Another Section of Tales of Teague

After dinner was done and the kitchen was cleaned up, Ian finished the reading homework he had left, and then hurried down to the basement where Grandpa Bear was sure to be watching the World Series. Ian didn’t care too much for baseball, but Grandpa did, so he watched it too. That night the Cincinnati Reds won....they both looked at each other in disappointment. The Reds, in Grandpa’s stories, were always the bad guys—Grandpa was from Cleveland.

That night as Ian jumped in bed, Grandpa Bear decided he’d start a new story. This was big news because for the past year, his stories began sounding strangely familiar: There was a good guy, usually an Indian, and the bad guys, always the Reds; and after some intense battle, the Reds would all be killed and the good guy would win. Good story, but old. So Grandpa Bear got settled next to Ian and began weaving a tale that would have captivated Ian for hours....and it did, because he dreamed about it that night.

“Once upon a time,” began Grandpa, “in a land far, far away called Teague, there was a king. He was a good king, a powerful king, and a kind king. His name was King Byron. He ruled all the Land of Teague from its shore on Caspian Sea across the frosted mountains and beyond to the beautiful plains of Shiloh. He built a beautiful and breath-taking castle right on the edge of a cliff that overlooked some of the most fruitful and plenteous land ever created. His castle he named Haven, because he wanted it to be a restful and safe place away from the burdens and uncertainty of life. He built Haven Castle for his wife, Lady Tirsah. She was the most beautiful and most happy woman he’d ever seen. Her deep green eyes reminded him of the sea, the place he loved; and the tumbling locks of her rich brown hair reminded him of the wild beauty of a young colt. Her face was a portrait, each detail noticed and on purpose, yet added to the overall sense beauty. Her smile was a thousand blossoms of spring, and she was always smiling, so it was always springtime in the Land of Teague.

The Tales of Teague/Chapter 1

The Tales of Teague

Chapter 1

He didn’t have a choice. It was either now or never, and he didn’t see “never” working out so well. So the commander gave the order to his generals and the battle began. Snipers tucked away began to pick off the enemy Reds one by one while ground troops moved in to flank their army, unnoticed by their sleeping guards. The Reds outnumbered the Knights three to one, so a secretive, night attack held their only advantage. The Reds awoke to the violent thunderous roar of dozens of tanks battering their outer walls. The ground troops had by now successfully flanked them to the right and began the demolition mission: to kill everything that moved. The slumbering army of the Reds shook off their grogginess, rushed to grab their weapons, and head for the front lines. They’d left only a few dozen troops in the foxholes throughout the night, who, by now, were just trying to buy some time.

Commander Hampton, the commanding general of the Knights, thought to himself as he swiftly and stealthily moved his brigade behind enemy lines, “The Reds could have handily beaten the outnumbered Knights, but hadn’t anticipated an offensive attack. This was an epic battle. Whoever came out with the victory by morning would determine the fate of history. Would his Knights be able to pull it off? They had the advantage now, but could they stomp out the Reds before their full forces emerged from all corners of camp?” Only time knew...something they didn’t have much of.

“Ian! It’s time for dinner. Come inside and wash your filthy hands!”

His mom was leaning out of the back door on the porch, spoon in hand that was dripping with the chili she had just been stirring. Ian reluctantly got up, fixed one toy soldier, threw two more acorns into the sand box knocking over four or five more Reds, then brushed the sand off his corduroy pants. He’d worked hard on his set up this time. Every detail was perfect—the dug out sand bunkers, pennies used for the mine fields, acorns of course for bombs, and little twigs for barbed wire fencing around each commander’s headquarters.

Hang On

I'm working on something...don't worry...I haven't forgot about blogging. I'm having some technical difficulties. There will be a new post soon.

Take Time

Do you ever take the time to sit outside and enjoy nature? I'm talking about leaving everything aside but you and your Bible or a good book, and just go outside and be quiet? Do some reflecting, some worshipping, some praying, some dreaming, some observing....am I on another planet here? Because I'm sensing that none of you do--not on a regular basis anyway. Well I'm asking you to do that for yourself--daily. You have no idea how it revitalizes you, clears all the fogginess and cloudiness out of your head, and refreshens the soul. You never know how God might speak to you in that moment about Himself, about you, or about His creation. As one of my friends puts it: find a sanctuary where you get away and alone. For me, it's definitely outside. Whether you go on a walk, or just sit still--it really doesn't matter, just make the time for this. It will make all the difference in your day because your attitude about life is so much better. I think Americans get all too busy with things and stuff and schedules....life. Where's your down time? Where's your refocusing time? Believe me, you won't find a scheduled slot for it...you'll have to make some room for. No wonder people run around half crazy, so confused and unsatisfied with their lives. Their not taking any time to hear from God! No time to be still and know that He IS God. I challenge you to take your life back and make the time to find your sanctuary.

