Monday, December 20, 2010

New Book

Well sorry about not blogging you to death. Computer problems and there not fixed yet. But we are working on it. So I'll be here but not as quickly as I'd like to be.

Memphis Connection; The cover has been approved and it should be on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other places later today or sometime before Christmas. So for the last minute Christmas present....

The story introduces Marshall Jenkins, a detective in a small southwestern Tennessee town. His wife was recently killed in an attempt on his life and Marshall is working through the loss and guilt of that. Then a double murder forces him back to work. He has a family and a prosecutor ready to hang the ex-husband but Marshall feels he didn't do it. Now he has to prove innocence while finding out who really did it. When the FBI shows up Marshall realizes there is more to this than meets the eye.

And now for something completely different;

A friend of mine had an entry on facebook about a Christmas song she couldn't stand to listen to. Now, I've already gave you some idea about how much I love this time of year, not much, but I am getting better. But her FB Entry reminded me of something that happened to me years ago.

At one time in our life my wife and I had a radio alarm clock that woke us to music every morning. So six days of the week we woke to country music (yeah, it was her favorite so...) but on Sunday we awoke to 'gospel' music. One Sunday before Christmas I woke up to this horrible song called 'Take the X out of Christmas'. It was about how everybody during the holiday season was drunk; running around at office parties trying to have sex with each other, and a myriad of horrible things Christians should have nothing to do with. Well, that’s all true; but I have a couple problems with the song (other than the fact it was filled with instrumental music; but that's another matter as well) it made it sound like if you were not some down in the dumps, can't enjoy life, only thing you can do is go to church, then you couldn't be a good Christian. It was a depressing song.
At the same time Pinkard and Bowden had a song out called, 'Let's Put the X back in Christmas' this was an up tempo song full of life and enjoyable with a very catchy tune (if you can get past or ignore the subject matter). But the contrast and difference was obvious.

Yes, as Christians we are to be above the norm, chase, and a good example. But are we to be so solemn we can only work in a funeral home? If I'd been a non-Christian and heard these two songs; guess what? You'd be hard pressed to get me in a church that had that song playing in it. Christians that think they cannot enjoy life that every moment should be spent in study, teaching, reflection, and in a solemn life and live like it also probably shake their head and wonder why they are not getting anyone to join the church. I'm not saying suspend GOD's word and law so we can grow the church but can't we at least be civil to our fellow man? My point is this, life is hard, no matter how you want to live it, why should we make it extra hard by making believe God doesn't want us to enjoy life here working in His kingdom? Do you really think Jesus and the apostles traveled with their heads down and never cracked a smile?

So much for that; I guess you just got a peak into some of my attitudes about the Church.

But I did see something really remarkable Sunday. The preacher at the congregation we attend preaches, like many do now days, with notes from a Power-point presentation. Well Sunday he realized about a third of the way into the sermon he had the flashdrive with last Sunday's sermon on it. He had that, as he put it, preacher nightmare moment. He couldn't find it anywhere so he just shut his laptop off, picked up his Bible, and walked out and picked up and preached a great sermon on Christians being the support group for each other.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas although I hope I'll be on here later this week with another blog. Go buy a good book (hint-hint there) and enjoy family, friends, and your fellow Christians. Keep watching the blog for a chance to win a copy of the new book.

No comments:

Post a Comment