Friday, August 28, 2009

OUR FAVORITE GUEST BLOGGER - NIKKI HAHN!


THE TWITTER POOL

BY NIKKI HAHN



Twittering is the latest hot thing with editors, agents, and writers. I know because I am all ready diving head first into this new fad. There are rocks at the bottom of this twitter pool. Spam and porn jut from the bottom ready to catch your head on its surface. The water is cool and inviting and undeniably full of fish. Michael Hyatt, the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, wrote a blog about twittering. He says it is an opportunity as a leader to influence. I believe it is another way to shed Christ's light onto a dark world.
In this twitter pool, we are fishers of men. Christ called us to catch each one in His net of Salvation. Now in this twitter pool there are all sorts of fish; lonely fish who are crying for comfort; loud fish who are crying to be crying; some fish named Shelley Ryan that won't take no for an answer; disciple fish who are working to lead believers to lead others to Christ; strong fish and knowledgeable fish for the rest of us fish to drink from their vat of knowledge. It brings on the question of purpose.
Why do we write? Why do we live each day? Why do we wake up in the morning and do the same things every week?
If you cannot answer the above questions, it is time to reevaluate your life. This means you either do not have Christ as your personal Savior, or you have yet to discover His peace and purpose for you. Yes, you are just another fish in the great big twitter pool; part of the cry of many anonymous voices over a dark internet sky, but you are loved by Him. After all, His walk to the cross, His shed blood, was not done without purpose. He lived His life here on earth with purpose. He walked with purpose. He talked with purpose. Not a single word was said in vain. How many of us can say we do this every day?
Everyday we stare at the screen of our latest genius creation and next to the computer is a letter from an editor who says she wants us to cut out this or that from the story; she also wants us to bring down the word count. Yikes! Now this is difficult, but in literary fiction every word is used with a purpose. There are no frivolous little phrases flitting around in our fictional universe. Likewise, our lives have a word count way too high for the great Editor in the sky. We have to cut pride, immorality, temptation, hate, dislike, jealousy, and above all we have to honor our promises.
Terri Blackstock has an excellent book called, “Word of Honor.” It made me see Covenant as I had not seen it before and it made me remember the empty promises I made in the heat of the moment. My marriage to Tony is a Covenant marriage. This means I cannot simply divorce him unless he beats me or he commits adultery. This means it is a long complicated process to get out of my Covenant marriage by Arizona law.
Our promise to each other was made in front of God and witnesses that I would love and cherish my husband til death do us part through sickness and health. He promised the same thing. We have to honor each other. It's not hard to honor each other because we swore at the very beginning to put Christ first in our marriage. Our marriage is a trinity—Christ, us. There is no “i” in our marriage. There is only “we.”We cut away empty promises and we remember where we came from in order to recall no man or woman is beneath us. We think of the words and sentences we say and think about how they may impact someone else that day. We think of our actions every day.
This counts in Twitter, too. There are real people behind that Twitter facade with real hurts, real problems, real blessings, and real purpose. Twittering is more than just networking—twittering is a gateway to bring Christ's light into the human world.
The twitter pool is vast. I cannot see the shore anymore. I swim alongside other fish, learn from their experiences, share my own, and try to connect with other believers. I believe in bringing together the Christian world and throwing aside the false assumptions people make about Christians. We preach Christ crucified and His blood. We preach God's Word in whole, not talk only about the parts that are pleasant, but speak about His justice, His love, and His desire for us to grow in Him. We hate sin in ourselves first and in others, but we love the sinner. Our marriages are only as strong as our faith and devotion in Christ.
So why do you write? Why do you twitter? Why do you swim amongst us? Stoke the fire of your dreams throughout your life and do not let cynicisms diminish your fire or passion. One day the coals of your fire may burn bright and you may reap the benefits of your dreams. If your dreams do not turn into a raging fire, at the very least, you will grow old, grow in God, and you will look back with no regrets because you chose to live life in spite of its valleys and peaks. You chose to find joy there in spite of its heartaches. Someday, I will be in my Savior's arms and I long to hear Him say, well done good and faithful servant.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

HAS CHRIST TAKEN ROOT IN YOUR LIFE?


