On Life

John 1:4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

John 6: 35 Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

Many times throughout the gospels, Jesus preached that He is life.  He is life, in Him is life, and He alone can give life.  Life as evidenced here on earth, in no matter what form, is a symbol of Him and a manifestation of His glory.  Only God can create life.  Only God can give life, and only by believing in Jesus can we receive eternal life.

This is why life is so precious.

Life is not something that you and the next guy can create.  Not even scientists can just up and breathe life into an inanimate object. Life is something that only God can produce.

God has given each and every one of us life to some degree.  We are all breathing and our hearts are beating.  Plants also are alive, and animals, and yet we have souls, which differentiate us from them.  It is because of the immortal soul that God has given to man that a human being in a coma, is very, very different than a vegetable.  It is insulting to God and the human race to make such a base comparison.  And yet although we as humans have souls that will exist forever, not all humans have received the gift of eternal life, which again, God alone can bestow.

1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

God alone can give us life--here on earth as well as eternal.  Life, therefore, is an attribute peculiar to God alone.  This is why Satan hates life.  It reminds him of God, the only one who can create life.  When we see the Mona Lisa, we think of Leonardo da Vinci.  When we hear the Messiah, we think of Handel.  And when we see life, we should think of God, the creator of it. 

Satan does all in his power to destroy life--as much life as he can--and especially human life, because it is the most precious, for it contains an immortal soul.  In this way he attacks God, by destroying His best creation. 

John 10:10 The thief comes only to kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

And many have died over the years of history as a result of Satan and his servants.  Take for example abortion, or the many holocausts.  Death is Satan's trademark, and his way of twisting and distorting the beautiful thing God created called life.  However Satan can kill the body, but he cannot kill the soul.  The martyrs are a beautiful example of this.   Men who did not fear God (and any who do not fear God serve Satan) rose up with a mind of hatred towards the children of God.  They sought to murder and destroy all they could.   They killed many, many innocent people.  And yet the blood of the martyrs is seed for the cause of Jesus Christ.  The martyrs gave their earthly lives for Christ, and went to live with him forever.  In doing such they were a thundering witness to the world around them.  Many more came to know Christ, and to accept the gift of eternal life because of them.

It is because Jesus is life that life is the most precious thing on earth.  And it is because life is the most precious gift, that the giving of one's life for others, which is called redemption, is the most noble, beautiful, amazing thing there is.

Mathew 20:28 Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Jesus set the example for us in nobility.  He gave His life that all those who believe in Him might not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16) rather than an eternal death in hell.  Life is the most anyone can give, and the most precious.  This is why we honor and respect our soldiers and veterans--because they were willing to give their lives.  This is why we honor those who died for our freedoms.  This is why most every great book has an element of redemption in it, even if it be only so little.  This is the case in books such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel, A Tale of Two Cities, Pilgrim's Progress, The Celestial Railroad, and of course, the greatest redemption story ever, and a true one at that, the Bible.  Giving your life to save others is to follow the highest call of nobility, the greatest example ever set, that of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:1-4 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

And it is because Jesus is life, and God alone can create life, that life is the most beautiful, majestic, holy, sacred, precious evidence that there is a God ever created.  And it is because life is so incredible that any form of life is not to be thrown away or taken carelessly.  And human life--life to whom God has granted the gift of a soul that will last forever, through all eternity--that human life must be preserved and protected at all costs.  But this alone is not enough.  We must share the good news--the gospel of Jesus Christ--with all, that God might use us and cause the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts, that their ever-existing soul may not go to die an eternal death, but to live an eternal life, in communion with God.

The Shadowlands

The closer a subject is to my heart, the harder time I seem to have writing coherently.

I have always read that a good author will draw from their own experiences.  I have started several stories in which things happen to the characters that have happened to me, but they never run smoothly and are difficult to write.

Even now I am having trouble.

I can always seem to make my point in a fictional story.  I may go to the extreme of making my points too well.  But when I write from my own experiences, with the thought of allowing someone else to read it someday, I can never seem to get the point across.

