Blue Like Jazz
Posted by jlparks | Filed under Uncategorized, books
Even though I finished The Shack two weeks ago, I finished Donald Miller’s, Blue Like Jazz between now and then.
On the cover it says, NONRELIGIOUS THOGHTS ON CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY. This is exactly what you get. Miller pretty much shares his experiences as a Christian living in the real world and not just inside the Christian bubble. He is quite candid about his feelings and shares those of his close friends as well. I normally read Christian literature that makes you think about the different concepts of God that are found in the Bible, but like the cover says, this is not that. It was kind of nice to just read about someone else’s experiences for a change instead of another old concept made modern or self help book.
By no means is this book meant to promote some of the things mentioned in it such as – his friend posing nude on a magazine cover, smoking pipes, drinking beer, or enhancing mushroom trips.
It does serve as a good reminder that there is a world out there that exists outside of Christian circles that’s searching for real answers and authenticity in their relationships.
My props to Donald for being so bold to share his thoughts with us.
the Shack
Posted by jlparks | Filed under books
So, I finished William P. Young’s, The Shack, last week. Yes, I am about to tell you all about it – PLOT SPOILERS INCLUDED.
The main character of the books name is Mac. It supposedly revolves around a true story – you have to decide what parts to believe. Mac has gone through the tragedy of losing a child to a serial killer known as the Ladybug Killer. Mac is a Christian and some time has past since the incident. His faith has grown cold as he has been unable to get past this Great Sadness. His wife Nan, is the strong one and is still moving forward on her spiritual journey so much that she even calls God, Papa. On a winter day Mac gets snowed in his house and is alone when he decides to go check the mail. When he does, he finds a note that says, “Meet me at the Shack” and it is signed, Papa. The shack being where his daughter was killed. He thinks it’s maybe the killer taunting him, or possibly God. He is not sure who to talk to about the note and decides to tell his close friend, while keeping it a secret from his wife. He then conjures a plan to go to the shack one weekend when his wife and kids go to their relatives.
When Mac gets to the shack, he encounters God – that is all three distinct characters of God from the Bible – God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. But they are not what you would expect nor what Mac expected. The Father (Papa) is represented by an African American woman who is always in the kitchen cooking, Jesus looks about like what a Jewish guy would look like from his time, and the Holy Spirit is depicted as an Oriental woman that is kind of hard to focus on because she moves around and changes color and stuff. Other than some strange appearances or depictions of God, they are all very personable and have great conversations with Mac. After spending time with all three of them separately, and together during meals, Mac learns a lot about himself and his ideas about God. They reveal to him how much they love him and that his daughter is safe with them now.
Mac must face the demons in his closet about his past, his father, and the incident with his daughter. Once he deals with these, he notices that the Great Sadness has left him. After his weekend with God he goes through another tragedy only to return to his family forever changed.
I thought this was a really good book. Once you get past some of the strangeness and absurdity of what God looks like, I thought Young did a great job revealing some of the feelings we all reserve towards God. Despite what some might say about this book, I would recommend it. I don’t read much fiction but this was a some-what thought provoking. A happy ending and all in all enjoyable read.
There you have it. Even though you now know the story it’s still a great read. Check it out!
Hey, what’s going on?
Posted by jlparks | Filed under the long and winding road
I thought about writing the lyrics to 4 Non-blondes, but instead I thought I’d post a few updates.
- Dad’s knee surgery went well and he seems to be recovering well. I can smell the lake already.
- My niece and nephew both turned 4 yesterday and today, so Happy Birthday kiddos! I got to throw some skee-ball with Lil-Mac yesterday at Chuckie Cheese.
- Work is going pretty well. They just started letting me work overtime. I worked Saturday and will start working till 2 am Monday – Thursday.
- Our plumbing sucks! We lost our water pressure in our shower. It’s pretty much a trickle but at least it still works. Also I need to replace the guts to our toilet because it won’t stop running. Oh joy!
- The Cowboys beat the Packers last night. I got to watch the game last night on a 70 inch screen which was pretty cool.
- Our church is turning 5 years old this Sunday.
Not a whole lot else going on right now. I’m almost finished reading the first fiction book I’ve read in a long time called, the Shack. I’ll probably write a short review when I finish it.
