Beauty and Story

This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Storyline Conference at Belmont University. My sister, Beth, attended Belmont more than a decade ago, and I hadn't been on its campus since her wedding in 1996 (she married at Belmont Mansion, pictured above). What a beautiful campus!

The writer Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz among other titles) leads the Storyline Conference, and it was a thought-provoking two days. Miller challenges people to examine the stories they are telling with their lives and to consider how they can live better stories...stories that bring life, affect change, and usher in the Kingdom.

Three men that Miller interviewed during the conference were true inspirtations to me: Jamie Tworkowski (www.twloha.com), Al Andrews (www.improbablephilanthropy.com), and Bob Goff (www.bobgoff.com). Visit each of their websites to learn about these men, their lives, and their stories. Wow!

Epiphany

This year our church is reading through the Bible together. In the past three months, we've read through the first five books - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy - as well as Job. (We're following a chronological reading plan.) I have to confess...I've never read the Bible through, cover to cover.

Likely I've read it all in a hop-skip-jump fashion given the fact that I've been in Sunday school, church, and Bible studies since my diaper days. However, when I recently perservered through Leviticus I had to acknowledge I'd probably never read that entire book. Now I have. Whew!

I'm also engaged in an inductive Bible study in Romans with a group of ladies. We spent the first four Wednesdays of the study covering Romans 1. So, to compare the two approaches to Scripture, one is like a loop on the Daytona 500, the other like a pony ride at the county fair.

However, something extremely cool happened recently during our Wednesday morning group. I forgot what we were talking about. Or more specifically whether we were talking about Romans or the Old Testament Scripture I've been reading. No, it wasn't a ministroke. It was the realization that it's all connected, it's all the same story, it's all the same truth.

Here are a few verses from this week's study of Romans 3:

What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. (verses 1-2)

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. (verses 19-20)

For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. (verses 29-31)

Imagine spending months reading about God giving the Israelites the Law while also reading Scripture like this from the New Testament?! It is incredible to see God at work throughout history and communicating through a book penned by more than 40 authors, written over a 1,600 year period from 1500 B.C. (Job) to 95 A.D. (Revelation), but inspired by the one and only Holy Spirit.

Even though I know that the Bible is inspired by God and is one story unfolding from Genesis to Revelation, I've always paid attention to the divisions in the book I hold in my hand: books, chapters, and the big one - that white page two-thirds through the book with the words in capital letters: New Testament. Those designations subtly separate the story I'm reading.

In this moment in Bible study, however, I was reminded how it is all one story, HIS story, in a fresh way that stole my breath. What a gift, after years of reading, studying, and learning His Word, to have it surprise me yet again! I echo the writer of Hebrews: "The word of God is alive and active."

Storytelling

Since I paid homage yesterday to one of the visual artists who deeply moves me, it seems fitting to continue in that vein by sharing a dearly loved writer. How to begin to explain the power of Wendell Berry's writing? Berry is a writer among writers...nonfiction, fiction, poetry. He writes it all. His fiction happens to be where my devotion lies.

Berry's own notice at the start of his novel Jayber Crow preludes his no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is style (shown above). Just from this short passage, I can imagine conversing with this grandfatherly gentleman. And the words that would fall from his lips would be as rich and deep as the soil we would be walking on (because of course we'd be ambling across a fallow pasture on the outskirts of Port William...hopefully to sit a spell with Burley Coulter).

 

In his fiction, Berry creates a world (the town of Port William) and its inhabitants. He weaves together a community and a geneology and a history that will leave you knowing them, loving them, cheering for them, grieving with them. His writing is deceptively simple and straightforward, and simple sentences render the reader speechless with their power and beauty.

Port William reminds me of the small Southern town where I grew up. One where agriculture and family and community once shaped life. Berry is deeply devoted to the land, to community, to stewardship, and he both captures this fading world and communicates the beauty of it in his work.

Somethings wells in me when I read Berry's work. The same feeling I get when I pass through my hometown and see strip malls sprung up where pastures formerly spread. When we drive into the country where family farmland is now a golf course. As family names that stretched back generations fade from memory.

