Archive for March 19th, 2009

Two days ago I decided to read The Shack. I’m sure most of you have heard about it by now. I had heard people talking about it a few times over the past few months, but it never seemed like anyone said anything specific except “It’s good.” I understand that better now…. I think. I love to read and was looking for a book and there it was. So I started it. And now I’ve finished it.

This is one of those books that I will need to sit with and digest for a bit before making up my mind about it. It was definitely hard to put down. Very thought-provoking. Interesting and a bit strange. Beautiful in parts. There are several lines in this book that made me want to jump up and get a highlighter and that never happens to me unless I’m reading the bible or a bible study. Not just a “book” book. Of course I didn’t get up and get the highlighter (most likely because I was in the bubble bath where I do most of my reading) so now I’m going to have to go through the book again to find them. But it will be time well-spent.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. It’s an easy read and a fairly short book and is definitely worth taking the time to read it. I can’t talk much about it without spoiling the whole thing but I am interested in what others think of it. Especially my church friends. I will say that it has given me a lot to think about regarding my relationship with the Lord and any thing that gets me doing that gets a thumbs up from me!

Tell me what you thought of it if you’ve read it and want to share. I’ll be back to revisit this in a few days. And if you haven’t read it, get started!!!

We are going to Curacao in a few weeks and I can’t wait! We are taking the little rascals with us so it’s a family affair. Curacao is in the Netherland Antilles which makes it a Dutch island. It looks beautiful…. gorgeous beaches and fun places to go explore.

We’re staying at the Marriott. Looks dreamy, doesn’t it?

A lot has been going on lately and I haven’t even begun to plan the trip. We have our plane tickets and the hotel reservations but the rest is a total mystery. I did read a while back that there is an ostrich farm and a place where you can do swim with dolphins. The children are really excited about that! I’m dreaming of warm breezes, reading by the ocean, walks with my honey under the stars….

I’m headed over to my favorite travel website: TripAdvisor. Cole and I went to France a few years ago and I planned the entire trip with the help of TripAdvisor. It’s all user-generated content and you can find out amazing details about any location. We were able to find this adorable little bed & breakfast in Beynac, a small town in the Dordogne River Valley of France. It was run by a sweet couple who spoke very little English but were the most gracious hosts. The first morning we were there was my birthday, and I must have mentioned this at some point during the reservation process because she presented me with a lovely birthday cake for breakfast! Gotta love France! I’ve planned trips to Scotland, Cancun, and England all with the help of TripAdvisor. It allowed us to get off the beaten track and find some things we probably would have missed otherwise.

If you have a trip coming up (and I hope you do!), check out TripAdvisor. It’s a terrific and valuable website. If you happen into the Curacao forum, you might see me there!