Such an amazing and talented group. Just one of their greatest hits.
Father, so many with so much talent. May we dedicate anything and everything we've been given in our lives for your glory with great thanksgiving. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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This beautiful couple eloped on his 21st birthday on August 21st. She was 16. They stayed married until death did them part when she was 62. In between that time a son was born two years later and a daughter nine years after that. In this picture my beloved parents resided in Seattle where they remained for most of their lives, where I was born.
These two were always spiffy dressers even when money didn't come easy for them. Dad was a self-made man, the son of immigrants, worked in the mines in Butte, Montana, when Butte was a hard, hard place. He had a junior high school education – or part of one – and worked himself up to be an executive VP of a retail chain from which he retired comfortably. They lived and loved the American Dream. I learned a deep-seated love for and appreciation of America from my dad. He tried to enlist during WW2, but his feet kept him out.
His love for me was never changing, constant, even when I chose to do the things I knew were wrong. He never gave up on me, bragged about me, loved that I wrote things – even read a short piece I wrote at one of his business meetings. He was the best and was well-loved. Alzheimer's caught him in his 80s, but he never stopped being kind and thoughtful. A stroke claimed him at 89.
There are no words big enough to proclaim how much I loved and respected my parents. It was never them I rebelled against – it was being unhappy. I later learned the reason for that unhappiness wasn't external but internal. Jesus claimed me at the age of 30 and set things straight for me with His love and forgiveness. My parents were the first gift God gave me along with being born in the USA. I had the best of the best. I didn't deserve either, but God is a gracious, benevolent, and amazing Father, and I don't know why He has blessed me so greatly. All I know is that I'm so thankful I can't even begin to express how much.
Happy Birthday, Dad! I love you! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! Love you forever!
Jesus, please hug and kiss them for me today. Thank you so much for them. No words wonderful enough to express my gratitude for them. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 24:36-51 (NIV)
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Three authors who've proven to be prophetic, if not exactly in the methodology but in locations and intents, count Brad Thor, the late Vince Flynn, and Don Brown as prime examples.
Just as our contemporary news trumpets yet another tragic ISIS attack(s) in Spain, so Thor's latest Use of Force starts a series of attacks beginning in the USA but extending to Spain next. Scot Harvath, who's in Boston with his lady and her son trying to figure out a life together, is called into action because of course his country needs him. He can never turn down those requests so he's soon bound for Europe.
As he, his team, and Nicholas do their best to unearth connections from California to Libya to Rome, the road is filled with action, injury, minor triumphs, captures, confessions, and weird associations which finally lead to thwarting one of four tragic attacks. There is huge loss and painful ends to some who are closest to the efforts.
The most frustrating part of the chase arises when once in Italy where they're hurrying to extract information, their hands are tied by the laws of the land which require them not to use force. Ultimately, they use Harvath's special medicine man to attempt to get what they need before it's too late. From the USA Nicholas sinks his teeth into every means of IT wizardry he can to come up with what Harvath and his group need to end the terrorists' deadly plans while working to uncover and upstage an inside job against Reed Carlton and Lydia Ryan.
When it's all said and done, The Carlton Group is undergoing some serious changes which directly affect Scot's future life.
The action and timing in Use of Force is intense and vicious making it a true thriller.
Father, you are the saving grace to us all. We are desperate for you whether we know it or not. Please watch over the warriors who strive to serve for the good of all and let them know they can't do it without you. Please bless Brad Thor and keep him and his family safe from all harm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Bittersweet enjoyment in . . . A Season of Miracles
(Originally posted on 10/26/2010)
I’m a firm believer in enjoying a film just for the sake of it or reading a novel for the pure feel-good experience. A Season of Miracles by Rusty Whitener, published by Kregel Publications, and featured in this week’s CFBA Tour delivers that experience in spades. Looking back to the glory days of a Little League team called the Robins and told from the 12 year old narrator’s (Zack) perspective in the 1970’s Alabama sunshine, we get occasional hints that the young man’s view of this particular season is told in its aftermath and from his grown-up acquired wisdom—A Season of Miracles that changed not only one boy’s life but the lives of an entire team.
Okay, you might think it sounds sappy. Too sugary sweet. Maybe even “too Christian”, but it’s a realistic tale of a small town with kids (and coaches and parents) who live and breathe for their Little League games even if they’re not any good and even if they’re not baseball savvy. The idea of belonging to a team even when you’re too small for the batting helmet to fit right or you’re too hefty to run fast or you’re just plain average in your skills, you get to play with your guys and for awhile in life that’s all that really matters.
When Zack invites a strange kid named Rafer to practice with him and his teammates before the try-outs start for the year, none of them are prepared for what this oddball who barely speaks can do with his bat. With visions of winning a championship against a formidable opponent, these Robins desperately want to beat the cocky Hawks who have a lot of talent, a few bullies, and a Championship under their collective belts—or bats.
This is a story of boys, and one young lady, a dog named Sawdust, baseball, a different boy, his hurting father, and the amazing interaction of a community filled with ordinary people who are allowed to experience the extraordinary in one short Little League season.
