Proverbs 7:1-3: "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart."
It causes my heart to be sorrowful when I see so many people pass by my table at my book signings, and even with just the mention of writing books that are Christian that help build character, they quickly rush off with seemingly no interest. It may be they don't have any children in their lives, but I know it's not always the case because sometimes they have children with them. I notice that parents avoid me more than the older generation, and yet there are definitely exceptions. There are people who stop and thank me for putting out good books to help families and children. Some are very excited to use the books to draw closer to their children as they discuss things such as godly character together.
Children look at me, wave to me and smile and truly cheer me! Some parents quickly gather their children and keep them moving! Ha ha! It's really funny! It's probably because they don't want their children asking to buy something. I've been there! I really try not to take rejection personally, because I know that I typically avoid eye contact with people who are selling something, especially when I'm in a hurry, which most of the people I see are in a hurry. There are actually surprisingly more people than I would expect who are friendly and smile, say "hi" back, and some stop by to chat and even buy a book or two. One mom came by with her daughter to see "a real author!" She was so precious!
One gentleman at my last book signing commented about the Ferguson trial. Police brutality is wrong and inexcusable, but this situation, as sad as it is to see anyone die, was not a result of police brutality. One lesson that this should bring to us all is the importance of teaching our children to have respect for those in authority. Another important life lesson is do not take that which is not yours. Care for your community, don't endanger it with fire and riots. Hang out with the right crowd. Take care of your body. Be a faithful and dependable person. Fear God. Obey the law. Honor your parents. Be honest and trustworthy. These are some examples of things I teach in my book, I Will Stand. This gentleman bought my I Will Stand book. He was excited to see a book that would help our next generation.
If you don't have any children at home, do you have grandchildren, whom you could go through the book with to teach basic, godly character to make them strong and capable to get through the hard times in life? Have you ever considered doing a neighborhood Bible study? How about teaching Sunday School at your church? What about a family devotion time? This book would be a very helpful tool to get the discussion started.
God bless you this Christmas, and I'd like to challenge you to try to get a group together to go through this book, or the Bible (but my book has a lot of Bible verses in it), or even a similar book, and make a difference in the lives of those you care about. Let's work together to help guide this next poor lost generation into good, pure living to live powerful, enriching lives that lack regret and tragedy. God bless you!
(also available at amazon.com, barnes and noble.com, and the marketplace)
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