Where is Spock when we need him?

Some days it’s hard not to be discouraged about the state of things. Does anyone else sense that we’re at a terrible impasse? A kind of crux, a turning point, where we’re either going to gather ourselves up and figure out some real solutions to our problems or devolve into something worse than anarchy?
It’s disheartening to hear news reports about mass shootings in churches and trucks driven through crowds on an almost daily basis. And everyone seems to have his or her pet peeve on which we take sides and determine THIS, THIS ONE THING, is the sole cause of all our woes, whether it’s “happy holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas” or illegal drugs, or illegal immigrants, or kneeling football players, or porkbarrel waste in Washington, or... you can fill in the blank with whatever it is that’s got you offended.
Unfortunately, none of the blustering and blathering is accomplishing anything. It’s all just a lot of hot air. When are we going to calm down and actually start developing real, workable solutions?
You may recall the Dr. Seuss story of the North-Going Zax and the South-Going Zax from “Seuss on the Loose.” These creatures who dwell in the Prairie of Prax are stubborn. So stubborn they refuse to go in any direction other than their assigned directions (like conservatives and liberals, perhaps?).
In the book, when the South-Going Zax runs into the North-Going Zax, they’re stuck. They cannot compromise, they cannot solve their problem because they are too stubborn to adapt, to change, or even to see another way, and the world goes on around them, leaving them behind.
Is that where we’re heading as a nation? Are we becoming a nation of Zaxes, stuck in opposition to one another? I hope not. I hope rational, reasonable minds will find the courage to crawl out from behind the rocks where they’ve been hiding from the mud-slinging. If this was an episode of Star Trek (the original series) it’s about to the point in the storyline where Spock steps up, to everyone’s relief, and overrides Captain Kirk’s emotional outbursts and machismo with logic in order to save the Starship Enterprise.
Where are the Spocks of our generation?

Are you an original Star Trek fan, or do you prefer one of the more recent incarnations? Why?

Niki Turner is a novelist, journalist, blogger, and the co-owner and editor of the Rio Blanco Herald Times weekly newspaper. Niki is also the current president of the ACFW CO-Western chapter. Married 27 years to her high school sweetheart, she is the mother of 4 adult children and "Mimi" to 4 grandchildren. She just published her 10th novella. Visit her Amazon author page or follow her on Facebook to find out about her latest releases!

Fear Is the Problem

The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but it is fear. ~ Ghandi

The last few days have been yet another painful reminder that our nation is in crisis. As I watch news stories where armies of young Americans march in the streets with torches, spewing hateful rhetoric that’s as wicked and evil as anything coming out of North Korea, I wonder how we got here again.

Is it because we’ve ignored the ugly lessons of history? Is it because we’ve allowed ourselves for several generations the luxury of blaming others—in and out of our country—for our problems? Is it because our politics and our preachers have promoted this “you deserve better” attitude that has created an atmosphere of churning discontent any time things don’t go our way? Is it because the corporate oligarchy that controls everything from what we watch to what we read to what we eat has figured out that if the masses are enmeshed in constant struggles with each other they won’t notice that the oligarchy grows fatter and fatter by the day? Is it because over the course of the last generation we’ve allowed “freedom of speech” to become the freedom to abuse, attack, accuse and basically say any crazy thing we want no matter the consequences?

It could be any or all these things, and a thousand more possibilities, but when it comes down to it, I think the underlying problem is fear. Fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear of the future. It doesn’t matter what kind of fear it is, fear feeds hatred.

It’s tempting to jump on the nearest bandwagon and give in to the fear… but that’s not an answer.

It’s going to take a concerted effort on the part of every sane person to neutralize the fear that has gripped our nation. How do you neutralize fear? The Bible says “perfect love casts out fear.” We need to speak the truth in love. We need to demonstrate love to one another. And we need to set examples of love—the unconditional kind—for our children and our children’s children.  

