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    A Song of Hope
    A Song of Hope
    A Song of Hope
    Ebook131 pages1 hour

    A Song of Hope

    By Todd Kirby

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Ronnie Murphy was a cop, and the son of a cop. He grew up as a Christian in a Christian home, but he would come to realize that being a Christian doesn't exclude you from having problems... or enemies. As Ronnie grows up, so do his problems and temptations. He has hopes. Hopes for his job, hopes for his family and hopes for his life. When life comes down hard on him, Ronnie has to decide: when is it time to give up hope?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTodd Kirby
    Release dateJul 11, 2017
    ISBN9781370310043
    A Song of Hope
    Author

    Todd Kirby

    Todd Kirby is a true child of the Midwest. Born in Ohio, he grew up in Indiana, lived for a short time in Tennessee and is now raising his family in Kentucky. Todd graduated Cum Laude from Kentucky Christian College with degrees in Bible and Psychology. Todd played bass guitar professionally for several years, touring with the Christian rock band Bleach. He currently alternates between playing bass guitar and electric guitar for his church praise team. Todd's "real job" is building custom websites, but he enjoys writing and has recently published his third book "A Song of Hope". Please feel free to follow Todd on Instagram (@toddkirby97).

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      Book preview

      A Song of Hope - Todd Kirby

      A Song of Hope

      By Todd Kirby

      Copyright © 2017

      All Rights Reserved

      The following is a work of fiction.

      Any relation of the characters and events to actual individuals or events is purely coincidental.

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

      As with all of my books, I need to thank God first for blessing me with abilities and passions to do this kind of thing. I also need to thank my father, Floyd Kirby, and my lovely wife, Kim Kirby, for being willing to edit what I write.

      The following people have also leant their expertise to me involving matters… well… outside of my expertise. Thanks to Brad Vickers and Justin Moose Cockrell.

      CONTENTS

      VERSE 1: Life Lessons

      VERSE 2: First Blood

      CHORUS 1: Questions and Answers

      VERSE 3: New Opportunities

      VERSE 4: Old Friends

      VERSE 5: Temptation

      CHORUS 2: Hope Is Born

      BRIDGE: Hope Is Tested

      CHORUS 3: Hope Thrives

      OUTTRO: Epilogue

      VERSE 1

      (Life Lessons)

      As a child, Ronnie Murphy enjoyed fishing with his father. It didn’t happen often, as Ron Sr. was a second-generation police officer, and rarely allowed himself ‘down time’. When he did though, he took full advantage of the opportunity to teach little Ronnie lessons that would be useful to him as a man. One lazy Saturday afternoon, Ron and Ronnie were fishing at a new pond they had discovered, which was said to be good for bass. They had taken out a little Jon boat that Ron had inherited from his father, and were just starting to get a couple of bites when they heard a commotion coming from the shore.

      Looking over, they saw an elderly couple sitting on a blanket by the water, and a small group of teenagers appeared to be harassing them. Ron Sr. quickly began reeling in his line and told Ronnie, Reel your line in, son.

      What’s going on, Dad?

      Not sure yet, but we better find out.

      Ron Sr. set his pole down in the boat and began rowing toward the shore. Ronnie had barely gotten his line completely reeled in when they touched ground about twenty feet away from where the events were unfolding. Jumping out onto land, Ron Sr. called back without looking, Stay here son, I’ll be right back.

      Of course, being a typical adolescent, Ronnie did nothing of the sort. Tying off the boat, Ronnie snuck close enough to see and hear what was going on, but remained mostly hidden behind a tree. As he watched his father walk quickly toward the ruckus, Ronnie saw his dad pull the edge of his shirt down over the firearm at his waist. Even though Ron Sr. wasn’t on duty today, he never left the house without his firearm and his badge. A police officer is never really off duty, he would say. Although he had never seen Ron Sr. pull his gun, Ronnie maintained a certain level of confidence in just knowing it was there.

      As Ron Sr. approached the youths, he said in a calm voice, Is there a problem here?

      Mind your business. said one of the boys, as he flicked the ashes of a cigarette he was smoking at the elderly couple.

      Son, Ron Sr. started, God didn’t put you on this earth to harass nice people like these fine folks. May I suggest you move on and find your purpose elsewhere?

