Auditions for Broken Pieces: Some Family Wounds Run Generations Deep

This stage play represents a new level of advocacy for me. I am excited about this coming Friday's auditions! Broken Pieces is a funny and thought-provoking play about verbal and emotional abuse in families. If you or anyone you know is interested in auditioning for the play, send an email for more details.

Moguls In Media

Last week Moguls In Media founder, Darcel Laurie, welcomed emerging and seasoned media professionals for a mix of panel discussion and networking. The panel of media professionals included (in photo left to right), Terrence Nelson of TV One, Regan Farley of My PR Agency, Patrice Tartt of Black Enterprise, Darcel Laurie, Mikea Turner of WUSA*9 News and Candice Nicole of Candice Nicole PR and Women Who Hustle. The atmosphere was genuine and the panel discussion candid. The panelists shared their wisdom and offered solutions to age old questions that many new entrepreneurs face. The food provided by Executive Chef Damian Brown was innovative and tasty. DJ Schemes spun with a mix of old and new school. The next stop on the Moguls in Media Tour is Atlanta. Get your ticket! #MIMDC www.mogulsinmedia.com

Broken Pieces: Some Family Wounds Run Generations Deep

Good Afternoon,

I have shared with you previously that God is doing a new thing. I have shared that God is expanding on my ability to communicate with you the message of faith, hope, healing and purpose. i have also shared with you that I am a survivor of multiple abuses. I do not say this with pride, but I say it with the conviction that God can deliver and heal your broken places no matter what you face. I am a living witness. Though I am still in a trial right now that has seemed to drag on, I BLESS GOD because He is still getting the glory. I am still pressing in and forward with what He gave me to do.

Verbal and emotional abuse can seem harmless to some, almost a rite of passage, especially among teenagers. However, verbal and emotional abuse often leaves many unseen scars.  These abuses would not be included as part of domestic violence initiatives if they were truly harmless.  According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 95% of men who physically abuse their partners also psychologically abuse them. In some cases it is an internal issue that can be traced to feelings of another’s insecurities and hidden jealousies. In other cases, it is simply the environment a person has been brought up in and they aren’t even aware of how venomous and destructive verbal and emotional abuse can be. Childhelp.org reports that about 30% of abused and neglected children grow up to abuse their own children.  The abuses can eat away at a recipient’s core belief of their self-worth.

My next production is on generational verbal and emotional abuse. If there are any of you who are actors/actresses who want to be part of something bigger than you, I encourage you to come out and audition. You can email me directly for more details.

Review of Advanced Screening of Fox's "Shots Fired"

What do you get when you combine writer/director Gina Prince-Bythewood and writer/director/producer Reggie Rock Bythewood? You get a passionate, well written, directed and produced series about life in small town America dealing with a big city problem. Reggie Bythewood explained that "Shots Fired" was inspired by a conversation he had with his son after watching a TV event. Reggie Rock Bythewood has written and produced for Fox's drama "New York Undercover," directed "Biker Boyz" and "Daddy's Girls." Gina Prince-Bythewood wrote and directed "Love & Basketball" and directed "Disappearing Acts."   "Shots Fired" includes an all-star cast with Sanaa Lathan ("Love & Basketball," "The Best Man Holiday," "The Perfect Guy"), Mack Wilds ("Miracle Boys," "The Wire," "90210"), Richard Dreyfuss ("Madoff," "The Goodbye Girl," "Mr. Holland's Opus") and Stephan James ("Selma," "Book of Negroes," "Home Again").

The show is thought-provoking and thrilling. There are real life struggles with real life responses. The series premieres on Wednesday, March 22 at 8/7c on Fox.

TUNE IN! #shotsfired

Do You Love You?

Good Evening,

As we are approaching Valentine's Day, so many people are looking externally for love. Whether out of loneliness, dysfunctional relationships/upbringing or the like, the result remains the same. The irony is that Jesus said to "love thy neighbor as thy self." How can you love someone else if you don't love you or don't know what love is? It makes it difficult to receive love as well, no matter what form it arrives in and who it sincerely comes from.  I pray the poem God gave me in this video I created via YouTube will give you something to reflect upon. I created it originally for a non-profit organization. However, I believe it is powerful enough to reach many as we get closer to Valentine's Day.

Blessings

SPECIAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT UPDATE

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen,

The new date for the "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" Tour is Saturday, February 11, 2017 from 11am-3pm.  If you already bought a ticket for the January 14th date, your ticket is STILL GOOD. Get your tickets while they last. Tickets will NOT be sold at the door. The previous event was nearly sold out. So don't wait!!!  PLEASE use my promo code: "JOY"  for your $10 discount.

Time is Limited

Isaiah 38:5

5"Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen more years."

King Hezekiah was originally told by the prophet Isaiah "to get your house in order for you shall die and not live."  What was King Hezekiah's response? He turned his face to the wall and prayed asking God to  remember him and how he had served Him. And then he wept. God heard his prayer and gave him more time.

Did you know that "with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day?" You can find it written in the New Testament in 2 Peter. Time. Time is what many try to manage while others waste. Do you know how precious time is? Do you know the reason you are still here is because you are being given another chance to fulfill that which God put you here to do? Are you working on it? Do you know what you are here to do? When Bishop T.D. Jakes paid a visit to our church to sign copies of his latest book, "Destiny," he said, "too many people are chasing a check and not enough people are chasing purpose." What are you chasing?

I ask that because I just found out a few days ago, my cousin, who was about to complete his second masters and working in the field of psychology to help people passed away. He was barely 50yrs old. His death makes the second in my family on one side in the last four months. For me, his departure is number four in the last four months. I learned yesterday a childhood neighbor I had in my birthplace passed the day after my cousin which would make number five. I have lost my aunt, my boyfriend, my step grandmother, my cousin and a former neighbor in such a short period. The message I continue to receive is that time is limited and I must complete what God gave me to do.

I already received a second chance in 2008, as many of you already know through previous writings and my book, "Get Your JOY In The Morning."  I do not know when that second chance will end but I am working to get things done. It would also explain the many challenges and obstacles I have endured. As the prophecy was given. I share with you as I do because I know we are ALL on limited time. We do not know the day nor hour any of us will be called to return. The one thing I ask, I ask that this year, you not only exam what you are truly called to do but I ask that once the Lord reveals to you His instructions that you do not delay. My cousin didn't finish. My boyfriend didn't finish. They were working hard to do so. Whatever it is that you are called to do, get it done. It is arrogant for any of us to assume we have all the time in the world to fulfill our purpose. We do not. Time is limited. Why have you delayed? What distractions and emotions are holding you back? When the Lord asks you what you have done with the time He's given you, how will you respond?

P.S. I told you every once in a while you will still receive a written message as God gives to me though He is expanding the forms of communication. Blessings