The Plot Thickens, The Contest Continues...

Well, well, it seems many of you solved the mystery of the previous post. {Ahem, how many of you peeked?} The picture clips you see are indeed pieces of the cover of my new book "Curse of the Spider King," the first of a new fantasy series coAuthored with my good friend Christopher Hopper. The cover is so unspeakably cool that I can't post it all at once. ;-) So, you'll need to settle for a slowwwwwww, drawn out process.

PreOrder Alert!
You may not have noticed, but Curse of the Spider King is now available for Preorder on Amazon. Click on this link here, or use the link on my sidebar if you'd like to get your copy reserved now.

Meanwhile the Header Contest Continues. This blog needs a new Header. Using my books' cover art, desktop art from the sidebar, your own original art, Photoshop, and /or any other cool graphic/titling software, create a header according to the following specs:

1. Header must include text: Enter the Door Within.
2. Header must be the following dimensions: 660 x 105 pixels.
3. Header must be created in jpeg format.
4. Header must be emailed to me by May 1st. (see sidebar for email addy)

The Winning Artist will receive a signed copy of any of my books!

The Plot Thickens

We've talked a lot about how to create the opening of a novel that will HOOK your reader. Click here, if you missed that series of posts. But now that you've hooked a reader, editor, or publisher, how do you keep them reading?

Here are some tried and true techniques to thicken your plot:

1. Develop Your Characters: Readers like to get to know characters, love them, hate them, fear for them, etc. But no matter what, your readers must want to follow these characters through the novel.

• So, get out a scrap sheet of paper, or open a new Scrivener file. (See sidebar for the most fantastic and affordable writing software on the market). Answer these questions: What does she/he look like? Why does he/she dress like that? What are his/her goals? What are his/her motives? Does he/she have any physical quirks--ie things that stand out: a scar, a tattoo, crook in the nose, thin lips, walk with a limp, slurs his "S" sounds, etc?

2. Complicate the Path: Now that you know who your main characters are, ie: you know your good guy's goals and your bad guy goals, it's time to start throwing things in their path that complicate the matter. What can you throw in their way that will keep them from reaching their goals? Good guy is trying to get a job? Make him late for the interview. A watermelon truck turns over on the Interstate. Oops, good luck main character. Good Swordmaiden needs to prove she is queen? Let someone else show up claiming to be queen with evidence to prove it. Keep in mind, these events are not called Rising Actions for nothing. You must up the ante.

3. Multiply the Plotlines: This won't work for all stories, but some authors have driven us crazy with technique. You have multiple main characters. Instead of following one main character through his/her linear (straight forward) path, leave one plotline, preferably with a cliffhanger, and switch to another character. JRR Tolkien, Stephen King, Tad Williams, Tom Clancy...are just a few of the authors who do this to spectacular effect. What happens? You're dying to find out what will befall main character one, but you know you have to read through character two to find out. YAAAAHHHHH!!! {SCREAMS pulls out hair}. The readers will race through your pages. Imagine what happens when you leave character 2 on a cliffhanger as well? Heh, heh, heh! {Cue fiendish laugh}

Beware: this technique can be overdone. If you leave one character's plotline TOO long, you risk losing the reader. Patience can only be stretched so far.

Beware 2: Careful when you switch POV (narrator's point of view). If you're telling the first character's story in first person (I did this. I said...etc), then you should probably tell the other characters' stories in first person from their points of view. I prefer to use 3rd person omniscient, as I can go anywhere and into any character's minds.

4. Offer Intriguing Clues, but Don't Give Away the Farm: If you wrote a good hook in the story's exposition (introductory scenes), you have probably tempted your reader with a mystery of some kind: Who's sending those threatening letters? Why was the sun an eerie greenish color? Who is the killer? The reader wants to know the answers. So, give them a few clues, some text details that lead the reader closer to the answer, without giving the answer away. Devious and evil, I know. But readers love it.

I hope that helps you thicken your plot. Post a comment and let us know how you're using the techniques!

A Mystery and a Contest

First, the Mystery: Take a look at the image above.
What is it? Any guesses?
Post a comment, saying what you think it is.
Then, if you cannot stand to wait, use your mouse
and highlight the blank space below to find out.

This is a piece of the cover design for Curse of the Spider King,
Book One of the Berinfell Prophecies Series by me and
Christopher Hopper.


I will post more pieces in the coming days. See how many pieces it takes you to guess correctly. That is, if you haven't already peeked. ;-)

And now for the contest. I'm getting tired of looking at the plain header
for my blog. I know some of you have got to be amazingly good with
Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. So, design a header for this blog. The
best Header will win a signed copy of any of my books.

Here are the requirements:

1. Must say: "Enter the Door Within"
2. max width is 660 pixels wide. (I can't figure out the height)
3. Image must be in jpeg format and emailed to me (see sidebar for email)
4. All entries must be submitted by May 1st.
That's it! Now get designing, you creative people you!

DEADLINES

DEADLINES: Even the word sounds ominous. The finality of the concept is frightening: something is due. There are no excuses. No exceptions. No extensions. Finish on time or pay dearly.

We've all had deadlines. But for the author or aspiring author, deadlines become an everpresent reminder of what is left to do. If handled poorly, deadlines can lead to all kinds of pressure and stress. Deadlines are a part of the business, but ours is a creative field. We create when the muse strikes. How do you rush creativity? Doesn't rushing a creative endeavor mess it up? Hmmm, seemingly valid points. So what's a writer to do?

"I love deadlines.
I love the whooshing sound
they make as they fly by."
Douglas Adams

Love that quote. It captures the kind of manic frustration involved with working under a deadline. It almost feels helpless in a way...as if there's nothing we can do about deadlines whooshing right on past. I disagree.

I believe authors can to a lot to make deadlines manageable. As a matter of fact, I believe deadlines can provide much needed energy and motivation. Oh, and I believe yes, you can rush creativity. I'd even go so far as to say that there are times when the crunch we're in forces out creative ideas that would not have appeared otherwise. So here are my suggestions for getting the most out of deadlines.

Deadline Tip #1: Set reasonable deadlines.
If this is in your control, don't bite off more than you can chew. If you don't know how much your can reasonably write in a day, find out. Then consider the length of the thing you are writing, and do the math. If you write X amount of words every day, then, you can write a book in Y amount of time. When Thomas Nelson offered me a contract for The Door Within Trilogy, I jumped at it. I read the deadlines and went, "Duuuuhhhh, sure, I can do those." Not smart. I'm a full time teacher, and oh, by the way, I have a lovely wife and great kids I like to see once in a while. Now, I'm much more realistic. Keep in mind, publishers have schedules to keep if profits are to be made. Most publishers are going to ask you for a book in 3-6 months. If it's three, I have to say No, I can't do that.

