Part 2 - My Journaling Thoughts as I read The Shack

I jump from thought to thought in my journal as i read each page. There are many concepts on each page in some chapters. Below are just some thoughts as i read.

When the stains were no longer there on the floor, it made me think about how all is new with God. He makes it all pure. And the comment about God valuing the heart like a mom takes a child’s artwork. So true, so true. Do you think of God delighting in you??
Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing

Daniel and I have tried to show God, Jesus, Spirit to our girls, we are human and so we are inadequate. I pray that we are able to let them have space to grow beyond our teachings in the home. We pray for no fear. Again free will comes into play.

The experiences I have had in life are so full of unconditional love - my parents and then Daniel. I do not have a hard time imagining that I am a delight to the Lord. Not that I’m just this wonderful person but that I feel loved with all of my mess. I have experienced that daily most of my life. It is not a new concept. Over and over I see God doing whatever it takes to have a relationship with us. Jesus understands us so well ….”we say I feel lost but Jesus says -- I’m sorry it feels that way, but you are not lost.” This reminds me of tender care, the description of Jesus in Isaiah 53:4 “.Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried.”

As the book speaks of pain I relate to the comments: it gets in the way, distracts at times, our eyes come to ourselves but then it can also turn our eyes back to Jesus. God knows when to give us space and I pray that I have this wisdom in my relationships. My most important relationship on earth, my partnership with Daniel, helps when I get lost in the journey, when maybe the pain grabs my attention and I get distracted. All of us do not want to hurt nor do we want others to hurt but do we really want for God to just fix it or are we after a relationship?

I have thought about our lives as a garden much more as I read about the Spirit working in my garden. A garden, my soul, so much work, but no rush, always being worked on, and the Spirit is happy to work on me, a pleasant job -- wow, do I feel like it is a pleasant job, is it a surprise the Spirit enjoys working on me? I enjoy the thought that "we have to take time to prepare the soil if we want to embrace the seed." All of these thoughts are just deep for me and I love to sit and think about it all. What has my journey looked like to Him? I’ve not kept walking so many times, I’ve stopped, I know it has been disappointing but He gives me grace. Think about the whole building process. "God is not impatient with building -- watching us as we build toward the time He knows there will be victory!!"

"Faith -- it doesn’t live in the house of certainty" -- this is what I loved about this book, it made me think about my relationships with God, my journey daily. God is so active. I remember going through the book of Acts and underlining all of the verbs attached to the Spirit. "God is a verb!!"

My last note to myself as I journal my thoughts with this book - “God is always working His way into our hearts so we see clearer each day.” I hope you feel deeply loved by God today. If you have any thoughts about this book I would love to hear them. If you haven’t read the book, try it…peace