Hey I may just steal those words and put them in song if I can…

by the way, they are most beautiful and incredible….

…you surely may, and thanks for the compliment of even wanting to. -Willie

Thank you for the answer to prayer. God is faithful to His own. After my searchings of 25 years (and I started late) I see evidences of others blown by the spirit into the realms of heaven. May our tribe increase!

The poem is lovely. May I send it on to others?

I love the poem. I also love the idea of the spirit being like the wind. It is wild and unpredictable, sometimes calm and soothing. As humans we seem to tend to be left uneasy with change, so the not knowing from where the wind might come or where it is going often scare us. I am learning these days to be at peace with that uncertainty of life in the spirit, because I am learning the spirit is absolutely trustworthy.

Willie, I read the book!!! Wow, wow, and wow!!! Absolutely loved it!!! Did I mention, WOW!!!

Hi Willie, et al,

I’m new to blogging & living outside the ‘institutional church’ but have been so blessed by reading/listening to you & others on this liberated journey in Jesus. I like the congruity of wind/breath/movement you express so tenderly in Wind Rumors. What better way to describe the spirit of God! Also, I finished my first read of The Shack but intend to read it over soon more slowly and intentionally. I loved your ‘portrayal’ of the Godhead…how beautiful, fluid & unexpected! My husband were both raised Catholic, �got saved� in our early 20s, spent 6 years in a Baptist-type fellowship, then 24+ years in an independent pentecostal (and increasingly abusive fellowship which strongly upheld the Oneness doctrine), and just last fall we quietly left the IC. So your depiction of God from the Trinitarian perspective was refreshing, interesting and creative. We’ve never personally been too concerned with splitting hairs over Trinity vs. Oneness…at least we never believed it’s a salvational issue. In fact, lately we’ve dumped a lot of other notions we used to think were critical to one’s salvation, or at least affected God’s approval/blessings of us. So glad to finally (after 30+ years) continue our walk with the Father having our load lightened and learning what trusting him is really all about. Thanks for your input & contribution to our journey. Looking forward to more!

I just finished reading “The Shack”, which made me both sad and excited…! I didn’t want it to end, but I’m excited to LIVE it…! Yeah, “wow” ’bout sums it up…!

I’m going to buy a case, and foist it upon all manner of unsuspecting mortals!

Thanks Wayne, and Jim, for foisting it upon me…!

Shalom, Dena

“The unanswered questions aren’t nearly as dangerous as the unquestioned answers.”

Oh my goodness, what a story!- Wayne sent us “The Shack” - we got 4 copies. One has disappeared to my friend; my 18yr olddaughter is reading one;my 16yr old son another;& my husband the other one! Thankfully I got to read one first before they all disappeared. I wanted to cry (and I did) so much as I read it; there are so many goodies in it, so I plan to reread it as soon as a book emerges again. And of course, I will have to get some more to give away!
The only thing my “religious” side of me struggled with was “Papa”! I could see it, and yet, my religious hackles rose up! How could Papa look like a woman??? :-)Sigh………….it’s good to have stuff in me exposed to the light! I’ve just never thought of that before. So thank you.
I’m finding I’m chatting to Dad during the day, and in my heart of hearts, I’m calling him “Daddy”, and that’s kind of cool.
To see people coming into more freedom from reading this book - wahoo! I’m in!
thank you thank you!

What a refreshing wind…and you know, I’ve heard Him audibly…that Wind. I’m breathing Him in right now…remembering when my son was born last year and I was waiting to have a C-section (despite all the exercises I did that the Japanese doctors and nurses told me to do, he never turned). My husband had gone out for some breakfast and I was waiting…waiting…feeling nervous. I was asking Daddy to be with me, and right then I heard Him, whooshing past my hospital window in the direction of the operating room that was next door. I heard Him!!! I started crying right there in my hospital bed, tears of happiness that I could hang out with my Daddy and that He loves me so much that He’ll make Himself heard and known.

Bev, I can understand how it would be hard to think of Papa as a woman, and I found it different and intriguing and comforting all at the same time. It’s refreshing to know that Papa understands me (a woman) completely without having to be Man or Woman himself. I felt wrapped up in Mama arms while reading about Papa in this book.

So glad to have read The Shack and to read others’ comments who are also on this journey. This is Acts all over again…or maybe just a continuation…

Come, Wind, come!

Dear Willie,

Thank you.

Our 19 year old son died in an automobile accident in 1986. He was a super young man with so much ahead of him. He had just finished his first year at university, making the deans list, we were so proud, and then so shattered. I struggeled with the pain until it overwhelmed me. I had never been much of a believer so didn’t have a lot to hang onto. God gave me just enough sense to cry out to Him, I did, but then I turned into a religious person. I went to a Anglican seminary, graduated with honors in theology, became very “involved” with the IC that I attended, taught, preached, and “led”. And became more and more religious and more and more unhappy. I just did not seem to be able to “do enough” to feel right with God. I was a person who managed to absorb any guilt that needed a place to nest, and you can only imagine what a horror that led to.