Thank goodness...In the works of Wendell Berry the best of this world is preserved.

Bookworms

To say I love books just doesn't seem to express my sentiment completely. To say I love story is perhaps a more apt description. So, I find myself immersed the pages of a book (or two or three) at most times. I'm thankful that I have a husband who also shares this interest (so he doesn't begrudge my book-buying habit).

Since our nightstands, bookshelves, and most every level surface in our home holds stacks of books that are in process, I thought it would be fun to track what we read in this new year. I'll only list a book once we've finished it cover-to-cover. Hopefully this list will inspire you to read one of these titles (or to finish that book resting on your nightstand).

1. Julia Child by Laura Shapiro
2. The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. The Fiddler's Gun by A.S. Peterson
5. The Fiddler's Green by A.S. Peterson (Oh my, so good! Please go to http://www.rabbitroom.com/ to order The Fiddler's Gun and this incredible continuation of Fin Button's adventures!)
6. Turn My Mourning Into Dancing by Henri Nouwen
7. Love and War by John and Stasi Eldredge
8. Looking for Alaska by John Green (Yes, John Green of Nerdfighters fame. If you're not familiar with Nerdfighters, watch this clip. Hope you enjoy a nice laugh!)
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (How am I just reading this classic? After all, it was voted the best novel of the 20th century - and I seem to remember taking a course in college titled "20th Century Novels." How was this omitted from the syllabus?!)
10. Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne
11. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
12. Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst
13. Radical by David Platt
14. Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
15. Sabbath by Dan Allender
16. Operating Instructions by Anne LaMott
17. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
18. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
19. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
20. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
21. Spiritual Direction by Henri Nouwen
22. SoulTalk by Larry Crabb
23. Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge
24. How To Be Good by Nick Hornsby
25. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Real Time/Clock Time

I love when you pick up a book and it speaks clearly to you in your present circumstance. This has happened to me many times with all types of books, and it has taught me to read with a sense of expectation.

This evening as I was continuing Henri Nouwen's Turn My Mourning Into Dancing, I read this passage that discusses time - real time and clock time. Could there be a more suitable subject to ponder on New Year's Day? Nouwen writes:

"Hope that grows out of trust puts us in a different relationship to the hours and days of our lives. We are constantly tempted to look at time as chronology, as chronos, as a series of disconnected incidents and accidents. This is one way we think we can manage time or subdue our tasks. Or a way that we feel the victims of our schedules. For this approach also means that time becomes burdensome. We divide our time into minutes and hours and weeks and let its compartments dominate us.

As still not completely converted people we immerse ourselves in clock time. Time becomes a means to an end, not moments in which to enjoy God or pay attention to others. And we end up believing that the real thing is always still to come. Time for celebrating or praying or dreaming gets squeezed out. No wonder we get fatigued and deflated! No wonder we sometimes feel helpless or impoverished in our experience of time.

But the gospel speaks of 'full' time. What we are seeking is already here...We begin to see history not as a collection of events interrupting what we 'must' get done. We see time in light of faith in the God of history. We see how the events of this year are not just a series of incidents and accidents, happy or unhappy, but the molding hands of God, who wants us to grow and mature.

Time has to be converted, then, from chronos, mere chronological time, to kairos, a New Testament Greek word that has to do with opportunity, with moments that seem ripe for their intended purpose, Then, even while life continues to seem harried, while it continues to have hard moments, we say, 'Something good is happening amid all this.' We get glimpses of how God might be working out his purposes in our days. Time becomes not just something to get through or manipulate or manage, but the arena of God's work with us. Whatever happens - good things or bad, pleasant or problematic - we look and ask, 'What might God be doing here?' We see the events of the day as continuing occasions to change the heart. Time points to Another and begins to speak to us of God.

We are part of a very impatient culture, however. We want many things and we want them quickly. And we feel that we should be able to take away the pains, heal the wounds, fill the holes, and create experiences of great meaningfulness - now. It is not difficult to discover how impatient we are...But a view of time as kairos helps us to be patient in believing. If we are patient in this sense we can look at all events of each day - expected or unexpected - as holding a promise for us. Patience becomes in us the attitude that says that we cannot force life but have to let it grow by its own time and development. Patience lets us see the people we meet, the events of the day, and the unfolding history of our times all part of that slow process of growth."

