The Bus Troll: My First Written Story by Daniel J. Duffield

I wrote this story when I was in high school back in my home state of Michigan.  I was taking a writing class from a young teacher we called Miss Pohl.  She was a strict teacher that graded very hard and it was one of the few classes that I had work extra hard to get good grades.  Of all the writing that I did in her class, there is one story that stands out, a story that surprised even my teacher.

When all the students were seated in their seats and the class was about to begin, Miss Pohl set a small troll doll on her desk.  Her instructions were simple.  She told us to write a short story about the doll.  I sat there for a few moments and then suddenly had an idea.  From that moment on I frantically wrote with paper and pencil to capture my story.  I finished just as the bell rang to end the class period.

The next day when we assembled in Miss Pohl’s class again I could see a big smile on the teachers face as she held a paper in her hand.  She told the class that she had to read this wonderful story of “The Bus Troll” and then proceeded to read it to the class.  She never revealed who wrote the story as was her policy, but she called me up after class to talk to me.  She told me that I had an imagination and could write.  “Maybe, you should consider becoming an author someday.”  She told me.  Those words haunted me through the years.  I knew I had to write books someday and so I did. 

Click on the link below titled "The Bus Troll" to read this short story for free. 

The Bus Troll

March 3, 2015 – Decision Day: Will America Stand Up and Be Queen Esther?

On the evening of March 3^rd, 2015, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the American Congress to plead Israel’s case against Iran’s nuclear program.  This will be a historic day for America as the Prime Minister of Israel describes the choices before our country and his.  The key question is whether or not congress side with Israel in opposition to the President or remain silent?  This may be the most critical decision congress ever faces for the survival of our nation.

For people of faith that have eyes to see, there have been several hints that reflect the importance of Netanyahu’s historic speech to our country’s future.  On January 20^th, President Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address to congress.  The very next day on January 21, Speaker of the House, John Boehner, invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give another response to the President’s State of the Union address.  Then two days later on January 23, the movie Mordechai was officially released in America.  However it wasn't until Netanyahu’s address to congress was scheduled at the Prime Minister’s insistence for March 3^rd that people began connecting the dots.  

For you see March 3^rd is the eve of Purim, the Jewish holiday that commemorates Queen Esther saving her people, the Jews, from Haman who had plotted to destroy them.  I would encourage you to read this story in the Bible in the book of Esther.  It is about a young woman who is adopted by a Jew named Mordechai and later rises to become the wife of King Xerxes.

History has a way of repeating itself and there are many parallels in the story of Esther to events today.  Both social media and news have been discussing the connections between the biblical story to destroy the Jewish people and the Iranians aspirations to do the same.  For blog examples see here and here.  For example news story see here.

In the blogs and news stories, Haman is represented by Iran who also wants to destroy the Jews.  President Obama represents King Xerxes who eagerly made a deal with Haman for the money he would receive.  Prime Netanyahu represents Esther who went before the king to make her case for her people.

However, as I thought about these parallels and roles being played out, I see another possibility.  Maybe both President Obama and Iran are playing the role of Haman trying to destroy the Jews.  In this scenario, Congress would represent King Xerxes and Queen Esther who are actually in authority above Haman (I.e. the President).  Netanyahu would represent Mordechai who reported Haman’s plan to Queen Esther.  If these parallels are the case, then Mordechai’s words ring true for both Israel and America.  For his statement to Esther (those in congress sympathetic to Israel) were as follows:

Esther 4:13 – 14: Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews.   For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”

So the message to God believing people in congress as well as all America is that if we do not choose to stand in agreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel, we will perish.  For us it is decision time in the face of evil.  Do we stand with Israel against the evil of Iran or not?  What we decide in our hearts and then express with our prayers and actions, will determine our fate as a nation and individually.  May you choose wisely for who knows, maybe our country was founded by Godly men and attained our current status for “such a time as this”.  Pray for Prime Minister Netanyahu as he delivers the truth of the Iranian threat to us and pray that we have the courage to stand with God’s chosen people as Queen Esther did in Biblical times!

