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When I first looked at T.D. Jakes' "Help Me, I've fallen and I can't get up," I didn't like the title. All I could see was that earlier t.v. commercial about the elderly woman falling out of the bed and crying for help. The ad just seemed to remind me of my coming old age. T.D. Jakes does write about the broadcast. "Like the woman in the commercial, we must put aside fear, pride, or embarrassment and learn not only how to ask for help but Whom to ask. After all, help is just a breath away." It wasn't long after the first page of the devotional that my mind changed. Thank goodness, God helps us through His Holy Spirit to see truth and think clearly. Each page is powerful and helpful. I can now say, "my goodness, the title is about me." I have fallen and always feel helpless to get back on the right track. This book is like a primer. It describes the way I might have fallen that day. It shows what God would like to see in my charac

Please use caution before reading the link in the last line. When I bought this book, Corregidora by Gayl Jones years ago, I had no idea what the title meant. Corregidora is a family name. We meet Corregidora, and boy, does he leave a big footprint on the face. It's he who is in the stories of Ursa's great grandmother, grandmother and Ursa's mama. He's incorrigible. His life leads us into the lives of the other men and women in the novel. These are the men who enter Ursa's life. Sadly, the men don't come out smelling like roses. This led me to think about the Black man just for a while. For a moment, I wanted to think about what makes a man so mean to the woman he supposedly loves. One like Tadpole, whom I respected at first. I wanted him to care for Ursa and make her feel good about herself. Instead, he humiliates her. She sees the darn man making love to a young woman in their bed. I think she was really young, in her teens? I know, let's bark and

The old black dog comes in one evening with the first few snowflakes on his back and falls asleep, throwing his bad leg out at our excitement. This is the night when one of us gets to say, as if it were news, that no two snowflakes are ever alike; the night when each of us remembers something snowier. The kitchen is a kindergarten steamy with stories. The dog gets stiffly up and limps away, seeking a quiet spot at the heart of the house. Outside, in silence, with diamonds in his fur, the winter night curls round the legs of the trees, sleepily blinking snowflakes from his lashes. versedaily.org/2005/3tkpoems.

At first, I had a hard time liking  "All The Presidents' Gardens" by Marta McDowell. It seemed dry, not very exciting. Soon my feelings changed. I began to read the quotations and quickly scan the pages for details. Shortly I found myself saying, this fact is interesting, and I didn't know about this either.  After all, eighteen acres of land where any part may be filled with a bush, tree, vegetable or rose must have plenty of trivia to learn and read about during the winter when you're not gardening or during the spring, summer, fall when you are gardening heavily. So , Marta McDowell 's non-fiction became a pleasant experience. Not every President of the United States has written about in the book. Only the ones who garden while living at the White House are mentioned. Also in some instances, the wives of the presidents are mentioned. Oh, and gardeners are listed in the book as well. There are pictures. Sadly, they are not in color. I would have liked

"Jesus says God rejoices over each found sheep." New Hope Missionary A.M.E. Zion, August 4, 1833  From 1825 to around 1857, there were African Americans, Native Americans, Irish and German people living in the area now known as Central Park. Marilyn Nelson in My Seneca Village made the men and women live again through poetry and added fictional layers. Thankfully, due to her research and work these ancestors can live again in our minds. Forgetting them is impossible because all of them were individuals. Some lived quiet, ordinary lives and some lived through periods that live on in our history books. The poetry is inspiring. I could hear their screams, see their pottery or  curios, see them walking, running, and I met real heroes and heroines of the past like Nat Turner, Harriet Beecher Stowe,  Emily Dickinson, etc. At the end of the book, there are the poetic forms used by Marilyn Nelson. This early in the Nineteenth century it was surprising to learn that Afric

In Dressed - for - Death by Julianna Deering , there is a Regency masquerade party given at the Cummins' home. At their Winteroak House, there is fun and danger during that time. The party goers are dressed in Regency period costumes. This brings up the subject of literature during their conversations. Jane Austen's novels Emma, Pride And Prejudice and Mansfield Park are discussed along with the poems of Byron. Cotillions and Quadrilles are danced and romance is in the air along with the presence of a protective mother, Mrs. Cummins, Doctor Cummins' wife. There is also the married couple, Nick and Carrie and friends, Drew and Madeleine. There is Alice and her fiance' Talcott or Tal. Tal's parents are Doctor and Mrs. Cummins. There are also inspectors from Scotland Yard and other guests. Usually, I don't  introduce characters in the first paragraph of a book review. This time I wanted to do it. The Christian mystery is definitely character driven. There is t

I am feeling discouraged. It's about Corregidora by Gayl Jones. I tried not to feel down while reading it. It's impossible. There is one four letter word that occurs over and over again. Each page I hope it won't appear. No, it's there again.  The issue is not the plot. The plot is great. There are important issues addressed such as women with careers, men dealing with alcohol and becoming to rough with women and youth striving to find their sexual identity, etc. But the four letter word beginning with " F" dances habitually on the page. Still, the characters seem like living people whom I might have known or know. This is why it's hard not to just throw the novel across the room. There is this bed of underlying compassion and a woman who knows something about life. Plus, I know Gayl Jones is a famous author who wrote many other novels. Perhaps, addressing the issue here will make me read on and finish. It's a small novel. Also, there is dia