Each Gospel in the New Testament aims to accomplish something unique. Matthew: to show Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and the fulfillment of every promise. Mark: to get every person swept up into the drama of God’s coming kingdom. John: to convey the scandalous love of a relentless God. Luke has a different approach. Rather than simply learn about Jesus through his book, Luke wants his readers to develop a skill. A habit. Whereas Matthew, Mark, and John write to get us to see Jesus, Luke writes to get us to see as Jesus sees. The subtle difference is a cosmic shift when played out in reality. Luke’s Gospel is less of a textbook to be studied and more of an invitation to be accepted. Therefore, we might say his purpose is the following. Luke: to magnify the minority, as Jesus does. There’s a modern analogy which I think parallels what Luke was trying to accomplish all those centuries ago when the world first began to be invaded by the kingdom of God. When I was in grade school, my mom bought a picture for the wall in our basement. It was a repeating pattern of blue and green swirls interrupted by black and orange dots. She hung it right above the couch and then motioned for my brother and me to come stare at it. As we stared into the very odd picture (which did not match anything else of my mom’s “style”), mom stared back at us. She was just waiting there, anticipating some reaction. Not wanting to disappoint, I told her “yeah mom, I really like it – all the blue and stuff”. “No” she replied, “what do you see in the picture?” I literally had no idea what she was talking about. Hadn’t I just stared at the picture for the last minute? What else was there to see? Mom came over, placed her hands on the side of my head to direct my gaze, and told me to look into the picture. “Don’t just look at the swirls” she said, “what are the swirls hiding?” So I concentrated and stared as hard as my little brain would allow me to. And then…it happened. The picture shifted in my mind’s eye. I started to see the outline of a horse. Just barely at first. But then I got it. I saw the picture beyond the picture. If you’ve never seen a stereogram (which is the name for this optical illusion), it can be pretty frustrating the first time you try to break through the patterned image. But once you do, once your brain makes the shift between what is out in front and what is underneath, it’s almost impossible to go back. You see the hidden image every time. Your brain adjusts to the new pattern. The deeper picture. This is what we find in Luke’s Gospel. A stereogram in writing form. On the surface, another perspective of the same Jesus stories. Beneath, an invitation to do everything differently. To see and act and spend and fight and preach and serve in a whole new way. So how does this radical shift take place? Not by explaining to us a what, but rather, by introducing us to a who. Welcome to the story Luke tells, about the people Jesus loves…

To save others’ lives, they will risk their own… Houston firefighter, Jeff Taylor is a fireman’s fireman. He’s not afraid of anything, and no situation is too dangerous to keep him on the sideline if lives are at stake. Lisa Matheson runs a semi-successful ad agency that’s on the brink of falling apart. Her employees are incompetent, and her schedule has become exhausting. When she takes on a client with a brilliant idea for a big conference, she thinks that maybe, finally this is her lucky break. However, the fire station wasn’t what she had in mind for finding conference speakers. When she falls for a handsome but shy firefighter, it’s possible that life might just be going her way for a change. The only problem is she can’t control Jeff and the death wish he seems to have… An Amazon #1 Best Seller for Contemporary Christian Romance novels, “To Protect & Serve” is truly Christian romance at its very best. Filled with faith, hope, and love, Christian romance Kindle books aim to inspire women and men alike while giving them exceptionally romantic love stories they will not soon forget. “To Protect & Serve” fits that category perfectly. These real life characters are not perfect but are struggling to learn to live, while finding faith and love in the process. It can easily fit on your shelf of the most inspirational books. “Staci Stallings writes Christian romance of the purest and sweetest kind!” To Protect & Serve The Courage Series, Book 1 *~* Excerpt *~* It was like a whole sleeping system snapped awake around Lisa. People she had no idea where they had come from were suddenly running in every direction at once. “Sorry, Ms. Matheson, we’re going to have to do this some other time,” Captain Hayes said, but she was too stunned to do more than nod. Men, gear, boots, equipment, and then just as the truck roared to life, the last fireman in full gear flashed by her and jumped into the back door. All the air vanished from the earth itself when he slammed that door closed. The blaring continued above her, but she hardly heard it as her eyes blurred against the sight. Slowly the truck pulled out into the street, leaving her standing alone in the empty station house. “Oh, God, please, let him be all right.”

BUY THE KINDLE VERSION AND GET THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION FOR FREE!!! You Are About To Learn How To Become An Expert In All Aspects Of Music (Including Reading And Writing), And Master The Art Of Singing And Music Production! Have you been trying to make some progress in music by learning how to write and read written music, or teach yourself the whole concept of music from scratch but you often find it difficult to get past some concepts, activities, or plainly don’t know where to start? Then keep reading… Are you sick and tired of not being able to decipher simple music pieces, not mastering a particular musical instrument, or any other aspect of music like rhythm and harmony-that has been keeping you from making progress in your music learning journey? Have you tried putting in time and practical work but you never make any significant progress? Are you ready to take a fresh turn, boost your understanding of music and accelerate your career? If so, then you’ve come to the right place. You see, reading, writing and understanding the overall concept of music well enough to do achieve any music-related goal doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, it’s easier than you think. A report published in Music Education Researchasserts that music reading and learning is often not difficult for those to whom the process of mastering the skill is well adapted, and as long as the learning material is within the scope of the capacities of the learners or readers. First of all, that means that with a good guide, you can master the art of music without the common struggles. Secondly, that is exactly what makes this book different. But where do you even begin in learning music whether you are a complete beginner or have prior knowledge of music? How do you understand music from a composer and instrumentalist perspective? What key concepts of music do you need to be learn and master and how do you go about learning them all? How do you apply your understanding of the different concepts in songwriting and in other facets of music production? Can you learn how to sing and be able to sing well even if you’ve always thought of yourself as having a bad voice? If you have these and other related questions, this book is for you so keep reading. More precisely, the book will usher you into the ins and outs of: How music affects our deepest emotions in ways that nothing else does How music preferences differ globally Child prodigies and their musical intelligence The magic of the melody Why music makes us happy Tuning, header, burst, background, blows, notation and the clefs Intervals, melody, rhythm and timbre The scales and different music modes Chords and chord progression Arranging chords in songwriting Music production Vocal training and singing The spirituality of music …and much, much more! Take a second to imagine how your life would be once you perfect your reading, writing, singing and producing music like an expert. How would you feel when you achieve that goal in music you’ve been yearning to achieve? If you have a burning desire to get there, and enjoy the countless benefits that come with the accomplishment, don’t miss the opportunity to learn music to a level where you understand it like the proverbial ‘back of your hand’! So why wait any longer?

When Lucy finds herself in a pinch and has no date for a work function, she can’t think of anyone better to go with her than her best friend’s brother, Jason. With Sapphire as her friend, she isn’t sure she wants to ask him. Besides, he’s been seeing another woman for a while. At the last moment, Jason makes it to the function. It kicks off a whirlwind of questions that Lucy can’t seem to answer. Why did she ask Jason to come with her, to begin with? Why did he accept? Had he really planning to go out tonight, or had he just delayed in making up his mind? A friendly date turns into the nightmare that any single woman dreads. Will Lucy be able to come to a conclusion with Jason giving her such mixed signals? Or will she be forced to remain unable to confess that she’s in love? *** This is a full length novel with a happily ever after, no cliffhanger, no cheating, and plenty of steam. ***