David N. Walker's Blog, page 15

Pray for Me

Pray for me—or wish me luck if you prefer. I’m a confirmed comfort zone-dweller, but I’m being forced out of that zone. I know—I should embrace moving out of my comfort zone, but I’m a crotchety old man.

With my latest release, I have nine books on the market—seven historical novellas and two Christian nonfictions. The first ones have been on the market for over two years, but I have yet to receive royalty amounts of even three digits unless you count the cents.

Two members of my writers group—Charity Kountz and Robert Starrett—are determined to change that fact. They want to take me by the hand and lead me into promoting my books effectively. Of course, I should be doing that. They are right that whatever I’ve been doing (next to nothing) is not working. I should welcome their assistance and not-so-gentle pushing, but it’s kinda scary.

Robert is a truck driver, and he listens to audiobooks all the time as he drives. He keeps telling me I need to put my books out in this format. He says long-distance drivers and commuters alike use audiobooks to pass the time as they drive or ride commuter trains. He’s convinced I’m missing a major market by not making my books available this way.

He and Charity have both started talking to me about doing podcasts as a way of promoting the books. Now that may sound reasonable and natural to you, but you have to remember that Henry Ford was still working on the Model T when I was born. Well, almost.

I don’t even know what a podcast is, much less how to do one. They both explained it to me, but their explanations were in Greek. I went online and asked Mr. Google what they were, and his explanation was in Chinese.

Now, I do know what an audiobook is. I’ve never listened to one, but they’re not a total mystery to me. How to make one is, however. I’m sure there is downloadable software to use to make an audiobook, and there’s undoubtedly a company or two that will distribute them, sorta like CreateSpace does for paperbacks. But I still feel totally lost thinking about getting into this.

Of course, I felt somewhat that way two and a half years ago when I decided to e-publish Heaven Sent and then again when I decided to do a paperback version through CreateSpace. But this feels different and scarier.

Since Charity and Robert are behind this push, I’m going to make them wish they had never brought it up. I’m going to bug Charity—maybe even camp on her doorstep—until she sees me through both projects. Fortunately, she’s always been more than willing to help with things that challenge my 17th century brain.

All of which takes us back to my opening plea: pray for me—or wish me luck.

What do you know about podcasts and audiobooks? How have you used these two tools?

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Audiobooks, Authorship, Caring, Charity Kountz, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Podcasts, Robert Starrett, Self-help

Internet Civility

Last week, someone attacked something I posted on Facebook, saying that God couldn’t be a male, because He was supposed to be perfect. At first, I just breezed past the comment and went on to other things. Then I thought about starting a dialog to argue with this person, but I decided FB was not the proper venue for such an argument. Finally, I realized that arguments over spiritual or theological things rarely ever produce worthwhile results, so I did nothing.

Now that I’ve had time to reflect a bit more and not answer by striking out in anger, I think I should address this lady’s comment. In fact, I want to address it on two different levels.

First, I’ll address the statement itself. I don’t know if she was trying to question God’s perfection or just His maleness. If she doubts His perfection, there’s probably not much I can say to show her that He is perfect.

On the other hand, she’s at least partially right in asserting that God is not male. He is not completely male. He has all the attributes of both male and female. He is complete within Himself, and He couldn’t be complete if He were only male or only female.

If addressing God as He or Him is what bothers her, she needs to know that up until the recent decades of “political correctness,” the male pronouns were also used to include both sexes. It’s so awkward to say “he or she” or “him or her” every time you make a statement that includes people of both sexes.

The other thing I wanted to address regarding this situation is the necessity for respect and decorum in replying to posts, whether the posts be on blogs or Facebook or Twitter—or whatever. Attacking the author’s premise is just plain rude.

If I make a statement about Jesus and you don’t believe in Him, you have every right to ignore my statement and move on to the next blog or comment. You can even feel free to ignore my posts in the future. Arguing with what I said, however, is just plain rude.