As the calendar turns to a new year and another birthday looms in its wake, I tuck these words into my heart for meditation and inspiration. To be completely converted to live in kairos rather than chronos...now that would be something.

A Christmas Invitation

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

From Henri Nouwen's Advent and Christmas:

"God came to us because he wanted to join us on the road, to listen to our story, and to help us realize that we are not walking in circles but moving towards the house of peace and joy.

This is the great mystery of Christmas that continues to give us comfort and consolation: we are not alone on our journey. The God of love who gave us life sent us his only Son to be with us at all times and in all places, so that we never have to feel lost in our struggles but always can trust that he walks with us.

Christmas is the renewed invitation not to be afraid and let him - whose love is greater than our own hearts and minds can comprehend - be our companion."

Joy to the world...the Lord has come! Merry Christmas to all!

Birthday Blessing

Finding the perfect birthday gift for my mother can be tricky -- not because she is picky, but because she is content. However, this year I have to say that I succeeded! How lucky that her birthday coincided (okay, it was five days early) with the Legacy of Hope luncheon featuring author Francine Rivers. Also, how lucky that I just happened to be off of work today so I could accompany her to the luncheon!


Francine Rivers is the author of the beloved book Redeeming Love, among many other works, and my mom has read them all. We were delighted to stay afterward to meet Mrs. Rivers and have her sign two books for mom. She was also kind enough to pose for the above picture.

Happy birthday, Mom! I'm glad I was able to share this birthday "treat" with you...it was a gift to me too.

Taylor's Tale

I love books, and I love it when friends share great reads with me. In the past two years, my friend Ellen has passed along some challenging and compelling books. Her most recent loan is Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, written by Taylor's son. The book is comprised largely of Hudson Taylor's own letters and those of his wives and closest friends.

In case you're not familiar (I wasn't) with his story, Englishman Hudson Taylor lived from 1832-1905 and was one of the first Christians to take the Gospel to China. In fact, at age 21, he sailed to China to begin what would be his life's work and the foundation of China Inland Mission in 1856 (now Overseas Missionary Fellowship).

It's tempting to share glimpses of his life story here, but instead I want to focus on two things that struck me most significantly. First is Hudson Taylor's dependence on God for all provision. He doesn't raise funds or secure donors before he sets off on his journey. He never asks people for financial support. No, instead he learns to give more, live on less, and pray with expectation. And the stories of God's timely provision are incredible.

Second, a chapter entitled "The Exchanged Life" addresses the time Hudson Taylor's spiritual life changes profoundly and permanently. Taylor realizes that all of his striving and longing for personal holiness would lead only to failure and disappointment; instead, God reveals the truth of our oneness with Jesus and that faith can only be strengthened by resting in Jesus.

In a letter to his sister, Taylor wrote, "I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I'll strive no more. For has not He promised to abide with me - never to leave me, never to fail me?...The sweetest part...is the rest which full identification with Christ brings. I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize this; for He, I know, is able to carry out His will, and His will is mine. It makes no matter where He places me, or how. That is rather for Him to consider than for me; for in the easiest position He must give me His grace, and in the most difficult His grace is sufficient."

The book goes on to say that Hudson Taylor was never the same after this experience...that he had discovered "the secret of soul-rest."

I confess that this book was a timely read for me for many reason. His story is inspiring, his life's work amazing, and his faith is challenging. If I could pass books along to you via this blog, then this is one I would send your way. Thank you, Ellen, for sending it mine.

Father-Son Challenge

When Tim heard that Doe River Gorge's Father-Son Challenge featured guest speaker Steve Saint, he decided that he and Seth had to attend. Just this winter, Tim watched "The End of the Spear" and the documentary "Beyond the Gates of Splendor," about Jim Elliot, Nate Saint (Steve's father), and the other American missionaries killed in 1956 by the Waodani people in Ecuador. So, earlier this month he and Seth, along with friend Andre and son Eric, went to the Gorge for this phenomenal weekend retreat.

