Northwoods Blumer

This Blog Has Moved

2010-01-08T16:24:00.003-06:00

Please check out my new blog at . . .

http://adamblumer.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Saint's Roost by Terry Burns

2009-11-30T12:55:00.008-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Saint's Roost
(Sundowners, September 20, 2009) by Terry Burns.
About the Author

Terry has over 30 books in print, including work in a dozen short story collections and four non-fiction books plus numerous articles and short stories.

His last book Beyond the Smoke is a 2009 winner of the Will Rogers Medallion for best youth fiction and a nominee for the Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. He has a three book Mysterious Ways series out from David C Cook, and Trails of the Dime Novel from Echelon Press.

A graduate of West Texas State he did post graduate work at Southern Methodist University. Terry plans to continue writing inspirational fiction as well as working as an agent for Hartline Literary Agency. Terry is a native Texan Living in Amarillo, Texas with his lovely wife Saundra.

About the Book

Terry Burns has written a novel rich in Texan drawl and old western authenticity.

Saint’s Roost opens with a determined couple leaving a wagon train to set off on their own, only to be set upon by savages. Patrick, an eager evangelizing preacher, steps out to share the Good Book with the savages and meets an untimely demise, leaving his wife, Janie, alone on a trail to nowhere with no one to help her survive.

She makes her way across the frontier determined to follow her husband’s calling, but she doesn’t know where to begin, or even how to take care of herself. When her travels bring her into the lives of two cowhands, an ex-prostitute, a young boy and his drunken grandfather, and towns filled with cowboys waiting to be saved, she discovers there’s more than one way to spread God’s word.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Saint's Roost, go HERE

My Review

I was delighted to receive a review copy of this novel. I hadn't read a good ol' Western in quite some time, and this was a wonderful change of pace for me after a summer of suspense reading. Only a few chapters into the story, it was obvious that the tale was more like a tranquil Mitford novel (just a different motif) than the latest pulse-pounder from Dekker, but that was just fine by me. This homespun tale is a nice sit-back-in-my-comfy-chair read rather than a sit-on-the-edge-of-my-seat offering. Instead of car chases and bumps in the night, readers are treated to a whimsical look at life in another era, colorful characters who practically leap off the page, and a rich serving of God's grace that triumphs over the failings each of us struggle with on this path we call life. At the same time, the story, though not strong on plot, picks up momentum toward the end and offers a nice action-packed climax.

Character-driven, leisurely Saint's Roost is all about adjustments and family. I say "adjustments" because Janie Benedict immediately finds herself out West with a naive brother determined to win the Indians to Christ. Though a worthy calling, it turns out to be one short on common sense. Finding herself alone in a strange land, Janie realizes that good intentions are never quite good enough. To make a true difference for the cause of Christ, she must seek to understand the people and culture in her new surroundings.

Immediately Janie begins to adjust to God's plan for her now that her brother is gone. What she discovers at each new step are opportunities to create her own family out of the broken lives of those around her. She meets Sharon, a former prostitute, determined to repent of her ways and start a new life. Preston needs a good home, and his grandfather, Cornelius Johnson, needs to stay away from the bottle. Shine, an Indian woman who tends to her baby, Fawn, needs a helping hand. And of course there's also Frank, Janie's love interest, and his faith-rejecting sidekick, Ruben. Janie quickly learns that her baked pies can do more than fill a hungry stomach; they can minister grace to others and open the door to share the love of Christ in surprising, new ways. What happens next is an impressive story rich in relationships and in how God works His will in spite of the well-meaning but often flawed ways of man.

One quality I loved best about Saint's Roost was the author's boldness in weaving in clear faith messages and the most important one of all: the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a market full of offerings that sadly seem to be trending away from an overt spiritual message, I found Saint's Roost to be refreshing and unapologetic in connecting real life challenges to clear faith values. I always look for that quality in a good Christian novel, and Saint's Roost didn't disappoint. In fact, it reminded me of some of the best Christian fiction of twenty years ago. For that and other reasons, I wholeheartedly recommend this casual, whimsical, and often humorous tale that adroitly weaves realistic story threads into a clear pattern of God's grace. My only nitpick is that the final printing was sorely lacking a good proofread. (Let me know, Terry, if you need help on your next offering. Editing is my day job, and I'd be honored to help.) All flaws aside, Saint's Roost is a worthy, engaging read you don't want to miss.

Loss of Carrier by Russ White

2009-11-23T08:58:00.002-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Loss Of Carrier (BookSurge Publishing, October 27, 2009) by Russ White.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Bright yellow cables against a blue shirt? Carl never would have approved of that color combination. Why was his face so white? His eyes should be closed, not open. Why hadn’t one of the security guards seen this and reported it to the police? The lights were off, the cameras were useless in the dark.

Of course, the cables wrapped around Carl’s neck explained why the server wasn’t working. Loss of carrier.

Jess Wirth lives a dreary life. He spends most of his time crammed inside a cubicle, toiling as a network engineer and stewing over the details of his ugly divorce. But when he finds his co-worker dead in the basement of their office, Jess’s life takes a surprising—and unpleasant—turn.

The police quickly declare the death a suicide, but Jess isn’t so sure. Not long after he begins digging into the victim’s work, another co-worker turns up dead, convincing him once and for all that something sinister is brewing behind the cubicle walls.

His investigation leads him to a mysterious woman name Leah, who pushes him to entrust her with the information he’s collected about his dead colleagues. Wary of Leah’s motives yet inexorably drawn to her, Jess keeps her at arm’s length...until an attempt is made on both their lives. Realizing they are close on the trail of a dangerous criminal, the pair race to expose a data theft ring before they become the killer’s next victims.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Loss Of Carrier, go HERE.

My Review

Loss of Carrier is in my TBR (To Be Read) pile, and I plan to get to it soon. It looks interesting.

Sarah Palin on Oprah

2009-11-18T14:17:00.001-06:00

The Inevitable Battle—Standards in Christian Novels

2009-11-17T09:09:00.003-06:00

In case you missed it, an interesting discussion has been going on in the CBA lately. Namely, what word and content choices are acceptable in Christian fiction. This debate began when author Ted Dekker published an article at his Web site criticizing Steeple Hill's "terms that cannot be used in a Steeple Hill novel." Later, Christian literary agent Chip MacGregor sounded off, taking Ted to task.

It's an interesting debate and one Christians everywhere need to take seriously, in my opinion. In a society that tends to be constantly drifting toward more unwholesome content in entertainment choices, where are believers supposed to stand? Follow the links, think the issue through, and decide where you stand. What do you think?

While I agree that some of the items on the Steeple Hill list seem a little extreme, I for one believe Christians should be pursuing wholesome speech and seeking to raise the bar on what's acceptable. For that reason, I applaud Steeple Hill for taking the high road in content choices. God gives us clear standards for wholesome speech. Where's the mandate to compromise those for the sake of realism in storytelling?

Copyediting Podcasts

2009-11-16T09:41:00.000-06:00

Enjoy these FREE instructional audio podcasts on a host of grammar and language-use topics, brought to you by Copyediting newsletter. New podcasts are added weekly!

http://www.copyediting.com/Podcast.php

Organizing: Three Big Chunks by Randy Ingermanson

2009-11-14T11:39:00.005-06:00

The biggest problem many writers face is the clock. No matter who you are, no matter how important you are, no matter how smart you are, your day still has only 24 hours in it. You and Bill Gates both have exactly the same amount of time in each day.

The crucial difference is that Bill has enough money socked away so he can do what he wants. Most writers don't have that luxury. We've got day jobs. Families. Hobbies, sports, and entertainment. Church or synagogue or PTA or the Moose Club. We're also supposed to sleep, exercise, eat right, enjoy a bit of fun once in a while, and floss.

Somewhere in all that chaos, we also need to write.

Some writers find a way to make it work; others don't. What makes the difference between those who do and those who don't?

I have a theory on that. It's only a theory, but it's based on watching working writers work. It's based on watching myself work. It's based on twenty years of watching.

Here's my theory. If writing is one of the three big chunks in your life, then you have a good chance of successfully writing fiction. If not, then you don't.

What's a "big chunk?" That's easy to define. It's where your time goes. Look at the things you do, other than sleeping and eating. How much time do you spend on each one? The things you spend the most time on are your "big chunks."

If you work a day job eight hours a day, plus a one-hour commute each way, then your day job is taking up ten hours per day, and that's your biggest chunk.

If you're a stay-at-home-mom and you're spending twelve hours a day taking care of three kids, then that's your biggest chunk.

Those are the two most common big chunks I've seen in writer's lives. There are any number of others that aren't quite so big, but which combine to fill up your life. Take an inventory of your own life. How many hours per week do you spend on each of these:

* Job
* Family duties
* House, yard, or garden
* Church, synagogue, or other group activities
* TV, video games, or other electronic entertainment
* Exercise
* Reading
* Writing
* ________ (fill in that pesky blank)

Now let's be clear about one thing. Most of these are Good Things. Some of them, in fact, are Great Things. A few of them are Mediocre Things or possibly even Useless Things. It really doesn't matter.

What matters for you, as a fiction writer, is that your chances of success in publishing go way up if writing is one of your three biggest chunks.

Is it remotely possible that you can get published if writing is #4 or #5 on your list? Yeah, sure, it's possible. It's possible you could run a marathon on a training base of only 10 miles a week. But you wouldn't do nearly as well as you would if you were putting in 40 or 50 miles every week. There aren't very many certainties in life, so it makes sense to tilt the odds in your favor.

So my rule of thumb for success in fiction is to make writing one of the three biggest chunks in your life. I've got nothing against any of those other things. But the fact is that most writers who sell their first novel are writing at least 10 hours per week, and many are writing 20.

Let me clarify one thing. Very few writers start out writing 10 or 20 hours per week. Most writers start the way I did, doing an hour here and an hour there. Most writers work up to the 10 hour level over a year or two or five. But they rarely get published until they reach
that level.

Your life only has room for so many big chunks. So here are some questions I'll leave for you to ponder:

* Is writing one of the three biggest chunks in your life?

* What changes would you have to make in your life to make writing one of your Big Three?

* If you can't make those changes instantly, can you shift things gradually over the next six months?

* Would it damage your life to make those changes?

Now let me switch gears and point out the opposite hazard. What would happen if you sold a novel for so much money that you could quit your day job and spend all your time writing? Wouldn't that be GREAT?

Well . . . maybe. The thing is that fiction writing is about real life, or something pretty similar to real life. You always need something to write about, and for most writers, that comes from their own life.

What that means is that if you were to spend all your time writing, you'd probably run out of things to write about. Most of the working fiction writers I know have something else going on in their life. Writing may be their day job, but it's not the only thing they do.

My theory is that even when you reach nirvana and writing is your #1 big chunk, you still need to have a couple of other major things going on in your life that feed your imagination. Writers need to get out, do things, interact with the Muggles.

Not too many other things. Three big chunks seems to be about right.

That's my theory. It's only a theory. It's based on plenty of experience, but it's still at best only a
rule of thumb. Now the final question for you is whether this theory suggests an action plan you could make right now. If so, then go to it. Nothing ever happens until you take action.

.....................................................................................................

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 17,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

Wayback by Sam Batterman

2009-11-14T10:45:00.006-06:00

Wayback

by Sam Batterman (VMI Publishers, May 1, 2009)

The Story

A mysterious Nazi super weapon, hidden for more than 60 years, has been discovered by members of a reclusive, private think tank and perfected using modern technology. This fully realized and reliable device is so powerful, so provocative, that the basic beliefs of science, history and religion could be overturned in an instant. After a cataclysmic system failure kills an expedition attempting to return to the year 100,000 B.C., a team of skeptical scientists and adventurers is dispatched to the Antediluvian world, a world that no one anticipated full of wonder, danger and advanced civilizations that will rock the accepted theories of science and history to their core. However, the team is unaware of another plan that is unfolding; there are people who will kill to use this remarkable machine to further their own plans for our past and future.

My Review

I was delighted to read this new novel by author friend and fellow BJU alumnus Sam Batterman. I have always been fond of time travel stories and was especially interested to see how Sam would treat this classic but somewhat worn plot device. (From H.G. Wells to Michael Crichton, we've seen a wide spectrum of time travel sagas, not to mention numerous movies and TV shows.)

What I discovered was a novel that is really a carefuly executed balancing act between suspenseful plotting, scientific research, and biblical truth. This technique is risky. Does the scientific information weigh down the plot? Are the biblical ramifications of what the story's characters experience lost in the plot? I thought Sam did a good job of stiking the right balance, and he certainly put some hard work into this project. The list of sources Sam consulted for his bibliograpy is nothing short of amazing. This guy did his homework, and it shows!

Beyond the obvious creationism message, I was especially intrigued by scenes that describe the garden of Eden and Noah's ark. I've often wondered what the inside of Noah's ark looked like; Sam does a good job of giving readers an inside look. The main storyline of researchers sent back in time to the time of Noah's flood gains further complexity by a group of terrorists who plan to alter history in an unexpected way. I won't give away the subplot or their diaboological plans; you'll need to read the novel for yourself. The ramifications of their plans and how Sam probed the possible outcome of choices unique to two time periods definitely gave a new spin to the time travel concept that I hadn't thought of before. What a fascinating, thought-provoking read! With just enough hooks to keep the story moving forward while taking readers down a path of new possibilities and into a world we've read about in the Bible but only imagined, Wayback is definitely a worthy, suspenseful, and educational read. Definitely check it out!

For more information about Sam and his writings, check out his Web site and his blog. For information about purchasing a copy, check out his novel at Amazon.com.

Church Libraries Gives Fatal Illusions Positive Review

2009-11-02T13:40:00.000-06:00

A Slow Burn by Mary DeMuth

2009-11-02T11:11:00.004-06:00

My Review

I had the wonderful privilege of meeting Mary at the Write-to-Publish Conference at Wheaton College last June. I was thrilled to hear her message about writing redemptive fiction. I had begun reading Daisy Chain but hadn't finished it. But then knowing the author a little bit prompted me to keep going. I must confess that I'm a suspense reader and writer, so contemporary fiction isn't typically at the top of my list. But Mary's lyrically writing and rich charactertizations made me eager to finish this novel, especially now that I better understood the engine driving her writing.

I'm glad I kept reading Daisy Chain, which is an enjoyable though sometimes difficult read due to the harsh realities the characters must face. By the time I finished the tale, I had to know what was going to happen next. Mary cleverly left several critical story line elements unresolved. What exactly happened to Daisy and why? Will Jed ever let go of his bitterness and turn to God for spiritual healing? Will Hap turn from his abusive ways and become the pastor, father, and husband God desires Him to be? I'm still longing to see some hope and repentance emerge in the lives of these broken, devastated people.

So far I'm up to chapter six in A Slow Burn and loving Mary's poetic, lyrical style. After traveling through Daisy Chain in Jed's skin, I was a little disappointed, to be honest, not to see his point of view emerge at the beginning. But Mary must have her reasons. Now I'm seeing Emory's struggles and mistakes. I continue to hope that God's light will shine on these struggling lives. With that aim, I will keep reading and offer a full review here when I'm finished.

Watch the video:

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Slow Burn, go HERE.

CUTE VIDEO! Jack Webb Schools Barack Obama on Healthcare

2009-10-21T09:57:00.001-06:00

Already Gone by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer

2009-10-15T09:06:00.003-06:00

My Review

Oh my. What a book to get the mind working. This book is a sobering, probing look at what has happened to "church" in recent years with a special focus on our youth and what is driving them away. It gives special focus to what some evangelicals are teaching their youth under the guise of Sunday school. What a sobering look at the current state and an important charge to parents and church educators to teach truth not only in the curriculum but also in our actions and changed lives. This is what true Christianity is all about. This book is an engaging eye-opener and a sobering wake-up call to save our youth before they turn their backs on church and go the tragic way of secularism and ultimately life without God. Highly recommended, especially if you have kids like I do and want them to grow up loving and serving God with all their hearts.

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card authors are:

Ken Ham, and Britt Beemer, with Todd Hillard

and the book:

Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it

New Leaf Publishing Group/Master Books (May 28, 2009)

***Special thanks to Robert Parrish of New Leaf Publishing Group for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHORs:

Ken Ham, founder and president, Answers in Genesis. He is one of the most in-demand speakers in the world today, representing Answers in Genesis (AiG) at many events throughout the year.

Visit the author's website and book blog.

C. Britt Beemer is chairman and founder of America's Research Group (ARG), a consumer behavior research and strategic marketing firm. He is a speaker at major trade and industry events.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group/Master Books (May 28, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0890515298
ISBN-13: 978-0890515297

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Part 1:

An Epidemic on Our Hands

Epidemic (Ep-i-dem-ic)1

1. A disease or anything resembling a disease; attacking or affecting many individuals in a community or a population simultaneously.

2. Anything which takes possession of the minds of people as an epidemic does of their bodies; as, an epidemic of terror.

A majority of twenty-somethings — 61% of today’s young adults — had been churched at one point during their teen years but they are now spiritually disengaged (i.e., not actively attending church, reading the Bible, or praying).

George Barna
Chapter 1

Guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge” — which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you (1 Tim. 6:20–21).

I dare you. I dare you to try it this Sunday. Look to the right, and look to the left. While the pastor delivers his message, while the worship team sings their songs, while the youth pastor gives his announcements, look to the right and look to the left. Look at the children and look at the teens around you. Many of them will be familiar faces. They are the faces of your friends’ sons and daughters. They are the friends that your children bring home after youth group. They are your children . . . the ones who have been faithfully following you to church for years.

Now, imagine that two-thirds of them have just disappeared.

That’s right, two-thirds of them — the ones who go to secular school, even those homeschooled or sent to Christian school, the boys and the girls, the kids who are leaders of the school’s Bible club, the kids who sit in the back row with their baseball caps pulled low over their eyes — imagine that two-thirds of them have just disappeared

from your church.

Yes, look to the left and look to the right this Sunday. Put down your church bulletin; look at those kids and imagine that two-thirds of them aren’t even there. Why?

Because they are already gone.

It’s time to wake up and see the tidal wave washing away the foundation of your church. The numbers are in — and they don’t look good. From across Christendom the reports are the same: A mass exodus is underway. Most youth of today will not be coming to church tomorrow Nationwide polls and denominational reports are showing that the next generation is calling it quits on the traditional church. And it’s not just

happening on the nominal fringe; it’s happening at the core of the faith.

Is that just a grim prediction? Is that just the latest arm-twisting from reactionary conservatives who are trying to instill fear into the parents and the teachers of the next generation? No, it’s not just a prediction. It’s a reality — as we will document clearly from commissioned professional and statistically valid research later in this book. In fact, it’s already happening . . . just like it did in England; it’s happening here in North America. Now. Like the black plagues that nearly wiped out the general population of Europe, a spiritual black plague has almost killed the next generation of European believers. A few churches are surviving. Even fewer are thriving. The vast majority are slowly dying. It’s a spiritual epidemic, really. A wave of spiritual decay and death has almost entirely stripped a continent of its godly heritage, and now the same disease is infecting North America.

Many of us saw it coming but didn’t want to admit it. After all, our churches looked healthy on the surface. We saw bubbling Sunday schools and dynamic youth ministries. As parents and grandparents we appreciatively graced the doors of the church, faithfully dragging our kids with us, as our ages pushed into the 40s and 50s and beyond. But a vacuum was forming: there were the college students who no longer showed up for the Sunday worship service, the newly married couple that never came back after the honeymoon. . . . Sure, there were exceptions and we were grateful for their dedication. For the most part, however, we saw that the 20- and 30-somethings from our congregations were increasingly AWOL. To be honest, none of us really wanted to admit it, did we? And so we began to justify to ourselves that maybe it wasn’t happening at all.

Recent and irrefutable statistics are forcing us to face the truth. Respected

pollster George Barna was one of the first to put numbers to the epidemic. Based on interviews with 22,000 adults and over 2,000 teenagers in 25 separate surveys, Barna unquestionably quantified the seriousness of the situation: six out of ten 20-somethings who were involved in a church during their teen years are already gone.1 Despite strong

levels of spiritual activity during the teen years, most 20-somethings disengage from active participation in the Christian faith during their young adult years — and often beyond that. Consider these findings:

Nearly 50% of teens in the United States regularly attend church-related services or activities.
More than three-quarters talk about their faith with their friends.
Three out of five teens attend at least one youth group meeting at a church during a typical three-month period.
One-third of teenagers participate in Christian clubs at school

That’s all well and good, but do these numbers stand the test of time? Is the involvement of churched children and teens continuing into young adulthood? Unfortunately not. Not even close. The Barna research is showing that religious activity in the teen years does not translate into spiritual commitment as individuals move into their 20s and 30s (and our own research, you are about to discover, will illuminate you with reasons as to why this occurs).

Most of them are pulling away from church, are spending less time alone studying their Bibles, are giving very little financially to Christian causes, are ceasing to volunteer for church activities, and are turning their backs on Christian media such as magazines, radio, and television. What does this look like numerically for today’s

20-somethings?

61% of today’s young adults who were regular church attendees are now “spiritually disengaged.” They are not actively attending church, praying, or reading their Bibles.
• 20% of those who were spiritually active during high school are maintaining a similar level of commitment.
19% of teens were never reached by the Christian community, and they are still disconnected from the Church or any other Christian activities.

Shortly after Barna blew the whistle on the problem, individual denominations and churches began to take an honest look at what was happening as their children and teens began disappearing into the young adult years. Their findings confirmed the trends that Barna had found. Dozens of groups have looked at the issue from slightly different

angles. Each study yields slightly different results, but their conclusions are unanimously startling. For example, when the Southern Baptist Convention researched the problem, they discovered that more than two-thirds of young adults who attended a Protestant church for at least a year in high school stopped attending for at least a year between

the ages of 18 and 22.

There are exceptions, of course. Here and there we find a smattering of churches with vibrant participation from the 20-something age group. In some cities, we are seeing congregations develop that are made up almost exclusively of people from this age group. But unfortunately, these are the exceptions and not the rule. The trends that we are seeing can no longer be ignored. The epidemic is a reality. The abandoned church buildings of Europe are really just buildings, yet they are graphic symbols — warnings to those of us who are seeing the same trends in our local congregations: we are one generation away from the evaporation of church as we know it. Slowly but certainly the

church of the future is headed toward the morgue and will continue to do so — unless we come to better understand what is happening and implement a clear, biblical plan to circumvent it.

The trends are known; more and more are finding out about them — but the vital question concerns what is the root problem of why this is happening. We need to know why if we are going to formulate possible solutions.

Twenty somethings struggle to stay active in Christian faith.

20% churched as teen, spiritually active at age 29
61% churched as teen, disengaged during twenties
19% never churched as teen, still unconnected

Who, Why, and What?

I began traveling and speaking in the United States in the 1980s. As an Australian, it didn’t take long before I felt I had a good feeling for the pulse of American Christianity . . . and I saw some tremendous needs. At the time, America could rightly be labeled the greatest Christian nation on earth, the center of the economic world — and

although the Church was equipped with nearly every conceivable tool and luxury for developing and expressing its faith — I could see that the Church was in great need.

Since moving to the United States in 1987, I have spoken in hundreds of different churches from many denominations, numerous Bible colleges, seminaries, and Christian conferences on American soil. I have talked with the pastors; I’ve listened to those in the congregations; I have experienced “worship” in almost every conceivable style and form. The ministry of Answers in Genesis is deeply committed to the American church. In fact, the faltering health of the Church in the greatest Christian nation on earth is what motivated my wife and me to move our family to this country in the first place. My wife and I testify that God called us as missionaries to America — particularly the American Church — to call it back to the authority of the Word of God beginning in Genesis.

The Bible calls the Church “the Body of Christ.” Today, over 20 years after our move, the statistics prove that His body is bleeding profusely. The next generation of believers is draining from the churches, and it causes me great personal and professional concern. I’ve sat in the grand, but vacant, churches of Europe. I know where this is headed. Where Europe is today spiritually, America will be tomorrow —

and for the same reasons, if the Church does not recognize where the foundational problem lies and address it.

When I began to seriously ponder Barna’s numbers, naturally I wanted to find out more. For help, I called on a trusted and respected supporter of Answers in Genesis. As the chairman of America’s Research Group, and as a leading marketing research and business analyst expert, Britt Beemer specializes in studying human behavior. Over the decades he has conducted dozens and dozens of surveys for leading corporations as well as small businesses. He analyzes the marketplace and the clientele, and makes recommendations that keep the companies excelling in a competitive world. When we were considering building the Creation Museum, we asked Britt if we could reasonably

dream of 250,000 people visiting each year. Britt did his research and predicted that 400,000 people would visit the museum in the first year! He was wrong by two days. (The 400,000th visitor entered the museum 363 days after we opened.) Needless to say, when we had questions about the epidemic of people leaving church, we turned to him for answers.

