Vow

Another year has come and gone, nothing's changed.
I've wasted another year doing the same old things.
I want to break out of this and turn my life around. 
I'm going to make a vow to repent and turn to You!

Yesterday was my birthday. Wow. Another year older. But what's changed? "I've wasted another year doing the same old things." Every year I promise myself that I'll improve. But I just don't. Simple as that. Recently, someone asked me, "Ten years from now where do you see yourself?" and, although the question was about acting, it stands true for life. I think to myself, Do I really want a good change, a good improvement on my life? Do you? God has given me this time, this one chance to utilize my talents, to gain interest on them so that, when I enter the gates of Heaven, I can say, "Here, Lord, you gave me these, and I used them to do this." I don't want to waste another year doing the "...same old things..." I want to love the Lord with ALL my heart, ALL my mind, and ALL of my strength. It's definitely going to be a struggle, but with Christ, all things are possible.

Photos from the Lodge...

Love vs. Commandment

For discussion: (and seriously people, comment)

Does love (SUPPOSED true love) trump what God says? As in, if you really love someone, is it all right to break a commandment of Christ? I  mean, really, when it comes down to it, what do we believe? If we don't have it set in stone now, when (not if) we are presented with a situation, there is a higher likely-hood of falling into sin.

Thoughts?

Skin

          What would you do if you were in an oppressive cult that would beat you if you touched an outsider? I’ll tell you what Wendy Davidson did… She escaped. It’s been seven years since she broke free from the bonds of domination and she’s trying to make a new life. When the thriller/horror called Skin opens, this is where we find her. She’s headed east across the country to meet her mother, the rain is pouring and she just wants to reach the next town so she can bed down for the night. But there’s more to Summerville than meets the eye.

            Colt Jackson is a member of the Summerville Police Department, answering a 911 call about a gunman on the loose in the middle of town. Carey Schultz is trying to get his sister Nicole to the Summerville Hospital to get her snake bite treated. And Jerry Pinkus? Well, Jerry Pinkus hasn’t come into the story…yet. A triple-tornado is about to touchdown in Summerville and everyone is trying to get to safety. Through a series of fortunately unfortunate events, Colt, Wendy, Carey, and Nicole find themselves in a house above the city, trying to outlast the storm. But, in the morning, when they come outside, they find that something disastrous has happened… the town, all of it, is gone. The only thing that can be seen for miles is desert, plain desert. Well, that and the house and adjoining library. A fallen electric line stops them from going towards where the town was and there isn’t much point going anywhere else. Suddenly, the library door flings open and out runs a twenty-something year-old gamer, one called Jerry Pinkus. Jerry is missing his right index finger at the second knuckle. So, now they are a group of five strangers, stranded in the middle of nowhere, when, to add to the mix, the gunman shows up. Turns out he’s a sadistic killer bent on ridding the world of ugliness. Soon, they are faced with the decision of killing one in their number or all dying. Neither choice is picked. Next thing they know, the town is back. The story begins to quicken as the town continues to vanish, and then reappear as if on a whim. And, to make matters worse, the killer knows who they are… like really knows. The quintet begins to balk and accuse one another of being the killer, wondering how this psycho, this Sterling Red can know so much about all of them, when none of them know him. Or do they?

            Skin, written by Ted Dekker, is a page turner for sure, and, although there many unexpected turns, the craziest plot twist is saved for the very end… the very, very end. I would recommend this book to the older crowd as it deals with a sadistic killer. The point is, beauty is not skin deep, and everyone is ugly. Ugly with sin… but there is a cure for ugliness. 

Unbroken

             The inflatable raft, holding three starving airmen, is barely afloat in the Pacific. Sharks circle the boat. Death is very near. One of these men is former Olympic runner, Louis Zamperini. How did he get here?

            Unbroken, written by Lauren Hillenbrand, is the gripping biography of this man, this Louis ‘Louie’ Zamperini. During his childhood, Louie discovered that he could run, that is, as an athlete runs. Soon, he was smashing records all over the country, trying to run a four-minute mile. He got into the 1936 Olympics, which were held in Germany, and, although he finished eighth line in the 5000 meter, caught the attention of none other than Adolph Hitler, who demanded a meeting with “the boy with the fast finish.”