All of the guys were blown away by Steve Saint - he was incredibly engaging, an amazing storyteller, and a inspiring missionary/visionary. He not only spoke each evening, but he interacted with the fathers and sons all weekend long.

Tim and Seth also enjoyed crafting their own spears, giving paintball a try, and pairing up for a late-night game of DragonSlayers. They came back spilling stories from their weekend, so excited about what they'd heard and done.

If you ever have the chance to go to an event at Doe River Gorge, we urge you to attend. They do an excellent job! And if you ever have the opportunity to hear Steve Saint speak, we encourage you to go. (If you're not familiar with Steve Saint, then check out his books Walking His Trail and End of the Spear).

Falling In Love

I've fallen in love with Henri, and I can't get enough. I'm spellbound, and I can't wait to see what he'll say next. Last Spring, it was Wendell. I fell for him in our first few minutes together as his words wooed me with their unbelievable beauty. Last year, it was Dan. Before him, John.

Authors ensnare me with their gift for expression. A beautifully-written story wakes something inside me and stirs me in a way unlike anything else. When the writer communicates the heart of a character or the weight of a choice, circumstance, or relationship in perfectly sculpted words, I am undone. Books invite me to think or rethink, to ache or to laugh, to consider their story and to write my own. I find myself reading and re-reading sentences for their sheer beauty (and then torturing Tim by reading them aloud to him).

Author Donald Miller writes, "...something important happened to me when I read Emily Dickinson. I fell in love with books. [For me, it was Kate Chopin.] Some people find beauty in music, some in painting, and some in landscape, but I find it in words. By beauty, I mean the feeling you have suddenly glimpsed another world, or looked into a portal that reveals a kind of magic or romance out of which the world has been constructed, a feeling there is something more than the mundane, and a reason for our plodding. The portal is different for everyone."

I share this affection with Miller, as books offer a powerful invitation - to see, to discover, to examine, to yearn, to admire, and to aspire. After Wendell and Henri, I know there will be others. I'm not fickle, however, for our love affair will continue. I will find myself at my favorite used bookstore, searching the shelves for titles I may have missed. And when I find that elusive, well-worn volume, my heart will race and I will be giddy like someone who has just received a love letter.

I invite you to fall in love with reading, and in particular with the authors I mentioned: Henri Nouwen, Wendell Berry, Dan Allender, John Eldredge, and Donald Miller. May their words offer you beauty and invite you into a new world.

What Is Required?

I was surprised the other day to notice a theme to what I've been reading in the weeks leading up to my Haiti trip. It wasn't intentional - or at least by my intention - so it captured my attention as something that God wants me to hear and to consider.

The first is a small work by Henri Nouwen: The Way of the Heart. In his Prologue, Nouwen writes, "What is required of men and women who want to bring light into the darkness, "to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favor" (Luke 4:18-19)? What is required of a man or a woman who is called to enter fully into the turmoil and agony of the times and speak a word of hope?"

As children of God, believers in Jesus Christ, and His disciples on this earth, we often find ourselves asking this same question. I know I do. And the word God has kept bringing me back to over these past several weeks is COMPASSION.

Allow me to share a few excerpts from The Way of the Heart and then a second book, A Glimpse of Jesus: The Stranger to Self-Hatred by Brennan Manning. I'm not going to editorialize on these quotations, but I invite you to ponder them and perhaps check out these two small books for yourself.

Nouwen writes:

"...the point where ministry and spirituality touch each other [is] compassion ... Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it. As busy, active, relevant ministers, we want to earn our bread by making a real contribution. This means first and foremost doing something to show that our presence makes a difference. And so we ignore our greatest gift, which is our ability to enter into solidarity with those who suffer."

"In order to be of service to others we have to die to them; that is, we have to give up measuring our meaning and value with the yardstick of others. To die to our neighbors means to stop judging them, to stop evaluating them, and thus to become free to be compassionate. Compassion can never coexist with judgment because judgment creates the distance, the distinction, which prevents us from really being with the other."

