Today I am being hosted by Patricia Stoltey. Please drop by and leave a comment on Patricia's blog.
Scroll down for today's Tossing It Out post.
--
Thursday, February 3, 2011
More Thanks and News from A to Z
500!!!!
On Wednesday February 2, 2011 I passed the 500 follower milestone!
The honors for being the 500th follower go to Lisa Potts. She has a blog that bears her name. There is no prize or anything like that--just the honor of having me put the link to your blog for all to see. In any case, thank you for following Tossing It Out and if any of you readers don't know Lisa, hop over to say hello.
SEE MY GUEST SPOT TODAY!!!
Since I'm guesting at Patricia Stoltey's place today I will not be writing a regular post and would instead like to recognize some special A to Z Challenge bloggers.
There's Still More! My Thanks to Some Special People. Is your name on the list below?
Special Posts:
Yvonne from Welcome to My World of Poetry gave us one of the most unique special posts so far--be sure to check this one out!
Jeffrey Beesler's excellent post at World of the Scribe addressed some of the concerns that many may have about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. Be sure to check this one out. It has some thoughtful comments as well. This won't be the last time you'll be hearing from Jeffrey.
Chris K. who authors The Kelworth Files gave us a very flattering boost in his Monday blog post.
Larri from Seams Inspired had a grand post that attracted some participants. And I want to give Larri a big thanks for helping me with putting up the code for the grab-it badge in my side bar.
Murees Dupe at Daily Drama of an Aspiring Writer is a newer blogger who could use some of you to visit and click her follower button.
Stephanie from What's So Random is a special blogger to me not only because she posted about A to Z, but also because she's my niece.
Liz at 8-Bit Words gave A to Z a very nice write up.
And another one of my nieces, Wolfie from Writer Person, joined the Challenge with an encouraging write up. This will be Wolfie's second year Blogging from A to Z in April.
Mentions:
Ruby the Blabbin' Grammy is a special friend whom many came upon in the 2010 Challenge and she will be back again in 2011.
P K Hrezo who has a Fiction Addiction talked about the Challenge.
Olivia, That Rebel With A Blog, made a big mention of the A to Z Challenge.
Badge added to sidebar:
Dezmond the Hollywood Spy has the badge displayed and I'm sure he'll give us a little mention now and then.
Wendy Tyler Ryan Publication and Other Pursuits put up the badge.
Lynda R. Young at W.I.P. It includes the badge on her site.
Jules from Trying to Get Over the Rainbow, my buddy and blogger extraordinare will most likely be posting about the challenge in the future .
S.A. Larsen at Writer's Alley added a badge to her site .
Jennee at Cheap Therapy displays the A to Z badge.
Lindz at Rapturous Randomocity has the badge.
Tina at Life Is Good. is helping to spread the word.
Elizabeth Mueller, Author is also getting word out.
and
Larry at DiscConnected put up a big ol' badge and I imagine will have something to say about the challenge.
I think I probably missed some more that I haven't run across yet. If you put up the badge on your site, or if you posted about the challenge, and I haven't mentioned it yet, please let me know in the comments so I can credit you in my next thank you post.
Also, if you can take some time to visit the above bloggers and leave a comment it would be greatly appreciated. If you aren't following, click that button to follow. The first part of the challenge is underway and that is building the Challenge community that we are now all a part of.
If you are following my blog and I haven't stopped by to follow yours, please let me know that as well so I can remedy that situation.
Finally, don't forget to stop by Patricia Stoltey's site and leave a comment for me.
300 Participants for Blogging from A to Z is becoming a reality. Encourage others to join us so we can meet our goal.
--
On Wednesday February 2, 2011 I passed the 500 follower milestone!
The honors for being the 500th follower go to Lisa Potts. She has a blog that bears her name. There is no prize or anything like that--just the honor of having me put the link to your blog for all to see. In any case, thank you for following Tossing It Out and if any of you readers don't know Lisa, hop over to say hello.
SEE MY GUEST SPOT TODAY!!!
Since I'm guesting at Patricia Stoltey's place today I will not be writing a regular post and would instead like to recognize some special A to Z Challenge bloggers.
There's Still More! My Thanks to Some Special People. Is your name on the list below?
Special Posts:
Yvonne from Welcome to My World of Poetry gave us one of the most unique special posts so far--be sure to check this one out!
Jeffrey Beesler's excellent post at World of the Scribe addressed some of the concerns that many may have about the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. Be sure to check this one out. It has some thoughtful comments as well. This won't be the last time you'll be hearing from Jeffrey.
Chris K. who authors The Kelworth Files gave us a very flattering boost in his Monday blog post.