            Immediately after returning home, he began training for the 1940 Olympics, but all was about to change. The Olympics were scheduled to be in Tokyo, Japan, but, due to the outbreak of World War II, they were canceled and moved to Helsinki, Finland. Then, as WWII began to ravage Scandinavia, the Olympics were suspended indefinitely. Louie joined the Army and became a crewmember on a bomber. Several times, Death missed him, thanks to the expert pilot. But, on a fateful day, a plane went down in the Pacific. Louie’s team was called to go scour the ocean with another crew and look for the missing plane, or at least the survivors. Somewhere in the middle of the ‘Big Blue’, an accident happened that would change Louie’s life forever. The rust-bucket plane his crew was ordered to fly on this mission had four engines. One went out. The pilot told the engineer to stop the propeller from turning, which was a normal procedure when an engine went out. The real problem began when the engineer stopped the wrong prop. Now two engines were out and the plane plummeted to the depths. Only three men survived. Now, they were afloat in the Pacific, literally warding off death with paddles. After weeks of floating, with little more than raw bird meat and rain water to survive on, only two men remained. Louie and the pilot. A ship came into view and they became elated with joy that maybe, just maybe, it would be an American vessel. The happiness quickly turned to horror when they saw the flag. It wasn’t the Stars and Stripes, but the Rising Sun of the Japanese Empire.

            Unbroken is a story of survival, courage, and, most importantly, forgiveness. Find out the whole story by reading this amazing book. I would recommend this work to a more mature audience due to some language scattered in the pages.

Forbidden

                Forbidden, by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee, is an intense, futuristic thriller about a man named Rom, his three friends and a dead world. Dekker and Lee do a fantastic job of keeping the reader’s fingers busy… meaning; this book is quite a page turner. Although set over five hundred years in the future, they paint the world as not having changed much. It almost seems more Victorian then modern.

            Rom is a young, handsome funeral singer. He has never known love, hate, or any other emotion because he is emotionless. But then so is everyone else on planet earth. The story goes that, in 2005, scientists found the DNA chemical that creates the emotion of fear. Over the next few years, they similarly found the chemicals that made up every other emotion that a human feels. A nuclear war broke out and thousands were killed, so the scientists realized the only way to save the human race from annihilation was to rid it of emotion. They released an airborne virus into the atmosphere that stripped humanity of all emotion… except for fear.

            On a certain overcast day, Rom is making his way home from a funeral when he finds an old man, or rather, an old man finds him. He gives Rom a package and tells him to take it and find a man called the Book. Before Rom can ask any questions, the man is killed by some police officers. Horrified, he runs for his life, not thinking that all will be well if he just gave the package up. When he arrives home, his mother asks why he has blood on him so he tells her what happened. She becomes equally scared and tells him to take it in, but he counters that, because he ran, they will still kill him. The argument is cut short when the police show up at the house. He runs, but not before he sees them but his mother’s throat. Running out of options for safety, he goes to his friend, Avra’s, house. He asks her to help him and she agrees. They run and in a church where Avra asks him what is in the package. Realizing that he doesn’t yet know, they open it and find a vial of blood wrapped in leather, which is covered in writing. The writing tells them that in drinking the blood, they will find life. Rom takes the vial, seeing that there is nothing left to lose, and drinks a portion of it. The energy that courses through him is so powerful that he passes out. While he is unconscious, Avra also drinks a portion of the blood and she collapses under the force of life. When they wake, they realize that they really never were alive and that the whole world is dead. Two more of their friends drink some of the blood and the foursome begin to uncover the past… in order to save the present and restore life to a dead race.

            With many twists and turns along the way, this book is virtually impossible to put down. Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee have written this in such a wonderful way that it is gripping yet not just entertaining. Smoothly woven into this novel is biblical imagery and beautiful description. The most interesting part is describing what emotion is like from the perspective of one who has just found it. I would recommend this book to a more mature audience because of the graphic nature of the murders and a detailed (rather bloody) fight sequence.

