T.C. Slonaker's Blog, page 7

Asher of the Angelmen - Preface

Well, the final manuscript of Asher of the Angelmen is with the publisher now, so it won't be long until the book itself is released! Until that time I will let you get started for free! 

Below is the Preface to Asher of the Angelmen. Next week's blog post will contain "Chapter One: The Stranger."

So, please enjoy this tiny little morsel of Amity of the Angelmen's paraquel.


Preface

A very old-looking, yellowish paper was slipped onto the man's desk. The soldier who brought it couldn't help being intimidated in the presence of such power, and he stepped back quickly as bony fingers raised the page to examine it.

“These are the first four, then?” The yellow eyes lifted from the paper and bore an imaginary hole with his evil gaze into face of the soldier at his desk.

“Yes, sir,” he answered, still unable to meet the eyes of the man behind the desk. “Our spies have come upon no others. The source of spiritual energy is centered around these four.”

The soldier gained some confidence, knowing the information he presented was accurate. The man sensed that confidence and felt the need to squash it to prove his dominance.

“These four are too young. I would hope my enemy would not be so stupid. Children? One of them is even female. Surely I am not so underestimated.”

He succeeded; the minion shrunk back, defending himself and his information from a position recoiled. “But their powers are great, sir, and will multiply in the presence of the others. Energy detectors around them have confirmed that these are the leaders.”

The man stood. “If this is the best they have to offer, I will enjoy flaunting my power over them and taking back what is mine with ease.”

“Where should I tell them to begin, sir?”

The man looked at the paper. “This one is obvious. Pride will make his flaws the easiest to subdue. We only need to bring down one. If the four do not all meet, we have won before we have even begun. That should require very little effort. Is that something your squadron can manage?”

“With ease, sir.”

Pacing carefully to the front of the desk, coming closer to the soldier, the man answered, “Good. For this one, you will only require one female. Bring down first the angelman they call Asher.”

He returned to his seat behind the desk, storing this new information, the discovery of the angelmen leaders, in his brain so that he could mold it into a plan and use it.

“Yes, sir.” The soldier nearly sighed in relief of retaining his life at the exit of the brief meeting with the powerful one.

“And soldier?”

“Yes, sir?” asked a worried warrior.

“Let's send a message about the power of our army. Annihilate him, then the others.” He made his point clear by crumpling the paper into a ball in his hand. After a tight squeeze, the ball burst into flame before quickly extinguishing itself. The ashes drifted onto the desk.

“It will be done, sir.” The soldier was happy to carry the order out on the angelman, and glad it would not be done to him.

I Want My Lap Back (Comments from a work-at-home mom)

Just for a few hours, anyway.

The past few weeks, my 6-year old has needed me by her side more and more. School will be starting soon, and as excited as she is about it, I think she wants to have as much of me as she can cram into these last days.

But when she sits with me, she needs to sit next to me on my not-to-wide-or-spacious one-person chair. Not ON my lap, but next to me. I have cats that do this too. Not ON me, but NEXT TO me. What is that all about?

Anyway, as I often explain, I do love my children. But summer is hard. The post you are reading will have taken me the three days to write. Because I will have had to stop to read directions to the 6-year-old, explain a parenting decision or comfort a friend dispute for the 11- year-old, and monitor the screen time of the 9-year-old all before dinner. The words that I will be writing will come and go through my brain, and if they get lost, I will sit, unproductively searching for them for way too long.

Those are all important things which need to be done. However, I do have a regular job, and a writing career, which do not stop for summer vacation. I love both of those endeavors, and they do not NORMALLY take up too much of my time, but time interrupted becomes at least triple the time each would take when there are no distractions.

I love and enjoy having my child on my lap, so before you tell me not to take it for granted, please know that I do, indeed treasure time with my kids.

I just treasure it more when it is ALL the time.

During the school year, the background noise of the TV is gone. The cats do not ask me which day I will be washing light laundry. And the train of thought has two stations - Departure and Arrival.

Are you cringing at the inhumanity of my fantasy?

Are your fingers poised above the comment section, ready to remind me that God has called me first to be His child, then to be a wife, then to be a mother, and everything after that is bonus?

You aren't commenting because you know I know that, don't you? 

I am a work-at-home mom, and so often criticized for not spending more time with my children when I have the luxury of being at home with them. But if I were away at work, would people be asking me why I am not home taking care of my children? (Possibly, but less than I am asked when I am working at home). And does ANYONE ever ask a stay-at-home mom why she isn't out earning a living? (Besides herself, of course. She is asking that all the time.)

No one seems satisfied these days with what the "proper" place for a woman should be. Seventy years ago, there was no question that a woman would stay home and spend her day on household chores while raising her children. (Though, I do not recall seeing June Cleaver sitting down to go over math facts with her boys.) 

