Agree to Disagree

This is an excerpt from the novel Providence: Leading of the Spirit:

The female host greeted Lilia and Jim, “Thank you for being with us today. I have to say that the two of you make an astonishing-looking couple.”

Lilia replied sweetly, “Thank you. I think it’s because of the contrast in our coloring.”

“Oh believe me, it’s more than that!” the female host exclaimed brightly. “Individually, you are extremely handsome people.” Jim colored pink from the neck up, and the interviewer apologized, “I didn’t mean to embarrass you, Jim.” Jim smiled nicely and nodded at her graciously.

The female host said, “Congratulations on the Country Music Awards, Lilia and Jim. Your performance on the program scintillated with love, and some other mysterious element that I can’t quite put my finger on. It was reported that families across America, and the world were riveted to their televisions during your performance.”

Lilia looked at Jim for a response because she didn’t want to appear too proud.

He smiled and said in his deep, gravelly baritone, “I didn’t want to do it, but Lilia talked me into it, as she often does.” He hugged her slightly with the arm that rested on the back of the sofa.

The female host laughed, and said, “Yes, we’ve heard that she’s quite the precocious young woman.”

“You’ve got that right.” Jim chuckled and smiled at Lilia.

The female host added, “Lilia, you received four awards at the Country Music Awards. That’s quite an accomplishment: Best Music Video, Best Album, Best Female Vocalist, and Entertainer of the Year. Along with that, your ‘Only Him’ album has sold over ten million copies. What do you think of that Lilia?”

“I don’t think about it. I leave everything in God’s hands,” she replied humbly.

“I understand that you have many ministries, Lilia. What do you plan to do with the proceeds from your album?” The female host inquired pointedly.

Lilia smiled sweetly and replied, “My portion of the proceeds is designated for my orphanage in Uganda, Africa, and the outreach ice-skating rink that we’re currently building in Kauai, along with a few other ministries.”

“One of your bodyguards told me that you dedicate any extra time to ministering to the homeless people,” revealed the female host unexpectedly as she focused her full attention on Lilia.

Jim took Lilia’s hand in both of his, glanced at Lilia for approval, and then fielded the question for Lilia. “Lilia believes that if everyone did their part to help the homeless, we wouldn’t have any homeless people in America.” Lilia smiled up at Jim and nodded her head in agreement.

“It’s obvious that you care for each other very much. What does the future hold for the two of you?” the female host asked impertinently.

Jim peered at Lilia, and she eyed Jim demurely, then she turned and said to the interviewer, “I plan to marry Jim someday when the time is right.” Jim lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. The female host smiled at the revelation and lifted one eyebrow to the camera.

“Let’s talk about a sensitive subject, your beliefs. Do you honestly believe that Christians are the only people blessed by God?” She inquired as she put Lilia on the spot on national television.

Lilia didn’t hesitate with her answer. She replied with dignified aplomb. “God wants to bless everyone. The question is: Are we ready to receive the blessings that God wants to give us?”

“I happen to be Jewish. Does your belief mean that Abraham, the father of many nations, will not receive God’s blessing?” The female host drilled her question at Lilia, and tried to get Lilia to tip her hand, but Lilia had prayed about it beforehand, and she felt prepared.

Lilia replied in a sweet but confident voice. “Abraham found favor with God by faith alone, an inner belief and complete trust in God. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. That promise became truth in Jesus Christ, who was from Abraham’s bloodline. Abraham never doubted because he trusted God’s promise of a Messiah. Everyone who believes as Abraham believed is a child of God. God will always provide righteousness to those who believe.” Lilia smiled winningly with empathetic eyes at the female host.

The female host fired her missile in a straight line to Lilia and attempted to rattle her, “What will happen to the Jewish people who believe in God, but not in Christ?”

