Shirley W. Mitchell is known as a "Lace Over Steel™" Woman. What is a "Lace Over Steel™" Woman? A Woman who has a positive outlook towards "Ageless Living"! Shirley's Passion and Faith equals her Glow in Spirit - a Life-Long Committment to The Teachings of Experience. A Deep Creativity to Empower those to Reach for the Stars by Sharing Their Life Experiences, Defy Expectations and to Help Transform Every Stage of Their Lives. To Stimulate their Passion, Dreams, Faith, to Achieve the Greatest Return and Ignite the Spirit Within. With a writing career spanning over 40 years, Shirley W. Mitchell's amazing life now encompasses being the Author of Five books, Co-Author of Three books, an On-Line Syndicated Column, On-Line Newsletter, Two weekly Syndicated Radio Shows, and an On-Line System consisting of 25 Websites, 13 BLOGS, and membership in over 21 Social Sites. She has Five more books in the process, with two of those coming out soon. In the early years, Shirley wrote for, or had articles published in Progress, Christian Life, Sonlite Gospel, The Messenger, The Shantyman, Mature Living, plus several other publications. The articles and information within this Site will hopefully be an inspiration, motivation and remembrence of Life Experience for our viewers.

Mature Living Magazine - "A Magazine for Christian Senior Adults" is published monthly by LifeWay Press. James T. Draper, Jr., President; 0. Eugene Mims, Vice-President-Church Growth and Roy T. Edgemon, Director-Discipleship and Family Development Division. Mature Living 127 Ninth Avenue North  Nashville, TN 37234 matureliving @ bssb.com Alvin C. Shackleford, Editor in Chief; Judy Broyles Pregel, Managing Editor and David Wilson, Graphic Designer.

by Dan Gardner June 1998 - The Gift of Love © by Shirley W. Mitchell, Mature Living THE SLOW DRIP OF THE IV nourished and medicated my father as he lay, seemingly lifeless, on the sterile white hospital bed. Like a crown of glory, his white hair blended into the white pillow. Staring at the frail form on the bed, I couldn't believe that in his prime my dad weighed 200 pounds. I watched from a chair in the corner of the dimly lit room and remembered his younger, stronger body. My dad always had excellent posture. He walked with an aura of confidence until a stroke slowed his pace. The dim bleak mood of the hospital room changed with a mental flashback of Dad's sweeping me off the ground in his hard, strong arms as I whirled around him when I was 10. Prancing around a wagon pulled by a tractor, filled with a prized possession, my piano, I ran happily, giggling. Moving my piano from my grandparents' home next door to our new home, a house my dad built with his own sweat and labor, was a thrill for a 10-year-old piano student. My dad cut down trees from our farm for the lumber. He ordered a sawmill from the Sears Roebuck Catalog so that he could saw the lumber. We worked in the cotton fields to make the payments on the land each year. The four-room house, built in the middle of a potato patch, gave him a great feeling of accomplishment. My parents were cotton farmers and had to make every penny count. That I could own a piano and take lessons was a miracle that I thought could only be by Divine providence, brought to life by parents who dreamed and planned to make it happen. The highlight of my week came each Saturday morning when I walked two miles to my cherished piano lesson. This morning, moving my precious piano to our new home preceded even piano lessons in importance. My dad, driving the tractor that pulled the wagon, failed to see the root of an old oak tree sticking up a few inches above the ground. The wagon hit the root with one wheel, dislodging the massive old upright piano. It bounced out onto the hard ground and rolled over and over, breaking into a thousand splinters. The magnitude of my loss sank deep into my soul. I ran, screamed, and cried. My dad caught me, picked me up in his strong arms, and hugged me to him as I beat upon his broad shoulders with my small clenched fists. "You broke my piano!" I screamed into his ear. He held my trembling body firmly to his bosom until I stopped sobbing. His big, green eyes looked deeply into my bewildered, dark brown ones. His face was sad, but he said, "Before I die, I will buy you a new piano." A decade went by and another. I moved into a new home with my husband and three children. One day the doorbell rang. A piano salesman introduced himself. "Your dad has paid for any piano you would like," he said, handing me a catalog filled with all kinds of pianos. Through my tears I selected my favorite. I love playing my piano. My children learned to play on it, and now my grandchildren touch the ivory keys. That piano occupies a special place in my living room and a special place in my heart. This special place in my heart is filled with sadness, because my dad now has a new home in heaven. The sadness is for me, because I miss him. Though I am a member of the sandwich generation of the 1990s, caregiver for my parents, and have a large family of my own, losing an earthly father leaves a big hole in my life that can only be filled by my Heavenly Father. I'm glad I know Him intimately. Faith in God is an oasis of peace surrounded by the swirling sands of time.

Shirley W. Mitchell is the Owner and Founder of Ageless Living™ - a Motivational, Inspirational and Educational Company located in Northern Alabama providing products and services related to Organizing and Conducting Educational Conferences, Classes, Symposiums, Seminars, Workshops, Speeches and Training Courses in the fields of Aging, Seniors, Senior Lifestyles, Health, Wellness, Nutrition, Generational Women and Men's Issues, Faith, Passion and Purpose, and Distribution of Materials including Multimedia Audio, Video, CD, DVD, Books, Newsletters, Journals, Magazines, Articles, Periodicals, Electronic Books, and other Written and Audio Publications. Ms. Mitchell and Ageless Living™ are managed and represented by Lighthouse Coastal Productions. ***Copyright © and Trademark ™ Notice: 1967-2011 All Works, Venues and Content by Shirley W. Mitchell™ including "The Golden Egg of Aging™", "The Fabulous Author™", "Fabulous after 50®", "Fabulous after Fifty™", "Fabulous Women Over 50™", "Sensational after 60®", "Sensational after Sixty™", "Sensational Women Over 60™", "Aging Outside the Box®", "Christian Spiritual Sparks™", "Passionate Sparks™", "Spiritual Sparks for Busy Women™", "Lace Over Steel™", "Ageless Living™", "Endless Energy™", "Better Half of Life™", "Citrus Park™", "Crosstown Info™", "The Amazing System™" and "Aging with Glamour™"are © Copyright and ® Trademark protected*** No part of this Web-Site or Column may be reproduced without the prior written consent of the Agent. If you would like to purchase copies of the articles, please send an E-Mail to us with your request. If you should encounter any problems with this Web-Site please E-Mail the Webmaster - Agent @ lighthousecoastal.com. Shirley W. Mitchell and Ageless Living™ is Managed and Represented by Lighthouse Coastal Productions and Lighthouse News Bureau 466 Sardis Cutoff Road Sardis City, AL 35956