The Great Separation

Hal versus 2x4

Note to self - My head versus two-by-four is always a losing contest for me.

Particularly in the dead of night for a naturally clumsy person.

Just What is That Bride Wearing!

Scripture for the Week. - You know what I find particularly disturbing?

Christians willingly wrapped in death rags.

Death rags. Grave Clothes. Linens soaked with putrefied flesh.

When Christ raised Lazarus from the dead, He said,

"Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (John 11:44 NIV)

I've had occasion for the last week to be up late into the night. This past Saturday night I flipped on the television.

The local "Christian" television station came into focus and I had a problem. My eyes had trouble agreeing with my ears. It's probably a guy thing.

A "Christian Music Video" danced and strutted and crooned across the small TV screen. At first my eyes led me to believe I was somehow on a secular music video channel but when my brain doubled checked with my ears I recognized a "Christian" song from the radio.

The female singer was beautiful with her flashy earrings, wonderfully painted face, and skin tight jeans. She strutted her stuff as the worldly saying goes. It didn't help my male mind that the video was filmed with a seductive element I've typically only witnessed in secular music videos.

My eyes and ears just couldn't agree with that video and I finally realized why when my nose chimed in, it was the grave clothes.

This wonderfully talented woman with her Godly gift had somehow allowed herself to be clothed once again in the death rags from which Christ has released us through His death and resurrection.

A one time video I thought.

The video over, the screen flipped to some young Christian women discussing what true beauty was in a female. The quick conclusion was "inner beauty." I'm not going to argue with that, but it just didn't jibe with the music video I just witnessed.

And it didn't jibe with the next video, another song I recognized by ear but not by sight. I didn't ogle the entire video but I got enough to be reminded of the world's popular country songstress Ms. Twain with her slinky outfits, come-hither looks, and even more come-hither walk.

After coming back a few minutes later the next video wasn't quite as bad, though again there was this seductive quality to the filming of the video that troubled me.

The music of each of these female Christian artists is what I would consider pleasing works for the Lord, but why clothe the songs in the grave clothes? Why clothe those songs in worldly perishable garments? Why appeal to the flesh?

This is a particular problem I am witnessing more and more in the Christian entertainment world and it troubles me.

I'm not condemning these women. But I hope to remind that we are called to be separate from the world and I think the so called Christian entertainment industry has found it more attractive to be like the world when it comes to being seen.

Imperfect yet as I am, I too need to be reminded of that from time to time. Thankfully we Christians bow down before God the Father who's goal is redemption and restoration found only through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

And when Christ returns for His bride, let us not be found wearing the clothes in which we were buried.

The Great Separation continues.

Picture Perfect Friday.

I'm making these little guys for extra Christmas money.

Here's a two headed variety.

Overheard in Hal's Mind.

 

 

When dust bunnies attack would the proper defense be a sneeze?

 

 

This hand cream pumps out looking like tapeworm.

 

 

It's amazing what hides in Bushes.

Surprise! - I suppose if it were me I would have been wondering just what I might find in that Duffle bag in the bushes. My mind would have gone to all strange areas before unzipping it. That's because I've a terribly active imagination. It gets me into trouble more often than not. I have to admit that guns would have been one of the imaginations to pop into my cranium. Drugs, body parts, and jewels would've been other things to pop in, as well as rocks, kittens, and dirty socks.

Maitland Homeowner Finds Duffle Bag Full of Weapons in Bushes - News - WFTV.com | WFTV.

This story reminds me of the time I saw two thieves trying to retrieve a safe they threw into lake on the Church property. Then there was the time a neighbor and I busted two crack heads who were hiding equipment they stole from the Verizon truck fleet in the bushes next to the Church. Of the tens of thousands of dollars we saved Verizon you would think they would have at least said, "Thank you."

Free Post Card to the Soldiers Overseas.

What are you waiting for? - Wouldn't you like to send a free "Thank You" post card to our soldiers overseas?

Go to this Xerox sponsored site - Let's Say Thanks - and do so.

[Hat tip to my bro, Phil, and ISN News]

Picture Perfect Friday

Wish it were warm enough for Rainbow River today.

Hmm.

I think I needed a shave that day.

Overheard In Hal's Mind.

 

 

"Where did I leave my bag of fireflies?"

 

 

ACM Book Review: Before I Wake by Dee Henderson.

Fine Fiction. - I am a reviewer for Active Christian Media (ACM)and today it's my privilege to do a review of Dee Henderson's novel Before I Wake, published by Tyndale.

But before I launch into that, if you are a blogger and interested in getting media from books to music to videos of a Christian nature to review let me point you to ACM where you can sign up to be a reviewer. There is a one time fee that Stacy is using to weed out those people not serious about reviewing.