Perhaps it is a subconcious guard against vulnerability.

Anyway, this is a short sketch I wrote last October, early in the morning, watching the sun rise outside my hotel room window, in preparation for the funeral of someone who I loved very much.  It was dark in the room, but outside the sun shone in all its glory.  I could see the brilliant rays reflecting off the roofs of the buildings across the street.

Please comment and let me know what you think of it.  Is it coherent?  What did you understand from what was written?  I am not sure I quite understand the full meaning of what I was writing.  I had a vague idea of what I was trying to get at, but was having difficulty putting it in words.  However I seem to have managed to put several concepts down in trying to get at the vague one. 

Oh, and as I tend to do when something has affected me deeply, towards the end I rambled off into poetry.:)  Blank poetry, which is unusual, but there is certainly a difference between that and the previous prose.

The Shadowland

“What a bright day it is today,” Muriel said happily.  Two candles were lit in the dark rooms. 
“Yes, it is rather bright,” said her twin, Judy. 
   “It was kind of the landlord to send us two candles,” their mother commented.
The family and all their friends lived in a castle with no windows, where it was always dark.  The landlord sent them a candle every day, and occasionally two candles, to light the dark rooms. 
   Every few years, the landlord would come during the night and take one of them as they were sleeping out of the castle to the world outside.  He would leave a note to inform the others.  The loss of these was always mourned by those remaining within, but the landlord’s plan was to one day bring them all outside of the castle. 
   One morning Muriel rushed out of her room.  “Mother, Mother, come quickly,” she said.  “I can’t find Judy!”
   The mother followed Muriel back into her room.  Glancing at Judy’s empty bed, she asked, “Muriel…what is that on the bed?”
   Muriel went to it and picked it up.  “Oh, no Mother, it is a note!” She cried.
   “Then the Landlord has taken her away,” the Mother replied.
   Muriel and her Mother and the rest of the family wept for Judy for a long time.  But they could only see what went on in the Shadowlands.  They did not have the whole picture.  They wept for Judy having been borne away in the darkness.   BUT,

   Outside, in the sunshine, Judy stood with the Landlord gazing at the castle.  The tears were running down her cheeks.  “We never knew it was so bright outside,” she said.  “I wish we had known.  I wish everyone inside knew now.”
   “They do know, but it is hard for them to understand what the world really looks like. All they can understand is the great brightness of two candles in a dark room.  They cannot envision anything brighter.”
   “But they have the candles themselves!  Cannot they envision it being as bright as the candle itself?” Judy asked sadly.
   “They could…but they do not.”
   “We used to mourn for those who were borne away in the darkness.  How little did we know that we were the ones who walked in darkness!”  Judy mused.  Another tear slid down her cheek.  “Rather I should mourn for those who are still in darkness.”

Catching a vision of something so much brighter
The sun is bright yet there IS something brighter
We mourn for those who have gone on before
But perhaps they mourn for us who are still behind
And yet in and through it all the landlord…Our Landlord…has a purpose
brighter and better than anything we can here see.   We are confined by our dimension.
We can picture things less than what we have here but nothing more
Yet in glory we will see things as they really are
In catching a vision of something brighter…better…more…we catch a vision of heaven…and yet
 the vision will be far surpassed by the reality.



Covenanter Song

I was cleaning out my desk and I came across this song I wrote in 2008.  I actually remembered the tune I wrote for it, and it was really lame.   It was basically the same thing over and over again for every line.  But I think the words, or the meaning, are not bad, and so I thought I'd post them.

