should be using that drawing talent.
There are people who know that I’ve written two books. Did I make some money? Yes. Did I make the New York Times Best Seller’s list? No. Do you want to know my goal? Maybe it’s not important to you. My goal is to have a book on the New York Times Best Seller’s list. Do you think that I can reach it? I know many are saying No way. He’s got to be crazy. Yes, that’s right, you got to be crazy to have a big dream. Do I think that I can reach it? Yes, I do. All I have to do is to work at it. Believe in myself and believe in God. For with God, all things are possible. For all you negative people out there who said that I would never write a book, all glory goes to God. For without him, I can do nothing.
I’m not a person who’s a great English scholar, nor a person who has taken writing classes. I’m gifted from the creator and maker of the entire universe. I’m anointed by the highest God. Negative people, you may slow me down, but you can’t stop me. You may stomp me down, but I’m going to pop up somewhere else. You may hook a huge ball and chain to me, but I will drag you all the way to my finish line. As I travel down this highway to following my dream. You may throw a large rock in my pathway to stop me. You may dig a ditch for me to fall in. Let me tell you, I’m not going through you. I’m going around you. When God is for you, who can be against you? The last job I worked on I was being discussed in a conversation by my former coworkers. They were making fun of me, telling each other how will I get to Popeye’s? How will he take this certain girl out on a date? I guess he will ride her on his back? To those negative people who thought it was so funny, I’m here to let you know my Jehovah Yirei—which means the Lord, my provider—He had provided me with a car in which I didn’t have to pay a penny. Thanks to the Almighty God and thanks to Reverend Roger Green for giving me a car.
Negative people will form their opinion about you when they don’t even know you. Negative people don’t judge you by the inside, but the outside.
Negative people, I don’t fear you. I look to Jehovah Shlomi, the Lord, my peace. I look to Jehovah Rophi, the Lord, my healer. I look to Jehovah Roi, the Lord. my Shepherd.
To every man, woman, boy, girl in this world, I want to let you know I love and care about you all. Little kids living in this world, don’t let negative people stop you. The little kids of Trout Creek Baptist Church youth choir motivate me with their outstanding singing talent. I’m so proud of them. I want all of you to be the best that you can be. Put God first, and you can climb any mountain. I want you all to know that it’s not where you start that matters. It’s how you finish.
Once upon a time, when little Archie attended school, he wore holes in his clothes and barely finished high school. During his entire school days, little Archie was laughed at, talked about, and didn’t get a date with the girls.
Nowadays, that same little Archie has people all over the world buying his clothes.
Little boys and girls, if someone offer you drugs or alcohol, say no. If your friend offers drugs and alcohol, say no. A true friend will not offer you drugs and alcohol. And if so, they will not pressure you into doing it after they have asked you once. If they do get involved in these things, you need to cut away from them. They will drag you into the same ditch they are in. They also could be selling drugs without you knowing they do. The police will judge you as doing it too, just because you are hanging out with them, and you are just an innocent person.
Tell them if they want to give you something, give you some money, and then you will soon find out about that person.
My advice to all people is to be positive. Stay away from negative people. Negativism will bring fear, and with fear comes high blood pressure and other sickness. Feed your adrenalin gland with positive thoughts and see how much better you will feel and your life will be. So quit downgrading a person to make yourself look good, because when in fact you are showing the real vulnerability of yourself.
chapter 8
SAM AND LINDSAY
Once upon a time, there was a guy named Sam and a girl named Lindsay. Lindsay was a very pretty girl with a nice body. Sam took interest in her when he first saw her.
“Girl, you are the one. Girl, I would give you the moon and stars,” he said smiling.
Lindsay had never dated anyone, being a fifteen-year-old girl; she had never had anyone to take interest in her. Boys were always intimated by her beautiful looks.
As time went by, Lindsay had fallen in love with playboy Sam. The next thing to happen in their relationship is that Lindsay became pregnant. Once she gave birth, Sam was nowhere to be found.
As the baby boy grew, Lindsay would always plead to Sam about taking care of his responsibility and spending time with him whenever she would run into Sam.
Sam, being the ladies’ man, or “True-Player” they called him, would shout out, “Oh please, girl, I ain’t got time for y’all. I got to go make a reck-effect.” To Sam, reck-effect meant that it was his intent to make another girl pregnant as he has six kids at age seventeen.
Lindsay would become very hurt by his words as she would break down and cry. To add to insult, Sam would go around bragging to the other guys about the number of kids he has and about the weakness of girls.
As years passed by, Sam’s other five kids had dropped out of school as teenagers. Lo and behold, Lindsay and her son had persevered through the tough times, as her son became a high school all-American baseball player in the ninth grade. Colleges where sending him letters to invite him to attend their school.
He was being talked about on ESPN Sports as the best high school player in the United States. Once Sam had heard about his son’s great accomplishment, he started coming around telling his son that he was his real father and if he needed something, he was willing to help him with anything.
Corey told his daddy that he had already known about him and that he was never around in their life. Corey told him that he remembered from time to time when his mother would run across him pleading for money and for him to take up time with them, but he would always refuse. Corey told him how he remember when he would slap his mother around just to keep her mouth close.
During Corey’s early years of growing up, it was Lindsay’s boyfriend, David, who spent time with him. He taught him to play basketball, football, and baseball. It was David who helped teach him to say “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am.” It was David who helped buy his clothes. It was David who treated him as though he was his real father.
Once a week, Sam would come over to visit Lindsay and Corey. “Sam, you really do come around often,” Lindsay said, smiling. “Why now?”
Sam with a puzzled look on his face turned to look at Corey, then took in a deep breath and exhaled. “I think that Corey needs his real father to be there for him,” Sam pleaded.
“Where were you when Corey was a baby growing up?” Lindsay asked.
“Wait, Mother. I will handle this,” Corey said. “I respect the fact that you are my biological father, and that will never change. I love you, and I would do anything I can to help you if you were in a desperate situation. I remember being a small boy seeing you around different places, having my mother pulling and tugging on you, begging and pleading with you to come around and spend time with us, but no you would curse her and beat her. You know? Anybody can be a daddy, but anybody can’t be a father. As far as I’m concerned, David is my father,” Corey said.
“‘Oh please, girl, I ain’t got time
