Just Say "YES!"

A few weeks ago our granddaughter got engaged and is now planning a late February 2015 barn wedding. For those new to the idea of a barn wedding, your mind may be visualizing animals roaming the dance floor or some other stereotypes associated with farm life. The barn that our granddaughter and her future husband are using is brand new, never saw an animal except the human party-types, and was built as a wedding venue.

The future groom’s actual proposal was fun and captured on video. The future bride and groom invited both sets of parents out to an Italian restaurant for dinner. After the meal was completed and coffee was poured, the young man turned to the father of his intended wife and asked his permission to marry his daughter. He did not even formally propose yet and tears started flowing.

He then got down on one knee and proposed marriage to our granddaughter. That’s when the customers in the restaurant began to clap in unison and chant, “Just say yes!” Over and over, they chanted. Talk about pressure to say “YES.” The proposal turned into a group event.

Our granddaughter and her future husband are in love with each other, so saying “Yes” was never in contention.

Actually Jesus Christ offers his love for us because his desire for each of us is to establish a permanent union between him and individuals ready to make a commitment. He’s waiting for us to say “Yes”.

Ephesians 28 reminds us “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” Just say “Yes” to that gift.

Hebrews 11:6 – “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.” Just say “Yes!”

James 4:8a – “Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” Just say “Yes” and draw close to him.

Hebrews 12:1-2 _ “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Robert Parlante

August 2014

A Sample of Patch Town

On August 7th the kindle edition of book 1 of Patch Town became available. The print edition is due October 1st. The link to Amazon for Patch Town is

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ5YQCM

Below is a sampling of the opening chapter titled A Letter from Miss Wingate.

  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.~ Colossians 3:13, NIV   

     "The unopened letter stood in the middle of the kitchen island where Martin Gilmore had tossed it aside as an unexpected reminder of his past. Since its arrival, the letter felt like a throbbing thorn in his finger. Instead of being a reason to show mercy toward Miss Wingate, as his wife Sarah would likely have encouraged, it was more a reminder of what might have been had he never encountered Elizabeth Wingate.

     Martin heard the Lancaster Herald morning newspaper land with a soft thud on the front steps leading up to the wrap-around porch. He glanced out the window and saw the delivery van make a swift U-turn and work its way down his driveway through the patches of early-morning September mist. When the vehicle reached the main road that encircled Lake Windermere, it turned right and faded into the fog hovering along the shore line.

     He slipped two slices of whole wheat bread into the toaster before he went outside and picked up the newspaper, anxious to scan the weekend classified pages. The moist air felt clammy against his face. The weather forecast predicted heavy rain starting early in the morning and into most of next week. And the sudden appearance of that letter still felt unsettling, like a thunderous cloud ready to burst open with angry rain.

     When he got back inside, he could smell the satisfying fragrance of toast. The coffee-maker wheezed and sputtered with steam, announcing the end of its brew cycle. He poured a cup of coffee, its stimulating aroma giving little encouragement to open that letter delivered in yesterday’s mail from his old 8^th grade teacher."

Robert Parlante

August 2014

Why Is The Table Vibrating?

We recently had our granddaughter and her UNC student friends over for lunch after church on Sunday. They were a spirited group of young people whose conversations can bounce from one topic to another without missing a beat. Topics ranged from the latest people in their lives, where life was taking them, and can I have another helping of spaghetti and meatballs. If you want to stay awake and remain savvy, then hang around with some young people. Their energy is contagious.

But then a strange phenomenon occurred. I felt vibration rippling through the dining room table. I first thought it was a minor earthquake, but the vibration never came to a complete stop. I thought maybe it was my imagination or the air conditioning blower fan was wobbling.

I asked my wife, “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?” she asked, encouraging everyone around the table to go for second helpings of food. (Those who may have eaten in an Italian heritage household know there is no point declining to eat anything else. Even if you say no, you are still going to get a second helping heaped upon your plate!) Food is far more important than a vibrating table.

Back to the vibration ___ when the table was set there was a bread plate on the left and glass for drinks on the right. As each young person sat at their place, they all positioned their iPhones set on vibration mode between the bread plate and the glass.

Throughout the entire meal, every phone on the table at one point or another vibrated with incoming messages. When all phones vibrated in unison, the water in my glass actually had ripples moving across the surface like I was casting stones into a lake. The incoming text messages never stopped.

Young people can be amazing. They can look you straight in the eye, answering your question, while at the same time their fingers nimbly text back messages with nary a glance at the phone keyboard.

Cell phone and tablets are here to stay. Whether we like it or not, older adults must adjust to the new paradigm of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and everything else out there that may seem like noise on some days.

Embrace the future. Overcome your fears. Get you grandkids to help you sort things out.

Just jump into the fray and start making ripples!

Robert Parlante

July 2014

Now Live on Amazon

Patch Town - A Letter from Miss Wingate is now live on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Patch-Town-Letter-Miss-Wingate/dp/1620202905/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406206432&sr=1-1&keywords=patch+town+parlante

Official print release date is set as October 1. The ebook is going live before the print edition release.

It was a long and hard path getting to this stage, and I keep staring at the computer monitor thinking I'm still dreaming. While I'd like you to read the novel, (and hopefully are blessed by it!) there's another message with which I would like to encourage you. Never give up!

