Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'"
Matthew 4:10 (NIV)
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Excerpts from the ACLJ:
There's certain to be a lot of debate about the direction America is taking in the run-up to the 2012 election. And, that will, no doubt, include discussion about the role and meaning of the U.S. Constitution, and debate about whether the Constitution is still relevant in today's world, or whether it's a ''living document'' that needs to change as our nation changes.
Our work at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) centers on protecting and defending the U.S. Constitution. Our Founding Fathers were wise, crafting a framework for freedom that has stood the test of time. The Constitution is now more important than ever – under attack by those who believe that this cornerstone of our liberty doesn't really matter any more, that it's outdated, and no longer means what our Founding Fathers intended.
That's why this upcoming election season is so important. The American people want and deserve leaders who will enact policies that embrace the Constitution, instead of disregard it.
Too often, we come across people in government who do not know what our founding documents really say and why they are still relevant to the policies being enacted in Washington, D.C., and capitals across the nation.
Part of the ACLJ's mission of defending our constitutional rights is making sure citizens – and those we elect to office accurately know the rights guaranteed by our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Do you know if you would call yourself a ''Constitutional Conservative'' or someone who believes the Constitution is a 'living' document?
Before you can answer that question for yourself, you need to read the Constitution and our founding documents for yourself. Because I believe these documents are so vital to you and the health of our nation, the ACLJ has brought together the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the Gettysburg Address into one booklet entitled ''Foundations of Freedom.''
We would like to give this to you and anyone who requests it completely free. Please get your free copy of Foundations of Freedom today.
By studying the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, you will be better equipped to read through the political rhetoric and select individuals to lead our nation who truly understand the foundational principles that make this nation great.
It is my hope that by sharing the ACLJ's resources through our daily radio program, our weekly television program, ACLJ This Week, and the many resources found on ACLJ.org – we can equip you with the information you need to make well-informed decisions in selecting our nation's leaders.
As Thomas Jefferson said, ''Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.'' I can think of no better tool to help you become well-informed than our Foundations of Freedom, which includes documents that Jefferson, and many of our nation's other Founders, helped author.
If you have not already done so, please take a moment to get your free copy of this critical resource – Foundations of Freedom.
Thank you for taking your God-given responsibility of selecting our nation's leaders so seriously and joining with us in the fight for liberty.
Jay Sekulow
ACLJ Chief CounselSent to me:
CHECK THIS OUT ON SNOPES IF YOU LIKE. THE FOLLOWING DATA IS ACTUALLY TRUEHow they vote in the United Nations:
Below are the actual voting records of various Arabic/Islamic States which are recorded in both the US State Department and United Nations records:Kuwait votes against the United States 67% of the timeQatar votes against the United States 67% of the time
Morocco votes against the United States 70% of the time
United Arab Emirates votes against the U.S. 70% of the time.
Jordan votes against the United States 71% of the time.
Tunisia votes against the United States 71% of the time.
Saudi Arabia votes against the United States 73% of the time.
Yemen votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Algeria votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Oman votes against the United States 74% of the time.
Sudan votes against the United States 75% of the time.
Pakistan votes against the United States 75% of the time.
Libya votes against the United States 76% of the time.
Egypt votes against the United States 79% of the time.
Lebanon votes against the United States 80% of the time.
India votes against the United States 81% of the time.
Syria votes against the United States 84% of the time.
Mauritania votes against the United States 87% of the time.
U S Foreign Aid to those that hate us:
Egypt, for example, after voting 79% of the time against the United States, still receives $2 billion annually in US Foreign Aid.
Jordan votes 71% against the United States and receives $192,814,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.
Pakistan votes 75% against the United States receives $6,721,000,000 annually in US Foreign Aid.
India votes 81% against the United States receives $143,699,000 annually.
Taxpayers' money at work?God, we need you. You built this country. Have mercy on us. Please. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. -
Song lyrics that absolutely rocked my world . . . once upon a time back in the day. Still do. Can't help it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KZ8PRWChb8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUL68ZeclcA
Oh God. I belong to you now. Thank you for that. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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If that isn’t the best cover ever, I haven’t seen one. My goodness. This cover is precisely why I broke my squishy rule about not reading historicals and made an exception. I don’t honestly remember if I’ve ever read a Western. When I was a young girl I read the account of Comanche of the Seventh, a story based on a real horse in the Cavalry, and cried my eyes out of course. I think that put an end to my western-style of reading. I played cowboys, Indians, and pioneers most of my young life. In the city. Sigh. My heart has always lived in the country. I grew up watching westerns on TV and loved them. But . . . well you know my reading habits rarely go back in time.