I picked Brennan Manning's A Glimpse of Jesus: The Stranger to Self-Hatred off a friend's bookshelf a few months ago. Like all of Manning's works, this is a beautifully written work with so much to consider:

"The etymology of the word compassion lies in two Latin words, cum and patior, meaning 'to suffer with,' to endure with, to struggle with, and to partake of the hunger, nakedness, loneliness, pain, and broken dreams of our brothers and sisters in the human family. Commitment to Jesus Christ without compassion for his people is a lie."

"What is indeed cruicial to the evangelical enterprise is the awareness that we ourselves are the primary target. It is not 'they' who are poor, sinful, and lost. It is ourselves. Unless we acknowledge that we are the sinner, the sick ones, and the lost sheep for whom Jesus came, we do not belong to the 'blessed' who know that they are poor and inherit the Kingdom."

"The church, the visible extension of Jesus Christ in time and space, is the image of the Compassionate One ... Where the Compassionate One is, there will his servants be. Whether in Times Square, Juarez, Rodeo Drive, middle-class suburbia, an alcoholic rehabilitation center, or a room full of eighth graders, the Word stands: 'I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers or sisters, you did it for me.' "

Nouwen observes, "Many of us have adapted ourselves too well to the general mood of lethargy. Others among us have become tired, exhausted, disappointed, bitter, resentful, or simply bored. Still others have remained active and involved - but have ended up living more in their own name than in the Name of Jesus Christ."

A read through these two works, especially in light of my upcoming trip to Haiti, has caused me to ask: What is my condition? Lethargic, exhausted, bitter, busy? Or alive in Christ? What is my calling? I am "called to enter fully into the turmoil and agony of the times and speak a word of hope. " And what reminder does God have for me in all of this? To live in the name of Jesus Christ is to bear the name Compassionate One.

Fathered By God

Last night Tim and I traveled with friends to Christ Community Church in Franklin to hear John Eldredge speak. His talk was based on his book Fathered by God, which explores the stages of the masculine journey. As the parents of two sons, we have been greatly impacted by John's writing in this area: first, his book Wild at Heart, and then, The Way of the Wild Heart (newly re-released as Fathered by God).

The stages, as outlined in his talk/book, are boyhood (ages 0-12), cowboy (ages 13-19), warrior (age 19-...), lover (age 19-...), king (age 40+), and sage (age 55+). Each stage is vital to a man, but most often a man's needs in one or more stages go unmet. Even though he will move on to the next stage, he is greatly affected by this lack of initiation.

The good news is that as unfinished men (and women), we have a Father who loves us. God will initiate us in the ways that our earthly fathers did not. He offers the answers to our deepest questions, awakens our hearts, heals our broken places, and even provides others to walk with us in our journey.

There is a process to becoming a man, and when we understand it, we can understand much about ourselves, our husbands, and our sons. I encourage you to read any of John's books, but if you are the parent of sons, then please check out Wild at Heart and Fathered by God. I truly believe they will bless you with insight as you raise your sons to be men after God's own heart.

Magic Moment

Last Saturday the boys' school hosted Will and Mary Pope Osborne for a book signing. Mrs. Osborne is the author of the wonderful Magic Tree House series, which both Seth and Reed love. Reed was especially thrilled to have the opportunity to meet her and have her latest book signed. Unfortunately, Mrs. Osborne had a broken wrist and was unable to sign books (they were stamped instead), but she and her husband were gracious enough to meet each child and have photos taken with them. Here are Seth and Reed with the Osbornes:

Mr. Osborne is an author as well. He's recently adapted the Magic Tree House books for the stage, which Reed will be seeing with his fellow first graders next week at the Tennessee Theater. (Seth and I will have a special date the night before to see it ourselves.) Watch for the musical to come to your town, and take your own children. If it's anything like the books, I know they will love it.

P.S. Last night Seth and I went to see the Magic Tree House Musical, and this morning I saw it with Reed and his fellow first graders. I highly recommend it -- wonderful adaptation of the books and such fun seeing Jack, Annie, Morgan, and more come to life on the stage. According to the Web site, the proposed fall 2009 - spring 2010 tour will include engagements in the Southwest, West Coast, and Canada as well as a return to locations in the Midwest, East, and Southeast. Visit www.mthmusical.com to see if it is coming to a venue near you.

