Into the Fire

I'd give credit where credit is due, but I don't know where these came from. Please enjoy.

PARAPROSDOKIANS definition: "Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation." (Winston Churchill loved them.)

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right – only who is left..

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk I have a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

18. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

19. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

20. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

21. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

22. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

23. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

24. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

25. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

26. Where there's a will, there's relatives.

Oh Lord, what a relief it is to laugh. Thanks for humor. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Some posts beg to be written. Some posts, although they command expression, are pushed into the shadows and left to die in the dark alleys of the mind or survive and hold the writer at gunpoint to be heard. This is one of those posts which refuses to die. It's not the first time I've addressed this issue. Somewhere back in the archives a similar post was given voice, but I don't remember the title now.

Posts like these spark bitterness, hatred, resentment, and on a bigger venue even threats. My reading audience is small and many of them are like-minded so I doubt too many comments will appear. And it's not comments I'm going for in this post. It's a reality that's being buried by shouts, by protests, by insistence for "fairness", and all matter of disagreements. I find it horrifically sad.

In Washington state Governor Gregoire, a progressive who has plunged this state deeper into debt following the example of the president and who is done with her pitiful two terms in November, signed into law the allowance for same-sex marriage without the measure appearing before the public for a vote. Granted that twice in California the people defeated the measure allowing same-sex marriage twice, but the Ninth Circuit Court somehow managed to rule that the people had no right to vote against it. ??

Marriage is what it is, has never been questioned as the institution that unites a man (husband) and a woman (wife) in matrimony, consummated by vows and a sexual union. But now a very small percentage of the United States of America demands that men can marry men and women can marry women because their love should have the same privileges as a  man and woman who decide to marry.

The basis for their feelings has no origin in the biblical. And when people refuse to acknowledge the origins of moral absolutes, it's difficult to provide them with reasonable arguments they'll accept. So I'll try going a different route. I will say that bodies are built with certain structures and "equipment". These facillitate a natural process known as sexual intercourse and/or making love. What happens when bodies and minds decide to merge outside of their natural constructs presents a medley of problems for rationalizing such actions.

Please understand this: I recognize that same-sex couples care deeply for one another. I've known people who are gay. Like all other people of every gender, ethnic backgrounds, and cultural divides, some are good, nice, and wonderful people, and others are not. At all.

My moral code in Christ places homosexuality in the sin category along with every other kind of fornication and lust. No different, but sin nevertheless. And when we enable sin in our lives or in others' lives, we usher ourselves into the realm of consequential failures and results. Biblically, it's stated as "You reap what you sow" and in the world it's often said "What goes around comes around." Sin is inescapable. We're not going to defeat it in this life. But just because nice people welcome certain kinds of sin into their lives doesn't make it a necessity to praise it or them, allow it, and justify it.

I do find it odd that the sexual constructs of the human body get ignored when they aren't specifically designed for man to man and woman to woman sexual activity without challenging "normal" parameters. Please forgive me, gentlemen, if I shudder to see you lip-locked with another guy, or imagine women with their extra paraphernalia servicing one another. And lest you think I'm being sarcastic or poking fun here, I most certainly am not. I know that real relationships exist in the homosexual community, ones that respect each other, care for each other's needs, and ones that establish the same types of lifestyles as men and women who are coupled. Except for the matter at hand: the bodies don't fit right. I know that the men find a way to make them work together as do the women, but it's not the way they were designed to function. And if it's an hormonal disorder, a reactionary result from some physical or psychological trauma, or whatever might be the case, it's not the kind of relationship that needs to interfere with the longstanding and accepted norm of marriage.

If it was strictly based on legalities, partners can be given Power of Attorney, co-sign loans, bank accounts, etc., but don't need to tread on marriage. Establish your commitments to one another in spite of all objections if you're bound to do it, but don't take from the established union of a man and a woman to make your relationship fit into a contract that was never meant to be. Be a couple if you like, but don't pretend it's the same thing as marriage. It really isn't, no matter what some government types decide.

