Posted on Leave a comment

C. S. Elston

Chris’ Books:

* For more information on his books, click the pics above

About the Author:

Chris Elston has worked as a writer in various mediums, including the film and television industry, since the 1990’s. He primarily grew up in the northern suburbs of Seattle, Washington, went to college about twenty-five miles southwest of Portland, Oregon and then lived in the Los Angeles area for fifteen years. He now resides in Prescott Valley, Arizona with his wife and business partner, Andrea. Together, they own and operate Shine-A-Light Corp, which includes a publishing house, and a non-profit organization called Shine the Light Ministries.

First Name Acrostic:

Christ follower

Husband

Rambunctious on occasion

Imaginative

Saved by the 5 solas

Travel Bucket List Items:

In the U.S.A. — I’d like to take a road trip through the northern states because I haven’t been east of Montana and north of Illinois/Indiana as an adult. We could turn around and head back once we stopped for a “Frrrozen Hot Chocolate” at the iconic Serendipity3 between Second and Third avenues in New York City.

Outside the U.S.A. — Israel.

An adventure — I’m typically just happy to survive the day.

An Accomplishment He’s Proud Of:

Finding the most amazing woman on the planet and somehow convincing her to marry me.

Five Favorites:

Movie – The Shawshank Redemption

Music – Christian, Classic Rock, Country

Food – Pizza, steak

Book – After God’s Word, that’s like a 50-way tie and I’m not going to list them all

Vacation spot – Hawaii, Lake Chelan (Eastern Washington State)

“Family Photos”

Website: cselston.com

Coming soon: The Four Corners of Winter

Posted on Leave a comment

Andrea Elston

Andrea’s Books:

* For more information on her books, click the pics above

About the Author:

Andrea Elston was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She has taught at the elementary level for 20+ years and also creates educational resources for Shine-A-Light Press. She and her husband Chris live in Prescott Valley, Arizona and love seeing the sky for more than 3 months out of the year!

First Name Acrostic:

A born-again believerNorthwest native, Arizona transplantDrinks way too much coffeeResponsible (or at least tries to be)Educator and…Advocate for truth

Travel Bucket List Items: Statue of Liberty, Quebec or Paris (anywhere she can practice her high-school French,) and somewhere to see the northern lights and stay in an ice-hotel.

An Accomplishment She’s Proud Of: She just recently made over 200 desserts for her niece’s wedding, turning a fun hobby into something that was able to bless the happy couple. It was definitely challenging, especially since it was 100 degrees that day (quite uncharacteristic for Washington in June), but she made it work!

Five Favorites:

Movie: The Fugitive

Childhood Gift: a Cabbage Patch preemie named Caroline Tabitha

Coffee Drink: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

Season: Fall

Book: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

“Family Photos”

Posted on Leave a comment

Michele Renee DeRouin

Michele’s Books:

Coming Soon: Swimming From the Shadows

* For more information on her books, click the pics above

About the Author

After growing up in Bakersfield, California, Michele earned a degree in Child Psychology and spent twenty years working in social services. In 2001, she moved to the mountains of Arizona where she learned to hunt, fish, and rock climb. During that time, she felt God moving her to write a book. In 2017, she moved to the island of Oahu, Hawaii, where she retired from social work and began to write her first novel.

Michele has two grown children and one grandchild. In addition to her love for the outdoors, Michele enjoys painting with watercolors and digital mediums and has sold over 200 pieces of art. Her strong faith in God has helped her to overcome many obstacles and her heartache inspired much of her first book, Cracks in the Floor of Heaven. Michele has also been blessed with many gifts from God, who has taught her how to have joy despite pain and hope in the midst of hardship. She remains an optimist, has a heart for helping others, and plans to write many more books that she hopes will bring light into the darkness and healing into the lives of hurting people.

First Name Acrostic:

My faith keeps me

In the light because I am

Chosen for a purpose

Helping others creates an

Ease in trusting God and

Loving others makes

Everyday special

Travel Bucket List Items: All of the Hawaiian islands, New Zealand, and the national parks.

An Accomplishment She’s Proud Of: Her move to Hawaii.

Five Favorites:

Hobby: Swimming and body surfing

Food: Fish tacos

Music: For King and Country and ’80’s tunes

Movie: Burnt

Season: Summer

Posted on Leave a comment

Should Christians Have a Gang Sign?

by M.N. Kollar

At first glance, this probably seems like a silly question. Are we drag racing against the Confucians at the closed ramp at the edge of town? Are we meeting with the atheists for a rumble behind the bleachers? I hope not, as I do not race, I certainly do not rumble, and I respect everyone’s belief system. That said, if you chose to challenge a friendly Wiccan to an arm-wrestling match then that’s on you.

So, let’s take another look at the gang sign question.

I wear my faith in my jewelry selection, prayerfully in my actions, and on display in my car. Sometimes the interaction is as blatant as someone asking me to roll down my car window so they could share a faith moment with me but other times it’s just a lingering look or a finger point to let me know that person acknowledged me on some deeper level. The question is, how do we address the times when other Christians cross our paths and want to engage?

Choosing to display my faith is a constant reminder to rise above the constraints of this world and also to not flip people off in traffic. Whether you wear or display your faith, there is a question that needs contemplating: are you a covert Christian? This is not meant for judgement from the outside but for conviction from the inside. One pastor put it this way to his congregation on a Sunday morning, if he followed them out to the parking lot would he know they were Christians? Would he know they were Christians on Monday morning if he stopped by their place of work?