Larri from Seams Inspired had a grand post that attracted some participants. And I want to give Larri a big thanks for helping me with putting up the code for the grab-it badge in my side bar.
Murees Dupe at Daily Drama of an Aspiring Writer is a newer blogger who could use some of you to visit and click her follower button.
Stephanie from What's So Random is a special blogger to me not only because she posted about A to Z, but also because she's my niece.
Liz at 8-Bit Words gave A to Z a very nice write up.
And another one of my nieces, Wolfie from Writer Person, joined the Challenge with an encouraging write up. This will be Wolfie's second year Blogging from A to Z in April.
Mentions:
Ruby the Blabbin' Grammy is a special friend whom many came upon in the 2010 Challenge and she will be back again in 2011.
P K Hrezo who has a Fiction Addiction talked about the Challenge.
Olivia, That Rebel With A Blog, made a big mention of the A to Z Challenge.
Badge added to sidebar:
Dezmond the Hollywood Spy has the badge displayed and I'm sure he'll give us a little mention now and then.
Wendy Tyler Ryan Publication and Other Pursuits put up the badge.
Lynda R. Young at W.I.P. It includes the badge on her site.
Jules from Trying to Get Over the Rainbow, my buddy and blogger extraordinare will most likely be posting about the challenge in the future .
S.A. Larsen at Writer's Alley added a badge to her site .
Jennee at Cheap Therapy displays the A to Z badge.
Lindz at Rapturous Randomocity has the badge.
Tina at Life Is Good. is helping to spread the word.
Elizabeth Mueller, Author is also getting word out.
and
Larry at DiscConnected put up a big ol' badge and I imagine will have something to say about the challenge.
I think I probably missed some more that I haven't run across yet. If you put up the badge on your site, or if you posted about the challenge, and I haven't mentioned it yet, please let me know in the comments so I can credit you in my next thank you post.
Also, if you can take some time to visit the above bloggers and leave a comment it would be greatly appreciated. If you aren't following, click that button to follow. The first part of the challenge is underway and that is building the Challenge community that we are now all a part of.
If you are following my blog and I haven't stopped by to follow yours, please let me know that as well so I can remedy that situation.
Finally, don't forget to stop by Patricia Stoltey's site and leave a comment for me.
300 Participants for Blogging from A to Z is becoming a reality. Encourage others to join us so we can meet our goal.
--
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Is This Book Dangerous?
Prior to my Christmas trip I listed the books that I would be taking with me. You can see the list here. I have not finished all of these, but my intent is to review the ones I have already read or as I finish reading them in the near future. In this post I will be reviewing The Shack by William P. Young.
William P. Young's The Shack is a novel that has sold millions of copies, spent weeks on numerous bestseller lists, and been translated into many languages. It is a phenomenon that has achieved immense popularity in the United States and throughout the world. The book has generated much controversy as having been hailed as a highly spiritual reading experience as well as a dangerous book that has mislead millions with a deceptive interpretation of Christian belief.
William P. Young's The Shack is a novel that has sold millions of copies, spent weeks on numerous bestseller lists, and been translated into many languages. It is a phenomenon that has achieved immense popularity in the United States and throughout the world. The book has generated much controversy as having been hailed as a highly spiritual reading experience as well as a dangerous book that has mislead millions with a deceptive interpretation of Christian belief. The novel tells the story of a tragic loss when a young girl is kidnapped during a family camping trip. Evidence that she has been brutally murdered is found in a secluded mountain shack, but the body cannot be found. The story opens four years later with the family still grieving over their loss. The father receives a mysterious note from what may be God asking him to come back to the shack. What follows is a life changing encounter with the three persons of the Holy Trinity.
The story is mostly a dialogue between the very depressed father and God. It is a book of philosophies, or more accurately, theological doctrine. The ideas lovingly expressed here sound truly wonderful and I can understand why the book would be so appealing to many people. However I couldn't help but feel a bit of uneasiness about this presentation. It is not Christianity as I believe it.
The Shack offers much for discussion and debate. In that sense the book can be stimulating. The storytelling is decent and the dialogue is entertaining. The characters are well-drawn and in fact inspired by Young's own family. I was let down by the trickery of the bad literary device used at the end. It is not great literature, but it's better than average pop literature. I wouldn't encourage anyone to buy the book, but if you have a chance you might enjoy reading it.
Is it a dangerous book as some have said? I guess the answer to that depends on your personal beliefs and the nature of the person reading it. Yes, it is a potentially dangerous book in the sense that any book could be dangerous if used in the wrong way.
Have you read The Shack? Do you think it is a dangerous book? What are some other books that some have called dangerous?
***
***
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)