July 11, 2024 • 35 mins
Today, we have the honor of speaking with Ms. Annie L. Beckley-Newell, a remarkable author and community outreach director whose life is a testament to faith, resilience, and the transformative power of God's love. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Annie grew up in a nurturing home where Sunday family gatherings around the Bible laid the foundation for her enduring faith. With twenty-five years of ministry experience, Annie has dedicated her life to spreading the message of the living God through evangelism and hospitality. Her deep love for writing and storytelling, evident since she wrote her first play at the age of twelve, culminated in the release of her first novel, "Someone Prayed for Me: A Story of Faith, Hope, and Love," a powerful narrative inspired by a divine dream. Featured in the Toledo Blade and honored by Strathmore’s Who’s Who, Annie's work has touched many lives. Today, she shares her journey of overcoming personal tragedy, finding redemption, and the profound impact of prayer and faith. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Annie L. Beckley-Newell.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Welcome to the Voices of Legacy Broadcast. Today we have
the honor of speaking with Miss Annie L. Beckley Newell.
Did I get that right?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You got it correct?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
A remarkable author and community outreach director whose life is
a testament of faith and resilience in the transformative power
of faith in love and to me, faith and love
is just action. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and
he grew up in a nurturing home where Sunday family
(00:58):
gatherings around the Word of God laid the foundations for
her enduring faith. With twenty five years of ministry experience,
Annie has dedicated her life to spreading the message of
the Living God, of love, and of evangelism and hospitality.
Her deep love for writing and storytelling, which is evidence
(01:22):
even in our conversation before we even got started that
was really good, has played a big role in where
she is today. Welcome to the Voices of Legacy, Miss Annie.
What should I call you today?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Annie?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Annie? Okay, Okay, no titles, no PhDs, no doctor.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Just then okay, thank you. Thank you so much for
having me and inviting me. It is some honor to
be here.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Well, it's an honor to have you talking about your
wonderful first novel, Someone Prayed for Me, a story of faith,
hope and love. But before we talk about that, let's
find out about you. Tell us something about yourself.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, I guess you can sum it up as I
am a person who's very conscious, conscious of God calling
me my purpose of being here on this earth and
the good will toward men, meaning anyone. I try to
(02:28):
make sure that either I speak some positive things to
someone or if it's a way that I can help them,
or just conversate, you know, and listen. Listening is a
big deal. Sometimes people are going through things and they
just want someone to listen, not judge them, and not
(02:51):
even to put their own two cents in on it.
Just listen, just listen, because today the world is so busy.
People are busy, and there's phrases that they throw out,
you know, in passing how are you today, but they
really don't want to take the time to stand there
(03:12):
and listen. It was just something polite to say, as
you know, as they were passing. So people are longing
for that ear and for someone to be sincere and
really care about how they're doing.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, so I don't just say it, but actually care,
actually care. Yeah, that makes a difference. I'm from Toledo
as well originally, but I spent more than half my
life in the Carolinas and down south, and that southern hospitality.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Beautiful it is.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
But I found out that it's more of a questioning
of who you are and where you're from and who
your people are, more so than the concern as you said,
how y'all you know? Is it really? You know? How
can I put this nicely without talking about myself? Because
it's about you? Isn't really uh a term of endurement necessarily,
It's more of an inquiry. What you said is true.
(04:08):
I don't care about how you really are, right, but
it becomes a habit or tradition. That's interesting. So it
sounds like you have a spirit of service. Would that
be true?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Oh? Yes, And I really believe in hospitality, and hospitality
should follow you in whatever genre you're in. It doesn't matter.
May I get you a water? It was a very
that was hospitality it is and these days you know,
you know, people struggle with that hospitality.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
That's what I want. But that's how you get what
you want.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Well, you can get what you want in a very
pleasant way, as you know, and by being hospital hospitable,
you also show the love of God. Yes, because he
was the epitome of hospitality. Yes, you know, let me
(05:10):
wash your feet, you know, and a lot I think
people are kind of caught up when it comes to hospitality.
Is like service, it's like it's today is looked at
as something sub submission, but really no, it's it's a
great and powerful. Yes, it's it's great and it's powerful,
(05:35):
and it actually shows your strength by you being able
to humble yourself and be of service to someone.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yes, we love service. For me, you've been featured recently
in the Toledo Blade.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yes, what was that honor? Yeah, it was a very
big honor for writing my first novel, and matter of fact,
have already received two awards for it. Wow, and that
that really touched my heart. One from Stratmore's Who's Who
and the other one is from Let's See the Universal
(06:18):
Alliance and that was really nice too. Yeah. So just
pointing out, Uh, in my novel, I touch on a
lot of serious topics.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
We have what's the name of it.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Again, someone prayed for me? A story of faith, hope
and love. I touch on parents and their children, relationships,
suicidal thoughts, how it affects the family and the loved
(06:57):
ones around them when someone attempts to take their life
or proceeds with it. It's devastating. It's devastating to everyone
that's involved. And I tend to take the reader on
this journey and show them how if they had that
thought before, or if they knew someone who was having
(07:19):
those thoughts, this is the kind of effect that it
would cause on your loved ones and the people around you.
And I also take the reader on a journey where
you know, hopelessness is big. Failed marriages, failed relationships, all
(07:41):
these things tend to chip at your personal self worth
over time, and you don't see it coming, you don't
see it happening, but it does. And because as human beings,
we tend to look at we're at ourselves. I failed
(08:02):
what I wasn't good enough? Or you know I should
have did this more I should, and we tend and
those things are pecking at us and they're tearing our
self worth down. And so I take the reader on
a journey and show how that happens. And unknowingly, when
you have children, for example, and you're pushing them to
(08:28):
really achieve. You have to be so careful because words
have such weight and you didn't mean to put pressure
on them, or you didn't mean to say certain things.