Then, in the 1980's, the only women who were taken seriously were the ones in shoulder-padded suits working 9 to 5. They gave us kids a key to the house and told us to start our own dinner if they were going to be late. And we better make sure our homework was done.

So, we latch-key kids grew up, knowing how to be self-sufficient. Our children are then born helpless, and we don't know what to do with that. So we teach them how to be independent and wait for society to come down on us for neglecting them.

I bring my laptop to soccer practice so I can do my writing, editing, or other work. This has become a joke to many. So I feel guilty for letting my child down because I am not the one on the field coaching.

It becomes the case of not getting it all done well, or getting it all done much later than it should have been done. All of what needs to get done DOES get done. The house gets clean, the kids are fed, and work is done too. And I promise the kids are loved. Just not smothered. (Don't take that wrong. Some kids like to be smothered, and as long as you are smothering with love, it's all good.)

So I don't coach my kid's soccer team. But I do go in to help out at school once a week. It's less than a lot of other moms do, but more than some others. I don't want to judge anyone by the number of hours they put in anywhere.

I want to do my best. Everywhere. If the kids are at school (a place that they LOVE, by the way), they are getting the 100% attention of the teacher, because she is doing her job. Who is asking why that teacher is not at home with her own kids instead of being out working? Not me. Thank you, teachers, for taking good care of my children!

I, on the other hand, am home concentrating fully on my work during the school year, to get it done so that when the kids and husband DO get home, I can concentrate on making dinner, running to soccer practice, going to church, or maybe playing a game of Uno with my son. I can give my full attention, because my work is done. During the summer, it isn't that easy. So I get stressed, and less gets done. 

But bear with me, because September is around the corner. Books will be written, work will be done, floors will be clean, and doggonit, hot meals will be on the table. Feel the love!

A satisfying place to be.



 

Come on, Parents, Let's Unite!

What's the biggest argument we get when we tell our kids "no"?

"But _____ is allowed." (insert your child's whiny voice and their classmate's name).

Even the most determined of us will crack sometimes when we find out it's true. Every child in your daughter's class DOES indeed have an instagram account/iPod/cell phone of their own.

Do they need all this adult stuff? They are, after all, kids. There are some exceptions, I'm sure. And I know a lot of kids whose parents had good reasons to give them a cell phone. But, I have yet to hear a good reason for kids under the age of 13 to have a social media account, when the age limit on all social media clearly states that the user must be at least 13 years old. The first thing he would have to do to get his account is lie about his age. Has anything good ever happened from lying about one's age?

I'm not sorry if I sound like a wet blanket. I'm sure plenty of people are going to think I've taken this too far. Fine. You don't have to agree, join me, or even comment. But I would like to see a majority of parents lean in a more conservative direction to save our kids from growing up too fast. If you don't agree, you don't have to. But your kids will no longer be an influence on mine.

So, I came up with a simple starter list that we parents can use as a standard to cling to. A list I will hold my kids to, despite what "everyone else is doing." Here's my list. Join me!

1. Clothing:  

a. Immodest clothing - Why, oh why, would we want to draw attention to our daughter's bodies by revealing them to everyone on the street? No one in our house is allowed to wear a bikini or a shirt short enough to reveal a belly, but I would propose a guideline that puts this revealing clothing off limits to our kids aged 4-18. (Under age 4, bikinis really are more convenient for diaper changing and potty training, and after age 18, she can make her own choices.)

b. Name Brands - I don't mean to run any company out of business. But some companies don't have our wallets in mind (especially those of us with several children). Let's leave the name brands to those who can afford them. The rest of us will take the knock-offs!

2. Soda/Junk Food:

a. Soda- My kids are only allowed to have soda on special occasions. That doesn't have to apply to everyone, but may I ask what need any child has to drink soda? What if everyone stuck to the guideline of "only for special occasions?"

b. Junk food - Dessert food only for dessert, not for a snack.

3. Electronics:

a. Social Media- NO social media accounts for kids under the age 13. (It's the rule anyway!) Here's my reason, besides it not being necessary. First, we are all aware of online predators, lying about who they are to take advantage of kids. They befriend our children, who just aren't mature enough to know any better. No matter how tuned into the world they are, kids still lack the maturity to realize that even adults who seem nice might have bad intentions. 

