It keeps happening to me. I think about God and how amazing He is. I think about everything He has done and I am literally in awe. He made the entire universe form scratch. I can’t even bake a freakin cake without a box recipe. He build each of us and made us unique and special and then made it all better when we screwed up his perfect work of art that is us over and over.

Despite all of that I keep forgetting just how big and powerful God is. Maybe it is because He is close and personal. He is a friend and Father. I end up putting human limitations on Him and then wonder why I am overwhelmed. I fight through all manner of situations without going to God because I forget just how big He is. So often I think, “This is to small to bother God with, He has enough to deal with.” Did you catch that? I made the mistake of thinking that God can get overwhelmed just like I do.

That is the problem. I get overwhelmed. I have huge dreams and I want to see so many things happening but then I feel like I can’t get anything done because I’m working on so many things at once. I have to step back and decide what is important and what big picture things I need to take care of so the details can be handled by someone else, assuming I can beg someone to do it.

I take my limitations and I throw them on God. I believe that God is big enough for the big things. I will stop and pray in an instant when something huge is happening. That is what God is there for right? He has to deal with all those huge things so I’ll fret my life away trying to take car of those little details. My shoulder hurts but I can ice it and heat it and rub it and take meds. I don’t need to bother God with this. It’s nothing compared to the things that some people are enduring, stuff they won’t recover from without God. We are struggling in our finances but we can cut back and plan better and make ends meet. There are many people much worse off that God needs to help so I’ll keep pressing on.

See, I forget that God didn’t just make big brush strokes when he made the Universe, He worked on things of such fine detail that our most powerful instruments can’t see them. We can detect that there are things smaller than we can see because of the behavior of what we can see, but God made that detail. He put planets out there that we could never know about. He set it all in motion and knows the position of every aspect of His creation from before the moment it was made till after He unmakes it. He isn’t even the slightest bit taxed when doing all of this, He can attend to my smallest need if I just remember that He is big enough to handle my everything.

What do you have going on in your life that you think is too small for God?

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When last we saw our hero he was on the edge of insanity with a strange man named the planner threatening a painful series of tests that may well cost his sanity.

The light blinded him. SYP blinked at its brilliance.

“None of that now, I must see into your eyes and I cannot do that when you continue to close them. I do not wish to use force, but you must cooperate.”

SYP remembered now, the voice was the shadow, the Planner. He was looking into his eyes because they are the gateway to the soul, or some such thing. The light was back, but this time he stared right into it. He tried to burn the source of the light with sheer defiance.

“Well, well, Mr. Youth Pastor. It seems you are full of rebellion.”

Spots danced before him now as the silhouette slowly came back into focus. SYP carefully looked around the room for something he could use to free himself. They had used special reinforced restraints when his sanity was fading so that he could not hurt himself or anyone else. Now these restraints were keeping him from stopping the real villain.

“Of course my methods have worked on those with much more rebellion, so this is not the answer. I have already borrowed some of your blood, and while my scans do show some abnormalities they do not seem to be the source of your recovery either. I will continue with the typical surface investigation but I believe we will need to see what is going on in your head before the day is out.”

The Planner checked his reflexes, blood pressure, hearing … just about every possible test he could perform. He also used many strange instruments that SYP had never seen before. Things designed to measure aspects of the spirit according to the shadow man. SYP felt clearer as time passed but never tested his restraints. He knew that he couldn’t reveal just how lucid he was until the moment was right. The restraints appeared to run under the bed frame. They were attached to each other so his uncoordinated struggles would force him to work against his own strength. It was a very intelligent design, but there was a flaw.

“It seems a pity but I have not found anything specifically illuminating about your tests thus far. You are stronger than most, and your spiritual powers are certainly not a joke, but your mind had broken so these things could not help you. No, we will have to see your mind to find the answer.”

The Planner removed a device from his bag and began pulling it apart. It resembled a metal helmet with spikes embedded around it. He removed the spikes and put the helmet on him.

“Now this piece of equipment will allow me to see into your mind. Of course this will be more than a little uncomfortable. Actually it will be quite painful. We must make holes for the probes which will begin sinking into your brain. They will send impulses through your cerebral tissues and then monitor the responses. This will fully map your mental functions. The probes will continue to burrow into the primal portions of your brain until every part of who you are is charted. Of course you will not notice the probes; it is the drilling that will hurt. Unfortunately this will also end our time together since you are unlikely to recover from the deep brain scans.”

