Hot Rods and Spaceships

Who doesn’t love a cool hot rod? Come on now, admit it. When you see one driving down the street, don’t you have to look? I do and I’m not a car fanatic, but my husband Tim is one. I don’t know how many car shows we’ve been to over the years or how many times he has slowed the car down so he could listen to the sound of a car or a truck going by. He’ll even turn down the radio. I don’t mind unless it’s a song I like.

As much as I am not interested in cars or most other vehicles, I love my husband more. I’ll put up with the cars, the races, the tractor pulls, and the slowing down because all that stuff makes him happy. And you know what? It’s a two way street. Tim has set through many Star Trek movies without complaint. And I just recently found out he can’t stand Captain Kirk. But he does like Captain Picard.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 (NIV)


When you truly love somebody else, their happiness is more important than yours. Their safety and wellbeing are also more important than yours as well. That is also why Jesus went on to the cross. We were more important to Him than His self. To continue His work, we as Christians should value other people above ourselves, even strangers. This verse doesn’t say, “Just the others you know.” It means everybody, even if you have to be around hot rods and spaceships. J

Crooning Cosmo

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Now don’t tell anybody, but I’m a Space Cadet Extraordinaire. To some of you that’s no surprise. Stars fascinate me. They are beautiful and mysterious. I can spend hours and hours staring at them. But to God, stars are more than fixtures He places in the Heavens for us to ooh and aah over.

“He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” Psalm 147:4(NIV)
“while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” Job 38:7 (NIV)

According to Psalm 147:4, not only does God know how many stars there are, but He calls them by name. By giving them a name, He gives them significance. They are important to Him. They are His awesome handmade creations. And the stars sing together. Yes, they really do. Ever hear of radio astronomy? Each star makes its own distinct noise. Even Jupiter and Saturn make static you can hear on your radio.

So what’s my point in all this? If God knows the stars and they sing to their creator, then what does that say about us as humans? Stars sing praises without thought, but we who have thought struggle with that. How much more does God love and adore us that He sent Jesus to die for our sins? We all need to sing praises to our creator, but the way I sing, I’m sure the stars’ static sounds better.

Waterfall

Who doesn’t enjoy a waterfall? That’s almost like not enjoying rainbows. Seriously! They are a special beauty of God’s nature. Waterfalls are magnificent to watch whether it’s a huge one as in the Niagara Falls or the small trickle in a branch. They fascinate me. I even did a little research (remember-I’m a geek.) * “3160 tons of water flows over Niagara Falls every second.” Wow! What tremendous power!

Wanna know something else that is cool? We as Christians have access to as much power if not more. I realized this one day while e-mailing my friend Paula, who is also a writer. I told her it was cool how the words flow from God, to your soul, to your brain, to your hands, and then out to the world. Kinda like water coming down a waterfall. Sometimes it's a slow drip and at other times it's a torrent. It doesn’t have to be words. Whatever your spiritual gift or talent is, open yourself up to allow God’s power to flow through you. When you do, your influence will flow out into the world.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)
“for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 (NIV)

　
* Niagra Falls State Park. Niagra Falls facts Niagra Falls State Park Inofrmation. Niagra Falls Facts. [Online] 2012. [Cited: April 5, 2013.] http://www.niagrafallsstatepark.com/amazing-facts.aspx.

Wind's Aria

I am very honored to have my friend Tessa Stockton on blog.  She's been a dear friend of mine for a few years now.  She is an elegant lady and talents writer.  Please read about her latest book: "Wind's Aria." 

1) How did you know God called you to be a writer?
I’ve always wanted to write, have always busied my hand at writing something. I sought freelance work and publication over the years. Unfortunately, it can be a bang-your-head-against-the-wall type of endeavor, especially in fiction. There were two times in my writing venture when discouragement caused me to walk away. Yet even when I had quit, I couldn’t escape. It was as if there was a perpetual nudge that said, “Now, now, you’re being childish and impatient. Go and get back to it!” You know it’s a calling when you let go of it but it doesn’t let go of you.

2) What gave you the idea for Wind’s Aria? 

My head is often in the clouds. I’ve always daydreamed or fantasized from childhood on. Music brings about resplendent images for me. I used to work as a choreographer. I was trained, and it was also very natural for me, to see things in my mind when I listened to music, and then transfer them to dancers to create a living, moving painting, so to speak. I find this process works the same for me in writing. While listening to Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings one day, the music inspired and breathed life into what is now Wind’s Aria.

3) There seems to be a musical undertone to Wind’s Aria, hence the name Aria. Do you mind to discuss that? 
Aria is the name of the chosen Songstress of her world. As long as she sings each morning, peace and abundant life belong to her people. Her voice is vital to existence. I come from a very musical family. I can’t imagine life otherwise. Therefore, I think just about everything I write in the fantasy genre is influenced by music. My mother was a classical vocalist. I, too, had several years of classical voice training. In fact, I had been indecisive at one point on whether to pursue the opera world as a mezzo soprano or dance. While dance won the toss, opera is still something I cherish.
4) How different or challenging is it to write a romance in a fantasy world?
It’s different in that there really are no rules. And I love that. It’s incredibly freeing to let creativity flow and not worry about research or structure or how boy-meets-girl, as most genres require. Fantasy is as made-up as you can get. Imagination rules the gamut, not format. The most challenging is shutting everything out while I write. Out of all the genres I venture in, fantasy, in its magical, romantic, colorful realms, is the most difficult to enter in and linger if there’s a lot of noise, or distractions. But that’s just me.

