Volume IV, Issue XXII
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." -- Hebrews 12:1-3
The "other" weekly news magazine features the cover story: "How to Die." In it Joe Klein discusses candidly the end-of-life decisions he had to make concerning his dying parent. He muses about the weaknesses of Medicare's fee-for-service system and sees a better model in the salaried staff of the private care facility. Sadly, Joe cannot expect that to translate well into a system of government salaried doctors. Public hospitals in Bolivia pretty much have that now. The doctor's salary is covered... but the MEDs are expensive. Patients have to purchase their own med kits prior to surgery. If they cannot afford it they may have to endure surgery with no pain meds! Remember little Marcello? For lack of $75.00 to pay for antibiotics, he had to endure losing his legs to amputation! Joe, you are wise to see the flaws in Medicare, but don't expect a market driven solution to translate well into a state-run healthcare system.
On the way to receive his doctorate degree, Chuck Balsamo snapped this photo of pilots saluting as the body of a U.S. Soldier comes home.
Make Me a Legend [click to read]
The person of Faith sees dying as but the final chapter in the book of LIVING. That is why THYME, always venturing where the MSM fears to tread, has decided to go in a different direction.
Stuarts Draft, Virginia, Pastor Chuck Balsamo isn't going to be around to read this review. He's off receiving a well deserved doctorate degree for the thesis behind his book: Make Me a Legend. If one is looking for a guidebook to living in our age, look no further. Pastor Balsamo firmly gasps the truth of IMAGO DEI and tells his readers how to live as a special creation of G-d. C. D. Sutherland says of this book:
"Chuck Balsamo’s “Make Me A Legend” is a tailor-made message for 21st century American-Christians, who have been domesticated by temporal comforts, fear of rejection and ridicule, and by being trained to submit and tolerate most everything the legendary G-dly people of antiquity would have resisted to their last breaths. Chuck Balsamo presents a near-formulaic process, using popular literature, movies, social movements and sport metaphors to help us, to urge us, to embolden us to `untame’ ourselves. We really don’t have to take it.
It is a call to a spiritual-revolution, which obeys the leadership of the Holy Spirit while building a multi-tier relationship network of mentors, peers, and apprentices which could very well build a “last-hour” church of epic proportions. Imagine a Christian movement, where all Christians bond together to learn, support, and teach each other the way of the perfect love of G-d–answering to G-d in all things.
“Impossible!” some might say. Really? Like freeing a captive race, parting a sea, subduing giants, rising from the grave, walking on water, or reclaiming Adam’s birthright from satan? That kind of impossible is the stuff legends are made of. Exactly.
The secular world, accustomed to corralling Christian sheep, might see such a transformational movement as being a pack of uncontrollable monsters. You might think the powers and principalities would assemble their demons and strive to crush the uprising, which sounds a bit like The Revelation to John doesn’t it. Fret not, as if you remember how it ends, that is not a bad thing. Especially when contrasted with how our culture had degraded in recent history.
I wish I had been able to read Chuck’s book 40 years ago as I slogged through many of his lessons the hard way–but alas that was not possible–it was published in 2011.
Therefore, it might be that we, along with Chuck Balsamo, were all created for just such a time as this. Maybe we will become the legendary generation the saints line up to talk to when the roll is called up yonder. Or maybe we’ll just make things better;
Either way, I recommend “Make Me A Legend” to any Christian wondering what is wrong with their life, their community, and our country. Read it and join-in with the dream that together, we can make a better tomorrow."
Gail Strother writes: "There is something inside each of us that yearns to make a difference. Yet day after day, year after year, we find ourselves settled into mediocrity. Chuck Balsamo skillfully dissects the forces that keep us where we are, then stirs our hearts to become the legends we were created to be. Make Me A Legend is full of profound revelation, inspiration, and motivation. Finally, a book that will not only challenge you to soar, but will give you the tools for the journey as well. Make Me A Legend is an absolute must-read for all that have thought, Is this really all there is?"
Intrigued? You should be. Pastor Balsamo challenges the reader straight-up to live a heroic life. The great people of history would join the chorus. Ordinary people who have risen to the challenge of extraordinary times throughout the ages will find their spirit in tune with what Chuck is saying.
I was given an advance copy of Make Me a Legend and I couldn't put it down. Referencing the Great Awakenings that transformed the fabric of our culture in the past, Chuck Balsamo asks: "Why not today."
There is practical guidance here for how to dream bigger than yourself, plan a course of action and most importantly, how to join yoursef with other like-minded souls in the quest.
In fact, the renaissance of mentorship as the prime means of passing the torch is reason enough for you to devour this book and live it. You will develop a true appreciation of the generation preceding yours and a deep love for the generation following. You will learn what power is to be found in the relationships developed across these lines.
In a world mired in its own sense of hopelessness, author Balsamo injects a realistic and much needed ray of hope.
In Santa Cruz, Bolivia's poorest neighborhood, a beautiful celebration of worship!
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