New Website Here:
ninjagentlemen.com
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Mission Five -- A Change of Scenery
Here is a sample of the missions you will encounter on the Shadow Gentleman's Road...
SKILLS REQUIRED
Being-A-Ninja Skills: Subliminal Message
Being-Nice-To-Girls Skills: Giving Time
Sir,
TIME is a gift from our patient God. You should be patient too, and appreciate time. It is a necessary ingredient in the changing, growing, and healing of a human being -- and now you are going to learn to use it.
Did you talk to your sister as instructed in the previous mission? Hopefully you gained some insight into her mental landscape and discovered where she most dearly needs defenders. Now your first instinct might be to sit her down and tell her where she's misunderstanding the truth...but that's not how we do.
Remember that you are still trying to remain invisible. Remember also that you are working to nurture a deep peace in your sister's heart -- a peace that will not be shaken by the next lie (or hundred lies) that rise up. So instead of attacking the issue itself, start quietly introducing truth into her life. Do not call attention to it or to yourself! The truth will make itself known if you place it somewhere visible.
An example will help: Suppose your sister is deceived into thinking that abortion, in general, is not terrible. And suppose that modern dogmas of Tolerance and Choice and Convenience have blunted her discernment so that you cannot reason her back to rightness. How should you protect her mind?
Firstly by praying that she will grow in the Spiritual wisdom we discussed earlier. And secondly, by changing scenery! Be the person who speaks sincerely about the blessing of children. Openly admire those parents who raise kids in difficult circumstances. Praise God (out loud!) for the idea of family. Make quiet observations about how precious is this or that person, especially children. Abortion thrives in selfishness -- so you be the person who upholds sacrificial generosity.
These should be SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES. In the example above, don't be obviously referring back to abortion (actually, all of the blessings of children and family are plenty good enough to talk about *without* an ulterior motive). Exposing lies is a separate challenge, but your goal for now should be to bolster your sister's defenses -- her knowledge and love of truth -- so that lies once exposed cannot survive. Think of ways to improve her mental backdrop, and start immediately!
Changing the scenery is great because anyone can do it. It does not take a genius to talk about what is good and true. It just takes a brother who isn't embarrassed, and who is willing to be patient. That's the other thing. You cannot tell how long it will take for truth to bloom. Plant the seeds, and water them faithfully...but trust God to make them grow. Give it time.
Sincerely,
~you stake out the empty space, thinking the signature cannot hide forever~
SKILLS REQUIRED
Being-A-Ninja Skills: Subliminal Message
Being-Nice-To-Girls Skills: Giving Time
Sir,
TIME is a gift from our patient God. You should be patient too, and appreciate time. It is a necessary ingredient in the changing, growing, and healing of a human being -- and now you are going to learn to use it.
Did you talk to your sister as instructed in the previous mission? Hopefully you gained some insight into her mental landscape and discovered where she most dearly needs defenders. Now your first instinct might be to sit her down and tell her where she's misunderstanding the truth...but that's not how we do.
Remember that you are still trying to remain invisible. Remember also that you are working to nurture a deep peace in your sister's heart -- a peace that will not be shaken by the next lie (or hundred lies) that rise up. So instead of attacking the issue itself, start quietly introducing truth into her life. Do not call attention to it or to yourself! The truth will make itself known if you place it somewhere visible.
An example will help: Suppose your sister is deceived into thinking that abortion, in general, is not terrible. And suppose that modern dogmas of Tolerance and Choice and Convenience have blunted her discernment so that you cannot reason her back to rightness. How should you protect her mind?
Firstly by praying that she will grow in the Spiritual wisdom we discussed earlier. And secondly, by changing scenery! Be the person who speaks sincerely about the blessing of children. Openly admire those parents who raise kids in difficult circumstances. Praise God (out loud!) for the idea of family. Make quiet observations about how precious is this or that person, especially children. Abortion thrives in selfishness -- so you be the person who upholds sacrificial generosity.
These should be SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES. In the example above, don't be obviously referring back to abortion (actually, all of the blessings of children and family are plenty good enough to talk about *without* an ulterior motive). Exposing lies is a separate challenge, but your goal for now should be to bolster your sister's defenses -- her knowledge and love of truth -- so that lies once exposed cannot survive. Think of ways to improve her mental backdrop, and start immediately!
Changing the scenery is great because anyone can do it. It does not take a genius to talk about what is good and true. It just takes a brother who isn't embarrassed, and who is willing to be patient. That's the other thing. You cannot tell how long it will take for truth to bloom. Plant the seeds, and water them faithfully...but trust God to make them grow. Give it time.
