BOOK REVIEW
“THE SHACK”
Author, William Paul Young
Windblown Media
As reviewed by Deb Harrell
Editor, ShatteredPots.com
Several people recommended that I read “The Shack” after seeing the article here on ShatteredPots.com about my own sister who has been missing for over 22 years.
I read it in one sitting. Could not put it down. The conversations between Mack and "Papa" covered a spectrum of emotions and dialogue that hit so close to home that it was almost like reading my own journal. It is amazing that he was able to convey so accurately the spiritual and psychological turmoil that a family goes through when a loved one goes missing.
I acknowledge that the way he presents the trinity is controversial, but I am not at all offended. Our own perceptions of God as "father" are so wrapped up in our own earthly relationship with our own father that I think it is perfectly natural for the character of Mack to resist the expected perception. I think it was honest of the character. And I hope it will help others work through their own resistance to relating to GOD as FATHER.
As we all witnessed toward the end, Mack's description, perception and relationship with Papa began to evolve...and that I think is the important thing. God meets us at our need and presents Himself as the answer to all our needs. God has a maternal aspect that may be much more comfortable to approach or trust than someone, for example, who was abused by an earthly father. This should not be hard to understand.
If I use the term "Ishi" (beloved Husband) when I pray, am I being disrespectful of "Abba"? If I use the term "Rahpa", am I limiting Him to only my healer? No, I do not think so. I am communicating with the God whom I know will respond to how my heart needs Him at the moment. He is ALL...everything and has many names, many faces when I look into it and many voices when I listen. While all the time...here is the kicker...never changing. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. I think Mr. Young has given us a very unique and thought-provoking way to see and dialogue with..."Papa"
I am looking forward to reading the book again to examine more of the doctrine of the dialogues now that I have enjoyed the fictional aspect of the mystery. But these comments are my first impressions of the book. I am extremely interested in hearing other comments.
-deb harrell, editor
www.shatteredpots.com
The Shack by William P. Young
Paperback • 256 pages • $14.99 US
Hardback • 272 pages • $24.95 US
Large Print Edition • 380 pages • $16.99
Mackenzie Allen Philips’ 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.
Author, Dawn Stephens
(As reviewed by Deb Harrell)
I just had the privilege of reading the galley of Dawn Stephens' new book "The Little Pot", first in her series of children's books published by Bumble Bee Productions. I am so excited to have the opportunity to include it as our first children's book review on ShatteredPots.com because Dawn's theme for her series is so compatible with the theme of ShatteredPots.com...lessons from the potter and the clay.
"The Little Pot" is INSPIRED, INCREDIBLE, INSPIRATIONAL and will be IRRESISTABLE to children and grown-ups alike.
Not only is it a charming and enchanting story with creative illustrations, but it is an intentional lesson, teaching readers to develop the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.
In the first of "The Little Pot" series...the lesson of patience is learned by Little Pot while God finishes molding it into a vessel fit for service according to God's plan. I found myself emphasizing with Little Pot as he pondered the purpose of his existence...and wanted to cheer him up each time his speculation did not materialize. And finally, when Little Pot discovered the reason God created him, I realized I had been ingeniously led and left to consider the special plan God created for my life, as well.
"The Little Pot" will be available mid-April in bookstores.
How do you teach young children about the value of patience and the loving omniscience of their Creator? Introduce them to The Little Pot, a wise and winsome tale.
Soon after a potter lovingly forms a new pot and declares that he has important plans for his creation, the little pot begins to wonder what its purpose will be. Will it be used to hold important documents…Great riches…Beautiful flowers?
As various expectations prove wrong, the little pot is cautioned to wait and see. Gradually, Little Pot comes to realize that its creator knows best and has the most wonderful of all uses planned for it. Young readers will realize that the same is true for them: that, like the little pot, they were designed to be vessels that bear “fruit.”
Anyone who has ever had trouble seeing God working in his or her life will realize that, while His work may not always be evident, it is always there. The author’s warm illustrations beautifully enhance this charming allegory about patience and fulfillment. A valuable teaching tool for parents and educators, The Little Pot is a simple yet profound story about inevitable reversals. Its timeless message will be enjoyed by many generations to come.
Dawn Stephens’ most popular works include: Mother Goose meets Mother Nature and The Little Pot Series.
What is a Fruit Pot? Exactly that, a pot that bears fruit!
Growing up, I was always told, “You can be anything you want to be.”
The youngest in a big family, I felt pressure to “be” something great! When it came time to go to college, I believed I wasn’t just choosing a career. I was choosing what I would become. I chose to major in education and became a teacher. I loved being a teacher almost as much as I loved teaching. Then I became a wife and mother. They are all great things to “be”.
When one of my daughters became very ill, I was forced to leave the teaching field and stay at home. While struggling with the thought of not being a teacher anymore, I worked at home, became a business owner and fundraising director. I was then offered a job in a huge corporation as a sales director. I began to climb the corporate ladder striving to be better and better. It was hard for me to make sense of who I was during this time, and if my life had one purpose. Through all the jobs and titles, I began to realize that my greatest purpose is to show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and gentleness to others.
These qualities are known as “fruit”. To be a little pot or a container where this fruit can grow inside of, is the best thing anyone can “be”! So now if you really want to know who or what I am, I proudly say, “I’m a Fruit Pot.”
Fruit we bear is only good when it is picked and used. It is only ripe for a season. What good are patience, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, and love if it isn’t given away. For example, we may bear patience for one moment in time, but it is a fruit quickly picked and used, leaving a place for us to grow and bear it again. I’ve been challenged with this recently and it is sometimes discouraging knowing your fruit is running thin.
I began thinking this morning how the potter planted a seed into Little Pot just once. He cared for it and the plant was able to bear fruit. In the second book, “The Tea Pot”, Little Pot refuses to give away his fruit and therefore is unable to bear more. The lesson here is that the fruit we bear has to be given away or it simple rots and doesn’t allow us to continue to bear more fruit. However, the plant itself doesn’t die. The seed that God planted in us still exists and although we stop bearing fruit, we still have the capability to. We just need to get back under the potter’s care. I think it’s that way with many of us. At some point in our lives, we accepted Jesus as our Savior. His seed is planted inside us. We’ve just refused to let it grow and bear fruit. Many times, people feel insecure about their salvation because they are not “growing”. The seed only needs to be planted once. Whether or not it grows, is dependent on how much we nurture it. We can’t continue to ask God to plant the seed of salvation in us again and again. If we asked Him once, the seed is there. Help Him to cause it grow and into a fruit bearing plant!
BIO
Dawn Stephens is a Sunday school teacher, public school teacher, reading instructor, educator, wife, and mother of 3. She was a Virginia public school teacher for over ten years. During that time she helped several school systems develop curriculum and teaching material for state tested standards in fun and developmentally appropriate ways. After teaching she owned and operated a business where she provided schools across the country with materials. She has worked as the Director of Sales for Thomas Nelson Publishers (Nashville, TN) and Director of Marketing and Development for SONDay Enterprises (Williamsburg, KY) where she developed and designed Book Fairs and Educational Reading programs for schools nationwide.
Currently she works for Rowena's Inc (Norfolk, VA) creating new marketing materials and sales. She continues to write stories, illustrate and create materials that make learning fun for students.
Links
Dawn’s Shelfari
Dawn’s Face Book Profile
Dawn’s Linked in Profile
The Little Pot at Bumble Bee Productions
The Little Pot at Barnes & Noble
The Little Pot at Amazon.com
The Great Commission Blog