Jim gazed confidently at Lilia as she replied in an even and sincere tone, “The Jewish people are God’s chosen people. If Abraham’s line of descendants were a tree, the Jewish people would be the natural branches. Some Jewish people are without faith, and therefore, some of the Jewish branches are broken off from the tree. In their place, God grafted some Gentiles into the spot of the broken branches so that both the Jews and Gentiles could share the nourishment of the tree. God doesn’t offer salvation based on the law, traditions, culture, or heritage. Instead, God offers salvation based on faith. Because Jesus is the most complete revelation of God, I have faith in Him. If God was willing to do something so contrary to nature by grafting a Gentile into his cultivated tree, he will be much more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.” Lilia smiled humbly at the female host and waited politely for her response. Jim waited for the host’s response too.

“I don’t necessarily agree with you,” the host pleasantly replied to Lilia, and lifted a brow in question at Lilia.

“I understand,” said Lilia as she countered pleasingly, “but it’s nice that a Jew and a Christian can sit down and discuss it in an open forum rather than persecuting each other.”

“You are a very well-spoken young woman,” the female host replied to Lilia. “I can honestly see why you are successful at so many ministries.”

“Thank you,” Lilia replied engagingly and smiled at her pleasantly.

“You heard it here first folks, the remarkable Lilia Faith Christian, and her bodyguard boyfriend, James Stewart Rose,” said the female host as she reached over and cordially shook Jim and Lilia’s hands. “Thank you for being with us today,” she said and smiled at them. Lilia and Jim both smiled back at her nicely, and the interview ended.

A Star Is Born

This is an excerpt from the novel Consequence: Importance of the Spirit, one of five novels in “The Faith Series”:

The recording sound engineer for the Boston Pops Orchestra turned on the red light. The audience hushed as did everyone back stage. Jim had Bill and Kimo positioned on either side of the stage. Jim stood in the wing closest to wherever Lilia happened to be.

Lilia felt peaceful and full of the Spirit. She repeated the words, “Pantokrator Theos (God transcends everything), oh, mighty God, let this performance be a blessing to you,” She said as she raised her hands to the sky in worship and gave it to God.

Jim knocked on her door, “You’re on, sweetheart.” He didn’t say too much because he knew that Lilia didn’t want to be engaged in conversation and lose her focus. She was now “Princess Marie.”

Lilia only smiled and followed Jim to the stage. The announcer said with a deep bass voice, “We have the honor of welcoming to our stage the renown, youngest diva, Lilia Faith Christian.”

The audience jumped to their feet and clamored in appreciation. Lilia raised her chin and walked onto the stage like the princess she had become. Her grace and beauty overwhelmed the audience. Gasps of awe from the audience filled the air at her presence. Anthony Hamilton, the self-made billionaire whom Lilia had met at lunch that day, watched, staggered, from the other side of the same section where the Christian family sat.

Jim cued the security team, “Mr. Hamilton is on the end of the same row as the Christian family, on the far right.” Each man on the security team quietly radioed back to him to confirm the knowledge.

Francine, Lilia’s mom, held her dad’s arm and felt tearful. Jacob grasped her hand in his. He also felt overwhelmed by the moment. Apelehama, her grandpa, had guessed many years ago what Lilia was capable of accomplishing. Here was yet another indication that he had been right. He held Mandy’s hand in speculative anticipation and tried desperately to hold back his tears.

Lilia acknowledged the audience with a graceful sweep of her arm. She poised herself as “Naughty Marietta” and cued the conductor of the orchestra.

The introduction began, and Lilia sang in a very playful and entertaining manner, “There are two little maidens that live in my heart, and one is so good, like dis! She look comme ca, and she talk ‘La! La!’ Like butter would melt I guess. But the other little maiden that’s also me, has a temper so warm it’s torrid!” The audience tittered because they knew of Lilia’s temper. Most of them had seen the pictures of  Lilia's backside as Jim carried her on his shoulder in this morning’s newspaper. She continued, “So when I am good, I am very good indeed. But when I am bad, I’m horrid!”

