under the overpass

we went to dinner with the kids last night (sans ben, big poker game was organized at our house...) and decided to go to borders since we were *in the area* and gosh, i don't have nearly enough books to read.

i have too many books to read.

we walked in, i went straight to the cafe to get two cups of coffee so i could venture over to the Christian books section (anyone wonder why this section is ALWAYS near the bathrooms? seems a bit not right...) coffee in hand, i went through the cooking section and scoured for cookbooks on soups and sandwiches and salads, then set out to my favorite section (read: merton). i looked over on the shelves of what "borders recommends" when i saw the cover that jumped out at me: "under the overpass" - and while most people may not find the guy on the cover attractive (dreadlocks, acoustic guitar, sitting on a bed roll), ms. righteous is not one to judge a book by its cover (and really actually thought he was *cute*) so i piled it on top of my cookbooks and headed over toward the comfy chairs to settle in while my husband was searching for a new cd and the rest were out browsing.

i went through the cookbooks first because that's what i do. after finding most sandwiches sounding delicious to me but not palatable to my husband and therefore, the customers at the restaurant (feta cheese & asparagus on french boule), i put the cook books aside and picked up my *under* book.

can i tell you, i went through 46 pages and couldn't believe it when it was time to go home?

what a read, i cannot recommend it highly enough because i have not finished it. from the back cover:

mike yankoski's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. by his own choice...(he) and his traveling companion, sam, journeyed as homeless men for five months. not for a project or even in response to a dare. he needed to know if his faith in God was real -- if he could actually be the Christian he said he was apart from the comforts he'd always known.

while i was admittedly intrigued by the cover, reading this guy's writing on the inside took me by surprise. yeah, he is moralistic, but bless God that he is. here's a bit more...

begging is hard. it's something you expect hungry dogs to do, but not men and women made in God's image. the minute you put out your hand, or open your guitar case, it feels like you're writing "failure" and "weakness" all over yourself. you're telling everyone who comes by, "i am unable." the message blares up and down the sidewalk and across the multiple lanes of traffic. and the message doesn't stop screaming until you pull back your hand, or close up your case.

more sidebar material to follow.

finding this book comes on the heels of reading a very insightful thread by rick at new life emerging, entitled "Follow me? You go first.

What in the world does that mean? Doesn't that take massive guts? Seriously, what in the world did he mean when he said follow me?

the balance of the post is incredibly insightful and thought-provoking and deserves a read, as well. hopefully, with so much to read, i am hopeful we can still set aside the time to actually live the Gospel.

peace.