BitterSweetLife Comments Live

What exactly is the meaning of the title? Who is &...

noreply@blogger.com (EYSchmitt) — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:36:58 +0000

What exactly is the meaning of the title? Who is "so brave, young, and handsome" in this story? It puzzles me no end.....

Am I the only woman in the world who's just no...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 13:42:44 +0000

Am I the only woman in the world who's just not connecting with this book at all? I don't think it's bad, I actually like the message and I think it's kind of sweet, but I'm reading it, and I'm reading "This is what women are like. This is how women think. This is how women feel and this is what women want." And I'm just like... "Really? We're like that? Then why don't I feel like that?"
It's like I'm reading a book that says "Ever since we're little girls, all a woman ever dreams about is having a koala bear of her very own, but then something bad happens to us that makes us think we're not good enough to have a koala bear... But we are good enough to have a koala bear, and we were designed to have a koala bear, and we deserve to have a koala bear!" And I'm just like, "... But what if a woman isn't obsessed with koala bears?" And the book just says, "Oh no, ALL women are obsessed with koala bears. Some women are just ashamed to admit it to themselves." So, I'm like... "Uhh... Okay... I guess I'd better go get a koala bear, 'cos I'm a woman and apparently this is what I want." >.>

Very nice christian new year messages from you. Su...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 11:12:09 +0000

Very nice christian new year messages from you. Such a nice post. Thanks for sharing this.

Hey Ariel, agree with your synopsis. I just finish...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:01:30 +0000

Hey Ariel, agree with your synopsis. I just finished the book after loving Peace Like a River. I was disappointed for the same reason. It was difficult to like the protagonist when he seemed turned into such a wimp. You'd expect the main character to grow in that regard, but he shrinks to the point of making the reader lose interest. I kept reading with the hope that he would grow some guts. In the end I wondered, "What was the point of the journey then?"

Hale and Redstart are good characters, but it was difficult to care about the characters as a whole. Still a good writer, but disappointing overall. I hope his next novel has a little more of the first in it.

I also read the book and thought it was very good ...

noreply@blogger.com (John Cook) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 07:18:38 +0000

I also read the book and thought it was very good also.I believe that a church plant should be based on the discipleship new converts GO to discipleway.org and check that out I just went through the training and will most assuredly implement this in my plant. John Cook

The suggestion that Hitchens, or anyone who picks ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:14:24 +0000

The suggestion that Hitchens, or anyone who picks up a book on a regular basis, is/was not aware of Tolstoy's insistence on Christianity is absurd.

Hitchens said that Tolstoy and Dostoevsky handled ethical dilemmas better than scripture. That's it. He expressed approval for their mode of exploration, i.e. art, not their conclusions.

The problems of nihilism, sensuality, purposelessness, etc. are intimately detailed and convincingly explored by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky's fiction. A reader does not have to slavishly accept their conclusion to value the discussion.

-not the same anonymous as above.

I actually recently discovered and read this book ...

noreply@blogger.com (Crystine) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:11:38 +0000

I actually recently discovered and read this book and I'm currently on the fourth. I have to say that the writing isn't the best but it definitely isn't rubbish, as earlier implied by an English teacher.

It's very imaginative, vivid in imagery and it has a unique spin on Good and Evil as literal, tangible entities. I actually did enjoy this book quite a bit though I found myself less interested in the present and more interested in the "Other Earth".

I can tell you the story gets more complex as the books progress and in book 4, where i'm about 3/4 way through, it does take quite a political spin. It's not just good vs evil anymore, it's the sheer politics of good against the politics of evil... more so it shows us how easy it is to question faith and doubt as time goes on and that it is easier yet to be seduced by the bells and whistles of evil and false prophets. It's really good spiritual reading (the books as a series)and I did enjoy them.

I had thought of several stunning comments to make...

noreply@blogger.com (Roger "Bud" Oliver) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:45:34 +0000

I had thought of several stunning comments to make regarding your excellent post here but thought better of it and will write my own blog on O'Connor's intersection with my journey. Thank you for the inspiration.

Regards
Bud Oliver

As an "unchristian" just outside their t...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:57:32 +0000

As an "unchristian" just outside their targeted age group -- upper end , I found the book disappointing. The authors took all their polling data and used it to present what I think was a realistic picture of how things look for young people on the outside even if that bothered the reader. But when it came to giving solutions the authors lost their nerves and went too vague as to be useless.

What the authors should have said was, "Look, folks, we understand that we have to stand for certain values or our religion is meaningless. We also note that Jesus wants us to draw others in. So the question becomes, is holding firm to some values being fought in the cultural wars - like gay marriage, prayer in school, and intelligent design (which appear to be lost causes anyway) - worth pushing away a bunch of marginally attached to Christianity twenty and thirthy-somethings? Maybe it is...maybe it isn't. But let's at least stop pretending we can have both."

