In the spirit of sharing her faith and thoughts on life as a Christian in St. Clair County, Pell City resident Nikki Barns recently published the book of poetry, “Bouquet of Poems: For the Christian Heart.”

A graduate of Shades Valley High School, Barns spent much of her time growing up at her grandmother’s home on Logan Martin Lake, and has called Pell City home for the last eight years.

Barns has written poetry as a way to express herself since her youth, with her work reflecting her life and values.

“I get inspired by just everyday life, by people, by events, but mostly my faith in Jesus Christ inspires me,” Barns said.

Many of Barns’ poems are taken from ordinary, everyday events that happen in Pell City and other areas along her journeys.

“One of the poems I wrote is about a woman I saw outside one of the stores, that had a sign that said she needed money and food. People walked past her, ignoring her, and I thought, ‘How should we look at that? How would God have us to look at that? Should we look at her as someone in need, who needs our help and love, or should we look at that as someone we should just forget about?’” Barns said.

Themes of faith and compassion in the local community abound throughout Barns’ words. In fact, Barns said an experience with local service agencies inspired her to publish the book, when two women were arguing back and forth about who should be served first.

“In that moment, I decided that people really need to see they’re not the only people in the world. I want people to see the love of Jesus, and I think if we tell it in everything we do, it will show,” Barns said. “I want people to see that we’re all equal to one another, that we’re all loved by God, that he touches all of our lives in special ways, and that’s how we should view one another.”

“Bouquet of Poems: For the Christian Heart” is available at many online book retailers, including Amazon.com, BooksAMillion.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and many others.