The Screwtape Letters

Have you ever wanted to know what the demons think? Have you ever wondered how they go about tempting you every day? Well, many years ago, C.S. Lewis penned a book that might give you a little glimpse into the other side.

            The Screwtape Letters is a fictitious assortment of letters written by Undersecretary Screwtape, a retired tempter, to his nephew, Wormwood, a beginning tempter. These letters are filled with tidbits of advice that are supposed to help Wormwood “secure” the soul of his “patient.” Although the reader never hears what Wormwood says or does, the attitude of Screwtape’s letters convey what is evidently happening. He is a blundering, clumsy idiot of a demon and Screwtape has much fun in telling him so. Whether or not the soul is captured I will leave up to you to find out…

         Although it is, as said before, a fictitious writing, C.S. Lewis brings up many good points throughout these letters. The wisdom written here should be heeded and spread so that less and less of Christians will fall into the devil’s clever, imperceptible traps.

The Bone House

The Bone House is the intriguing sequel to The Skin Map, both written by Steven R. Lawhead, in the Bright Empires series. Following the myth that telluric energy is a time travel or time jumping force, Steven has penned another mind twisting book. Filled with unexpected plot twists and adventure, this sequel has  come to par level with its precursor.

Kit has been saved by Wilhelmina, Uncle Henry and Cosimo are dead. What next? Mina (Wilhelmina’s nick name) has taken Kit and Guiles to her home in the 1600s era Prague. But soon after they get there, Lord Burleigh comes out of nowhere with Lady Fayth. Knowing that Burleigh has made frequent visits to Prague and that they are never long, Mina attempts to hide Guiles and Kit in a nearby ley (time jump portal) until he leaves and then she will retrieve them after Burleigh leaves. Plans change when Guiles is shot by Burleigh while distracting him so that Kit can get away and Kit barely escapes… into the Stone Age. Although the plan was to wait for Mina at the crossing point, Kit decides to take a bit of a stroll and ends up being taken to a caveman-like village where the natives welcome him as one of their own. Mina comes arrives in the period moments later and, after searching for Kit everywhere within a radius of the ley, gives up and returns to car for Guiles. After many months, Kit is still among the Stone Agers and waiting for his chance to escape back to Mina, when, by accident, he falls through a ley and into a lush jungle where he finds Arthur Flindres-Petrie… the Man Who Is Map. The man whose skin Kit has held is his very hands.

This book was very interesting. Following many different plot lines might seem hard to do, but really, it isn’t. The way Stephen Lawhead writes is different from other authors. Because time boundaries are obsolete in this series, some one who is dead, could very well be alive. Confusing? You should read the books for yourself, it is explained there much better than I could ever do it.

The Skin Map

Countless people have wondered if time travel is possible. Others believe that telluric energy¹ (a.k.a. an earth current) is a time-travel force and we only have to learn how to harness it in order to travel back or forward in time. The Skin Map, written by Steven Lawhead, is a fictitious novel about the “what-ifs’ involving telluric energy and time travel. It is the first book in the Bright Empires series.

            Kit Livingstone is a twenty-seven year old loser, he works a job in London, only to survive; and he willingly admits that he needs a new girlfriend. He keeps the one he has just for the sake of being in a relationship. On a random, Sunday afternoon, he is on his way to her house because he had promised her that they would go shopping together. Through a series of unfortunate events, he is forced to walk the several blocks to her house. On his way, he passes down an alley that he has never been down before. A freak storm comes and then, just as quickly as it came, it was gone. As he nears the end of the tunnel, he hears someone call his name. He turns to find his great-grandfather, Cosimo Livingstone, following him. Thinking that it is just some crazy man, he walks on and comes out the other side of the alley, but finds himself in a seaside village, not London. He demands to know what happened and the Cosimo informs him that he has walked through a portal into the past, although not history. It is another dimension of history (meaning, if he changes something there, it will not necessarily change the future in real time).  Cosimo goes on to ask Kit to help him with something, but Kit wants nothing of it. He walks back into the alley which is back into London. A few minutes later, he comes to his girlfriend Wilhelmina’s house and is thoroughly confused when she is upset with him for being so late. Not quite sure what she means by “so late”, he looks at his phone and sees that it was 4:30pm, a full eight hours from when he left his house. He tries his best to explain what happened, but she doesn’t believe him. Finally, he decides to take her to the portal. When they get to it, he walks through first with her following directly behind him, but when he gets through, she is nowhere to be found. Cosimo finds him and tells Kit that he knew that he would return soon, but asks him what caused him to come back. Kit sighs and explains what happened. Cosimo is not at all thrilled with this, saying that this could be very bad for all the dimensions of reality, because she might upset the balance of things. It turns out that the portal that Kit and Mina came through has several ‘drop spots.’ Cosimo and Kit then set out to find her… before it’s too late.

