Finding a Happy Medium: Let the Redeemed Say So

By Janette Jones

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of

witnesses…”

Hebrews 12:1 NIV

Inspirational-fiction author/playwright Janette Jones has

done it again!

The gamut of dramatic emotions you’ll experience in this

awe-insp

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: Feb 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948779210

Janette Jones

Janette has the distinct honor of holding the ministerial position of local elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Janette and her retired military spouse are the proud parents of three adult children and three beautiful grandchildren. Originally from Goldsboro, North Carolina the couple has called Bellevue, Nebraska their home for well over thirty years.

Book preview

Finding a Happy Medium

Let the Redeemed Say So

The Sequel

Janette Jones

Copyright © 2018 by Janette Jones.

Paperback: 978-1-948779-20-3

eBook: 978-1-948779-21-0

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. Although true biblical personalities were utilized in the context of this fictional project it is not the author’s intent to either rewrite or to refute the factual aspects of the written Word. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

The content of this book is meant to be viewed only as a paracosm; as an imaginary world of ‘what-if.’

Unless otherwise noted all scriptures utilized were taken either from the New International Version Bible (NIV), or the King James Version. (KJV) (Public Domain)

On the Cover: Author’s caption of a beautiful Midwestern sunset on the parameters of Dodge City, Kansas.

Ordering Information:

For orders and inquiries, please contact:

1-888-375-9818

www.toplinkpublishing.com

[e-mail]

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Chapter Six Excerpt

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

To God be the glory.

This book is dedicated to my grandchildren whom I will never totally be able to express the love and affection I have for each of them.

To Kenzle, our very first!

To Jaylen, our one and only rocking grandson!

And lastly; to Little Miss Samara, our latest bundle of joy!

Over each of you, I pray God’s protection, guidance, love, peace and joy.

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.

Hebrews 12:15

Prologue

What happens when we die? It’s an age old question many have pondered. But the fact of the matter is no one truly knows…that is but God!

Yet, many would beg to differ as clairvoyant individuals known as ‘mediums’ or ‘psychics’ are readily enabling the living access to their deceased loved ones from beyond the grave.

That’s not to say, the practicality of it all must surely lie in their belief in the legitimacy of such practices. The question one must ask then is; is the practice of consulting the dead taboo, or is it God-designed?

With that in mind, it may interest one to know that God has already spoken on the matter as can be found in His Word.

Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 19:31 NIV

In 1 Samuel 28:7 we find Saul the king of Israel going against his own decree when at the time he sought to inquire of such a being.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, Find me a woman who is a medium that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.

Ironically, at one point in time, the king had sought to uphold the decree of Leviticus 19. But the Lord no longer communicated with Saul after his rebellion of the Lord’s word. So Saul, after finding himself in dire strait and needing to hear from God was led to taking drastic measures. Find me a woman who is a medium… he commanded.

Where then does the sin lie? Possibly in the fact Saul sought to know the outcome of a war he would be involved in from a person under the influence of a ‘familiar spirit,’ a demon. Who knows, the king’s fate could’ve been much different had he trusted in the Lord for a victorious outcome. Only God is omniscient (knows all and sees all). He knows the end from the beginning.

The written Word of God in today’s society is often thought of as obsolete. Some will go so far as to declare there is no God and tend to seek knowledge meant only to be known by God through artificial means.

Take for example, just for the sake of ‘what if; what if a spiritual portal would develop allowing the likes of Hebrew 12’s ‘cloud of witnesses’ access to the ‘here and now?’ Then would the nay-sayers (atheists/agnostics) recant their un-belief?

Or, what if their divine messages could give first-hand knowledge of just how real our God truly is?

Better still, what if Biblical personalities with questionable character; such as ‘the witch of En Dor,’ or even the ‘Woman caught in adultery’ could tell their own version of their sordid lives?

Well… hold on to your proverbial hats! Just as the critically acclaimed Cloudy Witness/Blessedly Assured portrayed such happenings, the reader will be taken even further in its captivating sequel; Finding a Happy Medium.

The saga of three fictional every day couples and their supernatural journeys into the realm of the ‘God-kind ‘continues.

Main Characters

Etta Mae and Donnie Smith – Bible-thumper & avid golfer

Tonika and Josh Gibbons - The Smith’s neighbors

Damien and Delilah (Dee) Whitman – Hedge Fund Advisor

& Etta Mae’s socialite sister

Stephanie Willis – a fast talking rumor monger and friend of Etta Mae and Tonika

Chapter Six Excerpt

Unbeknownst to Tonika, Etta Mae harbored that very same tho ught.

Ex-scuzze me for a sec, girlfriend!

Etta Mae rose from her chair and scurried off.

I’ll be right back!

After her friend’s hasty exit the bereft neighbor was left to sort through her own bewildering thoughts.

As a distraction from it all she began flipping through the magazine pages once again.

Tonika, a bi-racial middle aged woman of African American/German descent had become engrossed in an article when a sudden movement out of the corner of her eye sent the magazine flying through the air.

Standing silently before her in the center of her friend’s kitchen stood what appeared to be a figure of a woman cloaked in illusive darkness. Tonika bolted from her chair preparing to run all while taking in the macabre appearance of the specter.

Whoa! Oh my God!

Tonika’s heart skipped a hurried beat as she took a sudden intake of breath.

Who’re you an-and wh-what’re you doing here?

Tonika looked long and hard at the materialized intruder.

Ooh no! Tonika gasped as realization hit. I-I know who you are!

The figure remained silent.

The visible incorporeal spirit was something to behold. The figure was clothed in a black hooded full circle velvet cloak. The foreboding garment obscured the specter’s facial features.

