Into the Fire

          "God opposes the proud

               but gives grace to the humble."

     Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. 

James 4:6b-8a (NIV)

   
If you choose to, you can believe men and women came from a one-celled amoeba a zillion+ years ago after a random explosion. Go ahead. You're free to choose. But – you can't begin to prove it. You can only speculate – because believing God made a man and from him a woman just won't work for you. And, if you want to fire back that neither can that be proved, there is far more evidence in DNA of it being a fact than the theory you've chosen to embrace. But we digress. 

Present-day man faces unbelievable challenges to his masculinity. One of the facets of today's culture wants to emasculate his maleness and turn him into a simpering girly-man. Another facet accuses men of being "sexist" because they have a natural tendency to lead and "fix things". Still another facet reams men for sexual harassment for being visually stimulated by what those women are plainly putting out there for them to view. Such are the challenges of men today. 

Present-day woman also faces challenges to her femininity. One of the facets of today's culture expects her to climb the ladder to some kind of working success, degrading her for potentially wanting to marry and be a mom – especially a stay-at-home mom, and heaven forbid she might want to homeschool her children! A similar facet expects her to force her equality with men into the workplace and every other venue where she is present – even when in most cases she cannot be physically "equal" to most men. Added to these conundrums is the inconceivable status of today's women's sports where the perversion of males insisting they're females, nullifies the talents given to these competitive female athletes. Clearly, women have their own kind of challenges today. 

So "what?" you ask. Well, this: 

There is incredible brilliance in the relationship potential between man and woman. Whether or not you accept that God created them, there is no doubt that the two sexes have a natural tendency to be drawn to one another. In God's plan, they are meant to be together, finding those He designed for one another, investing in their relationships, treating each other with respect and admiration, discovering love, experiencing the tantalization of romance, and consummating the physical thrill of it all after an ordained marriage where vows are made to honor Him and each other. That's the plan.

Is that plan always followed? It is not. Plainly and simply, many people don't know the plan, don't want to know the plan, and intend to make their own plans no matter what. Waiting, taking time to seek a plan that works, involving God who they reject – well, it's their choice. 

And sometimes even "the plan" falters. Because . . . humans fail. Men and women fail. Those who follow the Lord fail. People absolutely fail.

God does not fail. He knows our every failure. He loves. He forgives. 

But, woe to those who mock his Creation, who corrupt the male and female part of His creation. The enemy of people's souls wants nothing more than to destroy and corrupt every man and every woman God has created, designed, and engineered. God knows the present-day challenges to the sexes because they aren't new. He knows all the ploys sold like merchandise to the people of this world, confusing them about everything and enhancing the falsehoods whispered to them by every form of communication in their lives prompted by the enemy's deceptions. God knows. He's the only escape from all of it. Jesus waits for us. The Holy Spirit shows the way to the Truth. If only people will listen. 

Our choice. Every day.  

Father, no one can make "things" perfect. Only you are perfect. Mankind can live with hope when he turns to you because you provide the plan that you designed for each of us. We fail, you pick us up and place us back on the right path. We veer away again, you let us go far enough to determine we messed up – again. You welcome us back. Your love is bigger than we can imagine. Thank you for giving us Jesus. Holy Spirit, thank you for your comfort and counsel. Apart from you, God, we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

                         The great Lord God made them all. 

Father, may each woman know that you made her, that you endowed her with unique gifts, that she was born to worship you in spirit and in truth, and that when each one comes to you in full submission, you will lead the way and satisfy the desires of each heart as she delights in you. Thank you, Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

                    The great Lord God made them all. 

Father, may each man know that you made him, that you endowed him with unique gifts, that he was born to worship you in spirit and in truth, and that when each one comes to you in full submission, you will lead the way and satisfy the desires of each heart as he delights in you. Thank you, Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

She's beautiful with a voice to match and the perfect timbre for Smooth Jazz. Enjoy. The great Sade. 

Father, all the talent, beauty, and no respecter of persons come from you. To you, we're your creation. You see the beauty beyond the skin. All made to honor and worship you in spirit and in truth. May each one know from where their talents and gifts originate. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

The Devil's Hand by Jack Carr is Book 4 in the James Reece Thriller Series.

A private meeting between the POTUS and James Reece sets the course for Reece's next assignment. When the dirty work is somehow done for him, an explanation is not easily found until after an emergency outbreak of a deadly pathogen is underway. Thanks to Reece's girlfriend Katie, investigative reporter and best friends with infectious disease doctor Haley Garrett, CIA Vic accommodates Reece and Haley to go on an immediate search for what begins as an intelligent "conspiracy theory" by Dr. Garrett – the deadline to prove her theory is imminent. When she has to involve her husband who has the highest bio-lab classification, things get dicey. 

Haley has an immediate chip on her shoulder toward Reese, having heard and read all the reports previously in play about him, until she sees and understands he sees himself as the only way to save lives in a desperate measure situation. Instead of resenting him, she grudgingly comes to respect him for who he is, and they form a strong alliance working under extreme pressure. 