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us;unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 




Niki Turner is an author, newspaper publisher and editor. You can find her at www.nikiturner.net or visit her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nikiturnerauthor/. All her books are available on Amazon at amzn.to/2hWOsLV

You Can Only Control YOUR Response

by Niki Turner

As current events have unfolded over the past few weeks, you've probably had an opportunity to get angry, frustrated, discouraged, fretful, fearful, outraged, indignant, and appalled. News headlines and social media are designed to generate a reaction, usually an emotional one, and everyone retreats to their respective corners and hunkers down, suspicious of everyone and worried about the future we face.

It's easy to become overwhelmed by the grief, the horror, the sorrow, the hatred and the ignorance. I made the foolish mistake of dipping my toe in the political fray on Facebook a couple of times during this election cycle. It's astonishing how quickly people who never comment on your posts, never see you in real life, never talk to you in person, will jump on a political post they disagree with like chickens on a solitary grasshopper. There's no room for rational discussion... someone is always screaming at the top of his or her lungs, drowning out anything that resembles reasonable discourse.

So what can we do, besides lock ourselves in our rooms and pray?

The Bible directs us to show respect for those who are in authority—government, church, police, parents, teachers—whether we like them or agree with them or voted for them or not, according to the Bible, we are to "be in subjection" to them. Few Christians would argue that it's all right to make fun of their pastor, or speak evil of him, or curse him and hate him with the fire of a thousand suns, but if it's the president or anyone else in government or politics, it's fine. If it's anyone we consider a threat, or different, it's fine.

But it's not fine according to the Bible.

Romans 13:1-7

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same...

 1 Timothy 2:1-3

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,  

Titus 3:1

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed.

 1 Peter 2:13-14

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

 Hebrews 13:17

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

So how should WE respond to all the pulsing rhetoric and everyone's-got-an-opinion?

1. Think before you speak (or type). Jesus said "blessed are the peacemakers." Is what you're about to say or share promoting peace, or the wrath of man? (Note: slapping a scripture on something is not necessarily promoting peace. Be careful with that method.)
   
2. Pray for those in authority every day, especially the ones you dislike the most. Yes, this means if Donald Trump becomes President Trump, or Hillary Clinton becomes President Clinton, or the conspiracy theorists are right and President Obama enacts martial law and seizes power for four more years, we are going to have to PRAY for whoever is in power. Just like Paul prayed for Nero. (If you haven't read anything about Nero, you probably should... we might grumble about our presidents, but none of them can hold a candle to Nero.) Why do we need to pray for those who are in power? Because harboring bitterness and hatred and loathing in your heart is hurting YOU. Purpose not to say anything negative about them, ever. Adding negativity to something doesn't produce good results. Let that trickle down to your state authorities, your county and city leaders...
   
3. Step away from the source of stress. Turn off the TV, unplug the WiFi. Don't talk to the crazy family members. Do something else for an afternoon, or even for an hour. It will help you reset your perspective.
   
4. Quit griping. I think we're addicted to complaining. Yes, it's fashionable to complain, but bellyaching about "what Obama did" is a waste of your time and energy. Does anyone else remember people griping about "what Bill Clinton did" and "what George Bush did" and "what Ronald Reagan did." I do. The only difference now is the volume seems louder and more personal thanks to social media.
   
5. Your power is in your response. How you respond to a situation is often the only thing you have control over. Take your power back, don't react. If something requires you to respond, sleep on it, if possible and pray about your response. You do NOT have to react or respond to everything you hear and see! That's freeing, isn't it? 

In these days of turmoil (we've had them before, and we will have them again), we need to be light, life, and love in the world. We need to be the peacemakers, the humble, the meek, the gracious, the kind, because that's our calling. We're it. We are God's representatives on this earth, regardless of the condition it's in, or whoever is in charge, or how we're treated.

Go in peace.