The writing is just right to tell this story, and Rusty Whitener never takes advantage of sensitive subjects but gives what makes us feel is an honest account of all those little incidents which expand to become so meaningful in our lives and stay with us through all the other events, large and small, and still carry the same magnitude as when we first experienced them. The sensation of eternity splashing its coveted and perfect moments in our faces to assure us it’s real when everyday we face those who harp against the divine—these flashes of holiness dance through the pages of A Season of Miracles.
To relay any more information about the story itself would be like telling you the ending to a good movie. I’m not going to do it. This is a story for all ages told well and in a way that will elicit tears and laughter and instill hope where perhaps that very thing is what’s so desperately needed. Filled with people you surely know or have known, A Season of Miracles is more about all of us and our journeys in this life somehow captured in a team of young kids, their parents, and those who influence their lives one way or another.
This will make my suggestions for Christmas gifts. It’s a worthy read.
Father, you know Rusty’s heart is laid out on the pages of this novel and I’m willing to bet in all of his work. Please continue to bless all things he does for your glory and continue to provide that heartfelt prose that makes great stories. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. -
I read both of these novels between Full Black and after Black List which is out of order for how they were written. This is one of the redeeming qualities of Thor's novels: you can read them out of order and not be caught in a series limbo. Yes, it's always better to read them in the proper sequence, but Brad manages to include just enough details in each story without being repetitive to allow the reader to keep going without confusion.
If you enjoy stories with Nicholas (aka The Troll) and you like to read about kick-@*$ females doing impossible special operations, you will find Foreign Influence and The Athena Project respectively especially exciting. Thor's thrillers are well worth the time both for a real look at how the world operates today and from the good and evil perspective. He calls his fiction "faction" because of his impeccable sources who help him include the astounding information found in each novel. It's an ugly and dangerous world if the truth be told, and we can count on Brad Thor to deliver it with a gut punch and a victory for the good guys (and gals) – no matter how short-lived.
Father, the world is lost. You've provided a way to be found. May more and more seek after you instead of evil. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Marvin Gaye had many hits back in the day. Here's a bright one (for Ken Kuehne).
Father, we ask you to save souls. You're the only One who can. Thank you for rescuing me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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The Bowers Files' prequels continue with Every Deadly Kiss by the master storyteller Steven James.
It's always an experience to read a Steven James' novel. His villains wreak havoc on those who dare to become their unsuspecting victims. Not ever for the faint-hearted or gore-averse readers, these thrillers present visuals on the page the reader can't unread.
With more than one psychopath in this story – two of whom are brothers of sorts – and others who are jihadists, it's always disturbing to read of the demonic carnage produced by these sick individuals. In Every Deadly Kiss these murderers possess different kinds of motives which all converge at the same time in Detroit, Michigan.
FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers is called in on the case of a serial killer by a former girlfriend FBI Special Agent Sharyn Weist when he and his present girlfriend Christie are experiencing some conflict in their relationship. He leaves from Christie's apartment in New York for Detroit knowing things are not resolved but hopeful they soon will be. (No one does awkward better than Steven James. Patrick Bowers is sometimes a mess with his inexpressible emotions and trying to understand that thing called love and what all it requires of him.)
You might imagine how convoluted this plot – and subplots – can be trying to follow the different avenues of all involved. At times it's confusing and even distracting as we follow the diverse individuals in their quests for revenge, destruction, and basically hellacious intentions. We're waiting to see how all these multi-purposed agents of death will superimpose themselves in this broken city.
In the meantime we learn that Agent Weist used to be someone else (I admit I kind of snickered at her former name, a combination of two "real" people's names in her former field), and who she was is being sought by one of the killers. Patrick always manages to get banged up in his pursuits, and his frustration grows as he tries to piece together the wild disconnects in this weird puzzle of people. Added to the pressures of new threats within this mess, Christie shows up in Detroit to find Patrick's former girlfriend occupies a substantial amount of his time.
But, as usual, the writing is superb, there is a semi-cliffhanger ending although much is resolved. Let me just treat you to a couple of passages in this novel:
On the way back to the motel, I noticed that all of the storefronts on this street except for a seedy looking marijuana shop called Puff and Blow were shuttered, dead, and dilapidated.
Someone had written Just Married on the back window of the car parked in front of the cannabis store, but the i had worn off.
Okay, that's awkward. (pg. 110, Chapter 19)
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What leads to an obsession?
Who knows?
Obsessions aren't something to make sense of, but instead they grow from any desire that remains unchecked by logic or unbridled by conscience. (pg. 112, Chapter 19)
There's no doubt Steven James is an ambitious and complex storyteller – not to mention wicked clever – so the reader is often placed in the unenviable position of catching up to what's really happening and keeping some of the characters straight and in order. This is one of those novels for me. Always good but some more taxing than others. In spite of that, it's a compelling read. And you really don't want to know what happens with every deadly kiss . . .
Father, you know Steven's heart and soul. His great gifting comes from you. I pray you would continue to bless his life and keep him safe from all harm. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Then Peter began to speak. "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. This is the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached – how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
"We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen – by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
Acts 10:34-43 (NIV)
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Five things I really don't like:
Being late and forgetting to do a blog post.
Country music.
Bad/obnoxious/silly book covers
Blurbs that give away the entire plot of a novel.
Bad drivers.
Ah, Lord, some days we've got it, some days we don't. Every good and perfect gift comes from you. Apart from you, I can do nothing. Thank you for today and all those that led up to today. I love you, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
