Tuesday, September 25, 2012

GUEST POST BY ROBERTO ORNAN ROCHE: Reflections on Cuba and a Cuban Poet’s Heart









“We need to show you how to get home from school in case we are attacked,” my father told me one night as he tucked me into bed.” The next day at school, the teachers instructed us if the sirens sounded, we needed to run into the hallway, get down on our hands and knees, and bury our head between our legs.

“Don’t eat any food unless it’s sealed in a can,” my mother said, “and make sure you wipe off the top first.” The next day my parents showed me the way home from school along a heavily-traveled road in case they couldn’t come to school to get me if the buses weren’t running.

 “What happened?” I asked. Fear struck at my heart that I might not see my parents again. Who would want to attack us anyway?

My dad replied, “Cuba has aimed missiles at the United States. If they launch them, they could reach Atlanta.” I had never heard of Cuba and had no idea what missiles were, but I was frightened. At seven years old in first grade, that was my first indoctrination into the possibility of war and my own vulnerability to the unthinkable—my parents or I could be killed.

Fortunately, the danger passed, thanks to President Kennedy’s strong leadership and standing up to Fidel Castro, but I learned later, that wasn’t my family’s only encounter with the communist dictator. When I was older, my grandparents told me about their wonderful vacations in Cuba during the 1950s, how beautiful the beaches were and how much they loved the island. They never took another vacation anywhere in the world that came close to the tranquility of those they took in Cuba before Fidel Castro seized power.

In more somber moments, they shared with me their final vacation when Castro overthrew the government and the revolution took place. The hotel workers deserted the hotel, the bar was raided, the food stolen from the kitchen, and total anarchy covered the countryside. It was a story I never got tired of hearing. I only wish I had written down in detail their experience so I could write about it today.

Varadero beach

Sadly, I never thought much more about the people of Cuba until we had an author to join the John 3:16 Network recently. As I read his emails on our private forum, I became keenly aware of how difficult his living situation is and how much I take for granted in a country where freedom and opportunity have always been the norm.

Here is a short interview of Roberto Ornan Roche

* You are a Christian writer in Cuba. Please tell me a little about your life.

Life in Cuba is somewhat routine and boring, though to be a Christian makes it worthwhile. I work as a small business landlord for computer facilities. My wife and I have a baby of ten months, and it is very difficult to make ends meet. For example, some strained fruit for our baby costs 25 pesos (about US$0.95), but the average wage of a worker in Cuba is less than four hundred pesos a month (about US$15.00).

When I have some free time I go on the internet to see how things are going with my books. But the internet is expensive and difficult to use, and sometimes I spend more money checking my books than I make from them. The internet is prohibited in Cuba, but we can pay to obtain some hours, and hope that the State does not take reprisals. 

It is important, amid all that, to maintain our spiritual life and not lose sight of the Lord.

* How did you start writing?

I began to write because I felt that it was the best way to express my feelings about my life, and as an expression of my faith. For that reason my writings are devotionals, testimonies and simple stories. I wanted to express my devotion to God, who has a purpose for my life.

* Is it easy to be published as a Christian writer in Cuba? 

The churches and denominations in Cuba have small magazines, but with few pages and very low circulations. These magazines are the only means for a Christian writer to say something. A national seemingly Christian publishing house exists, with the possibility of printing a great number of copies. This Publishing House is named "Roads." 

However, they also mix in politics, and they live ostentatious lives, backed up by donations from overseas Christian organizations. But that type of "Christian" is known well and the true churches don't mix with them, although they are powerful and can offer useful opportunities, because they enjoy the privilege of the State.

* Is it easy to be a practicing Christian in Cuba?

I remember when I was a schoolboy that our teachers made us stand at the front of the classroom, so that the other students could make fun of us, because we didn't believe in Darwin's Evolution or in the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin. We were simply Christians, and the other children were trained to hate us. 

This was not an isolated practice. Rather, it was mandatory for the teachers to embarrass the Christian children. Likewise, it was necessary for parents to deny their faith, so that their children could study in the University. 

Currently, with the decadence of the socialist society, the State has been allowing certain freedoms and has been taking advantage of Christians to heal our society, although in no way do they want a Christian society. They simply want us to participate in the formation of a solid society – taking the good of the churches, but without giving much ground.

* Are there many churches in Cuba?

Yes, we have many churches, although we are not allowed to open up or build new churches. This has always been forbidden. Our local church is more than eighty years old.

* Please tell me a little about your church.

Our church is small, but after waiting decades for a construction licence, and jumping over thousands of bureaucratic barriers, the construction of a new church building, on the site of the old church, is almost finished. 