OK, so my child's argument is that she would only friend people she knows. As we know, a lot of context can be lost in a text conversation and our kids, who are naturally self-centered, can assume their friends mean something worse about them than they actually do. Do we need more drama, invading our peaceful home base? No. Let's let the home be a place where parents can help to solve conflict, not where uninvited guests online could possibly make this circus never-ending.

b. Cell Phones - The rule in our house is that you don't need a cell phone before you are old enough to drive. As my oldest becomes old enough to babysit, however, I am considering letting her use mine when she babysits. However, she will not have one of her own until she is driving.

c. "The latest electronic gear" - (be this the next gaming device, the next iPod, or whatever!) We, in our family, are very slow about making sure our kids have the latest thing. We did get a Wii for our kids and several games that encourage movement. (Since then, I admit, we have accumulated many games that do not require much movement.) Other than that, our kids each have one device of their own (with limited amounts of time). And they better be happy with them, because we do not plan to let them upgrade until what they have is completely obsolete. (They still enjoy the Leapsters from preschool days.) In our belief (mine and my husband's, mind you, not the kids'), they do not even really need the electronics that they have, but it does make long car trips a little easier.

d. TV time - I think 2 hours a day is more than enough, don't you? (Of course exceptions can be made here for a special program that is longer. That's not being inconsistent if you are talking about one program that is longer than normal ones. That's TV being inconsistent.)

e. TV's (etc.) in the bedroom - If a child has access to TV, DVD, or the internet in the privacy of their room, parents can't monitor what they are watching. Kids don't really need that temptation to disobey by watching what they might not be allowed to watch.


4. Bed time:

a. I understand bedtimes can vary with children, based on how early or late they can wake up.  But, since sleep is necessary for health's sake, let's agree to let our children between the ages of 6-12 have a bed time that relates to about 10 hours of sleep. (As recommended by the National Sleep Foundation.) That would mean, if your child gets up at 7:00 in the morning, they should have a bed time (meaning, in bed, with lights out) no later than 9:00 p.m. 

b. Younger kids should have more, teens might need less.


5. Movies:

a. Can we stick with the guidelines? Kids under the age of 13 not watch PG-13 movies and under 17 not watch rated R movies? Our family goes a little tighter than this and reviews movies ahead of time for content, but I'd be happy if the general public stuck with recommendation.


There are probably exceptions to everything above. Some doctor, somewhere, may have told a parent to make sure their child gets plenty of soda each day. And maybe the visually deprived children out there require a TV on in their room all day. But, I would say for most of us, these guidelines are do-able. It may take some work or back tracking, but we can get our kids back.

I'm asking you, parents, to comment below to let us know that you're in on our commitment. If you recommend changes to the list, or only agree to part of it, fine. Note it in the comments. But let's take a stand! (And remember, it won't work if we don't stay CONSISTENT!)

Our old answer of, "If _____ jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?" isn't going to work in this generation raised on sarcasm and competing to be class clown. You know they all will answer, "Yes, of course I would. And I'll bring you too."

So now, when our kids give us, "But _____ is allowed...," we can come right back with THIS list of so-and-so's who are NOT allowed. Maybe they will feel less lonely. 

And before we know it, we'll be sitting in our retirement homes, being served by a more responsible generation.

The Perfect Parent...

... is not me. Guess what? It's not you either.

Don't be offended by that, be relieved!

I can often be found on Facebook asking advice about certain situations with my kids. It usually has something to do with what they won't eat. (What they won't eat is anything I serve for dinner except hot dogs.) 

A lot of times I am only posting to hear that every other mother in the world is going through the same thing. Sometimes, there are a few who commiserate, but most often I hear everyone else's "tricks." Some let their kids eat PB & J for dinner if they don't like what is served. Some make the kids stay hungry. Some make an alternate meal, some alter the meal. Some force a bite, some force 3 bites. Of course, all I am seeing in my mind are the perfectly happy families around dinner tables in every house except mine.

This is not a complaint! Those other mothers are my friends. They found their gold mine and want to share the wealth with me, God bless them. Unfortunately, my dinner world does not accept that gold standard, or cash, or credit. It only accepts hot dogs.

At the same time, I read the statuses of my friends who have new babies, begging for tips on how to get them to sleep. There was a time I thought I knew the answer to that one, as all of my children were sleeping through the night by 7 weeks. But it has nothing to do with me or my parenting, just how their little bodies worked. 

And I can't laugh at the potty trainers. I just skip over those statuses now because of the stressful memories they evoke.

Each of us has something, that thorn in our side reminding us that we aren't getting it right. For some it is sleep or eating, for others it is attitude or worse. But for all of us, it nails us to the wall pulling our brown hairs out of our heads, strand by strand, and replacing it with grey.

So many little mice come around us to try to pull that thorn out of our paw for us, and sometimes it works! Sometimes, one little mouse's effort, one little parenting suggestion is just what a parent needs. Problem solved. Who knew there could be two of a kind?

But more often than not, that thorn is meant to stay. To remind us of who we are and what we are not. 

Perfect. 