But I showed the reader how after these things were
said mentally, how that affected someone. So it was really
(08:52):
a book of awareness of our words and and how
powerful they.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Are granted in our faith, which I think we share.
The tongue is probably the most lethal of all of
our appendages because what we say. I'm thankful to have
known my mother and my father as good parents, and
(09:18):
I can say that my dad, who's still alive, prepared
us for the failure as well as pushed us for
expectation of achieving so that we could learn. And it
sounds like what I'm hearing you say in this book
that I think just about everybody needs. The read, which
is called.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Again Someone Prayed for Me, a story of faith, hope
and love.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, I'd say this is a good read because we
do need to be careful what we say and think
about the effect of our words on the people that
we speak to. Is when we don't and take it
for granted, that's a dangerous thing. Not to get whole churchy,
(10:01):
but you do reap what you sow. The seeds that
you plant, you cannot expect them not.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
To grow, absolutely, absolutely, And so in this novel, I
also show the love of God and how special each
and every one of us are to him. And when
a person is feeling a loane and isolated and they
feel like, Okay, my work life is horrible, I have
(10:30):
no one special, and every time I reach out, I
get hurt. They tend to go into their own shell
and they feel like, Okay, there's nothing else for me.
That gives room in your mind for these lists? End
it all? What would the world care if I was
here no longer? And that gives seed in space for
(10:54):
thoughts like that. But when you know that your heavenly
father loves you and you're special to him, and I
liking it and too. I like to use this as
an example. Like an artist with his canvas before him,
and every time he starts a new painting, it's just
as special as the one that's over in the corner
(11:16):
that he's already finished. You know, you want to make
sure the lighting is just right and the brush the
brushstrokes are just right. He takes the same care and
time with each one and that's how special we are
to God, each one of us. Yeah. Awesome, And and
(11:37):
I just shine a light on how much he You know,
he cares for us, and he loves us, and he
doesn't want anyone to perish like that. We need to
know that he cares. And I also have a chaption
in there, what shows that all heaven is rooting for us.
If we only knew all Heaven is rooting us on,
(11:58):
you can do it. You're okay, you can do that.
You're strong enough. That would mean a lot to a
lot of people.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yes, it would. It reminds me of a segment back
in the old days of Funny Saturday Night Live hit
Hit Jack Candy, I'm good enough and darn it, I
like me. But we have to affirm ourselves. We have
(12:26):
to and know if we're of faith, and even if
we're not, that somebody really is rooting for you.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I think it's a part of the human psyching. And
I guess we're having kind of a discussion back and
forth to focus on the negative, we automatically go there.
That's what gets the attention. We can see it in
the news. I mean they say no news is bad news,
but a lot of bad news is very profitable, so
we see a lot of it. We focus on the
negative instead of the positive. And even in our storms,
(12:55):
and I get off of my little soap box, there's
always a lesson. There's always ales and a blessing that
we can derive from those storms so that we can
grow and mature and do better and better appreciate life itself.
I like that. So the family dynamic that you grew
up with here in Toledo that inspired you.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yes, it did. My mom and dad both were Christians,
and that's how they raised me and my siblings, and
we went to churches little kids and everything. And but
what really meant a lot was after church, after church,
when we got home on Sundays. You know, we could
(13:38):
expect the big dinner.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
You know, now I see you smile.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
You must I can still remember, but not and putting
and oh my goodness. But my mom was so happy.
It was like Sundays were the happiest days because that
was the day we all was as a family. Nobody
had to go to school and nobody had to go
to work, and we were there together and she made
(14:02):
it special. She made a big homemade home cooked meal
with all the desserts and my dad and afterwards we
were all after we cleared the table and everything, we
all came back to the dining room table and she
and she kept this big, big, giant Bible. It's like
(14:22):
an antique now, but and she would bring that out
and we would like I can remember it like it
was yesterday. We would just be like so excited. And
she had put it out. It was big white ones,
yeah about and and she had this old platform that
wouldn't it's folded up, and then she unfolded. She was
(14:44):
laid out and we were just like, oh, and the
way with the respect that she treated the Word of God.
And they would read, read for hours and then they'll
discuss what they were reading. And it was just such
an impact and a respect for the word of God,
to respect for God himself and Jesus and how he
(15:07):
laid his life down for us. And I can remember
tears streaming down our faces when she talked about the sacrifices,
you know. And that's the legacy that they left to me,
And that's the legacy I want to leave to my
family members and people that I meet. I don't mind
(15:27):
explaining or just share if they allow me. I'm glad to.
I'm glad to, not forced, never forced, and uh I shared,
always always willing the ship.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I think that's the responsibility of the smile that I
just saw. You can't see your smile, but I just
saw what she was talking about. That good eating. But
those experiences that we cherish, we really honor those that
we grieve and we miss when we share that type
of love moving forward, even with strangers. I know it's
(15:58):
not about me, but I love, love, love sharing that
type of story and that type of love with people
that I've never met before. Absolutely, it's better than money.
Then you'll probably say you're crazy.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
No, no, it is unmeasurable.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yes, it is a word, definitely immeasurable. So from the
struggles to triumphs. There were struggles that you had.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Oh sure, oh sure, excuse even though I came up
in a Christian home. As I got into my older
teenage years eighteen nineteen and I got employed and got
the big head, I need my own apartment. I need
(16:42):
to live my own life. You know, I stepped away,
I stepped away from the faith that I always knew,
and I went into the club scene. I was there
for some years, you know, and my mother never gave up,
my father never gave up. But I remember how kind
(17:02):
they were, even though they were beckoning me. They would say,
we're having a wonderful concert at the church this Sunday.
