september issue 2011

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A Personal Look atCe Ce Winans

Donnie McClurklinA Man of Many

Talents and Service

PLUS:ICE CUBEMAURICE GRIFFINCARL PAYNE-MARVINDAVID WHITE Autism & Your Child: Life, Love and Education

The Interrupters

September 2011

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Bovanti Cosmetics

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CEO

While pondering on the thought of unconditional love one thought often sticks in my head “do many understand what the true meaning of unconditional love is and what it really means” Did you know that you have the power to correct conditions within as to affect the people you are in contact with daily. When we allow ourselves to understand the initial impact our actions have not only on ourselves but the world we live in, we should realize the necessity to make these changes even if we are not seeing it in others.

With so many ways to apply love everyday it falls on deaf ears if we do not take care of ourselves. Its impossible to share and feel love within the world we live in. At an earlier point in my life I had to being to educate myself and learn to take care of my physical body as well as to keep my thoughts and feelings positive and loving. I called it an act of self-love, learning to Nurture ourselves teaches us how to nurture others and life around us.

Practice continuously acts of kindness daily. Remember forgive-ness is the most powerful act of kindness anyone can make. Some of you may be asking the question “why should I forgive” Forgiveness promotes harmony, unity and oneness that transcend the old into the new.

This world is filled with many opportunities to experience love, peace, joy and respect. When you as an individual realize your po-tential to love unconditionally, then you can transform yourself and others at the same time. A opportunity to love unconditionally will come every moment of every day. Life is about choices. The choice is yours to create a world of joy, happiness, love and goodwill.

Life is about change, every moment of every day is a chance for a new beginning. This can be an affirmation. Everyday holds a new beginning of possibility and an opportunity to create without limita-tion. You can let go of what you perceive or believe is before you and allow your personal potential to shine through. Everyday start each day as a new journey of self discovery. Let go of the things of yester-day and tomorrow and grab hold to the power of right now. Remind yourself daily of the newness of life in the moment.

Bovanti Cosmetics

Judith Rae- EditorJudith Rae’s writing career has spanned many years and encom-

passed numerous categories, styles, and subjects. She has attained success writing award-winning poetry, ad copy for a variety of clients (for radio and TV), specialty invitations, as well as skits and short plays for schools, civic organizations, and religious institutions. She is a published author of greeting card verses, promotional materials, press releases, plus in-house business manuals and articles. She has received acknowledgement and recognition in many “Who’s Who” type publications for her outstanding work in a variety of categories. Her biography has been included in several national and international honorary publications. Among them, she was named to the “Wom-en’s Inner Circle of Achievement” in recognition of distinguished ef-forts toward the enrichment of North American Communities.

Duran Johnson - PhotographerAs all photographers, photography began as a hobby and excelled

into more of a professional level. A Detroit native who eventually found his way to Chicago and dove into the arts as much as he pos-sibly could, explore a few realms of entertainment such as music and film along with his photography. Working with models and enter-tainment artist has filled his portfolio and his current plans are to revolutionize the way art is presented within the near future.

Allegera Stanton - WriterAllegera, also known as Leggy Love, is a freelance writer and editor

for Fresh Swagger Magazine. She was born in Orange County Cali-fornia, to prosperous entrepreneur Charlotte and Clarence Stanton. She has a diverse writing background and have been featured on leg-gylove.tumbir.com. She was featured in a European published poem novel, at the age of eleven. However, for the past three years she has been maximizing her talents through numerous blogs.

Felicia Benton - Graphic DesignerCompany: SewBGraphics. An artist all her life, Felicia comes to

Fresh Swagg Magazine with over 15 years of experience in digital and print media design. She graduated cum laude from Robert Morris University finishing with a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design.

Felecia Lastrapes - Web DeveloperCompany: Flash of Brilliance

Khadija Parham - Make up ArtistD’vine Beauty’s mission is to service women and their cosmetics

needs. This freelance business allows the CEO to capture beauty in all areas of women’s lives while exclusively catering to your event.

FeliciaGraphic Designer773.683.8382Vernita Clothier/Seamstress773.367.4620

Experience both sides of design

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MusicWhy Hip Hop Rules?? 7Ice Cube 9Maurice Griffin: The Gospel Truth 11Pastor Donnie McClurkin: A Man of Many Talents & Service 14Ce Ce Winans: A Personal Look 18

MoviesCarl Payne Marvin 23David A.R. White 24 The Interrupters 25Bruce Marchiano 30Meet Jaime Nieto 33

FamilyAutism & Your Child: Life, Love & Education 36Loraine Harrell: 38Hip Hop Jesus 44Caneil “Chill” Oliver 45Wake Up 47Could “Food Combining” Be What Your Diet Is Missing 49Grandma’s Kitchen 51Who’s Got Swagg: Entrepreneur of the Month 53Book Reviews 54

Maurice Griffin: The Gospel Truth Page....11

IN STORES NOW!

CeCe is proudly partnered with World Vision

www.cecewinans.com

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Stop blaming music and any forms of entertainment why the hood and other communities are falling short. And the people who blame everything but the correct elements like parents, community and educational institutions are probably not doing anything to help elevate the blight of little Black boys and girls other getting on talk radio spouting off.

President Barack Obama knows the power of hip hop culture, that’s why he’ll be engaging the

hip hop community, led by Jay - Z to help get out the hip hop vote. And it’s the responsible of parents to start taking excep-tional measures to raising their kids, creating an environment of learning and growth. Yes, imag-es and words are powerful, but they should not be more power-ful than the images of parents and the community.

And if the stats are correct, whites listen to and buy equal as much hip hop music as others, and they’re not blaming Snoop

Dogg, Diddy, Lady Gaga, Pink, Cee Lo Green, Katy Perry, Lil Wayne and others who distrib-ute somewhat outrageous mes-sages on wax. They know it’s just entertainment, and the respon-sibility to raise your child falls on the function of family.

Now, today is the day the year’s most anticipated CD hits the streets. Watch the Throne, the super pair of hip hop icon and entrepreneur Jay - Z, along with one of pop cultures most respected producers and artists,

Kanye West, release the album they’ve conceived and worked on for three years. The talents of the two urban Gods have earned enormous credibility, as well as wealth, industry power and influence. Kanye is still the newcomer of Roc Nation, even though he’s been around since 2004, and given that he has pro-duced some of Jigga’s biggest hits since his return from retire-ment.

All across the world produc-ers, DJ’s, clubs, studios, restau-rants, bars, private residence and anywhere where two or more gathered last evening, there where listening sessions blasting the advanced tracks of “Watch the Throne.” I got calls and invites from a dozen early release parties authorized by the record company to listen to the near perfect CD. And hip hop homies were hitting my cell phone all day asking or express-ing their hottest tracks on the twelve song disc.

Some people like first single Otis, others enjoy Church in the Wild, and everyone stated that Murder to Excellence and Joy as crowd favorites. Another joint that was being cheered was Wel-come to the Jungle.

Correspondent: C. Dwayne West

Hip HopMusic

Continued on page 8.

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The CD is filled with West’s signature sound, which as late is hard to figure out because his versatility has expanded. And you know what you’ll get when Shaun Carter grabs the MIC, its just how much knowledge and street anthems he’ll deliver to his fans.

The album is being viewed as an educational tool for the youth, as well as using present day rap format (money, clothes, women), and paying tribute to old school veterans of R&B, urban soul and blues who’ve paved the way for modern day music and culture.

The album talks directly to urban youth about being strong and not letting your present day situation take you off your square and lead you down a path of destruction. Several songs ea-gerly express to stop the killing and respect the hood where you sleep and eat. And as millions of young people love and admire

rap stars, hopefully this will have some impact on the next generation of hip hop heads and future leaders.

The album targets the parents of at risk youth and asking them to step up and give their kids a fair chance at leaving the hood on foot and not by coffins‘. Jay vehemently express that if you aint ready to be a parent, spare everybody the pain of your per-ceive gain.

The dynamic duo are armed and prepared to hit the country as they embarked on their North American tour to engage their fans with new and old bodies of work.

Illmatic by Nas is labeled the hottest hip hop album of all times, and Jay has two albums on the top ten, The Black Album and Reasonable Doubt. He and Kanye have assembled what they believe will knock “Illmatic” off the top of the best album list.

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Growing up on the west coast, O’Shea Jackson, more commonly known as Ice Cube, has come across his sets of trials and tribulations. After graduat-ing from William Taft High School, located in Woodland Hills California, Ice Cube fol-lowed in his cousin’s, rapper Del, path of career choice. He went on to further his educa-tion at the Pheonix Institute of Technology, proving that any-thing can be done as long as you put your mind to it.

With a menacing scowl Ice Cube took over the entertain-ment industry by storm. Start-ing as a rapper in the famous

group N.W.A. After releasing hits like “Straight Outta Comp-ton”, “Gangsta Gangsta”, and “Express Yourself” the public began to recognize how contro-versial and influential the rap group was. However, Ice Cube ventured off by himself after experiencing business differ-ences with the other members. Starting in 1990 he began to work on his own solo album and released “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”, a year later (in 1991) he dropped “Death Certificate”. This solo album, being his second album, was an album with a message. Ice Cube wanted people to recognize the

rise and fall of the black man. It was from here that Ice Cube moved forward and expanded his talents. After dropping his second solo album in 1991 Ice Cube appeared in the film Boyz in the Hood.

It was only a year later, after his big acting debut, that he met his wife, Kimberly Woodruff, and they began their family. With such positive influences in his life it was only natural that his career sky rocketed to the skies. Continuously acting and appearing on the big screen Ice Cube found another talent that he could apply to his self proclaimed businesses. Start-

ing out by directing videos for artist Prince, Color Me Badd, as well as himself. Yet, in 1995 he co-wrote and produced the be-ginning to his most infamous triology, consisting of Friday, Next Friday , and Friday After Next.

Holding so much talent under his belt, Ice Cube is expected to give his audience many more things. Lench Mob Records and Cube Vision is only the beginning to a new evolution. An evolution that was brought to the public in thanks to Ice Cube. He began as innovator and has transformed to a mo-tivator.

