Monthly Archives: August 2010

Blog title…

by donovancheryl

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,… If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes. Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. And has He not given you rest on every side? You will not need to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you,…”

Personally Yours – Dr. Niama Williams

by wandadhudson

Personally Yours will give you a brief look inside your favorite authors world. We know they  write smokin’ books, but do they smoke with the Surgeon General and if they do, what? Are they left-handed or right handed? Take a personal look inside Dr. Niama William’s life. Enjoy Personally Yours!


1. Who is Niama Williams? – Niama Leslie Williams, Ph.D. is a bright, intelligent woman who never forgot her community on the way to and through the doctoral process.  She still wants to write work that her aunt, a day worker all of her life, could read and be empowered by.  She also wants those who have survived childhood trauma to know that love, passion, and bliss are possible, no matter what you have encountered as a child.  She writes about her life to uplift and empower.
2. What are you passionate about? – Letting people know that the Universe is a benevolent place and that God LOVES giving us our heart’s desires.  Desire means “of the sire.”  If we make God number one in our universe, He will give us the wisdom and insight we need to not just survive, but THRIVE.  If we focus on that still small voice within and DO WHAT IT TELLS US TO DO, we will inherit the kingdom right here, this incarnation.
 

3. Why should the world take notice of you? – The world needs to take notice of the word of God and live according to Biblical principles.  I am only noteworthy in how I help others cease their suffering.  I try my best to do that with my writing.  I tell my story, and the triumphs of my story, so that others will know that pain, any pain, is survivable and does not have to kill us.  The Lord is there for us specifically during times of trial.  On July 27th, 2010, I was faced with no place to live and no source of income.  Today, August 12th, not two full weeks later, I have two business opportunities and a home until I start bringing in regular paychecks.  If that isn’t God being there for me in time of trial, I don’t know what is!  Be encouraged!!!!
4. Do you like a man that’s hard-boiled (take charge) or soft scrambled (yes dear)? – I like a man who says “Yes, Dear” when he means it, but who is no pushover.  Gentle, but not weak.
 

5. What are your life rules?
When in doubt, pray.
When rejoicing, praise the Lord.
Before asking, give thanks.
When tears come, think about whom you can help.
And when you really need to cry, let yourself.  Tears are cleansing and often necessary.
Forgive in ways that cause you no further pain.  Distance is not always a bad thing.
Love without bound and be optimistic.  Your perspective really does effect your reality.

6. If you could only do 2 things until the day you died what would they be? – Love the man God has sent to me forever and ever amen, and bear his children.

 7. 5 Favs –

a. color:  red first, peach second, beige third

b. food:  cheesecake, hands down

c. movie:  The Wild Wild World, Prince of Tides, Nutz, What Dreams May Come, Field of Dreams

d. song:  As Sure As I’m Standing Here by Barry Manilow

e. drink:  Mocha Cappucino by Bolthouse Farms
8. Do you forgive regardless of what someone has done to you? – No.  I am a bit like the elephant; I don’t forget.  When I find it hard to forgive someone, I begin to pray about it, and often I find that I move toward forgiveness without knowing it.  This is one area in which I am not perfect, but awareness of it means I turn to prayer to address my imperfections.

 9. If you could change your past would you? – No.  My past has made me sensitive to and understanding of the pain of others.  It is also the one thing that helped me understand the pain of my beloved.  We had similar wounds and this allowed us to trust each other more easily and made it easier for him to reveal long-suffering that he had not shared with others.
10. Your life is on the big screen. What is it rated and why? – R.  I’ve been through a lot and seen much, and I would want the unvarnished truth told so that others are helped and know that they are not alone.  That is the one goal of my writing:  to convince those suffering that they are not alone, that someone else has been through it before them and survived it, and that there is a silver lining, a reward, a good life awaiting those who persevere.

 
11. Where can we find you on the net?  – I am thrilled to have folks go to http://www.blowingupbarriers.com because I have a special offer running through September 15th, 2010:  check out my homepage for details.  I also publish an email newsletter through aweber.com; signup is on my website (archives:  http://www.aweber.com/z/article/?drnisnews ).  Just look for the newsletter link.  Finally, you can find my radio show on http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drni; I’d love to have listeners join us for the spiritual leaders, entrepreneurs, and authors who join us every Friday at 1 p.m.  And you, Ms. Hudson, will have to join me with your new book soon!!!!

12. Fill in the blank with one word: To know Niama Williams is to be empowered by Niama Williams.

Put Your problems on notice

by donovancheryl

Their expiration date has arrived! You’ve cried long enough, you’ve struggled long enough, the enemy’s power is broken in Jesus’ name. He has no authority in your life. You have been set free from the bondage you’re in! Believe it! I ‘m believing with you for your breakthrough!

