The Shack - a Spiritual Journey (A Book Review)

The Shack
by: William P. Young

I learned about this book on Twitter, of all places. This is surprising mainly because of the amount of religious people I am surrounded with; I am surprised it was never recommended before.

I watched “Mskutcher” aka Demi Moore – talk about her journey through the book on Twitter, and it intrigued me to read it. On that note, I need to mention that anyone who has had a loss of someone close to them, and even specifically if they were murdered – this is going to be difficult however incredibly helpful and healing in the long run.

This book has 252 pages. Compared to other books I read, this is considered “short”. So I thought – cool, I will read this in 2-3 days easily. 3 weeks later, I am finally done with it. Did it take so long because it was boring? Was it drawn out? NO, the opposite, it was almost too much for me to handle at times. I had to take it in pieces and take breaks when things got “too real”. That’s how intense this book is.

The main character of the book is Mack. A man who has had a terrible loss and, like many of us, questions his faith and many things about his life, because of this loss. I find Mack’s feelings, thoughts and responses to be very typical to the every day person’s struggle. Never was there a question unanswered, that if I were in his position, I would want the answer to.

About 1/3 of the way through the book, I had a major red flag. The word Jesus, then the Trinity. I almost quit. Then I remember Demi (I love how that sounds like we chat regularly) talked about how she didn’t have a specific Faith she followed, but was spiritual, and that this book didn’t intrude on that.

So I kept going. It immediately took a different turn. Young has the amazing ability to keep you comfortable while talking about a usually taboo subject. His way of making your heart HURT for Mack and his family in one moment, shed tears over the horrifying circumstances of their loss and then laugh and smiles at the feelings of love and family Mack learns in the Shack.

Young touches on many Christian topics that you may or may not agree with, however its done in a way that its easily accepted and you find yourself caring more about the well being of the character, that you get the main idea being about growth rather than it being preachy.

Towards the end of the book I had to take a break. I couldn’t tell where it was all leading to, however I did know it was going to be hard for me to handle. I lost my only brother less than 2 years ago, very tragically and suddenly – so this book helped me deal with loss and my anger with God. I went into it thinking it would be a good read and it became much more than that. I wasn’t quite ready for what William Young had for me at the end of this journey.

After about a week, I couldn’t stand it, and had to find out how Mack’s spiritual journey ended. I knew it would be hard. I bawled. It was so real but at the same time, so Unreal. Do I believe this is a FACTUAL book? Do I think this really HAPPENED to someone? I realized at the end, that didn’t matter.

April 20st until May 2nd marks a religious holiday for me, The Festival of Ridvan. It commemorates the commencement of my Faith and signifies renewal, the birth of a new Light and the celebration of all things made new. This was a perfect time to finish this book, as it helped bring me out of the darkness of Winter. Spring and Ridvan has brought new growth, new maturity and new light.

Be firm in your Faith (or lack of) and don’t ever feel as though this book is trying to preach to you. If you are firm in your Faith or belief and see it as a story of a way to deal with a horrible adversity and a way to find God during a tragedy – it’s a wonderful 252 page read…

Rating: **** (better than the average thriller movie)

To follow me on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MAbeo

Benjarong Thai - amazing food and service like family

Benjarong Thai Restaurant

19480 State Route 2
Monroe, WA 98272

360.794.5099


I would consider myself a connoisseur of Thai food - having been to many different restaurants and tried tons of dishes.

This restaurant is in our town - however even if I lived 20-30 miles away, I would drive to them.

I wouldn't say we are "regulars" but we go maybe once every 2-4 months. The way the staff remembers things, you would think we were there every week. They know our names, they remember our favorite things on their menu and if we haven't been in for a while, they worry. Its precious.

I decided it was time to give them the credit they deserve, when we realized it was how they treated all their customers, and its what makes them special.

I started with a Mango smoothie. It was served in a a tall chilled glass and was SO amazing.



Then came the appetizers - Fresh Rolls and a mixed appetizer plate. The fresh rolls are VERY well made amnd tasty. The mixed appetizer plate has chicken skewers with peanut sauce, spring rolls, fried prawns and little crab and cream cheese bites in philo - just amazing.





Then came my main course. I usually have either Pad Thai or Showering Rama. Tonight was Pad Thai. Their noddles are always done perfectly, never mushy or overdone.



