mysterious book of maps.

Mercy Land (yes, that is her name) is not your typical 1930's young woman. She leaves her family and her rural community all by herself, for bigger opportunities in Bay City, Alabama. In this new city, she acquires a job at the local newspaper and spends a happy seven years working for the publisher and editor, Doc Williams being is girl friday.

Doc comes into possession of a mysterious book of maps. These are not ordinary maps however: they map the life choices made and results recorded of every person in Bay City. What roads were taken, what ones were abandoned. Once Doc shares the book with Mercy, she is overwhelmed by the information and its purpose. We all know that the choices we make affect the lives we lead, but what if you can look back and see how your life would have been if you had made a different choice? Would you want to?

Doc wants to use the book to right a wrong, but Mercy wants to follow its predictions through. In The Miracle of Mercy Land, will this information be shared with the rest of the community?

old school reformation turned new school?

Can't say that I like to make a habit out of reading books that challenge me. I lean more towards the light and fluffy - the simple mind type, really. Religion is not simple, it is not light or fluffy, so why did I start reading James R. Payton Jr.'s Getting the Reformation Wrong? I have no idea - but I'm not mad about it.

First off, our friend Payton is not trying to tell us that the Reformation was wrong, he would just like to take this opportunity to clear up a few things. The Reformation was pretty messy - it was pretty sweet too, but the Reformers disagreed a lot, so it was more messy than sweet at the time. Payton wants to clear up some misunderstandings of the time period, and show us how the Reformation can positively affect our churches today - if used correctly of course.

This topic would easily bore me to tears, but Payton doesn't. It's all about perspective, and Payton gave me a bit of a different view.