While he spoke the Planner had been fitting a drill bit into a cordless drill. As the planner came close SYP knew he couldn’t afford to wait any longer. The straps were much to strong, but the bed itself had not been reinforced against his strength. SYP pulled violently in a single coordinated crunch breaking the bed into pieces with his restraints. He was free but his movements were still fairly constricted. His feet were tethered together with the high tensile webbing allowing him only half steps, and his arms could only move a few inches apart. Fortunately the bed was quite thick and so there was plenty of slack where it once restrained him. He could bring his hands together, which meant he would be able to undo the restraints altogether, but only if he had time.

The Planner was recovering quickly and pulled a short staff from his bag. It seemed to move out of focus as he looked at it.

“This is a shock wand. It is designed to deliver bursts of electricity at exactly the right dose and frequency to cause maximum pain. It will hurt far worse than the final procedure so you should stop now.”

SYP tried to unbuckle his wrist but the Planner struck him and the world exploded. Sound roared through him and he distantly recognized it as his own howling voice.

“Oh dear, now you have certainly alerted the staff. I will have to deal with them, but first I must complete my contract and destroy you. This is becoming much messier than I would like.”

The haze was clearing from SYP’s sight just as the Planner lunged forward again. This time SYP side stepped and spun. The heavy buckle where the reinforced restraints were once attached together under the bed smashed against the Planner causing him to drop the shock wand. SYP worked quickly to remove one of his hand restraints, racing against his foe who was reaching for the pain stick. He got one hand free and whipped the short tether against the side of the enemy. The heavy duty material cracked painfully into the Planner stunning him and SYP bent to free one of his feet while slapping the electric prod away with his makeshift whip. The Planner back peddled quickly to his bag, but SYP was mostly free now. He left the restraints on one arm as a weapon against anything the Planner might pull from the bag. SYP twirled the rigging of buckles and dense fabric above his head watching for any tricks. The planner pulled something from his bag but SYP smashed it from his hand like lightening. As the item burst darkness filled the room and the Planner laughed.

“Fool. That was Eclipse Powder.”

The darkness lasted only a moment, but it was too late. SYP stood alone in the wrecked room.

A couple of weeks later SYP was happy to be discharged and home with his wife. They sat at the table discussing the events and wondering if and when the Planner would be back.

“One thing’s for sure,” Super Wife said, “He can’t drive you crazy.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’re already there. Why else would you be a youth pastor?”

She laughed and gave him a great big kiss.

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Today’s title bout features two super heavy weights in the emotions that drive us. I wrote the following for our local paper on behalf of another organization that submits a weekly column to the paper.

***

For one human being to love another that is perhaps the most difficult of our tasks; the ultimate, the last test and proof; the work for which all other work is but preparation.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

Love is eternal where lust is temporary. This is a plain and apparent fact as easily seen as the nose on my face, which is quite noticeable from even a great distance. The problem comes when one confuses love and lust. Often people claim to be “in love” only to “fall out of love,” but in truth they were “in lust” which is as easy to fall in to as it is to fall out of. Consider the relationship between a parent and child. This should be our basis for understanding love because it is our first experience with love. Each party must fail severely and often before love might fail. Parents who truly love their children do so regardless of the choices the child has made and regardless of how painful those choices might be. Often terrible parents are loved by their children regardless of how much it hurts for that love to not be returned. Imagine if all relationships were so pursued.

Since love will always outlast lust, the lover must take time for lust to fade so that love might grow just as a great tree must grow slowly until the weeds around it die and it can be in full sun and grow great and true; then nurture that love through respect and care. Only after those first joys of lust have passed will a couple experience true love in their relationship, the kind of love that exists beyond the hurt and pain.

It is also true that love is patient and perseveres in all things. This is why waiting for love is the only way a relationship may endure. Often a person says to another, “If you love me you will …” but the truth is that if love exists, it will be patient and forgiving. Lust demands instant gratification where love will carry through to the end. Lust is a sprinter that expends all his energy in seconds while Love is in a marathon race and she knows to keep an even pace throughout so she will not tire too quickly or stumble in the many rough places along the way.

