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Wednesday 9 November 2016

President Trump: Should a Christian Rejoice?



Dear Christian,


As the reality of a Trump presidency sinks in, the question I have is should we rejoice? Should we rejoice that a pathological liar was prevented from leading our country? Should we rejoice that a woman who believes we should have the right to murder the unborn hours from birth, didn't get her way? Should we rejoice that a person who made it clear she would spit on our Second Amendment rights, it not able to go through with her crimes? Absolutely not!


As Christians, everything we do must represent Christ as His ambassadors. Trump has made it clear, by his actions, he is not a godly man. He owns casinos, was divorced three times and claims he does not need to ask forgiveness. We by our vote claim that God approves of this behavior and attitude, when He clearly doesn't. We have misrepresented our God, failed in our Christian duty and now we're patting ourselves on the back because we thwarted a traitor from becoming President. Yet again, we have compromised and failed.


We are comfortable in our nice, safe churches. We go to Bible studies, attend services, run programs and while the converts may not be 'twice the sons of hell' that the Pharisees converts were, the principle is the same. They are converted to mediocrity. To compromise, to making do. We are not even under any real persecution and already we cannot vote for a godly man. We are as the church in Ephesus. Cold, lethargic and we as a nation deserve a person like Clinton. Oh yes, I was expecting Clinton to win as Judgement for our neglect of our duty as Christians and Americans. Yet once again, God showed us mercy and it is of His mercy that we are not consumed. And yet it will be a miracle if even one person is sorry for their behavior. While we decry liberals, when we are confronted, we will cry like one and make excuses. There are none. God will not accept excuses when we stand before Him, we will simply be judged. I will not rejoice with you. I am ashamed.

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Reversal Zone - A Review

J. Grace Pennington has published four science fiction novels. They each have a unique bent to them, but this one is very different. Each book is a standalone, but as with any series, you get more of the story if you read them all in order. In Reversal Zone, the main character, Andi Lloyd, becomes the only one who can save the ship and crew. Can she do it in time?

About the Book

Nothing is as it should be. After weeks of boredom, Andi is excited when the Surveyor is called upon to rescue a freighter that mysteriously vanished in uncharted space. Excitement quickly turns to unease when the ship encounters an unknown phenomenon—a cloud that appears not to exist. But with the freighter's crew in danger, the Surveyor has no choice but to venture into unknown territory. As soon as they enter the cloud, its unstable effects wreak havoc on the ship. They're flying blind. Every piece of equipment is malfunctioning. And every member of the crew is unable to think straight or act like themselves—except Andi. Now she's expected to guide them through the predicament with no previous command experience and no one to turn to for support. And with each passing hour, it becomes clear that if they don't escape the cloud soon—they won't escape it at all. Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZV1ILB

About the Author

Grace Pennington has been telling stories since she could talk, and writing them down since age five. Now she lives in the great state of Texas, where she writes as much as adult life permits. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading good books, playing movie soundtracks on the piano, and looking up at the stars.   You can find out more about her writing at www.jgracepennington.com.

The Review

 She's done it again. The latest in cutting edge sci-fi by Grace Pennington. She takes you on a journey of surprise and peril, twisting like a roller coaster till the very end. The people are real, the danger is real and the lives of all the crew hang by a thread held by one young lady, who rises to the challenge. You will want to make time to read the whole thing in a single sitting. I'd give this five stars but i'd like to give it 1000. This author knows how to captivate her audience.

Giveaway

radialloy-cover in-his-image-covermachiavellian-cover             Grace is generously offering three prizes. A signed copy of each of her three previous novels in the series. They are each standalone stories, but they are also connected. If you would like to read more about them, you can read about them here: Radialloy, In His Image, Machiavellian. To enter the giveaway, please fill out this form.