ICE CUBEWritten By Allegera Stanton

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www.myspace.com/sonzofthemosthigh

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Gospel music’s essential im-portance is cemented in Ameri-can music pop culture. Its his-tory and continued prominence for hundreds of years have shown its vital value to all walks of life, all races, all creeds, and all genders. It’s a soulful, up-lifting, inspiring, and impas-sioned component of the fabric from which America is made. Whether performed in the smooth sounds similar to style of Sam Cooke’s or the contem-porary gospel/R&B reverbera-tions that rock the room, it’s grown from its origins of once being only “religious” music to the forefront of international recognition. Its many and var-ied artists are well-known and adored. Make no mistake about it, Maurice Griffin is a dynamic worship leader and gospel “ris-ing star” who has shown he has what it takes to earn his way into “the greats” of the genre.

Born in Hampton, Virginia, May 19, 1986, Maurice Griffin is the middle of three sons. His fa-ther works for a steel plant, and his mother is a social worker. The church has always been a major factor in their lives. As a child, he was always singing. He relayed many stories where he would be singing and his mother would tell him to “hush up with all that and go sit down some-where.” On the other hand, his father would say, “Hush it up! Go take out the garbage or do something!” Because Maurice was not the typical child who wanted to play outside, he spent many hours in the house playing with his cars and singing.

He was five years old when the family relocated to Kankakee, Illinois. There, they worshiped at Fair Haven Church of God in Christ (COGIC). It was then when he learned he could really sing; and he directed a choir for

the first time. His recollections about those days reveal his deep sense of knowing and obeying the Lord. However, he states watching Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston gave him encouragement. He admired

their passion in the way they performed saying he particu-larly liked Michael Jackson for his abilities as an all-around en-tertainer and Whitney Houston for her stage presence. He also loved Daryl Coley for “his pow-

Maurice Griffin: The Gospel Truth!By Judith Rae


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erful anointed gift in singing and administering.”

He was introduced to his first vocal coach, Ms. Richland Big-ham, at the age of nine. Maurice says she is the one who taught him “all he knew.” At the age of thirteen, he became interested in playing sports, yet he still had to practice his singing. All this time, Maurice had an internal burning fire that urged him to become “something bigger.” He began to sing everywhere. He said he would pray that God would endow him with His blessings, and he would sing, “Lord, I love you more than any-thing.”

While Maurice was a student at Kankakee High School, he became familiar with the group,

New Direction, the professional youth choir (under the direc-tion of Gerald Brady and Percy Gray.) He began purchasing all of their CD’s, and later had the opportunity to audition for them. Passing with flying col-ors, at the age of fifteen he joined New Direction. During his ten years with them, he became one of their featured principal soloists on songs such as “Hold On,” “Two Wings,” and “Holy.” He has also toured with gospel artist, VaShawn Mitchell, sung background on Dorinda Clark Cole’s The Rose of Gospel CD (which featured the huge hit “So Many Times,”) and served as a primary background session singer for Bobby Jones’ Next Generation tapings for the Gos-pel Music Channel.

Growing up in Kankakee, Griffin said he was known by everyone as “church boy,” a form of teasing by other students, and it had profound consequences. Though he continued to sing, he became depressed, thinking he was not wanted. He admits he started to wonder who he really was and to question his purpose. He says there was a time when he rebelled, and was homeless for six months. His memo-ries of those days take him to a time when he said he kept going through the same routine re-peatedly, wondering why God would allow him to make mis-takes born of pride and a haugh-ty spirit. However, he beams with the brightness of the Lord when he says, “Like the prodigal son, I managed to get myself to-gether!” He now sings songs of grace, mercy, and thanks to the Lord for all He has done for him.

Maurice always had (and still has) a very close relationship with the Lord. When asked how he received his calling, he said, “I received my calling one night when washing dishes. Daryl Coley’s [song] ‘He’s Preparing Me,’ started to play.” He recalled it was then that he knew a pres-ence had come over him, one he recognized as being God speak-ing to him through the Holy Spirit. It said, “it’s time.” He re-plied, “Yes, I’m ready.” He stated he was instructed to read Eze-

kiel 37 about the dry bones. He continued, “then I just began to worship God for the journey he was about to take me through.”

Maurice Griffin is the found-er and CEO of Maurice Griffin Ministries. He calls his style, “Urban Praise/Inspirational.” He wrote and produced all elev-en songs on his new CD, I Am Somebody: I Peter 2:9. It’s a re-lease on his independent label, MGM Chicago Music Group.

Among the notable selec-tions on this project are “Praise Offering” and “Rain on Me.” However, Griffin says the song which stands out for him is “Pour Out Your Spirit.” He rea-sons, “There’s a line that states, ‘For me to live is Christ.’ That means a lot to me because Christ is the only answer to all of our problems.” Furthermore, Grif-fin says of this new CD, “the message is clear and direct.” He goes on “[It] is telling everybody that you are somebody in Christ, and through Christ, our dreams can and will materialize.” It’s plain to see Maurice Griffin is not only a supportive influence in many lives, but also an inspir-ing and uplifting one as well.

Maurice says working at a church as a worship leader was what began to prepare him for his future success. By thrusting him to the forefront, it forced him to become more effec-tive with his own ministry. He


founded Maurice Griffin Minis-tries in 2005. He has been hon-ored by many competitions and won many awards. Some include the status of Assistant Wor-ship Leader of National Gospel Music Workshop of America, the G.M.W.A. Gospel Treasure, “Best Male Vocalist of the Year” at Dorinda Clark Cole’s Sing-ers and Musicians Conference, Gospel Treasure winner of Na-tional Gospel Music Workshop of America, and became a Label Artist Season II Finalist on BET’s Sunday’s Best.

Griffin is passionate about his job. His fervor has translated into blessings for so many peo-ple of all ages. Some of his most powerful songs were written about his life experiences. With his strong faith and his unyield-ing drive, his message to youth is unequivocal. He tells them,

“Your gift shall make room for you.” While he cautions they can’t get a testimony without a struggle, he advises them to use and train themselves in their gifts, to invest and believe in themselves, and save money. He encourages youths who are backsliding with these words, “You can live again. There is a God in heaven, [One] who has got your back. The best you can do is return to your first love, because He loves you.” One of the useful admonitions he gives is, “You must maintain a spirit of discernment when it comes to dealing with people, because you will encounter lots of de-monic forces.” Unfortunately, Maurice Griffin knows too well while the worship of Jesus Christ is the foundation for his life and his music, it doesn’t stop wicked people from taking advantage when they see an opportunity.

Currently residing in Chica-go, Illinois, Griffin is a member of Giant Steps Christian Center. He says his goal is “to serve and empower other worship leaders to their maximum potential.” His qualities of unselfishness, belief, and acceptance coupled with his giving attitude, his amazing gift, and his love for the Lord are part and parcel of the young man, Maurice Grif-fin. He is a force to be reckoned with, and a rising star with Di-vine promise.

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Donnie McClurkin is a very successful man of many talents. He is a best-selling, award-win-ning gospel artist, an actor, a producer, a TV star, a preacher, and a true man of God. He has received many awards and honors from all over the world. However, he is much more con-cerned with tending to his flock, a congregation he has built from the ground up, than sitting back and doting on his accomplish-

ments and financial success.

His Grammy awards include the 2010 award for Best Gos-pel Performance, “Wait on the Lord.” It also featured Karen Clark Sheard from “We Are One: Live In Detroit.” He cap-tured the 2006 award for Best Traditional Gospel Album,” Psalms, Hymns, & Spiritual Songs,” and the 2004 award for Best Soul Contemporary Gos-

pel Album, “Again.” From BET, he was recognized in 2001 and 2005 as Best Urban Contempo-rary Gospel Artist, and in 2003 and 2004 was nominated for Best Gospel Artist.

The Stellar Awards have hon-ored him ten times between 2002 and 2011. In 2002, he received the award for Music Video of the Year, “Live in Lon-don.” That also won the awards

for Traditional CD of the Year and Contemporary CD of the Year. Furthermore, in 2002, the Stellar Awards named him Traditional Male Vocalist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Artist of the Year. In 2005, the 20th anniversary of the Stel-lar Awards, he received the Gos-pel Trailblazer Award. From 2009 through 2011, he hosted the 24th through 26th Annual Stellar Awards.

Pastor Donnie McClurkin A Man of Many Talents and Service


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His Dove Awards span from 2001 to 2010. In 2001, he won the Dove award for Traditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year, “We Fall Down” (from “Live in London”). In 2005, he received the award for the Tra-ditional Gospel Recorded Song of the Year, “Through the Fire”, from the album, “Driven,” (a Crabb Family production fea-turing Donnie McClurkin.” Ad-ditionally, in 2010, he was nomi-nated by Dove for Male Vocalist of the Year and Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year, “Wait on the Lord.”

Donnie McClurkin has won NAACP Image Awards for Out-standing Gospel Artist. First in 2004, from his successful release, “Again;” and again in 2006, for “Psalms, Hymns, & Spiritual Songs.” In 2010, he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Gospel Album (Traditional or Contem-porary). However, his accom-plishments do not stop there. In 2007, he received an award from the Recording Academy Honors (New York Chapter), plus a Life-time Achievement Award at the 15th Annual Trumpet Awards. In 2010, he was the recipient of the BMI Trailblazer Award and was also inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.

Donnie McClurkin has also made his mark on television and films. He was a Judge for BET’s Sunday’s Best (2010, Season 3). Additionally, he has appeared on shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, The View, CBS’s Satur-day Early Show, CNN, The Tavis Smiley Show, Extra, and Access Hollywood. He’s had cameo appearances in Paramount Pictures’ The Parkers and Girl-friends, Sony Screen Gem’s The Fighting Temptation, and Rain-forest’s The Gospel. He also

produced songs for The Coen Brothers’movie soundtrack, The Ladykillers, starring Tom Hanks.

Recently, Pastor McClurkin publically went on record to state his disappointment with what he sees as “pastoral abus-es and excesses in the body of

Christ.” It was a courageous and selfless act. By doing so, he made church communities aware of these actions, which in turn raised legitimate ques-tions about them. It spotlighted a subject the church communi-ty has chosen to ignore for too long.