Collective Consciousness - Reality is a Projection of Our Minds

We live in a material world, but the sages of Judaism have taught for 3500 years that the world around us is an illusion.  It is real, but still an illusion created by God for us to experience life and make choices that affect our eternal well being.  I have learned this from Rabbi Ariel bar Tzadok at https://www.koshertorah.com/

I recently came across two articles that seem to verify this concept.  The first article Are We Living in a Computer Simulation is a scientific paper which argues that we are almost certainly living in a computer simulation.  The second article Science Proves That Human Consciousness and Our Material World Are Intertwined: See For Yourself" postulates that units of consciousness (prayers,thoughts, and intentions) directly affect our physical material world.  It goes on to state the following:

"For quite some time now, physicists have been exploring the relationship between human consciousness and its relationship to the structure of matter. Previously it was believed that a Newtonian material universe was the foundation of our physical material reality. This all changed when scientists began to recognize that everything in the universe is made out of energy. Quantum physicists discovered that physical atoms are made up of vorticies of energy that are constantly spinning and vibrating. Matter, at it’s tiniest observable level, is energy, and human consciousness is connected to it, human consciousness can influence it’s behavior and even re-structure it."

The paper on human consciousness goes on to review the latest quantum physics and recently declassified government military research documents to make their case.  The paper examines the following:

1) The quantum double slit experiment that demonstrates how the outcome can be altered by the observer.
2) The government sponsored psychokinesis experiments dealing with the possible influence of human consciousness on the behavior of physical or biological systems or processes (i.e. bending spoons).
3) The Global Consciousness Experiment/Random Number Generators.
4) NSA/CIA Remote Viewing Experiments In Conjunction With Stanford University.
5) Thoughts and Intentions Alter The Physical Structure of Water.
6) The Placebo Effect where people heal themselves by believing something will help them.
7) Teleportation of small objects.
8) The science of the heart - results have shown that emotional information is encoded into this electromagnetic field.

This research demonstrates that our consciousness and material physical world are intertwined and affect each other.  It seems that science is finally catching up to what religious people have know for centuries - heaven is the real world and this world is a mere illusion from which we interact to learn in preparation for eternity.

The Star Gate to Heaven - Near Death Experiences

In the 1990s, I had a good friend who had a massive heart attack.  His name was Chad and he was visiting his daughter who was a nurse at the local hospital when the heart attack occurred.  His daughter immediately recognized that her father was having a heart attack and went into swift action.  Chad died and then was brought back to life by the doctors and nurses who worked at reviving him.  While he was dead he had a Near Death Experience that he relayed to me one day while we were horseback riding in the Uinta Mountains.  His story sounded like so many others that had I heard or read about: the tunnel of light that he went through to meet deceased family members, the immense feeling of love from his deceased relatives, and being totally bathed in God's love while he was there.  He told me that he was told to go back to his body, but that he did not want to.  All he wanted to do was stay in heaven.

What I found fascinating was that Chad was a devout Mormon.  He believed in Jesus as his savior, but his theology was vastly different from mine as a Baptist.  I had heard other stories from my brother, a Baptist minister, who had been at the deathbeds of dozens of people from small children to the very old.  Some of these people were church members who believed in God and some were not.  Most of the stories he had heard from Godly people were nearly the same as Chad's story.  However when my brother was with people that hated God and wanted nothing to do with him, the stories were quite different.  They often saw demons coming to get them and went into death with screams.  If they survived the near death experience, they usually could not remember the experience or they assumed that they had been hallucinating and had a nightmare.

I did further investigations into near death experiences by reading three books that told near death experience stories.  The books were 1) Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo; 2) Visions of Glory as told by John Pontius; and 3) Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, M.D.  I would highly recommended all three books to see the common threads of the experiences from that of a little boy who died, to a Mormon, to an agnostic neurosurgeon.  The only real differences in the three stories were the theological perspective of the stories being told.

In Heaven is for Real, the little boy saw heaven as reflected by the theology of his evangelical-pastor father.  In Visions of Glory the stories and visions reflect the Mormon theology.  The story teller sees other righteous people in heaven who had not been Mormon, but assumes that they must have converted to Mormonism at some point in order to be in heaven.  Both the little boy and the Mormon see Jesus in their near death experience.  In Proof of Heaven, the neurosurgeon, Eben Alexander, experiences heaven without memories due to his damaged cerebral cortex.  In contrast to the little boy and the Mormon he does not see Jesus.  He sees only God who is energy emanating pure love from a concentrated source at the center of heaven.  An energy that is everywhere and in everything similar to descriptions in Judaism.

