Given Another Chance!

“I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them" (Hosea 14:4 NIV).

In the King James Version, the term waywardness is not used--instead the term "backsliding" is used. Sometimes, varying translations tend to weaken the message and in this segment, I believe that to be true. Backsliding evokes a much stronger image of what it is that God wants us to understand--when we slide back from being obedient to God. Of course, we cannot be a backslider, if we never came to the knowledge of Truth and obeyed God. "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you..." (Jeremiah 3:14 KJV)

The point that Hosea is making here to the children of Israel is that when we (we are spiritual Israel) repent and call upon the Lord, turning away from the gods we contrive and manufacture with our own hands, He will forgive us and love us, anyway--turning aside His anger from those things we "did" (past tense), not are doing. His mercy is new every morning! When we mess up, we need to 'fess up, and not to try to dress up our sins in cloaks of deception and lies, because God can see beyond our facade and He knows our hearts. We just to admit we were wrong and repent by turning from whatever it is that keeps us out of relationship with God and grab hold of the new opportunity we have to get things right with Him. We have been given another chance--do not mistake His grace and mercy for accommodation to sin. 

Some of us have been given chance after chance to get it right! God is long suffering, patient, and He wants us to be in position to receive His best. And though He gives us chance after chance to get things right, there will come a time when He will simply close His ears to our cries. Unlike many parents, He will not be our enabler in wrong doing. Whatever we do, the consequence we get is on us-not Him. Turn from those things or those people who keep you from receiving God's best and live the life He has planned for you!

Father, in the name of Jesus, help us to get to place quickly where we realize we cannot live this life without You. Forgive us for taking Your grace and mercy for granted and provide us another chance to see You for who You truly are.

Life Writer

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Deceptive Storms (excerpt 1)

She sat with a glass of wine in her hands, swirling the burgundy liquid slowly, reflecting, contemplating her life.  Taking a luxurious sip, she sighed and wished for more than what she had.  More money, more house, more of a man, more happiness—just more of everything.  Leaning back on the black leather chaise in her living room, she closed her eyes, glass still in hand.  Her thoughts vacillated between what was and how she was going to fast forward. 

“If I could just shake the past and move on, I’d be alright,” she thought.  “I just need to shake the past.”

Her past was a multicolored debacle.  One misstep after the other.  She tried hard to think about the last time she had actually done anything right.  She couldn’t remember.  Brain cells only seemed to recall the squirmy situations she had created or fallen into.  Fallen into—with deliberation.  She shook her head at her own recriminations.  Deciding to traipse down memory lane, she focused on the first real love of her life—the love that had left her dangling for years and finally cut off her emotions to the quick.  She had loved the wrong man as so many before her had done, but she just knew—Brian was the only man worthy of her love.  The real tragedy was that Brian was from Loser Street—and just didn’t know how to get off of it.  Appearances can certainly be deceiving.  Hefty and handsome as any movie star, Brian strolled into Charleston Café with his friends, easily the center of attention.

She had seated them at the best table in the house—near a window so they could keep an eye on the object of their discussion—the latest fast car purchased by the racing car company that was based in town.  Sleek, low to the ground, shiny black with yellow pinstripes and the company sponsor listed on the side, it was something to behold.  Apparently, the three men discussing the car thought so, too.  She heard someone say something about the most “horsepower that was legal” and that was as much as she needed to hear.  She really wanted to meet the man behind the smile and the talk. 

Standing at their table waiting to take their order, her eyes shifted from one to another.  The other two men were slightly older than the man talking and she could quickly detect that the younger man was trying to convince the other two to do something.  After taking their order, she deliberately brushed against the younger man, knowing he would have to pay attention, but he didn’t.  He moved slightly and kept talking.  After she had placed their drinks on the table, he glanced at her briefly and nodded.  She perceived the nod as recognition and invitation to something later. 

When they had finished their meal, the younger man eagerly picked up the check while the older men smiled, shaking each other’s hands, ready to go their separate ways. 