Covenanter Song
'Twas a bright sunny morning as I walked through the glen
I was going to chapel and I'd go there again
There I met my lover: He'd loved
Me long before I ever loved Him
He'd wooed me, protected me an' died for me too
He gave His life to save mine and I never knew!
He rose from the dead; lives forever to save
I fell on my knees, wept, to Him my heart I gave
Every Sabbath I went to chapel to hear
Of the works that my Saviour had done o'er the years
But then England came an' tried to force us apart
I could not give up the love in my heart
Some of my friends were killed, they never gave in
I determined to be strong, like them, for Him
The took me me, bound me, ordered me break the 'trothal I had
They told me they'd kill me I was making them mad
I could not I would not break the betrothal
My lover gave His life for me I'd give my life for HIm!
After much pleading, persuasion in vain
They chose to take upon themselves the mark of Cain
They once again took me and bound me anew
Within a few moments my soul away flew
What they would have known, if they had paused
Is the blood of the martyrs is seed for His cause
Do not mourn my death but rejoice in my life
For those cowardly soldiers have ended my strife
Those who sought to destroy our understanding
Have rather instead hastened our wedding
'Twas a glorious death, I'm glad it was so
rather than dying peacefully tho'
He gave his life for love of me, I died for love of Him
And now may I in glory rise
And look into my lover's eyes
And remember with joy, unfaded then
Of meeting my lover in the church on the glen.

I hadn't realized I was such a romantic.  A great deal too much for my taste now, anyway.:)  And yet I think that there are some good concepts hidden within this.

Giveaway!!!

Ends August 5^th.  Enter for a chance to win a free Lilla Rose Hair product of your choice!*

*Equal to or less than $20.00 catalog value

Your name is entered once for every copy of either The Teacher or The Tiphereth Trilogy you buy.  The more books you buy, the better chance you have of your name being drawn.

The Teacher and The Tiphereth Trilogy are both now on sale until August 5^th!

Sale Prices: the Teacher - $8.00
The Tiphereth Trilogy - $16.00
Shipping and handling: $2.98

You will be notified on August 5^th if you are the winner! 

E-mail me at Khprovidence.1@verizon.net or leave a comment with your e-mail address to purchase a book and enter the giveaway.

View Lilla Rose Hair Products here: www.lillarose.biz/KatieNHepner

SALE!

Both The Teacher and The Tiphereth Trilogy are now on sale, 20% off listed price!!!

That's only $8.00 for The Teacher, and $16.00 for The Tiphereth Trilogy!*

*does not include $2.98 shipping and handling

HURRY AND BUY NOW TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS GREAT SALE!  SALE ENDS AUGUST 5th!
If you have not read both these books, buy one now!  If you have read both books, be sure to purchase one for a friend!

Click here to read about these books: http://mariashiphrahdaltonpublications.blogspot.com/p/purchase-books.html

To order, e-mail us at khprovidence.1@verizon.net  now!

Hero Showdown!

Princess Aramiel versus Maria Dalton!

Captain Wesley Elliot was voted favorite over King Aramoth, we will see how Aramiel and Maria fare!

Occupation 
Maria: Schoolteacher, Wife, Mother
Aramiel: Princess, Daughter, Wife, Mother

Siblings
Maria: None
Aramiel: 1 older brother, Aramoth

Favorite Color
Maria: Blue
Aramiel: Red

# of Children
Maria: 12.  6 boys, 6 girls.  Names and Gender: Courage, Purity, Strength, Honor, Shiphrah, Puah, Hamilton, Mercy, Gallant, Pilgrim, Trust, Truth
Aramiel: 14.

Color of eyes and hair
Maria: Dark brown hair and eyes
Aramiel: Dark brown hair and eyes

Middle Name
Maria: Shiphrah
Aramiel: None

Character Quality that describes them best
Maria: Servant
Aramiel: Leader

Meaning of Full Name
Maria: Living Fragrance, Beautiful, My God is the Lord
Aramiel: Earnest Seeker of God

From this and reading the books, you should be able to choose a favorite!  If you don't have a copy of one or both of the books, e-mail me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net !

The Tiphereth Trilogy Review

Elaine from EJ's Library has reviewed the Tiphereth Trilogy!  Here is the link, be sure to go and read it!

 http://ejlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/05/tiphereth-trilogy-book-review.html

And don't forget to vote for your favorite hero below in our hero comparison!