Lilia acted out the part just like the little stinker she happened to be in real life. The audience ate it up. She danced around the stage, and sang the chorus where the two characters that made up her personality struggled against each other. She made exaggerated faces that sent the audience into a dither of laughter. She delivered every note with perfect vibrato, precision, clarity, brilliance, and color.

The audience responded with great enthusiasm. They clapped, yelled “Brava!” and laughed at the same time.

Lilia made a few impudent movements to let them know that “Princess Marie” would now sing the next number. Nelson Campbell, an internationally famous tenor, entered the stage to join Lilia. They taunted each other back and forth. Nelson sang the part of “Captain Dick” and Lilia sang the part of “Princess Marie,” who pretended to be “Naughty Marietta.” Nelson sang, “So here’s my hand. We’re friends you see.”

Lilia countered playfully and impudently, “Certainly, certainly. You’ll promise you’ll never make love at me?” She reached out quickly and shoved him back, which startled Nelson into a bewildered response. The audience cackled with pleasure.

Nelson sang, “No, no, no, you will see.”

She sang, “You’ll never try just to kiss my hand?” Lilia slapped him lightly on the side of his face, which flummoxed him. Again, the audience enjoyed the contest between the two characters.

He sang, “I’m not that foolish kind of man.”

They sang together, “Then I’m, sure, if you’re sure, and I’m sure, I am sure, that we mutually understand. We’ll call it bond platonic or friendship tried and true. We’ll call us just good comrades or simply chums will do! You may say I’m your partner, my claim all claims above.”

He sang, “But solemnly swear . . . ”

She sang, “Yes, solemnly swear; it never, never can be love!” Lilia made a face at Nelson and the audience burst out laughing.

Wilson, a smitten fan, sat close to the front of the audience, and thought, I hope it can be love. Anthony Hamilton sat in the front of the audience, and thought, it has to be love. She’s the most enchanting young woman I’ve ever met. Jim watched intently and thought, God, watch over us, and help us through this night. Jacob wondered worriedly. This is my daughter. How are we ever going to keep her safe?

The song ended and Nelson and Lilia held hands and bowed. He kissed her hand, waved, and exited the stage. The audience went wild and felt thoroughly entertained by their antics.

The orchestra played the introduction to the “Italian Street Song,” Lilia’s last number, the finale of the program. The recording of this song at the Hawaii Opera had played on public radio every Sunday for months. Everyone recognized it. It was the reason they had come in the first place. It was also the reason that there was not an empty seat in Boston’s Symphony Hall. The audience, rapt, fell silent.

Lilia began, “Ah! My heart is back in Napoli, dear Napoli, dear Napoli and I seem to hear again in dreams her revelry, her sweet revelry.” She sang with the beauty of an angel with so much precision and accuracy that she astonished the audience. She played the part of “Princess Marie,” royal and yet playful. The audience adored her. When Lilia began the chorus, she took the performance to a higher level.

Apelehama thought, Lilia is setting a new high watermark tonight. A tear slipped down his cheek. He had known when Lilia had been just a little girl. He had known then that she would become a star.

Lilia sang the audience into a silent frenzy. They listened to every nuance, every note, enamored with the young diva. She began the second chorus and sang the obbligato adding a perfect trill, as pure and tight as the warble of a nightingale just before the grace notes. It took the song to a higher level than what the audience had heard on the radio. The audience realized that they were in the presence of greatness and held their collective breath. Lilia sang the sixth C for seven plus measures ending in a perfect run. Then, she jumped and sang through the entirety of the song with perfect cadence and accuracy as she delivered the full sound of a dramatic coloratura soprano. Lilia held the last “Boom” in the coda, and then landed on the F. She belted it out and finished it abruptly with a shake of her head.

The audience leaped to their feet, and clamored and clapped. They hollered, “Brava! Brava!” People threw roses to the stage from every direction.

Lilia bowed humbly, then raised her arms up slowly to the ceiling, pointed at God, and looked up to give God all the glory. That motion sent the audience into hysteria.

