New Year…New Book Project!
After publishing my first novel I Was There When the Giant Fell this past November I was already itching to get started on my next I Was There book which will take another barely mentioned, little known character in the Bible and imagine his life story and what it would be like to witness another epic moment in salvation history. This time I am fast-forwarding a few hundred years. Israel is divided into two kingdoms. God sends his prophet, Jonah, to go and proclaim God’s message to Israel’s hated enemy the Assyrians in the city of Nineveh warning them to repent. Jonah knows God’s grace. He knows God wants to spare them, and it is the last thing he wants to happen. Despite God’s mandate, Jonah defies God and heads in the opposite direction. He boards a ship bound for Tarshish and the stage is set for one of the most famous moments in the Bible: Jonah swallowed by the great fish. What would it be like to be one of the sailors who encounter Jonah on his fateful journey? How would it feel to be in a raging storm sent by God himself to stop you in your tracks? What if you were a citizen of Nineveh and a strange messenger arrived proclaiming doom on your city? I want to explore these questions and more as I embark on this next project I Was There When Jonah Sank. My research is already in full swing, and I am still collecting more sources. I am fascinated by the Phoenicians, their sailing advancements and trade. I am digging into what it would be like to be a sailor on the Mediterranean in that time period and what it might have been like to be a commoner or a king in the city of Nineveh when Jonah arrived. The book will deal with many issues including long-distance relationships, young love, desperate loneliness, idolatry, humanistic pride, stubbornness, addiction and despair. Above all, it will focus on the incredible persistence of God’s astounding grace for sinful people. I plan to weave in a fair share of love, adventure, storms and dangers at sea. My characters will be interesting people whose struggles and lives are not so far removed from ours today. The rough draft is already in progress and my goal is to have a finished, mostly edited draft by the end of August, 2015 and a completed and published book at or before the end of the year! Again, I ask for your prayers as I start out on this fresh new writing...
Read MoreGod–a Child Born for You
Here is a Christmas poem and reminder based on passages from John 1. Wishing you all a merry Christmas as you celebrate the birth of the Savior! In the beginning was the Word The Word was with God, the Word was God He was with God in the beginning. This the Word that spoke forth light That ordered time into day and night That gathered seas and land in place And set each star in outer space. Through Him all that is was made Without Him nothing could ever be made. In Him was life that was our light. In deepest darkness light shines bright But darkness hardens and turns away Refusing to know the light of Day. This the Word now come in flesh, Conceived in virgin lowly and fresh. Angel millions hush each voice, Wide-eyed in silence watch God’s choice— Among the beasts where men won’t sleep In a feeding trough near cows and sheep He comes from womb to sin-full earth No human fanfare greets God’s birth. Blinding glory and might supreme In helpless baby lost in dream. Ancient promise stands fulfilled All is just as God has willed! Look! Peer in with bated breath See infant life that conquers death The babe that drew each breath for you A flawless life-long record true. For poor and wealthy, great and small He came to reach us, save us all… None too broken—wrecked with sin None too lost that he can’t win. He came for stubborn, angry, weak, He came each sinner here to seek And you and me and all our mess Lifetimes of sins, our desperateness He came, He came, He came to save And take our sin, our hell, our grave. This baby’s future? No palace grand, But to feel the bite of nail through hand! He came to that which was his own, Yet his own despised their King, his throne Threw God’s gift back in his face Refused his truth, despised his grace And on a cross this Lamb would die The death we all deserved to die. He felt all punishment complete For a world of sin he bore hell’s heat. With dying words the Word went out “Paid in full!” his mighty shout! And then from grave to glory he Stands risen and rules eternally. This Christmas as we gather round For gifts and fun and joyful sound For worship ritual, carols and bells Festive sights and savory smells May nothing distract us from God’s Son— God’s Greatest Gift and all he’s done Instead, let’s focus on the Word And all year treasure what is heard. May this message fill us new: God—a child born for...
