The last 3 1/2 yers have been something I never could have imagined growing up. Neither could any who have known me. I have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, which is a mild form of autism, and one of the aspects that came with it was a strong lack of reading comprehension. I could tell you exactly what was on what page, but no clue about context, why, or what was going on. One example was insisting a goose was in a story when the character had goose bumps. No clue. It wasn't until I was 12, when I began to start connecting the dots and reading comprehension began to take place.
God has pulled me out of nowhere into somewhere since then. Almost 4 years ago, a friend suggested I try writing after I helped him critique his novel and I gave it ago. After writing a medieval action thriller to try it out, I discovered I had something going. God told me to work on a spiritual warfare novel, which was my main goal when this took off and that began in April 2007. After a series of drafts, getting feedback from several friends, I began to explore the possibility of publishing.
I found a Christian critiquing service, Writer's Edge Service, that acts as a pre-scanner for a multitue of publishers. In October 2008, I tried them out. They said I wasn't ready yet, gave me excellent feedback, and I went through two more drafts (really more like editing phases) and in July 2009, I resubmitted to them. They absolutely loved it and sent my listing off to 100 different publishers.
I first heard from American Christian Writers, Virtue Ministries, Inc, and WinePress, all self-publishers. They wanted me to pay them to release my book. God told me to wait and in March 2009, I got a chance to go to a Christian Writer's Conference, where I got a 15-minute consultation with one of the speakers. She told me I was ready for a big publisher and recommended Marcher Lord Press who specialized in Christian speculative fiction. They had a massive backlog of submissions, so I have been waiting since to hear from them. But something happened a month ago I never expected: contact initiated by Lighthouse Christian Publishing.
They wanted to look at my book, so I submitted it to them after a final phase of editing and just this past week, I got a response. They offered a contract. After nearly a week of prayer, asking God for a legitimate reason not to accept it and I never got one. So I am submitted the contract in the next day or two and my book will be on the way to final editing and releasal. I will post the release date when that become more clear but it will be a short time before you can start to look for Battle Cry: Adventures in the Kingdom of Heaven to be available for sale.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
A Follower of Jesus Christ
I listened to another really great sermon from my pastor at Restoration Fellowship. As is his custom, my pastor knows where he is going to start, but being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, he has no idea where he will end. Yesterday, he started in a continuance of his series on the church, but he moved onto being able to listen to God and then to an emphasis on the difference between merely believing Jesus is God but declaring him as Lord. And God gave me a new light on a passage that many people struggle with.
In one of his most difficult sermons, Jesus tells his follows they must give up everything to follow him. One asked to let him bury his father. Another asked to let him say good-bye to his family. Jesus was harsh and told them not to do that and follow him. He went as far as saying that unless you HATE you mother, brother, sisters, friends, etc, you cannot be his disciple. Many people interpret that as loving Jesus more than them. But God showed me something that might put this in perspective.
God has taught me so much about spiritual warfare and I wonder if Jesus had a spiritual perspective when he told his followers that sermon. In Revelation, we know God wants us hot or cold. He doesn't want us lukewarm. To put it simply, you cannot be a fence-sitter with Jesus. The truth is, you have to be 100% with Jesus, or in God's eyes, you are 100% against him. Trying to live half your life with Jesus and half your life on your own is not going 50-50 or any other percentage. God says he'd rather you be in complete and total rebellion than trying to meet 'halfway'. So to be a Christian, it is a total commitment.
Also, Romans 10:9 says if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you will be saved. Many people just want to be believe in thier heart. But they don't want to make Jesus the Lord of thier life. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says that no one who lives by the Spirit can curse Jesus. It then says that unless you are living by the Spirit, you cannnot declare Jesus to be Lord. We know that when we become Christians we receive the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to deny Christ. At the same time, unless you have the Holy Spirit, you cannot make Jesus Lord of your life. You also cannot declare it.
And this brings me to the point I learned yesterday. When you become a Christian, in a spiritual context, you change alliances. You were once allied with your father, the Devil, but now you are allied with your Father, the Lord God. Now when Jesus was saying we must hate those who we consider family, he was saying we must consider them as an enemy. In America in the Christian home, this is not easily seen. But in the non-Christian home or in places like China or the Middle East, this is a very real issue. There are many stories where a person in a Muslim home becomes a Christian and in an instant the family memebers become enemies. Jesus said he would turn father upon son, mother against daughter, brother against brother, and this is what he was talking about. Any family member or close friend who is not a Christian is allied with the ultimate villain in Satan.