Why November is the Greatest Month

November is the greatest month of all in my opinion, and here are the reasons why:

1. The fall colors are brilliant. Leaves are everwhere. The air is fresh and crisp. The weather is gorgeous. November just puts you in that "warm and fuzzy" mood where you feel happy inside.

2. FOOTBALL! November is when things get interesting in football. Teams are in their final stretch of the schedule where it's usually "make it or break it" time. It's also time for three or four teams to emerge from the rest...other teams that are ranked too high usually get found out. Lots of points are scored, records are set, and upsets and underdogs shine.

3. Holidays are around the corner! November is usually full of anticipation and excitement for seeing family, vacations, good food, and lots of laughter. Energy is just kind of buzzing around, and everybody's catching this contagious bug for fun and light-hearted spirits. There's usually a tag football game in the park or around the corner in the street. The younger kids will be jumping into huge piles of leaves their dad just raked into a pile; then others will be cozied up to the fire, book in hand, lost in another world.

4. Thanksgiving! Ham, turkey, and all the trimmings just make my mouth water. All the aromas of pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, homemade mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, brocolli salad, and warm bread escape the busy kitchen and wander throughout the home. It's just time to forget about the rules and indulge a little bit. Appreciate the bountiful blessings of living in America!

Happy November to everyone!

Great Book!

I read one of the best books I've read in a while this week. It was Epic: The Story God is Telling by John Eldredge. I encourage you to read it. This book takes you out of your little world and describes the "big picture" from a view I never really thought about. It's only 100 or so pages, so it can be easily read in one sitting. If you've ever wondered what God really is up to, or what your place is in God's plan, this is an awesome book. Any book by John Eldrege is going to be good, but this one really did change my view on life. It just barely gives you the smallest glimpse of maybe what God is doing. It really is a love story.

I'm also excited about Friday Night Live. It's a new Bible study my college and career class started on Friday nights. It will be our second time to meet tonight and I'm looking forward to a great time. Tonight we're looking at being a servant from the life of Jesus.

Have you read a great book recently? Let me know...tell me a little bit about it.

Over the Hump

Midterms are over for me and I have a lot to be thankful for--all A's in all of my classes so far. God is good to me! I didn't know how my Physics/Chemistry class would go, but I got a 94 on that midterm; 94.5 on Sociology; 94 in Media Writing; and the rest: A's in Psychology, Communications, and Media Writing Lab.

So I'm over the hump and in the final stretch. Hopefully I can keep doing this well. Maybe they'll give me an academic scholarship...I could see that working out very nicely.

It's About To Be...

One of the best weekends of my life! Here's why:

1. Elisa comes home tomorrow night and I get to go pick here up from the airport!

2. Fall break begins wednesday!

3. All of thursday is Elisa time...topped off at Hudson's BBQ with the moms.

4. Friday we're going to the fair with bunches of friends!

5. Saturday we go to the mountains and the weather looks to be gorgeous!

6. Sunday she'll be with me and get to hear me sing in church with Paul L.

7. I get to take her back to the airport on Sunday afternoon. :''(

Sounds like a party to me! Lots of pictures to come soon! We're going to carve pumpkins, play football, tropical smoothie, run the dam, go on walks in the woods, stargaze...and other jim/elisa stuff. Can't wait!

Random Rants

1. Why are we spending millions of dollars to blow up the moon to find water up there, when our economy is in the tank, jobless rates are at an all time high, and we're losing two wars overseas? Seems like we'd want to...I don't know...maybe "play it safe" these days instead of "shootin' the moon."

2. Why did President Obama win a Nobel Peace Prize? What has he accomplished in his first year that would earn him that? Nothing! What has he accomplished in his first year, period? Nothing! (not that it's a bad thing...) Oh, wait, that's right...he's been traveling the world apologizing for America bullying people around, that must be it!

3. Why are just now debating our strategy in Afghanistan? Kinda late to be talking about taking a different focus, don't you think? "Well, only hundreds of dead soldiers later, we've decided we've had it all wrong the whole time..." And by the way, if the general says he needs more troops...give him troops...period.

4. Why all the hubub about getting the H1N1 vaccination? 90% of what's out there is the common, seasonal flu. Has it ever occurred to you that this "outbreak epidemic" of the pig flu has been entirely media created! And besides, the only time I got a flu shot I got really sick. Nope, not me, not doin' it.

