see people with their hands in the air . I was admiring their rings and fingernails and waiting to see who was going to put on a show because before I thought people were joking . After Velvet died , I hated God . I was not angry with her , but then things went wrong . In the beginning , I was so angry . I was moping around feeling sorry for myself . I really didn ’ t get myself together until after I saw her in a dream and she asked if I was going to do what she had asked me to do . So after I got to the church , some people were beginning to lift their hands . Don ’ t you know , I sat on the very back pew and thought to myself , there they go again . The organist started playing a song . I started to sing , “ Here I am Lord , I heard you calling through the night . I will go ….” Before I knew it , I had jumped out of the pew and disrupted that service with , “ restore to me the joy of my salvation , the joy of each new day . Give me back the love that I once had for you and never let me slip away .” I never thought that would ever happen to me .
HimPower : The Lord does amazing things when we surrender ourselves to him . What accomplishment are you most proud of ?
E . Shepherd : You know , I am so proud that I was so able to go to Rome to get my medal and certificate to be crowned by the Guinness book of world records as the
oldest female competitive body builder in the world . It was something that I was able to do that .
HimPower : Is there anything you would like to do that you haven ’ t done yet ?
E . Shepherd : You know , I have been interviewed by a large number of people and enjoyed every minute of it . But there is one thing I would love to do this year . I once did a skype with Oprah , and I would love to meet her face-to-face . If the Lord spares me , I will figure out a way to meet her face-to-face this year .
HimPower : Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about you ?
E . Shepherd : I love people . I hug everyone that I meet . You never know who may need a hug — your hug may be speaking to that need .
Ernestine Shepherd is an 81 year old body builder , competitor , trainer and model . She is a wife , mother and grandmother . She is also a devoted follower of Christ who believes in the power of prayer and has learned the secret to staying fit for life . For your personally autographed copy of her book , Determined , Dedicated , Disciplined to Be Fit - The Ageless Journey of Ernestine Shepherd , email Ernestine at : e . shepherd1 @ comcast . net . The cost is $ 20 + $ 7 for shipping . Non-autographed copies are available at amazon . com
32 HimPower May 2018