Click here to purchase : ) I am not going to write my usual long blog entry because I am just happy to have a book out on the market for you to buy and enjoy reading as you support my writing endeavors.
I heard a close friend recently ask the following question: “Is anything good ever going to happen to me?” I think we have all had that question in the back of our mind at some point in life. You constantly look at God in the sky and ask, “What are you doing?” For the last four-six months, I often had that conversation with God because things have just not been that easy for me.
But I think it comes down to what I have labeled as a Kingdom mind-set. God does not necessarily promise success, joy, and happiness 24/7. We have to go through hard times to realize how truly good we have it as Christians. I cannot explain the change in attitude, and please understand we all have our bad days. But yesterday, I had a simple praise for my Bible study that I was grateful for all that is good in my life – my church, my friends, my family, this book, my computer, taking clean showers, whatever. How we look at things often determines how moments play out in real life. I cannot remember a time of adversity in my life when things did not turn around for the better eventually. And one day we are truly going to live in the Land of Forever with God so things will inevitably turn around in the end for everyone, won’t they?
I have been uplifted and discouraged at the same time in my writing. Several people have turned in ignorance simply in reaction to what they do not understand. This has included some authors and ministry leaders I really had the utmost respect for. On the flip side, I also had people show kindness from areas and in ways I never expected to encounter. For instance, one friend on two occasions has introduced me twice and instantly told the two new acquaintances I published a small collection of poetry and photography that they needed to buy. I literally just met this guy less than two weeks ago. Morally founded and supportive Christian relationships will stick around. Those who end up flaking out in the end may not be the best relationships for you to be in right now or ever for that matter. Do you really want to surround yourself with people who are not around when you really need them? I mean I have been crushed by some of the friendships over the years I have lost and even in the last year, ones who supported my self-publication andsome who didn’t.
In the beginning of the book, I have a familiar quote by Winston Churchill that says, “Never, never, never give up.” There will always be people who criticize what you do because often times they do not have a Kingdom mind-set. When things get hard, they back away because they do not understand what the eternal or even instant ramifications may be. Those who stick around usually understand an all-knowing awesome God! So do not let the criticisms pull you down; let them fuel the fire for what you want to be. I would like to publish several books from here on out. I consider this book to be a success because these 23 poems and 23 photographs are mine. God gave me the ability to produce something that some might consider beautiful during one of the worst seasons of my life. Maybe something good did come out of those days when I asked, “Is anything good ever going to happen to me, God?”
I dedicated this book to my Peruvian family (Waldo, Estela, and Marcelo) because they understand the nature of what it means to be there when someone needs you. I was a complete stranger for the summer I spent with them, and I have never felt so welcomed in my life by anyone who just randomly did not know me. When someone goes through hard times, maybe we should emulate the nature of a collective culture. Do not think about yourself. Think about the person you should be serving in His name!
Today I give thanks for a book that has taken several months in the making with some poems I have been working on and off for several years. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to bring something even though small forward into creation. I introduce to you Veintitrés a book that started from the beginning when I was a nobody trying to become a somebody.
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to HIS POWER THAT IS AT WORK WITHIN US, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21
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