Book excerpt: No one is exempt from the blues. Its shades of color vary. Its experiences bring about feelings of fear, sadness, loneliness, depression, dejection, isolation, sorrow, gloominess, and even melancholia. The shades of trouble will have a seat in your living room, eat bread at your table, and even drink your water. From the White House to the outhouse; from mi casa to tu casa; from one society's culture, beliefs, and values versus the stark differences in another's traditions, heritage, and/or philosophical identity. Its rhythm and tempo of the night will snatch you, incarcerate you, and seize your attention. Maybe you too can witness to the volcanic combustion of destruction that hot molten lava of hatred deeply imbedded in pain can cause. The blues will grab you irrespective of your race, gender, age, and/or bank account. No one is exempt from the blues. But in the heat of the blues is good news! Oh yes, help. Real help. A lifeline thrown your way. The lyric structure, the tension and release, the dissonance to consonance, the call and response all trace their common yet particular identifying roots back to a unique beginning where God wants to awaken you from the doldrums of unawareness and despair with a finger touch from His love; in order that we get dressed in the clothes in hope. It's time to dine in the divine. John 3:16 is a summons for you to sit at the Master's table. So as you move within the territorial boundaries of your gift or talent, remember the words of King Solomon: "Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men" (Proverbs 22:29 NKJV). When you hear the voice of God, harden not your heart (Hebrews 3:15). Enjoy my life story!