Profile: Christian author 'Bettye' talks faith and ...
Page 14C | Thursday, August 13, 2015
shreveporttimes.com | The Times
Profile: Christian author ‘Bettye’ talks faith and writing TORI LADD SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Mononymous author Bettye gets a few oftenrepeated descriptors — strong of personality, great of humor, humble of spirit. Bettye is a native of Shreveport and is active in youth mentorship at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church. The author says she’s always been a writer but it was her battle with stage four breast cancer that led her to write her first book, “The Way of the Cross: Meditations of a Cancer Survivor.” Bettye is now in remission and has written her second book, “Trusting the Detours: A Spiritual Guide for College Students,” released in May. In between her activities with the St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Third Order of Franciscans, the busy septuagenarian designated some time to give us insight into her artistic mind. The Times: How did you happen upon writing, was it always a goal of yours? Bettye: Writing is something I have done all my life. I didn’t do a lot of talking, so I would just write my feelings in letter form to my friends and my relatives. TT: How do you come up with the topics of your literary projects? B: More than anything, it’s about my faith and how I want to please God
TORI LADD/THE TIMES
Louisiana State University student Sha’Gabrielle Marsden and Loyola University New Orleans student Sean Doolin have Bible study using Bettye’s book “Trusting the Detours: A Spiritual Guide for College Students” at Starbucks.
and try not to hurt God by doubting Him. My whole life is built around pleasing Him and following the path He has laid out for me. TT: Do you have a favorite quote that speaks to you or inspires you? B: Yes, “Try not to focus on the problem, but focus on the answer.” And the giver of the answer is the Holy Spirit. Scripture leads me into all truth. TT: What do you do to brainstorm or what is your brainstorming process? B: My brainstorming process is reading the Scripture and asking the Holy Spirit to give me clarity of mind and thought. TT: How do you describe your literary work?
COURTESY PHOTO
‘Bettye,’ a Christian author from Shreveport, writes a message to her readers. Bettye keeps her whole name a secret and doesn’t prefer to be photographer to avoid too much attention.
B: I would say my literary works help others to see God’s will through to the next step. My literary works follow a journey.
TT: On the brightcornerbooks.com website and in your books, readers come across the term Bettyism. Can you explain what a “Bettyism”
is and how that term was coined? B: Close friend and editor, licensed physiologist Julia Pettiette Doolin coined that term. A Bettyism is a simple statement that sums up a wealth of wisdom into a few words. TT: Why do you do what you do? B: God has given us choices of how we will respond. I can either refuse to go on and just quit, or I can choose to trust God and allow Him to provide the light to illuminate the next step before me. TT: What themes do you pursue in your writing? B: I just want to make a difference in someone’s life and to provide someone with hope. If I can help one person, then my life will not be in vain. If I can help someone else as I travel along, then my life will not be in vain. TT: What would you say is your artistic philosophy? B: If God is for us, the whole world can be against us. It does not matter what others think about my work as long as I am following His guidance. TT: If you could speak directly to all of your readers, what thought would you leave them with? B: That God sent Jesus into the world that we might have life and have life more abundantly, not just plain life but abundant life.
Bettyisms, explained by editor Julia Pettiette Doolin “Bettye constantly speaks in such a way, and her comments are so relevant to a number of different situations that I felt it beneficial to include a Bettyism for each meditation found in The Way of the Cross book and the Detours book. I find myself quoting Bettyisms throughout the day. One of my favorites is ‘We have an agenda, but God has a plan.’ Another favorite: ‘I don’t need to see the way when I stay close to the One who does.’ These simple words help me to remember that God is in control, and if I have surrendered my plans, my actions, my endeavors to Him, He will manage and organize the details better than anything I could ever orchestrate on my own. Bettyisms » Working through our trials is when we have our triumphs. » If I didn’t have a problem, I wouldn’t know that God could solve it. » Satan, take your hands off God’s property. » We serve an on-time God. » God opens doors that no man can shut. » God sits on high, but he looks low. » He has your life already spread out like peanut butter and jelly on a sandwich. » Brighten the corner where you are.
