Opened eyes

I've never noticed before how cruel people can be. How blind was I?

A Few of my Favorite Things

Books- these are propably the best (material) things in the whole wide world. I already have multiple posts about my book-love, but it couldn't hurt to put it all down again. The whole book creation process intrigues me. Really. Ideas --> paper --> agent --> publisher --> print --> my bookshelf. And then I read the books, and get ideas of my own. May sound boring (if not a little insane) to some of you out there, but I can't get enough of this. So many stories to be told, so many things to read. My current project is Dracula. Not my normal read, but it was reccommended to me by a stranger, and who knows?

Sour Patch Kids (or other forms of mildy sour/sweet gummies)- My favorites are the red ones. Enough said.

Taylor Swift's music- she is by far my favorite artist. It's still good satisfying country, but with an appreciated pop edge. She seems very down to earth, and is very likeable. Currently listening to one of her (newer) songs, Hey Stephen. Its so giddy and upbeat, it's almost addicting. Here's some of the lyrics:

"Hey, Stephen, I know looks can be decieving

but I know I saw a light in you.

And as we walked, we were talking

I didn't say half the things I wanted to.

Of all the girls tossing rocks at your window

I'll be the one waiting there even when it's cold.

Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel

Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain, so

Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you

Can't hekp it if there's no one else

Mmmm, I can't help myself."

And plenty more where that came from with Taylor. There's pretty much a song for everything you'll ever need: crush songs, love ballads, friendship, one for your parents, and of course, the breakup songs (both angry and sad). Yeah, so there it is.

Guys- yes, they've made it onto my list of favorite things. At least... a select few have made it. Because I certainly know more than one guy out there who whould NOT make it onto this list. So, I shall revise this and say Nice Guys have made it to my list. The kind who open doors and the whole lot.

Classic Movies- I mean the good movies. The ones from the late 20s, the 30s, 40s, 50s, and yes, some from the later years, like Dirty Dancing. Black and whites. Westerns (High Noon) , romances (An Affair to Remember), mystery (The Thin Man series), comedys (The Mouse that Roared), holiday (A Wonder Life), action (Indiana Jones), odd stuff (Harvey), and so much more. Much, much more. If you don't know who Audry Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart, Cary Grant, Gene Kelley, or Betty Davis are, you are seriously lacking in life.

Hrmph

School starts tomorrow for us here. Its a bittersweet thing. Bitter: summer freedom ends, stress, homework begins, last first day of grade school. Sweet: seeing friends everyday again, new clothes, always something to occupy you, and the season FALL.

Fall is my number one season. I love everything about it. The weather here in the northeast is fantastic. Cool days, vivid colors, and the beginning of the best holiday season. The clothes you get to wear are perfect: not too bundled up, but just enough to sport a favorite jacket with jeans. And even school gets to add to the fashions with backpacks (I am disregarding the new school policy against backpacks and purses inside. It makes no sense.) And the LEAVES! Oh, lordy be. You might think they change slowly, but you're wrong. One day you look at the trees in your yard and say 'hey, I think this is starting to turn!' Next time you glance up, BOOM, they're all different colors. Deep reds, purples, yellows, orange. Ah, my heart's already breaking for the thought of it. Then they fall, and the raking begins. I even love that chore. Good memories about jumping in the piles and covering each other in them. Halloween brings the pumpkins and squash, the scarecrows and sometimes up here, the frosts. Fall foods are really scrumptious, too. Pumkin spice granola bars, apple pies, dried and salted seeds, homemade soups for the colder days, mashed sweet potatos- what else could anyone want?

Did God just call me an idiot?

To start with, The Shack is truley one of the best books I have ever read. It's changed my whole perspective on religion. And I'm not even kidding. I also confess to having thought of God as this old white man, the "bad cop" of all bible situations, while Jesus was the "good cop" (you know- saving people, doing whatever he's told, healing the sick). And the Holy Spirit- that's always confused me, not gonna lie. But this book seriously changed how I look at things.

Even if your skeptical about the God thing (as I was), read this book. If you don't change your mind about things once you finish, no harm done. But that wasn't the case for me. I had my mom buy the book for her to read on a plane ride, but as soon as we got home, I stole it and read myself. I was curious- its such an author success story, as I read in Writer's Digest one issue. It held incredible ratings, and has been on the topseller list for quite a stretch. I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about. What I found was understanding.

The book explained many of the hard ball questions that people throw at God- why is there so much hurt in the world? Why aren't the innocent and children protected from evil? How could God send his son down to die for humanity while he sat up on his cloud? How do we know God is with us? Why no direct contact with people? And for me, what the heck is the "holy spirit"? And it answers all these in cleverly written dialogue between a man well past his last straw (Mack), God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. God is firstly portrayed as a heavy black African woman who loves to cook. Jesus is a middle eastern worker with a workshop. And the Holy Spirit, called Sarayu, is a tiny Asian woman who constantly works out back in the gardens.

And my favorite part of the book is when Mack is talking to Papa (God- and yes, he calls her Papa when she is in the form of a woman) about his emotions. She elaboratly explains that he is afraid of raw emotions and touches on some other topics. Mack listens carefully, nods, and sums it up in a simple sentence "So I'm afraid of emotions and (something else I can't remember). Anything else?" God sighs and mumbles that men are idiots sometimes and bustles into the kitchen. Laughing, Mack shouts back "Did I just hear God call me an idiot?" God's reply: "if the shoe fits, honey... If the shoe fits..."

I cried about eight times while reading this, and I can't express enough how glad I am that this book was published. Please, please read it. It's wonderful, and it really makes you believe that this 'holy trinity' does care about you and me.