By Traci Godwin
“One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4 KJV
“From one generation to the next…”
That familiar chorus, taken from Psalm 145, kept playing in the mind and heart of Sherry Burke while the Holy Spirit was stirring her to compile a book of stories about the grace and goodness of God. That book, Words of Grace, will hopefully go to print this Summer. From cover to cover, it is filled with testimonies, meditative reflections on grace, and stories of salvation and supernatural occurrences in the lives of people at Grace House. In fact, each story is written by one of the church members.
Sherry isn't new to the world of writing and publishing. Her book, Bridges was published in 2018, and since that time she has written four sequels to Bridges that have yet to be submitted for publication.
In 2018, Sherry also led a creative writing group at Grace House with Traci Godwin as co-leader, and it was here that the concept for Words of Grace was conceived. “The idea sprang up from that group,” Sherry explained, “Jointly, the class thought of the idea of a collection of stories about the grace of God.”
The class stopped meeting when COVID restrictions were put in place, and the idea was put on hold, but it kept growing in Sherry. “I struggle. I try to help God,” Sherry laughed. “Is it me or You?” she’d ask. The desire never went away, even though it was dormant during lockdown.
“When I talked about it, the Spirit leapt inside me,” Sherry remembered.
In 2022, Sherry’s desire grew even stronger when Ray Hughes preached at a series of weekend meetings at Grace House. Hughes talked about a man who visited the Appalachian Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina and collected stories of the mountain residents, so future generations would know the rich history of the people. Those stories made it into the hands of the right people and resulted in a chain of events that led to the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“They wanted these stories and the way of life for these people to be preserved,” Sherry explained. In the same vein, she added, “We need to preserve our stories for future generations to show what God has done for us.”
Paige Gothard, a member of Grace House and Sherry’s creative writing class, had the same desire as Sherry, to see the project come to fruition. “I believe this is an important project because sharing our testimonies of our real experiences with Jesus helps others to know Him better — to trust Him. It also helps to encourage and inspire us,” Paige said.
Paige was excited to join Sherry again, when she announced she was forming another small group solely to work on the book. She explained that while she loves biographical books and movies, and is inspired by true experiences of missionaries and ministers, she knows that the people of Grace House have experiences of God’s goodness and grace that are just as thrilling and need to be told.
“God is amazing,” Paige said. “I have included a story of my own. I have plenty of encounters from my journey, but I prayed and shared the one I think He wanted me to share,” she added, “We could all have books filled with our own stories.”
Sherry said Grace House’s Pastor, Eddie Lawrence, has been supportive of the project from the moment the idea was introduced to him. He suggested that members of Grace House be asked to submit entries. Sherry asked Grace House member, Sandra Harper, first. She followed by asking several others, who helped establish Grace House. “I asked a few seniors among us to submit stories,” Sherry explained, “The stories of those who have come before and blazed the trail for us need to be told for all generations who will follow.” Sherry has received 15 stories so far, and is waiting on five more, from people committed to the project.
A common thread that struck Sherry, as she read each submission, is the number of people who have been victorious after Satan has tried to snuff out their destinies, and even their lives. “The devil has tried to take out many, even from the womb, before they were able to spread the Gospel, but he failed,” she explained, “He even tried with me.”
Words of Grace tells how God is the victor in all circumstances — from one generation to the next.
Editor's note: Once the book is published, all proceeds from sales will go directly to the Grace House building fund for the Institute of Creativity. Currently, there is no set price, however, donations will be encouraged.
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