I would like for you to be there, or they
you know, they never shook their finger. You should, you
should not, you know, But it was just that kind tugging,
kind tugging. They never stopped. And I still respect them
(17:26):
and love them, and so I would always go. Sometimes
I hadn't gotten into the house too much earlier than,
you know, getting in the shower and getting dressed. And
because I was, I was committed to making them happy,
(17:47):
but yet I was so bound on living my own life.
It was rebellion. Yeah, And and of course everything outside
of christ got the twinkles and the lights and the
everything looks. So while I'm missing all this fun. But
you know, but that's the way it's set up, of course.
(18:09):
And so yes, I've ran into people there wasn't Christian
and I and I've got my feelings hurt and all
other things, you know, So because I had stepped out
of the ram. And that's and your you're vulnerable because
your protection you stepped out of your protection. It's just
(18:29):
like in the middle of winter and you go outside
without your coat and you want to help change a
tire with no attire on. You're you're you're gonna get
You're gonna get hurt.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
This blessing that you had foundation though.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Oh yes, oh yes, And they never stopped pulling, and
I never forget towards my uh later twenties. It's just
one day I woke up and I said, I'm not
gonna ever go to another bar. I'm not gonna drink.
I'm not gonna and that was it. That was it,
(19:05):
and no one around me could believe it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
What happened to her.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
They know at first, they they thought it was I
was just talking. I would just and every weekend they're
calling me, or are you gonna meet us? US said no,
are you gonna know well what you're gonna come later? No?
And they did this for a week after week at
the weekend until finally they said, you're you're serious. And
I could never explain it in words. I just woke
(19:34):
up and that was it. Wow, that was it, And
I never looked back to that, And that was the
start of my thirst for everything. Deeper into the word.
I wanted to know everything about God. I wanted to
know everything, and that was that was the beginning of
(19:59):
my west to know the God that I serve, not
just the name, not just going to church on Sundays.
I needed to know everything about him. And that's where
my quest started and the love relationship began between us.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
So I'm reading that you wrote a play.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yes, I wrote my I was. I didn't know it
was a play at a time. At that time, I
just knew I liked to write, and all these characters
have always been in my mind. So I just wrote
down a skit a play, and then I got a
(20:49):
construction piece of paper, cut it up in squares and
I read on there you are invited to Annie's play.
And I put the time in my dress on it,
and I cut them up, and me and my little
brother passed them out throughout the neighborhood. Who was the
play at It was in my backyard, Yes, And guess
(21:13):
what they showed up and me and I never forget
that morning of the play, we had a big red wagon.
I went and got the wagon out the garage, I
got my brother, we got up. I said we're going
up to the park. We had a park in our neighborhood.
I said, we're gonna go and we're gonna find all
the bottles. At that time, you could turn the bottles
(21:33):
in and get cash, you know, for the smaller bottles.
I think it was a nickel or something, and the
larger bottles were a dime or fifteen cents or something.
And I said, we're going to cash this in and
we're going to buy the stuff for the party today,
my play. So we did that when we went to
the local grocery store. Well, first we brought them home,
(21:55):
washed them out with the holes on side of the house,
and we went up to the and so the manager
at the grocery store was so impressed because I mean
that waggles and they were washed, they were clean. And
he looked at him, he looked at us, He looked
at the bottles. He looked at us. He said wow.
He said, normally they bring the bottles in dirty, but
(22:16):
you guys took the time because I didn't. I didn't
want no rejections. So we got we got the money,
and I brought cake mix for my mom to make
a cake and ice in. I brought ice cream. I
brought chips and pretzels. I brought everything for the plate
because I had to feed my people. Okay, you do
(22:38):
another play hospitality. And so when we got home and
me and my brother got these two big bags and
my mother said, where did you all this stuff come?
What did you got? And I said, well, mom, we
went and collected bottles. I said, this is what I
told her. I said, I need you to make a
cake for my plate this evening. She put her hands
(23:01):
on her hands and looked at me. She said, and
what time is this play? I said four pm? And
she she couldn't see, and she said, well, and we
brought the bags in and she said, well, let me
turn the oven on. And so it was like I
had everything she had to do, just nothing to just
make the cape. So I'm upstairs and I'm trying to
(23:24):
figure out what I'm gonna put on, and because this
was a big deal to me, and I wanted a
cape because I wanted to blow in the wind while
I was standing up there talking wow. So with about
three point thirty, the backyard started getting filled and I
came out. I said, welcome, every one, welcome, Sit down please.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
At twelve old, this is priceless.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I grup and I felt like I was so tiny.
I felt like I needed to get on top of
the garage so I can look down on the guests
and do my skit. So my mother come out with
the bowls of chips and pressels and stuff. She put
a little tablecloth on the little table out there, and
she's looking around. She says, where's And he said, she's
(24:13):
up there in the garage and I'm up there well.
And the next I want you, and she said, if
you don't get that, I said, they need to see me.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
We need a screenplay for this, find a little actor
to play.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Yeah, my goodness. But it turned out really well. I
got a standing ovation. Everybody clapped. I don't know if
it was just because they enjoyed all the snacks or what,
but they they stood and they clapped and and I
never forgot that. It was just it was so great.
And my mother never forgot that too.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Could this be the beginning of the twenty five years
experiencing ministry in this very moment?
Speaker 2 (24:55):
It could be? Yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes. So I
was always very inquisitive. I love to read, I love
to write, but I never knew I was a writer.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
But you like to read.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I love to read. I love to read, and I
have and i've this is what the way I look
at things in life. Every person that you meet, have
ever met, was a potential character in a potential book. Yes, so,
people tell me all the time I wanted to write
(25:33):
a book, but I did. I said, you're full of books.
