Evendays

Yes! I finally got my Yancey book and quickly read the first two chapters. I’m looking forward to the discussion starting tomorrow, HERE.

Anyway, they stuck in a Christianbook.com Christian Book Bargains Fall Sale Catalogue (CCBBFSC) and I spent about 30 minutes in it rather than reading one of the books I already own. I’m going to order some Christmas cards for Let’s Start Talking friends and I may order a couple of stocking stuffers for my kids who, BTW, loyally read this blog, and NOT just because I threaten them.

I turned to the bestseller page looking for, maybe, the 20 hottest books in Christendom today. #2, according to CBD, is 23 Minutes in Hell. This is not a trip about your latest visit to the DMV. No, it seems that Bill Wiese was given a vision of hell and he’s warning us about it (hell, not the vision). I have no reason to doubt that this really happened, because I found on Amazon.com the following:

Wiese… returned from [hell] with vivid details etched in his memory. He records an accurate account of his experience in this book, presenting more than three hundred scriptures that verify the horrors he endured and observed.

So it is an accurate account of his experience, which, of course, we know is accurate because it was etched in his memory. Plus, this information is on the Internet. BTW, its Amazon sales rank is #2,877, which leads us to the question: What kind of people buy books at CBD?

Amazon will give me a special deal if I buy another book (bestseller #11 at CBD) entitled 90 Minutes in Heaven by Dan Piper. Amazon.com comments:

Back on earth, a… minister… is led to pray for Don even though he knows the man is dead. Piper miraculously comes back to life and the bliss of heaven is replaced by a long and painful recovery.

Instead of being angry about this, Piper tells us what God’s taught him about life and stuff. Not my kind of read, but readers gave it 5 stars. Its Amazon rank is #194, which means people (at Amazon) like reading more about heaven than hell, though my all-time favorite heaven or hell book is The Great Divorce, ranked #1783.

As I’ve written before, I love books. I love good books. I love good books that make me think, and especially those that help me grow in my walk with God.

So, I have a decent proposal for my fellow bloggers. I read not too long ago that Philip Yancey has come out with a book on prayer, entitled “Prayer. Does it make any difference?” (Christianbook.com sells the hardback for $12.99.) I have not read this book, but other books by the same author have been edifying.

What I suggest is that each of us get a copy, then in the coming weeks (months) we read it “together”. On any given Saturday, one of us can host a comment section on their blog so that we can share what we’ve learned, what has challenged us and what has encouraged us to pray better. We can rotate hosts for different chapters and just “meet” up for comments, questions, etc., all within a few days of the given Saturday.

I think it would help us develop a stronger communion with God and with each other. As a crummy prayer, I know it would encourage me to move forward in this spiritual discipline.

If you want to participate, let me know. (If it’s not a good idea, well, let me know too.) Then get the book, and find a Saturday when you’d like to “host” the discussion.

My blogging buddy at Ocular Fusion tagged me, or booked me, as he’d write… So here we go:

1. One book that changed your life: Max Dauner’s 80 page study on God’s Eternal Plan changed me and the way I look at the Gospels. I’ve never taught them the same since. (Only available in French…)
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Well, 7 books really. The Chronicles of Narnia.
   
3. One book that you’d want on a desert island: A really good hymn book.
   
4. One book that made you laugh: Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits.
   
5. One book that made you cry: Michael Shaara’s Killer Angels.
   
6. One book you wish you had written: The Catechism of the Catholic Church. (So much good in it, but so many things you could make clearer…)
   
7. One book that you wish had never been written: Mein Kampf.
   
8. One book you’re currently reading: Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination by Eugene Peterson.
   
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: The last 900 pages of Hugo’s Les Misérables. I’ve already finished the first 900 pages.
   
10. Tag five others: This goes against my conscience, so I’ll leave it open, although I’d love to know which book changed your life…