To Parents and Grandparents

Guiding our Children and our Grandchildren
by Mary E. Preece

All day I have thought about what is happening in society and is there anything anyone can do.
I believe we can one child at a time if as parents and grandparents we offer ourselves to them as mentors and take time to talk with them in Christian love.
Realizing that many reading this will say, "Oh she is just another religious fanatic," does not matter to me. We have too many Christians who will not stand up for what they think is right is why this country has gotten in the shape it is in right now. Being politically correct has gotten to the point of being sickening.
No one wants to hear or read what the Bible says on any subject they are turning deaf ears and blinded eyes to the topics of morality and truth. As in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah are the times of today.
We have seen and heard so much that society is numb to the things going on right under our noses and before our eyes. Did we not have enough sin in this world for our young people to be enticed by that we have to now open up every avenue of corruption unto them to explore to make it even more impossible for them to go down a road that is straight. Provocative, risque ways to dress, butch and gothic ways to dress, lascivious and lustful thoughts as well as many evil thoughts that are sometime acted upon,
combined with the elements of drugs, alcohol, pornography, mutilating their bodies with all-over tattoos, body piercings and the overwhelming pressure to try the gay lifestyle is killing our young people by destroying their minds and in turn is destroying today's moral values in our society.
Parents wake-up and be parents to your children. If you have been too lenient in allowing them to try anything they so choose,see if you can start to deter it before it is too late. If these young people who have all-over body tattooing decides ten years from now that they no longer want to look that way and ask you why you let them do that to themselves, what will you tell them? What about the tiny rosebuds that will blossom into full fledged roses as the young lady puts on weight ten years from now. Or the name of a special boy or girl on the teenagers arm and then they marry another won't be too nice for the spouse.
Be strong enough to explain to them that is not something that you can abide by. Be the parents they need, not the buddies they want to hang out with. If your daughter or son who are barely teenagers decide they are gay have compassionate extensive talks with them, take them to a professional therapist, or take them to a minister but don't so casually dismiss it or think it is perfectly alright,because it may be something they want you to really talk to them about and guide them another way.
Don't agree for them to go that route. Too many are choosing that way because it is "cool" to them or peer pressure is enticing them to try it. Love them through the crisis and teach them that that lifestyle is sin, but sin of homosexuality can be forgiven just as any other sin except one. Teach them about the Bible and that Jesus loves them but wants a better life for them. Teach them why God made man and woman for each other and that it was essentially for procreation. Teach them there is more to life that sex exploration.
Teach them there is a movement underway to undermind everything that the Bible stands for from the creation to the ways of salvation. The movement wants to do away with life as a Christian knows it. Everything that was once wrong is now right and everything that was once right is now wrong. That should not be. Our country was founded on the belief in God and all the good and moral things that go along with it. Some want to deny that fact or misconstrue it. Back in the fifties things were not perfect but the tv shows were clean, positive and taught morality in a light and easy way to understand. The commercials were the same way. Too much has changed since then and no one can say it is for the better, with all the advancement in technology has come a generation of people who solely live for fun and entertainment.They can see and hear anything they choose to and some have no restrictions to the use of a computer which can be the ruination of their lives for the internet is infiltrated with the worst of society preying on the young in many ways. Parents check on what your children are viewing and who they may be talking to for their safety's sake.
Beside all the monitoring and guidance you give them think about taking them to church somewhere that teaches the Bible and is not afraid to teach it. They need to learn about a God that loves them but also the same God will not be mocked and used. Teach them about an evil one called Satan or the Devil who is ready to take them to a place that is not where they will be happy to be. Teach them that there is a real Hell to shun and a Heaven to gain if they choose to do God's will in their life. Their life can be so much better if they choose to follow Him rather than what the secular society is offering. Surely no one would disagree that following the commandments of the Bible and the Beatitudes as well as the greatest commandment of all to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and "to love thy neighbor as thyself" is far better than the paths so many are taking today.
"We are living in a society," I heard a man say, "where women worry more about transgressing the fashion of today than they do about transgressing the laws of God." That is sad. Men seem to worry about every thing that has a motor in it that can be started and revved up, or anything else that can bring them fun. It is easy to see then how little children have more toys than ever in history because the parents love so many material things themselves. When the children are tired of the playthings they can hardly be given away but end up in landfills, as does the excesses of things their parents have over accumulated. Vanity and pride are in excess in society and often determines if young people fit in with the right crowd and will only if they have the social status of having money and things. That has always been part of society's rules. With the love of God in ones life a child can learn that they are just as good as the next person and can find peace within themselves that society cannot give them.
If there are any young people reading this I pray with all my heart that you look to God for guidance and do not jump into a lifestyle that is morally and ethically wrong for you. Remember what you do today will help determine who you are tomorrow. Choose God's way and live the happiest life you've ever known, for He loves you so much that He gave His son to die for your sins and my sins and all mankind. Read about Him, study about Him, talk to Him, pray to Him He is as close as your next breath and the next batting of your eyelids.

BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU VIEW

It is sad that when we view a Blog that is interesting to us, we may have an inclination to view another and what do we find but perhaps something we would not willing go to at all right in our face. So be very careful about viewing Blogs that you have not been invited to view. With my Blog you do not have to worry and that is the way with many, but not all unfortunately. So, choose wisely what you decide to look at and remember one Blog is not attached to another, they are randomly displayed.

Is secularism a religion?

There are so many things discussed and so many things debated over religion, and the religion referred to, most always is in a spiritual sense relating to how one feels about God or whether one believes in God or whose God is the real God. But in fact can't we make religon out of most anything we have a deep conviction about. If we wholeheartedly think there is nothing in this world that gives us gratification and peace of mind the way baseball for example does, isn't that a religion in itself, and can't that go for anything that we love or have our whole being wrapped up in?

Thinking that secularism is the answer to the world's problem is only creating another religious concept to divide the nations over and will only cause more problems in the future. A utopian society will never exist. There will always be evil in this mortal flesh. It cannot overcome itself. Taking religion concerning Christianity and God out of this nation basically I believe is what the secularist hope to attain. Which is a religion it itself because it is the agenda of those who want a secularist society.

Singing the old-time songs

What do we sing?Recently I compiled a group of songs that are sung back here in the Mountains of Eastern Kentucky. These songs are picked up by any one singer and learned to the best of their ability by hearing someone else sing them or by making up a tune themselves. We have congregational singing but not choir singing. Any time there is a lull in the meeting thensome fine brother or sister will start something often just at the right time to feed the whole congregation. Often times those songs aren't in a book anywhere and no one knows them except the person singing them. That was the purpose of the songbook to give copies of those songs to others in order for them to be able to be blessed at home with them or in church if they so choose to sing them.
The book consists of songs that have been in the public domain for years, then there are new songs that familiar artists sing, songs of writers in Eastern Ky. who have had them in other song books, and then there are the family songs or old fireside songs that have been sung for generations. Singing is a mixed genre at our church, but as long as it is truthful and spiritual it will surpass.
One of the favorites and sung nearly every church time is Am I a Soldier of the Cross. It is many years old but still one of the best songs of all time, I think, anyway. Then the old family songs like "Don't you want to hear the angels sing?"And another favorite "Mother Dear Never Fear for Your Savior is Near." Just liven up our meetings and tend to touch all those attending.

Links to other Bloggers

I would like to take this time to share with you the following links to great bloggers and their Blogs


Shelagh Watkins
http://shelaghs.blogspot.com

Dick Stodhgill
http://stodg.blogspot.com/

Feel free to post your Christian views here on the comments forum

Hello once again to all my friends and readers of this blog I have created. I created this blog to get everyone acquainted with my books that have been published.

Now I would like to extend it a little further by adding my comments on my faith to it.

My books represent the best part of who I am and I pray that my love of Jesus Christ comes through them so that you might want to know Him as I do.

Without Him I am nothing, but with Him all good things are possible for me and for you!

I feel time is getting short and whether the end of time comes as we know it for all of us or whether the end comes first for you and or for me individually we need to be ready to meet our maker. Make your peace calling and election sure for Heaven, I already have.

I am so blessed because my husband and my two children and their spouses have all been born again. Nothing in this world even worldly fame over published books can ever compare to the glorious knowledge that we are Heaven bought and Heaven bound.

Please do not allow my country way of talking or explaining my views keep you from posting your comments.

2007 Beginnings to a Great Year

Happy New Year Everyone! Let us start this New Year out with peace and love for our fellowman. Let us give God the Praise and Glory for all good things that come our way!