What has He done for you lately

by donovancheryl

I asked God for patience. Boy did He answer me. It seemed that on every turn there was another problem for me to deal with. One instance involved a person who was particularly grievous to my heart. Actually this person vexed my spirit. It was all I could do to muster up the strength to even talk to this person in a civil manner. Everyday I found myself crying out to the Lord. GOd I so want to help but they’re not receptive. How can I fight this battle? Why won’t they listen? Why are they fighting me on every turn? Why won’t they hear? Then it hit me. Didn’t you ask for patience?

Fast forward about two weeks and I can now see progress in this person. It has become more tolerable to deal with the issues and the rapport is much more favorable. I thought God had put me in the middle of hell but what He was trying to do was teach me what I asked for – patience.

It’s easy to get burdened down with the cares of life and feel sorry for yourself. It doesn’t take much to question “why me?” Truthfully however, it’s important to be reminded that God is always working in our lives. He never leaves us or forsakes us. His providential hand is always upon us. Even in the middle of our mess He’s right there working through all the stuff to make sure that we are victorious in the end.In our test there is always a testimony so that God is always doing something for us and ultimately He gets the glory.

I thank God for helping me to wrk on my patience. It’s more than a notion but I now understand that as a child of God seeking to become more like Jesus, it takes much prayer and ,uch fortitude to deal with the least the last and the lost. Thank you God for this lesson.

What has He done for you lately?

Are You listening

by donovancheryl

Many times we wonder why God has not answered us. My question is are we listening?

God speaks to us through His word, through our prayers, and through His people. But often we turn a deaf ear. Perhaps because we don’t want the answer or maybe because we don’t want to do what is necessary (i.e., change our ways or thought patterns in order to receive the blessings He has in store for us.

Could it be we don’t spend enough time with Him to even know His voice? Do we send our prayers up without meditating and waiting on His answer?

The next time you think God has forgotten you, take a good look and make sure the answer isn’t already there.

Be blessed.

by donovancheryl

You have been freed from sickness and disease poverty and lack, and every bondage the enemy wants to bring. Whom the son sets free is free indeed. Walk in the abundance Jesus died for!

Book Excerpt: One Who Loves You More by Andrea Clinton

by edc1creations



Life Knows No Bounds: One Who Loves You More by Andrea Clinton
• Alisa is a money grubbing gold digger who sashays through her days wearing this title like a tiara. Feeling life’s all about the expensive gifts and money a man can give her, Alisa follows the steps of her mentor and basks in the glory of using men, until she stumbles upon Omar.



• Omar is an African American Muslim trying to fight his demons and find his way back to the Islamic life he knew as a child. Distraught over disagreements that divided the Muslim community a decade prior, where many Muslims became victim to inner city chaos, Omar became a product of his environment and is at the head of that chaos.
Tired of hearing her mother rant and rave about her gold digging ways, Alisa decides to take her great grandmother’s advice, “Always get a man who loves you more than you love him.”   Stumbling upon Omar in his brand new Cadillac, Alisa decides to make him her man, or rather, her victim, or will the tables turn?   Hell erupts, splatters like geysers, while skeletons and bones fly out closets in, Life Knows No Bounds, “1 Who Luvs U More.”



Andrea Clinton: What Impact will this book have my readers? Readers will learn about a very overlooked profession on the rise, “Gold Digging.”  They’ll get to see that there’s more than what meets the eye when women toy with men’s emotions and  use them for their hard earned money.



Excerpt from  1 Who Luvs U More
My Plight: Some would say I was ungrateful, and I guess to a degree I was. But more than ungrateful, I was blind, too blind to see straight. Even now I can’t see what it is I should’ve done. I just know what I shouldn’t have done. And I know I wasn’t happy. I was unhappy with myself, with what was going on, and it was the unhappiness that drove me. It drove me to do things, drove me to where I am today, nowhere, with no one. Just sitting here playing the song, I know how it feels to be lonely by Morgana King, in my head, over and over and over again.



I was a mental-mess, and I mucked things up really bad, and now they can’t be fixed. Forgive me if my story’s scrambled, but how else can I tell it when my mind is scrambled. So, when my story sounds twisted, shaky, and unclear at times, just know, so is my mind. Why else would I be sitting here talking to a Greek statue of a white woman with cellulite thighs, barely any clothing and no pupils?  Yes, I’m really messed up in the head, and my nerves are shot. But that’s how it is when you see yourself as a casualty, and the world deems you the antagonist.   ###




RAWSISTAZ Book Review — 4 Stars
“Life Knows No Bounds: 1 Who Loves You More,”  Andrea Clinton’s first installment in the LIFE KNOWS NO BOUNDS chronicles, is a harsh realistic portrayal of urban love and life in mid-1980’s New Jersey. Alisa, a boastful, self-proclaimed gold-digger, finds herself lost in a world of love and conflict as she tries and fails to apply her great-grandmother’s wisdom to her complicated love life.



