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1 Week Until …

 

WHEEL

Feb 2nd – Be sure to pick up a copy of WHEELMAN on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retail sellers!

What others are saying about WHEELMAN already:

“…a great novel for readers who like stories about journeys of self-discovery, redemption, or the mechanics of dysfunctional families as they travel miles down life’s highway.”

“…extremely hard to put the book down and take a few minutes here and there to take care of the needs of my family. I had to know what happened next!”

“I find myself still thinking back on this book a week later and reflecting on the messages of redemption, grace, and love that are woven throughout. This is not your run of the mill inspirational story. You’ll find that it leaves you with more than you might have expected.”

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1 Thing I learned from The Revenant

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I watched the Revenant recently.

Revenant – someone who returns after a long absence (believed to be dead).

Fitting title for the film, but there is so much beyond this single description in its 2hr 36min. run time.

It’s a brutal, harrowing tale of a man trying to survive. It’s a chain of events. His fortune seems to go from bad-to worse-to despair, and I was reminded of all kinds of biblical heroes who encountered just such odds in Old Testament events – especially Job.

I know. It’s not even remotely accurate to compare DiCaprio’s role in a film to a man of God, but this one stuck with me as I read today’ devotional about blessings.

Would you agree that for a follower of God one of the hardest principles is being blessed and not straying from God after the blessing has occurred?

Like being in the woods with a compass and suddenly throwing the compass away once we see something familiar. It’s a similar self-reliance in our spiritual walk.

While God says, “Look to me and be saved…” (Isaiah 45:22), our inclination is to turn tail and run for what we believe to be higher ground.

Much like DiCaprio’s character in Revenant, we travel through life’s seasons getting beat down on more than one occasion, and these scars can wound us beyond repair if we allow them to. But, opposite to the physical fight of man’s battle with nature, the spiritual requires us to simply stop tugging on our own.

To admit, God is more than capable of handling your, mine, and our issues, if we let him.

 

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Cover for WHEELMAN (Reveal)

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I couldn’t wait any longer. Here’s the finalized cover (print & ebook) for WHEELMAN!

While the release day is still: Feb 2, this gives you a sneak peek at the look for this young adult novel we’re so proud of at Vox Dei.

Great work from Hayley Stone – designing it. The final proof has been approved.

 

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Burning Bright

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Here’s a question posed by our pastor, Mark Love, recently:
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Why do we work so much? What are we trying to achieve/ensure?

He led off with this and went on to describe the importance of trust. As I sat there, I asked myself what (or who) do I trust in …

  • technology (?) sometimes…maybe when it works
  • friends / family (Am I genuinely there for others? Sometimes I don’t feel like I am.)
  • God – When I want something? Or, it’s convenient?
  • government (?) – hardly, even though our currency says “we” trust in a higher being

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Proverbs 3:5 (ESV) says –
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Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

That’s a tough one. Maybe the hardest in the entire Bible, if we really look at it and think about the word “all” as it relates to our hearts. The tiniest specks of pride devoutly holding onto our hardened hearts as they collectively scream “We know better than anyone else!”

Mark said that instead of trusting God, we “kill ourselves trying to figure it out ourselves,” and he then asked, “Are we burning bright?”
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See, if we honestly asked ourselves this question in solitude we would admit we want this, but we burn out instead.

How will 2016 look for you? Me? Us?

Burnout is often fueled by fear, guilt, or greed.
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Fear that I must do more to keep what I have (American Dream). Guilt that I am not enough so I need to prove myself by doing more (status). Greed that I still don’t have enough and need MORE (consumerism).

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Question:
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Are we trading God’s divine plan for our own short-sighted goals?

Oswald Chambers wrote “we must “pitch our tents” where we will always have quiet times with Him, however noisy our times with the world may be. There are not three levels of spiritual life— worship, waiting, and work. Yet some of us seem to jump like spiritual frogs from worship to waiting, and from waiting to work. God’s idea is that the three should go together as one. They were always together in the life of our Lord and in perfect harmony. It is a discipline that must be developed; it will not happen overnight.”

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“WHEELMAN” Cover Revealed

From Vox Dei Publishing, Coming February 2 …

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Back cover description:

“Teen Cy Vance wants to do one thing: D-R-I-V-E. Except he has nowhere to go and no way to get there. But when he’s given a note at church, he discovers his dad–one of the FBI’s Most Wanted–is alive and well in Mexico…and he wants Cy to meet him ASAP!

With the help of a best friend, Cy escapes Child Protective Services and flees to Mexico. What he doesn’t know is that his father is going to ask even more of him when they meet.

How far will Cy go to help his family, and will it cost him his life?

RUNNING AWAY IS ESCAPE. STAYING PUT IS UNTHINKABLE. THE ROAD AHEAD IS ANYTHING BUT STRAIGHT…”

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The New Book Title Is…

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As I alluded to yesterday, there is a N-E-W title for my debut novel.

It has undergone some serious revisions and with great change comes great…well, you get the drift.

The novel title is no longer “The Silence of Sacrifice,”

but

will now be titled (drumroll, please) …

 

WHEELMAN*

 

*More exciting updates to follow.