It's been awhile since I posted on here. I had good intentions to post before the month of July was out, but - so much for that! But hopefully this is an excuse.
My novel is being published.
I signed the contract today with Ambassador-Emerald International to publish my first work, entitled "The Soldier's Cross." I wrote most of it last year for National Novel Writing Month and then completed it in the months following. It is a historical fiction for mid-teens and older readers, set in the early 15th Century and revolving around the English invasion of France by Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt. The main character is Fiona, the daughter of a lesser nobleman in England, who leads a comfortable and satisfying life on their secluded manor; but with the death of her older brother at the Battle of Agincourt, her world falls apart. When his body is brought back home, she finds that the silver cross he wore around his neck - and which, he told her, brought him peace - is missing, and she believes that she has had a vision that she is to find and retrieve it. But she finds that she is not looking for the pendant so much as she is its meaning, and in her journeys she struggles to find peace in the harsh world of the Middle Ages.
"The Soldier's Cross" will release by Christmas 2010. A cover design and an option to pre-order will be coming soon, so check out my other blog at Scribbles and Ink Stains.
Showing posts with label Authors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Authors. Show all posts
Notable Quotables
I have been reading Henry Scougal's The Life of God in the Soul of Man over the past couple weeks. It was written in the 1600s for one of Scougal's friends, and the friend found it so helpful that he later published it; it was instrumental in the salvation of that great preacher, George Whitefield, who said that "I never knew what true religion [ie, Christianity] was till God sent me this excellent treatise." It is a fairly short book, but is deep and thought-provoking and I prefer to take it bit by bit, instead of reading a huge chunk all at once. Fortunately it is broken up into parts in an outline form, which makes that easier. The whole book has been wonderful, but certain quotes have stood out to me.
Thus, Scougal aptly terms true religion "Divine life," and for a believer, it is indeed the life of God in the soul of man.
Later, in speaking of the excellency of Divine love and how all our affections ought to be directed toward God, he says -
Thoughts?
"They know by experience that true religion is a union of the soul with God, a real participation of the Divine nature, the very image of God drawn upon the soul, or, in the apostle's phrase, 'it is Christ formed within us.'" (pg. 44)
Thus, Scougal aptly terms true religion "Divine life," and for a believer, it is indeed the life of God in the soul of man.
Later, in speaking of the excellency of Divine love and how all our affections ought to be directed toward God, he says -
"But, certainly, that passion which account[s] its object a Deity, ought to be bestowed on Him who really is so... Those chains and cords of love are infinitely more glorious than liberty itself: this slavery is more noble than all the empires of the world." (pg. 73)
Thoughts?
Grace
I recently reread some of A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy and came across this beautiful passage in his chapter "The Grace of God."
"We can never know the enormity of our sin, neither is it necessary that we should. What we can know is that 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' To abound in sin: that is the worst and the most we could or can do. The word abound defines the limit of our finite abilities; and although we feel our iniquities rise over us like a mountain, the mountain, nevertheless, has definable boundaries: it is so large, so high, it weighs only this certain amount and no more. But who shall define the limitless grace of God? Its 'much more' plunges our thoughts into infinitude and confounds them there. All thanks be to God for grace abounding."
What an inspiring truth! And one that we as Christians often take for granted and lose sight of altogether. But Tozer is right; if we would meditate on the "much more" of God's grace, it would overwhelm us and fill us with joy. I don't think we can read passages like Romans 5:20-21, or Ephesians 2, or I John 3:1-3, without some measure of delight in the love of Christ, which "surpasses knowledge." How great is the love of God.
"We can never know the enormity of our sin, neither is it necessary that we should. What we can know is that 'where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.' To abound in sin: that is the worst and the most we could or can do. The word abound defines the limit of our finite abilities; and although we feel our iniquities rise over us like a mountain, the mountain, nevertheless, has definable boundaries: it is so large, so high, it weighs only this certain amount and no more. But who shall define the limitless grace of God? Its 'much more' plunges our thoughts into infinitude and confounds them there. All thanks be to God for grace abounding."
What an inspiring truth! And one that we as Christians often take for granted and lose sight of altogether. But Tozer is right; if we would meditate on the "much more" of God's grace, it would overwhelm us and fill us with joy. I don't think we can read passages like Romans 5:20-21, or Ephesians 2, or I John 3:1-3, without some measure of delight in the love of Christ, which "surpasses knowledge." How great is the love of God.
The Knowledge of the Holy
"Can you by searching find out God? can you find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what can you do? deeper than hell; what can you know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea." Job 11:7-8 (Zophar)
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:7-9
It's pretty clear from the Bible that Man is incapable of "finding out," or completely knowing, God. How can we? He is infinite, and we are finite; He is eternal, and we are mortal; He is perfection, and we are broken and sinful creatures. We cannot even fully know our own hearts; how can we understand the Almighty God? We can't.
And yet, for the very reason that His ways are not our ways, God has blessed us with a means of knowing Him in part. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God," and in whom "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," that we might know Him. And when Christ ascended, He sent the Holy Spirit to "lead us into all truth." We have the Scriptures so that we may know the God we worship. Through the guidance of the Spirit who indwells us, we can now "discover" God through His Word - not fully, of course, but we can have a taste of the unfathomable wonders of God.
A.W. Tozer, who lived from 1897 to 1963, wrote and published an innumerable amount of books and essays on God, the Christian life, and all manner of theological issues - really stupendous works, like "The Root of the Righteous" and "Jesus: Our Man in Glory." He's known as a true prophet, because the things he wrote at the turn of the 20th Century are still true and needed now. When he died, the only thing written on his gravestone was "A.W. Tozer: A Man of God." Now that is a wonderful thing to be known for!