This is why so many relationships fail, love gets confused with lust. When those feelings of joy and giddiness fade the energy of lust is spent while love is just getting started. Love must be given time to grow in the absence of lust or it will never reach its maturity. This is a difficult process because lust is passionate and intense driving a couple to spend time together where love is kind and gentle liberating a couple to their own interests. In this, individuals growing in love must overcome themselves and spend time with their love so they might experience a deeper understanding of love. If the lover were to say to the beloved, “I just do not love you anymore,” the lover is lost in confusion. The lover meant to say, “I no longer lust after you.” Love is an endless ocean and lust is a desert wash. The rain will cause the wash to overflow and rage intensely but once the water has flown into the ocean the wash cracks with the desert heat. Follow the water into the ocean and love will never run dry.

In this season of love, consider that love gives while lust takes. Take the time to seek out the gifts of love. The gifts of love are not available at the store but can only be found in time, empathy, and compassion. These true gifts thrive in love but suffocate in lust. When you look into those special eyes and say, “I love you” please do not lie to your heart.

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A couple days ago I posted a writing exercise and got some great feedback. I feel that I learned a lot and want to say thanks to everyone who commented or sent me an email with critique. I think some people were worried that I might be offended, but trust me when I say that I know I am not a great writer. I don’t have the training, which is why I put the exercise out there so I could learn, and I learned a lot more than I had expected.

I also got a lot of feedback suggesting that I pursue the story line, making it more than just a short story. Thanks to everyone who commented, tweeted, or emailed me encouragement. I don’t know that I will be published, or even actively seek to be published, but I am going forward with the story. I have written a few more scenes and the story is taking shape in my head and on paper, but I am still working on certain aspects. I feel that this story will ultimately have to deal with sin and consequences, but I’m wondering how well a Christian publisher would receive a book that deals with real sin, and the struggles from that. I’ve noticed that most Christian lit tends to kind of gloss over those kinds of things with oblique references to the sin.
Has anyone else noticed this? Can you think of a Christian Fiction story that deals with the dirty side of sin?

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One of the reasons I started a new blog was to begin exploring my writing. I do several writing experiments including a book that I am writing. My plan with this book is to make it available for free and accept editing tips with revised editions. I don’t know that my goal is to every be a published writer but I do want to be a good writer. It is something I enjoy so I want to do it well. To that end I saw a comment over at Stuff Christians like that made my snicker a bit and them leave a snarky reply. That happens a lot but today I decided I would turn it into a short story. One of the things I am trying to work on is being more descriptive by using a variety of synonyms and adjectives. Please comment and let me know how I can improve my writing as I am doing this not just to be funny but also to practice some creative writing.

That said, please enjoy.

Chapter 1

Some dogs better hope they don’t get to heaven.

Mark awoke to the screaming alarm clock. Slapping the snooze for the second time he sat up and wondered at why he was up this cold morning while the sun seemed to be sleeping in and remembered the meeting he couldn’t miss. He jumped from bed racing to get ready. Finishing a steaming shower where he cleared the last vestiges of sleep he stepped out to dress hurriedly as the rich odor of coffee wafted from the kitchen. While straightening his tie he kissed his sweetly dozing bride before heading for the beckoning coffee.  He picked up his waiting keys and briefcase as he walked out the door and then stopped remembering to pray.

“Dear God, I’m sorry I have been in such a rush today. Please go before me and guide me in all that I do and be with my wife and little girl as I am apart from them, put a hedge of protection round about them. Amen.”

———————————————————————

“Attention!”

All around the ready room enormous beings that radiate light snapped to attention as He walked into the room. Head and shoulders above the rest, He shone as the sun where the others were mere planets. Thick and wild hair hung about him as mane and the air thrummed with energy in his wake. His breath was a low rhythmic thrum echoing about the room like a growl or the purr of a great cat, and then he spoke and the sound reverberated through the small room as if it were a concert hall.

“We have just received a HOP and the elite CSAS gets the call.” He pronounced it “see sas.” Around the room the unit began to quiver with excitement save a single commando who shrank from the commander.

“Now most of you have been doing this for years so I don’t need to tell you how to do your job, but today there is a new recruit. Sergeant Clip has just transferred over from CP where he proved himself quite well earning multiple commendations including one for bravery earned by taking on no less than 5 boogie demons single handed.”

Everyone turned to look at the smallest of their number with a new respect. A single BD was a vile creature of hate and fear, literally the stuff of children’s nightmares and five would pose a threat to any of them. He hadn’t said much when he walked in earlier and none would have been impressed to hear him bragging about how well he did in Child Protection, but to hear the commander commend him, well that carried weight.

“Lieutenant Dax, Sergeant Clip will be your wingman for this mission. Sergeant, do everything you are told and you won’t have a problem.”