Dinner overall was fabulous. Too stuffed for dessert, we asked for our check. The owner came out and gave us "Tofu fresh rolls to go, because we know how much you like them!" - free! It was a sweet way to end the evening and they walked us to the door, thanking us until they saw us next time.

Rating: ***** stars Amazing food and service - this place is worth the drive!

Religulous, not for the faint of heart or the insecure in Faith...

Religulous
Director: Larry Charles
Writer: Bill Maher
Documentary
Tagline: Do you smell something burning?

First off let me apologize for the delay between blogs. The economy is tough and so seeing movies and going out to eat seem to be harder to do as of late.

This movie was a must and we ordered it on demand.

Let me preface this review by saying I am a religious person and follow a specific faith. This movie will be offensive to those that take Mr Maher personally and find him attacking your faith. I however see this movie as Bill Maher's way to attack the fanaticism that exists in every Faith.

Similar to the religious zinger "Jesus Camp" or the propaganda filled "Fahrenheit 911" - this movie is a ride full of shocking statements that will make you either fall in love with the film and its writers agenda OR protest it.

Some of the positive aspects of the movie. Maher goes IN on just about every major faith. Granted, he is probably the hardest on Christianity, even visiting a Jesus Amusement part - complete with crucifixion reenactments - oh yes. Maher puts himself in the middle of many uncomfortable religious stand offs and says things that many people wish they had the balls to say.

The parts of Religulous I didn't appreciate, well a few of them I cannot change, one being the pompous, know it all attitude of Bill Maher himself. No matter who that man is talking to, he manages to do it with smirk and a jerk condescending tone. At times, when the religious followers he was talking to were being rude and ignorant, i appreciated it - however not all the time.

Most of the fun that was made of fanaticism was, i think deserved, as most fanatics are over the top and asking for it. However a few of the instances I felt were unwarranted and mean. In particular when he dealt with Islam and the Orthodox Jews.

Overall - you have to understand Bill Mahers type of comedy and his revulsion of organized religion as a whole - and be SURE not to take it to heart.

See it as someone trying to breakdown the fundamentalists that most of the time make EVERY faith look bad or extreme in one way or another. If you can do that, Religulous is a very entertaining movie.

Rating: *** Good movie however a bit disrespectful and over the top at times, but hey, its Bill Maher!

La Casa del Mojito - a yummy cultural adventure

La Casa del Mojito

Categories: Cuban, Latin American

Neighborhood: Roosevelt
7545 Lake City Way NE
(between N 11th Ave & 75th St)
Seattle, WA 98115

(206) 525-3162

www.lacasadelmojito.com

A good friend of ours recommended this spot to us, and so we decided to bring a small group of people to try it out. We are in the middle of a religious fast right now, so a GOOD dinner is very appreciated, and I think overall, we got that.

First the atmosphere, it was SMALL, but cozy, quaint and bright. I am glad our group wasnt any bigger (9 people) because they had issues fitting us! This is where my review of the staff comes in. Our waiter (never new his name) was difficult. He had that "its all good" attitude, however he didnt seem to be able to handle very much and was a bit slow at times. Example: One member of our party was arriving late. So we ordered drinks, appetizers while we waited and said we would wait for him to order. You would think that would be enough. Apparently not, as he kept harrassing us to order. I understand they are VERY tight on space and like to turn over tables, but we were talking about no more than 20 minutes - and it seemed very rude.

Thankfully, the owner was very helpful and came to our table often to make sure we were taken care of - if it wasnt for him, the service rating would have totally failed. Even at the end of our meal - we wanted the bill split - and the difficult server couldnt figure it out. He said "Too many numbers for me". WOW.

So to the food. OVERALL the food was delicious. Here is a photo review of what we had:

Drinks: You must have a Mojito at the house of Mojitos right? Well none of us drink alcohol, so it was VIRGIN Mojitos to the rescue! They were quit tasty I must say.



Then onto the appetizers. We ordered Luam's platter and our friends ordered a shrimp dish. Our platter was 3 different types of plantains - and they were amazing. The shrimp was also very good, and well flavored.




Next up was dinner. It was served pretty timely - thankfully. Between us we ordered their famous steak dish "Parilla De Luigi", the Whitefish dish, the Flank stead and the kids all got cuban fried chicken with fries.