Every every situation you've ever been in, every encounter is
all chapters in a book, just waiting for you to
write it.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Well, they always say reality is better than fiction. Oh yeah,
by far, by far. And I guess that leads to
the advice and encouragement through the struggles and faith and uh,
facing personal hardships and some of the experiences in life.
And that wonderful story about the play. I love that
(26:08):
it was that in the book. That needs to be
the next book. It needs to and the hope and
the inspiration for others. Now you have this book published,
do you have anything else?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Well, actually, I am starting on my second and I'm
just beginning just right at the beginning here. But yeah,
it will be a part two.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Got you? And do you have an audio version of
this book?
Speaker 2 (26:35):
It is an audio It is read by you. No, no,
it's not my voice.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Well sometimes you never know. Okay, And it's available.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Where Amazon has it an audio?
Speaker 1 (26:49):
So at Amazon? Or do you have a website for
it already?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Well, it's on Amazon. Is is that Barnes and Nobles
trilogy the publishing company? Okay, and go through trilogy as well.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
So this book is in self published. You have a publisher.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
I have a publisher trilogy. So I submitted my manuscript
by mere coincidence. They popped up on my Facebook page
and said they were looking for Christian manuscripts. I've I
have been holding onto mind for fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Going to ask you how long had you had it?
Speaker 2 (27:23):
Fifteen years? I have been holding on to it, and
cause I never it was personal. I never thought anybody would.
And I said, well, what will it hurt if I?
You know? So they asked for a couple of questions.
I filled that out, and then they came right back
and they asked for a few more. I felt that out.
Then they came right back and they said, well, can
(27:43):
you just send us your manuscript. I'm like, well, it's
like maybe seventy five to eighty percent done. I only
work on it. When they said, well, send what you
have and I did that. Then I got a phone
call and they said, well, we actually love it, but
it's not up to us. We got to send it
(28:05):
to our publishing company, Trilogy. They have the final word,
but we sent it over to them immediately. I said okay.
So two days later, she emails me a copy of
the letter that her publishing company sent her, and it
(28:26):
was like, oh, my goodness, is smooth read. She introduces
all the characters right away. She's a perfect fIF for us.
We just love. I'm like, I'm still like reading this
and I'm saying, is that right, you know, because it's
all new. It's happening so fast within days, and I'm
just sitting there like, And she calls me after that
(28:48):
and she says, well, we're sending you our contract. You
sign it, sign it, send it back. And I was like, well, well, well,
I I need to read this over myself first. Then
I'm a sentence to my attorney, let him read it over,
and then if it's a great deal for both of us,
(29:10):
then I'll sign it and submit it. I was just
blank after I GoF the phone. I was just sitting
there like, did that just happen to me?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
You know?
Speaker 2 (29:20):
But and I never thought of them. And she said,
we're just so I'm pleased to have a seasoned writer
like yourself. I was a seasons. I'm looking around like,
who is there somebody else in the room and she's
talking about me, But yeah, you were season I never
looked at myself.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Your first play at twelve as a writer.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
But I never I had never, No one had ever
called me that. I have never looked to that. I
worked for twenty five years at Columbia Gas of Ohio.
I've worked in different departments. I retired out and out
of a regulation specialists. I was good at a lot
of things, but I never thought of myself as that, Well,
(30:04):
you're that now and right, But I always and I
looked at all of them. After this happened is when
I reflected back and really looked back, and all of
my jobs, it was always a lot of writing, writing reports,
writing lots. I loved jobs with writing. But I never
put the two to two together. And I said, in
(30:27):
everything I've ever done, it had a lot of writing
to it. And I loved that part. And I said,
but I never looked at it like that. And when
she called me that, and I stood up in the
middle of the room, I said, I am a writer.
I am a Arthur. It's like I was meeting myself
for the first time. Surprise, surprise, you know all this time.
(30:52):
So I always say this, It's very important. If you
see a characteristic in your child, in a neighbor's child,
in someone at your church, or someone in your community,
say it. Say you know, you remind me of a writer,
or you remind me of a playwright, or you remind
(31:13):
me of a good picture or whatever they're doing. Say
it because you'll be surprised. Just someone. If one person
would have said that to me, you remind me of
a writer. You love the right. If one person would
have said that to me, I would have thought I
(31:35):
would start thinking on that line. Yeah, if one person.
So it's very important. And I tell parents this now
when I'm speaking or if I'm at a speaking engagement,
I said, they will tell you who they are. They
will show you their gifts at an early age. Be
(31:57):
looking purposely, be looking looking for them, because they're going
to show you.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
And encourage it and encourage it and encourage it. Well.
As we're wrapping up the show today, I'm so thankful
that you decided to say yes and grace us with
your presence and those wonderful stories. I'm still thinking about
the twelve year old playwright and Rufe performer. I could
(32:22):
so see you doing that. That's just funny to me.
As we reflect on your life's work, what legacy do
you hope to leave behind and how do you want
to be remembered by your family, friends in the community
for what you've done thus far.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
The legacy I would like to leave is that believe
in yourself. It does not matter how old you are,
how young you are. You have something to give the world. Yes,
and just trust, trust your heart, trust yourself. Awesome, and
(33:05):
I want my friends in my community to know that
there's nothing too hard. It's never ever over for you.
