My Life as I See It.



 

I turned 51 today and thought I would celebrate with a post on My Life as I See It.

 

I've never been much of a numbers guy, but if we begin with the numbers I have been on this earth 18,615 days. That makes for 446,760 hours. If I eat three meals a day that means I've consumed 55,845 meals, and  I only weigh 245 pounds. Wow! I'm in better shape than I thought.

 

I've been married for 30 years and 6 months of the 51 years I've been on this earth which means that for well over half my life, Lisa has been and continues to be my: "Better Half."

 

 

A quick glance tells the story. You see...not only was I lucky, but I came out way ahead on the deal. Isn't she pretty? Guess what... she is more beautiful now than ever and she continues to grow that way with each passing year. 

We have contributed to the re population of this planet with three children. The amazing thing is they turned out really good and considering they grew up listening to me preach every Sunday morning and then had to get up with me each Monday morning tells you something about grace;  not only is it real, but it's also sufficient. 

 

We also have one (1) AMAZING GRANDSON, David Benjamin, who has taught me So much about this grandpa thing. Guess what? IT'S AWESOME! Granny and I are looking forward to more.

 

 

To all of you who endured the high school experience with me, I think of you often and I'm sure you were surprised when you heard I was a pastor. So was I.  You see...nine months after we graduated I met this girl from Thomasville. It was on March 21st...7  days after I turned 19 and though winter had been long spring came early. She caught my eye, turned my head, grabbed my heart and took me to church.

 

We dated for a 18 months and were married on on Sept. 11th of 1982. Three weeks later I surrendered my life to The One Who Gave His Life for us all and have learned the Jesus truly is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

 

 

 

Since that time we've (Lisa and I) have ministered in churches from N.C to Alaska and are now back home serving at Dan River Wesleyan, where people are warm, loving and very patient.   

 

 

So, yeah....I am 18,615 days old and I've been on the this earth for 446,760 hours and today is my birthday and I've already recieved several wonderful birthday day wishes and realize that I'm more than happy.....I'M BLESSED!  

 

 

www.camdockery.com

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



This weekend proves to be an exciting time if you are a lover of the Classic tales, or a movie buff. JACK THE GIANT SLAYER is out and my expectations are high.

 

 

The original story was first published in 1807 by Benjaman Tabart though it had been around for ages, some even believing it to have come to England aboard the Viking ships.  It will be interesting to see how the storyline is treated and how much of the original remains intact.

 

Oz: The Great and Powerful will be also released in a few days and I'm looking forward to seeing it as well. 

 

 

 

I saw an interview with James Franco this morning who plays the role of Oz while he was on Live with Kelly and Mike. I was impressed with his heart for the project. He stated that he was a huge fan of the original Frank Baum story and had read the entire series as a child.

 

He went on to share that before committing to the project he wanted to see how the current production respected the original screen play. It appears the storyline is more about Oz and delves into how he landed in the enchanted world.

 

Franco said The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was his Harry Potter of the day. It is nice to see the original and classic tales are shown respect by this generation. It goes to show you that even with the technology of our day, somethings can not be improved upon. The visual effects are far more stunning now than ever before, but the story is still the meat of the tomato.

 

If you have noticed, Fantasy is back stronger than ever and my next post will be given to Fantasy in this present generation.

 

www.camdockery.com

I am running a free promotion today and tomorrow on three of the stories I've published with Amazon.

Wrong Room: Bathroom Blunders

What happens when you have "TO GO" and your flying through turbulance at 30,00 feet? Or, when you are in Mexico City and you walk into the WRONG ROOM?  These are true confessions of a Bathroom Blunderer.
Its free today.

Never By My Name A true story about the relationship a grandfather shares with his grandson while fishing the lakes and streams of North Carolina.

More Felt than Heard Poetry. More Felt Than Heard represents the reflections of living in a beautiful world that is not all it was created to be and the impression it leaves on the soul.

