A Really Great Book

Okay, I have just finished reading an outstanding book, and it is so outstanding that I must put a plug in for it on my blog. The book is called The Shack, and you'll also notice that I've added a JPEG with a link to the book's website on the side of my blog as well as a link under some of our most visited websites. First, you must understand that I'm not as avid of a reader as I was in my younger years, which is probably caused by letting the business of this world invade my life in more areas than I should. Anyway, I have recently decided that I would try to set aside more time to read more books, and this book was a great place to start.

I was introduced to the book by our guide when we went trout fishing, who gave the book to my mom. My mom read it in two sittings, and she passed it on to me. It sat unread for about a week on my dresser until I picked it up two days ago. Well, I read the book in two sittings, too. I read 60 pages or so the first day and the other 185 the next day. It was that good. I passed it on to Chris last night, who read until 1 am in the morning (even though he had to go to work this morning). I know I keep saying this, but I'm telling you - This is one good book!

I won't go too deep into the book, because as my mom and Chris can tell you, if I start talking about a book, I will give the entire plot of the book. (I'm not too big on summarizing...I'd rather just tell the entire story.) I will say that it gives one of the most intimate pictures of a human's personal relationship with God than any other book I've ever read. The book is fiction, but don't dismiss it because of that, please. There are so many things you will find that relate to you personally. I even had a character in the book named after me...well, not named after me personally, but you know what I mean.

Feel free to visit the website, where you can read more about the book and even can read the foreward and first chapter in the book. Oh, and my mom says she found the book at Wal-Mart, so go buy yourself a copy and read it, please. I guess I must say that you need to be open when you read the book. There's one kind of weird thing in the book, but it serves a purpose. And, there's one paragraph that I totally disagree with theologically, and you'll find that on page 182. If you read the book, please don't take everything the book has to say literally. There are times when the author might seem univeral in regards to religion, but if you read this book in context and know scripture enough to discern for yourself what you are reading, something in the book will grip you and make you rethink your walk and evaluate your faith. The book has been praised by people like Michael W. Smith and Eugene Peterson (author of The Message) and criticized and called heresy by many others, but if you read it with discernment, I believe anyone can get something out of it. After all, we as Christians are called to demonstrate discernment with everything we hear and read. I'll leave you with the summarization on the back of the book.

"Mackenzie Allen Phillips' 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. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!"