'Hymned Again': MercyMe frontman releases solo album

By Theresa Shadrix
Consolidated Publishing

It seems appropriate that Bart Millard collects baseball caps, considering he wears so many hats. Not only is he the frontman for the contemporary Christian band MercyMe, but he's an award-winning songwriter, a husband, a father, a son, a grandson, a friend, a champion for juvenile diabetes, a worship leader and a solo artist.

His hat-wearing days in the ministry can be traced to his youth. Attending a church camp in Mexico when he was 13, he said something connected in him when he heard a sermon one day. There were no fireworks but he said he made a decision to follow Christ. However, it was when he was 19, after the death of his father, that he began to question what he was doing with his life. “I surrendered to full-time ministry. This is the time when I realized that I could give back to (God).”

He eventually formed the praise and worship band, MercyMe, with some friends and began a journey in full-time music ministry. While the band has been more successful than he could ever have imagined, Millard still had a desire to play around with other projects.

It was a promise to his grandmother that prompted Millard to release his first solo album, Hymned No. 1, in 2005. She simply wanted him to remember the songs he grew up singing in church.

“These songs have been a huge part of who I am spiritually," he said. "It became more important to me (to record them).” He also realized that many of the hymns on his album, written mostly in the 1700s, were no longer a part of worship in church and so his children would not experience them.



“I want these songs to be a part of my kid’s life," he said. "If nothing else, it is good to be reminded how the church, generations before us, worshiped.”

His second solo project, Hymned Again, is another compilation of hymns. Released last month, the album features hymns, written mostly in the 1800s, as well as the song “Jesus Cares For You”, a duet with Vince Gill.

Millard admits he was nervous to ask Gill to record with him, so he asked Gills’ wife, Amy Grant, to intercede on his behalf. He wasn’t a bit nervous about calling up Grant, because she has been a friend to MercyMe for many years. In fact, Grant was the first to record “I Can Only Imagine,” but waited until the band’s first album was released. She then recorded it as "Imagine/Sing the wondrous love of Jesus” on Hymns & Faith in 2002.

Millard said that when he left Gill a message one night, he didn’t want to come off like a raving fan and was glad that he didn’t talk to him. “I’m not typically one to get goofy but with him, I was trying to be respectful.” When Gill called him back he told him that it was no big deal and he would be honored to work with him.

In some ways, he said that working on other projects helps his creativity, which is something he learned from Amy Grant. “She took up painting and said she needed to be creative.” He said that as long as he has the opportunity, he will purse being creative in various avenues.

He has been toying around with the idea to record an album of old western-style campfire songs. “(I) may do a worship album like old lonesome trail. A Johnny Cash kind of vibe. I love that kind of music.”

He would like to do a jazz album too, he said. But there is no need for MercyMe fans to worry. Millard says his number one priority in music is MercyMe. “If it wasn’t for MercyMe, I wouldn’t have the chance for this,” he said.

One big goal that supercedes everything is raising money for juvenile diabetes. His son, Sam, was diagnosed with the life-threatening immune system disorder when he was two. Sam is now five and Millard prays for a cure, not just for Sam but also for every child with the disorder.

So, if Hymned Again is downloaded from iTunes, a portion of the proceeds with go towards Imagine a Cure, the non-profit Millard set up to benefit research for juvenile diabetes. He said Sam is doing great. “He is as normal as can be, aside from a cure.”

Online Resources:
www.mercyme.org
www.imagineacureonline.com

Homelife - March 2008

I received an advance copy of the March 2008 issue of Homelife magazine (Lifeway) and an article I wrote about modesty is featured. I love Homelife magazine and can't wait to open it every month.

On the issue of modesty, I love fashion and style, but I get so bored with TV programs and fashion shows handing out advice on improving the way we dress as women by dressing sexy. This type of advice to me is an easy road to take when you don't know what else to say. Sure women want to feel sexy or look sexy for her partner, but to dress this way outside of the bedroom is a sign of insecurities and lack of respect. Dresing sexy is an attempt to be suggestive and stimulate men. I have been happily maried for over 16 years and this part of me is for him only.

I really do believe the way we dress reflects our hearts and it was an honor to write this for Homelife. If you don't subscribe or receive Homelife through your church, you can order it here.

For this article, I interviewed the following women:

Shannon Stewart, professional model. myspace.com/model4christ
(Shannon will be on the Tyra Banks show on Feb. 20, 2008. She is working on her first book.)

Dannah Gresh, Pure Freedom founder and author, Five Little Questions That Reveal the Life God Designed for You www.purefreedom.org

Wendy Shalit, Modestly Yours blog founder and author of Girls Gone Mild, www.girlsgonemild.com

Don Piper Story

Author, pastor talks about how prayer brought him back from heaven
By Theresa Shadrix
The Alabama Baptist
February 28, 2008

Don Piper died on a bridge called Trinity in January 1989. But in January 2008, Piper stood before the congregation of Parker Memorial Baptist Church, Anniston, and declared he is alive. And thousands of people came to hear, so many that the second service featuring Piper had to be moved to Anniston High School.

“Sometimes a person standing up and saying, ‘This is what God has done in my life,’ is powerful,” he told the crowd. His powerful journey to the Calhoun Baptist Association church began Jan. 18, 1989, on the Gulf Freeway near Lake Livingston in Texas.

As a staff member at South Park Baptist Church, Alvin, Texas, Piper had attended a conference in Trinity, Texas. When the conference ended early on that Wednesday morning, he was eager to get back to church for the night service.

Driving his 1986 red Ford Escort, Piper made two fateful decisions — he wore his seat belt, and he took a different route to Alvin.

Just 15 minutes after he said goodbye to friends at the conference, Piper approached a bridge.

As he drove in the rain, he thought about a sermon, “I Believe in a Great God,” he would deliver that night, not knowing his belief would be put to the ultimate test.

“I was a 38-year-old preacher on my way to church, and my life was turned upside down,” Piper said.

On the other side of the bridge, an 18-wheeler, transporting food and driven by a Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmate, weaved, hit his car head-on and then sideswiped two other cars. Among the carnage of the crash, Piper’s broken body had no pulse. The only one injured in the accident, he was declared dead at 11:45 a.m. by emergency medical technicians.

While his bloody body was covered up with a tarp, the spirit of Piper was having a reunion with family and friends in heaven. “How ironic the 18-wheeler, driven by a prisoner and filled with food, would hit a pastor and send him to ... where there is no hunger,” he said.

As told in his best-selling book “90 Minutes in Heaven,” Piper remembers being outside the pearly gates of heaven with a welcome committee of people, long deceased, who made a spiritual impact on his life. As he basked in the glory and symphony of heaven, on earth, his family and members of his church began praying after being informed he had been in an accident.

Dick Onerecker, a pastor who attended the same conference, was stuck in traffic caused by the wreck and asked a police officer if he could pray for anyone on the bridge. When the police officer told him everyone was fine except the deceased man in the shattered red car, God spoke to him to pray for the man.

“He wasn’t interested in theology as much as he was obedience,” explained Piper of Onerecker praying for a deceased man. He prayed and eventually sang “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

Piper recalls being suddenly ripped from heaven and singing along with the praying pastor. Barely alive, the emergency crew rushed into action and transported Piper to the hospital. He had no internal or brain injuries — a significant prayer Onerecker told him he petitioned God for that day.

Piper’s recovery took 13 months and required 34 surgeries.

The fact that he was able to share an evangelistic testimony with almost 4,000 people in four services Jan. 27 and 28 in Anniston is what resonated with Parker Memorial Baptist pastor Mack Amis.

Initially intrigued by Piper’s story when he received his book after his mother died, Amis said it was the aftermath of the accident that affected him the most.

“What intrigued me was what he felt when he came back,” Amis said of the emotional and physical recovery Piper endured. “How he learned to come to grips with that and how he came to realize that he has a new purpose in life. I thought that would be a universal message to people.”