            When an author sets out to write a series, he must make the first book intriguing enough that the readers will want to read the next book. Steven Lawhead has done this well, weaving many different story lines together into one amazing plot.

¹Telluric energy is an electric current that moves underground or through the sea. Telluric currents result from both natural causes and human activity, and the discrete currents interact in a complex pattern. The currents are extremely low frequency and travel over large areas at or near the surface of Earth.

Safe

Pause the book reports for a post. Here's another short story that I wrote... I entered it into a competition. What do you think?

Safe 

            The house shakes around me; I have no time to think. Grabbing a shirt, I dash outside. I’ve heard it said that it’s better to be outdoors during an airstrike, I find this logic undeniable. The whine of missiles and the screams of their victims blast my eardrums, but I cannot cover them. I know that, in order to be safe, I must run to the outskirts of town and meet my— remembering that my parents might still be in the house, I turn around, but as I do, it explodes in a ball of fire and smoke. I continue on my escape course, hoping that they are safe.

            I don’t know when the bombing started and honestly, I don’t care. The only thing that matters is how soon it will end. It has been years since this war began and our town has realized that bomb shelters are absolutely worthless. Instead, we must escape to the fields, where there are no structures to target. I detest modern war technology. The accuracy that it gives people and the havoc it causes on the receiving end.

            I run hard, and fast, passing rubble from past destruction. Before the war, there were some days that I wished would never end. Now, I wish that almost every day would be over; hoping that tomorrow will bring peace. It never does. My father tells me that the reason we cannot have complete peace is because we live in a fallen world. He says that we will one day have perfect peace… in heaven. I don’t know what to believe… about God, at least. Sometimes I wonder if he exists and, if he does, how could he let so much devastation take place? I am a Jew. My people are supposedly God’s chosen people. I don’t believe it; why would he let his people die? Why does carnage reign supreme in the Promised Land? Like I said, I don’t know what to believe about God. Maybe when I’m older and the war is over, I’ll give him a chance.  Now, I only wonder… when will this hell end?

            I reel from the impact of a rocket that has found its mark nearby. It feels like I am on a treadmill and that, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get out of the town. Almost like the scenery is on spools and they just keep turning, while I waste my energy on the belt in hopes of escape. After several minutes of hard running, I give up and hide under a ‘cave’ of rubble. I don’t care if it will protect me or not, I just hug my knees to my chest and wait. I want to scream at the enemy, but I know that they won’t hear me. I want to curse them for taking away my life, my friends… my grandparents. These thoughts bring tears to my eyes, but I wipe my eyes dry. You’re fourteen, I tell myself, be strong.  How can I be strong in the midst of such hatred? The pain is so great; my ears are ringing from the explosions coming from everywhere. I feel as though I am in one of the horror stories that the Americans like… the ones where death is coming for you and you cannot stop it, no matter how hard you try.

            As the smoke in front of me clears, I see the end of town. I think that I can make it. As the missiles continue to pummel the ground, I break from my cover and sprint towards the field. Something explodes to my right, catapulting me through the air… and slipping me into unconsciousness.