If you believe in Confucius or Joseph Smith or Mohammed, that’s your right. Say what you want to say. I don’t have to agree or even read it, but it’s not proper for me to start an argument with you in your venue.

What do you think about the need for civility on the internet?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, civility, Confucius, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Joseph Smith, Mohammed, Sins, Works

Party and Exciting Announcement

Okay, I invited you to a party, so what’s all the excitement about? Well, first of all, everybody grab some refreshments.

   

Get a piece of chocolate cake (after all what writer doesn’t like chocolate?) and grab some ice cream. Then brew yourself a cup of coffee just like you like it. We want everyone to be happy.

Now for the big announcement. When I wrote Fancy, there were good reasons to make it a series of novellas instead of a single novel—primarily the changes in location and antagonists from one part of the story to the next. However, I’ve always felt like the pricing more or less forced on self-publishers made these books a little out of line. After all, each novella only has about half the words of a novel.

As of today, the pricing problem is solved. I have combined volumes 1 & 2 into a single book, volumes 3 – 5 into another book, and volumes 6 & 7 into a third book. This allows me to cut prices considerably compared to the individual novellas.

The paperback version of the novella series added up to $56.65. The new three-book set is only $38.77, a savings of $17.88 or 31.6%.

The full e-book series on Amazon.com cost $20.65, while the new three-book series is only $10.97—a savings of $9.68 or 46.9%. On Smashwords, the seven-novella series cost $13.23, compared to $10.97 for the new three-book series—a savings of $2.26 or 17.1%.

Any way you look at it, the new three-book series will save money for the reader, which makes me very happy. If you’ve started the series and want to continue with the individual novellas, you still can, or you can still buy the three books separately if you like.

For the paperbacks, click here to go to CreateSpace. For the e-versions click here to go to Smashwords or here to go to Amazon.com.

After you order your books, don’t forget to leave a comment below, and include a link either to a blog post you’ve written or to one of your books. Only one link per reader, though. If you post more than one link, I’ll have to send one of my friends after you in a virtual tank. The damage that would cause would be virtually horrible.

Seriously, thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your refreshments, order some books, and leave a comment.

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Amazon.com, Authorship, Caring, CreateSpace, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Party, People, Personal development, Self-help, Smashwords

Christian Unity

Part of our Sunday School lesson the other day included the following verses from the second chapter of Galatians:

    11     But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.

     12     For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.

     13     The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

     14     But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?

     15     “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;

     16     nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

Cephas, of course, was another name for Peter. One of the original disciples and generally considered the main leader of the church, he was being publicly upbraided by Paul—a man who had no real credentials so far as the official hierarchy of the church at that time, but who had been singled out by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and appointed by Him to be an apostle.

Earlier in the history of the church, Peter had been given a vision by God (see Acts 10) in which God revealed to him that He wanted him to eat the same food the Gentiles ate—food which Jews deemed to be unclean. After the vision, Peter began to accept the Gentiles and to eat their food, but the Judaizers within the church began to draw him back under the law. He began publicly turning away from the Gentiles, so Paul publicly rebuked him for it. He reminded him that the law cannot save anyone, that we are saved only by grace.

Why did God allow this scene between the two foremost leaders of the first-century church? The issue of circumcision and all it entailed and implied was beginning to cause division in the church. God has never cared for division or disunity. He is very much into unity among believers.

Read Jesus’s words from the eleventh chapter of Luke on the subject:

     17 . . . Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls.

     23 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.

The statement in verse 17 is familiar to most of us and is pretty obvious on its face, but the slightly less well-known statement in verse 23 is even more powerful. As He always does, Jesus leaves no middle ground. There is no neutrality here. Either we are with Him, or we’re against Him. Either we’re helping Him gather the body of Christ together, or else we are splitting and scattering it.

