https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/apos-help-those-affected-terrifying-204805014.html

 

Headline:

Here's how you can help those affected by the terrifying Alabama abortion ban right now.

 

 I don't put much stock in journalism these days. It's all bias-driven, believe at your own risk blather. But seeing a headline like the one below just brings everything related to our crumbling culture to a fine point. Somehow an alarmingly large number of people have been deceived into believing that pregnant women are the victims of abortion restrictions. Those who support this incredulous view are the very same people who've championed the idea that the barbaric procedure of abortion is somehow protecting women and empowering women. In actuality, the opposite and much worse are true. Abortion rights do not protect women, especially women in utero. These women get no voice at all and are treated as property to be discarded as one sees fit—how can women's rights proponents not see the lurid irony? To say nothing of the murdered women, abortion has been shown to physically injure women who undergo the procedure. 1 in every 100 women who have early abortions experience complications. 1 in 50 for later term abortions. These complications include excessive bleeding (with no medical support), severe abdominal pain and cramping, infection of the uterus or blood, damage to the cervix, and a host of other issues. (see: https://adviceandaid.com/very-real-effects-of-abortion-facts-you-need/)

The emotional toll on women who have abortions is startling as well (see: https://adviceandaid.com/the-very-real-effects-of-abortion-emotional-facts-you-need-part-2/). For the children being torn apart in abortion, they are dragged into the gas chamber with absolutely no choice, no voice, and no alternative. For the women who have abortions, they are being duped into entering the gas chamber themselves in the propaganda's call for "progress." Since Roe V. Wade, 61 million children have been killed in abortion. That's multiple times the number of people murdered in the Holocaust. The comparison is warranted because the rhetoric of the Reich is extraordinarily similar to the rhetoric of Pro Abortion adherents: step 1: convince others that a certain population is not human, step 2: convince that same that destroying the "less than human" is not only lawful but preferable, a right even. step 3: enact laws to pursue those ends.

Make no mistake, this protocol is exactly what women are being fed. "It's just a fetus. It's not a person. It's not a living being." The truth is that being alive does not have degrees. One is either alive or dead. Unborn children are every bit as alive as you or I. When the abortion is completed, what do we call the lifeless child? Dead. Smoke and mirrors, and women who rightly deserve equality with men (equal rights) are duped into believing that the destruction of one's own child is a right. Women want to be empowered and they should. For thousands of years, women have been subordinated, and it's immoral and unfair. So let's empower women to be responsible for their actions. Aside from rape or abuse, a woman who has unprotected sex, makes a decision and should be responsible for that decision. Should women be able to decide whether or not to reproduce? Of course, but once conception has occurred, the decision is already made.

The real victims are the murdered children and the women who undergo abortion. These are the dear, precious people who need help. America used to understand that, but now, like ancient Rome, we are sacrificing children—just not to Zeus or Hera. We have an insidious new gods that would put Hades to shame. We sacrifice children to the gods of selfishness and convenience. May the one real God have mercy on us all.

Get Wrecked.

Have you seen "The Passion of the Christ?" 
It includes one of the most visceral portrayals of Jesus's crucifixion ever seen on film. And not just the crucifixion, but the humiliation, the betrayal, the abandonment, and the scourging. 

When Jesus asked His very best friends to keep watch with Him as He prayed in Gethsemane, the depressive weight of despair and anxiety gnawing at Him, I cringed. Every lash of that Roman whip made me wince as Jesus was flayed alive. 

When the centurions mocked Jesus with a crown of thorns and a purple robe, and then spat upon him as they jeered, I felt the daggers of injustice. 

When Jesus labored under the weight of that cumbersome cross, I saw His love. 

When He hung upon the cross, gasping for air and crying out to the Father who had, for those dire hours, abandoned His one and only Son, I felt the utter hopelessness of my prayers bouncing off of my ceiling. When, at the ninth hour, Jesus said, "It is finished," and died, I felt the punch in the gut of loss but also bewildering confusion over the weight of His last words. "It" is finished. His mission. The penalty of our sin. God's plan for mankind. The course of history. All was finished. 

To get there, however, Jesus had to be literally "wrecked." The physical agonies would have been harsh enough, but there was also the cumulative weight and consequence of our sin. In every sense of the word, Jesus was wrecked. 