Reflecting on Piper’s visit, Amis said, “God sent (Piper) back here to minister to people. So I ask, what are you doing to make sure people get to heaven?”

Piper’s book is available by visiting www.thealabamabaptist.org and clicking on the LifeWay Christian Stores button.

Copyright 2008. The Alabama Baptist

Mark Harris

After 4HIM, Mobile native finds ministry in local church
By Theresa Shadrix
The Alabama Baptist
February 28, 2008

Mark Harris is a normal guy with an anything-but-ordinary music ministry.
The Mobile native is a former member of and songwriter for 4HIM, a solo artist and the head of worship ministries at Bay Community Church in Daphne.

His musical journey began as a singer in the contemporary Christian group Truth. In 1989, when Harris, along with Andy Chrisman, Marty Magehee and Kirk Sullivan, left Truth and formed 4HIM, it proved to be a successful move.

The harmonies and pop-gospel sound of 4HIM earned eight Dove Awards, 24 No. 1 singles (22 were written by Harris), a certified gold record, a Grammy award nomination, induction into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Governor Achievement Award.

But, in 2004, after 15 years together, the four men found themselves at a musical crossroads and the group disbanded as each decided to explore solo projects and new ministry opportunities.
Harris said he was still a member of 4HIM and working on his first solo project when he discovered the least possible ministry opportunity in his home church.

“I was talking to the pastor one day, and he said he needed help finding the right person in the worship area,” Harris said. “For about a month, I looked around and at the same time, the pastor and I both said maybe it was me.”

A change of heart
Harris said that while on the road with 4HIM, he often met with worship leaders but he couldn’t really understand their needs. But that is no longer true. “I really feel like now God sends me out to minister to the staff, not just the people,” Harris said. “I have a real heart for people who serve the church.”

Amazingly, he said all four of the members of 4HIM are now serving in either full-time or part-time worship ministry at their local church. Although Harris admits life is busy, he still keeps in close contact with each of them and said the ending of the group was God’s plan.
“We didn’t stop because we were tired of being around each other,” Harris said, adding there is a lot of love between the four. “We are like brothers.”

He also said the doors are not closed to 4HIM performing together again at some point in the future.
For now, he has enough on his plate to fill anyone hungering for worshipful music. Harris’ first solo project in 2005, “The Line Between the Two,” featured the popular hymn of fatherhood “Find Your Wings.”
In September 2007, he released his second solo project, “Windows and Walls.”

‘Windows and Walls’
Though a devoted husband and father himself, the theme of fatherhood in Harris’ solo songs is a nod to his own parents. And passing on the legacy of a Christ-filled home is important to him as reflected in songs like the second CD’s title track, “Windows and Walls.”
“I really feel like this album has a strong message for everybody to hear,” he said.
For more information, visit www.markharrisonline.com.

Copyright 2008. The Alabama Baptist.

Bony Hands

Not long after posting an "All the Rage" column about my obsession with my aging hands, I was contacted by a reporter with MSNBC.com. She was so great and we talked for so long about living in the South, Alabama tornado's and beauty rituals that an hour past by quickly.

The result of the interview is a wonderful story about how women are trying to erase aging in hands. For me, I'll try natural remedies cause I am quite afraid of needles. Read more here on MSNBC.com - Turning back the ‘creepy old hands’ of time by Diane Mapes

Tiara-Wearing and Book-Sharing

By Theresa Shadrix
Consolidated Publishing, Co.
01-28-08

It is not everyday that you come upon a Southern gal wearing a tiara in Jacksonville. Unless you are Lauren Moon, the newly crowned Miss JSU or perhaps Teresa Cheatham Stricklin, who surely must dust off her Miss Alabama crown every now and then just for fun.

Recently, Kathy L. Patrick, author of The Pulpwood Queens Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life, made a stop in Jacksonville during her first national book tour and I was able to meet her tiara-to-tiara. Yes, I greeted her in my tiara and of course, she was wearing a nicely polished tiara.

And, we turned a few heads.

Kathy is difficult to explain and even she admits it. “I am a beautician, turned book publishing representative who was fired so I opened the only beauty shop-book store in the country.” As she takes a deep breath, she adds, “Oh, and I started The Pulpwood Queens book club and it is the largest in the world.”

The Kansas native who now calls Texas her home talks passionately about her love of big hair, beauty, reading and books. Her salon in Texas, Beauty and the Book, is decorated with mementos of her book royalness and is a frequent stop of both authors and book lovers. You just have to read her book to soak it all in. Part memoir, part motivation and part book recommendations, it is one whole book of fun and inspiration.

Each chapter details her journey from a shy girl with an aspiring actress mother who often neglected her needs to a book publishing rep who was downsized to the owner of the only bookstore/beauty salon to a book club organizer. Then at the end, she gives book recommendations related to that chapter.

As you read this, you are probably trying to connect the dots from tiaras to reading, but Kathy is the Queen of making reading fun. You see, the Pulpwood Queens book club motto is “Where tiaras are mandatory and reading good books is the rule!” This is not your grandmother’s book club because everyone wears a tiara, dresses up in hot pink and leopard print and reads a book selected by Kathy each month. This month, her own book and Robin Roberts’ From the heart: Seven Rules to Live By are the book selections.

Kathy Patrick is one of those people who never meets a stranger and oozes Southern charm. And, she does it holding a book in one hand and a shiny tiara on her big, Texas hair. But don’t take my word for it, check her blog out at www.pulpwoodqueen.com

Confessions of a Shopaholic

By Theresa Shadrix
Star Staff Writer
Published: September 2, 2007

The bags are hidden behind clothes in the closet. The receipt was burned, destroying all evidence of the purchase. The credit card bill has been shredded. Such is the covert life of a shopaholic.

"I never really plan my shopping but I can go into Ace Hardware and find something," said Lila, who did not want to be identified.

Admitting that she wants to gain control of her spending habits, Lila said she is not proud of overspending and hiding purchases. "Once, I stashed 10 pairs of shoes that I bought at a Payless BOGO sale at a friend's house," she said with an awkward laugh. "We burned the boxes and then I slipped the shoes into the house."

According to a 2006 Stanford University School of Medicine study, 5.8 percent of people in the nation are compulsive shoppers.

The surprising result from the study was that women and men have similar habits in shopping, with six percent for women and 5.5 percent for men. But, the definition, treatment and causes of compulsive shopping as a disorder are still up for discussion.

In 2003, the American Psychiatric Association released a statement that it had no plans to include compulsive shopping as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, due for publication in 2010. A representative from the APA confirmed the 2003 statement is still in effect and it is too soon to tell what mental disorders will be included in the 2010 report because the task force has only recently been formed. Compulsive shopping is often classified as a symptom of other mental disorders, like obsessive-compulsive disorder.

One expert said it is the rush of buying that compels the shopper and the impulse should be a separate disorder.

"They are addicted to the purchase," said Terrence Shulman, founder of Shopaholics Anonymous and The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft and Spending, based in Detroit. "All addictions become secretive. You feel so out of control and a lot people have this façade. It is masterfully constructed."

A former lawyer turned licensed counselor, Shulman counsels people who have compulsive shopping and shoplifting addictions. Arrested twice for shoplifting, Shulman speaks from both professional and personal experience. He didn't even realize he had an addiction to shoplifting when, as a law student, he was caught trying to steal a cassette player in 1986.

"I was totally paralyzed," he said of the arrest.

But he didn't stop. The shoplifting continued and he was arrested the second time in 1990 at the age of 25. Depressed and suicidal, Shulman said he confessed his addiction to his parents and sought help in counseling.

He said it was in a counseling session one day when he realized shoplifting was addictive.

"My therapist through up his hands and said it was like (I was) addicted to this. It had all the hallmarks of an addictive behavior."

While careful to not place the blame of his behavior on anyone else, he said that his father was a compulsive shopper and he picked up a lot of habits from him.

