31 Day Writing Challenge Day 04

When my children were little, it didn’t take very much to keep them entertained.  I’m not sure how many hours were filled with a little reindeer hand puppet we picked up somewhere.  I would put the little fella on my hand and in a funny little voice begin to talk to them about whatever thoughts hit my  brain.

Each of my kids has played with this toy, and quite honestly I had completely forgotten about it until the other afternoon when I was rummaging around in the garage for some packing tape.  I happened to notice the little brown puppet inside a plastic box full of my daughter’s toys from days gone by, and instantly remembered the days of using him to make my children happy.  I’m not sure if he ever had a name, and he probably managed to live in each of my kid’s toy boxes at one point and time.

Isn’t it funny the things we remember, or how our memories work? Before last Saturday when I was looking for a roll of clear tape, I never gave this toy a second thought, honestly even though the memories are locked deep within the recesses of my brain, I would have never even thought about him.  But, seeing him through the clear plastic storage box, and beginning to remember all the times my kids laughed and giggled at the fun we had with him, at once there was a sense of nostalgia, and I had to bring him into my office.

This toy, while getting close to 25 years old probably cost me no more than five dollars back when he was purchased, and what would have possessed me to buy it back then anyway?  Who would have thought a couple of decades later I would find him, and add him to the collection of things important to me in my office?  I guess the thought of my future grandchildren and having fun with them like I did my own kids is why I rescued him from the box of toys.

While I know this blog may be more of a nostalgia tour for me, and not really mean that much to you the reader, I would ask you, is there anything in your life which you might want to hold onto because of the good memories attached to it?  Do you think this is where hoarding begins? 

As I put the puppet back on my hand, memories of my kids as little children replayed in my mind like watching an old eight millimetre home movies, I kind of felt like Clark Griswold watching home movies in his attic on that cold winter morning in the movie Christmas Vacation.  It kind of made me long for those days when my children still lived at home.

And while you can never go back, except in your memories, this little puppet helped to take me back to a great time in my life.  Being a dad, and playing with my kids was one of the highlights of my life, a time when I am pretty sure I was living a full life, even though at the time it just seemed to be a minute here and a minute there.

I’m pretty sure all those times I have played with this little guy; entertaining my children, I never had any idea of what this furry little puppet would mean to me later on in my life.  He’s got a place of honor in my office now, and who knows, in the years to come maybe he will help me bring smiles and giggles to my grandchildren too.

Well until tomorrow, for the Kingdom and the King!

31 Day Writing Challenge Day 03

It’s a curious thing living life on a planet where the individuals are allowed to make their own minds up about stuff.  It’s even more interesting in an election cycle.  This year has probably been no different than any other time in history with one exception; there are truly no candidates who are worth my vote.

You may call me a bad American, or a non-patriot, but really neither of these descriptions is accurate descriptions of who I am.  I consider myself a patriot, and I’m definitely an American (born and raised in the great state of Oklahoma).  But truthfully when I went to vote in the Presidential primary a few weeks ago, it almost seemed as if it were an obligation instead of the privilege it is for me as an American.  There was part of me which only voted because I feel, if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain after the fact.

I remember once when I owned my shoe store, there was this older fellow who came into the store looking for a pair of shoes.  It was right after a Presidential election, and moods were extremely high and volatile on both sides of the vote.  And while I do have opinions, I always chose to keep them to myself and did my best to remain neutral when talking to customers; after all I was trying to sell them something and not sway their political belief.

This gentleman obviously had not decided to keep his beliefs to himself, and went on to tell me how America was doomed now this new guy was in office.  This went on for almost an hour, and when I’d finally had enough I commented, “It’s just a shame more people didn’t at least vote against him.”  The man’s reply was, “I didn’t even vote, what’s the point?”

I realized I might lose a customer, but I couldn’t contain myself.  I asked him what right he had complaining about anything if he didn’t even bother to go vote, and too many men and women had died for us to have this privilege (and that’s what it is – a privilege, not a right) to place men and women in office.  I actually said, “Shame on you.”

The man quickly shut up, and left the store.  I believe he left in shame, not anger, but who’s to say?  Regardless it really rubbed me the wrong way, and I’ve made it a point to go vote ever since, even in the smallest elections.  If we want to effect change in our society, one of the ways we can do this, is by participating in the electoral process.