Our goal was simple: We wanted to know who was leaving, why they were leaving, and what (if anything) could be done about it. To that end, Britt and his America’s Research Group initiated a qualified study with probing questions to get powerful insight into the epidemic the Church is facing. To get to the core of the issues, his team studied only those whom we are most concerned about: every person in our

sample said they attended church every week or nearly every week when they were growing up, but never or seldom go today.

We selected those between 20 and 30 who once attended conservative and “evangelical” churches. We wanted to look at the churches that claim to be Bible-believing congregations with Bible-preaching pastors. According to Barna, about 6 percent of people in their 20s and 30s can be considered “evangelical.” This is about the same as the number of teenagers (5 percent).4 The results from Britt’s research would

undoubtedly have been more drastic if we had considered more liberal congregations. We deliberately skewed the research toward conservatives so that we could all understand that whatever problems showed up would be much worse for the church population in general.

After 20,000 phone calls, with all the raw data in hand, Britt began to analyze the numbers. The things he discovered— as well as the things he didn’t discover — began to shed light (in a quite astonishing way) on this monumental problem facing the future of Christianity.

The sample included:

1,000 individuals from coast to coast
Balanced according to population and gender
With just over half being aged 25-29
With under half being aged 20-24

First of all, he didn’t discover anything abnormal about the group as a whole. There weren’t an unusual number of homeschoolers, or secular school kids, who were leaving. There wasn’t a significant number of females compared to males that had decided to leave. In other words, the 60 percent plus of the evangelical kids who choose to leave the church look pretty much like the 40 percent who decide to stay — at least on the outside. The breakdown of those who left really fits the profile of the evangelical population in general.

So at first, the who question didn’t seem to give us many answers. So then, why? Why did they leave the church? When we asked them this open-ended question, we got an earful.

At first, we were surprised (and a little disappointed) that there wasn’t a single reason. It would have been nice to find a single identifiable virus somewhere. How simple it would have been to stereotype the whole group and point out one germ that had been causing the sickness to spread. But the numbers didn’t say that. A single identifiable culprit didn’t appear.

Other researchers have come to similar conclusions. When LifeWay did their research for the Southern Baptist Convention, 97 percent of the “dropouts” listed one or more specific life-change issues as a reason they left church. The most frequent reason they gave for leaving church was almost an indifferent shrug of the shoulders.

The top 10 reasons were:

1. 12% Boring service

2. 12% Legalism

3. 11% Hypocrisy of leaders

4. 10% Too political

5. 9% Self-righteous people

6. 7% Distance from home

7. 6% Not relevant to personal growth

8. 6% God would not condemn to hell

9. 5% Bible not relevant/not practical

10. 5% Couldn’t find my preferred denomination in the area

“I simply wanted a break from church” (27 percent). The transition into college and adulthood also affected many: “I moved to college and stopped attending church” (25 percent), and “work responsibilities prevented me from attending” (23 percent). Others simply “moved too far away from the church to continue attending” (22 percent). In all honesty, these kinds of results just seemed too shallow for us at Answers in Genesis. And they seemed too superficial to Britt as well. We have a massive epidemic on our hands, and researchers seemed to be content with answers that sounded like “I just didn’t feel very good,” or “I wasn’t there because I chose to be someplace else.” Too many researchers accept simple, superficial answers. They acknowledge that there is a massive shift taking place in the spiritual lives of young adults, but when it comes to really figuring out what’s going on, they kind of throw up their hands and sigh, “I guess that’s just the way it is!”

End of story? Not hardly. This is precisely why we teamed up with an expert like Britt Beemer who probes, and probes, and probes until he finds the right reasons. We found the real reasons, though some of them will shake many churches to their very core.

Never content with the easy answers that people give to justify their behavior, Britt is an expert in consumer behavior who taps into their minds as he finds out what people really believe in order to reveal what is driving their behavior. Until Answers in Genesis commissioned this study, never before had this type of research been conducted — and our research was formulated to not just deeply probe what people believe but answer the questions in regard to WHY people believe what they do. We can now identify the real answers as well as the causes affecting young people who leave the church.

As Britt studied his data, it was obvious that multiple issues are behind the exodus from church. The why? question would prove to be more complicated than many expected. But soon, as the numbers became more clear, patterns emerged, assumptions were destroyed, and quirky findings surfaced. One of the most important and startling findings turned out not to answer the why? question, but rather the when? question.

Of all the 20 to 29-year-old evangelicals who attended church regularly but no longer do so:

95% of them attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years
55% attended church regularly during high school
11% were still going to church during college

I think this is one of the most revealing and yet challenging statistics in the entire survey — and something we didn’t expect. Most people assume that students are lost in college. We’ve always been trying to prepare our kids for college (and I still think that’s a critical thing to do, of course), but it turns out that only 11 percent of those who have left

the Church did so during the college years. Almost 90 percent of them were lost in middle school and high school. By the time they got to college they were already gone! About 40 percent are leaving the Church during elementary and middle school years! Most people assumed that elementary and middle school is a fairly neutral environment where children toe the line and follow in the footsteps of their parents’ spirituality. Not so. I believe that over half of these kids were lost before we got them into high school! Whatever diseases are fueling the epidemic of losing our young people, they are infecting our students much, much earlier than most assumed. Let me say this again:

We are losing many more people by middle school and many more by high school than we will ever lose in college.
Many parents will fork out big bucks to send these students to Christian colleges, hoping to protect them in their faith. But the fact is, they’re already gone. They were lost while still in the fold. They were disengaging while they were still sitting in the pews. They were preparing their exit while they were faithfully attending youth groups and

Sunday schools.

What a reminder to parents (and Christian leaders) to do exactly what God’s Word instructs us to do — to “train up a child in the way he should go . . .” (Prov. 22:6). And further, “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,

when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deut. 6:6–7; NKJV). What a reminder to teach children from when they are born — and a reminder to be diligent in providing the right sort of training/curricula, etc., for children.

Sadly, I think many see children’s programs as entertainment, teaching Bible stories, and so on, but when they get older we need to think about preparing them somehow for college — but as our research showed, by then they are already gone! For most, it was basically too late!

This topic regarding when we begin to lose our kids is where the study began to get very interesting and very illuminating. For example:

Those who no longer believe that all of the accounts and stories in the Bible are

true:

39.8% first had doubts in middle school
43.7% first had their doubts in high school
10.6% had their first doubts during college

Clearly, there is a slightly delayed reaction going on. The doubts come first, followed shortly by departure. Students didn’t begin doubting in college, they simply departed by college. Again, if you look around in your church today, two-thirds of those who are sitting among us have already left in their hearts, it will only take a couple years before their bodies are absent as well.

The Beemer study has a tremendous amount to offer the churches, the pastors, the parents, and the researchers who are sincerely looking into this problem. Britt’s study didn’t look just at behavior; he looked at belief. By making correlations between those beliefs and the behavior and intentions of those who have left the Church, the veil was lifted, powerful new insights were revealed, and very surprising results were

illuminated. In the pages ahead we will give you the highlights of some of these numbers. But brace yourself, because in many instances the results are shocking, and they point a finger at many well-intentioned, firmly established programs and traditions of churches that are utterly failing the children who faithfully attend every Sunday morning.

You will need to swallow hard and be prepared to consider things very carefully; Be ready to give up long-held, cherished notions in regard to certain church programs of which perhaps you would never have considered the slightest possibility that there was such a serious problem as this research clearly showed.

First, we will investigate key aspects of the epidemic, including:

the effects of Sunday school
the two different kinds of kids who are leaving the Church and why it’s so important to know the difference
why the Church has lost its value and is now considered irrelevant
Second, we will investigate the solutions that are within our grasp:

how to defend the Christian faith and uphold the authority of the Bible from the very first verse
what it means (and doesn’t mean) to live by the Bible
the revolution that is reclaiming “church” in this culture
Along the way the investigation will be spiced up with a variety of fascinating findings regarding the following:

music
friends
unbiblical church traditions
teaching
beliefs about Genesis
If you are a parent, a pastor, or a Christian educator, then this research is for you. Or maybe you are one of the millions of students who are thinking about leaving the Church or have already done so. If so, I challenge you to let the numbers speak for themselves and then be ready to allow God to use you in new ways to make a difference for the sake of the next generation and the Church. Even though the results were obtained in America, because it has had the greatest Christian influence in the world and has been an enormous influence on the world (Christian literature, missionaries, etc.), it is likely that such research would show similar (at best) or much worse results in other

countries.

Yes, I challenge you. This Sunday, look to the left and then look to the right. According to our research, two-thirds of the children and teens you see will be gone in a matter of years. What can be done about it? Plenty, as you will soon see!

Britt’s Bit: The AIG-ARG Connection

On behalf of Ken Ham, I want to thank you for picking up this book. I make my living generating numbers and statistics, and they are an important part of my personal ministry. When numbers and statistics are interpreted correctly they mean something. They aren’t just arbitrary measurements for things that don’t matter. Numbers do

matter. They represent things that are real, that are measurable, that can be observed, and (in many cases) that can be changed with the right remedies. That’s what America’s Research Group is all about. At ARG we draw conclusions that are meaningful to our clients. We are behavioral scientists who study human behavior. ARG provides each

client a foundation built on practical, useful information that ensures their ongoing success.

That’s why I am such a firm believer in Answers in Genesis. Not only is their ministry important, but AIG is a reminder of what God can do through one person who steps out in faith and allows God to use them to defend and proclaim the truth. Ken moved his family to the United States more than 20 years ago, having started a ministry out of the trunk of his car and a few cardboard boxes in his house. I don’t think anyone would have believed (particularly Ken) what God had in store for a ministry of such humble beginnings.

Today, the Answers in Genesis website gets millions of visitors per year. Tens of thousands of resources (books, DVDs, curricula, magazines, etc.) move through AIG’s warehouse year after year. A small army of trained speakers are reaching tens of thousands of people face-to-face on every continent on the globe except Antarctica. (As far as I know, no one has volunteered to go there quite yet!)

I love keeping track of the AIG ministry and what people say about it. I’ve been tracking public opinion religiously (pun intended), and I have a deep desire to protect and to equip this ministry. When the Creation Museum opened, it created a national media tsunami, and at least one-third of the comments voiced about the ministry were clearly negative. The naysayers had their day, but they didn’t last. Today, only 1/20th of the comments about the museum are negative. I think that is an amazing accomplishment. As I projected, 400,000 people came through those doors in the first year.

I make my living studying human behavior and attitudes statistically, which gives me a unique viewpoint of how and why people act the way they do. I sincerely invite you to come along with my friend and ministry cohort Ken Ham as he takes you on a personal tour through my numbers. I’ll be throwing in my “bit” on a regular basis, giving you my take on the statistics and their importance. As you begin to understand the trends of the past, and see where the Church is at present, you will discover highly practical action points that will make a difference in the future. I believe that if you get a handle on a few of the numbers that describe what is happening in the Church today, you will see the potential for change that resides within you as a pastor, a parent, or a Christian educator. And that’s important. The next generation is counting on us.

Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin

2009-10-05T07:47:00.003-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Though Waters Roar
· Bethany House (October 1, 2009)
by
Lynn Austin

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Along with reading, two of Lynn's lifelong passions are history and archaeology. While researching her Biblical fiction series, Chronicles of the Kings, these two interests led her to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Backgrounds and Archaeology through Southwestern Theological Seminary. She and her son traveled to Israel during the summer of 1989 to take part in an archaeological dig at the ancient city of Timnah. This experience contributed to the inspiration for her novel Wings of Refuge.

Lynn resigned from teaching to write full-time in 1992. Since then she has published twelve novels. Five of her historical novels, Hidden Places, Candle in the Darkness, Fire by Night, A Proper Pursuit, and Until We Reach Home have won Christy Awards in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, and 2009 for excellence in Christian Fiction.

Fire by Night was also one of only five inspirational fiction books chosen by Library Journal for their top picks of 2003, and All She Ever Wanted was chosen as one of the five inspirational top picks of 2005. Lynn's novel Hidden Places has been made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

"Thank goodness you're such a plain child. You'll have to rely on your wits."

So went the words of Grandma Bebe. And for all of my growing-up years, I scoffed at the beauty of my sister and what I saw as her meaningless existence. But my wits hadn't served me well in this instance, for here I was, in jail. And while I could have seen it as carrying on the family tradition (for Grandma Bebe landed in jail for her support of Prohibition), the truth is, my reasons for being here would probably break her heart.

So how did I end up becoming a criminal? I've been pondering that question all night. Perhaps the best way to search for an answer is to start at the very beginning.

Harriet Sherwood has always adored her grandmother. But when Harriet decides to follow in her footsteps to fight for social justice, she certainly never expected her efforts to land her in jail. Nor did she expect her childhood enemy and notorious school bully, Tommy O'Reilly, to be the arresting officer.

Languishing in a jail cell, Harriet has plenty of time to sift through the memories of the three generations of women who have preceded her. As each story emerges, the strength of her family--and their deep faith in the God of justice and righteousness--brings Harriet to the discovery of her own goals and motives for pursuing them.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Though Waters Roar, go HERE

My Review

This novel arrived in my mailbox just two days ago, so no, I haven't had time to read it yet. I must confess that my wife and mom are more the Lynn Austin fans than I am, so they'll be reading it for sure. Being women's oriented fiction, that shouldn't be surprising. I do, however, plan to read this novel at some point because I'm a rather eclectic reader type of guy, though I do steer clear of anything with the romance label. I enjoyed reading several books in Lynn's Civil War trilogy a while back and look forward to checking this one out. Congratulations, Lynn, on recently winning the Christy Award again!

Intervention by Terri Blackstock

2009-10-02T11:58:00.002-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Intervention
Zondervan (September 22, 2009)
by
Terri Blackstock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Terri Blackstock’s books have sold six million copies worldwide. Her suspense novels often debut at number one on the Christian fiction best-seller lists, and True Light, published last year, was number one of all Christian books—fiction and non-fiction. Blackstock has had twenty-five years of success as a novelist.

In 1994 Blackstock was writing for publishers such as HarperCollins, Harlequin and Silhouette, when a spiritual awakening drew her into the Christian market. Since that time, she’s written over thirty Christian titles, in addition to the thirty-two she had in the secular market. Her most recent books are the four in her acclaimed Restoration Series, which includes Last Light, Night Light, True Light and Dawn’s Light. She is also known for her popular Newpointe 911 and Cape Refuge Series.

In addition to her suspense novels, she has written a number of novels in the women’s fiction genre, including Covenant Child, which was chosen as one of the first Women of Faith novels, and her Seasons Series written with Beverly LaHaye, wife of Tim LaHaye.

Blackstock has won the Retailer’s Choice Award and has appeared on national television programs such as The 700 Club, Home Life, and At Home Live with Chuck and Jenny. She has been a guest on numerous radio programs across the country and the subject of countless articles. The story of her personal journey appears in books such as Touched By the Savior by Mike Yorkey, True Stories of Answered Prayer by Mike Nappa, Faces of Faith by John Hanna, and I Saw Him In Your Eyes by Ace Collins.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Barbara Covington has one more chance to save her daughter from a devastating addiction, by staging an intervention. But when eighteen-year-old Emily disappears on the way to drug treatment—and her interventionist is found dead at the airport—Barbara enters her darkest nightmare of all.

Barbara and her son set out to find Emily before Detective Kent Harlan arrests her for a crime he is sure she committed. Fearing for Emily’s life, Barbara maintains her daughter’s innocence. But does she really know her anymore? Meanwhile, Kent has questions of his own. His gut tells him that this is a case of an addict killing for drugs, but as he gets to know Barbara, he begins to hope he’s wrong about Emily.

The panic level rises as the mysteries intensify: Did Emily’s obsession with drugs lead her to commit murder—or is she another victim of a cold-blooded killer?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Intervention, go HERE

Watch the book Trailer:

My Review:

Sorry, but this book just recently arrived in my mailbox, and I haven't had sufficient time to read it yet. It's definitely one I plan to read. I'll post about it when I get to it. Thanks.

The Power of a Dream Changes Lives!

2009-09-30T08:28:00.000-06:00

2009-09-24T16:02:00.002-06:00

The Transformation Study Bible

2009-09-24T13:09:00.008-06:00

Legendary Clarity

Acclaimed Pastor Brings Experience, Wisdom to Transformation Study Bible

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX—As pastors seek to make the Word of God more understandable in an age that is unfamiliar with the Bible, and as growing disciples seek to discover the truth of Scripture in a skeptical culture, there is a great need for guidance in both the preaching and study of God’s Word. Whether you’re a pastor, a seminary student, or a truth-seeking disciple, an understanding of the Bible can be made clear to you with the help of one of the most influential, in-depth, and practical Bible scholars in modern history.

For over thirty years, millions have come to rely on the timeless wisdom of Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe’s “Be” Commentary series. Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary and insights on Scripture have helped readers understand and apply God’s Word with the goal of life transformation. According to Dr. Wiersbe, “It isn’t enough for us simply to read assigned portions of the Bible each day, as helpful as that is. A truly transforming experience involves meditating on what we read (Ps. 1:2), studying it carefully in the light of other verses, and then obeying what God tells us to do (Josh. 1:8).” Now available for the first time, The Transformation Study Bible offers the full text of the highly readable New Living Translation with accompanying notes and commentary from the 50 books in Dr. Wiersbe’s “Be” series.

“The Transformation Study Bible will better enable readers to appreciate, appropriate, and apply the Word of God, which will result in ‘purity, joy, right values, hope, comfort, freedom, new life, peace, guidance, wisdom, integrity, encouragement, and effective prayer,’” states Wiersbe. In other words, if you want to be a new person, knowing and obeying the will of God and becoming more like Jesus Christ, there is perhaps no finer tool to encourage that process than The Transformation Study Bible.

One of the most anticipated and comprehensive study Bibles of the year, The Transformation Study Bible has been a lifetime in the making by a man who is widely known as a prolific and trusted writer and theologian. The former pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago, an internationally known Bible teacher, and someone who has given his life to a deep examination of the Word of God, Dr. Wiersbe lends his vast experience and scholarly insight to the most beloved and revered book of all time. This effort is to encourage believers of all levels to know and love the Bible and to experience the same transformation that has radically changed his life. The result is a Bible that is clear, understandable, and applicable to the lives of its readers.

Dr. Wiersbe writes, “The remedy for discouragement is the Word of God. When you feed your heart and mind with its truth, you regain your perspective and find renewed strength.” By providing a new set of tools for Bible students of all levels, David C Cook and Warren Wiersbe have partnered to provide an essential tool to help bring the “perspective” and “renewed strength” that comes from a life transforming study of God’s Word. This fantastic and long awaited resource will bring more clarity than ever before to the study of God’s Word.

The Transformation Study Bible with General Editor Warren Wiersbe

David C Cook September 1, 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1434765307/2100 pages/$24.99
www.davidccook.com

My Review

I have been using this Bible for several weeks and speak from experience when I say that it's wonderful for general reading and devotional study. I've always loved Warren Wiersbe's "Be" books and have benefited from his spiritual insights for many years. To have notes from all 50 "Be" books incorporated into this Bible makes for rich reading and provides biblical truths in a refreshing way from a trusted voice of experience.

I must confess that the NLT is not my favorite Bible version, but several pastor friends have spoken highly of the version in gaining a better grasp of passages in everyday English. The more I read, the more I like the version and am seeing things in Scripture I never saw before due to difficult, obscure language. While I still prefer word-for-word literal translations, the NLT is a great aid to comprehension. Sometimes just seeing a passage worded in a slightly different way (but with the same meaning) gives Scripture a freshness it might typically lack. Complemented by Wiersbe's powerful reflections, you really can't lose as far as comprehension, which then leads of course to spiritual benefit. I've been carrying the Bible to church with me over the last few weeks and have enjoyed seeing how this Bible has been helpful during preaching services. A long fan of Wiersbe's books, I'm particularly looking forward to the benefits of using this Bible for many years to come.

My Review of Lost Mission

2009-09-19T06:03:00.003-06:00

Lost Mission: A Novel by Athol Dickson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had read The Cure and River Rising by Athol Dickson—and loved them, so I was looking forward to Lost Mission. Once again the writing was superb, the characters fascinating, and the storyline engaging with one exception. Spanish history and Mexican culture have never appealed to me, so the historical storyline was a bit challenging to get through, though Dickson deserves special notice for how deftly he wove in a past storyline involving Catholic monks establishing a mission in old-time California. I must admit that I sometimes found myself wanting to skip these parts and just get back to the modern storyline. It just wasn't an interesting storyline for me. Mexican culture is pretty foreign, so I couldn't really appreciate much of the local color.

This well-written and often poetic novel raises complex ethical and spiritual issues that make readers think. He tackles illegal immigration and appears to be sympathetic toward it by the fact that Lupe, the main character, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico. Tucker, who is running his own mission, takes water to the desert to help illegals who may be crossing the desert to California. Another theme has to do with mega churches who seek to separate themselves from the world, especially from illegal immigrants, and live in their own utopia. It's clear that these churches, overflowing with wealth, aren't doing enough to reach out to those who truly need help, even the basics like food and clothing. The complex issues are thought provoking and make the reader grapple with the moral dilemma of reaching out to people who according to our laws shouldn't even be in our country.

One aspect of the novel that disappointed me was Dickson's sympathetic treatment of Catholicism. Catholic doctrine does not embrace the true gospel due to its works-based salvation. Yet the novel's main character is Catholic at the beginning and Catholic at the end; she even "preaches" to those who need to hear the truth, yet I'm baffled as to what that truth could be. If she's a devout Catholic, she doesn't personally possess the truth of grace alone by faith alone. If I personally met a Lupe who loved God and wanted to serve Him, I would first challenge her faith to be sure she wasn't depending on works for salvation. If she did depend on grace alone, then I would have strongly encouraged her to leave the Catholic Church. The novel is highly sympathetic toward Catholics, a disappointment for me. Don't get me wrong: I love Catholics, but I want them all to experience saving grace alone by faith alone. I kept hoping that Tucker or someone would probe Lupe's faith and tell her the truth about Catholic false teachings, but no one does.

In the end, the novel is superbly written and often poetic, and the complex modern storyline kept me reading. But due to complex and controversial issues that deserved a clear biblical answer, I felt divided over the novel's final message. Athol's message is clear that mega churches that seek to separate from the world and ignore those who need help are bad and that Christians who run a small mission and help illegal aliens are good. In the end, neither those who run the mega church are completely wrong, and neither are those who help illegal aliens completely right. Still, Lost Mission was a fascinating, if not tragic, read. Athol presents some of the best writing I've ever seen in Christian fiction, and I'll certainly read him again.

View all my reviews >>

Battle Ready by Steve Farrar

2009-09-15T10:44:00.003-06:00

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Steve Farrar

and the book:

Battle Ready: Prepare to Be Used by God

David C. Cook (2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Steve Farrar is the founder and chairman of Men’s Leadership Ministries, an organization dedicated to equipping men for spiritual leadership. He is a frequent speaker at men’s events and conferences across the country and is the best-selling author of God Built and Point Man. Steve and his family reside in the Dallas, Texas area.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 256
Publisher: David C. Cook (2009)
ISBN: 1434768694
ISBN-13: 9781434768698

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Battle Ready

Chapter One

Hard Times

“I was born for a storm and a calm does not suit me.” --Andrew Jackson

These are the times that try men's souls.”

Thomas Paine penned those words in 1776 in a pamphlet he titled “Crisis.”

It was an appropriate title for his day. The young American colonies certainly faced a great crisis, feeling the oppressive weight of the English king and his invading army. Men who spoke out for freedom found themselves in serious danger.

Take Joseph Warren, for example. Gathering his courage, he dared to speak out about the situation his country was in. And for so doing, he was beheaded by British officers at Bunker Hill, who then presented his head to their commanding general.1

I am writing these words on December 1, 2008. Never in my fifty-nine years on this earth have I seen so many men so deeply troubled. It is accurate to say once again, “These are the times that try men's souls.”

Joshua and Caleb, two heroes from the pages of the Bible, will figure prominently in this book. But I'm not going to start with Joshua and Caleb. I'm going to begin with Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

Contrary to popular opinion, Samuel Adams did not run a brewery. And John Hancock did not sell life insurance.