As I pondered the differences and similarities, a passage in the Mormon book "Visions of Glory" came to my mind that may explain the differences.  Here is the passage from page 89 of the book:

All of the glorified universes I perceived were one of three glories - celestial, terrestrial, or telestial.  There were other types, which were not types of glory.  These were wonderful places without glory where beings who had not qualified for a reward of glory during their lifetimes were ultimately sent.  These were of every type, of every description, and were created in response to their desires (Italics added).

 So, maybe the differences in the near death experiences were merely projected by the individual and what they expect to see in heaven.  Each person that goes to heaven puts his theological glasses on and as a result sees what they expect to see.  Those that don't believe in the God of heaven do not go to heaven.  They separate themselves from God by their own mental constructs and create their own hells devoid of the God that they don't accept or believe in.  For to be with God you must first believe in God.  In the end our theological differences may not matter as long as we believe in the God that created us and return to him through repentance to walk our path through life with Him.



Angies Review of "Sons of Niall"

Here is the first review of my new book "Sons of Niall".  It was done by Angie on goodreads.com. 


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1040995403?book_show_action=true&page=1

Angies Review:  "The first book in this series called Niall and the Irish Pirates was the first self published book I had read. I was really looking forward to the second book so I was very excited when I received the book from the author. I thought the story was quite engaging. The books transitions well back into the story where the first book left off. There is a fun map at the beginning of the book that helped me keep a picture in my mind of where events where taking place.

This book introduces much more history into the religions of the time, including the introduction of Christianity. We get to follow a few characters along who discover more about themselves. The main character is Dovsfield who is the son of Niall (though he doesn't know it). I enjoyed reading about Dovsfield and his bravery. He is a great man who has integrity and honor. In the book we even get to follow some adventures of a sword. Yes .. there is a sword that bounces from one owner to another, the original owner being Niall. Seeing where the sword would pop up next was entertaining. I liked that there is also a strong woman warrior in the story, she is Native American. I was surprised to see a Native American enter the story but it does work. It was really interesting to read about different religions mixing and the hardships people would endure to fight for their religion of choice. Of course.. the book has a little fantasy elements as well. Witches and druids included. I think having the fantasy in the novel brings so much more enjoyment into my reading experience.

I could tell there were many improvements in this book over the first book... plus this didn't feel like the typical middle of the road book you find in a series. I can't stand the ones that I feel like nothing was moved on in the story line and this one for sure moves things along! I didn't expect there to be another book in the series but the end of Son of Niall is left up in the air so I know a third book is coming. I look forward to reading the installment. I really do recommend this book to those looking for a quick read especially if you like supporting independent authors. The author even signed it and made it out to me which was a great treat!!!"

Sequel to "Niall and the Irish Pirates"

I recently published my new book "Sons of Niall" on Amazon. It is a fictional story inspired by the legends associated with Niall Noigiallach, an ancient high king of Ireland that ruled from 368 to 396 CE.  Niall established a dynasty of powerful chieftains that dominated the island for six centuries.  He had many sons, both known and unknown to himself.  His descendants were the most powerful rulers of Ireland until the 11th century.  Often times the House of Niall fought amongst each other vying for kingship of the Irish provinces as well as high kingship of Ireland which ruled from the hill of Tara.  This story follows the sons of Niall that became kings.  It also details the rise of Christianity through the missionary efforts of a former slave captured by Niall who is known today as Saint Patrick.


The first book in the series, "Niall and the Irish Pirates", is being offered as a free promotional Kindle download this weekend (August 22 - 24).

Elijah at Horeb: The Voice in the Wilderness

I Kings 19:9 - Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

11 So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 14 Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”  NASB

When we see major events happen around us, we need to listen carefully for the voice of God and His message.  It is not in the earthquake or fire that God caused.  Rather it is in the sound of the gentle wind blowing which represents the spirit of the living God; a spirit that wishes to convey messages from heaven for our benefit.