Futball Americano
Posted by jlparks | Filed under sports
I’m one of those guys who never watches sports. I watched football up until I entered high school and then for some reason just lost interest. So when I get around a bunch or dudes who start talking about the game last night and mentioning players, I start to zone out because I have no idea who or what their referring to.
Since it doesn’t seem like people are going to stop watching and playing sports I’ve had to start thinking of a solution to my situation. I’ve had an idea for the last few years that I’ve yet to implement, that is I’M GOING TO START WATCHING FOOTBALL. So far, in recent years past this attempt has been unsuccessful. But I did watch the opening game Sunday, which was pretty good. The Cowboys romped the Browns in case you didn’t watch.
Mostly the Cowboys I watch look more like this…
I know this post sounds ridiculous but I’m tired of being out of the loop. I like to interact with others and when I meet people whose only passion in life is football, I just can’t relate. So with this plan in place I will be able to engage in meaningful conversations with these guys.
Since I work at night, I will only be able to watch Sunday games. I’m also going to try to make it to my brother-in-law’s pad to watch the games because he never misses one and he’s got a Hi-def TV.
goodwill towards underpants
Posted by jlparks | Filed under the long and winding road
I went back to work on Monday of this week. I’ll be more excited when I start getting paid. I haven’t quite got into the new routine but so far I think everything is going well. When I get off work at midnight, I have to chill out and relax before I can just go to bed because I’m still all wound up from being at work.
I had to make a trip to my brother’s place to get my rolling tool box for work and stopped by Goodwill to pick up a pair of work pants for $2.79, not bad eh? By the way, don’t buy the unpackaged underwear, that’s just gross.
So, I’ve been going back and forth from Home Depot to the house (mother-in-law’s) trying to finish the painting project, which is done now. We are trying to come up with an exit strategy from this house to getting our own place. We will probably stay here for at least a year. Who knows?
My dad is having knee surgery today as I write this, so if you read this and think about it please pray for him. I’m glad they are doing the surgery because my pop hasn’t been able to get around like he would like to. He thinks he will be recovered in about four weeks or less but we’ll see.
end of season
Posted by jlparks | Filed under the long and winding road
I start work on Monday. I’ve been out for a while but I’m ready to get back at it. I’ll still be able to sleep in until Ginger, my dog, jumps on me between 7 – 7:30 a.m. She’s got a routine where she pounces on me at this time to take her out and feed her breakfast. She’s a Lhasa Apso, which means – small and fury (but not when I cut her hair).
Anyways, back to work. I’m pushing 30 years old and starting to think about the idea of retirement. Not like quitting work, more like I should probably start preparing for that. I haven’t paid much attention to any of my retirement plans since I’ve been in the work force. I think most people in their 20’s are trying to figure out what job works for them and trying to make some money so they can buy stuff. I know this job has a good retirement plan, so I’m going to take advantage of it this time around (I used to work there before).
They also have a great school program where they will pay for 100% of it. I’m probably gonna do that too. Hard to pass up free education. Unless your 16 living at home and your parents are still feeding you and giving you lunch money.
Until then, today is babysitting day. Yep, this is the first time we have babysat my nephew and neice. He’s 3 and she’s 1.5. I’m not sure what took us so long to finally do it, but we are. There napping at the moment, which means sister is sleeping so brother has to play quietly. It’s been fun and interesting.
Also, Lindsey and I will continue our remodel project we started yesterday this evening. Painting – my least favorite thing in the world next to chick flicks. I can’t wait!
healer (cancer faked)
Posted by jlparks | Filed under people
I just heard about this this past week. It’s a crazy story. Once again it just goes to show how screwed up we can get. As bad as this story is, it’s not too big for God to fix.
Sure a lot of people have been hurt by this lie. But at least he came clean on his own and is willing to face the consequences for his actions. I think too often people get away crap like this and never except responsibility.
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city of no children
Posted by jlparks | Filed under faith, the long and winding road
So Lindsey and I have been married for 8 years and we don’t have any children. It’s not that we haven’t tried or don’t want kids, but rather it’s just not happening. Believe me, we’re doing our part. I like to remember God’s role in all of this. With this perspective, I think of myself as just a tool in the makers’ hands. I know that there are measures/procedures that can be taken when trying to have kids. But Lindsey and I, up till now, have never considered any outside influences. We share the idea, that if God wants us to have kids then he will make it happen. Sure, we have lots of questions about why we aren’t there yet. But there is also peace in knowing it’s not in our control.
