The hiatus may be over--Books and etc!

I can't seem to find time to blog lately! I am definitely not lacking in blog fodder. I mentally compose things as I'm driving, showering, chasing my very-nearly-walking-now-one-year-old child around. And of course, now that I have time to write, I can't remember any of the things I wanted to say!
I'll start with Elise: her birthday was September 22. She's a dream, that one. We want to have another one but I can't imagine my heart being able to hold any more love. It could likely explode (what a nice way to go, eh?)
Here's one of my favorite photos from her big day:
I actually was home sick on her birthday, nasty sinus infection. I am currently on antibiotics and feel a million times better. I'm apprehensive about the 2009 impending flu season, not sure if I should act on the H1N1 hype as a cautionary measure or just use common sense and do what I can to stay well? With Elise being in daycare, there will be more germ exposure than years past. It could be a rough winter. The almanac is predicting a very cold winter as well. I dread this--mostly in terms of utility bills. I get out so rarely these days that extreme cold will be just one more excuse to cozy up to my couch and my bookcase--so many things I want to read! I heard a book review on NPR for a book called 'Love Warps the Mind a Little" by John Dufresne. I think I'll go try to find it today. I've afforded more time for reading lately, not sure how, its just happened (maybe I've been reading in lieu of blogging!) I recently read a book called "The Shack" which is a little out of my reading element, but it sent me into a tailspin for a few days. I shall explain (spoiler alert! If you are going to read this book and want to be surprised, don't read much farther!) This book is written in a style that I hated so much that I almost couldn't make it through the book--very colloquial and "dumbed down", yet, I could tell the author was a thoughtful person who wouldn't ordinarily write like that, which is probably why I found it so distasteful and condescending. He used concepts like fractals, for crying out loud, while writing in colloquial vernacular that I found completely annoying. Additionally, the subject matter was typical of the Christian experience I had growing up: intentional breaking down of reader with emotional blackmail, then rebuild using the concept of God's love and forgiveness. I find this distasteful, but still ended up loving the book. I shall explain again: in this story, the main character's youngest daughter is kidnapped and murdered, the details of which are horrifically detailed, in terms of the emotions and suffering the family endured, and the lasting impact it had on the family. I can't imagine such a terrible fate for my own daughter, so this was particularly poignant for me. At any rate, the main character, whose name escapes me at the moment, is invited by "papa" (his wife's name for God--blech) back to the shack where his daughter was likely murdered. When he gets there, he spends a wonderful weekend with the God tri-fecta: Jesus (as himself), God (as portrayed as a large black woman who likes to cook), and the Holy Spirit (portrayed as a wispy Asian woman who collects tears.)
Sounds kitschy, right? It was. But, the philosophical ideas explored were fantastic. And the book left me with a comfort and a little bit of relief from my hellfire- and- brimstone-based religious upbringing. One of my favorite points in the book is that most of human suffering on earth is brought about by religion, economics, and politics--its so true! I do think our collective problems as a human race can boil down to those three elements. Also, it shed some light about the depth of God's understanding and forgiveness of humanity--even for someone who is "evil" enough to murder a little girl. It blew my mind to think that there could be grace for someone capable of that sort of thing. But, it all goes back to somewhere down the line, something happened to him or his father or his father's father that caused this evil, and that is the way of our imperfect planet. More profoundly, we demanded freedom from God per the story of Adam and Eve--we wanted knowledge of good and evil, so He gave it to us. Consequently, we complain and beg for deliverance from it.
I've only touched on the ideas in this blog. Even if you do not identify with the Christian faith, I would recommend this book simply from a philosophical viewpoint. Just remember I warned you that the writing was terrible!