I've been writing since I was 13 years old, always dreamed of writing a novel or two, but never accomplished that task until now. We all use typical excuses to accomplish a late life goal. When I got to that Y in the road years ago I should have taken the one I chose not to take at the moment. With late life comes the usual concerns like age, illnesses and family responsibilities __ all of which can sidetrack our dreams and goals. But the things we are passionate about do not necessarily diminish with age.

After you read my novel I would like you to remember two things. The character Martin Gilmore in the story had to overcome monumental hurdles to move from failure to forgiveness to spiritual redemption. His success as a person ... as a believer ... took commitment, support and perseverance. I hope your future dream gets accomplished the same way!

Robert Parlante
July 2014

FACT or FICTION

One of the earlier comments from my publisher Ambassador International about my novel Patch Town was the work read as an autobiography. The main character and I do share some common elements. We are both male, lived in Pennsylvania and spent our childhood in a coal mining community. I emphasized it is fiction. But like any writer, it is difficult to ignore one’s life experiences even when you are a fiction writer.

Then I found myself trying to think of all the people who entered my life and contributed their support and encouragement to this book. I have been writing since the 7^th grade so I found that task formidable. Through my decades of life as a husband, father, friend … as an engineer, minister and writer … there are just so many people who touched my life in different ways. I am sure their influences, their words in passing and their different physical makeup, even their spiritual lives, have likely found their way into my characters, the way they live and the hurdles they have to face and overcome.

Those I have met along the road of life did not set out intentionally to pour an experience into my life so I could incorporate it into a novel decades later. Something far greater had to be there to pick and choose, refine and rewrite, rewrite, rewrite! That honor belongs to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has been steering my ship of life since I was a young man.  I believe He orchestrated my novel and its plot lines. To Him be all the glory.

It takes a lot to live with a writer who easily gets frustrated by the difficulty of the creative process, the endless hours stooped over a laptop and the restless nights while plotting story lines in my dreams. One of the first things I do early mornings is to sit at the computer and try (not always successful) to remember what I plotted through the night.

By the way, I named characters in my first book, and its future derivatives, after each of my grandkids. I warned them though. The book characters are not them, and do not have their physical appearance or personality. I just thought it was a fun thing to do. They can’t wait to read the book due sometime in September. Hope they are not disappointed. I made sure no villains were named after them!

Robert Parlante

July 2014

Prevent Brain Drain

Recently saw a sign in front of a school that said Prevent Brain Drain __ Read, Read, Read.

Brain-drain is sometimes referred to as “human capital flight” usually involving a mass emigration of technically skilled people from one country to another country. Brain-drain can have many reasons __ political instability, lack of opportunities, health risks, or personal/spiritual conflicts.

The first reaction I had to the school sign was true human capital flight is not easily solved by reading. In fact, the more one reads the more likely you would entertain the idea of moving from one country to another for one's livelihood.

The school sign actually used a clever play on words to encourage student reading over the summer vacation.

Now let's merge the brain-drain school sign with another piece of information that recently crossed over the Internet. Christians are becoming more and more biblical illiterate. Believers are forgoing bible study for lighter studies, typically a book written by some “successful” pastor promoting the latest model to attract millennials, grow church attendance or increase financial commitment.


Joshua 1:8 encourages us to read the right material and reminds us what the outcomes will be when we focus on the Word of God.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

What ever happened to the biblical model clearly detailed throughout Scripture? Is it too simple or old fashioned? Has the bible lost its attraction and the power to change lives and communities?

Bible reading apps are readily available to help us get through the Bible over some time frame. But one has to be careful the medium does not become the message. Reading the Word without studying the Word may not be enough. “Day and night” means just that __ day and night! And not just occasionally.

Want to prevent Biblical brain drain? Read, read, read and then study,study,study.

Robert Parlante

July 1, 2014

FEAR and TREMBLING

Book 1 of my Christian fiction series titled Patch Town recently completed the editing stage and is now in the creative stage where the layout and book cover are established. I am looking forward to a mid-September launch of my first novel. When the editing stage began, I faced the process with some degree of fear and trepidation. Nobody likes criticism even when it is repackaged as “constructive criticism” which somehow is supposed to be more palatable.

Writers tend to be defensive of their prose, and editors are supposed to be the “culprits” who suggest rewrites, make punctuation changes and require clarity. The first steps in this process are nerve-wracking because you feel like a child about to be disciplined by a parent. You know you’ll feel the pain, but you can’t always figure out the reason why.

At my publisher Ambassador International I was blessed with a great editor. She was a pleasure to work with, and I did not question any suggestions or changes she made. When I read the final clean copy I was surprised to see how much better the manuscript had become. In fact, I dropped her an E-mail and said she had taken something I thought was good and turned into something great (at least from my perspective).

Then I thought: What was the point of all that fear? Does it serve any purpose?

Philippians 2:12-13 reads: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

In these Scriptures verses Paul can hardly be encouraging believers to live in a continuous state of anxiety and worry. There are too many other verses that speak about peace and joy of being one with Christ.

I believe Paul is exhorting us to press forward to bring our Christian walk to fruition and completion as much as we humanly can. In order to do this, we need a healthy fear of offending God through disobedience and a respect for His majesty and holiness. I expect when I stand before the Lord one day, I will be trembling, not out of fear, but more because I will be in awe.

Bottom Line: Some things are worth fear and trembling. But it has little to do with selecting the right verb.

Now, is it laying or lying down? Affect or effect?

Robert Parlante
June 21, 2014