Beyond The Gate

Beyond The Gate
When I learned a while back that my friend Dan was writing a novel, I was elated. I have known Dan and his family for several years now. Our family had gone to a coffee house to hear a band from New York; a band named True Witness. The band was a family. Two brothers, the lead vocalist Tim and the bassist, Dan, married the two sisters Kim the flutist and Heather, on keyboards. Guitarist Tom, is married to Chris a procutionist, who is mother to the girls. The talent was amazazing, and the lyrics and message to the music was up beat and inspirational. After the concert, we spent some time getting to know them all and there was an instant connection. From that time on, anytime they came anywhere within a few hours of us on tour, we were there, and they would often stay with us for weekends. The adult children in the band started calling us Uncle Rick, and Aunt Kathy. That was cool, because we don't actually have a close relationship with our nieces or nephews that call us anything. They included us and our 2 youngest kids in a few promotional videos that were a blast to be part of. The True Witness family became our family. And we knew that it would happen, they got bigger and more well known all over the country, especially on the east coast. Opportunites poured in for them from all directions. This opened the doors for them to continue to spread their message in even more fantastic ways. They moved to the Atlanta Georgia area, and now we don't see them much at all. Our loss, is a Blessing to the south as they deeply touch everyone with whom they come into contact. We are thrilled with their journey and the part that we were able to watch up close.
So when I found out that Dan was writing a book, I could not wait. The book is called Beyond The Gate. The author is Daniel T. Adams. This book is not like the concerts they playout. It's not an up beat, Love Is Enough, polyanna view on life. It is a work of fiction that shows how hurts and fears take on a life of there own, if there is no healing power, from the Lord. It speaks to how circumstance and life, become who we are and how we handle what is handed to us affects us and those around us. There are parts woven into the novel that are very dark. The character development is so deep that I have never read anything like this before. Move over Stephen King and Ted Dekker. Clyde, the main character in the story had an unbelievably difficult childhood. And therefore lives his life in darkness. He is stunted and never expects his life to change. I think we all know people like this. In fact, I believe as you read this book, you will see parts of yourself or someone you know in every character. To say that I am not an intellectual is an understatement. I like word pictures, concepts to be spelled out in RED crayon. (When you read this story, you will get the pun.) Dan paints a picture so clear and so true of how our fears, drive us in our lives. And as important how we choose to react and live with ours fears affect others, innocent others. I know that I can not truly give this book the justice it deserves in anything that I write here. I am not going to give away plot, or the truth folded within, or the ending. I HIGHLY recommend this book. And no, even if you know me, you cannot borrow it...Justsaying. Get your own copy. For more information on how to order this book or the music of TW, visit: www.truewitness.com .

The Shack

This morning I finished reading The Shack by WM Paul Young. Normally it does not take me more than a couple of weeks to read a book that I am into, with my schedule, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities, this one took a bit longer. Did I mention it was an enjoyable book? It was recommended to me by my friend, Janet a little over a year ago and I finally picked it up at the CBD warehouse sale in November. Janet (not her real name) assured me that it was a life changer. Although I didn't find it life changing, it was a definate must read. Missy, the daughter of the main character Mack, was abducted and brutally murdered. Obviously Mack has anger towards God, and lots of questions of why this had to happen. I say obviously because its only recently that I have let go of the anger that I held towards God. Mack refers to losing Missy and all the pain that follows as The Great Sadness. I can identify with that. We all lose people that we love. Death on this earth is inevitable. As a child, I lost dogs, lots of dogs. We lived on a back road, and leash laws if they existed at that time, certainly were not enforced. Heart breaking for anyone to lose a pet. My Grampie died when I was 15. This happened quick; he got sick, went to the hospital and never came home. Grammie died when I was 21. The anniversary for her death is next Wednesday. Strange how we can remember certain dates. I was extremely close to them and felt their passing deeply. They were old, and them passing was going to happen. My Great Sadness began November 7, 2009 at 4:28am. The phone rings and one of my close friends Titus (not his real name) asked me if I have seen Charlie or knew where he had been the night before. Charlie is my best friends son, and my sons best friend. Charlie is like a son to me, and I could not love him more if I had given birth to him, myself. He was almost 21 and lived in a house 40 minutes away with 3 friends. Charlie's house was on fire, and nobody could find him. The next several hours are both a blur and at the same time distinctively etched in my mind. I know that makes no sense at all, but its like that. We first heard he may have slept over someones house in my town, after exhausting all the possiblities in the area me, his mom, and our other best friend headed to his towns police dept. On the way there, we heard that they had taken him to a hospital, then we were told just to come straight to the police dept. We were there for what seemed like hours before a detective finally confirmed that they found his body on the first floor. Sucker punched. That is the only way I can describe the feeling. Two days before, he stood in my kitchen filling me in on his life, his job, his room mates. Hugging me. He was loving life. The Great Sadness is still there. It is not a constant thing. As I write this right now, its hard to breathe, and the ache is back. I am not mad at God anymore. I am sure that he had his reasons for allowing this to happen. I have for the past two years been wanting him to fill me in. I would not have minded being invited to The Shack. What did I get from The Shack? While reading it, I started thinking about my needing to know why the fire took Charlie, why did he not follow the other kids out of the house, why didn't an angel carry him out in time. The questions that I would ask God if I would get my Shack. It occured to me that when my life is over here, and I am in Heaven, I probably will not be demanding my time with God for answers. I might just be content to be in the presence of Jesus, and too busy holding and hugging Charlie to be concerned about what happened in this earthly journey. If you have ever had a deep loss, and blaming God for not preventing it from happening, I highly recommend this book. Remember that it is fiction. It's from the author's heart and imagination. Not life changing but the little nuggets you may get from it may alter the way you look at your passage through this life. The ripple effect of changing your perspective can not be measured. For more information visit http://www.theshackbook.com/