"He wasn't a good money manager or saver. He was not the kind of guy who thought about the future."

Shulman said his parents divorced when he was 10 and although his father could not pay child support, he could spend money on other things.

"(Therapy) made me realize I was more like my dad, in that he was an alcoholic and compulsive."

When Shulman couldn't find a support group for compulsive shoppers or shoplifters, he started Shopaholics Anonymous 15 years ago this month.

Like Shulman, Lila said her father was a compulsive spender, but her mother was budget-conscious.

"I feel bad when I think of all I have wasted," Lila said. "We used to have savings and investments. It is a constant guilt."

She said her problem started when she married about 10 years ago.

"I was so used to getting everything that I wanted and then I had to follow a budget."

When her children were born and Lila was a stay-at-home mother, shopping was an outlet because it was exciting. "It's not that I was bored," she explains. "It's like an unconscious thing. At the end of the week, I am like, "I spent $300!""

Shulman said many people feel family members will judge them but admitting the problem is the first step.

Coach T’s Basketball Camp teaches life lessons

By THERESA SHADRIX
Special to the Banner
Published Sunday, June 24, 2007 6:00 AM EDT

When Kevin “Coach T” Templeton speaks, everyone around him listens.

“You need to thank the person who brought you here today. You need to have an attitude of gratitude.” As he spoke these words to more than 320 junior high and high school basketball players and their coaches at Lee University, June 15, the gym was silent and respectful. Only moments before, he presented championship awards to male and female players who excelled in an intense five day basketball camp that bears his name.

This week, Templeton started the camp over again with a new group of around 370 campers and 50 coaches. Over the two week period, teams traveled from Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Ohio and the Carolina’s to live in Lee University dorms, play basketball games, hear from dynamic speakers, receive biblical guidance and learn as much as possible from Templeton and the camp staff. It has been a tiring two weeks for all involved, but you won’t find anyone complaining because the foundations of the camp are the love of the game and training in values.

Templeton said he believes basketball players should take advantage of lessons in life, both on and off the court, and he hopes campers take home more than learning how to dribble. He has an old-school coaching mentality of grit, determination and hard work. A man of faith, he is humble, but not timid to admit he loves the taste of glory. “Life is not going to be 30-0. So, you gotta press on, you gotta get up and you don’t give up,” he said. “If you learn not to give up on the basketball court, you won’t give up in life.”

Templeton is no stranger to coaching basketball. He was the athletic director and men’s basketball coach at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, winning the National Christian College Athletic Association championship in 2003.

In March he resigned from TTU and will be the new boy’s basketball coach at Soddy-Daisy High School. Templeton said TTU will always be special to him not only because of his successful coaching experience, but also the summer basketball camps that began at TTU 25 years ago. It was nine years ago that Templeton took over the camp and every year he has mentored more and more players and coaches.

“The first year we had 129 campers and then it went to 800 in two years,” he said. “Last year we had 1200 campers at Chattanooga.” When he resigned his position at TTU, he sent out emails to various schools to find a new host. Lee University agreed to hold the summer camp in conjunction with Templeton, making the Cleveland campus the new home of “Coach T’s Basketball Camp.” Templeton said that he feels great about having the camp at Lee, not only because of the comforts and safety on the campus, but also the expertise of the coaching staff, led by Lee’s head basketball coach, Tommy Brown.

“The staff at the camp is more than Coach T. Tommy is here, I have my son Josh helping, I have Marty Rowe, I have other coaches,” he said. “So, if you want to learn basketball, play team games, get individual instruction, and learn how to be a winner, this is the camp for you.” Beyond the campus and coaches, Templeton said the camp is a basketball players dream come true. Days and nights are filled with hard corp hoops, with games playing until midnight. It is this environment of hoops and dedication to the game that lures teams to the camp every year.

In his second trip to the camp, Coach Jon Werle of, Hebron Christian in Dacula, Ga., said he brought four teams, two girls and two boys, to the camp because of the staff expertise, the basketball games and the combination of teaching. “The whole player is addressed, both off and on the court. They grow together as a team and they grow together as basketball players because they are exposed to a high level of coaching.”

When so many summer basketball camps take place in local towns, Templeton said he is humbled for teams like Werle’s to travel to his camp. And coaches admit they will follow Templeton wherever he goes.

Coach Chris Randall of White Plains High School in Anniston, Ala. first attended the basketball camp at TTU as a player with Trinity Christian Academy in Oxford, Ala. more than 18 years ago. For six years he traveled to Chattanooga as a camper and when he began his coaching career, he started bringing his teams. Last week, Randall’s junior varsity and high school team won the camp championship game and the junior high team placed fourth. After taking his team home, he returned this week with another group of players. He said it is worth it because of the basketball fundamentals and concept of team play. Year and year he also returns so his players can improve their game, hear the speakers, receive spiritual instruction and be part of the caring attitude from Templeton and the staff.

“They are going to learn a lot more about life. They will hear testimonies from other men and players. More importantly, they will learn how to be a better man through basketball,” he said. “You can’t put a price on lessons they will learn here.”

Oddly enough, White Plains basketball rival, Faith Christian School in Anniston, Ala., also attends the camp every year. When playing each other at the camp, Faith Coach Doug Worlsey said they each want to win, but when the teams are playing another school, they are rooting for their hometown neighbor.

“We have a good competition and we want them to do well,” he said. “Coach Randall and I are rivals on the court, but we are brothers in Christ off the court.”

Worsley brought two middle school teams to the camp, with one placing second in the championship last week. Despite the fact he attended the camp for nine years as both a coach and a staff member, he said he comes back every summer because he gets something new from the camp every year. “Knowledge about basketball is infinite. I watch other coaches all day because everyone knows something about the game.” In his second year as the basketball coach at Faith Christian, Worsley said he can already see the impact of the camp on his players.

“They hear speakers constantly talking about choices in life,” he said. “People are going to tell them about basketball but also about the truth of life. And the truth of life is Jesus Christ.”

Theresa Shadrix is the managing editor of Longleaf Style magazine and special publications editor for The Anniston Star, Anniston, Ala. She is a former student at Cleveland State Community College, where she was sports editor and features writer for The Cherokee Signal. Theresa is the sister of Carl Maskew, a detective with the Bradley County Sheriff Office and his wife, Karen and the daughter of Harold Maskew. She lives in Anniston with her husband, Mickey, and two sons.

COPYRIGHT ® 2007 Cleveland Daily Banner, a division of Cleveland Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cleveland Banner

Shannon Stewart — God's Next Top Model

By Theresa Shadrix
The Anniston Star
04-22-2007


Matt Ratliff and Shannon Stewart

Shannon Stewart is on a mission from God.
The blond, 5'11” Ohio native is not a missionary in a foreign land, but rather a professional model and former reality TV show contestant.
The 22-year-old beauty also is unashamedly a virgin and does not smoke or drink. She takes no credit for her good looks — “I owe it all to God,” she jokes — and is the type of girl every Mom wishes her son would marry.
But, she is taken and the lucky guy is model Matthew Ratliff. “Our relationship is totally because of Jesus Christ,” she said. “He is my best friend.”
Girded with their Christian faith, Stewart said she and Matthew just want to be a light in a business known for darkness.
They share experiences in the modeling world, like to hang out together and enjoy speaking as a team about their faith, when their modeling schedules permit.
In a telephone call from Chicago, she told me, “This is a tough business. Sometimes, I hate it. But, if no one shares the Good News, how will they know about Jesus Christ?”
It was this type of thinking that led Stewart to try out for season one of America's Next Top Model, the reality TV show created by Tyra Banks.
First aired in 2003, the season featured 10 contestants who lived together in a New York loft. Each week they were judged on various photo shoots, like one in swimwear and one in which the girls were wrapped in a huge snake. At the end of each episode, one girl was eliminated.
As in all reality shows, drama and conflict are the ingredients that create a spicy TV dish. For Stewart and fellow contestant Robin Manning from Memphis, Tenn., the openness about their Christian beliefs at times created tension.
Stewart and Manning were in the final four when the contestants were asked to pose nude in a photo shoot for diamond jewelry. They refused because of morality issues. Robin was the one eliminated at the end of that episode.
Stewart went on finish the season in second place to Adrianne Curry, who, since winning America's Next Top Model, has admitted to past drug use and bi-sexuality, posed nude for Playboy and married Christopher Knight, aka Peter Brady from the classic TV hit show, The Brady Bunch.
Stewart said she has found success in the modeling world, but it has taken her longer to achieve it because of her stand for righteous living.
Signed with Elite Model Management, she said, “It has taken me longer in this business because I won't go to parties or do certain things.” But, she has no regrets and hears from people who commend her stand for clean living.
“I can't recall any negativity about not posing nude,” she said about the TV show episode. “I do hear from people who thank me for standing up for something, which included Muslims and atheists.
Stewart does not focus on what the future holds, but rather what exciting journey God has in store for her.
“I would love to host a Christian TV show with Matthew for teens.”
For the moment, Stewart is happy being God's Top Model.

