I am hoping to use some blog space to let you know about items of interest regarding The Shack – updates as stuff happens, news and info…just stuff.

First, to give you some background:  I started writing some of the conversations while I was riding the MAX (our local train type transit) from Gresham, Oregon (USA) to downtown Portland (where I was working at the time).  It was 40 minutes each way, every work day, and it was read, sleep or write.  This was March and April 2005, two years ago.  By the end of April, I had a number of those rather ugly yellow pads full of bits of conversations, disorganized and rather unruly.  They were conversations that I was having with God about whatever.  Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night in the middle of a conversation and grab a notepad to try and remember.  More than not, contrary to the brilliance I had expected, what I had written would make no sense whatsoever in the morning’s light.  But occasionally some coherent thoughts and concepts actually emerged from these nocturnal meanderings.

the purpose of all this, in addition to occupying some time on the MAX, was to try and write something for my children (six of them)…something that Kim (my wife) would occasionally bring up as a good thing to do.  As she put it, "The way you think about things is a little odd and unusual and I think it would wonderful for the kids to have some of that in writing."  I think she had been mentioning the idea for about ten years.  In hind sight, I was not ready before 2005 to write this…thing…what turned out to be The Shack.

I had never intended to actually write a book and the idea of publishing the results didn’t even occur to me during the process.  Besides business type writing, the only things I had ever written were poems, songs, some annual family newsletters and teaching materials that I used as a speaker.  It was all for friends and family, usually for gifts or special occasions.   But a book…hardly.

I never thought of myself as a writer, only as someone who enjoyed writing…but I enjoy a lot of things.  I suppose since there is actually a book out there now with my name on it…I suppose I am an ‘author’ by default, but the very idea sounds weird, probably to those who know me as much as it does me.  In my opinion, I think such labels are a little ‘diminishing’, like the snapshot of someone’s big toe…"Look, I have a snapshot of Willie’s big toe…Look, isn’t he wonderful!"  Now, don’t misunderstand…I really do like my big toes – I think they are both a little above average…I have seen a few big toes in my time and I am sure that mine are ‘cooler’ than most.  Without them my knees would probably bang into each other when I walked, so I am rather appreciative of their existence. 

But the point is that I am much more than my big toes, and every person is much more than the labels that are often assigned as a form of short hand to ‘capture’ and ‘cage’ them.  Even honoring labels – ask any ‘Reverend’.  But it is rather inevitable as I think about it…being labeled that is.  Perhaps what is important is what ‘I’ think about the label..what power I give it, regardless if it is honoring or derogatory.  So, if people think I am a ‘writer’ or a ‘big toe’…I will know that I am much more than that, much other and perhaps in a conversation or even just a word, or touch or smile, they will realize that too.

Hmmm…so this is blogging.  You start in one place and pretty soon you are walking off somewhere with your knees knocking together.  Kind of fun.  Kinda goofy.

To be continued…

‘Willie’