Niki Turner is a novelist, journalist, blogger, and the production manager for the Rio Blanco Herald Times weekly newspaper, one of the oldest continuously operating newspapers in Colorado.She is a co-blogger at www.inkwellinspirations.com, currently serves as president of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Colorado Western Slope chapter, and is the ACFW Colorado coordinator. Niki is a Colorado native who grew up in Glenwood Springs—home of the world’s largest hot springs pool. She married her high school sweetheart 26 years ago. They have four children, four grandchildren, and two West Highland White Terriers who are kind enough to take them for long walks together.You can find all her new releases at www.nikiturner.net

Lights Out

Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath is the latest entry into the pantheon of doomsday literature. What makes it unusual is the fame and stature of its author, Ted Koppel, former anchor for ABC News’ Nightline program. While there have been many other “We're all going to die!” books published over the years, Koppel’s name and access to friendly media interviews have brought this one more attention than most.

Why would anyone want to read something so potentially depressing? For one thing, people kind of like to be frightened. No, really. Consider the popularity of horror novels, slasher flicks and roller coasters. Okay, only one of those is my “thing,” but I can’t deny that the adrenaline rush of a 100-foot drop keeps me paying amusement parks’ big entry fees. Thing is, those scares don't cost us much other than a few bucks (and in the case of a horror novel, maybe a night's sleep). We know roller coaster rides are actually safer than a drive to the grocery store, and as I tell my husband whenever he gets queasy watching a graphic scene in a television drama, "It's only a prop, honey. It's not a real body."

However, the world is experiencing a great deal of turmoil right now, which moves apocalyptic claims past mere fiction to the realm of possibility. Sure, there have always been wars and natural disasters, but they tended to be localized. A civil war going on in Rwanda? How sad, but it wasn’t part of my vacation plans for this summer anyway, so why would that concern me? Now we are witnessing chaos on a global scale. A civil war in Syria? As a matter of fact, that does impact me because ISIS has supporters and imitators all over the world. The “Pax Americana” of the past 70 years is coming to a close, and the technology which makes our lives so pleasant – we live better than humans of any other time – can be used against us.

Last year I was the victim of cyber theft. I don’t even know whose computers got hit. My grocery store’s? My credit union’s? Somehow, hackers had gotten both my credit card and ATM card information. It couldn't have been from the breech of Target's systems the year before because (since I had used both at Target during the time frame in question) I had called the credit union and insisted they replace both. (They kept arguing it was unnecessary. I was adamant that they issue me new ones. I won.) The credit union called about the suspicious activity on the credit card. I only found out about the ATM issue two days later when I went to use the card and it rejected.  The fact the hacker had made a new ATM card and had obtained my pin showed how sophisticated the theft was. Fortunately, VISA removed the charges from my bill, and my credit union made good on the money stolen from my account. I guess the credit union person believed me when I claimed I hadn’t driven 200 miles and back in a snowstorm to use an ATM. Or, more likely, I was only one of many victims that week.

My hackers just wanted quick cash, like the Russian mafia that hit one of my computers with ransomware a few months earlier and then offered to give me a fix for a “small” fee. (Uh, thanks, but no.) But what if someone with truly evil intentions was able to breach the security systems guarding the computers that control our lives and economy?  Imagine a power outage stretching across dozens of states and lasting weeks or even months.

The subtitle of Lights Out – A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath – reveals the book’s organizational structure. The first part details the likelihood of a successful attack on the American electrical grid and its consequences. The second (shortest) section claims the government is woefully unprepared to deal with a large-scale, extended-time outage. The final portion of the book highlights people and groups who practice emergency preparedness, so the reader can develop a plan.

What is my verdict? Well, first let me say this is a powerful book. A couple days before Christmas, I picked it up at the library on my way to take the boys for haircuts. There I was at the barbershop, reading while I waited, when the lights went out. Everyone in the shop got a good laugh when I showed them what I had in my hands. And then I took the book with me when we traveled to visit my husband’s family for the holidays. The day after we arrived at my sister-in-law’s house, an ice storm knocked out the power for 18 hours. Reading the thing in the dark for the second time, I began to wonder if God wasn’t giving me a visual message. You can bet I returned the book to the library as soon as we got home, before further electrical mishaps befell my family.