Late in his life, he published a work under the title The Knowledge of the Holy. It's a little book that delves into the perfections, or attributes, of God; each chapter deals with a different aspect of God, but Tozer weaves them all together and shows clearly that none of His "attributes" are really separate from one another. We know that God is One, and all His perfections are One. God is not at odds with Himself; all His thoughts are unified.
The book is a wonderful, beautiful look at God. We can't plumb the depths of His thoughts or ways, but we are called to know Him better all the same, and this little work by a Man of God is perfect for that. It is absolutely a must for all believers, young and old in the faith, because how can we worship or love God without longing to know Him better?
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:7-9
It's pretty clear from the Bible that Man is incapable of "finding out," or completely knowing, God. How can we? He is infinite, and we are finite; He is eternal, and we are mortal; He is perfection, and we are broken and sinful creatures. We cannot even fully know our own hearts; how can we understand the Almighty God? We can't.
And yet, for the very reason that His ways are not our ways, God has blessed us with a means of knowing Him in part. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God," and in whom "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," that we might know Him. And when Christ ascended, He sent the Holy Spirit to "lead us into all truth." We have the Scriptures so that we may know the God we worship. Through the guidance of the Spirit who indwells us, we can now "discover" God through His Word - not fully, of course, but we can have a taste of the unfathomable wonders of God.
A.W. Tozer, who lived from 1897 to 1963, wrote and published an innumerable amount of books and essays on God, the Christian life, and all manner of theological issues - really stupendous works, like "The Root of the Righteous" and "Jesus: Our Man in Glory." He's known as a true prophet, because the things he wrote at the turn of the 20th Century are still true and needed now. When he died, the only thing written on his gravestone was "A.W. Tozer: A Man of God." Now that is a wonderful thing to be known for!
Late in his life, he published a work under the title The Knowledge of the Holy. It's a little book that delves into the perfections, or attributes, of God; each chapter deals with a different aspect of God, but Tozer weaves them all together and shows clearly that none of His "attributes" are really separate from one another. We know that God is One, and all His perfections are One. God is not at odds with Himself; all His thoughts are unified.
The book is a wonderful, beautiful look at God. We can't plumb the depths of His thoughts or ways, but we are called to know Him better all the same, and this little work by a Man of God is perfect for that. It is absolutely a must for all believers, young and old in the faith, because how can we worship or love God without longing to know Him better?
More Dark Than Light
The easiest way to find a good book these days is to dig one up that was published more than fifty years ago. Modern books can almost always be counted on to have some bad content in them, whether or not they're published by Christian editors.
What is it with Americans' current love of gory, creepy suspense? Gross romances? Admittedly, even in the 1800s Gothic novels were in vogue among the younger generation (as addressed by Jane Austen in her Northanger Abbey), but that was more of a fad. Now it's a settled thing. Everybody reads these books, and almost everybody writes them; they're everywhere, populating the Amazon website and the Barnes & Noble bookshelves.
It's to be expected from non-Christian authors and publishers, but it's very galling when it comes from writers who purport to be Christian. Some examples that spring to mind are Francine Rivers, Stephen R. Lawhead, and Ted Dekker; very popular names, but you can't open one of their books without expecting something bad in the pages. Is it right that books under the genre of "Christian" should have such shock-value?
Generally the excuse that people use is that the books are darkening the "evil" to make the "good" appear even brighter. But it isn't really necessary. A reader can get a feel for a villain's evil character without the author having to go into gritty detail. What happens in a lot of good-against-evil stories in which the writer has tried to do this is that the accentuated evil overpowers the righteousness. Sure, you probably have the redemption in the end, but most readers will come away with a clearer memory of the bad things than of the good. Teenagers read Ted Dekker's and Frank Peretti's books for the suspense, the dark murders, the horror aspects - not for the light and the beauty of God's Word. Readers come away from many "Christian" romances with more information than they needed.
These books and authors aren't salt and light in the world. What's more, they don't help readers in their faith. Whatever happened to Paul's exhortation in Philippians?
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)
What is it with Americans' current love of gory, creepy suspense? Gross romances? Admittedly, even in the 1800s Gothic novels were in vogue among the younger generation (as addressed by Jane Austen in her Northanger Abbey), but that was more of a fad. Now it's a settled thing. Everybody reads these books, and almost everybody writes them; they're everywhere, populating the Amazon website and the Barnes & Noble bookshelves.
It's to be expected from non-Christian authors and publishers, but it's very galling when it comes from writers who purport to be Christian. Some examples that spring to mind are Francine Rivers, Stephen R. Lawhead, and Ted Dekker; very popular names, but you can't open one of their books without expecting something bad in the pages. Is it right that books under the genre of "Christian" should have such shock-value?
Generally the excuse that people use is that the books are darkening the "evil" to make the "good" appear even brighter. But it isn't really necessary. A reader can get a feel for a villain's evil character without the author having to go into gritty detail. What happens in a lot of good-against-evil stories in which the writer has tried to do this is that the accentuated evil overpowers the righteousness. Sure, you probably have the redemption in the end, but most readers will come away with a clearer memory of the bad things than of the good. Teenagers read Ted Dekker's and Frank Peretti's books for the suspense, the dark murders, the horror aspects - not for the light and the beauty of God's Word. Readers come away from many "Christian" romances with more information than they needed.
These books and authors aren't salt and light in the world. What's more, they don't help readers in their faith. Whatever happened to Paul's exhortation in Philippians?
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)
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