If the deadlines are not in your control, then you will need other strategies.

Deadline Tip #2: Set your own deadlines
So you've got six months to crank out your 80,000 word novel. Divide the words by the number of days, and see what you've got. What you're looking at is about 500 words a day. That is entirely doable.

Deadline Tip #3: Frontload as much as possible
The worst thing you can ever do is look at that deadline six months from now and think, wow, I've got six months. If you did Tip #2, you know that every day you skip is 500 words on your shoulders. So go after it hard early. Knock out 1,000 words one day, 2,000 the next. Challenge yourself.

Two of my favorite techniques are: Race a Friend and Race the Clock

I'm coauthoring a fantasy series with Christopher Hopper. We are both Kings of Procrastination and Distraction. Seriously...it's scary. I wonder whose Twittering? Hmmm...did the Redskins get that free agent they were after? I wonder if Biff ever emailed me back? YIPE. Next thing you know, 2 hours are gone and I'm still staring at an evil, blinking cursor. So what Christopher and I do is we challenge each other to a "Sprint Race." We give a time limit, say 1 hour. We say GO. And off we write. It's amazing how much we can write in those sprints. Usually, I can pound out 500 words in an hour by myself. When I sprint against Christopher, I've never been less than 700 and many times top 1000 words. Yes, it's rough stuff. But, duh, it's a rough draft. lol

Race the Clock is just you and the minutes. You say, "It's Monday. I need 500 words in one hour. GO!!" Then you just pound until the time is up. Raise the number on Tuesday. Keep going.

Deadline Tip #4: Be satisfied with little deadlines met.
If you wrote the 500 words you needed for the day, be happy with it. If you want to do extra and the ideas are coming, go for it. But if not, get up, and be content. You did your job for the day.

Deadline Tip #5: Nibble away at the numbers.
I got this one from Author Sharon Hinck. Let's say you've got to finish 1000 words in a day. Sitting down to knock that out in one stretch isn't always easy. So nibble away at it. If you get up early and pound out 250 words, then later on, all you've got left is 750.

Deadline Tip #6: Outline.
I know there are some "Seat of the Pants Writers" out there who would want to string me up for such blasphemy (ahem, Bryan Davis), but I have found that outlining helps me meet my deadlines. I often take a month to outline a book. That's a long time, but it literally saves me three months of writing and REWRITING time. If you know where you're going in the next scene, then you can write on.

Deadline Tip #7: Stop in the middle of a cool part.
Speaking of author Bryan Davis, he's responsible for this gem. Never finish a writing session at the end of a scene. Always stop in the middle of a cool scene so that the next time you write, you can just leap back into the momentum.

Deadline Tip #8: Eliminate distractions.
That's right: get rid of them. If the internet distracts you, disconnect your writing computer. If it's a video game or a show, make it wait. Use it as a carrot dangling at the end for when you finish. But don't get out of that chair until you are finished what you need to do.

So, there they are, 8 ways to let Deadlines rest in peace.

What about you? Do deadlines daunt you? Do you have any other ideas for how to defeat deadlines?

Fiction, Character Development, etc.

Every once in a while I get an interview request from a student. As I do, I like to post them here in case any of my readers have similar questions. Here's one about the merits (and dangers) of fiction, as well as, a bit about character development.

About ten percent of people would argue that fiction is a waste of time. What would you say to them?

I'd say for those few sad people, perhaps, it is a waste of time. Maybe they are a bit close-minded. ;-) However, I might suggest that they have not yet found the right book. I didn't like fiction until 6th grade. I could read very well (both my parents were teachers), but I never read for fun...until my cool cousin gave me a copy of The Hobbit. That changed everything. I found a deep connection between Bilbo and myself. I found a longing to visit other lands and to dare to try some important deed. That's when fiction became a friend. I've read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings 14 times since then, and I get something new from them each time.

What impact would you say that fictional books, movies and other story-telling mediums have on people?

The impact of all types of media on people is much more profound than some might believe. And like other benign entities, reading fiction can have a positive or negative influence. If a book is morally sound, readers, especially young readers, can absorb lessons about life. "Ah, that character lied and it blew up in his face, so therefore I won't make that mistake." Reading fiction can also arouse our curiosity and prompt us to dare to do great things in life. Ask any leader if there was a book that had a profound impact on them. Chances are there was. But the impact can also be very negative, esp. if the book is not morally sound. Once again, we absorb what we read and add the content to our prior knowledge banks. If the character is rude to his parents, breaks rules, and gets celebrated for it, the reader thinks, "Ah, I can achieve a kind of glory by doing those same kinds of things." There is also a fault in comparing the fictional world to the real world. A wife who constantly reads romance fiction might begin to think of her husband as quite the pudgy clod compared to the handsome beaus that populate the fiction she reads. And that's bad news.

Would you say that you can tell a lot about an author through what he writes?

No question. Any writer worth his salt will put a bit of himself into the story--many times it's unconscious. But it's still there. It can be catharctic, therapeutic, and fun to fuel a tale with a bit of you. But it can also be narcissistic. You don't want every character to be you wearing a wig. And certainly there are more activities in the world than your experiences, so you've got to branch out. When I read Tolkien, I'm quite sure that I'm getting "him" in the package. I believe he's a bit of Frodo and Gandalf rolled into one. I can tell Tolkien was fond of deep friendships, things that are green, and good food. I am too incidentally.




Some people say that detailed vivid descriptions are the way to go, but at the same time others say that you should leave things up to the reader’s imagination. That seems like a paradox to me. What’s your opinion?

I'd say that writers NEED vivid description in order to activate the reader's imagination. The sticking point is exactly how much vivid description does a writer need? And of course there's no exact answer or formula. I believe in immersing the reader without drowning him. If you've got a mountain range to describe, what really needs to be mentioned? The reader has seen mountains before, so what makes these mountain's different? Do the peaks stab up into the clouds like fangs? Are they cloaked in shrouds of mist? Are they blanketed in endless patches of purple and yellow flowers--those things might matter, depending on the mood you wish to convey. When describing a person, don't give us the police line-up description. Do we really need to know that the sweater is 30% polyester? Include the quirky details instead: he had thick eyebrows, a moustache, and goatee, and if he frowned in just the right way, he looked like Abraham Lincoln.


