January 31st, 2003 Journal Entry Book Report by S.Hindalong for CCM I profoundly appreciate the power of well crafted words – to be inspirational – life changing, even. But for the most part… Give me entertainment! Something akin to a harrowing hatchet fight in the first paragraph will suit me fine. There’ll be pages aplenty ahead to develop the characters and elaborate on the scenery. I’ve gotta have melodrama “from the get go” or I’ll be sleeping soundly by the third page. Recently I read a great one – a western classic, no less – Shane, by Jack Schaffer, published in 1949. The movie has been a favorite since childhood, and the book was captivating. Yes, and personally influential. Indeed, I did take to heart Shane’s counsel to young Bob regarding how best to handle a gun. “Your holster’s too low,” he said. “Don’t let it drag full arm’s length. Have it just below the hip, so the grip is about halfway between your wrist and elbow when your arm’s hanging limp….If it’s speed you’re after, Bob, don’t split the move into parts.” So I’m wearing my cell phone a bit higher now and I’m able to be talkin’ after one swift motion. The final showdown is among the all time greatest in cowboy literature history as the bad guys reap the due fruit of their iniquity in the form of bullets from Shane’s single action Colt. This is, of course, what western dramas are all about and the reason many of us find them so satisfying. In sharp contrast, and at the insistence of my friend, Julie Miller, who gave me the book, I’m currently half way through Brennan Manning’s Abba’s Child. It’s much about God’s mercy, and I’m reminded how fortunate I am to be granted amnesty for my own crime. Abba, our loving father, loves us more than we can imagine. “God not only forgives and forgets our own shameful deeds,” explains Manning, “but even turns their darkness into light. All things work together for those who love God, even our sins.” And so…to clumsily bring this “book report” to a conclusion (and I’m so glad I’m not in school anymore!) I’ve been deeply moved by the profound spiritual insights of Manning, Yancey, Buechner and Chambers – but for an airplane ride, or in a lounge chair by the lake – I recommend Shane by Jack Schaefer. “He was tall and terrible there in the road, looming up gigantic in the half light.”