Yesterday morning I saw a license plate on the vehicle in front of me that had three 7s and then a space followed by some letters.  Later that day I saw another plate from an out of state car with three 7s followed by a space and letters.  Both times I remember thinking what an odd coincidence.  Then, after work I went home and mowed my sister’s lawn with a push mower.  I did a lot of walking throughout the day and was curious as to how many steps I had taken so I checked my pedometer right before going to bed.  It read 14,000 steps, another multiple of seven.  So I started thinking that God had a message in the number 777. 

After thinking about the number of triple 7s, I remembered that both Malaysian planes that went down recently were Boeing 777s.  It occurred to me that these airliners were the earthquake and fire from God before He spoke.  They were aimed at getting His people to listen for the sound of the gentle wind and understand its' message.  So what was the message?  The number 7 represents perfection and God’s creation for he created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.  So maybe the message was in the number 777.  I went to http://www.biblewheel.com/GR/GR_Database.php and entered the number 777 to search for Hebrew words within the Bible that have that same Gematria (number value when you add up the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew letters).  Following are the results of this search.

All the Words in the Bible with Sum = 777

Text Strong's First Occurrance

מתושאל  H4967 Methuwsha'el / Methusael - Genesis 4:18

בעשתה  H6213 `asah / do - Leviticus 4:27

בתשעה  H8672 tesha` / nine - Leviticus 23:32

ותישנהו  H3462 yashen / sleep - Judges 16:19

ושאלתם  H7592 sha'al / ask – 1 Samuel 25:5

ותשליכהו  H7993 shalak / cast - Job 18:7

ואתמשל  H4911 mashal / like - Job 30:19

למשאות  H4876 masshuw'ah / destruction - Psalms 74:3

כאשכלות  H0811 'eshkowl / cluster - Song of Solomon 7:8

השבעת  H7646 saba` / satisfy - Ezekiel 27:33

אתעקרו  H6132 `aqar (Aramaic) / plucked - Daniel 7:8

I would encourage the reader to read these verses in their context in the order of the list as I believe there may be a distinct message being presented.  For example, Methusael was a descendant of the Biblical Cain that killed Abel.  His name means “Man of God” according to Strong’s Concordance Hebrew meaning.  In Aramaic it means “Who demands his death”.  When you combine the meanings, you have “Man of God who demands his death”.  The next two occurrences of words with the 777 gematria deal with repentance/forgiveness.  Leviticus 4:27 concerns unintentional sins and bringing offerings for forgiveness once the individual becomes aware of his guilt.  Leviticus 23:32 is about preparing for the Day of Atonement (Judgement Day).  Verse 32 states that the day before the Day of Atonement – “It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath” NASB.  I Samuel 25:5 is in the context of David helping protect Nabal and then Nabal not returning the favor but returning evil for the good that David had done for Nabal.  Job 18:7 tells of the wicked’s schemes bring them down.  Job 30:19 is about Job, a righteous person, suffering and being humiliated in front of people.  Therefore the theme of these passages seems to be focused on God’s people, their sins and repentance in preparation for Judgment Day, and their suffering from wicked people and resultant humiliation in the world’s eyes.  In Psalms 74, the psalmist asks why God has rejected his people and allowed the enemies of God to triumph.  He reminds God to remember His covenant with His people.

The rest of passages start with a description of the beautiful bride followed by passages of judgment.  Song of Solomon 7 is a physical description of the bride (God’s people) by the admiring bridegroom (God).  Then Ezekiel 27 describes the destruction of Tyre which could easily describe the destruction of America.  The final passage in Daniel 7 is about the 11^th king, the Little Horn or Antichrist.

To me the message is clear.  God’s people need to repent and prepare for the Day of Atonement.  It will be forgiveness and salvation for those that repent, but will be judgment and destruction for those that don’t.  In the end the Antichrist will be destroyed and God’s Kingdom established with God's Messiah as King. 

 The Kingdom of God is very near!  The sound of the gently blowing wind is speaking to those that are careful to listen.  The Turtle Dove has indeed arrived in the land.