The commander turned and left. No directions, no special orders, he just left. Sgt Clip watched as everyone waited for the door to shut before moving. “You heard the commander, get moving we’re on the deck in five,” growled Lt. Dax, each word seemed like it was spit out but no one else noticed; they had already begun to check their gear and lock everything down for entry. Clip looked at his own gear recognizing most as what he brought from CP save a single gem that had been attached to his breast plate just below the left shoulder, the crimson star of the CSAS.

“Are you gonna put it on or marry it?” The gravelly voice behind him made him start just a bit. Clip turned quickly and stood at attention, “Put it on sir”

“Well, you better get a move on, if you aren’t on deck in four you’re grounded.”

“Sir, yes, sir!” Clip quickly donned his gear checking each latch as he ran to the flight deck.

The deck stretched out above the city of light where in the center the source of all light shone. Each time Clip saw stood here he couldn’t help but admire the glory of it all. The city stretched farther than even his eyes could see, sparkling as if made from a single crystal. Clip knew many buildings were a single diamond formed to the purpose but knowing and seeing were two different things and it was all he could do to look away from the citadel of light for there sat the throne emanating the shining brilliance.

Turning he saw that the rest of CSAS was assembled but also drawn to the source of radiance. Clip stepped in line then as one the unit turned to face the darkness. He had flown into the expanse almost daily for centuries but once again he had to steel his nerves against the contrast from the beauty of the metropolis of illumination. Lt Dax stepped up to address the crew.

“Alright, we’re going on HD. You know this might be a whole lotta nothin, but nobody gets distracted and everybody comes back. Sergeant Clip, you’re on my right, everyone form up.” With that Dax stepped to the edge of the platform and everyone formed a “v” behind him. Dax turned to face the crew once again and boomed “activate the gate,” then smiled as he fell backwards off the deck. Clip stepped over the edge and saw Dax laughing as he spiraled towards the opening vortex. Clip winced as Dax barely cleared the edges of the widening portal and then dark and light warred about him.

He felt the crackle of static as he passed into the pungent air of the Earth suburb. Dax was already hundreds of yards ahead but Clip was the fastest in every squad he had ever been in, he wouldn’t let it be any different in CSAS. For the first time Clip unfurled his wings in front of the new team. He hated that they were so much bigger than his size implied. He pulled them hard and fast and closed half the distance in a single stroke. Cautious not to pass the Lt Clip pulled them one more time and kept them tight as he pulled to the right flank of his commanding officer.

Dax grunted and spiraled down to the left into traffic. The vehicles were not the problem, but in rush hour traffic there was a full on battle. Guardians worked frantically to protect their charges as darklings tried to distract and cause mayhem. Dax pulled his glimmering two handed sword and darted between vehicles at full speed slashing at the lesser demons that came within his reach. Clip pulled his two short curving swords and began his fly by. Fortunately he only had to extend his wings to change speed or direction, otherwise his hug wings would be a hindrance in these close quarters. Spotting a darkling approaching the tires on an over laden semi trailer, he sniped the wings of another as he passed over head and then rolled to the right passing under the speeding 18 wheeler and surprised the small imp with his spiraling blade before quickly flicking his wings to rise back above the traffic followed by another velocity adjustment that brought him down into 3 fiends being engaged by a single guardian. He was able to take one with each of his blades as he passed through following Dax who had veered from the highway.

Seconds later Dax opened his wings catching both light and air coasting to a soft landing in the middle of a suburban block. Clip landed immediately behind and to the right, light as the feathers on his wings. Dax used quick hand signals to indicate where each warrior should take position and then turned to Clip to whisper, “Be the bush,” as he touched his emblem and stepped into a nearby shrub.

Clip touched his gem and stepped into another plant but felt conspicuously un-hedge like. He thought over and over again, “be the bush,” yet nothing changed. He concentrated for an hour straight before he sat and trying to imagine branches sprouting from him instead of wings and still saw only himself. As he was ready to give up a dog walked along and sniffed at him, then hiked its leg. It seemed the shrub to his left shuddered with suppressed laughter as he sat rooted in place. The breeze carried a low growling voice, “welcome to CSAS.”

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In the last installment of Super Youth Pastor SYP made some poor time choices and found himself collapsed on the ground.

