On Saturday, March 28^th, the same day that Shelley’s and my 2026 “Snowbird” journey ended, the “Books By the Bay Festival” took place in Pensacola, Florida. A few weeks earlier we had taken a reconnaissance trip to the venue which provided us with special blessings. We were able to follow a self-guided walking tour of “Historic Pensacola”. But even before that, we visited the park, the senior center, and the community center where the book festival was to be held. A large event was scheduled to take place in the community center that afternoon, and we were specially blessed to spend at least half an hour helping a catering company transfer their food, beverages, and equipment from their van, into the same room where our display table would be located a few weeks later!

At about 7:30 am on the morning of the book festival, we packed our belongings into the car, checked out of our unit on Miramar Beach, and then drove one and one-half hours West to Pensacola. We had planned to head out a half hour earlier. But we received notice that a “run event” was being held that morning in the same park where the festival was located. So, we were told not to arrive prior to 9:00 am, and were also told that after unloading, we would have to leave our vehicles on a neighborhood street, as the parking lot would be filled with the runners’ cars. We arrived shortly after 9:00 am, and loaded our materials into a cart which we had acquired for that purpose. I headed into the community center with the cart, checked in, located our table, and began setting up, while Shelley drove off to find a parking space.

I suddenly realized that our table was missing a covering. When we inquired about it we learned that the festival director (who had promised to provide a tablecloth) was somewhere outside among a mass of people. Even before we could head outside, a volunteer who had overheard us, asked if a teal colored tablecloth would be okay. In an earlier email exchange with the director, I had requested black, and had been told that only navy blue was available. But, now we gratefully said that yes, teal would be great, thank you very much. We quickly placed the cloth over the table, and completed our set-up shortly before the public was admitted at 10:00 am.

The teal tablecloth was a clear God-wink, as teal (not navy blue or black) turned out to be the perfect color for our setting that day. Please see the first photo below. At the previous festival in Gainesville, two authors had to share a six foot table. This time, we had a seven foot table to ourselves. We soon connected with husband and wife Christian authors right behind us. He is a retired Baptist pastor turned author, while she had embarked on her writing career before he started on his.

Throughout this event, we were blessed with a steady flow of people. As always, we prayed continually for God to open our eyes to see the divine appointments He had for us. Early on, I was encouraged by no fewer than three people who viewed our display, smiled and gave us a thumbs up, or a “good job”. As with the Gainesville festival, throughout the day people generally would glance at our display and move on. This time however, I noticed that this was the case for most of the other authors as well.

Our next divine appointment (after the teal table cloth) was with a gentleman who appeared quite interested in the book. He engaged with me, as he read portions of it with a smile on his face. But, he had to leave suddenly when his little girl started to walk away from the adjoining table. He did not return. Soon thereafter, Shelley and I enjoyed an in-depth conversation with a woman who appeared to be a solid, mature Christian. That wonderful discussion was the highlight of our day up to that point. But, again it did not result in a sale. God reminded me that He had us there to interact with the people He was bringing across our path, and that we need not concern ourselves with book sales.

Soon, another woman stopped at our exhibit. She mentioned that she had a 16 year-old grandson who felt called to be a preacher. She wondered if the book might be good for him. Pondering her question, I thought that if indeed God had called him to preach, and also had his grandma stop by our book display, then He likely wanted to bless him through the book. While I prayed about how to verbalize that, she opened up a book and read from it. She then smiled, and purchased a Study Guide. She hoped that the Guide would introduce her grandson to the underlying book and perhaps he would purchase it on his own.

The next woman to stop by mentioned that her son, is a colonel in the USAF, the father of five young children, and is close to completing his MDiv degree. She wondered if he might enjoy the book. Since I don’t know him personally, and as he apparently is a very busy person, I said that he might enjoy the book, if he could find the time to read it. She decided to buy him a copy.

While we were talking, a young mother walked up and greeted the woman. They were dear friends who had not seen each other in years. As a teenager, the younger woman had been in youth group, and was friends with the older woman’s other son, who had died at 17 years of age. After his death, this young woman (who now had a teenager of her own) had grown ever closer to his mom. It was a powerful God-moment, and the highlight of our day when the two women reunited with hugs and shouts of joy right in front of us!

Just like the first book festival, God brought two new members into the A-HS family that day! Once again, the fact that only one copy of the primary book was sold, reinforced for me the fact that when following the LORD’s leading, you can trust Him to produce fruit whenever, wherever, and however He chooses! As a final treat at this event, my sister Sharon and her husband Mike stopped by for a visit shortly before closing time.

FYI, the next book fair comes up in three months. It is the 2026 Detroit Bookfest at the Eastern Market in Detroit, Michigan!

Copyright 2026 Rich O’Brien