Doing a devotional this morning, I was gobsmacked by Galatians 2:20:

20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 

 

This is a very well known and oft quoted passage, but this morning, it was all new. Turns out, as believers, we too are crucified. With Jesus, we got wrecked. The trouble is, we don't often consider the full implications. Obviously, we never endured scourging, mocking, and crucifixion physically, but "I have been crucified with Christ" is much more than a metaphor. Our bodies, our minds, our souls have endured abject humiliation, mocking, and pain because we are with Jesus. When verse 20 tells us "it is no longer I who live..." that means that the pre-salvation self of ours DIED. 

Verse 20 should have extensive implications in our lives every single day. We have no reason for pride, for we have been scourged to the point of utter indignity. We have been mocked for whatever "high thoughts" we have of ourselves. When fleshly sin rises up and tried to give credit to ourselves, we need to get wrecked. Remember that we have been bloodied and laid bare before the eyes of the world. We have nothing of our own to boast about. We have been brought as low as a human can be brought. When temptations come calling, as they always do, we need to remember the weight of that ponderous cross, for sin is just that: a dire weight that drags us down. Listen, Paul tells us, because of Jesus, sin's utter control over us has had spikes pounded through its hands and feet. It has been hung up to suffocate. Its power over us is DEAD. 

What is life now? It's faith. Minute by minute faith in the Son of God. He gave Himself up for us, so that we might live. But in this world, we need to recall our own crucifixion. When sin calls, we need to get wrecked. We need to remember that we are part of all that Jesus endured and accomplished. There is nothing of ourselves. We didn't save ourselves. But, the flesh has been crucified. Trust in Jesus, moment by moment. Remember all He endured, and count it as having happened to you. Think of Jesus and get wrecked. 

New, Exciting Author...Big Giveaway!

Hey all! For those of you who love free books, here's a giveaway with FOUR epic tales. Give it a look! https://authorhopeann.com/giveaways/four-epic-fantasy-reads/

It's in honor of Hope Ann's upcoming launch, so if you'd like to check out her new book, Healer's Bane, feel free to do that here as well: https://authorhopeann.com/books/healers-bane/

A little bit about Healer's Bane:

Kynet never planned to be at the forefront of the rebellion. That was her brother’s hobby: rallying the people. Plotting against the leaders. Running into dangers she’d have to negotiate him out of.

That was before the Poisoner tried to kill her.

Left with strange powers in the aftermath of his attack, Kynet is even more convinced the rebellion isn’t worth it. For every life her healing saves, ten more are wasted.

But her quest to stop the carnage before war breaks out will bring her face to face with the man who tried to murder her... and with her own helplessness against a grim reality she may not be able to change.

 

 

The Forsaken Continent - Paperback and Kindle - Available beginning March 18th!

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I've got some good news. "The Forsaken Continent" Paperback -and- Kindle will be available on March 18th! 

 

Originally, I expected the release date to be 3/21, but turns out, it's EARLY!!! Here are the links:

Kindle: https://amzn.to/2UD8XAp

Paperback: https://amzn.to/2UD9suh

 

 

The Forsaken Continent available for PREorder!

Greetings, Bat-readers! Good news today. The Forsaken Continent is available for preorder on Kindle. 

Click HERE to PREORDER

The Forsaken Continent

Fleeing the kingdom he once ruled, Lochlan Stormgarden leads the survivors of The Bloody Red Night across Myriad on a desperate quest for safety. With tyrannical High King Morlan's legions and the lethal Bone Ministers constantly dogging his steps, Lochlan discovers that the only refuge might be a legendary contagion-cursed fortress deep in heart of the Gorrack Nation.

Meanwhile, Abbagael Coldhollow is six months pregnant and sets off on a fool's errand into the Felhaunt to prove that her beloved husband Alastair is still alive. Little does she know that Cythraul, the seemingly immortal assassin, is also hunting in that forest of horrors. Hunting for her.

Morlan's noose is tightening on all, for he has lit the first candle of the Flame Clock. As each candle flares to life, Myriad slides inexorably closer to a cataclysmic fate. Telwyn Coldhollow alone stands to hinder the coming devastation, for upon the shores of the Forsaken Continent, Telwyn will face the very Heart of Evil.

Click HERE to PREORDER

The Forsaken Continent

Hallooo, readers! Thank you for helping make 2018 my best year for self-published titles! I'm hoping to deliver a ton of epic goodness to you in 2019. Here's an update:

1) Book 3 of The Myridian Constellation: "The Forsaken Continent" is in the pipeline (see early draft of the front cover below). With the help of some great editors, I'm cleaning up the manuscript. That should take me a couple more weeks. After that, it's off to interior design and uploaded for Kindle. I'll also be asking Dave Cruse to continue voicing the series in book 3. Can't imagine any else reading for this series. If you haven't heard him in Sword in the Stars or Errant King, go listen to a sample on Audible. He's just ridiculously talented and skilled.