Francine couldn’t control the tears. They rolled down her face, and she knew she would have to redo her makeup. This remarkable young genius was her very own daughter. That knowledge threatened to overcome her.

Mandy looked on with awe that words could not express. “Oh, Lilia,” she whispered.

The announcer walked out onto the stage to join Lilia. The audience quieted so that they could hear. He asked her, “Lilia, please tell us from where you get your inspiration.”

Lilia answered with perfect aplomb and without hesitation, “God is the original storyteller. The story is simply told through us.”

The announcer said, “I present Lilia Faith Christian, the youngest diva.” The audience increased their applause audibly.

Lilia delivered her final line, “Thank you, thank you for listening.” That sent the audience off further.

Grace in the Face of Anger

This is an excerpt from the novel Common Sense: Listening to the Spirit, Award-Winning Finalist in the International Book Awards, and Winner of the North American Bookdealers Exchange Pinnacle Achievement Awards:

Butch chewed on a piece of grass while he leaned on the rail by the school steps, and waited for Derek and Lilia to arrive. I’m not done with them yet, thought Butch with hateful vengeance. As soon as he spied her Jeep, he headed nonchalantly in their direction. He pretended that he had business in that direction. Neither Lilia nor Derek spied his approach among the milling student body. She struggled to get out of the Jeep by herself with her sprained ankle while Derek collected her backpack and crutches out of the back of her Jeep. Derek glanced up to see Butch, but before he could get to Lilia, Butch walked casually by her, and hit her shoulder hard with his shoulder. Lilia fell and cracked her bottom lip wide open on the running board. Blood poured forth in a gush. Lilia held her hands to her mouth as they filled up with blood. The blood dripped through her fingers down onto her crisp white blouse and rolled down to her skirt.

“Oh no, Lilia!” Derek charged to her side. He tossed the backpack and crutches into the front seat quickly with force. “Let’s get you to the nurse’s station! It’ll be faster if I carry you.”

He collected her quickly. He easily lifted her frame and hurriedly made his way to the nurse’s station as he dodged all the people in the hallway. Shocked students gawked at the blood congealing all over Lilia’s blouse and could only imagine what had happened. Derek walked-ran with Lilia to the nurse’s station next to the principal’s office.

“Ms. Nelson, please help!” Derek cried as he set Lilia down gently on the bed.

“How did this happen?” The school nurse demanded. She stared directly into Derek’s eyes and insisted on an honest answer. While she waited for his answer, the nurse handed Lilia a clean towel to soak up the blood that spewed forth.

Derek spoke up quickly in a shaking, agitated, and angry voice, “Butch has assaulted Lilia three times in the last two days because he didn’t get hired as her bodyguard and I did. The cuts on her hands and knees and the bruises on her arm are all because of him. Something has to be done about it!” He breathed deeply and finally felt better after getting it off his chest.

“I’ll be right back. I have to report this incident to the principal,” she said with her lips pressed together soberly in a thin line. She hurried from the infirmary room to do so. She returned shortly, and said, “Let’s get you cleaned up, Lilia.”

The nurse told Lilia to lie down, and then she held the cloth to Lilia’s bleeding lip until it finally stopped. She held an ice pack to the lip to help the swelling go down.

After a half hour, the nurse said, “You’d better go home and change, Lilia. There’s blood all over your clothes. I’ll write both you and Derek an excuse.”

“Thank you for your help, Ms. Nelson,” said Lilia graciously. She held her hand to her mouth and didn’t smile for fear that it would cause her lip to start bleeding once more.

Ms. Nelson wrote each of them an excuse, handed the slips of paper to them, and said, “Take her home Derek.”

Derek picked her up carefully and carried her out of the room. An angry Butch sat in the anteroom of the office and waited to see Principal Hampton. He crossed his arms in defiance and stared at the chipped wood on the reception desk. He felt like making another dent in the desk himself.

“Please set me down Derek. I want to talk to Butch.” Butch stared at her with fury.