As he shakily stood to his feet SYP was overcome with dizziness and had to sit before buckling again. Already he was surrounded. He tried to get his bearings as the shadows closed in on him. If only he could focus. He couldn’t remember where he was or what happened. All he knew was something was wrong. He hadn’t had so much as a cold since he became a super but this felt worse than any flu ever. He could feel the heat coming off his eyes and waves of nausea were breaking over him like the surf rolling in before a hurricane.

The closest shadow reached to him and he feebly swatted it away. It seemed his weak push was more than the shade could endure and the rest pulled back warily. SYP didn’t know how long he had before they built up the courage to come back. He tried to remember where he was but the last clear memory he had was months ago at one of the many summer concerts. As the summer dragged on more and more things were happening and it all merged into one big blur, as if everything was happening at once not in any order. The more he tried to focus on any one thing the less clear it became. He remembered dealing with the Bored of Elders. At that encounter focus impaired him as well so he tried letting the chaos overwhelm him but suddenly it was so much that he became violently ill.

As the heaving subsided he saw the shadows quickly moving in again but he didn’t have the strength to push them back. Something was pulled off of his face and light came streaming in. It was much too bright and made his head throb. The shadows seemed more solid but he could barely keep his eyes open as they laid him back down. The waves of disjointed memories ebbed and flowed all about him now. In weird moments of clarity he saw medics lifting him and heard the wail of sirens. He saw the panic on Super Wife’s beautiful face and smelled the pungent antiseptic smell of the hospital. As each fragment of clarity the anguish of losing his mind brought with it anger and depression before falling back into the sea of disjointed memories.

He heard a strange chuckle that brought about a powerful feeling of déjà vu. The lights were low but he should have been able to see someone in the room with him. A recent memory came into focus. The laugh he had heard the in the night as he left the church last night, or was it weeks ago? How long had he been in this hospital anyway?

“Are you alert this time?” SYP jumped and heard the machines quicken as his heart raced. “Calm yourself, you might bring the nurses to check on you, and you wouldn’t want them to get hurt would you?”

Was he hearing voices now? Had he completely lost his mind? Strange, he felt more sane than he had since he first awoke into the raging storm of memories.

“Don’t worry, your mind is not completely lost … yet.” The voice was both calm and menacing, but it seemed to echo around the room. “I am not one to be seen. A shadow. I work behind the scenes planning everything. When I am involved none know I exist. I am the best at what I do.”

“Who are you? What do you do?”

“I am the Planner. I have worked hard this summer to keep you busy. So busy that your own body could not save your mind. I struck only after you were much too distracted to notice. I was surprised to see that you have been recovering from my toxin. It seems your mind is suited to the mind breaking affects. I have been well paid to … shall we say remove you from the picture.”

“Wh…”

“Sorry to interrupt, but don’t bother asking who hired me. You must understand that I couldn’t reveal that even though you are about to perish. I would have finished you off earlier but I prefer to work from the shadows, it is what I do best after all. Such a forward move is usually beneath me so I waited to see if your mind really would recover before I moved. This is a first for me so you will have to excuse my curiosity. Could you please refrain from attracting attention while I study you for a bit? Some of the tests are bound to hurt, but you will need to be alert so I cannot allow anesthetic. If you attract attention others are bound to be hurt.”

“Huh?”

“Oh of course, you will need some time to think about it, but I’ll start some of the less invasive tests while you think. It really is important for me to know why you recovered so that this won’t happen again.”

With that the shadows seemed to coalesce in front of him and pull a series of instruments from the darkest part of the corner.

What is the Planner going to do? Will our hero recover enough to stop this shadow? Has SYP actually lost his mind? Find out this and more next week, same SYP time, same SYP blog.

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“And so it is settled, we will keep him so busy he won’t know anything is wrong until it is too late.”

SYP sat bolt upright in bed. His sleep deprived brain was trying to remember what startled him. Something dark and sinister in his dreams still haunted him. As he tried to think he began to realize he didn’t even remember coming home. He has been so tired when he left the church that he just came home on autopilot. He doubted a car crash could have done much to him, but the worry that he might have hit someone in his overworked stupor scared him more than anything in his dreams.

A few restless hours later his phone rang.

“Don’t answer it. It is supposed to be your day off.”

SYP ignored Super Wife as he picked up the phone. It might be one of the students and they need him to be there all the time.

“‘S’up, Sup?” Came the voice of one of his students. SYP was right and felt justified in taking the call, “Did I wake you?”

“No, I’ve been up for hours,” SYP honestly replied.