None of us is perfect. Even the mom who has time to play with her kids sometimes sits aside to read a book. The dad who always goes out to shoot hoops with his son sometimes gets tired. Someone, somewhere, has come up a little short of enough money for a gift or party or fundraiser. We have all yelled, over-punished, under-punished, over-indulged, forgotten to pack lunches, ignored what we shouldn't have, and hovered too close at times.

There is only one Perfect Parent -- our Father. He is so perfect, we almost can't call our idea of parenting the same thing. We didn't even have to have the parenting experience.

When God created man, I believe He had many options. He could have:
A) Done what He did (let people become parents)
B) Been content with just Adam
C) Made more people the same way He made Adam, not using people's involvement, or
D) Anything else He could possibly want to do! (beyond my limited imagination.)
He chose to let us in on His experience, in a tiny way. As parents, we are charged with a tiny, precious human being that completely relies on us. Then those helpless humans develop minds of their own and inevitably think they know better than their parents. They make poor choices, we correct them. They turn their backs on us, we forgive them. Because we know they don't know any better.
He chose to let us see frustration. And He humbled us to see how hard it is to deal with free will. Only, He did it with NO mistakes - something that can amazed every imperfect parent.
So when you are thinking you want to send your kids outside and then lock the door behind them, but you don't because you really do love them in spite of it all, you are not alone. God won't lock you out either.

The kids will grow up. We all did! And we didn't even use car seats (Gasp!) But I must say, I did eat a lot of hot dogs.
I'm looking forward to a better feast prepared for me with love.

What's Wrong With Kids Today (IMO)

Society lately has been driving me nuts. Reading friend's comments on Facebook confirms that I'm not alone. The feeling of entitlement, of expecting everything to be done for us without having to work for it, pervades the general consensus in our country. Obviously, it isn't demonstrates by everyone, but there are enough spoiled brats to ruin it for everyone. 

If we want to change the abounding attitude, we have to start with what we teach our kids. (This is a message to those who recognize there needs to be a change. Those who don't see a problem are as bad as the kids.)

Let's start with what those kids are thinking.

The problem with kids today, as I see it, is that they are trying so hard to be liked. Okay, so that isn't the problem per se. It's how they're doing it. Thanks to TV, everyone thinks the person to be liked is the one that makes you laugh.

And the problem with THAT is that comedy has taken a turn in the past few decades. The rise of the smart-alec has killed the innocence of our kids.

Think back to the black and whites from the 60's. Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith. Kids were funny for their innocence. They often did the wrong thing, but were terrified of what their parents would do. We never saw the parent actually physically punish the child, but it was clear the parent's word would be respected... "or else." 

There were a handful of smart alecs back then, namely Eddie Hascal, but nobody liked him! No one wanted to be an Eddie, and we all wondered why the heck Wally would be his friend. 

Years passed, and a funny thing happened. Little by little, sarcasm infiltrated our programming. Look at what kids started watching in the 70's and 80's. I love The Muppet Show. There's a lot of good stuff in there. Even to this day it cracks me up. It was so good that many parents liked watching with their kids. Only, it wasn't the cheesy Fozzy Bear jokes making Mom and Dad laugh, it was Statler and Waldorf in the balcony, making fun of the show. Parents laughed, kids paid attention.

Fast forward on that Betamax tape a few years and you hit the Cosby years. There was hope then, as we returned to kids living in reverent fear of the disappointment of their parents. But back it up a little. A show that was pretty popular when I was in second grade, though it didn't last long, was ALF. He was KNOWN as a "wisecracking" alien. Not a show to be taken seriously, but for the first time, someone in prime time was making fun of the man of the house and getting away with it. The major problem was the kid-appeal of the show. A giant stuffed animal getting away with backtalk? And opening a can of laughter when he did it? Hmm. 

Cosby was excellent, and he had a good run. But as the kids got older, (and new ones came) the younger audience lost interest. Where were they turning for laughs?

The Simpsons. Prime time cartoons in the era when cartoons were still reserved for Saturday mornings. Even watching the show -a cartoon in the evening- seemed to be cheating. We almost felt guilty. 

Almost.

Until my generation starting picking up the Bart Simpson disrespect. Since Homer was a dolt, there seemed to be no harm in his attitude.

Kids started testing the waters - talking back to parents, teachers, and even each other - and got away with it. Personally, I don't think adults knew what to do. Our parents never saw Ward Cleaver have to discipline Eddie Hascal. He just sent the rascal home.

So kids got away with it. And Bart was cool. So was anyone who could be a perfect Bart. Frustrate the authority, and you are king of the kids. 

Who doesn't want that title? Too be cool, you've got to be the quickest to spit out the cutting one-liners. With lack of discipline, kids don't care what the adults think. They only care what their peers think.