But I desperatly desired to know God…the real God…the Papa, Jesus, Sarayu. I pleaded for Him to help me. He did, a problem arose in the IC and I had to leave and I was so hurt and so shocked and so angry!!! Tried to go on with the religious life for awhile (thinking that was the real thing and the only way to Him) but the emptiness got bigger and bigger, then out of the blue, I found Lifestream…and His love began to shine through. I got your book through lifestream and it was the next great step for me. I have so much rubbish to remove from my thinking, but my loving papa (who really is especially fond of me) is slowly rooting it all up and teaching me to live as one who is loved. Today I am walking and living free, each day I learn a little more of myself and what must go, but the most important thing I have learned is that what is important to Father is what should be important to me.

Your beautiful tender book took the hierarchy out of the Trinity, and subordination out of the Godhead roles. A perfect circle that feeds in and out of each one,anticipating and fulfilling each other. This for me, was stunning. (I feel this is how we should live amongst each other as followers of Jesus) I have always been a little “cold” on the Holy Spirit/Sarayu..I have seen so much abuse and heard so many tall tales of miracles and prohecies that I was very jaded and suspicious. Your portrayal however, has brought the Holy Spirit into my heart, to “garden” there, I am not afraid nor cynical of his/her presence, but welcome her with joy. (There are many pretty patches of flowers I have planted that I need to dig up.)

I am sorry I have written such a long comment, but I have too much in my heart to be brief. Once again, from my deepest heart, thank you Willie.

Hi Willie,

I have almost finished your book and have no words to express the impact of this book on my soul. It has blown the doors off my defenses and reached into the most vulnerable and painful parts of me. I cannot stop the tears. Thankyou for addressing the issues that no one in the church seems to feel comfortable discussing. I do have one question. In your explanation of good and evil, if I understand you correctly, you cite the occurence of cancer or death as good in one context and evil in another. I am having difficulty understanding this. As a nurse, I have served countless numbers of dear people on their deathbeds. The very nature of disease seems so evil. I have struggled with the question, “Is God in control?” I have concluded that he could not be as the world would surely look very different if he was. There is so much I desire to understand and simply do not. When humans were given free will, is it inevitable that God is bound by what he has granted to refrain from interfering? Then, how does the dynamic of prayer fit into all of this?

Thankyou so much for addressing the “burning issues” in the hearts of all.

Blessings!

God is so good. I have always been a late bloomer so i had no idea thet this book had been out so long but at any rate at just the right time it found me.Blessed assurance Jesus is mine and He has promised to be with me always even to the end of the age. For anyone who needs to know how much you are loved this one is for you!!

Father from heaven
Help me love your ways
Your stories are adventurous
Your love for me is passionate
Your care for me is merciful
Your provision is
always Faithful
Your ways oh Lord are Mysterious
Yet You are always
Righteous and just
You let my heart break
And know your comfort
You let me know affliction
And know your healing
You let me know Barreness
And the treasure of
your abundance
Your creation speaks loudly
Yet you whisper in my ear
You let me hit walls
And know your tenderness
You let me know weakness
And know your strength
You let me know unworthyness
And know your Glory
To know you is better than life
Let your praise flow continually
From my heart and mouth
Blessed be Your name
My Lord My God My Father.

By Dee Bedsole

What an awesome book! I finished it last night before going to bed and it’s all I can think about! I plan to order many copies and share with family, friends, and co-workers.
Thank you so much for putting it into words…the healing power of the Holy Spirit. I was trully blessed to read it.

Just read the book and I loved it! Can’t wait for the movie, just don’t let them mess it up. Thanks!!!!! Jim

The Wind (which I have always sensed was the Holy Spirit) has always brought me peace and comfort. I sleep better with the overhead ceiling fan on - although artificial - it’s the closest thing I can get during the winter months to wind that is not bitingly cold.

My favorite times of the year are Spring and Autumn when the breeze is more prevalent and enjoyable. I have been known to be lulled to sleep by a gentle breeze flowing through the open windows in one of the rooms in my apartment. I breathe better when there is wind. I relax and think more clearly when the wind slips across my skin and fills my lungs. I drive with the windows open in the car whenever I can.. because the wind is there!

There is no other place that I have found on the web that has described the same type feelings that I have long held in my heart about the wind. So for that, I’d like to thank you…. during a day of hearing hard things, your page has brought me an identification that I didn’t even know that I was looking for… and for that….

I want to thank you and am now a fan.

Kate Perry
Omaha, Nebraska