'Tis No Secret

Not long ago, there was a big buzz about the book & film The Secret. I received emails on it that made me uneasy – frankly, even queasy. Christians were buying into the philosophy – using it to boost their belief in their biz opportunities and potential prosperity.

The Secret encourages a sort of New Age humanism, power-positive thinking, mind over matter, speaking into existence what is not etc. It’s a differently packaged form of “name it & claim it”. And it’s deceptive.

This book, like some others I’ve heard folks recommend for biz building, speaks of the “power of attraction”. If you’re positive, you’ll attract success etc. If you’re successful you’ll attract success etc. My question is: In whose eyes? What is successful to man is not necessarily successful to God. Or in eternity.

One highly successful person was Mother Teresa—in spite of her doubts. (Hey, who doesn’t have doubts at times? And if you’re caught up in a religious system, you likely have greater doubts). Most of Teresa’s time was spent with poor people. She attracted them. She also attracted people who wanted to help them, or who wanted to know Jesus. And although she was often in the company of rich, influential people, that was not where she was most at ease—and they were neither the source of, nor the inspiration for, her success. She hung with the poor and needy. They, and God, breathed success into her ministry.

While I realize that business is not ministry but rather it’s a means to make money, I think we must be as honest in business as in ministry. As Christians, we should present our goods with integrity. Promoting a belief system whereby you can speak yourself into becoming rich doesn’t cut it for me.

If we’re Christians, then let’s shine Christ’s light before hailing a philosophy that either contradicts biblical values or imitates them in a deceptive way (as does The Secret). Let’s think things through biblically and prayerfully before gullibly riding the current wave of forwarded emails.

The Secret is about “me” and my embetterment. The Gospel is about Jesus, and helping others. We help them not so they’d then help us; we help them just to help them, so they’ll have better lives. That’s what’s so beautiful about helping the poor and, as Jesus said, about inviting them into our homes. They cannot give back in lucrative terms.

My prayer is that we learn to discern. There’s a lot of stuff out there that sounds good, upbeat, positive…But is it biblical? There’re a lot of wounded Christians out there from unbalanced movements (either too legalistic or with a really warped sense of grace). Some have thrown out everything they ever learned of God—throwing out the baby with the bathwater just because they have a hard time finding the baby in the dirty water. (Granted, it does take a little bit of groping around in the murk, but that’s where the Word truly is a light. It helps us find the baby in the dirty bathwater). May God help us not to throw away the baby—the truth—and not to lose all Christian bearings and discernment becoming wishy-washy, gullible Christians who will now swallow every sugar-coated philosophy…

I say, “Time to wake up”. All of us. I don’t want to sleep the sleep of dullness and be lulled into lululand by lies. I want to wake up to the Master’s voice, to the sweet sound of our Shepherd calling and directing us (Isa.30:15). He will not remove our Teacher if we’ll hang on in there (Isa.30:20). So let’s hang on in there. Hang with Him. Hang with the poor. Cling to the Bible. Forget The Secret. Let’s read the Bible.

Here’s a good website to learn more about The Secret: www.alwaysbeready.com

Janey L. DeMeo©September 2007

Today’s Relevant News

Immeasurable cruelty! Some monster deliberately sets 5-yr-old Youssif on fire in Iraq. Unfathomable. My thoughts? The world has gone worse than whacky and we need to stand up for righteousness. My only consolation is that Youssif and his family are coming to America and I’m praying they hear the Gospel and come to know Christ.

Then we’re reminded of Michael Vick’s victims. He drowned or hung the dogs that didn’t win, after already torturing them their entire lives. My thoughts? He deserves the same treatment. But our God is a God of mercy so let’s pray that Vick gets maximum sentence and that he too comes to know Christ in prison. Maybe he’ll have time to do some good on this earth before meeting his maker.

We also learned that Mother Teresa—someone I’ve admired for years—had serious doubts about her faith. Am I surprised? No, not at all. If she really knew Jesus, she would be vulnerable to doubts as we all are. But more importantly, she did not have sound teaching Let’s face it, her faith was based on an unbalanced system, not solely on the Bible. That would make it shaky. And if she didn’t have true faith (I personally believe she did based on years of studying her life and quotes, but only God really knows), then having doubts would be explained by a lack of Christ’s indwelling life. The Bible and the indwelling Holy Spirit help dissipate doubts. Add to that mix a good assembly of believers to encourage and allow us to hear good teaching and you have a good recipe to build up your faith—although hard situations and trials never fail to test it. Without those essential ingredients, it’s almost impossible to hear God’s voice.

That’s my take (at least, briefly put). What’s yours?

