My First Guest Post...

Announcing, the heretofore unannounced post by one of my delightful author friends. Our blog, faithful followers, is now to be Graced with the presence of one of my Holy Worlds cohorts. While I must admit my experience with her writing is limited, my experience with her as a person is not nearly so limited, and I can recommend her to the highest degree. Today her self-published novel is released for the public, and in honor of that I have gladly allowed her to take over my Wednesday post. If you would rather have had more Caesar the Troll today... don't worry, I promise that Caesar won't go anywhere. He'll be back. And now, our feature presentation:

Showing His Handiwork

When I became interested in writing science-fiction about three years  
ago, I was faced with the question: why?  Why should Christians write  
science-fiction?

I've since come to realize that the topic is a complex one.  There are  
many reasons to write it, and many ways to do it.  There are many  
topics that have been covered, and many more that can be.  There are  
also many, many different kids of science fiction.

One popular form of science-fiction involves space travel.  Flying  
freely through the galaxies, boldly going where no man has gone  
before, seeking the strange new discoveries of the outer limits of the  
universe.  My novel Firmament: Radialloy, released today, is of this  
particular type.  Exploring the stars.  But why are the stars and the  
cosmos so important?  Is there a real reason to spend time writing  
about such things--mysteries beyond our knowledge?

Think about the beginning.  In the beginning, God created the  
heavens and the earth.  He created the stars, sun, moon, planets,  
and all the cosmic mysteries that lie beyond.  And why did He create  
them?  Well, he tells us in Genesis that the stars were created for  
signs, seasons, days, and years.

He made them for us.  The stars of the universe were created for you  
and me.  To tell us something about the world that we need to know to  
go about our daily lives.   They were also created as a light to shine  
in the darkness, but there are so many stars out there.  More than we  
can see to give us light, more than we can use to tell us what season  
or what year it is.

While writing my novel, I struggled often with the name for the series  
that it was to begin.  I came up with several different ideas, but the  
one I settled on was Firmament.  I want my readers to remember the  
purpose behind the stars.  Ultimately, they tell us something about  
our God.  They can give us more information about our King, Creator,  
and Father.  For we are told that the heavens declare the glory of  
God, and the Firmament shows His handiwork.

The glories of the universe are out there, waiting in silence to  
proclaim the majesty of our Lord, holding secrets which it is His  
glory to conceal, and our honor to seek out.  The pull of our hearts  
to the stars is something to be kindled, treasured, and encouraged.   
Not all of us will board starships and uncover the mysteries of the  
Milky Way, but we can all look up at the lights twinkling away in the  
night sky and appreciate, not the glory of the stars, but the glory of  
the Creator.



J. Grace Pennington is the author of the Firmament books, a  
Christian, young-adult series about medical assistant Andi Lloyd, who  
travels the galaxy aboard the starship _Surveyor_ and navigates the  
difficulties of family and faith.  To find out more about Grace and  
the Firmament series, visit www.jgracepennington.com