5. Why are the South Carolina Gamecocks going to absolutely dominate Kentucky tomorrow on national TV? Because they're so rockin' awesome! GO COCKS! Have a great weekend, and watch the game!

The Ultimate Adventure

Sorry to disappoint you, but this blog is not what you think it is about...I haven't done something incredibly awesome that you're going to be sooo jealous of. In a way, I wish it was...maybe next week.

Honestly, this blog is about faith; specifically in God's will. I think one of the greatest misnomers in Christianity today is the propagation of the erroneous idea, "finding God's will for one's life." In case I've lost some of you already, "propagation" means "the spreading or advertising of something," and "erroneous" means "flawed, faulty, false." So we're talking about the spreading around of a false idea....good, now we're all on the same page.

It's really common for Christian people my age and younger to be wondering or concerned about finding the will of God for their lives. I think that this idea may be shaping our thinking in the wrong direction...I know it has for me. Do you realize that God's will is not up to you to find? It isn't! Before you start calling me heretical, let me explain my logic on this. I think a lot of us think of God's will as some buried treasure that we're all desperately searching for. We're using our college, our classes, our parent's opinion, and our natural talents as a sort of "treasure map" to lead us in the right direction. We are just hoping that one random day we will wake up and, "WOW....there it is! I've 'found' God's will!" Then we proceed to change ourselves in order to measure up to this manufactured idea of God's "perfect" will--another misnomer, but I'll save that for another day. This "treasure chest" idea is how I grew up thinking of God's will. Guess what? Doesn't work that way...bummer...maybe you've had it all wrong as I have in the past. But there's hope.

As I said in the previous paragraph, God's will is not up for you to find! Maybe this is a shocker to you, but just think about how that way of thinking paints God. If He knows (and He does) exactly what He would have us to be/do in life, why would he hide that from us? Why would He make it some elusive thing we spend half of our lives trying to "dig up?" That paints God as some tricky, elusive, secretive, crooked pirate! News flash: God's will is not something you have to worry about! Sometimes we just get overwhelmed by trying to figure out what we're supposed to do in life, but we don't need to. Do you think God is up there in Heaven nervously biting His nails thinking, "Oh no...I just don't know what I want Jim to do with his life...Oh, I'm so confused and overwhelmed right now! Oh dear, what was it I had him doing?" NO! He knows exactly, perfectly what He has in store for you. In fact, God's will is about 99% His responsibility!

Now that we've got that down, what's that 1% part that is up to us? Are you ready......? Faith. That's it. No worrying, no searching, no hidden treasures. Don't you feel relieved? I do. What we're commanded in Scripture to do is to first and foremost love God, then trust Him, then ask Him daily for wisdom to make right choices...the rest is up to Him. One of the most simple yet profound statements I've heard on the will of God was from Dr. Bill Rice. He said, "Do you want to know God's will for you life....brush your teeth." That was it. In other words, just do today what you know is right, because God knows we can't handle much else.

Do you want in on the adventure of a lifetime, an adventure wilder that your dreams could possibly imagine? Try faith. And by the way, it is an adventure of a lifetime because God's will is not a one time answer. It is a life-long process to be conformed to the image of His Son; it's a journey all about faith.

Jim's Newsflash

I'm loving my media writing class. We're writing radio scripts, tv scripts, and my favorite: commercials. Now, I find myself critiquing every commercial these days. I have to stop myself sometimes.

I miss Elisa very much.

The Gamecocks play tomorrow! I'm a huge fan of Garcia, DiMarco, and Moe Brown...anxious to see which running back will emerge as the best. Hopefully that will happen on Saturday since we should have a pretty effective running game.

Got up at 8:10 this morning and made it to Newberry at 8:50--record breaking time. I even took a shower, brushed my teeth, and fed my dog. Very impressive if you know me.

I'm loving this fall weather even though I know it will be short lived. Next week is back into the upper 80's.

I'm thankful my mom went to the grocery store last night...I needed milk badly. And I'm wondering what I must have eaten the last couple nights that has stimulated these crazy dreams that I've been having.

My sociology class and my psychology class have been cancelled today due to some kind of meeting. That's fine with me!

I'm going to run the dam this afternoon before work...it's my new favorite activity especially with the beautiful weather. Although, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go to the gym also since I haven't been yet this week...ooops.

I have my first paper of the semester to write this weekend...do I even know how to write still? It's been so long!

And that'll be all for today. Have a great weekend and GO GAMECOCKS!

So you think you can fake it?