This unity is a very serious thing to God, and we as Christians need to take it seriously also. It’s easy to criticize another denomination for its beliefs that differ from our own, to denounce a local church whose service is not what we think it should be—but we need to avoid that temptation. When we succumb to this, we are engaged in scattering the brethren rather than unifying them.

This is not to say we should hold our tongues in the face of obviously unscriptural practices. When a denomination or local body claims we need something other than Jesus for salvation, we should denounce it—whether they’re claiming we have to be baptized in order to be saved or that we must have someone pour oil over our dead bodies to complete our salvation—it is not only our prerogative but our duty to correct it lest others be led astray. But it’s the erroneous doctrine we correct. We never question the salvation of a person who proclaims Jesus as Savior.

Are you with Jesus or against Him? Do you help gather, or do you help scatter His followers?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, Gathering, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Paul, Peter, salvation, Scattering, Sins, Works

Voting

This is the season when well-meaning people tell us to get out and vote. Our local newspapers, the League of Women Voters—all sorts of voices pick up the chant. They trumpet the message that it’s our civic duty to vote.

It’s not my purpose here to tell you whether you should be a Republican or a Democrat, a conservative or a liberal. My purpose here is to discuss the importance of understanding what your vote means.

Whether you’re a rabid right-winger or a big-government leftist, many voices urge you to vote. Whether you believe an individual has a right to save or spend his own money or that the government knows better than the people and should take as much money as possible and spend it according to the wisdom of politicians and bureaucrats, you should be sure to vote. Whether you’ve prepared yourself by education or carefully following the issues and knowing who stands for what or paid no attention at all and have no clue what you’re voting for, they want you to cast your ballot.

This is insanity to me. Why should we encourage people to cast unintelligent ballots?

Back in 1968 I served as a poll-watcher in a certain area of town which had a very effective precinct chairman. Almost every person who came into the voting site had a postcard in his or her hand sent out by this precinct chairman listing all the candidates he wanted people to vote for. One after another people would come up to the voting booth and ask one of the election officials how to vote for those people.

Were these people casting intelligent votes? Did they have any idea what the issues in the election really were? Why should we encourage people like this to offset the votes of people who truly knew and cared about the issues.

One of the popular sayings around election time is, “I vote for the person, not the party.” I’m probably about to become very unpopular, but that is about the most ignorant statement a person can make about our political system. It is impossible to vote for an individual without voting for his or her party.

If I vote for a Democrat for the U.S. House of Representatives, regardless of how capable or incapable that individual is, my vote is helping Nancy Pelosi come back to power and helping Barack Obama implement his agenda. If it’s a Senate candidate, I’m helping Harry Reid hold his power, along with helping Barack Obama. If these represent my intent, then I should by all means vote for the Democrat—whether or not he is the best candidate.

On the other hand, a vote for a Republican says I’d rather have John Boehner in charge of the House than Nancy Pelosi and I’d like to replace Harry Reid with Mitch McConnell and I’d like to stop Barack Obama’s agenda. If that’s my desire, then I should vote only for Republican candidates.

Of course, it’s possible that the nominee of the party you prefer may not be that good as an individual. If so, the time to try to replace him or her is in the primary election when you can get a better candidate to represent your party, not in the general election when you vote against that candidate ends up helping the other party.

Milton Capehart served as a Republican Senator from Indiana from 1944 to 1962. During that time, Indiana was a dependably Republican state. An Indiana man who was a leader of Young Americans for Freedom at the time didn’t like Capehart and actively campaigned for his Democratic opponent, Birch Bayh. With the help and influence of this very conservative young man, Bayh won the election, and Indiana has never been a Republican stronghold since that time.

This is the sort of thing that happens when you vote for the man instead of the party. The young conservative involved in this campaign certainly didn’t intend to make his home state a stronghold for the Democratic party, but that’s exactly what he did.

