It's Never Too Late

In yesterday's entry, I forgot to include this point with the thief on the cross:

It's never too late to change your path to do something good.

'Nuff said. Have a great day, everyone!

What Do You Love to Do?

I like to imagine that every person has a special mission, one or more accomplishments that are set apart for only him or her. Even if someone is profoundly handicapped, his or her presence and reactions and special personality somehow can work on others to potentially influence them for good.

What we do may seem inconsequential at the time, but have long-reaching repercussions. I always like to think of the two thieves each on a cross, crucified next to Jesus. One redeemed himself, one didn't. Here is the passage from Luke 23: 39-43:

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (ESV)

This thief who chided the other had lived his life in such a reprobate manner that he was crucified, the most horrific and extreme form of capital punishment in the Roman Empire. The thief was dying, and yet through this one small last action the record of his existence is preserved so that we talk about him (and learn from him) 2000 years later. The thief's statement to Jesus, also and more importantly, led to his redemption if you believe in Jesus as the Son of God --> and there are good reasons to believe this. (If you don't believe this you are always welcome to email me for questions or comments; I only insist on courtesy and respect in any discussion).

So, what might your special mission or calling be? I found these questions from Dr. MaryAnn Diorio's blog. Dr. Diorio is a Christian lifecoach who helps people find direction in life. Think of something you're not sure if you should be working on or not. Then, answer these questions:

1) Does this activity give me great joy in the doing?

2) Do others consistently give me feedback that my doing this activity blesses them?

3) Would my life feel empty without this activity?

Hopefully, your answers will help to point you in a direction that will fulfill you as well as others.

A Neat Opportunity for Bloggers!

Just wanted to let you know about a new offer from Thomas Nelson:

FREE BOOKS!

You get free books in exchange for writing for each a short review on your blog and on a commercial website like amazon.

I've posted the write-up from their website below. To sign up, go to their website at http://brb.thomasnelson.com

OK, just thought this was cool. Have a great Sunday!

***

Become a Book Review Blogger

Benefits of being a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger:
Free review copies, link to your review on brb.thomasnelson.com

Requirements of being a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger:
Read the whole book, post a review on your blog, post a review on any consumer retail website

Program Details

Any blogger can receive FREE copies of select Thomas Nelson products. In exchange, you must agree to read the book and post a 200-word review on your blog and on any consumer retail website.

• Sign up using the online registration form at the bottom of this page.

• You must include ALL the requested contact and mailing information. If your contact information changes at any time during your participation, you will need to sign in at http://brb.thomasnelson.com/blogger/profile and update your profile.

• Once your application is approved, Thomas Nelson will send you a confirmation email to confirm your registration as a Book Review Blogger.

• Visit http://brb.thomasnelson.com/ and sign up for a Thomas Nelson product that you are interested in reviewing.

• Please note that not all products are available for review and that some titles will only be available in limited quantities.

• After you have requested a review copy, you will receive via email a PDF of the first two chapters and via US Mail a physical copy of the book.

• Read the book and craft a 200-word review. The review can be positive or negative, it just needs to be based on the entire book.

• Post your review on your blog and any consumer retail website (Amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, booksamillion.com, borders.com, buy.com, christianbook.com, costco.com, lifeway.com, overstock.com, and walmart.com all have a section on each book’s product page dedicated to customer reviews).

• Visit http://brb.thomasnelson.com/ and update your account so we can link to your review. This will allow you to sign up for another title to review.

• Thomas Nelson will contact you by email from time to time to inform you about different products available for review or sale, to check on the progress of your reviews, and to keep you abreast of Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger news.

How Time Doth Fly

Rameses II, or Rameses the Great, is often considered Egypt's most powerful pharaoh, leading expeditions that are commemorated in inscriptions on ancient buildings. He built a city, Pi-Ramesses, and other monuments, temples, and cities.

Ramesses the Great ruled Egypt from 1279 BC to 1213 BC, and is traditionally believed to be the Pharaoh that Moses dealt with in the book of Exodus, when Pharaoh was forced to let the Israeli slaves go.