Due to the construction work, some church activities have been rescheduled. But normally we have men’s, women’s, children’s and youth worship. We also have prayer groups, Sunday School in the morning and evening worship.

Our Pastor is a very good preacher. He is very inspiring and his sermons attract a lot of non-believers. We also have home prayer groups, and fasting and prayer in the mornings.

People in our church are simple and humble, very poor and unpretentious. Over many decades a lot of very good Christians have left their imprints on the hearts of the congregation. These were church brothers and sister who always stood up and gave moving testimonies.

A brother who traveled overseas remembered us with a donation that we used to buy an electronic piano for the church. We call these brothers and sister the Pillars of our church, and although they have moved to be with the Lord, we always have other older men and deacons who are the new Pillars of our church.

My mother Migdalia has been a very active person in the Ladies department and a teacher of Sunday School. In her youth she traveled hundred of kilometers to study and also to teach at Summer Schools in small towns.


I hope you enjoy this short poem by Roberto. My heart is quickened when I see lived out the profound truth of God – He is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and in every country throughout the world, we are one in the Spirit.





The Perfect Story
By Roberto Ornan Roche

They wanted the “perfect” story, without miracles and without churches, so that sin did not seem so bad, nor the Christians so good; where the suffering one, the abandoned one, and the ordinary one did not count. A story to give meaning to the vanity of the World and to open the doors equally to all the experiences.
They wanted clearly understood the reason why evil covers and overcomes good so easily; the reason why the man who has abandoned his wife can hardly remember her affection, her tender care, and her love without measure; and while she is thinking that she is present in his mind, she is for him only a vagrant and uncomfortable memory that never appears in the most meritorious moments of the day.
They wanted a story full of peace and harmony; with a God who does not abide by all His promises; and with many children who claim not to believe in Him; but with capable men who are willing to substitute Him with their songs.
They intended a story of long roads without shade, all of them built by man's hands and with the blood of others, they also intended to step on the grass without noticing the dead butterflies. They thought the forbidden fruit would be a trophy, and the mantle of iniquity that human beings take inside would be similar to their own freedom.
They imagined a story where sinners and their blasphemies were applauded and fully accepted because there are always new rights to conceive. A story of new experiences, without prodigal children, which never forgives the past, and follows a new road without looking backwards. A story where errors did not count and they were taken as lived experiences.
They wanted a story without tears or pain, without cancer, without thorns or angels.
They wanted a story without me, without my brethren, without regrets or redemption; a story without Heaven.
They wanted a “perfect” story, without Psalms, a Godless eternity, but they only had the story of the Saviour who died on the cross of the Calvary, and they did not really like that story very much.


This poem and more of Roberto Ornan Roche’s writings can be found at :


"The Lighthouse of Asaph: Unforgettable Christian Reflections":
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0987901117 (Print)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004VWQ3E0 (Kindle)




Thursday, September 13, 2012

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: “They Stood Alone, 25 Men and Women Who Made a Difference,” by Sandra McLeod Humphrey





\


They Stood Alone instantly captivated me. The stories inspired me to see how one person can make a difference. As a mother, I noted most of these men and women had Godly parents who encouraged their young children never to give up on their dreams. 

The theme of They Stood Alone appears in this beautiful quote from the last chapter: “Live your own life as only you can live it. Do what you love and love what you do. Discover your passion and have the courage to follow your heart. Remember, you, too, can make a difference. May you always follow your heart and never give up your dream!”

Some of my favorite stories included Jackie Robinson, Neil Armstrong, Henry David Thoreau, and Leonardo Da Vinci. I saw a part of myself in them and enjoyed seeing how they achieved their dreams, oftentimes in spite of insurmountable odds.

So it is for all of us. Those who go before us pave the way for those who follow, instilling hope that we, too, can reach our dreams. In the process, we can build a better world for those who come after us.

Be inspired by the lives of these heroes who were at heart down-to-earth men and women. Enjoy a trip back in time as you read in these pages the amazing stories of passion, hope, determination, and courage. These are people who lived life to the fullest despite the obstacles or status quo or prejudices that beset them. These are lives worth reading about and honoring in a day when true heroes are hard to find.

They Stood Alone would be an easy read for children over ten and an enjoyable book for a parent to a younger child. In time, I expect this book to become a classic because it's so well written and presented.


Friday, August 17, 2012

GUEST POST BY AUTHOR MELISSA MAIN: They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love




“…and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another” (Zechariah 7:10).