A lot of people say I'm too old for that now,
or or you know, I was sixty when they said
yes to me. That's amazing. So you're never too old
(33:28):
for your dreams and you're never too young to start them.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
That's amazing, awesome, awesome clothes. Thank you for listening to
the voices of a legacy. This is your friend, Pastor
Carl Mitchell, the third, your host of this program. We
want you to go to w GTE dot org slash
(33:56):
legacy to like, share, subscribe, and here all of our
past podcast and our future podcast. Be a friend and
join with us in the Voices of Legacy, where you're
writing your own legacy every day that you live. Have
a blessed ad WGT voices around us. W GT supported
(34:56):
in part by the American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated
by the City of Aledo and the Lucas County Commissioners
and administered by the Arts Commission
Welcome to the Voices of Legacy Broadcast. Today we have
the honor of speaking with Miss Annie L. Beckley Newell.
Did I get that right?
Speaker 2 (00:34):
You got it correct?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
A remarkable author and community outreach director whose life is
a testament of faith and resilience in the transformative power
of faith in love and to me, faith and love
is just action. Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and
he grew up in a nurturing home where Sunday family
(00:58):
gatherings around the Word of God laid the foundations for
her enduring faith. With twenty five years of ministry experience,
Annie has dedicated her life to spreading the message of
the Living God, of love, and of evangelism and hospitality.
Her deep love for writing and storytelling, which is evidence
(01:22):
even in our conversation before we even got started that
was really good, has played a big role in where
she is today. Welcome to the Voices of Legacy, Miss Annie.
What should I call you today?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Annie?
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Annie? Okay, Okay, no titles, no PhDs, no doctor.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
Just then okay, thank you. Thank you so much for
having me and inviting me. It is some honor to
be here.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Well, it's an honor to have you talking about your
wonderful first novel, Someone Prayed for Me, a story of faith,
hope and love. But before we talk about that, let's
find out about you. Tell us something about yourself.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Well, I guess you can sum it up as I
am a person who's very conscious, conscious of God calling
me my purpose of being here on this earth and
the good will toward men, meaning anyone. I try to
(02:28):
make sure that either I speak some positive things to
someone or if it's a way that I can help them,
or just conversate, you know, and listen. Listening is a
big deal. Sometimes people are going through things and they
just want someone to listen, not judge them, and not
(02:51):
even to put their own two cents in on it.
Just listen, just listen, because today the world is so busy.
People are busy, and there's phrases that they throw out,
you know, in passing how are you today, but they
really don't want to take the time to stand there
(03:12):
and listen. It was just something polite to say, as
you know, as they were passing. So people are longing
for that ear and for someone to be sincere and
really care about how they're doing.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
Yeah, so I don't just say it, but actually care,
actually care. Yeah, that makes a difference. I'm from Toledo
as well originally, but I spent more than half my
life in the Carolinas and down south, and that southern hospitality.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Beautiful it is.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
But I found out that it's more of a questioning
of who you are and where you're from and who
your people are, more so than the concern as you said,
how y'all you know? Is it really? You know? How
can I put this nicely without talking about myself? Because
it's about you? Isn't really uh a term of endurement necessarily,
It's more of an inquiry. What you said is true.
(04:08):
I don't care about how you really are, right, but
it becomes a habit or tradition. That's interesting. So it
sounds like you have a spirit of service. Would that
be true?
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Oh? Yes, And I really believe in hospitality, and hospitality
should follow you in whatever genre you're in. It doesn't matter.
May I get you a water? It was a very
that was hospitality it is and these days you know,
you know, people struggle with that hospitality.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
That's what I want. But that's how you get what
you want.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Well, you can get what you want in a very
pleasant way, as you know, and by being hospital hospitable,
you also show the love of God. Yes, because he
was the epitome of hospitality. Yes, you know, let me
(05:10):
wash your feet, you know, and a lot I think
people are kind of caught up when it comes to hospitality.
Is like service, it's like it's today is looked at
as something sub submission, but really no, it's it's a
great and powerful. Yes, it's it's great and it's powerful,
(05:35):
and it actually shows your strength by you being able
to humble yourself and be of service to someone.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yes, we love service. For me, you've been featured recently
in the Toledo Blade.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Yes, what was that honor? Yeah, it was a very
big honor for writing my first novel, and matter of fact,
have already received two awards for it. Wow, and that
that really touched my heart. One from Stratmore's Who's Who
and the other one is from Let's See the Universal
(06:18):
Alliance and that was really nice too. Yeah. So just
pointing out, Uh, in my novel, I touch on a
lot of serious topics.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
We have what's the name of it.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Again, someone prayed for me? A story of faith, hope
and love. I touch on parents and their children, relationships,
suicidal thoughts, how it affects the family and the loved
(06:57):
ones around them when someone attempts to take their life
or proceeds with it. It's devastating. It's devastating to everyone
that's involved. And I tend to take the reader on
this journey and show them how if they had that
thought before, or if they knew someone who was having
(07:19):
those thoughts, this is the kind of effect that it
would cause on your loved ones and the people around you.
And I also take the reader on a journey where
you know, hopelessness is big. Failed marriages, failed relationships, all
(07:41):
these things tend to chip at your personal self worth
over time, and you don't see it coming, you don't
see it happening, but it does. And because as human beings,
we tend to look at we're at ourselves. I failed
(08:02):
what I wasn't good enough? Or you know I should
have did this more I should, and we tend and
those things are pecking at us and they're tearing our
self worth down. And so I take the reader on
a journey and show how that happens. And unknowingly, when
you have children, for example, and you're pushing them to
(08:28):
really achieve. You have to be so careful because words
have such weight and you didn't mean to put pressure
on them, or you didn't mean to say certain things.
But I showed the reader how after these things were
said mentally, how that affected someone. So it was really
(08:52):
a book of awareness of our words and and how
powerful they.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Are granted in our faith, which I think we share.