Other news includes that Berlin Zoo has a new baby elephant. I’d so love to see him. I absolutely love elephants. They are incredible animals—and their qualities could put a lot of humans to shame. More on that another time…

Janey L. DeMeo Copyright©2007 August 24th

The Legend of the Firefish

I must confess that The Legend of the Firefish is not a book I’d normally pick to read. I mean pirates are not my usual cuppa cha. But as I began reading it, I got hooked. Maybe I got ensnared by Talon—evil personified, God forbid! She gave me the willies. Very creepy. Or did I see myself in Panna? God-fearing, feisty, a little naïve, and with a monstrous mission. These are the two key female characters, although I must mention Hen, the endearing personification of motherliness.

I don’t think I identified with the key player, Packer Throme, because frankly I’m not a boy—although I live with two and I bet they could plug into this character, especially my son. The characters are very well portrayed, distinct and enough stereotyped to allow us to recognize them from life.

The book is filled with adventure, action, pirates, intriguing plot and gore. Yes gore. Blood spilling fights. It all had a purpose. Polivka brilliantly portrays the horror of life, sin, evil and carefully weaves the beauty of mercy into his story. That to me is what Firefish is really about.

Sure, Firefish is the story of Packer Throme, a young man who loves God and is also in love with the young and beautiful pastor’s daughter, Panna Seline.

Packer has apparently failed at seminary, but seeks to make a difference in the world and, like most of us, is has mixed motives; he wants to combat evil but he also wants to marry Panna. Should he risk his life to try and improve the world of his poor fishermen in his world? Or should he stay and settle down with Panna ignoring the knowledge left to him by his now deceased father?

Packer finds himself joining the pirates in the quest to follow his father’s discoveries and help find the fiendish firefish. His goal is to improve the economy of the poor fishermen in the world he grew up in. Unexpectedly, Packer finds himself targeted by Talon who is driven by cold blooded cruelty that shows no bounds.

I really should say no more. You just need to read the book. And I’d especially recommend it for men and for boys. How hard it is to get our teen boys to read. Maybe this will lure them in. It did me—and I ain’t no pirate person.

Brief interview with author, George Bryan Polivka. (GBP = author, JD = me, the interviewer).

JD - George, did you draw your inspiration for this book from the Pirates of the Carribean craze?

GBP -- No. I wrote "Firefish" a dozen years ago.

JD - I see mercy as a key thread throughout the book. Is mercy a facet of God's nature you particularly hoped to portray?

GBP -- Yes. That, and the heart of the believer that craves it, knowing mercy is not deserved. I like to talk about faith as what happens on the other side of despair, and I tried to work that out in the story.

JD - Did you write this book for any particular audience?

GBP -- It's for the people of God, in response to the command, "Feed my sheep."

JD - Do you think see the book being made into a film? (I do and I even have a suggested actress for Panna).

GBP -- I see the book as a film when I write it! I have written movie scripts and television programs. But I'd love to hear how you see Panna. I can't mentally cast it myself; the characters are too real for me... and they aren't actors!

JD -- Thanks George. Keep on writing, and killing those firefish. We'll be looking for the next book.

GBP -- You're welcome. And it's available now! Amazon or your local Christian bookseller. "The Hand that Bears the Sword."

Check out some of my fellow bloggers’ reviews of The Firefish:

Trish Anderson
Brandon Barr
Wayne Thomas Batson
Jim Black
Justin Boyer
Grace Bridges
Amy Browning
Jackie Castle
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Frank Creed
Lisa Cromwell
CSFF Blog Tour
Gene Curtis
D. G. D. Davidson
Merrie Destefano
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Beth Goddard
Marcus Goodyear
Russell Griffith
Jill Hart
Katie Hart
Sherrie Hibbs
Christopher Hopper
Jason Joyner
Kait
Karen
Dawn King
Tina Kulesa
Lost Genre Guild
Terri Main
Rachel Marks
Karen McSpadden
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Lyn Perry
Deena Peterson
Rachelle
Cheryl Russel
Chawna Schroeder
Mirtika Schultz
James Somers
Steve Trower
Speculative Faith
Jason Waguespac
Daniel I. Weaver

One Little Secret

I first met Allison Bottke at the Write-to-Publish conference in Illinois a few years back. Today I’m reviewing her book, One Little Secret. Tomorrow, I’ll hop back on the loop of the CSFF blogtour.

For a boomer babe new to chick-lit and new to So Cal where the story takes place, I enjoyed One Little Secret. The plot centers around Ursula Rhoades, a middle-class, educated boomer chick with an almost perfect family. Ursula’s life is comfy—until a secret silently sows pandemonium.

