Laurel Wreath’s Reflections

What do you get when you mix a pig, a dead lady, a diamond thief, and a quirky pilot?

Just the funniest book I have read in a long time!!!

Blissfully unaware that Atlantica Flight 1945 from Atlanta to Amsterdam is about to make aviation history, First Officer Danny McSweeney focuses his energies on navigating the turbulent personalities of an eccentric female captain, a co-pilot with a talent for tactless comments and conspiracy theories, and a lead flight attendant with an outsized attitude that definitely exceeds the limits for carry-on baggage.

On the other side of the cockpit door, the unscheduled in-flight entertainment includes a potbellied pig, a jittery diamond courier, and the recently jilted Lucy Meredith, whose personal mantra of “What Would Oprah Do?” will be challenged by the sudden appearance of her ex and his new traveling partner. On her left sits Hank Hazard, whose unusually polite but constant requests–prompted by his covert role as a spy for the airline–test the limits of the crew’s customer service.

But as Lucy and the rest of the crew discover, Hank’s odd behavior is linked to a quiet faith that may play a key role in the fate of everyone on board. Especially when an unexpected traveler sets this already bumpy flight on a course toward the unfriendly skies.

I do have to admit when I first picked up the book and began to read it I was wondering what kind of strange book I was reading, but I had faith in Rene Gutteridge. I am SO GLAD I did not put the book down, in fact I finished it in one weekend. One page had me laughing out loud.

Rene Gutteridge is the author of twelve novels, including the Boo series, the Storm series, and the novelization for The Ultimate Gift, as well as Scoop and Snitch, the first two Occupational Hazard novels. She lives with her husband, Sean, and their two children in Oklahoma City. (by the way Boo series is one of my favorite reads also!!)

Seriously this would be a PERFECT summer book. I believe that so much, I am giving one of my readers a copy of Rene Gutteridge’s book SKID for free.

Leave a comment here to win a copy of SKID by Rene Gutteridge. You have until 10:00 pm, May 28th to enter. It is a short contest because I will be going out of town, I will announce the winner by midnight May 28th.

“The Shack” by William P. Young

The main character Mack receives a letter from God. God asking Mack to meet him in the Shack, and here he has an encounter with God. More specifically…the trinity. In this book an African-American woman is God (known as Papa), Jesus is a young to middle-aged man of Middle-Eastern (i.e. Jewish) descent, Holy a small, delicate woman of Asian descent.

Some quotes from the book:

“Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims…I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters.”
–The Shack’s Jesus, p. 182

What the bible says:
“Jesus… said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” Matthew 24:4-5

I am a book reviewer, and I try to bring books that will help you, entertain you and bring you closer to God. But I can not sit by and remain silent when I see a book gain so much popularity that leads people into false teaching.

I may be slammed for these opinions, but it is a chance I am willing to take. The Amazon reviews for this book are amazing; we even have churches recommending this book.

I am suggesting you STAY away from reading the book (knowing full well you have every right to read any book you wish =) this is a suggestion. This book is theological fiction. While it may be a good “story” it is difficult sometimes to separate what is real and what is not real when they are closely related. I suggest it bypasses the reader’s ability to discern what is true and what is not true. Also this book is not meant for the reader’s enjoyment, but for its teaching. This book tries to give readers an understanding of the trinity.

Let me suggest why I believe this is a dangerous book:

1.The bible states in the Ten Commandments (Exodus), “do not make a graven image of God.” This book portrays God as a man. God is not a man, he is Spirit. He does not have a physical body. If you take God and make him look like an old man-that is a graven image. The white dove is different because God does that in the bible himself.

3.This book has hearsay in it. There is a quote that says, “I am truly human in Jesus.” This is NOT true. The Father, Son, & Holy Spirit are distinctly different but equal. . It was Jesus that died on the cross-not God. It was Jesus whose flesh became man – not God’s. There are many books out there that do a great job in explaining the trinity so I am not going into that.

You may ask, what is the harm? It is just a good book. It is because the author’s intent is to teach you spiritual truths, not just to write a “good” story.

We need to be on our toes and discern what is right, what is just, and what is good. And if you have read the book, do I think less of you? HECK NO, I just wanted to write this to keep you all on your toes. Spiritual discernment is so important today.

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-36

If you would like to read further (and where I got some of my research) here are some links:

http://windowstomysoul.blogspot.com/2008/04/christian-or-christ-follower.html
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/08/shack.htm
http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/?p=363
http://www.squidoo.com/ShackHeresy
http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/the-shack-by-william-p-young.php

I would recommend this book instead:

All comments are welcomed, but know I am not as knowledgeable as the links above..just someone speaking what I know is TRUTH in Christ. Also ugly comments will not be posted. It is fine to disagree, but don’t be ugly about it. I love all my readers, even (especially) if you don’t agree with everything.