Sincerely,
~you stake out the empty space, thinking the signature cannot hide forever~
Affirm -- Lesson 1. Her Story
Please enjoy this hand-picked sample chapter!
"the only reason to make a fuss over a bad man is because he is not good....you cannot say if a shot hit or missed, until you know what the target was."
-- Jakeb Brasee's "High Definition"
(I sound so much more reputable in quotes)
This is the story of your sister-in-Christ...
Before the creation of the world, God invented her and thought she was a wonderful idea -- good enough to create, good enough to die for and adopt.
He designed her perfectly, saw everything that she would become, and decided to make her. So He drew up the blueprints and said "This is what she is."
Then at the right time, He went to work, knitting her together and creating a brand new person -- fearfully, wonderfully unique. Able to praise Him like no other.
But His work was ruined immediately, not by any mistake of His, but because your sister's sinful parents were involved in her creation. She inherited their wicked ways. Sin took hold right away and broke God's beautiful work.
Or had it? He still had the blueprints -- and if you look at them closely you'll see that the original design included a great rescue mission! The cross of Christ was in God's mind all along. He knew this would happen when He made your sister. He knew that she would become something even greater than a perfect creature. She was to be a redeemed creature.
And so she was redeemed, as God intended. She freely trusted in Jesus Christ, who forgave her and saved her. The Father accepted her. The Spirit moved in and started transforming her.
She is no longer who she once was -- no longer a spiritual rebel, no longer an enemy of God. She is not a slave to sin. She is no longer hopelessly depraved. She is an unfinished work, but she is absolutely lovely. She is God's masterpiece, and He can always point to her as an example of His great mercy and generous lovingkindness.
Those blueprints define her, now. God sees what she is going to be -- the masterpiece is complete in His mind's eye. He looks at her through the lens of Jesus Christ and sees her as pure and spotless, white as snow. Darkness is not part of her definition, it is only the thing that obscures her definition.
So if you want to know, "My sister, who is she, really?"...then go back to those blueprints. Ask God for a glimpse of them. Maybe He will let you see them too, let you understand what a dazzling, precious and astounding thing He did on the day He made her. Maybe you will see a vision of the finished product, in all her righteousness and purity of spirit. At the very least, you will see that she is becoming such.
And so I plead with you, as I would plead with our sister herself -- study her story and learn it very well. Every time you think of her, know that she is God's daughter, the product of His creativity and power and wonderful love. Know that she is made in His image and reflects His glory and houses His Spirit.
When you really know her story, and when you are able to tell it back to her by the way you love her -- well then, you are affirmative.
"the only reason to make a fuss over a bad man is because he is not good....you cannot say if a shot hit or missed, until you know what the target was."
-- Jakeb Brasee's "High Definition"
(I sound so much more reputable in quotes)
This is the story of your sister-in-Christ...
Before the creation of the world, God invented her and thought she was a wonderful idea -- good enough to create, good enough to die for and adopt.
He designed her perfectly, saw everything that she would become, and decided to make her. So He drew up the blueprints and said "This is what she is."
Then at the right time, He went to work, knitting her together and creating a brand new person -- fearfully, wonderfully unique. Able to praise Him like no other.
But His work was ruined immediately, not by any mistake of His, but because your sister's sinful parents were involved in her creation. She inherited their wicked ways. Sin took hold right away and broke God's beautiful work.
Or had it? He still had the blueprints -- and if you look at them closely you'll see that the original design included a great rescue mission! The cross of Christ was in God's mind all along. He knew this would happen when He made your sister. He knew that she would become something even greater than a perfect creature. She was to be a redeemed creature.
And so she was redeemed, as God intended. She freely trusted in Jesus Christ, who forgave her and saved her. The Father accepted her. The Spirit moved in and started transforming her.
She is no longer who she once was -- no longer a spiritual rebel, no longer an enemy of God. She is not a slave to sin. She is no longer hopelessly depraved. She is an unfinished work, but she is absolutely lovely. She is God's masterpiece, and He can always point to her as an example of His great mercy and generous lovingkindness.
Those blueprints define her, now. God sees what she is going to be -- the masterpiece is complete in His mind's eye. He looks at her through the lens of Jesus Christ and sees her as pure and spotless, white as snow. Darkness is not part of her definition, it is only the thing that obscures her definition.