Connect with Shannon Stewart Ratliff on Facebook.

Poverty is never fashionable

By Theresa Shadrix
The Anniston Star
04-08-2007

There is nothing fashionable about poverty. Poverty doesn't look good on anyone and is never in style.

Seriously, I have never heard a financially challenged individual, the monetarily disenfranchised or a plain ol' poor person say, “Wow, I am so glad that being poor is All the Rage this year, cause, ya know, being able to pay my bills and buy groceries is so yesterday.”

The Bible tells us the poor will be with us always.

But, how do we know who they are and what do poor folks look like?

Most people, when asked, will probably tell you the face of the poor is a welfare mama with several kids by different daddies who sits around at home watching Maury on TV, being supported with money from hard-working taxpayers.

The Alabama poverty Project disagrees with this myth by providing numbers that encourage us not to be so quick to judge.

Among their statistics, poverty in Calhoun County is children zero to 17, female-headed households and those too old or too young to work. I guess you could say the faces of poverty in our community are young'uns, old folks and single moms.

So, what does one do to help?

How about when you clean out your closet, don't give away the T-shirt you spilled coffee on three years ago or the pants you ripped when you ate too much Sunday casserole.

If it's something you wouldn't wear, then why do you think someone else will want it?

It is not like poor folks really love wearing hand-me-downs so much that they will say things like, “Man, that coffee stain on that T-shirt is gonna bring out the brown in my eyes.”

Jim Davis, the Baptist Service Center director for the Calhoun Baptist Association, told me volunteers waste many hours sorting through the good and bad stuff that is donated. And I know it is the truth because Jim took my former position at the CBA.

For six years, I smiled and thanked people when they donated clothes and goods from their home, then smiled again when I gave them a receipt. Then, volunteers sighed and shook their heads when they threw out old diapers (no kidding), soiled clothes, old underwear and such.

In our community, there are five organizations that provide clothing for free to those in need. The people are screened through Family Services and referred to them.

If you have clothing that is not suitable for wear, you can donate it to the Salvation Army for recycling. Just make sure to let them know your donation is not for the thrift store.

So, when you are spring-cleaning and you want to donate items to the less-fortunate in our community, just be respectful.

Where you can go to donate:

All Saints Interfaith Center of Concern
1029 W. 15th St., Anniston
Director: Sister Mary Roy
Phone: 236-7793
Hours of operation: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Monday-Friday

Baptist Service Center South
806 Stewart St., Oxford
Director: Jim Davis
Phone: 831-4691
Hours of operation: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Monday-Friday

Baptist Service Center Northwest
259 Halls Chapel Road, Alexandria
Director: Jim Davis
Phone: 846-3525
Hours of operation: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Community Enabler Developer
1411 Gurnee Ave., Anniston
Director: Maudine Holloway
Phone: 237-6144
Hours of operation: 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday

Jacksonville Christian Outreach Center
206 Francis St. W., Jacksonville
Directors: Mary Agnes Hester and Chalcy Evans
Phone: 435-1891
Hours of operation: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday

Salvation Army — Recycled Clothes
420 Noble St., Anniston
Phone: 236-5764

If you are in an individual or family in need of clothes, then you must be screened through Family Services Center of Calhoun County, 15 E. 11th St., Anniston. Call 231-2240 for intake hours and more information.

Visit the Alabama Poverty Project online at www.alabamapoverty.org.

The personality of prom

The Anniston Star
By Theresa Shadrix
03-18-2007

Leah and Lauren Sparks share the same birthday, are involved in similar clubs at Oxford High School and complete each other's sentences, but the 16-year-old twins are total opposites.

Leah is an athlete with state championship trophies in track and field, while Lauren is a class beauty who has modeled locally and likes to watch America's Next Top Model.

Selecting a prom dress was as different as their personalities.

“Lauren was out there in the store, looking at herself in front of the mirror and twirling around,” Shawn Jones, the girl's mother said. “Leah wouldn't even come out of the dressing room.”

Leah recently placed fourth in the 100-meter dash at a track meet, plays volleyball, is a guard on the basketball team and was selected as Most Talented in Who's Who by her classmates. She rarely wears make-up and admits shopping is not her forté.

“I tried on long dresses, but I couldn't move in them. But I can in this one. I am ready to dance,” she said about her mini gown with long, layered ruffles.

Both girls selected playful, colorful gowns, but while Leah's is short, Lauren's is long and straight. “I think it looks glamorous,” Lauren's mom said about her dress.

Lauren can't wait to get dressed up for prom but said she is also excited for her sister. “Leah doesn't wear make-up or wear dresses or heels, and I can't wait for people to see her in this dress. It is like a total make-over!”

“OK, so I will wear make-up to prom,” Leah laughs. “Enough already.”

It is rare for Lauren to leave the house without make-up, and when she does it doesn't go unnoticed, but the duo will get help from their big sister, Lyndsey. “I don't want to look like I have on a mask,” said Leah. “I trust her.”

Noticing things like make-up, personality and style is one way to help girl's select prom gowns said JoAnne Kirby, manager of Prom Headquarters in Jacksonville.

“I let the girls pick out a few dresses and try them on and then I help them select the best one for their individuality. I just notice how they look and what they like.”

With the charm of a grandmother, Kirby said she encourages girls towards dresses that fit their uniqueness, body type and trends.

“The A-line dress is perfect for girls with an hour glass figure or bigger hips,” she said. “Brown is also the color this year for prom, but we have seen bright colors. It really just depends on the girl with what color they pick.”

Kirby has noticed gowns like the brown and aqua Lauren is wearing are popular but so are full ball gowns.

Tammie Tuck, sales clerk at the Quality Shoppe in Jacksonville, agrees.

“This is the year of full dresses,” she said. “We have had girls come in and they don't want poofy, but the mom talks her into trying one on and she walks out with one.”

Tuck observed both the brown and bright color trend too. “We have sold a lot of chocolate brown, and they are normally straight dresses,” she said. “The poofy, full gowns have been bright colors. Aqua, orange, raspberry, yellow…they are bright and fun.”

The most popular prom gown for Alexander's Bridal Shop in Oxford is a chocolate brown, full length gown said owner Mike Alexander. He has also seen there is no one trend and the character of the girl is what matters most.

“We have about 1,000 dresses, and they make them to fit all personalities.”

Alexander points out a full length, black and white polka dotted gown with a large red sash and bow. “This one has been popular.” Then he directs his attention to a simple, straight aqua gown decorated with a stream of Swarovski crystals. “Oh, but this one is also popular too.”

Alexander points out that prom is not just for girls and some guys are taking note of fashion for the social gathering of year.

“This year we had a few girls that told us they had to match their gown to the guy's vest.”