In the real world it is not always appropriate to declare the Word of God in a board meeting. But the Word should manifest in our demeanor both in that same meeting and throughout the day. If you are in such a close walk with Jesus that someone may ask you how you keep your cool, then maybe it is the right time to let them know that it is the 24/7 influence of Jesus in your life that has you anchored.

As an aside, if you still have some work to do before people start wondering what that special something is about you, rest assured you’re in the same boat as most of us. But what a glorious summit to climb toward? Yes, your goal could be to become the person in your circle with the best hair, the biggest bank account, the whitest smile, the fanciest car or the fittest body. Those are fine goals but, then what? Beauty fades, cars rust, money can’t buy the most important things and bodies age. If we keep striving for that close walk with Jesus then we get to be a beacon to others while making our inner and outer lives amazingly radiant. That is something that will last. That is a goal truly worth striving for.

So, we are to walk like Jesus and to talk like Jesus. But then what? Well, then we need to connect, either with other people on the same journey or maybe with someone who is curious about the journey. Jesus was not a solo act. As we know full well, discipleship was central. There has been a great effort to build small intimate groups in the churches, and that is wonderful, but here we are talking about connecting in the every day.

How do Christians connect in the day to day routine of life? How do we lift each other up and let each other know that we are not just seen but acknowledged for our faith?

When you are wearing or displaying your faith and others have a moment to share their experience or just say how they like your cross, then that is clear and meaningful and wonderful. There have been times, just a gesture as someone drove past me, that left me wondering if that person was thanking me for letting them merge or if there was something more significant taking place.

The question now is, how do we use the few seconds at a traffic light, passing people in the mall, or standing in line at the cash register, to acknowledge the shared love of Jesus Christ? This brings us back around to our original question: Should Christians have a gang sign?

I like the idea of a variation of the ‘Three finger salute’. After a minimal amount of research, I have come to know that there are a number of like salutes already in circulation. So, we need a way to differentiate our salute from the Boy Scouts, the keyboard warriors (Ctrl+Alt+Del which is an old friend of mine) and various others. I like the three fingers and that is because it represents the Holy Trinity, but I’m not married to it in any way. I believe that the main thing is that we Christians have a way to acknowledge and lift each other up in the day to day.

I would love to hear back from anyone who has a thought or suggestion about getting Christians to see, really see, each other in the every day.

Leave a comment here or hit me up on twitter: @MnKollarW

Posted on Leave a comment

It Was Just a Little Thing

by M. N. Kollar

There are those little things that end up being big things. Your car gave you trouble starting and you missed the doomed flight. That’s big. That was God’s hand at work in your life and you know it. That was no whisper, that was a shout that shook you to your knees.

But then there are the little things that just end up being… little things. Maybe you are running late and getting flustered because you can’t find your phone and then it rings. It’s not even your boss, it’s a wrong number. Some people call these events ‘coincidences.’ We, as Christ followers, are admonished to not believe in ‘luck’ or in ‘coincidences,’ not while we are sitting in God’s hand.

Do we really need to search every little thing for traces of Jesus? How do we keep our eyes on Jesus and keep from losing our minds by overthinking everything? There is a balance to be struck, certainly. Maybe our brothers and sisters in cloistered communities are able to keep Jesus always in focus and see his influence in every area of their lives but it’s not so easy for the rest of us. Children, jobs, chores all take our time and our attention away, making it too hard to maintain our proper focus and too easy to speed past those little things without a thought.

If you are working to reframe your day, your life and your lens in order to achieve a consistently biblical worldview…but not quite there yet…the club welcomes you. Until we reach that level, it is in the quiet, contemplative moments that we can look back over our day and see His divine hand at work. Quiet moments.

With everything we know about self-care, most no longer see it as a luxury or as being selfish. Instead, we’ve come to know it as a vital component to physical and mental health. Christians also know this is soul-care time; spiritual health is vital. We use quiet times for powerful prayer, a casual talk with our Creator or just listening for that still, small voice.

‘Reflective time’ might be a more accurate descriptor of what we need to actively carve out so we can look back at our day. This is not something you can put off until tomorrow as you have to reflect on today, today. The little things are already small in our big today, but tomorrow they will be like grasping after gossamer dreams. It may take some practice and discipline, but it goes a long way toward cultivating a grateful heart.

What do you find when you reflect on the little things of your day? If you are having a hard time finding Jesus and His handiwork in your day then what does that mean for you as a Christian? It may mean just a focus shift for some of us. There are many pieces of art that show a dejected person walking while his unseen angels battle demons just behind him. If we see the demons as anything from depression to traffic, then we can understand how powerful that imagery is. We whisper ‘Thank you, Jesus’ when we make it into the grocery line right before the person with the full cartload but forget what kind of hurry we would have been in if we were caught behind them. We forget the panicked drive to after school pick-up that never happened.

Seeking His hand at work throughout our day can reveal things about ourselves and about God that can really empower us and help us learn to trust Him. That searching eye needs training and looking for Him in those little things can help bring Him into focus in our every day.

 

Maxine Kollar is an author whose new book series “The Channel 24 Chronicles” is being published by Shine-A-Light Press. The first book, “Perched for Progress” is expected to be released in the Fall of 2020.