Too Close for Comfort

I've been giving some thought to government and religion today and have come up with an axiom. You may not agree and its OK if you don't, but I would love to hear your position on the subject at hand.

I am writing as a Christian who was born and raised in America and have always considered myself patriotic. I am also a pastor who has given considerable time to the study of Comparative Religion. My intent here  is not to bash other persuasions, but rather... to establish dialog.

Axiom: Rouge governments are like pagan gods in that they prey upon the fears of their people.

In the study and discipline of Comparative Religion you will discover that every religion on the globe with the exception of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are pagan in nature.

What that means is that with the exception of the three all other religions  have several things common. For instance: 1. Pagan gods are often manipulative and can be manipulated. A brief study of Greek Mythology will support the first premise and any serious consideration of world religion will affirm the latter. 2. A pagan understanding of time is nonlinear, therefore you have the believe of re-incarnation. Time moves in circular fashion rather than to a point in time as is suggested in Christian thought. 3. The pagan god must be appeased and to that end, ancient civilizations at times would sacrificially offer their children to the deities as an act of worship.

The motivating factor and driving force behind such behaviour was fear. People were afraid of the gods and that fear was often reinforced by witch doctors, priest and soothsayers.

The Role of Government should be to protect and serve the people it represents. Unfortunately that has not always been the case. The world is no stranger to tyranny and the twentieth century unveiled and exposed a darkness of the human condition. The Holocaust of Germany, the Gulags of The Soviet Union and The Killing Fields of Cambodia showed the world how ugly an oligarchy can be.

Both the Gestapo and KGB exercised fear tactics by controlling information, leveraging propaganda and brainwashing a society while those on top lived in luxury at the expense of the population.

Because of the fallen state of human nature governments will always be tempted to abuse the power with which they are entrusted. Whenever a particular party or person solicits fear tactics with hopes of manipulating the population a line has been crossed. An ethic has been compromised and danger is sure to follow. The dark act must be brought to light as steps are taken to correct the trespass.

I write as a Christian and as a student of Church History I've learned that we are not immune to corruption. While we are not pagan history reveals many of the bad decisions that have been made out of fear and ignorance.

When the church is on task this world has never seen anything more beautiful. But, when the church moves off center and gets away from Her mission this world has never seen anything more ugly, or dangerous.

As stated earlier, I am a patriotic American who is glade to call this country home. The Founders went to great lengths in laying out principals on which government could be exercised for the people and by the people. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution both serve as reminders of a better way.

If we as a people turn a blind eye to the founding of this great nation and the principals upon which it stands then we too shall reap the consequences others have endured.

And with that...we come full circle with an axiom.  Rouge governments are like pagan gods in that they prey upon the fears of their people.

www.camdockery.com

Grace and a Note

When I was eleven years old and in the fifth grade a friend and I managed to get ourselves into trouble when another student discovered a note we had written. Included in the  note were several rude remarks about some of the other students and a few were even directed toward our teacher, Mrs Emory.

Forty years have passed since that note was discovered, but the memory  stays with me and the thing I learned about my fathers heart became a small piece of a crucial puzzle that eventually changed the direction of my life.

I thought I'd post an excerpt. Hope you enjoy.

 "It happened in the fall of 1973 when i was eleven years old and in the fifth grade at Sumner Elementary School. It was discovered just after the lunch break as we were getting settled back into our desks and making preperations for the the afternoon lesson.
     It was found by a girl who had picked it up off the floor as she was walking over to the pencil sharpener. When she paused to read it and learned the content was more than a little offensive. So without hesitation she quickly ran over to the teachers desk and handed it to Mrs. Emory.

I was oblivious to what was going on, but when Mrs. Emory told us to sit down and held up a piece of paper and said, 'This has just come to my attention,' I knew I was in DEEP DOOOO.

Because I knew that what she held in her hand was a note that a friend and I had written and passed back in forth during the morning. Included in the note were several rude and very crude remarks about some of the other kids and if that were not enough to sink the ship, we had also made some very degrading remarks about Mrs Emory.

