About Don't Blink by Terry Toler: Get ready for...
Books by Heat Level
FEATURED: Frogman Puck Origins: The Rising Tides by Joel Chanaca
Echo Sync: Amphibious Gear-Up
Dr. E tapped the holographic console, and the room sprang to life. Sleek, high-tech suits appeared as though on display in a futuristic gallery. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she addressed the team.
“Welcome to the next generation of amphibious technology: Echo Sync Amphibious Technology, or E.S.A.T. It’s far more advanced than the prototype you tried in Echo Sync mode in Becker’s garage, Puck. Sorry about that! I was nine and had only been designing for a year.
“Anyway, these suits, the aircraft, and the drones aren’t just tools-they’re extensions of you in the field. Each piece has been custom-tuned to enhance your abilities, revolutionizing strength, agility, flight, underwater navigation, and speed.”
Puck exchanged an eager glance with Tad as Dr. E gestured toward the frogman suits.
“These? They’re equipped with solar-powered nanobots that activate stealth in Hyper-Realistic Amphibious Mode-or H.R.A.M. You’ll move as one with the water, with enhanced speed, agility, and camouflage that echoes every motion, adapting in real time. They naturally adjust to your environmental needs.
“The camouflage isn’t just for blending into an environment-you could appear older, younger, or even like an average bystander. In high-stakes situations, it’s a lifesaver. Environmental elements trigger the suit to adapt and switch output modes. As you and the team activate the nanobots, they create what you ask them to through sync, but the bots also adjust to your needs. It’s all about team communication.”
Austin raised his hand, eyes wide. “Wait, we can change these suits by communicating with the bots? Just like that?”
Dr. E smirked. “Exactly. Think of it as the ultimate chameleon suit-but on demand. And there’s more: each suit’s holographic mode lets you create distractions, project decoys, or communicate across areas where traditional tech can’t.
“Every piece, aircraft, drones, frogman gear, flight suits, and transport pods syncs seamlessly. The tech amplifies each component, transforming your teamwork into a fluid network. It enhances your senses and shares that information with the entire team. We also added some neat features you’ll discover soon.”
Puck and Tad shared a grin, feeling the thrill of endless possibilities beyond anything they’d imagined.
FEATURED: Frogman Puck Origins: The Rising Tides: The Legends Awaken: A Hero’s Dream Quest by John Chanaca
Tides of Imagination
Cold raindrops raced down the windowpane as young Puck, his eyes wide with wonder, dove into another underwater adventure book. Outdoor play was out of the question on this dreary day. The Outdoor Channel and these vibrant pages became his portal to aquatic realms. His living room transformed into an underwater observation deck, the rain-streaked windows morphing into portholes to a watery world.
Vivid fish seemed to dart between the fibers of the rug, while outside his window, a giant sea turtle gazed at him, its ancient eyes full of secrets from the deep. Puck often wondered what it would be like to swim into the ocean’s depths, exploring the hidden world beneath the surface. He knew he couldn’t breathe underwater like a fish or hold his breath for very long like a turtle or a frog. He had tried, watching the clock tick on the wall, but it was never long enough to explore as much as he wanted. Still, this limitation only fueled his determination to find a way to unlock the mysteries of the underwater world.
As Puck sat on the couch, book in hand, he felt a stirring in his heart-a calling that whispered of grand adventures and incredible discoveries waiting just beyond the shore. Little did he know that his childhood fascination was the first ripple in a wave that would carry him toward an extraordinary destiny. With each page he turned or show he watched, Puck was unknowingly preparing himself for a future filled with excitement and the fulfillment of his wildest dreams. The water was calling to him, and one day, he would answer, diving headfirst into a world of wonder that would change his life forever.
Then later….
Before he could finish, a loud, metallic clang echoed above them. Tad instinctively raised his weapon as Becker stepped protectively in front of Dr. Zayler’s family. The top hatch creaked, and just as Puck turned to investigate, a side door near the helipad burst open, releasing a hiss of compressed air. Two figures emerged.
The first man strode forward confidently, his black suit gleaming under the fluorescent lights. A large circle glowed menacingly on his chest, and strange gloves hummed on his hands. The second figure was an enormous, robotic-looking man whose armor gleamed with patches of exposed metal. Red lights glowed like fiery eyes behind his face mask.
Dr. E’s voice crackled urgently in their ears. “Team TIDES, those are RIPTIDE’s elite enforcers-code names Eclipse and Ironshade. Be careful, they’re equipped with some serious tech. One wrong move, and it’s lights out!”
Mr. Hardee added gravely, “Expect the unexpected and work as a team. Stay focused, and watch each other’s backs.”
Eclipse sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. “Well, well. Team TIDES-come to play hero. How predictable.”
Ironshade didn’t speak, but the faint whir of servos and his imposing stance were enough to send a clear message: brute force.
“Divide and conquer,” Becker said through their comms. “Tad, take Eclipse. Puck, you’re with me on Ironshade. Stay nimble!”
Eclipse launched the first attack, forming a round black hole of goo with his glove. It splattered across the floor, sizzling as it ate through the surface. Tad vaulted over a railing, narrowly avoiding the attack.