2) Book 4 of The Myridian Constellation: "Mirror of Souls" is about 40% completed. I'll be working on that hard and heavy, hoping for a summer 2019 release.

3) This summer, to celebrate my lovely wife's and my 25th wedding anniversary, we will be taking a 10-day trip to Scotland. During this trip, I'll be visiting many of the places that are key settings in "Ghost 2: Minister of Fire." I'm about 30% into that book, but decided to postpone until after Scotland. I plan to bust my rear on that book all summer and am hoping for an October 2019 release date.

4) Somewhere in and around all this, I have a short story called "Will o' the Wisps" for the Realm Makers Consortium anthology that will debut this summer.

5) And for Door Within Trilogy fans, I -MIGHT- have a huge surprise for you. But, right now, it's super hush, hush. I'll reveal what I can whenever I can. :-D

A Modern Retelling of the Dickens Classic: "A Christian's Carol."

"It's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago..."

Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" has haunted our home pleasantly since 1843. This year, I wrote a modern retelling of that classic redemption tale. And really, that's what it's all about: redemption.

Have you ever "blown it" with God? Ever felt like God can't forgive you because (fill in the blank)? Ever felt like you were beyond hope? If so, this is the story for you. Available in Paperback and on Kindle (can be used on any device with the Kindle app), "A Christian's Carol" is a story for all of us ragamuffins.

Here's a sampling of what reviewers are saying about "A Christian's Carol" so far:

"I appreciated the plot twists because they kept the story from being predictable. The one in the graveyard scene I never saw coming."

" Like the original, sometimes the scenes hit close to home and force you to look in the mirror! It can be painful and uncomfortable, but if we heed the lessons Ebenezer learns, we will become more like the one who is the source of the Christmas holiday."

"A creative re-telling of A Christmas Carol, this book is challenging, encouraging, and moving. Probably one of the best books I’ve read on what learning to live out grace really means."

"A Christian's Carol" Paperback: https://amzn.to/2UAlyor

"A Christian's Carol" Kindle: https://amzn.to/2S8mXkg

"A Christian's Carol" Audiobook: https://www.audible.com/pd/B07LGDHHMZ/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-137268&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_137268_rh_us
 

Door Within Fan Art

Hi, all! Blessed by an email from a young artist named Emily who sent me pictures of her Door Within artwork. Very cool! Which one is your favorite? 

If My Work Has Touched Your Heart in Some Way...

Happy Summer, reader friends!

This is my once-a-year search for Patrons of the Arts. 

If my stories have touched your heart in some way, would you consider becoming a supporter of my work (a Patron) through Patreon. Patreon is a kickstarter-like company that allows you to support writers, artists, musicians, and creators you love with monthly pledges of as little as $1. I've been a part of Patreon for about four years now, and it has really helped me to continue producing new books and stories for readers. 

As an Independent Publisher, I need to pay out of pocket for editors, cover art, interior design, marketing, web design—and a host of other "unseen" publishing costs. Now, more than ever, I need kind readers to become Patrons.


In return for your monthly pledge, you'll get private access to my creation process: artwork, proofs, signed books, sneak peek chapters, Skype calls, your name in my books, and a host of other crazy creative benefits! 

If you'd like a little more info on what it means to be my Patron, check out my Patreon Page:

https://www.patreon.com/WayneThomasBatson

So what's next? Myridian Constellation Book 3: The Forsaken Continent!

At last, the 3rd book in the series is off to the editors. It's a heavyweight epic fantasy ringing in at 159,000 words. Look for it October 2018. 

Thank you again, readers...friends. I love this adventure all the more because you are part of it with me.

Social Media Links: In Case You're Wondering...

{Cue dripping sarcasm}

I'm sure you're all wondering what my social media links are. {Pffffft. Can't write that with a straight face}

But just in case:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wayne.t.batson

twitter: @waynebatson

instagram: wayne_batson

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33508.Wayne_Thomas_Batson

Amazon Author: https://amzn.to/2OvZrwg

Book Bub author page: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/wayne-thomas-batson

Is -THIS- What Journalism Has Become?

I realize, at 49, I'm as old as dirt, but back in my day, it was expected that a professional journalist would report the facts, free of purposeful bias, exaggeration, inflammatory remarks, and personal opinions. Way back then (the 80s), people had respect for journalists because, in general, they could be trusted to report the truth. 

Fast forward to 2018. Purposeful bias, exaggeration, inflammatory remarks, and personal opinions seem to be 90% of what so-called journalists report these days. And I'm not pointing fingers only at liberal news media because, unfortunately, many conservative news sources are reporting from obvious slants, as well. And, we the general public have completely bought into it. Why? Because our itching ears listen for what we want to hear. And the news media, now monetized for tweets, posts, comments, etc., will regularly toss out what is tantamount to click bait. 

Here's a case in point, representing a microcosm of what we see today: Soledad O'Brien, formerly of CNN where she gained great notoriety as an anchor, is now the CEO of "Starfish Media Group." Here's how the Starfish Media describes itself (from their website): "Starfish Media Group is a multi-platform media production and distribution company, dedicated to uncovering and investigating empowering stories that look at the often divisive issues of race, class, wealth, poverty, and opportunity through personal narratives."

This is not a news outlet. This is a private company. But this company produces "news" for HBO, Al Jezeera America, and dozens of other sources. Ms. O'Brien and Starfish Media utilize social media whenever possible, as do most media outlets these days. But today, Ms. Obrien posted a "Tweet" about Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Apparently, Mr. Dorsey had decided to have a meal at Chik Fil A and posted about using his new "Cash App" to pay for the meal. (If that's not big news, whew, what is?)

Ms. O'Brien saw the tweet, retweeted (is that the correct term, young folk?) the following: "This is an interesting company (Chik Fil A) to boost during Pride month." 

Immediately half a dozen media outlets seized upon the story and ran with it, usually posting subsequent Tweets from angry folk from the LGBTQ community, as well as, response Tweets from angry folk in the Christian community. Outrage, clamor, insults from all over the spectrum. Instant story. 

This is not journalism. It's sensationalism. This is the combination of private companies and news media outlets "selling a product" at the expense of the people they claim to serve, as well as, other unsuspecting people all over our nation. Look again at Starfish Media's unabashed self-description: "...dedicated to uncovering and investigating empowering stories that look at the often divisive issues..."

Their product: divisive issues. Who gets empowered? They do. More money. More notoriety. More press. More tweets, etc. Can you hear the cash register cha-chinging? Can you hear the outrage as people groups get "played" by these dubiously empowering stories and thousands like them? 

As purveyors of any kind of news, we need to say, "Wait, a minute, I see what you're trying to do here, but I am NOT going to let it work on me." If you're reading and you grew up with multiple siblings, did you ever have one sibling try to play two other siblings off of each other? Or maybe the cunning kiddo tried to play parents off of each other? That's precisely what's happening here, except it comes from "professionals," and the stakes are much higher.

Is there an adjective that better describes America over the last several years than "divided?" Why? Two reasons: 1) journalist care more about $$$ and notoriety than they do about the truth. and 2)  an overwhelming number of Americans are as gullible as Gomer Pyle (young folk: you'll have to look up that reference). 

If you're wondering why I haven't posted any links to these news stories or tweets, it's because I don't want to contribute to the problem I'm criticizing.

The solution, my friends, is ignorance. Ignore the media. Ignore the their attempts to kick the hornet nest. Do not retweet. Do not click links that have inflammatory headlines. Do not comment. Ignore them, and like your older brother/sister, maybe they'll just go away. 

I'm not going to be surprised if the CEO of Twitter gets censured or issues a very public apology or even gets fired. Hey, it happened to the CrossFit spokesperson. Nope. No links. Not gonna do it. But it happened. An otherwise well-respected professional lost his livelihood for expressing at worst a religious conviction or even a simple opinion. 

To those in any minority (heck or majority), don't let yourself be led into anger, fury, insults, contempt, etc. Think things through. See the angles being played to stir you up. Christians aren't killing this country. LGBTQ people are not killing this country. African Americans aren't, Whites aren't, and neither are all the other groups these media outlets claim to empower. Big mouthed blowhards are the villains here. Don't get fooled again.

CLIMATOLOGISTS, METEOROLOGISTS, AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BAFFLED BY THE APPEARANCE OF MASSIVE SUPERNATURAL FIERY BALL IN THE SKY

DATELINE 5:20:18, NORTH AMERICA

Scientists are stunned this morning as a perfectly spherical ball of molten flame seems to have entered the Milky Way Galaxy and has made appearances all over North America. "The Mantle," as we call the normal claustrophobia-inducing blanket of dull gray clouds, seems to be unable to shield us from this blazing intruder.