Ursula typifies the submitted, steadfast Christian mom and wife who places family above her own dreams. But when an opportunity opens for her to fulfill a latent dream, she begins recording an album with a famous, “sexy dude” rock star—incognito. Meanwhile, her own husband is caught up in his own ambitions as a lawyer—and is away for several months on a case. So are the kids. Ursula is quite alone. Quite the set-up for trouble.

Although Ursula appears spiritually solid, some of her behavior leaves us questioning her maturity—and turning pages. For example, Ursula is often alone with Nik, and there is a clear, although controlled, play of chemistry between them in spite of their age-difference. While Ursula never betrays her marital status, she does put herself in precarious situations. At one point, Nik turns up at her house at 5am where she is all alone—and has been for weeks, making her vulnerable. Ursula invites him in. Not a wise move—especially since Nik is attracted to Ursula.

This kind of predicament keeps the tension rising as the reader wonders if Ursula will, in fact, cross the line. Some would argue that she already crosses the line by ignoring God’s mandate to “abstain from all appearance of evil.” Whatever viewpoint you take, from the angle of plot only, the dilemma keeps us turning pages—albeit with a bit of a “tut, tut!”

Bottke is generous with detail. I enjoyed the décor in Ursula and Don’s bedroom (my favorite color), and some of Ursula’s footwear sound gorgeous. Nothing is spared to show the opulence of Hollywood and riches. (On a personal note, since living in So Cal near some the world’s richest people while working with some of the poorest, the paradox often leaves me perplexed!). So, if you’re into boomer chick lit intrigued by glitz and Hollywood, you might want to give this book a try. I think you’ll enjoy it! You can order it on Amazon.com And while you're there, check out Allison's U-Turn series.

Adam's Amendment

This blog is decidedly varied in its content—although if you’re smart, you’ll see the common thread. Needless to say, as well as literature, music, culture, philosophical issues, philanthropic issues, this blog focuses on suffering. As founding president of Orphans First, I’m concerned that children suffer, and hope to encourage folks to make a difference for one, two, more children. It actually bothers me intensely that any victim suffers—especially the small and defenseless. That’s why I sometimes draw attention to the suffering of animals.

Today, someone emailed me this blog url. I urge you to look at it whether you’re interested in animals or not. Personally, I think we should care about animals hurting just because they hurt. And because they’re helpless victims. But if that’s not where you’re at, maybe this will prick your ears. There’s a distinct link between cruelty to animals and murdering humans. One commonly leads to the other. Read more about it here and see what you can do to help:
http://www.adamsamendment.com/

Here is a direct quote from that blog (used by permission).

“Help prevent cruelty and torture to animals in the State of California. Help ensure these heinous crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and perpetrators will be justly punished with a longer prison range. Currently, California law allows only a MAXIMUM of 3 years, which is greatly out of proportion with the seriousness of the offense - help raise the limit to a maximum of 6 years. Statistics show that individuals that commit crimes against animals are FIVE TIMES more likely to commit violent crimes against humans. Animal cruelty is a serious crime, which should result in a serious punishment. Sign this petition, and urge local legislators to create a bill to help amend this law, and impose a stricter sentence. It only takes a moment, and it's such a worthy cause! Adam is a tiny kitten who was burned alive in June of 2007 in Santa Rosa, California. Ensure that crimes like this will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Learn more about this petition at www.adamsamendment.com”

Thanks for caring enough to check into this. As I’ve suggested in a previous post, dealing with this kind of cruelty can help prevent cruelty to children. May God soften our hearts to do His will in these types of situations, and keep us from becoming cold or indifferent!

Until soon,
Janey DeMeo

No Beauty in Cruelty -- dogfighting, prayer, sin eater

Last night, my son and I watched The Last Sin Eater based on a Francine Rivers novel. Intriguing. It reminded me of our Savior’s mercy in freeing us from guilt’s heavy load —and how He continues to set us free as we look to Him.

Recent news exposed the depravity of Michael Vick and all those who, like him, brutally torture animals for their twisted, evil pleasure, electrocuting the losing dogs after they’ve lived in pain and agony perhaps for years. What they do to those animals is unthinkable. Monstrous! This sordid tragedy brings to thought many things. One is that this is a cruel world and we, the redeemed, are called to be salt and light in it. How can we be more salty and lighty? First, we can pray.

There is no doubt in my mind that prayer changes things. How, why, to what measure—those are deep theological issues and we may all bring to the table a different doctrinal slant. But prayer does change things. It is a privilege allowing us to collaborate with the divine, with God.

We can pray more for the suffering children of the world – that God delivers them, that He’d send forth laborers to release them from their plight, that He’d raise up Christians to adopt, and others to help financially…We are given the privilege to pray so let’s do it.