In a recent Essence magazine article, Pastor McClurkin was quoted as saying, “As pastors, we have to link arms and have bi-partisanships. The [Black] church has always been the face of the community. Now we have to take on the responsibility of becoming true servants to the people from all walks of life.

I get so mad when I see these pimpin’ preachers driving Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, flying around in their private jets, and mak-ing it seem like prosperity and money is the way of God when 90 percent of your congregation is on Section 8 or can’t figure out how they are going to keep

their lights on or feed their kids. I’m big on perception, and what would it look like for me to live so lavishly if the people in my church are struggling?”

By making public his frustra-tion over the behavior of some in the church community, Pas-tor McClurkin provided the world a glimpse into his soul. Outlining his relationship with his church, financial and oth-erwise, along with his refusal to accept monetary compensation from his congregation, he has revealed his genuine and sincere humility as well as his sense of commitment to serve God. He exposed his truly exemplary

feelings when he further stated, “I’ve done great in gospel music, and only a few of us have ac-complished what I have, and guess what? I live in the ‘hood, not some place on the outskirts of the ‘hood. There ain’t no gate around my house; I have a white fence because the people I pas-tor live in that community. I have one vehicle and it’s not a Mercedes, it’s a Lincoln Naviga-tor. I don’t receive a dime—not an Abraham Lincoln copper coin—and haven’t for the last seven-and-a-half years because I’m okay.”

Not too long ago, Pastor Mc-Clurkin was the victim of a sex-ual attack in the parking lot of his church. It was a horrendous ordeal. Quite naturally, because of his wealth and fame, rumors about him have abounded, ac-cusing him of outrageous acts and behavior. They are not true, nor are they acceptable. How-ever, rather than spotlighting words emanating from Devil’s workshop or answering the false claims that he is in denial, he has made it clear that his experience was an opportunity to accept an assignment from God to help others who may have had simi-lar experiences. He’s a man who is a man who is brimming with compassion; a man who is filled with a mission; a man who is dignified; a man who is selfless; and a man who is an example for others to follow.

Pastor Donnie McClurkin not only has a healthy attitude, his actions depict his commitment to Christ and his community. He is a living, shining example of what a true Christian is sup-posed to be. He is a gift from God who is, himself, illumi-nated by God’s own brilliance. What more could this world, this country, or a church com-munity ever want to have?

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When it comes to my husband, my children, [and] my family,

what you see is what you get! I don’t live two different lives.

I believe the Word.....

CeCe Winans is one of the world’s most significant and loved singers. Her magnificent and inspirational voice has been a phenomenon in the music in-dustry, especially in the genre of Gospel Music. Her success has crossed cultural, social, age, re-ligious, and category boundar-ies. For over two decades, mil-lions of fans around the world have been blessed with and by her music. She has received recognition for her achieve-ments in the form of numerous awards and accolades, including ten Grammy Awards (with 21 Grammy Award nominations), twenty Dove awards, many Stel-la Awards, and much more. But who is CeCe Winans, the per-son? What is her background and what is she like?

Born in Detroit to David and Delores Winans, she was the

eighth sibling in the family. She was named Priscilla, which was shortened to “CeCe.” The whole family was musically talent-ed. She says although she per-formed her first solo at the age of eight, she cried through most of it. However, thankfully, her parents and teachers saw the size and scope of her inborn talent, and didn’t allow her to ignore it.

By the time CeCe was a teen, she realized that people were truly moved and blessed by her music. It was then she came to understand her ability to sing was not just a normal talent, and she believed she was not the most important part of the equation. Instead, she viewed it a gift from God, who had anointed her with a special mis-sion to sing for Him.

Faith has played a huge role in making CeCe the woman and the artist she is today. Her love for God is not just apparent in

her music. She lives that creed. She is devoted to God in her per-sonal life. It is part of who she is as a person as she lives in her day to day world of being a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, and a professional. She has been quot-ed as saying, “What I do with music is a lifestyle. I believe this is what Christianity is. Keep-ing God first is what helps me

in this area.” She then followed with something so deeply pro-found and thought provoking, it’s mesmerizing: “As an artist, I can’t continue to give out and not be poured into. Spending time in God’s Word and in His presence is important to me. I seek to understand God’s order of things, and prioritize my life accordingly. First, it’s God, then my family, and everything else after that.”

Many people might think all these words are beautiful, yet difficult ideals actually to put

into motion; they’re lofty princi-ples that are impossible to live by on a daily basis. However, when CeCe’s actions show that she does it every day, it’s interesting to get an insight on the philoso-phy that allows her to do it as well as how and why she does it.

It’s amazing how she so ef-fectively manages to sustain a wildly successful music career yet still find enough time for her family. She can do it because she’s wise enough to know bal-ancing a career and family is an area that is constantly in a state of flux. Therefore, because it’s so fluid, she says it must be worked on continuously. When asked about it, she said she adapts her lifestyle to accommodate them [her family]. She remi-nisced about earlier days saying, “When I first began singing, I was single and had to make ad-justments when I got married. But I’m thankful to God that He blessed me with a wonderful husband (Alvin Love) who sup-ports me 100 percent. We find time to spend together. When my children (Ashley and Alvin III) were born, I made even more adjustments. I realized that not all of my time needed to be spent on the road. There were also times when the en-

A Personal Look at CeCe WinansBy Judith Rae


20

tire family traveled with me. I am cognizant that God did not call me to minister to the world through my music at the risk of losing my family. It’s a fact that when you honor God’s order, He will honor you.”

Although CeCe speaks with deep conviction, she has a won-derful sense of humor and an infectious laugh. When asked about balancing her person-al testimony and protecting her family’s privacy, she said, “When it comes to my husband, my children, [and] my family, what you see is what you get! I don’t live two different lives. I believe the Word. God said, ‘Be holy as I am holy because with-out [holiness] no man shall see the Lord.’ I believe that, so I’m striving to be holy whether I’m onstage or not.”

When she talks about her children, her love and emotion are evident. She said, “My kids grew up with me being a public person. We’ve missed the mark several times in our years, but we strive to live a life of holiness. There are things God could have exposed, but he has just covered us, you know, like He does.”

Another aspect of their pri-vate life was revealed when CeCe spoke about their church. She adamantly believes artists forget how vital it is to have a home church. She stated, “It is very important to have a home church, to have people to tell you what you need to hear – not what you want to hear. That all plays a part in keeping a balance in your lifestyle.” She under-stands that a home church (with its attending community) is what keeps you grounded. She believes that those are the roots which not only keep you closer to God, but are necessary for

you to have and sustain a sense of others in your community, and the needs of all.

CeCe and Alvin have been married 21 years. She answered a question about staying mar-ried with some very interesting, albeit personal information. She revealed, “I didn’t get nervous

about being married until prob-ably 10 years into my marriage. I went to a marriage conference our church had. I was like, ‘We don’t need anything, but I’ll go.’ That’s where I really found out what marriage meant, and I got nervous! I was like, ‘Aah, I agreed to do what?’”

Further explanation showed CeCe had always had the thought, “As long as you love me, I’ll love you. As long as you treat me right, I’ll treat you right. The minute you don’t, I’m out of here.” She confessed to these thoughts saying, “Even though we were happy, that was always in the back of my mind.” However, she continued, “It was like, God hates divorce, so if I get divorced, I just won’t ever get married again!”

CeCe says it was through a sudden intuitive leap of under-standing when she truly realized the real meaning of marriage. Her epiphany came via an il-lustration by her pastor who was speaking about his own relation-ship with his wife. He stated, “If she decided to leave me today to

be a prostitute, I would buy up all her time because her soul is more important [to me] than my pride.”

CeCe was so struck by that statement, she said it changed her life and inspired to think more deeply about what mar-riage is supposed to mean to the world, and to the man and woman in the relationship through the eyes and blessings of God. She said she had to humble herself, fast and pray. She went on to say she was so glad she did it because it was what gave her the chance to see that marriage is “an awesome thing. It’s really unconditional love. I’ve changed my attitude and my mindset, I’ve seen God do incredible things in my mar-riage. I love my husband. I am

so crazy about him!”

This story about CeCe’s com-mitment to marriage through honest review and personal scrutiny is as sweet and uplifting as her voice and her music. She is such an unassuming persona with such an important mes-sage. She is a good Christian role model for all women.

Since what she does is music, CeCe has a strong perspective on the power and the influ-ence it wields. As she vividly describes in her autobiography, On A Positive Note, her life has always revolved around music. She grew up in a large and lively family that was continuously filled with music. However, it was also a home where the only music allowed was Gospel. Any-thing else was strictly off limits. To their credit, that’s a concept that she and her husband have carried over to their own young family. She states it in her book, and she’s not shy about volun-teering the same perspective in front of her concert audiences.

CeCe and her family live in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, Forest Hills. They attend Born Again Church in Nashville. She serves on the worship team, and her children are involved in the drama ministry. By continuing the family tradition of service through talent, they are glorify-ing God in their own commu-nity as well as making a huge impact on the world. We wish them continued great achieve-ment in all their endeavors. We trust God will continue to bless them with good health and unparalleled success. When you work as closely with and through God as CeCe Winans does, what else could there pos-sibly be?

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Chicago’s- Carl Payne, who portrayed the character of Mar-vin in John Ruffin’s plat The Ideal Husband. Marvin had a past that he was hiding; he needed a little guidance and deliverance so to speak. His character dealt with a little substance abuse, but not hard core substance abuse. He states that, people drink and do things to mask their feelings they have inside. Marvin is like a lot of people who walks around

with a mask on to hide what re-ally goes on.

FSM asked a question, how would you minister to the youth that are struggling in that area?

The mask that you put on your face is layered and it may temporarily take the pain away”. By using the mask, Carl says, all you doing is hiding your is-sues behind a mask so they are not seen, that’s not how you deal with an issue or the problem

CARL PAYNE- MARVINyou have. Get to the root of the problem, face it head on and move past that, move forward. “Don’t drink or use drugs to mask the pain you feel inside”.