Climatologist Erica A. Snodgrass explains, "While we have very little precedence for such a heavenly anomaly, our research suggests that the great fiery ball means us no harm." In fact, NOAAH reports that the blazing sphere seems to be causing lovely warmth for humans and animals, The impact on North America's lighting cannot be underestimated. While under the mantle of cloud, fog, and rain, human visibility was greatly impaired, people are reporting "being able to see clearly now, the rain has gone. Details at 11:00.

North Topsail Beach: Come Stay at our Vacation Home!

Summer Vacation Seekers: You can get Outer Banks beauty and Myrtle Beach fun at 1/3 of the weekly rental price of either. Where? North Topsail Beach!

North Topsail Beach is a bit of a hidden gem. It's just south of the Outer Banks and just north of North Myrtle Beach. Like OBX, North Topsail Beach is a barrier island. 27 miles long, the island provides stunning views of the Atlantic and the Intercoastal Waterway. 

Weeks are filling up! "A Glimpse of Heaven" is our North Topsail Beach town home. We have only three weeks left to rent.

• Memorial Day Week: May 26th thru June 2nd
• June 9 through 16
• July 28th through August 4

Ocean front behind the pool. Private Beach Access. 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bath, sleeps 10. Million dollar view!

Follow the link for reservations and be sure to tell the realty company that you are friends of ours!

http://vacationrentals.realestatetopsail.com/propertyDetail…
Or, contact Mary Lu Dovel Batson for more information: mdbatfam(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Higher Ways (Thank God!)

I'm convinced that the majority of a Christian's most troubling internal conflicts originates in our nearly constant assuming that God is like us: He thinks like us, He loves like us, and He acts like us. After all, we are made in God's image. No disputing that. But notice the order: WE are made in GOD'S image. GOD is NOT made in OUR image. Mixing those two up is 6 tons of trouble. It's an easy trap to fall into. We live in our own minds. Our experiences and our baggage and our filters all tell us how to interpret everything in our lives: our work, our relationships, and yes, our God.

This is IMHO why Proverbs 3:5 warns us to "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding." Our own understanding is flawed and liable to lead to insidious conclusions. We can be sure of this because sin (our sin, as well as, the sins of others) infects our thinking. We are seeing things through fogged up glasses. But even if it weren't for sin, we'd still fail to see things as God does. We are human. We are lesser than He. God is "other."

Isaiah 55: 8-9 really hammers home the differences between our ways and God's ways: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." God is not telling us to throw out our brains. Nor is He telling us not to use the powers of reason He's given us to interpret life. But God is clearly saying that our human wisdom MUST submit to God's ultimate wisdom. When life crashes down around us and we scream out, "WHY?", God replies, "Trust me. I know everything."

THANK GOD. 

Do you feel the relief in that? Do you feel the freedom, the chains of our own limitations falling away? I do. It means, when I condemn myself for falling short, and I assume that God has put me on His "bad kid" list, I am wrong. God's thoughts are higher than mine. He understands the situation I'm in, what I've thought, what I've done—and yet, He does not deal with us as we would deal with ourselves. I can abandon my own understanding of the situation and trust God to deal with me according to His ways. 

Musician and author Andrew Peterson has a song called "Just as I Am," and it brings this point home (and crushes me) in this section of the song:



All of my life I've held on to this fear
These thistles and vines ensnare and entwine
What flowers appeared
It's the fear that I'll fall one too many times
It's the fear that His love is no better than mine



How often do we destroy ourselves, berate ourselves, condemn, and sentence ourselves because we think that God's justice, His understanding, and His love is no better than ours. But His ways ARE better, far better. As far as the heavens are from the earth better.

When we look at the world and begin to despair—that's our thinking, our understanding, our ways. God sees the world in higher ways. He is outside of time, and so He sees everything in Past, Present, and Future—all at once. He knows that evil does not win. He knows that our brief existence on this earth pales in comparison to eternity. And, in what is probably the most difficult reality to wrap our feeble brains around, He know how and why the tragedies, sorrows, sufferings, and seemingly senseless evils of this world can and will be used for good. We can't see it, but He can. We can trust Him to know better. Honestly, that's a relief to me. God's wisdom, His heart, His intentions, His glory—are all WAY  above my pay grade. 

