Cotton Pickin’ Paycheck-A 21st Century Journal of Escape from Slavery

by Joan E. Gosier

I am so thrilled that I was able to publish this week my FIRST BOOK in a series of 3 future books called, “Cotton Pickin’ Paycheck-A 21st Century Journal of Escape from Slavery”. It describes some of the prayers and journal entries that I captured to keep me focused on the path that GOD put before me at various points in my life. I wrote the book to inspire my children and their children to DO THEIR BEST AND AVOID THE NAYSAYER.

My prayer is that it just inspires anyone to TRY TO DO.  So many messages are surrounding us to say that it is not worth TRYING UNLESS U ARE PERFECT WITHOUT BLEMISH OR STAIN.  That message I feel keeps people powerless, ashamed, and stuck in a place that makes them go into a cycle of dysfunction. 

So rather than WAIT until the book is perfectly completed, I thought I would put my theory to the test and show that sometimes imperfection allows us to see “If she CAN DO it, why can’t I?”  

Sort of like when a it pours down raining and a person rolls by with a smile in a wheelchair.  People with both working legs should feel a pang of guilt for being unhappy as they run to shelter holding their umbrella.  Every now and then, U may witness a soul, go BACK and help that person in the wheelchair…something that perhaps blesses BOTH PEOPLE in the end. 

If we ALL WAIT TO BECOME PERFECT TO DO OR SEEK OUR PURPOSE ON EARTH…I think we miss the point of JESUS coming to earth…IMHO.

I sort of have this theory that only an engine can move a train out of the station…NEVER THE CABOOSE.

So often we as a black community allow our focus and energy to remain on the CABOOSE and complain that it is growing too heavy of a load…but THAT is what a CABOOSE does.

Those who have the energy, vision, skill and will have to reduce egos and act as ENGINES. 

So we become the OVERGROUND RAILROAD