Milestones and Road Signs

I'm a bit unusual.

(I know.)

But, more specifically, I'm unusual in that I have been given certain milestones in my life to look to.
And most of those I was given in advance...

When I was 18, I knew that I would be in business with, and, at some point, in ministry with, one of the best friends I've ever had, Scott. I didn't know how or when, but I knew that God had that for me. By the time I was 19, he and I were running a commercial painting company and cohosting a Christian Radio program (and eventually we were leading a youth Bible Study for a while).

By the time I was 20, I knew that I would be married the year I turned 25, that I would be (was supposed to be) engaged for a year; I would have two children (I even knew they'd be boys and what their names would be/mean).

I was married, after an engagement of exactly 1 year, on January 1, 2004. I turned 25 January 12, 2004.

I know that sounds like self-fulfilling prophesy, but I talked about it with some people when I was 20. They know how it played out.

I now have two sons.

There have been countless other examples of these things; I could list them, but I don't want to bore anyone.

The thing is, the next one is next year. And I don't know what it is.

I have known for 15 years that the year I turn 35 is supposed to be very important. I've had theories, but I still don't know. I have worked, studied, applied myself in every way I could think of to try to be ready for whatever it is, but I still don't know.

With all of the other "future milestones," I had road signs. "4 years to Marriage on right"   "2 years to First Born Son--No U-Turns" etc...

So it is highly frustrating to be on the verge of this next thing and not know what's there.

I have to trust that God knows what He's doing. (He's certainly gone to a lot of detail proving it to me.) I also have to trust that He has prepared me and knows how to make up the difference in where I will fall short.

I'm not really worried, like I said, God has proven Himself more than faithful. So I guess I'm just throwing this out there so that when whatever does happen, this will be a record that I "knew it was coming"--that God gave me a "heads up."

I'm putting it out there for God to use to show off (show up).

Just thought I'd share.

God Bless!

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So I've been sitting in front of my computer for a couple of days now, trying to think of something to write.
I've got a new story idea, but I'm still in the pre-writing stages of that one, so no good there.
I'm just sitting here.
Trying to think of something inspired. Something clever. SOMEthing.

And suddenly it comes to me: How often have I been given a WORD for someone, just a small thing--a phrase or so, and when I start to tell it, it becomes FAR more than I realised it was.

So often I've waited in writing until I felt like I had the "whole picture" when my entire experience in ministry has been, "Just do it and let the rest happen."

How often have I heard and said that prophesy is only a word in PART? How many times have I had to step out in faith with little to nothing to go on, and watched as God did something amazing? How often, and yet, here I am, believing that I am SUPPOSED to write--called to do it, yet I forget everything I learned about following God.

This isn't just for me either. I don't know who you are; I know a couple of people who regularly read this blog, but my hope is that the things I've written in all sincerity will reach out past my realm of influence and long after I'm gone. So, whoever you are, listen:

Take a chance. Even if all you have is the barest sliver of a hope that God wants to use you in something, step out on that sliver. And then keep stepping in ALL areas of your life. Don't let the world or the devil cheat you by limiting where God can fill in the gaps for you.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In ALL of your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."

The Stuff Dreams Are Made of. . .

So I want to write.

I want to write fiction, but I want it to be something that is meaningful. I want it to matter.
The problem is that I have been finding myself drawn more and more toward mainstream fantasy and science fiction--the worlds I've been working on have been detailed and exciting, but they ultimately lead in the same direction as 99% of the other stuff that's already out there, and I want my work to point back to God, or, at least to point in a direction that will eventually lead to God.

So I found myself frustrated, and frustration lead to writer's block, and that lead to an emotional funk that left me feeling almost depressed every time I thought about writing. . .

So, for a while, I stopped trying.



Then, one day, I was listening to a podcast by professional writers about being a writer (WritingExcuses.com), and the authors mentioned something that stopped me in my tracks. I was sitting at my computer listening, and they said that they had to be careful what they were reading while they were working on a project (current book) because they tended to pick up the voice/tone/style of the books they were reading and start to write like that, and that was often not good if what they were reading was too different from what they were trying to write.

And it hit me.

I spend a GREAT deal of time listening to audiobooks while I'm at work. I generally listen to Science Fiction or Fantasy novels.

And I realized that the reason my own writing was leaning that direction was because that's what I was listening to; that's what I was reading.

Then God stepped in. (I know, right?)

He said, "If you will read My Word, I will give you your dreams."

Here's the thing: I have always seen my stories as dreams to be written down and given substance. So this was a HUGE word to hear.

My first nagging doubt was that I would start writing like the Bible, but I really had to give God more credit than that.

So, for the next week, I didn't read or listen to anything but the Bible.

By the second day I had scenes playing out in my mind about the biggest project I hope to accomplish, a multinovel allegory.

I couldn't really put the characters together before. It was like I could see them in jumpy clips of an old silent film. I knew basically what was going on, but the depth was missing--the details were lacking.
Now, it's coming together. I'm still in the prewriting stage of this project, and I have some smaller projects to work on as well, but I'm excited again.

The series is tentatively named The Invisible Kingdom. I'll let you know what happens as I go. This is a long-term project--especially as I have a full-time job and a family that comes before my writing, but my wife is on board and supportive, and we are working toward a plan for doing this.