How do you make a main character likeable? …my novel is written in 1st person so I’d say this is an important issue.

I'd say begin with a bit of self inventory. Why do you like the people you like? Make a list of different people and why you like them. Readers like characters for many of the same reasons. And when you go to create characters, you help readers get to know these beings the same way you get to know real people: actions, words, looks, attitudes, thoughts. Show, don't tell. Bonnie was miserable. (NO). Bonnie wrung the corner of her notebook. It was all she had to strangle at the moment. The tears came fast and furious. Her throat thickened to the point that swallowing was pain. etc. etc.

A Need to Know Basis...

My church did a really great message about staying immersed in God's word. It really encouraged me to read through the Bible in a year. I'm using the SOAP method and really enjoying the discoveries so far. If you're not familiar with SOAP, you might consider taking a bath. Pffft! Just kidding. Here's how S.O.A.P. works:

S--Scripture: write down any key verses or passages that stand out to you as you read.

O--Observations: what are your initial thoughts about what you've read? Any connections or meaning that you've gleaned.

A--Application: how does what you've learned actually impact daily thinking, doing, and living?

P--Prayer: Praising God for the elements of truth that have struck you and asking Him to make changes in your being and life because of this new truth.

Basically, you just write all this stuff down in a journal. I use a word document that I just keep saved in a folder.

Using this technique, I'm into Exodus now, and I have 16+ pages of devotion and reflection. When I finish the Bible, I'll literally have a whole book. How cool will that be?

Long preface to say that the study I did today really seemed shareable. Not everything is, nor would I bore you with my meandering thoughts that often. I'm no theologian with a half dozen initials after my name. I'm just a seeker, gathering what wisdom I can. For what it's worth, here's what I found the other day...

Scripture: From Exodus 24:

15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Observations:
So Moses was up there 40 days and nights...with God. What did they do? What did they talk about? That's a lot of time by man's standard. BUT, we aren't told what they did during that time. The Bible...God...doesn't share those details with us. I love that there are things we simply don't need to know. Or maybe, there are some things we really must seek after to find out.

Applications:
God knows what we can handle. Going back to the Garden; God said, there’s one tree here you don’t want any part of. It’s the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—don’t eat from that tree, or you’ll die. Adam and Eve did it anyway. They didn’t die right away. Yes, they were made mortal…and so death would now haunt their steps into the future. But what happened immediately? They knew they were naked and they knew shame for the first time. It gave them fear (they were afraid of the consequences of their actions); it gave them guile (they hid from God); it gave them irresponsibility (they blamed each other and the serpent). It was too much for them, but they dove in anyway. We humans want to know it all: we want to know why God did this or didn’t do that? We want to know why bad things happen to good people. We want to know what God is like, personally. We want to know how He did stuff. The reality is, God knows what we can handle, and it just might be that there are certain things that we don’t need to know…for our own good.

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for looking out for me, for shielding me from knowledge that would puff me up with pride or destroy me in its complexity. Help me to be content with the knowledge your Spirit reveals to me in your word and in life. When there are mysteries, help me to resist the urge to demand to know. And in the short time that we have to wait before heaven, let me be content to know you are good and let me trust you with all of life’s greatest mysteries. In Jesus’s name amen.

Writer's Bootcamp 3

Greetings from Scranton, PA!!

Christopher arrived safely at our favorite Scranton hotel, The Radisson, Lackawanna Station. This is our 3rd year getting away together to write. This year's a little different in that we are coauthoring a new book series: The Berinfell Prophecies.

Tomorrow from noon to two, Christopher and I have an event at The Banshee. This fabulous gathering place has become to us what the "Bird and Baby" was to CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien. We soak in the atmosphere and talk story.

A lot of people have asked us how do we coauthor a book? Aren't there conflicts? What about your writer's voice? Don't they clash? Won't people notice which parts you write and which parts Christopher writes?

Ultimately, I guess our amazing readers will have to decide how we do. So far, I can honestly say that I am having the most fun writing that I have ever had. We seldom if ever have conflict, and we've given each other cart blanche to edit each other's work without WITHOUT using the track changes feature. We're hoping in that way to develop "our" voice rather than me then him, etc.

Something else that we're trying is a process we call Layering.

This is nothing new to writing as it really is just several draft stages rolled into a more methodical approach. Here's what it looks like:

Layer 1: Go after the story--action, plot, go, go, go! We take our outline and just let the story roll on out there. We don't stop for flowery language; we don't think too hard about theme; and we let our characters grow and act and do without too much interference from the bumbling authors.

Layer 2: Character Focus--who are these people? Why are they doing what they are? Why should anyone care about them. The second time through the manuscript, we delve into the personalities and attributes of our main characters. They may be fine just the way they are. Or, they may be cardboard, 2D wannabees in need of major reality check!

Layer 3: Description--the reader needs to be immersed, not drowned, in the world we're creating. They need enough description for their imaginations to get their footing and do their thing. We go through line by line, cutting, tweaking, adding. We consider the mood of each scene and include descriptive details to reflect the emotion we are building. You don't need every detail about the forest, but that one vine that dangles from the tree like a noose...might be important.

Layer 4: Cool Stuff--I know, I need a better name for this one. But really this is the layer where we get crazy. We start weaving in a little foreshadowing. We throw in those righteous bits of dialogue that give the reader a clue to chew on. We start naming the cool swords and ancient caves and such. These are things that can really bog a writer down if you try too hard to get it right on the first draft. Seriously, I can waste a whole day just thinking of a character name--and the vitality and momentum of the scene I was working on just gets crushed. Best for last.

We'll see how it works out. So far. So good. March 13th is our deadline, and that's when Layers 5 thru 12 will occur...when our editors read our stuff and say, uh, you're serious, right?

Something Else to Consider: Catching the Gold Coins

At any time during this layering process, you may have brilliantly cool things pop into your head: a tidbit about the language the Elves will speak, a sweet bit of dialogue, a poignant bit of description for a character you've not even invented yet--whatever it is, you CANNOT afford to ignore them. These are "Gold Coins from Heaven," baby. You need to scoop them up, or like manna, it will be gone.

Yes, this interrupts the layering process. I use Scrivener or SuperNoteCards when I write, so I just pop open a new file, throw in the Gold Coin, label it as specifically as I can, and then dive back into the manuscript.

