A Spontaneous Gift

I received a gift today; a really neat coin that says the Officer's Prayer on one side, and a picture of the Patron Saint of Law Enforcement - St. Michael - on the other side. It was a very pleasant surprise, and it was so spontaneous, I was dumbfounded. The Officer's Prayer is profound, and after reading it, I was moved almost as much as I was with the thoughtfulness of the person who gave me the coin.

Consider this...someone took the time to put down a prayer consisting of all law enforcement officers' greatest needs. That someone might have been a law enforcement officer themselves at one time or another. But they wrote the following words, and I really felt like sharing it with everyone I can:

Lord
I ask for Courage-
Courage to face and conquer my own fears,
Courage to take me where others will not go...

I ask for strength-
Strength of body to protect others,
And Strength of spirit to lead others...

I ask for Dedication to my job,
To do it well;
Dedication to my Community,
To keep it safe...

And please, Lord,
Through it all,
Be at my side.
Amen

If you know a police officer out there, think about all the things they have to fear. Think about all the places they go...that you won't dare set foot near. Think of the strength it takes to fight someone - truly fight someone - to stay alive. Don't you think they need as much strength as they can get? Think of the dedication it takes to do the job...and stick with it. I can truly relate to this, and even envy my other cohorts; especially the ones out there on the road, making the traffic stops, looking for fugitives in attics, entering the least desirable of places - and sticking with that same job day after day. I already know I had trouble maintaining that dedication; that's why I have stayed in the same field, but taken a different path. I admire the true dedication all my brothers and sisters in blue have to their job.

So not just because of these tumultuous times in which we live, but just for the simple fact that they need our prayers - Pray this prayer from your perspective...the outside looking in. Send a wall of God's angels out to protect the men and women in blue. Pray for them as often as you can think of it...and who knows? Maybe one day - God will use one of those officers out there - to save YOU.

Give More -

"Bring the full 10 percent into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test me in this way, says the Lord of Hosts. See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure." ----Malachi 3:10

As I passed the offering plate over to my wife, my eyes got wide when I saw the amount on the check my wife showed me before she placed it in the plate. I, too, had been moved by the pastor's words as he had spoken about giving to God, but I didn't realize how much my wife had been moved. She manages our finances, because - well let's just say - she has the gift with numbers; not me. So although it seemed like a large sum to go ahead and fork over, I trusted her.

At first we had our doubts. Bills began adding up. Tutoring opportunities had been used up; all my wife's students had had their tests and wouldn't need extra help for a time. Jay had things he needed. I was preparing to leave for a big trip to Texas to possibly learn more about a writing career. And on top of all that, I had a strange case of Cellulitis...woohoo - nothing beats unplanned medical bills. It got to the point that my wife and I had our doubts whether God saying TEST ME IN THIS meant maybe we should have eased our way into giving more. My wife even point-blank asked me, "Do we still give ten percent again, or what? Things are awfully tight." At that point, I truly didn't have an answer, other than a shoulder shrug, and me telling her, "Well I know what we SHOULD do, but"- but then I left it at that.

But my wife was sitting down with my son one night soon after that, and she told him that either he could go with me on our annual father-son trip, or we could go ahead and tithe like we had the month before. But she told him we probably couldn't afford to do both.

"Give to the church, Mom. That's what God tells us to do," my 12 year old young man said to his mother. And that settled it. We knew how much we were going to give again; leave it to the middle-schooler to tell us what to do.

But something amazing happened. My wife got this phone call from her trainer in the business she had been doing for almost a year, with this great training opportunity and a trip to Florida paid for by the business company. My wife took her trainer's offer, and left for Florida the same weekend I was headed to Texas. And then some of God's blessings He promises ALL of us trickled into our lives.

My wife came back on fire for her business, and made some real headway in contacting people and generating new business. Before she knew it, she had made more than enough money to cover the ten percent that we had planned on giving again! Seriously - we had prayed for help from God, and He provided! I mean we had been living from paycheck to paycheck for a while now, but then BAM! God shows us how He can do exactly what He says He will do.

Maybe money isn't part of your means to give right now. Maybe God just wants ten percent of your time...or maybe He just wants more of your time. But I wanted to take the time in this blog to ask any of you out there...please give more.

Maybe you can give more of your talents or gifts to God. Maybe you can give more of your time and efforts to helping the poor. Maybe God is calling you to give more of your time to your family. Maybe God is asking you to give more of your time to Him and attend church or Bible studies - it doesn't really matter, but my challenge to you remains...Give More.

If you have the financial means, give more to God.
If you have untapped talents in music or art, give more to God.
If you have time outside of work where you can probably have more rest and fun, give more to God.