Admitting it is rare for girls to select gowns around their dates, he said sometimes boys do take just as much time selecting a tuxedo as girls do with dresses.

“Guys no longer wear cummerbunds. There are no bow ties and no button covers,” he said. “Now it is brown tuxes, long ties with matching vest and longer coats. They want to look good too.”

Lauren and Leah's prom dates matched their tuxedos to their dresses and both say the like what was selected.

“He is wearing a brown tux, brown vest and an aqua tie,” said Lauren, speaking about her date Taylor Clark. “I don't think he is too excited about it but he is wearing it.”

Leah said her date, Devin Futral, is wearing all white. “His is a white tuxedo, white vest and white tie.”

Now that they have their dresses and their dates have their tuxedos, the only thing on their to do list for their March 30 prom is picking up their shoes and waiting to get ready the day of the dance.

“We have to make a hair appointment, get our nails done, our eyebrows waxed and get our tan,” said Lauren. Leah is excited about dressing up for the prom, but she just wants to have fun.

“It is going to be so much fun. It is a time to let loose and dance. But I will probably take off my shoes and go barefoot.”

Miss Alabama searches for her Hollywood-glamour side

By Theresa Shadrix
Star Staff Writer
01-14-2007

Miss Alabama Melinda Toole knows — for sure — only one thing about what she'll wear to Gov. Bob Riley's inauguration ball Monday: It will be glamorous.

“I love the old Hollywood look, and people have told me for years that I have the look,” says Toole, who early last week had not settled on a design. She only knew that it would be a custom-made design by Ann Northington, the official dress sponsor of the Miss Alabama Scholarship Pageant.

And, since Toole is preparing to leave for the Miss America pageant on Friday, she had a lot of gowns to choose from.

“Ann has created some amazing gowns for me this year. To me, all of her gowns have that old Hollywood look to them.”

Northington said the gowns she created for Toole this year are her best work yet. When Miss Alabama Deidre Downs won the Miss America pageant in 2005, the two-piece white gown was a Northington design.

“I make only pageant dresses and have been proud of my previous work, but I think this year is very special,” Northington said.

Toole said Northington creates a signature style that fits each Miss Alabama, and she feels very good in all of the gowns created for her. After she makes up her mind which gown to wear for the inaugural ball, she said getting ready will not be that different than for a pageant. Except she will not have to worry about wearing a swimsuit or being interviewed by a panel of judges and entertainment at the ball will be left up to country music singer Sara Evans.

As Miss Alabama she said she is excited about attending the ball to celebrate Riley's next term and then representing the state at the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas.

“I know the ball will just be a very glamorous night.”



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If you want to get a glamorous look of your own, Miss Alabama Melinda Toole has some tips:

Try on as many dresses in various colors and styles as you can. Don't go for the first thing you try on. Take a friend with you. If you plan on shopping at two different stores, have a friend take a picture of you in gowns that you really.

Choose something that makes you feel comfortable and beautiful. But make sure it is the right fit for your body type.

The day of the event, plan a pampering day and get your hair and nails done.

Make good use of make-up artists at department stores. For Monday's inaugural ball, Toole will have her make-up done at Gus Meyer in Birmingham.

“It is always fun to play with make-up,” she said. It also takes the guess work out of finding the right look for your skin type and coloring.

Choose accessories wisely. Don't over-do the look with too much jewelry in an embellished gown.

Don't forget to wear comfortable dancing shoes.

The Miss America pageant airs live on CMT, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.

miss america
miss alabama pageant
miss alabama
melinda toole
pageant gown
ann northington

Solving the mystery of the ball gown

By Theresa Shadrix
The Anniston Star Staff Writer
01-14-2007

Patsy Riley does not design and tell.

So when the red carpet rolls out at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex tomorrow at 8 for Gov. Bob Riley's inaugural ball, all eyes will be on his wife. After all, she is not only the First Lady of Alabama; she will be the belle of the ball in a couture gown she designed.

“I like secrets, and I don't usually tell too much,” she said when asked what she will wear. Wanting to keep the details of the dress design a secret, because, “every girl should have an element of surprise,” she said she just hopes the governor likes it as much as she does.

She did fess up that it will be a vintage-styled gown she designed with a little help from some friends. Inspired by her childhood fashion icons, it will be a 1950s and '60s-inspired ball gown.

“When I was a teen, I admired Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn and Debbie Reynolds in the movies,” Riley said. “They were my role models. So my dress has a little bit of Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn and a dash of Debbie Reynolds.”

It was Liz Stearns of Susan Lee Boutique in Atlanta on whom she called to help dress her for the ball.

“I described what I wanted, and she had it made,” Riley said. Stearns also helped dress Riley for President Bush's inauguration and was excited when she received her call.

“I was just beside myself that she remembered me after two years,” Stearns said.

Riley brought a picture of what she wanted, and Stearns said she knew a designer, Saul Kapilivsky of Rose Taft, who could make the dress a reality. Stearns said Riley knows what she wants and what looks good on her, and it makes dressing her for an event easy.

One thing Riley admits is that she is not sure how to do her eye make-up for the ball. She will do her own hair, foundation and blush but asked her cousin, Hayley Mauldin Daniel, a make-up artist at Gates of Pearls in Birmingham, to glam her up for the night by “painting her eyes.”

With Sara Evans headlining as the entertainment at the ball, Riley said she can't wait to dance with the governor and celebrate his second term. He will wear one of his favorite tuxedos and his trademark black cowboy boots.

“Ya know, a man never looks as handsome as when he is in a tuxedo, she said in her distinct Clay County accent.

For the inaugural swearing-in ceremony, Monday at noon on the Capitol steps, the governor will most likely wear a favorite red tie with a dark suit. The First Lady jokes that she is not like her mother's generation in which the wife often laid clothes on the bed and selected the husband's outfit for the day.

“I used to think that was so funny. Now, I love to buy his ties, but he does dress himself,” she insists.

Standing by her husband as he takes his oath as the 53rd governor of Alabama, the First Lady will wear a custom made suit by Sue Tang of Sue Tang Designs in Montgomery and a hat by Melanie McLaughlin of Mobile. McLaughlin designed the hat Riley wore to the first inaugural swearing in ceremony and she knew she wanted her to do another one.

“I'm going to reinvent the hat,” she jokes.

Tang said Riley designed the suit, and she wanted something feminine and patriotic.

“The suit is full of life and is very feminine. She has a flowing skirt, and I think she looks very good,” Tang said. Tang said it is important for any outfit to fit a person's personality and the first lady's suit is no exception.

“She is very outgoing, warm to people and we wanted to make her suit warm, with a happy color with a celebration look.

Stearns said Riley makes the process of dressing her fun and relaxing.

“She looks like a million dollars,” Stearns said. “I can't wait. Alabama will really be proud.”

Riley said when she is announced at the ball with her husband, she hopes southern young ladies will appreciate her style. More than anything she hopes Alabamians will see they are normal folks.

“We are just like everyone else but we so want to always put our best face and best attitude for the people. Ya know, they deserve it.”

Florence fashion designer closes doors

By Theresa Shadrix
The Anniston Star
10-01-2006

Natalie Chanin has been on a six-year journey that has inspired her beyond measure. So on Friday, when she and partner Enrico Marone-Cinzano closed the doors of Project Alabama, it was not easy.
“It was a financial decision,” says Chanin, who was born in Florence. “I am extremely proud of the work that we have accomplished over the last six years.”

Chanin and Marone-Cinzano started Project Alabama, a fashion design company, in 2000 and based it in Florence. But Project Alabama was more than a fashion design company. As its name signifies, the founders wanted to involve the local community while also making clothes.

At one time, it employed 150 local seamstresses who sewed one-of-a-kind garments made by hand. A week before the closing, it was down to 15.