Reminder about a Way COOL event in PA.

Hey, all! 12-2pm Saturday, February 7th, Christopher Hopper and I will appear at Scranton’s own Banshee Pub for an ALL AGES Dramatic Reading, Swordfighting, Booksigning, and Discussion. So if you know anyone in the great state of Pennsylvania who might be into Fantasy books, please spread the word and tell 'em to come out and meet us!



In days of yore, traveling Bards entertained audiences with tales of faraway lands and feats of derring do. Return to yesteryear as two award-winning authors and entertainers come to lunch with patrons of the Banshee Pub at 320 Penn Avenue. Fresh off a 10-city Tour of the West Coast, authors Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper will appear in full medieval costume to entertain Banshee customers of all ages with dramatic readings from their books, swordplay, and perhaps a song or two.


For Fans of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Eragon, and Inkheart
With five young adult Bestsellers and eight published novels between them, Batson and Hopper know how to spin a tale. Families are welcome. Young and old come and trek with Batson and Hopper down a spiral stair to a subterranean labyrinth where a gigantic beast dwells. Or visit the kingdom of Dionia where great heroes train and something treacherous lurks in the shadows. Batson (Thomas Nelson Publishing) will be signing copies of his Door Within Trilogy, Isle of Swords, and Isle of Fire, and Christopher Hopper (Tsaba House Publishing) will sign copies of his Rise of the Dibor and The Lion Vrie—with perhaps a sneak preview of his soon to be released Athera’s Dawn.


For more details, email me (see sidebar) or contact The Banshee Directly:

Banshee Pub
320 Penn Ave
Scranton, PA 18503
(570) 969-4248

A Promise You Can Count On

We've all seen the crazy-looking guy wearing the rainbow-Afro and holding up a sign with John 3:16 emblazoned on a sign in bright marker or paint. Most of us know the verse by heart. It's one of those verses we hear in church and around "church people" all the time. It's right up there with "In the city of David, a child will be born..."

The problem with some of those verses that become too familiar is that we tend to water down the verses meaning or drain it of its punch, its very significance. In church today, we weren't even studying the verse at all, but the sermon hit me between the eyes with the fact that God's word is true and that we need to take God at His word. And BAM, there was John 3:16, staring me right in the face. So here are some thoughts on one of the most uncommon "common" verses in the New Testament.

"For GOD so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 begins with God. He is the catalyst for all that is to come, the source, the producer, the doer of it all. God is all powerful, all knowing, and everlasting. The Bible makes it clear that with God, nothing is impossible. NOTHING. He made the world. He made the stars and the sky. He made you and He made me. Since He made us, He is intimately familiar with every cell in your body. He knew the day of your birth and the day of your death before there ever was a you. And He knows all about what you've done with your time on this earth. That's right, that secret you've been hiding...He knows it more clearly than you can even remember it. Sounds frightening, doesn't it? Actually, it is reassuring. I'll explain why in a bit.

"For God so LOVED the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 continues by revealing a truth about God: He LOVES the world. Do you love anyone? What's it feel like? Does someone love you? Well, what's that feel like? Can you feel it? Okay, but isn't love more than feelings? After all, feelings can be impacted by all sorts of things, right? Sleep, diet, weather, busyness, pollution, etc. all affect how we feel. Love is more than feelings, more than words…it is action. To quote DC Talk, Love is a verb. God loves with action. He created the world as a playground for us. He gave us beauty in forests, in mountains, in sunrises, in people--all for us. He gave us physical bodies, the ability to see, to speak, to run and play. He gave us the ability to think, to create, to recreate.

God feels love in its purest form and God loves in its purest form. God loves you like the mother cradling a baby, like a father hugging his son after a knee scrape, like that but more. You might be thinking, no, He can't love me like that. We'll see about that later.

"For God so loved the world that he GAVE his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 and many other verses talk about salvation (that is, being saved from hell and given heaven) as being a gift. Wrap your brain around the word "gift." A gift is something one person delivers to another person. It is something special and meaningful. It is something the receiver should appreciate and/or need. And most importantly, a gift costs nothing for the one who receives it. It may cost the giver dearly, however. But focus on the gift--do you get that it's free? You do not have to clean up your behavior to accept it. You don't have to give something in exchange. It is absolutely free or it is no gift at all. God does not bait and switch. When He offers a gift, you just take it. That's all.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only SON, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 tells us that the gift is actually God's Son Jesus. Now, I'm a father of four. I love my kids like nothing else in this world. Even when they are just as frustrating as they could be, I'd never dream of giving one of them away. But there's much more to this story. God didn't just give us His Son like say someone would give up a child for adoption. God gave us Jesus knowing full well that we would kill him.

It was not to be a quick death. It was a horrible torturous death. Jesus was scourged, he was whipped, he was pierced, he was hung on a cross. He was cursed, he was spat upon, he was jeered and mocked, and he was denied by his closest friends. And worse than all of it, for an agonizing period of time, Jesus was cut off from His father. The weight of his body on that cross pulled him down so that he suffocated. The weight of our sin was even more brutal. He who knew no sin became sin for us.

Parents out there, what would you do if someone murdered your child? It's a sharp, poking question. I'd be tempted to seek revenge, to go after the killer. God didn't do that. He didn't stop it from happening either. For those of you who like to blame God with all the terrible things that happen in the world: why didn't God stop it (fill in the blank) from happening? Why!? Just remember, God didn't stop wicked people from killing Jesus. But He did redeem the tragedy. God gave His Son Jesus for us. In war, when a soldier dies, we call it the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus made the ULTIMATE sacrifice.

Why? Have you ever thought of why? Well, the short answer is: Sin, any sin separates us from God eternally. One lie, one cheat, one failure to love as we ought…that's all it takes. God is holy perfection. Think of the purest white paint. Let one drop of red fall into it. Not so pure any longer. God will not allow one drop of imperfection into His presence. One sin will do it, but most of us blow it daily if not by the hour. Our sins earn us death and hell forever, except for Jesus. Jesus died to pay the price of our sin.

The long answer is more sticky. God is creative, right? He could have come up with some other way to save us, couldn't He? I've heard sermons explaining that sin requires blood payment, death to pay it back. That could very well be. But God could have come up with something else to satisfy the debt. Thing is, He didn't. I suspect that God gave us His Son, so that we would know the depth of His love for us. The God of the universe, the most powerful being who ever was or ever will be...He came down and put on our sorry flesh, got himself born in a pigsty, slummed with people for 33 years, only to be tortured and killed like a common criminal.

