Fiction
Nicolas Day
On Procrastination

Digging through a few boxes of my old high school stuff, I found my final English paper that I turned in a couple of weeks past its deadline…

On Procrastination
Fiction
Nicolas Day
The Chronicles of the Dei Clan Warriors - Part 2

Space Knight Sawyer was walking out of the cave on the fringes of the outpost when his intercom sparked to life with Princess Amelie's urgent call for help. His stomach churned and he felt the color flee his face. Sawyer dashed to his Rocket Bike and leapt into its seat. He reached for the ignition, then paused and bowed his head…

The Chronicles of the Dei Clan Warriors - Part 2
Fiction
Nicolas Day
The Chronicles of the Dei Clan Warriors - Part 1

If you’ve been following me on social media for awhile, you’ll have noticed that I occasionally post little short stories for my kids in a series I’ve titled The Chronicles of the Dei Clan Warriors. I’ve decided to compile them here for the sake of convenience. There’s no underlying, thought-out-in-advance master plot here, or hours upon hours of careful editing, it’s just my brain to the keyboard as the stories come. Wondering how things are going to turn out for the Dei Clan? Me too! I’m following along same as you. Hope you enjoy!

The Chronicles of the Dei Clan Warriors - Part 1
Family
Nicolas C. Day
A Few "Days" to Maine and Back

Happy New Year! Procrastinator that I am, I'm sharing a post I never finished last year. However, it does also serve as an excellent point of reflection over one of our greatest family adventures of 2018... This past June I went on the longest road trip of my life—with my wife, a four-year-old, a three-year-old, a two-year-old, and a one-month-old. We had one reserved destination ~1,800 miles away and zero plans on how to get there. It was National Lampoon’s Vacation minus Wally World and the bb-gun hostage taking.

To backtrack a little, I should explain that this all began when my wife and I sat down to write out some New Year’s goals in 2017 and decided we should write out a “bucket list”. And so, we did—scribbling some prayerful thoughts on a napkin one evening at a noisy restaurant while a baby sitter watched the kids at home. Many line items spewed forth, one of which: the goal to see all the National Parks in the United States.

So, come this past May when we were blessed with our fourth child, Amelie, and a newly implemented eight week paternity leave plan at work, we asked ourselves: what’s one of the furthest parks we could see?

We landed at Acadia National Park in Maine, which is about a 27-hour drive from our home in Louisiana.

A Few "Days" to Maine and Back
Fiction
Nicolas C. Day
A Selfless Shepherd Snapping A Selfie

Abbott finished ushering the last of the sheep into the pen and snapped the door shut. With a satisfied smile, he threw his arm around the neck of one of his sheep. Pulling his smart phone out of his pocket, he extended his arm and snapped a couple of selfies. “Oh yeah…I’m b-a-a-a-a-d!” A sudden blurb of movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention. Phone dropping to his side, he squinted at the figure walking towards him, silhouetted against the backdrop of the blazing sun. It was Jesse’s son.

“Hey David, what’s up man?” Abbott called out with a cheerful smile.

“Hey Abbott...I need to ask you a favor.” David’s serious tone matched the concern streaked across his face.

“Uh...sure man. What’s up?” Abbott replied. Where is this going?

A Selfless Shepherd Snapping A Selfie

Dogs

3 Ways Dogs Remind Me of Jesus (Thanks to Marley and Me)

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Please don’t misconstrue the title of this post for a lack of reverence for our Lord Jesus Christ. Obviously any comparisons stated here are limited in nature. The fact of the matter is, whenever I watched the movie Marley & Me, I was struck by at least three quotes that immediately brought to mind an image of Jesus. I mean to a tee. If taken out of context, I would have sworn they were from a pastor’s sermon.  

1. “A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.”*     

Your background is not Jesus’s priority – he made that abundantly clear when he sought to save the criminals, prostitutes, and tax collectors. Neither is God concerned with the things by which the world measures success. Simply put, He wants your heart.

2. “Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity.”*

There is a plethora of powerful verses on joy and giving thanks in all circumstances. Jesus epitomized this quality, wishing the same for us. Paul, perhaps, conveys this most succinctly:

3. “He taught us the art of unqualified love. How to give it, how to accept it.”*

The act of God descending from Heaven, humbly donning the flesh of man, and shedding His blood as a redeeming sacrifice for the creation that turned its back on Him is the definition of unqualified love. Jesus also stressed during his earthly ministry this importance of loving others unconditionally.

So there you have it – three ways dogs remind me of Jesus. Now next time you walk through that front door and your pup’s face lights up and that tail starts wagging, just remember – Jesus loves you infinitely more.

- Nicolas C. Day

*https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/14961-marley-me-life-and-love-with-the-world-s-worst-dog

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