Usige Ban Falls is an amazing part of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada (click here and watch the video). What is even more "WOW" are the many trees whose roots are all over the glacial rock that covers the landscape! Cape Breton is an island off the northeastern part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and home to a number of my old college friends (this photo was taken by my friend and fellow Acadia University alumnus - Lauri Ravenello Taylor...Lauri is a Christian and Economic Development officer for the Cape Breton local government. She is also project manager for the Christian Festival - ALIVE ON THE ISLAND). It is over 1000 miles north east of New York City!! So this is north, baby! Way north!

Scattered all over the park and its tremendous hiking trails are amazing trees like this with forms only God could design.....all with roots above ground!! This brings the Parable of the Sower to mind...which was my first reaction at seeing this:

Jesus said in Mark 4: 3-6 (NLT) “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died!"

The seed on the rock grew.....just like these trees, but more is expected from us than these amazing trees! We are His masterpiece! Christianity is 100 miles wide and less than a half inch deep in America and most of the western world. Most of it was planted on rocky landscape with no hope of taking root, as self-deception abounds.

As the Day of the Lord draws even closer, by each fleeting breath, now is the time for each one of us, to reexamine ourselves. The Apostle Paul preaches in a direct command from the Lord Jesus - "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you ; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith (2 Corinthians 13: 5 NLT).

This is the ONLY and best way for us to not only enjoy this wonderful creation and beauty of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia here in this lifetime, but to ensure we spend eternity with its Creator - forever and ever, Amen!!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

THE FEDERALIST PAPERS OF CHRISTIANITY!

A most amazing find in a christian bookstore has me basking in the riches of His Grace! A few weeks ago, I purchased "THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS", a Moody Publishers' classic which is a compilation of the letters of the main "Apostolic Fathers", or the patriarchs of the modern Christian church.

PolycarpThis book is a veritable feast of what not only reads like Scripture but is direct revelation from God to men of God like Ignatius of Antioch; Clement of Rome and the great Polycarp of Smyrna! Polycarp (left) was the link to the actual Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. He lived from AD 69 and was a contemporary of the aging Disciple John. It is recorded that he may have been somewhat mentored by the Gospel writer and it reflects in his letters.

Polycarp was martyred by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius for refusing to burn incense to the pagan emperor. While some books and internet sites give glancing accounts of the biggest execution since Peter was crucified upside down, the actual letter account is stunning!

What these awe-filled letters provide is the flavor and color of the churches left behind by Apostle Paul, John and others from the Jerusalem church in the well known gentile areas of Antioch (where we were first called Christians); Corinth and Ephesus. The very same struggles and problems Paul had to deal with in 1 and 2 Corinthians etc....Clement had to address!

What a treasure! Just as the Federalist papers gave the background and character to the US constitution, "The Apostolic Fathers" accompanies the Sacred Scriptures like a first cousin. Take a look at it here, research it and purchase it....it may take you a while to read, but like the Bible, you won't be able to put it down!

(photo: courtesy Google Images)

Sunday, August 9, 2009

GUEST BLOGGER - PRO LIFE AUTHOR DARIA DIGIOVANNI

My dear sister in Christ, author and media consultant Daria DiGiovanni's testimony of an encounter with a friend on the issue of abortion. Daria, a resident of Fort Lauderdale, Fl., of course defended the PRO-LIFE side of the heated discussion.
CLICK HERE TO READ DARIA's ENTIRE BLOG AND THEN WATCH THIS VIDEO AT THE TOP OF HER BLOG PAGE....AND SEE IF THOSE WHO ARE PRO-ABORTION HAVE A CASE..NOTHING!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr_ze3Bd8-0