Talking with God

Okay girls, I have a theme going this summer that was totally unplanned and it is "talking to God". Three different things have been placed in my path in the last couple weeks that all have to do with meeting God in person. First, I am (finally) reading the book The Shack by William P. Young. It has been on my mental reading list for a long time but my mental reading list sometimes gets lost! I was at the library last week and already had a armful of books when I noticed a copy of The Shack that was just hanging around, not even in the correct row, someone else must have picked it up and then laid it down randomly. I rescued it. ☺ It is definitely a book you have to be awake to read (haha), there is a lot there to chew on. The part I am most intrigued by is that a previous reader has underlined many passages and put smiley faces next to certain parts. I am not sure why you would do that in a library book that you then have to give back to the library but I am finding it really interesting to see what parts captured their attention.

We also just watched the movie Evan Almighty. Has anyone seen it? It is hilarious! It is a modern day story of God telling Noah to build an ark because a flood is coming. Morgan Freeman plays the part of God. How about that on your resume...yeah, I was in that movie, yeah, I was...God. Trump that. Anyway, a really cute and funny family movie. God tells "Noah" that the way to change the world is through one Act of Random Kindness..A..R..K.....ark! My kids LOVED that part, one act of random kindness...anyone can do that. Go do it!

The third piece of media in my own personal "talking to God" series ☺ is the book by Todd Burpo called Heaven is for Real. It is a precious account of an almost four year old boy's visit to heaven. Colton Burpo becomes gravely ill when his appendix ruptures but he is misdiagnosed. He nearly dies as the days pass before he is operated on. After he recovers he starts to talk about the things he saw and people he met when he went to heaven. The book was written years later by his dad, a pastor, and it is really moving. I read the book first (it's quick, about 2 hours) and then read it out loud (through some tears) to my family while we drove to Cedar Point. I have looked at the reviews of this book and many people are skeptical that the story is true and attribute it to the imagination of a small boy who sat through many Sunday school lessons. There are also reviews by Christian theologians that say why would God show a small child a glimpse of heaven when He has already revealed everything we need to know about heaven in the Bible. Hummm...I felt that the story was told with humility and for good purpose by a loving, Christian dad. Did this story make me feel closer to God...absolutely. Could this story give peace to someone who lost a loved one or had a miscarriage?...certainly. Does reading this book make you a little more excited about a future in heaven?...totally! I thought it was terrific. The best part for me was how for years after his illness, anytime Colton's family would see a picture of Jesus they would ask Colton if the picture REALLY looked like Jesus. He would always say that the hair or the beard or the eyes weren't quite "right" as to what he remembered when he met Jesus in heaven. Then came one particular painting by a young girl and Colton saw it and said "that's him!". That painting is in the book and you can also find it on line and I just got shivers thinking that you could be gazing at a likeness of our Lord and Savior!

So, what was the best thing we ate this week? Hands down, it was the fresh blueberries that we picked on Wednesday. Beautiful, fresh and sweet, like eating candy! Lulu and I picked 8 pounds of berries and I don't think any of them are going to make it to the freezer! Next Friday I will share some of the yummy things we made with the berries.