The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn

The chapters in The Encounter by Stephen Arterburn are short and easy to read a chapter here and a chapter there without it eating up a large portion of time, and that was my initial plan for reading this book. However, I ended up reading this book in one sitting. The story itself is only 140 pages, and once you get into it, you want to see what happens. The chapters follow a format with one chapter about the main character and the next chapter about his estranged mother that the main character is trying to reconnect with. The story line will pull you in and make you emotionally involved as the story unfolds.

The description in this story make you feel like you are there, and if you have not visited Alaska before, you will want to after reading this book. The journey to discover more about one’s past is something many can relate to. The main themes of forgiveness and reconciliation are also very relatable.

I enjoyed the afterword by the author about how he developed the story idea and the words he wrote about forgiveness and acceptance sound like words of wisdom a counselor would give. The group study questions in the back are worth responding to, and I could see this book being an interesting read for a small group study. I would also recommend this book for someone that has reconciliation and forgiveness that needs to happen in his or her life. This book can be the first step in someone figuring out what he or she needs to do to reach a place of peace.

Close Enough To Hear God Breathe

Close Enough To Hear God Breathe

Greg Paul

Close Enough To Hear God Breathe is a beautiful book that can give you a greater understand of God’s love for us. This book has five major parts – the heart of the matter, creation, the fall, redemption, and consummation. It tells the major events of the Great Story of God’s love for us in a beautiful, almost at poetic way at times. Greg starts the chapters usually with a captivating story that gets you hooked and want to finish the chapter. And he does not just tell an illustrative story just for the sake of telling a story or entertaining, but he ties it in with the main point of the chapter.

Throughout the book, I learned a great deal about Greg’s life and his struggles. But these issues are just not ones relatable to his life but also to mine. The questions he asks are some I have struggled through. The issues he discusses are some that I have pondered. At the end of the book, he offers study questions for a book study. The questions are reflective and could lend to good discussion. The chapters are short enough to read in one sitting, and Greg does a great job of showing how the Great Story is part of our story.

bday soundtrack

in no particular order...

1. Sunscreen Song
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years youll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you cant grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked...Youre not as fat as you imagine. Dont worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you
Sing
Dont be reckless with other peoples hearts, dont put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss
Dont waste your time on jealousy; sometimes youre ahead, sometimes youre behind...the race is long, and in the end its only with yourself.

2. I'll See you on the Other Side - George Strait
Well, hope is an anchor and love is a ship:
Time is the ocean an' life is a trip.
You don't know where you're goin' till you know where you're at,
And if you can't read the stars, well, you better have a map:
A compass and a conscience so you don't get lost at sea,
Around some old lonely island where no one wants to be.
From the beginning of creation, I think our Maker had plan,
For us to leave these shores and sail beyond the sand.
An' let the Good Light guide us through the waves and the wind,
To the beaches in a world where we have never been.
And we'll climb up on the mountain, y'all: we'll let our voices ring,
When those who've never tried it, they'll be the first to sing.

3. I'm Learning to Fly - Tom Petty
Im learning to fly but I aint got wings
Comin down is the hardest thing
Well the good old days may not return
And the rocks might melt, and the sea may burn

4. Someday We'll Know - Switchfoot
Whatever happened to Amelia Earhart?
Who holds the stars up in the sky?
Is true love just once in a lifetime?
Did the captain of the Titanic cry?
Someday We'll Know
If love can move a mountain
Someday We'll Know
Why the sky is blue
Someday We'll Know
Why I wasn't meant for you

5. Song of the South - Alabama
Song, song of the south.
Sweet potato pie and I shut my mouth.
Gone, gone with the wind.
There aint nobody looking back again.

6. A Long December - Counting Crows
And its been a long december and theres reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I cant remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass
And its one more day up in the canyon
And its one more night in hollywood
Its been so long since Ive seen the ocean...i guess I should

7. The Dance- Garth Brooks
And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance

8. Unanswered Prayers - Garth Brooks
Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers
Remember when youre talkin to the man upstairs
That just because he doesnt answer doesnt mean he dont care
Some of Gods greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

9. Mississippi Girl - Faith Hill
'Cause a Mississippi girl don't change her ways
Just 'cause everybody knows her name
ain't big headed from a little bit of fame

10. This is Your Life - Switchfoot
Yesterday is a wrinkle on your forehead
Yesterday is a promise that you�ve broken
Don�t close your eyes, don�t close your eyes
This is your life and today is all you�ve got now
Yeah, and today is all you�ll ever have
Don�t close your eyes
Don�t close your eyes
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, are you who you want to be
This is your life, is it everything you dreamed that it would be
When the world was younger and you had everything to lose
Yesterday is a kid in the corner
Yesterday is dead and over

11. Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
You got a fast car
But is it fast enough so we can fly away
We gotta make a decision
We leave tonight or live and die this way

12. 83- John MayerI've these dreams of
Walking home
Home where it used to be
And everything is
As it was
Frozen in front of me
Here I stand
6 feet small
romanticizing years ago
but it's a bitter sweet feeling hearing
"Wrapped Around Your Finger" on the radio
and these days
I wish I was 6 again
Oh make me a red cape
I wanna be Superman...
if heaven's all we want it to be
send your prayers to me
care of 1983

13. Fireflies - Lori McKenna
Before you met me I was a fairy princess
I caught frogs and called them prince
And made myself a queen
And before you knew me I'd traveled 'round the world
And I slept in castles
And fell in love
Because I was taught to dream
I found mayonnaise bottles and poked holes on top
To capture Tinkerbell
And they were just fireflies to the untrained eye
But I could always tell
Cause I believe in fairytales
And dreamer's dreams
Like bedsheet sails
And I believe in Peter Pan
And miracles, anything I can to get by
And fireflies
Now before I grew up I saw you on a cloud
And I could bless myself in your name
And pat you on your wings
And before I grew up I heard you whisper so loud
Well life is hard and so is love
Child, believe in all these things

14. Rosemary's Granddaughter - Sara Evans
If I live to be a hundred
And never see the seven wonders
That'll be alright
If I don't make it to the big leagues
If I never win a Grammy
I'm gonna be just fine
Cause I know exactly who I am
I am Rosemary's granddaughter
The spitting image of my father
And when the day is done my momma's still my biggest fan
Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy
But I've got friends that love me
And they know just where I stand
It's all a part of me
And that's who I am
So when I make a big mistake
And when I fall flat on my face
I know I'll be alright
Should my tender heart be broken
I will cry those teardrops knowing
I will be just fine
Cause nothing changes who I am
I'm a saint and I'm a sinner
I'm a loser; I'm a winner
I am steady and unstable
I'm young, but I am able

15. White Horse - Taylor Swift
Cause I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairytale
I'm gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well
This is a big world, that was a small town
There in my rearview mirror disappearing now
And its too late for you and your white horse
Now its too late for you and your white horse, to catch me now

16. My Next Thirty Years - Tim McGraw
I think Ill take a moment, celebrate my age
The ending of an era and the turning of a page
Now its time to focus in on where I go from here
Lord have mercy on my next thirty years
Hey my next thirty years Im gonna have some fun
Try to forget about all the crazy things Ive done
Maybe now Ive conquered all my adolescent fears
And Ill do it better in my next thirty years
My next thirty years Im gonna settle all the scores
Cry a little less, laugh a little more
Find a world of happiness without the hate and fear
Figure out just what Im doing here
In my next thirty years
Oh my next thirty years, Im gonna watch my weight
Eat a few more salads and not stay up so late

17. 100 Years - Five for FightingI'm 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I'm just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
I'm 22 for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we're on fire
Making our way back from Mars
15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live

18. Defying Gravity - Wicked
Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by the rules
Of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap
It's time to try
Defying gravity
I think I'll try
Defying gravity
And you can't pull me down...

19. I Know Where I've Been - Hairspray
There's a road
We've been travelin'
Lost so many on the way
But the riches
Will be plenty
Worth the price we
Had to pay
There's a dream
In the future
There's a struggle
That we have yet to win
And there's pride
In my heart
'Cause i know
Where i'm going
And i know where i've been

20. Something Worth Leaving Behind - Lee Ann Womack
I'll probably never hold a brush
that paints a masterpiece
Probably never find a pen
that writes a symphony
But if I will love then I will find
That I have touched another life
And that's something
Something worth leaving behind
Hey Midas you say you have the magic touch
But even all that shiny stuff
Someday is gonna turn to dust
Hey Jesus it must have been some Sunday morning
In a blaze of glory
We're still tellin' your story
I may not go down in history
I just want someone to remember me

21. Save Tonight - Eagle Eye Cherry
Save tonight
and fight the break of dawn
Come tomorrow
tomorrow I'll be gone

22. Settlin' - Sugarlandi Ain't Settling For Just Getting By
i've Had Enough So So For The Rest Of My Life
tired Of Shooting Too Low, So Raise The Bar High
just Not Giving Up This Time
i Ain't Settling For Anything Less Than Everything, Yeah

23. The Climb - Miley Cyrus
I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high
There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I,
I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

24. Let Go - Frou Frou
so let go, jump in
oh well, whatcha waiting for
it's alright
'cause there's beauty in the breakdown
so let go, just get in