Although I've never been to Egypt myself, I know that going to see the pyramids and monuments in the Valley of the Kings and other ancient parts is a great attraction. These monuments look old and crumbling now; no one would do anything other than study them, admire them, and then go back to their own lives.

Ozymandias is the Greek name for Rameses the Great. I have always pondered Percy Shelley's poem as a cautionary tale of trying to be too important in this world.

***

Ozymandias

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert... Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."

Percy Bysshe Shelley
1792-1822

NANOMANIA and Update

Just a short entry today.

I have a bunch of writer friends who are doing NaNo (National Novel Writing Month), where the writer attempts to write 50,000 words in a month. I've been interested to see how quickly my email inbox has emptied!

I'm not brave enough to go the full boat myself, although in honor of all of this effort I've been aiming to write 750-1000 words per day (5000-6000 words per week), and believe me the pages pile up. It's fun to get back to writing full time, since I've spent the last many moons getting Lever ready to roll.

I'm working on the prequel now, Nest Among the Stars, about Sara's space station disaster. I have about 50-60,000 words on it so far, with a *shock and awe* outer story. I'm buffing the inner story.

I just wanted to mention an awesome book I'm working through as I do this. This book sits by my computer, and asks insightful questions as I develop plot ideas and character entanglements. I'm freewriting lots of answers; this book has triggered some interesting ideas. Here it is:

John Truby's Anatomy of Story

OK, there's my tip for the day. Now go forth and write!

The Secret Sacrifices

I boiled a pot of water yesterday, and then realized I didn't need it after all for cooking. What a waste. I sighed as I let it cool on the stove.

Doesn't it seem like life is like that pot of water? You try to do something good, and no one notices that you've done it -- or worse, there's a negative consequence! One of my favorite sayings is *No good deed goes unpunished.* :-) It's discouraging, and you may wonder why you bother when it won't make a difference.

And yet...

As I finished preparing dinner, I started thinking about that pot of water. Once it had cooled, the water looked just the same in the pot as before it had boiled, but it was now sterile -- in a mysterious and invisible way, that water was now *superior* to unboiled water.

Similarly I believe that those secret sacrifices we make may make more of a difference than we realize. Those sacrifices honor God, if nothing else, and may even be seen by Paul's *great cloud of witnesses* (Hebrews 12:1-2). I believe that everything we do for right motives, no matter how insignificant or seemingly without result, is accepted -- no effort is ever wasted. Those secret scars of the heart, that no one sees, that bleed without ceasing -- they are all observed and counted.

I was reminded of the line *they also serve who only stand and wait,* and looked this up on google. This line comes from John Milton's poem "On Blindness," and seems fitting for this discussion. We serve God, not because God needs to be served, but because He is worthy, and we take pleasure in acknowledging this.

On His Blindness

WHEN I consider how my light is spent
E're half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide,
Lodg'd with me useless, though my Soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, least he returning chide,
Doth God exact day-labour, light deny'd,
I fondly ask; But patience to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts, who best
Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State

Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o're Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and waite.

John Milton (1608–1674)

The 11th Day of the 11th Month

Veterans Day falls on the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I -- the 11th hour of the 1th day of the 11th month in 1918. It is a day to remember the sacrifices of those in the armed services have made to defend our country.

I have heard war stories, and can't imagine the horrific circumstances that so many have had to fight through. Can you? The green clouds of gas coming for you in the trenches during World War I. The blinding artillery as you disembark from a gunship in Normandy, or the torturous Bataan death march during World War II. The hard-fought and ultimately successful battle of Inchon in Korea, or the frustration and horror of Ia Drang in Vietnam. The horror of a barracks bombing in Beirut. The exhilaration of Desert Storm, the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the capture of Sadaam Hussein.

Our American forces stand strong, fighting to defend our country and liberate others. Individual soldiers can pay a terrible price for our freedom: loss of limbs, loss of peace of mind, loss of friends, loss of family through divorce, loss of life.

Veterans, today is your day, when we honor you especially. In schools throughout the country, veterans visit to talk about the war, and the sacrifice, and the important ideals that they defend in the line of duty. Thank you, Veterans, of war and peacetime, for your service to our counry.