We haven’t traveled down the road of difficult questions and decisions very far, but there are many paths to choose: Adoption, Foster Parenting, and many medical procedures to consider. Each a huge decision to make or consider. Just looking in to one of these outlets, one has to think of all the ramifications of each choice. Then you also have to ask the other tough questions like: What’s God’s role in all of this? Does he not want us to be parents? Is he telling us to be parents to the fatherless? Which one do we choose if so? Are we not supposed to think about any of these? Does he have other plans that don’t involve children?
As I approach 30 years old, I can’t help but wrestle with all of the above frequently. Lindsey and I have many friends with children or who are pregnant again. It’s hard to not feel like an outsider sometimes because we don’t have any. We just remember who’s in control (not us…God!) and thank God for all of our nieces and our nephew.
I’m sure there’s a lot of parents out there who would love to enjoy the freedom that comes with not having children. But just remember that there are those of us out here that see the true blessings of God in your little ones.
Cherish them and embrace all of those childlike moments that we as adults so frequently forget. Play in the rain, dig in some dirt, catch bugs, heck go eat some playdo.
unChristian
Posted by jlparks | Filed under books, faith
I’ve just finished reading a book called unChristian. On the cover of the book is written, what a new generation really thinks about Christianity…and why it matters. I believe this book is a must read for anyone who calls themself a Christian.
Sadly the message of Christ has been skewed to a lot of young people today, and frankly most of it is our (Christians) fault. This book was written through compiling a bunch of surveys among young people in 2007.
In studying thousands of outsiders’ impressions, it is clear that Christians are primarily perceived for what they stand against. We have become famous for what we oppose, rather than who we are for.
This book doesn’t skirt around the issues and give defense for what we have done. Rather it faces them head on and reveals the desperate need for a change in our approach.
Six broad themes are unpacked in this book about how Christians are….Hypocritical, Too focused on getting converts, Antihomosexual, Sheltered, Too Political, and Judgmental. If your a Christian reading this, you might think that this book is written by a non-believer, but it is written by two Christian guys. After reading the book you will understand why these views are believed by so many, which is largely due to our own faults as the Church.
At the end of each chapter or issue, they have inserted some comments from current church leaders titled, Changing the Percetpions. This one really struck me from the Antihomosexual section. Pastor Shayne Wheeler of All Souls Fellowship shares a conversation he had.
When Greg, who is gay, discovered I was a pastor, his demeanor changed. His wounds had history. After a few minutes of hyperbolic invective, I stopped him. “Tell you what, you don’t assume I’m a gay-hating bigot, and I won’t assume you’re a pedophile. Deal? If we buy into stereotypes, we’ll never be able to love one another.”
These are real issues and they deserve real attention. However, we must re-think how we come across to those outside the faith. The graceful loving Jesus we see in the Gospels is a far cry from the message a lot of people hear today.
If your a Christian reading this, do us all a favor and read this book and stop being the unChristian to the world. Think back to the love and grace of God that recieved you when you first believed and share that same love.
If your not a Christian reading this, I’m sorry for what we have done as believers. Please forgive us.
Bloody Sunday
Posted by jlparks | Filed under guitar
Well, this past Sunday I played the electric guitar at church. I had a good time. There was supposed to be two electric guitar players but the other dude couldn’t make it. So it was just me. I thought it went pretty good. Our church doesn’t have a permanent building so the only time we can have band practice is before our Sunday services. We meet in a movie theater and after we set up everything for the service we get a quick practice in. Oh, by the way, they don’t turn the air on in the theater until 30 min before the service starts at 10 a.m.
I had to learn 4 new songs from Thursday by Sunday morning, only to actually get to practice with a band on Sunday morning. It went pretty good considering the circumstances. Our leader Ted told me that I did a good job, along with my brother and a few other people, so the possitive feedback was good.
My brother John was totally in the zone Sunday morning. Our drummer Justin had been out for a while and he played with us Sunday. John and Justin have played a lot together and there’s just something about the connection between the bass guitar and the drums. My bro played so hard that his finger was bleeding from all the pounding of his strings. I don’t really understand it because my fingers would never look like that after playing the bass. I guess our styles of playing a quite different.
This is not a bass guitar but you get the idea. The strings of a guitar can do a lot of damage to your hands if you play too hard for too long.
