Tis the Season

Tis the Season for what?

Giving?

Getting?

Spending?

Really, since when does God tell you to run out and spend all your money (or your credit) on material things?

No, no, the Bible is very clear about debt. Jesus is very clear about giving.

This year, spend some extra time with your family. Put some extra thought into their gifts. There's nothing wrong with gift-giving, but don't go overboard. A thoughtful gift is far more appreciated than a pile of material goods that will be in the back of the closet before your car clears the driveway.

Spend some time sharing your Blessings with those less fortunate than yourself. A gift for a foster child, an afternoon helping down at the soup kitchen, a turkey donated to the local food bank, a monetary donation to your church or favorite charity -- all are fairly easy ways to give back to your community.

Tis the Season, but this year, let's take a minute and think -- What would Jesus have us do?

A Modern Take on the Good Samaritan

My friend, Paul, has published his first fiction book on Kindle! It's a modern twist of the story of the Good Samaritan. Check this out:

Samuel Rittenberg Tanner- or Sammy, for short- is a rarity in 1960’s Georgia. He’s a rich, semi-retired black man who is living in the outskirts of Atlanta. Sammy has battled racism and fought through it all with a smile, a song, and his natural charm. He’s ready for a road trip on his German motorcycle with a sidecar, but he can’t go it alone, so he invites his 17 year-old nephew, Alistair Graham Smith, to take him. Alistair’s lived all of his life in a poor Alabama sharecropper community. He’s never experienced an extravagant lifestyle like his Uncle Sammy has.

But what’s supposed to be an hour-long motorcycle ride into Atlanta turns into an all-night adventure. When Sammy and Alistair take an unplanned detour, they run into something completely unexpected: a half-dead, badly beaten white man curled up on the side of a dangerous road known as Red Pass. Will Sammy and Alistair avoid him for their own safety? Or will they stop and help when no one else would?

Welcome to “The Adventures of Sammy and Alisatir:Sidecar”!

Written by new Christian short story author Paul Caro, “Sidecar” explores the Good Samaritan parable and how it plays out with race relations just before the Civil Rights movement. “Sidecar” is the first in a series of books that explore biblical themes as translated into more modern times through Sam and Alistiar's lives.

Complete with humor, songs and cultural references from the era, “Sidecar” is sure to entertain and educate. If you grew up in these times, “Sidecar” is a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. Enjoy reading about Sammy and Alistair and how this detour emphasizes the importance of following God no matter the situation.

Buying “Sidecar” also gives you the opportunity to live out the lessons learned by Sammy and Alistair in this book. All proceeds from the first 100 copies sold and 10 percent of every copy after that will go to the homeless feeding ministry at First Christian Church in Suisun City, California.


Click here to go to the Amazon page.

(Pssst: I did the cover for Paul.)

Are You Waiting for the Lord?

Are you waiting for the Lord to speak to you about an important issue?

Are you waiting for a Word to tell you that it's time to get a job, move closer to family, marry your sweetheart, or step out in Faith?

Ummm, the Lord already told you all that, in the Word that He gave us all -- the Bible.

Don't tell my Pastor that you're waiting for a Word before you start your job search. He'll whip out his Bible and show you right there, on the page, the exact Word that you've been delaying your whole life, waiting for the Spirit to speak.

Nope, the Word has already spoken, you're holding up the Lord's ability to work on and with you. As long as you exercise your free will and choose to delay, then you choose to delay your Blessings.

TODAY is the day to step out in Faith and DO SOMETHING! Whether it's going out on a job search, calling your family, getting your marriage license, or just picking up cans next to the road so you can contribute to your household, you need to pray for guidance and then go do it.

Just do it. Something. Anything.

Just get up off your duff and do it.

The Lord will work some mighty works on you once you've taken that step in Faith.

But you have to CHOOSE to do something first and that's to follow the Word that's already right in front of you!

Listen to me -- just do it.

Finding a New Church

Now that I'm pretty much moved, except for a load still in storage, I need to find a new church.

It's not easy to find a new place to worship. This town is ok, but it's not really diverse and I'm used to going to probably THE most diverse church in Northern California.

We checked out one church. My daughter likes it. The people are friendly. The worship music, while not really our style, is good and heartfelt. It's not really diverse, but then again, this town isn't really that diverse either, so I can't expect too much in diversity at church.

There's just one problem with this church. I don't  like it.

Why? Well, you know, I went a couple of times and it was ok, although the sermon was kinda all over the place. However, in the midst of the last sermon, the pastor was preaching and all of a sudden, in the middle of the lesson, he said something (I'm paraphrasing here) about how churches all over the world are contacting conservatives here in the U.S. and begging for help.

Stop. What?

Wait, did I really hear that? Churches are contacting conservatives? Ummm, moderates and liberals don't go to church too? We don't support churches all over the world? We don't do missions, contribute our time and money? We aren't Believers?

And what the heck did that have to do with the lesson? Not a darn thing. Seriously, it was completely out of the blue.

I don't think I'm going back there again.

So, back to searching for a diverse, God-loving, moderate to liberal congregation where I can learn and grow in the Lord without being insulted.

Our Deepest Fear

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

~ from A Return to Love, by Marianne Williamson

Wow. Just wow!

A fellow writer posted this quote in our forum and it caught me.

How many of us hold ourselves back, as if we aren't worthy?

WHO says we aren't worthy? Is it that little whisper of inadequacy in the back of our minds, undercutting all that we do? Is it the world, intruding once again into God's Word, telling us that we can't be what we were intended to be, that we are only what the ignorant onlookers think we should be?

I say NO!.

Ms Williamson got it right. We are all children of God, an essential part of the Creation, and we need to bust out and let the Light within us shine.

Today, lay it all into the Lord's most capable hands, then go do that job, start that novel, write that poem, sing that song. Today is a new day unto the Lord -- and it's your job to go out and work it to the max!

So get busy with it already!