many books are amazing, but this one is phenomenal! And if you do know me please don't hesitate to ask if you can borrow it! The books summary goes something like this:

   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 answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him.

   This book has definitely made me stop and think things that I've never considered before. It has shown me again that God is truly a mystery that i'll never understand!! It reminds me of a verse in Revelation. In it God is speaking, and he says: 'I am the alpha and the Omega,' says The Lord 'the one who was, who is, and who is to come. The almighty.' I hope that if you read this book, you really will be changed by it. 

 Here are two reviews:

   “THE SHACK is the most absorbing work of fiction I've read in many years. My wife and I laughed, cried, and repented of our own lack of faith along the way. THE SHACK will leave you craving for the presence of God.” -Michael W. Smith, recording artist

   “Wrapped in creative brilliance, THE SHACK is spiritually profound, theologically enlightening, and life-impacting. It has my highest recommendation. We are joyfully giving copies away by the case.” -Steve Berger, pastor of Grace Chapel, Leipers Fork, TN

   Well I guess that's all I've got for today! have a wonderful Super Bowl weekend and don't eat too much junk food!;)

~E