Writing News

Although I haven’t done it recently, I thought I would take today to update everyone on new developments in my writing.

First I have received notice from the publisher for The Storeroom of the Heart that they are going out of business. It is entirely possible that the book will become available from another publisher in the near future, or possibly after May 1 it will go completely out of print. Not sure which yet, but either way I still have copies if anyone wants to order a signed copy directly from me.

Second I have had a couple of short pieces published just in the last couple of weeks.

Splickety picked up a story I wrote called The Family Business for their detective issue. That is Splickety Prime 4.1 which was their March 2015 edition. I enjoy reading this flash fiction magazine, and I bet you will too. If you are interested in learning more about them here is the general website. http://splicketymagazine.com/ If you are interested in the issue I have a story in, here is a more direct link to purchase it. http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/900198

Another opportunity was that Kim Bond contacted me to include a story of mine in a book she was producing. The name of the book is Spiritual Citizens and the story of mine is titled Grandmother’s Scars. It is intended to be circulated as a free ebook, to be used as a witnessing tool. Here is a link to acquire it in a number of different formats. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/530952 One of the easiest ways to read it is to just view it as a PDF in your browser which can be done at the link above or here is another link that goes straight to it at another location. https://drawneartochrist.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/spiritual-citizens-ebook.pdf

The printed book is inexpensive, but the handling and shipping is high, just so that you are warned. Here is a link to the printed book. http://blur.by/1I5eXou

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Heart Problems

About a month ago, I went to the doctor to follow up on my still new CPAP machine and its usage. In that appointment I mentioned to the doctor that I had woken up in the night with a bunch of chest pressure and pain.

He ordered his nurse to hook me up to a box which did an automated EKG on me. I was so relaxed I was almost asleep, but I woke right up when I heard her tone change as she said, “I want to show this to the doctor.” and slipped out the door.

A moment later my doctor came back in the room and informed me that the box had said I had had a heart attack. He was quick to say he didn’t believe that; he believed my slow heart rate and an anomaly in my rhythm had fooled the machine. But to be certain, he sent me for a full stress test which I had done within a week.

For a bit of history, my father was one year younger than me when he had his first heart attack. My middle brother, who is in fantastic shape and goes on long runs regularly, had a heart attack earlier this year. So family history is stacked against me.

In the time intervening I suppose I tried to take it easy, but my schedule was far from normal. I went on a mission trip for five days. I took several days off to paint my house. I also took my wife in for medical tests and attended a meeting which promised to be very stressful for a local ministry.

During all of these events, I repeatedly noticed pressure in my chest. I tried to take it as easy as possible, but I also fully intended to meet all of my obligations. Even the day I went back to get results proved unusual. My car had a tire going flat, so I dropped it to the shop, and walked from there to the doctor appointment. Along the way I thought to myself, if I get a bad report I am going to feel like an idiot for pushing my luck with all this physical activity.

My doctor said the tests demonstrated my heart was completely healthy. As I walked back to my car after the appointment I didn’t notice any pressure in my chest. Since then, I have had some once or twice, but I am ignoring it like I did all my life prior to that first appointment.

This is an example of how life events affect us. Before the box had made the mistaken diagnosis I had never worried about my heart. But from that time until I got the final word, my head (and spiritually speaking, my heart) were filled with concern for my physical heart. This concern caused me to notice things I normally wouldn’t have. Even though I resisted the temptation to live differently, what filled my heart and mind did shape my behavior.

This is an example of why I wrote the book, The Storeroom of the Heart. I wanted to help believers recognize how the content of their heart shapes their potential. Only by doing what we can to control the content of our heart will we allow ourselves to be most useful to God.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy, you can either pick it up anywhere books are sold. You can get it from CrossBooks, or from Amazon. Or if you want a signed copy you can contact me and I will arrange it. You can use the social media links, on the right side of the blog, then contact me by private message.

Sexualized America

How does media affect you and your family? Below is a quote from my book, The Storeroom of the Heart, discussing the flow from entertainment to real life. The Storeroom of the Heart is available anywhere books are sold, such as the publishers site, CrossBooks. Feel free to comment me below and I will arrange for you to get a signed copy for about the same cost as ordering online. (If you include a request for a book include some contact information and I will make sure that never makes it to public view.)