We need to think before we vote. We need to understand not only a candidate’s qualifications and platform—we also need to understand how voting for that individual will affect the balance of political power in our city, state, and nation. If you understand all these things, you probably don’t need me or any organization to tell you to go vote. You’ll vote precisely because you do understand.

If, on the other hand, you don’t understand all these things, please stay home. Please don’t vote. Your vote could have far-reaching unintended effects.

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Barack Obama, Birch Bayh, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Democrat, Fancy Series, friends, Harry Reid, Heaven Sent, John Boehner, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, Milton Capehart, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, People, Personal development, Republican, Self-help, vote, voting

Blessings

Now and then we are reminded of how much we have to be thankful for. I may be a little slower than most people, because it seems God needs to give me very pointed reminders.

Last night brought such a reminder. A thunderstorm hit around 2:30 this morning, and our power went out at 3:35. I lay there for a few minutes waiting for it to come back on while my wife got her cell phone to call the power company and report the outage.

After she returned to bed, we continued without power. I lay there interminably thinking of all the inconvenience brought about by this situation and what I would do about it.

My first thought was about how to shave with no electric lights. Should I find a candle to burn? Should I skip shaving and go through my morning with a scruffy beard until it got light enough to see from the outside light?

Then I began thinking about this blog. I always write one on Monday and set it up to be posted on Tuesday. How would I get that done this week? Either my smart phone or its operator doesn’t work well enough to write and post it that way.

Where could I go that would provide me with both power to keep my laptop charged and WiFi to connect to the internet to post it? Barnes & Noble has WiFi, and a few of the tables have access to power outlets, but the tables are too small to suit me, since I use an external mouse and keyboard. I screw everything up when I try to use my ham-hands on the build-in keyboard.

Denny’s has nice-sized booths, and the one near me has at least a couple of electric outlets I could plug into, but does it have WiFi? I don’t go there regularly and didn’t know the answer to that.

Wait a minute. How was I going to be sure to wake up on time with my electric clock incapacitated? I lay awake stewing over that for awhile until I thought about my cell phone and went and got it and set an alarm on it.

I finally dozed off and dozed fitfully until the alarm went off this morning. A couple of minutes later, as I reached over to wake Sharon for the day, the power came back on. Talk about a relief. I would have light to shave and power to run my laptop after all. Hallelujah.

I thought again about how foolish we are to worry about things. The worry never actually gets anything done, and very often the thing we worry about goes away of its own accord before we have to address it. It know this, and I preach it to chronic worriers all the time, but last night I fell victim to worry myself.

After I got over the foolishness of worrying, God brought another matter to my mind. He began to remind me that only the last century and a half or so has provided man with gas and electric power. Before that, no one had a switch to flip on an electric light to shave by. Or a fan or air conditioner or any of a myriad of other things we take for granted in today’s world.

Then he began to remind me that even in today’s world there are people in many places who still don’t have these conveniences. How many people on this planet have to leave their homes and walk to a well or spring and fill buckets with water to take back to their homes? How many have to cut down trees or otherwise gather wood to make fires to heat their homes or cook their food?

People around the world live very primitive lives, and a very temporary loss of electric power put me into a tailspin. I was reacting like a little kid who has everything he could possibly need but cries because another kid has a toy he wants.

How spoiled am I. I was tossing and fretting about a small matter when I should have been thanking God for all the large matters I don’t have to worry about. I should be thankful every day that I have food to eat and clothes to wear and a secure house to live in. I should praise God for all He has given me rather than fuss and fret over a few minor inconveniences.

What do you have to be thankful for? How often does it cross your mind to thank God for what you have—and also for the lacks and unmet needs you don’t have?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: blessings, Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Praising God, Sins, Thanking God, Works

Brainstorming

The other day my friend Julie Glover posted an interesting piece on critiquing vs brainstorming. (Click here to read it.) It got me to thinking about my own experience with writers’ groups.