      The group of boys began walking toward Ron Sr., and surrounding him. Little Ronnie came running up. Standing back-to-back with his dad, Ronnie put up his fists, ready to fight the much bigger boys.

      Ron Sr. smiled at Ronnie’s courage. Then, lifting the edge of his shirt up to reveal his gun and badge on his belt, Ron Sr. said, I think it’s time you boys moved on. I won’t ask again.

      The youths all froze. The one who was speaking before said, You a cop?

      Ron Sr. nodded.

      The boy smiled and said, We was just havin’ some fun. No harm.

      Glad to hear it, Ron Sr. replied as his smile faded.

      The boy motioned to the others and they left.

      Thank you Officer, said the old man on the blanket. My wife and I have been coming here for years, but lately there seems to be a lot of young hoodlums causing trouble. This is the first time they’ve approached us, but it may be the last time we relax here. It’s just not safe anymore.

      Ron Sr. replied, Glad I could help. Are you all okay?

      Yes, just a little shaken up I think. said the older man.

      Well, Ron Sr. went on, I’m going to go back to fishing with my boy. If you all need anything, we’ll be within earshot for a couple more hours. The couple thanked him, and Ron Sr. started heading back to the boat with Ronnie close behind.

      As they were climbing back into the boat, Ron Sr. said, I thought I told you to stay here.

      I couldn’t let you face all those guys alone, Dad. said Ronnie, I’ve heard you say that sometimes you have to disobey orders if it’s the right thing to do.

      As Ron Sr. began rowing back out into the lake, he smiled at his son. Just trying to even the odds, were you? he said.

      That’s right. said Ronnie. There was a lot of those boys, and only one of you.

      Do you know why those boys did that? said Ron Sr.

      Because they’re punks! Ronnie fired back.

      Possibly… Ron Sr. began, but more than likely it’s because they don’t have a dad who takes them fishing and teaches them how to act. Ronnie looked directly at his father, intent on what he was saying. Ron Sr. went on, God has a plan for each of those boys’ lives, and I hope and pray that every one of them realizes that plan. However, it is my job to serve and protect the citizens of this city, and until those boys realize God’s plan for their lives, I will… assist them in their decision-making.

      So if those boys came to our church, you wouldn’t kick them out because of what they did here today? asked Ronnie.

      As he was changing the lure on his pole, Ron Sr. said, No, of course not. The Bible tells us to pray for our enemies. Would you like to pray for them right now? Ron Sr. could tell by the look on his son’s face that Ronnie wasn’t completely in agreement with the idea, so Ron Sr. offered, That’s okay, I’ll pray. As they both bowed their heads, Ron Sr. prayed, Lord, thank you for the opportunities that you give us and for protecting us. God, we want to lift up those boys that were causing trouble today, and ask that you touch their hearts. Help them to grow into the men you want them to be, that they would know your salvation and your love. We ask this in the name of Jesus, amen.

      Ronnie said Amen quickly and cast his line out into the water. It took a little while for the fish to start biting again, but they did. And Ron Sr. and Ronnie enjoyed the next few hours of leisure time before heading back home with a nice mess of fish for Mrs. Murphy to fry that night.

      The life lessons continued for young Ronnie as he grew up. In middle school, he joined a community little league team, and became a pretty good two-way player as a pitcher and a hitter. He was developing leadership skills as well, and was quickly tabbed as a team captain. By his second year, Ronnie’s team was ranked #2 heading into the tournament. In the final practice before the tourney started, the team was scrimmaging and Ronnie’s side was winning handily. The head coach called time and walked up to the mound where Ronnie was pitching.

      Ronnie, said the coach, I’d never tell you to do this in an actual game, but why don’t you let them get a hit. You’re winning 9-0. Just don’t make it look obvious, okay? Ronnie nodded, and the coach went back to third base where he was standing.

      The final boy up to bat was a slugger, but he couldn’t hit a curveball to save his life. Ronnie knew the catcher’s first signal would be for a curveball, which it was, but Ronnie waived it off. With a quizzical look, the catcher’s next sign was for a knuckleball, which Ronnie also waived off. The catcher looked around at his coaches and dropped his hands to his side. Then, as if being sarcastic, he gave the sign for a fastball. Ronnie nodded. The catcher looked shocked, as if he didn’t really mean to offer that one, but as Ronnie wound up, the catcher quickly got into position.

      The pitch was a straight burner down the middle,

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