Book 2 of 2011

Wow -- can you believe it? I have already finished my second book of the year! You may be thinking that compared to last year, this doesn't seem possible. But this is about the normal speed with which I read, provided I don't have a horrible migraine. At this rate, I am confident that I can achieve my goal of reading 75 books this year.

I recently finished yet another Max Lucado book entitled "And the Angels Were Silent". At first, I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book, considering the entire subject of the book is looking at the last week of Jesus' life. What I found was a better understand of everything that took place, from coming into Jerusalem on what we celebrate as Palm Sunday, to kicking people out of them temple on Monday and Tuesday, to the Last Supper celebrated on Thursday, where Jesus (of all people) washed the feet of his disciples, including the one that he knew would betray him, to Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, to Judas' betrayal in the Garden, Jesus' meeting with Pilate, and his walk to Calvary. This book was just incredible. I think my favorite chapter in this book was Chapter 26, when Max describes a trip he took to Jerusalem. He followed in Christ's footsteps in what were his final steps -- through the narrow, crowded streets of the Via Dolorosa. Where he gave his life on the cross now stands a church, a cathedral. In the church, there is a gold plated hole that is believed to have been where his cross was raised. At the suspected place of the tomb, a priest is guarding the entrance and the inside looks ornate. Luckily, Joe (the guide that Max was with) happened to know of a place within the cathedral that was more intimate and more real. It was a small (no more than 4 feet long and wide), plain, dusty, musty, rock tomb. As Max entered the tomb, Joe said something close to this: "Wouldn't it be ironic if this was the tomb where our Lord was buried?" Max sat in silence, and the idea that he could have actually be in the real tomb gave me goosebumps. It gave me a more real sense of what God did for us - what he sacrificed for us.

This book was phenomenal and I highly recommend it to EVERYONE! It gets an A+ in my book :)

Keep on reading, learning, and enjoying life. Don't forget that even when you feel like you are alone, you NEVER are alone. God is always with you.

Peace and Love