I joined my first writers’ group back in the mid 90’s. After a couple of years I dropped out and didn’t join another one for a decade. In my second group, Kristen Lamb was the president, and I soon became vice-president. We both sought to make the group a better resource for writers, but, like my first group, it involved having everybody bring five pages to read to the group. Then the people would take turns critiquing it.

Two major limitations to that kind of group almost leap out at you. The critiquers have about four seconds to think about the piece before jumping in with their comments and suggestions. This spur-of-the-moment reaction doesn’t yield much in-depth thought.

Even worse, this method takes five pages out of possibly 100 or 200 and expects meaningful critique without context. We don’t know where these pages fit into a story or what the characters have to do with anything, and yet we’re supposed to be helping.

After three years of this, Kristen and I decided to form a subgroup designed for novelists, and we called it The Warrior Writers’ Boot Camp. The idea was to gear the group and the meetings to be able to help novelists with their WIP as a whole instead of picking apart random pieces of it.

Before long we were divorced from the parent group. I don’t even remember whether we elected to leave or they kicked us out, but that’s irrelevant. The point is that the two concepts didn’t mix well.

Our group met for a couple of years and enjoyed a degree of success. We set up a Dropbox account so anyone with something to be discussed could post it and give others a chance to read it ahead of time and give some thought to comments. We also discussed things such as antagonists, protagonists, conflict, character profiles, and so forth that were completely overlooked in both of the earlier groups.

After a couple of years, we got to a point where most of us had learned—at least to some extent—about the nuts and bolts, and when it came to discussing actual WIP’s, we began to have some of the same problems as the earlier groups. Add some personality conflicts, which seem to be unavoidable in groups of people, and this group ran its course, too.

About this time, Jillian Dodd was beginning to sell a lot of novels, and she and I decided to try forming a new group on a totally different concept. We started with six writers who were serious about the craft, all but one of whom is published. We didn’t want a big group—just a few who were serious.

This time we didn’t try to do any critiquing or formal teaching about antags, etc. We designed this group around the idea of brainstorming. We have no set agenda when we meet, and we don’t bring pages to read. We discuss ideas and concepts. One of us may describe a situation a protag is in and where we want him or her to be next and then ask for suggestions about how to get from here to there.

We have found this to be a much more valuable use of our meeting time than the things we had done in previous groups. Our small size allows us to meet in the coffee bar of a Barnes & Noble instead of trying to find a place we can rent or begging for a place to be donated, which removes a lot of pressure.

The small size has its drawbacks, too. Sometimes a meeting consists of just two or three of us, but we still prefer this to the old, larger groups.

What do you do in the way of sharing ideas with other writers?

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Antagonists, Authorship, Caring, Conflict, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Jillian Dodd, Julie Glover, Kristen Lamb, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Protagonists, Self-help, Writers' groups

Why Do I Thank You

Let me paraphrase some famous words from Elizabeth Barrett Browning for today’s blog post.

Why do I thank you? Let me count the ways.

I thank You for the Son You sent,

Letting me my sins repent,

To live with You for countless future days.

I thank You for the godly wife

You found and sent to me

To have and hold and just to be

Companion for my life.

I thank You for the smiling face

My daughter gives to me

And for her sons, who number three,

And the love in me they place.

I thank you for prosperity,

Good health, and family—

For all that you have done for me

And all my family tree.

But most of all I thank you, Lord,

Just for being You—

For leading me in all I do

By Your Spirit and Your Word.

Guess you can tell poetry is not exactly my forte, but for some reason it just seemed like what God wanted from me today. I hope you found something to like about it.

What are you most thankful to God for?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Christian Thoughts Tagged: Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works

Wisdom of Jeff Foxworthy

Normally my blog posts are my own original work, but these words from Jeff Foxworthy were worth sharing with you.