Tour Schedule

Friday, October 7 Bookish Orchestrations-Tour Introduction Fathers and Sons-Sports and Life-Guest Post The Destiny of One-Guest Post Perpetual Gardener, Writer, and Mormon-Excerpt Rebekah Lyn Books-Author Interview Saturday, October 8 Shout outs-Guest Post Author Franky A Brown-Excerpt Shire Reviews-Book Review Sunday, October 9 Letters from Annie Douglass Lima-Excerpt Zerina Blossom's Books-Excerpt Monday, October 10 Rachel Rossano's Words-Excerpt and Guest Post In the Bookcase-Excerpt and Book Review Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections-Book Review Tuesday, October 11 The Abrahamic Adventures-Book Review The Overactive Imagination-Excerpt Morgan Elizabeth Huneke-Book Review Lisa Swinton Queen of Random-Excerpt Wednesday, October 12 Bookish Orchestrations-Giveaway Winner Save

Thursday 1 September 2016

Blesses Assurance - An Exerpt






Who doesn't like a good mystery? I'm sure there are a few, but most people do like mysteries. What about a mystery within a mystery. Faith Blum's new novella is just that. First there's the mystery of who tried to dupe five mail order brides. Then Adelaide finds out someone is claiming she's a runaway bride. What happens to her? Find out in Blessed Assurance.

About the Book

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Adelaide lost her parents a year before and now a rich man in town is making unwanted advances toward her. Desperate, she writes to two men and quickly accepts the one from Cheyenne, Wyoming. On the final leg of her journey, in a stagecoach with four other mail order brides, her suspicions are confirmed. Will she ever find a man she can truly trust?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IIU5XPK



Detective Bradley Connor stepped off the train in Cheyenne and gathered his horse, saddle, and saddlebags from the cattle car. After stabling his horse at the livery and finding a hotel, he headed to the sheriff’s office.
“Are you the sheriff?” he asked the man behind the desk.
“I am. What can I do for you?”
“Bradley Connor. I’m a Pinkerton detective and I need some information from you.”
The sheriff sat up straighter. “Sheriff Leland Granger. I’ll certainly help in any way I can. What do you need to know?”
“Do you know of an Adelaide Brown?”
“Yes, I do. Surely she isn’t a criminal!” Sheriff Granger’s face was filled with horror.
“No, nothing like that. She simply ran away from someone and that person is looking for her. Could you tell me where she is staying?”
Sheriff Granger gave him an assessing look. “Why?”
“I need to speak with her alone. I have an uncomfortable feeling about the person who is looking for her and need to hear her side of the story first. Is she married?”
“No.”
Bradley leaned forward. “But she came out here as a mail order bride.”
“Yes, but she, and four others, were lured here by those ads. They were meant to be sold to saloons, but the outlaw’s plans were thwarted. Four of the five have now married. Adelaide is the only one who has not.”
“Why not?”
Sheriff Granger shrugged. “I don’t know. As for where she lives, she lives with Allen Reese and Edward Harris.” He gave Bradley the address. “But I would be careful about approaching her.”
Bradley nodded. “I will. Thank you.”
Bradley found the house and watched it carefully. It only took a few hours before he caught his first glimpse of her. She was truly as beautiful as his client had said she was. So why had she run away?


About the Author  

Faith Blum started writing at an early age. She started even before she could read! She even thought she
could write better than Dr. Seuss. Now that she has grown up a little more, she knows she will probably never reach the success of Dr. Seuss, but that doesn’t stop her from trying.

When she isn’t writing, Faith enjoys doing many right-brained activities such as reading, crafting, playing piano, and playing games with her family. One of her dreams is to visit Castle City, Montana, someday to see the ghost town she chose for her characters to live in. She currently lives on a hobby farm with her family in Wisconsin.
There are many ways to connect with Faith online. All of them can be found in one convenient place: http://FaithBlum.com. On her website you can find links to her various social media sites and both of her blogs as well as learn about any events she has coming up. 

Excerpt/Interview/Review



Giveaway



Faith’s sister, Naomi, graciously hand painted two beautiful bookmarks for this giveaway. There will be one lucky winner. The bookmarks are made with Adelaide in mind. Aren’t they gorgeous?