“Good a bunch of us were getting together for some paintball and wanted to know if you would like to come?”

SYP considered for a moment and then agreed. Super Wife was not happy. They argued the whole time SYP was getting ready. He explained over and over that he knew it was his day off, but that playing paintball couldn’t be considered working even if it was with some of the teens. He even invited her to come along, be she adamantly refused. SYP didn’t understand why Super Wife didn’t want to come. She had been several times in the past and was a great player. They could use the time together. Heck the two of them alone could probably take on everyone else and still have time to themselves. Super Wife didn’t buy into that argument though.

SYP fumed the entire trip to the Paintball venue. As he pulled in he saw the students waiting and put on a smile. They had already broken into teams and were fighting over who would get SYP. He agreed to take turns and got two arm bands with his air and paint. They played a dozen games or so and were pretty well covered in paint when the day was done. SYP had walked into an ambush as the end of the day. He knew it was there but felt bad that the only marks on him were from the old paint that coated the courses. He sent a scout back around to capture the flag as he stormed the breach. He had to fight the impulse to dodge the flying balls and shoot his attackers. He had always been able to see the balls as they flew, they weren’t nearly as fast as a bullet, but now his reflexes were so quick it seemed like the projectiles were thrown by small children, not high pressure gas. As the wave came in he noticed that both teams were in on the assault, even the player he had sent to capture the flag. He reached out and caught the first round being careful not to break it and then flicked it at the one who failed to follow orders. He smiled as the paint spread across the student’s goggles. He laughed as the barrage completely covered him from all sides. Death by a thousand cuts indeed. SYP felt so alive, so awake so … confused.

He looked up at a group of panicked faces. What happened?

What did happen? How did SYP end up on the ground? Who is plotting against him? Is it already too late? Will Super Wife ever forgive him? Join us next time, same SYP time, same SYP blog.

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When last we saw the pastoral protagonist he had just stopped the church split engine once again saving the day. Over the summer a routine set in devouring all of his time. The church needed mending and the youth needed things to do. The Janitor seemed leery of the events at the church, what with having to clean up after SYP on so many other occasions, and the voluminous fissure rent in the church by the bored of directors through their church split engine was more than he was ready to fix.

The youth group got larger with every event and so SYP’s time was spent at or planning the next big thing. All seemed well until the end of the summer led to the confluence of performances that nearly destroyed our hero.

This is where we find him, alone and exhausted.

The darkness was closing in again as another late night beckoned. SYP had been working over 12 hours each day for the past 3 weeks. He was excited that the planned concert had already sold 500 tickets through his youth, but even with the new help he felt the weight of it all on his shoulders. It was hard to believe that less than a year ago they would have been lucky to sell 50 tickets, but word spread fast after the nearly disastrous lock-in.

SYP walked through the dark halls of the church and shuddered as he passed by the repaired cleft from the near church split. Time would heal that wound if he ever had any. He checked the last door and turned off the last light before heading home to Super Wife. She would still be waiting for him at this late hour, supporting him but clearly sad for all the time he spent at the church. SYP sighed as he started the car.

He could remember his excitement when he first discovered the powers bestowed upon him from Super Pastor in order to save him from a terrible accident brought on by his own bravado. He loved the feeling of conquering powerful foes in the church world, but none had surfaced all summer long. It is fortunate they did not for SYP wouldn’t have had time to do everything that needed doing.

SYP remembered to turn his lights on as he pulled out of the parking lot. His super vision didn’t require the assistance but the local police might not appreciate his abilities in lieu of the mandatory beams. There was a momentary sparkle of a reflection in a deep shadow but no movement caught his eye so SYP thought nothing of it. In the back of his mind he thought he heard a light chuckle over the din of the engine, but dismissed it as a manifestation of his daydreams about fighting real villains, not just the monotony of business.

What will Super Wife say when Super Youth Pastor gets home? Did our champion really hear something or is he losing his mind? Tune in next week, same SYP time same SYP blog to find out.

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Our frigintastical fanatic of freedoms is confronted with an engine of doom. The Bored of Elders has activate the church split machine because SYP was able to resist their mind numbing boredom.

The ground was shaking under SYPs feet and the drywall was already cracking. He stumbled into the sanctuary are saw a large crack forming at the back of the church and crawling to the front. The church was literally splitting in half. SYP rushed back into the bored room and grabbed the Elder Grump.

“What have you done?” He cried above the roar.