It doesn't have to be about money...but God said it; not me. TEST ME IN THIS - if I am not mistaken, a wise man told me this is the only part of the Bible where God challenges us to test Him. Seems kind of important - so test Him. Give more of your time, or your money, or your gifts, or your love...see what blessings come forth. My wife and I are convinced. Although we are imperfect, and I know I will probably waiver in my commitment, because I have before - my wife and I are convinced that God means what He said. If you think about it in the next little while, especially before we celebrate Jesus' resurrection, please consider, and give more.

Let's Talk about Heroes

So I don't know if you have paid much attention to this, but have you ever noticed how obsessed the world is with heroes? Why do you suppose that is? It is almost like we were designed to look up to someone...wait...what? Personally I think it is just one more piece of evidence that we were all made by a Creator, and He wants us to worship Him. Every culture has their tales of heroes. Every religion has many stories of their champions. I just don't think this is by coincidence. I look up to my dad as a hero. When I was a kid, I looked up to Michael Jordan...I wanted to be like him (just like the Gatorade song). The Bible tells us that we were made in God's image, so it should be natural for us to look up to Him...to be like Him. To this day, I still emulate my earthly father and try to do some of the things I remember him doing when I was young. God wants us to get to know Him, so we can emulate Him and be like Him. He even sent us the perfect example by giving us His son, Jesus.

You know, I wouldn't change the heroes I had growing up. All in all, they were some pretty swell guys. I mean sure, Michael Jordan has a gambling issue. But the kind of drive and desire I got to witness in him as an athlete has kept me inspired most of my life. As a matter of fact, I believe that if I can approach my dream of becoming a successful writer with the same fervor that MJ pursued a career in basketball, then I will reach my goals. Then there was the Crocodile Hunter. That's right - I looked up to Steve Irwin. Not only did he have a fun accent, by crikey, but he had a passion and care for the wildlife on this planet that I daresay would be hard to match. Yes, it was tragic the way he left this world, but he died still doing what he loved. He faced Danger, danger, danger...and it finally caught up to him. Ask yourself this...how many wildlife conservationists out there were inspired by that man? Probably more than you know. Then of course, there's my Pops. Dad raised me by teaching me there were consequences to breaking rules. He taught me that if you want something, you have to work for it, or earn it. He taught me that you should treat people fairly, and you should always - always do the honest thing. Most importantly, he taught me that it was important to love God, and that I needed to make church a centerpiece in my family life. He taught me how to treat my own son...I learned a whole lot from watching him.

With all this being said, I would like to know who some of your heroes were. Do you believe in the greatest hero of them all, Jesus? I would be interested to hear some of your stories. Please comment on here, and I look forward to reading some of your posts.

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Oh To Be Daring

"Dare you know who you are," the truly inspirational, passionate author on stage said. This author pointed out for me and several other peers in the room that all we need to do to be successful is tell the world our story...the story of who we are in Christ!

So he made me ponder - just who am I in Jesus? I thought I would take some time to put down into words who I think I am. First and foremost, I believe with all my heart in the identity of Jesus Christ. I think God has blessed me with a solid grounding that is extremely hard to shake. Does that make me close-minded? Depends on who you ask, but I will tell you this...you or money or so-called science cannot shake my faith or make me become a sucker for the next best alternative religion. I credit my Lord and parents and church family for building that Rock of a foundation in faith.

I also believe there is a clear definition of what is right, and what is wrong. This means I see the world in plain black and white. What standard do I use for this? Well, the Bible - and I use it because as I have posted before, I believe it is the one perfect story that has ever been written, and the author is still writing that great story. Seeing the world in this way means I will come across to other people as very opinionated. Well, in my heart, that opinion is based on fact. So if I write my stories, you can bet my sense of right and wrong will come out in my work.

Lastly, I am closely tied to family, and this value that my parents have instilled in me will also come out in my work. My father has always believed in me. My mother has always comforted me. My brothers have empowered and inspired me. My grandmothers mentored me. My wife has supported me. And my son has changed me - so I ask you...where would I be without family. So of course that much influence, and blessing, has no choice but to be present in my story.

Realizing all this, perhaps I can take on the same passion and fervor that my favorite author exhibited. Perhaps knowing these things about myself, and sharing the fact that I am who I am because Yahweh has made me that way, will help me share my part in this perfect story we call life. The best part...the Great Author has told us how it ends, at least the earthly story.

Where is the light in the darkness?

In case you haven't noticed, we live in a fallen world; a dark world. If you turn on the news, it doesn't take long to hear dark news about ISIS kidnapping and decapitating Christians, or police shooting criminals who have just killed someone else, or an obviously evil country trying to obtain nuclear weapons, or traffic accidents with some high number of deaths, or some homicide that resulted from a domestic dispute, or thousands of people killed in a natural disaster.

