My Top Ten Authors Reading List

When I was around ten or eleven, my father gave me a copy of John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the first time I had ever read a novel. It was with Burrough’s Mars series that I obtained my love for reading fantasy novels. These author’s novels later influenced me to begin writing my own stories. If any of you ever get the chance, I encourage you to read some or all of their works. Out of all of the author’s works I have read, I would have to say that Robert E. Howard’s Conan and Edger Rice Burrough’s Mars series are still my favorites.

1.     Piers Anthony

2.     Robert Jordan

3.     Joel Rosenberg

4.     Marion Zimmer Bradley

5.     David Eddings

6.     Anne McCaffrey

7.     Terry Brooks

8.     J. R. R. Tolken

9.     Edgar Rice Burroughs

10.  Robert E. Howard

The Little People Excerpt #1

Excited at this new discovery, Adam eased forward to get a better look. The turtle was a giant of it’s kind. Adam thought it must have been three feet across and weighed at least a hundred pounds. It had a large brown, dome shaped shell, with yellow spots all over it. Adam remembered his father saying they were called box turtles or terrapins. He didn’t know they grew to be so big.

The turtle’s head was out and it seemed to be looking right at him. Curious, Adam eased his stick forward to poke it to see if it would move. As he did so the giant turtle quickly reached out and grabbed the end of his stick with its mouth. This caught Adam by surprise and he almost let go of his stick.

Adam grabbed the end of his stick with both hands and tugged on it, several times. He tried to get it to let go, but has no luck. The turtle hissed loudly at Adam as it pulled back on the stick. He was surprised at how strong the turtle was. Back and forth they went for several moments until there was a loud snap and the stick broke in two. With the sudden release of his end of the stick, Adam stumbled back, lost his balance and then fell.

As Adam hit the ground he thought he heard someone say, “Humph, pesky human!”

Adam quickly stood up and looked around, but he didn’t see anyone else in the area. As he dusted himself off he looked back at the turtle. It had come out from under the brush and was slowly making its way along the edge of the stream toward the back edge of their property. The turtle stopped once and looked right at Adam. It then slowly set off again. Adam followed the large reptile until it eventually crossed a gap in the fence at the edge of their property. He watched it make its way across the woods, heading toward the distant lake. It eventually disappeared in the forest beyond the fence line.

http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/thelittlepeople.html

Five Choices We Must Make To Be Right With God

    From the very beginning of creation mankind has been making choices. Adam and Eve made the first choice to disobey God in the Garden of Eden when they chose to eat of the forbidden fruit. They quickly learned that there was a consequence to their choice, and were cast out of the garden and into a life of hardship.
    Every day we have to make choices. We choose what clothes we want to wear, what food we want to eat. We choose what jobs we want to work at, what vehicle we want to drive and what type of dwelling in which we live. We choose whom our friends are and whom we wish to date or marry. However, the most important decisions we can make are the decisions that affect our spiritual well being and that will determine our final destination.
    For those of us that say we believe in God, the Bible and Christ, we need to ask ourselves if we are making our choices according to God’s word. We know from the Bible that in order for us to be right with God, we must adhere to what the Bible teaches. Luke 11:28 says: But He said, More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!
    When we choose to become a Christian, we accepted God’s directions and instructions. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 states:  For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe.
    God’s word should guide us in all of the choices we make, but ultimately it is up to us to make those choices. When God created us he gave us the right to choose what we do in this life, but also provides for us instructions. Proverbs 16:9 tells us: A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.

    Let’s look at some of the choices we must make to be right with God.