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule  


August 26
BookishOrchestrations-Tour Introduction

August 27
Blue-Brown Books-Author Interview

August 29

August 30

August 31

September 1
Writings, Ramblings, and Reflections-Character Interview (Adelaide)

September 2
Bookish Orchestrations-Tour Conclusion and Winner

Wednesday 24 August 2016

The We The People Problem

How does a real American live in a city like Seattle, Washington? That is the question I have to answer because I do. I live in a super liberal city where the percentage of people voting is pitifully small. The Mayor was elected with a paltry 30% of eligible voters doing so and just barely won, meaning he was elected by 15% of the population back in 2013.


Fast forward today and you have the Seattle Police Officers' Guild, which is the largest union, holding secret negotiations with Seattle police and when The Stranger managed to get hold of parts of it the Mayor then decided to get the FBI involved.

Here in Seattle, there is no Tea Party, no Militia in the entire state, no Constitution Party presence in the county and to top it off the Council made it clear, the People would not get a vote on whether to build the most expensive police precinct in the country despite huge backlash and objection from the public. 

I believe the police should be accountable to the public and we should make every effort to lawfully make them do so. However the big conundrum is this: How does one do so when there are so few right-wingers? 

Enter one of the most controversial groups in the nation today. Black Lives Matter. Now before you throw up and block me, i'm not a supporter of them. I believe the focus is wrong and should be on accountability instead of one ethnic group. However let's be real, the media is super biased. The left adores BLM and the right hates them and both sides love sensationalism. Let me give you a dose of reality from a local perspective. I've filmed two protests and not once was I harassed for it either by the police or the protesters. The local leader is a white man and neither protest had a single arrest that I am aware of. What I am saying is our public servants need accountability and these guys are peacefully protesting. The same can be said for the other groups which are almost totally leftwing. And yet there are many people in Facebook groups that are pro-2A and certainly support the Second Amendment. Can they be used to change things and make Seattle more accountable? I do believe they can. It's confusing because normally the left loves government control but I have found a Libertarian like me can survive quite well in person and on social networks and do so without compromising Constitutional beliefs. 

I intend to also get involved with the Constitution Party and be the voice in King County as there is nobody else to do it. And yes that does mean I am voting for Darrell Castle.  I refuse to vote for the lesser of two evils. That is why we have Trump and Hillary running. Two terrible people who will both destroy America as much as Obama has.
 

Wednesday 17 August 2016

In which I visit the Parents in Ohio

I started writing this in the motel room in Mentor Ohio and only just published.  I'm so behind it's unreal. It's been a flying visit in every sense of the word. I flew out Friday night and landed in Cleveland Hopkins Airport around 6AM Saturday. The adventure started when my 10PM flight from Seattle was delayed due to a computer crash. It was only an hour delay but it was long enough I was about to start on strong coffee and energy drinks and settle down for a long wait.

The Flight and Arrival

The flight was mostly uneventful apart from some turbulence on the approach to Cleveland but nothing severe. I had decided to take Frontier Airlines and it was budget in every sense of the word. I had to pay for my checked bag and there was no in-seat power or even a USB port and no Wi-Fi. The table on the back of the seat wasn't even big enough for the laptop, which I had to put on my lap, which I suppose is what it's meant for. Arriving, Dad got lost and took 3 hours to make the 45-60
The Family together again
minute drive out there. I couldn't complain though as I was going to spend $50 on taking Lyft out there. I arrived at the house and finally saw the rest of them. There were hugs all round of course. Joanna and I engaged in our typical stimulating conversation as she would put it and Peter and I did a bit of geeking out. I showed him the horrific job my phone camera did of filming while walking around.

Sunday
Grace Church of Mentor from 2002
Grace Church of Mentor has gone through a HUGE change over the years. From having maybe 30 in 1979, it now has well over 400 people and the building has undergone massive upgrades from the time I saw it last in 2001. I only saw a few people, which was highly disappointing but of those I did see, everyone was older and bigger of course. I was semi prepared as I had seen Facebook pics but it's that much crazier in person.