Beyond the funny coincidence, I always have mixed feelings about the whole “prepper” lifestyle. Some of the cases presented in Lights Out cross the boundary between precautionary and extreme – you know, the people with 25 years worth of MREs, a solar power system that could run an aircraft carrier, and enough firepower to conquer a small country. On one hand, I think of verses like Luke 12:27 (Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.) that remind me God is ultimately in control. That said, dependence on God didn't stop Nehemiah from rebuilding the wall or David from taking up a sword. God wants us to use our brains and do our part to protect ourselves and our families.

But I struggle to find balance. How much is too much? Can too prepared cross over to too paranoid? How many precautions should one take against the unforeseen, and at what point should one hand the entire mess over to God?

I meant to add this earlier, but for those who have the time, this is a longer interview Koppel gave:

Robert Morrison: Missionary to China

by C.J. Chase

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post referencing a Christianity Today article about the correlation between 19^th century missionary activity and the development of modern democracy across the world. (I hope you read the article back in January because CT has put it behind a paywall.)

Then in April, The Telegraph (UK) printed another of those China-is-becoming-increasingly-Christian articles that seem to appear every few years. Alas, the news for Christians in China is not all good, as demonstrated by these two articles about the Communist Party’s attempts to control the churches. Evidently, the Communists are also aware of a link between Christianity and the development of democracy and freedom, and they aren't excited about a future filled with hundreds of millions of Chinese Christians. 

The number of Christians in China is pretty staggering, especially when one considers there were almost no Christians at all in the country just 200 years ago. How did such a dramatic change occur?

Portrait of Robert Morrison by
John Richard Wildman (1785-1839)

The first modern missionary to China was Robert Morrison. Born in Northumberland, England in 1782 to devout members of the Church of Scotland (Presbyterians), Morrison rejected his Christian upbringing for a while as a teen (how often do we read that!) before returning to the faith in 1798. Despite his 12-14 hour days spent in manual labor as a shoemaker, he still found time for 1-2 hours of daily reading and meditation. (Yeah, that’s convicting!) He also began witnessing to friends and acquaintances.

While reading about missionaries, Morrison felt God’s call and trained as a minister at the Hoxton Academy in London and at the Missionary Academy at Gosport. In 1804, he applied with the London Missionary Society, which had been founded ten years earlier through the work of several ministers, including Dr. David Bogue, the principal of the Missionary Academy at Gosport. Morrison was accepted as the LMS’s first missionary to China. (Another student of Bogue’s, Samuel Dyer also became a missionary to the Chinese in modern Malaysia. Dyer’s daughter Maria married another missionary to China, Hudson Taylor.)

Morrison spent the next couple years learning Chinese with the help of Yong Sam-tak, a Chinese man in London. He left for America in January of 1807. America? Yes, the East India Company prohibited missionaries in China and refused to carry them on their ships, so Morrison traveled westward, eventually arriving in China in September. It was in America that Morrison was asked if he really expected to “make an impression on the idolatry of the Great Chinese Empire.” “No sir, I expect God will.”

Painting of Morrison and Chinese helpers
translating the Bible by George Chinnery
(1774-1852)

But the discouragements mounted once he reached China. It was illegal for the Chinese to teach non-Chinese their language (under penalty of death!), and the only non-Chinese allowed in the country were traders. Morrison lived at the American Factory and his local teachers would bring shoes with them for their language tutoring sessions so that if caught, they could claim Morrison was repairing their shoes.

However, Morrison persevered  and because of his faculty with the Chinese language, the East India Company (yes, the same East India Company that wouldn’t take him to China) hired him as a translator in 1809. This gave him a legal reason for remaining in China. He spent a total of 27 years in China, much of it alone.

Morrison married Mary Morton, daughter of an army surgeon, in 1809. They had two surviving children, but poor health forced Mary and the children to travel to England in 1815. She returned to China in 1820, only to die (with their newborn) a year later. Now a single father, Morrison sent his children back to England. He did not see them again for nine years when he returned to England on his one-and-only furlough in 1824. While home, he married his second wife Eliza Armstrong, with whom he eventually had five additional children. He died in China in 1834 and is buried there next to Mary.

