I recently received some news that
grabbed my attention—and my heart. A friend who still lived in my hometown told
me that one of our former high school teachers, Bob Ferris, had died.
I wasn’t surprised to hear of the
death of a man who was at least twenty years older than I am as I’m certainly
no spring chicken myself, but Bob Ferris?
The handsome teacher with the Boston
accent who reminded us of the Kennedys and made us silly high school girls
swoon?
Of course, his popularity ran a lot
deeper than his good looks. Bob Ferris taught honors English, but he also
taught creative writing, and I was a student in both. But I believe the basis
of his popularity was that he challenged us to dig deeper, to think harder, to
work more diligently—and to pursue our God-given dreams.
I’m not a hoarder and have very few
souvenirs of my high school days, but I did keep some of the essays and term
papers and poems I wrote during that time. When I heard of Mr. Ferris’s death,
I dug out some of those papers and looked through them again, concentrating on
his red-ink remarks: “Provocative thinking!” “I don’t agree with your opinion,
but I admire the way you presented it.” And my favorite: “So long as you can
write like this, your life is on!”
Those words rang in my ears long
after I’d received my high school diploma, and they encouraged me to keep going
and not give up when I decided to pursue a career in writing and promptly began
to receive countless rejections. But it wasn’t until after I became a Christian
at the age of 26 that I discovered Bob Ferris was also a believer. Though he
didn’t have an opportunity to preach or witness to me when I was in his class,
he certainly used his faith and platform to speak into my life, and I will
always be grateful for that. He was willing to go the extra mile, to take a bit
more time, and to offer a ray of hope. He taught me that “paying it forward” is
a wonderful way to leave a lasting legacy behind. His is an example I try to
emulate every chance I get.
The Singing Quilt by Kathy Macias
Jolissa
Montoya believes God is calling her to work with the disadvantaged
children in her inner-city neighborhood. There’s only one problem: The
children wouldn’t be able to understand her. Jolissa suffers from a
speech impediment and has a thick accent because Spanish is her first
language. Ridiculed through much of her youth, she is quite shy and
reticent to speak. She is convinced that what God has spoken to her
heart is impossible. Impossible, that is, until one day when her
confidante shows her a quilt—a quilt that depicts the life of a
courageous woman. Can another woman’s courage move her to try the
impossible and step out and follow God wherever He leads her?
About Author Kathy Macias:
Kathi
Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored more than 40
books and ghostwritten several others. A former newspaper columnist and
string reporter, Kathi has taught creative and business writing in
various venues and has been a guest on many radio and television
programs. Kathi is a popular speaker at churches, women’s clubs and
retreats, and writers’ conferences. She won the 2008 Member of the Year
award from AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association) and was the
2011 Author of the Year from BooksandAuthors.net. Her novel set in
China, Red Ink, was named Golden Scrolls 2011 Novel of the Year and was also a Carol Award Finalist; her October 2012 release, Unexpected Christmas Hero,
was named 2012 Book of the Year by BookandAuthors.net. She has recently
taken the position of Senior Vice President of Acquisitions for Elk
Lake Publishing. Kathi “Easy Writer” Macias lives in Homeland, CA, with
her husband.
PURCHASE LINKS FOR THE SINGING QUILT
GET TO KNOW KATHI MACIAS ON:
No comments:
Post a Comment