Even though a hook and loop mechanism front closure was visible, a slip of red muslin material peaked from beneath the slight opening of the dark cloak.

Her neighbor’s home had once again become enshrouded with mystical occurrences. Not to mention the pungent smell of smoke now permeating the room serving as a huge indication of time spent possibly stirring a cauldron.

Y-You’re that-that wi-witch! You’re the Witch of En Dor!

The cloaked figure remained motionless and silent, neither acknowledging, nor denying the human’s startling revelation.

Tonika was still able to screech out a frantic call to her friend even in her state of fear and panic.

E-Etta! Etta Mae! Gir-rl, you-you really need to get in here! She yelled. An-and I mean fast!

Chapter One

The way of a guilty man is crooked, but as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

Proverbs 21:8

Ashad, the twelve year old son of Tonika Gibbons jumped from a white SUV driven by a neighborhood soccer mom. The combination of both the child’s maternal and paternal genes made for a very handsome adolescent. The boy’s biological father was an American Sa moan.

Ashad gleefully waved good-bye to his soccer teammate.

Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Sutton. Ashad said to his friend’s mother.

Hey! Shelton, I’ll call you later dude!

Okay, dawg! I’ll hit you up for a game of Minecrafts’ later!" Shelton yelled out.

You’re on, Ashad yelled. And don’t even think you’re getting over my wall dude!

Bye, Ashad… tell your mom I said hi!

Your brother and sister okay back there?

Mrs. Sutton asked after glancing in her rear view mirror.

As far as the SUV’s two other occupants were concerned no consideration was even given to the fact the SUV had even stopped. Six years old Jaylon, a video game enthusiast equipped with goggles was too immersed in bobbing and weaving from imaginary villains characterized in his ‘virtual reality’ game to even notice.

Glancing over at his younger siblings, Shelton soon noticed he wasn’t the only one amused by his little brother’s animated actions.

With eyes only for Jaylon, five month old Samantha seated in a rear facing child seat with toes curled and flailing arms shrilled with laughter even while suckling the yellow kitty embellished pacifier; her ‘binky.’

Yeah, mom… they’re fine. He said chuckling.

Well, okay then …and by the way, you played a good game today, bubba …close, but it was good.

Aww, gee! Thanks mom.

The van pulled away filled with laughter as the battle-scarred soccer goalie inserted his key and slowly pushed open the front door.

Ooh!

The young boy is startled and confused by seeing his out of commissioned step-father standing in the room.

A messy confrontation earlier between the boy’s mom and step-dad days earlier had led to Josh storming out of their home.

Y-you’re home! The soccer weary twelve years old managed to say.

I-is my mom here?

Ashad nervously made his way into the kitchen.

Hello son.

Josh went over to embrace the flustered youngster.

And no, your mom’s not home. …At least not yet. Though she should be shortly.

Oh, o-kay. The thick silence between the two housemates made for an awkward moment. Ashad began dislodging his well-worn soccer cleats from his tired feet by stepping on the heel of each shoe. Well, I guess I’ll just go to my room then.

But the hasty exit is blocked by Josh’s extended arm.

Wait! Wait son… c-can; may I speak to you for a second?

The despondent curly haired adolescent reluctantly obliged the request by tiredly plopping down in a nearby chair. His head remained lowered.

Josh searched for a seat next to the not too pleasant smelling athlete. Ashad moved over to make room for his stepfather to sit. After exhaling long and deeply the apologetic man-of-the- house began to speak.

Ashad…son, I-I just want to… to apologize to you.

It wasn’t an easy task admitting your shortcomings to a twelve year old boy.

The repentant father figure shifted his weight to the edge of the couch.

I mean f-for disrupting your life these past few days.

Even though insurmountable damage to their relationship had already been done, the muddled youth listened respectfully to the heartfelt words of the one solely responsible for the present upheaval in his young life.

Ashad, on the other hand, was clueless as to how he was supposed to react toward his somewhat abashed step-father’s apology.

The image of seeing his beautiful mother crying suddenly flashed through his young mind.

He had come into the kitchen and found her with her back to him sobbing inconsolably.

His quiet entrance had startled his mom. She had quickly begun to wipe away tears before turning to embrace him in the biggest most reassuring squishiest bear hug.

Understandably baffled, the question hidden foremost in the lad’s mind was how could the man seated next to him readily leave the family he supposedly loved?

I can understand why everything is confusing to you. Josh went on to say.

A-all I can tell you is… life has a way of eating you up and spitting you out.

Huh? O-okay.

Josh reached up and tousled the boy’s thick ringlet curls. A deep groan escaped his full lips before he regretfully dropped his hand.

Josh could tell by the confused look on the boy’s face he had no clue of what he was saying, or where he was going with their conversation.

I tell you what little man; let’s table this discussion for another time… okay?

Okay… Can I go to my room now?

That’s fine son Josh grinned. See you in a bit.

A ton of weights had lifted from the boy’s small shoulders.

The boy’s face lit up. Flooded with relief, the young man jumped to his feet making way for a hasty retreat.

But instead, Ashad abruptly stopped in mid stride. He suddenly turned to his equally ill-at-ease step-father.

D-Dad…

Yes, son?

I-I’m glad you’re home.

The tear stained lad ran into his now emotional father’s arms. The two held one another for a very long time.

The liberated young man finally pulled free from the unyielding embrace before gleefully running to his room.

Well…one hurdle’s down, but then there’s that one major hurdle still to come. Josh thought to himself.

Where is she? He wondered. Supposedly she was on her way over an hour ago.

He went over to the front window and peered down the street. The street was empty.

By now, the tall, handsome, athletic built forty year olds’ anxiety level is running at an all time high.