These men were both friends of Joseph Warren, and like Warren, they were not afraid to speak out against tyranny. They knew very well that they could be beheaded just as Warren had been. But that fact did not curb their tongues or their pens. In fact, when the British general Thomas Gage attempted to quell the revolution and offered amnesty to every man in the colonies who would lay down his weapon, two men, and two men only, were excluded from the offer of amnesty and forgiveness. Those two men were Samuel Adams and John Hancock. These two bold leaders would not be forgiven under any circumstances--so great was their opposition to the king and their influence in the colonies.

Samuel Adams was the most popular columnist in all of New England, and John Hancock may have been the wealthiest man in all of Massachusetts. Though differing widely in personality and style, these men had something profound in common that formed the bedrock of their friendship: They were deeply committed to Jesus Christ and His inspired Word. That's what made them the Joshua and Caleb of their generation. They were absolutely fearless in the face of a giant invading army and the world's largest navy. But the foundation of their courage was their hope and trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was their Father, their Foundation, and their Hope.

Even as other men wilted under pressure and feared for their very lives, Adams and Hancock stood firm. Don't imagine it was an easy thing to do; it's never easy to hold the line when you live in soul-trying times.

Our Times

In the course of my ministry, I have had the privilege of speaking to men all across the country. And it's very clear to me as I interact with men that once again “these are the times that try men's souls.”

If there is a verse that speaks to the condition of men in our day and time, I believe it is Psalm 42:5 (NASB):

Why are you in despair [sunk down], O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence [saving acts].

Everywhere across our land men are discouraged and depressed-- and some verging on outright despair. So let's answer the question of the psalmist. Notice that he is talking to himself instead of listening to himself. When we are panicked and fearful, we are listening to ourselves--listening to the killing worries and anxieties that fuel our negative imaginations like a windblown forest fire. The psalmist, however, attempting to fight off the fear that has become epidemic in his heart and mind, speaks to himself instead of listening to himself.

In the process, he asks himself a significant question:

“Why are you in despair, O my soul?”

If most men today were to answer that question, I believe their answer would center in a fearful giant named “Uncertainty.” This giant, of course, has been around since the beginning of time, sometimes more visible and sometimes less. In recent days, however, it has been stalking our land with a vengeance. Why? Because …

there is giant uncertainty over the meltdown of the economy; and
there is giant uncertainty over the breakdown of the nation.

The Meltdown of the Economy

It's difficult to pick up a newspaper or news magazine without getting hints about the possibility of another Great Depression. For nearly a decade, we had a remarkable run of prosperity and economic growth. Jobs have been plentiful, salaries rising, and people have had the time and leisure to travel and indulge in a delicious assortment of personal luxuries.

But then in a matter of months, everything began to fall apart.

Gigantic financial institutions and banks began to collapse, and people began to panic. The real-estate market across the nation began to nosedive, and once-staid-and-stable firms began to issue pinks slips like candy. One headline from the September 18, 2008, edition of the Wall Street Journal sums it all up: Worst Crisis Since 30's, With No End In Sight.2

The prosperity and financial growth had all seemed so certain. But we have come to realize that it was an illusion. Of course, we should have known that all along. Note the words of 1 Timothy 6:17 (NASB): “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”

Did you catch that? Those who are rich in this present world (and that would be the vast majority of Americans compared to the rest of the world) are not to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches.

Quite frankly, most of us have been living as though the riches were certain--living as though the prosperity wouldn't end, as though real estate would keep going up forever, as though our jobs would always be secure. The average American felt like he was bulletproof when it came to his prosperity. And this is why so many are now depressed and in despair. Now, many who were close to retirement will never see retirement. They have simply lost too much in the market, and there's just not enough time to make it all back.

The Breakdown of the Nation

There is a sense in this country that things are spiraling out of control, not just economically but also politically and socially. You can feel the tremors, as the foundations of American law and government are being shaken to the core. This includes a raging current of anti-Christian bias flowing through our courts, universities, and media.

In the recent economic bailout, fundamental principles of democracy and commerce were thrown away in a matter of days. It was all done out of panic and fear. And once the government gets more power, it is not prone to give it back at a later date. What it takes--it keeps.

And that changes everything.

Back in the 1970s, I remember hearing the great Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer talk about the direction that America was headed. Schaeffer said he believed America would eventually wind up as a dictatorship, and he wasn't sure if it would come from the right or the left. It was Schaeffer's opinion that some great calamity and crisis would threaten the well-being of the average American. It would be of such a magnitude that people would willingly give up their rights if they could be promised just two things: personal peace and affluence. And if personal peace and affluence would be guaranteed, they would immediately accept an elite dictator who would sweep away their blood-bought freedoms without a second thought. Perhaps we are not too far from that scenario--or perhaps that scenario won't occur at all. No one on this side of heaven knows for sure.

But there is no question that we are in deep decline. You have heard of the rise and fall of great nations. We know in our hearts that we are not only falling--we are free-falling. And nobody seems to have a parachute.

In my previous book, God Built, I referred to the work of Sir John Glubb. In 1976, he wrote an essay titled “The Fate of Empires.” Glubb put forth his theory that great empires rarely survive more than 250 years.3

The Nation/Dates/Time in Years

Assyria/859-612 BC/247

Persia/538-330 BC/208

Greece/331-100 BC/231

Roman Republic/260-27 BC/233

Roman Empire/27 BC-AD 180 207

Arab Empire/AD 634-880/246

Mameluke Empire/1250-1517/267

Ottoman Empire/1320-1517/250

Spain/1500-1750/250

Romanov Russia/1682-1916/234

Britain/1700-1950/2504

We are not so concerned for ourselves as we are for our children and grandchildren. They are living in an America that is a far cry from the one that previous generations knew.

So this is why so many men in America who look at life through the lens of Scripture and history are fighting off depression and despair. When one looks at the economic meltdown along with the national breakdown, one sees we are facing a future that is nothing short of a gigantic uncertainty.

Battle Ready_INT-P2.indd 16

Is there any hope?

Yes, there is.

And it's right in the text of Psalm 42:5 (NASB):

Why are you in despair [sunk down], O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence [saving acts].

Triple Shot of Hope

As the psalmist continues to talk himself out of depression, he reminds himself about God. Because God exists and because of His great attributes, the psalmist tells himself that he will again praise God for the help of His presence. And when God is present, He saves His people. All is not lost-- God is in absolute control.

The source of our depression these days is gigantic uncertainty about the economy and the future of the nation. But there are three certainties that form the (true) foundation of our hope:

The certainty of providence

The certainty of the promises

The certainty of the plan

In our times of giant uncertainty about the economy and our nation, those three certainties are nothing less than a triple shot--not of espresso, but of hope.

The Certainty of Providence

The providence of God simply means that God will provide; He will give you what you need when you need it. He will sustain you and keep you going. Ron Mehl used to say that God worked the night shift. What he meant by that was that grocery stores restock every twenty-four hours, and that restock takes place during the night shift. If you walk into a grocery store at two in the morning, it looks like mass chaos. Boxes litter the aisles, and employees run here and there, working feverishly to put product on the shelves. All of this goes on when 98 percent of the neighborhood is asleep. So even while you're sleeping, someone is working to restock the store so that whatever you need in the morning will be there. Maybe at 9:30 p.m. aisle 12 was out of raisins. But at 7:00 the next morning the shelves on aisle 12 will be loaded with raisin boxes, all in neat order and fully synchronized display. The raisins are ready and waiting before you ever need them.5

God works the night shift and the day shift. He never sleeps. His eye is constantly upon you. He knows everything about you. He knows your worries, your pressures, and how much money (to the penny) that you will need to survive until the moment you die. And He will provide that money at exactly the right time.

Let me give you a verse that will Advil your anxiety.

Psalm 103:19 (NASB) states that …

The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.

Now who sits on a throne? A king sits on a throne. God is King over everything--no exceptions. This great God is King who sits in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all. What is sovereignty? Sovereignty is control. Control of what?

Everything.

He's in control of everything--even evil. He's never the author of evil because His character is holy--absolutely pure and flawless. But He controls evil and uses evil for His purposes--for the good of His people and the glory of His name. I know that's a stretch to think about, but the Bible strongly declares that He is in control of all things--including evil. Solomon put it like this:

The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. (Prov. 16:4 NASB)

How can God do that and still be good? I don't know, and I can't explain it. I can't begin to understand how that works, and neither can you. But that is what the Bible teaches. Psalm 119:68 says that the Lord is good and does good. So this good and great God is the King of the entire world and all of the universes. He spoke them all into existence. He created them, and He owns them. And catch this--He keeps them going. He sustains everything within His creation and keeps it all together. Hebrews 1:3 (NASB) states that the Lord Jesus continuously “upholds all things by the word of His power.” That means He keeps it all going--including you and your family, regardless of the strength of the economy.

He is your King and He is your Banker. His providence will keep you provisioned and sustained.

The Heidelberg Catechism was compiled in 1563. A catechism is simply a summary of the teaching of Scripture on a particular question. A catechism asks a question and then provides the biblical answer. And the section on providence is crystal clear:

Question 27. What dost thou mean by the providence of God?

Answer: The almighty and everywhere present power of God; whereby, as it were by his hand, he upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but by his fatherly hand.

Question 28. What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by his providence does still uphold all things?

Answer: That we may be patient in adversity; thankful in prosperity; and that in all things, which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm trust in our faithful God and Father, that nothing shall separate us from his love; since all creatures are so in his hand, that without his will they cannot so much as move.6

In a nutshell, that's what the Bible teaches about the providence of God.

He's in control of everything from the watermelon crop in south Texas to the price of gas in Omaha. Good economies and bad economies are under His control--along with everything else inside and outside the universe.

So let's go back to the giant uncertainties we face--the frightening meltdown of the economy and the ongoing breakdown of our beloved nation. Is our great God in control of all of these things? Yes. Will He take care of us and our families regardless of what occurs? Yes. And how do we know that? Because of His promises--and He is the God who cannot lie. Therefore, His promises are certain. And we have hope as we face the future.

The Certainty of the Promises

In Matthew 6:25, the Lord Jesus gave a staggering command: Don't worry about your life.

The problem is, most of us live as though He never said any such thing. We do worry about our lives; we worry all the time.

So what are we going to do with these words of the Lord Jesus? “Don't worry.” What does He mean by that? Does He mean we're never even to take note of and consider what's transpiring around us? Does He mean that thinking ahead and planning wisely don't really matter?

No. That's not what He means. What He does mean is that we shouldn't worry ourselves sick over what might happen. Why not? Because He has made some promises to us, and He wants us to take them seriously. He wants us to believe those promises so that we don't become overwhelmed.

The promises and the providence of God are the keys to mental health. Without them, you have no hope. But when we live off them, we are more than conquerors. My Father is watching over my life--that's why I don't have to worry about it. Now that's either true or it isn't--and if it isn't, you're in more trouble than you can comprehend. But it is true. He's your Father, and He's your Provider.

In the Koran, there are ninety-nine different names for Allah. But not one of them can be translated as Father.7 Matthew 6 contains thirty-four verses, and in those thirty-four verses the Lord Jesus refers to the Father twelve times.

You have a Father who is the sovereign God, in control of all things. And He has made some promises to you that His providence guarantees. Note the promise of Matthew 6:25-34 (NASB):

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!

Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Your Father knows that you need all of these things. And He has the power to provide all things to you at the moment you need them. This is the promise to those who seek Him first. And it is the reason that the Lord Jesus told us, “Don't worry about your life.” Grasp this truth and you will have massive hope instead of depression. But the moment you forget your Father is the moment you begin the downward spiral all over again.

The Certainty of the Plan

God has a plan for the ages. History is going somewhere. The world is under control even though it looks like things are out of control.

The last book of the Bible, Revelation, gives a fairly detailed overview of the events that will take place at the end of the age, ushering in the return of Jesus Christ. There will be a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. There will be a final battle at Armageddon. And there will be a charismatic leader who will unite the world and stand against the kingdom of God. Scripture calls this individual the “Antichrist.”

God has revealed His plan for the ages to His prophets. One of those men was Daniel. When God revealed to Daniel what He was going to do in the last days, it made Daniel deeply alarmed in his spirit (Dan. 7:13). And the more God revealed, the more alarmed Daniel became (v. 28). As God pulled back the curtain of time and showed His servant more and more of His plan for the ages, Daniel was so overwhelmed by what he saw that he became physically ill and exhausted (8:27). At a later time, after he was given still more insight into the plan of God, he went into mourning for three weeks (10:2).

This is why so many of us are troubled. We know that God has a plan for the ages, and we have studied the prophecies. And those of us who have looked carefully into that plan can't help noting that the United States cannot be found in the last days of biblical prophecy. Yes, we're the big boys on the block right now, but apparently something happens to us that removes us as a major player. What will happen? Nobody knows for sure, because Scripture doesn't give us the details. But it's safe to say that in the rise and fall of great nations, the United States will suffer some kind of major calamity or collapse that will drastically minimize our role on the world scene. Or maybe we just die a slow death as a result of suffocating socialism. No one on earth knows for sure what is going to happen to our nation. But we do know that something is going to happen to drastically minimize our influence.

And when we think about these future events--and the hard times that are ahead for our nation--it makes us sick, just as Daniel was sickened by what he saw. It makes us deeply troubled.

In John 14:1-3 (NASB), the Lord Jesus spoke directly to His troubled disciples. He said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

The Lord Jesus will one day come back to the earth and set up His kingdom forever. This is the culmination of God's certain plan. As believers, we have read the last chapter of the book and know how everything will come out.

Guess what? God wins. And those of us who are trusting in Him win too. It's a magnificent ending followed by an incomprehensible new beginning.

But what about all of the terrible things that will take place between now and the earthly return of the Lord? What shall we do about these things as we move closer and closer to difficult times?

This is where we take our cues from the prophet Jeremiah. God gave Jeremiah the job of declaring His judgment upon the nation of Judah. Right from the get-go, both God and Jeremiah knew the people weren't going to like the message--or the messenger. Hard times were on their way. It had to sicken Jeremiah as it would sicken Daniel. So what was he supposed to do?

Run?

Take early retirement?

Move to New Zealand?

God told him exactly what He wanted him to do in Jeremiah 1:17: “But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them.”

In a day of rapidly approaching hard times, God told Jeremiah to get up, get dressed, and go to work. And we are to do the same. We are not to sit around, paralyzed with fear. We are not to waste our time by letting our imaginations run riot over what might happen to us or our children as America moves further and further away from biblical Christianity. And we are not to spend our time doing detailed studies trying to figure out the identity of the Antichrist. What a waste of precious time and energy!

So what are we to do? Simply stay faithful at our assigned posts. We're to keep showing up, working hard, and trusting in the promises and timing of a God who loves us. We need to stay the course, control our thoughts and imaginations, think biblically, and realize that a good and wise God is working out His good and wise plan. And in the midst of that plan, He will provide exactly what we need at the moment we need it. In other words, we must discipline our minds to focus on what is certain and in concrete.

His providence is certain.

His promises are certain.

And His plan is certain.

Once again, this is why Jesus told us not to worry about our lives. Our Father has us covered.

“But wait a minute!” you may be saying to yourself. “I've been laid off, and I don't have a clue how I'll find another job. I've lost over 40 percent of my retirement savings. My business is barely making it--and I'm the only guy in America who isn't getting a bailout. What do you mean, don't worry about my life? I've already taken a huge financial hit. I have to worry about my life! How in the world am I going to make it? I can't keep taking these financial losses!”

If that's where your thoughts have been in recent days, I'd like to ask you to take a break from the anxiety and go for a little walk with an old friend of mine.

A Lesson from George Müller

One of my favorite books is The Autobiography of George Müller. The subtitle of the book is “A Million and a Half in Answer to Prayer.” Müller established an orphanage in England that took care of 120,000 orphans over a period of sixty-three years. The amazing thing about Müller was that he genuinely believed in the providence of God, the promises of God, and the plan of God.

He wanted people to know that God is the living God and that He can be trusted to fulfill His promises. So at the onset of starting his orphanage, Müller determined that he would never ask for money to support his work. Instead, he would simply go to his Father in prayer and tell Him about the needs.

Müller kept a meticulous diary that recorded the needs of the orphanage and the daily balances in the account. He trusted in God alone to meet the financial needs of the orphans, and then he kept careful track of the exact details of God's provisions and answers. As a result, he taught many believers all over the world that they, too, could trust the living God to meet their needs.

On one occasion Müller received a letter from a couple who had sustained a significant financial loss. The vast majority of their assets and cash was gone. They asked Müller for his wisdom on how they should respond to this great burden, which had really set them back on their heels financially.

Müller provided a very unusual diagnosis of their situation. But his “cure” was even more astonishing than his diagnosis. Müller commented that …

a heavy [financial] loss should lead us to pause and ponder, and consider what the Lord's voice to us is in it.

Perhaps the reason is, that we lived too much as owners and possessors, instead of stewards for the Lord, and that, therefore, He was obliged to take part of that, which we possess, from us. If so, let us be benefited by the loss. But suppose this is not the reason; suppose the Lord allowed the loss only to take place for the trial of our faith and patience, yet we should (while meekly bowing, under the hand of God) say to ourselves that the Lord might have taken all, instead of part, and that, therefore, we ought to make good use of our stewardship respecting the means which are still left to us.8

What, then, should this couple do as a result of their loss? How should they respond? George Müller answered that if it were he, he would give a thanks offering to the Lord because the Lord had not taken everything. God was very gracious in that He had only taken a part of their finances when He could have taken everything.

They considered his counsel and then decided to give a thanks offering to the Lord of one hundred pounds--not a small gift at all! Müller then commented on his advice to the couple and the outcome of their decision to give a generous thanks offering:

Well, dear reader, what do you think of this? You think, perhaps, this was very strange. Yes, it was strange, according to the principles of this world; but what will you think when I tell you, that these Christian friends have had that one hundred pounds repaid not merely tenfold, twentyfold, not a hundredfold, but far more than a thousandfold!9

In these days of an economic meltdown--days that try men's souls-- that is a testimony of God's provision that actually lifts your soul. That couple experienced the favor of God nearly 150 years ago, yet that story of God's providence and His promises still brings encouragement to families today. And consider this: What happened through that loss, the sacrificial gift, and the bounty that returned to them as a result were all part of God's plan in the life of this couple.

Did they sustain a major financial loss? Yes.

Do you think they worried about their economic future when they incurred the loss? Of course they did.

Did they follow the advice of a wise Christian man who knew the Lord's faithfulness firsthand? Yes, they did.

In giving a significant thanks offering in the midst of a major loss, did they trust the providence and promises of God? Absolutely.

Did they know what the outcome was going to be? Of course they didn't.

Did they have a clue that you would be reading their story today and finding encouragement for you to trust God in your own financial uncertainty? No, they had no clue you would be reading this 150 years later.

But God did--and it was part of His certain plan.

Are these the times that try men's souls? Absolutely. Is it possible to see the living God still work in a way that will thrill your soul? You know that it is.

I would not be surprised if this husband and wife had, throughout the years of their marriage, prayed and asked God to use them. They were people who obviously loved the Lord and were quick to obey godly counsel. And people like that tend to be people who have a deep-seated desire to be used by God.

That's just what happened. That couple was used by God; their story has given you hope that God will be faithful to you even as He was faithful to them. In the last several minutes, your anxiety level has dramatically decreased, hasn't it?

So the Lord definitely used that man and his wife even today in your own life. Their prayer to be used was answered. But it was part of God's plan that this would all begin with a major financial loss in their lives.

It was a brutally difficult time that tried their souls.

But God was simply setting something up in order to thrill their souls.

If He did it for them as they faced their giant uncertainty, why wouldn't He do it for you?

©2009 Cook Communications Ministries. Battle Ready by Steve Farrar. Used with permission. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.

My Review

Wow, is this a terrific book! I read Farrar's best-seller Point Man a while back and, highly impressed, was eager to read his new book when I saw it was coming out. I wasn't disappointed! So far I'm about half way through—and what a gem of a book this is, and not just for men, even though this is part of his Bold Men of God Series. The first chapter on financial insecurity alone was such an encouragement to my heart (because I was worrying about my personal finances at the time). Amazing timing!

What makes this book a cut above the rest is the way Farrar deftly meshes solid biblical truths, primarily based on the lives of Bible characters Joshua and Caleb, with illustrations from various men, including Charles Darwin, John Jacob Astor, George Washington, Phillip Keller, John Newton, and others. Farrar is a self-confessed lover of biographies, and it shows. He manifests a masterful skill of revealing vital biblical truths and then illustrating those truths from the lives of past famous men. He also isn't afraid to reveal failings and lessons of his own.

This book has been a wonderful inspirational/devotional journey for me, and I'm eager to see what else Farrar has in store as I keep reading. If you must pick one inspirational nonfiction book this year, pick Battle Ready. You won't be disappointed! It's that good.

Organizing: Lining Up Your Scenes

2009-09-11T07:22:00.000-06:00

Note: Regularly, I get this great E-zine in my e-mail inbox by Randy Ingermanson. The newsletter is always chock-full of great advice for authors. This article I found to be particularly helpful and informative for organizing the scenes in a novel and decided to pass it on. I already use Randy's approach, though I do so in the context of a free computer program called yWriter5. Check this out if you've ever wondered how suspense novelists like me can keep all those pesky scenes organized.

by Randy Ingermanson

One of the hardest parts of organizing a novel is keeping all the scenes straight. Novels typically have 50 to 100 scenes or more. That's a lot to keep track of! Here are some typical problems you'll face in managing all those scenes:

* Deciding what happens in each scene
* Deciding what order to present your scenes
* Deciding how long each scene should be
* Deciding on the point-of-view (POV) character
* Deciding whether to cut a scene
* Deciding how to edit a scene

It's hard to keep all the scenes in your head at one time. In fact, it's probably impossible, since humans are made to keep only a few things in the mind at the same time.

I solve this problem by creating a "scene list" -- a list of all my scenes with key information about each one. You can do this however you like.

The low-tech easy way to do it is by using 3x5 cards. Just write the important information about each scene on one card and then spread them out on the kitchen table or the living room floor.

I prefer to throw more technology at the problem by using spreadsheet software. For our purposes, a simple way to think of a spreadsheet is a list of items, where each item can have several parts.

When I make a scene list, each line in my spreadsheet keeps track of the important information about one scene. Here are some typical things I track:

* The POV character
* The date the scene happens (and maybe also the time)
* What happens in the scene
* How many pages I think the scene will take
* How many words I actually wrote in the scene

Each of the above goes into a different column of the line. Since spreadsheets are divided up into rows and columns, this is extremely easy to do. If you've never worked with a spreadsheet before, don't panic. Find a techie friend who knows how to use spreadsheets, show them this article, and ask them to show you ONLY what you need to know in order to make a scene list. It should take less than ten minutes to learn the essentials.

You can make a scene list any time you feel like it. Many writers like to make one before they write their first draft. Others prefer to write their first draft and then make a scene list to help edit the manuscript.

I make a scene list before I write my first draft, but I keep tweaking it as I write. When it's time to do revisions, I use the scene list to make a strategic plan for editing the manuscript.

The beauty of a spreadsheet is that you can save copies of it and try out new ideas. If you decide you don't like the new scene list, you can throw it away and make a new copy of the original and try again.

Let's look at each of the basic problems I mentioned at the start of this article, and see how you solve each of them using a scene list.

Problem 1: Deciding what happens in each scene

Each scene in your scene list should tell you what happens in the scene. Write one or two sentences --just enough to show you at a glance what the scene accomplishes. By boiling each scene down to its essence, you can get an overview of your story by running your eye down the scene list.

Problem 2: Deciding what order to present your scenes

Normally, you start out by putting your scenes in chronological order. This is one reason each scene should track the date (and possibly time) of the scene.

You'll find that some of your scenes may overlap in time, if you have several POV characters. You'll also find that sometimes it makes sense to put the scenes out of order. In these cases, it's very easy to move the scenes to a new order. (A spreadsheet allows you to easily move entire rows as units.)

Sometimes, you don't know what the chronological order should be -- all you know is what happens. The scene list lets you move things around until you get the ordering right. Then you can assign dates and times if you need them.

Problem 3: Deciding how long each scene should be

You don't have to track how long your scenes are. You can just trust to luck that your book will have neither too many words nor too few. But knowledge is power, so if you can estimate how many pages each scene will be, then you can make your spreadsheet add up all the estimates and tell you roughly how long your novel will be. If that's useful for you to know, then do it. Otherwise, don't.