Chanin did more than provide a job to locals in the rural town of 36,000 and create buzz in the trendy fashion metropolis. She taught the seamstresses how to take a piece of material and create beauty. Project Alabama fashions were on runways in New York and displayed in fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Town & Country, Glamour and Harper's Bazaar. Her designs hung in more than 50 stores in 10 countries.

While most fashion designers dream of New York, Milan and Paris, Chanin drew positive attention from the fashion world by staying true to her Southern roots, offering Southern flair with big-city motif. They were creations the couture world could marvel about and the everyday woman could appreciate.

She also had what most women only dream about — a career where she worked from home, was a part of the couture fashion world and was surrounded by family and friends.

Today, with the closing of Project Alabama, it is friends and family that she remembers.

“(Project Alabama) has been a beautiful path filled with friends, family, stories, laughter, love, frustration, tears, joy, incredibly talented artisans, great food, a supportive audience, and, in essence, just amazingly good people,” she says.

For now, Chanin says she will take some time to let the closing of Project Alabama sink in before planning her next move.

And Alabama will wait with anticipation.

Churches should offer members training in foundational doctrines, George says

By Theresa Shadrix
The Alabama Baptist
September 14, 2006

With the passing of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Christians are reminded of the importance of understanding Islam.

Despite the contemporary significance, history is where it all begins, according to Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, an executive editor of Christianity Today and author of more than 20 books, including “Is the Father of Jesus the God of Muhammad?”.

George said Christianity, Islam and Judaism are historical religions, with each relying on a book — versions of the Bible for Christians and Jews and the Quran for Muslims — and they are missionary religions.

He stressed the importance of churches training members to stand firm in doctrinal beliefs in order to be effective witnesses to Muslims.

“We need to come back to the fundamental basics of the faith,” George said. “We know a little about confessions and almost nothing about catechisms, but yet the very first things ever published by the (Baptist) Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) were about catechisms. We need to go back to these historical documents and reconnect.”

George said he is a strong believer in Discipleship Training but it needs to be more organized. “We do doctrine studies but these are declining and we need to reconnect with heritage,” he said. “I would encourage pastors to teach doctrinal sermons.”

One reason George sees Discipleship Training as a needed program in churches is the growth of Muslim Student Association groups on college campuses. These groups’ primary focus is to evangelize Christian students, and he thinks doctrinal teachings from pastors and churches need to start at a young age to prepare Christians for this type of interaction.

George said Christians need to know that only 15 percent of Muslims live in the Middle East. Islam is the fastest-growing religion not just in the world but also in the United States, where an estimated 6 million, or one out of every six people, are Muslim, he said.

Christians can respond to Islam with knowledge of their faith, as well as living as Jesus Christ lived, and George said open dialogue is the best approach.

“Become a friend with a Muslim,” he said. “Stress and recognize the common humanity as Jesus did. Their children get sick and they are interested in the same things.”

George also believes Christians should work on community projects with Muslims to build relationships and be positive, constructive Christian witnesses. Most of all, he said, Christians need to pray.

“Pray God will open hearts of Muslims for missionaries serving in places where their lives are in jeopardy. Pray God will use us in this country and be uncompromised.”

George said the biggest misconception for Christians to understand about Muslims is their teachings on Jesus Christ.

He said they cannot believe that the Word was made flesh and this main difference is recognized in the phrase written in Arabic on Muslims’ third most holy site, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. It states, “God has no son.” The Quran also teaches that Jesus Christ wasn’t crucified and instead someone else, possibly Judas, took His place on the cross.

“They admit there was a crucifixion on Good Friday and meant for Jesus Christ, but God lifted Him into heaven, and He didn’t have to face humiliation and shame,” George said.

He said the Dome of the Rock faces the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which stands on the site where Jesus’ crucifixion is believed to have occurred.

“One building says, ‘God has no son;’ one says, ‘He died,’” George said. “Everything that needs to be said is here.”

Copyright 2005© The Alabama Baptist. All Rights Reserved. Contact The Alabama Baptist.

Botox or Restylane? Don’t get worry lines choosing between them

by Theresa Shadrix
LongLeaf Style
September 2006

If crow’s feet and laugh lines are mocking you in the mirror, it might be time to consider the secret weapons of the cosmetic elite — Botox and Restylane.

Not new to controversy, Botox has been a hot topic among spa gossipers since its debut 15 years ago because its active ingredient is the toxic food bacterium that causes botulism. But the chatter erupted in July when The Islamist National Fatwa Council advised the Malaysian government to ban Botox for cosmetic use because it contains prohibited substances from pigs, which Islam considers unclean.

Cathy DiRamio, public relations manager for Botox manufacturer Allergan Inc., dismissed the concern, saying the final Botox product does not contain any porcine elements. The manufacturing process uses an enzyme derived from pig’s milk to grow the Clostridium botulinum bacteria which give Botox its activity, but the enzyme is removed during the purification process.

Botox has been approved in more than 40 other countries worldwide “for aesthetic use for temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines (the vertical ‘frown lines’ between the brows),” DiRamio said.

Dr. Shelley Ray, an Anniston dermatologist, said she has injected men and women, ages 18 to 65, purely for cosmetic purposes, and her patients are willing to spend at least $150 per treatment every three months. Repeated treatments are necessary, she said, “because Botox weakens muscles by preventing transmission to the nerve, and since it is a protein, the body tears it down.”

Ray insists Botox injection is a safe and painless procedure. “It is a very small needle, more like a pressure discomfort. It is very low on the pain scale,” she said.

While Botox is a muscle relaxer, Restylane is an entirely different cosmetic approach to wrinkles, serving as a filler in the furrows of the skin. Botox is best suited for the upper face, whereas Restylane is injected into the lower facial extremities.

“It plumps up the folds and corrects facial wrinkles, such as laugh lines around the mouth. The cost of Restylane is $450 per syringe. A syringe usually contains more than one treatment and a single injection typically lasts six months, Ray said. When you buy a syringe the doctor will keep it for you, and subsequent treatments will come from that same syringe until it is empty, Ray said. The number of treatments in a syringe depends on the individual patient.

Before injecting Restylane, Ray cautions patients that they may feel some pain. “It is a thick product, so [injection can be] painful,” she said. However, she administers a topical anesthetic about 30 minutes before the procedure to numb the area. “You don’t feel anything,” she said.

Since Restylane is the new kid on the cosmetic block, with FDA approval in 2003 and its first shipment to physicians in January 2004, procedure numbers were not available.

Ray warns that while the injections are non-surgical, both Botox and Restyland are to be administered by qualified professionals, which include ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists, plastic surgeons, ophthalmologists and dermatologists.

Those seeking a youthful appearance may be confused about which product is best suited for them, but Ray said she injects Botox and Restylane at the same time, and it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation.

“We do consultations all the time where a patient simply comes in and asks what I can do to help them.” If in doubt about your laugh lines, crow’s feet and facial wrinkles, she said, all you have to do is ask.

Longleaf Style managing editor Theresa Shadrix is not yet a candidate for Botox or Restylane — which means she can spend more on shoes.

That’s right — wear white now

Various shades of white — combined with splashes of gold and camel — combine for a fashionable ensemble fit for wearing into fall and winter. Photo Illustration By Trent Penny and Theresa Shadrix

By Theresa Shadrix
The Anniston Star
09-03-2006

Ask any good Southern girl why she packs away her white wardrobe, including shoes, purses and pants, on Labor Day and it usually has something to do with her mother.
Labor Day celebrates the American worker and marks the beginning of the unofficial ‘no white’ period for Southern women.

Boxes are packed, closets are cleaned and everything white is stored away during the winter months.

Ending on Memorial Day or Easter, the No White Period is a seven-month hiatus of all things white — or is it?

“For me Labor Day is the end of summer, and when summer ends, the sandal-wearing ends also,” says Delana Gilmore, publications secretary for The Calhoun Baptist Association.