 

If we are in the habit of watching the most popular television shows, we hear a steady stream of sexual jokes. In the work place, discussion of those shows is almost inevitable. Don’t be surprised if in a light-hearted moment of teasing with coworkers some of the sexual content comes out. Whatever is stored in the heart spills out at some point, even when we consider it inappropriate. Once it’s out there, few people apologize and back off. Most often, it is taken for a laugh, and the comment and the subject matter become a little more socially acceptable.

Book Signing

My next event where my book, The Storeroom of the Heart, will be available is coming up on Saturday. It is the River Valley Regional Evangelism Conference.

Pray for this event which is designed to help laypeople be better trained to win their neighbors for Christ. It is also going to have a heavy emphasis on My Hope, America, the Billy Graham Campaign.

The Shape of a Hero

In my book, The Storeroom of the Heart, I have a chapter about heroes and what they say about society.

“The original Superman reflected what a hero should be. Someone we lift up and point to, someone we desire to emulate. If we portray them as unrealistically good, then so be it. This provides us with a higher calling to strive for in our society.”

Consider today what you want in a hero. If you prefer for them to be tormented souls with a dark secret in their past, what does that say about you?

 

Book Giveaway

Today at 5:00 pm (Pacific Time) will be the conclusion of a book giveaway on my facebook page. If you want a chance to win,  go to www.facebook.com/AuthorCharlesWShort/ and follow the instructions before the event closes.

Book Giveaway (Final notice)

I will be giving away a free copy of my book, The Storeroom of the Heart.
Want it? All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is share the Book Giveaway status from August 28, and like my Facebook Author Page. (Previous likes count, if you already like the site just share this status.)
I will draw one name from those shares, who are also likes on my page, and as will ship it anywhere in the US. (Or elsewhere in the world if shipping cost is less than $10.) This is the first free give away I have done so like it, share it, and get your friends involved.

 

Remember to qualify you have to like the page – not the post and share the specific post – others posts or sharing the page doesn’t count.
The giveaway will end on September 18 at 8:00 am. At that time I will collect the names and draw a winner. It will be announced here one week from today. Good luck.

Book Giveaway (2nd Notice)

I will be giving away a free copy of my book, The Storeroom of the Heart.

Want it? All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is share the Book Giveaway status from August 28, and like my Facebook Author Page. (Previous likes count, if you already like the site just share this status.)

I will draw one name from those shares, who are also likes on my page, and as will ship it anywhere in the US. (Or elsewhere in the world if shipping cost is less than $10.) This is the first free give away I have done so like it, share it, and get your friends involved.

Remember to qualify you have to like the page – not the post and share the specific post – others posts or sharing the page doesn’t count.

The giveaway will end on September 18. Good luck.

Book Give Away

On my facebook page today I am beginning a book give away.  Go to the site, follow the directions and you will be entered into the drawing.  But be careful to read the instructions, to be entered you will need to like the author page and share the book give away status.

Here is the link to my author page, www.facebook.com/AuthorCharlesWShort/

Good luck.

Acorn Woodpecker

Here is an acorn woodpecker. This bird understands the storeroom principle better than most people.

The storeroom principle is, you will only get out of storage what you put in storage. The principle hold true whether storing things in a toolbox, closet or the human heart. Whatever you do store will be available later, but what you don’t store won’t.

The acorn woodpecker earned its name because of its habit of making lines of holes in trees and storing an acorn in each one. Birders call this practice caching. Just like a squirrel storing up nuts for the winter, the acorn woodpecker will come back for them at a later time.

We humans are much more sophisticated and we have a multitude of different storage containers, for a wide variety of situations. But we might miss the applications of storage which we did not design and choose.

In Mathew 12:35 Jesus refers to a storeroom from which evil people draw evil and good people draw good. By looking at the verse before it, we can see this storeroom is a euphemism for the heart.

Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. Matthew 12:34-35 (HCSB)

The human heart is a storeroom, and when you store good things in your heart, then good things are what will come out of you later. But of course the opposite is true as well, if you store evil you will find your heart overflowing evil into your life.

When life shakes us up and something evil comes spilling out of us, quite often from out of our mouth, it’s because we are living out the storeroom principle. But it is possible to make some intentional choices earlier in the process, and by storing good things in your heart you guarantee good things will be what spills out.