My young heart began to race as a sickness invaded the pit of my stomach and when I looked over to my friend, I realized he was also gripped by fear and dreaded the consequences. His appearence was more than a little  pale: he looked as white as a bleached bed sheet....

...That nightmare of a school day was followed by a long walk home and a quiet dinner, as I sat at the table cringing every time the phone rang. Mom and Dad knew something was up......"

                                            

 The Note

www.camdockery.com

My Valentine

I wrote this biographical poem a few years ago and dedicated it to my wife Lisa. She's still my Valentine.



The Twentieth of March.

How well I remember that first night.

The night you walked through the

door and lit up the room. 

You were wearing pink cords, a white

sweater and a scent of Windsong... that

has stayed on my mind.

We met on the Twentieth of March.

And though winter had been long,

Spring came early. 

Who could have imagined? Two

people so different, meeting in

a bar and landing in church. 

And the story we have written while

moving across the country doing this

thing called life. 

From a bar to an altar, through college
and across this continent we've  followed

our hearts and walked against the grain.  

And though I am not sure what normal

looks like, I’m certin it looks nothing

like us. 

It seems I have been chasing something

for the greater part of my tired life. But

now, I just want to grow old with you. 

 I’m no longer afraid of all those things

 I’ve yet to accomplish. I am content

 knowing …. We have truly loved.

 

- Cameron Dockery

 

Indies I Have Known

In December of 2010 my wife gave me a Kindle for Christmas and I've been tracking the rising tide of self-publishing ever since. It happened fast and no one saw it coming, but with the dawning of digital a new medium was birthed.

Now dream has become reality for several authors who never gave up. Their work has found an audience in a world that until recently didn't even exist.

The following list represents a few names I've been tracking since I began my own personal journey. Their success and willingness to help others have proved inspirational.

First I stumbled on Joe Konrath's Blog shortly after getting my Kindle and found him to be a plethora of knowledge in the field of publishing. With a firm handle on the how to of  marketing and promotion Joe quickly became one of Amazons top producers.

When I began reading his blog A Newbies Guide to Publishing he had already become somewhat of a prophetic voice for Indie writers. Like no one else he has an ability to  read the landscape and identify the trends of whats happening in the industry.

Then I found John Hartness from Charlotte N.C. His his book, Returning the favor and other slices of life was the first book I downloaded to my Kindle.  Follow this link to his Amazon page then scroll down  and you will find he published over twenty titles in just over two years. His Bubba The Monster Killer stories are packed with southern humor and have a little redneck thrown in for good measure.

His Black Night series delves into the darker side with two Vampires who've partnered with a  priest and go about trying to rid the world of evil. John took a year off from his day job and committed to the writing gig. Today he continues to write and offers writing services such as editing, formatting and proof reading. I took a class he offered in Charlotte,N.C. and am looking forward to the next one. I've found him to be a great guy who has a heart for people and connects with his followers.

I soon leaned Amanda Hocking was the first to earn over a million dollars with her Paranormal Romance series when she caught the eye of a main street publisher and signed a deal worth over seven figures.

Then John Locke  dialed things up a notch when he sold over a million digital books with Amazon in less than six months and turned down a few offers form the Big 6. He preferred to retain control of his work and opted to remain independent.

With the success of Wool I'm beginning to wonder if we've now entered into a second generation of Indie authors who are ringing the bell and inviting others to the dance.

I recently stated on my website that Hugh has pushed the possibilities through the stratosphere. He published WOOL just over a year ago and is knocking down over $100.000.00 dollars a month in personal income off combined sells.

His deal with Simon and Schuster seems to have been a serious game changer. When a card carrying member of the Big 6 allows an author to retain the digital rights it becomes obvious that a major shake up has taken place.

In just two short years I've watched the tide of Self-Publishing continually rise as new voices come to the table and more readers adopt to digital. We're still early in the game and so much has morphed it leaves me wondering whats coming next. No one knows...but two things are for sure: digital is here to stay and Indies are in a good position.

www.camdockery.com