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Your savings may pay for your new system. Our new Trane Deluxe High Efficiency systems are guaranteed to put the ‘green’ back in your pocket with their super high efficiency energy savings functionality... and we’ll guarantee that in writing! And if you prefer to make monthly payments we have 0% interest rate loans available through our bank. Warm regards, Cody Brown General Manager
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Dealer Rebate & Trade In up to .........................................$1,000 Utility Savings for the life of the system*** up to ..............$ 6,000 Free 10 Year warranty** value up to .................................$1,000 Total Savings & Discounts up to .......................................$8,000
*0% Interest for 60 months on approved credit only. All payments must be made within the 60 months or customer will be responsible for all interest accrued for the life of the loan. Offer expires when inventory is depleted. Rebates valid at participating locations. Not valid prior installations. See service center for details. Restrictions apply.
What Next?
Give us a call at 318-798-1801 and we will schedule an appointment at your convenience to give you exact figures on how much you can save. Many of our customers have thanked us for taking the time to review their utility savings options and they have turned their savings into more exciting purchases like vacations, computers, even shopping sprees...
P.S. Call me at 318-798-1801 to schedule an appointment to give you an exact estimate on how much you will save in your home. Government incentives still available on Installation of a new Deluxe Solar System. Up to 80% in tax credits & rebates. Act now before these rebates and incentives expire.
*W.A.C. With approved credit. **With the purchase of a Trane® Deluxe system. ***Average utility savings over the ten year life of the system.
www.SouthernAirNow.com
shreveporttimes.com | The Times
Profile: Christian author ‘Bettye’ talks faith and writing TORI LADD SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
Mononymous author Bettye gets a few oftenrepeated descriptors — strong of personality, great of humor, humble of spirit. Bettye is a native of Shreveport and is active in youth mentorship at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church. The author says she’s always been a writer but it was her battle with stage four breast cancer that led her to write her first book, “The Way of the Cross: Meditations of a Cancer Survivor.” Bettye is now in remission and has written her second book, “Trusting the Detours: A Spiritual Guide for College Students,” released in May. In between her activities with the St. Vincent DePaul Society and the Third Order of Franciscans, the busy septuagenarian designated some time to give us insight into her artistic mind. The Times: How did you happen upon writing, was it always a goal of yours? Bettye: Writing is something I have done all my life. I didn’t do a lot of talking, so I would just write my feelings in letter form to my friends and my relatives. TT: How do you come up with the topics of your literary projects? B: More than anything, it’s about my faith and how I want to please God
TORI LADD/THE TIMES
Louisiana State University student Sha’Gabrielle Marsden and Loyola University New Orleans student Sean Doolin have Bible study using Bettye’s book “Trusting the Detours: A Spiritual Guide for College Students” at Starbucks.
and try not to hurt God by doubting Him. My whole life is built around pleasing Him and following the path He has laid out for me. TT: Do you have a favorite quote that speaks to you or inspires you? B: Yes, “Try not to focus on the problem, but focus on the answer.” And the giver of the answer is the Holy Spirit. Scripture leads me into all truth. TT: What do you do to brainstorm or what is your brainstorming process? B: My brainstorming process is reading the Scripture and asking the Holy Spirit to give me clarity of mind and thought. TT: How do you describe your literary work?
COURTESY PHOTO
‘Bettye,’ a Christian author from Shreveport, writes a message to her readers. Bettye keeps her whole name a secret and doesn’t prefer to be photographer to avoid too much attention.
B: I would say my literary works help others to see God’s will through to the next step. My literary works follow a journey.