Like I said, we live in a dark world. But guess what happens in those dark events - somewhere, if you know what to look for, or where to look...there's light! There is light somewhere, most likely in someone's story.

A Christian woman is allowed to live, gets released from the terrorists, and tells her tale. A police officer gives his testimony, and somehow, family and friends realize the officer was protecting others , and the suspect made poor choices. A traffic officer or doctor informs families of accident victims of death, and is touched by the bond they see amongst loved ones. A man who murdered his wife goes to jail for life, but miraculously is saved in prison when he accepts Jesus through involvement with the prison ministry. A country reveals its true colors through it's hatred of Israel, and the world sees them for who they really are. A person survives a terrible disaster, and goes on to proclaim their survival as a miracle from God.

All of this could happen. But it might not...it doesn't matter; we have Jesus. Don't you see? The darkest events in the world can happen, but if you believe in what God has done for ALL of us, there is still a light you can find through all that darkness.

THAT is why I will write my stories. THAT will be HOW I write my stories. My mission, truly revealed to me through the gift of story telling, is to reveal to people through fiction that despite all the darkness present in this world, there is still light...Jesus is that light.

This is my mission. This is my quest. This is my platform. I am standing at the edge of the platform. There is dark water below. I can't turn back now; God has shown me the light, and I have to tell the rest of the world. Surely others of YOU out there are aware of the light. There are people drowning in the darkness below, and the darkness is all they see. It is up to the people that have seen the light to show the others. Join me at the edge, won't you? Join me on this mission, this quest. Join me on this platform...it's time to dive into the darkness, and show others to the light.

Truth through Fiction...Digging My Ditch

     Today in church, my pastor spoke about a story from the Old Testament about Elisha, and how he informed three kings that if they wanted to see God's power and providence, they would have to put some work into it, and dig some ditches so that God would provide their armies water. My pastor then made it clear that Jesus did the same thing in the New Testament time and time again when he performed miracles. He would heal people, but include them in part of the process by asking them to go and do something, such as "Now pick up your mat, and walk", as he said to a man who had once been lame. The good pastor went on to say that when we dig our own ditches, we all have to start somewhere. There is no other way to start digging a ditch manually other than a little bit at a time. So I heard all these words this morning, and they got me thinking.

     I started thinking about how I can dig my ditch to show faith in my Lord. I am like my pastor in that one thing I want most in this world is to see God work wonders and bring entire nations, or huge groups of people, to believe in Him. So 'if only' the God I love and believe so strongly in would show me His power and turn many people's hearts - then I could point it out to others and say, 'That's My God right there...He did that.' What God helped me understand today was that I shouldn't expect Him to show me anything, until I show Him I am willing to put my own faith to work. Deep down, I think I already knew this...and perhaps have even begun this process - but today's message has given me resolve.

     I have renewed resolve in a mission that I started off and on 12 years ago, when I decided I wanted to write for Christ. I would come up with a creative idea for some inspirational but fictional story that I could tell the world to illustrate how God could work in their life...only to be interrupted by yet another story idea. And so I kept up the habit for a awhile, spinning my writing wheels, and showing no fruit. It was like I wanted to dig a ditch...but would just stick the shovel in the ground, then sit there and stare at it for a while. Until about 10 months ago, when God inspired me, and revealed a strange idea about a fascinating tale I could tell - illustrating how the darkness in this world can overtake someone's entire being, and yet God could still use those dark events to bring about hope and light. So now I had a story...and I ran with it.

     Because of this new resolve I mentioned, I can now begin making the shovel move. I have discovered that I can start digging my ditch, a little bit at a time. I have found that If I use the creativity and imagination God gave me, I can find more and more ways to tell God's truth - through fiction. What I started less than a year ago became a full story. And once I finished my story, I started by telling a few people. I let a select few friends read my writing. I got some good feedback, and I decided - Wow - maybe I have something here. So I tried to reach out to publishers. Being the impatient and stubborn soul that I am, I decided I couldn't wait on the right publisher or agent...so I went ahead and put my story out there. At first, it was very slow going. I had a little book signing, and I was able to get my paperback in the hands of a handful of people. But I offered my book for free in the e-book market...and the next thing I know I have my story in over 600 people's hands. Now mind you - a lot of these people only got the book when it was free...but they still got it. I know for a fact I have had readers comment on my writing in personal e-mails and messages who are world travelers, and stumbled upon my book on some e-book website. So my story is getting out there.

     No - I might not be gifted in the missions field, and I might not feel some calling to become a pastor. But like my pastor, I long for that day to see God move nations. I also long to see Him move MY NATION. But perhaps I need to show a little faith. So I have decided that, despite not making much money doing it, perhaps I can get my stories out there into a few people's hands in various places - and maybe they will see the message I am trying to send. Don't ask me how this adventure ends; only God knows that. But hey - I will keep digging my ditch.