A Man Called Outlaw by K. M. Weiland was published by an indie press (PenForASword) in 2007 and can be purchased at the usual outlets besides at Wordplay, K. M. Weiland’s blog site.
I’m not really qualified to review this novel. I have nothing to compare it to, but I will say I enjoyed the story. It has a classic villain, a few hero cowboys, and one young man who must step up to rescue the lady who’s given her all not to succumb to the evil wiles of a Judge gone rogue who will do anything to get her ranch added to his own. I suspect the minor element of romance might not offend our Western writer in residence Brenda Jackson, but I’m not sure. Romance is not the focus of this historical novel that jockeys back and forth between the years 1887 and 1858-9 yet the love of a woman and real family is at the heart of the plot. The faith elements fit right in for this group, some for show and others from the heart.
The misguided devotion of Shane Lassiter tangles with the truth throughout the novel until finally he “gets” it. What’s required of him is that of any man who’s challenged to make life and death decisions and rectify wrongs. From the outside looking in it seems the struggle shouldn’t be so dang hard, but from the perspective of someone who’s been trained to revere the one who’s raised him, it’s hard to break free from the control and manipulation until . . . well, until there’s simply no other choice.
When the tales of the man known as “the outlaw” start making sense to a somewhat embittered Shane Lassiter, what he learns about the real man propels him to do what’s right.
There’s some great characterization and dialogue between the guys in this novel. Devoted friends during the bad times as well as the good, they cowboy up to do what’s needed, squabbling about the timing and execution of waylaid plans tossing a few good-natured insults around. The foe is greater than all they can muster, but the man they call the outlaw steps up and sets the example.
I could see A Man Called Outlaw being a movie. It’s a genuine Western in that sense and a good adventure with some gut-wrenching scenes. K. M. Weiland writes an entertaining story with only a few “first novel” moments. She’s since written other historical novels but they go much farther back in time.
Father, you know Katie's heart and soul. I pray you would continue to fulfill her with your inspiration and stories. Give her whatever she needs to work for your glory. Bless her in your abundance. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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It hides. Some of us shove it into full view and renounce it, but it slithers back often unnoticed because of the intense focus we exert to make the time spent writing worthwhile, important. That time, that writing, which somehow validates us, sets us apart from most because we dedicate those moments we have to it and we indulge our hopes and dreams in it, and we just plain need it to feel good about ourselves.
Some sacrifice sleep, others family time, others fellowship with friends just to do this gig. We take it seriously. In order to produce anything of value the sacrifice is expected, required even. “I have a deadline so I’ll be offline for awhile.” Smiley face. Aahh, such discipline. Such admiration for this dedicated writing soul.
Market it. Facebook. Blog. Tweet-ledee and Tweet-ledom. Author pages everywhere. Hail to the newest novel. See what I’ve created. Please be sure to write a review on Amazon—if you don’t mind.
Bookstore signings, conferences, teaching.
Reciprocation? Not enough time—I’m writing my next novel and editing my previous one. Sorry.
Does it get old for anyone else? Does it seem too self-focused and self-serving?
Selfishness stands ugly. In any form. It’s too easy for me. I hate it.
God, deal with me. Keep me straight with you. That’s all that truly matters. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Yesterday I asked this question: Have you ever—since studying the craft of writing—read a novel where you didn’t want to change a single thing about it? Not a word, a comma, a reaction by a character?
Then we tackled the hunger that produced the drive to write for publishing, suggesting that the hunger should first be to write to please the Lord. We think we do, but when we come closer to examining our ambitions, sometimes we discover the objective to write for His pleasure falls to a secondary position in our priorities.
