How "The Shack" Helped Me

I try to maintain a limber mind whenever someone tries to express the unexpressable. For instance, with anything spiritual (especially anything concerning God) words aren't really going to do justice to the situation. You just can't blame a human for that. None of us are smart enough. It’s very important to understand this when reading anything written by a human concerning spirituality. That material is going to be subjective, personal, and might not fit in perfectly with your own views and emotions.

So…

Just so you know…

That’s how I try to read this kind of stuff.

The Shack is fiction. And this isn’t a review so I’m not going to spoil the ending for you or anything like that, but reading this book did raise a line of thought that lead me to a dogmatic conclusion concerning God.

William P. Young was very creative in animating the Trinity into this novel. While doing so, liberties were taken on the personality of God. I love to wonder about God, about how he thinks, feels, smells, etc. There’s plenty to wonder about and even though the Bible reveals bits and pieces of God, it really just encourages my question asking habits. Despite all the wondering and questions, I try really hard not to accept assumptions and hypotheses of God as fact because somebody once told me in junior high just what you make of “you and me” when you assume…

:)

In The Shack, I don’t really see evidence of this type of fear and respect.

So you should read this book and be affirmed that no human can enclose the personality of God into a fictional story. The Shack was essentially written to try to get people to think of God outside of their religious box, but this story is itself a box that tries to contain the personality of God.

My dogmatic conclusion is this: God is what God is and no human can or should conclude any of those “is’s” outside of scripture.

--andy

http://theshackbook.com/

Pressed into Molds

Today, I was thinking about the imagery that scripture paints of our relationship to God as being clay to a potter. It caused me to ponder the ramifications of this analogy and so my random thoughts are as follows.

I often times feel in my life that I am being squeezed into a mold of what everyone else thinks. The molds of what to do, what to say, who to associate with, how to spend my time, etc. are a few of the many molds I find myself not only squeezed into, but also somehow strangely attracted to. However, as I ponder this idea of potter and clay it leads me to a few realizations. I don’t know a lot about pottery, but I do understand enough to recognize that pottery produced by a mold carries a less significant value than pottery produced by a master potter. The pottery that is massed produced is just a reproduction of a mold. There are no unique features that one pot possesses over that of another produced in the same mold. The pottery made by a master potter, however, is a unique product of his skilled hand. It’s beautiful and set apart as a work of art. The molded pottery is mass produced and sold to the general public for a general price and a general use.

Molded pottery is easy to make and very cost efficient. In the same way it’s easy to auto pilot through life and live the status quo. But there is something in me, as well as the rest of humanity, that says there is something more—and there is much more. It’s the process of no longer being confirmed to the pattern of the molds, and allowing the potter to shape, in which us earthen vessels find life.

-Matt Assel-

2 new frontiers

we've got some big plans on the horizon. new frontiers for this summer. first of all, recording a band album; which will start next month. secondly, a decent sized tour which right now will extend as far as Baltimore, MD and back. several stops along the way (bathroom breaks, leg stretch breaks, shows, etc.) so you'll want to keep an eye out for where we're playing if you're in that area. things are tentative at the moment but we'll keep you closely updated on the nitty-gritty of what, when, and where.

--and His band

some love for winchester, IL

I’m pretty sure I could play at tiny little venues with the good fans for the rest of my life. If you were at the show last night, thanks for making my week.

--andy

The Final Breath (a waltz)

This is the end of me
my final breath
new life to be

The new life stills my lungs
it's ecstasy
it's old to younge

I'm hearing voices of
unspoken tounges
that speak in love

The dancing will begin
we'll dance above
forgiven sin

This is the start for me
with servant grin
new life to be

Cloudless Day

This, being the first "official blog" of the website should be about important things, the things that weigh heaviest on my mind. you know, stresses and stuff...and yet the only thing i have to talk about right now is how content i am in a certain area.
females are great. wonderful to have around. but right now i'm in a season of my life where i have:
a) no girlfriend
b) no prospects
c) no motivation to engage in the awkwardness of starting a relationship
So basically, this area of my life is pretty non-existent right now and you know what? it's pretty nice. i'm enjoying it big time. The stress, the worry, the self-consciousness...all gone for now at least. It's like a cloudless spring day.
--andy