    1.    First of all we must choose to obey God’s plan of salvation for man. The Bible tells us we must:
      a.    Hear God’s word. Mark 12:29
      b.    Believe God’s word, John 20:3
      c.    Repent of our sins, Luke 13:3
      d.    Confess that Jesus is the Christ, Acts 8:37
      e.    Be Baptized for the remission of our sins, Acts 2:38
      f.    And we must live Godly, 2 Peter 1:5-11

    2.    Living Godly includes many choices we must make including worshiping God as he has directed.
      a.    We are to worship God on the first day of the week. Hebrews 10:25
      b.    When we worship we are to sing to God: Ephesians 5:19
      c.    We are to pray to our creator: Acts 2:42
      d.    We are to hear the preaching of God’s holy word: II Timothy 3:16
      e.    We are to partake of the Lord’s supper: Acts 20:7
      f.    We are to give as we have been prospered: I Corinthians 16:2
      g.    And we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together: Hebrews 10:25

    3.    We must also choose to submit ourselves to the authority God has given to the elders in the church. Hebrews 13:17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

    4.    Another aspect to making Godly choices are the things we choose to do outside of the church in our daily living. Matthew 5:16 says: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
      a.    When we make choices to do things that are ungodly, we shed a negative light upon God, the church and ourselves and not only put our own salvation at risk, but could hinder others from ever obeying God’s word or cause other Christians to stumble. Romans 14:21 tells us: It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
      b.    Who we choose to spend our time with can also effect our decisions. If we spend a lot of time with people who are not Christians or those who do things that are immoral and unscriptural, we can be influenced to do likewise. I Corinthians 15:33 states: Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.

    5.    Finally, we need to choose to share God’s word with everyone that we can. Mark 16:15 And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

    If we truly believe in God and care about the people in the world around us, we will choose to follow His word to the best of our ability, worship and obey Him faithfully, live a Godly life to be a shining example to everyone around us and share God’s word with whomever we can.

Where Are The Dead Video Background Part I

The initial idea for creating the Where Are the Dead video came from a series of lessons that Jimmy Young did several years ago on the Speaking The Truth In Love television program which airs on the local ABC channel in Jonesboro, AR. Me and HR McDonough had discussed what a video that was more visual might be like and so began a series of discussions and creative talks.

The first step was taking the lessons that Jimmy did and transcribing them into an editable text format. HR took on that task. The next step was HR then began editing down all of the content that was used into a simplified format and he began forming the content into the vision he had for how to present it. He also began doing additional Biblical research and rewrote all of the content so that it could be presented in a more visual way.

Once HR completed his research and rewriting of the content, he then handed it off to me and I began reworking it into a script format. His original content was in more of an article format. As I worked on the script, I began inserting possible visual ideas that might coincide with the text. While I was working on the script, there was a lot of back and forth with HR and several other church members, who were of immense help, and we continued to research what the scriptures said us about what happens to us when we die.

More in part II

To view the video, click here.

FREE Preface

The preface of The Ruby Helmet novel is now available online in a FREE downloadable PDF at the link below.

http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/therubyhelmet.html

If you like what you read, you can find the entire novel at the below link.

http://www.americastarbooks.net/ruby-helmet-the_moreinfo.html

FREE First Chapter

The first chapter of The Little People novel is now available online in a FREE downloadable PDF at the link below.

http://www.michaelpaulhoward.com/thelittlepeople.html

If you like what you read, you can find the entire novel in various formats at the below links.

Amazon Kindle

Amazon 5x8 Paperback

CreateSpace 5x8 Paperback

Apple iBook

New Web Site

Well, it took a while, but I finally have a new web site online. Even though I understand the basics of web design, the more complex functions still elude me, but I am learning. There were several objective I had when I began thinking about designing a new site.

The first objective was to create a site that was responsive to multiple devices. Even though my site is not nearly as complex as many others, it should now adapt to fit the screen of most devices.

The second objective was to have a pop-up slide show, so a larger version of each image could be easily viewed by scrolling through them, without having to leave the page or open a new page.

The third objective was to simplify the menu to make it easier to navigate throughout the different categories.

I also wanted to have a better layout for my two books, The Little People and The Ruby Helmet. The new pages should be less cluttered.

New images have also been added and more will be added later.

The new site can be viewed here.

Where Are The Dead? A Visual Biblical Look At What Happens When We Die.

Have you ever given serious thought to what happens when we die? Some believe everyone enters straight into heaven, others believe we simply cease to exist. Death is a very serious subject and only the Bible can answer the question, what  happens to us when we die? If you have any questions or would like to study further, please contact your nearest church of Christ. Please also share this video with others. God loves you and only wants what is best for you, not only here, but throughout eternity.

To view the video, click here.


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