Nathaniel Hawthorne Hurt My Feelings

I recently bought a copy of Kate Chopin's novel At Fault. In the appendix, I ran across two letters written by writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, and their content included his opinion of women writers.

In a letter dated 1952, he wrote, "All women, as authors, are feeble and tiresome. I wish they were forbidden to write, on pain of having their faces deeply scarified with an oyster-shell..."

Then, in a letter dated 1855, he wrote, "America is now wholly given over to a d____d mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash -- and should be ashamed of myself if I did succeed."

Not cool, Nathaniel.

This is a writer who was contemporaries with the Bronte sisters, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Dickenson, Christina Rossetti, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and George Eliot, to name a few. Feeble, tiresome, and trash? I think the endurance of their writing proves otherwise.

Writing is difficult, under the best of conditions. But to write when you face open hostility from fellow writers and closed doors in the publishing world because of your gender is unimaginable to us today. It's fortunate that Charlotte, Anne, Emily, and their compatriots perservered, despite the attitudes of writers like Mr. Hawthorne.

A Holiday Must-Read

On the last day of fall semester finals during my senior year, my creative writing professor read us a short story during our exam time: "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote. I will never forget it.

It is a beautiful and beautifully-written story about a little boy and the two older women who are raising him, and it takes place obviously during the Christmas season. I remember listening to Mr. Marion read the story aloud, his soft, gentle voice unfolding the tale.

Perhaps my memory of this reading stays with me because less than an hour after hearing it, I learned that a dear friend of mine had died that morning. The story of love and loss that is "A Christmas Memory" is ever woven with my own experience of love and loss.

A few years after Tim and I married, I found a copy of "A Christmas Memory" and bought it. We began to read it aloud during the holiday season. Each year as the story draws to its close, I still cry. The beauty of this simple tale still moves me.

If you enjoy a good story, then look for a copy of "A Christmas Memory." Read it this holiday season, and as you do, remember those people who have loved you well.

The Shack

Have any of you read The Shack yet? It's the tale of Mack, who has experienced horrific tragedy, and a rather unusual invitation he receives from God. Most accurately, it's about what happens when he responds to that invitation.

Mack is understandably confused by the tragic event that has taken place and God role in it. He's also very angry with God. However, he's dealt with these feelings by refusing to deal with them. Life is moving on, as best it can, he believes.

As I read The Shack, I recognized how all-too-common this response is. We're hurt or devastated by something in this life; but, rather than seek healing and wholeness, we diminish our hurt, ignore our wound, or stew in our anger. We live in our brokenness.

And though our invitation doesn't arrive as Mack's does, God does invite each of us to come to him, to engage in relationship with him, and to seek healing from the only source that can truly bind our broken hearts. Yet, we have a choice, and how rarely we choose to accept his invitation.

Last night I attended my mom's book club, which was discussing The Shack. A woman there beautifully shared how she chose to express her devastation to God and pursue answers from him after the untimely death of her 20-year-old daughter.

She explained that she took her many questions to God, and in the course of the past 10 years God has answered each and every one of them. She bravely fought to keep her heart alive and to invite God to restore it, when she could have chosen to shut down and self-protect. Her presence last night was radiant and her story impactful -- we were all blessed that she chose relationship and then shared the beauty and bounty of that relationship with us.

As I listened to her, I was reminded of my experience after the death of our baby last year. God was so generous to provide a spacious place and time to dialogue with him about our loss soon after it happened. In that moment, in the midst of heartache, I had to choose to enter into this and to engage him -- i.e. choose relationship. And he was gracious to respond, to answer my questions, and to provide much healing.

Back to Mack...The Shack raises the question of relationship with God and what keeps us from it or substitutes for it. Pick up a copy to read, and let me know what you think. And if you get stuck when Elouisa opens the door, push through and read on. Ask God to reveal what he'd have you consider. I believe he'll show you.