The tongue is probably the most lethal of all of
our appendages because what we say. I'm thankful to have
known my mother and my father as good parents, and
(09:18):
I can say that my dad, who's still alive, prepared
us for the failure as well as pushed us for
expectation of achieving so that we could learn. And it
sounds like what I'm hearing you say in this book
that I think just about everybody needs. The read, which
is called.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Again Someone Prayed for Me, a story of faith, hope
and love.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Yeah, I'd say this is a good read because we
do need to be careful what we say and think
about the effect of our words on the people that
we speak to. Is when we don't and take it
for granted, that's a dangerous thing. Not to get whole churchy,
(10:01):
but you do reap what you sow. The seeds that
you plant, you cannot expect them not.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
To grow, absolutely, absolutely, And so in this novel, I
also show the love of God and how special each
and every one of us are to him. And when
a person is feeling a loane and isolated and they
feel like, Okay, my work life is horrible, I have
(10:30):
no one special, and every time I reach out, I
get hurt. They tend to go into their own shell
and they feel like, Okay, there's nothing else for me.
That gives room in your mind for these lists? End
it all? What would the world care if I was
here no longer? And that gives seed in space for
(10:54):
thoughts like that. But when you know that your heavenly
father loves you and you're special to him, and I
liking it and too. I like to use this as
an example. Like an artist with his canvas before him,
and every time he starts a new painting, it's just
as special as the one that's over in the corner
(11:16):
that he's already finished. You know, you want to make
sure the lighting is just right and the brush the
brushstrokes are just right. He takes the same care and
time with each one and that's how special we are
to God, each one of us. Yeah. Awesome, And and
(11:37):
I just shine a light on how much he You know,
he cares for us, and he loves us, and he
doesn't want anyone to perish like that. We need to
know that he cares. And I also have a chaption
in there, what shows that all heaven is rooting for us.
If we only knew all Heaven is rooting us on,
(11:58):
you can do it. You're okay, you can do that.
You're strong enough. That would mean a lot to a
lot of people.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
Yes, it would. It reminds me of a segment back
in the old days of Funny Saturday Night Live hit
Hit Jack Candy, I'm good enough and darn it, I
like me. But we have to affirm ourselves. We have
(12:26):
to and know if we're of faith, and even if
we're not, that somebody really is rooting for you.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
I think it's a part of the human psyching. And
I guess we're having kind of a discussion back and
forth to focus on the negative, we automatically go there.
That's what gets the attention. We can see it in
the news. I mean they say no news is bad news,
but a lot of bad news is very profitable, so
we see a lot of it. We focus on the
negative instead of the positive. And even in our storms,
(12:55):
and I get off of my little soap box, there's
always a lesson. There's always ales and a blessing that
we can derive from those storms so that we can
grow and mature and do better and better appreciate life itself.
I like that. So the family dynamic that you grew
up with here in Toledo that inspired you.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yes, it did. My mom and dad both were Christians,
and that's how they raised me and my siblings, and
we went to churches little kids and everything. And but
what really meant a lot was after church, after church,
when we got home on Sundays. You know, we could
(13:38):
expect the big dinner.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
You know, now I see you smile.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
You must I can still remember, but not and putting
and oh my goodness. But my mom was so happy.
It was like Sundays were the happiest days because that
was the day we all was as a family. Nobody
had to go to school and nobody had to go
to work, and we were there together and she made
(14:02):
it special. She made a big homemade home cooked meal
with all the desserts and my dad and afterwards we
were all after we cleared the table and everything, we
all came back to the dining room table and she
and she kept this big, big, giant Bible. It's like
(14:22):
an antique now, but and she would bring that out
and we would like I can remember it like it
was yesterday. We would just be like so excited. And
she had put it out. It was big white ones,
yeah about and and she had this old platform that
wouldn't it's folded up, and then she unfolded. She was
(14:44):
laid out and we were just like, oh, and the
way with the respect that she treated the Word of God.
And they would read, read for hours and then they'll
discuss what they were reading. And it was just such
an impact and a respect for the word of God,
to respect for God himself and Jesus and how he
(15:07):
laid his life down for us. And I can remember
tears streaming down our faces when she talked about the sacrifices,
you know. And that's the legacy that they left to me,
And that's the legacy I want to leave to my
family members and people that I meet. I don't mind
(15:27):
explaining or just share if they allow me. I'm glad to.
I'm glad to, not forced, never forced, and uh I shared,
always always willing the ship.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
I think that's the responsibility of the smile that I
just saw. You can't see your smile, but I just
saw what she was talking about. That good eating. But
those experiences that we cherish, we really honor those that
we grieve and we miss when we share that type
of love moving forward, even with strangers. I know it's
(15:58):
not about me, but I love, love, love sharing that
type of story and that type of love with people
that I've never met before. Absolutely, it's better than money.
Then you'll probably say you're crazy.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
No, no, it is unmeasurable.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yes, it is a word, definitely immeasurable. So from the
struggles to triumphs. There were struggles that you had.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
Oh sure, oh sure, excuse even though I came up
in a Christian home. As I got into my older
teenage years eighteen nineteen and I got employed and got
the big head, I need my own apartment. I need
(16:42):
to live my own life. You know, I stepped away,
I stepped away from the faith that I always knew,
and I went into the club scene. I was there
for some years, you know, and my mother never gave up,
my father never gave up. But I remember how kind
(17:02):
they were, even though they were beckoning me. They would say,
we're having a wonderful concert at the church this Sunday.
I would like for you to be there, or they
you know, they never shook their finger. You should, you
should not, you know, But it was just that kind tugging,
kind tugging. They never stopped. And I still respect them
(17:26):
and love them, and so I would always go. Sometimes
I hadn't gotten into the house too much earlier than,
you know, getting in the shower and getting dressed. And
because I was, I was committed to making them happy,
(17:47):
but yet I was so bound on living my own life.