Carl has a Christian back-ground and foundation. He stat-ed that, when times get rough you have to call on God to get through the issues. Sometimes all it can take is a kind word from a friend, a parent or even a stranger. He states that,” youth

should keep themselves up and focus on positive things, stay around positive people and put yourself around positive energy. At the end of the day he would ask himself the question, where do you see yourself? If you see yourself being rich and power-ful or wanting to be a star in the end game, see that first and work backwards, find the necessary steps to help you get there, you may realize that you may have to break away of some individu-als, some other things to get to where you are going, to the next phase.

FSM: “How is it working on the set with Martin Lawrence?”

Carl: It was fun, we had good times working with each other, but it was also hard at times too, it wasn’t as cracked up as it seemed to be, but I learned a lot.

FSM: What current projects are in the making?

Carl: Well, a reality show is in the making, a pilot that will turn into a television show and or movie; this is a deal with Mor-gan Creak entertainment.

FSM: What are some words to youth who may be lost in vio-lence?

Carl: Stay focused. You only get one life to live, at the end of the day, how are you going to make something significant. So ask yourself, is what you doing worth it? What do you want your legacy to be when you have kids? How are you going to make it substantial with what God gave you? Stay positive.

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Like father, like son. David A.R. White followed in his fa-ther’s footsteps in ministering to the public, under one difference. David preaches to those who are willing to hear through film. At the age of four David’s father in-troduced him to the Lord. His father pastored in a Menno-nite church in a small farming town right outside of Dodge City, Kansas.

Once David graduated from high school he left the little farm-ing town behind and moved for-ward. Living in Chicago for one year and attending Moody Bible

Institute. However, after living in Chicago for that one year he decided to move to Los Angeles, which is where he resides now with his wife and children. Pur-suing a career as an actor, it took David six months to land a role on CBS’s television sitcom Eve-ning Shade. After being on the sitcom for three years, playing the best friend of Burt Reyn-old’s son, he found a love for film making.

Producing films that elevate the spirits and minds of people. David released The Moment After in 1999, starring in his

own film, David showed the im-portance of faith and the ability to trust and help guide one an-other in the right direction. It is then and only then that the truth will be revealed. It was not until 2006 that David be-came a founding partner in the production company Pureplex Entertainment.

With David’s production company he has been able to produce many new films. Includ-ing this year’s film release Jeru-salem Countdown. One thing is for sure, no matter the film the objective is to show people the

power of faith. He wants to fur-ther Christian’s faith and build their belief in Jesus Christ.

David produced and distrib-uted one of my favorite films entitled “Without A Father”, which is about Redemption and Hope. White says that his goal is to bring people to a higher level of understanding of who God is and the purpose he has for our lives. David has released 13 films to date and produces 5-6 films a year. White says his faith, family and friends are very important to him. on his list attaches a little bit of himself in each film released.

DAVID A.R. WHITEAllegera Stanton

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THE INTERRUPTERS tells the moving and surprising story of three dedicated individuals who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they, themselves once employed. These “violence interrupters” (their job title) – who have cred-ibility on the street because of their own personal histories – intervene in conflicts before the incidents explode into violence. Their work and their insights are informed by their own journeys, which, as each of them point out, defy easy characterization.

Shot over the course of a year out of Kartemquin Films, THE INTERRUPTERS captures a pe-riod in Chicago when it became a national symbol for the vio-lence in our cities. During that period, the city was besieged by high-profile incidents, most no-

tably the brutal beating death of Derrion Albert, a Chicago High School student whose death was caught on videotape.

The “violence interrupters” work for an innovative organi-zation, CeaseFire, which is the brainchild of epidemiologist Gary Slutkin who for ten years battled the spread of cholera and AIDS in Africa. Slutkin believes that the spread of violence mim-ics that of infectious diseases, and so the treatment should be similar: go after the most infect-ed, and stop the infection at its source.

Their work is fraught with moral quandaries. They have to step between adversaries, often people they know. They need to acknowledge people’s griev-ances while simultaneously pulling them back from acting

on them. And on occasion, they find themselves using the very threat of violence to defuse an altercation. As they venture into their communities, they con-front the importance of family, the noxious nature of poverty, and the place of race. And they do it with incredible candor and directness.

Ameena Matthews, whose father is Jeff Fort, one of the city’s most notorious gang lead-ers, was herself once a drug ring enforcer. But having chil-dren and finding solace in her Muslim faith pulled her off the streets and grounded her. In the wake of Derrion Albert’s death, Ameena becomes a close confidante to his mother, and helps her through her grieving. Ameena, who is known among her colleagues for her fearless-

ness, intervenes in an argument over $5, a gang altercation and a group of young men thinking of retaliating for a friend’s murder. During one interruption, Amee-na befriends a feisty, troubled teenaged girl who reminds her of her own self at that age. The film follows that friendship over the course of many months, as Ameena tries to nudge the trou-bled girl in the right direction.

Cobe Williams, scarred by his father’s murder when he was 12-years-old, was in and out of prison, until he had had enough. Like Ameena, his fam-ily – particularly a young son – helped him find his footing. Cobe disarms others with his humor and his general good nature. His most challenging moment comes when he has to confront a man so bent on re-

THE INTERRUPTERS


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venge that Cobe has to pat him down to make sure he’s put away his gun. Like Ameena, he gets deeply involved in the lives of those he encounters, including a teenaged boy just out of prison and a young man from his old neighborhood who’s squatting in a foreclosed home.

Eddie Bocanegra is haunted by a murder he committed when he was seventeen. It’s become the centripetal force in his life. His CeaseFire work is a part of his repentance for what he did. Eddie is most deeply disturbed by the aftereffects of the violence on children, and so he spends much of his time working with younger kids in an effort to both keep them off the streets and to get support to those who need it – including a 16-year-old girl whose brother died in her arms. Soulful and empathic, Eddie, who learned to paint in prison, teaches art to children, trying warn them of the debilitating trauma experienced by those touched by the violence.

THE INTERRUPTERS fol-lows Ameena, Cobe and Eddie as they go about their work, and while doing so reveals their own inspired journeys of hope and redemption. From acclaimed di-rector Steve James and bestsell-ing author Alex Kotlowitz, this film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn per-sistence of violence in our cities. The film attempts to make sense of what CeaseFire’s Tio Hardi-man calls, simply, “the mad-ness”.

THE INTERRUPTERS ACTOR’S BIOS

Eddie Bocanegra, who’s 34, has been a violence interrupter for the past two years. He spent 14 years in prison for a murder he committed when he was 17. He’s presently working towards his social work degree at North-

eastern University. In addition to his work with CeaseFire, Eddie has started a therapeutic support group for mothers who have lost children to violence and teaches art in the schools and in summer programs run by Enlace Chicago, a commu-nity organization in Little Vil-

lage, the neighborhood where he grew up. His mentors at Cease-Fire have been two experienced interrupters, Zale Hoddenbach and Eddie Lopez.

Ameena Matthews has been with CeaseFire for three-and-a-half years as a Senior Violence Interrupter. The mother of four children – two who are grown and two who are ages 12 and 9 – she is married to Abdur Rasheed Matthews, who is the Iman at the Al Haqqani Mosque & Com-munity Center. Ameena, who grew up in Englewood on the city’s South Side, is the daughter of Jeff Fort, one of the city’s most infamous gang leaders. In the

1960s, the El Rukns, which were under Fort’s leadership, were seen by some as a catalyst for positive growth in their neigh-borhoods. Fort is now serving time in prison for drug traffick-ing and terrorism charges; he was alleged to have conspired to commit terrorist acts on behalf

of Libya in exchange for money. Ameena credits her family and her early life experiences with her desire to educate and effect change in the neighborhoods that she calls home.

Ricardo “Cobe” Williams, who’s 38, has been working at CeaseFire for four years. Cobe, who like Ameena grew up in Englewood, lost his father when he was 11; his father was mur-dered. Between 1993 and 2004, Cobe spent three stints in pris-on, for drug related charges and for attempted murder. When CeaseFire lost funding in 2007, Cobe continued to work at his job without pay until his posi-

tion was restored seven months later. Cobe, who’s married to Andrea Williams, has four chil-dren; they range in age from 10 to 15. They live in Yorkville, a far west suburb. Cobe, who’s about to earn his High School equiva-lency, was this past December promoted to a new position. He now works as a national trainer at CeaseFire.

Tio Hardiman, the Director for CeaseFire Illinois, has been with CeaseFire since 1999. Tio helped oversee expansion of the program from five Chica-go-based community sites to 26 sites throughout the State of Illinois – and in 2004 created and piloted the introduction of the Violence Interrupters. Tio grew up on Chicago’s West Side, where he succumbed to the streets, battling a drug addiction and hustling to make a living. He now holds a Bachelors degree in Liberal Arts from Northeastern University and a Masters degree in Inner City Studies. He’s also a frequent media contributor on the issue of violence, appearing on numerous national television programs.

Gary Slutkin, M.D. is the founder and Executive Direc-tor of CeaseFire. Gary, who was

As they venture into their communities, they confront the importance of

family, the noxious nature of poverty, and the place of race.


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trained as an epidemiologist, has worked extensively with tuberculosis and AIDS, in both the U.S. and abroad. He spent ten years in Africa battling in-fectious diseases, much of that time with the World Health Or-ganization. In 1995, he began working with Chicago leaders to develop a public health- based approach to stopping violence. Gary has been called upon from Los Angeles to Africa to Iraq to replicate and adapt this ap-proach. He is an Ashoka Fel-low, a Professor of Epidemiology and International Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a senior advisor to the World Health Organization and the 2009 Winner of the Search for a Common Ground Award.

THE INTERRUPTERS FILMMAKERS BIOS

STEVE JAMES Director, Pro-ducer, Cinematographer, Edi-tor Steve James is best known as the award-winning director, producer, and co-editor of Kar-temquin’s Hoop Dreams, which won every major critics award as well as a Peabody and Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in 1995. The film earned Steve the Directors Guild of America Award, The MTV Movie Awards “Best New Filmmaker” and an Oscar nomination for editing. Hoop Dreams was selected for the Library of Congress’ Na-tional Film Registry, signifying the film’s enduring importance to American film history. Steve’s other award-winning films pro-duced with Kartemquin include Stevie, winner of major festival awards at Sundance, Amster-dam, Yamagata and Philadel-phia; the PBS series, The New Americans, which won the pres-tigious 2004 International Doc-umentary Association Award for Best Limited Series; At the Death House Door, which won numerous festivals and was

Steve’s fourth film to be official-ly short-listed for the Academy Award; and No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson for ESPN Films’ International Documen-tary Association-winning series 30 for 30.

