Greg Sollie

My claim to fame is that Cat and Little Preacher Sollie raised me down in Dothan, Alabama, and I inherited a storytelling gene from my dad’s father (Big Daddy, a.k.a. Preacher Sollie). My brothers, sisters, and I would pile into the family station wagon with our parents for trips to Aimwell as often as possible. With both sets of grandparents located there we would get loved unconditionally, fed like royalty for a few days, and then head home. I heard countless stories about Aimwell and the characters that inhabited Marengo County over the years. It gave me a sense of how my parents were raised and a burning appreciation for why they were so special. It also has become my mission to share that rearing recipe, that love, with others through these stories, because it is something too valuable to be lost.

I have a bunch of grandkids, and counting, and I am reminded each day of how important this next generation will be.

And furthermore….

If I could bottle-up what my dear parents meant to me and the impact they had on our family, and the impact their parents had on them; I would give it away. And this book is as close as I can come to doing that. All they really had was love. My parents received it from theirs and they passed it down the line. And if I stop and think about it, there is no doubt that it extends all the way back to Jesus. That love was poured out on them like a river, and that generation washed themselves clean in the flow. What does that mean to young parents today? If you think having to wake-up in the middle of the night with a crying infant is hard, fast-forward 15 years and look at what’s in store. But just as there are techniques for getting your baby back to sleep, or better yet, sleeping peacefully through the night, there are techniques for surviving the tumultuous teens, or better yet sailing through them with peaceful nights.

And you guessed it, love is at the center of that plan. I have been listening to a cleverly titled sermon series by Andy Stanley called, The Way - in the Manger and would like to extend that to the community where my parents were raised, and this book is set- Aimwell, Alabama. They embraced “The Way - in the Manger” philosophy, and it is reflected in this book series. I encourage you to take a long swig from that bottled-up gift and not look back.

Your kids will thank you!