It was rebellion. Yeah, And and of course everything outside
of christ got the twinkles and the lights and the
everything looks. So while I'm missing all this fun. But
you know, but that's the way it's set up, of course.
(18:09):
And so yes, I've ran into people there wasn't Christian
and I and I've got my feelings hurt and all
other things, you know, So because I had stepped out
of the ram. And that's and your you're vulnerable because
your protection you stepped out of your protection. It's just
(18:29):
like in the middle of winter and you go outside
without your coat and you want to help change a
tire with no attire on. You're you're you're gonna get
You're gonna get hurt.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
This blessing that you had foundation though.
Speaker 2 (18:42):
Oh yes, oh yes, And they never stopped pulling, and
I never forget towards my uh later twenties. It's just
one day I woke up and I said, I'm not
gonna ever go to another bar. I'm not gonna drink.
I'm not gonna and that was it. That was it,
(19:05):
and no one around me could believe it.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
What happened to her.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
They know at first, they they thought it was I
was just talking. I would just and every weekend they're
calling me, or are you gonna meet us? US said no,
are you gonna know well what you're gonna come later? No?
And they did this for a week after week at
the weekend until finally they said, you're you're serious. And
I could never explain it in words. I just woke
(19:34):
up and that was it. Wow, that was it, And
I never looked back to that, And that was the
start of my thirst for everything. Deeper into the word.
I wanted to know everything about God. I wanted to
know everything, and that was that was the beginning of
(19:59):
my west to know the God that I serve, not
just the name, not just going to church on Sundays.
I needed to know everything about him. And that's where
my quest started and the love relationship began between us.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
So I'm reading that you wrote a play.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yes, I wrote my I was. I didn't know it
was a play at a time. At that time, I
just knew I liked to write, and all these characters
have always been in my mind. So I just wrote
down a skit a play, and then I got a
(20:49):
construction piece of paper, cut it up in squares and
I read on there you are invited to Annie's play.
And I put the time in my dress on it,
and I cut them up, and me and my little
brother passed them out throughout the neighborhood. Who was the
play at It was in my backyard, Yes, And guess
(21:13):
what they showed up and me and I never forget
that morning of the play, we had a big red wagon.
I went and got the wagon out the garage, I
got my brother, we got up. I said we're going
up to the park. We had a park in our neighborhood.
I said, we're gonna go and we're gonna find all
the bottles. At that time, you could turn the bottles
(21:33):
in and get cash, you know, for the smaller bottles.
I think it was a nickel or something, and the
larger bottles were a dime or fifteen cents or something.
And I said, we're going to cash this in and
we're going to buy the stuff for the party today,
my play. So we did that when we went to
the local grocery store. Well, first we brought them home,
(21:55):
washed them out with the holes on side of the house,
and we went up to the and so the manager
at the grocery store was so impressed because I mean
that waggles and they were washed, they were clean. And
he looked at him, he looked at us, He looked
at the bottles. He looked at us. He said wow.
He said, normally they bring the bottles in dirty, but
(22:16):
you guys took the time because I didn't. I didn't
want no rejections. So we got we got the money,
and I brought cake mix for my mom to make
a cake and ice in. I brought ice cream. I
brought chips and pretzels. I brought everything for the plate
because I had to feed my people. Okay, you do
(22:38):
another play hospitality. And so when we got home and
me and my brother got these two big bags and
my mother said, where did you all this stuff come?
What did you got? And I said, well, mom, we
went and collected bottles. I said, this is what I
told her. I said, I need you to make a
cake for my plate this evening. She put her hands
(23:01):
on her hands and looked at me. She said, and
what time is this play? I said four pm? And
she she couldn't see, and she said, well, and we
brought the bags in and she said, well, let me
turn the oven on. And so it was like I
had everything she had to do, just nothing to just
make the cape. So I'm upstairs and I'm trying to
(23:24):
figure out what I'm gonna put on, and because this
was a big deal to me, and I wanted a
cape because I wanted to blow in the wind while
I was standing up there talking wow. So with about
three point thirty, the backyard started getting filled and I
came out. I said, welcome, every one, welcome, Sit down please.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
At twelve old, this is priceless.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
I grup and I felt like I was so tiny.
I felt like I needed to get on top of
the garage so I can look down on the guests
and do my skit. So my mother come out with
the bowls of chips and pressels and stuff. She put
a little tablecloth on the little table out there, and
she's looking around. She says, where's And he said, she's
(24:13):
up there in the garage and I'm up there well.
And the next I want you, and she said, if
you don't get that, I said, they need to see me.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
We need a screenplay for this, find a little actor
to play.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Yeah, my goodness. But it turned out really well. I
got a standing ovation. Everybody clapped. I don't know if
it was just because they enjoyed all the snacks or what,
but they they stood and they clapped and and I
never forgot that. It was just it was so great.
And my mother never forgot that too.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
Could this be the beginning of the twenty five years
experiencing ministry in this very moment?
Speaker 2 (24:55):
It could be? Yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes. So I
was always very inquisitive. I love to read, I love
to write, but I never knew I was a writer.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
But you like to read.
Speaker 2 (25:12):
I love to read. I love to read, and I
have and i've this is what the way I look
at things in life. Every person that you meet, have
ever met, was a potential character in a potential book. Yes, so,
people tell me all the time I wanted to write
(25:33):
a book, but I did. I said, you're full of books.
Every every situation you've ever been in, every encounter is
all chapters in a book, just waiting for you to
write it.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Well, they always say reality is better than fiction. Oh yeah,
by far, by far. And I guess that leads to
the advice and encouragement through the struggles and faith and uh,
facing personal hardships and some of the experiences in life.