We can pray also for suffering animals. Why not? I didn’t say pray for them more than for humans, but we can add that to our prayers. There is no beauty in cruelty. It is not right that creatures suffer, especially from human inflictions and inhumanity. Let’s bring hope into these harsh situations by praying.

Of course, we can pray for souls, for people to come to Christ. That’s a given. What could be more important? We can also pray for nations, for ethnicities for governments, for troops, for those trapped in religion. We can pray for old people whose lives are close the end, for young people, for the wounded and needy, for the poor—and the rich who, according to Jesus, have the greatest difficulty coming to Him (perhaps because they don’t realize they need Him).

But there are other thoughts I have too. I’ve thought about the immeasurable sickness in man’s mind to perform such cruelties as dog fighting. I personally don’t understand it. But I do know this: Jesus died for the sins of all mankind. He can forgive, cleanse and give a new heart to each one who lets Him in. This is quite remarkable. The movie, The Last Sin Eater brings this out, and I recommend seeing it.

Janey L. DeMeo
Copyright©2007 (written July 31st 2007)

In Mortal Danger by Tom Tancredo, socio-politics & the banishing of basic ethics

News can be alarming, although necessary if one is not to become an Ostrich and lose the salt (as in salt of the earth, not some tasty dish). Apparently, Al-Qaeda has planned more strategic attacks on the USA. Not that it comes as any surprise. What did we expect? That they’d take a long vacation? Dah…! Let’s face it. America’s made it easy access.

If you don’t believe me, read IN MORTAL DANGER – The Battle for America’s Border and Security by Tom Tancredo, U.S. Congressman, Colorado (WND Books). Extremely enlightening, delightful reading, I highly recommend it. (The book reflects Tom’s integrity.)

I wish I’d read In Mortal Danger before. I’ll say more when I’ve finished reading but for now it’s triggered off several thoughts:

Today, our core Christian values are being turned topsy-turvy, justified by relativism so that it’s calling evil good is commonplace. No wonder then that illegal actions are glossed over, even endorsed. But when we accommodate those who bypass the law instead of making them accountable, we promote the belief that breaking the law is OK. (The book’s context clarifies this statement but to avoid ambiguous interpretations to any who don’t know my heart, I’m not referring to actions parallel to Corrie Ten Boom deceiving Hitler’s régime to obey God’s higher law of compassion).

Anyone can understand why people want to come to America—especially me. But to bypass the proper channels only increases internal instability. And employing illegal aliens (who provide cheap labor) as a means to increase one’s income is not only rooted in greed, it’s illegal.

I remember being a little girl (amazing I can remember that far back), and seeing Muslim-nation immigrants pour into England like uncountable (and unaccountable) stampedes. I remember parents expressing alarm about how this would tax the national health system (it did—it rendered it practically impotant!).

Today, Britain is paying. Hearing Dad talk about Britain’s present socio-political front is scary. (No, it’s not scary to talk to Dad—he’s a sweetie—but it’s scary to hear what’s happening). Still, England’s instability may prove to be childplay compared to what could well happen in America—if we don’t wake up.

Today I received a comment from a missionary-pastor friend, James, who wrote this with regards to a NY Times article entitled “Small Donors Give Big to Obama” by Dan Morain and Doug Smith, Times Staff Writers, July 16, 2007. (Check it out online). Sez Missionary James: “…I read the following article and was truly shocked. How can a Muslim get this far in the campaign for the highest office in the USA? This is a very disturbing news article to me. America needs to wake up now instead of after the election. Many people were shocked when an unknown like Bill Clinton was elected. I hope we are not asleep this time. Obama attended Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the Radical teaching that is followed by Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world. His recent move to join the Church of Christ is nothing less than “political candy.” Don’t swallow it. Be assured, a stomach ache is soon to follow. James”.

That’s not hard to digest, James. You wrapped it up well.

However, I'd still like to know more on all the candidates before casting judgment. I know better than to believe what media say -- whether good or bad. Best to check out the facts thoroughly first. After all, there are a lot of alarmists out there, and they only serve to distract us from our true focus, make Christians look like idiots, and keep us from the essential. Let's pray diligently and ask God to really lead us in truth and illuminate the facts.

Now, how do we prepare our children for this kind of unpromising future? A friend recently interviewed me with regards to my book, Heaven Help Me Raise These Children - Biblical Direction for Practical Parenting Issues –
http://gracereign.blogspot.com/2007/07/interview-with-janey-demeo-author-of.html

Meanwhile, I believe that there’s never been a needier time to better equip ourselves as parents—for the sake of our children’s future. May God give us grace to obey.

Janey L. DeMeo
Copyright © July 17th, 2007