Interior Design and Decorating: Interior Wisdom By Leah Richardson

Interior design and decorating gets an empowering boost in Leah Richardson's Interior Wisdom, Designing Your Home and Heart For The Lord (bright sky press). It gives understanding, meaning and incredible insight into how to create a spiritually vibrant home.

Richardson recognizes the prophetic wisdom found in The Holy Bible as the source of infinite creativity to fill a heart and a home. Unlike practitioners of the of the traditional Chinese method of fung shei who seek to align the human and social world in auspicious alignment with the wind, water and forces of the cosmos.


Design Your Living Spaces Into A Spirit-Filled Home

The author a certified designer, embraces the spiritual and physical interaction in decorating and furnishing a home.
She contentiously reminds readers that every home is a dwelling place for your spiritual and physical being.

I was enlightened by one of her powerful analogies of how color changes with artificial lighting versus the beauty of natural light "And in much the same way as we allow the Lord to design our lives by removing the draperies and veils that obscure our heart, light will come flooding in."

Scriptures From The Bible For Rooms In Your Home

Interior design and decorating becomes an empowering act when you use the scriptures from the bible found in Interior Wisdom. I shared this book with a friend who remarked "it's is a self-help book for your home and your soul". The color photos by Colleen Duffy supply a dramatic eye-appeal to the flow of the text in the book. This is a book where you can find individual scriptures from The Bible to invoke God's blessings for the entrance ways, children's bedrooms or any room in your home.

Every Christian who is serious about ensuring their residence is a place where love, peace and blessings flow in abundance,  will be empowered to design their home and heart for the Lord,  through the spirit-filled decorating advice from Leah Richardson, a certified designer, member of the American Society Of Interior Designers (ASID) and leader of her own ministry (Leah Richardson Ministries).

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African American Author From Houston: Katrina Spencer

Word on the street is that African American author and retired hair stylist Katrina Spencer's first novel is the bomb and she's ready to drop another one that's already washed and set to go. The former Houston stylist and writer penned Six O'Clock (Genesis Press)set in an upscale Houston Salon.

It's taken from her personal experience so I won't name the shop where she used to wash and weave. Who knows you may just be in her book in likeness?

This Houston mother not only uses an African American salon as the backdrop for this book, she hangs some dirty laundry out too. The main character in her book experiences some of the challenges that go with being less than bootylicious in a society where females crave body enhancements and a culture where bootyfull women are the Alpah-dogs.

Spencer throws the doors wideopen and you can expect to see this hot topic being discussed publicly a whole lot more. Then there is the Black hair thing. Chris Rock has taken this subject to task. But it was Houston's Katrina Spencer who's been hitting the pavement and the bookstore with it since February.

I haven't formally reviewed the book from the African American author from Houston, but the other reviews are tantalizing, so this book has to have plenty of substance and merits a place on the Books About Houston, next reads list.

I'm trying to get my hands on a copy so I can tell you who's in and of course who's not. If you see Katrina tell her she doesn't have to sign it, just send me a copy of Six'O Clock. Sphere: Related Content

Where To Sell Used Books In Houston

                                                 A Green Idea For Blog Action Day!




Selling used books in Houston is a green idea. It's one of the many ways avid book readers can participate along with the rest of the world in Blog Action Day. Over 5,000 other blogs have pledged to remind everyone this week about doing his or her part to make a positive impact on climate change.

It's natural for a book lover to want to keep every book they've ever purchased. Each one evokes fond memories. They're held just as tightly and close to our hearts as we hold our babies and we often form a bond with our favorite characters and authors that is just as tight.

Selling Books In Houston

If you have a collection of books that are in great shape you can take them to some of the local used bookstores in Houston that will buy them from you. If you've doodled in them and dogeared the pages you don't even thing about trying to sell them. Here is a short list of a few local bookstore that will buy your used books.

Half Price Books
Becker Books
Katy Budget Books
The Young And The Restless
Brazos Books

Books that are in pristine shape are the best candidates for resell. Especially if they are popular titles and authors, they'll fetch you a dollar or two. Cookbooks, novels that are still on the best sellers list and how-to guides are some of the used books that are always in demand and are easier to sell. Don't expect much for your used books. I sold about a dozen books to a local used book buyer and came away with $5 dollars. If you're interested in collecting books as an investment you can get a few good tips on selling collectible books  from the article "How Reading Books Can Earn You Extra Cash".

Places to Donate Used Books In Houston

Unless it's a rare book from England or a bestselling 19th Century author, it might not qualify for donating to your local library. Instead there are plenty of other places you can consider. Drug and alcohol recovery centers, women's shelters and community centers in Houston can benefit when you go green and recycle used books through donating them.

Houston Area Women's Center has a library that accepts donations of books in all languages and needs ethnically diverse magazine subscriptions.

The Salvation Army Womens and Childrens Center is great place to take those used children's books and magazines for women and children.

Where To Buy Used Books In Houston

If you want to save some of the greenbacks in your pocket. You can further reduce the effects of climate change you can make a habit of buying used books. The depth of the titles that are available will surprise you.