THE INTERRUPTERS is Steve’s sixth film in partner-ship with Kartemquin and his fifth film to play at the Sundance Film Festival. The film will be

broadcast on PBS’ Frontline in late 2011. Steve’s other work in-cludes The War Tapes, which he produced and edited, and which won the 2006 Tribeca Film Fes-tival Grand Prize.

ALEX KOTLOWITZ Produc-er Alex Kotlowitz is the award-winning author of three books. The New York Public Library selected There Are No Children Here, a national bestseller, as one of the 150 most important books of the twentieth century. The book, which received The Helen Bernstein Award and a Christopher Award, became a made-for-TV movie produced by and starring Oprah Winfrey. The Other Side of the River re-ceived The Chicago Tribune’s Heartland Prize for Nonfiction. Alex is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine and public radio’s This Ameri-can Life, and his work has been collected in numerous antholo-gies. One reviewer wrote, “Alex

Kotlowitz’s stories inform the heart.” Another commented, “Kotlowitz is an omnivorous ob-server, discerning listener, and unassuming witness to urban life.”

Alex’s work has also appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Rolling Stone and The Wall Street Journal (where he was a staff writer for ten years), as well as on PBS’s Frontline and NPR’s All Things Considered

and Morning Edition. His play An Unobstructed View (co-authored with Amy Dorn) pre-miered in Chicago in June of 2005. He’s a writer-in-residence at Northwestern University, and regularly gives public lec-tures around the country. His journalism honors include the George Foster Peabody Award (radio), the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (print), the George Polk Award (television) and the Thurgood Marshall

Award (print). He is also the re-cipient of six honorary degrees. The Interrupters is Alex’s first film.

ZAK PIPER Co-Producer, Location Sound Recordist Zak Piper is Kartemquin Films’ Di-rector of Production and has been on staff at Kartemquin since 2002. Most recently he served as co-producer on the award-winning At the Death House Door. Zak is also the as-sociate producer of Prisoner of Her Past, Kartemquin’s co-pro-duction with The Chicago Tri-bune, which was released in the spring of 2010.

Zak served as the location sound recordist for Burning Ice, At The Death House Door, In the Family, Prisoner of Her Past, and Typeface. Previously, he has acted as sound recordist on a variety of documentaries for the CBC, Channel 4, and PBS.

Zak began at Kartemquin by serving as post production manager on the acclaimed PBS documentary mini-series, The New Americans. Zak currently is developing a project with Gordon Quinn about the impact and legacy of the Chicago Pub-lic School Boycotts of 1963 and 1964.

AARON WICKENDEN Edi-tor Aaron Wickenden is a docu-mentary film editor and The In-


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terrupters marks his fifth major collaboration with Steve James. He co-edited, co-produced and was post-production supervisor on James’ award-winning docu-mentary At the Death House Door, and was associate produc-er, additional editor, and post-production supervisor on The War Tapes. Aaron has also edit-ed for directors such as Bill Sie-gel (Academy Award nominated co-director of The Weather Un-derground), and Katy Chevigny (co-founder of NYC’s Art’s En-gine), and assisting editor Lisa Fruchtman (Apocalypse Now).

His recent editing credits in-clude: The Calling, a four hour series for PBS’ Independent Lens; and Scrappers, a feature film that won the Best Docu-mentary and Audience Award at The Chicago Underground Film Festival. Other credits in-clude: Fever Year: Andrew Bird in Concert, Bonneville, Milk-ing the Rhino, Reel Paradise, The New Americans, and Worst Possible Illusion: The Curios-ity Cabinet of Vik Muniz. He is currently collaborating on a transmedia project titled “Al-most There” which made its debut at Chicago’s Intuit Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art in 2010, and will be published as a book by Princeton Architectural Press.

THE INTERRUPTERS KAR-TEMQUIN FILMS – JUSTINE NAGAN & GORDON QUINN Executive Producers Founded in 1966 to produce documenta-ries that examine and critique society through the stories of real people, Kartemquin Films serves as a home for indepen-dent media makers who seek to create social change through film. This Chicago-based docu-mentary powerhouse has won every major critical and jour-

nalistic prize, including an Emmy, a Peabody and an Oscar nomination. 2010 was the most productive year in Kartemquin’s history, with the release of three new features (TYPEFACE, PRISONER OF HER PAST, and NO CROSSOVER: THE TRIAL OF ALLEN IVERSON), and production on five works-in-progress. The organization was also honored with the Alt-geld Freedom of Speech Award for “unflinchingly holding up a mirror to American society,” and hailed as “a success story we should all celebrate” by Chi-cago’s WBEZ radio.

Kartemquin’s community of talent and socially engaged business model has long made it a sought after production and distribution partner. Their films move viewers, unite communi-ties and live for years beyond their initial release.

In 2011, Kartemquin will cel-ebrate their 45th anniversary with a series of special events, screenings and educational workshops across the country to engage audiences in a greater conversation about using film to create change. 2011 will also see the release of two high pro-file Kartemquin documentaries: THE INTERRUPTERS - by Academy Award-nominee Steve James - and A GOOD MAN, a profile of provocative choreog-rapher Bill T. Jones.

A revered resource within the film community on issues of fair use, ethics, story structure and civic discourse, Kartemquin is internationally recognized for crafting quality documentaries backed by audience and com-munity engagement strategies, and for its innovative media arts community programs. Kartemquin is a 501(c)3 not-for-

profit organization. www.kar-temquin.com.

RISE FILMS - TEDDY LEIF-ER & PAUL TAYLOR Executive Producers RISE films founded three years ago is a boutique Television and Film production company, headed by Teddy Le-ifer. RISE’s first feature docu-mentary, WE ARE TOGETHER (Channel 4/HBO/EMI, Dir. Paul Taylor) won 14 international awards. The second, ROUGH AUNTIES (Channel 4/HBO, Dir. Kim Longinotto) won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance 2009. Recently completed films include COWBOYS IN INDIA for More4 and ITVS, ROAD TO LAS VEGAS for More4, and

a world exclusive on CASTER SEMENYA for BBC TWO. At the 2011 Sundance Film Fes-tival, RISE is proud to present two documentaries - KNUCK-LE (Dir. Ian Palmer) and THE INTERRUPTERS (Dir. Steve James).

RISE is currently working with Kirby Dick on his latest film, THE INVISIBLE WAR, expected to be a 2012 release.

RISE is now building a com-edy slate. With a ‘gang’ of the most exciting comedy writers and writer/performers, RISE is providing a new home for emerging talent in which to de-velop projects with the support of the collective.


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THE STUBBORN CORE of violence in American cities is troubling and perplexing. Even as homicide rates have declined across the country, gunplay con-tinues to plague economically struggling minority communi-ties. For 25 years, murder has been the leading cause of death among African-American men between the ages of 15 and 34, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion, which has analyzed data up to 2005. From 2004 - 2009, a number of cities have seen an uptick in murders: up 25 percent in Oakland, 27 percent in St. Louis, 40 percent in Oklahoma City and 23 percent in Memphis. In Chicago, where on average five people were shot each day in 2009, 86 percent of the assaults were concentrated in half the police districts.

CeaseFire, which was founded in 1995, applies the principles of public health to the brutality of the streets. CeaseFire tries to deal with these quarrels on the front end. It doesn’t necessarily aim to get people out of gangs — nor interrupt the drug trade. It is focused on one thing: prevent-ing shootings.

CeaseFire’s founder, Gary Slutkin, who’s an epidemiolo-gist, believes that violence di-rectly mimics infections like tuberculosis and AIDS, and so, he suggests, the treatment ought to mimic the regimen applied to these diseases: go after the most infected, and stop the in-

fection at its source. In the case of violence, you use those who were once hard-core, once the most belligerent. They are the most convincing messengers. (The Violence Interrupters are paid $28,000 to $30,000 a year, and those working full time re-ceive benefits from the Univer-sity of Illinois at Chicago, where CeaseFire is housed.)

CeaseFire hopes to shift how we think about violence, from considering people as good or bad to viewing them in terms of healthy and unhealthy. In the end, CeaseFire hopes to change behavior or social norms, some-thing the public health field has gotten increasingly better at. Think smoking and AIDS. “Violence and killings are not inevitable,” says Daniel Webster, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health who has worked with CeaseFire in Baltimore. “The (killings) actu-ally are preventable. And just

BACKGROUND ON CEASEFIRE

the fact that things go in cycles doesn’t mean the upward swing is inevitable.”

CeaseFire has had a very vis-ible public communication cam-paign, which includes billboards and bumper stickers (which read: Stop. Killing. Now.), as well as rallies – or what it calls ‘objections’ -- at the site of kill-ings. It also employs outreach workers who counsel and men-tor those most at risk. Much of the research on modifying behavior indicates that’s what most effective is peer or social pressure.

Independent researchers hired by the Justice Department con-cluded that CeaseFire has had an impact. The study found that in six of the seven neighborhoods examined, CeaseFire’s efforts reduced the number of shoot-ings or attempted shootings by 16 percent to 27 percent more than it had declined in compa-

rable neighborhoods.

Numerous cities, including Baltimore, Kansas City, Mo. and New York, have replicated com-ponents of the CeaseFire model and have received training from the Chicago staff. CeaseFire’s model has also received interest internationally. Their model is being used in Trinidad-Tobago, Capetown, South Africa, Juarez, Mexico and London, England. CeaseFire has also worked with the State Department in Iraq.

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Too often, stories coming out of Hollywood are focused on de-bauchery and drugs, salacious-ness and sin. That’s why learn-ing about Bruce Marchiano is so unusual, uplifting, and inspir-ing. He is the total opposite of the accepted universal view of “Tinsel Town” and its wacky players and inhabitants.