            When I wake, I find that I am stuck under a pile of rubble. There are voices speaking in low tones, feet crunching the gravel… They are searching. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before, but there are no explosions. The airstrike must be over, and now the survivors are looking for anyone to bury. Someone who wasn’t as fortunate as them. I try to call out, but my voice is no more than a whisper. I clear my throat from the dust and grime that I must have breathed in and try again. “Help!” Relief washes over me, I can speak. There is a shuffle of footsteps and I realize that I was having trouble breathing as wreckage is lifted and my lungs fill with air. After an eternity of waiting, I am free. By now, my parents have been alerted of my safety and a crowd has gathered around. Questions bombard me like the rockets from last night. I try hard to answer them, but cannot keep up. I am so happy to find that my parents are safe. Food is brought out and we have a meal, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner, I am not sure. As is tradition before we eat, my father leads us in prayer.

            “Yahweh,” He pauses and begins to cry. I guess that these tears are probably from mixed emotions, happiness, that his family is safe, but also sadness, that the town has been shattered… yet again. He regains his composure and continues, “Thank you for keeping us safe. Amen.”

            Safe, I laugh to myself. I look around at the destruction and see what war has done. I look at the survivors and see the peace that they’ve somehow found. I still don’t quite believe that God is alive, but if he is, I thank him for giving me such good companions, and yes, for keeping us safe. But safe for how long?

Paradise Lost

In 1668, John Milton published Paradise Lost, an epic about the beginning of time and the fall of Satan, the demons, and Adam and Eve. In the course of 12 ‘books’ Milton weaves a plot from the fabric of Scripture, while taking a bit of author’s liberty to name angels and demons and filling in the dialogue to lengthen the story. Although  Milton did not want to ‘create’ a Calvinistic God by how he wrote, he inadvertently did.

When the story begins, Satan has already fallen to hell. He and his demons discuss what to do, how to get revenge on God. They finally decide that one of them should go to earth, God’s newest creation and see if he can pervert the crown of the Lord’s work, man. Satan is elected as Hell’s spy and he leaves to accomplish his task. He arrives and whispers a dream into Eve’s ear as she sleeps, he is caught by a troop of angels patrolling Eden and is brought to Gabriel. Satan is then kicked out of Eden, only to return later. A seraph named Raphael arrives from Heaven and, upon Adam’s request, recounts the fall of Satan, the war in Heaven, and the Creation. In order to detain Raphael further, Adam tells him all that he remembers of his own creation and the creation of Eve and their marriage. Finally, after Raphael leaves, Satan strikes again with temptation and our first parents succumb to the temptation. The Son of God (Jesus) comes to Eden, searching for his creations. He is saddened by their betrayal and, because of their unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions, curses them, as well as Satan. The Father tells the Son that a rift has been made that separates man from God and the Son offers his life to pay for theirs. The Father accepts this offer, but even though the sin has been forgiven in light of the Cross, he requires the humans to leave Eden. As they obey and retreat to the world outside, Michael appears and gives them a glimpse into the future, of Jesus’ coming and the Atonement that he will bring.

Because this book was written in the 17^th Century, it is extremely hard to read. I would recommend it to lovers of the classics and those who can concentrate and decipher Old English.  And anyone looking for a challenge... just sayin'.

Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends

Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends, written by the Miller Brothers, is the thrilling conclusion to the Hunter Brown Trilogy. This book is entertaining, original, and packed with biblical truths. Although the message that “the Author writes everything for a purpose” still seems to be an overriding theme, the main theme seems to be “Trust that God want the best for you.”

            After saving Cranton from the school fire, Hunter is sedated by two “hospital” workers, and when he wakes up, he can’t remember anything that happened the previous night… except the fair. His whole memory of his second trip to Solandria has been erased, not that he knows that. A big black detective named Vogler comes to him at the hospital and gives Hunter his backpack, which was found at the scene of the fire, and Hunter finds his things in it: his Author’s Writ, his Veritas Sword… and someone else’s, but he can’t remember whose it is. To make matters worse, when he tries to use his sword, he gets incredibly painful migraines. After being let go from the hospital, he is visited by another stranger, a girl named Desi, who gives him a card that says he has an overdue item at the library… only he’s never had a library account. Through mysterious circumstances, he gets a call from Desi, who tells Hunter that Vogler is looking for him and is there at the library. She saves him from the detective and takes him to her uncle, who informs him that Vogler is actually an evil Watcher named Tonomis and that he (the uncle), a man named Simon Ot, knows Hunter’s father, Caleb. He also knows that Caleb was the last human in possession of the mysterious Eye of Ends…