Read MoreGive Thanks In All Circumstances
Below I have written a poem that reflects on the wonderful truth that no matter what we experience in this life, we have forgiveness and a perfect future, thanks to Christ and his cross! That means we can give thanks in all circumstances! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) His love is really all we need. If we saw as we should see The full truth of our depravity And the overwhelming reality Of the hell where we deserve to be Would we complain of snow or rain? Lament a moment’s passing pain? Fume about annoyance small? or be greatly grateful for it all? Each pain or problem–joy, success I still have Jesus’ righteousness! His countless gifts, his future grand– The peace he gives with nail-pierced hand And so let thank yous tumble out At tiny gifts I can leap and shout… A breath! My lungs filled up once more On air God mixed and held in store To feed my life with what I need To fuel me on for word and deed, A breath I never dared to claim And yet God gave it, just the same! And every high and every low That I might live through here below Is but another grace-filled gift That ought to cause my eyes to lift And move my lips in joyful praise, My God is God of all my days. Every moment that he gives I live because my Savior lives, The perfect Son who died for me Paid my full eternity. And so when sinful selfishness Steals my joy with false distress, Or when my earthly problems and pain Perplex me till I feel insane, Or when my sin is crushing strong, Or when I sing death’s mourning song And feel the loss–that gaping ache, Or foolish pride makes me forsake True love for some sweet comfort fake… Then Lord, remind me: All would be loss Apart from the truth of your saving cross And wipe my tears and point my eyes To expect your coming in the skies And till then give me things to do That thank and honor and worship...
Read More10 Things I Learned After Writing My First Book
After 3 years of researching, writing, rewriting, rereading and yawning while staring at a computer screen in the early hours of the morning, my book is finally all done and published! There is no way to even describe how it feels to hold that finished book in my hands. What an amazing thing to know that people I will never meet will read it and be affected by it. It is extremely exciting and humbling! I thought I should share 10 things I have learned on this first journey into authorship, so here goes… 1. Begin work with devotion and prayer. The days that I just jumped in and started writing were the days I accomplished the least. Seriously. My typical writing time started at 4:30 AM or on days when I wasn’t at my day job it was the hour or two when my wife and kids were napping. Time was almost always limited and sometimes I would really get in the groove and my fingers were flying on the keys, and I would look at the clock and have to tear myself away from the computer because time was up. How easy it was to forget to pray before I started writing. How often I was tempted to skip my devotion time. Sometimes I did that for the sake of more time and without fail those were the days I got nothing done, the days I got most irritated, the days that became more about me and less about God and others. Asking God to bless my work was and is an essential, daily need. It helps me focus. It gives perspective. That is not just important for writing, but important for all the tasks, stresses, ups and downs of each day. When I have taken the time to focus on my God and the salvation that is mine because of him, then I am ready to meet the day. When I read and meditate on his powerful promises everything falls into the proper perspective. That does not mean that life goes on like a song as long as I do a devotion, but it does mean that I am better prepared for the twists and turns that the day holds, because I know God holds my day and my eternal future in his loving hands. 2. Get into the characters. Those imaginary people almost had to become part of my life. They were my friends. I laughed and cried with them and felt what they were feeling. Kind of odd…but it really does happen. I found that the more real those characters feel to me, the better and more well-rounded those characters will be in the story. 3. Enjoy it…even when it is tough. Writing is fun for me. Most days I would lose track of time researching, writing and creating. I thoroughly enjoy doing it–most of the time. Of course, there were days when I did not want to touch my computer, think about my characters or even write one sentence. Yes, sometimes that meant I just needed to take a day off of it. Other times I would force myself to go to work. I would intentionally tell myself that I was enjoying it, and after a little while I was! The mind is powerful and if you willfully choose to enjoy something, it can become enjoyable. Sometimes that meant skipping a section I was stuck on, realizing that I would return to it another time. Other times that meant powering through and getting something on the page, knowing that I would probably...
Read MoreAlmost there!
Well, here I am at the end of October and the book is not quite available yet. There were a few revisions that needed to be made after I recieved the proof copy and discovered a full page of italicized text that should not have been italicized. This must have happened when the interior of the book was being formatted. No big deal, but it does push my actual release date into early November. Another proof copy is on its way at this very moment and once I take a look at that I will be free to take the next step in making the book fully available. Watch for another update and a link to purchase the book in just a few days!! Thanks!...
Read MoreFirst Copy of My Book!
It is finally here!! Here it is! It feels awesome to actually hold my book in my hand for the first time! As I was paging through it I did find a couple minor things that need to be changed before I can make it available, and so those changes are now being made. It is awesome to be one big step closer. I will be sure to let you know when it is available online and where to find it!! Thank you for all the prayers and support throughout this process,...
Read MoreBuy the Book!