Bruce Marchiano was born February 5, 1956, in Los Ange-les, California. His heritage is mixed with his father being of Italian decent, and his mother is Syrian. He was brought up in a strong Catholic home. Around 1990, he became a born-again Christian. He says he was in-fluenced to do so by friends who had previously taken the same steps themselves.

Marchiano is an accom-plished actor, director, writer, and minister of the Gospel. His first role as an actor was in an episode of Murder, She Wrote in 1985. Subsequently, he had featured roles in L.A. Law, Co-

lombo, and the low-budget hor-ror film, Curse II: The Bite. As a well-known, established actor, he has proven he is a profession-al in the true sense of the word. He laughingly points out the characters he played in his early roles were mostly villains. The first time he had an opportuni-ty to portray a “good guy” was when he got the role Jesus!

His amazing talent has al-lowed him to play the role of Jesus in as many as six released films so far, and he is still work-ing at it. In 1993, he played Jesus in The Visual Bible: Matthew. In 1994, he portrayed Jesus in The Visual Bible: Acts. In 1999, he starred as Jesus in Millennial Madness. In 2009, he had the role of Jesus in Road to Emmaus. In 2010, he portrayed Jesus in two films. In Lion of Judah,

which is a children’s animated movie, he is the voice of Jesus, who meets a group of barnyard friends. The latest released film where he played Christ is The Encounter, a production of PureFlix Films. Additionally, he has wrapped another PureF-lix production, The Last Supper, and has plans to do another for them, The Encounter II.

In The Encounter, five strang-ers find themselves stranded in a deserted roadside diner in the middle of nowhere. They are an arrogant businessman (Steve “Sting” Borden), a lonely single woman (Jaci Velasquez), a couple on the verge of divorce, and a youthful runaway. They all come face to face with the diner’s owner (Bruce Marchia-no), who serves them more than temporal nourishment. Their

genial host is a certain Naza-rene, who knows all their se-crets and posses the answers to all their problems – if only they would trust him. It’s a miracu-lous “encounter” that will leave them all changed.

Can you imagine how hard it is to pull off playing Jesus and having it seem authentic? Few actors can make audiences be-lieve they are watching Jesus Christ! So, just how does he do it? What was it about him that would give him the skills to play God so many times, in so many vastly different situations and eras, and still be convincing?

When Freshswagger inter-viewed Bruce Marchiano about his role in The Encounter, the time spent with him was inspi-rational as well as informational. We asked what it took for him to minister to the character, Kath-ryn, who was struggling with hatred, hurt, and unwillingness to forgive, he said, “Ministering to the brokenhearted encom-

Bruce Marchiano “To walk in His shoes.”

Our purpose is singularly reaching souls for Jesus, thus the non-profit ministry framework...


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passes all of that. Jesus heals the brokenhearted. [He] loves you through the hurt and pain. Life is about choices. Kathryn had to look into the eyes of Jesus to ask questions. [All her problems were part of her ongoing] spiri-tual battlefield.”

Asking the same question about another character in the movie, the arrogant business man (played by Steve “Sting” Borden), who thought he knew everything and wasn’t open to receiving, Marchiano’s reply was touching. He stated, “It was heartbreaking! He was an in-secure little boy (trying so hard to fit in), who only cared about his business empire. He had the choice to trust, but chose not to.”

Freshswagger asked Bruce, “For those who aren’t aware of ‘Mr. Devil’ and his job re-sponsibilities, can you tell us your views on that?” His reply was quick, short, and interest-ing: “‘Mr. Devil’s’ job does not change. His mission is to kill, steal, and destroy. He’s very tricky and has [the] power to de-ceive, but is powerless to portray God.”

In his personal life, he is a married man, a staunch Chris-tian, and one who takes his reli-gion very seriously. He lives by the word of scripture, using it as his guide. He said deep within him was the desire to be able to live a life that would be reflective of his portrayal of Christ. He ex-plained he had to try to “walk in His shoes” and feel “His grace” to portray the “holiness of God.” No wonder he had such a believ-ability when playing Jesus! It comes from a solid foundation within him that is steeped in and steadied by his devotion to and worship of Christ.

When asked what kind of im-

pact [The Encounter] had on his life, his answer was passionate. He stated, “It was deeply per-sonal. I’m not perfect. I learned to be ‘an imitator’ of God, so it taught me to draw close to Jesus, pouring myself into His word

and allowing His word to trans-form me.” He explained he had to try to “walk in His shoes” and feel “His grace” to portray the “holiness of God.” There is no question that was the founda-tion of his believability when acting as Jesus.

Freshswagger asked Bruce, “What was the preparation like for your role as Jesus?” He re-plied, “It was about ‘getting on His face,’ seeking the Lord. It’s about submission.” He contin-ued, “Playing Jesus, I not only learned a little about how He lived His life 2,000 years ago, but how he would have me live my life today.” This lifestyle eventually led to his founding of Bruce Marchiano Ministries,

a non-profit ministry based in North Hollywood, California. He speaks twenty to twenty-five times a year in various venues all around the world. As part of his speaking ministry, he does not perform as Jesus.

Today, the ministry is prin-cipally involved in South Af-rica where Bruce sponsors and conducts crusades, outreaches, planting, and building church-es. Furthermore, his ministry provides humanitarian support to desperate and AIDS-affected children. He offers opportuni-ties for young people who have no means to continue their education. His involvement in South Africa began in 1993, at a very challenging time when the country was deeply embroiled in racial and political turmoil. As a celebrity, he was invited to speak all over the country, across every cultural divide. That initial speaking tour turned into a life-long commitment.

Freshswagger asked Mar-chiano what he would like to say to the person reading this article right now. He answered, “Encourage others to watch the movie [The Encounter] for the word of God. Everything that was spoken was the word of God. Watch the film and use it to reach out to family and friends. Many will receive their healing. Allow it to minister to you wherever you’re at in your walk with the Lord.”

The multi-talented Bruce Marchiano has also written several books. They are mostly about his experiences portray-ing Jesus in movies. Among them are Jesus Yesterday, Today & Forever, Jesus Wept, Meet-ing Jesus, and The Footsteps of Jesus. His more recent works are The Character of a Man, 2006 and Jesus, the Man Who Loved Women, 2008.

Currently, Marchiano’s pri-mary focus is on his vision to develop a word-for-word film adaptation of the Gospel Ac-cording to John. His work-ing title is Jesus…No Greater Love. While he is now serving as producer and screenwriter for this undertaking, he may also reprise his role as Jesus in the film. He says his commit-ment to complete this project is to have “an entirely Scriptural film, Word for Word, The Book of John.” He continues, “one that’s ‘a world-class’ film ‘for a new generation,’ using cutting-edge technology. [It will be] dubbed into the languages of the world – beginning with Hebrew – a film bringing the Gospel to the nations for a great harvest of souls.” His intention is for this project to be “a great tool in the hands of churches, Bible studies, Dads and Moms… a film that will draw the body of believers into [a] deeper relationship with


“In the end, as First Lady, this isn’t just a policy issue for me. This is a passion. This is my mission. I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a gen-eration of kids thinks about food and nutrition.”

- First Lady Michelle Obama

Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the prob-lem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. Sure, this is an ambitious goal. But with your help, we can do it.

Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping children become more physically active.

At the launch of the initiative, President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum creating the first-ever Task Force on Childhood Obesity to conduct a review of every single programs and policies relating to child nutrition and physical activity and develop a national action plan to maxi-mize federal resources and set concrete benchmarks toward the First Lady’s national goal. The Task Force recommendations focus on the five pillars of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative:

Creating a healthy start for children

Empowering parents and caregivers

Providing healthy food in schools

Improving access to healthy, affordable foods

Increasing physical activity

Everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity, including parents and caregivers, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and communi-ty-based organizations, and private sector companies. Your involvement is key to ensuring a healthy future for our children.

Jesus.” Finally, he added, “Our purpose is singularly reaching souls for Jesus, thus the non-profit ministry framework, as-suring no compromise to com-mercial priorities. No one will be denied Jesus…No Greater Love!”

His aspiration for the new movie has received glowing en-dorsements from several Chris-tian ministries. One comes from Dr. Jack W. Hayford, President of International Four-square Church and Founding Pastor of The Church On The Way. He said, “I believe Bruce Marchiano is a gift to the Body of Christ as an accomplished actor, a missionary with a burn-ing passion to spread the Gospel to the multitudes, and by the way, he lives his life as a vessel for Jesus’ glory.”

This talented man’s story is one that is quite unique while having a powerfully strong mes-sage. Who would have thought a “Hollywood type” would be an inspiration for living a holy life reflective of the Lord? Bruce Marchiano is that and much more to many people. He is a role model for others, especially those in his profession. Yes! He is a “star” on earth, backlit by the brightness of heaven.

www.letsmove.gov

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Jamie Nieto is a man with an abundance of God-given talent. He is an Olympic athlete (track) and an actor. He is also a man with great faith in God. With all that going for him, it would be interesting to know more about him.

His latest project, Encounter, is a Pure Flix Entertainment Film, released on DVD. Direct-ed by David A. R. White, it tells a story about five strangers who’re stranded in a deserted roadside diner. The proprietor (played by Bruce Marchiano), is someone who claims to be Jesus. In the

film, the owner changes the lives of most of the five strangers who are there. They include an ar-rogant businessman (played by Steve Borden), a lonely woman (played by Jaci Velasquez), a runaway teen, and an estranged couple (played by Danah Davis and Jamie Nieto).

Critics have praised the film for its storyline, visuals, and acting. One review stated, “…it was not only refreshing to see a storyline based on scripture, but the acting, whilst delivering the Gospel, was totally overwhelm-ing.” Superlative words such as

“epic” were used to describe this film.

The part played by Jamie Nieto requires a skill that few possess. According to the film’s Director, his character must de-pict, through the use of body language, a totally broken man. He’s a man whose wife has dic-tated every detail with regard to how they live their lives. Con-sequently, even though he loves her, he wants to kill her. The re-view said Jamie Nieto’s portrayal of that character is “masterful!”