“Aw, that reeks! What is that, your cologne?” Tad quipped, dodging another shot of goo. “No wonder you’re single, Eclipse. I’m pretty sure even OSHA would ban that stuff.”
A glob of goo struck Becker’s glove, and alarms triggered in his heads-up display.
“Suit malfunction detected. Nanobots dispatched,” announced the display, but before panic could set in, the nanobots reformed a new glove within seconds.
FEATURED: God’s Prescription: A Faith-Based Plan to Shift Your Mindset and Reclaim Your Natural Health by Terri Ward
Several years ago, my husband was scheduled a few months out for surgery to treat achalasia, an autoimmune esophageal disorder that progressively impairs swallowing. In the interim, he took a celebratory trip back east with his daughter, eating indulgent fare like lobster and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Upon his return, his symptoms took a terrifying turn. He suddenly couldn’t even swallow his own saliva!
We went to a nearby emergency room (ER) for what should have been a straightforward procedure: placing a nasogastric (N-G) tube. An N-G tube is a thin tube inserted through the nose into the stomach to relieve pressure or deliver nutrition. Unfortunately, what followed was anything but straightforward.
The medical system failed us at every turn. Despite my protests, he was given unnecessary medications and not an N-G tube. He was admitted to the hospital and underwent a different procedure, which was botched, leaving him in excruciating pain. The resulting pain medications caused nausea, compounding his already serious condition.
After days deteriorating in the hospital, my husband finally got an N-G tube and was discharged. However, at home, he couldn’t keep the tube down due to the nausea. While waiting for his surgeon’s staff to discuss his situation and call me back, he started shaking with rigors. I took him to the hospital ER where his surgery was scheduled—still a week out. While I was checking him in, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed. The ER attendant grabbed his wheelchair and raced him back, yelling “Code Assist,” which means ‘All hands on deck.’
As her shouts faded, I was left wondering: Did he just die?
In that moment, everything else faded. I wasn’t worried about his nutrition. All I could do was pray that he would survive.
FEATURED: Israel – God’s Divine Decoy for Your Salvation by Harlan Perry
There’s a whisper in the bones of many believers today, a gnawing sense that
something is deeply wrong with the religion we’ve inherited. You’ve probably felt it
yourself: the stale traditions, the formulas that don’t bring freedom, the gospel
reduced to rules and rituals, and a holy dissatisfaction that no sermon seems to fix.
You’re not alone. This book is for those like you, the disillusioned, the seekers, the
ones who hunger for raw grace and spiritual clarity in a world drowning in religion.
The heart of this book is a bold, almost scandalous idea: God used Israel as a
divine DECOY, a strategic, calculated misdirection designed to blind Satan and the
rulers of this age to His actual redemptive plan, WITHOUT LYING OR
DECEPTION. In other words, Israel, with its law, temple, sacrifices, and covenants,
was not the final expression of God’s kingdom. Instead, it was the setup of the decoy
so that when Jesus Christ came and Paul’s gospel exploded onto the scene, Satan and
his minions were caught off guard. The plan was hidden in plain sight.
To understand this, we need to get clear on what a “decoy” really is. In sports,
especially football, a good decoy maneuver is a masterstroke of deception. A
quarterback fakes a hand off to a back running past him, and if the back actually can
seem like he has the ball, it sends the defense into trying to tackle him, but instead,
the quarterback still has the ball hidden behind him and quickly gives it to another
back heading to the other side of the field, defenders are watching mostly for the first
backs actions. The defenders, misled by the decoy move, are left off-balance, creating
space and opportunity for the real play. God’s redemptive strategy worked the same
way. He made Satan focus on Israel, the chosen people, the law, the temple, all of
which looked like the main event. But in reality, it was a grand distraction, a setup for
a far greater revelation.
The Apostle Paul exposes this in no uncertain terms when he says in 1 Corinthians
2:7–8: “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age
knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” This
scripture is a damning indictment of Satan’s ignorance. The rulers of this age,
spiritual powers aligned against God, missed the entire point of the cross. They
thought killing Jesus was their victory, but it was their downfall, the turning point
where God’s hidden wisdom was unveiled.
Why did God hide the mystery for so long? Because grace, pure, unearned, radical
grace, was a game-changer that could not be stopped once revealed. Satan could
handle law, rituals, and religious systems; he thrives on control and performance. But
grace? Grace disrupts his entire system because it breaks the power of sin and death
without human effort. To conceal this explosive truth, God used Israel as a divine
decoy, a kingdom within a kingdom, a people set apart, not as the ultimate goal, but
as a stage prop for the greatest show of redemption the world has ever seen.
Many believers today are still caught in this old system, trapped in religion’s snare,
trying to earn favor with God through rules, sacrifices, and spiritual hustle. Satan
loves this because it keeps believers predictable, manageable, and ultimately
powerless. The irony is thick: the very system Satan used to try to stop God’s plan is
still seducing believers away from the true gospel. But God’s grace is louder, brighter,
and more liberating than any law-based religion. This book will show you how to
break free from religious performance and step into the freedom of Paul’s gospel, the
gospel of faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone.
If you’re tired of the hollow religion of form without power, if you’re hungry for
the real Jesus, the one Paul preached, who is not just a figure in history but the living,
resurrected Lord who calls you to freedom. You are exactly who this book is for. It’s
for the truth-seeker who refuses to settle for a gospel that’s been watered down or
disguised. It’s for those willing to walk through the uncomfortable truth to find the
glory of unfiltered grace.
This isn’t a comfortable read. It’s a wake-up call. A spiritual wake-up call!
FEATURED: Contending with Paul 3 by William Cobble
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lydia
Lydia only appears in the Book of Acts. Since the church in Philippi began with her conversion, one would expect to find her in the greetings section of Philippians, but she receives no mention in any of Paul’s letters. She does, however, hold the distinction of being the first known European convert to Christianity. Acts shows her as a businesswoman who was likely financially independent. Clothes colored with the royal purple dye of Thyatira were considered luxury items and her trade had likely brought her to Philippi to sell to the wealthy clientele there. Her home was obviously large enough to accommodate servants, guests, and ultimately a Christian assembly. Since there is no mention of a husband, Lydia was most likely single at the time she met Paul:
“On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.” (Acts 16:13-15)
Lydia, or at least her home, will make one additional appearance in Acts later in the same chapter. Her residence appears to have become the meeting place for a burgeoning Christian congregation in Philippi:
“After leaving the prison (Paul and Silas) went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.” (Acts 16:40)
A Theory
The appearance of devout women meeting beside a stream at a place of prayer on the Sabbath speaks to them being Jewish. This seems confirmed by the description of Lydia as “a worshipper of God.” That it was only women meeting outside on the sabbath could be evidence that there were not enough Jewish men in Philippi to make up the quorum required to establish a proper synagogue, which necessitated ten Jewish males over the age of thirteen. By the author of Acts relating this information, he may be showing an interesting contrast: Lydia, while a Jewish woman, was forbidden from founding a synagogue, but as a Christian she could found a church within her own home.
FEATURED: Within and Without Time: (Christian Mystery Thriller) by D. I. Hennessey
About Within and Without Time: (Christian...
FEATURED: Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity by CJ Penn
About Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched...
OPAL: Spirit of a Woman by Kevin Heaton
About OPAL: Spirit of a Woman: * New Release *...
FEATURED: I Never Knew You by Patrick Higgins
About I Never Knew You: 2021 READERS' FAVORITE...
Featured: Fearless Faith: Embracing Hope In the Lions Den by William Solomon
About Featured Book: Fearless Faith: Embracing...
FEATURED: Brokenness and New Beginnings: A Story of Hope For Those Facing Separation and Divorce by Francis P. DeLellis
About Featured Book: Brokenness and New...
FEATURED: Why Your Relationship Sucks (and How to Fix Your Marriage): A Christian and Secular Marriage Workbook for Couples by Amara Wisen
About Featured Book: Why Your Relationship Sucks...
FEATURED: Contending with Paul 3 by William Cobble
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Lydia
Lydia only appears in the Book of Acts. Since the church in Philippi began with her conversion, one would expect to find her in the greetings section of Philippians, but she receives no mention in any of Paul’s letters. She does, however, hold the distinction of being the first known European convert to Christianity. Acts shows her as a businesswoman who was likely financially independent. Clothes colored with the royal purple dye of Thyatira were considered luxury items and her trade had likely brought her to Philippi to sell to the wealthy clientele there. Her home was obviously large enough to accommodate servants, guests, and ultimately a Christian assembly. Since there is no mention of a husband, Lydia was most likely single at the time she met Paul:
“On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshipper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.” (Acts 16:13-15)
Lydia, or at least her home, will make one additional appearance in Acts later in the same chapter. Her residence appears to have become the meeting place for a burgeoning Christian congregation in Philippi:
“After leaving the prison (Paul and Silas) went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.” (Acts 16:40)
A Theory
The appearance of devout women meeting beside a stream at a place of prayer on the Sabbath speaks to them being Jewish. This seems confirmed by the description of Lydia as “a worshipper of God.” That it was only women meeting outside on the sabbath could be evidence that there were not enough Jewish men in Philippi to make up the quorum required to establish a proper synagogue, which necessitated ten Jewish males over the age of thirteen. By the author of Acts relating this information, he may be showing an interesting contrast: Lydia, while a Jewish woman, was forbidden from founding a synagogue, but as a Christian she could found a church within her own home.
FEATURED: Within and Without Time: (Christian Mystery Thriller) by D. I. Hennessey
About Within and Without Time: (Christian...
FEATURED: Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched Christian’s Search for Christianity by CJ Penn
About Beneath the Graffiti: A De-churched...
OPAL: Spirit of a Woman by Kevin Heaton
About OPAL: Spirit of a Woman: * New Release *...
FEATURED: I Never Knew You by Patrick Higgins
About I Never Knew You: 2021 READERS' FAVORITE...
FEATURED: Sparking A Romance by Jenna Brandt
About Sparking A Romance: It's not easy being...
FEATURED: Katarina’s Dark Journey by MJ Krause-Chivers
About Katarina's Dark Journey: A dual timeline...