Like I said earlier, I don’t really believe any of the candidates running for office are likely to warrant my vote, but I will vote none the less, because it is my duty as an American.  What I plan to do, is once it comes down to the two or three candidates running in the actual election, I will begin to research their policies to determine which one most closely aligns with what I believe, and this along with prayer will determine who I will be voting for.

Until tomorrow, strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Writing Challenge Day 02: Anticipation

Anticipation is great isn't it? Heinz Ketchup told us it was so many years ago in their ad campaigns anyway. But really, it means there is something on the horizon for you. I love the feeling of anticipating something too, there is a sense of excitement which permeates your every thought as you wait; sometimes patiently and others not so much.

 Right now there are probably millions of people anticipating something all over the world. I know my anticipation levels are extremely high right at this moment, and I'm just about giddy with it. What things are you anticipating right now? Or are you at all? Without anticipation, we as humans would live sad lives. It's looking to the future which gives us the opportunity to hope, and hope is very important in our lives.

 Faith is the substance of things "hoped" and the evidence of things not yet seen. What are you hoping for, and if you're not hoping for anything, then why not? If you're not hoping for things, then you’re not going to see them either. We should all be hoping for a brighter future, but we should be doing something to pursue it too. We cannot go through this life just hoping things will happen, some times we have to chase after them as well, you know kind of work to see them happen.

Do you remember when you were a kid and it was Christmas Eve? Remember the anticipation of what you were hoping Santa was going to leave under your tree? Or the anticipation of seeing the looks on your family member’s faces as they opened the gift you purchased for them?  These are some of my favorite memories growing up, and they set the standard for all other things I would ever anticipate in my life.

Think about the story in Genesis which tells of the fall of mankind.  In it, God tells Adam and Eve what is going to happen, and how a man will come to set things right, fixing what they had lost.  But it didn’t happen overnight; God’s anticipation level of the upcoming event must have been incredible, especially as the time grew closer and closer.  Imagine how Jesus must have felt as the day approached too.  It might give us a little perspective when we have to wait.

I love the theatre; live Performance Theater, and yes even musicals.  If it were up to me, all of my life would be a musical, but I digress, let me get back on point here.  As much as I love the performances in theatre, it’s the sitting there before the curtain rises which really brings me the full pleasure.  I have no idea of what is going to happen (even when I’ve seen it more than once), because it is live, and anything can happen.

Life is like this; we wake up and have no idea what the day is going to hold for us.  We could experience either good or bad things, sometimes both.  We plan though, pack our lunches, take a shower and get ready to go to work, but until we step out of our homes we can only anticipate what the day is going to be like.  Frodo quoted Bilbo Baggins in The Fellowship of the Ring saying, “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Anticipation is wondering where we are going to be swept off to today.  Embrace it, pursue it and enjoy the journey, after all, it’s the journey which matters, and not the destination.  Well there you have it, strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

31 Day Writing Challenge Day 01 - Short Story

I have taken a writing challenge to improve my craft. The challenge is to write at least 500 words a day. As a way of holding my feet to the fire as it were, I will be posting here for the next 31 days the things I write each day. There will be no rhyme or reason to them; it is just the 500+ words I write. I'd love your feedback too; let me know if any of the things I write resonate with you.  Thanks in advance!

Sifting through the rubble with the tip of his axe, Straghn moved aside the smoldering timbers in an effort to look for something, though he wasn’t sure exactly what it was.  He had come upon this cottage in the woods as he was traveling north towards his homeland, and noticing the smoke it had drawn him like a moth to a flame.  He was hoping though, he would fare better than the moth.

By what was left of the residence, he could tell there was a family which had lived here.  So far he had turned up no remains of any human beings and this brought him a little relief, but it also made him think of his own wife and children back home and with those thoughts he wished he was already there.

This time in history was a brutal one, and men didn’t live long if you were unable to defend your own property.  Straghn’s wife Helga was a strong woman; a shield maiden of his people, and knew how to defend herself with both axe and sword.  It was one of the things which he admired about her, and he knew his family would be safe back in Kattagat while he was gone handling business for King Ragnar.