Jamie’s background in sports has proven to be a boon to his acting career. He began high-jumping in 1993 as a junior at-tending Valley High School. He was sixteen years old. He discovered he had talent, and he found it fun working harder as he pushed himself to achieve greater distances. He realized early though his grades were only average, he may have the possibility of earning a schol-arship to the University of his choice. When that didn’t hap-pen, unable to afford to go to a university, he decided to enroll in a junior college. While he was at Sacramento City College, he achieved success breaking his previous 7’0 record. It was then he began to develop what he terms “a hunger” for the Olym-pics.

Subsequently, he was offered partial scholarships to Cal-Berkley and Eastern Michigan University. After discussing his choices with his coach (and mentor), Joe Radan, it was de-cided the timing was right to ac-cept the one from Eastern Mich-igan. Additionally, that school provided the extra benefit of having a good business school.

Nieto recalls his first year at Eastern Michigan was a bit of a struggle. However, he states

he remained confident he had made the best choice. He said, “I believe God put me in the right place.” Training very hard the fall of 1997, he opened up the indoor season with a PB jump measuring 7’1 ¾. Accord-ing to Jamie, “things just started to fall into place after that.” He ended up jumping the school re-cord and becoming a three-time All American with distances of 7’6 indoors and 7’4 ½ outdoors. He went to the World Univer-sity Games in Mallorca, Spain in 1999. It was that experience that finalized within him the knowl-edge, “this is what I wanted to do.” Realizing his prowess could possibly allow him to make the U.S. Olympic Team, his drive and desire became overwhelm-ing. Training incessantly, that same year he set a PR of 7’6 ½ and was ranked 4th in the Unit-ed States. For some, that may have been the end of the story, but not for Jamie Nieto! He went on to become an Olympic Team member jumping a PB of 7’8, giving him 4th place at the 2004 Olympic Games.

In an interview with Fresh Swagger Magazine, Jamie Nieto revealed pursuing academics over the theater was a decision largely influenced by his mom. However, he states it was his “passion” that caused him to try acting due to his childhood love for movies.

When questioned about how it feels to be inducted into Easter Michigan’s Hall of Fame 2012, USATF (United States Athletes, Track and Field), be on three World Championship teams, two Pan Am Teams, and the U.S. Olympic Team, his answer was quick. He said, “Sports made it easy to like.” His advice for others who want to pursue the dream is this: “Do what you feel you want to do the most.

Meet Jamie Nieto


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[Though] we live in a microwave society, [we must] know that it’s not going to happen overnight. It’s going to require work.”

Fresh Swagger then changed focus asking Nieto about his role in Encounter. He played Hank, a troubled man in an unhappy, difficult marriage. However, the marriage is saved. What did it take to save the marriage in the movie? Jamie answered, “By stepping back and [allowing Hank] to let go and let God han-dle everything. My character, Hank, lost his focus, but after I let go and let God handle it, it was a life lesson learned.”

Jamie Nieto is still training hard. He’s looking forward to the possibility of getting on more teams, and he has his eye on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team. He said, “...if God allows my body to hold up and compete that long. God has blessed me so much, and I pray that He keeps blessing me in athletics and all my future endeavors. Please continue to check for updates and please, please keep me in your prayers. May God bless you and thanks for all the support and prayers in advance.” The amount of humbleness in those thoughts is evident. Therefore, there’s one thing for sure: he will have God’s blessings plus all the sup-port and prayers he needs.

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When people are parents to be they are taken through many different obstacles. Many par-ents now and days deal with having to worry about whether they will be giving birth to a child with developmental disor-ders and diseases. The positive to most of this is that thanks to technology and science there is less that a parent to be has to worry about today versus fifteen, twenty, or even thirty years ago.

Autism is a disorder that ap-pears within the first three years of a child’s life. No one is quite sure how autism is ex-actly caused within a child, but many scientists, doctors, and researchers have found that ge-netic factors play a great role. From what they can tell chro-mosomal abnormalities, as well as, other nervous systems prob-lems can be linked to the ab-normal chemistry inside of the brain. There is no known number of children who have autism, but it does affect boy anywhere from three to four times more then girls. But the term “autism” is growing and it seems to be that there are more children di-agnosed with autism then there was thirty years ago.

It is hard to grow up with a disorder. But luckily, it is easier to detect whether your child has autism or not. Most par-ents have found that autism is prominent within their child as early as eighteen months, but it is highly recommended that

the ones who do seek help for their child by the time the child is two years old. Children who are diagnosed with autism have d i f f ic u lt y in partici-pating in p r e t e n d play, so-cial inter-a c t i o n s , a m o n g s t verbal and n o n v e r b a l c o m m u n i c a -tion. Yet, some chil-d r e n may

e x -p e r i -

ence the regressive type

of autism. It is here that the child

loses previously gained social and language skills.

Autism is not curable, but there are treatments avail-able. There are programs that will build on the interest of the child, which is best for the child. IT is recommended that the child goes to therapy; the most common ones are sensory integration and vision therapy. Many children with autism are

prescribed medica-tions. These

m e d i c a -tions are used to t r e a t b e h av-ior and e m o -t iona l p r o b -l e m s . T h e s e

m e d i -c a t i o n s

include di-valproex and

other mood stabilizers. With these treatments and patience a

child with au-tism can lead an outstand-ing life.

Hav i ng autism is not an

incon-vience

f o r nei-ther

child n o r

p a r e n t . Chicago pro-

vides a copious amount of these programs. But, Fresh Swagger Magazine want-ed to look into education. When is the appropriate time to enroll a child with autism, and where can they go? With intensive re-search, it has been found that

a child with autism can be en-rolled into pre-school at the nor-mal age. The curriculum is up to the parent, however. Montessori or Public School? Learning is a craft that should be looked at like a plane, but between the two curriculums who is the pilot and who is the co-pilot?

Public Schools, which are considered to be traditional schooling, put an emphasis on the teacher’s role. Children are held within the same age group, and the children are assigned to seating. With teacher’s domi-nating the classroom collabora-tion between child and student is discouraged. Teacher’s grade their work and the child must keep with the class’s pace. The curriculum is structured with-out any regards of the child’s in-terest. There is little emphasis on instruction or classroom main-tenance. In reference to being a plane, in a traditional school setting the teacher is the pilot, co-pilot, and stewardesses, the child is just the passenger. They are taken for a ride and creativ-ity is taken away from the child, and at such a young age creativ-ity should be encouraged. It is recommended that a child with autism should learn at their own pace, and should encounter vi-sual aids.

Montessori Schools were cre-ated just for that. Originally Maria Montessori, the founder of the schooling method, built the curriculum for children with special needs. It was later opened to all children due to

Family

Autism & Your Child: Life, Love, and Education


37

the children with special needs testing higher then the children who were in public schools. Children within Montessori School curriculums are allowed to work at their own pace. They actively participate in learning and are encouraged to teach and collaborate with others. With the traditional work that is provided the child can see their own errors through the material that is given to them. They can make their own corrections and learn appropriately from them. They learn to care for them-selves and their environment, working wherever they feel most comfortable. Therefore, in refer-ence to the plane, in a Montes-sori School, setting the child is the pilot and the teacher is the co-pilot.

Here in the city of Chicago,

there are many Montessori curriculum schools and Fresh Swagger Magazine received the exclusive from one of them. Tiny Tots Villa Montessori School has been apart of the Chatham community for more then thirty years. They have students of all

kinds that have gone to attend schools such as McDade, Len-art Gifted School, Holy Angels, Poe, Beasley, and many more ac-celerated schools within Chica-goland area and the suburbs of the city. They are the only Mon-tessori school within the city of Chicago that has the program Headstart and they offer extra-curricular activities. With their acceptance of children with spe-

cial needs and those children who do not have special needs, they give them the Montessori curriculum at its finest. Director Judy Tyson was kind enough to relay incite on the curriculum and what it can do for children.

F.S.M: “What about Montes-sori gives children the ability to be so independent?”

Director Judy Tyson: “The whole philosophy within itself and how it is incorporated. It allows them to make their own decisions and teaches them the importance of being responsi-ble. They are able to chose work on their own and use their abil-ity to think.”

F.S.M: “In your own opinion, is Montessori schooling better for special needs children? Why?”

Director Judy Tyson: “Yes, the curriculum involved was built for special needs children, but because they tested so high it was opened to all children.”

F.S.M: “What is the pace of which the child may learn?”

Director Judy Tyson: “It de-pends on the child and the skill base and family background.”

F.S.M: “Who essentially teach-es the child? Is it more child teach-ing self or is the classroom over-ridden by the teacher?”

Director Judy Tyson: “It is considerably facilitated learn-ing. Teachers are there for help.”

F.S.M: “What is an example of a time where a child showed ex-treme improvement of work here?”

Director Judy Tyson: “Spe-cial needs: There was a child who

was not potty trained and had no verbal skills. We had been work-ing with her for quite some time to improve her skills. And so, one day I was sitting and talking with others when she came up to me and pointed at me. It was then that she said my name, and then she pointed to my zipper and said ‘zipper’….Now for another child, he came with skills, but had small motor control and social skills. We worked with him and watched him grow. After leaving our facil-ity, he went on to graduate at the top of his class at MIT. Now he is a professor at Northwestern.”

F.S.M: “Is it fun working with all of these kids and watching them learn from their own mis-takes?”

Director Judy Tyson: “Yes, there is nothing more special then watching them come across an ‘A-HA’ moment. It makes me feel good.”

With people and places like this within the community, it is safe to say that whether the child has autism or not they will have an opportunity to learn in a substantial environment such as a Montessori School environ-ment. The time that is spent with the child within the classroom at these schools is best for a child with autism, but is also best for a child of normal capacity. If the children become integrated within these types of environ-ments, all of the treatments and medications will only add to a more progressive improvement within a child with autism. It is important to consider that chil-dren with disorders, or diseases, are no different from a child with none. That they all can go on to do important things, its’ a matter of how much love is put into their growth.

