It's my Blog and I'll brag on my daughter if I want too...

Yes, it's just a small book. It's just a taste from a larger project. But it's my daughter's, Elizabeth, first published book. So I can brag if I want to and I want to. 

It's a great story too. 

Darkly is the Dark Lord of Ineget, a world where magic runs in the blood of its people, but the destiny of the Dark Lords begins on Earth. It begins with the death of Camelot, the end of magic and Merlin. It begins with the heartbreak of a mother and Mordred, knight of Camelot, who legend casts as it’s villain. It begins at The Battle of Camlann. This small, limited-edition book is the first legend from Darkly: Legends of the Dark Lord. It is the first commercially available work by E.M. Areson. Mordred’s birth was never planned. He was a child of magic gone wrong. The godson of Merlin, knight of Camelot, and heir to the throne, his crime was to the illegitimate child of a king and the need for history to assign a villain to Britain’s greatest tragedy. This is the story of the death of Camelot and the end of Mordred's time on Earth.

It's only a $1 on kindle but I would wait and get the print copy but that's me or better get both. Either way, you will be supporting a senor starting high school get more of her work published. 

The Battle of Camlann

The Unspoken Prayer Request

We often look around in church and maybe just wonder if these people who are asking for unspoken prayer request are really got a real need, just gathering attention, or following the actions of others around them.

I was reminded recently that there are times you want prayer and you really, really, can't go into detail. Yes, some may just want attention, some may be following the crowd, but pray anyway because there are some who desperately want prayer. They NEED prayer and they can't share. 

So let's pray for these because someday you may find out just how desperate an unspoken prayer request can be. 

Evidence is a dangerous things.

Trust me I have evidence!

If you are careful you can see where people twist evidence to prove their points. The current argument over masks is a perfect example. Both sides have some evidence and from what little I have seen shows more of the middle of the road approach. However, I notice both sides of the debate ignore contrary evidence or hype up supportive evidence rather than admit either side has merit. 

The yells of "liberty" and "saving lives," not to mention slander of the worst kind which doesn't allow for honest debate or differing opinions. Both sides, for the most part, want what the other is claiming they don't but the yelling, screaming, and labeling people gives us permission not to listen to anything which contradicts our ideas.

How did we get to this place? I would argue we have always been in this place. A look at history shows a huge lack of cooperation and setting aside personal bias for the public good. Unfortunately, it is tragedy, tyranny, suffering, or war which motivates people to be cooperative.  

So should we pick a side we like best and go at it?

No.

We need to try and find the truth and be willing to admit we may not have all the information. If we are going to be responsible people and I would add responsible Christians we have to walk a middle ground which means the extremist on both sides will probably hate us. It may mean that we need to let some people go their own way. 

No one said life was easy. 

Comfortable?

Being comfortable isn't bad but it is a poor way to live. 

Yes, this seems strange but expert after expert will tell you striving and growth are what make life worth living. This is why I don't think that eternity in heaven is going to be us sitting around all the time being comfortable. No, it won't have the strife we struggle with today but I don't see it boring either. This is a different lesson and not where I'm heading.

We (myself included, or especially) have to accept that if we are going to be happy and fulfilled then we need new challenges. We need to be uncomfortable. 

I am learning video streaming and editing now. There is also an ongoing effort to learn more about God and ministry. Yes, there are times I would like to just be comfortable and there are seasons for rest and comfort but it is never to be our life. The key is balance. 

So what are you doing to make yourself uncomfortable?

 

And so it Ends?

Today I begin editing the final book in the Bible Reflection Series. This has been quite a week. Finishing the first draft of a novel that I have been working on and off for over 25 years and now finishing the edits on Bible Reflections. Both of these projects I knew would be possible and do-able but I have been seeing them as off in the distance to see them here and now nearly done is amazing. Especially when I consider Bible Reflections covers my thoughts on every chapter in the Bible (nearly 1200) or the word count for both Bible Reflections and my story add up to nearly 1/3 of a million words. 

What will happen now? Now? 

I will take the next step and create new goals. Which is what we do if we want to see something accomplished in our lives. So it ends, which means something new can begin. 

Do you think you could write your own blog/journal on every chapter in the Bible? This is what the Bible Reflections journal is designed to help you do. If you take on the challenge it might take some time and maybe even years (it's designed to take 4) but what a very do-able and exciting thing to accomplish. Others are, why not you? 

And one day you can say, And so it ends!    

Fear never goes away

Years ago I asked Stan Toler, a major writer in Nazarene circles, if he still felt fear when he wrote a book. I'm not sure if I wanted a yes (to make me feel better about my own fear) or a no (a hope that eventually it would go away). His answer was yes. He still felt some apprehension when he published a new book. He gave me some other advice and now I wish I had written it down. His advice has merged with so much over the years I can't say which is his and which isn't. This being said I believe the point he did try to make was if what you write matters to you then putting it out for others will bring apprehension. 

 I agree and I also know that putting what you are passionate about out there takes courage if you care about the work and about your relationship with people. 

So where am I going with this and what does it have to do with the picture of the claw holding a crystal? The picture is of a prop I have which comes from a story that I played with years ago. I'm talking over twenty-five years ago. The story has been heard in parts by my friends who have the other two claws and my family. It isn't the first story idea I came up with but it is the first original story I came up with as an adult. It has sat in the background of all my writing for years. My youngest daughter has challenged me to finish writing it and so I have. In my spare time and rewriting all of the early chapters from earlier times it is coming together. Eighty-five percent of the book is complete and now I find myself struggling with fear. 

Fear, in my estimation, shouldn't be a problem. I have already published several books. In a month the eight set Bible Reflections series will be complete. If I, a pastor of a small church without a doctorate, can write a reflection on every chapter in the Bible, some quarter of a million words and publish what some would find very controversial. why am I apprehensive about a fictional book?  

I think there are two reasons. First, the Bible Reflections is meant to spur others into writing not to give a definite answer to every question in the Bible. To say it another way, I expect and maybe even hope that people will disagree with what I write as long as it causes them to grow in their knowledge of the Bible. In other words, I have accepted that some people will not appreciate what I write and I have accepted that. Second, it's done. You aren't afraid of the surgery after the surgery is over. Yes, maybe any complication but the concern, fear, is now behind you. In other words, I can compare it. Third and maybe not finally, this work is very dear to me. It's like letting your daughter go on their first date. You have done all you can to prepare her for the world but now you are no longer in control.    

This blog is being written as a way to keep that date another day away. Yet, it is also here to force me to admit what I am doing by delaying my writing. I might be wrong but if nothing really crazy happens this week I could have The Staff Story (what an underwhelming working title) finished in a week. I write this to hold myself to that date. I will also talk to my writer friends to also keep me accountable. 

I see the enemy, it is fear.

Someone said this and at least for me this story isn't shooting or bombing me. 

 

 

 

Change yourself

Jesus told taught that it does no good if you gain the whole world but lose your soul. With all the call for change in the world, I am reminded of tow things: One: the only person you can really change is yourself and Two: what good is it if you get everything you want and lose your soul in the proccess. 

I want to make one thing clear. I'm not saying that we need to not work for change. However, if we work for it and even if we get it and we have lost our souls then we have ultimately lost. There is also the problem that change brought about by means which are not holy will ultimately corrupt the work. 

So what do we need to do? First is we have to make sure our hearts are right and actions are right. Second, we need to do a double check on our heart. You might say isn't that what you just said to do in the first point? The answer is yes, but often we justify our feelings and actions rather than see them in light of scripture. Finally, go out and try and help others change.