Wordless Wednesday’s – #4
Category: Life
Make a Difference – Monday Motivation
You matter and you can make a difference!
#JustBelieve #HopeLives #LoveChangesPeople
The Truth is We All Need Saving
Only you can save my soul and drive my demons away. The only truth that can save a wretch like me. #Poetry #Quote #Writing #Faith #JustBelieve
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With the lock downs and stay at home orders over the recent months it has been a while since my family has actually attended a live church service. This little poem is an attempt to capture the false sense of security we seek within the church that can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
It is not in a great worship band, the music and lights, dynamic preaching, or even the fellowship we find in connecting with others. All good things no doubt but they can also lead us to put our faith and trust in “the sweet poison of the false infinite” to quote C.S. Lewis.
We need more than that for our broken hearts and to slake the longing within our souls. The church with all it’s good intentions can often be a place that unfortunately hurts us and alienates us even further from God.
We do not need slick presentations and entertainment we need truth. The truth is we need him now more than ever to save us from ourselves and we all need him to save us.
#JustBelieve #HopeLives #LoveChangesPeople
Sometimes there is no justice only mercy. (James 2:13) #Truth #Faith #Believe
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Wordless Wednesday’s – #3
A Manifesto of Fatherhood – Revisited
Happy Day after Fathers Day to Everyone!
A little different post for Motivation Monday this week. I want to encourage parents, both fathers and mothers. This post is written from my perspective as a father, but it can apply to those moms who are parenting alone and filling both roles.
I hope every father had a great Fathers day. Now that the day set aside to be all about you is over, it’s time to get back to being the father your children need. Your influence and impact will either set them up for success or failure in life. You are their protector, comfort, soft place to land, compass, rock and shelter from the storm.
For fathers of daughters, as I am, who you are as a man will influence how they view other men. How you love and treat them, how you love and treat their mother will impact their belief and trust in other men.
Fathers, show your daughters what a real man is, and how a real man treats a lady. #MotivationMonday #FathersDay #EverydayYouAreADad #HappyDayAfterFathersDay
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“Think of the impact we would have if came alive as fathers. Your children will grow up and affect the lives of countless others and their children will go on and do the same. This ripple effect – this opportunity of compounding influence – has got to overwhelmingly dwarf whatever the majority of us may hope to accomplish at our jobs. Love your kids, men. Teach them to be strong, dedicated, focused, gentle, fierce, loyal.” - John Lovell, Warrior Poet Society
Love your kids, men. Teach them to be strong, dedicated, focused, gentle, fierce, loyal.” - John Lovell, Warrior Poet Society @johnlovell275
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The original post below was written back in 2013 when my daughter was 7 1/2 years old. She is now 15 1/2 and the words are as true today as they were then.
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Knowing that, God willing, no matter the circumstances, I will always be a daddy to my little girl;
Knowing that, God willing, my daughter will one day be an adult and leave to follow her own path;
- I will love my daughter for the gift that she is, not what she does
- I will cherish every moment we spend together
- I will strive to give her whatever wisdom I might possess
- I will teach her the value of relationships & honoring promises
- I will allow my daughter to soar upon her own wings
- I will let her go to travel the path God has laid before her
“May the Lord give me the wisdom to parent with love, humility and strength, to give my daughter only and always the best that I can offer.” ~M
“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” ~C. Everett Koop
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I encourage you to now write your own manifesto!
The Haunting Of…
Stare into my eyes
And what do you see
Beyond mere physical
The redness and fatigue
Past a tiredness and regret
The HAUNTING of
Whatever this way may come
In uncertainty and chaos
For in times of trouble
Steady on my friends
Hope is still alive
Sometimes we just don’t know, and sometimes we have to move and get off the X.
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You have the power to help, power to make the world a little better one ripple at a time. The future is uncertain and our souls need rest. Our hearts are haunted, it is a time of troubles and yet, we must believe that hope is still alive.
Challenge: During this time of uncertainty in which we find ourselves what one thing can you do?
#JustBelieve #HopeLives #LoveChangesPeople #WarriorsNeeded
Wordless Wednesday’s – #2
Be You – Motivation Monday!
Stop!
Trying to be who you are not that.
Trying to be who others want you to be.
Trying to be someone you are not.
BE YOU!
You were created for a special purpose and only you can fulfill that role.
#YouMatter #HopeLives #LoveChangesPeople
STOP! Trying to be who you are not that. Trying to be who others want you to be. Trying to be someone you are not. BE YOU! #YouMatter #HopeLives #LoveChangesPeople http://www.markschutter.com
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Book(s) Update – ‘The Chronicles of Faith’
I have completed the ‘shitty’ first drafts and edits of each novel of the series – ‘The Chronicles of Faith.’ Each book was completed in 30 days during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in November where the goal is write 50,000 words. If nothing else NaNoWriMo motivates you to get a story out of your head onto the paper.
I wrote the first book:
- ‘The Beauty of the Stars’
Back in 2014 and then let it sit. My wife and daughter both persevered through reading the rough, I mean rough, first draft and encouraged me to continue the story. (Truth be told I didn’t let them read it for a couple of years, it just sat collecting dust.)
Thus, in November of 2018 and 2019 I wrote the next two books in the series:
- ‘The Stars are Falling’ and,
- ‘The Judgment of the Stars.’
The title of the series ‘The Chronicles of Faith’ came to me for few reasons. One, I love Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. Second, I have always loved the idea of writing a series myself. Third, the main character’s name is Faith and she, as well as other characters each go through their own journey of faith.
The Chronicles of Faith – book quotes
Beauty is all around and our pain distracts us from seeing the truth. (The Beauty of the Stars – Coming soon Book 1 of the series ‘The Chronicles of Faith’ by Mark Wayne)
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Falling is inevitable and only fatal if we choose not to get back up. (The Stars are Falling – Coming soon Book 2 of the series ‘The Chronicles of Faith’ by Mark Wayne)
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Judgment finds us all, the only question is when and how. (The Judgment of the Stars -Coming soon Book 3 of the series ‘The Chronicles of Faith’ by Mark Wayne)
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A Snapshot Teaser
Faith is a loner and she knows she is different. As an evolving drone technology is unleashed on an unsuspecting populace she longs to find connection. Charles Davidson, head of The Group, is intent on building an empire, letting nothing stand in his way. Faith and Charles are both driven and their fates intertwine in ways neither understands.
Supernatural powers are driving an agenda of epic proportions. Forces of good and evil collide inside the human hearts of two people who seem to have nothing in common. Others join Faith in her quest to kill Davidson, while each is forced to answer the questions of who they are and are they good enough? The destiny of each hinges on the challenging choices that each must make, especially Faith, and the consequences of which affects them all.
So What’s Next?
I am leaning towards self-publishing the book series in the near future. If you have any advice or resources for me I would welcome that. Please either leave a comment or email me at info@markschutter.com
In the meantime I am hard at work writing, actually editing my memoir. The book captures my experience of grief and loss as a young man. The book will be for anyone who has experienced loss and who hasn’t? Grief will touch us all and changes everything.
Stay tuned for future updates on both my novels and my memoir.
Wordless Wednesday – #1