Well I don't; neither does God.

I'm getting tired of those who claim to be believers, put on this fake spirituality junk. They sort of pick and choose what parts of the Bible and what parts of God they want to believe. I guess they're just trying to ease their conscience...I don't know. What I can tell you is that easing your conscience is no excuse for just being right/doing right to the best of your ability.

You ask these people what their deal is, and nine times out of ten they'll say something like, "Well, I'm sick of being a hypocrite and watching hypocrites in the church." That's funny, because I'm pretty sure you don't realize that you are being the bigger hypocrite! Being a Christian and pretending not to be, is a lot worse than being a Christian and trying to live like one.

Brainstorming

So we have a new trio group at church and we plan to go big; so we need a really modern, edgy-sounding name that will catch people's attention. Any ideas? Brainstorm with me...

It's a group of three guys...a tenor, lead, and baritone. We really don't sing much southern gospel, so nothing that sounds country or quartet(ish) will work.

Thanks your help in advance!

Encouragment

It's not always easy to transfer to a new college as a senior, but this was God's will for me, so I accepted it. I went there thinking that it would be no problem finding friends and meeting new people to hang out with...after all, this was a former student body officer at his previous college, and collegian president! Once again, God had a few things to teach me.

I drove home yesterday from classes feeling pretty discouraged about my experience there so far. I love my classes, that's not it, but I hadn't found one person going the same direction as me. Not that I felt nobody was worthy to be my friend, but I just hadn't found anyone I shared things in common with. See, Newberry is only a Christian college in name, not in practice. I was kind of shocked at all the profanity...I just didn't expect it...probably dumb of me...oh well.

Today ended differently though...in a good way. In Chemistry/Physics, I sit beside a guy name Gerrald who also happens to be my lab partner. He's the starting running back on the football team as well, meaning he is at Newberry for sports, not academics. The became very clear to me from the beginning when he aksed me to help him plot his graph...a very simple graph. I got kind of frustrated with him and was hoping to get a new lab partner because I didn't want my whole semester to be a tutoring session! After all, I thought I was the one going to be the one who needed help.

There are several guys in the class who are also on the football team...most of them have a pretty dirty mouth, which was on display today in the Chemistry lab. One of the O-linemen, who we call "Chi-chi," was letting it fly when my lab partner, Gerrald, stopped him. Then to my amazement he said, "Chi-chi, stop dude! I'm saved. Why do you have to cuss in front of me so much when you know I'm a Christian? You shouldn't cuss, man."

Are you kidding, my whole face lit up! Here was the guy I wanted to get rid of because I thought he was slow, or disinterested, or whatever, and he turns out to be the Christian who God put right next to me on purpose.

So, looks like my whole semester will be a tutoring session, but I don't mind at all! I love the way God works.

And by the way, I got an A on the first test. Yep....definitely encouraged.

What do you think

Just a thought from my time with God today....what does the Bible really mean when it mentions "the world?" For example, the last verse of James says true religion is partly to keep yourself "unspotted from the world." In independent baptist circles (which is what I grew up in), people think "the world" means music and dress...or at least that's the vibe I got growing up.

To me, it means a lot more..."the world" in the Bible in context really means the philosophies of the world, the attitudes, the habits, the ideas...essentially it means Satan's gameplan. When the Bible says not to get spotted with the world, it means not to get sucked into or believe Satan's lies. It does not mean your music and dress...although that is a small part of it. Am I off here? What do you guys think?

Just Slightly Disturbing...

http://www.islamoncapitolhill.com/

Please do yourself a favor and visit this site; then tell me what you think.

You've Got to be Kidding...

Someone please hand former President Jimmy Carter a pacifier and a rattle! Everytime he opens his mouth he embarrasses this country, of which I happen to be proud of. This time it takes the top though. He calls out MY REPRESENTATIVE, Joe Wilson, whom he has NEVER met, and calls him RACIST for his "You lie!" comment. WHAT! What is the world coming to? Since when does a disagreement in policy equate to racism? And how dare he make such an antigonizing statement towards a man he doesn't even know personally!

I have news for you Mr. Carter: It wouldn't have mattered if President Obama was white...and by the way...he is HALF WHITE; my representative would have still called out the truth! I mean, how childish can we get here? I cannot believe that he used to be the face of this nation!...the President?