And don't think He couldn't have called the whole thing off. Jesus told Pontius Pilate (the Roman procurator who eventually sentenced Jesus to die) that with a word, he (Jesus) could call down a legion of angels and lay waste to the Romans. No, God wanted to show us unfathomable love and devotion. He was willing to go to the most extreme lengths to show us love.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 uses the coolest, most spectacular word here: whoever. Do you get that? You, yes you. Wake up. Snap out of your guilt and self pity. Whoever--that means you. You think you've been so horrible that you can out-sin God's grace? Guess again. Paul called himself the worst of sinners. You know what God did with Paul? God saved Paul and used him to transform the world. Not to mention God used Paul to write 2/3 of the New Testament. God loves to take broken people and make them amazing.

I don't know what secret horror you're holding on to. What devastating thing you did. What act of cowardice, malice, or dreadful premeditated depravity. You cannot out-sin God's grace. Remember, God is all powerful, and with God, all things are possible. You may as well have been one of the Romans hammering a six-inch spike into Jesus' hands...that's still not enough to out-sin God's grace. You just cannot do it. Remember, we said that God knows you intimately. He knows everything you ever did or will do. And that's reassuring because He knows all about you, you can't surprise Him. You can't mess up the equation. You can't CAN NOT out-sin God's grace. Fuh-gedd-abow-dit!!

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16 tells us there's one condition for being saved: believe. Well, what does believe mean? You know, for the most important question of eternity, that's a pretty stupid question. Believe means believe. To be convinced, persuaded, assured of. No offense to my brothers and sisters who want to read something else into it like: repent, choose, decide, etc. But that's not the way believe is used in the New Testament. Each and every time it's used, it simply means believe. You take God at His word.

Have you ever felt like someone didn't trust you? You told him the truth, and there was that horrible hesitancy…you just knew he didn't trust you. Ouch, that hurts. But when someone trust you, takes your word for it, you feel good. Well, for a lot of folks, they're looking at God like He's a used car salesman. What's the catch? There is none. God says, believe. Take me at my word, and I'll save you. Believe what? Believe this verse! God loves you. He gave his Son to pay for your sins. Believe it.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him SHALL NOT PERISH but have eternal life."

John 3:16 promises us that we will not perish--not physical death here. We all will die. The death rate in the world is still 100%. The perishing here is worse that physical death. This is hell, spiritual death. Eternal separation from God and anything else. I've written on hell before. You can click here if you want more of that picture. God is saving you from a never-ending terror that you couldn't imagine, not in your most detailed nightmares. That's what God saved you from.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but HAVE eternal life."

John 3:16 uses this wonderful present tense verb here. HAVE. The moment you believe, you are IN. The transaction is complete. When Jesus breathed his last, he said, "It is finished." That means your salvation is a done deal. If you have believed you have eternal life guaranteed for you. God even puts a deposit into our soul: The Holy Spirit. The Spirit in you will do lots of cool things. But for starters, He's like the King's seal stamped permanently in your heart.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE."

John 3:16 not only tells us what we've been saved from, but also what we've been saved for. Eternal life means forever in heaven with God and it means life while we're here on earth. But take the phrase apart. Eternal. You cannot lose it. No apologies to the brothers and sisters who preach that Christians can lose their salvation. Look, if eternal life can be lost, then we'd better call it something besides eternal. Can God be trusted? Of course. In fact, that's what this is all about: Take God at His word. Once saved, always saved. Count on Jesus, not yourself. You couldn't do enough good things to pay for your sins. You couldn't save yourself. You cannot blow it bad enough to lose your salvation either.

So, you might ask, does that mean, once I'm saved, I can go sin? Uh…yes, that's right. You can go sin. God gives you free will. But you just may not like the consequences of your sin. Sin hurts us or others or both. ALWAYS. That's why God tells us not to do certain things. And when we do the things God tells us TO do, we will be the most fulfilled people on earth.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Life begins here…and it lasts forever.

Obama-Mania, A Cautionary Tale

Well, it's Inauguration Day. The whole country--check that--the whole world is abuzz with hope, love, and change! Barack Obama is now President of the United States of America, as well as, the darling of the media and well, just about everybody. Honestly, I'm a little concerned with the combination conquering war hero, super bowl winner, rock star treatment we're giving Obama. I'll explain why in a minute.

I keep seeing news features with people swaying in jubilation over the event. And then, there are the tears. I've never seen so many tears. People just weeping over this man's ascendancy. And I get it. He's the first black president. He is kind of an embodiment of the hopes and dreams of MLK and others. He gives hope to all races that if you work hard, you CAN do anything. This is all great and very heart-warming. In all honesty, if he wasn't so Pro-Abortion and Pro-Gay Rights, I might have voted for Obama as well. He's quite charismatic and brave. I will be praying for him as often as I can. I hope he does wonderful things for our country, and I hope he'll bring about the "right" kind of change. But folks, can we quit the hysteria? Barack Obama hasn't done anything yet.

He reminds me of one of those college football quarterback prospects. There's all this hype about the guy. He's risen through great hardship and emerged victorious in all these contests. Maybe he's even won the Heisman Trophy. So on Draft Day, Mr. All America QB goes #1 and signs a contract that will make him a gazillion dollars. But Mr. All America hasn't played a down in the NFL. Many of these "can't miss" athletes do miss and miss badly. The NFL has a level of pressure and expectation all its own. It's a different world. And not everyone can weather the storms it throws at you. That's just the nature of football.

Barack Obama has just been handed the keys to the most important position in the world. I'd have to say the Presidency has a little more pressure involved than the NFL. Don't you agree? And as of today, Obama hasn't taken a snap. I pray that we can look back on his career and see that he has changed America for the better--and not just the public opinion kind of better either. I mean the kind of better that God would approve of. I hope he lowers taxes, keeps America safe, fixes the economy, and ushers in an era of personal responsibility. But I also hope that, if he is a Christian as he claims to be, that he will take God at His word. I pray that we will look back and see that Barack had a change of heart and did not sign things like FOCA or appoint pro-abortion supreme court justices. And I pray that he will not champion the destruction of traditional marriage and family. But until we can look back and see how President Obama serves, we need to stop idolizing him.

