We normally think of Jesus’s parables as teaching tools to help the hearers understand spiritual concepts. Yet, in Matthew 13 Jesus’s disciples ask why he speaks to the people in parables, and his answer is that he uses the figurative languages of parables so the people would not understand. Doesn’t that seem surprising? In some cases Jesus used parables to separate serious learners from casual listeners. See what he says in verses 13-15. Matthew 13:13-15 …
In the book of Deuteronomy Moses recounts to God’s people all that had happened during the previous forty years of their wandering in the wilderness. That time of suffering began when the adult generation that came out of Egyptian slavery failed to enter the Promised Land as God commanded. The sight of the tall, powerful inhabitants of Canaan filled the Israelites with the fear the Canaanites would kill them and take their children captive. God’s…
The first draft of my novel, True Status, consisted of 62,000 words. When I rewrote the story, I slashed 23,000 words and added 47,000 new words. An improved story of 86,000 words resulted. My editor urged me to make the manuscript better, so more rewriting and pruning followed until I trimmed another 10,000 words. Figuring out what to add and what to remove made all the difference. Anything that did not advance the story or…
My sister told us the story of the Black Skeleton. It was a true story, but here is my fictionalized version. A woman named Davia attended a birthday party, and she lost herself in music and dancing until she noticed a black skeleton standing in the next room. The skeleton sent a chill through Davia. Why wear such a creepy getup to a birthday party? She tried to ignore it and returned her focus to…
In my novel, True Status, one issue the characters grapple with is who gets to decide what is right and wrong. In the real world, each individual has the God-given responsibility to make correct judgments about right and wrong. Does that mean each person gets to decide what is actually right and wrong for them? Yes and no. In Romans 14, the apostle Paul discusses disputable matters in which each person can decide for themselves…
My debut novel, True Status, is scheduled for a mid-summer release. Will you join my launch team to make sure as many readers as possible are aware of True Status? It is a mysterious and entertaining story with a little romance thrown in. True Status is also the story of God’s pursuit of every human heart with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Primary jobs of a launch team What you get How you join the…
On September 26, 2022, I signed a contract with Elk Lake Publishing, a traditional publisher, to publish my debut novel, True Status. It should be available in spring 2023. I’m grateful to God to have reached this point. I hope my journey will encourage you on yours. My efforts began in January 2018 after Jillian, our youngest, enrolled in a creative writing course. Jillian’s comments about the class were intriguing enough for me to…
No. There is nothing as scary as hell. I just finished a novel in which one of the main characters had a near-death experience of going to hell; the author created a terrifying imaginary scene. Jesus and his apostles said hell is a real place of endless regret, darkness, burning, and pain; we do not need a fictional account to be very afraid of it. Bible phrases to describe hell include: “the lake of fire”,…
Jesus often sought solitude to pray; sometimes he rose early in the morning to pray other times he prayed well into the night. Jesus knew his heavenly Father always heard his prayers and he thanked God for hearing him. Jesus also thanked God for revealing the gospel first to the common people and not the learned and powerful. When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus taught them to address God as…
We, Christians, sometimes fail to do the things Jesus taught us to do. I’m talking about basic teachings like resolving conflict by talking privately to a brother or sister before allowing it to go any further. Remember this passage of scripture? Matthew 18:15-17 15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 “But if he does not listen to you,…