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C.S. Elston

Worshipper, Husband, Author, Screenwriter, Home Cook, Fan

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Common Design?

September 14, 2018 By C.S. Elston

I thought, this week, instead of a typical blog post, I would post a small excerpt from the first novel I wrote and had published, “The Four Corners.” I’m currently writing the sequel, “The Four Corners of Darkness,” so my head is in that space right now. The following is approximately the first page of a chapter entitled “A World Aware” and it occurs almost half way through the book. My hope with this post is that it can spark some conversation. I’ll paste, below the excerpt, links to where you can find me on various social media platforms. I’d love to know what kind of thoughts this excerpt generates about both the scientific and spiritual implications.

Without further adieux:

Like a plant, every person begins as a seed. Each seed contains the genetic make-up, passed on through the generations of family members in the lineage of the father who produced that seed.

It is then placed in the mother’s womb where it adds the genetic make-up from her lineage. The mother of all plants is the earth itself and, therefore, that womb is the soil the earth provides. For people, the womb is inside the mother’s abdomen.

Both wombs provide protection from the outside environment so that the seed can grow and start the process of becoming what it was created to be. Inside both wombs, the seed is provided with the nourishment required to mature into the plant or person it needs to become before it is ready to enter the outside world.

However, once the plant or person has entered that world, it is not meant to be detached from its mother just yet. The plant still has its roots embedded in the womb it came from and the person, while not physically, still does as well.

Both continue receiving nourishment from their mother. The plant still gets it directly from its mother’s womb. The person, however, can then be fed by either parent. Or, even another person.

In the outside world, the protection of the mother’s womb has significantly decreased. Both plants and people are still growing into what they were created to be but that growth is determined by additional factors. Not the least of which, physically for the plant and spiritually for the person, is how much exposure they have to both the light and the dark.

 

 

Excerpt from “The Four Corners” used with permission from Electric Quill Press, LLC.

 

Find C.S. Elston on: Twitter – @cselston; Facebook – facebook.com/cselston; LinkedIn – linkedin.com/in/cselston

Filed Under: About Me, Blog, Faith, Home, My Books Tagged With: book, book series, Books, children, Christian, Christian books, christian fiction, christianity, conversation, Creation, dad, debate, evolution, faith, family, Four Corners, Intelligent design, mom, parenting, parents, plants, pregnancy, pregnant, religion, roots, science, sequel, spirituality

Summer Sabbath — Update

September 4, 2018 By C.S. Elston

Technically, autumn (fall) doesn’t start for almost three weeks. But, at least around here, school is starting back up this week and my wife and I are nearly over our “Where did it go?” shock and are starting to settle back into our normal routine that applies to all of the months outside of summer and the Thanksgiving through New Year’s stretch. So, I thought I would post an update to my June 9th “Summer Sabbath” plan.

The idea was to treat this summer as a sabbath season. My thought was that both the Sabbath and summer are already similar in the way that they are meant for rest in the sense of relaxation, connection and renewal. So, I wanted to spend this summer intentionally slowing things down and making it a season of connecting with family and friends, growing closer to the Lord, and recharging my proverbial batteries. I was encouraging others to do the same in the hopes that, by the time autumn rolled around, we would feel more prepared to tackle the rest of life than we had in years and, perhaps, we would decide that a reasonable amount of Sabbath should be part of our lives seven days a week and three hundred sixty-five days a year.

Well, here’s the update. I did spend a lot of time with family and friends this summer and it was wonderful. I also feel like I continued to grow closer to the Lord over the season. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that I failed miserably on the “slow down” portion of my goal. In fact, summer is always a season when my wife and I get a lot of exercise and we barely had time for that. This summer was so packed, so full . . . I guess that’s why we feel like we practically blinked and missed it. It’s nice that it was full of so many lovely things but, I do regret not slowing things down a bit more. Quite a bit more.

Looking back on it, I think one of the main things that crowded the calendar, is that my wife and I both have trouble saying no to things. We need to give ourselves permission to say no even if we don’t have a good excuse. We don’t lie, which makes saying no a little more difficult than it is for some people. If they don’t have an excuse, they just make one up. We won’t do that. But, we need to learn to say no just because it’s the healthy thing to do for us. That’s okay. That’s actually all the excuse we should need.

Maybe next year. In the meantime, practice makes perfect. We’ll try our hand at saying no a little more often. And, as far as the general Sabbath idea, we still have Sundays . . .

Filed Under: About Me, Blog, Faith, Home Tagged With: adults, autumn, church, connection, fall, family, friends, rest, Sabbath, spiritual health, Summer, Update

9 Rules from Chris Pratt, “Generation Award” Winner

June 21, 2018 By C.S. Elston

I don’t often quote or promote celebrities but, Chris Pratt is not just any celebrity and he recently did something worth quoting. Sure, he’s an awesome actor who has been in some really cool movies. And, yes, I’m a little partial to the guy because we grew up in the same area. Also, while working on a screenplay about a decade or so ago, I sat one table over from him and his then girlfriend, Anna Farris, at a coffee shop called Priscilla’s which was nearly across the street from the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA. I didn’t want to bother them, so we never spoke, which makes it a far less interesting story.

However, and far more importantly, Pratt accepted the “Generation Award” from MTV a few nights ago and took the opportunity to do something we don’t see often enough at awards shows. While some celebrities have been using these shows to promote political or social causes, Pratt used the platform he has been blessed with to offer some practical advice that could actually make people’s lives better by sharing his “9 Rules from Chris Pratt, ‘Generation Award’ Winner.”