And that wonderful story about the play. I love that
(26:08):
it was that in the book. That needs to be
the next book. It needs to and the hope and
the inspiration for others. Now you have this book published,
do you have anything else?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
Well, actually, I am starting on my second and I'm
just beginning just right at the beginning here. But yeah,
it will be a part two.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
Got you? And do you have an audio version of
this book?
Speaker 2 (26:35):
It is an audio It is read by you. No, no,
it's not my voice.
Speaker 1 (26:41):
Well sometimes you never know. Okay, And it's available.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Where Amazon has it an audio?
Speaker 1 (26:49):
So at Amazon? Or do you have a website for
it already?
Speaker 2 (26:52):
Well, it's on Amazon. Is is that Barnes and Nobles
trilogy the publishing company? Okay, and go through trilogy as well.
Speaker 1 (27:02):
So this book is in self published. You have a publisher.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
I have a publisher trilogy. So I submitted my manuscript
by mere coincidence. They popped up on my Facebook page
and said they were looking for Christian manuscripts. I've I
have been holding onto mind for fifteen years.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Going to ask you how long had you had it?
Speaker 2 (27:23):
Fifteen years? I have been holding on to it, and
cause I never it was personal. I never thought anybody would.
And I said, well, what will it hurt if I?
You know? So they asked for a couple of questions.
I filled that out, and then they came right back
and they asked for a few more. I felt that out.
Then they came right back and they said, well, can
(27:43):
you just send us your manuscript. I'm like, well, it's
like maybe seventy five to eighty percent done. I only
work on it. When they said, well, send what you
have and I did that. Then I got a phone
call and they said, well, we actually love it, but
it's not up to us. We got to send it
(28:05):
to our publishing company, Trilogy. They have the final word,
but we sent it over to them immediately. I said okay.
So two days later, she emails me a copy of
the letter that her publishing company sent her, and it
(28:26):
was like, oh, my goodness, is smooth read. She introduces
all the characters right away. She's a perfect fIF for us.
We just love. I'm like, I'm still like reading this
and I'm saying, is that right, you know, because it's
all new. It's happening so fast within days, and I'm
just sitting there like, And she calls me after that
(28:48):
and she says, well, we're sending you our contract. You
sign it, sign it, send it back. And I was like, well, well, well,
I I need to read this over myself first. Then
I'm a sentence to my attorney, let him read it over,
and then if it's a great deal for both of us,
(29:10):
then I'll sign it and submit it. I was just
blank after I GoF the phone. I was just sitting
there like, did that just happen to me?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
You know?
Speaker 2 (29:20):
But and I never thought of them. And she said,
we're just so I'm pleased to have a seasoned writer
like yourself. I was a seasons. I'm looking around like,
who is there somebody else in the room and she's
talking about me, But yeah, you were season I never
looked at myself.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Your first play at twelve as a writer.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
But I never I had never, No one had ever
called me that. I have never looked to that. I
worked for twenty five years at Columbia Gas of Ohio.
I've worked in different departments. I retired out and out
of a regulation specialists. I was good at a lot
of things, but I never thought of myself as that, Well,
(30:04):
you're that now and right, But I always and I
looked at all of them. After this happened is when
I reflected back and really looked back, and all of
my jobs, it was always a lot of writing, writing reports,
writing lots. I loved jobs with writing. But I never
put the two to two together. And I said, in
(30:27):
everything I've ever done, it had a lot of writing
to it. And I loved that part. And I said,
but I never looked at it like that. And when
she called me that, and I stood up in the
middle of the room, I said, I am a writer.
I am a Arthur. It's like I was meeting myself
for the first time. Surprise, surprise, you know all this time.
(30:52):
So I always say this, It's very important. If you
see a characteristic in your child, in a neighbor's child,
in someone at your church, or someone in your community,
say it. Say you know, you remind me of a writer,
or you remind me of a playwright, or you remind
(31:13):
me of a good picture or whatever they're doing. Say
it because you'll be surprised. Just someone. If one person
would have said that to me, you remind me of
a writer. You love the right. If one person would
have said that to me, I would have thought I
(31:35):
would start thinking on that line. Yeah, if one person.
So it's very important. And I tell parents this now
when I'm speaking or if I'm at a speaking engagement,
I said, they will tell you who they are. They
will show you their gifts at an early age. Be
(31:57):
looking purposely, be looking looking for them, because they're going
to show you.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
And encourage it and encourage it and encourage it. Well.
As we're wrapping up the show today, I'm so thankful
that you decided to say yes and grace us with
your presence and those wonderful stories. I'm still thinking about
the twelve year old playwright and Rufe performer. I could
(32:22):
so see you doing that. That's just funny to me.
As we reflect on your life's work, what legacy do
you hope to leave behind and how do you want
to be remembered by your family, friends in the community
for what you've done thus far.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
The legacy I would like to leave is that believe
in yourself. It does not matter how old you are,
how young you are. You have something to give the world. Yes,
and just trust, trust your heart, trust yourself. Awesome, and
(33:05):
I want my friends in my community to know that
there's nothing too hard. It's never ever over for you.
A lot of people say I'm too old for that now,
or or you know, I was sixty when they said
yes to me. That's amazing. So you're never too old
(33:28):
for your dreams and you're never too young to start them.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
That's amazing, awesome, awesome clothes. Thank you for listening to
the voices of a legacy. This is your friend, Pastor
Carl Mitchell, the third, your host of this program. We
want you to go to w GTE dot org slash
(33:56):
legacy to like, share, subscribe, and here all of our
past podcast and our future podcast. Be a friend and
join with us in the Voices of Legacy, where you're
writing your own legacy every day that you live. Have
a blessed ad WGT voices around us. W GT supported
(34:56):
in part by the American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated
by the City of Aledo and the Lucas County Commissioners
and administered by the Arts Commission
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