CHP

CHP = Church of the Holy Pillow. Which is where I'm going to be tomorrow morning. I've actually been planning all week to skip church this week. How sad is that?! Max and I don't take very many Sundays to sleep in and by golly, I'm doing it. The worst thing ... I feel a little guilty. Not enough to change my mind, but enough to make me talk about it here. However, I'm really looking forward to sleeping in! So, 'Away with you, guilt!'

I got the talk written in 3 hours. It didn't hurt that I had most of it done in my head. And honestly, I can write cohesive thoughts down pretty quickly. Most of the time they make sense. And when I'm writing about stuff and can use scripture passages, I make a lot more sense. God just isn't that difficult for me to discuss! In fact, He is pretty easy to talk about. One of my very favorite subjects.

So, I got it written and even got in a short nap before heading out. The Saturday evening service went well, it's a great group of people. I talked about prayer - another of my favorite subjects.

Do you ever have those things that take you forever to seem to comprehend? Well, the idea of a 'relationship' with God is one of those things for me. I'm not quite sure why I've been so dense about this subject, and I admit that I've always 'known' it in my head ... but I'm just beginning to comprehend the depth and reality of what the relationship is.

As I was writing the talk on prayer today, I was pondering the process of the relationship with God and I began comparing it to my relationship with my parents. I had a terrific childhood and lived in a very safe home, so it isn't difficult to use this relationship to try to comprehend my relationship with God. I'll use the next couple of blog posts to relate what I wrote in my talk for this evening using that simile.

A book that I read this week also has gotten me to thinking about the 'relationship' that God and I share. I would love to MAKE everyone I know read this book - it's transformational. And it's fiction! It is the best thing I have ever taken into myself.

Alison gave me the book on Wednesday. She'd been talking about it and I knew that I had to read it before too long because she'd ask me about it. So, I took it home with me that evening. I didn't get a chance to start it until about 10:00. I read for 45 minutes before falling asleep and got about 1/2 through the book. The next morning I was at work really early and knew I had to finish it. Cody came in to work while I was reading (I actually had work I had to do that day as well - doggone it!). I cried several times through the book and then I closed the book after finishing it and within moments my body convulsed into sobs. I kept them as quiet as possible - I didn't need to make a scene.

Jen came in to work as I was dealing with the tears. I opened the back door for her and handed her the book. And then I ordered 5 more from Amazon so that I can hand them out to friends and family. I think I need to order another 5 at least because I keep coming up with people that I want to share this book with.

What book? "The Shack." It's a fictional story by William Paul Young. But in the midst of the fiction is incredible truth. I'm not going to tell you about it. You can find information about it at http://www.theshackbook.com. Read the book, allow the truth to flood your heart, allow yourself to be changed by this truth. That's all I'm going to say about it.

The next few posts will be from the talk that I gave tonight - mostly about how my parents taught me (though it took a lot of years for the lesson to make sense) about relationships and how the earthly relationships we have teach us about our relationship with God.