There is not a college student today that couldn't benefit from purchasing used textbooks. You don't have to be in the market for an old title to find a good used book. You can often find some of the latest books. If you wait a month or two after their release you'll see them popping up in used book stores all over Houston.

Recycling books is a good thing to do everyday and particularly during this global effort on Blog Action Day. Reselling them, donating old books, or sharing them with friends are all ways to go green that bibliophiles need to be reminded about. If I missed any other green ideas for books leave me a comment and tell me about it. Sphere: Related Content

Houston's Library: Books on the Bayou

Houston's library Books on the Bayou is in full swing. Book lovers and burners are invited to be a part of this fantastic event. It's a way Houstonians can share their love for reading. The Houston Public Library sponsors the program each year.

It's a bold attempt to garner attention to the dynamic reading opportunities in Houston. The library is striving to get more people to take advantage of the programs and services they offer around the city. Other benefits include:

Utilizing the library's many resources
Encourage people to visit the local library
Cultivate a culture of reading
Community-wide discussions of books
Promote reading books
Explore popular authors works

A Harlem Reconnaissance Classic

The title selected for this year is written by one of the best known African American authors, Zora Neale Hurston. Her novel brought a lot of flack to Hurston from other black writers during the Harlem Renaissance, when it was first published. They resented how she fashioned the writing. It closely emulated the backwoods dialect of spoken by both blacks and whites in the South.

Their Eyes Were Watching God has been lauded in literary circles by getting named to TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.
In 2005 Oprah Winfrey produced a film adaptation of the novel. You can join in a screening of the movie Thursday, October 8 | 5:30 PM Looscan library. Check-out these books by Zora Neal Hurston

The Big Read

To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence, gathered data from a various sources that showed that Americans were reading less, and that our reading level was declining. In an ambitious attempt, The National Endowment for the Arts designed a program to restore reading to the center of American culture.

Houston Library's Books on The Bayou is held in conjunction with The Big Read. A nation-wide initiative to get communities to come together to read, discuss, and celebrate American and world literature.

Hats off to the staff at our library for making sure this city is involved with this effort and the community receives benefits from reading programs. Sphere: Related Content

E-book About Houston

I've got a E-book or two just bubbling waiting to get out of me but in the meantime I want you to take a look at this little ditty I put together to promote my E-book.

It's all about how much fun you can expect when you take cool classes in Houston. This episode is about horseback riding classes in Houston.

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Houston Writer Shares Revelations On Child Rearing

Revelations On Child Rearing From Louis Parsle

View more presentations from writeonbro.

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A Houston Writer Follows The Barbecue Smoke

In "Follow the Smoke" (bright sky press) Houston writer John Demers reveals the continued evolution of Texas barbecue as it forges ahead into the new century, undergoing a melding of flavors, ethnic dishes and marketing to become a modern meal. On the surface it appears that the differences in a Bar-B-Q joint and a barbecue restaurant are all extrinsic, but it's more than just the wood, the rub and the food that sets them apart.

The book sets the backdrop as the storied past of "small scale hands-on Texas barbecue" and the present growth of homegrown chains that are at odds with each other to carry on the taste of Texas.

I don't envy the Houston writer and the amount of barbecue that he had to test, taste and consume to write this barbecue atlas. It had to take at least a ton of food and add to his girth, when you consider the meat and all the sides.


Baked Beans vs Charro Beans

The pages also echo another story. DeMeres points out the arrival of several new kids on the block, that are replacing the favored sidedishes potato salad and baked beans and some of the mainstays, links and chicken. For now, they're found more often in the chain-owned barbecue restaurants than the mom and pop joints; however they are locked in a battle for prominence on the menus. These new dishes, pulled pork topped with coleslaw, charro beans, turkey, smoked chicken salad and boudain, like most Texans, have drifted in from neighboring states and south of the border.

The tasty read is outlined like an atlas. It lists the places where you can find the best smoked brisket, ribs and links by region. DeMers also takes the time to recognize the masters of Texas bbq, the pit-bosses from the North, South, East and West Texas, and enlighten us to why they do what they do, aside from earning a living.

Who's The Pit Boss

The cooks we meet in "Follow The Smoke" aren't as closed mouth and secretive as the old school cooks, I remember, who were reluctant to even share how they lit their fires. This book is testament to how well John Demers, a seasoned Houston writer can elicit recipes, choice of wood and just about any answer he wants from the barbecue pit bosses through smooth conversations like a ninja writer stalking an elusive plot.

Maybe it's a byproduct of the change that today's pit masters like Bobby Flay have instituted. It's almost a norm for cooks to freely share their recipes for smoking meats, choosing wood and cuts of beef and pork. If you're a fan of Texas style barbecue with deep smoke rings, this is one book that won't leave you just wafting the smoke. DeMers throws in a few mouth-watering recipes for meats, sweets, sides and extras, that you can try out. Sphere: Related Content