Anyone who knows me (Lorilyn Roberts) knows my heart for children around the world. Most of us are unable to wrap our minds around the enormity of the plight of orphans and how that translates into the lives of children—until we put a face to it. Recently a friend of mine traveled to Mexico to visit an orphanage, and I asked her if she would be willing to share a few pictures and thoughts on my blog.

In Melissa Main’s Words


“We visited Door of Faith Orphanage in La Mision, in Baja California, a state in Mexico. It's odd but there is a state of California in both Mexico and the US.

I traveled to La Mision, Mexico… to build houses for poverty-stricken Mexican families and to provide support for orphanages and other charities. We distributed food to needy families and offered encouragement to workers at the orphanages and no cost day care center….there is an incredible amount of joy and satisfaction in giving to those in need and changing their lives forever. People are designed for a purpose. Helping others fulfills one of our hearts' greatest needs and helps us to discover our purpose in life.”

Children come to orphanages in Mexico because of abuse, neglect, and poverty. Some families are too poor to care for their children. They leave the children home alone while they work out of town and then they are picked up by the Mexican government and placed in orphanages. Sometimes they are left alone during the day if the parents work in town.


Tony, the 10-month-old baby in the photo, was left home alone during the day. His head was flat and dented in the back. He is very snuggly and responding well to the love and attention he receives at Door of Faith Orphanage. Sometimes babies are sent to orphanages when a mother is very young…

*~*~*~*

I have been touched personally by two small children from Nepal and Vietnam. Here are the referral photos of my daughters—they were orphans before I adopted them.



What would God’s news headlines be if He were to script today’s top stories? I have no doubt he would urge Christians to take care of the orphans and widows. Over one hundred fifty million children go to bed hungry each night. Many have lost their parents due to aids, starvation, and lack of clean water. Whenever the news covers these heart-wrenching pieces, my heart breaks because the needs are so great. Feeling overwhelmed can paralyze you from doing anything, but one person can make a difference—and you could be that person.

If you would like more information on how you can be God’s loving hands and face to a child—who longs to know Jesus’ love, here are a few links. It doesn’t take a saint to do a heroic act—it only takes a willing servant who says yes to God’s whisper in his heart.



Hope’s Promise http://www.hopespromise.com/



Today my children are normal American kids—the transformation with a little bit of love is amazing!




You can also visit Melissa Main’s blog at http://mainwriters.com/

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

GUEST POST BY SHELLEY HITZ: Hope Through Suffering






Have you been through difficult times in your life? If so, you are not alone. Jesus says in John 16:33, In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. Notice that He doesn’t say that we might have trouble or that if we have enough faith we will escape it. He clearly states that on this side of heaven we will walk through difficult times in our lives.

And yet we have reason to hope.

Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy is Shelley Hitz’s personal journey to finding hope after a tragedy hit her family. However, she did not want this book to be her story alone. Instead, she wants it to be a resource for you to find hope in the midst of your own difficulties. That is why she has added the sections that you will see through the book called, From My Life to Yours, where she includes journaling prompts and reflection questions for you to apply what you are learning to your life. Her prayer is that God leads you to find His hope no matter what you are currently walking through.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit ~ Romans 15:13

What Reviewers are Saying:

“A must-read for anyone who has had storms in their life. I laughed, cried, and got so excited. This book gave me the answers to many of my prayers and showed me the right way to forgive.” - TALoveRocks

“This is a book of hope, trust, faith, forgiveness, and so much more! Highly Recommended!” - Sandra McLeod Humphrey

“Wow! My eyes are full of tears and my heart is full of God's promises to the author and to each of us. Great book!” - Kristie



Shelley Hitz is the author of the book, Finding Hope in the Midst of Tragedy which you can download for FREE on 8/8/12 and 8/9/12 here: http://www.bodyandsoulpublishing.com/hope. Shelley's main passion is to share God's truth and the freedom in Christ she has found with others. She does this through her books, websites, and speaking engagements. You can find more about Shelley at www.ShelleyHitz.com. 


Friday, July 27, 2012

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: The Israel Omen: by David Brennan – “Ten Recent Catastrophes Can Be Associated With One Ongoing Current Event”




What Is It?

1.   October 30, 1991. The Perfect Storm off the New England Coast.

2.   August 24, 1992. Hurricane Andrew strikes South Florida, the fourth most powerful storm to make landfall in the United States.

3.   April 1993 to August 1993. Rains bombard several states and becomes one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.

