New Shoes!

If you want to help someone, stop by a nursing home and find out the needs of some of the indigent patients. Ms. Edna needed new tennis shoes, so imagine her delight when I presented her with a new pair. (SO inexpensive, but a wealth of happiness for her and me!)

I asked,  "What else can people do to help?" The nurse said that giving manicures to these elderly ladies would be a blessing. Check it out! 

Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church

To be honest, I worried about my lily white self visiting this historic African American church today.  Be assured, that although no one welcomed me or spoke to me, this was one of the most meaningful worship services I have ever been to in my 40 years of regular church attendance. I was an hour late, but the sermon was just beginning. The Reverend delivered a powerful message from Acts, and  after taking 5 pages of notes, I was sorry to see the service end.

   As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the civil rights movement in Alabama, I am so thankful I live here in this beautiful area which is so rich in history.

Let's Pretend

Let's pretend it's a perfect world.
Let's pretend there is no poverty,
nor is there anyone out there who is lonely
or needs a human touch.
Let's pretend that when people die they are surrounded by all those who love them.

Ok, let's imagine there's no Potter's Field,
that houses are not taken away because one can't pay his taxes,
or that everyone has an adequate wardrobe and stays warm during the winter months
or has plenty of food to eat.

Life isn't like this.
Look around!
Reach out and help someone!
Visit an indigent nursing home and hug someone.
Volunteer at a food bank or read to a child.
Teach a skill to those less fortunate.

YOU will be blessed.

I will miss you Billy Fielding!

Great Books

Carry Me Home  (Diane McWhorter)
Road to Freedom  (Julian Cox)
Down Home  (Bob Adelman)
Encounters  (Kathryn Tucker Windham)
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (Walker Evans)

7 (Jen Hatmaker)  Humorous in every way, on every page, Jen writes with a flair that makes one feel they are part of the scene. I found myself laughing out loud, identifying with her girlfriends and raising kids as when I was her age, but also identifying in my latter days as I minister with Chaplain Browder with the homeless, poverty and ex-inmates.  Day 8 Month 6-my favorite that hit home!

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount  (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
The Hole in our Gospel  (Richard Stearns)
Crazy Love  (Chan)
Radical  (David Platt)
Love Does (Bob Goff)

n----- Dick Gregory (some offensive language but tears will flow as you read this account of his life) His title is the "n" word which I won't write here, so check it out yourself!

same kind of different As me  (Ron Hall & Denver Moore)
Leaving Gees Bend  (Irene Latham)
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Carson McCullers)
The Member of the Wedding (Carson McCullers)

Coming of Age in Mississippi (Anne Moody) (language can be offensive, but the story is true and absolutely amazing)

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Uncle Tom's Cabin  (Stowe) (this book will break your heart!)
Black Boy

The Great Gatsby (F Scott Fitzgerald) & museum in Montgomery, Alabama
                              fitzgerald in montgomery

The Swan House (Musser) Having lived in Atlanta and roamed the entire area as a photographer,  I was mesmerized throughout the whole book wherever the author took us as the story unfolded.

Orphan Train (Kline) (some offensive language, but exceptional novel, based on history, and very well written) This book will be on my top five all time great reads. We can all see ourselves in the story, if we have had family hardships.