WOF:         What is it about an idea that makes you think, “I believe that could be a book”?

THELMA:    There are several things that prompt me to consider writing a book.  Messages I hear from other people, Scriptures I read that I know would make a great chapter in a book, but most of all, my life experiences and those of people I know.  Real life, real people, real circumstances, real solutions really motivate me to write.

WOF:         What These Girls Knew reads like it was a lot of fun to write.  Was it?  Or did you just work hard to make it seem that way?

THELMA:    Actually, it was a lot of fun because I love studying the Bible and while incapacitated I started getting interested in the women I was reading about in the Bible.  As a mentor of thousands of women, I could hear the voice of my deceased great-grandmother speaking in some of these women ― giving wise counsel, being strong and brave, caring for others and I knew this was something to share with people all over the world.  I had fun writing it.

WOF:         How did you choose these particular “girls”?

THELMA:    I chose those girls because I could hear them in my mind speaking to other women in similar situations.  Some of them were dealing with men who were less than great.  So I wanted to share how they acted and reacted in similar situations.  One of them was a judge and a negotiator.  I wanted to encourage women that they can be anything the put their mind to.  Women are not limited.  Some of them had family problems, which proves that the family has been in conflict since the beginning of the fall in the garden and the result of the conflict depends on the way it’s handled. One of them changed a whole country by sitting at the wisdom bench of King Solomon.  Still, one of them was as wicked as she could be and met a cruel end.  Every woman teaches life lessons to help us be better.

WOF:         If you had to pick a favorite girl, she would be . . . ?

THELMA:    I have several favorites but I believe it would be Deborah the Judge.  I like her name because her name means BEE.  The motto for my company, A Woman of God Ministries is, “In Christ, you can BEE the best!” taken from Philippians 4:13.   Deborah was as determined as a bee that’s not supposed to be able to fly, that she would be a fair and equitable judge, rule the people rightly, negotiate fairly and fight valiantly.  She was brave and strong in her opinions. She trusted in God to fight on the battlefield with her.  She was so strong that Barak (a warrior) did not want to go to war without Deborah in command.  She stepped up to the plate, held her ground, won the battle and took complete credit for what she had done.  She was respected for her leadership.  My Granny would have loved her for her tenacity, commitment to what was right and determination to uphold the God she served.

WOF:         It’s great that you use both good and bad examples!  Do you think there’s a danger of our feeling superior to the ‘bad’ girls ― along the lines of, “Oh, I would NEVER be like Jezebel?”

THELMA:    This is a great question.  There is a danger of judging someone like Jezebel.  Beware!  We may not be as evil as Jezebel on the surface, but when we try to control our lives and others, when we try to take over the leadership of a church by causing trouble, when we side with wrongdoing . . . we may be exhibiting a Jezebel spirit.  People who live in glass houses need to be careful about throwing stones.  Maybe we should check ourselves in light of who she was to see who we are.

WOF:         You make a great point in the chapter about the women in Moses’ life ― that we never know who God will choose to use to further His kingdom.  That’s encouraging, isn’t it?

THELMA:    Oh yes, that is encouraging.  You see, there were a number of women God used in Moses’ life from the midwives to his mother, his sister, the princess and certainly his Midianite wife of a different ethnicity.  All these women from different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and socio-economic status made a tremendous difference in Moses’ life.  His wife helped him keep the covenant that God had made with the Israelites and ultimately became the mother of delegation.  This shows that God is not a respecter of persons and gives good gifts to anyone He chooses.

WOF:         How are your girls, by the way?

THELMA:    Thanks for asking.  My girls, Vikki and Lesa, who danced for Women of Faith for four years, are doing extremely well.  Lesa has three girls and Vikki has one girl.  Both my daughters have traveled with me this year.  Lesa went to New Zealand and actually ministered with me there for the Women of the Pacific Conference.  Vikki has been traveling to speaking engagement with me.  Lesa just opened her beauty salon in a recently purchased building.  Vikki is busy with projects and continues to manage a territory for the company she works for.

WOF:         What are you reading these days?  (Besides the Bible, of course.)

THELMA:    I’m reading books that give me greater insight on the subjects I teach in my mentoring courses and counseling course I teach at Master’s International School of Divinity where I’m a professor.  Annette Stanwick’s Forgiveness: The Mystery and Miracle; Jennifer Rothschild’s Self Talk, Soul Talk, Mike Courtney’s Failure and How I Achieved It – A Journey from Addiction to Hope.

WOF:         What has been the highlight of the Amazing Freedom conference season for you? 

THELMA:    The highlight of the Amazing Freedom conference for me this year has been the renewed and affirmed promise that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  This has been a year of transition and decisions; of regrouping and forward planning.  It is awesome to know that in whatever season you’re in, God offers freedom in Him to stand still and wait on the Lord, freedom from concern about the next moment, freedom to chart new courses and walk in different paths, freedom from fear of people’s opinions and criticism, freedom to depend totally on Him.  This is perhaps the freest time in my life because I’m free from worry and anxiety.  I finally got it:  God is in total control of every situation and if we keep the main thing the main thing we will get everything God has for us.  The main thing is found in Matthew 6:33 “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (material, spiritual, emotional. etc.)  will be added to you.”  I’m living the words of this song, “Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand.  But I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand.”

My hope and prayer for those attending this year’s conference is that they will leave the conference saying words that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made popular in America,
“Free at last!  Free at last!  Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.”