Theology

An Amazing Legacy

By Karen Ballon June 17, 2015

I just visited my younger brother and his family. Kirk and his wife, Lyn, both went to Seattle Pacific University, so it was no surprise when Kirk shared a video made to honor Paul Lee, an SPU student killed in the campus shooting last year. What did surprise me was how profoundly affected I was by the video. That this young man so enriched and impacted those around him that they created a beautiful homage a year later…one that celebrates the joy and delight Paul took in life…

What an amazing legacy.

As you watch this video, ask yourself:

What legacy will my words, written and spoken, leave when I’m gone?

Praying we may all inspire others the way Paul did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuqtRAtEFmA

The Myth of God’s Goodness

By Karen Ballon June 10, 2015

Tweet36

I’m in the process of developing a program with a friend to minister to writers who are in deep places in their lives. I’ve been asking God to show me how to encourage and share His truth with those who feel lost, abandoned, worthless, like they’ve wasted their gifts…those who are in pain and struggling… WHAT was I thinking?? There’s only one way to really minister to people in certain situations: …

Category: Christian, Personal, TheologyTag: Christian, Theology

Tools from the Front Lines of Life: Authenticity

By Karen Ballon March 25, 2015

Some things have happened in my life in the last few months that, were I to put them in a novel, readers would say, “That’s just not believable. No way all that happens to one person!” Yeah. Wouldn’t that be nice? But here’s the thing: Hard times, good times…struggles, peace…abundance, desperate lack…sorrow, joy… It’s all gold for writers. Now, I’m not saying to go out there and experience …

Category: Career, Get Published, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: authenticity, Success, Writing Life

The Trajectory Principle

By Dan Balowon March 3, 2015

American culture sends mixed messages. On one hand it tells us that we can be “anything we want to be,” but then if we don’t rise to the top of whatever we pursue it tells us we are failures or at best we should be disappointed in ourselves. There are winners and losers and we are either one or the other. But that is simply not true. A great mayor of small town is not a failure when he/she does …

Category: Art, Career, TheologyTag: Career

Heaven Declares Chapter 12

By Dan Balowon February 24, 2015

In case you missed it, last week the Family of Christians Worldwide declared Chapter 12 Reorientation under the authority of God Almighty who made Heaven and earth. The Details Hundreds of millions of Christians looked around the world, read the news headlines and decided that the Twelfth Chapter of the book of Paul’s Letter to the Roman’s would be a better way to live in a world of turmoil and …

Category: Agency, Personal, TheologyTag: Theology

Thanksgiving Blessings

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 27, 2014

In the spirit of gratitude on this Thanksgiving Day, I share with you today’s Gospel reading from The Book of Common Prayer: John 6:26-35 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto …

Category: TheologyTag: thanksgiving, Theology

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

By Dan Balowon November 25, 2014

Everyone is thinking about being thankful this week so it is comforting knowing that I am not alone on this bandwagon. When President Obama said the words, “You didn’t build that,” back in 2012 and drew such ire from opponents, I was troubled. I understood what he was trying to say…that no one does things on their own without help from someone else. He probably could have found better words to …

Category: Career, Personal, TheologyTag: Personal, thanksgiving, Theology

Etch-A-Sketch Living

By Dan Balowon August 5, 2014

Like everyone else in the world, I had an Etch-A-Sketch when I was young. When my wife and I had kids, we bought one for them as well. (You really only need one in the house) I have great admiration for anyone who could draw anything resembling anything identifiable on it, since the only thing I could draw were stairs. The best part of an Etch-A-Sketch was also its worst. If you messed up on a …

Category: Book Business, The Publishing Life, TheologyTag: Faith, The Publishing Life

Orphan Trains & Wild Stallions

By Guest Bloggeron July 28, 2014

by Allen Arnold I recently read about the unexpected publishing success of Orphan Train. It’s a novel set in present-day Maine and Depression-era Minnesota. This fifth book from Christina Baker Kline has turned out to be a sleeper hit of the year, with more than one million copies sold. I’m intrigued by the book’s premise. But it’s the subhead of the article that caught my attention. “Unlikely …

Category: Art, Guest Post, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Art, Craft, The Writing Life

God’s Map

By Dan Balowon June 17, 2014

“We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps” (Proverbs 16:9, NLT) This has significant implications for authors and book publishers. Over my career, I observe cases that prove that “your future is determined more by your successes than by your plans.” Anyone who knows me has probably heard me say that at one point or another, multiple times. Of course, that statement is flawed, …

Category: Dan, TheologyTag: Christian, Planning, Theology