4.   January 17, 1994. Most financially damaging earthquake in U.S. history strikes Los Angeles.

5.   June 5, 2001. Tropical Storm Alice hits the Houston area. Called the “Great Flood of 2001”.

6.   September 10, 2001. 9/11. The worst attack on American soil in U.S. history.

7.   April 30, 2003. Worst weather in U.S. history began on this day.

8.   June 2003 until August 2003. Worst heat wave in over 250 years strikes Europe.

9.   August 23, 2005. Katrina forms in the Gulf and become the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history.

10. Week of July 23, 2007. Financial collapse across the globe.

According to The Israel Omen, by David Brennan, each of the above disasters was associated with an attempt by the U.S. and/or other nations to remove the “Promised Land” from the Jews and give them to the Arabs to establish a Palestinian State. Mr. Brennan has carefully documented the correlations and presented a compelling argument to support his conclusions.

I was studying in Israel from January 1 through January 15, 1991, when the State Department requested all nonessential Americans leave Israel. After being shown how to use a gas mask and shoot nerve gas antidotes into my thigh, I decided I didn’t want that much of an adventure. I took the last flight out of Tel Aviv to Switzerland and went skiing for a few days before returning home. The Persian Gulf War started the day after I left Israel on January 16, 1991.

Often when we visit another country, certain memories are etched in our psyche and become a filter through which we evaluate all future events and information; and so it was with my time in Israel.

Israel is small—too small to be chopped up more than it already is. The Jews live with the looming threat of war and all-out war. They are surrounded by Arab nations that do not like them. The Israelis want to live in peace and would do almost anything to make that happen—except forfeit land given to them by God.

There will never be land for peace because the land is not for the Jews to give. It belongs to God. Nothing angers God more than for world leaders to take what God gave to the Jews, as clearly stated in the Bible, and deliver it to the Arabs on a counterfeit peace platter. There is not any leader in the world that can negotiate a lasting peace in violation of God’s will without suffering under His judgment—as seen in the catastrophes that have happened each time a nation has tried.

While many will refuse to accept the premise given in The Israel Omen, I would encourage Christians to consider this:  Have all the lands given up by the Jews for peace brought peace?

As an American, I pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for our leaders to be Israel’s staunchest ally. Genesis 12:3 says, “And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you: and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.

As a Christian, I pray for my Jewish friends, both believers, and unbelievers. Peace starts with me and God gives wisdom to those who ask; and always, hope springs eternal.

To purchase The Israel Omen from Amazon, click here.





Thursday, July 12, 2012

THE MAGIC OF THE OLYMPICS: Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts




The music starts, the drums beat, and the culture of the country sparkles in the dazzling lights. The Olympians burst forth and we wait in anticipation for one of the greatest spectacles in the world to begin. July 27, 2012, London. An estimated 10,500 athletes from 205 countries will be competing.

The Olympics have special meaning for me. I am looking forward to being part of the team of captioners who will be providing closed captioning for the games on television. I also have a more realistic idea of how much work goes into being an Olympian. One of my daughters is a level eight competitive gymnast who has been doing gymnastics since she was four. She spends twenty hours a week in the gym, and I drive her an hour and a half five days a week back and forth. 

Now almost fourteen, I look back through the years at how our lives have been wrapped around her training—and the thousands of dollars spent flying and driving across the country to attend competitions. This year she was the level eight state vault champion for Florida.

Recently we were watching the Olympic trials and I asked her, “How much better than you are they?” She laughed and shook her head. The ones who go to the Olympics truly are the best. I have often thought about what it takes to make it: You have to have a talented coach, parents that are supportive (that’s a biggie because it takes years of preparation to get there), plenty of money, not being injured at critical times, an athlete who is able to receive instruction and criticism, experience crippling failure and never give up; the self-discipline to sacrifice a social life and other typical things that children and teenagers do; the God-given physical and mental ability, and then peaking at the right moment—the Olympics are only held every four years. And probably thrown in there is fate—being in the right place at the appointed time and exposed to the one sport that the individual can excel at, and then having the coach who can transform a gifted athlete into an Olympian, like magic bound up in providence. Of the thousands who aspire to make it, only a few do.

The Bible speaks in I Corinthians 9:25:  “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”  I wonder if we were to take our faith as seriously as the Olympians pursue their training, what could we not do?

As I watch the Olympics, I will contemplate the enormity of what athletes can accomplish when they devote themselves to a sport greater than themselves; always amazed that for two weeks every four years, countries will lay down their arms and participate in a tradition that’s as old as Ancient Greece and the Parthenon; that we will sit glued to our television screens esteeming the talents of athletes whose names we can’t pronounce, but wanting to know everything about them; that we will celebrate together all around the world in a mystic tradition of mythic proportion—of diversity, of unity, of beauty, of art, of perfection, of gold.

What humankind can achieve through perseverance and an unquenchable desire to be the best at a sport is pure brilliance. The Olympics is magic in motion, art and destiny intertwined for a few. And for the rest of us, a moment to pause and reflect, living out vicariously the success of the winners—and anyone who competes is a winner. The world will be mesmerized by young men and women who will take our breath away and remind us that in a sense, we are one. We celebrate with them as their brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and sons and daughters. 

For a moment we will enter their world and be a part of it. We will cheer them on and applaud broadly, knowing they are truly Olympians. I can’t wait for the games begin!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

NOTHING IS HIDDEN IN ALL THE EARTH, Devotional by Lorilyn Roberts



By Lorilyn Roberts

A current news story prompted me to ask this question: How much information gets shared on the internet, television, radio, and cell phones? And how many people board an airplane each day? I did some digging and here are some interesting statistics I uncovered.

According to http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technology/, there are 175 million active users on Twitter, which is probably now the fastest way information is disseminated.

1,966,514,816 people use the internet. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2010/10/three-stats-that-reveal-much-about-our-digital-culture/1#.T9AuTdVrPfU and Wiki.answers.com claims about twelve million people watch television each day. After some extrapolations from information I found on the web, I calculated approximately 261 million Americans listen to the radio each day.

How many cell phones are there in the world? Over 5.6 billion—here is a link that breaks it down by country: http://www.howmanyarethere.org/how-many-mobile-phone-users-in-the-world/

Because this news story involved traveling on a plane, I wondered how many people fly each day? According to answers.ask.com, over three million people board a plane every day.

These figures are mind-boggling, and when you consider there are almost seven billion people in the world, you wonder how one person could be significant. Who am I that God should take note of me in my little corner of the world in Gainesville, Florida?

That brings me to a recent news story out of Canada. I do not want to even mention the man’s name because I don’t want to give him any notoriety, which is what he was seeking, but this man is alleged to have murdered a student from China, cut up his body, and shipped body parts to various schools and government offices in Canada. He then flew to France and later Germany, where he was spotted by an astute internet café employee in Berlin who contacted the local police. He is now sitting in jail awaiting extradition back to Canada.

While the case is horrible, I am committed to finding good out of evil as a Christian news blogger. There is always something God can redeem out of the most tragic stories. But for the networking of all the information that gets shared, what are the chances that this fugitive who fled from Canada, out of a population of seven billion people, would be spotted and recognized by another individual across the Atlantic?

Each of us does matter and is significant to God. How many more people could this murderer (if found guilty of his alleged crime) have hurt were it not for this internet cafe employee in Berlin? I’m sure this man did not wake up that morning and say, “I am going to turn in one of the world’s most sought-after criminals today.”

The Bible says in Daniel 12:4 (ASV):  “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

I take comfort in the fact that we live in a world that is not out of God’s control, that God predicted the world we live in today thousands of years ago, that criminals can’t escape the just governments that God has put in place, and that the increase in knowledge God uses for good. 

If an evil man is able to be spotted by another person on another continent, how much more does God keep His loving and watchful eyes on those who worship Him? I am sure it was not by happenstance that God used this Good Samaritan to catch this fugitive. May we find comfort that nothing escapes an all-knowing God who is everywhere all the time.













Monday, May 28, 2012

TOP NEWS STORIES OF THE DAY – UFO’S, ECONOMIC COLLAPSE, WAR, AND MORE: Christian Blogger Lorilyn Roberts


       



UFOs sited in Missouri, man attaches dynamite to a dog and blows it up (for you dog lovers, the dog survived and is being taken care of by a Good Samaritan who renamed him Rocket), a man bites off parts of another man's face, Greece's economic woes may eventually impact banks in the U.S. and the 2012 elections, an emergency U.N. meeting is called to deal with the crisis in Syria—these are just some of the news items of the day.
If I were an alien on a UFO visiting, I think I would hightail it and find another planet on which to take a vacation where there was more peace and less war. On a more serious note, how is it possible to listen to the news stories that bombard us day in and day out and not become depressed or despondent?
Many years ago at a Christian writer's conference, an editor asked me what I do for a living.
“I provide closed captioning for television,” I told him. His eyes lit up as if there must be plenty of writing material in those juicy stories.
I laughed at him and shook my head. What good stories could I write? Oftentimes the news left me depressed. Perhaps the same sentiment was felt by Nathanael in John 1:46 when he commented about Jesus’ birthplace, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
But my response to that editor has always bothered me. 
Can I not find good in the world if I look for it? Does God not bring good out of evil? Can He not redeem the worst story I have ever reported?
Sometimes at night when I'm falling asleep, I will think back to something I captioned during the day and will be troubled. I won’t be able to get a disturbing image out of my mind. Perhaps it's Satan's way of attacking me—after all, if He can make me doubt God's love and providence, how effective can I be in my witness?
In my limited wisdom, all I can feel or see is the pain and suffering inflicted. And while I despise someone else’s gross behavior, as a sinner, I am just as guilty of hurting others. Sometimes I wonder how God tolerates it all. How can He not get angry? If I have righteous indignation in my limited understanding, how much more so does God become angry?
In I Corinthians 2:7, the Bible speaks of God having secret wisdom—a wisdom that is hidden, that not even kings and presidents and premiers can understand. 
Not only that, but He says that He was “destined” to give that wisdom to us even before time began.
The Bible also claims that Jesus would not have been crucified if the rulers had understood what it was they were doing. That means it was necessary that the people not understand what happened to Him as even today we don't understand many of the things that happen in the world.   
When I am closed captioning and wonder, how could God let that happen, I remind myself that I am thinking this way because I don't have the wisdom of God. It's not like God sits up in the heavens wringing His hands and wondering how mankind screwed up His planet. Not only does He know, but whatever He has planned for us far surpasses even the most horrendous event that can happen in our lives.
It takes a lot of faith for those roots to go deep into the human heart. I Corinthians 2:9 says, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. That means physically and mentally we can't know, but God has revealed it to us by His Holy Spirit.


In Matthew 24:12, when referring to the latter days and the signs of the end of the age, Jesus stated, Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold...
It's very easy to read this and flippantly think, “Oh, I would never do that. I will always love my neighbor, my family, my husband.” 
No matter what happens, can we believe that? Is our love greater than that murdered child or a broken heart or abused animal? Is God's love greater still? Even if I don't understand it now, it is enough to know that someday I will.
As Peter said in John 6:68, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. My faith must be strong enough to stand up to the worst of humanity because Satan is relentless. His fate is sealed and he has nothing to lose. Whenever I start to doubt, again, I remind myself it is God who holds the words of truth.   
One thing we can do in response to the news is be an intercessor. God never tires of hearing our prayers. Some of those suffering souls that get reported in news stories may not know the Savior, but we know as Christians the one who holds their future. We can be assured that God's love is deeper than their pain and great enough to reach across states, oceans, and continents.   
On a grander scale, I fear not so much a battle with weapons of mass destruction as I do the war imposed on Christian principalities and beliefs. 
In light of that, some upcoming topics may make you uncomfortable, but I hope you will read my blog anyway. Please feel free to leave comments as I love to hear from readers. 

Saturday, March 17, 2012

LORILYN ROBERTS BOOK REVIEW: ”On Moral Fiction,“ By John Gardner






I empathize with John Gardner and his frustration with the mediocrity of modernism, postmodernism, and nihilism, and the lack of what he refers to as moral fiction in much of the arts. I have struggled with it also as a reporter/captioner; and art, as he so pedantically stated, imitates life.
Thomas Watson said, “The chief aim of man is to glorify God.” To glorify God is my standard as a writer. If I deviate from that, I need to find another avocation.
I struggle with the fact that for the past thirty years I have made my living providing court reporting and captioning for broadcast television and that very few of those millions of words I have labored to accurately record have glorified God. They will burn up in the last days when God judges mankind and the world.
In the sense of structure, I did my job professionally, but the content did not glorify Him. As a creative writer, I relish the freedom to write what I choose.
As I was reading On Moral Fiction, Ecclesiastes 12:11 came to mind: “Of making books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” I grew tired of trying to understand some of John Gardner’s more salient points which oftentimes made little sense to me. I found a lot of what he said to be the ranting of a frustrated critic tired of analyzing art in a mediocre world that does not care for Good, Beauty, or Truth. While I agree with his attitude toward the meaning of art and the responsibility of the artist, I disagree with some of the conclusions he drew and found them depressing.
Here is an example. I want to quote the following paragraph from page 181:
“Art begins in a wound, an imperfection—a wound inherent in the nature of life itself—and is an attempt either to learn to live with the wound or to heal it. It is the pain of the wound which impels the artist to do his work, and it is the universality of woundedness in the human condition which makes the work of art significant as medicine or distraction.” 
I found this quote to be insightful and uplifting. But he lost me with his conclusion when he then went on to say:
“The wound may take any number of forms: Doubt about one’s parentage, fear that one is a fool or freak, the crippling effect of psychological trauma or the potentially crippling effect of alienation from the society in which one feels at home, whether or not any such society really exists outside the fantasy of the artist.”
From a worldly point of view, I suppose these would be legitimate observations, but from a spiritual point of view, we know that God doesn’t leave us in doubt, full of fear, a psychological cripple, or alienated; and He is more real than any fantasy that an artist could dream up, sane or crazy.
Gardner failed to instill the hope of healing and that things can be better. I believe his idea of Beauty, Good, and Truth, while a good beginning, falls short. I hope to take his idea of “moral fiction” one step further which I will expound on in a moment.
On page fifteen, Gardner gives a definition of moral as being, “...life‑giving—-moral in its process of creation and moral in what it says.”
According to Miriam‑Webster’s dictionary, moral means “relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior.”
Clearly, these two definitions are not the same thing. Perhaps Immanuel Kant’s philosophy is instructive in the use of the word “morality.” Peter Kreeft in “The Pillars of Unbelief—Kant,” The National Catholic Register (January ‑ February 1988), discusses Kant, and summarized Kant’s philosophy that morality is “...not a natural law of objective rights and wrongs that comes from God, but a manmade law by which we decide to bind ourselves.” 
I normally wouldn’t quote someone who espouses a belief contrary to Christianity, but I believe it makes my point. Morality is arbitrary depending on the situation, culture, and religion.
If one is in Nepal, it is considered immoral to kill a cow because cows are worshipped.  In our culture I consider abortion to be immoral, but according to our laws, it is not immoral to kill a baby inside a mother’s womb.
In the Bible, Jesus turned over the money tables in the synagogue because the religious leaders had turned His house of worship into a den of thieves. What Jesus considered a moral and righteous act the religious leaders of his day considered immoral and sought to arrest him. Therefore the term “moral art” has an ambiguous meaning because it is too subjective.
Gardner attempted to refine “moral art” to more precisely say that it should pursue Good, Beauty, and Truth.  He believed good art would embody these qualities and bad art wouldn’t.
To talk about each of these words individually, Gardner discusses “Good” on pages 133 through 139, but he leaves out any understanding of God. Because man is inherently sinful, or immoral, leaving God out of this discussion came across to me as meaningless commentary.
His definition of good is described as “...a relative absolute that cannot be approached”(page 139). Because it can’t be approached, he states that “The conclusive answering of a question has not to do with the Good but with the True,” and “...thus relative absolute ‘Truth’ through reason”(page 139).
God is the ultimate source of Good and is not a relative absolute who cannot be approached. He came to earth and dwelt among us and indwells us with His Spirit—a deposit guaranteeing what is to come. It was interesting to me that when Gardner was unable to define Good in an understandable way, he then tied good to “...truth through reason.”
As Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, Pilate asked the question, “What is truth?”  I do not believe it is possible to come to an understanding of “...truth through reason” at the level that Gardner intimated and Pontius Pilate asked.  This type of truth, humanly speaking can’t be seen, heard, or written, but through art, we can “feel” His presence and capture that longing for something beyond ourselves. If Truth could be arrived at through human reasoning, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day would not have sought to crucify Him.
I have found Truth to be the most elusive of the three—Good, Beauty, and Truth—because sin blocks the ability of each of us to recognize Truth. It takes a very honest person to confront his own sin and be willing to seek Truth at all costs.
Despite the limitations of knowing Truth this side of eternity, I take comfort as a writer that I am pursuing Truth that is embodied in a person and not in a relative absolute. 
The third example he gave of moral art is it should portray Beauty.  I recently watched the movie, American Beauty, and while it won five Oscars, I was struck by how ugly this movie was. Finding beauty in a floating trash bag, a dead bird, and perverted sexual behaviors is not my idea of beauty. Again, Gardner’s use of the word “Beauty” is too subjective and therefore only partially instructive in what moral or good art should be.
I also take issue with his railing against “bad art.”  I don’t know if it’s fair to classify art as good or bad. I believe it’s a matter of how redeemed we are and what our capacity is for recognizing what God would call “good art.”
That brings me to what I believe the purpose of all art should be, and the most important point—it should be redemptive. 
Even though most art today is not redemptive, I don’t believe that means we should get rid of what Gardner would probably consider “bad art.” In the end, God can use anything, good or bad, to teach us more about who He is. However, we have the choice, because we have the freedom, to choose what art we like and don’t like. If someone chooses to like bad art, they should have the ability to enjoy it for what it is.
Once we start putting labels on what art is, however, we become critics (like Gardner). Once we judge art as bad, we might believe it gives us the power not to allow it or to do away with it. Once we believe we can rid the world of bad art, then who is to say that someone, given the right circumstances, would not attain the power and do away with good art? Freedom is necessary for the expression of all art, good and bad, to use Gardner’s words, and I for one do not want to do away with pluralism even though I cringe at much of the art today because it is offensive.
It struck me as interesting that the authors whom John Gardner attacked in On Moral Fiction mostly have been forgotten.  Bad art, if it’s bad, won’t last anyway, so I don’t see a need to categorize it. Pluralism is safer because then the Hitlers of the world and mockers can’t take away our freedom for what is near and dear to us as Christian writers.
Continuing with the idea of Redemption, let me give an example of the power of Redemptive art—the quality that goes beyond Beauty, Good, and Truth.
In 1999, I was in Hanoi over Christmas. Displayed in the front window of one of the restaurants I frequented was a large Nativity. Vietnam is a communist country and there are many Christians who have been killed and imprisoned in Vietnam for their faith. But the Nativity scene was displayed prominently in the window as art—redemptive, full of Good, Beauty, and Truth. I may have been the only one who recognized it for what it was, but it spoke volumes to me about the freedom of art and how it can accomplish so much more than what we can didactically or academically.
Art gives us the ability to speak the Truth in a way that can reach the masses. It reassured me away from home that God was with me. Who knows what it spoke to others—but that is the catharsis of art. The individual expression in the heart of the person works out Redemption in a way that goes beyond reasoning. God is at work bringing glory to Himself, and as I said in the beginning, the chief aim of man is to glorify God.
The other piece of art I want to share comes from the same trip to Hanoi in December 1999. It was Christmas Eve and there was a lovely Christmas celebration in downtown Hanoi. Uplifting holiday music wafted from the loudspeakers over the noisy crowd. The music spoke a message of “tidings of great joy.” My soul felt enraptured with joy, a balm for my homesick heart. I found myself enveloped in oneness with those around me who were there for a different purpose.
But it was the art of music that sung Truth wrapped in Beauty and Goodness, embodied in the person of Jesus Christ who brought Redemption.  For me, that is the purpose of art.
I do take comfort in the fact that God promises in Isaiah 55:11, “...it [my word] will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
Perhaps someone in Vietnam heard the music or saw the Nativity and asked the question, “What is Truth? What is Beauty? What is Good?” We will never know, but I don’t think it matters. We’re just the bearer of what Gardner would call “moral art.” We pursue the purpose for which God made us, whether we are the planters or the reapers. In the end, God’s will is done and we, through Redemption, can have a small part in it. 
I always like to end on a positive note, and so I will do so here. There are many great writers, in my opinion, where Beauty, Truth, and Good have been used to achieve the ultimate purpose of art—redemption. The likes of C.S. Lewis, George McDonald, Madeleine L’Engle, and J.R.R. Tolkien have withstood the “isms” of the world and embodied hope in their writings that have impacted my life. 
My favorite quote from “On Moral Fiction” appeared on page 204: “So long as the artist is a master of technique so that no stroke is wasted, no idea or emotion blurred, it is the extravagance of the artist’s purposeful self‑abandonment to his dream that will determine the dream’s power.”
As a creative writer of memoir, that would be my dream—that what I write will not burn up in the last days but will survive into eternity. Maybe, just maybe, one person will be drawn to the Creator because of the creativity God has given me. If that is true, I will have accomplished my goal as a writer—to glorify God.







Wednesday, March 14, 2012

BOOK REVIEW BY LORILYN ROBERTS: "The Gift of Fate," by Valerie King - Mysterious and Hauntingly Beautiful




The Gift of Fate

by Valerie King





“What if you had the ability to know your fate?” That question lingered in my mind as I read The Gift of Fate. It challenged me to think, if I did, how would I live my life differently?  By the end of the book, my whole being had embraced the question in this hauntingly beautiful story which seemed more real than imagined.

If you like a story that asks profound questions, you won’t be disappointed.  The Gift of Fate is mysterious and thought-provoking. Teenagers face life and death choices and the story threads passion and love into a surprise ending. Well-written from the first person point of view, you won’t be able to put this book down. I read it in two sittings.

Want a fantasy book that doesn’t cross the line of Christian values?  Make sure you read The Gift of Fate. A book that makes me ponder deep questions long after I have finished reading it is a book that I must recommend and share with others.

***

Valerie has always possessed a vivid imagination and a mind full of stories waiting to be told. As life moves forward, her pen has finally hit paper and incandescent sagas are being written. Her passion has transformed itself into the Fatum book series, along with a number of short stories. May you find a fable of deceit or perhaps a love story to fill your heart. Welcome to her journey…
Valerie lives with her husband and their three children in Dallas, TX.