One of the many Southern women who learned the No-White rule from her mother, Gilmore contends that she is not sure if keeping to the Labor Day fashion rule is owed to the voice of Mom in her head or to lessons learned at Judson College, an all female Baptist University.

She does know that wearing white in winter is sure to get a Southern girl a few discourteous stares.

“If I do wear bright white shoes in November or December, I will be so uncomfortable and self-conscious about it that I probably try to hide my feet,” she jokes. “I know that it’s not a don’t any more. However, the ideas that I grew up on are what I govern my life by.

“They might not be for everybody, but those ideas are what make me ME.”

Like many other women in the South, Gilmore is not alone in following the advice of her foremothers.

Eula Tatman, grants manager for the Calhoun County Community Foundation, grew up in Kansas and says her mother planted the White Rule in regard to shoes in her psyche every Easter.

“Mom rarely bought white shoes for Easter (I have five sisters). She bought black patent leather shoes,” she says. “She wanted us to be able to wear our Easter shoes year round.

Therefore, I guess as a child, it was instilled in us that white shoes were not to be worn all year round.”

Tatman says she adheres to the No White Shoes rule due to fashion peer pressure.

“As an adult or college-age (girl), you would get a stare from your girlfriends who’d threaten to call the Fashion Police, unless of course it’s winter white.”

White Plains Elementary School Title I aide Patsy Cronan also recalls learning the white shoe rule on Easter.

“I can remember getting white sandals and I couldn’t wear them until Easter and I could wear them until Labor Day,” she says with a grin.

Another good Southern girl, Cronan would never go against the Shoe Rule but wonders about her white pants.

“I wore these (white) pants today and knew that I had to put them away next week,” she adds. “If you find out that we can wear them, you let me know.”

A native of England now residing in Atlanta, Ga., Lynne Marks is president of the London Image Institute and is one of only six Certified Image Masters worldwide.

She believes the rules are American, observed mainly in the South and white can be worn year-round. And yes, that includes pants.

“White is a summer and a winter color, but for winter it would be in wool and called winter white, which is ivory.”

She says that black and white were described as the new look this year, but they are always in style for midsummer.

Debra Lindquist, a certified image professional and president of Color Profiles/ The Total Look in Denver, Colo., says the root of the No White rule really pertains to shoes.

“Years ago, we did not have as many shoe color options as currently exist in 2006. There were black shoes, brown shoes and white shoes. The idea was that people needed white shoes for summer,” she says.

Today, Lindquist explains that certain rules still apply when wearing white, regardless of the season.

“Wearing white shoes is only appropriate when white is worn as a color in the rest of the outfit,” she says. “Putting on a print dress that contained no white in the print or in the print background would give the wearer an Edith Bunker type of look.”

Robbie Boggs, instructor of merchandising at Jacksonville State University, agrees the old rule was to wear a lighter colored shoe than the pants, dress or skirt but now it’s the overall look that matters in fashion.

“Bottom line, does it look good?” she asks. “Fashion rules are now obsolete and rules are broken. We are becoming a lax society and even manners are going out. Get some style and dress out of the box is what the message for fall is all about.”

But in the South, tradition in fashion is like the roots of the longleaf pine – embedded deep in the red clay and resistant to outside disturbances.

“According to folklore, most likely the rules of wearing white originated in the South — south of the Mason-Dixon line,” says Boggs.

She is not sure if wearing white had to do with the hot temperatures in the South, with white reflecting the heat of summer, or a social class issue.

“As the emerging, new middle class began growing with the industrialization of America in the 1800’s, rules of dress were applied,” she explains. “Again there was a technological boom in the 1950’s with more of society moving to the middle class.”

With the newly established middle class, Boggs says strict fashion etiquette guidelines were made and passed down through the generations.

Regardless of the fashion rules and Southern heritage, in 2006 it is all about individuality.

“If you want to put a white boot with a black skirt, just go for it,” says Boggs.

Just pray the Fashion Police are not giving out citations.

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Rules for wearing white
• To avoid the Fashion Police, the No-White period for shoes is after Labor Day and before Memorial Day or Easter.

• It is not against the rule to wear a white shirt or pants in winter but winter white is best.

• White adds pounds. When wearing white pants, try a pair with pinstripes for a slimming look.

• Debra Lindquist offers a solution for those who are not sure of the when to wear white shoes. “White shoes are available but are not a must have in every wardrobe. Metallic shoes are an option that go with many colors of clothing and have replaced white.”

• Lynne Marks says whites should be washable and bleached otherwise they will go yellow with age. So, washable cottons are best, not polyester.

• It is also important to avoid lines from undergarments when wearing white. Marks suggests flesh-colored foundation garments with white. “NO panty line!” she says. Bras in gossamer flesh-colored nylon and panties without a strong leg elastic, or even thongs are essential. Marks says you can dye white underwear in a solution of warm water and tea bags to get it to the right color to match your skin.

Summer skin...If you value yours, resist the temptation to soak up the sun.

by Theresa Shadrix
LongLeaf Style
June 2006

The influence of the sun is legendary, mythical and powerful. For thousands of years the sun has been the object of worship, whether by agrarians praying for perfect light or by the faithful seeking favor from their supreme deity. The Greeks built the sixth wonder of the world, the Colossus of Rhodes, in honor of Helios, mythological god of the sun, and held Olympic Games in Rhodes to pay homage to him. In ancient Egypt, Ra, the sun-god, was considered the first king, and his son, pharaoh, was the god’s representative on earth.

Chae Mi Madden knows the signs of the modern-day sun worshipper, but not by cipher of a spiritual message or dedication to doctrine. She believes the face tells no lies, and with one look she can identify a follower who seeks not gold-lined streets but a golden skin.

“I just don’t understand it,” says Madden, a master cosmetologist for six years and owner of Monet Day Spa in Anniston. “I have seen many women come in for facials after too much sun, and it damages it.” Why risk premature wrinkles, leathery skin, age spots and melanoma in pursuit of a tan, she wonders, when “the natural skin is so beautiful.”

Madden has made a career of converting sun worshippers to sunscreen believers while repairing wounded skin. “There is no such thing as a good tan [from the sun],” she says. “The sun dehydrates the skin. I can do healing facials to recover it, but it takes time. You will never fully recover from sun damage.”

Madden uses treatments such as microderm abrasion and hydro- and healing facials. She employs a device called the LaFleur Repairer, which she says stimulates damaged skin and decreases wrinkles with electromagnetic energy. She does not perform medical treatments for damage from ultraviolet rays. Instead, she urges men and women to seek the advice of their doctor or a dermatologist if they have suspicious spots on their faces or bodies.

Of Asian decent, Madden spends much of her day mothering women, mostly Caucasian, about the dangers of neglecting to wear sunscreen and of using tanning beds. Although her spa has one tanning bed, she prefers to see clients come in for a spray-on tan or apply a “tan-in-a-bottle.” She advises them all to use sunscreen daily to protect their skin.

Although Madden sees sun-damaged skin nearly every day, the danger hit close to home when she learned that Monet employee Anel Petroff had a skin lesion removed from her face four years ago. Says Petroff, “I don’t leave the house in the morning without sunscreen now.” Petroff glows from her most recent facial and grins proudly at the mention of the lack of a scar, which she attributes to the skills of her dermatologist and surgeon and to her own kindness to her skin.

Petroff, a hair stylist, extends sun protection to hair as well. “I often see hair damaged from the sun,” she says. “I encourage people to apply conditioner or cover the hair with a hat. I know it doesn’t look glamorous, but it is worth it.”

Christians debate, weigh intelligent design for validity as scientific theory

By Theresa Shadrix
The Alabama Baptist
March 16, 2006

Most Christians have solid opinions on issues like the display of the Ten Commandments and prayer in schools, but many are not finding clarity in their opinion about the theory of intelligent design (ID).

With roots in astronomy, physics, chemistry and biology, the modern-day ID theory began to take form in 1802 with William Paley’s watchmaker analogy in “Natural Theology.”