Special! Hero Comparison

King Aramoth vs. Captain Wesley Elliot
Showdown!
Occupation

Wesley: Soldier (captain), Bank Clerk, Clergyman, Husband, Father
Aramoth: King, Soldier, Commander-in-chief of the army, Husband, Father

SiblingsWesley: 4 younger Faith, Karl, Calvin, Joy
Aramoth: 1 younger Aramiel

Favorite color
Wesley: Blue
Aramoth: Red

# of children
Wesley: 12. 6 boys, 6 girls. Names and Gender: Courage, Purity, Strength, Honor, Shiphrah, Puah, Hamilton, Mercy, Gallant, Pilgrim, Trust, Truth
Aramoth: 9. 4 boys, 5 girls. Names and Gender:
Tiphereth, Arrabon, Hoplon, Agathosune, Eilikrineia, Ischus, Nikao, Artios, Katharos.

Color of eyes and hair
Wesley: Medium Brown Hair, Blue eyes
Aramoth: Dark Brown Hair, Dark Brown eyes

Middle name
Wesley: Alexander
Aramoth: none (People don't have middle names in Basileia)

Character quality that describes them best
Wesley: Protector
Aramoth: Leader

Meaning of full name
Wesley: Prosperous Spirit, Brave Protector, my God is the Lord
Aramoth: Earnest seeker of God

Hero Showdown!

ANNOUNCING...

The Hero Showdown!

Captain Wesley Elliot

versus:




King Aramoth!

How it works:
Leave a comment asking any questions you like pertaining to either of these characters, regardless of whether or not you have read the books. (If you haven't, be sure to order one by e-mailing us at khprovidence.1@verizon.net !)

When a sufficient number of questions have been submitted via comments, I will add some of my own and write a post comparing the hero of The Teacher and the hero of The Tiphereth Trilogy. There will then be a poll so that you can vote for your favorite!

If the "Hero Showdown" idea is at all popular, I may have other Hero showdowns comparing other characters in the books, possibly including Aramiel vs. Maria Dalton, Eleutheria vs. Faith Elliot, Gwynarae vs. Mrs. Elliot, Hiram Grady vs. The Enemy, and so on!

Be sure to comment with good questions!

Imagine you are interviewing the two heroes for a panel discussion...:)

Review of The Tiphereth Trilogy!

Kelsey from Little Notes has reviewed my book, The Tiphereth Trilogy!  You can read it by clicking on this link:

http://mychristianreviews.blogspot.com/2011/04/tiphereth-trilogy-by-katie-hepner.html

Thank you so much Kelsey for a great review!

Be sure to purchase your copy now while it is on sale!  Scroll down for details.

To learn more about the citizens of Basileia, you can visit http://loyalbasileians.blogspot.com/ !

Dripping...

I've been going through my poetry notebook and found all sorts of "scribblings" some terrible and so copied and others not half bad.  I've decided to post some of these over the next few weeks.  Even though the quality of the poetry can sometimes barely be considered poetry still the concepts are rather uplifting, I think.  Actually I'm just looking forward to putting pictures that go with the theme!

Dripping
Dripping, dripping, dripping,
though it is not raining,

Everything is wet,
although it has not rained,
the sun is brightly shining,
yet it is quite cold,

With every little drip
happiness gushes up in our hearts.  Why?



Because the snow is melting,
Because Winter is over,

And every drip of melting snow
Brings the happiness of Spring!

The next poem will be about Roses.:)  By the way, these were all written over the years and some are much older than others, the ones with more sophisticated language are more recent.

Don't forget to order your copies of The Teacher and The Tiphereth Trilogy now while they are on sale!  There will rarely be a sale this good!

AMAZING APRIL SALE!

Maria Shiphrah Dalton Publications is having an AMAZING APRIL SALE!

Get an amazing 50% off your total order when you purchase both The Teacher and The Tiphereth Trilogy together!
That's only $15 for both books!

Get 25% off when you buy just one book, either The Teacher or The Tiphereth Trilogy!
That's only $7.50 for The Teacher, and only
$15 for The Tiphereth Trilogy!