“What have I done? It is what you have done. You left us no choice. IF you don’t listen to us we must split the church for the greater good.”

“What are you talking about? How can this be good for anyone? Tell me how to stop it”

“It’s too late, once the engine has been started it will take on a life of its own.”

SYP threw the Elder against a crumbling wall and rushed to the one that had activated the machine. SYP snatched the controller out of his surprisingly strong grip. It only have one button and pushing it again didn’t change a thing.

“Where is the source of the split?”

“I’ll never tell you.”

SYP dropped the man and went to Super Pastor who was fully alert by this point.

“They’ve done it haven’t they? They started a church split,” Super Pastor lamented.

“SP you gotta tell me how to stop this.”

“I’m afraid you can’t. When powers collide it often sets off a chain reaction that cannot be stopped.”

SYP was already leaving as SP went on. The second he heard the word, “can’t” SYP headed for the door. He could barely walk now but found his way to the sanctuary. The crack was huge. At the back it was large enough for a man to fall into. Then SYP did something crazy. He jumped into the fissure. SYP figured the Split Engine would be at the base of the opening. He fell for some time before tumbling into a cavernous chamber. With his super ability to see in the dark he had no trouble seeing in the dimly lit space, and what he beheld was a sight to see.

There before him stood the single biggest machine SYP had ever seen. It has massive pistons attached to the foundation of the church and electricity sparked within the spinning generators like lightening. It seemed to exude doom, but SYP was still full of his high caffeine energy drink and rush straight towards the towering giant.

Despite himself SYP yelled at the beast, “you come against this church with grease and electricity but I come against you in the name of the Lord, and possibly a little ADD.”

There didn’t seem to be a control panel so SYP started pulling at wires. They shot out great jolts of electricity but nothing slowed the device down. If anything his efforts seemed to make it worse. SYP tried using biting sarcasm to cut the pistons from the foundation but they didn’t react to anything he said. Super Pastor might have been right, but SYP wasn’t ready to give up.

He pulled and strained against the shaking and bucking monster but couldn’t budge it. The device towered over him and not even super strength could move it. The cracking foundation was raining down about him now and he could see the split had moved through most of the sanctuary. The cross at the front was clearly visible now. The machine bucked SYP and he spiraled to the ground amidst the raining debris. A huge chunk of the foundation narrowly missed SYPs head. In frustration he picked up the great chunk of concrete and heaved it at the machine. It wedged into the sparking generator and fouled one of the contacts. The machine began to lose steam and SYP began picking up more and more slabs of foundation. He eventually had to pull out chunks of the chamber wall and throw those into the machine trying to foul the rest of the contacts. As the last of the shaking subsided SYP collapsed. The crack had reached the front of the sanctuary but didn’t split the church.

SYP crawled into the broken and crumbling church. It had not been split but there was significant damage. The church would need to have serious repairs done to the foundation and it would be a long time before it was right again. SYP was exhausted but went back to deal with the Bored of Elders. As he pushed the door open he saw they had all fled. Super Pastor stood there in shock.

“I can’t believe they did it. I thought if I didn’t push them they would never split the church.”

“SP, they didn’t. I was able to stop the machine. We have a lot of work to do but they failed.”

Will the church ever be repaired? What happened to the Bored of Elders? Who is going to clean up this mess? Find out on the next SYP. Same SYP time same SYP blog.

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Chapter 1: A god Among Men

It was an amazing day to be at the beach. The sun began to break over the houses behind the water causing the inky black waves to blaze with all the colors of the rainbow. Already there were surfers in the water waiting for the first big sets of the morning. Soon the beach would be too crowded for them as the sun quickly raised the temperatures from the brisk 67 degrees is was to the 91 degree forecasted temp.

This was the day of appointment, but Alex didn’t know it. He sat on his board watching the sun rise and counting the seconds till he would catch one of the burning waves. He felt the swells growing as they passed through him. A few of the other surfers waiting had caught some of those for a quick first turn and were now paddling back. Alex let one more wave roll past then began chasing it down. It quickly left him behind but then a large swell rose and overtook him. He dropped in and began to cut down the wave. It was the first wave of the day big enough to form a tube and he was going to be in it. The sun was nearly blinding as the wave started to cascade over him. There really are no words to describe that experience. It is why he woke so early on his day off and got into the too cold water before the sun cleared the horizon. One might say it was like flying through a rainbow, or maybe the sun itself. As Alex approached the open end of the wave the brilliant colors gave way to the blinding sun once again and he momentarily lost his balance. Alex cut up into the wave and bit it hard as the board came down across his back. Alex rolled down under the wave and grabbed his board in time to be rolled by another wave. He was coughing as he turned into a third wave that he had to dive down under.