Today we look at the thirst for publishing. The question I asked in the opening paragraph plays a role in all of this disjointed posting. Here’s why. No matter how well you write— and let’s be honest here, some of us rise to the upper echelon of the writing hierarchy and some of us fade to the lower rungs of the writing ladder—there will be those who think you’re a hack. Maybe if you’re in the upper portion of the field, your detractors will be fewer, but there will always be those who say: “I don’t get what people see in this writer. I hate their stuff!”
You study the craft, you find your voice, you improve with every effort, and you stick with your project(s) until you decide it’s just about your best (being unable to determine what “best” truly looks like). You submit it, you get rejections, you get interest, you get an agent and/or a contract. You’re on your way. That thirst is temporarily quenched.
And what comes next? Changes. Maybe just a few, and not to say they aren’t needed, necessary, or negligible, but they are changes after all. You make them, question them, discuss them, or refuse them. Most will do the first three. If only a few are required, the odds are you’ll find them meaningful. If there are enough to merit wondering what in the heck the acquisitions editor thought he saw in your story, your heartfelt efforts to do revisions might produce a new kind of dry-mouth and reacquaint you with a different kind of thirst.
Then eventually on to the reader. Let’s say 85% respond favorably to your novel. You’re feelin’ it now. Sated. Satisfied. Sensational. Then the 15% begin to trickle in with their rants or disses or take-it or leave-it, blasé attitudes toward this book you worked so diligently and with dedication to perfect. Is it enough to tell yourself you can’t please everyone, and they aren’t your target audience anyway? Are you placated by your clichés? Some of you developed your alligator hide or injected the ice water that runs through your veins and can answer “Yeah, okay.” Others will sneak off to remote locations and ponder what went wrong admitting to themselves “I really am a hack!”
You look in the mirror and realize you’re a reader too. You’ve read hundreds of novels and felt about some of them the way those detractors feel about yours. You know the feelings well. Odd twinges occur in your gut. You realize you’re planted dead center in the circle of writing/publishing. You’ve watched the line curve all around you through the course of your writing endeavors and now here you are in the midst of all that it is. For a moment you wonder how you could’ve hungered for this and why your throat is a bit parched. But then an email comes or a new positive review appears on Amazon thanking you for this, that, and the other about your story, and the swallowing returns to normal. You don’t have to head to the sink, the fridge, or the water cooler quite so fast. Yeah, baby. I’m published!
Truth is you can’t please everyone. No matter what you write. And changes might be for the better but they could be for the worse. Ultimately it’s your decision how you write and what you write, who you choose to please and what your goals might be.
Through it all, just remember this:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
Matthew 5:6 (NIV)
God in heaven, we’re desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Before I arrive at the body of this post let me ask you one thing. Please be honest if you choose to answer. Have you ever—since studying the craft of writing—read a novel where you didn’t want to change a single thing about it? Not a word, a comma, a reaction by a character?
There exists in most writers a hunger to be published. It’s genuine, deep and far-reaching, and it motivates most to improve what they perceive to be a calling, a purpose, a desire at the very least, to share words in a meaningful manner. When an individual is willing to spend hours, weeks, even years in front of a computer screen creating a story or writing longhand on paper, the inspiration which drives the dedication to telling that story ignites the determination to make it worthy of telling.
If I had to define story, this is what I’d say it is: Story is the composite of reality, the revelation of the soul. Story allows a reader to slip into another’s life. To experience another’s reality. To glimpse the soul of both the author and the characters which are revealed.
One of the amusing results of my first novel, Hope of Glory, was when my fellow racetrackers discussed and tried to guess who each character “really” was. Those characters were composites of everyone I ever knew in racing including myself at different stages of my life. One thing racetrackers got when reading that book was a comprehensive experience of the racing they knew and gave their lives to day in and day out.
So. The Hunger. There comes a point in time when that hunger for being published must yield to whatever the Lord has for any given writer. Where the actuality of getting published becomes secondary to whatever the Lord is directing. It’s that “die to self” thing which is, not surprisingly, hard to do. After all the study, work, and desire, the hunger to please the Lord must surpass all other ambitions. For some this is much easier to achieve than for others. We want it all. Of course we want to please the Lord, but wouldn’t He be proud of us receiving a contract, for crying out loud? And the answer is probably yes because if it wasn’t for Him, the contract wouldn’t be given.