Now on to Before I Wake.

It is a pleasant thing to know that Christian Fiction is ripening and that the sickly vine of tasteless and artless fruit is disappearing.

Sure there's still stuff out there that lacks good plotting, real characters, and skillful control of the English language, but that kind of fiction is becoming less.

Bad Christian fiction is disappearing because we have good writers like Dee Henderson producing Quality Christian Fiction.

Before I Wake is a quality piece of Christian fiction; well crafted, well plotted, and a novel that I enjoyed reading. It is my first time reading a Dee Henderson novel.

Perhaps, the best thing about well crafted books is characters. Why? Because characters keep us reading. We want to know what so-and-so will do now faced with this predicament or even better faced with what another character did or said.

Dee Henderson introduces us to three such characters. These characters kept me reading: Sheriff Nathan Justice (gotta love that name), a single Godly man trying to keep his town from tearing itself apart; Rae Gabriella, a former FBI undercover agent with a past that haunts her; and Bruce Chapel, a former undercover narcotics cop now a private detective and man relying upon Christ to guide him.

Put these three characters in a small Illinois town named, Justice, - and yes there is a link between the Sheriff and the town - throw in a union workers' strike at the town's main source of income, a tile plant, and a series of unexplained murders and you've got yourself some interesting situations for the characters and how they react as Christians. One of the things that make the characters so believable is back story which we are given glimpses of throughout the novel. I get the feeling that these characters have a well rounded history that guides their actions through this novel.

There is a mystery as well. A mystery of how, who, and why someone is killing young women in this small down. Ms. Henderson kept me trying to figure it out.

As a writer myself, I enjoyed reading this novel because of Ms. Henderson's command of the writing craft. It is a well written novel with words that take form in one's imagination. One thing that caught my attention was that she never used the word, "because." In it's place she used the word, "for." I am curious as to the reason for this choice. It may be a stylistic choice. Grammatically it works, but there were occasional times where it tripped my reading, causing a mental itch for me.

I am left wanting. Wanting to know more about the futures of Rae, Bruce, and particularly Nathan (perhaps because I found myself identifying in some way with him). This is a good thing. It means these people became alive for me. Being that Ms. Henderson has written series fiction I can't help but feel that there could be more on the horizon for these characters. She wrote the O'Mally series and the Uncommon Heroes series. So far Dee Henderson has written fourteen best sellers.

Overall I was entertained. On of a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest) I give Before I Wake a 3 for a well crafted novel that kept me reading. I do recommend it.

Oh, yeah. For those of you who don't know, I am Hal Paxton. I sport a degree in Creative Writing. I'm the dude behind this Weblog, The Great Separation. And I'm working on my first novel, Sins of Our Fathers. A story about a pastor who must confront his bitterness with God before he can stop the serial murderer in his church and save the woman he's discovered he loves.

Mired in Mud. Mired in Sin. What Good Possible? Continued.

Scripture for the Week. - This post is the third post in a three post series. Here are links to post one and post two.

So it's because of God's love for us, His creations, that He doesn't just eliminate us right from the universe. It is for that love that He sent Christ to redeem us.

But thanks be to God the Father that He doesn't stop there.

I live in Florida and recently a friend mentioned to me the incredible little tidbit that wood milling companies were making large sums of money from a source I never would have imagined.

During the 1800's, Florida had vast forests of old growth trees. Like other areas where logging took place in the country, such as Wisconsin, rivers and lakes were used to transport logs to mills. Along the way many of the much heavier logs would sink to the bottom of the lakes and rivers.

Those logs would stay there for more than one hundred years in the mud. Then someone would come along and pull them out of that mire at the bottom of the rivers and lakes.

Though the outside of those lost logs looked rotten, properly milled the inside would produce a material of highly prized beauty.

How much like those lost logs are we in the hands of our loving God?

We come to him, broken, rotten, and filthy and He sees the inner beauty. Our God has this most amazing ability to take something meant for evil, to take something broken by sin, and not only redeem it but bring good out of it.

“And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, [even] to them that are called according to [his] purpose.” (Ro 8:28 ASV)

The Father mills us like the potter works the clay.

“Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” (Isa 64:8 NIV)

Though the processes may be painful at times, we must learn to trust His wisdom and skill at bringing out of us the best of what He knows is buried under the mire that still clings to our mortal flesh. It is a life long process, but the end result is someone marvelous and singularly special to the Creator of the everything; someone with a purpose no one else can meet.

I look forward to the day when our joy will be complete and we all stand before the throne perfected in Christ praising our heavenly Father for the works of His hands.

The Great Separation continues.