So, I'll keep moving forward, and I'll keep in the Word better than I have been being, and I'll trust God to give me my dreams.

What dreams do you have? Maybe you can find them where I did?

God bless!
BG

The God of LOVE in the Old Testament

In the past several years, God has shown me some incredible things about His Word.

My education is in English/Language Arts/Literature.  One of the things that I found while in school is a love for how the written language works--especially in Literature.  I have had immense pleasure in dissecting passages of text and pulling out all of the little things the author included. It is not unlike digging for hidden treasures. It was like I could open the pages and examine what the author said and then examine how the author said it. The deeper I went into the work, the more it seemed that I could find the author in the words.

Well, one day, God directed me to His book.

I had been avoiding doing this because it seemed wrong, somehow, to use something I'd learned with secular writing with the Bible.

But then God said something that made me do a mental double-take. He told me that HE was the author of the Bible, and that He was every bit as clever as anyone who had ever written anything secular.

"I crafted this work for a purpose. I used many hands and many hearts, but I crafted it. Look in my Word and see MY hidden treasures. Look in my work and find ME."

So I began re-reading the word. And this was my quest: The Bible says that God is "the same yesterday, today, and forever," and it says that "God is love."  Soooo, what about the Old Testament? I can't count how many times I've heard people refer to the "God of the Old Testament" as a vengeful, judging God," or "you could wring blood from the pages of the Old Testament."

Well, wait a second.  If the Bible is true, and it says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then the God of the Old Testament is the SAME as the God of the New Testament. Jesus didn't change the nature of God... He explained it!

So I looked, starting with Genesis, starting with Man and his fall. . . and I found the God of Love.

In every situation, with every person, with every judgement, Once I started looking for His love, it was plain to see.

Look FOR the God of Love in YOUR Bible, and then FIND Him in your LIFE.

I'll be telling more about this in future posts.

Decisions, Decisions...

Well, about the time that I think I've finally got a handle on where I'm going and what I'm going to do when I get there. . . Things Change.

So, since school ended, I've been working at the job I was at before I started school. It has been a good thing. I work for a man for whom I have a great deal of respect, and I'm getting to do things I've dreamed of seeing happen with the business for years.

In addition to that, since I am not teaching professionally, I am now working a job that gives me the possibility for writing time.

I have a deep love of reading--particularly of Science Fiction and Fantasy. In the process of completing school, I have found a nearly equal love for writing the same.

I feel that I may even have a talent for it, though it will take some practice and honing before the skill is marketable, but I have been pursuing this as a career.  I actually have felt like God has been leading me in this direction, so I've been working on short story ideas and novel plot development--it has been a lot of fun.

But I'm finding myself questioning some things.

I very much want to write Fantasy novels. That is what I have read, and that is where my ideas generally go. My vision for this is to create worlds and "magics" that are based on True Biblical and Spiritual concepts. That may sound like a contradiction, but hear me out.

Most Fantasy fiction involves power, magic, gods and goddesses, and so on. They all address/fulfill a longing that is built into humans for the supernatural. We are created to seek out God, and part of that includes His power and His spiritual nature. The problem is that the VAST majority of Fantasy novels fulfill these longings with concepts that are completely carnal and lead the readers' minds to (unconsciously) seek these things in the wrong places; the novels "train" readers to expect supernatural things to look and feel a way that is not going send them in God's direction.

What I want is to create stories, where the nature of "power" is parallel with the True nature of power, where power comes from submission to the will of the source of the power, and where  control is an illusion. I want to create a story where the dealings that the characters have with their deity reflect dealings with the real God. In short, I want to give the readers magic and supernatural events and experiences that will prime them to seek and recognize Godly things outside the books.

So, that's what I've been working toward. With some distractions.

But now, I'm also finding that I have a strong desire to write about what I've learned about the Bible and operating in the Spirit.

I want to write a book/blog that goes through the Bible, character-by-character and show God's love through out the Old Testament and New.

I want to share about the struggles I've had learning how to accept God's true forgiveness and acceptance of me, and how He truly does want to speak to and through me. I want do describe how I learned to hear God and all of the things I've learned about Him.

I also want to sit down and go through as many of the "Hard Questions" that are floating around. You know, the ones that the really confrontational opponents to Christianity like to throw around. And I want to Answer them.  I've heard some of these questions, and if someone would just stop and read the Scripture they are misusing, and read it in CONTEXT, the answers are not difficult. Some of them are involved, but if a person REALLY wants an answer, and not just an argument, the answers are out there to be found.

..........
So you see, I want to do so much with my writing, but there is only so much time in a day.

I'm taking some time now to work on pre-writing for several projects, and waiting for God to let me know which way (or ways) He wants me to go.

Decisions, decisions.  I have decided to follow Jesus, . . .

But right now it seems like He's sitting in a rocking chair, rocking contentedly, smiling and humming as He's reading a book. (A book that I'm supposed to write?) But I can't seem to get Him to let me see the title.

So, for now, I'll just carry on and keep an ear out for Him to lead me.

And I may start a couple of Topic Specific blogs as well.

I'll keep you posted.

Until next time,
God Bless.