The Story of Spoon, Sweety, and the Four Miracles: God’S Plan for a Successful Relationship

By Demetria Risper

The day that a person gets married is supposed to be one of the happiest days. We promise to love, honor, and cherish each other for the rest of our lives. Every marriage can be fun in the beginning; the wedding and the honeymoon are all part of the glamour and excitement. But what happens six months later, when the gifts stop coming and routine starts to set in? How do couples in a contemporary world, where careers and children demand so much of their time, manage to keep the sparks of love flying? Do you ever wonder how people stay married for fifty years, and yet still have that same spark they did on their wedding day? Yes, there are going to be problems in every marriage, but a couple whose marriage is based on Jesus Christ and true love will be able to survive. Read about the experiences of Spoon and Sweetys twelve-year marriage that juggles the life of a wife who is a school teacher, a husband who is a high school head football coach, and four children whose ages are ten and under. Laugh about a puppy love that started between two kids in the fourth grade and resulted in an I do at the church altar fifteen years later. Some of the advice could save relationships that are in trouble or help a new marriage remain filled with love. Whether you are skeptical about getting involved in relationships, have been hurt from previous relationships, are trying to figure out what to look for in that special person, or just trying to decide if that other person really loves you, this book, inspired by the Holy Spirit, will hopefully inspire some positive, healthy relationships.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 31, 2011
• ISBN: 9781449722500

Demetria Risper

Dr. Demetria Risper, a National Board Certified Teacher, resides in Macon, Georgia. She is married to Sheddrick Risper, and they have four children. She grew up in Thomaston, Georgia, and has been teaching school for fourteen years. Dr. Risper is the oldest of three children and enjoys being an inspiration to people in all walks of life.

Book preview

Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

I dedicate this book to God, and I thank Him for allowing me to write this book. I thank God for allowing the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts as I wrote this book. To my husband, Sheddrick, Spoon Risper, I love you so much. Thank you for believing in me and encouraging me to complete this book. To my children, Scooter, Peachy, Silas, and Paul, I treasure each one of you. It has always been my dream to write a book. I hope and pray that my life and your father’s life are evident to each of you that you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to. You can make any dream come true. To my parents, Elijah and Margaret Alsobrooks, thank you for teaching me morals and for introducing Jesus Christ to me at an early age. That seed that you planted in me has blossomed. Thank you for being great parents and helping me to succeed in life. I will always love and honor the both of you. To my in-laws, Billy and Peggy Risper, I thank you for your love and support that you have shown me. I am thankful to you for raising such the wonderful young man who became the greatest husband and father, Sheddrick Spoon Risper. You both did an awesome job. To my brother, Elijah Alsobrooks, my brother-in-law, Prentice Risper, to my sister, Denise Alsobrooks and to my entire family, thank you for your support. I love you all! To Ethel Jean White, thanks for your love and support you have always shown us. I also have to express thanks to my church families at Mary Lizzie Baptist Church and Bethel for their encouragement. I would also like to thank my two pastors, Rev. Smith and Rev. Childs, for their inspirational sermons. Those sermons helped me through my toughest times. To all of my teachers who helped me, I thank you. I would also like to extend a thank you to Gwen Childs. Thanks for being such a good friend to me. Thank you Ella Carter, my first principal in Macon, GA. You had a positive impact on my life and I thank you for that. Thanks to everyone who reads this book. May you be encouraged in the Lord and may the Lord add blessings unto your life.

CHAPTER 1

The Beginning of Sweety and Spoon

In September of 1984, I met my husband-to-be. I was a nine year old fourth grader and had just transferred from a different elementary school. I did not know anyone, but that did not bother me. For some reason, I was not scared. I had always been a very quiet girl, yet very confident in myself. Even when I was in kindergarten, I had always thought of myself as smart because I knew my entire alphabet and could count to twenty without any help. I loved school, and I loved to learn.

When I arrived at this new school, I just wanted to go into that classroom, learn as much as I could, and make straight As. School was so much fun to me, and learning excited me. I guess one could say that I was a nerd, but I enjoyed learning! Homework was not a chore for me, but it was something that I looked forward to every day. I wanted more homework, so I would create my own math problems, read an extra chapter in the science book, or write two pages instead of one for an essay. Books were my best friend, and nothing made me happier than reading. I did not mind hard work, and I was an overachiever at a young age.

I had big dreams and goals at the age of nine! My dream was to become president of the United States of America. I was going to be the first lady president in the White House! I was going to lead this country to prosperity because I felt that the people in the world needed to learn how to love and respect each other. I wanted to start organizations that would feed hungry people and help people who had very little. I wanted to change the world because there was just too much war! I guess I was just ambitious that way.