Let’s face it. It’s just as easy to make writing and publishing idols as anything else in this life. Why wouldn’t God want me published since He called me to write these blasted stories?! I mean, come on. Don’t ask me. Ask Him what His plans for you are.
And I’m certainly no one to ask. I’ve “felt” all along that self-publishing was going to be the route I’d be taking which is rather interesting since I’m such a lousy marketer.
After all the hard work, a manuscript emerges. After sharing it, receiving suggestions, critiques, perhaps even professional editing, you gain a contract and it’s published. Many love it. A few hate it. Reviews come in all forms of praise and malice. It’s impossible to please all readers. Someone wants to change something; someone wants to erase every word. It’s the nature of the reading beast. Some authors will be challenged and excel; others will be discouraged and retreat to some degree. The hunger to write will eventually emerge and some will improve while others will remain the same. Some readers will still love you and those who hated you might still.
The only real satisfaction to the hunger comes in the pleasing whisper from the Lord’s heart: Well done . . .
No one can do what He can do for us.
God, may my hunger to please you overrule all else. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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Then Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."
Joshua 3:5 (NIV)
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Many jokes have been made about WalMart greeters, about those jobs being the end of the line, the last resort. Sometimes, although it’s not necessarily funny, these statements have some truth to them.
At a WalMart where I frequently shop, I met Kathi who worked about 20 hours a week as a greeter. No ordinary woman, Kathi. She welcomed people to WalMart from a wheel chair, disabled with one leg amputated at high-thigh and one arm perpetually in a sling. She drove her outfitted SUV to work and maneuvered her chair and her difficult body in and out of it. As we spent our brief times chatting, I learned she liked to read so I gave her a copy of The Famous One, and the joy I felt when she told me she loved it exceeded measurement.
We hugged each other, spent those few minutes we had together at the store talking about different things, and I told her how brave and courageous I thought she was. She amazed me. Kathi always was quick to dispense smiles and we enjoyed each other’s company. There was a Subway in this WalMart, and we planned to eventually make time to share a lunch there but somehow didn’t do it. I learned her husband was a firefighter and her injuries were caused by a drunk driver many years before I met her.
What I didn’t know about Kathi was her last name or that she had cancer. I learned that just a week ago when I asked George, another greeter, about Kathi since I hadn’t seen her the last few times I’d been in the store. Today I met George at the entrance and asked about Kathi. She passed away Sunday.
It broke my heart. George hugged me, and I attempted not to cry as I cut my shopping short, barely remembering what I’d gone there to get. I never got to say goodbye. Sometimes we don’t. Kathi’s life touched mine. Such a valiant woman. A loving lady. I will miss her smiles and her hugs. No one will take her place. She was unique, and I know there are empty places in hearts that she once occupied.
God, I know you gave Kathi her joy. I hope to see her again one day. May those who've lost a precious person in their lives be comforted by your Spirit. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
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As writers we read and write in certain genres. We generally have our favorites, and some of us detest others. Strong wording, I know. And perhaps a bit unfair. Okay. Well, it’s true for me anyway. That better? When saying I detest a specific genre, I’m not saying I detest those who write within it or those who publish it or even those who read it. What I’m saying is it’s so not for me, and it would be a torture equivalent to going back to school for me to have to read a novel in that particular market niche.
But I must remember there are those readers (and writers) who love the genres that I don’t. And this can be frustrating for those of us who don’t see what we like offered as frequently as those we prefer. However, I have no shortage of novels to read right now. In fact I’m swamped. Again. Backed up. A summer full of reading ahead. Again.
So much for devoting time to my three novels in progress. All in good time.
All this to say what I’ve said many times before, possibly ad nauseum, different people read different kinds of novels. Some favor the commercial, the light and fluff. Others favor the dark and desperate, the dangerous. Others like the structured and formulaic, the simple. And still others enjoy the beauty of words woven into a story that takes them deep into characters. In the frustrations of creating words on a page to somehow meld into a meaningful story, one that surpasses expectations (my own) and manages to cut its way into the heart, leaving an imprint or an impact, I must remember the readers like what they like and the “job” is to find those who like what I like.
So much for that . . .
Father, lead me in your ways. Help me to stay focused on what you have for me to do and to eliminate all else. Thank you for your loving kindness, your instruction, and your faithfulness in spite of me. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