This is a difficult subject. Those of us who classify homosexuality as sin know that we fight to conquer all different kinds of sin in our own lives. Sometimes we succeed and other times we fail miserably. Recognizing what we do is wrong is critical to our well-being. If I can't convince you that what you're doing, feeling, is wrong, then so be it. But please don't try to convince me that what you're doing is right – especially when you want to push it into a marriage vow. It just doesn't fit.

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped created things rather than the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

Romans 1:26-27 (NIV)

God, we're desperate for you. Every one of us. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm139:16 (NIV)

Whether by natural means, by disease, by shocking accidents, murders, or addictions, God knows how those days, hours, and moments preceding the last breath will be spent. And the days following . . .

Farewell, Whitney.

God, I don't pretend to know the eternal destination of Whitney Houston. I only know you blessed her with 48 years and a voice that rang of angelic magnitude. I ask that you would comfort those closest to her and that you would caution those who jump to judge her. Thank you for that beautiful voice bestowed upon a lovely woman who lost her way. I hope in the end she remembered that, yes, Jesus loved her. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

*Poster courtesy of http://www.moviegoods.com

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and waves, and it [the sea] was completely calm.

Matthew 8:26 (NIV)

The winner of Mike Dellosso's Frantic is Brenda Anderson! Congrats and happy reading.

God, thank you for writers and readers. May these two be continually blessed by your inspiration. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Karin, take it away.

I’ve loved reading mysteries since I was a kid, so my number one goal in writing The Witch Tree was to write the sort of mystery I like to read–cozy but not fluffy, with a plot that doesn’t minimize evil but, on the other hand, isn’t dripping with darkness. Life is full of hope—why shouldn’t books be?

When I set out to create my protagonist, Anna Denning, I knew four things: (1) she would be a genealogist, (2) she would be a widow, (3) she would have been involved with wicca at some point in her past, and (4) she would own a dog.

I wanted to make Anna a genealogist because genealogists are good at digging for clues and connecting the dots—like any good amateur sleuth. Plus, genealogy deals with both the past and present (as well as how the past affects the present), and the information you can uncover in your research is almost limitless. Genealogy is a cornucopia for the mystery writer.

Anna is a widow who is having a very tough time dealing with the loss of her husband—and her anger at God because of that loss. It was important to show her grief and anger. I think Christians, moreso than non-believers, can become angry with God. After all, we believe in Him, and when it seems the One you’ve trusted has turned His back on you, there’s a sense of betrayal that, for example, an atheist or Buddhist wouldn’t feel. Christians shouldn’t be ashamed of their struggles with God—those struggles are a sign of faith.

In the course of the story, Anna also has to come to grips with her past involvement in wicca, something she’d rather forget. That’s something I can identify with. In my twenties, even though I was a Christian, I dabbled in wicca. As a result, although I have strong opinions on wicca, witchcraft, and paganism (all of them negative), I have a great deal of empathy for young people caught up in those “paths.”

Finally, I knew Anna had to have a dog, so I created Jackson, a German shepherd mix. I have two dogs of my own, both rescue dogs. One was abandoned at age two, and the other was a breeder dog at a puppy mill who was almost nine years old when I got him. Dogs are one of God’s best gifts, so how could my protagonist be without one?

Two years ago, if someone had told me I’d self-publish an ebook, I wouldn’t have believed it. I’d always heard that self-publishing is a no-no. And although I still believe that self-publishing solely in print format isn’t a good idea, the world of publishing has changed so much that self-pubbing an ebook just might be the smartest thing you could ever do as an author.

I decided to self-publish The Witch Tree as an ebook first and foremost because I’m impatient. I didn’t want to go through the usual publication process: write the “perfect” query, find an agent, search for a publisher, find an editor, rewrite half the book, have the editor and agent tell you they can’t market the book, rinse and repeat. Thankfully, because of ebooks, that publishing model is on the way out.

Self-publishing isn’t for everyone, but for those who are so inclined, I’d say give it a try. I’ll be self-publishing my second ebook in the Anna Denning mystery series later this year. The book will be “up and running” a couple weeks after I’ve finished the last draft. It’s great to be living in a time when that’s possible.

Again, Lord, please continue to bless Karin with stories, revelation knowledge from your heart to hers, and the insights only you can give. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.