Year 2006 was very good to me. I had two books published with Publish America, In This Valley I Grew, Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow and it proved to be enjoyed by hundreds of people if not thousands which I am very happy about for a first time author. My second book Poems, Prayers and Promises ISBN 1-4241-0250 has been well-received as well. Both may be purchased at all online stores: www.publishamerica.com www.amazon.com www.barnesandnoble.com www.booksamillion.com www.campusi.com www.forbesbookclub.com www.warriorministries.com
and many more bookstores online.

Besides the books aforementioned I have been pleased to have had 4 children's books self-published with instantpublisher.com and two other books with them. They are listed below and may be purchased by contacting me akpreece@hotmail.com or kksmom55@yahoo.com

Mamaw's Selections for the Very Young +
A Rock, A Straw and Shoestrings +
The Secrets of Great Grandpa's Clocks, Grandma's Attic +
The Best Christmas Story Ever: Emotions and Feelings

Living by Faith, the Move to Middlefork
The Way Called Narrow

My next project is a collection of short stories using Appalachian Dialect
Many more other projects are in the works.

Mary E. G. Preece Appalachian Author

Mary E. G. Preece Appalachian Author
I attended the Virginia Higlands Festival in Abingdon, Virginia representing the Appalachian Author's Guild on July 31 for a book signing called Meet the Author. Three different authors were there each day signing. It was very enjoyable

My second book with Publish America has been published and is called Poems, Prayers and Promises of An Appalachian Woman. It is a book of inspirational as well as spiritual poetry, with also a touch of humor. After many poems I tell of my own perosnal beliefs in my Christian life.

I have two children's books out now published by instantpublisher.com. All my books may be purchased by contacting me directly through email akpreece@hotmail.com
Also the Publish America books may be pourchased at most online bookstores.

Ohio River Festival of Books

I hope to attend the Ohio River Festival of Books with the Words and Stuff Bookstore from Van Lear Ky. on April 29th at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington West Virginia. All Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia authors interested in attending may look the festival up on the web to get all details concerning it.

I will have available for sale In This Valley I Grew, Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow ISBN# 1-4137-9399-1

My second book Poems, Prayers, and Promises of An Appalachian Woman will be out shortly please check back for further updates.

In This Valley I Grew, Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow
by Mary Ellen Goble Preece
ISBN: 1-4137-9399-1
Review: Mary Ellen Goble Preece's narrative, In This Valley I Grew, welcomes the reader with homespun stories about Appalachian living. The author recalls people, events, and circumstances that on the surface seem primitive and harsh. Her unpretentious style warms the heart as she presents an era where jobs were scarce and wages were low; where people lived from the land; and where application of the Christian ethic of 'loving thy neighbor as thyself' (Leviticus 19:1 )often made the difference between surviving or starving. The reader cannot help but draw comparisons between subsistence living and the fast-paced, but often uncaring lifestyle, that pervades much of America today. Mrs. Preece's book proves that love of self, of family, of friends, of neighbors, is not borne from material wealth, but from faith-based love--given without limitations, conditions, or attached strings. Mrs. Preece's book invites you to 'set down' in the rocking chair on her front porch where you'll smell the fresh-baked biscuits, wave to a friendly neighbor, and listen to the distant strains of a hammer dulcimer or banjo. Soon she'll join you and begin her recollections. Portions of In This Valley I Grew are suitable for a Smithsonian Museum documentary on twentieth century Appalachian living and culture.
Submitted by: David S. Rosenberg, author Geo-political thrillers: 'No Shortage of Evil' ‘Infusion of Evil' ‘Extension of Evil'
Also: Psychological Thriller: 'Position 12' See: http://www.drosenbergsbooks.com Work in progress: Non-fiction

