Finally finished the Shack

I don't want to give away the story, but I do so recommend you read this incredible book. Check out their website.

www.theshackbook.com

Here are the main themes that I really picked up from the book, but again, I recommend you read it and figure out your own impressions.

The biggest thing that really made an impact on me, is that God is not disappointed with us. He knows what we are going to do, so how can he be disappointed? If I truly understood the character of God I could get this deep down in my heart. How can he be disappointed with a decision He already knows we are going to make.

Also, I really like that God doesn't have expectations of us. He wants a relationship with us. He doesn't want us to live by a set of rules, He wants us to love Him.

I was also very touched and had a deep understanding that God doesn't allow "bad things" to happen to teach us a lesson or get our attention. I was in a mindset for a while that whenever something happened that wasn't my way, it was God teaching me a lesson. A close friend of mine told me about a year ago that not everything is a "lesson." That is something that is LIFE CHANGING for me.

It really took me a while to get through this book, and for those who know me, they know that not many books take me a while to read. I really let fear stand in the way of hearing God's heart in this book, because of what some of the subject matter was. I thought it would be difficult to read a book about a little girl, since I am a mother of a little girl. It was very easy for me to put myself in the main characters role and feel "The Great Sadness" because facing something like that in my life is a huge fear of mine.

That is all I want to talk about because if you haven't read The Shack I really encourage you to set aside some time, spend time in prayer asking God to soften your heart and reveal Himself to you through this story, and then get ready for a wild ride. Oh, and if you are like me, keep a box of kleenex handy.