Derek didn’t set her down, but looked into her beautiful turquoise eyes with disbelief and asked, “Are you sure, Lilia? Really, are you certain?”

She closed her eyes, prayed for the right words to speak to Butch, and then said, “I’m sure.”

Derek gently lowered her to the chair next to Butch and stood very close to her. He wanted to be prepared this time if Butch became argumentative again.

“Butch, do you think we could try to be friends?” she asked with sincerity.

She locked her eyes with Butch’s eyes. God’s love softened her features, and his grace gave her a beatific expression.

She continued in a quiet and slow manner, “I’m sorry for your disappointment about not getting the bodyguard job, Butch.” She laid her left hand on his hairy bulging forearm. “If you gave any inkling to Jim or my dad that you’re a hothead, that’s why they didn’t choose you, because I’m a hothead, too.” She searched his eyes for understanding.

“I’ve heard about your temper,” he said with a gravelly edge in his voice.

Lilia continued in a quiet and sincere manner, “Sad, but it’s true. I wish it weren’t.” Her hand remained on his forearm and doggedly pursued his acquiescence to her.

“What do you want from me?” Butch asked, completely bewildered by her request. “You’ve already gotten me into enough trouble!” He shrugged her hand from his forearm with anger.

It didn’t deter her. She continued in her subdued smooth voice, “I was wondering if you would come on Saturdays and help with our ‘Ride by His Side’ horse ministry?” She asked so sweetly and dearly that it tugged on his heartstrings. She placed her hand on his shoulder to communicate her genuine feelings to him.

“Maybe,” he said softening as he eyed her beauty. He had wanted to be her bodyguard so badly. He had imagined protecting her from every intrusion, and yet here he was the threat himself. It made him sick to think about it, and he sulked.

“You would be a welcome addition, Butch,” she smiled and encouraged him by laying her hand on his forearm again.

“You don’t know my disappointment. I don’t know if I can stand to be around you, Lilia,” he replied. He looked down and shook his head back and forth adamantly.

“Why is that, Butch?” she asked with melting kindness and continued to keep her hand on his arm.

“I have a crush on you,” he answered quietly. He looked at her pointedly to see if she understood.

“I’ll find you a girlfriend, Butch. Everyone says I have a knack for matching people. Trust me, okay?” she said with a pleasant smile and a lighthearted giggle.

Principal Hampton walked out of his office and puzzled at the scene before him. Lilia didn’t remove her hand from Butch’s arm to demonstrate her alliance with him.

The Principal announced in a stern voice, “I’m ready for you, Butch.” It sounded more like an order from a military sergeant rather than a statement or request.

Lilia requested in a pleading voice, “Principal Hampton, may I speak with you first please?”

Principal Hampton looked at her with questioning in his eyes.

“Please, Principal Hampton, can I speak with you?” Lilia begged.

Principal Hampton gave one simple, but stern nod to convey his agreement. Derek watched the whole scene, as if it were a movie playing out in front of him.

Lilia tried to break him out of his stupor, “Derek, could you please help me?”

He conjectured about the mystery of Lilia, lifted her gently, and carried her into the principal’s office.

When they came back out, Principal Hampton said to Butch in a not so pleased manner, “You can go.” He wondered at the young woman and her motives.

Butch felt shocked, and said, “Okay,” in a tentative tone with the last syllable going up in pitch at the end with uncertainty. He, too, pondered what had transpired in the principal’s office.

“See you Saturday,” said Lilia with a little wave and a slight smile at the corners of her mouth. She didn’t want to break the coagulated scab on her bottom lip and cause it to bleed again.

“See you Saturday,” Butch replied with sincerity and a building admiration. He waved a little wave back at her and took a deep breath to relax.

While hauling Lilia back to her car, Derek said as he gazed deep into her mesmerizing eyes, “That was impressive the way you turned a bad situation into a good one.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek.

“I’m getting better at it,” Lilia giggled, and then held her hand up to the pain it caused to her hurt lip. “I haven’t always been that effective, and that’s the truth.”