What does this all mean in a practical sense? One: we have—at last—the ammunition with which to fight the thought battle. How many times a day do negative self talk thoughts invade your mind? How often do sinful thoughts intrude? "Look what I did. Look what I thought about. I must not be a Christian." Those are logical human thoughts based on our standards or our understanding of God's standard. Hidden beneath those negative thoughts, we are assuming that God handles things the way we would. "If I had an employee who screwed up like I do, I'd fire him and toss him out on his butt." We think that way. Society teaches such messages all the time. But God's ways are higher. His word, His promises are ironclad beyond our hapless analysis. He does not treat us as we deserve but offers grace. 

Knowing that God's thoughts and ways are greater than our own can help us avoid sin as well. We walk down the street and see a homeless person—whoosh, instant judgment leaps into our minds. But God sees that dear person as a precious child of His own. God knows that homeless person inside and out, his whole life story, and God knows where that person's eternity will be spent. We. Have. No. Clue. And therefore, no room to judge. Knowing this, we can ask ourselves and ask God, "How do you see this person? Help me to see that person as you do."

When we are tempted by sinful pleasures and the mind is flooded with visuals and anticipated ecstasy, we can fight back. This pleasure that I think I need, it is just that: "what I THINK I need." My thinking is flawed. God says, "Avoid that act. It's a shortcut. It's a snare. Follow my ways and trust that I hold more pleasures and treasures for you than you can possibly imagine!"

When we are confused by passages in the Bible, we can do our due diligence and research and study…and still come up short. There, we must remember: God's ways are higher than my ways. His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. We can ask God for wisdom and then trust that when we need that wisdom most, God will provide it. 

When we are divided over issues of race, politics, sexuality, social status, ad infinitum, we might be tempted to attach another person, unleashing the full might of our logic, condemnation, and judgement upon the other. If we remember that God's wisdom, His thoughts and ways are unfathomably higher than our own, we ought to humble ourselves. We ought to cool our jets. We ought to tell the truth IN LOVE. And, we ought to trust God, for He alone can change another human being from the inside out. I know. I know. It's crushing to think our facebook posts and snarky comments on social media won't change a human being's heart. But that's the deal: God is the heart changer. Instead of unleashing our bile on another human being, how about loving the human being, respecting his or her perspective (not agree with it), and seek to kindly find the threads of truth that God wants to weave into the conversation. Be kind. People are fighting battles we know nothing about. But God does know.

Maybe that crazy guy who cut you off in traffic this morning is driving recklessly because he's trying to get to the hospital where his daughter has just been admitted. Maybe that teenage daughter of yours rages at you because she's dealing with emotions and daily turmoil that we cannot see. 

And, more than anything else, because God's thoughts and ways are higher than our own, we MUST realize that people are NOT the enemy. It may feel like they are. They may speak like they are, but beneath it all, there are spiritual forces at work. Ephesians 6:12 tells us "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm."

Sin and the enemy of our souls are the real antagonists. These are spiritual issues, so we need to fight spiritually. Pray for God to exert His will in the lives of "these people who just don't get it." And while we're at it, pray that God would exert His will in our own lives…since we don't totally get it either.

The NEW Author-ized Editions of Sword in the Stars & The Errant King—what's the deal?

A lot of readers ask me, what's new about these "Author-ized" editions of Sword in the Stars and The Errant King? Many readers purchased the original editions back in 2012 and are wondering if the new versions are worth getting. A little background might help answer those questions:

The original Sword in the Stars and The Errant King were published by AMG/Living Ink Publishing. I am grateful beyond words that AMG contracted me for those books and the whole Dark Sea Annals series. Unfortunately, changes in the publishing market made events go in a direction neither AMG nor I wanted. eBooks hit publishers hard, and AMG became stretched too thin. In the end, their fiction brand collapsed. After that, AMG was gracious enough to grant me back the rights to the whole series. 

Explore Sword in the Stars Paperback

That was a huge relief because I really feel like this series, now The Myridian Constellation, is the passion of my writing life. God has given me bits and pieces of this 7 book epic, and I hope and pray that all seven books will rock your world, honor God with craft, skill, and accuracy, and ignite passions within readers to dare to adventure in God's kingdom.

Explore Sword in the Stars Kindle

To those ends, I hired a professional editor so that we could clean up the manuscripts. With her help, I've added thousands and thousands of new words to each book. Don't worry! I didn't change any substantial plot lines, eliminate characters, or make any other drastic decisions that would warrant a good shin-kicking. What I did do is quite a bit more character building, a ton of foreshadowing for the rest of the series, and (HOPEFULLY) upgraded the language of the written craft. 

Explore The Errant King - Paperback

On top of that, I've hired a new interior designer (Malachi Armas) to give the series a more epic feel. I've hired the amazing (Caleb Havertape-illustration) for new cover art—and am completely blown away by his work. All in all, I feel like the series is becoming all that it was meant to be. 