First Luigi steak dish. It was mouth watering. Served with rice, black beans and more plantains, it was amazing. Cooked how you request it - mine was perfectly medium rare and amazing. My only issue was that I had MORE plantains, being that I had SO many in my appetizer, it was a bit much. I was wanting some fries honestly lol.



The person with the white fish dish - said it was TASTY, however very "Fishy" tasting. Overall they gave it a thumbs up except for that.



Next to the Cuban Fried Chicken. Rave reviews on this - white meat, cooked perfectly, still juicy and seasoned so well but not too much.



One person had the most beautiful salad I have ever seen. Taste wise they said it was great, though a few of the fruits tasted a bit off with the combination.



Lastly the flank steak. This one wasnt as good as the rest. The person who ordered it says it lacked flavor, the meat was tough and the beans and rice unseasoned.



So besides our difficult waiter and the one not so good order - OVERALL this spot was amazing. The rest of the staff was friendly and the owner thanked us and walked us out, even let us snap a picture.

Two suggestions: 1) their website says they take reservations, but they DONT. They should take this off.

2) The one waiter in particular needs to work in the kitchen OR learn to serve properly.

Rating: *** 1/2 - Overall a great place to eat with yummy food!

Gomorra - a REAL Mafia movie, almost too real

Gomorra
Rating: R
Director: Matteo Garrone
Language: Italian (English subtitles)

Grand Prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival

For those of you who don't know me. I am Italian. 100% Italian. My family comes from Naples, Italy - where this movie was shot. This movie is about the mafia in Naples, Italy.

I have always had a fondness for mafia movies because of my heritage but also because its comforting. I know that sounds crazy, but the culture of mafia movies is comforting to me, the braggadocio of the men, the loud women, the cocky kids, the visions of food, cigarettes and liquor and corruption that lies between them all.


This movie covers 4 parts of Neapolitan life that is tainted by the mafia. The director skips around a lot between the different stories, which makes it hard to keep up at times, but if you follow close, you can get it.

This is not your typical "Ah yo getthefuckoutta here" Mafioso movie. Hollywood tends to paint a very tough, cold picture in mafia stories. You see money, fine suits, cigars, women, drugs etc. This is not the case in Matteo's movie. This is real. Naples has GHETTOS and the mafia resides in them. The mafia has to watch over where they work - keep an eye on their people. Can't do that from the mansions on the hill.

At times you feel sad and sorry for certain made members - because of the constant struggle they face daily with keeping their bosses happy but never being able to get out of the mess they are in. One man, who pays off people who "know too much" is a frail older man, who is constantly roughed up or has a gun put in his mouth because his bosses change "the list" and those that used to get money, arent anymore because their info is no longer sensitive. He is abused by both sides of the gun, literally. By the end of the movie you really feel sad for him.

By far the two best characters of the movie are the two young men (on the movie poster) who WISH to be mafia made and will do anything to be part of things. The scene on the movie poster depicts the hilarious scene of them in their underwear, shooting guns they found in a mob stash. This eventually leads them to more trouble than they ever imagined, but I won't spoil it.

The cinematography is amazing. Documentary style, you often find yourself questioning if this movie is REAL or actors. The way the camera holds a little too long on peoples emotions, to make sure you feel them. Almost like imposing on their privacy in some way. The slums of Napoli are filmed so you can FEEL the dirt on your feet. The directors ability to capture the violence of a scene but then draw your eye to the impoverished area and scenery as well, its fantastic. I found myself scanning the landscapes, shocked at the visual he was able to create at times. His ability to convey the feeling of a typical lower class Italian home, was impeccable. Smoke filled rooms, loud TV volume, laughter, cards being played, food cooked, spit fire dialect being spoken at each other, sun rays coming through the shades, dirty animals in the halls. It reminded me of Naples 100%.

I won't divulge anymore into the storyline, in fear of spoiling. What I will tell you is this. If you have any love for Mafia movies - SEE THIS FILM. This movie is better than ANY Mafia film I have ever seen, because its real and because of how its filmed. There is nothing glam or Hollywood about it. Its gritty and bloody but at the same time sad, lovely and real. If Scorsese doesn't LOVE this film, I would be VERY surprised.

Rating: ***** Closest thing to a perfect mafia movie ever. IF you ever wondered what it was like in real life, real times - this movie shows you.

**Here are a few more movie photos