Morrison gained few converts (it was seven years before he baptized the first one), but he opened the door for other missionaries to follow him to China. He created an English-Chinese dictionary and translated the Bible into Chinese. According to Yung Wing, the first Chinese graduate of an American university, “The importance and bearing of his dictionary and the translation of the Bible into Chinese, on subsequent missionary work in China, were fundamental and paramount.” For an incredibly long list of known missionaries who followed Morrison to China, see this Wikipedia entry. 

I didn’t expect to be as moved by this post as I was, but there is great comfort in the reminder that God doesn’t call us to do great things. He calls us to be faithful and let Him do the great things. Today China is poised to become the nation with the greatest number of Christians – probably sometime within the next decade or two, so most of us here may live to see it happen. And it all started just 200 years ago with one faithful man.

After leaving the corporate world to stay home with her children, C.J. Chase quickly learned she did not possess the housekeeping gene. She decided writing might provide the perfect excuse for letting the dust bunnies accumulate under the furniture. Her procrastination, er, hard work paid off in 2010 when she won the Golden Heart for Best Inspirational Manuscript and sold the novel to Love Inspired Historicals. You can visit C.J.'s cyber-home (where the floors are always clean) at www.cjchasebooks.com

The Great Hamburger Debate

The Hamburger
It's one of America's greatest, most time-honored backyard cookout and fast-food chain traditions. Where did this delicious delight originate?Claimants have arisen over the decades since the hamburger entered our lexicon palate-icon, each with an energetic backing. Some with historical society stamps of approval.

Claiment #1
New Haven, Conn / Louis Lassen / 1901

Claimant #2
Seymour, Wis / Charlie Nagreen / 1885

Claimant #3
Hamburg, NY / Erie County Fair / Frank and Charles Menches / 1885

Claimant #4
Tulsa, Okla / 4th of July celebration on his farm/ Oscar Weber Bilby / 1885

Claimant #5
Athens, Tex / Fletcher Davis

The Hamburger Recipe: ground beef patty*, mustard and/or mayo, tomato, lettuce, pickles, and onions served between two halves of a warm bun and, generally, served alongside ample supply of fries and ketchup. (*with/without cheese)

Claiments 1-4, according to history, served steak sandwiches (meat slapped between bread). Impressed with Mr. Fletcher Davis's lunch counter, folks funded his trip to the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. There Uncle Fletch, as he was known in Athens, set up a stand near the midway and sold his burgers. Impressed with this new delectable, New York Tribune reporter interviewed Uncle Fletch, who explained that his fried-potato recipe came from an old friend who lived in Paris (Texas, that is). The reporter, unfamiliar with Texas towns, dubbed the side dish "French fried potatoes."

McDonald's, the world largest hamburger vendor, embrace Uncle Fletch as the likely inventor. In 2006 the legislature of the great state of Texas passed a resolution recognizing Fletcher Davis, the originator of the hamburger.

Just goes to show one doesn't have to be a da Vinci, Einstein, Theresa, or Gandi to make the world a better place.

The Hamburger . . .  it's on the menu tonight.** How are you having yours?

~*~

Gina Welborn wrote public service announcements for a news radio station until she fell in love with writing romances. Her Barbour novellas can be found in HIGHLAND CROSSINGS, A CASCADES CHRISTMAS, and ECPA-bestselling MISTLETOE MEMORIES. The year 2014 ushers in the release of her novels: THE HEIRESS'S COURTSHIP, THE MARSHAL'S PURSUIT, and MASTERPIECE MARRIAGE. A moderately obsessive fan of Community, Teen Wolf, and Once Upon a Time, Gina lives in Oklahoma with her pastor husband, their five Okie-Hokie children, a box-lab, fifteen rabbits, three guinea pigs, and a fancy Russian dwarf hamster named Tom Bob Deucalion.

**Tonight Gina Welborn's family will be having meatloaf with a side of hash and grilled asparagus instead of hamburgers and fries.