If we want to see a change in the attitude of this generation, we need to reclaim our authority and respect. We need to make kids pay attention to us again. Without fail, we adults need to show our children that we were put in their lives to guide them. We have lived longer than they have, learned from more mistakes, and thanked our parents for our education. It's hard, but it's worth it.

If we want to see a respectful attitude in America, let's show our kids what it looks like.

My Father's Legacy

My dad has been a huge influence on who I have become. In honor of Father's Day, I'd like to share a few ideas my dad ingrained into my being. For those of you who may know me, you will begin to understand just why I am like this. 

As per my CDO, these are ordered by importance, as my father probably sees it. 

What to Know About Sports (and the Life-Connection Therein)
1. Your coach is wrong. Your dad is right. You will probably not be with any one coach more than a few years, but your dad is blood. You are with him for life. The bottom line is respect. Give both what they deserve. And don't pit them against each other. But remember, being dropped from the line up is not as bad being dropped from your dad's view of respect.

2. Be friendly to the ump. My dad was an umpire and he knew how many more , um "negative comments" they can get than positive. But beyond that, he was always the type of guy to encourage those who needed it. I recently played in a game where there was a close call at first. I could see the result better from my position at second than the ump could behind the plate. He made the right call, and after the inning I went in and told him. He just looked at me in shock and said, "No one's ever told me that before." I bet he went home feeling better about the game than usual.

3. Don't just try to hit the ball where they aren't. Hit it deep to left, because that's what good right-handers do. In other words, work at being good, not trying to find a way to get an edge.

4. Practice without excuse anytime you possibly can. I had to swing the bat 20 times a day. When I didn't, I knew it. It showed in my performance. I liked performing well, so I would continue to work through the off-season too. If I needed someone to practice with, Dad was always there. When I played field hockey, he would run drills with me with a broom, since he didn't have a stick. (Gave new meaning to the "sweeper" position.)

5. If you don't run, you are not healthy. Running is cheap, and always available. (See "no excuses" above.) But it also works your body hard enough to feel it. I think Dad hated running. I did too. But he did it. And so did I. We're both still alive.

6. Sports on TV (or the radio) doesn't really count as watching TV. The TV was ALWAYS on in our house, but it was usually on baseball or football. Sometimes someone would be watching, and sometimes everyone would be tuned out. But there was never any concern that something inappropriate would be said or shown, just hope that we might look up to see Pete Rose's 3000th hit or something.

What to Know About School
1. It doesn't matter what grades your parents got, get A's or else. Sound too strict? No. Because I could get A's and he knew it.

2. Don't choose a college for prestige, Choose the one that will give you the best education. I was accepted to lots of (expensive) good schools, but it was more important for me to go to a state school because they had better teaching programs.

What to Know About Parenting

1. If your daughter wants ice cream, it makes a good excuse to go out and get some. Goes without saying. There is a place in this world to use your children. Then I learned...

1b. Buster Bars are great!

2. Be there to listen. My poor dad. He only has one daughter, but I think I made up for more than my share when it came to talking. I talked because he listened and didn't tell me "That's enough now." And so he felt secure knowing that he knew everything about my life.

3. Be ready to instruct. Nothing was more interesting to me than things my dad thought were interesting. I love how he tries to put into my head everything he knows about certain topics, mostly history. (He still does this on occasion.) I think he really wanted me to be a teacher because HE really wanted to be a teacher. Now, when my kids ask me a question about something I have a vast knowledge of, I can't wait to tell them, and think of my dad.

4. Be there to play. Mom had too much to do to play with us much. As a mom now, I understand that. And so I also understand how much a father sacrifices to play with his kids. Even now, I don't think he would ever hesitate to make anything into a game with me.

What to Know About Driving

1. Drive defensively. If everyone watched out for the other guy, maybe there would be fewer accidents.

2. Don't lock your keys in the car 11 times, but have AAA anyway. Yes, locking my keys in the car was a major problem for me. I actually had a solution back then to put a magnet key under the wheel hood. (Thankfully I don't need to do that anymore). Dad just got really tired of this one, and triple AAA got to know me pretty well.

3. Know how to change a tire, even if you are girl. Another thought along the line of "you never know." I took that even further to learn other "man" jobs, like pumping gas and taking out the trash, then fixing toilets and installing light fixtures. Dads just don't trust anyone else when it comes to their daughters, but beyond that, it's nice to have some skills and be useful.

4. Never let the gas tank go below a quarter tank. Along with that, check your oil and always go in for routine maintenance. I come from a long line of "play it safers." My fear of procrastination is one thing I am enormously thankful for, as it has saved me plenty of worry.

