A graduate of Purdue University and a now retired interior designer who owns “Valentine House” in Franklin, Tennessee, Mrs. Annette Hadden Valentine, granddaughter of the late Joseph N. Hadden of Hadden Mill Road of Todd County, has just released for sale her fourth book, Sixty-Six Books of the Mighty Shepherd.
Her new publication, which is a compilation based upon the 66 books of the Holy Bible, is designed to immerse the reader in content revealing the love Jesus, the Mighty Shepherd, has for His people. In her introduction to her book, Ms. Annette shares, “Sixty-Six Books of the Mighty Shepherd distills God’s intentional guidance as a shepherd, leading you and me to a life-saving truth, shining a light on His provisions, protection, promises, instruction, mercy, forgiveness, and on Jesus Christ.”
In discussing her new book endeavor, Ms. Annette emphasizes, “Each of the 66 books represents my own gleaning of the essence of the 66 books of the Bible. Having read the Bible through many times and studied it for more than 50 years, I am still not an expert. I am merely a sheep that seeks to follow my Shepherd.” Readers will find in Sixty-Six Books that God’s Word is coupled with the author’s insights into the Bible from her decades of Bible study and her life experiences. In her Study Guide that will soon be available for the compilation, Ms. Annette emphasizes, “… my mother laid a foundation for me to listen for God’s call on my life. It wasn’t until I began to pray, read the Bible, and apply what I learned that His Presence moved me out of separation from God to a life-changing relationship with Him.”
Her relationship with God also appears in Ms. Annette’s My Father trilogy that honors her late father, Shelby N. Hadden and her late mother, Georgia Morris Hadden, both natives of Todd County. Penned as narrative fiction based on her family, Ms. Annette’s trilogy, which includes Eastbound From Flagstaff, Down to the Potter’s House, and Sufficient Sacrifice, also shares a common thread of the influences of the Mighty Shepherd in both her family’s life as well as in her own life. Her latest book, Sixty-Six Books of the Mighty Shepherd, serves as a reminder to all readers of the magnitude of the love God has for all of His children. With each book of the Bible included in her beautifully bound gift-sized compilation, a reader discovers “ … what we need to know about His Good News and the unmistakable love He offers.”
Describing Sixty-Six Books as “a crisp, synoptic version of the Bible,” Ms. Annette penned, “It has been an extreme joy for me to highlight from the Bible the countless and immeasurable acts through which God humbled Himself to show us His shepherding ways, using covenants, and prophets, and His Word, and chosen leaders-apostles, and His Holy Spirit to personally lead His sheep. And when we have become His Own, He calls us by that Spirit to shepherd others . . .” That theme of shepherding is one readers discover as they proceed through the 66 books of the Bible. It is definitely a compilation that will provide thought-provoking discussions of the tremendous love the One and only Shepherd has for all of His children.
Copies of Sixty-Six Books of the Mighty Shepherd can be purchased at “Valentine House” in Franklin, Tennessee, and they will soon be available at “Something Special” in Elkton. As a colorful hardcover book, it makes a perfect gift for all occasions. Published by Carpenter Son’s Publishing and printed by Jostens of Clarksville, Tennessee, the book is available for $34.99 via Amazon and other outlets listed on Ms. Annette’s website at https://annettehvalentine.com. In its two other sale locations, the book sells for $25.00.
A free PDF sampling of Ms. Annette’s Study Guide to accompany the book can also be downloaded via her website at https://annettehvalentine.com. Once completed, her more detailed book-by-book Study Guide, a spiral bound compilation, will be printed in Elkton at Quality Office Products, a printing business owned by Jeff and Susan Cumbee. Tentative plans are for Ms. Annette to have a book signing at the Todd County Public Library located at 507 South Main Street in the near future.
~ Article by Carolyn L. Wells
September 8, 2024
