Hello World,
My father introduced me to Christianity Today magazine as a child, and I became an avid reader because of the breadth of topics covered in its pages! That’s why I’m excited about my article being among its pages in the January/February issue of the publication. Check out it below:
A Member of the ‘Little Rock Nine’ Counts Her Blessings, One by One
“First appeared in the January/February issue of Christianity Today”
Melba Beals describes how faith helped her flourish amid many trials.
Melba Pattillo Beals received a Congressional Gold Medal for her part in the Little Rock Nine, the group of African American students who brought about the 1957 integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas—an experience recounted in her first memoir, Warriors Don’t Cry. She would go on to work in newspaper and television journalism, earn a doctorate in international multicultural education, and teach journalism at the college level. In her latest book, I Will Not Fear: My Story of a Lifetime of Building Faith under Fire, Beals credits God for guiding her through trying experiences in Arkansas and afterward. Atlanta-based journalist and blogger Jacqueline J. Holness spoke with Beals about the sustaining power of faith.
From the outset of I Will Not Fear, it’s clear that your grandmother, India Annette Payton, provided a strong spiritual foundation. How did her example encourage you as you endured angry white mobs and disapproval from black students at your old high school?
My grandmother always said, “Look, God is right there with you all the time.” To guide you in your thought, to guide you in your feeling, to guide you away from fearing. You have to be aware that you are filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and that will guide what you do. She would say, “God is as close as your skin. He is right there, every moment. So when you feel that something is going wrong, know that God is with you and it will be okay. You will learn a lesson. You will survive.”
To see the rest of the article, go to christianitytoday.com.
Any thoughts?
Mac lands on top of his niece. With his sweaty, contorted face close to hers, he grabs her throat and squeezes. For the second time, I wonder if the heroine is about to die. But just before the life is squeezed from her, she finds a piece of the broken liquor bottle and sinks the shard into his neck! As the blood gushes from his wound, she screams, “Tell me where she is!” Mac got what was coming to him, but if he is dead, what will happen to Grace?! See why God says, vengeance is mine…
Excerpt: Jacob does some cornering of his own when he confronts Basie about a Bass Reeves who contributes large sums of money to Triumph’s bottom line according to Triumph’s books. He wonders about the identity of the mysterious donor as he is unable to locate a contact for this man, who may be able to contribute to legal fees to fight Calvary. Instead of answering Jacob outright, Basie asks his p
the biggest gift he could have ever given me. No material possession could ever match the spiritual riches invested me through the love of this small church. That is why at the head of this blog, I am pictured in the sanctuary of this small church. Everything I’ve become and hope to become can be traced back to what I learned there. It is my foundation and my springboard. From what I’ve read about Annabelle, she felt the same way.
Excerpt: Although I am a committed Christian, I cannot pretend that I have an inkling as to why God chose to call my friend away from this earthly realm. Since her homegoing, as I’ve walked throughout my house or driven somewhere, found myself saying, “Imagine Sherry is no longer here?” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve experienced the passing of friends, family members and church family, but it doesn’t make it easier or predictable. These experiences only emphasize that life is truly a transitory state. We should savor all that this life, though temporal, has to offer, but most importantly, we have to be saved or become a Christian to go to Heaven, which lasts for eternity. So that’s all I have except to say I will miss and love her forever. And I thank God I knew her…Rest well Sherry…Save a seat for me in eternity…