25. Holiday in Spain - Counting Crows
I may take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Flush my worries down the drain
And fly away to somewhere new

salvaging some stuff from the hurricane

I had two boxes of stuff I tried to salvage from the house after the hurricane. I haven't been able to go through it until today. Why today? I don't know. Maybe I was procrastinating something. I took it with me through two moves since then, and today I felt the urge to try to do something about it. It full of things I couldn't bear to throw away. I've realized that I measured my self worth too much on what I did. Straight A's or being valedictorian of my high school class had been my focus too much of my life. When I walked into the house after the water subsided, the first thing I saw was a certificate of mine stuck to the floor that had floated from my room into the living room. It was at that point that I had such a sense of despair. I just wanted to throw it all away and forget it ever happened. It seemed like there was no hope in my life that day. I felt as if it was the end of the world because it was the end of my world as it had always been. My support system had broken underneath me. I knew that I had to stand on my own from here on out because anybody that could have been there for me was too busy with their own problems.

I admit I'm really sensitive about the whole situation. Don't show me baby pictures right now. I get mad about mine that can never be replaced. I look at my destroyed Baby Book, and all I can do is sigh because there's no way something like that can be replaced. Few things bring more emotions to me than this hurricane. I get angry. I get sad. I get nostalgic about the way things used to be. I get confused about why it had to happen. I mourn the loss of people and pets I cared about that are no longer here. Maybe in time I will understand what good this event brought. It is hard to think of any reason right now.

I'm trying to contact yearbook companies to see if I can reorder them, since mine were pretty much obliterated. If anybody has had success in this area, let me know. I made a few phone class. We'll see what they say.

I did find one thing that made me smile. It was something I made in kindergarden. It was laminated, so it was salvageable. It was a crayon rendition of a rainbow, and it said, "You have a choice...you an stay under a cloud or get busy, And find your RAINBOW." I guess I found the answer I was looking for in my box, after all...

life

Do you ever wake up one day and wonder how/why you are where you are? I don't mean the location. I mean, do you ever try to retrace the steps that brought you to the point in your life that you now stand? Life is a series of small decisions that can add up to life-changing experiences. Sometimes when you make those small decisions, you never realize that the summation of these things determine where you end up. Sometimes I come to these epiphanies and I'm like, "Wow, I did that." It's amazing when you make dreams your reality. Do you ever think about the dreams you had as a child? It's mind-blowing how fast things change and people, too.

random thoughts

Ever feel like everything is well with the world? Like everything is aligned and it's just wonderful? That's how I felt this weekend. My mom's house is almost finished. It's a dream come true to have it done. There were times that it seemed like it would never happen. It took three months to build the house, a few hours for Katrina to devastate it, and almost a year and a half to rebuild it.

It was quite fun to be able to redecorate the house. Honestly, I never thought this would happen, but the house actually looks better now than it did before the storm. I will NEVER be grateful for the storm and never be happy that it happened, but at this point, when we obviously cannot retrieve the momentos and everything else we lost, it seems like some good has come from the situation. The house at least got a facelift. My room is purple with a white trim. I tried to go for a dreamy look because it is a dream for me to finally see this completed. I have a white canopy bed, and I never had one before, even though I've wanted one since I was young. Everything, closet doors, etc. is either white or purple. On the wall, I'm putting black and white pictures of dreams, mainly places that I enjoy. I have a matted black and white collage of NYC pics so far.

I thought of a really great blog topic earlier today, but I was walking and I cannot seem to recall it. Anyway, I think it would be a great social experiment to say exactly how I feel one day. There would be no sugar-coating of anything. When people asked me if I minded, I would say, "YES I DO!" It would be similiar to the movie Liar, Liar, except I would be simply expressing my thoughts in my mind. I think in one day, I would get people mad and nobody would like me that encountered me that day.

advice

I just had a depressing conversation. I'm tired of people asking me what I'm going to do with my life. Can I not just get a degree in something I like and be fine? Life isn't about money. Sure, I don't want to be homeless, but I don't have to be a millionaire, either. It is more important to me to treat people well and how I make them feel. Humans are the best investments, in my opinion.

Life is like a dance. Sometimes I tango. Sometimes I waltz. Most of the time, I have an improvisational dance that I create as I go along.

I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life, but I don't think I need to. Right now, I cannot see myself doing the same thing the rest of my life. I like changes. I like new beginnings. I am one of those weird people that enjoy moving. I like being able to design or create something from a blank slate. I like starting over.

In short, advice is cheap. It's like a nose - everybody has it. I leave you with a quote about advice.

"Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth."