Run for Your Life!

 After they had joined hands, Lilia's dad prayed. "Dear Father, please bless this food to our use and us to your service, and help us always to remember to put our work in your hands," and everyone closed with, "Amen." The family enjoyed their evening meal. It was a time of sharing a little about what their day had held.

"Can I go first?" Lilia demanded to know with excitement.

"Go ahead, honey," her mom urged her on.

"You know how that nasty Jimmy is always pulling my hair and running off so I can't catch him? I can't stand him! Today was the last straw. We played softball at school, and it was my turn up to bat. Jimmy ran over and yanked my hair so hard that I screamed! Then, somehow, he became stuck between me and the catcher, so I threw down my bat, grabbed him, shoved him to the ground, and sat on him! Everyone cheered! I grabbed his arms, and held them down in the dirt while he kicked and screamed! Defeated, that's what Jimmy was! That'll teach him!" Lilia spat out the words so quickly in celebration of her victory over Jimmy that spit shot out of her mouth towards her family, and they quickly jumped back to avoid it. She licked it away with her tongue and awaited their congratulations.

The three startled faces of her mom, dad, and grandpa stared back at Lilia. She saw big eyes and slight smirks, but that's all. She couldn't figure out why they weren't seemingly happy for her.

Her grandpa began, "Lilia, in Hebrews 13:5, the Bible tells us 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

"What does that have to do with Jimmy, for crying out loud?" cried Lilia in complete exasperation. She slapped her forehead with her hand. This feels like a trap, she thought.

"What does that mean to you, Lilia?" queried her grandpa seriously. He gazed at her intently and waited for her to answer.

"It means that when I need God's help, he'll always be there to help." Lilia wondered if this would help at all. Gramps is so smart in the ways of the Lord, she thought.

"Yah, that's partially right. It means that he's always with you, not just if you call him to be with you." Her grandpa could see the dawning of truth in Lilia's eyes, as they grew wider.

"You mean that when I sat on that brat, Jimmy, and held him down, God was there?" This isn't good, Lilia thought.

"Yes, Child," her grandpa admitted simply.

"Oh, this stinks! Now, you're telling me that what I did was wrong and God knows it?" Lilia felt appalled and knew that she was losing ground.

"Yes, Child, he does. You see, Lilia, God is not with us for just inspiration and extraordinary circumstances, he's with us in everything we do, even mucking out the barn or feeding the cattle or riding your horse, King," said her grandpa as he drove his point home. He folded his hands together in front of him in finality.

"Well, if he's always with me, then I'll have to write a song to sing to him while we're working to remind me, something like, 'I'm cleaning the barn, praise the Lord! I'm feeding the cattle, praise the Lord! I'm shucking corn, praise the Lord! I'm hauling hay, praise the Lord!" All the smirks turned into outright laughter. Lilia's dad looked like he needed a tissue for his watering eyes.

Her grandpa brought everything back to the right tone. "You're getting closer. Child, everything that we own or have is given to us by the Lord: the horses and cattle that eat the hay, and the hay itself. If we remember that God is always with us, we can honor him with our work and our actions," he said as he nodded his head in affirmation.

"I guess I didn't honor God today when I sat on Jimmy," reflected Lilia remorsefully. She bowed her head in shame at the realization of the truth.

"No, you didn't," chimed her dad. "Someday that boy will be twice as big as you, and he'll definitely remember that you bullied him. Then, what will you do? Huh?"

"I'll sing 'Praise the Lord!' and run for my life!" Lilia cried with humor, and she could see that they threatened to burst forth with laughter.

Her mom slowed things down a bit. "Think about how you can make it up to Jimmy."

"Do you think he'll forgive me if I say I'm sorry and make him some brownies?" Lilia asked hopefully, mainly to please her mom, since she still held Jimmy in low esteem.

"That's a good start, Lilia. I'll help you after dinner," her mom replied, as she smiled encouragingly at her daughter. Lilia doesn't mean to be a bad girl, she just gets carried away in the moment sometimes, her mom thought. Lilia sighed deeply as her spirit stretched and grew with the Word of God.

Christmas Letter 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

The books are hilarious, inspirational, uplifting, and sometimes shocking stories of a fellowship of young people in Wailua, Kauai, who allow God to be their guide as they struggle through their youth and humanness. Sometimes their adventures are endearing, and other times they are downright outrageous. Confidence: Reliance on the Spirit is the second book in “The Faith Series,” a series of 5 to 6 books. The first book is Innocence: Simplicity of Spirit.

This year was one of the most remarkable years in my life to date. Anything is possible when we follow God’s leading.

The holding company for the original publisher and another very large publisher transferred me to the large publisher in June, and gave me a wonderful new contract, which I couldn’t refuse because the terms were so much better than the old contract! The new publisher has a worldwide marketing plan for the books, which has already gone into effect. The first book featured at the World Book Expo in Frankfurt, Germany a few weeks ago. Out of the 800 authors that the publisher represented, 30 or so authors received deals with major distributors in other countries. Innocence: Simplicity of Spirit received multiple deals in China, Turkey, and Greece. It seems that these countries are looking for books written for young adults with American values.

Next is the London Book Expo, and then we, Don and I, will represent the books at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA, which draws 130,000 or more attendees. After that, Don and I travel to the huge New York Book Expo, and then the books go to the Beijing Book Expo, and then back to the World Book Expo in Frankfurt, Germany to complete the year.

The publisher also features the books in “Bowker’s Books,” the book list that bookstores use to shop for new books. Soon, the books will be coming to a bookstore near you. They are currently on all the big bookstore websites, along with the books from “The Spirit Series.”

We are a few weeks away from the release date for Confidence: Reliance on the Spirit, and the publisher’s website is not up yet. In the meantime, you may order Innocence: Simplicity of Spirit, and pre-order Confidence: Reliance on the Spirit from the website below:

Website: www.storiesforbelievers.com

Blog: http://storiesforbelievers.blogspot.com

E-mail: storiesforbelievers@live.com

Thanks for all your support. We plan to look up this holiday season and give thanks for the miracles while we continue to place our work in God’s hands. May God bless you and keep you in his tender loving care now and always.

Peggy and Don

Fourth of July

The Christian family Fourth of July was an exciting day for everyone. Lilia couldn’t wait for the fireworks tonight. She loved it when all the kids ran around in the dark with sparklers. It looked like disembodied lights, which made their way around the yard on their own. It was a perfect end to a perfect day of family activities.

At one o’clock in the afternoon, the families started to arrive. Lilia could feel the excitement build. The new family from church arrived, too, the Lindermans. Kids age five to age fifteen poured out of their van in every direction. Mrs. Linderman had had a baby every year for eleven years, and she didn’t have any help. Lilia’s mom didn’t know how she did it and neither did anyone else.

Her mom introduced Lilia to Mr. and Mrs. Linderman. Lilia liked the gentle and sweet Mrs. Linderman immediately, and took an instant dislike to Mr. Linderman. He employed loud and crude language, words that children shouldn’t hear, or for that matter, even adults. Lilia speculated about what the kids would be like. The little children appeared quiet and held onto their mother. Lilia liked Mary and Larry, who were eleven and twelve, but the thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen year-old Dean, Dick, and Bill were another story. They were just like their dad, profane and disruptive.

The afternoon with the three young men challenged Lilia’s temper. Her father suggested she give the three young men rides on her magnificent American Saddlebred horse, King. Dean kicked King and abused him, and so Lilia returned Dean to the paddock and ordered him to dismount. Bill insisted that he was next. The first part of the ride commenced smoothly until he decided to fondle Lilia’s breast. The mortified and angry Lilia reared King and dumped Bill on his butt on the ground. She left him there in the red dust, cantered King home, and ended the afternoon of rides.

After dinner that evening, everyone felt amicable, even the nasty Linderman boys. The moment approached that all the guests waited for, the fireworks. The dark navy sky turned darker yet and cars gathered on the highway. Lilia spied the sheriff’s car three cars down. Contented adults and children filled the picnic tables, chatted agreeably, and waited for the famous Christian Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza.

The dads delivered sparklers to all the younger kids with a warning not to burn themselves. Lilia trotted around with the children, waved the sparklers, and pretended to be happy. Dick, Dean, and Bill lit sparklers, too, but Lilia couldn’t figure out why. Usually the older kids weren’t interested in sparklers. She gazed on at their actions in utter horror. Like planned clockwork, Dean, Dick, and Bill launched their half-burned sparklers, one, two, and three, into the large box of fireworks before anyone could stop them.

The box exploded like a bomb right in front of the boys. Dick shrieked that he had burned his hand. Dean and Bill tore off from the onslaught of fireworks artillery. The guests howled, screamed, yowled, and wailed as moms and dads dashed to protect their children.

The aerial repeaters shot off in whatever direction the original explosion forced them. They careened into cars, scarred buildings, and broke windshields. Firecrackers danced and popped unpredictably and threatened anyone nearby. The spark-emitting fountain shot out sparks right, left, up, and down on the mound, all at the same time. The ground spinners ripped furiously across the grass in every direction. Moms, dads, and children sprinted away uncertain of the next bombardment. Rockets and missiles crackled, popped, and spewed stars on the grass where the children played. The high-pitched screams of the children curdled Lilia’s blood. Roman candles burst and repeated as the missiles shot over the heads of everyone there, and forced people to dive to the ground in the dirt.

Lilia stooped behind a car next to the wheel to shelter her legs. She quickly donned her baseball cap as sparks lit on her hair. She felt discouraged for the people on the highway, who anticipated the cosmic light show, but didn’t know for sure what had happened. The only thing the highway spectators witnessed was ground explosions and chaos as moms, dads, and children ran and shrieked all over the yard. The onslaught ended as quickly as it had started. Adrenalin ran so high that people half-fainted on the ground.

Without a word of apology, Mr. Linderman whistled a loud and distinct whistle that all his kids recognized. The mom and children scooted to the family’s van and hopped in. Darrell rolled down his driver’s side window, waved good-bye to the other guests, and yelled with great pride, “Aren’t my boys a hoot?”

Precautions Are a Risk

Precautions tend to increase and reinforce fear. I don't want the fear of attack to make a coward out of me or keep me from fulfilling God's plan for me. Therefore, I stand bold and alone and wait for the guidance. I trust in God and he leads me with my hand held in his gentle grasp. It seems like an uncertain future from earth, but the truth is that our future life is more certain when we look up.