Once you've written your manuscript, you can have your word processor count the words in each scene and put that number into your scene list. This can be very useful if your editor has told you that you need to cut 15,000 words. You can use your scene list to make decisions on where to make the cuts. If you add a column listing how many words to cut from each scene, your spreadsheet can add up all the cuts and tell you when they add up to the required amount. Then all you have to do is make your target cuts on each scene and you know for sure you'll hit your mandated word count.

Problem 4: Deciding on the point-of-view (POV) character

I make a column in my scene list that shows who the POV character is for each scene. (If your novel only has one POV character, then you don't need to do this.) I color-code each POV character, which is easy to do in a spreadsheet. Then I can see at a glance how much air time each POV character is getting.

Sometimes this shows me that Bellatrix has an awful lot of scenes during the middle part of the story and Throckmorton has hardly any, while the reverse is true at the ending. Then I can look at each scene and ask whether I want to change the POV character.

Problem 5: Deciding whether to cut a scene

After you've written your first draft, it's easy to believe that every scene is really necessary. The tragic truth is that some of them may not be. If a scene isn't pulling its weight by moving your story forward, your scene list will tell you.

Then you have to decide whether to pump some new life into that scene by making something happen, or whether to kill it. If you decide to kill it, then just draw a line through the scene in your scene list. That shows you immediately that in your next draft you'll delete the scene.

Problem 6: Deciding how to edit a scene

Not all scenes work. If you've got a scene that doesn't seem to be hitting on all eight cylinders, make a note in your scene list on how to fix it. This should take just a sentence or two.

This lets you map out strategically all your revisions before you do anything. If you work on your scene list for an hour or two, you can easily plan all the revisions for an entire new draft. When you have the plan in place, then you can jump into a new draft with confidence that the revisions will all work together to make a better story.

If you've never used a spreadsheet and need to learn just enough to do all the tricks I've discussed in this article, here is a list of the 12 basic skills that you need to learn. Have a techie friend teach you these and ONLY these:

* How to create a new spreadsheet
* How to save a spreadsheet to a file
* How to open an existing spreadsheet file
* How to create column headers
* How to resize the width of columns
* How to type information into a cell
* How to edit a cell
* How to delete a row (or column)
* How to move a row (or column)
* How to insert a new row between two others
* How to add up all the numbers in a column
* How to change the background color of a cell

You can always learn more about spreadsheets if you need to know more, but these 12 basic skills will get you on the road to creating a scene list that will give you a bird's-eye view of your story.

................

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 17,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

Don't Wear Those Shoes!

2009-09-09T07:52:00.001-06:00

Just Between You and Me by Jenny B. Jones

2009-09-09T07:17:00.005-06:00

This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Just Between You And Me (Thomas Nelson, September 1, 2009) by Jenny B. Jones.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I write Christian fiction with a few giggles, quite a bit of sass, and lots of crazy. My novels include the Katie Parker Production series and So Not Happening. I would also like to take credit for Twilight , but somewhere I think I read you’re not supposed to lie.

When I’m not typing my heart out (or checking email), I teach at a super-sized high school in Arkansas.

My students are constantly telling me how my teaching changes their lives and turned them away from drugs, gangs, and C-SPAN.

Okay, that’s not exactly true.

Since my current job leaves me with very little free time, I believe in spending my spare hours in meaningful, intellectual pursuits such as:

-watching E!
-updating my status on Facebook
-catching Will Ferrell on YouTube and
-writing my name in the dust on my furniture

I’d love to hear about you, so drop me a note. Or check me out on Facebook.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The only thing scarier than living on the edge is stepping off it.
Maggie Montgomery lives a life of adventure. Her job as a cinematographer takes her from one exotic locale to the next. When Maggie's not working, she loves to rappel off cliffs or go skydiving. Nothing frightens her.

Nothing, that is, except Ivy, Texas, where a family emergency pulls her back home to a town full of bad memories, painful secrets, and people Maggie left far behind . . . for a reason.

Forced to stay longer than she intended, Maggie finds her family a complete mess, including the niece her sister has abandoned. Ten-year-old Riley is struggling in school and out of control at home. The only person who can really handle the pint-sized troublemaker is Conner, the local vet and Ivy's most eligible bachelor. But Conner and Maggie keep butting heads--he's suspicious of her and, well, she doesn't rely on anyone but herself.

As Maggie humorously fumbles her way from one mishap to another, she realizes she's going to need to ask for help from the one person who scares her the most.

To save one little girl--and herself--can Maggie let go of her fears and just trust God?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Just Between You And Me, go HERE.

My Review

I received this book by accident due to confusion on my part after a blog tour schedule change. It's not the type of novel I typically read or review; I'm more of a suspense reader. However, I will endeavor to give the novel a fair chance down the road and give my impressions here.

Facebook Fiction Bloggers Group reviews Fatal Illusions

2009-09-07T09:36:00.000-06:00

Today, Sept. 7, through Friday, Sept. 11, several members of the Facebook Fiction Bloggers group are posting reviews about Fatal Illusions. If you're in Facebook, be sure to check it out! Thanks, everybody, for your support.

Here's the first review: http://faithfictionfriends.blogspot.com/

Glenn Beck on Van Jones

2009-09-04T08:59:00.001-06:00

Lost Mission by Athol Dickson

2009-09-02T07:58:00.002-06:00

My Review

I love how Athol Dickson writes! When I read The Cure and Riving Rising, I knew I had found a novelist to adore. Athol's love for the written word is so evident after only a few pages, and his mastery of the language is simply breathtaking. Add to that his skill with characterizations and his ability to weave a suspenseful, intricate plot, and you've got a winning combination.

I must admit that I am about halfway through the novel, so I have yet to see the complete picture. But I can say this: a powerful magnetism has pulled me into this story, and I'm fascinated by it. I must admit that I found the novel initially challenging to get into for several reasons. I have little knowledge of or interest in Mexican/Spanish history or language, and this novel is probably best appreciated by those who live in California and are more understanding of the cultural differences there. For that reason, the story didn't initially grab me, especially with an omniscient author telling the reader a historical story in a rather dry, history-book style. I persevered, and I'm glad I did because now that I'm completely snagged by the story, I won't be putting the novel down. In fact, I'm reading the novel rather breathelessly, wondering what's going to happen next and how this historical tale will connect to the contemporary plot.

Soome content will challenge readers' thinking about the ethics of illegal immigration. Readers will also see a clear message about the corruption found in some mega churches by believers who would rather cloister themselves in their Christian world and overlook the most basic element of helping those who need the gospel most. A very interesting read with several thought-provoking themes. I'm eager to keep reading and see where Dickson wants to take me. I'll write a final review when I'm finished with the novel.

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today's Wild Card author is:

Athol Dickson

and the book:

Lost Mission

Howard Books (September 15, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Athol Dickson is an award-winning author of several novels. His Christy Award-winning novel River Rising was name one of the “Top Ten Christian Novel of 2006” by Booklist magazine. He lives in California with his wife.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $14.99
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Howard Books (September 15, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416583475
ISBN-13: 978-1416583479

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Lost Mission

By Athol Dickson

[Howard Fiction Logo] Published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

www.howardpublishing.com

Lost Mission © 2009 Athol Dickson

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Howard Subsidiary Rights Department, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

WordServe Literary Agency

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data TK

ISBN-13: 9781416583479

ISBN-10: 1416583475

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

HOWARD and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Manufactured in TK

For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact: Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com.

Edited by Nicci Jordan Hubert

Cover design by DesignWorks

Interior design by TK

This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or publisher.

The two angels arrived

at Sodom in the evening,

and Lot was sitting

in the gateway of the city.

When he saw them,

he got up to meet them

and bowed down

with his face

to the ground.

—The Book of Genesis

In the event of a suspicious find

those exposed should be re-vaccinated

and placed under medical supervision for 21 days . . .

The potential risk to public health is so great

that a contingency plan must be in place.

—Margaret Cox,

“Crypt Archaeology: an approach”

Institute of Field Archaeologists, Paper Number 3

Capítulo 1

La Día de los Reyes, 6 de Enero, 1767

Let us begin the story of La Misión de Santa Delores on the holy day of the three kings, in Italy, in Assisi. To commemorate his twentieth year among the Franciscan brothers, Fray Alejandro Tapia Valdez made a pilgrimage to his beloved San Francisco’s humble chapel, the Porziuncola. For more than a week the friar prayed before the chapel’s frescos, rarely ceasing for food or sleep, But despite his lengthy praises and petitions, despite his passionate devotion to Almighty God, Fray Alejandro was a pragmatic man. He did not believe the rumor, common in his day, that the frescos’ perfection was beyond the reach of human hands. As we shall see, in time the friar would reconsider.

The Franciscan stood five feet four inches tall, an average Spaniard’s height in the eighteenth century. He was broad and unattractive. Heavy whiskers lurked beneath the surface of his jaw, darkly threatening to burst forth. Fray Alejandro’s brow was large and loomed above the recess of his eyes as if it was a cliff eroded by the pounding of the sea and ready to crash down at any moment. The black fullness of his hair had been shaved at the crown, leaving only a circular fringe around the edges of his head. His nose, once aquiline and proud, had become a perpetual reminder of the violence that had flattened it at some time in the past.

For all its ugliness, Fray Alejandro’s visage could not mask the gentleness within. His crooked smile shed warmth upon his fellow man. His hands were ever ready with a touch to reassure or steady, or to simply grant the gift of human presence. When someone spoke, be they wise or not, he inclined his head and listened with his entire being, as if the speaker’s words had all the weight of holy writ. In his eyes was love.

Love does not defend against the sorrows of this world, of course. On the contrary, each day as Fray Alejandro knelt in prayer at the Porziuncola he became more deeply troubled. His imagination had recently been captured by strange stories of the heathen natives of the new world, isolated wretches with no knowledge of their Savior. This tragedy grew in Alejandro’s mind until he groaned aloud in sympathy for their unhappy souls. Other brothers kneeling on his left and right cast covert glances at him. Many thought his noisy prayers an uncouth intrusion, but caught up as he was in sacred agony, Alejandro did not notice.

Then came that holy day of the three kings, when in the midst of his entreaties for the pagans of New Spain, Fray Alejandro suddenly felt a painful heat as if his body was ablaze. In this, the first of his three burnings, Alejandro became faint. He heard a whisper saying, “Go and save my children.” The bells of Saint Mary of the Angels begin to peal, although it was later said the ropes had not been touched. As startled pigeons burst forth from the bell tower, Alejandro rose.

How like the Holy Father to command such a journey on that day of days! Without a backwards glance Fray Alejandro strode away from San Francisco’s little chapel as if following a star, determined to return at once to Hornachuelos, in Cordoba, there to seek permission from the abbot of the monastery of Santa Maria de los Angeles for a voyage to New Spain.

The abbot’s assent was quickly given, but Fray Alejandro spent many months waiting on the vast bureaucracy of King Carlos III to approve his passage. Still, while the wheels of government turn slowly, slowly they do turn.

Finally, in late May of the year 1767 the good friar stood at the bulwarks of a galleon in the West Indian Fleet, tossed by the Atlantic, quite ill, and protected from the frigid spray by nothing but his robe of coarse handmade cloth. In spite of the pitching deck, always Alejandro faced New Spain, far beyond the horizon. His short broad body seemed to strain against the wind and ocean waves with eagerness to be about his Father’s business.

But let us be more patient than the friar, for this is just the first of many journeys we shall follow as our story leads us back and forth through space and time. Indeed, the events Fray Alejandro has set in motion have their culmination far into the future. Therefore, leaving the Franciscan and his solitary ship, we cross many miles to reach a village known as Rincon de Dolores, high among the Sierra Madres of Jalisco, Mexico. And we fly further still, centuries ahead of Alejandro, to find ourselves in these, our modern times.

Accompanied by norteño music blaring from loudspeakers and by much celebratory honking of automobile horns, we observe the burning of a makeshift structure of twigs and sticks and painted cardboard, which seemed a more substantial thing once it was engulfed, as if the trembling flames were masons hard at work with red adobe. The people of the village of Rincon de Dolores were encouraged by the firmness of the fire. All the village cheered as the imitation barracks burned before them. They cheered, and with their jolly voices dared a pair of boys to stay in the inferno just a little longer.

There was much to enjoy on that Feast Day of Fray Alejandro—the floral garlands, the children in their antique costumes, the pinwheels spun by crackling fireworks, the somber procession of the saints along the avenida—but one citizen did not join the festivities.

Guadalupe Soledad Consuelo de la Garza trembled as she watched the flaming reenactment of the tragedy of La Misión de Santa Dolores. Who knew, but possibly this year the boys would stay too long within the flames? Who knew, but possibly this time the sticks would burn, the cardboard become ash and rise into the sky, and “Alejandro” and “the Indian” would not emerge? Spurred to foolishness by those who called for courage, might this be the year when merrymaking turned to mourning? The young woman with the long name—let us call her merely Lupe—feared it might be so, while the imitation barracks burned and the boys remained inside.

As was their ancient custom, after the fire was set by eager boys in Indian costumes, the village people chanted, “Muerte! Muerte! Muerte! Death to Spaniards! Death to traitors!” Their refrain arose in tandem with the flames. Only when the fire ascended to the middle of the mock barrack’s spindly walls did some within the crowd begin to yell, “Salido! Salido! Salido!” Come out! they called, a few of them at first, mostly girls and women, then as the minutes slowly passed this call became predominant, until the entire village shouted it as one, Come out! and the boys inside could flee the fire with honor.

Yet they did not come.

“Agua!” someone shouted, probably the boys’ parents, and nearby men with buckets hurried toward the crackling barracks walls. “Agua rapido!” they shouted, and the first man swung his bucket back, prepared to douse a small part of the flames.

Such wild and forceful flames, and so little water, thought young Lupe. Holy Father, please protect them.

Even as she prayed, the first man thrust his bucket forward. Water sizzled in the burning sticks and rose as steam, and from the conflagration burst two little figures. One boy came out robed from head to foot in gray cloth, the cincture at his waist knotted in three places to bring poverty, obedience and chastity to mind. He carried a bundle, the sacred retablo of Fray Alejandro concealed in crimson velvet, a small altarpiece which no one but Padre Hinojosa, the village priest, would ever see. The other boy came nearly naked with only a covering of sackcloth, his bare arms and legs agleam with aloe sap as protection from the heat. The fire around them roared.

Chased by swirling coals and sparks the two brave boys went charging through the crowd, yet no one turned to watch. It was as if young Alejandro and the Indian were unseen, as if they were already spirits on their way to heaven. All the village chanted “Muerte! Muerte! Muerte!” again. All the village faced the burning barracks. All of Rincon de Dolores called for death to Spaniards, death to traitors as the two small figures fled invisibly across the plaza to the chapel, where they entered and returned the treasure, the retablo handed down through centuries.

Alone among the village people, only Lupe seemed to see the boys escape. Watching from the shop door, she alone thanked God for yet another year without a tragedy; she alone refused to play the game, the foolish reenactment they all loved so well, pretending blindness as two boys cheated death. Lupe’s imagination would not let her join the celebration of their unofficial saint’s escape from murderous pagans. She had never felt the kiss of flames upon her flesh, but she had suffered from flames nonetheless.

Often Lupe recalled the winter’s night when her father had laid a bed of sticks within the corner fireplace. The flames took hold and a younger Lupe drew her blanket up above her head as other children did when told of ghosts. Even now the memory of resin snapping in the burning wood intruded on her dreams, conjuring a thousand nightmares drawn from Padre Hinojosa’s homilies about Spanish saints who perished in the flames, Agathoclia and Eulalia of Mérida, and the auto de fe, that fearsome ritual of early Mexico, the stake, and acts of faith imposing pain on saint and heretic alike. Her most grievous loss, many sermons, dreams and sacrifices of the flesh had left her terrified of fire.

Watching from the doorway, Lupe heard a voice. “Do you think this is how it was?”

Although she had not heard him come, a stranger stood beside her, a man in fine dark clothing with full black hair that shimmered slightly in the midday light like the feathers of a crow. From his appearance this man might have been her brother. Like Lupe, he was not tall. Like Lupe his features called to mind stone carvings of the ancient Mayans. Like Lupe, he had a smooth sloped forehead, pendulous ear lobes, and cheekbones high and proud. His golden skin was flawless, as was hers. Like hers, his lips were thick and sensuous, his teeth the flashing white of lightning, his eyes a pair of black pools without bottoms.

“Pardon me, señor?” said Lupe, unaware she might be looking at her twin.

“Do you think this is how it was?” asked the stranger once again. “With Fray Alejandro, and the Indian?”

Lupe only shrugged. “Who knows, señor? It is a very old story.”

The stranger nodded, his unfathomable eyes focused on the plaza.

Perhaps, being a stranger, he did not know the story of Fray Alejandro, how the Franciscan had walked two thousand, four hundred kilometers to Alta California with two other Fernandino brothers. Because he was a stranger it was possible the man knew nothing of the apostate priests who corrupted Alejandro’s efforts to advance the gospel, how his hope to be the hands and feet of Christ to pagan peoples in the north was undone by Spanish cruelty and indulgence, how Alejandro, forced to flee his beloved mission in the north, had escaped the burning buildings with the Indian, his trusted neophyte companion, the two of them miraculously unseen even as they passed among bloodthirsty savages, much as Saint Peter once had passed his guards in Herod’s prison.

If the man knew nothing of this history he would surely learn that day, for every year at Alejandro’s feast all was reenacted by the village children to commemorate the holy man’s exploits. Rome had thus far not enshrined Fray Alejandro among the saints, but Rincon de Dolores had nonetheless adopted him as their patron, for the man of miracles had settled in their little mountain village when the pagans in the north rejected him, and through many acts of kindness he had become their eternally beloved padre, entrusting them with memories of the mission he had lost up north, somewhere in the hills of Alta California.

Lupe considered speaking to the stranger of these things, but he had departed unobserved. She searched the crowd beyond her door to find him. With the Burning of the Barracks finished now, people strolled throughout the village, passing in the shade of well-trimmed ficus trees around the plaza or along the tiles beneath arched porticos where they haggled with the venders who had traveled from afar to set up booths for the fiesta. Some of the venders offered plastic toys for children: balloons, whistles and balls in a hundred riotous colors. Others hawked recordings of mariachi and norteño music. Sweets, hand tools, shawls and pottery . . . everything was there. Near the chapel on the far side of the plaza one could purchase votive candles and milagros, those tiny metal charms that symbolized the miracles requested of the saints. In spite of so much competition, a few still patronized Lupe’s tiendita, her little shop where soda pop and newspapers and other such necessities were offered to the good people of Rincon de Dolores, Jalisco, high in the Sierra Madres.

Forgetting about the stranger, Lupe left her place in the doorway and tended to the customers who visited her shop all afternoon, both villagers and strangers. She took their pesos as the sun outside moved closer to the western mountains and the shadows lengthened. Finally it was almost time for the best part of Fray Alejandro’s fiesta: the gathering at the plaza. The young woman stepped across the stone threshold of her little shop, where the sandals of a dozen generations had shaped a smooth depression. She closed the wooden door. She felt no need for locks. Dressed in a blue cotton skirt and white blouse with a traditional apron, wearing no jewelry and no makeup, with her pure black hair restrained only by a plastic clip, Lupe approached the plaza.

She followed the familia Delgado along the avenida, Rosa and Carlos in their finest clothing normally reserved for Sunday Mass. Rosa’s blouse was perhaps a bit too tight and too low cut in Lupe’s opinion. Carlos was very handsome with silver tips and silver heel guards on his pointed boots. The three Delgado boys were likewise attired in formal fashion, and the youngest child, darling Linda, toddled on the cobblestones in patent leather shoes, with petticoats and a pretty pink dress trimmed with sky blue ribbons.

Lupe sometimes wished for children. The thought arose in moments such as this, but it was always fleeting. At other times she praised the Holy Father for her call to chastity. It was good to be unmarried unless one burned with passion, as San Pablo said, and her passion was for Christ.

When Lupe reach the plaza, oh, such a festivity! She saw men at their carts selling little whimsies—empanadas and tamales and nopales from the prickly pear—and strolling toy vendors with helium balloons and plastic snakes on sticks, and groups of girls approaching marriage age who moved about the plaza casting covert glances at the boys whom they pretended to ignore. Soon everyone would laugh as mariachis in the central gazebo serenaded blushing grandmothers, then the people would ignore the mayor as he promised vast improvements through a needless megaphone, and they would admire Rincon de Dolores’s own ballet folklorico, the handsome boys in black charro suits with felt sombreros and shoulders proudly squared, and the beautiful girls in swirling multicolored skirts like rose bouquets.

Lupe traversed the plaza, greeting all as friends, for she was a friend to everyone. Like Fray Alejandro, she longed to be the hands and feet of Christ to them. She went slowly, smiling on her way, touching this one, kissing that one, freely offering her kindness. Normally this bonhomie was as natural as breath to her, but that day it was a kind of sacrifice she offered. It came from force of will. She did not feel it in her heart, and she was uncertain why. Perhaps her dread had lingered since the moment when the barracks flames had nearly claimed two boys. Yes, probably it was only that. Yet she sensed something else at work within her heart, a conviction, and a fear.

On the far side of the plaza Lupe approached the embers of the imitation barracks, a mound of charcoal now, a black mark on the beauty of the day. It frightened her, yet drew her closer. Remarkably, it still emitted smoke. Only Lupe gave attention to that fact. All the others laughed and strolled and savored conversations unawares, but Lupe there beside the blackened ruins felt her pulse increase and heard the beating of her heart within her inner ear. She found it necessary to remind herself to breathe. She saw the smoke still rising like a slender column standing far above the village, straight and true, until it met the burning fringes of the sunset. Surrounded by festivities, she turned her face up to the sky and saw the strangest thing among the orange and purple clouds. She saw it, yet it could not be.

“Concha,” she called to a passing friend. “That smoke. Would you look at it?”

The woman, whose seven children swirled around her knees, replied, “I told those foolish men to pour more water on those ashes.”

“But the wind . . . .”

Concha and her perpetually squirming offspring had already passed into the crowd.

Lupe wiped sweating palms upon her apron and tried again to find someone to observe this thing and tell her it was real, but the mariachis had begun their brassy serenades and the people moved away from her, toward the gazebo in the center of the plaza. She stared up at the sky again, and asked, “How can that be?”

Someone behind her said, “Perhaps it is a sign.”

Guadalupe Soledad Consuelo de la Garza looked around and saw the stranger with dark hair that shimmered slightly like the feathers of a crow. She felt comforted immediately, for he too had seen the cause of her confusion; he too stood with face turned toward the sky, toward the smoke arising from Fray Alejandro’s ruined mission, the smoke which drifted north against a wind that traveled south.

The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan

2009-08-21T08:38:00.002-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Sacred Cipher (Kregel Publications, July 31, 2009) by Terry Brennan.

About the Author

Over the past 35 years, Terry Brennan has accumulated a broad range of experience in both the profit and non-profit business sectors.

His 22-year, award winning journalism career included:
• Seven years as a sportswriter and editor with The Philadelphia Bulletin, at the time the largest-circulation afternoon newspaper in the nation;
• Leading The Mercury of Pottstown (PA), as its editor, to a Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Writing;
• Serving as Executive Editor of a multi-national newspaper firm – Ingersoll Publications – with papers in the USA, England and Ireland.

In 1996 Brennan transferred his successful management career to the non-profit sector and served for 12 years as Vice President of Operations for the Christian Herald Association, Inc., the parent organization of four New York City ministries, including The Bowery Mission.

Now Chief Operating Officer of the National Organization on Disability, Brennan also won the Valley Forge Award for editorial writing from the Freedoms Foundation. His two adult sons and their families live in Pennsylvania. Terry, his wife Andrea and their two adult children live in New York City. The Sacred Cipher is his first novel.

ABOUT THE BOOK

History's greatest secret could be tomorrow's greatest threat More historically and biblically accurate than The DaVinci Code and just as adventurous as an Indiana Jones movie, The Sacred Cipher combines action and mystery to draw readers into a world of ancient secrets and international escapades.

When an ancient scroll appears in a secret room of the Bowery Mission in New York City, Tom Bohannon is both stunned and intrigued. The enigma of the scroll's contents will send Bohannon and his team ricocheting around the world, drawing the heat of both Jewish and Muslim militaries, and bringing the Middle East to the brink of nuclear war in this heart-pounding adventure of historical proportions. The Sacred Cipher is a riveting, fact-based tale of mystery and suspense.

If you want to read the Prologue of The Sacred Cipher, go HERE.