Have you seen the above Time Magazine cover, placing Obama into FDR's likeness? Okay, we have history on which to judge FDR, but not Obama. Mr. Obama, you're not FDR…not yet. Maybe you'll be better. Maybe not. But seriously, with all the hype, I'm surprised Time didn't show Obama wearing a long white robe and coming on clouds with heavenly light shining down on him and a dove in his hand. This hero-worship is unreal.

There is only one God and only He deserves our adulation.

Are you a Realmer?

Are you a Realmer? You are if you've joined the thriving Door Within Forums. It's been up for almost a year now, and a great many lasting friendships have been forged. See it's not just about the Door Within books. It's about community. People find a lot of people who read the same books, who think the same way, or have similar interests. And guess what happens? All kinds of conversation breaks out.

Conversation and creativity. Within the Door Within Forum are tons of sub forums, including the above Isle of Swords/Isle of Fire Forum. There's also a place for artistic fans to share artwork: hand-drawn or CG. There are several threads for writers where you can get amazing feedback on what you write. Who knows, you may even meet someone there who will one day publish your book. There are contests, games, quests, and yes, lots of discussion about most every topic under the sun. So if you're not already a Realmer, head on over and sign up.

Yes, Take Me to the Realm!

Oh, and speaking of cool artwork. Check out these sketches by FantasyPunkPrincess! Too Cool, eh?

Edification from an Unexpected Source...

Sometimes man must stand on the brink of destruction before he will change.

Man is far less in control of life than he thinks he is.

There are powers beyond our imagination at work in this world.

People should be better stewards over the things they are given.

Sound like sermon topics to you? It might surprise you that these are very clear themes from the recently released remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still. I was itching to use my AMC Movie Gift Cards, you see. And well, I wanted to see something blockbusterish--a real special effects extravaganza.

So, I roped a good friend into going to see The Day the Earth Stood Still with me. I'd heard the reviews: most of them very iffy, if not altogether bad. So, I went in with relatively low expectations. All I can say is WOW. The movie was very cool! I like films that function on many levels. The story was interesting. The characters were sympathetic. The FX were righteous. But what really astounded me were the powerful messages.

Anyone else seen it? Any thoughts?

Christmas Wake Up Call, Part 3: Mysterious Melancholy

SO, did your living room ever look like this one after Christmas morning? Wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, boxes--thrown all over, and maybe a kid or two laying around in it? lol These are not my own cherubs by the way. But isn't it amazing how fast the actual day of Christmas goes by? Months of planning, countless hours shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking, and assembling and WHOOSH!! The day is over.

And for kids, you've seen it, haven't you? They come bouncing down the stairs and, giddy with joy, they tear into their presents. RIP.TEAR.GRAB.CRUMPLE. Present after present until…the last present is opened. Then, there's that momentary look on their faces. They look around. Maybe it's behind the tree? Under the couch. Hmmm...wait. That's all? There are no more presents? Have you ever seen that moment of "Awwww, it's over?" in their eyes?

Maybe it's not on Christmas Day. Maybe it's a week after when the luster of new toys wears off, that special gift looks strangely like other things in the toybox, and the candy's well, gone.

Some call it Post Christmas Blues. I call it the Mysterious Melancholy. I feel it myself, usually the day after Christmas. Certainly I feel it when we've just come home from vacation. And I often feel it when summer break's over, and I'm sitting in the first faculty meeting at my school. {SIGH!}

I know I'm not the only one who's felt this…am I? {CRICKETS} Ok, not funny. Christmas is an utterly joyous time of the year. There's so much to anticipate, so much to savor and enjoy. And let's face it, God has given us so much in this life to enjoy. But…

But have you ever noticed that no matter how good something's supposed to be, that it's never quite as good as we think it will be? It never completely satisfies you, not for very long, at any rate. In fact, I'll go so far as to throw big life achievements into the mix. We go through stages of accomplishments: graduation, first job, marriage, child birth, etc. It's SO great…for a little while. The real world rushes in. The job becomes a chore, the honeymoon ends, the kids want noserings, etc. It just never satisfies.

Speaking personally on the matter. My dream was to become a published author. I even wrote that in my high school senior yearbook. Guess what? I am a published author now. I've done countless signings. I've been on local and national radio, local and national TV. I've toured across the country. I've been on the bestseller list 12 times. I've had nice people write me or tell me in person how my books are so great, etc. But, to tell you the God's honest truth, I'm still not satisfied. And it's not because I'm an idiot. (I may be an idiot, but that's not the reason I'm not satisfied). I'm not satisfied because I'm a Christian, and I will never truly be satisfied in this broken world. We were never meant to be satisfied here.

The Bible tells us that we are strangers passing through, that we are citizens of another kingdom. The Bible tells us that all of creation is groaning for the day Jesus comes back and renews everything. So no wonder there's this mysterious melancholy that we all feel, a kind of letdown that things have come to an end or that the excitement has dulled, or that the accomplishment didn't really do for us what we thought it might.

And let me clarify, so far I've been talking about believers; folks who call Jesus "Lord" and who are seeking after Him. For nonbelievers, the mysterious melancholy is still there. In fact, it might be doubly powerful, perhaps dangerously powerful. But the danger for unbelievers is that they can dogmatically cling to the hope that something on this earth WILL satisfy completely. If I could just get that ________ fill in the blank, then I'd be truly happy. And worse still is when someone falls into the trap of finding something that satisfies, but only temporarily. And once found, the poor soul needs more and more and more of whatever it is to achieve that feeling once more. This is what we term addiction. The reality is, there is nothing that will satisfy the unbeliever until you meet Jesus. And once you meet Jesus, the world cannot satisfy you, so you will long for Heaven.

CS Lewis was on to this a long time ago. I should have just told you all to read his book, "The Weight of Glory" and saved myself the post. There's no way I can do this subject justice. So here's an excerpt from Lewis:

Now, if we are made for heaven, the desire for our proper place will be already in us, but not yet attached to the true object, and will even appear as the rival of that object. And this, I think, is just what we find… If a transtemporal, transfinite good is our real destiny, then any other good on which our desire fixes must be in some degree fallacious, must bear at best only a symbolical relation to what will truly satisfy. ...

In speaking of this desire for our own far-off country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both. We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name.

Our commonest expedient is to call it beauty and behave as if that had settled the matter. Wordsworth’s expedient was to identify it with certain moments in his own past. But all this is a cheat. If Wordsworth had gone back to those moments in the past, he would not have found the thing itself, but only the reminder of it; what he remembered would turn out to be itself a remembering. The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.


