Well we've made it through our first tropical storm of the season here in Louisiana. Although, Cristobal hit east of me, we still go on alert anytime something like this is in the Gulf. I pray all of you, dear friends, in Cristobal's path fare well. I've also noticed by some Facebook posts, our friends in the north are still getting some snow. Wow...send that cooler weather down here please. We need to keep our Gulf waters cool as long as possible!
N. N. Light's Book Heaven is hosting a huge audiobook promotion and giving away 5 gift cards (see sidebar to enter). Other than that, not too much else going on in my world so without much further ado, let me introduce to you my guest, fellow Pelican Book Group author, Shirley Raye Redmond.
Shirley is not brand new to our blog, but it's been quite a while since she was in our spotlight, so please give her a warm SWLA WELCOME!
Her children’s book, LEWIS & CLARK: A PRAIRIE DOG FOR THE PRESIDENT (Random House) was a Children’s Book of the Month Club selection.
Shirley Raye holds an M.A. in literature and has been married to her husband Bill for over forty years. They live in New Mexico and are blessed with two grown children and four precious grandchildren. Touch bases at shirleyrayeredmond.com or Facebook.
Welcome, Shirley! Please share what words are on your heart today.....
Biographies Matter
When I was in 5th grade I read more than 300 library books and wrote a brief paragraph about each one. My teacher, Miss Cornelius and the school librarian were thrilled. At the end of the year awards assembly, they presented me with an embarrassment of prizes—including a lap desk with an assortment of pens, pencils, and writing paper inside. It was my pride and joy for a long time.
Looking back, I realize that many of the books I read that year were biographies. How
I loved learning about Annie Oakley, Dolley Madison, Amelia Earhart and Abigail Adams. Even now I still love reading biographies and memoirs. Why? There are several reasons.
Biographies bring history to life. World War II becomes more than dates and places when one reads about Corrie Ten Boom’s trials and tribulations in a concentration camp. Ecuador becomes vividly real when one reads about Elisabeth Elliot eating roast monkey while evangelizing the savage Waorani tribe. The battle for civil rights takes on flesh when one reads about little Ruby Bridges, who had to be escorted to elementary school by US Marshals.
Biographies make me want to be a better person. Reading about surfer Bethany Hamilton makes me want to be braver. Reading about Florence Nightingale makes me want to be more caring. Reading about Pandita Ramabai—a female Hindu scholar who converted to Christianity—makes me want to be bolder in my faith.
Biographies provide us with valuable life lessons. Young athletes and others cannot help but be encouraged by the life of runner Wilma Rudolph, who overcame crippling polio to go on to win gold medals in the Olympics. The musically inclined will admire Mahalia Jackson, who overcame poverty and prejudice to earn the title of gospel music queen. Although paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, Joni Eareckson Tada’s experiences teach all of us about faith, prayer, and determination. She didn’t let her disabilities prevent her from achieving a reputation as a gifted mouth artist, talented vocalist, and author.
Christian biographies encourage us to keep running the good race. Living in a culture addicted to mediocrity, we need to be inspired by believers who struggled against sin and adversity to triumph in the end—people who served as salt and light in this troubled world.
Biographies should be a staple in our in our diet—especially in the diet of our children and grandchildren. As author Os Guinness has written, “…great lives do more than teach. They stir, challenge, rebuke, amuse and inspire at levels of which we are hardly aware.”So when was the last time you read a good biography? Maybe it’s time to do so again. You won’t even have to write a book report.
Shirley's latest book, Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Daring Women of God can be purchased at Amazon, B&N and Christian Book.com
Wow, Shirley, your post reminds me of the Vocational Biographies I wrote early in my career! Great information. Thanks for sharing!
Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll check back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight. Be sure and leave a comment to enter my monthly gift card giveaway!
Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT
6 comments:
I enjoy biographies too. I have read some great books about explorers over the years.
Hi Shirley! I agree with you. Biographies bring history to life. I enjoyed your latest "Courageous World Changers." You have a lot of inspiring biographies in that book.
This is wonderful! I love biographies. I'll be sharing this with my family.
Like you, Shirley, I loved reading biographies when I was younger. They are often inspiring. I loved bios of world changers. So good for young people! Best wishes.
I love reading journals also. So useful for us historical authors.
Five granddaughters love fiction. Five grandsons prefer nonfiction. That difference surprised me. Yet, they all enjoy biographies. I suppose those are a combination: a little of each.
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