More Reviews for In This Valley I Grew Review

Review Nov. 9, 2005
IN THIS VALLEY I GREW
Life on Backlog and Happy Hollow
by Mary Ellen Goble Preece
This is a delightful account of an Appalachian family as recalled by the author, Mary Ellen Goble Preece. Set predominately in the fifties she tells of a simple but proud lifestyle. One that endures hard times and in spite of the harsh realities of life, survives by shear determination, hard work and the grace of God. It is sprinkled with good, down home philosophies, stories of heartache, love, and laughter. If you have ever enjoyed such treats as homemade cornbread and fresh churned buttermilk, this will bring back pleasant memories of yesteryear. If you are a child of the current modern society, you will learn just how blessed you are to enjoy today’s modern conveniences. You will learn about making everything from scratch. How to preserve enough food for your family and some extra for a neighbor in need. Making “sugar sweetened French Toast” and “Black Walnut Fudge”; About bitter cold winters with only minimal sustenance and wonderful summers spent roaming the hollow with relatives and friends. Most of all you will have the unique privilege of glimpsing into the heart and soul of the author, her beautiful family, and sharing her true source of strength, an unfailing faith in God.
B. Davis Greer,
Author of "The Pegasus Affair"
ISBN: 1-4137-8817-3
______________________________________________________________________
Oct. 22, 2005
Review of In This Valley I Grew by Mary Ellen Preece In This Valley I Grew, by Mary Ellen Goble Preece, is the heartwarming epoch of an Appalachian family––its early beginnings and present realities––related at times in the style and dialect of this mountainous region. The author is an educated woman in the sense that she knows what it is to be “poor in spirit” and remain rich in spiritual and cultural values she can pass along to her children and grandchildren. With a remarkable memory and insight, she tells the stories of the men and women, mothers and fathers, artisans, friends, relatives, teachers and workers she grew up with. She describes their beliefs, how they dressed, (and there are photographs as well to show what they looked like), how they acted, where they lived, worshipped, and how they spoke––down to the last detail. She describes the food they ate, how they prepared it, and even the childhood goodies, or the candy, by name, taste and wrapper. In many ways, it would seem that such a life in the valley, although hard at times, would still have been peaceful and serene enough to help develop her depth and degree of memories. As a reader born and raised in the South by parents who experienced the hardships of World War II, I could relate to many of the people and experiences she wrote of in such a charming way. I was most impressed by the teachers who molded the students’ minds and held spelling bees and by other means educated their students. The author has benefited from this experience by having developed over the years a deep desire to write and tell her stories, which may never be known, she believes, unless she reveals them. She describes equally well how times are changing for the valley she grew up in––the gains and losses of “progress.” For all who enjoy reading stories and the histories of people who live in every area of America, I recommend this book as a wonderful tribute to the Appalachian American people.

Joyce Ann Edmondson author of
"The Listening Tree"
"Falling Petals"

Review for In This Valley I Grew

In This Valley I Grew by Mary Ellen Goble Preece A father hands over his last twenty dollars to his wife to buy Christmas gifts for an entire family at the Dollar General store. A pine branch decorated with popcorn strings serves as the Christmas tree. These are typical scenes from “In This Valley I Grew” by Mary Ellen Goble Preece, who beautifully recorded her life growing up in the Appalachian Mountains during the poverty-stricken 1950’s. Written in a style that not only allows the reader to hear the charming dialect of the characters' voices, it also portrays the visual imagery of the picturesque region around 'Blacklog' and 'Happy Hollow'. There were times when reading this book that I seemed to be able to actually smell the cornbread baking in the old wood fired oven! In This Valley I Grew is a poignant, genteel and heartwarming story of a family whose faith in a loving, omnipotent God never falters. Share the triumphs and joys, and experience the pain and sorrow of a loving family by reading this book. Those who remember a similar life will be filled with nostalgia. Those who were raised in better circumstances will perhaps better understand and appreciate the “Good ol’ days” that their grandparents talk about! ******* Phil Whitley_________________KEECHIE: ISBN # 1-4137-9587-0 http://www.freewebs.com/brew99/

Mary Ellen Goble Preece new Publish America Author

As a new and grateful author to Publish America allow me to tell you a little about myself as briefly as I can.
Foremost in my life I want to do God's will. Second I am a wife, mother, and grandmother, sister and friend. I am also a struggling writer. After many attempts at getting published, I will soon be. It will be up to the public to decide if I am an "author" worthy of taking up their time. I will be writing about what I know as most new authors do and that will be to tell you about my growing up years in the Appalachian mountains of eastern Kentucky. My first book titled In This Valley I Grew, Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow depicts the hardships of my own family in the 1950's and 1960's growing up poor with even poorer all around us. It is filled with sentiment, heartache, love and laughter in the midst of poverty and suppression. An easy read for even young readers 10 and up.
The book will be out soon and I will be back to post the release date with price and ISBN.
Watch for more of my books coming soon from PA.