My Review

The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan begins in an intriguing fashion with a fictional account of a surprising figure from church history. The hook was great, and the pace of the novel only increased as the main character, Tom Bohannon, discovers an ancient scroll with an unrecognizable script in a renovation project. Just when you think the language on the scroll will never be deciphered, the team Tom has assembled proves their scientific merit by figuring it out.

The team unravels captivating yet believable historical elements behind the cipher; the message of the scroll leads them to ancient Jerusalem, and a high-scale treasure hunt begins. The journey of the men through the ancient tombs and tunnels snaking beneath modern-day Jerusalem is fascinating. Combined with a race against time and an exciting, even miraculous escape, it made for enjoyable reading.

Not only was the book a page turner, but there was also substance to the characters, and the message of forgiveness and redemption was clear. Particularly appealing was the fact that Tom had his own struggles, and his faith grew throughout this journey, which he felt was designed by God. The author should be congratulated for weaving a tale of action and intrigue with a message of purpose and hope. Well done, Terry!

Night Watchman by Mark Mynheir

2009-08-12T08:28:00.002-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Night Watchman
Multnomah Books (May 5, 2009)
by
Mark Mynheir

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mark Mynheir was born and raised on the east coast of Central Florida. Like most boys growing up, Mark enjoyed sports, mainly football and martial arts.

In 1983, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and went through basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina. After serving four years in the Marines, Mark changed gears and pursued a career in law enforcement.

During his career as a police officer, Mark has worked as a narcotics agent, a S.W.A.T. team member, and a homicide detective.

Over sixteen years ago, during a health crisis involving his oldest son, Mark gave his life to Jesus Christ. Shortly after his conversion, he felt God leading him in a new direction: writing. Now he balances dual careers as a police officer and novelist.

He has authored Rolling Thunder (The Truth Chasers Book One), From the Belly of the Dragon (The Truth Chasers Book Two), and The Void (The Truth Chasers Book Three).

Mark is married to the love of his life and has three fantastic children, and they all currently reside in Central Florida.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When everything is ripped away...

Eleven months ago, Ray Quinn was a tough, quick-witted Orlando homicide detective at the top of his game-until a barrage of bullets ended his career.and his partner's life.

Now medically retired with a painful handicap, Ray battles the haunting guilt for his partner's death. Numbing the pain with alcohol and attitude, Ray takes a job as a night watchman at a swanky Orlando condo community.

But when a pastor and an exotic dancer are found dead in one of the condos in an apparent murder-suicide, Ray can no longer linger in the shadows. The victim’s sister is convinced her brother was framed and begs Ray to take on an impossible case─to challenge the evidence and clear her brother’s name.

Ray reluctantly pulls the thread of this supposedly dead-end case only to unravel a murder investigation so deep that it threatens to turn the Orlando political landscape upside down and transform old friends into new enemies. As Ray chases down leads and interrogates suspects, someone is watching his every move, someone determined to keep him from ever finding out the truth─at any cost.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Night Watchman, go HERE

My Review

I was honored to receive an advance copy of The Night Watchman and delighted to dig deep into this enjoyable tale of medically retired and physically broken homicide detective Ray Quinn. Right from the start, I knew something bad had happened to Ray, a loner in Orlando who hangs out in his apartment with his apparently only friend "Jim" (Jim Beam whiskey) and a poster of John Wayne that embodies the qualities of the father Ray, a foster child, has never known. He's a tortured soul whose existence is made more difficult due to the physical injuries he still suffers and the guilt he experiences over his partner's demise.

To make ends meet, Ray works as a night watchman and whiles away his early hours doing Sodoku puzzles and sending his quirky sidekick Crevis Creighton out chasing after shadows. But the tedium quickly ends when Ray discovers the lifeless bodies of an unlikely pair, the pastor of Outreach Orlando Ministries and an exotic dancer. The deaths are ruled a murder-suicide, but the pastor's sister, Pam Winters, believes her brother was framed and asks Ray, who's initially reluctant, to look into the case.

What follows is an enjoyable, fast-paced ride dominated by masterful writing, strong characterizations, an insider's look into the cutting-edge tools of detective work, and an exciting plot. The writing is sometimes comical, other times poetic, but always gripping. Most refreshing to me was the clever way the author wove in the gospel message through the e-mails of Jamie, the murdered exotic dancer. The novel is meaningful without being heavy handed. I especially appreciated the discreet and tasteful way the author handled the exotic dancer angle. This stellar performance by a masterful author of crime fiction kept me reading late into the night. You won't want to miss this one. I look forward to future installments in this exciting new series.

Mohamed's Moon by Keith Clemons

2009-08-10T08:34:00.002-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Mohamed's Moon
Realms (May 5, 2009)
by
Keith Clemons

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A strong defender of Christian values, noted author and lecturer Keith Clemons is a native of Southern California and graduate of English Literature at California State University, Fullerton. In his former capacity as Vice President of Marketing for Mytec Technologies Inc.

He was a frequent conference speaker, particularly when the forum centered on Electronic Commerce. Today, in addition to writing, he appears on radio and television where he uses his communications skills to explain coming trends that will affect both the church and society at large.

His passion for communication has resulted in the previous publication of more than a hundred articles. To date, Mr. Clemons has completed five novels including Angel in the Alley and the award winning If I Should Die, These Little Ones, and Above The Stars.

He resides with his wife and daughter at their home in Caledon, Ontario, Canada.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Are we enemies...
or brothers?

Two brothers separated at birth grow up worlds apart. Outwardly, they're exactly alike, but inwardly, nothing's the same--one is a devotee of fundamentalist Islam; the other, a Christian. In this modern-day Cain and Abel story, the lines are drawn not just over whose God is right, but also over the fact that they're both in love with the same girl.

It's a conflict with grave repercussions, little hope of resolution--and time is running out. In the background, a plan has been set in motion that will bring the United States government to its knees. Will an unexpected visitation reconcile the brothers in time to save the woman they love--and ultimately, themselves--from the coming devastation?

In his award-winning style, author Keith Clemons delivers a profound comparison between Christianity and Islam, a dichotomy of life versus death, love versus hate, and grace versus legalism. Mohamed's Moon will plunge you into a world where hatred and heinous acts are justified. But if hatred is potent, it pales in comparison to the power of God's love.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Mohamed's Moon, go HERE

My Review

I haven't yet read this book yet, but I plan to. If you can hold on, I do plan to post a review down the road. Too many books arrived in my mailbox at the same time. I've long wanted to know more about Islam, and I believe this novel will help. It looks like a fascinating story.

Offworld by Robin Parrish

2009-07-28T05:32:00.001-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Offworld
Bethany House (July 1, 2009)
by
Robin Parrish

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Parrish had two great ambitions in his life: to have a family, and to be a published novelist. In March of 2005, he proposed to his future wife the same week he signed his first book contract with Bethany House Publishers. They contracted him for the rights to not only that first book, Relentless -- but two sequels including Fearless and Merciless. A trilogy that unfolded in the consecutive summers of 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Robin Parrish is a journalist who's written about pop culture for more than a decade. Currently he serves as Senior Editor at XZOOSIA.com, a community portal that fuses social networking with magazine-style features about entertainment and culture. He and his wife, Karen and son live in North Carolina.

ABOUT THE BOOK

"Every Person on This Planet Has Disappeared."

Commander Christopher Burke and his crew are humanity's greatest explorers. They've finished their mission on the red dirt of Mars and now they just want to get back to Earth. To see friends, family, and loved ones. To be home. But even with communication to ground control cut and a perilous landing, nothing could prepare the crew for what they discover when they step foot back on planet Earth.

Everyone...everywhere...is gone.

It's not a dream. It's not a trick. Now Burke and his team have one mission:find out who or what is behind the disappearance of all mankind.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Offworld, go HERE

Watch the book trailer:

My Review

No review yet. Hopefully down the road. It looks fascinating!

The Enclave by Karen Hancock

2009-07-22T13:00:00.002-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
The Enclave
Bethany House (August 1, 2009)
by
Karen Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Karen Hancock has won Christy Awards for each of her first four novels--Arena and the first three books in the Legends of the Guardian-King series, The Light of Eidon, The Shadow Within, and Shadow over Kiriath. She graduated from the University of Arizona with bachelor's degrees in biology and wildlife biology. Along with writing, she is a semi-professional watercolorist and has exhibited her work in a number of national juried shows. She and her family reside in Arizona.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Lacey McHenry accepts a prestigious research fellowship at the world-renowned Kendell-Jakes Longevity Institute, she sees it as a new start on life. But a disturbing late-night encounter with an intruder leads to an unexpected cover-up by Institute authorities, and she soon realizes there's more going on than she ever imagined.

She finds a supporter in genetics researcher Cameron Reinhardt. However, Reinhardt is a favorite of the Institute's director, and she can't help wondering if he, too, is in on the cover-up. The brilliant but absentminded researcher turns out to have his own secrets, some of them dark and deadly. The Enclave is characterized by adventure, intrigue, spiritual analogy, and romance, all set in an unusual but fully realized world--one that may have its foundations on earth but which, the more one learns of it, doesn't seem much like the earth we know at all.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of The Enclave, go HERE.

My Review

As with the last novel, I received my copy only a week or so ago, so I've hardly had time to give it a fair reading. Hopefully soon. It looks great!

Through the Fire by Shawn Grady

2009-07-17T17:11:00.001-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Through The Fire
Bethany House (July 1, 2009)
by
Shawn Grady

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shawn Grady signed with Bethany House Publishers in 2008. He was named “Most Promising New Writer” at the 39th Annual Mount Hermon Writers Conference. Through the Fire is his debut novel.

Shawn has served for over a decade as a firefighter and paramedic in northern Nevada. From fire engines and ambulances to tillered ladder trucks and helicopters, Shawn’s work environment has always been dynamic. The line of duty has carried him to a variety of locale, from high-rise fires in the city to the burning heavy timber of the eastern Sierras.

Shawn attended Point Loma Nazarene University as a Theology undergrad before shifting direction to acquire an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology as well as Paramedic licensure through Truckee Meadows Community College.

Shawn currently lives in Reno, Nevada, just outside of Lake Tahoe. He enjoys spending time in the outdoors with his wife, three children and yellow Labrador.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Firefighting burns in Aidan O'Neill's blood. The son of a fireman, O'Neill has a sixth sense about fire and often takes dangerous risks. When one act of disobedience nearly gets a rookie killed, O'Neill is suspended. His weeks off are supposed to be a time to reflect but instead he escapes to Mexico, where another rash act of bravery actually kills him. But only for a few minutes.

Called back to Reno, he's now haunted by visions of hell and paralyzed in the face of fire. And at the worst time, because an arsonist is targeting Reno. With a growing love interest with one of the investigators complicating everything, Aidan must discover where his trust rests as the fires creep ever closer.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Through The Fire, go HERE
My Review

Well, the book just arrived on Monday, so I haven't been able to read it yet. Hopefully soon. It looks like a really good one.

Thank You, CFBA Reviewers

2009-07-15T07:40:00.000-06:00

The following folks participated in the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance tour of Fatal Illusions. Thank you for helping to get the word out.

Andie at Radiant Light
April at Projecting A
Bonnie at Bonnie Writes
Caleb at Reviews Plus+
Camy at Camy Tang
Cara at the law, books, and life
CeeCee at Book Splurge
Dave at The Plot Thickens
Debra at Soul Reflections
Delia at Gatorskunkz And Mudcats
E.J at Sword and Pen
Ernie at Writing: My Adventures In Words
Janis at The Nearsighted Bookworm
Jill at Christian Work At Home Moms
Jim B. at The Bedford Review
Kelly at A Disciple's Steps
Kristi at Stamped With Grace
Kristinia at Loving Heart Mommy
Laura at Laura William's Musings
Linda at Mocha With Linda
Marjorie at The Writer's Tool
Michelle at Edgy Inspirational Author
Michelle at Michelle's Great Blogs
Nicole at Into The Fire
Rulan at Fiction Showcase
Sally at Welcome To Sally Bradley.com
Sean at Bookmark Cafe
Stacy at Vader's Mom
Takiela at Beauty 4 Ashes
Todd at A Place Called Fiction
Tracy at Pix-N-Pens
Vanessa at Ramblings of A Texas Housewife
Nessie at Illuminating Fiction
Kim at Window To My World

Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey

2009-07-15T07:11:00.001-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Pirate Hunter
Bethany House (July 1, 2009)
by
Tom Morrisey

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tom Morrisey is a mountaineer, aviator, shipwreck diver, and explorer, who holds a Full Cave certification from the National Speleological Society - Cave Diving Section.

He has launched, edited or contributed to numerous national publications and is an award-winning adventure-travel writer. A popular speaker, he is also active in both evangelism and the arts. Morrisey earned an MFA in creative writing from Bowling Green State University, and his fiction has been featured in numerous anthologies and magazines.

His first novel, Yucatan Deep (Zondervan, 2002) was a finalist for the Christy award, and he is the author of six novels, including Wind River and In High Places. In addition Tom has also written two nonfiction books: 20 American Peaks & Crags (Contemporary Books, 1978) and Wild by Nature (Baker Books, 2001). He and his family live in Orlando, Florida.

ABOUT THE BOOK

High Seas Adventure Meets a High-Tech Quest for Pirate Gold West Indies, 18th century Young Ted Bascombe is rescued by notorious pirate Captain Henry Thatch, finding himself caught up in a world of crime, adventure, and a daily fight for freedom.... Key West, 21st century Marine archaeologist Greg Rhode embarks on a treasure-hunting expedition in the turquoise waters of the Florida Keys, but he's as beguiled by a beautiful diver with different-colored eyes as by the lure of pirate gold...The Hunt Is On! Interweaving these two stories, pro deep-sea diver Tom Morrisey spins a multilayered tale of two young men's quests to escape their past by losing themselves to adventure on the high seas. Romantic and thrilling, this unique novel explores the timeless truth that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

If you would like to read the first chapter of Pirate Hunter, go HERE

My Review

The book arrived in my mailbox only on Monday, so I haven't been able to read it yet. Hopefully soon. It looks terrific!

Pix-N-Pens Features Adam in a Writing Contest and Book Giveaway

2009-07-07T17:38:00.001-06:00

Check out the fun and win a copy of Fatal Illusions.

http://pixnpens.blogspot.com/2009/07/fun-writing-contest.html

Be Hopeful by Warren Wiersbe

2009-07-02T09:01:00.001-06:00

Today's Wild Card author is:

Warren Wiersbe

and the book:

Be Hopeful (1 Peter): How to Make the Best of Times Out of Your Worst of Times (The BE Series Commentary)

David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe is an internationally known Bible teacher and the former pastor of The Moody Church in Chicago. For ten years he was associated with the Back to the Bible radio broadcast, first as Bible teacher and then as general director. Dr. Wiersbe has written more than 150 books, including the popular “BE” series of Bible commentaries, which has sold more than four million copies. He and his wife, Betty, live in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $12.99
Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434767434
ISBN-13: 978-1434767431

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Copyright 2009 David C Cook. Be Hopeful by Warren Wiersbe. Used with permission. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.

WHERE THERE’S CHRIST, THERE’S HOPE

(1 Peter 1:1; 5:12–14)

While there’s life, there’s hope!” That ancient Roman saying is still quoted today and, like most adages, it has an element of truth but no guarantee of certainty. It is not the fact of life that determines hope, but the faith of life. A Christian believer has a “living hope” (1 Peter 1:3 NASB) because his faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:21). This “living hope” is the major theme of Peter’s first letter. He is saying to all believers, “Be hopeful!”

Before we study the details of this fascinating letter, let’s get acquainted with the man who wrote it, the people to whom he sent it, and the particular situation that prompted him to write.

THE WRITER (1:1)

He identified himself as “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1). Some liberals have questioned whether a common fisherman could have penned this letter, especially since Peter and John were both called “unlearned and ignorant men” (Acts 4:13). However, this phrase only means “laymen without formal schooling”; that is, they were not professional religious leaders. We must never underestimate the training Peter had for three years with the Lord Jesus, nor should we minimize the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. Peter is a perfect illustration of the truth expressed in 1 Corinthians 1:26–31.

His given name was Simon, but Jesus changed it to Peter, which means “a stone” (John 1:35–42). The Aramaic equivalent of “Peter” is “Cephas,” so Peter was a man with three names. Nearly fifty times in the New Testament, he is called “Simon,” and often he is called “Simon Peter.” Perhaps the two names suggest a Christian’s two natures: an old nature (Simon) that is prone to fail, and a new nature (Peter) that can give victory. As Simon, he was only another human piece of clay, but Jesus Christ made a rock out of him!

Peter and Paul were the two leading apostles in the early church. Paul was assigned especially to minister to the Gentiles, and Peter to the Jews (Gal. 2:1–10). The Lord had commanded Peter to strengthen his brethren (Luke 22:32) and to tend the flock (John 21:15–17; also see 1 Peter 5:1–4), and the writing of this letter was a part of that ministry. Peter told his readers that this was a letter of encouragement and personal witness (1 Peter 5:12). Some writings are manufactured out of books, the way freshmen students write term papers, but this letter grew out of a life lived to the glory of God. A number of events in Peter’s life are woven into the fabric of this epistle.

This letter is also associated with Silas (Silvanus, 1 Peter 5:12). He was one of the “chief men” in the early church (Acts 15:22) and a prophet (Acts 15:32). This means that he communicated God’s messages to the congregations as he was directed by the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor. 14). The apostles and prophets worked together to lay the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20), and, once that foundation was laid, they passed off the scene. There are no apostles and prophets in the New Testament sense in the church today.

It is interesting that Silas was associated with Peter’s ministry, because originally he went with Paul as a replacement for Barnabas (Acts 15:36–41). Peter also mentioned John Mark (1 Peter 5:13) whose failure on the mission field helped to cause the rupture between Paul and Barnabas. Peter had led Mark to faith in Christ (“Mark, my son”) and certainly would maintain a concern for him. No doubt one of the early assemblies met in John Mark’s home in Jerusalem (Acts 12:12). In the end, Paul forgave and accepted Mark as a valued helper in the work (2 Tim. 4:11).

Peter indicated that he wrote this letter “at Babylon” (1 Peter 5:13) where there was an assembly of believers. There is no evidence either from church history or tradition that Peter ministered in ancient Babylon which, at that time, did have a large community of Jews. There was another town called “Babylon” in Egypt, but we have no proof that Peter ever visited it. “Babylon” is probably another name for the city of Rome, and we do have reason to believe that Peter ministered in Rome and was probably martyred there. Rome is called “Babylon” in Revelation 17:5 and 18:10. It was not unusual for persecuted believers during those days to write or speak in “code.”

In saying this, however, we must not assign more to Peter than is due him. He did not found the church in Rome nor serve as its first bishop. It was Paul’s policy not to minister where any other apostle had gone (Rom. 15:20); so Paul would not have ministered in Rome had Peter arrived there first. Peter probably arrived in Rome after Paul was released from his first imprisonment, about the year AD 62. First Peter was written about the year 63. Paul was martyred about 64, and perhaps that same year, or shortly after, Peter laid down his life for Christ.

THE RECIPIENTS (1:1)

Peter called them “strangers” (1 Peter 1:1), which means “resident aliens, sojourners.” They are called “strangers and pilgrims” in 1 Peter 2:11. These people were citizens of heaven through faith in Christ (Phil. 3:20), and therefore were not permanent residents on earth. Like Abraham, they had their eyes of faith centered on the future city of God (Heb. 11:8–16). They were in the world, but not of the world (John 17:16).

Because Christians are “strangers” in the world, they are considered to be “strange” in the eyes of the world (1 Peter 4:4). Christians have standards and values different from those of the world, and this gives opportunity both for witness and for warfare. We will discover in this epistle that some of the readers were experiencing suffering because of their different lifestyle.

These believers were a “scattered” people as well as a “strange” people. The word translated “scattered” (diaspora) was a technical term for the Jews who lived outside of Palestine. It is used this way in John 7:35 and James 1:1. However, Peter’s use of this word does not imply that he was writing only to Jewish Christians, because some statements in his letter suggest that some of his readers were converted out of Gentile paganism (1 Peter 1:14, 18; 2:9–10; 4:1–4). There was undoubtedly a mixture of both Jews and Gentiles in the churches that received this letter. We will notice a number of Old Testament references and allusions in these chapters.

These Christians were scattered in five different parts of the Roman Empire, all of them in northern Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The Holy Spirit did not permit Paul to minister in Bithynia (Acts 16:7), so he did not begin this work. There were Jews at Pentecost from Pontus and Cappadocia (Acts 2:9), and perhaps they carried the gospel to their neighboring province. Possibly Jewish believers who had been under Peter’s ministry in other places had migrated to towns in these provinces. People were “on the move” in those days, and dedicated believers shared the Word wherever they went (Acts 8:4).

The important thing for us to know about these “scattered strangers” is that they were going through a time of suffering and persecution. At least fifteen times in this letter Peter referred to suffering, and he used eight different Greek words to do so. Some of these Christians were suffering because they were living godly lives and doing what was good and right (1 Peter 2:19–23; 3:14–18; 4:1–4, 15–19). Others were suffering reproach for the name of Christ (1 Peter 4:14) and being railed at by unsaved people (1 Peter 3:9–10). Peter wrote to encourage them to be good witnesses to their persecutors, and to remember that their suffering would lead to glory

(1 Peter 1:6–7; 4:13–14; 5:10).

But Peter had another purpose in mind. He knew that a “fiery trial” was about to begin—official persecution from the Roman Empire (1 Peter 4:12). When the church began in Jerusalem, it was looked on as a “sect” of the traditional Jewish faith. The first Christians were Jews, and they met in the temple precincts. The Roman government took no official action against the Christians since the Jewish religion was accepted and approved. But when it became clear that Christianity was not a “sect” of Judaism, Rome had to take official steps.

Several events occurred that helped to precipitate this “fiery trial.” To begin with, Paul had defended the Christian faith before the official court in Rome (Phil. 1:12–24). He had been released but then was arrested again. This second defense failed, and he was martyred (2 Tim. 4:16–18). Second, the deranged emperor, Nero, blamed the fire of Rome (July AD 64) on the Christians, using them as a scapegoat. Peter was probably in Rome about that time and was slain by Nero, who had also killed Paul. Nero’s persecution of Christians was local at first, but it probably spread. At any rate, Peter wanted to prepare the churches.

We must not get the idea that all Christians in every part of the empire were going through the same trials to the same degree at the same time. It varied from place to place, though suffering and opposition were pretty general (1 Peter 5:9). Nero introduced official persecution of the church, and other emperors followed his example in later years. Peter’s letter must have been a tremendous help to Christians who suffered during the reigns of Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), and Diocletian (284–305). Christians in the world today may yet learn the value of Peter’s letter when their own “fiery trials” of persecution begin. While I personally believe that the church will not go through the tribulation, I do believe that these latter days will bring much suffering and persecution to the people of God.

It is possible that Silas was the bearer of this letter to the believers in the provinces, and also the secretary who wrote the epistle.

THE MESSAGE (5:12)

First Peter is a letter of encouragement (1 Peter 5:12). We have noted that the theme of suffering runs throughout the letter, but so also does the theme of glory (see 1 Peter 1:7–8, 11, 21; 2:12; 4:11–16; 5:1, 4, 10–11). One of the encouragements that Peter gives suffering saints is the assurance that their suffering will one day be transformed into glory (1 Peter 1:6–7; 4:13–14; 5:10). This is possible only because the Savior suffered for us and then entered into His glory (1 Peter 1:11; 5:1). The sufferings of Christ are mentioned often in this letter (1 Peter 1:11; 3:18; 4:1, 13; 5:1).

Peter is preeminently the apostle of hope, as Paul is the apostle of faith and John of love. As believers, we have a “living hope” because we trust a living Christ (1 Peter 1:3). This hope enables us to keep our minds under control and “hope to the end” (1 Peter 1:13 NIV) when Jesus shall return. We must not be ashamed of our hope but be ready to explain and defend

it (1 Peter 3:15). Like Sarah, Christian wives can hope in God (1 Peter 3:5, where “trusted” should be translated “hoped”). Since suffering brings glory, and because Jesus is coming again, we can indeed be hopeful!

But suffering does not automatically bring glory to God and blessing to God’s people. Some believers have fainted and fallen in times of trial and have brought shame to the name of Christ. It is only when we depend on the grace of God that we can glorify God in times of suffering. Peter also emphasized God’s grace in this letter. “I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it” (1 Peter 5:12 NIV).