This is also why Jesus taught us not to yolk ourselves with someone that doesn't follow him. Why do marriages where one is a Christian and the other is not end up being so difficult? Because they are, in the spirit, enemies of each other. Marriage between enemies doesn't necessarily bring peace as it does in some cultures. Only God can do that. By marrying an unbeliever, you are bringing a double agent into your home. They will seek an opportunity to destroy you, even if the spouse doesn't intend to. As a non-Christian, the spouse is likely an unaware agent of the devil and will lead you astray or worse. That is what happened to Solomon. Don't use marriage as a witness opportunity. It doesn't work that easily.
But Jesus also taught us how to treat our enemies. If we have a family member that is not a Christian, it is our responsibility to witness to them and pray that God will bring them over to our side. Only God can change them, but he often will not act until we do. Not that he can't, but he chooses to act through us. Any family member who is a Christian however is not to be considered an enemy, but as an ally. It's a lot to think about, but a lot of meat.
In one of his most difficult sermons, Jesus tells his follows they must give up everything to follow him. One asked to let him bury his father. Another asked to let him say good-bye to his family. Jesus was harsh and told them not to do that and follow him. He went as far as saying that unless you HATE you mother, brother, sisters, friends, etc, you cannot be his disciple. Many people interpret that as loving Jesus more than them. But God showed me something that might put this in perspective.
God has taught me so much about spiritual warfare and I wonder if Jesus had a spiritual perspective when he told his followers that sermon. In Revelation, we know God wants us hot or cold. He doesn't want us lukewarm. To put it simply, you cannot be a fence-sitter with Jesus. The truth is, you have to be 100% with Jesus, or in God's eyes, you are 100% against him. Trying to live half your life with Jesus and half your life on your own is not going 50-50 or any other percentage. God says he'd rather you be in complete and total rebellion than trying to meet 'halfway'. So to be a Christian, it is a total commitment.
Also, Romans 10:9 says if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you will be saved. Many people just want to be believe in thier heart. But they don't want to make Jesus the Lord of thier life. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says that no one who lives by the Spirit can curse Jesus. It then says that unless you are living by the Spirit, you cannnot declare Jesus to be Lord. We know that when we become Christians we receive the Holy Spirit. If you have the Holy Spirit, you will not be able to deny Christ. At the same time, unless you have the Holy Spirit, you cannot make Jesus Lord of your life. You also cannot declare it.
And this brings me to the point I learned yesterday. When you become a Christian, in a spiritual context, you change alliances. You were once allied with your father, the Devil, but now you are allied with your Father, the Lord God. Now when Jesus was saying we must hate those who we consider family, he was saying we must consider them as an enemy. In America in the Christian home, this is not easily seen. But in the non-Christian home or in places like China or the Middle East, this is a very real issue. There are many stories where a person in a Muslim home becomes a Christian and in an instant the family memebers become enemies. Jesus said he would turn father upon son, mother against daughter, brother against brother, and this is what he was talking about. Any family member or close friend who is not a Christian is allied with the ultimate villain in Satan.
This is also why Jesus taught us not to yolk ourselves with someone that doesn't follow him. Why do marriages where one is a Christian and the other is not end up being so difficult? Because they are, in the spirit, enemies of each other. Marriage between enemies doesn't necessarily bring peace as it does in some cultures. Only God can do that. By marrying an unbeliever, you are bringing a double agent into your home. They will seek an opportunity to destroy you, even if the spouse doesn't intend to. As a non-Christian, the spouse is likely an unaware agent of the devil and will lead you astray or worse. That is what happened to Solomon. Don't use marriage as a witness opportunity. It doesn't work that easily.
But Jesus also taught us how to treat our enemies. If we have a family member that is not a Christian, it is our responsibility to witness to them and pray that God will bring them over to our side. Only God can change them, but he often will not act until we do. Not that he can't, but he chooses to act through us. Any family member who is a Christian however is not to be considered an enemy, but as an ally. It's a lot to think about, but a lot of meat.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
The Competitive Side of Fencing
The sport of fencing began to take form when firearms entered the battlefield. Back then, sword fighting was simply a war tool. Whoever made the other bleed first won. But with firearms, the sword ceased to be used primarily for war, but as a symbol for officers. It was only used in close range combat when reloading the firearms would take too much time. Over time, the sword gradually became smaller from the two-handed broadsword to the single-handed rapier. At that point, the Italians and the French sword masters began to transform use of the sword from a war tool into an art form. This is when the standard lunge, parries, and others fencing actions took form. The weapons were blunted so students could be trained without shedding blood and it took the form of a sport. In 1896, fencing was one of the first 9 sports of the First Modern Olympiad. It has become a fast growing sport and in June of 1998, I discovered fencing as a sport.