So if you want to know, "My sister, who is she, really?"...then go back to those blueprints. Ask God for a glimpse of them. Maybe He will let you see them too, let you understand what a dazzling, precious and astounding thing He did on the day He made her. Maybe you will see a vision of the finished product, in all her righteousness and purity of spirit. At the very least, you will see that she is becoming such.
And so I plead with you, as I would plead with our sister herself -- study her story and learn it very well. Every time you think of her, know that she is God's daughter, the product of His creativity and power and wonderful love. Know that she is made in His image and reflects His glory and houses His Spirit.
When you really know her story, and when you are able to tell it back to her by the way you love her -- well then, you are affirmative.
Sample Chapters coming soon...
If it wasn't 2:00 a.m. in the morning I'd post them now, but I will firstly sleep, and try to do it tomorra. I am mostly writing this to remind myself to do it, hah!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Amazon Finally Gets Wise
Now you can buy the book at Amazon also (which means the book is readily available enough that I can stop giving you updates on its availability). But you may still be better off buying it directly and receiving a genuine autograph of debatable value.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Barnes and Noble wins the NINJA REFLEXES award!
Well! It seems that Finishing Last is now available for purchase at BarnesAndNoble.com
quite suddenly! How very unexpected and delightful. I will hopefully have a website where you can buy this thing directly from me (thereby Sticking It To The Man and gaining a free autograph at the same time) -- but until then, BarnesAndNoble can supply all of your Shadow Gentleman needs!
(if you buy it and like it and think other brothers-in-Christ should read it, you're encouraged to review it of course ;)
quite suddenly! How very unexpected and delightful. I will hopefully have a website where you can buy this thing directly from me (thereby Sticking It To The Man and gaining a free autograph at the same time) -- but until then, BarnesAndNoble can supply all of your Shadow Gentleman needs!
(if you buy it and like it and think other brothers-in-Christ should read it, you're encouraged to review it of course ;)
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Art and Science of Finishing Last
Ah-hah! We've moved!
New Website Here:
ninjagentlemen.com
What's all this hullabaloo about, anyways? Here's the Official Description of everyone's favorite book on being a good brother-in-Christ and a master of Shadowy, Gentlemanly ways...
-----------------------
For every believing brother who knows that his sisters-in-Christ are utterly priceless -- and who also knows, in his heart of hearts, that he should have been a ninja...THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FINISHING LAST exists for these.
Based on Biblical principles of brotherly love, this book teaches the deadly art of being nice to girls -- of serving, protecting, affirming and leading like a Christian brother ought to do, without being creepy and without getting glory for himself. It is a dangerous occupation, and you cannot be in it for yourself, but the daughters of God deserve no less.
Snippets of wisdom for the aspiring Shadow Gentleman:
New Website Here:
ninjagentlemen.com
What's all this hullabaloo about, anyways? Here's the Official Description of everyone's favorite book on being a good brother-in-Christ and a master of Shadowy, Gentlemanly ways...
-----------------------
For every believing brother who knows that his sisters-in-Christ are utterly priceless -- and who also knows, in his heart of hearts, that he should have been a ninja...THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FINISHING LAST exists for these.
Based on Biblical principles of brotherly love, this book teaches the deadly art of being nice to girls -- of serving, protecting, affirming and leading like a Christian brother ought to do, without being creepy and without getting glory for himself. It is a dangerous occupation, and you cannot be in it for yourself, but the daughters of God deserve no less.
Snippets of wisdom for the aspiring Shadow Gentleman:
"We want our sisters to know that it is only natural that we should serve them. It is Christ-natural -- in accordance with the nature of Christ. *In Christ and by His nature*, they are beautiful sisters who naturally deserve our brotherly love. Does this sound nonchalant to you? Or does it sound bright-eyed and boldly persuaded?"
--- Serve, Lesson 9
"You have heard of 'hiding in plain sight'? It sounds like rubbish, but it can work. People often accept what they see, without question -- so do not give them a reason to question you. Make yourself at home. Act like you belong and most people will suppose that you do."
--- Tips for Furtivity
"A ninja is a finely tuned instrument of imminent doom. He is the first-chair violin in a symphony of destruction. Body, mind, and spirit -- unified and sharpened to a razor edge for one deadly destiny. Everybody knows that."
--- Protect, Lesson 7
"...you need to openly praise true beauty. Do not just be thankful for her modesty, THANK her for her modesty! Do not just admire her devotion, COMMEND it! Is her joy remarkable? REMARK upon it!...Express this to her face and behind her back, both."
--- Affirm, Mission Ten
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