The word grace is used in every chapter of 1 Peter: 1:2, 10, 13; 2:19 (“thankworthy”), 20 (“acceptable”); 3:7; 4:10; 5:5, 10, 12. Grace is God’s generous favor to undeserving sinners and needy saints. When we depend on God’s grace, we can endure suffering and turn trials into triumphs. It is grace alone that saves us (Eph. 2:8–10). God’s grace can give us strength in times of trial (2 Cor. 12:1–10). Grace enables us to serve God in spite of difficulties (1 Cor. 15:9–10). Whatever begins with God’s grace will always lead to glory (Ps. 84:11; 1 Peter 5:10).

As we study 1 Peter, we will see how the three themes of suffering, grace, and glory unite to form an encouraging message for believers experiencing times of trial and persecution. These themes are summarized in 1 Peter 5:10, a verse we would do well to memorize.

The cynical editor and writer H. L. Mencken once defined hope as “a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible.” But that definition does not agree with the New Testament meaning of the word. True Christian hope is more than “hope so.” It is confident assurance of future glory and blessing.

An Old Testament believer called God “the hope of Israel” (Jer. 14:8). A New Testament believer affirms that Jesus Christ is his hope (1 Tim. 1:1; see Col. 1:27). The unsaved sinner is “without hope” (Eph. 2:12 NIV), and if he dies without Christ, he will be hopeless forever. The Italian poet Dante, in his Divine Comedy, put this inscription over the world of the dead: “Abandon all hope, you who enter here!”

This confident hope gives us the encouragement and enablement we need for daily living. It does not put us in a rocking chair where we complacently await the return of Jesus Christ. Instead, it puts us in the marketplace, on the battlefield, where we keep on going when the burdens are heavy and the battles are hard. Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenaline, a blood transfusion. Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life (Heb. 6:18–19), but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward, it does not hold us back.

It is not difficult to follow Peter’s train of thought. Everything begins with salvation, our personal relationship to God through Jesus Christ. If we know Christ as Savior, then we have hope! If we have hope, then we can walk in holiness and in harmony. There should be no problem submitting to those around us in society, the home, and the church family. Salvation and submission are preparation for suffering; but if we focus on Christ, we can overcome, and God will transform suffering into glory.

My Review

I'm using this book for my daily devotions. Unfortunately, my copy arrived only a few days ago, not giving me time for a thorough read and thorough review. I'll endeavor to post something here after I've been able to read the whole book. So far, I'm loving his study in 1 Peter. Good, rich, meaty material.

June Newsletter

2009-07-01T07:20:00.001-06:00

June 29, 2009

Dear Reader,

Things have settled down quite a bit as far as the busyness of my novel release. Though I've done most of my online interviews and other Internet events, I'm not finished yet. Fatal Illusions will be featured in a blog tour via the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance (CFBA) on July 6-8. During that time frame up to fifty or so CFBA members will be blogging about my novel; some will also be posting reviews. I'll also be guest judging at Pix-N-Pens the same week. We'll see what the Lord wants to do through these opportunities. On June 1, my publisher told me that my novel "is off to a good start," so I'm encouraged. More good news is that the VCY America bookstore recently agreed to stock my book. Read more.

Exposure by Brandilyn Collins

2009-07-01T07:07:00.003-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Exposure (Zondervan, June 1, 2009) by Brandilyn Collins.
About the Author

Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline "Don't forget to b r e a t h e . . ."® Brandilyn's first book, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows. Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). She is now working on her 20th book.

In addition to Exposure, Brandilyn’s other latest release is Always Watching, first in The Rayne Tour series—young adult suspense co-written with her daughter, Amberly. The Rayne Tour series features Shaley O’Connor, daughter of a rock star, who just may have it all—until murder crashes her world.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When your worst fear comes true.

Someone is watching Kaycee Raye. But who will believe her? Everyone knows she’s a little crazy. Kaycee’s popular syndicated newspaper column pokes fun at her own paranoia and multiple fears. The police in her small town are well aware she makes money writing of her experiences. Worse yet, she has no proof of the threats. Pictures of a dead man mysteriously appear in her home—then vanish before police arrive. Multisensory images flood Kaycee’s mind. Where is all this coming from?

Maybe she is going over the edge. High action and psychological suspense collide in this story of terror, twists, and desperate faith. The startling questions surrounding Kaycee pile high. Her descent to answers may prove more than she can survive.

To read the first chapter, go HERE

“More twists and turns than a Coney Island roller coaster! Highly recommended.” ~CBA Retailers

“Mesmerizing mystery…authentic characters…a fast-paced, twisting tale of desperate choices.” ~TitleTrakk

“Brandilyn Collins is a master of suspense, and Exposure is her best book yet!” ~Dianne Burnett, Christianbook.com

My Review

Sorry, the novel arrived in my mailbox only on Saturday. I haven't had enough time to read the novel in time for the blog tour. I hope to read the novel and write my review soon. I love Collins's novels, so I'm looking forward to it.

Jesus Is Everything—Paul Washer

2009-06-29T10:03:00.000-06:00

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph by Linda Massey Weddle

2009-06-29T05:28:00.004-06:00

Today's Wild Card author is:

Linda Massey Weddle

and the book:

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph

David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Linda Massey Weddle is a children’s author and regular contributor to publications including Women’s Day and Christian Parenting Today. She develops Bible-based curriculum for young people and has been involved in children’s and youth ministry for the past twenty years. She has two grown children and six grandchildren and resides in suburban Chicago.

Visit the author's website.

Product Details:

List Price: $16.99
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition edition (June 1, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1434765318
ISBN-13: 978-1434765314

AND NOW...THE FIRST CHAPTER:

I n t r o d u c t i o n

A Journey Worth Planning

For parents like you…in churches like yours…this book is practical guide for a child’s spiritual

development—a journey in which parents and churches work together to raise kids who know, love, and serve the Lord.

Much of the vision and purpose for such a journey is discussed in my friend Larry Fowler’s book, Raising a Modern-Day Joseph. The book you hold in your hands—How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph—focuses more on the practical side of that. It gives parents a workable plan for putting this vision and purpose to work in their everyday family life.

No Guarantees?

Like Larry’s book, this one is needed because we’re in the midst of a crisis. The statistics stagger us as we read about, hear about, and see young people walking away from their faith.

We surprised that this could be happening, since after all…

• our churches provide nurseries, Sunday school, vacation Bible School, Awana, youth ministries, and every other kind of kid or youth program imaginable.

• our children’s ministry curriculum is more entertaining, colorful, and professional looking than ever before.

• the market is flooded with “Christian” action figures, mugs, pencils, wallpaper, wallets, posters, linens, T-shirts, and toys, many decorated with clever “Christian” sayings.

• radio stations play Christian music twenty-four hours a day, and television channels broadcast a never-ending selection of messages from both local churches and polished, smooth-talking televangelists.

And here’s an even tougher dilemma: Why does a kid from one home walk away from the Lord while a kid in another home stays true to Him—yet the families in both homes have attended the same church, Sunday school, vacation Bible school, Awana clubs, etc.?

What happened? What’s the difference?

Before going further, I need to say this:

No plan,

no curriculum,

no humanly written book,

no pastor,

no teacher,

no parent…

can absolutely guarantee that a young person will not walk away from what they’ve been taught.

God works with His people individually, and each individual must make the choice to trust Christ as Savior. Each one chooses to walk with the Lord or to walk away from Him. After all, even with the first two kids we read about in the Bible, one had a criminal record.

The absence of such a guarantee is due to sin.

Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised,

being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

(Galatians 3:22)

So yes, unfortunately, children don’t come with guarantees.

But God’s Word does come with a guarantee: If we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior,

believing that He died and rose again, we’re promised…

• the forgiveness of sin (bridging the separation between imperfect people and a perfect

God).

• eternal life.

• a future in an unimaginably perfect heaven.

That’s some guarantee!

No, we as parents don’t have guarantees, but we do know that children who grow up in strong, Christ-centered homes—where God’s Word is both taught and lived—are more likely to live godly lives as adults.

But lets take a glimpse at what’s typically going on in many families.

A Church and Pastor Problem?

I grew up as a preacher’s kid, and as an adult became a preacher’s wife—I know firsthand how often the preacher and the church get blamed for parental failures.

I remember one Sunday morning after the church service when my husband was shaking hands with people filing out of the auditorium. Suddenly a mother stormed into the lobby, yelling and visibly upset. She said her son had been knocked over by other boys in the parking lot.

My husband’s first reaction was to call an ambulance, but the mom said that wasn’t necessary; her son just scraped his knee. “But,” she shouted, pointing to my husband. “This was your fault.”

“Why?” he asked. He could see our own two kids talking with friends nearby, so it wasn’t them who had knocked down the woman’s son. So why was this his fault?

“Because it’s your church,” the lady screamed. “And so they’re your responsibility.” (Well, that wasn’t true either; the church belongs to the people.)

But that true story is a picture of what many people do spiritually.

Just as many parents leave the physical well-being of their children up to the church (the drop-them-off-in-the-parking-lot syndrome), so many parents do the same with their children’s spiritual well-being, training, and guidance: Drop them off in the parking lot and let the church do the nurturing (whether or not the parents are even in the same building).

Maybe you feel this way too—at least to some extent. After all, you make sure your children go to church for every kids’ activity possible, so you figure the church’s pastors, teachers, and leaders are covering that spiritual training part of your kids’ lives. You’re busy doing other things, like working long hours to provide for your family, which is your responsibility.

Deep inside, you hope those people at the church are doing it right. And if your kids walk

away from the Lord someday, you’ll certainly have something to say about the church’s failure,

since spiritually raising your kids is their job.

Right?

Well, no!

From the Start

Let’s review some essentials of what the Bible says about the family.

The Family Is the First Group God Created

The family came before towns or countries, and before churches, youth programs, basketball

teams, or Facebook. God immediately created the marriage partnership—in fact, by the second

chapter of Genesis, God had already established marriage:

For Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:20-22)

And already by the fourth chapter in Genesis, we learn about children.

The Family (Marriage Partnership) Is a Picture of Christ and the Church

Paul says it this way:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:21–27)

Family “Rules” Are Listed Throughout the Bible

Here’s an example:

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. (Colossians 3:18-21)

Family Members Need to Encourage Each Other

Paul pointed to family encouragement as a model for the entire church:

But we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11–12)

The family has the primary responsibility in the spiritual training of children. But families also

need the church to come alongside them to nurture their kids, to provide Christian friendships

from likeminded families, and to give complementary spiritual training. (We’ll look at all that

more closely later.)

Someone Who Knew, Loved, and Served God

The goal of Awana (the ministry I serve with) is to train children and youth to grow into adults who know, love and serve the Lord. We’ve come to see that this is also an outstanding goal for parents in training their children.

And as a biblical example of a young person who grew up to know, love, and serve the Lord, it’s hard to beat Joseph in the Old Testament. Not that he came from a perfect family.

Most children know about Joseph. They know he received a unique coat from his father—and our perception of that is a knee-length coat with rainbow-colored stripes. But why would grown men (his older step brothers—see Genesis 30:1-25) care about their little brother’s multicolored coat? The Hebrew word here for “coat” refers to a full-length tunic—sleeves to the wrist, the hem to the ankles. This was the style of coat worn by rich young men. They didn’t have to work (they had slaves or servants to do that), and they had a position of honor both in the home and in the community.

Joseph’s full-length coat was probably made of white linen, with bands of colorful embroidery as trim. By contrast, working men wore looser fitting, shorter garments so they could climb over rocks and take care of their sheep—they needed to move quickly and not be hindered by long clothing. So the brothers weren’t jealous of the colors of Joseph’s coat, but rather the implied position Joseph held in wearing such a garment.

Joseph lived in Hebron. The word Hebron means “community” or “fellowship.” Joseph had fellowship with his father, but this wasn’t a family who had a lot of fellowship with one another. I don’t think dinnertime conversations were leisurely discussions about the price of sheep feed or the Hebron weather.

The truth is, Joseph came from a dysfunctional family. This is obvious when you read in Genesis 30 about the intrigue involving his mother, his mother’s sister, their servants, and drugs (mandrakes—which were seen as narcotics or aphrodisiacs). Rachel and Leah were both jealous women who were willing to have their servants lie with Jacob so they could win the who-can have-the-most-sons race. And when Rueben brought home some mandrakes, Rachel desired them so much she was willing to “sell” Leah a night with Jacob to get her hands on them.

This of course isn’t part of the biography we read about in Sunday school, but these events are worth noting here. Out of this mess, the Lord brought Joseph, a young man who never wavered from the assurance that God was with him; a young man with a true heart-desire to know, love, and serve the Lord.

We know that Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, and he ended up in Egypt. We know he quickly gained power and influence in Potiphar’s house, then quickly lost it when fleeing the temptations of Mrs. Potiphar. Yet even when put in prison, Joseph knew God was with him, and he remained faithful. Later, because he interpreted the king’s dream, he was made a VIP and placed in charge of the entire land of Egypt. In that position, he was able years later to publicly forgive his brothers.

Through it all, Joseph concluded that it wasn’t his brothers who sent him to Egypt, but God. God had a plan for him, and Joseph listened to God and fulfilled His plan—something he was later able to testify about to his brothers: “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance” (Genesis 45:7).

Joseph’s life in particular reflected five godly character qualities—we’ll call them “master life threads”— that were woven into the very being of who he was and how he lived his life.

• Respect for the awesomeness and authority of God (Genesis 39:6-9.

• Wisdom for living life, based on a knowledge of God (40:5-8).

• Grace in relationships with others (41:51-52).

• A sense of destiny and purpose that came from God (45:4-10).

• A perspective for life based on the sovereignty of God (50:15-21).

These master life threads are also desired characteristics in the lives of our own children—as they learn to know, love, and serve the Lord.

We know that Joseph knew about the Lord. God was the God of his father, Jacob. As Joseph’s life continued in surprising new situations—as head of Potiphar’s household, as a prisoner, and finally as the man in charge of all of Egypt—he continued following the Lord. Over and over in the biblical account of Joseph’s life, we read that the Lord was with him, as in Genesis 39:21: “The LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.”

We know that Joseph loved the Lord because of the way he lived his life, refusing to be drawn into the temptations of a rich and powerful household, and because of his exemplary forgiveness toward the brothers who had wronged him: “But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them” (Genesis 50:19-21).

And we know that Joseph served the Lord—by making righteous choices, by administrating the seven years of plenty, and by giving food not only to the people of Egypt but to other countries as well. As the famine intensified, and “the people cried to Pharaoh for food,” Pharaoh responded, “Go to Joseph and do what he tells you” (Genesis 41:55).

Modern-Day Josephs

What Christian parent wouldn’t want their child to grow up to be a modern-day Joseph—a young person who reflects those five master life threads, and who knows, loves, and serves the Lord?

For many parents (and maybe this includes you), their children are already becoming Josephs. They do excellent jobs spiritually nurturing their children. They daily teach their kids God’s Word by guiding them toward recognizing the need to trust Christ, praying with them, reading the Bible together, encouraging Scripture memorization, explaining difficult words and concepts and talking about the qualities of the Christian life. Then they live out God’s Word in everyday life. They take their responsibility seriously.

Then there are other parents simply don’t think about their child’s spiritual training. These parents flounder through life, not learning much themselves about what the Bible actually says, and they couldn’t begin to explain the difference between Genesis and Galatians. Yet they’re law abiding citizens and church-attending Christians. They figure their kids will turn out okay. After all, they get their kids to Sunday school and even sent them once to a Christian summer camp.

But the majority of Christian parents are somewhere in the middle. They desire to be spiritual nurturers of their children, but they don’t know how. They might be intimidated that they might not say the right words. (What if my child asks me to explain eschatology or something?) Or they don’t know where to find a plan that shows them how to be a spiritual nurturer. (They may not even realize they should have a plan).

Furthermore, you probably know some adults who grew up without any spiritual nurturing in the home, yet who are now pastors, missionaries, church leaders, or shining witnesses in the secular workplace. The Lord used someone besides a parent to mentor that child, or gave the child a desire for Bible study that transformed her into someone who truly wants to know, love, and serve the Lord.

Goal and Plan

If our destination for our children is having a child who develops Joseph-like characteristics—knowing, loving, and serving the Lord—what’s the itinerary or plan for that journey?

The lack of such a plan often becomes the roadblock in our children’s spiritual development—and getting past that roadblock is what this book is all about. This book is not a step-by-step itinerary, but more of an atlas where you pick and choose which stops to make in your own family journey—because we know all families are different, with different schedules, different interests, and different personalities.

Our desire is to give your family (and your church) ideas—lots of ideas for helping to spiritual nurture your children. But as the parent, you need to devise the route.

It’s a plan that involves both parents—and the church as well.

Dad

The father is the head of the house and the God-ordained leader of the home. Dads and moms need to work together to spiritually raise their children.

A spiritually strong dad will…

• pray with his children.

• lead the children in Bible study and worship.

• take an interest in what the child is learning at church.

• teach his children Bible verses, Bible concepts, and Bible truths.

• discuss challenging questions, cultural events and concepts with his children.

• model a Christlike attitude in his daily life.

Unfortunately in too many homes, Mom is by herself in doing all of this. Dad might drive the family to church, but he doesn’t take any real responsibility in the child’s spiritual development.

If you’re a father, know this: God has given you a job to do. Your responsibility is to do it. You can’t expect your child to grow into a God-honoring adult when he sees you ignore the Bible, find every excuse possible to avoid church, and live a life that’s inconsistent with what God says in His Word.

Mom

Children need both parents involved in their spiritual training, and that’s the basic scenario presented throughout this book. It’s a sad situation when Dad is faithfully living for the Lord, but Mom doesn’t want any part of it.

Mom needs to be an active part of the praying, teaching, discussing, and modeling too. For example, sometimes Mom’s the one who spends a half-hour before or after school helping her children work on a memory verse, and when Dad gets home, he can enthusiastically listen to the children recite the verse. This is a joint effort. Both parents are huge influencers.

You might be a single mom and already feel defeated because you don’t have a husband to help you out. You can still teach your children from God’s Word and live an exemplary life. In your situation, the partnership of the church may be more important than usual. Hopefully your church has good male role models teaching younger children, so your children can profit from a masculine influence.

A good example of one parent spiritually training a child is that of Eunice and her son Timothy (2 Timothy 1:4-5). Eunice did have the help of her own mother, Timothy’s grandmother, but she didn’t have any help from her unbelieving Gentile husband. Timothy’s mom and grandma taught him the Old Testament Scriptures and exemplified godly lives. When the apostle Paul came along and taught Timothy about the Son of God and His sacrifice on the cross, Timothy was ready to trust Christ as Savior. Timothy became Paul’s son in the faith (1 Timothy 1:2), and Paul recognized of the foundation which Timothy’s mom and grandma had laid.

Many single parents do great jobs in spiritually training their children. If you’re a single parent, or your spouse isn’t interested in God and His Word, you need to surround yourself with likeminded adults who can give you and your children support and encouragement.

Fitting into Your Schedule

When, where, and how do we spend time spiritually training our children?

The following verses from Deuteronomy give clear instruction that our entire daily lives should provide teaching opportunities to spiritually train our children:

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. (Deuteronomy 11:18-21)

In a real sense, spiritual training in the home is ongoing and never-ending. It’s really a part of everything you do.

But we also need to set aside specific times when we come together as a family to pray, honor, and worship the Lord and to study and memorize His Word. Some families enjoy singing or playing instruments together. Others read a page from a devotional book.

One teenager said, “Our family wasn’t musical, so that wasn’t part of our activities. But we did other things, such as making rebuses of Bible verses.”

You might set aside a time each day for spiritual focus—at the breakfast or supper table, or before bed. Or you could plan family nights when an entire evening is dedicated to a lesson, an activity, and a special treat. (Be careful you don’t present the activity as more important and fun than the lesson. Bible study can and should be a great experience.)

Maybe your family’s schedule is so complicated that you can’t have a regular set time for spiritual focus, but you can still conscientiously meet together as a family to pray, worship, and learn about the Lord.

A couple considerations in all this:

• Sometimes families are diligent in having family devotions, but that’s the only time their children hear about the Lord. Because Dad prays and reads a page from a devotional book, he feels he’s taken care of his spiritual leadership responsibilities. Five minutes later, the children hear him swear when opening the gas bill, or see him confront a neighbor because the neighbor’s dog messed up the lawn. What he verbally taught is negated by the way he lives his life.

• Families are different. One guy diligently teaches his kids from the Bible, helps them with their memory verses, and consistently lives a godly life, yet he feels guilty. He knows of another family that spends thirty minutes of concentrated training at the supper table each night, but his irregular work schedule doesn’t allow him to do that. He is, however, doing a great job. We need to focus on our own families, not on what someone else is doing.

We as parents need to work together to develop the itinerary for our own families, keeping

our eyes on the goal of raising children who know, love, and serve the Lord.

Your Church

Whether large or small, your church is your best partner in raising your children.

In fact, the size of the church doesn’t really matter. Mega churches have the money and staff to provide exciting programs for both parents and children, and those programs can be good. But smaller churches can be better at giving a child a sense of security, family, and nurturing that you don’t always find in a larger church.

So church size isn’t important. What is important is the attitude of the church and the pastor toward kids. Does your church leadership really care about kids? Do they see the value in children’s ministry, and provide necessary resources to spiritually disciple children? Do they occasionally visit children’s or youth ministry times to give the lesson, answer questions, or simply greet the children or youth? Do they make an effort to learn the names of the kids, or do they know your three teenagers (who have been attending the church since birth) only as the Hansen kids?

If your church doesn’t see the importance of encouraging families, maybe you could be the catalyst to begin the initiative.

After this book’s Part One (which focuses on giving parents specific age-appropriate suggestions for their child’s spiritual development), Part Two will focus especially on practical ways the church can partner with you in this task. Be sure to explore what’s presented in Part Two, and become familiar with ideas of how churches and families can work together.

Planning Your Family’s Spiritual Journey

The ideas in this book are suggestions. No parent can do everything, just as no church can do everything either. Our goal is to give you plenty of ideas to help get you started and keep you going.

So let me lay out what you’ll find in each chapter in Part One, which is especially geared for you as a parent. (Keeping the journey idea in mind, most of these components have travel-related labels.)

Life Threads

Each chapter targets a different stage of a child’s life, and will focus on an appropriate life thread

(reflecting a quality that Joseph displayed in his life).

Here are these life threads for each age category:

Preschoolers (ages 2-5) Respect

Early Elementary (ages 5-8—kindergarten to second grade) Wisdom

Older Elementary (ages 8-11—third through sixth grades) Grace

Middle School (ages 11-14—seventh and eighth grades) Destiny

High School (ages 14-18—ninth through twelfth grades) Perspective

At the beginning of each chapter, you’ll find listed again the life thread to focus on for that stage in your child’s life.

By the way, if you’re looking at this list and thinking, “Great, but my child is already twelve years old!”—that’s okay. Yes, you’ve missed some prime training opportunities, but you can catch up. Review the sections for preschoolers and elementary age children, and teach the principles to your child using explanations and activities appropriate for a twelve-year-old. Instead of regretting what you missed, focus on the present and look to the future. These concepts are good for all ages—including adults.

What They’re Like

Early in each chapter, this section lists ten characteristics about that particular age category. Understanding these characteristics will give you a great head start in helping your child grow spiritually.

What They’re Asking

This section in each chapter lists the kinds of questions that kids in this age group typically ask about God and the Bible. You’ll also find suggested answers to a few of the questions.

These questions came from a “Biggest Question Survey” sponsored by Awana. A few years back, we asked 4,000 children and teenagers, “What’s your biggest question about God and the Bible?” These children and teenagers all had some Bible background (though, after looking at their questions, we surmised that some didn’t remember much of it). Then we determined the most-asked questions for each age group.

But don’t stop with reading what other kids have asked; ask your own children for their biggest questions about God and the Bible.

What You Can Do

In this section of each chapter you’ll find a wealth of practical suggestions for what you as a parent can do to help in your child’s spiritual growth in each stage. This begins with a short section about helping your child make the all-important decision to trust Christ as Savior.

Bios and Verses

Here you’ll find appropriate Bible biographies and Scripture memory verses to explore and learn with your children.

(At Awana, we substitute the word “biography” for “story” to emphasize that what comes from the Bible is true and not fictional. We explain that a biography is a true story about someone.)

What Not to Do

Sometimes we hinder more than we help. Each chapter includes this section where you’ll find common errors to avoid in each stage of your child’s life.

Checklist

Each chapter also includes a checklist of basic attainments to look for in your child’s spiritual development.