My first competition took place in January 2000, and in the time since, I have gone up and down the ladder on placements. But since the Spring Semester 2010, I began to have a stronger emphasis on coaching and as a result, my skills have dramatically increased. Today, I had my first competition of the 2010-2011 season. I fencing in Foil then Epee for 8 hours. In foil, I was a very respectable 6th out of 12. But in Epee, in spite of exhaustion from the first event, I got hot. I seeded 6th going into the direction elimination round with a match against the #3 seed in the quarter-final round. I took an early lead I never lost and won 15-10. I lost in the semi-finals 15-9, but fought a fierce match for 3rd place. After falling behind 5-1, I rallied with 6 straight touches then traded hits all the way until I had a 14-12 lead. But my opponent slowly figured me out and rallied to beat me 15-14. I took 4th out of 12, a personal best in a local meet in 2 1/2 years.
It will be four weeks until my next tournament, when I have two in two weeks. One will be another local meet. Then the next week I will be going to Albuquerque New Mexico for a large regional tournament. The last time I traveled that direction, I took 3rd place in a small meet. But there is more down the road. My UTEP Fencing Team is strongly considering going to a Collegiate Recreational Sport Club Team Tournament in Chicago in April. This is a national tournament UTEP has been invited to. In January 2009, Albuquerque hosted a regional collegiate club tournament and my team took Gold as I won the deciding bout. One of my teammates from that meet will be coming with me, so we just need to find a viable third teammate and we will be ready to make a big run for this meet.
My first competition took place in January 2000, and in the time since, I have gone up and down the ladder on placements. But since the Spring Semester 2010, I began to have a stronger emphasis on coaching and as a result, my skills have dramatically increased. Today, I had my first competition of the 2010-2011 season. I fencing in Foil then Epee for 8 hours. In foil, I was a very respectable 6th out of 12. But in Epee, in spite of exhaustion from the first event, I got hot. I seeded 6th going into the direction elimination round with a match against the #3 seed in the quarter-final round. I took an early lead I never lost and won 15-10. I lost in the semi-finals 15-9, but fought a fierce match for 3rd place. After falling behind 5-1, I rallied with 6 straight touches then traded hits all the way until I had a 14-12 lead. But my opponent slowly figured me out and rallied to beat me 15-14. I took 4th out of 12, a personal best in a local meet in 2 1/2 years.
It will be four weeks until my next tournament, when I have two in two weeks. One will be another local meet. Then the next week I will be going to Albuquerque New Mexico for a large regional tournament. The last time I traveled that direction, I took 3rd place in a small meet. But there is more down the road. My UTEP Fencing Team is strongly considering going to a Collegiate Recreational Sport Club Team Tournament in Chicago in April. This is a national tournament UTEP has been invited to. In January 2009, Albuquerque hosted a regional collegiate club tournament and my team took Gold as I won the deciding bout. One of my teammates from that meet will be coming with me, so we just need to find a viable third teammate and we will be ready to make a big run for this meet.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Life as a Graduating Senior
It is just two weeks into my graduating senior year and God is moving. I have four classes that are keeping me busy: Operating System, Human Computer Interaction, Database Management, and Software Engineering. Based on the first two weeks, OS and DM appear to be my hardest classes. HCI is going to be a fun one, but work hasn't kicked in yet. Software is a two-semester class that is the equivalent of a senior project course. That class is a lot of fun so far but the work load is going to be very time intensive. But it doesn't appear to be hard-work, just lots of work. I am doing a lot to get ahead of things this weekend.
Intervarsity has launched with a great opening. We had 10 people show up for the first week and 12 show up today. And some didn't come that wanted to. So I expect this to be a great year.
And now I have my novel off my mind for the time being, allowing me to focus more solidly on my homework. I submitted my novel, Battle Cry: Adventures in the Kingdom of Heaven to Lighthouse Christian Publishing this evening. I won't expect a reply for 1-2 weeks (maybe tomorrow (Friday) just to acknowledge reception). It is all in God's hands now and we will soon see if I will be published soon.
God is so good and I love how when he blesses, he does not hold back. This is truly going to be my best year at UTEP.
Intervarsity has launched with a great opening. We had 10 people show up for the first week and 12 show up today. And some didn't come that wanted to. So I expect this to be a great year.
And now I have my novel off my mind for the time being, allowing me to focus more solidly on my homework. I submitted my novel, Battle Cry: Adventures in the Kingdom of Heaven to Lighthouse Christian Publishing this evening. I won't expect a reply for 1-2 weeks (maybe tomorrow (Friday) just to acknowledge reception). It is all in God's hands now and we will soon see if I will be published soon.
God is so good and I love how when he blesses, he does not hold back. This is truly going to be my best year at UTEP.
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