One last thing he taught me that doesn't fit anywhere is:
If you're not 10 minutes early, you're late.  What has this done for me? Given me a good reputation. Gotten work done on time. Made me a leader.
It's all just the tip of the iceberg. But I'm glad for what was passed on to me. I would encourage you to stop and think about what you owe to your 

What to Expect When You're Reading Christian Fiction

I am a Christian. What does that mean to me?

Christianity is not my religion, it is my way of life. It integrates itself into everything I do. From the time I first discovered Jesus, God, the Bible, and church - when I was seven years old - until now, there has been one thought always in the corner of my mind: 
"Is God pleased with the life I am living for Him?"

Here's the main point of what I believe - I have sinned, it's in my nature. Even though I couldn't help it, I still deserve to be punished for my wrong. Why? Because when I die there are only two possible outcomes: being with God forever (in heaven) or not being with God forever (eventually in hell).  

Because God is perfect and sinless, He cannot have any imperfection or sin in His presence. (That would make His presence imperfect.) Since all people have sinned, there would be no one in heaven.

But God did create us. And He does love us. He wanted to make a solution to the problem, and so He did. In order to erase all sin, it needed to be placed on a blameless, perfect sacrifice. There was only one way this could be done. God, himself, had to cast away His perfect Son, Jesus as the sacrifice for man's sins.

It worked, and even better, Jesus rose from the dead to prove that He was God. Now man kind has the option of accepting that sacrifice as our own and spending eternity in heaven.

My theology in a nutshell. I believe a lot of other details, but that's the crux of it.

Back to the original question: What does that have to do with my life? Now I can live as a person redeemed. Instead of fearing death, I can give glory to the One who gave me eternal life.  And tell people about it, so they can too!

God has put more in my life than just worshipping Him in church, however. While my regular job is in my church, I also have kids and talk to their friends' parents. I play softball. I dawdle on Facebook and Goodreads. I have an extended family. All the while, trying to make sure I am giving the best Christian example I can.

I am also a writer. How do I incorporate the above into my writing?

Well, the Bible has already been written. And we are encouraged in the good book not to add one iota to it for dire consequences. So what's left to write?

Writing about people. 

Here's the problem. Remember how I said that all people have sinned? That actually works pretty well to make for interesting books. But wouldn't God frown on reveling that sin?

As a Christian, shouldn't I be writing about how to do it right? What being a Christian looks like?

The truth would be more honest, wouldn't it?

For example, there is a situation in my first novel, Amity of the Angelmen, where a young priest (Father Mackenzie Abel) falls in love - and perhaps takes it a step too far - with a 17-year-old girl. Especially in light of all the bad press the Catholic church has received recently about abuse among priests, I was extremely nervous about putting this in.

Here's the deal. Mackenzie is not perfect, even though he is a priest. He makes mistakes. When you read the book, you will probably like the character. (The most frequent question I receive about the book is, "What happens to Mackenzie?") So, if I have done my job as an author correctly, you will feel his pain in knowing he did what he shouldn't have done. Some of you will think, "Good for him!" Others of you will think, "What are you doing?" But you will all know that he knows he has sinned.

I'm not condoning it. I'm simply saying it happens.

A book I have slated to come out possibly next year gets even darker with the life of the suicidal child of an alcoholic. I really struggled writing it, because I have no experience with a life like that. But I know it's out there. And this is a story of how God can use even someone with no self-worth to become the commander of His army.

My books aren't about perfect people. (Amity is afraid to do as she's told. Asher is prideful and uses his popularity in using girls to fill his loneliness, Malachi is an angry delinquent with plenty of blood on his hands, and Caedmon could be responsible for the death of his parents.) None of that is new to God. There is hope for these four. When the Israelites needed to to get through Jericho, they used the help of a prostitute. That prostitute wound up being in the blood line of Jesus Christ.

So, I am a Christian writer. What does that mean?

I tell it like it is, and God gets the glory for any good that comes of it. So read on, and be comforted that you are not alone.

The Angelmen's Race to Battle

Do you remember being seventeen? Junior year in high school. Possibly the biggest problems you had were your chemistry grade and who you'd be going with to the prom.

Amity David worried mostly about her grades and pleasing her father, pastor of Dewdrop Fellowship Church. The youngest of six kids, though, she was happiest to sit by quietly as others did the talking and all the important work.

But that wasn't what God had planned for her. As a matter of fact, what God had in store for Amity, He had planned thousands of years prior, before Noah's flood.

That was when Satan changed the game. Knowing that God's plan to save mankind would come from the seed of a woman, he corrupted that seed by sending his demon followers to  procreate with human women. The resulting race of half-human/half demons were described in Genesis 6 as the Nephilim. His plan backfired when Jesus Christ was born in spite of his efforts.