If you are visiting here, and you really haven't made up your mind about Jesus, I applaud you for searching in the first place. There can be no greater pursuit in this lifetime that finding out who we really are and why we're here. At a deep level we all know this. We know that there's more to this so-called life than what we see. We know that there's something really important that we ought to be looking for. We know that even the best things this life can offer: the Super Bowls, the TV appearances, the dreams come true--none of it can truly and lastingly satisfy. This feeling we feel when the Christmas presents are all gone…it's a longing for something more, something of God…something heavenly.

I believe we are all people meant to discover Jesus, believe and follow Him. I believe that once you believe, you will find a joy that satisfies you in a unique way--a peace that surpasses understanding. But even so, you will only just be getting your citizenship papers. Your far off country still waits. And there, you will be ultimately satisfied forever, for you will be with God.

I'd like to close with a very convicting quote from Lewis:

"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

A Christmas Wake Up Call, Part Two: A Fool's Wager

Hopefully the cheek is still stinging from the recent sharp smack. Strangely enough, most who posted comments about the topic were thankful to receive such a smack. Hmmm...well, this next topic may or may not be so well received. Actually, it was my ten-year-old, Tommy who thought this up on his own. I was so amazed that the two of us talked about it for the last half hour of our drive home from Christmas shopping.

How do you feel about the topic of gambling? I know it's one of those things Christians should steer clear of, but I can't help but bring it up as an illustration. So, here goes. You've got to wager your house (or something else very dear to you). But you have a choice of the type of wager you're going to play. The first wager works like this: You must bet this valuable thing on one of two possible outcomes. If you pick the wrong outcome, you lose everything. If you are correct about the outcome, you win…nothing.


The second type of wager works like this: Once again, you have two possible outcomes to choose from. If you select the correct outcome, you not only win your house but unimaginable riches on top. If you select the wrong outcome, you lose…nothing.

So which type of wager would you like to place? If you're like me, you're screaming: "PICK B, PICK B!!" Why? Why so easy to decide which wager you'll attempt? Both of them are bets. There's a certain amount of uncertainty involved in either one, right? You could still lose, right? But the difference is in the potential consequences of either wager.

In the first wager, there's really nothing to be gained at all…and everything to lose. In the second wager, there's everything to be gained…and nothing at all to lose. Only a fool would attempt the first type of wager. Only a fool.

The tires made a steady thrump-ump on the highway. Intermittent streetlights flash through the windshield. It's quiet in the car. Then, Tommy says to me, "Dad, I don't get it. Why would anyone not go with Jesus? I mean, it's not like Jesus will hurt them or anything?" My son the next C.S. Lewis? I think so. {No bias here.} lol

I was blown away. What a brilliant question. What Tommy was asking was simply another form of the wager scenario I posed above. Person A needs to decide whether or not to believe in Jesus. Certainly there are compelling reasons to believe. There's more historical, archeological, and empiracle evidence for Christianity than any other faith. Jesus himself has more corroboration in history than most ancient leaders. The Bible manuscripts meet accuracy tests that would put ALL other ancient documents to shame. But this isn't really about apologetics. This is a wager. There are unknowns and there very definitely are consequences.

If Person A places a bet against Jesus, ie: there is no God -or- Jesus isn't who he said he is, so I'm just not going to believe in him. I choose to believe that we're all cosmic accidents and that there's nothing after death but nothing. If Person A is correct, then he wins absolutely nothing. He lives his life as he sees fit and dies and disappears. He'll never even know that he was right. But if Person A is wrong, then he loses EVERYTHING to a level beyond comprehension. First of all, he's lost everything he ever "owned" on earth. You cannot take it with you. The Pharoah's tried it, but guess what? It didn't work. But far worse than that, Person A must now face Almighty God and answer two questions: What did you do with your life? And what did you say to my Son whom I offered for you? Person A will have no answer that will satisfy. And Person A will experience eternal death, pain, separation…hell.

But if Person B places his bet to follow Jesus: I don't know everything about you, Jesus, but I'm willing to believe that you died for my sins and I place my faith in you. If Person B is wrong, he loses absolutely nothing*! Person B dies and disappears, never even knowing that he was wrong. But if Person B correct, and Jesus is who He said He is, then Person B wins everything. You win your life now which, though filled with the same struggles that are common to man, will give you an unwavering hope. But more than that Person B will gain eternity in heaven with God.

While Christmas shopping, have you looked at any of the scenic photo calendars? You should. Absolutely breathtaking images: mountain scapes, volcanic eruptions, sunrises over the ocean. Just stunning sights to be seen right here on planet earth. If God made the earth in seven days and has been working on Heaven ever since, there's a fair chance Heaven might be pretty cool. "I go there to prepare a place for you." Isn't that what Jesus said? Can you imagine what Heaven will be like? Nope, me either. Not that I don't try, but the Bible tells us it will be better than we can imagine. So try all you want. Heaven will still be better.

Did you note the asterisk (*) above? It's where I say that the follower of Jesus loses nothing if He's wrong. Well, yes and no. Paul says if the ressurrection is false then we Christians are above all men to be pitied. Jesus told us we would need to lose our life to follow Him. There is sacrifice involved. The thing is, if we're wrong, we'll never know it. If Christianity is false and after death there is nothing, then we die and poof. That's it.

But really, if you become a Christian and seriously follow Him, what do you really lose? Fun? If you think that being a Christian doesn't include fun, you've been sold a line. Any Christians out there in BLOGLAND who have fun? Post a comment and tell us about it.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Psalm 34:8

The only kind of so-called fun that Christianity prohibits is the kind of fun that most people regret. It's the kind of thing that ends up hurting you in the end.

Why would any person in this lifetime absolutely refuse Jesus? I don't know. It's a fool's wager.

A Christmas Wake Up Call, Part One: A Much Needed Smack in the Face

When is the last you were smacked? I mean an outta nowhere, open-palm wallop on skin? Chances are, if you ever have been smacked, you remember it. For me, I was about ten years old. My mom was taking me somewhere in the brown Gran Torino station wagon. (Kids: in the old days, station wagons wuz what had instead of minivans). I don't recall what we were talking about just before my mom pulled the car out of the driveway. But I must have said something really smart-mouthed because my mom's hand rose and fell like a lightning bolt-fly-swatter. She smacked my bare thigh just above the knee so hard she left a throbbing, red hand print. Ever been smacked like that?