According to Paley, if a watch is found in a field, then the complexity of the watch offers evidence that it is the product of intelligence, and thus the natural world provides evidence of a worldmaker. This preceded the theory of evolution, introduced in Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” in 1859.

In 1984, Charles Thaxton, Walter Bradley and Roger Olson presented a critique of the theory of evolution in the publication “The Mystery of Life’s Origin.” Michael Denton followed with his analysis, “Evolution: A Theory in Crisis,” two years later. These publications laid a foundation and gave way to the present-day ID movement and future books on the subject, including William Dembski’s “The Design Inference” in 1998.

Until recently, ID was mainly a topic among the scientific community, which largely does not support the ID theory.

However, the Kitzmiller vs. Dover (Pa.) Area School District trial, in which U.S. District Judge John E. Jones ruled that inserting ID into the school science curriculum violates the constitutional separation of church and state, brought the topic into mainstream conversations.

A spokesman for an ID think tank contends media attention given to such trials merges ID and creation science — a form of creationism — into one theory, when in actuality ID is a separate theory based not on religion but biology.

Rob Crowther, director of media and public relations for the Discovery Institute Center for Science & Culture, said he believes an agenda to distort ID is a purposeful act. “It is designed by the Darwinians. They like to confuse the lines between (ID and creation science),” he said. That is why Crowther believes there must be education on the three distinct definitions related to life: creation science, evolution and ID.

He said evolution has three definitions. One holds that change occurs over time. A second contends common ancestry and all forms of life evolved from a single original life form. And a third asserts that natural science, acting on random mutation, is the primary mechanism by which life forms have evolved.

“ID scientists do not have a problem with definition No. 1. There is some debate over definition No. 2, but it is not incompatible with ID,” Crowther said. “Definition No. 3, commonly referred to as Darwinian evolution, is a specific part of evolution that ID challenges and is the heart of Darwin’s theory.”

Crowther said the scientific theory of intelligent design holds that instead of evidence for mutation “there are clear indicators of design in nature and that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause.”

Unlike creation science, however, which presupposes that God created the universe, ID does not promote an answer for who that designer might be. “Intelligent design theory does not claim that science can determine the identity of the intelligent cause,” he said. “All it proposes is that science can identify whether certain features of the natural world are the products of intelligence.”

Dembski, the Carl F.H. Henry Professor of Science and Theology and director of the Center for Science and Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, Ky., said he best defines ID as “the study of patterns in nature that are best explained as the result of intelligence.”

A mathematician, philosopher, theologian and one of the leading proponents in the ID movement, Dembski agrees its most controversial area of application is biology. “If patterns in biological systems exist that signify intelligence, then this intelligence would have to be an unevolved intelligence, which is utterly counter to conventional evolutionary theory.”

According to him, while creation science is in the first instance a doctrine about the source of being of the world, like questioning where everything comes from, ID does not ask where nature or the world ultimately comes from.

“Creationism goes further than creation and takes a particular view of creation, typically a particular interpretation of the Genesis account of creation, and then seeks to harmonize it with science,” he said. “ID, by contrast, is not part of the Bible-science controversy.”

Dembski said because the ID community includes evangelical Christians, who believe that ultimately the designer is the Christian God, it is easy to see how the lines between creationism and ID are blurred. Nevertheless he said Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists understand the intelligence behind the design in nature in terms compatible with their religious faith.

“ID is not vague about the designer,” Dembski said. “It simply says that from strictly the data of nature, there’s not much we can say about the identity of the designer, and to say more about the designer, we need to look to philosophy and theology.”

Although ID has no stake in trying to harmonize religious texts with scientific data, he said it is much more friendly and compatible with Christian theism.

“Evolutionary theory, by contrast, is hard to square with Christian theism because it views nature unguided by any intelligence as sufficient to bring about biological complexity and diversity,” Dembski said.

“When evolutionists talk about evolution, they are not thinking of an intelligently planned process exhibiting clear goals or purposes. They are thinking of an accidental process that from our vantage happened to do interesting things.”


Copyright 2005© The Alabama Baptist. All Rights Reserved. Contact The Alabama Baptist

Anniston’s Billy Harris to retire after 50 years in ministry

By Theresa Shadrix
The Alabama Baptist
December 8, 2005

As Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Dec. 25, one church in Alabama will say goodbye to the pastor that has served them for almost 20 years.

Billy Harris, pastor of Parker Memorial Baptist Church, Anniston, in Calhoun Baptist Association, will retire after preaching the Christmas Day message. It is a decision he said was difficult, considering the historic church is on the threshold of a multimillion-dollar restoration project and preaching has been the center of his life since 1956.

“There is just no good time to say goodbye,” Harris said.

The church is hosting a reception in his honor Dec. 11, 3:30–5 p.m.
An Oxford native, Harris is the youngest of six children born to A.L. and Cora Cobb Harris. Although his parents were believers, they were not active in church. But Harris attended Lakeview Baptist Church, Oxford, in Calhoun Association with friends and made a profession of faith about age 13.

As a sophomore at Oxford High School, Harris rededicated his life after a friend invited him to a revival meeting at Glen Addie Baptist Church, Anniston. A year later, he committed his life to the ministry and started preaching right away.

Although Harris can’t recall his first sermon, he said the “preacher boys” of Glen Addie Baptist found places to preach. “Three or four of us would get together and clean out a vacant building in south Anniston,” Harris said. “We got some chairs and had a revival by inviting people to come.”

Harris said he didn’t really know what he was doing in his early days of preaching but he loved it. After high school graduation in 1957, Harris pursued pastoral studies at Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. He served as pastor of churches in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida during his college and seminary years.

“During those years, there really was not a lot of attention given to communicating the gospel. The attention was on substance,” Harris said. “When I came along, you could basically go through college and seminary with no emphasis on communication.”

Harris said the more he listened to preachers, the more he realized someone needed to help them. “Gradually my interest moved toward working with young ministerial students.”

From 1968–1978, Harris was professor of religion and philosophy at Samford, where he taught preaching, speech and religious education. The guidance Harris provided to future pastors is still felt today, said former student Sid Nichols.

Nichols, director of missions for Calhoun Association, believes Harris’ instruction made an impact on his own preaching style. “He brought basic fundamentals into my preparation and presentation of my messages,” he said. “He was very respected as a speech expert, which is a valuable asset when teaching preaching.”

Harris’ affiliation with Samford has remained strong through the years. In 1992, he was selected as one of Samford’s “ministers of the year,” and professors often shared messages from the pulpit at Parker Memorial Baptist, where Harris began serving in 1986.

From the classroom to the church to the community, he confirmed that being a pastor is not affirmed in numbers according to membership, even though Parker Memorial’s is more than 2,100. It is in individual people, Harris said.

“Ministry is about people, not about programs,” he said. “We are here partnering with people to meet the needs of our community.”

Wayne Hostetter, minister of education and seniors adults at Parker Memorial, said Harris is always conscious of being a pastor to every church member. “He is a very positive individual and exhibits a great degree of wisdom in dealing with all types of situations,” he said.

Don Gober, minister of music at Parker Memorial, has worked beside Harris since 1991. Gober said he learned the wisdom of patience and caution during trying and difficult situations from Harris.

Gober, whose wife died after a long battle with breast cancer, said, “Billy Harris is the most caring and loving pastor in a time of personal crisis that I have ever known. Families constantly tell me what a comfort he has been and how his loving spirit pulled them through the worst circumstances.”

Throughout Harris’ ministry, he served on the board of directors for The Alabama Baptist, board of regents for the University of Mobile, as president of the board of governors for Judson College in Marion, and chaired the committee on boards and commissions for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

But his goal has been to please Christ, not men. Harris hopes Christ will one day say to him, “You’ve been faithful,” as a reflection of his service to church and family, which includes wife, Phoebe, and three children.

“That’s all I hope He says,” Harris said.

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