Now, in the 21st century, few people had ever even heard of the Nephilim. The attitudes of man have seldom altered the will of God, however, God gave the Nephilim a second look. He chose to bring awake this special race and bring them into His fold. Nephilim, now called Angelmen, were called out one by one by their guiding angels and prepared for battle. 
The devil reworked his plan. Demon blood put the angelmen under Satan's command. They could be used by him in the final battle between Jesus and his saints and Satan and his followers. 

But after years and years of nothing but human parents, the angelmen began to tug on the heart of God. He determined to bring them out of Satan's bondage through a battle of their own. He chose four very special angelmen, who would work in perfect harmony without even realizing it, to lead the battle against Satan.

Working with human-like beings, whether favored by God or not, had its downfalls, not the least of which would be fallibility. The four leaders - Amity, Asher, Caedmon, and Malachi - each had their own flaws. Getting them to all work together, looking past their own needs, to achieve a goal they could barely understand - saving a race of thousands they had never even know about before - wouldn't be easy.

Amity was called to be the Messenger. She was tasked with delivering a very important message to get the ball rolling. However, confrontation was not her strong point. Although a strong Christian who would love to please her God, she wasn't sure just how far she was willing to go to do that.

Asher, on the other hand, loved the limelight. His athletic success as a track and football star made him feel unstoppable. Professional football, any girl he wanted, and love from the public with his winning smile were on his near horizon. His human life was way too comfortable to leave, starting over in a field where he wasn't the top dog. 

Malachi had already made way too many mistakes in his life of twenty-one years. So many, he had been trying to escape his life for years. Starting a new one was not what he had in mind. Being called as the commander of an inexperienced army would never be something in his future ... unless he was bribed with just the right hope.

Then there was 10-year-old Caedmon. (pronounced "KADE man") Still mourning the loss of his parents in an accident that should have also claimed his life, all the boy could do was try to pick up the pieces and avoid his nasty guardians. Given exciting new powers was exciting... when he could control them. But who was going to trust a kid as a leader in battle?

The four were called at the same time, because getting them to a very specific destination at the same time would be essential. Getting them to work together beyond that meant saving the race of the angelmen from Satan's control.

Will they be able to get beyond their own problems to bring their kin into God's favor? Thousands of others are counting on it.

Responding to the New Boston Massacre

I've never run a marathon, and I have never had the desire to do so. But I do run. And while I've never run more than fifteen miles at a time, I think I can truly appreciate how a person might feel after running a marathon.

Exhausted.

Grateful that it's over. No matter how well-conditioned you are, I would be willing to bet that 99% of marathon runners are glad to hit mile 26.2.  I've never heard anyone finish and say, "I'd like to keep running now."

So yesterday, when I read reports of people who had finished the Boston Marathon, and continued running to the hospital to donate blood to the victims of the bombing, my jaw could have hit the ground.

Wow, that's a good spirit.  That's love for fellow men.  That's completely opposite of what the bomber intended, I'm sure.

Then I was saddened again.  As much as those do-gooders wanted to help, I am sure many were turned away. Not for lack of need, as was reported, but more likely for the safety of the would-be giver.

You can't run a marathon and then give blood. It isn't specifically stated in the Red Cross guidelines between not weighing less than 110 lbs. and being over the age of 17, but it's implied.

You see, here's how the initial interview would start:
    Nurse: Have you eaten a meal in the past 3 hours?
    Donor/runner: No, I think I may have burned up all I've eaten for the past 3 days.
    Nurse: Have you had at least 4 cups of water to drink today? 
    Donor/Runner: Possibly, but then I sweat out about 20. As a matter of fact, I'm a little dehydrated myself right now. Can you pass me that IV?

As much as those kind folks wanted to help, they just couldn't. Physically couldn't. I'm sure at the least it made them sad, and more likely, they felt helpless.

Helpless. A feeling many more of us are trapped in ourselves.

So we have to remember that bad things are going to happen in this world. That was the result of sin entering. And we are not big enough, we are not powerful enough, to defeat it.

Just like the runners did not have enough power left in their bodies to give any to those who suffered in the bombing, we do not have the power to save our world from the sin of the bombers.

We don't even have enough power to save us from ourselves.

It's like we're children. My kids want to drive a car, but they can't. They don't have enough power to control a car. (Not to mention brains developed enough to weigh actions and reactions while driving. Heck, a couple of them don't even have legs long enough to reach the pedals!)

There are some things kids can't do. So they look to the adults to help them.

My kids come home and talk about bullies.  Or not even bullies, but people who make them sad. I often don't know what to do, but I'm mom, and I need to do something! I'm the adult, so if I can do something, I will.

What if I can't?