Feeling warmth through the soles of his boots told him this had happened not so long ago.  The ash hovered just over the ground behind everywhere he had walked, giving it an ethereal and unnatural look.  He half expected Loki; the god of mischief, to show up at any time in one of his many shape shifting forms bringing more trouble on his journey than he had already experienced.

Hearing a crow caw off in the distance he turned quickly looking for the source of the noise.  “Odin is close.” he thought, and muttered a prayer, “Odin, protect me.”  It was just then he heard the low feral growling of the wolf pack at the edge of the woods.  He could hear them, but couldn’t see them yet.  Looking over at his horse, he saw his bow and arrows hanging from his saddle, and wished now he had taken the time to bring them with him, knowing he would never reach them in time to use them against the wolves, he resigned himself to the knowledge this would be a brutal fight.

Deciding on the course of action he should take, he hefted his axe into the fighting position with his right hand, and with his left drew out the knife he carried on his belt, holding it up in a defensive manner.  He had a longer reach with his axe, and would use the knife like a shield against the coming attackers.  Moving out of the rubble in order to get better footing, Straghn watched the edge of the woods for any movement; eyes straining to see into the darker parts. 

It came almost without warning, a long shrill cry like a banshee from behind him.  Turning with lightning quick reflexes honed from countless battles serving King Ragnar, Straghn was shocked to see the woman racing towards him.  Her clothes were burned and tattered, and there was blood on her hands and face.  Forgetting the wolves for the moment, he wondered where she had come from and what had happened to her.

Leaping towards him, she left the ground with her hands outstretched reaching for his neck.  Shocked, Straghn side stepped causing her to miss her target and hit the ground like a thud.  Hearing the air leave her lungs as she hit, he knew he had just moments before she regained her composure and attacked again.  Placing his boot on the small of her back he applied pressure to pin her to the ground, but not enough to break her spine.

She lay squirming under the pressure, calling down curses of all the gods on him for what he had done to her family and home.  He realized this must be the lady of the cottage, and began telling her he was not part of the raiding party.  She screamed curses at him for the death of her family, and he could see she was unable to hear anything he was saying because she was in shock.  Turning the axe over in his hand, and using the wooden handle he hit her on her head; hard enough to knock her unconscious, but not so hard as to break the skin.

Secrets; We've All Got 'Em

Secrets, we've all got them don't we?  And yet when you meet and talk to people you would think you are the only person on the planet who has any secrets to be kept.  People as a whole are pretty good actors, because we've all got a few skeletons in our closets; you know things we don't want anyone to ever find out about us, but you would never know it to talk to them.

It's pretty crazy too, how we think we can stash these secrets away, figuring they will never be found out.  But in the end, secrets have a way of escaping from the behind the closet doors in our lives, often to our embarrassment and shame.  

One of my favorite stories found in the Bible is about King David and the time he watched a young lady taking a bath.  You can find it in 2 Samuel 11, but here is the "Dave" version. There was a time when kings were supposed to go to war, but King David stayed behind and sent his men on to the battle. One night he went for a walk on the roof of his palace, and happened to notice a lady bathing.  Immediately, he sent men to find out who she was, and she ends up coming to see the king, and they have sex producing a child.

This woman belonged to another man; one of David's own bodyguards, and this didn't even stop him from doing what he did.  Ultimately it ended in the death of Uriah, David's man. This secret came out, and David was humiliated by it, losing the respect of his men, and the people he ruled not to mention the son Bathsheba had given birth to.

We tend to hide our secrets because we are trying desperately to not look bad in the eyes of others. We are so concerned with our image, we let our integrity go by the wayside. While in the end, most secrets come to the light of day, embarrassing us anyway.  And this isn't just in Bible stories, it doesn't end there, every day we hear some story about someone who turns out to be someone different than we all thought.  

We see it on the news, or read it in an article and think to ourselves, "Oh my, how can this be?  I thought they were such a good person."  But the truth is, we start running through the Rolodex in our brain searching for our own skeletons making sure they are still hidden from view, with the thought, "If they can get to him, they can get me too."  

It's a horrible place to live as I'm sure you are well aware, I know this has been my address before.  What really makes this bad, is we were never meant to live like this. Adam and Eve started us on this path so many, many years ago, hiding from God after partaking of the fruit they were told not to eat. And to this day, we are all still trying to hide who we are too. We are bound by the secrets in our lives, because they keep us from living full lives they way we were intended to.

Maybe what we need to do, is offer a little bit of grace to those around us, realizing they, just like us have secrets which are keeping them bound and they need to be free from. What if we all worked at not having secrets? What if we brought those skeletons out of the closet into the light of day, and set them free? I'm pretty sure we would all be better people for it too. No more secrets to keep hidden from view, no more watching what we say, trying to keep people from knowing the truth about us; which is we are all imperfect, there is no one perfect, except Jesus.

Let's open the closet doors, release the skeletons and find the full life we are supposed to live; free of guilt and shame. Until next time, strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King.

What's So Important, What's He Carrying?

For those of you who may not know me yet, I'm a huge fan of the Star Wars movies.  While I was pondering what I should write about this morning, this phrase from the first movie came to mind.  Han Solo asks Princess Leia, "What's so important, what's he carrying?"  Of course if you've watched the movie you know R2D2 was carrying the technical readouts of the battle station known as the Death Star.  But what does this have to do with Dave Felts and the blog he is writing this morning you may ask?

Well let me answer this by asking you a question.  What's so important, what's Dave carrying on the inside of him?  Not technical readouts of a battle station I can assure you of this, but there are things on the inside of me which can actually help you in life.  I have lived long enough now to have acquired knowledge on many subjects, and the goal of my life has always been to help people improve themselves.

One of the ways I help people is through my writing.  I have loved to write for as long as I can remember. Putting words down on a page in more than just a random way really excites me. Forming thoughts and ideas and then conveying them to an audience brings me the greatest amount of pleasure. I truly love it when someone reads what I've written, and then tells me how much it helped them in their life. There is no greater joy for me than to help a fellow human being.

 

I'm embarking on a career as a writer; something I've been dreaming about for a long time which is finally becoming a reality, and I would like to invite you to come along with me.  Follow my blog, check out my books at amazon.com/author/davefelts, and watch where God leads me in the coming months and years.

What's so important, what's he carrying?  Questions, answers and a very unique way at viewing this world we live in.  I hope you'll come along with me.

  

I Pee Peed In The Potty

Last week at the conclusion of our Sunday service at church, I was standing around like we do, talking with friends when one of my favorite kids came up to give me a hug.  I then heard her tell her parents her little brother pee peed in the potty all by himself in his class.

After hearing this news, I leaned down to this little three year old and asked him if he had indeed pee peed in the potty all by himself.  His smile was from ear to ear as he loudly exclaimed, "Yes!  I pee peed in the potty all by myself!"  Of course others heard him state this, and it became a big celebration for him, and he excitedly told anyone and everyone he saw of his grand accomplishment.

Time passed, and I gathered my things to leave for lunch, when I saw this little tyke running up to total strangers and with the enthusiasm only a child can bring, sharing his big news.  I had to smile as I watched the reactions on both his face and those of the total strangers.  Then it dawned on me, I had seen this reaction before.

I had to chuckle, because this enthusiasm of a three year old who had just pee peed in the potty was the same enthusiasm I had seen in men I've been around when they did something they felt deserved recognition too.  I believe this is something hardwired into the male species; the need for recognition of a job well done.  We, as men have this need to be recognized for what we do.  

Unfortunately men tend to draw their value as a person from what they do, and if they don't get the recognition they feel they deserve, then they can spend their entire lives trying to find it in other places.  Trying to prove to themselves and others they are worth something.  Looking for this self-worth in the wrong place.

All of my worth comes from Jesus, and what He has done for me.  It's who I am in Christ which is the most important thing, not just the accomplishments and achievements I've managed.  Really, you can line up all of my accomplishments and achievements, and they would be worthless next to the reality of who I am in Christ.  I'm not saying we shouldn't take pride in our work, or the things we do.  What I'm saying is they shouldn't be our primary focus.

Finding out who you are, what you have and what you can do in Christ should be our priority.  Because once we figure all of this out, then we'll truly be fulfilled, and will have something we can tell everyone about!

For the Kingdom and the King!