There are two distinct flaws in this novel neither of which make the story any less exciting.

One: Why in the world would a Top Tier operator fail to discover (by not even looking for) a tracking device on his Land Cruiser after the ambush in the previous novel and just in principle?! 

Two: The political implications of the two parties mentioned and depicted in this story are exactly the opposite of reality. It just seems odd for a formidable former Navy SEAL (Carr) to have this take on the situation. If he'd chosen not to name the specific parties of the two characters he chose for their roles and worked around identifying them, nine out of ten readers would've easily placed them differently. 

Nevertheless, The Devil's Hand is a terrifying story because of its potential reality. Carr does a very good job of portraying the levels of betrayal working around the clock in DC and in the world. Getting information is critical – no matter how you have to procure it. For the "innocent", fighting the horrific spins on circumstances based on contrived lies through a compliant and complicit media definitely illustrates the USA today.

Slight – and inevitable – cliffhanger with a diabolic twist.  

Profanity present. 

Father, you are the Author of Life. You give us our number of days. You make the gospel available for all. We're desperate for you whether we know it or not. Please continue to bless Jack and his writing. Thank you for his many gifts. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Praise be to the Lord, 

   who has not let us be torn by their teeth.

We have escaped like a bird

   out of the fowler's snare;

the snare has been broken,

   and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

   the Maker of heaven and earth. 

Psalm 124:6-8 (NIV) 

Years ago, "blogs" were "it". Remember "MySpace"? Now extinct. Facebook, Twitter, Vlogs, YouTube Channels, Podcasts. You know them all. I certainly don't. There are lots and lots of political pages, book review pages, author pages, reader pages, you-name-it pages, to engage on the Internet. Not to mention the odious Dark Web. 

Blogs were said to be an author's best way to promote their work. Establish a consistent blog with entertaining information and/or material. Throw in a giveaway. Or start a newsletter, develop/design another webpage. Every present-day author knows the drill. 

Well, blogs are now considered to be "passé". Attention spans in today's world don't last long. It's difficult to be compelling for a long time. At some point, people/viewers want something "new", vibrant, and "trendy". Most of the time if they get to that point in their web surfing, they abandon what has become stale to them. 

This blog has probably passed its prime, but I continue it anyway. I examine/inventory my reasons for that frequently, but the one thing I conclude is that I keep doing it because I want to. Period. Since it's obvious that many readers have moved on from this blog, it's somewhat curious why I want to keep it going. Believe it or not, it's not easy coming up with interesting material to post, but then if you've followed this blog, you know that some days are miserable failures at being "interesting", but, nevertheless, other days' postings at least interest me.

So, if you've hung in there with this outdated blog, I thank you from my heart. I love sharing "Nicole" with you. I try to minimally promote my work, but it's a given that it will be and is presented here on occasion. Initially, that was part of the purpose. Now it's a factor I work in when I introduce a new novel or want to remind those who come here, that, yes, I've written several novels: one mystery and several love stories. You can find them here. And often I include an excerpt from one of them just in case a stranger to them might be intrigued. 

So. It's Friday. And I take Saturdays off from posting here, but, yes, I'll be back with "Sunday's Offerings" and another book review on Monday. Hope to "see" my loyal friends then. Love you guys. 

Father, thank you for getting this blog together. It's amazing to still be doing it. You are the inspiration for anything valuable and worthwhile. Please help me to always honor you in the process. Thank you is never enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

As you can see, this picture of my old friend Rick Davis and me goofing around has been "through it" over the many years since it was taken. Rick passed away a few years ago, but just before he did, I got to visit with him after having not seen him for well over 20 years. Thank you, Jesus, for allowing me that privilege to reconnect with my old friend. And thank you that he allowed me to pray for him before I left his house knowing it would be the last time I would see him.

Father, no question you arranged that visit, and I thank you from my heart. I'm still hoping I'll see him in heaven. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.    

There's a certain satisfaction and relief and joy that comes with finishing a novel – one that I've written. But there's also a terrible melancholy that sinks in within a very short time. At least for me. And especially after completing Then . . . you. 

To say I loved this hero/protagonist is an understatement. This particular character was a total risk to write. He's not "ordinary". 

In this story, there are several intentionally vague parts of the hero's life. In retrospect I suppose some readers will find this annoying, maybe a bit "fantastical", or maybe they'll overlook whatever specific lack of information or understanding where I chose not to elaborate. 

One of the reasons for being vague is because of the unique circumstance of this love story. The descriptor "He's a recluse. She's seeking refuge." ushers the reader into an immediate change of life for these two total strangers. Although the vague parts of the hero's overall character are important to the storyline, those that are revealed are the critical crux to this love story. Because above all else: it's a love story. 

These are the aftermath thoughts of this author suffering from a lapse of melancholy having said farewell to these much-loved (by me) characters . . .

Father, I keep thanking you for the words, the stories, the characters, and I keep saying, "Apart from you, I can do nothing" because it's true, and I truly can't say/express it enough. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.