Alisa is well known in her hood for her selfish, gold-digging ways. Despite aggressive warnings from her family, she has mastered the game of getting a man for everything he has and gracefully moving on to the next. But when she hooks up with Omar, she soon realizes that she has entered into a game that she is ill-equipped to play.



Omar, a young, sexy hustler from around the way, knows what it takes to get Alisa’s attention. He uses his flashy car and genteel manners to lure her in, but he has so much more in store for her. They start a tumultuous love affair that’s riddled with gun fights, jealousy, expensive gifts, explosive arguments, and Alisa’s spoiled rotten attitude. When Alisa’s antics push Omar to the limit as he struggles with the conflict of his religion and his love for her, the future of their relationship is gravely threatened.  “Always get a man who loves you more than you love him”, the powerful last words of her dying great-grandmother which Alisa vowed to follow. When she finally understands the meaning of those words, it may be too late, as she comes dangerously close to losing what she fought so hard to gain.



With Life Knows No Bounds: 1 Who Loves You More, Andrea Clinton has created a dynamic urban love story, decorated with realistic dialogue and hard-hitting pragmatism. The story was compelling and the characters were vibrant. Although Alisa was a spoiled brat with an ugly attitude, I found her to be relatable and worthy of my empathy. I felt Alisa’s and Omar’s struggle until the very end and found myself routing for them despite their flaws and troublesome relationship. Life is no fairytale and Clinton has colorfully portrayed that truth through this novel.  I was able to thoroughly enjoy the read. I recommend this novel for those looking for an explosive urban love story with a realistic perspective. — Reviewed by Guest Reviewer Monique D. Mensah, The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers




Author Andrea Clinton




About The Author:
Andrea Clinton is a novelist, poet and essayist, and aspiring screenwriter/filmmaker. As a Montclair State University graduate, she posses’ a degree in English, Film and Journalism. She’s the founder and CEO of the non-profit organization, People Helping People; worked as Editor in Chief of AMISTAD newspaper, New Jersey; and is presently working on a biography and screenplay featuring the life of her uncle George Clinton of Parliament/Funkadelic and the Clinton family.  Visit with Andrea at the Around-The-Way Publishing, LLC website: http://www.aroundthewaypublishing.com/.  To request a complimentary review copy and press kit, or to purchase copies for resale, call: (973) 280-2729. Tear sheets may be sent by email: AroundTheWayPub@aol.com.   ISBN-10: 0981837638



Brought to you by EDC Creations and Black Pearls Magazine. Visit the magazine here: http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com/


 


 




 

Is Your Change Adding Up?

by wandadhudson

It’s been said that time heals all wounds. I don’t think it’s the time alone that heals, but the changes and motion, whether forward or back, that’s the medicine. For me it’s been forward motion that has my life on the plus side.

The last two years I’ve struggled with my emotions regarding the death of my father. Hard, evil, angry, miserable – if it equals the word ugly I’ve felt it. It’s not a good thing, but we all go through it. Death kills us emotionally and then brings us back to Life. Some people live their life to die. Plan for retirement – don’t live for it. Plan to live to a fruitful old age – don’t hope to live until you’re old.

 A few weeks after my father died I had a dream about rats and some other stuff that made no sense. My dreams about him always contained a memory of him, but he was never in the dream. Last night I had a dream and he was there. I was in a kitchen and was serving lemon cookies to two of the kids that starred in the Everybody Hates Chris Show. I think the cookies were lemon because two days earlier I bought an Entenmanns Lemon Crunch Cake. Weird. It was the girl, Tanya and the boy, Drew. We were talking about school and teenage stuff. My father was standing by the side of the table and took a few cookies off the plates and ate them. He was smiling and laughing, but I couldn’t hear his voice and he never said anything.

 When I woke up I remembered the dream and that he was there! My father was in my dream! He was happy and healthy. He had on his glasses and looked just like my daddy. I thought of the times when I was a teenager and would bake cookies. He would come pick a few off the plate and keep walking into the living room to watch TV. I had a hard time remembering good things until lately.

 There has been so much forward motion in my life since 2008. Positive motion. I’m still working on financial stability, but my change is adding up. When you step out on faith you step into you. I miss my daddy. I may have pennies in my change purse, but those pennies are adding up to my IT.

 Think about who you are, what you want and what you do. Think about the changes you’ve made or are willing to make to get it. A small change is the catapult for greatness. My dream made me realize that I’m getting there. I’m hurt that my father isn’t here, but I’m living. I’m changing and becoming a better person. At the end of each day I don’t feel that my change drawer is short. I can turn in and know that I’ve done good…I’ve done real good. Do your life math; Is Your Change Adding Up?

 Uh…does this dream mean that I need to play a number? (^_^)

 I luv you.