TT: On the brightcornerbooks.com website and in your books, readers come across the term Bettyism. Can you explain what a “Bettyism”
is and how that term was coined? B: Close friend and editor, licensed physiologist Julia Pettiette Doolin coined that term. A Bettyism is a simple statement that sums up a wealth of wisdom into a few words. TT: Why do you do what you do? B: God has given us choices of how we will respond. I can either refuse to go on and just quit, or I can choose to trust God and allow Him to provide the light to illuminate the next step before me. TT: What themes do you pursue in your writing? B: I just want to make a difference in someone’s life and to provide someone with hope. If I can help one person, then my life will not be in vain. If I can help someone else as I travel along, then my life will not be in vain. TT: What would you say is your artistic philosophy? B: If God is for us, the whole world can be against us. It does not matter what others think about my work as long as I am following His guidance. TT: If you could speak directly to all of your readers, what thought would you leave them with? B: That God sent Jesus into the world that we might have life and have life more abundantly, not just plain life but abundant life.
Bettyisms, explained by editor Julia Pettiette Doolin “Bettye constantly speaks in such a way, and her comments are so relevant to a number of different situations that I felt it beneficial to include a Bettyism for each meditation found in The Way of the Cross book and the Detours book. I find myself quoting Bettyisms throughout the day. One of my favorites is ‘We have an agenda, but God has a plan.’ Another favorite: ‘I don’t need to see the way when I stay close to the One who does.’ These simple words help me to remember that God is in control, and if I have surrendered my plans, my actions, my endeavors to Him, He will manage and organize the details better than anything I could ever orchestrate on my own. Bettyisms » Working through our trials is when we have our triumphs. » If I didn’t have a problem, I wouldn’t know that God could solve it. » Satan, take your hands off God’s property. » We serve an on-time God. » God opens doors that no man can shut. » God sits on high, but he looks low. » He has your life already spread out like peanut butter and jelly on a sandwich. » Brighten the corner where you are.
318-798-1801 ted i m Li ime T er O ff
0%
INTEREST FOR 60 MONTHS*
WE WANT TO BUY BACK YOUR OLD SYSTEM FOR A NEW ONE. AND WE’LL PAY YOU TO DO IT. Best Rebates of the Year. We can exchange your current model for a new high efficiency system. Current incentives make this the best time for you to exchange your outof-date model for a new, Deluxe High Efficiency system, and do it all with 0% interest for 60 months* or up to $1,000 trade in rebate on our Deluxe systems**.
The Best News Yet
Your savings may pay for your new system. Our new Trane Deluxe High Efficiency systems are guaranteed to put the ‘green’ back in your pocket with their super high efficiency energy savings functionality... and we’ll guarantee that in writing! And if you prefer to make monthly payments we have 0% interest rate loans available through our bank. Warm regards, Cody Brown General Manager
®
Dealer Rebate & Trade In up to .........................................$1,000 Utility Savings for the life of the system*** up to ..............$ 6,000 Free 10 Year warranty** value up to .................................$1,000 Total Savings & Discounts up to .......................................$8,000
*0% Interest for 60 months on approved credit only. All payments must be made within the 60 months or customer will be responsible for all interest accrued for the life of the loan. Offer expires when inventory is depleted. Rebates valid at participating locations. Not valid prior installations. See service center for details. Restrictions apply.
What Next?
Give us a call at 318-798-1801 and we will schedule an appointment at your convenience to give you exact figures on how much you can save. Many of our customers have thanked us for taking the time to review their utility savings options and they have turned their savings into more exciting purchases like vacations, computers, even shopping sprees...
P.S. Call me at 318-798-1801 to schedule an appointment to give you an exact estimate on how much you will save in your home. Government incentives still available on Installation of a new Deluxe Solar System. Up to 80% in tax credits & rebates. Act now before these rebates and incentives expire.
*W.A.C. With approved credit. **With the purchase of a Trane® Deluxe system. ***Average utility savings over the ten year life of the system.
www.SouthernAirNow.com