Jeff Foxworthy says:

If plastic water bottles are okay, but plastic bags are banned, — you might live in a nation (state) that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for entering and remaining in the country illegally — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or to take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you MUST show your identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor, or check out a library book and rent a video, but not to vote for who runs the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If the government wants to prevent stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines that hold more than ten rounds, but gives twenty F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If, in the nation’s largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not one 24-ounce soda, because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If an 80-year-old woman who is confined to a wheelchair or a three-year-old girl can be strip-searched by the TSA at the airport, but a woman in a burka or a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If a seven-year-old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher is “cute” but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government regulation and intrusion while not working is rewarded with Food Stamps, WIC checks, Medicaid benefits, subsidized housing, and free cell phones — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you pay your mortgage faithfully, denying yourself the newest big-screen TV, while your neighbor buys iPhones, time shares, a wall-sized do-it-all plasma screen TV and new cars, and the government forgives his debt when he defaults on his mortgage — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If being stripped of your Constitutional right to defend yourself makes you more “safe” according to the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

THINK  BEFORE  YOU  VOTE

——————————————

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

——————————————

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Advice, Authorship, Caring, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Fancy Series, friends, Heaven Sent, Jeff Foxworthy, Life, Life experience, Life lessons, Life truths, Life values, People, Personal development, Self-help

Sharing and Caring

Sunday morning I arrived at our church building without my wife, which almost never happens. When a friend asked me about her, I explained that we’d gone out to plant a plant in our back yard and that I’d had to quit because of pressure on my heart, which made Sharon finish by herself, leaving her without time to shower and get ready for Sunday School.

Since I’ve dealt with a couple of earlier bouts of atrial fibrillation, I was pretty sure that’s what my problem was. It’s not really a serious condition as long as my blood is thin enough to prevent clogging, which it is. The only real effects on me are shortness of breath, a lack of stamina, and a strange feeling in my chest.

Not knowing what my statement meant, this friend went to one of the teachers of my class and mentioned it to him. Next thing I knew, the teacher was leading me to the room where volunteer RN’s and LVN’s station themselves on Sunday mornings. He insisted that I sit in a comfortable chair and wait for a nurse to arrive. When she did, it took her only a few seconds to confirm that I was in atrial fibrillation. I thanked her and told her I’d dealt with it before and would call my cardiologist to see what he advised doing about it.

The condition itself is not the point of this post. Atrial fibrillation simply means that instead of contracting properly, an atrium is sorta fluttering and not pushing blood back into the ventricle as strongly as it should. Sometimes the blood left in the atrium from this will coagulate and form a clot, which is the only real danger from the condition. I’ve been taking warfarin for several years to prevent that, so there’s no real danger.

The situation Sunday morning has stayed on my mind, not because of any danger, but because of the concern of these people. I’ve said many times that Christians need to be in fellowship with other Christians—not just as part of a huge crowd in a church service, but in smaller groups or one-on-one sharing, where they can come to know one another and care in a more personal way than you can care for a face in a crowd.

When I mention this need for fellowship, I normally talk about it from the standpoint of building one another’s faith, but this incident reminded me of another very important benefit of fellowship. These men and I have come to know one another to the extent we each genuinely care. Whether or not I had an urgent need to see the nurse was not really all that important. The truly important thing is that the first man cared enough to tell the teacher, and the teacher cared enough to seek me out and lead me to where I could be seen by a medical professional.

Do you have Christian brothers and sisters with whom you share on an intimate enough basis that you truly know and care about them? People who would have taken you by the hand and led you to see a nurse in this situation whether you saw the need to or not?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For more information about David N. Walker, click the “About” tab above.

For more information about his books, click on “Books” above.

Contact him at dnwalkertx (at) gmail (dot) com or tweet him at @davidnwalkertx.

Filed under: Archives Tagged: Atrial fibrillation, Christian, Christian Fellowship, Christianity, David N. Walker Christian Author, David N. Walker Historical Fiction Author, Faith, Fancy Series, Forgiveness, God is in control, Godly Wisdom, Grace, Heaven Sent, inspiration, Jesus, Sins, Works