And not only that, (I didn't think it could get worse), he proceeded to call anyone who disagreed with Obama's policies racist! So today, I'm guess I'm a racist according to Mr. Carter. Why don't I just hood up and ride through the countryside....YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Here's the thing: I haven't even mentioned that truly racist senator from Georgia who said that Joe Wilson was the face of the new KKK! Someone please save me from completely coming unscrewed! I thought America was over this issue...I know that my generation is. Just because we have a half black President, the whole racism thing is coming back out of nowhere...but only from one side. I wonder what side that is?

So, what am I saying? I'm saying, Mr. Carter, please save yourself the embarrassment and shut up. And Rep. Joe Wilson, please save this nation from embarrassment and SPEAK UP! THANK YOU.

My Favorite Quote

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

--Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt

What's your favorite quote?

Liberty Personified

The scene is breathtaking. From the eyes of the Satue of Liberty, it is early sunrise over New York City. A rolling fog still blankets the sleepy island. As the cautious sun peeks its head out from under the blanket, its rays spill through the many prisms on the island and splash across the harbor to greet Lady Liberty. The old church bells strike six o' clock, and Lady Liberty begins to sense liveliness about the city. The old bells usually greet her with the cheerful, glowing sound of a new day; but this morning, she is greeted with a harsh, monotonous death toll. The sound of those old rusty bells fades, but the ringing grows more loudly and more deathly in her mind.

As the fog dissipates, the sun reaches her first glory into the dawning, and takes a breath of fresh air. Lady Liberty's view is directed to two main buildings, which stand between her and the rising sun. The Twin Trade Towers reach above the fog first, and display their crowns of glory high into the open sky. They form, as it were, stage curtains with the sun peeking through to get the first glimpse of the magnificent Lady Liberty. As she raises her eyes to the sky, a bald eagle swoops down and clasps her torch with its talons. It screams as if it too sensed the ominous ringing of those bells. All of nature seemed poised to forewarn grave danger.

The melancholy tolling of the bells disturbed Lady Liberty as she hung her head in bewilderment. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a passenger airliner skimming across the New York Harbor. This jet was extremely low and was headed for the trade towers. As the jet neared the island of Manhatten, her heart began to pulsate violently as to her amazement she realized the plane was too low to avoid the Trade Towers! It is a nightmare, some horror dream! No! The massive airliner has plunged itself into the North Trade Tower!

Black--just black, billowing smoke, as ink, spills uncontrollably out of the tower and pours its sticky oil over the sky. The trade tower is on fire. The deathly flames lick down the sides of the building, but their thirst is unquenchable. Those tolling bells are racing now in her mind; their death march in on the run. Lady Liberty's heart is throbbing with such intensity that it blocks everything else from her ears. Even the second airliner, as it screamed across her head, she cannot hear. As it crushes itself into the remaing tower, her mind begins to spin uncontrollably. Sparks shoot out like lightning from the tower. Sheets of steel are hanging everwhere, trapped, unable to escape the hellish grip of those flames. Debris is raining down, reeking havoc all over the city. The smoke now forms like an ominous thundercloud over the towers. The North Trade Tower teeters back and forth, losing its balance, and collapses to its death. The sound of the fall roars through the sky as the storm thunders. The South Tower also, singed and scarred, crashes upon its twin; and a ferocious, chaotic clap of steel, debris, and smoke fills the sky like an atomic bomb had just exploded.

Lady Liberty turned her head away as one giant teardrop plunged into the harbor below.

Truth vs. Lies

Last night was a breakthrough event in the world of politics. No, no, I'm not talking about President Obama's speech...I'm talking about the two simple, bold, controversial words of my own Congressman, Joe Wilson. "You Lie!" he said after President Obama said his healthcare plan would not include illegal aliens. It wast one of the most pure and honest moments in Congress since the days of Patrick Henry, John C. Calhoun, and other great statesmen of the past.

It was called brash, inappropriate, heckling, and many other distasteful words by fellow congressmen and the mainstream media. I call it the Truth! Finally, someone who is willing to stand up to the President and call him on the carpet for his double talk. See, I believe that Joe Wilson was simply articulating what millions of Americans wanted to shout out to the President (some did...at the tv screen). He was doing what I put him there to do...speak out on my behalf.

I believe that when you vote for someone and they win the seat, they work for you; they are to reflect your concerns, your ideas, your voice. Joe Wilson works for me and all my fellow South Carolinians and he represented me well last night. Thank you for speaking out!

Sure, he was asked to apologize and he's gotten a lot of bad publicity, but that's the price sometimes of standing up for what is right. It's unfortunate that this country condemns the one speaking the truth, but applauds the man that feeding lies. Which is the greater evil: one man speaking the truth out of turn, or one man given a platform and a title to spew lies to a whole nation?

Don't Look Yet

I'm not ready.