Book excerpt: ABOUT THE BOOK The School Of Hard Knocks Life Lessons For The Block From Proverbs 13 Vol I is a timely read for believers. In this day and age wisdom comes from many places and many people. Some wisdom is good and some wisdom is bad, but how much wisdom helps you deal with certain situations in a Godly manner. The School Of Hard Knocks is a helpful guide for that. It is presented in a way that is for the average person in any block or community or just going about their day to day life who lives in any block or community or on the street who really needs wisdom on what to do in a situation. Put in small concise bites of devotions pulling from Proverbs 13, The School Of Hard Knocks will assist you in some areas in life which can get tricky but through these Proverbs, you will be able to get the right wisdom on how to handle a certain situation, particularly that orientated toward the street level and block or community level of things. I pray this richly blesses you and leads you into all truth God's abundant jewels of wisdom to tackle any situation you may have. A special thanks to all who have supported the endeavors of this work as you have purchased this book. May the grace of God continue to increase your knowledge and wisdom beyond measure and begin to bless you beyond anything we can do or think. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Blanton P. Hardy is a writer whose writings include stories, poetry, essays, and devotionals. He is an artist and graphic artist whose works have not only been used in print for commercial products, on websites and newsletters, in print and in Christian events as well. Mr. Hardy is a writer, computer programmer and specialist, and artist, who holds a Bachelor Degree in Sociology and Computer Science, and a Masters Degree in Information Business Management. In addition to numerous certifications. He faithfully attends New St. James Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama where he has been since his youth and wherever and whenever it is possible faithfully spreading the gospel of Christ to everyone he comes in contact with. Blanton also attends public Christian events such as the Bible Reading Marathon which he participates each year, but particularly those he meets on the street and along the way whenever the Lord leads for him to witness or opportunity to witness about the love of Christ through his talent of poetry and art especially in the youth culture of today and those in the area we know as the Hip Hop culture which he is familiar with which as scripture says in Isaiah 45:3 God has promised to "give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel."