Wednesday, December 30, 2009

From the Pastor's Daughter, Aundria Hawkins Ford




When I think of Aundria Hawkins Ford, I am reminded of Russell Cromwell’s Acres of Diamonds. As I reach across boundaries of race, religion, gender, age, and national borders to grow in knowledge and understanding, just miles from where I live and in my own family, there is a “diamond in the rough.” And if the truth be fully told, she is more like a polished diamond.

Aundria is the wife of my lucky (though I must admit very polished himself) Cousin Emmett Ford. He is a young man that always impressed me as having a lot of strength and character. As I begin to learn more about Aundria, I see equally yoked power, passion and purpose. Alone each of them is strong, and together they are powerful. Anyway, for the purpose of this article, let me get back to Aundria.

Aundria is the daughter of a Cleveland area Pastor whose long time service in the city is legendary in its own right. Aundria may well be on her way to creating her own legacy as she reveals the good, the bad (she would describe it as teachable), and all in between as the life as a Pastor’s Daughter. Aundria’s recently released and aptly titled book From the Pastor’s Daughter is revealing, entertaining, impactful, and potentially life-changing.

As an author myself, surprisingly, I am not the world’s most patient reader. Whether due to long days and short nights, the numerous items I read in a typical day, the challenges of age, or just my propensity to want to get to the next challenge, it usually takes me weeks to complete reading a book. This was not the case with From the Pastor’s Daughter. I literally tore through the book with the appetite of a starving dog chewing on a meaty bone.

One of the many things I enjoyed about the book was Aundria’s ability to involve the reader by sharing events, thoughts and feeling in the form of questions. That may explain why while watching my favorite program, Jeopardy, I would use the commercial breaks to read one, two or three additional paragraphs of the book. Sharing information in the form of a question causes one to engage in the age-old, nearly lost art of . . . . THINKING!

As one should expect from any true story, From the Pastor’s daughter contains moments when things are well, and moments when things are not so well. But through it all Aundria finds the lessons life has to offer, she learns from them, and offers valuable insights about life and the importance of faith. Ironically, the book is not just for the faithful, not just for First Families, not just for Deacons and Church Staff. From the Pastor’s Daughter is crammed full of insightful and thought-provoking content that can cause us all to become more reflective, more considerate of others, and ultimately learn more about our own feelings, strengths and weaknesses. The book can become a valuable and one-of-a-kind resource in this journey called life.

From the Pastor’s Daughter:

A testimony of life in the ministry through the eyes of the Pastor's child.
by Aundria H. Hawkins Ford

"Everyone knows one, and maybe you even are one. Preacher's kids (PKs) always seem to be the hot topic! It seems that most of the time they get a bad rap and are forced to uphold almost impossible standards because of their positioning in the body of Christ.

Author Aundria Hawkins Ford offers a firsthand look into her life as a PK. She highlights the good times of fellowship and growth along with the bad times of being human and failing, and outlines the pressures of living life in the spotlight.

While celebrating the awesome legacy left by her father, founding pastor of a prominent church in the community, she retells her journey of discovery. This candid approach just might change what comes to mind when you hear PK. Moreover, it may alter your perspective of first families in all walks of life!"

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Observation: One of the few things that can compete with Aundria’s talent and spirituality is her compassion and popularity. Within days of establishing an account on FACEBOOK, she connected with an astounding 165 people, and had easily surpassed me in the first ten days. I’ve attempted to “get angry” with her, teased her, taunted her and “threatened” her, and she is too smart to respond and get into a “gutter fight” with me (I’m convinced I would lose anyway!). The result is that I have to do what 165 (and the number is growing) other people are doing, and JUST LOVE HER!

Other Feedback from Aundria’s Blog: From the Pastor's Daughter is enlightening and inspiring. Aundria shares information that is at times heartwarming and at other times almost heartbreaking, but always informative. As she entertains, she builds bridges and closes gaps of misunderstanding. She challenges not just the reader, but also herself to answer to the higher calling of faith and service.

Additional Information: The good words spoken and written about From the Pastor’s Daughter are not isolated opinions or idle chatter. Several weeks before Christmas the books were SOLD OUT, but hopefully by now new supplies are available.

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To find out more about Aundria Hawkins Ford or to order copies of From the Pastor’s Daughter, visit her blog at http://aundriahawkinsford.blogspot.com/, her web site at http://aundriahawkinsford.tatepublishing.net/ or try Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com or Target.

You don’t want to be the only one in your crowd to benefit from this great book, so order copies for the special people in your life. And lastly, don’t even think about sharing it with someone after you’ve finished reading it. When you refuse to give it up, or they conveniently “forget” to return it, a valuable friendship may be in jeopardy, and that IS NOT in the form of a question. If they are that special, just order them a copy when you order yours!

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