If you have not had the pleasure of reading MaryLu Tyndall's work, you are in for a treat. When I first discovered her, I was sold from the very first book I picked up (and could not put back down). Since then, I anticipate each new title with excitement. I have learned many things from her as a writer and as a follower of Christ. Each book has grown me up in my heavenly Father, but none so much as The Raven Saint.
The Raven Saint is book three of her Charles Towne Belles series, and quite an ending it is. Grace Westcott, our heroin, has always been more in-tune with God than her two sisters. However, even us faithful have our faults.
Amidst her service to God, she is kidnapped and intended to be sold off to a Spanish Don in Columbia. She sees it as another mission from God but, unlike the poor and needy, no one upon the French mercenary's vessel will listen to her.
The situation grows worse, causing her to face her own human weaknesses, including her love for her captor -Captain Rafe Dubois.
The book is full of adventure, romance, and suspense. But, above all, a timeless message we followers of Christ should hear and heed. I urge you to pick one up and find out for yourself. And I dare you not to enjoy it. ;)
~L. Pierce
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Returning to Egypt
There has been one thing in particular on my mind as of late. It has concerned the Israelites. Once freed from Egypt and the horrible slavery they endured, they griped and complained and wished to return to their miserable existence.
It has consumed my thoughts... They were free, but they wanted to return to slavery? One might reason they were mad, yet they were sane enough to leave in the first place so that doesn't account for much. So, why on earth would they prefer a life of slavery over the freedom God had miraculously given them?
One thing comes to mind. They would have preferred the hardship in Egypt rather than face new, unknown ones in the wilderness because they knew for certain they would be taken care of. In Egypt they were protected and cared for (to an extent) -though the price for it was wrought with pain and cruel labor. But it was a life nonetheless. They had grown so accustomed to slavery they forgot what it was like to be free. Put simply, they had grown comfortable and feared losing it for uncertainty. And even though God had all but stood before the Pharaoh Himself and made him quiver, they had plenty of evidence they were in Good Hands.
I dare say, the people of this once proud country have become just like them. Our every whim is met. Every need and want is quickly attained. We are very comfortable. But we have been brainwashed into thinking that way for a price, just as the Israelites were. While we live these lives, we are gradually losing our freedoms because of it. The unbelievable thing is, people don't care. As long as they are taken care of; as long as they have everything they need; why should anything else matter?
We have lost sight of the world we live in. We are not the only things on this earth, so why is it we act like we are? "What would the world be like without Captain James Hook?" How about what would the world be like without selfishness and greed? These are the thoughts my hopes and dreams soar upon.
I may get guff for saying these things, but last I checked, this was still a free country. Equally so is the freedom to take what I say or leave it.
Our current government doesn't care about what is best for us but what is best for them. Even before elections, they appealed to that brainwashed part of us which requires to be cared for. They won because of it, proving their disloyalty to us. They used us! Now they have what they want, they could care less what we want. The only things on their minds are what will make them superior. It matters not who gets trampled in the process. Or who gets forgotten.
What we forget is they wouldn't be where they are without our say. Obama wouldn't be president unless he was voted in, so we cannot blame God for the misery we have inflicted upon ourselves. The Israelites had no one to blame but themselves for their complaints. God had saved their existence because he had more in store for them, yet they were afraid to take that first step of faith and to look beyond their own comforts and needs.
Yet...
We still have the power to change even the most awful of mistakes! Praise God for second chances! I pray we wake up and take action! This new Sheriff of Nottingham is only one man against many. He may seem like he has all the power in the world, but in reality, he is still but one man. He relies on us more than we rely on him.
To quote Queen Elizabeth in the movie The Sea Hawk, "But when the ruthless ambitions of a man threaten to engulf the world, it becomes the solemn obligation of all free men to affirm that the earth belongs not to any one man, but to all men. And that freedom is the deed and title to the soil on which we exist."
Be assured, if we do not, God will. And it may not be what we need, but it will be what we deserve.
~L. Pierce
It has consumed my thoughts... They were free, but they wanted to return to slavery? One might reason they were mad, yet they were sane enough to leave in the first place so that doesn't account for much. So, why on earth would they prefer a life of slavery over the freedom God had miraculously given them?
One thing comes to mind. They would have preferred the hardship in Egypt rather than face new, unknown ones in the wilderness because they knew for certain they would be taken care of. In Egypt they were protected and cared for (to an extent) -though the price for it was wrought with pain and cruel labor. But it was a life nonetheless. They had grown so accustomed to slavery they forgot what it was like to be free. Put simply, they had grown comfortable and feared losing it for uncertainty. And even though God had all but stood before the Pharaoh Himself and made him quiver, they had plenty of evidence they were in Good Hands.
I dare say, the people of this once proud country have become just like them. Our every whim is met. Every need and want is quickly attained. We are very comfortable. But we have been brainwashed into thinking that way for a price, just as the Israelites were. While we live these lives, we are gradually losing our freedoms because of it. The unbelievable thing is, people don't care. As long as they are taken care of; as long as they have everything they need; why should anything else matter?
We have lost sight of the world we live in. We are not the only things on this earth, so why is it we act like we are? "What would the world be like without Captain James Hook?" How about what would the world be like without selfishness and greed? These are the thoughts my hopes and dreams soar upon.
I may get guff for saying these things, but last I checked, this was still a free country. Equally so is the freedom to take what I say or leave it.
Our current government doesn't care about what is best for us but what is best for them. Even before elections, they appealed to that brainwashed part of us which requires to be cared for. They won because of it, proving their disloyalty to us. They used us! Now they have what they want, they could care less what we want. The only things on their minds are what will make them superior. It matters not who gets trampled in the process. Or who gets forgotten.
What we forget is they wouldn't be where they are without our say. Obama wouldn't be president unless he was voted in, so we cannot blame God for the misery we have inflicted upon ourselves. The Israelites had no one to blame but themselves for their complaints. God had saved their existence because he had more in store for them, yet they were afraid to take that first step of faith and to look beyond their own comforts and needs.
Yet...
We still have the power to change even the most awful of mistakes! Praise God for second chances! I pray we wake up and take action! This new Sheriff of Nottingham is only one man against many. He may seem like he has all the power in the world, but in reality, he is still but one man. He relies on us more than we rely on him.
To quote Queen Elizabeth in the movie The Sea Hawk, "But when the ruthless ambitions of a man threaten to engulf the world, it becomes the solemn obligation of all free men to affirm that the earth belongs not to any one man, but to all men. And that freedom is the deed and title to the soil on which we exist."
Be assured, if we do not, God will. And it may not be what we need, but it will be what we deserve.
~L. Pierce
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)