I’m excited for a chance to share the story of how God has brought this wonderful book into print, and now the GivingLife Gift card –the first gift card that allows parents and Grandparents to stock a stuffing with $$$ that kids can use to pick out a Gift For JESUS on HIS Birthday! I mean, who gets gifts on YOUR birthday? Certainly Jesus should get at least one gift from all of us! The best part is it allows kids to experience the joy of giving, rather than just all the getting! go to www.store.thekingsadventure.com to buy a GIVINGLIFE Gift Card today!

I’ve also gotten “techy” and have a QR code you can scan right of your computer screen (and share with others) for a really cool ebook sneak peak of the book right on your phone or Ipad. here it is

check out this awesome video from Northpoint Church

Most of life is waiting. Waiting for the light to change, waiting for your coffee, waiting for your time in the sun. I wonder if other people struggle with the waiting in life as much as I do? For me, waiting hits me the most in my dreams. I’ve had the same dreams for over 2 decades now. Then when Thomas Nelson extended a contract to publish my first book, I thought the waiting was over–but of course, it was just more waiting. Waiting for the contract to actually arrive, to be signed, etc. which took at least a month. Then, it was waiting for the book to come together–this was easier because I was active with giving input into the illustrations etc. then it was waiting for almost 3 months for the book to come back from the printers and to actually hold it in my hands. Then it was in stores. Then I was waiting for it to sell. Of course, I did everything I could do help it along, but we were late in the season, most media outlets already had their “christmas books” lined up, so we missed that. Then, after Christmas waiting for the final sales number and waiting to see if it was enough to earn a contract for the next book in the series. 7000 or so books…nope…

Now I am waiting for Christmas 2011 to see what God does. But I picked up a homeless guy the other day and gave him a lift to the grocery store. In our talk about how good God is he said, “I have a word for you.” Really…says me…let’s hear it… He says, “James 1 Count it all joy when you face various trials and testings–Patience, people want a microwave world but God is using a slow cooker.”

It resonated with me and everything I was hearing from God myself as I spend my days with Him. He gave me a picture of a lump of coal in my heart and it’s the waiting that is the killer pressure that in the end produces a diamond of true character and true love for him. By the time the dreams come true, you don’t really care if they ever come true because you found in the waiting that friendship with God is the real treasure. Of course, I will celebrate the faithfulness of my Lord when the dreams and secret petitions of my heart are seen in the land of living, but it will be tempered with a realization of how it all pails in comparison with the time of spent waiting…waiting with Him.

GoAnimate.com: Thanks From Santa by eldoneric

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It’s free and fun!

All the “getting” at Christmas leaves a lasting impression on 2-6 year-olds especially…check out this video clip and share it so that parents can realize that all the “getting” needs to be balanced with a fun, life-changing experiece of Giving at Christmas–imagine a generation of kids growing up and remembering what they “GAVE” at Christmas, instead of like me, where I have great memories of family but my only other memory is getting and getting and getting….SPREAD THE WORD! SHARE and let’s change Christmas for the better!

My sweet wife recieved the nicest book order today from a grand-mom who asked her to have me sign a book for her great-grandchildren. Kristen said, “I didn’t know you had great-grandchildren, what are their names?” The woman said with a smile, “I don’t know their names yet, but my oldest grand-daughter just turned 22 and I was moved to pray for the generation in my family to know the goodness of the Lord. It was then that I decided I wanted to buy a book for them so they would know that I am praying for them and love them even before they are conceived!” I thought of David when he said in the psalms, “…and the Godly ones who live in this land, in them is all my delight!”

We are so blessed to be a part of this story. To think that God is going to use this book to touch the lives of kids yet to be born, and as message from Grandmoms to unborn generations…Thank you, Lord, you are more than good!

I just had a family stop by who had bought the book and read it to their 7 year-old daughter. They wanted to stop by to share how she…and mom and dad had been so moved by the story. They said, “After we read the book, we asked our daughter if she could think of anyone who had given a gift to the king by giving to others in need.” Their daughter then explained, “Well, I thought of Johnny Appleseed, because he planted apple trees for people who need food, and he gave his shoes to a little girl who had none. And also Martin Luther King, he gave so much so that African-Americans could be treated right.”

My wife and I stood there, fighting back tears, and thanked them–then the parents shared that they are going through some really tough times like so many others in this economy, but after reading, they felt re-energized to trust God to meet all their needs, they felt released from the pressure and worry and anxiety. Wow. We are humbled. The dad wrote this verse Mark 10:16 on the memo line of his check. As they walked out, my wife said, “Go tell them their money is no good here : )!” So I ran out and called their names…as they looked back, I just held the check up and tore it up. Of course they protested, but I insisted that they let us give a small gift back to Jesus…we had received so much more than we could ever count. We just want the “memo line”! “Then he took the children IN HIS ARMS and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.” I’m so deeply, deeply proud to know the King, to know that He alone gives us this kind of life–”Better is one day in his courts than a 1000 elsewhere!”

During this same last couple years that God opened the doors miraculously for me at Thomas Nelson to publish “The King’s Christmas List”, He also opened the doors and led me to go to Law School (“Finally” my parents say…I was accepted to UCLA, deferred for ministry…then Georgetown…again service won out…My parents almost had mental breakdowns!).

The only way I could go was if I earned a full merit scholarship. But after so many years out of the classroom…the LSAT did not come so easy this time around. I didn’t do nearly as well as before, and I really thought I blew the scholarship–but NOPE, the Lord wanted to show me it is not by might, not by power, but by his Spirit!

At the same time, I realized he did not want me to think that I was the cause of the success of the book. Because I’m so focused on all the work of Law School (Stetson Law), I’ve had to trust the Lord so much more. If it had been published last year, I would be going 100 mph every day to churches, Christian Schools, driving all over the south…but like Gideon, who started with 30,000 men, and God sent all but 300 of them home, the Lord wants us to know that our Battles belong to Him! So climb on the Lord’s shoulder, and enjoy the ride!