For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved God, writing, and telling stories. I was brought up in a home where God was the Center of everything. My grandmother whom we lived with was a pastor. Our church started out in the basement of our home. Needless to say, there was never an excuse for missing service – my siblings and I just had to walk downstairs. One would think that at playtime the furthest thing from our minds would be church – not the case.
When we had free time, my brothers and I would play church. I was always voted the pastor and they were the deacons and congregation. After I preached, they took offerings so we could pay the bills. After church, mock chicken dinners were served which consisted of ‘Mary Janes, potato chips and squirrels.’
Adult life was very different. Although I loved God with all of my heart, I never envisioned nor wanted to be a minister. I saw what my grandmother went through, the hurts, disappointments that come with helping people, and the negative criticisms ministers receive from the world AND the Christian community. Nah! I never wanted to be a preacher of the gospel. But when God calls, if you’re smart you’ll listen. As I began to study God’s Word and serve in ministry, I found out something about myself. I loved God’s people and I loved ministering to them.
Of all the books I’m currently working on, it’s no fluke that the one on praise is the first one published. To be honest, it didn’t start out as a book. It was something I did in my personal time with God. The whole concept was birthed out of my intimate time with Him. I’m as surprised as anyone else of His request to put in writing what I did privately.
Even the cover is a reminder of His wonderfulness. When I first saw the cover, I was moved to tears. I didn’t quite know why – I thought initially it was because it was the first book of mine that was in print. Not so. After I left my publisher’s office and went home, I couldn’t help staring at the cover asking Holy Spirit why I was so stirred when looking at the cover. No immediate answer came so I just moved on to something else. But then I began to praise God for the “vision coming to pass,” I took a familiar stance to praise and Holy Spirit whispered “do you see how you’re standing?” I answered “Yes?” His reply was “No – do you see how you’re standing?” I was puzzled because “what did how I was standing” have to do with the cover. Then I got it, my stance in private praise was emulated by the girl on the cover. No one knew that but my Precious Three (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) and me. So when I look at that cover, I’m reminded that what we do privately – God rewards openly.
If you were to ask what motivates me most, unequivocally I would tell you – “it’s the love of God.”