There's something powerful about a smack like that. It brings with it a stinging, burning pain. But more than anything, it shocks us. I mean you could be doing or thinking just about anything and --SMACK-- you are abruptly brought to attention.

Right about now you are likely wondering what in the world this has to do with Christmas. You saw the tender manger scene above and thought, "Awwww, look at the baby Jesus. I bet this will be one of those tender Christmassy posts." Uh…not so much. Don't misunderstand me. I love Christmas as much as anyone. I love going out in the chilly air with my family to find just the right tree. I love baking (and eating) cookies. I love just sitting in the room with all the lights off except the tree's multicolored splendor. I love the decorations, the memories, and the nostalgia. I love singing the songs about little baby Jesus too.

But you know, I wonder if all the wonder of Christmas, along with the worldly commercialism of the day, has lulled us into a kind of a fuzzy ignorance. Much like frostbite causing its victim to feel a strange sleepy warmth…just before you freeze to death.

We drive around the neighborhoods and see the cute manger scene. We read the Christmastime Scriptures and sing, but like Charlie Brown, I ask "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

"Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us." Matt. 1: 20-24

This little child is GOD with US. The God of the universe--all powerful, all knowing, all good--God took on frail, aging, human flesh…our flesh. Let's say you have a good job--lots of bennies, great vacation, unbeatable salary. Would you willingly give up that job and take a volunteer position with the company if it mean everyone else would get a promotion and a pay raise? Not sure I would either. But God came into the world as a baby human. A baby human destined to be mocked, destined to be spat upon, destined to be whipped and scourged, destined to be ramrodded through a corrupt legal system, and destined to die on a criminal's cross. Have you thought of that lately? That little baby was on a mission, a tragic, sacrificial mission. SMACK. Can you feel it?

I may be in danger of losing some readers who don't believe or aren't sure they believe all this Christmas hooey anyway. But stick around. This is all about you. The other part of the verse above that I highlighted in red is that this little baby will save his people from their sins. Sin: the missing of the mark, the falling short, the willfully doing the wrong thing, the willfully neglecting to do the right thing. We're all guilty of it even by our own standard of good, right? I mean, don't you know that you've screwed up? Somewhere you said the wrong thing or did the wrong thing and felt some guilty twang in the pit of your stomach. Of course you have. So have I.

We've all broken our own standard. And Biblically speaking, our standard is flawed and far short of God's standard of good. That sin--ANY sin--is a death sentence. The Bible says, the wages of sin is death. But it's not just death of our flesh, the clock of life expiring, and we drift off into nothingness. I find that very few people, VERY FEW, hold to a belief that this life is all there is. Most people believe there's something after...that we humans are somehow transcendent beings. We are. All of us already have eternity. But we do not have the same eternity.

Have you ever had a bad day? No, I mean a REALLY bad day. From start to finish, just everything goes wrong. Those days stink, don't they? On such days, we long for a smile or some happy reprieve. What if it was more than a day? How would you feel about enduring a week, a month, or even a year? Maybe some of you are battling something chronic and you're right there, right now. You know the misery of things being bad for long periods of time. You know in a way that most of us cannot fathom. But in most cases, there is a reprieve. Sickness goes away. Vacations and holidays come. Friendly faces return.

Now, suppose things never got better.

When I was a kid, I rode my bike down to a local recreation center that happened to be near a volunteer fire house. I'd been there before and I'd seen the firemen bringing case after case of soda into the fire hall, and they just sat there in stacks near the soda machine. So, I decided to help myself to a 16 oz. bottle of Orange Crush. Bad move. One of the firemen caught me red-handed. He took me into his office, demanded my home phone number, and called my father. From the time the fireman hung up the phone to the time my father arrived, I sat and thought about what was going to happen. There was absolutely no escape. I was stuck there in that office, awaiting punishment that I absolutely deserved. And my father was coming. I couldn't imagine facing him…the shame and pain I'd bring him and his indignant anger over the shame I'd brought on myself and our whole family name. I will never forget the waiting and the inevitability of the coming punishment.

If you have rejected Jesus…if you sneer at the little baby Jesus and think you'll just take your chances or even that you might just save yourself through good behavior, you are totally where I was in the Fire Station. You've blown it. You have sinned. You're caught red-handed. There's nothing you can do to escape. And now, you're waiting. Whatever number of days you have left in your life are all you have. And this life is as good as it will ever get for you. But after that...

For those who reject Christ, eternity will be a horror beyond reckoning. There are differing opinions on what hell will actually be like. Some say that it is literal fire. Others say absolute isolation. In any case, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. The thing to remember is that we're talking about forever. There will be NO escape. It will go on and on and on and on. This is not some theory that I've concocted. This is what the Bible teaches. If you have sinned you are separated from God now. If you die, you will be eternally separated from God and from every one and every thing you've ever loved. It will be unimaginable suffering, and it will be never ending. SMACK.

It reminds me of Jacob Marley, Charles Dickens' character who comes to warn Ebeneezer Scrooge of the terrible fate that waits for him at death's door. "It is required of every man that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow men! If it goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death! It is doomed to wander through the world! Oh, woe is me! And witness what it cannot share but MIGHT HAVE SHARED on Earth and turned to happiness!"

Marley tells us that he wears the chain he forged in life. He made it link by link and yard by yard. We ALL have such chains, and these links connect us to eternal horror. There is only ONE escape, and it's on this side of the grave. That little child in the first picture. Jesus.

He bore all the sins of all humanity when he went to the cross. He already paid the price for your eternal salvation. Rescue waits like a vast reservoir above you, waiting to wash you clean and carry you one day to heaven. The Bible tells us all we have to do is believe. Believe what?

Various sections on the Bible make it clear that we all must: 1) recognize the trouble you're in. 2) realize there's nothing you can do to save yourself 3) agree that Jesus is the Son of God who's death on the cross is enough to save you and 4) accept God's gift and thank Him.

Look, this life might seem long. You might be young and feel pretty close to invincible. I imagine a fair number of the 155,000 people who die every day probably feel that way too. The point is, you have no way of knowing which day will be your last. This life is not all there is. You are transcendent. You will spend forever somewhere. So remember Jesus--not for the little ruddy-cheeked baby in the manger scene. Remember Jesus for the one who willingly endured death on a cross to pay the debt that you could never repay. And thank Him this Christmas.