Alex rode a few more sets before the crowds began to fill the beach and the swells began to wane. He caught a medium ride all the way back in making sure to get off just before grinding his board across the sandy shore. Alex changed out of the wetsuit already feeling the heat of that blinding sun. Several other surfers were making plans to meet at a more secluded beach but Alex had other plans starting at lunch. He took his board and cleaned it and his wetsuit in fresh water. Alex then carefully dried his board and began looking for any damage. He liked to make sure it was in great shape so he could surf at a moment’s notice. While he was going through the post surf ritual Alex saw something happening at the shore. People were screaming and coming out of the water. Alex assumed someone saw a shark and ran to see what was happening. He knew that sharks were often in these waters and regularly swam around the crowds without being noticed. If one accidentally bumped a swimmer people would trample one another trying to get out of the water.

He could see a shadow in the water through the often mirrored surface. Suddenly a man broke though the surface riding a large bull shark. The shark dogged hard, breaking left and right trying to shake the man. It was crazy beyond belief but the shark didn’t have the man, instead the man had the shark. The shark would dive into the water only to surface again as the figure pulled up against it. It would turn out to sea and the man would fight it to head back into the shore. Alex watch mesmerized as people all around screamed and pointed at this incredible sight. He wondered if he might still be in bed waiting for his early alarm to rouse him. The twinge of pain from the bad wipeout confirmed he was fully awake and this surreal sight was fully real. Eventually the battle between shark and man ended right where Alex had ridden in after his last set. Alex watched as the man turned to the shark and placed his hand on its thrashing head. He could see him say something and then turned the shark back into the sea. This man had turned a large bull shark with his bare hands.

The crowd somehow both pressed in around this god of a man and withdrew in fear. As he walked away from the shoreline the shark swam back into the ocean. The lifeguards were running and pressing through the crowd but as they reached the inner line Alex could see them slow and then stop at the edge of the mob. This whole time Alex stood frozen, taking in the whole scene but feeling like he wasn’t part of the event, just an observer. It seemed that the man simply appeared before him when he realized he was inside the inner circle. Alex looked at the man who stood several inches over him and then looked around and knew he was alone with this glorious being.

“I am Narthan, and you are Alex.” This statement reverberated through Alex. He knew it was a statement of reality, more than fact. It was as if this being had just explained the first law of the Universe.

“Ho…w?” Alex was a professional speaker but couldn’t form the sentence.

“How do I know you? I don’t yet but I’m here to meet you. I apologize for the grand entrance. The shark had a parasite in it that drove it to attack me. I could not let it go or it might have attacked again.”

“Wh….y?”

“Why did I let it go? It is no longer ill. The parasite is not with it so it will not attack. I must explain a few things to you, but these must not hear. May I ride with you?” Narthan indicated the Jeep with Alex’s surfboard propped up against it.

“Ye…yes?” Alex was confused but felt compelled to unlock the vehicle and get in.

Narthan picked up the board and strapped it onto the cleats before seating himself next to Alex. The crowd parted as Alex drove towards the exit and to his house. The whole time he drove Alex was very aware of the presence next to him. He could feel power radiating from this man, this Narthan. As Alex pulled into his drive Narthan spoke again.

“You have many questions and I will answer them all. Every generation in every culture one is chosen to tell the tales and you are the receptor of your generation.”

Narthan began to tell Alex of his people and his purpose.

This story came into my head and I had to get it down. I plan on wrapping up the current SYP arc before trying to focus on this anymore. For that matter I need to outline the story and figure out where it is going and how long it will be. I wanted to put this out there for some feedback. Narthan is one of the sons of God. In this tale these are men who are children of Adam and Eve before the fall. They are not Angels, who are spiritual beings, but are men as men were meant to be. They live in Eden with the law that they must not consume the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. God walks with them as He walked with Adam. They only leave the garden to share their tales and help shape their lost brothers or if they are banished for consuming the fruit of knowledge. Each generation one is chosen to go from the garden and meet the receptor of the tales. This is all I know about the story right now, it might be a series of short stories or a regular novel. Either way the idea intrigued me so here it is.

What do you think?

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