My fourth grade teacher’s name was Ms. Burnette. She was one of the nicest teachers I had ever had. She had short brown hair and was about my height which was 5 feet. Wow! I finally had a teacher who I was almost taller than! Ms. Burnette liked us and laughed and smiled a lot. This gave me such a sense of belonging in her class, which made coming to school that much better. Ms. Burnette would tell me how smart I was and what a great student I was and even recommended me for the gifted program. Ms. Burnette and Mrs. Taunton, my fifth-grade teacher, made me fall in love with school and learning even more. Teachers have so much power in how they make students feel; they can tear down or they can build up. Ms. Burnette’s favorite phrase when she got happy was always, Glory B! Our class thought that was the coolest thing, so we would all say glory b when we were outside for recess.

My future husband’s name was Sheddrick Risper. He was one of the first students I met in my class. I thought that he was rather odd looking because he had such big eyes with bags under them, and he talked so funny. It seemed as though he was talking through his nose, but I guess it was because of how his nose was made. I had never seen anyone with such huge bags under his or her eyes. I thought that only happened when you stayed up too late and did not get enough sleep. He must never sleep, I thought. When we went outside for recess, Sheddrick would do anything to get my attention. He would pull my hair or make rude remarks to me. You look like a nerd! You look like a nerd! he would repeatedly say to me. I did wear glasses, and I was smart, but I would just wonder if that was the only thing he could say about me. I never dreamed in a million years that I would marry this annoying little boy I had just met who had the biggest ears and a giant smile that showed his two front teeth! My hair was always in ponytails with a smear of hair grease on my forehead. Sheddrick always had on sweaters with big collar shirts—and tight pants! What was even funnier was that his pants were so hilarious because they were always pulled up rather high.

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We were living in the eighties, but I guess he was still living in the seventies.

I think Sheddrick really liked to have a lot of attention. He would always just start talking in the middle of class to the teacher while everyone was doing assignments. I really thought he was weird because he talked so much. All he ever talked about was playing a guitar for his gospel band and traveling to different cities and states. Why does he want so much attention? I used to think. I always used to wonder who his mother was because he always talked about her. We did not know her, but everyone in the class felt as though they did because he continuously talked about how she ironed his shirts and how good a mother she was.Sheddrick was definitely a character. On some days, I would just look at him and think, You have got to be the skinniest boy in America. I think his teeth and ears were the biggest parts on his body. During our fourth grade year, we were in a talent show. I sang a song, and he played his bass guitar. I remember the guitar being bigger than he was. Nevertheless, we were friends, and I liked him.

By fifth grade, Sheddrick made it known to me that he really liked me and would write me little letters in class asking me to be his girlfriend. Each little note had a box that said, Check yes or no. I would always check no, roll my eyes at him, and throw the notes back to him. But he never stopped insisting. I did not want to be his girlfriend because I thought that he was so goofy!

My seat was beside the pencil sharpener, and each morning, Sheddrick would sharpen his pencil. One morning, though, he did something different. I had gone to the teacher’s desk to turn in my work. When I came back to my seat, there was a letter with a little diamond ring on my desk. Hmm, I thought, this really looks nice. When I saw that it was from Sheddrick, I checked no that I would not be his girlfriend once again and gave the ring back to him. I really think that I hurt his feelings because he had the saddest look on his face and held his head down for a long time. I honestly felt bad that I had hurt his feelings, despite how he had teased me on the playground or called me names. During recess that day, Sheddrick told me that he had saved a couple of quarters and had spent all of his money trying to get the diamond ring from a bubble gum machine. I was sad a little, but I just did not like him, even if he did spend all of his money on me. I was really grateful, but boys were not a priority on my list. I loved school and enjoyed running.

I was somewhat of an athlete during elementary school. I could run really fast and enjoyed playing games. I would race boys and girls and beat the majority of them. After Sheddrick finally accepted that I would not be his girlfriend, his attitude started to change towards me. It was as though he was in constant competition with me. During our annual field day, Sheddrick bragged to his friends about how much faster he could run than me, telling them that I could never beat him. I beat him in the 50-yard dash and the 100-yard dash. Since I really had an ego by then, I bragged to him about how much faster I was than him. This really made him angry, especially since his friends were around. You can’t beat me, I chanted to him. I thought it was funny to see Sheddrick’s friends laughing at him because he got beat by a girl, and it felt good to beat him because he thought he was faster. Every day at recess, the students in our class would race, and I beat Sheddrick again and again. And again! How much more embarrassment could he take? To be beaten by a girl was absolutely humiliating for a boy.

Approximately one week later, I bought a