I have friends whose children have diseases. Awful diseases, like cancer. So we, as adults, do what we can. We send money in to find a cure.  It usually doesn't help the child get better, but it helps us feel better.

Deep down, we don't just wish we would feel better. We really want it to GET better.

There's no answer for that. Not in this world.  Because there will always be evil.  

I don't want to parent this world. I can't. I don't have enough power.

But a time has been foretold when this world will have a perfect Ruler. Evil will be locked away.  And we will be able to see how this world was meant to be.

We will have a parent. A powerful parent who can get rid of all that is bad. I'm really looking forward to that.

This life is tough. And we can't get through it on our own. Let's put our hope in the One who will bring us a better world.

Why Ice Cream is of the Devil and Running is of God

It's the story of my life.

I love to eat. And what I love to eat is not what is best for my body. While I can say I do enjoy a good spinach salad, given the choice, it would not win out over cheesecake. 

My favorite foods, in order, are:
Ice cream
Cheesecake
Donuts

And I can get more specific with flavors if you like. Can't say that about salad. Or even dressing.

So, yeah, I've got it bad.

The problem is that, even though I can look at a hundred and four unreadble ingredients on the side of a package, I only taste one – and it's good. Normally, when I eat French fries, they don't taste like they are slowly killing me. They taste pretty good. Good enough to eat more.

Sometimes, I'll feel it later. The grease form the fries makes my stomach complain.

Sometimes, I won't feel it later, but I'll notice its fatty remains later.

And all of it shows up later in a way I don't even feel or see at all, on my annual cholesterol report.

Satan works like this in our lives. He's been around for a while, you know. He doesn't live in hell. His home is right here on earth. We're told he is the prince of this world. And he's pretty comfortable here too. Or at least we've become pretty comfortable with his presence.

Scripture tells us Satan walks the earth looking for prey to devour. (I Peter 5:8) Do you see that happening? I don't. Sin doesn't rear its head like a wild animal, it rubs your ankles like a soft kitten. I see a lot of happy people doing what they want, little by little choosing to believe whatever makes them happy. Making themselves the authority they answer to.

Just like the ice cream I eat is slowly killing me through pleasure, Satan is slowly killing us with pleasure too. He is letting us have all the things we want, and we don't always realize when it is bad for us. The more things go our way, taste the way we like, the more it's possible for us to consider that maybe not every good and perfect gift comes from above. (James 1:17) Maybe we can do it on our own, without any help.

We can't. It's all part of the lie. Just like the lie that ice cream tastes so good, it can't be that bad.

Moving on. So, I don't weigh 800 pounds, and I have yet to have a cardiac episode. What's my secret?

Doing what I don't want to do.

Yes, that's right. I run. When I was a kid, I hated running. In the past few years, I've been trying to convince myself that I like it. But I'm convinced no one really “likes” running. It hurts! It's a pain.

It's the total opposite of all that stuff I love to eat – that suff that doesn't feel bad going down but is really bad for me. Running feels really bad going down, but is really good for me.

I've heard some people might actually like running. They have been doing it enough that their muscles know what to do without too much thinking. That surge of endorphins known as “runner's high” comes to them quickly. (I'll admit. That part is rather addicting.)

Running breaks down your muscles, little bit by bit, so that they can be rebuilt stronger when you're done. It forces your heart to beat faster to get the oxygen in your blood to the places in your body that need it. In short, it makes your body work better.

God will do that to us to. Because of the sinful world we live in, we need to be broken down, too. There are parts of us too that need to be exercised when all we want to do is sit around. We need to get up off our keisters and work!

If I didn't indulge so much in what was bad for me, I wouldn't have to run so much. (Between running and biking, I get in about 50 miles a week. That's a lot of donuts.) But if I ate perfectly, could I be completely sedentary?

Moot point. I could never eat perfectly. We have a world that is imperfect. Even if I ate all fruits and veggies, they could be contaminated with pesticides. Is it possible to eat perfectly? I don't know. Because I don't want to. I want the bad stuff. It's too enticing.

Are you catching the connection here? We can't be perfect. As long as we live in this imperfect world with all of Satan's beautiful distractions and brownie sundaes, we're sunk. One thing that this analogy doesn't make clear is how easy the work is we need to do. All we need to do is accept his Gift of Jesus. No running shoes required.

It's still going to be tough to live in this way too tasty world of comfort. So we need to make sure we keep running back to Him.

God provided a way for us. He made it so that we won't die. It might not seem as enjoyable as sin, but that's just because we have never known pure goodness.

Can you imagine the ice cream in heaven. New meaning for the word, “heavenly,” if you ask me. I can't wait to try it.





*Please note. This is meant to be a light commentary and not an exact theology.