This Is My Story, This Is My Song
The Thelma Parks Story
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
I joined church when I was fifteen years old. I dressed at Mom’s house for my baptism. The gowns were white. We had strings like belts around the waist and legs, and a rag on my head. People came from other churches and gathered around the river. The pastor and deacons were there. Everybody sung the old hymn, “Little Wooden Church”, (Dottie Peoples). Going into the water, we would sing the verse “…Take me to the water…”. Going out of the water, we would sing another verse “…I know I got religion…”. We walked back to the church after my baptism for fellowship and communion. I gave my hand to the pastor, but I gave my heart to Jesus.
My grandparents Sam and Lucy Strory lived in Gillian, Louisiana. When I was in high school, they would visit us. I grew up hearing their stories of faith. My grandparents came from South Carolina on a ferry and grew up during the time of slavery. ’Cause they could not meet in churches, they always had to be in secret meetings called church harbors. The church meetings were always about God, ’cause that’s who they depended on. ’Cause they could not do what they wanted to do, they looked forward to God for everything. In the fields, you couldn’t speak your faith, so you would sing it out. You carried it within and without.
I had godly grandparents. I listened to my mom. I am following in their footsteps. They paved the way for me. They still speak to me from the grave. I praised the Lord for the wisdom they gave back there. They are who I learned from.
I kept all this within me.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Thelma Parks’s story, written in her own words, is one of compassion and courage and steadfast faith.
Born on a sharecropping farm in Louisiana, raised by a single mom during the Great Depression along with seven brothers and sisters, Thelma learned that love begins at home. She was baptized at fifteen, and the God she chose that day began to walk with her day by day. She looked to Jesus as an everyday example of how to love and treat one another.
In her adult years, she modeled a steadfast desire to follow Jesus and His ways. Experiencing the pain of racial prejudices, discriminations, and broken relationships, Thelma Parks, a quiet black lady, discovered the power of following His way of love. Thelma found her legacy through the pain and loss she experienced and overcame through a sincere love and forgiving heart.
This Is My Story, This Is My Song: The Thelma Parks Story is filled with insights of the richness of God’s provisions and purposes. With simple yet profound words, this message of faith, love, and forgiveness can encourage and inspire.
Discover God, the source of life who offers guidance and hope in your everyday life. Listen and learn the ways of God and live a life of lasting significance!
About the Author
Linda Bogue, a graduate of Lipscomb University, is a Christian devoted to prayer and Bible study. She is active in international work and travel in her home church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Bogue has drawn strength and wisdom from the life of Thelma Parks during their thirty-year friendship.