Blurb
Elected as the Songstress, Aria takes her place on the sacred platform to sing before every dawn. As long as she does so, peace and abundant life belong to her people. One morning, amidst a strange wind that brings with it a curse in its eerie howl, Aria loses her ability to make music. But the encroaching death that transpires isn’t her biggest tragedy. It’s that she adores the cause of her blunder, for he’s a magnificent winged creature who’s stolen more than her voice.



Excerpt One:
“Who are you?”
He pushed further back into the shadows as she strode closer. “Someone you need not know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
When he didn’t answer, she sighed.
“What a strange, terrible day,” she mumbled. “Well, at least tell me your name . . .”
He stood, speechless, knowing he shouldn’t be there at all—conversing with a Meleyan—especially not their musical deliverer that he was set to doom the day after tomorrow.
A peculiar grumbling interrupted her insistence, to his relief.
“Sorry.” She patted her stomach. He could see, even in the blackened night, how her face turned a deeper shade of red than her hair. “I’ve forgotten to eat. I guess I’m hungrier than I realized.”
He plucked an apple from the tree he’d nearly become a part of and held it out to her. The girl approached tentatively. She reached for the fruit but recoiled when her fingers brushed his.
“Is touching me so horrible?” he asked.
Her jaw dropped open and her delicate brow furrowed. She inclined her head. “It . . . hurt.”
“How?” he asked, for her fingers felt good to him, soothing. Warm. He wanted to try again.
“I don’t know how to explain . . .”
“Hum.” Unsatisfied with the answer, he tossed the apple to her and watched as she crunched her teeth into it.



Bio:
Tessa is a veteran of the performing arts and worldwide missions, having come from a long line of musical arts professionals. She loved seeing the world and absorbing the beauty of other cultures . . . an enriching life full of dance, music, faith, and interesting cuisine. Over the years, she also contributed as a writer/editor for ministry publications, ghostwriter for political content, and headed a column on the topic of forgiveness. Today, she writes romance and intrigue novels in a variety of genres.

Social Media links:
www.TessaStockton.com
https://www.facebook.com/tessastockton
http://twitter.com/TessaStockton
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tessa-stockton/29/553/222
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4639560.Tessa_Stockton

Purchase Links - Wind’s Aria:
Soul Mate Publishing: http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/winds-aria/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Winds-Aria-ebook/dp/B00B1FEC2A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358964244&sr=8-1&keywords=wind%27s+Aria

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/winds-aria-tessa-stockton/1114146612?ean=2940016000206

Fruit from the Tree

I’m a klutz-a big one! That’s probably no surprise to any of you who have seen me fall, trip and walk into doors and walls. But, I come by it naturally. You know the old saying; “Fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.” So who did I take this wonderful ability from? My late Papaw.

Papaw was doing something klutzy all the time. One day he was driving through his fields to check on his cows when he drove his old farm truck into a trench. The trench was so deep that his truck was almost straight up and the back wheels were high off the ground.

Papaw had a pin in his femur from another accident he had a few years earlier and he couldn’t walk as well as he used to. He still had to climb out of his truck and walk across the fields to get back to the road to get back home. It was a long walk and he didn’t have his cane.

My mother had come by to check on my grandparents and Mamaw was worried that Papaw hadn’t got back yet. So my mother got in her car and drove down the road. She found Papaw struggling as he walked up the road. Mom picked him up and drove him home. He was visibly shaken and didn’t know how he had gotten out of his truck or walked as far as he did without his cane. My mother’s answer was elegant and simple, “Daddy, you didn’t walk alone.”

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, [a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 (NIV).
Papaw made it without his cane since God was walking with him and He had his rod and staff. Whether we realize it or not, God is always with us and ready to give us comfort. There is no need for us to fear, even if we drive our vehicles in a trench.

Dream A Little Dream

     I'm doing something a little different with my blog.  I write an on line article for The Christian On-Line Magazine, and I have just finished a series on sleeping and dreaming.  We have learned many interesting things about these two processes.
  
I'm going to review my dream that started all of this.  I love to watch the movie, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.  In my dream, I was in the Kroger produce section and I  battled the Pharaoh Kahmunrah there.  I threw heads of lettuce at him.  In case you've never seen the movie, Pharaoh Kahmunrah was a bad guy who wanted to take over the world.

Did watching the movie alone make me dream this? Yes and no.  My subconscious used the Pharaoh as a representation of a something I deem as problem. My weapons of choice, heads of lettuce, were useless against him.  Why?  Whatever problem I am facing, my subconscious knows I am not handling it as I need to. For the rest of my dream, the Pharaoh and his henchmen chased me.  Which also represents my denial of the problem.

God gave us dreams for a reason.  We can use them to help figure out what is bothering us.  To do so, keep a dream journal handy and write your dreams down as soon as you wake up.  Look them over and see if you see a common theme running through them.  Your finding may be surprising!

Please feel free to share some of your dreams or your thoughts on dreaming in the comment section.  If you are comfortable with me sharing on my blog, just let me know.

Sitting on the Bench

I’m sure many of you know by now I’m an old tomboy.   I played softball for years and I still have some battle scars to prove it. What battle scars?  There’s a few, but the biggest are my knees.  They are shot, or as my doctor said, “Traumatized.”  Over the years, I’ve had people say to me, “I bet you would have done things differently if you had realized the damage you were doing to yourself.”  To which I respond, “No way!”

I love how people are so surprised by my response.  Their eyes get big or their mouths drop open.  Then I get a “But why?”  My answer, “Because I played to win and I put my all, my best into a game.  Otherwise, I might as well have been sitting on the bench!”

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23(NIV)

What difference are you going to make for the kingdom of God if you don’t pour your heart and soul into what you are doing? What impression are you making on others?  Do you whine and fuss as you work to or do you praise God and do your best?  You might be surprised at who is watching you as you go about your work.