Monday

I arrive back at Cleveland to find there was an hour long delay for the flight back so did the only logical thing and went for Chic-Fil-A. It was a good trip and one I hope to repeat over Christmas






Joanna and I <3
Peter and I







Monday 1 August 2016

Just as I Am Book Review



Faith Blum's newest novella is available! This one is double trouble! Not only is it about twins, but these twins have reckless and adventurous spirits. When they go against their family, they run into more trouble than they bargained for.

About the Book

Just as I am, without one plea
But that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidst me come to Thee
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.


Eve and Evangeline Collins are adventurous twins who decide to take a risk and head west as mail order brides. Their parents are less than pleased, but do nothing to stop them. Eve and Eva don’t realize their danger until they stop just outside Cheyenne. Will they ever see their family again? 

Friday 8 July 2016

First thoughts - Dallas shootings

We've had fun here so far. But this is where it ends for now. The time is not for fun but time to seriously think and come to terms with the nights events. Wednesday evening in a small suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, Philando Castile was pulled over for a broken tail-light. He informed the officer he had a conceal permit and a weapon and the officer was clearly distressed at the news. He then asked Castile for his drivers license and then fired at him right as he was complying. Media as of yet has not reported any criminal convictions or even suspicions of crimes, other than the minor infraction of a broken tail-light.

Tonight (7/7/15) a vicious and violent protest erupted in Dallas with 5 officers killed and 11 injured. Members of the public became vigilantes and behaved like the mafia, executing officers that were totally not involved in the murder of Castile and there was no evidence there was any crime committed by those officers at all.
  
I am a Patriot, I am a Libertarian and I am also a Christian and I can tell you I totally and utterly oppose this senseless behavior. Was an innocent black man murdered? By all accounts I can see, yes he was. But why would anyone protest criminal behavior by cops by committing murder themselves? This is why I am totally opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement because they behave like gang members, do not believe in due process and have even suggested that cops and whites should be killed.

What should we do? Well as a Christian I think firstly we should pray for our nation. Secondly as we are Constitutionally classed as Militia we should force our public servants to be accountable in the most peaceful and lawful way possible while still standing up for our rights under the Constitution. There is a huge difference between peaceful protests and shooting someone because they are a cop and exacting retribution like the mob. I am absolutely not anti-cop but I am pro-liberty and will support and protect any officer who defends that or is senselessly attacked. I suggest we all hold our police force accountable by Copblocking (recording encounters with them and of protests) and if we must resist, do so with the minimum force necessary to protect and defend ourselves from a violation of our rights. And lets not forget, there are good cops out there. I spoke to an officer who sounded almost like an Oathkeeper right here in the super liberal city of Seattle. I'll finish with these links.


North Port officers celebrate birthday of boy with autism after no one responds to invites


Kind-hearted police officers cleaned house of disabled woman who had been trapped in home for days  
 


Wednesday 29 June 2016

Just a Closer Walk Book Review

I've never done a blog tour before but I certainly know the author who is credited with getting this sci-fi nut into historical fiction and quite enjoying it. I had already read several of Faith Blum's books so I was eager to get into this one

If you have read any mail order bride stories, you've probably noticed that even though the bride and groom never met each other, they are both genuinely good people. It's a rare story that has a scam or a truly bad person either write or respond to the mail order bride advertisement. Faith Blum took that rare theme and wrote three novellas about five young ladies duped into becoming mail order brides only to find out the men they were supposed to marry weren't what they had appeared in the letters. The first of those novellas just released on June 26th and Faith is here today to share a little about it.

About the Book

Just a Closer Walk_FrontI am weak, but Thou art strong/Jesus, keep me from all wrong/I’ll be satisfied as long/As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Katie and Joanna meet on a train headed to Cheyenne, Wyoming. They start talking and find out they are both headed there to become mail order brides. They quickly become good friends. When they get on a stagecoach with three other young women, Katie becomes suspicious. What is going to happen to them? Or is it really possible that nothing untoward is happening?