After thanking his family and the fans, he told his audience, “This being the ‘Generation Award’ I’m going to cut to the chase and I am going to speak to you, the next generation. Okay?  I accept the responsibility as your elder. So, listen up.”

Here’s a transcript:

  1. “Breathe. If you don’t, you will suffocate.”
  2. “You have a soul, be careful with it.”
  3. “Don’t be a turd. If you’re strong, be a protector. And, if you’re smart, be a humble influencer. Strength and intelligence can be weapons and do not wield them against the weak. That makes you a bully. Be bigger than that.”
  4. “When giving a dog medicine. Put the medicine in a little piece of hamburger – they won’t even know they’re eating medicine.”
  5. “Doesn’t matter what it is, earn it. A good deed . . . reach out to someone in pain, be of service. It feels good and it’s good for the soul.”
  6. “God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do.”
  7. “If you have to poop at a party, but you’re embarrassed because you’re going to stink up the bathroom, just do what I do. Lock the door. Sit down. Get all the pee out first. Okay? And then, when all the pee is out, poop, flush, boom. You minimize the amount of time the poop is touching the air because if you poop first, it takes you longer to pee and then you’re peeing on top of it, stirring it up, the poop particles create a cloud, goes out, and then everyone in the party will know that you pooped. Just trust me. It’s science.”
  8. “Learn to pray. It’s easy and it’s so good for your soul.”
  9. “Nobody is perfect. People are going to tell you you’re perfect just the way you are. You’re not. You’re imperfect. You always will be. But, there is a powerful force that designed you that way. And, if you’re willing to accept that, you will have grace. And, grace is a gift. And, like the freedom that we enjoy in this country that grace was paid for with somebody else’s blood. Do not forget it. Don’t take it for granted. God bless you.”

Here’s the video:

Pratt did an excellent job of mixing humor with important advice and, while we’re getting better quality Christian movies out of Hollywood these days, Pratt’s overall message, which I would break down into two parts, was not one we hear coming out of Tinsel Town very often:

  1. You have a soul. Treat it well. Two of the best ways to do that are communicating with God through prayer and treating others well.
  2. You’re imperfect but that’s okay. The God who designed you loves you and wants to show you grace.

When is the last time you remember a celebrity using their award acceptance speech to remind the audience who they are, who God is, and, most importantly what can happen when they know Him? Not a single memory of such an event comes to mind. That’s why this was worth quoting. It’s worth passing along.

While most celebrities are trying to get us to look at them and admire them, Pratt took the stage and told us to look at the God who bought our soul’s freedom with the blood of His Son and to accept that freedom. Jesus is the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” No one is a bigger deal than Jesus Christ and nothing is more important than how you respond to that fact. After all, at His name, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.

And, because he is using his platform to make that known, I just became an even bigger Chris Pratt fan than I was already. I was going to see Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom anyway but, maybe now I’ll have to see it twice.

 

Filed Under: About Me, Blog, Faith, Home, Movies Tagged With: Breathe, bully, bullying, celebrity, Chris Pratt, faith, freedom, Funny, God, God is love, God loves you, grace, Jesus, Jurassic Park, movie, movies, MTV, pray, prayer, Rules, service, Soul

Summer Sabbath

June 9, 2018 By C.S. Elston

 

I know the first official day of summer is still a couple of weeks away but, my niece (who’s in college) has been on summer break for weeks, my nephews are experiencing their first day of their break while I’m writing this and, my wife (a first-grade teacher) starts her break in just one week. Technically, I don’t get a summer break in the way that everyone I’ve mentioned does but, summer has been on my mind a lot lately.

A thought that I had never had until recently, and now suddenly can’t let go of, is the idea of summer as a Sabbath season. The two are already similar in the sense that they are meant for rest. Not necessarily rest in the sense of lying down and taking a nap but, rest in the sense of relaxation, connection and renewal.

This was true when we were kids and we finished a grade level and then took about three months off before starting the next one. As adults, we already tend to fill our summers with trips, family barbecues and sticking our hands in the dirt to do some gardening or landscaping. So, why not embrace what is already right there in front of us?

When I think about the Sabbath, which I celebrate on Sundays, I think about church and spending time with family. God rested on the seventh day and so should we. But, what if we took this summer and treated it like an extended Sabbath? Obviously, most of us can’t get out of going to work. That’s out of the question. But, we can intentionally slow down. We can strive to make it a season of connecting with family and friends, growing closer to the Lord, and recharging our proverbial batteries.

When autumn rolls around, we may feel more prepared to tackle the rest of life than we have in years. Or, we could decide that a reasonable amount of Sabbath should be part of our lives seven days a week and three hundred sixty-five days a year. Either way, I, for one, am going to give it a shot.

Filed Under: Blog, Faith, Home Tagged With: adults, autumn, church, connection, family, friends, gardening, kids, rest, Sabbath, Summer

Time Is NOT Money

May 17, 2018 By C.S. Elston

 

The old adage that “time is money” is dead wrong. Sure, they have things in common. For example, they can be spent both wisely and foolishly. They can be used selfishly or to serve others. And, in both cases, some of us have more than other people.

However, the differences far outweigh the similarities. Money can be saved up to be spent at a later date. Time, on the other hand, is spent with or without our consent and no matter how hard we try to keep it from happening, ultimately expires for each and every one of us.

Time is far more precious than money. It’ a non-renewable resource. How are you spending yours? I purposely made this post short so I didn’t waste any of it.

If I were you, I’d spend the time I spared you wisely . . .

Filed Under: About Me, Blog, Home Tagged With: money, philosophy, priorities, time, wealth, well-being

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