            Why can Hunter not remember his visit to Solandria with Trista? Is Vogler really who Simon says he is? Is Hunter’s father still alive? And what exactly is the Eye of Ends? Find out for yourself when you read Hunter Brown and the Eye of Ends. 

Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire

Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire, written by the Miller Brothers, is the sequel to Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow and is the second book in the Hunter Brown trilogy. The Brothers have outdone themselves in making this book better than the first. New characters are brought in, an original story is weaved, and the Gospel is still presented smoothly.

            It has been three months since Hunter has returned from the alternate universe of Solandria to his home in Destiny. Summer break is over and he is back in school, beginning to doubt his experience was real, and not just a dream. Then the school klutz, Rob Bungle, stumbles into his life, knocking over the school bully, Cranton and leaving a trail of napkins in is wake. As Cranton bullies Rob, Hunter sees a mark written on one of the napkins, a mark that makes him realize that his experience was real… the Author’s mark. When he gets home that day, he finds the house a mess. The cause? A little monkey-like creature with glowing blue eyes that as an aversion to light and more importantly... it’s from Solandria. Hunter decides to take the little thing to the fair that night, to show his two friends, Stretch and Stubbs, that Solandria is real.  As he waits at the spot that Stretch and Stubbs had agreed to meet him, Trista, his older sister Emily’s friend, strikes up a conversation with him. Stretch and Stubbs never show. A commotion draws their attention to a boy a had walked into a display… Rob. As Trista and Hunter help Rob pick up the mess he made, Cranton sees Rob and makes his way over through the crowd to finish the beating that the principal cut short. Guilty by association, Hunter and Trista flee with Rob. As they hide in the fair stables, little Shadow beasts attack the trio and Rob pulls out his Veritas sword to protect the others. Through a series of unfortunately fortunate events, they end up in a gondola. Dispirits (huge insect-like things with nasty, stinging tongues) attack them and Rob bravely defends the little gondola, but, also severs it from the cable. The gondola plunges down, not into the fair, but off to Solandria.

            The Miller Brothers do a fabulous job authoring this book to glorify the master Author. I would recommend this book to anyone, no matter their literary tastes, although I think they should read the books in order. The story is quite captivating and makes for hours of good reading.

Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow

Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow, written by brothers Christopher and Allan Miller, follows the story of a teenage boy named Hunter Brown. Although written for teens and children, the Millers make the story more than merely fun to read. Through the course of the book, they let out biblical truths that their audience can understand, while not giving the feeling of being preachy; mainly, that God is in control, and that whether the circumstances be good or bad, He always has a purpose for them.

            The story opens as Hunter is running for his life. The reason? He just pulled a prank on the school bully, Cranton, who isn’t too happy about. Hunter and two of his friends hide in a dumpster… that locks itself. As they begin to panic over their situation, a kind janitor named Evan opens the dumpster and helps them out. He promises not to turn them over to the principle… as long as they do him a small favor. The favor is to run to the local bookshop and get a book, then bring it back to him. It sounds simple enough, so they agree. When they return to the school, Evan is nowhere to be found, and the principal has never heard of him. She believes their story though, and asks them to take her to the book shop so that she can verify with bookshop clerk if in fact they were there. Only, when they get to where the bookshop is supposed to be, it, just like Evan, has vanished. The boys are given detention and the book is confiscated. When he is allowed to go home, Hunter is upset and a little disappointed… until he sets his backpack down. Looking inside, he finds the book and a key to unlock it. Little does he know that opening this book will be the worst and best decision that he will ever make.

            I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading, especially if they are a Christian. The allegory in this book is well written, the characters believable, and the story captivating.