Take advantage of this Amazing, once in a blue moon sale!  This is an incredibly rare chance to get these books for such low prices!  Stock up now while you have the chance!  Sale ends April 30th!

Sale price does not include shipping.  Shipping and Handling: $2.98 per book

To order, you can just leave a comment with your e-mail address!  Or you can e-mail me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net !

Book Reviews and funny Video!

Kelsey from Little Notes has reviewed my book, The Teacher!  Thank you Kelsey, you did a great job!
Here's the link:
http://mychristianreviews.blogspot.com/2011/03/teacher-by-katie-hepner.html

Kelsey will also be reviewing The Tiphereth Trilogy, and I will keep you posted!

I saw this video on Ah, The Life, http://www.ahthelife.blogspot.com/ .  I thought it was really funny.  I love how the one baby laughs after the other one says something, and I love the hand motions.  It really looks like they are having an important conversation!

The Teacher book review!

Elaine from ejlibrary.blogspot.com  reviewed my book, The Teacher!  Check out her review!

http://ejlibrary.blogspot.com/2011/03/teacher-book-review.html

Thank you Elaine for reviewing my books!

Loyal Basileians and a Great New Gadget!

First, I want to tell you about blogger's new gadget.  I have been wishing there were something like this.
I love followers, but many of the people I know don't have blogs.  (Some should really get one, though!)  Now, you can follow my blog by e-mail if you don't have a blog.  Scroll down on the left sidebar to where it says "Followers".  Right above that, there is now a gadget that says, "Follow by E-mail."  Type your e-mail address in and click "Submit."  Verify that you are not a machine:) and you will recieve updates by e-mail!

I also wanted to tell you about my new blog!

http://loyalbasileians.blogspot.com/

Loyal Basileians is for those who love The Tiphereth Trilogy and want to find out more about the country of Basileia!  We will feature a different character from the story each month, and you can access great extras such as a family tree, pictures, character profiles, and coming soon: Basileian songs!  Be sure to stop by this beautiful blog and experience how awesome it is!

And you can follow Loyal Basileians by e-mail too!  It is at the top of the right sidebar!

Only Three More Days!

There are only three more days before the pre-release sale is over!

Be sure to order your copy now before March 18th!

Contact me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net to get your copy of this great new classic!

Sale! Announcing The Tiphereth Trilogy

Pre-Release Sale!


Announcing the long-awaited, much-expected

The Tiphereth Trilogy

Buy now and save!

Official Release Date: March 25th, 2011

Buy now and receive with your purchase an invitation to the official Basileian blog to receive exclusive updates!

An epic battle to decide to whom the kingdom, the power, and the glory belong…


Enemy forces are advancing on Basileia. The Kingdom is also at peril from within. The cities are warring against each other, and the families are not following in the ways of the High King. All hope will be lost…unless young Prince Aramoth can lead his people not only to victory, but to repentance.


Book 1: Basileia The Kingdom


Book 2: Dunamis A Higher Power


Book 3: Tiperet Glory to God in the Highest

All three books are bound as one.

Special Pre-Release Price: Just $18.00


260 pages


That’s only $6.00 per book!

Hurry! Sale ends March 18th, 2011. Buy now and save!

E-mail us at:
khprovidence.1@verizon.net
 to order this wonderful book!

Regular Price $20.00

The Tiphereth Trilogy has arrived!

Be sure to e-mail me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net to order your copy before March 18th!  Be sure to take advantage of this sale!

Only 15 days left...Sale ends soon! Additional Sale!

The Tiphereth Trilogy books have been shipped! 

Order your copy now! 
Pre-release sale ends March 18th.  Only 15 days left!
Hurry to save!
To request your copy, e-mail me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net!

Keep in mind that if you order a copy of The Teacher as well, they will be shipped together and shipping will be less than if you ordered them separately!

The Printing Process Has Ended!

The Tiphereth Trilogy has been printed!  I have sent the final payment and after it is received the printer will ship the books.  Be sure and order your copy now, before March 18th, while it is still on sale!  E-mail me at khprovidence.1@verizon.net  to request a copy!