Family Itinerary

Finally, the section in each chapter labeled “Family Itinerary” is a worksheet to help you develop your plan and goals for your child’s spiritual journey in each stage.

Here are a couple of samples of completed itineraries from two families, one with younger children and one with teenagers:

A Sample Itinerary for a Family with Young Children

Our spiritual goals for the year are:

1. Teach Emma and Jacob that God created the world.

2. Teach Emma and Jacob that God loves each one of us.

3. Teach Emma and Jacob that the Bible is God’s book.

4. Teach Emma and Jacob that Jesus is God’s Son.

5. Teach Emma and Jacob that we’re to obey God.

Our family verse for this year is:

Genesis 1:1

We’ll also study the following six additional verses (one every two months) about God and His character:

1. Psalm 33:4

2. Proverbs 3:5

3. Matthew 28:20

4. Romans 3:23

5. Ephesians 6:1

6. 1 John 4:14

We’ll also study the following six Bible biographies (one every two months):

1. Adam

2. Joseph

3. Heman

4. Josiah

5. David

6. Christ’s birth

We will also do a more extensive study on this person in the Bible:

Heman in 1 Chronicles 25:5–7. We’ll learn how he and his family sang in the temple. We’ll learn a song together and sing at church.

Here are other activities our family will do together to learn about Bible characters:

1. We’ll watch a series of DVDs on Bible characters (a set we were given that’s factual).

2. We’ll visit Grandma and Grandpa and look at their pictures they took in Israel.

3. We’ll study Josiah and other Bible characters who served God even though they were young.

4. We’ll do several crafts using natural materials from the outdoors as we talk about God’s creation. These will include leaf-tracings, pictures on sun-sensitive paper, and drying flowers.

5. We’ll teach Emma and Jacob to identify five birds and five flowers, explaining that

they were all created by God.

Here are some themes for family fun nights we would like to do this year:

1. We’ll build a birdhouse together and learn about ten birds in our area of the country, and we’ll talk about creating a wonderful variety of birds.

2. We’ll make a mural for the basement wall of David watching his sheep.

3. We’ll invite Grandpa and Grandma to family night so they can hear Jacob and Emma say their verses.

4. We’ll make a book of all the different Bible biographies Jacob and Emma have learned at church this year.

5. We’ll visit the zoo.

6. We’ll make cookies for the lady down the street who’s homebound.

Our family has completed this year’s family itinerary and met our spiritual goals.

(Signed by each family member)

A Sample Itinerary for a Family with Children in High School

Our spiritual goals for the year are:

1. Study the book of Ephesians together.

2. Encourage Andrew and Amanda to teach and mentor their younger siblings.

3. Discuss biblical worldview and what that means as Andrew and Amanda head off to college.

4. Have open, honest discussions about difficult cultural issues.

5. Encourage Andrew and Amanda to write down any questions they may have about God and the Bible and to work through those questions as a family.

6. For Andrew and Amanda to serve by singing and playing guitar at the rescue mission once a month.

Our family verse for this year is:

Joshua 24:15

This year we’ll do the following family research project:

On creation. The project will culminate with a week at creation camp this summer.

We’ll memorize this chapter from the Bible:

Ephesians 2

We’ll read (either as a family or individually) the following books:

1. Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell

2. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

Our family service project this year will be:

Serving at the soup kitchen on Thanksgiving and Christmas

Our family has completed this year’s family itinerary and met our spiritual goals.

(Signed by each family member)

My Review

Linda Weddle and I were fellow editors at Awana Clubs International and remain good friends, so you could say I'm a little biased. Knowing Linda's life, I knew what I would be getting when I obtained a copy of her book. In short, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed because her message about child rearing is centered squarely where it ought to be—on God's Word.

This book is a gem for parents who want to see their children grow up to love the Lord and serve Him but aren't exactly sure how to go about it. After all, it's not like our children emerge from the birth canal with an instruction manual attacked to their feet. And while the market offers lots of books about child rearing, not all of them go directly to the source of godly wisdom. It should come as no surprise that a ministry like Awana, which has been assisting churches and families in training their young people in God's Word for years, would have a thing or two to say about child rearing. Awana, after all, is all about coming alongside families and churches and assisting in that venture. But Awana cannot do it alone, Linda points out, and neither can churches. Parents must rise to the challenge.

How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph is a valuable, meaty resource every parent who is raising children needs to have. Strong in biblical instruction, it clearly points out the problems families and churches face today but doesn't stop there. It lays out a clear, practical plan for solving the problems that are rampant among our youth today. But the church can only do so much; parents must take the responsibility for training their children in godly wisdom. Drawing on her many years as a pastor's daughter and a pastor's wife, Linda has seen the challenges churches and families have faced. As a mother and a grandmother, she has also seen firsthand what works and what doesn't work. So she writes here as someone who has been through the fire of parenting herself and candidly shares her heart.

Wedding biblical truth with just the right number of anecdotes, Linda has produced a book that is both instructional and inspiring—one that takes the guess work out of the mystery of parenting and provides a clear road map for success. Parents everywhere need to get their hands on this resource. They won't be disappointed.

The Firstborn by Conlan Brown

2009-06-22T07:57:00.002-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Firstborn Realms (May 5, 2009) by Conlan Brown.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in 1984, Conlan Brown was functionally illiterate until the fifth grade, when he learned how to read and write, as well as a love of story, from his grandmother. Conlan went on to start college at the age of sixteen, and now holds a Master's degree in Communication, which taught him the academic principles needed to write Firstborn.

Conlan lives on Colorado's Front Range where he is working on his next book. He enjoys video editing, film scores, and developing high octane, thought provoking fiction that turns pages and excites the senses.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Three supernatural gifts. Two thousand years of division. One moment of truth.

Hannah's head hung, long brown hair in her eyes. Her face felt pasty with cold and fatigue and pain. Arms behind her back, she sat in a chair, wrists and ankles tied to the wooden frame, chair legs bolted to the floor. A cold car. A gun. Horror. Pain. Grief. Screaming. A windshield blistering with holes. Darkness.

It all came over her like a flood. A pouring out of pictures in her mind. But then there was one more thing. Not an image, but a feeling--that half a continent away someone else had felt it all happening too.

The Firstborn, those gifted with Foresight, Hindsight, and Insight at the time of Christ's death are divided between themselves. And when an Islamic holy man is murdered outside of his mosque it becomes apparent that one of the Firstborn was to blame. Now, with the threat of a terrorist attack on an unspeakable target the Firstborn are spiraling out of control. Leaders are dying, members are being kidnapped, and unity is being forced. Three heroes, differently gifted and divided must work together to thwart those who would go too far.

Their breakneck race against time plunges them into a world of danger and through a gauntlet across the United States. From the Riverwalk of San Antonio, where Devin Bathurst, John Temple, and Hannah Rice must protect one another from assassination, to the gritty streets of Washington DC, a paramilitary compound in Pennsylvania, and ultimately back to our nation's capital, the Firstborn must unite to prevent an impending atrocity from becoming reality.

Watch The Trailer

If you would like to read the first chapter excerpt of The Firstborn, go HERE.

My Review

I just started this one and am looking forward to reading it. It looks compelling and fast-paced. Congratulations, Conlan!

Another Great Fatal Illusions Review at Thoughts of a Sojourner

2009-06-11T08:58:00.000-06:00

What God Did at the Write-to-Publish Conference

2009-06-09T08:39:00.001-06:00

This year, I bit the financial bullet and decided that with my novel coming out in March, I just had to go to the Write-to-Publish Conference this year (June 3-6) at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Bless Lin Johnson’s soul (she’s the director). She’s been sending me brochures advertising the conferences for years, but I simply never found the finances (or the courage) to take the next step. I know; it’s silly. I’ve been involved in publication work of some kind and publishing short stories and articles for years, but the thought of going to a writers’ conference freaked the fire out of me. Anyhow, God seemed to be prodding me like a little lamb who didn’t want to follow the flock, but I decided to do the right thing after all. Not a fun step (because I’d rather stay cloistered in my north woods office), but definitely a necessary one. Especially this year. Read more.

Ghostwriter by Travis Thrasher

2009-06-08T12:51:00.006-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Ghostwriter (FaithWords, May 28, 2009) by Travis Thrasher.

About the Author

It was during third grade after a teacher encouraged him in his writing and as he read through The Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis that Travis decided he wanted to be a writer. The dream never left him, and allowed him to fulfill that dream of writing fulltime in 2007.

Travis Thrasher is the author of numerous works of fiction, including his most personal and perhaps his deepest work, Sky Blue, that was published in summer of 2007. This year he has to novels published, Out of the Devil’s Mouth, and a supernatural thriller, Isolation.

Travis is married to Sharon and they are the proud parents of Kylie, born in November, 2006, and Hailey, a Shih-Tzu that looks like an Ewok. They live in suburban Chicago.

Stop by and visit Travis at his Blog where you can sign up to follow him on Facebook and Twitter!

Also check out the radio interview with Travis on Monday June 8th at BlogTalkRadio/FaithWords

About the Book

For years Dennis Shore has thrilled readers with his spooky bestselling novels. Now a widower, Dennis is finally alone in his house, his daughter attending college out of state. When he's stricken by a paralyzing case of writer's block and a looming deadline, Dennis becomes desperate. Against better judgment, he claims someone else's writing as his own, accepting undeserved accolades for the stolen work. He thinks he's gotten away with it . . . until he's greeted by a young man named Cillian Reed--the true author of the stolen manuscript.

What begins as a minor case of harassment quickly spirals out of control. As Cillian's threats escalate, Dennis finds himself on the brink of losing his career, his sanity, and even his life. The horror he's spent years writing about has arrived on his doorstep, and Dennis has nowhere to run.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Ghostwriter, go HERE

My Review

I finally finished this one (not the book's fault; I'm just too busy) and feel a little numb now that the ride is over. Wow! Can Travis write. Sometimes he's poetic, other times creepy, and often suspenseful. He wore a lot of hats during this production: he wrote nail-biting scenes of suspense and then thoughtful, sensitive, even literary scenes that tugged at the heartstrings. He knew just the right mood to paint at the right time—that requires a great deal of talent. I felt for Dennis because of the loss of his wife, Lucy. I also felt his guilt because of his plagiarism. I felt the chill run down his back when Cillian left another chilling reminder that he wasn't going away.

The main plot reminded me of Stephen King's Misery, which I haven't read, but I did see an edited version on TV. Only in this case, Cillian isn't a "number-one fan." He's a fan out for revenge because Dennis stole his story—and get revenge he does.

While I can appreciate the talent that went into writing this book, the longer I read this novel, the more I remembered why I stay away from Stephen King. The disturbing content here is not far off the mark. I know that Travis loves Stephen King, so perhaps he takes my comments as compliments. The parts of the novel that were the darkest and most disturbing to me weren't about Dennis's problems or his visions or even about Cillian's revenge; they were about this character named Bob, who apparently delights in killing people. Often the violence is implied, but at least once it's in the reader's face when Bob apparently kills Cillian. (I say "apparently" because it's a little confusing whether Cillian is dead or not.) Pages 207-208 in which Cillian is apparently being carved like a pumpkin literally made my stomach feel sick. If that was Travis's intent, he definitely succeeded.

Overall, I was amazed by Travis's writing and storytellilng talent. But in the end the novel became something I wasn't expecting: a pretty dark and disturbing tale that went over the line in the violence department for me. I love suspense, but horror is simply not my thing. This doesn't mean the book is bad; it just means it's not what I normally choose to read. I still respect the craftmanship and skill required to make the book work. At the same time, I probably wouldn't have chosen to read this book had I known what was inside.

In my opinion, the novel should have been marketed as a secular book. I didn't see enough spiritual depth to warrant the tag of Christian fiction, and the appearance of mild language would push the envelope for many CBA readers. Either way, Travis is an exceptionally talented author. If you are looking for a sanitized version of Stephen King, then this might be exactly what you're looking for.

*There is mild language throughout, and some scenes contain uncomfortable descriptions of violence.

Scream by Mike Dellosso

2009-06-04T21:48:00.005-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Scream (Realms, March 3, 2009) by Mike Dellosso

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mike now lives in Hanover, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Jen, and their three daughters. He writes a monthly column for Writer . . .Interrupted.

He was a newspaper correspondent/columnist for over three years and has published several articles for The Candle of Prayer inspirational booklets. Mike also has edited and contributed to numerous Christian-themed Web sites and e-newsletters.

Mike is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, the Relief Writer's Network, and International Thriller Writers. He received his BA degree in sports exercise and medicine from Messiah College and his MBS degree in theology from Master's Graduate School of Divinity.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Otherworldly Screams...
A Madman on the Loose...
This Time the Stakes Are Higher Than Ever

While talking to his friend on the phone, Mark Stone is startled by a cacophony of otherworldly screams. Seconds later, a tragic accident claims his friend's life. When this happens several more times--screams followed by an untimely death--he is compelled to act.

Battling his failure as a husband and struggling with his own damaged faith, Mark embarks on a mission to find the meaning behind the screams and hopefully stop death from calling on its next victim. When his estranged wife is kidnapped and he again hears the screams as she calls from her cell phone, his search becomes much more personal and much more urgent.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Scream, go HERE

My Review

I finally finished this one (not because the book was slow but because I had too much on my plate) and thoroughly enjoyed it. I must confess that I wasn't exactly sure where the story was going at the beginning—Oh ye of little faith. I saw a main character who hears unearthly screams and a serial kidnapper with an elusive motive. I wasn't sure how these two seemingly separate threads were going to come together. Not only did they come together, but once I saw the connections, I thought, "Duh!"

Mike again produced an excellent, engaging novel (I enjoyed his first, The Hunted) that kept the pages flying and still came down to the final period with something significant to say, I personally think a lot of Christian novelists need to pay closer attention to what Mike did here. He not only spun a fast-paced, suspenseful take; he also said something significant and profound about our faith—namely, that hell is looming and that we believers need to tell others about their fate without Christ. He also clearly presented the gospel message. Wow! That's a rarity these days, even in Christian fiction, to be perfectly blunt. Thank you, Mike, for your boldness.

This was a terrific, nail-biting read. If you haven't read this one, you definitely need to.

Ulterior Motives by by Mark Andrew Olsen

2009-05-18T06:32:00.003-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Ulterior Motives (Bethany House; March 1, 2009) by Mark Andrew OlsenAbout the Author

MARK ANDREW OLSEN whose novel The Assignment was a Christy Award finalist, also collaborated on bestsellers Hadassah (now the major motion picture: One Night With the King), The Hadassah Covenant, and Rescued. Two of his last books were the supernatural thriller The Watchers, and The Warriors.

The son of missionaries to France, Mark is a Professional Writing graduate of Baylor University. He and his wife, Connie, live in Colorado Springs with their three children.

ABOUT THE BOOK

When an al-Qaeda email is intercepted, threatening an attack on America, it leads to the capture of the group's leader. Yet even under fierce interrogation, the terrorist clings to his jihadist beliefs and refuses to divulge any information. Desperate, the Army resorts to extreme measures--a controversial protocol designed to break a subject's resistance. But the attempt must be masked as an offer of clemency and rely on an outside party, someone who is unaware of the protocol's aims.

They find that someone in Greg Cahill, a disgraced soldier who now serves in a prison ministry. Lured by the chance to restore his reputation, Greg befriends a man the entire country despises. And the result proves combustible, the two men having to flee for their lives. With both in need of redemption, they set out to prevent a major catastrophe...

If you would like to read the first chapter of Ulterior Motive, go HERE

My Review

It is hopefully coming soon. This looks like a fascinating novel.

According to Their Deeds by Paul Robertson

2009-05-06T06:37:00.001-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing According to Their Deeds (Bethany House, March 1, 2009) by Paul Robertson.
About the Author

Paul Robertson is a computer programming consultant, part-time high-school math and science teacher, and the author of The Heir. He is also a former Christian bookstore owner (for 15 years), who lives with his family in Blacksburg, Virginia.

About the Book

A Deadly Game of Justice Versus Mercy Charles Beale lives outside the shadow of Washington, D.C. Politics and power matter only when a client crosses the Potomac to visit his Alexandria Rare Books shop.

But that all changes when a former client--a man deeply connected in the Justice Department--is found murdered after a break-in gone bad. When Charles reclaims at auction the books he'd once sold, he quickly discovers he's bought more trouble than he could have ever imagined.

Inside one volume are secrets. A collection of sins that, if revealed, could destroy reputations, careers--even lives. Charles soon learns he isn't the only who knows. Going to the police means ruining a multitude of lives. But staying silent puts a target on his shop, his wife--and himself. Charles must decide: Should one mistake really cost you everything?

If you would like to read the first chapter of According To Their Deeds, go here.

My Review

I only received the novel a week ago Saturday, so I wish I'd had a little more time for my review. But I'm about 90 pages into the novel and loving it! Paul Robertson is definitely a fresh, new, witty voice in Christian fiction; I guess this is his third novel, but his first novel I've read. The novel reads more like humor than suspense, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Robertson certainly knows how to write witty dialogue. He does more with dialogue than any other author I've read. I'm intrigued and looking forward to seeing how the novel develops. I will post a complete review when I'm finished. Congratulations, Paul! You've got me hooked.

Shame by Greg Garrett

2009-05-04T06:03:00.004-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Shame (David C. Cook, May 2009) by Greg Garrett

About the Author

Greg Garrett has published newspaper and magazine features, short stories, personal and critical essays, reviews, encyclopedia articles, novels, a memoir, and books of nonfiction during his thirty-year writing career.

Author of the critically acclaimed novels Free Bird (chosen by Publishers Weekly and the Rocky Mountain News [Denver] as one of the best first novels of 2002) and Cycling, as well as the nonfiction books The Gospel Reloaded (with Chris Seay), Holy Superheroes!, the spiritual autobiography Crossing Myself, The Gospel According to Hollywood, and the forthcoming Stories from the Edge, Dr. Garrett is a past winner of the Pirate's Alley William Faulkner Prize for Fiction, and a regional CASE gold medalist for nonfiction.

He was elected to the Texas Institute of Letters in 2005 for his lifetime literary achievements. Professor of English at Baylor University, Dr. Garrett was named the Outstanding Baylor Faculty Member for 1994 by the Baylor Student Congress, and received the university administration's outstanding professor award in 1996. He received his Ph.D. in English from Oklahoma State University, and recently completed the M.Div. at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, where he lives, writes, and serves as a lay preacher at St. David's Episcopal Church.

About the Book

It's hard to appreciate the life you have when you're wondering about the one you might have had.

John Tilden's glory days are far behind him, and now it seems like all he has is the monotony of everyday living. He certainly thought there'd be more to it than his ramshackle Oklahoma farm and a mundane job coaching basketball at his old high school. He questions his fatherhood skills too: His oldest son won't speak to him, his younger son wants to quit the basketball team, and now his daughter wants to go out on dates. He loves his wife, but the marriage has settled into complacency.

With John's twentieth high school reunion approaching, he has agreed to play in an exhibition game with the old championship team. And his ex-girlfriend's back in town, newly single. What might have been now seems closer than ever.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Shame, go here.

My Review

I haven't yet received a copy other than an online version. The publisher apparently ran out of copies. Therefore, I've been unable to read it to post a review.

April Newsletter and Giveaway

2009-04-29T14:09:00.002-06:00

April 29, 2009

Dear Reader,

This newsletter is shorter than usual for the simple reason that I'm swamped. Since the release of Fatal Illusions on March 31, my life has been hectic with a blog tour, a book signing, and several online interviews, including Brandilyn Collins's Forensics & Faith blog. Be sure to check my Web site and my Events page for the latest on what's been happening. So far, reviews of Fatal Illusions (like this one and this one) have been very positive. Family and friends will feel pressured to say nice things, so when perfect strangers who have nothing to lose post positive reviews at their blogs, I can't help feeling excited. If you have read the novel and liked it, please consider writing a review at Amazon.com, CBD.com, or Barnes & Noble. My local newspaper also gave the novel a wonderful review. Friends have reported book sightings from a Barnes & Noble in Minnesota to the campus bookstore at Bob Jones University. A friend in Germany also bought a copy across the big pond.Answers to Commonly Asked Questions

How can I get a copy of your novel? Because I don't know which bookstores will put the novel on their shelves, the best way is to buy it at Amazon.com or CBD.com. If my novel isn't at your local bookstore, simply order it. With my name and the novel's title, you should be able to order the novel from any bookstore in the country.

How can I get a signed copy of your novel? Unfortunately, I'm not selling my own autographed copies. And unless you attend one of my signings, I may not have a way to personally sign your book. But there is an alternative. As a special thank you to those who are purchasing a copy, upon request I will mail you a free signed bookplate as my way of saying thank you for your support. (A bookplate is a sticker you may affix inside your book.) Simply send me your mailing address, and I'll mail you a bookplate soon.

How is the novel selling? To be honest, I'm not sure. One indicator is CBD's listing of Kregel's bestselling fiction. Another indicator is my sales rank at Amazon.com, which fluctuates like the U.P. weather. Sometimes the numbers are down; sometimes they're up. The rank shows that somebody somewhere is buying the novel at various times; Amazon.com then compares the sales to those of other books. On the whole I'm encouraged.

Keep praying for my dad, who is almost finished with his first stage of chemo and radiation. I'm posting regular updates here for those interested.

My first book signing at the Hopehouse in Iron Mountain on April 18 went well. Thank you to those who sacrificed part of a beautiful Saturday afternoon to drop by and support me. I appreciate your encouragement. Copies are still available at the store for those who couldn't make it.

Book Giveaway Winner—Congratulations to Julie Broadworth for winning my April book drawing for a free copy of Fatal Illusions. For my next drawing, starting today through the end of May, I will be giving away another free copy of Fatal Illusions. If you would like to enter the drawing, request Fatal Illusions at your library, church bookstore, or local Christian bookstore. Let me know you have completed this action by replying to this e-mail. If you have already requested the novel at one of those places, just let me know; you'll be entered in the drawing. I'll announce the winner in my May newsletter.

What's Next for Me? Right now, I'm doing whatever I can to help spread the word about my novel after my regular responsibilities. I'm also working on the sequel. Thanks again for your support and encouragement. May the Lord receive all the glory!

Window to My World Reviews Fatal Illusions

2009-04-24T08:08:00.000-06:00

Fatal Illusions is a tale that brings together the best of several writing elements, and weaves them into a suspenseful and compelling read that contains a satisfying spiritual and emotional depth. Adam Blumer’s writing takes a look at realistic struggles faced by many Christians today. He sets these issues amid the disturbing criminal case of a serial killer, and as he carefully merges the story lines, the reader is amazed at how the emotional/spiritual aspects of the primary story is mirrored in the dark depravity of the criminal. Everyone is seeking to obey someone – is it the voice of God, of man, or the devil himself?

Marc and Gillian Thayer serve as pastor and wife in a large urban congregation. When one of Marc’s church members reveals her psychologically disturbed state, the Thayers suddenly find themselves in what seems to be an unending nightmare. Death has already touched their lives once, and when Marc’s life is almost snuffed out, they are forced to relocate and re-examine their lives as never before.

Other lives also hang in the balance, and the Thayer’s struggles prove to be a mirror image of some darker, more sinister disturbances taking place in the life of one lonely, misunderstood young man who suffers an un-natural fascination with Houdini. This man has already taken the lives of several young women, and the Thayer’s lives are on a collision course with his demented mind. When their daughter Crystal becomes the object of the killer’s desire the entire community of Whistler’s Point is shaken to its core.

Adam Blumer doesn’t shy away from presenting the spiritual struggles taking place in the lives of his characters as they face times of hardship. The Thayer’s wind up dealing with one horror after another, and along the way they are forced to examine their faith in a very personal – and sometimes painful – way. I appreciated this aspect of his writing a great deal, and I loved the way he blended it with the hunt for the serial killer! The ending was particularly amazing – over and over again!! It still gives me the creeps!

I highly recommend Fatal Illusions and look forward to reading more stories by Adam Blumer!

—Kim Ford

The Cypress Times Gives FI a Great Review

2009-04-23T14:11:00.000-06:00

http://thecypresstimes.com/Article.cfm?articleID=21825

"This book is magnificent! Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I'm definitely a new member of the Adam Blumer fan club. The book had a lot of action that never quite let up. Even at almost 400 pages I read this in a day and a half. The book never seems to slow down, so it's a quick read. One of the great things about this book was that it was a Christian murder mystery. Typically in this genre you get a certain amount of cussing or sex scenes. You get none of that here, just non stop action. This book also through some twists at me that I wasn't expecting, and believe me I'm not easily surprised by plot twists anymore. I'd put Fatal Illusions up against a James Patterson novel any day...it's that good! I'm definitely recommending this to anyone who likes a fast paced thrill ride of a book."

