Reading Between The Wines discussion

1. Does God appear to you in unique and different ways and at different times based on your needs? Why or why not? If God does appear to you how do you know it is God and how do you share that experience with others?

2. Has God given you any special gifts and if so what kind of gifts has God given you so you are ready when they are needed?

3. Is asking God the hard questions more a sign of your growing faith and trust in God or a sign of a crises in you faith?

4. Have you really forgiven a person if you still get angry when recalling the wrong and hurt you experienced?

5. Why did Mack ask Jesus to keep his little tin box and did he have to give it up for Jesus to be in his life or could he have both? Can you keep your tin box of the things of this life that are most dear and still have God at the center of your life? Why or why not?

6. Is it necessary for you to get closure to losses and hurts in your life to move on or should you just embrace losses and hurts as parts of the random chaos that makes up the fabric of life?

7. Do you welcome the process of change more like Mack or resist it more like Willie and why? If Mack had resisted change, how do you think the tale would have ended? What are the risks for you in changing and in not changing and the risks for the church?

4. If you forgive someone that means not bringing it up again to that person. I believe you can still be hurt by that experience. We are human.

6. I believe it is necessary to get closure in your life to move on. If not like forgiveness,it's like bringing up old wounds if you don't move one. You could lash out at someone for little thing because you are still holding onto the past.

7. Change is very hard for me. I have learned in the past few years, I have to be open to change. If I don't, I will not know what is out there or all of the possibiliites my children could be open to.

I do not know how to feel about the book. It was interesting but, to me, somewhat unsettling. Perhaps it is because I resist change in a lot of ways. I have, as I've gotten older, learned to let 'closure' alone and to move on in the effort to live in/with God. This book, I felt, tried to allow the author to express his explanations of God and his walk in the faith. I must admit that it was a very unique way to bring many of these questions to mind. AND I was pleasantly surprised to read the author's apparent characteristics in and about the "Christian characters" as I have seen actual persons in my life who continually display some of these same characteristics. In my conversations with some of these people, they appear to have questions of faith, but their actions -- to me, at least -- show great Christian attributes. Thus, are these people Christian? It is a belief that only they can know with the Lord's help. What is great is that they live the life in their daily walk. So, while I'm not sure how to answer each of Angela's questions (sorry Angie) I must say I am glad that I did read this book! And I'm very glad I see such characteristics in many of those around me!