His Eye Is on the Sparrow #Musical Monday

For years when I was single and worked as a registered music therapist with senior citizens, I attended the Wyoming Lions Summer School for the Visually Impaired during the last two weeks in July. There, I learned new skills and connected with others who were blind or visually impaired.

The camp, located on beautiful Casper Mountain, offered a one-week children’s program and a two-week session for adults, most of whom were senior citizens. Classes were taught in such subjects as braille and computers, and there were always a picnic, talent show, and other fun activities.

One of the campers was an elderly woman who had recently lost her vision and suffered from other health issues. Nevertheless, every morning without fail, either in the dormitory or as we gathered at the flagpole, she sang the chorus of this song.

***

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

(From His Eye Is on the Sparrow > Lyrics | Civilla D. Martin)

***

How inspiring that was! Now, here’s Dr. Crystal Grimes’ rendition of this beautiful hymn, played on liar. She also provides some background information and shares her own memories associated with this song.

 

Via His Eye Is on the Sparrow #Music

 

By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Services for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. Thank you for reading. Stay safe, happy, and healthy, and may you always have positive experiences.

New! The Red Dress

Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books

Front cover contains: young, dark-haired woman in red dress holding flowers

When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.

Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.

***

My Books

My Amazon Author Page

Facebook

WebsiteImage contains: Abbie, smiling.

 

Thursday Book Feature: What We Find

What We Find

by Robyn Carr

Copyright 2016

 

Maggie is a successful neurosurgeon in Denver. In March after her practice is closed down as a result of allegations against her partners, she is sued for wrongful death, and her boyfriend dumps her. She retreats to Sullivan’s Crossing, a camp ground in the Colorado mountains that her father owns.

He welcomes her with open arms, and she meets Cal, a lawyer who is also retreating from a painful past. They fall in love, and for the next six months, while they’re both dealing with emotional baggage and figuring out what to do with their lives, they encounter a cast of interesting characters including a man suffering from dementia, two kidnappers, and a naked hiker, to name a few. Maggie’s father has a heart attack. Cal defends a prostitute facing criminal charges, and Maggie saves the life of a teen-aged boy who fell off a cliff. There’s more.

At first, I didn’t like the way the author prolonged the story over six months. I wanted things to be resolved sooner. Eventually, the extra characters and sub-plots with their humorous twists and turns helped me relax and enjoy the ride, so to speak.

This book made me laugh a lot but occasionally almost moved me to tears. I downloaded it from Audible and loved the way the narrator portrayed Maggie, especially. The voices she used for other characters were also good. This book is set in Colorado, which borders Wyoming, where I live, and since I have relatives in Colorado, and my late husband grew up there, I felt at home reading the book. It’s part of a series, so I definitely plan to read more.

***

Author Abbie Johnson Taylor

We Shall Overcome

How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Click to hear an audio trailer.

Like me on Facebook.

 

 

Classic Writer Tries to Find This Country

Abbie-1

Travels with Charley in Search of America

by John Steinbeck

Copyright 1960

 

From the author of The Grapes of Wrath and The Red Pony comes an account of his travels cross-country to see what America was like. He describes driving from his home state of New York a full circle around the country with Charley, his French poodle, in a pick-up truck outfitted with a camper he had specially designed for the trip. He talks about people he met along the way and sites he saw, discusses visiting the place in California where he grew up and how it changed over the years, and reflects on hunting, being alone, and other topics. He describes a rally in New Orleans to protest black students attending white schools and how it affected him.

I believe John Steinbeck was in his fifties when he took this trip, about the same age as me, but this isn’t something I want to do, maybe when I was younger but not now. In fact, I hate traveling, especially by plane. I only do it out of necessity when I want to visit my brother in Florida or attend a writers’ conference. However, this book is a great way to go back in time and across the country without leaving the comfort of one’s arm chair and paying an arm and leg for gas.

***

 

Author Abbie Johnson Taylor

We Shall Overcome

How to Build a Better Mousetrap: Recollections and Reflections of a Family Caregiver

That’s Life: New and Selected Poems

My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds

Click to hear an audio trailer.

Like me on Facebook.