Explore The Errant King - Kindle

Book 3 in the series "The Forsaken Continent" should be released this Summer. Book 4 "Mirror of Souls" will likely be early 2019.

I hope some of this info will help you make a good decision regarding the purchase of the new books. Thank you, as always, for your devoted readership. Never alone.

Reader Art

Greetings, most excellent and admirable readers!

I just received a righteous piece of reader art from Samuel Stocking. This is his rendition of Alastair arriving at Chapparel during the Gorrack Invasion in Sword in the Stars. So crazy how well Samuel envisioned the scene. I was just listening to the audiobook proofs for that chapter, so the image really struck me. 

Here it is:

What's the Big Deal About School Shootings?

If the title of this article brought one word to mind: TROLL, I guess I don't blame you. Please know: I honestly don't intend to try to tweak and trigger people on a this very sensitive topic. I also don't make light of anyone's loss of life. But I do want to explore the issues from a number of different angles. 

This isn't about politics, either. I could care less what Republicans or Democrats think. This article is about people, people and beliefs, double standards and paradoxes, problems and solutions. I apologize in advance for my own ignorance on these issues. I'm not an authority the way the world defines authority. But I am a teacher and a father and above all else, a Christian—I won't be silent because I'm not an authority on gun violence because that kind of authority isn't necessary to discuss issues of the heart and mind.

Why the title? What's the big deal about school shootings? If I'm being anything, it's not snarky, but rather ironic on purpose. Frankly, I don't think we're disturbed enough about this issue. And IMHO most of the discussion I've read on the topic shows that we're really looking at the most superficial sides of this. I ask what's the big deal because, honestly, what did anyone expect? 

The headlines are horrific, but can anyone honestly take a look at our society and be surprised that disturbed people, especially youths, are reaching for weapons to end the lives of others and, many times, their own? Remember, we're the society that set up naturalism as THE god to worship. Big court cases like The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes, Roe v. Wade, Engel v. Vitale,
Abington School District v. Schempp, and a thousand others have taught our nation that we are all alone in this world. There is nothing beyond ourselves. No God. No reason to be here other than we are here and might as well make the best of it. What did we expect to happen in such a nation as this? 

Remember also that we are the society hopelessly addicted to drugs, legal and illegal. Why? Trying to make the best of it. Why? Trying to escape from a hopeless reality. Why? Because we're trying to numb and blunt that nagging sense that things aren't the way they should be. We are the nation that protects pornography as a freedom of speech. We are the nation that fosters endless cycles of exploitation and abuse and offers self-based, humanistic counseling for the win. 

Why are we surprised that people, including teens, are so angry and violent? So disturbed and distorted? Recognize that we are the nation that glorifies the action heroes who, in the movies and now the endless entertainment streaming, mow down scores of people with assault weapons, flamethrowers, grenades, etc. ad infinitum. We are the nation that allows our kids to play ultra realistic violent video games so often that households all over the country can hear their kids and teens reveling in things like "headshots" and "number of kills." Where are the parents? What makes anyone think this is okay? But we allow it. Sometimes, we play the games with our kids. 

We are the nation who purposefully distorted the term "freedom" to mean anything we want. We have banned the word "no" from our reality, and we are suffering dearly for it. Frequent sex outside of marriage, easy divorce, one-parent families, alternate identities and genders? We've got it all, now, and more coming. And we sing out that it's all for the best. Is it any wonder that our kids—and our society—are coming apart? 

Finally, we are the nation who over the past 10-15 years has all but outlawed intelligent, reasoned discussions on ANY controversial issue. We've become a name-calling nation of whiners, choosing not to think rationally about issues because we can always brand someone with "hate speech" or "homophobe" or "racist" or some other conversation-ending misnomer. We are a nation that wants what it wants, whenever it wants, and crucifies anyone who says it ought to be different. So, why the heck are we surprised when people are gunned down in Vegas or in one of our schools? 

Here's the pivot: not being surprised does not mean we can all throw our hands up in submission. It doesn't mean we get to say, well, we brought it on ourselves, so guess we'll just have to endure it. No. No. And…No. 

