Decatur pastor’s book blends gospel, life in South

If there’s something funnier than living life in the skillet, then it might just be living life along a dirt road, according to Harold Fanning. Fanning — pastor of Shoal Creek Baptist Church, Decatur, in Morgan Baptist Association and author of “Life in the Skillet” — has just released his second book of humorous anecdotes of growing up in rural Alabama. “Life Along a Dirt Road” is “more of a humorous glance at life in the South and examines many of our Southern traditions,” he said. This book, more than its prequel, addresses people’s need for community and building relationships with neighbors. “My target audience is the lost … I write humor and infiltrate the gospel in each story,” Fanning said. But it’s also “inspiring and entertaining” for believers who like or need to find the humor in life, he explained. Fellow pastor Jimmy Jackson of Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Baptist Association said Fanning’s books provide “light and lifting reading.” “Harold Fanning has been gifted by the Lord to help all of us laugh a little,” he said. The book can be purchased online at www.amazon.com, by visiting Shaver’s Books in Huntsville or by writing to Fanning at P.O. Box 1805, Hartselle, AL 35640.