“Brian,” she heard one of the men say, “you’ve got yourself a deal.  Come into the office tomorrow and we’ll sign the paperwork.  It’s nice doing business with you.”  They left Brian in the Café.  She had asked if he’d like for her to take the payment to the cashier, but he said no and ordered a cup of coffee.  He leaned back in the chair and openly appraised the woman in front of him.  Heat began to crawl from her toes to her face under his scrutiny, but she smiled as he apparently decided he liked what he saw. 

He rose from the table and left her a tip with a note.  A telephone number.  A number that would eventually lead to more heartache than she could have ever imagined.

She had called him after her shift ended and they made plans for dinner and a movie.  The dinner and the movie were good, but his conversation was mesmerizing.  She couldn’t stop listening to him and encouraged him to keep talking. 

He was one of eight children, his mother was not very healthy and his dad was a truck driver, always on the road.  When he finished school, he decided that he did not like his life and was determined to recreate himself.  He left the hollow that he had grown up in and went to Texas.  There he attended college, but became more involved with racing than books.  When he discovered that he had a knack for driving fast cars, he quickly adapted by attending the races and eventually got a chance to show what he could do. 

He left ten experienced drivers in the dust during his first race.  No one watching understood how he had managed it, but he had easily won the race and a few hundred dollars.  The race itself was addictive, but the money was the jolt that kept him going.  He thought he had finally found his niche in life.  Not only was he good at racing the cars, he was an expert at finding investors to sponsor him in races.  He loved the feel and the smell of the cars, but he loved the stench of the jumpsuits after a race.   More importantly, he loved the attention he got wherever he went. 

“Oh yeah,” she remembered, he loved the attention.  In the three years they dated, she could barely keep him focused on their relationship because of all the attention he received by racing.  Every where they went, people wanted to talk to them.  Alone time was seldom, but he seemed to enjoy her company and she was totally lost to him.   Lost—that’s a word she would remember for a long time.

She thought they were on their way to a march down the aisles when she discovered that he was on his way—to another woman.  She didn’t see it coming.  Never had a clue.  The connecting line had been cut and she fell with a clump, thump, and a bump—heartbroken and hell-bent on revenge.

Available on www.amazon.com and www.smashwords.com Enjoy and review!

Good Gifts!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17 NIV).

How often have people received gifts from others they really did not want, but accepted because they didn't want to appear to be rude? They would accept the gift, smile, say "thank you" and do one of two things when out of the sight of the giver. The gift would find itself in the back of the closet, the basement or a drawer and not see the light of day or was given to someone else at a later time--re-gifted. Usually, this works into a cycle and sometimes--the original gift-giver was often given the gift they had given.

Fortunately, we cannot give the gifts that God gives us to anyone else--no re-gifting here. For the gifts He gives are not physical, but they are spiritual and the Holy Spirit anoints every person whom God has determined to receive a gift (I Corinthians 12:1-11). Each spiritual gift given is for the common good of the whole. Though there may be people who are envious of another's gifts, they should earnestly seek God about their own gift and work on developing that gift. 

Unlike the scarf or tie or sweater that is sent through an evolution of hands, God's gifts cannot be re-gifted by us nor can we return them or exchange them. And why should we? If we believe that "every gift from God is a perfect gift" we should be overjoyed with what we receive. And then, get this--God knows exactly what gift we will function in to develop the Body of Christ into wholeness where every need is met.  

When we either refuse to hone the gifts given, or reject the gifts out-of-hand, we are telling God He doesn't know what He's doing. Then, there are some who are so envious of the gifts God has given others that they practice to deceive and then declare they have a gift that they manufactured, but Holy Spirit did not give. We can tell who is operating in their own "manufactured gifts" because that person has attached a dollar sign to perform it. That gift--is manufactured for their benefit, not for the perfecting and development of the Body of Christ.

The beauty of God's gift-giving is in the fact that no matter how we act--"His gifts and callings are without repentance"--He won't take them back. What happens when we don't use the gifts He has given is that we truly miss the blessings that come with "obedience" to God and the Body of Christ has a void that can only be filled with the gift we are not using. We all have a role to play in promoting the Gospel, developing unity, and perfection within the Body of Christ--all of the born-again believers--especially within the local Body. Churches that do not have spiritual gifts operating are usually dull and boring and no one is exalted other than the preacher. They are dry and stagnant, critical and judgmental because they chose not to exercise the gifts given or they manufactured a gift that does not glorify God.

I pray today that all will earnestly seek God for understanding of the Gift they have been given and then will exercise that gift to reach the perfection needed to operate in the Body of Christ to bring wholeness. Our spiritual gifts are like our bodies--if we do not exercise the body, muscles become atrophied and lax and we become weak and lazy. The same thing happens when we do not exercise our good and perfect spiritual gift from God--the Body of Christ becomes weak and lazy.

Father, in the name of Jesus, speak to our hearts and help us to understand the gifts given to us and wisdom in using them. Show us how we are to function in the Body of Christ and ignite desire in us to exercise the gift to the development of perfection to fill the void in the Body of Christ.

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I love being creative even though some may not think I'm not very adept at it.  I keep trying. One day, I'm going to be really good at it. For now, check out my channel trailer and let me know what you think of it. My feelings won't be hurt and I might even learn something from the experience.
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Battlerama Super Tweens On The Other Side (excerpt b)

Botcha-ku had not prepared his team for the additions, but it did not matter. He was a master in martial arts and he could take on the whole team by himself, but he did not think it prudent to do so. 

When he raised his hand, the team attacked.

“Kiao!” they yelled and split the air with their flying kicks.

“What does the fox say?” Derek yelled.

The Seven and their help easily deflected the onslaught of kicks and punches because Shane moved so fast through the rumble that the Dragon Slayers did not know who they were fighting. Derek was able to get his hand on one person and used them as a sling, pushing back the others. When they finally broke rank, Ian and Deborah were back-to-back in combat with two of the Dragon slayers, while the Seven were working on tiring out the rest.

For a short time, Botcha-ku watched until he grew weary and with his magic conjured up rabblers from the other side and turned them loose on the group. Now, since each of the Seven had a short sword in their hands, they could easily fight off the rabblers. Maria vanished and suddenly, the rabblers began falling backwards as if they were pins in a bowling alley.

“What does the fox say?” Maria yelled.

Anthony, taking his cue from Maria, blew an ice ring around the fallen rabblers that would hold them since they would not be able to stand the touch of the ice. Tori grabbed Shane’s and Jiao’s hands and cloned them until there were six of each of them and Botcha-ku didn’t know which to decimate. 

Kiara fought valiantly alongside Chin and Derek until Derek seemingly gave up, unable to breathe.

 Chin and Kiara stepped around him to protect him and when Derek inhaled deeply, he blew a ring of fire around two of the Dragon Slayers.

“What does the fox say?” Kiara yelled.

Botcha-ku was astounded. He knew they had powers, but he didn’t know the extent of their powers. Just as he was about to even the odds against them, he found himself in a tango with Chin. There was very quizzical look on Chin’s face and an equally quizzical look on Botcha-ku’s face. It was if they both recognized something very familiar within each one.

Botcha-ku’s memory surfaced first and he attacked Chin with everything ounce of strength he had and would have brought forth more magic, if Chin had not moved quickly, taking him down in a sweep kick, and was sitting on top of him. Chin quickly pulled the short sword he had coated with his own concoction and pricked Botcha-ku’s skin with the blade.

Within seconds, Botcha-ku began to weaken and wither. Chin had made sure there was not enough of the toxic plant juice to kill him, just to revert the anti-aging agent he had made for himself and Pang-chi. Chin was a bit regretful about Pang-chi, but Botcha-ku had to be stopped and as for Pang-chi, she had outlived her life a long time ago.

“Tell them to stand down!” Chin warned Botcha-ku.

“Xiàtái!” Botcha-ku shouted in a quivering voice.

Battlerama Super Tweens On The Other Side available on amazon. com and smashwords.com. Enjoy!