First off, we each personally need to repent, ie: turn around, agree that wrong things are wrong things, that God is the arbiter of truth and that God, by the way, isn't our stomach. We need to repent as a nation. How? I wish I knew. It's not as simple as "allowing" prayer in school. I don't believe the law against prayer in school really did anything to ban prayer in school. Prayer was never meant to be a big public showy thing anyway. Short of brainwashing people of faith, you will never stop prayer in schools. It's more than having government and schools turn into some kind of theocracies where we give lip service to the Almighty and then go on our merry way. But we desperately need to stop preaching meaninglessness to our people. You want to be an atheist? Fine. You want to believe in evolution? Fine. But don't you dare establish the scientifically detectable world as the reason for everything such that love and dreams and purpose and meaning are beaten out of our kids.

Getting to more of the specifics: what about assault rifles and such? Here's where I must plead more ignorance because I just don't get the double standards that exist so openly in this society, often including Christians. I don't understand how someone can be fiercely pro-life and ALSO fiercely pro-assault weapons. Assault weapons were designed for killing people, for warfare. There's no human being in this nation who needs or deserves an assault rifle. And please don't give me that garbage about protecting ourselves from a government gone bad. Follow that thread through. If the government went bad, do you think even ten million civilian citizens with assault rifles could win the day? Get real. If our government ever went bad (or I should say went to the worst), they could kill and destroy with impunity. 

As far as I can tell from the most recent articles, I don't see anyone trying to ban ALL guns. But assault rifles? Ban them. I don't think for a moment that legislating a ban on assault rifles will keep determined people from getting them, but if we can keep one disturbed teenager from getting one and shooting up a school, shouldn't we? And on that subject, why are we avoiding the most common sense suggestions for stopping violence in schools? We should have a branch of the FBI or some other specialized law enforcement Anti School Violence Division put together and fund working state-of-the-art metal detectors in all schools! How can this not be law already? Money? I'm sure. Politics? Most definitely. Still it's unconscionable to not have metal detectors in all schools. I can't be certain, but I suspect that those metal detectors could even be funded by the private sector. If my kids' schools asked me to donate toward a metal detector fund, they can take my money now. And speaking of the new Anti School Violence Division, why not have at least one highly-trained officer stationed to run those metal detectors and patrol the schools? 

Again, banning assault rifles won't solve the problems of the human heart. After all, there are nearly four times as many knife killings in the US each year than assault rifles. But we've got to do something. 

If you're a young person (or person of any age), please know you are NOT a cosmic accident. You were created by God as a one-of-a-kind, priceless masterpiece. God is real. He loves you. You have ultimate meaning, and no, this life is not all their is. Your life matters to God. Your identity matters to God. There is such a thing as right and wrong, and we need to reject the wrong. We need to turn to the lifeline God offers us by believing in Jesus for the forgiveness of all our personal wrongs. We need to seek God and love God. We need to let Him show us how to love and, in the words of the Black Panther, look after each other. How can I be so sure? The Bible is one reason. No other book on earth is like the Bible. Do some homework. Read up about how unique and reliable the Bible is. Personal experience is another reason. I've seen 20 year alcoholics cured in an instant. There are inexplicable healings every single day, well inexplicable but for God. I've felt the scriptures resonate within me. I've seen and felt unconditional love. But the greatest reasons boil down to common sense:

1) How can this world have come together by itself? Do you know what the odds against it are? I've heard it likened to the odds of throwing thousands of alphabet letters into a great bin, mixing them up, and then pulling them out one letter at a time and resulting in Shakespeare's complete works. 

2) How can this world be all that there is? If we're honest, none of us are completely satisfied by this world. We might claim to be. We might even have deluded ourselves into believing that we are. But most honest people will tell you there is a thirst for something we can't seem to find. There's a hunger for a food this earth doesn't provide. And there's a desperate need for a love that people, try as they might, just cannot fulfill. 

3) It is ALL a question of faith. Which faith will you choose? Evolution is a theory. Creation is a theory. None of us were there at the beginning to see what happened. Science does NOT have everything figured out. In fact, by definition, science can only describe what is observable. It cannot tell you how it all began. It cannot tell you why you fall in love. It cannot tell you what happens after we die. Science depends on the natural world, so by definition it must ignore the supernatural. But make no mistake, naturalism, atheism, humanism—are all belief systems. Dig deep enough, you will find the massive leaps of faith in all these systems. To be fair, Christianity has some massive leaps of faith as well, but it does, after all, claim to be a faith. If you boil it all down, you either believe in an intelligent, loving eternal God who created the world and offers hope to mankind -or- you believe in a blind eternal particle that somehow turned into all that we know and offers no hope for anything or anyone. If you choose to believe the latter, don't you think we've already seen where that road leads? All you have to do is read the headlines.