I agree Pandora is an excellent tool for discoveri...

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Jones) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 20:26:53 +0000

I agree Pandora is an excellent tool for discovering new music online. I buy silver lined cds to record the music I stream on pandora.

I have only recently come across Donald Miller and...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 09:32:06 +0000

I have only recently come across Donald Miller and cant wait to read his books.

Excellent.

noreply@blogger.com (Ched) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:56:53 +0000

Excellent.

Frankly speaking, I did not think "Orginal Si...

noreply@blogger.com (Amitabha Gupta) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:44:08 +0000

Frankly speaking, I did not think "Orginal Sin" is actually a detective story. It is a story of Revenge and the detectives just happened to be there in the story. The murderer plotted, the murderer murdered one after one, declared he has done so and then the murderer committed suicide.

Adam Dalgliesh looked lazy and seemed to give his assistants a chance. His assistants Kate & Daniel were always confronting each other and they did till the end. They were not doing very good too. Daniel could not get the truth out of a child and Dalgliesh had to intervene. Also searching the archives thoroughly was Dalgliesh's idea which brought the truth out. By then the Murderer had committed the 3 required murders.

The story can be considered to be a Good Human Drama but not at all a good detective story.

By the way, P.D. James referred to a book named "Murder under the Sun" by Agatha Christie in this book. There is no such book. There is however a book named "Evil Under the Sun" by her.

Very well said. I hope the same for Ben

noreply@blogger.com (Jon Schrader) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 02:44:50 +0000

Very well said. I hope the same for Ben

In general I think Outlander was a good movie. It ...

noreply@blogger.com (Aage) — Sat, 28 May 2011 20:05:26 +0000

In general I think Outlander was a good movie. It reminded me of a bit of The 16th Warrior with Antonio Banderas.

Cheers!, you can buy me a coffee now. I'm coff...

noreply@blogger.com (sildenafil) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:45:37 +0000

Cheers!, you can buy me a coffee now.
I'm coffee lover and that question is very stupid to me... against...

Your comments about Driscoll and then the "Wi...

noreply@blogger.com (Mathetes) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 16:53:13 +0000

Your comments about Driscoll and then the "Wild at Heart" phenomenon made me laugh. As you note, there is positive significance to Driscoll's emphasis on masculinity, but it seems like we love to jump on the next great bandwagon... whatever it may be. And as you imply, the result is often a subtle form of Pharisaism. "I'm wild at heart. Are *you* wild at heart?" And as former-wimps beat their chests, they are left thinking they have the "new answer" for men, or the church, or whoever. I wish there was an answer for people like me. Oh wait... there is. Jesus. Doesn't mean my masculine-pipes don't need dusting off, but every time I stray from Him I regret it.

Are you sure that Driscoll's statements only b...

noreply@blogger.com (Jin-roh) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 03:44:39 +0000

Are you sure that Driscoll's statements only border on the ridiculous? :-)

Musicians get girls. Ask the dude you plays the classical guitar.

Is getting girls not manly enough for driscoll?

Sounds like God is doing some awesome things in yo...

noreply@blogger.com (Toyin O.) — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:26:30 +0000

Sounds like God is doing some awesome things in your church. I will keep praying for you guys.

Your church sounds great! I'll have you in my...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:41:24 +0000

Your church sounds great! I'll have you in my prayers. Isn't following Jesus' example a wonderful way to live! My small church community walks the walk, too.

I don't know what your talking about I've ...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:54:12 +0000

I don't know what your talking about I've never read a book that better portrays heaven and God and Satin and all that, you obviously have horrible taste in books. It actualy Gives you an amazing picture what you think all that stuff could look like. I don't think you deserve to read the rest of the books if were ragging on this one so bad

Thanks, guys. I think living well means thriving...

noreply@blogger.com (AJ) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:17:22 +0000

Thanks, guys.

I think living well means thriving in chaos and even enjoying it.

And yes, I need to blog more...it's on my list!

Just when I think you've abandoned "Blogl...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 12:58:23 +0000

Just when I think you've abandoned "Blogland," you reappear. Don't be such a stranger.

Cheers.

this is a great post. adventure and creativity ar...

noreply@blogger.com (jami jensen) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 04:43:58 +0000

this is a great post.
adventure and creativity are always available if we seek them, even in seemingly mundane situations and among chaos. glad to hear you embrace it.

Thanks for your review of Orthodoxy. I have read H...

noreply@blogger.com (K Anne) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:29:36 +0000

Thanks for your review of Orthodoxy. I have read Heretics, which lead me to Orthodoxy. I am about 2/3 of the way through. The Everlasting Man is waiting in the wings. GKC is hard to read (for this very untalented reader) but so worth it! Either I laugh out loud, my eyes boggle and I have to reread the paragraph again, or I am left with a warm feeling and lots left to think about.