—Marta Hoelscher

Brandilyn Collins Interviews Adam at her Forensics & Faith Blog

2009-04-23T07:04:00.001-06:00

I've followed Brandilyn Collins's Christian suspense novels for several years, so it was an honor when she contacted me and said she wanted to interview me at her blog. Check it out:

http://forensicsandfaith.blogspot.com/2009/04/fatal-illusions.html

Elisha's Bones by Dan Hoesel

2009-04-22T09:21:00.003-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Elisha's Bones (Bethany House March 1, 2009) by Don HoeselAbout the Author

Don Hoesel was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, but calls Spring Hill, TN, home. He is a Web site designer for a Medicare carrier in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communication from Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief Journal. He lives in Spring Hill with his wife and two children. Elisha's Bones is his first novel.

About the Book

Every year, professor of antiquities Jack Hawthorne looks forward to the winter break as a time to hide away from his responsibilities. Even if just for a week or two. But this year, his plans are derailed when he's offered almost a blank check from a man chasing a rumor.

Billionaire Gordon Reese thinks he knows where the bones of the prophet Elisha are--bones that in the Old Testament brought the dead back to life. The bones of the prophet once raised the dead to life... but they vanished from history in a whisper.

Bankrolled by a dying man of unlimited means, Hawthorne's hunt spans the globe and leads him into a deadly conspiracy older than the church itself. A born skeptic, Jack doesn't think much of the assignment but he could use the money, so he takes the first step on a chase for the legendary bones that will take him to the very ends of the earth.

But he's not alone. Joined with a fiery colleague, Esperanza Habilla, they soon discover clues to a shadowy organization whose long-held secrets have been protected . . . at all costs. And he soon discovers those sworn to keep the secret of the bones will do anything to protect them. As their lives are threatened again and again, the real race is to uncover the truth before those chasing them hunt them down.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Elisha's Bones, go HERE

My Review

I apologize. I have not read this novel yet; too much great suspense all in the same month. However, I do intend to read this novel and write a review. Right now, my mom is reading the novel and enjoying it very much. Thank you, Don! It's a fascinating premise, and I'm eager to dig in. I wish you the best on this project.

BJU Campus Store reports that FI "has sold very well for us so far"

2009-04-21T09:19:00.000-06:00

http://www.bjucampusstore.com/ePOS?store=468&item_number=2800825420988&form=shared3%2fgm%2fdetail.html&design=468

Great Review of Fatal Illusions in Local Newspaper

2009-04-20T08:23:00.003-06:00

BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker

2009-04-17T07:12:00.007-06:00

This week the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance introduces Boneman's Daughters (Center Street, April 14, 2009) by Ted DekkerAbout the Author

Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), Obsessed, Renegade, and Chaos.

About the Book

Would you kill an innocent man to save your daughter?

They call him BoneMan, a serial killer who’s abducted six young women. He’s the perfect father looking for the perfect daughter, and when his victims fail to meet his lofty expectations, he kills them by breaking their bones and leaving them to die.

Intelligence officer Ryan Evans, on the other hand, has lost all hope of ever being the perfect father. His daughter and wife have written him out of their lives.

Everything changes when BoneMan takes Ryan’s estranged daughter, Bethany, as his seventh victim. Ryan goes after BoneMan on his own.

But the FBI sees it differently. New evidence points to the suspicion that Ryan is BoneMan. Now the hunter is the hunted, and in the end, only one father will stand.

You can listen to an audio clip HERE

If you would like to read the first chapter of Boneman's Daughters, go HERE.

My Review

I have mixed feelings about this highly anticipated novel. Like Dekker’s other novels, this one is fast-paced, suspenseful, and mind-stretching. And Ted is a good writer; he certainly knows how to spin a tale, pace his stories, and ratchet up the suspense. As in his other novels, he uses some biblical symbolism certain to make some readers think more about God's love for fallen man as illustrated by the main character's love for his daughter and the sacrifices he makes. The novel also raises some ethical questions about how low a father, represented by a vigilante father, should go to save his daughter. I won’t rehash the storyline here, but I will summarize that this is probably the darkest, grittiest Dekker novel I’ve read yet. It certainly is not for the faint of heart.

As a Christian novel, this one won't pass the litmus test of more conservative readers due to crude language, flippant uses of God's name in dialogue, and the total absence of any overtly Christian character. (See the content rating at Safebooks.org and keep in mind that most of this language was edited out before the final printing.) The level of distasteful violence also pushes the envelope, and I felt repulsed more than once, though I realize that the violence was restrained compared to what it could have been.

As usual with Dekker, I felt confused because I couldn't tell whether the novel was supposed to be Christian or secular. It weighed heavily on the latter, and I’ve since learned that BoneMan’s Daughters is Dekker’s first foray into the secular market. Well, that explains it. I just wish CBD and other advertisers had made that fact clearer before I started the book.

As a novel, this disturbing story is engaging, compelling, and hard to put down. The twists and turns are amazing, though not always logical, and Dekker kept me guessing more than once. Some places in the plot seemed a little low on the plausibility scale.

Many times I would like to have seen more character depth to create more sympathy. The lead Ryan Evans, an intelligence officer, makes some rash decisions that don't always make sense. At least twice, he could have attacked BoneMan and possibly overpowered him; I’m not sure why he didn’t try. (Interestingly his attitude as the story’s hero appears to convey an anti-Iraq-war message to the reader.) Perhaps if I had understood Ryan’s character better, he would have seemed more sympathetic. His daughter, Bethany, is as jaded and shallow as they come. Ryan's cheating wife, Celine, and her DA boyfriend aren't much better. I frankly had little sympathy for any of the main characters. Even Ricki, the FBI agent, seemed flat to me. So when Bethany's kidnapping takes place, I didn't find myself caring about her or Ryan as much as I should have. Maybe that's because I never really liked her to begin with. (What I found interesting as I was reading is that this novel bears some striking similarities to The Pawn by Steven James. There’s a serial killer and a dysfunctional father-daughter relationship; the daughter even “cuts” herself. Interesting . . . )

[Spoiler Warning] Probably the most interesting character in the novel is BoneMan, who prefers to be called “Satan,” further reinforcement of the symbolism. However, this skin-shaving, Noxzema-applying psycho continues to be an enigma in my mind. I understand his hatred of his mother and his desire to seek the perfect daughter (though how his hatred of his mother translates into seeking a perfect daughter remains unclear). When his victims do not meet his standards, he systematically kills them by breaking their bones. Thankfully, Dekker spares the reader from actually seeing BoneMan carry out one of his numerous murders. However, to save Bethany, BoneMan forces Ryan to essentially become BoneMan and break the bones of Ryan’s wife’s lover. (I know—it’s difficult even imagining such an act.) To save Bethany, Ryan is willing to become like the serial killer himself—again raising ethical questions about what is acceptable in this situation. I'm still not sure why BoneMan breaks the bones of his victims other than to mirror Christ's crucifixion and to "get it right" since Christ's bones were not broken. But why does BoneMan feel that he must do this? (Perhaps a rereading of key chapters might aid my understanding.)

As a secular novel, you won't find a much cleaner read than this. For horror fiction (which this is), you won’t find such restrained violence either. As already noted, the clever biblical symbolism may get some readers thinking about what Jesus endured on the cross for us. For that reason, I applaud Dekker's desire to symbolize biblical truth and challenge the thinking of a secular audience. But as with some of his other novels, I didn’t feel that he inserted enough of a spiritual message, which is buried under so much darkness, to seal the deal. The rather abrupt ending wasn’t quite what I wanted either; suddenly, Ryan is running away from the compound with only a broken heel. Why did BoneMan let him go? In the end, the novel, though displaying some expertly crafted suspense, seemed more unsettling than uplifting.

Melissa at A Weak Rose Posts an Encouraging Review

2009-04-16T09:42:00.000-06:00

http://aweakrose.blogspot.com/2009/04/fatal-illusions-by-adam-blumer.html

Fatal Illusions at BJU Campus Store

2009-04-15T06:39:00.002-06:00

Bob Jones University (Greenville, SC), my alma mater, set up a wonderful display for selling my novel. You can see a couple photos here.

Deadlock by Robert Liparulo

2009-04-13T15:26:00.001-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Deadlock
Thomas Nelson (April 2009)
by
Robert LiparuloABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Liparulo is a former journalist, with over a thousand articles and multiple writing awards to his name. Readers of his action-thrillers were not surprised when his visual storytelling style caught the eye of Hollywood producers. Currently, three of his novels for adults are in various stages of development for the big screen: the film rights to Comes A Horseman were purchased by the producer of Tom Clancy’s movies; and Liparulo is penning the screenplays for GERM and Deadfall for two top producers. He is also working with the director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Holes) on a political thriller. Novelist Michael Palmer calls Deadfall “a brilliantly crafted thriller.” March 31st marked the publication of Deadfall’s follow-up, Deadlock, which novelist Gayle Lynds calls, “best of high-octane suspense.”

Liparulo’s bestselling young adult series, Dreamhouse Kings, debuted last year with House of Dark Shadows and Watcher in the Woods. Book three, Gatekeepers released in January, and number four, Timescape, comes out in July. The series has garnered praise from readers, both young and old, as well as attracting famous fans who themselves know the genre inside and out. Of the series Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine says, “I loved wandering around in these books. With a house of so many great, haunting stories, why would you ever want to go outside?”

He is currently working on his next thriller, which for the first time injects a bit of the supernatural into his gun-blazing stories. The story is so compelling, two Hollywood studios are already in talks to acquire it—despite its publication date being more than a year away. After that comes a trilogy of novels, based on the critically acclaimed short story he contributed to James Patterson’s Thriller anthology. New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry calls Liparulo’s writing “Inventive, suspenseful, and highly entertaining . . . Robert Liparulo is a storyteller, pure and simple.” He lives with his family in Colorado.

ABOUT THE BOOK

John Hutchinson thinks it's no coincidence that Brendan Page runs this modern Praetorian Guard, and that the billionaire military industrialist must have had something to do with the atrocities his son Declan committed in Canada. The Canadian and U.S. Justice departments disagree, but Hutch has been digging for dirt ever since.

Brendan Page has some dirty not-so-little secrets. he's built an empire on supplying futuristic weapons and highly trained soldiers to the world's most powerful armies. But he's saved his most destructive weapons for himself.

When Hutch discovers the secret of Page's success, Page decides to teach him a lesson. But the operation goes terribly wrong, and Hutch's son is kidnapped. While a lone man stands little chance against the best black op soldiers ever issued M-16s, Hutch manages to survive longer than Page anticipated. As far as Hutch is concerned, high-tech helmets, machine guns, and hand grenades are nothing compared to a man determined to save his son. It's a lesson he sets out to teach Page-and one that he can only hope works as well in the real world as it does in his heart.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Deadlock, go HERE.

My Review . . .

. . . is hopefully coming soon.

Interview and Book Giveaway at A Christian Writer’s World

2009-04-07T07:30:00.002-06:00

Check out my interview and book giveaway at A Christian Writer's World. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com/2009/04/adam-blumer-fatal-illusions-free-book.html

My Son, John by Kathi Macias

2009-04-06T06:05:00.006-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing My Son, John (Sheaf House Publishers April 2009) by Kathi Macias
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathi Macias is an award-winning author of more than twenty fiction and nonfiction books. She has also ghostwritten and collaborated on books for a number of well-known individuals. She is a staff member for The Christian Communicator Manuscript Critique Service and a member of The Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network, Christian Authors Network, American Christian Fiction Writers, Christian Writers Fellowship International, Advanced Writers/Speakers Association, for who she serves as membership chair, and orange County Christian Writers Fellowship. She is the 2008 winner of AWSA’s Golden Scroll Award.

A Former newspaper columnist and string reporter, Macias is a credentialed minister and served as an associate pastor at a large church in Southern California, where she did biblical counseling, trained small group leaders, and oversaw support/recovery ministries. She is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and retreats, and writers’ conferences, and has appeared on several radio and TV programs.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Murder.

Could there be a more chilling word?

Could it be any more horrible than to have a loved one killed, brutally and heartlessly, without obvious reason or motive?

When Liz Peterson's elderly mother is found viciously beaten to death in her home, Liz and her husband, Charles, along with their grown son, John, and teenage daughter, Sarah, are horrified beyond words. Their previously predictable, respectable lives seem to have vanished without a trace, as they struggle to make sense of a senseless act.

And then a second blow-more devastating, if possible, than the first-rocks them to their core. John is arrested for his grandmother's murder. As what's left of the Peterson family begins to crumble under the weight of loss and accusation, the Petersons' longstanding Christian faith is put to the test in a way they could never have imagined, and unconditional love is stretched to its limits. Will family ties and relationships withstand such a crushing blow, or will evil succeed in dividing and conquering this once close and inseparable family?

Watch the chilling trailer!!

If you would like to read the first chapter of My Son, John, go HERE.

My Review

I have not yet read the novel but plan to. The book looks very interesting, and I'm looking forward to reading it. However, I noticed a profanity in the first line of the novel. I don't personally believe that profanity is ever justified in Christian fiction, so I will be reading this novel with some hesitation and uncertainty.

Jenny Muth Hosts Interview and Book Giveaway

2009-04-03T08:20:00.002-06:00

Win a free copy of Fatal Illusions! http://mjmuth.blogspot.com/2009/04/friday-interview-and-book-giveaway.html

CJ Darlington Posts My Advice for Writers

2009-04-02T06:07:00.000-06:00

Find it here.

Angel of Wrath by Bill Myers

2009-04-01T08:35:00.002-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Angel Of Wrath (FaithWords, April 8, 2009) by Bill Myers
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Well, one thing led to another and even though I got C's in my one writing class in college (and told God I could do anything for him but write) I got my first writing job for a TV series. And then another and then some directing jobs and finally some books. (I think I've written and/or directed a few dozen films and about 60 books). The projects have won about 40 awards, I get to travel all over the world, and I'm having the time of my life. I often think that none of this would have happened if I lived my life my way. I would have never chosen writing and directing for a living. Instead, I might be in somebody's mouth this very minute drilling away as a dentist. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being a dentist, it's just not what I was designed for. So, everywhere I go, I encourage people to say yes to God, no matter how foolish it may feel, because by doing that, they'll be in the center of His will and living a cooler life than they'd ever dreamed possible. It's not always easy and it can be a little scary…but it's anything but boring!

Today I live in California, not too far from Hollyweird (where I'm still trying to make a difference) with two cats, two kids, one dog and one wife.

Another Faithword book by Bill Myers is The Voice.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Thirteen-year-old Jazmin, her ex-Special Ops uncle Charlie, and former FBI agent Lisa are reunited in the second of the Voice of God series to stop a an assassin driven to murder members of a megachurch led by Lisa's brother. This assassin has drawn in a coven of teens toying with satanic practices to support his efforts. The naive youth engage in ceremonies that appear to usher in the death of each of his victims. When their rituals open a portal into the spiritual realm, a terrifying and mysterious entity crosses over to our world.
The battle culminates with the capture of Lisa's father as the next target and a Black Mass requiring both their deaths as a sacrifice. The team will, once again, have to rely on all their wits, strength, and faith to survive in this action-packed, unearthly warfare.

If you would like to read an excerpt from Angel Of Wrath, go HERE.

Today Is the Release of Fatal Illusions

2009-03-31T07:34:00.001-06:00

Whoo-hoo! May the Lord receive the glory!

The novel is for sale here.

See the New Book Trailer!

2009-03-31T07:31:00.000-06:00

The Real Enemy by Kathy Herman

2009-03-30T06:43:00.001-06:00

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Real Enemy
(David C. Cook, March 2009) by Kathy Herman.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Suspense novelist Kathy Herman is very much at home in the Christian book industry, having worked five years on staff at the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and eleven years at Better Books Christian Center in Tyler, Texas, as product buyer/manager for the children’s department, and eventually as director of human resources.

She has conducted numerous educational seminars on children’s books at CBA Conventions in the U.S. and Canada, served a preliminary judge for the Gold Medallion Book Awards of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association , and worked as an independent product/marketing consultant to the CBA market.

Since her first novel, Tested by Fire, debuted in 2001 as a CBA national bestseller, she's added thirteen more titles to her credit, including another bestseller, All Things Hidden.

Kathy's husband Paul is her best friend and most ardent supporter and manages the LifeWay Christian Store in Tyler, Texas. They have three grown children, five adorable grandkids, a cat named Samantha—and an ongoing fascination with hummingbirds. They also enjoy world travel, deep sea fishing, stargazing, and bird watching and sometimes incorporate all these hobbies into one big adventure.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Brill Jessup just became the first female police chief in Sophie Trace, Tennessee, and is riding on the credentials of a stellar eighteen-year career on the Memphis police force. She may be a pro at finding clues, but she tends to ignore the obvious in her personal life. And she would rather work than deal with the bitterness she feels about her husband Kurt's infidelity. Kurt, is weighed down by her unrelenting anger as he struggles to let God redeem the stupidest mistake he ever made. He is genuinely contrite and making every effort to show his commitment to Brill. But she hides behind her badge and her bitterness, deciding that moving her family away from Memphis is the only change she needs to make. So why can't Brill get over this anger?

Before she ever has time to unpack her boxes, people start disappearing. Lots of them. Seven people in seven days To complicate matters, a local legend has many residents believing that the cause is unearthly─tied to the “red shadows,” or spirits of the departed Cherokee who once inhabited the land.

While Brill draws on all of her experience and instinct to solve the case, she must confront an enemy that threatens everything she holds dear─one that cannot be stopped with a badge and a gun. She is forced to confront the real enemy.

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Real Enemy, go HERE.

Adam's TitleTrakk Interview Posted

2009-03-29T14:59:00.001-06:00

Read Adam's TitleTrakk interview here.

Did you go into the writing of this novel with a message in mind, or did the take-away value come about as you wrote?

"I didn’t premeditate what my novel’s themes were going to be. They emerged as the characters went through the mill and learned spiritual lessons based on their specific trials and personalities. Themes evolved from character growth. At the same time, I’m an author who is unapologetically a Christian author. Because of who I am, the message of Christ alone is going to naturally permeate what I write. Jostle a cup of coffee, and coffee is going to spill out. You get the idea." --Adam

Fatal Illusions Reading Group Guide Now Available

2009-03-27T07:16:00.003-06:00

The Reading Group Guide is intended for those who would like to read the novel as a group and then discuss it. (Or you may use it on your own too.) I've written several probing questions to help readers get the most spiritual benefit from reading the novel. You may download or read the Reading Group Guide here (PDF, 42 KB). The guide is also available at the back of the novel for those who purchase a copy. My heart's desire is that the novel is not only entertaining but also spiritually challenging.

A Cousin's Promise by Wanda Brunstetter

2009-03-23T05:58:00.001-06:00

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Cousin's Promise
Barbour Books (March 1, 2009)
by
Wanda Brunstetter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Wanda enjoys writing about the Amish because they live a peaceful, simple life─something she says we all need in this day and age.

Using the knowledge her Amish friends have shared with her, Wanda has also produced several children’s titles in the Rachel Yoder─Always Trouble Somewhere series, an Amish cookbook, and a devotional collection entitled The Simpler Life, which was released in July 2008 and celebrates the virtues of the Amish lifestyle. Wanda and her husband are members of the fellowship of Christian Magicians.

Wanda is also a member of the North American Association of ventriloquists, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Northwest Christian Writers Association. She lives in Washington State, where her husband pastors, but takes every opportunity to visit Amish settlements across the country.

Other books by Wanda are A Sister's Test, A Sister's Hope, and A Sister's Secret

ABOUT THE BOOK

Wayne Lambright who, crippled after a tragic accident, feels himself unworthy of her love; and Jake Beechy who, after having abandoned her to explore the English world, returns to renew their courtship.

Willkumm to the lush and lavish Amish country where Wanda Brunstetter's new romantic series, Indiana Cousins, begins with A Cousin's Promise. Loraine Miller finds herself torn between the love of two good men.

When a horrific accident cripples Wayne Lambright, he finds it difficult enough to take care of himself, much less Loraine Miller, his future bride. Will he sacrifice his happiness to give her a better life?

Having already been jilted once, Loraine is terrified of yet another rejection. But does she love Wayne enough to marry him, for better or worse? When her old boyfriend Jake Beechy returns from exploring the English world, he hopes Loraine will give him another chance.

How will God work to give Loraine the desires of her heart? To which man will she pledge her love and loyalty - for better or worse, until death they do part?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Cousin's Promise, go HERE

Fatal Illusions to Be Sold at the Christian Book Expo

2009-03-19T10:03:00.002-06:00

Alas, I will not be attending the Christian Book Expo 2009 in Dalas on March 19-22, but Fatal Illusions will be. My Kregel publicist said she'll have copies on hand to sell. How exciting! I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes.

Pastor's Wife Forgives His Killer

2009-03-17T09:20:00.001-06:00

Watch this amazing testimony (after a required commercial)!

The Twilight Series from a Biblical Perspective, Part 1

2009-03-17T07:01:00.003-06:00

by Mark Farnham

Girl meets boy. Boy becomes obsessed with girl. Girl returns the favor. Boy turns out to be a vampire. Girl doesn’t mind as long as she can be with boy every moment of her life. This is a stereotypical, adolescent relationship (with the exception of the Dracula factor)! In Stephanie Meyer’s fast-paced Twilight series, obsessive love is the name of the game. The main character, Isabella “Bella” Swan, has never dated before she encounters the perfect-in-every-way Edward Cullen. What ensues is a highly charged romance that is sure to suck in every female heart longing for a little excitement and (apparently) clean fantasy. This review primarily considers the novels since they tell the story in far greater detail than the movie. Read more.

The Books Arrive

2009-03-10T15:45:00.005-06:00

See the Final Cover

2009-03-10T07:20:00.001-06:00

http://www.adamblumerbooks.com/2009/03/09/see-photos-of-the-final-cover/

Wind a Free Copy of Fatal Illusions

2009-03-08T13:41:00.000-06:00

Friday, March 6, through March 10, Adam’s first online interview is featured at the blog of Christian author Tiffany Stockton. Check it out. Be sure to read the interview and comment on it. You will be entered in a drawing to receive a free copy of Fatal Illusions. This is the first official giveaway of the novel and the first promotional event. Have fun.

Advance Praise for Fatal Illusions

2009-03-05T10:51:00.000-06:00

“Fatal Illusions is an engaging, fast-paced read with a captivating storyline that grabs you from page one and doesn’t let go. Adam Blumer has skillfully weaved the threads of grace, mercy, and forgiveness into this compelling suspense novel. Highly recommended!”

—Mark Mynheir, homicide detective and author of The Night Watchman

“Adam Blumer tells a fast-paced story that weaves together a serial killer, a physically wounded pastor, and his spiritually wounded wife. The twists and turns will keep readers guessing, and the idyllic setting will have non-Yoopers wondering when they’ll be able to pay a visit to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.”

—Rick Acker, author of Blood Brothers

“In Fatal Illusions, Adam Blumer has crafted a page turner with characters that capture the imagination and a gripping plot from the first paragraph to the final sentence. An awesome ride!”

—Rosey Dow, Christy Award-winning author of Reaping the Whirlwind

“Magic in the hands of a diabolical madman proves deadly as he terrorizes a pastor’s family. Will their faith vanish when they need it most? Set against the backdrop of Lake Superior’s magnificent shores, Fatal Illusions is chilling, action-packed suspense that will keep readers moored right up until the very last page!”

—Andrea Boeshaar, author and speaker

“Adam Blumer’s debut novel is compelling and riveting, with a cast of well-defined characters and a plot as tight and action-packed as any best-selling thriller on bookstore shelves today. Fatal Illusions contains enough twists to keep even Harry Houdini impossibly bound! I can’t wait to see what else this author has up his sleeve!”

—Thomas Phillips, author of The Molech Prophecy

“Every now and then I find an author whose voice I immediately fall in love with. Adam Blumer is one of those authors. In Fatal Illusions he weaves a tale so spellbinding and gripping, I couldn’t wait to turn the next page. With characters I could identify with, a killer who had me looking over my shoulder, and an ending full of twists and surprises . . . just like that, I’m an Adam Blumer fan!”

—Mike Dellosso, author of The Hunted and Scream

“Fatal Illusions is a heart-thumping novel that not only kept me flipping pages, but impressed me with the Christian values it portrayed. Mystery reading at its best!”

—Bea Carlton, author of fifteen books