The Door Within: A Review

When Aidan Thomas and his family have to move halfway across the country to care for his aging grandfather, the disgruntled teenager knows that life will never be the same. What he doesn't know is exactly how different life will be. The discovery in the basement of mysterious scrolls with a fascinating but unfinished story leads Aidan to seek the Door Within and travel to a world of noble knights and fair maidens. In The Realm, he learns more of the story found in the scrolls and faces the choice that will define his life forever--follow King Eliam or Paragor the Usurper.

Some of the characters are rather broadly drawn so that they seem rather exaggerated and thus unrealistic, but they are delightful nonetheless. Captain Valithor, Sentinel of Alleble, employs hilarious adjectives as he urges those in his charge to work harder. One fun thing about the characters is the way their build and temperaments tend to mirror their weapons. Archer brothers Nock and Bolt are slight and quick, while hammer-wielding Mallik is built like a rock.

In this adventurous tale full of truth and treachery, rambunctious and hilarious characters, Aidan learns what it means to never be alone. Though written for Junior High and early High Schoolers, the story contains enough depth to satisfy an older reader while remaining simple enough for children many years younger. "The Door Within" is sure to delight any reader of adventure and fantasy.

By: Wayne Thomas Batson

A New Anti-Burglary System

Dehydrating jalepeno peppers in the garage. Talk about potent.

He's at it again

Author Wayne Thomas Batson is sponsoring a new contest. This time with friend and co-author Christopher Hopper. Why, you ask? Simple, they've a new book coming out in October. And the stakes are higher than before. Where last contest (for Isle of Fire), the highest prize was books for life and naming a character, the grand prize this time includes a private book signing party for the winning tribe. How cool is that? I plan to post a review of each book before the next month is out.

And now, the books:
By Wayne Thomas Batson:
The Door Within
The Rise of the Wyrm Lord
The Final Storm
Isle of Swords
Isle of Fire

By Christopher Hopper:
Rise of the Dibor
The Lion Vrie
Athera's Dawn (coming soon)

By Batson and Hopper:
The Curse of the Spider King (coming November 2009)
Venom and Song (coming soon)

Engedi

Engedi. A place to which David fled as a refuge from Saul. An haven of life in the midst of barrenness. An oasis renowned for the richness of its produce. And the name of a retreat at the end of Summer's hot days.

This past weekend I helped other members of our church host a retreat for folks aged 16-32. It was amazing. Having been in on the planning and preparation made it even more wonderful. See, on the day of the registration deadline, no one outside our church had signed up. And I mean no one. Zip, zero, nada. And we'd promised the camp 80ish. What could we do? Nothing. So the main leaders prayed about it and decided to keep trying--and to keep registrations open. Folk visited other churches, called them, sent letters, and, above all, prayed. And you know what? God answered. The registrations started coming. From a trickle to a downpour they came. In one month we went from zero people outside our church to sixty. Some even registered the day before the retreat started!

And that's not all. Most of us had never put on a retreat of this sort before. Stephanie, Peter, and Rita have done massive homeschool conferences and the like but they're the only ones. The rest of us had been to them but never hosted. And the only difficulty we had was getting people to show up on time. Really. Everything went so amazingly smoothly. I had a one person who has been working on conferences say that she was learning things from us!

But wait! There's more! (Had to do that after our skit...) I'm not the most social person. That is, hanging out with complete strangers is very difficult for me. Usually, I'll hang on the outskirts, listen in on one of my other friends talking to the other attendees but not really get involved myself. Not so this weekend. Rather, I was in the middle of things. True, I didn't actually carry on much by way of conversation with a lot of people--I was playing v-ball, or other games during the little free time we had--but neither did I hesitate as to where to sit at meals, wonder if I would be welcome in games, or feel awkward flitting around the crowd to talk briefly to other people. God was good to me. I was nervous about not knowing anyone on my team but I really liked them. The guys--and gals when they showed up--were great. We just needed some help on the artistic side... :-)

Add to all that encouraging speaking from Brady and Eric on a purpose worth living--and dying--for and you have a marvelous weekend. Both reminded us that Christ alone is worth following and His kingdom worth living for. As Eric pointed out, we are His sheep. And His sheep are supposed to hear and obey. So get up off your seat and obey!

On the way down to Engedi, I prayed with a friend that God would show Himself mightily over the weekend. I think He did.

In Christ alone,
Rien

Music and Words

Music. Haunting, joyful, despairing, joyful, chaotic, rich. It can reach to the depths of our souls, pierce even the thickest walls, touch the most closed heart.

Words. Long, short, awe-inspiring, groan-inducing, hilarious, cruel. They can linger in our minds for a lifetime, break a heart or mend it, honor or defame.

How will you use your words and music?

My Dad

A little tribute to my dad that I wrote a couple years ago for him at Christmas:

A pillar of strength
On whom many rest
A father of children
Who counts himself blessed

Born to a family
That was torn into two
Adopted again
By God made anew

A man whose heart
Seeks after his Lord
Bound forever
By an unbreakable cord

Drawn ever to service
To others he gives
Especially his family
At home where he lives

A warrior at heart
One of God’s mighty men
He fights for men’s hearts
For his King them to win

Eyes full of laughter
Deep wells of love
Endlessly filled
By the Love from above

Spending time with his family
To him brings more joy
Than getting the newest
Gadget or toy

A playground for children
Always ready for fun
A comforting presence
From whom nightmares must run

Husband and father
Mentor and friend
Servant and teacher
Prince to the end

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Running the Race...

Sunday night I was at some friends house watching a worldview course by Focus on the Family and it had a quote by Eric Liddell about why he ran the way he does or something like that and he said something like this - I run not for the praise or glory of man but because I can feel the pleasure of God when I run. So to all ya'll out there I want to encourage ya'll to run the race of life with endurance to the glory of the Most High and may ya'll feel His pleasure.


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