THIS IS WHO WE ARE

This is what we do for the joy of the King,
For His peaceable Kingdom,
For a world in despair.
And this is why we bring any hope we can give,
Any bread from the table,
Any touch of His hand.
This is what we do.
This is where we go.
This is why we sing.
This is how we live.
This is who we are.


Friday, April 18, 2008

Finished It! . . . WOW!


If you read this blog much, you know I like books.  You know I LOVE books.  I've been called "a reading fool" (in jest, I hope!).  So please don't discount this post just because "Don's blogging about another book again."

There are books and there are books.  The Shack is definitely in a league of its own.  As I said in my post Tuesday, I'd never heard of it before that morning.  I happened to mention it to Bob Ewing, and of course he had a copy and had read it.  (He mentioned that he really liked it, so I borrowed his copy and set aside my Bruce Catton books on the Civil War to read it.)

It's an amazing little work.  Only 248 pages of fairly large print, so it's an easy read.  The author, William Young, was unknown to me, and isn't a particularly astounding literary artist. I doubt that he'll be receiving the Pulitzer for this book--but you never know. In spite of its "ordinary-ness," it's a truly profound work. On the cover, Eugene Peterson (editor/writer of The Message:  The Bible In Contemporary Language) is quoted:

"This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan's PILGRIM'S PROGRESS did for his.  It's that good!"

It's the (true-ish) story of the journey of one man (Mackenzie Allen Phillips) through the darkest and coldest of valleys, emerging into the unlikely presence of God.  Young describes Phillips' encounter with the Trinity in a jaw-dropping, convention-challenging way.  I loved it!

Like many other authors, Young includes a quote at the beginning of each chapter in the book. I was thrilled that for chapter 16 he quoted one of my favorite Christian writer/thinkers of the past, A.W. Tozer. This quote sums up the theme of the whole book, and one that gives me great comfort--especially when I feel like one little speck of dust.

"An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children.  He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others."

READ THIS BOOK!!!!!  (Go to www.theShackBook.com for information.)  I'll be reading it again--after I buy my own copy.

4 comments:

Sarah B. said...

I'm going to have to borrow that one next. I am trying to pull myself away from the TV and read more books and I love to read (got that from my Dad). I bought a bunch to start off with and realize it can be expensive so I am now resorting to "borrowing" books. Sounds like a winner and looking forward to hearing about more books I shuold be reading.

Brazenlilly said...

I'm sold! I heard the same thing: that the way he describes the trinity is hard to explain and is very unconventional. Thanks for the review. It's OK to be a reader!

Diane Davis said...

It's GREAT to be a reader. Is this the kind of book that the Sean Hannity crowd would like? ;) I'll check it out...

Don said...

Actually, I think Sean would like it a lot! I would think all 3 candidates would appreciate it too. Well, maybe not McCain...I don't think he believes much about God at all. :(