...they all can go on to do important things...

www.autismspeaks.org

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Living your purpose, what does that entail? I’ve always been an optimist. I’ve always been a dreamer. Many people are. However, somewhere along the line of “growing up,” some of us have lost our magical groove to connect to our essence, to culti-vate the yearnings of our soul’s purpose. We often dismiss the soulful idea as silly, or as some-thing we thought only possible to pursue in our crazy, unpre-dictable youth. Now that we’re adults, and our lives have be-come somewhat predictable, we offer ourselves little or no time to dream again, to be a child and wish out loud or on paper. We’ve given up for the sake of “growing up.”

Years later, or maybe even months after we’ve imagined our “good idea,” someone with

more determination, persever-ance and stubbornness, had the nerve to run off with your idea. Hmmmm… C’est la vie. Lucky for you there’s still time. This new millennium demands that you listen to your soul stirrings, and use your innate creative powers to create a map of your world – the one that you’ve envi-sioned so many times in the not so distant future.

Your talents and special gifts not only enhance your sense of well-being, it enriches and en-courages optimism for others, which in turn serves as a positive conductor to increasing the qual-ity of life for us all.

This country was built on the foundation of a multitude of visionaries. And each of us, whether we admit it or not has benefited in some way. Now it

is our time to contribute our worth, to dig up that old think-ing cap, and light a fire under one or more of those simmering ideas. No more hiding behind a myriad of excuses. It’s your time to be a “dreamer and a doer.” It’s time to nurture and realize your dreams while you’re still alive and kicking.

There are no guarantees along the way, and it won’t be easy. Courage takes guts and confidence and a sense of rebel-lion. Nonetheless, the courage to believe in yourself in spite of your circumstances, or the odds being stacked against you, will bring you closer to actualizing your divine self!

In the words of the film di-rector Sidney Lumet, “The work involves commitment, pain, and a giving of oneself, and yet all of it is essentially a joyous expe-rience.” I say the world is wait-ing you! Be brave enough to live your life with purpose, with joy and with commitment!

One of your current goals in creating this new life of “Liv-ing on Purpose,” is to IGNORE YOUR EXCUSES, and proceed

as if you know you’ll succeed in spite of your preconceived fear. You will feel the fear, and do it anyway! You will do it because it is indeed YOUR TIME TO LIVE AND ACTUALIZE A LIFE OF ABUNDANCE. The rest of your life depends on you following your passions, and taking action to bring them into fruition!

Going in the direction of your dreams, aligning with your pur-pose, is very much like activating your “inner star.” In identify-ing your passions, your talents, your gifts, and your dreams, you must follow your heart, listen to its deep yearnings, listen to the “perhaps,” and the “I wonders, and God’s gentle whispers.” Each dream has a tune of its own – just waiting for your special brand of music!

The dynamic energy derived from listening to your heart, and visualizing daily the things that you want in your life, will induce an enthusiasm that’s unbridled. In the initial stages of dreaming, for several or more days you’ll feel so robust that your fam-ily and friends will wonder what you’re on. I SAY TO YOU – to


Living Your PurposeBy: Loraine Harrell

39

stay in a moment of light. Value your positive thoughts. Enjoy your life and move forward with courage. Keep a list of your dreams in front of you. Peruse it daily. Use a poster board as a “dream board,” to list your goals, place stickers of stars, rainbows, fireworks and glitter beside them. Begin a collage poster of your dreams.

So you want to write that novel, than nonfiction book, a book of poems? Clip several magazine photos of books that you admire, add these clippings to your poster board, devour the books as if it were your favorite meal. Include your own photo at the helm of your dream board. You want that “dream house,” design it in your mind – collect pictures from magazines of your ideal setting, and add it to your dream board. Or you want to obtain that management posi-tion, decide what it looks like, and collect articles and clippings on management and powerful people. Rehearse what it’ll feel like to accept the position, and what new ideas you will bring to the table.

You’ve been dreaming of be-coming the next millionaire entrepreneur, a filmmaker, a motivational speaker, a catalyst of goodwill. Again, read books, and magazines in the areas of your interest. Become a magnet for anything that hints at your dreams. Clip pictures, gather quotes and add to your dream board.

Everyday, you must commune with your dreams. Everyday, you must take at least one action toward activating your dream. This means whether you’ve had a long day at work, whether you’re too tired to think, whether your family is demanding too much, whether the weather is lousy, or

whether the day just plain stinks, you must find a way “to not drown” in the middle of every-day life.

Honoring your dreams is an ongoing process. Needing to ful-

fill your purpose, must be “stron-ger” than your desire for tempo-rary comfort. Needing to pursue and realize your dreams must be stronger than your myriad of ex-cuses.

Everyday you will become a warrior! And slay the dragons, and value your “own self-worth” enough to concentrate on design-ing the goals o to realizing your dreams. Some days you will box with resistance and become im-mobile. This is the day “you will sit in prayer!” This is he day that you will conjure up your ances-tors and ask for their guidance and blessings! Then you will be reminded of your purpose, your goals and the importance of liv-ing your dreams.

Everyday, you will make a choice to matter in this world. You will know in your soul, that your contribution enriches the world.

Everyday, you will give grati-

tude for your determination and courage and the Universe’s faith in you! You will say aloud “Thank You for Trusting ME with this dream!”

Everyday, you will sit next to God and reach for his hand, take a deep breath, exhale and begin- again. You will fall in love with life all over again. You will act as if YOUR GOALS ARE attainable and live as if you BELIEVE in YOURSELF!

MAKE SURE that you listen and pay attention to the messages that the Universe is sending your way. Once you’ve activated your dreams.

Be on the lookout – all sorts of “wonderful” help will come your

way. Remember to visualize on a daily basis, once in the morn-ing and once before going to bed. And if you’re lucky to find the time in mid-afternoon, visual-ize even more. REVEL IN THE MAGIC of being renewed, of coming back to your “True Self.” Live your values! Celebrate your Courage!

In order to get anything of value done in this world! YOU MUST ABSOLUTELY HONOR YOUR LIFE, Honor your dreams, and honor your special brand of magic. You must also honor the perilous journey, the good, as well as the uncertainty. You survived it! You weathered the storm; you pushed forward in spite of yourself, in spite of unfa-vorable circumstances.

You encountered the dark side, fought it, cursed it, learned from it, became stronger, became in-spired and developed a seren-ity and a sixth sense of knowing your strength. Selah!

No life of daring moves in a linear progression – it takes dips and turns, hits grooves in valleys, lands us on all fours, curves and swirls, then in an instant reaches the stars!

You have been a pilgrim jour-neying through the depths of your soul. Your spirit, your faith, your love for the gift of life kept you on course. You believed even when nothing seemed possible. As French author, Albert Camus once said “In the midst of winter I found in me an invincible sum-mer.”

When alas, you turned your back on despair, and gave in to the

momentum of moving for-ward, you built an inner altar to honor the core – the essence of your spirit, the spirit that sur-vived the mysteries of your days


40

and years in the wilderness.

You felt the fear, endured the struggle and got right back on he horse again. You put one foot in front of the other and breathed one breath after another. You marveled that your heart kept beating, and for this you became grateful! You’ve trusted yourself. You listened to your intuition and the wisdom of the Universe. Even when your actions proved otherwise, you’ve always (secret-ly) known that you had a place in this world!

Mark Twain once wrote “Let us live, so that when we come to die, even the undertaker will be sorry.”

I feel that we have so much more strength, spirit and poten-tial than we ever fully realize, until we’re put to the test! If we own our own mind and health, we can overcome some of the most horrendous circumstances. The human spirit is a formidable opponent. And the heart is tre-mendously resilient – it is the only muscle that survives crema-tion. Days and days long after the body has disintegrated, the heart is still singed with fire. It’s still speaking out loud. Isn’t that amazing?

Wilma Rudolph once said “Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what happened to your life.”

MY ARTIST PRAYER

I would like to invite you to have your say with God, to the Universe, or to the Creator. I’ve written a collective letter for each of us and it reads:

Dear Creator:

Here we are again in a brand New Year. You have graced us with a brimming year of pos-sibilities. Your blessings have been plentiful. Our lessons and

challenges at times last year, were overwhelming laced with sorrow, and painful to the thought, yet we kept breathing, hoping and mov-ing forward. With that forward motion, we realize once again the beauty of life. We embrace our full love of living by being in tune with the miracle of each day, by honoring and cultivating our moments of joy, fun and laugh-ter. For it is in the sacredness of these diamond moments that we heal, that we become more of our spiritual, creative, loving selves, ever evolving, bending and ex-panding to your will.

You’ve granted me with awe-some resiliency and new reasons to trust my instincts, the ability to dream big, and live my pur-pose.

This is the day and month of new beginnings and we are filled with the promise of hope, new opportunities and dreams ful-filled.

I want to thank you for all of the lives I’ve lived last year, and for all of the completed chapters of me, and for the chapters that are still to be written. Your glory continues to astound me with every breath that I inhale. Every moment that your love whispers throughout my veins and pumps the river of life into my heart, I’m gladdened.

This year, I will experience even more, the presence of your bountiful nature, as your divin-ity in having already begun the process to grace my life with so many interesting and wonderful new people, delightful friend-ships and grand ideas. My cup runneth over!

This is the year of more. This is the year of abundance. This is the year of dreams coming true. This is the year of transforma-

tion. This is the year of gratitude and magical encounters. This is the year of hope. Obama’s hope. America’s hope. It is a year of in-finite possibilities, a year of huge optimism, and abounding jubila-tion. It is a year of gold stars and amazing enthusiasm.

We desire change even in the midst of the uncertainty of changes’ outcome. The nature of our lives is designed for growth, caring for our souls, riding the ebb and flow of lives mysteries without being too diminished or permanently scarred, and it is further designed for us to take the time to discover, embrace and actualize our authenticity.

To absorb the wonder of life,

we must appreciate the mystery of being awake, the joy of a beat-ing heart, and the quickening of each breath, for it means that the earth has granted us more time to appreciate our magnifi-cence, to honor our calling, to be confident that we know what we know when we need to know it. Make this the year to stop second guessing yourself. Make this the year to know, embrace and live your worth, to be fearless and shameless about tooting your own good horn. The Creator loves good publicity, and revels in its magic to bring more joy.

There is peace in joy and there is peace in the courage to be your true self. The spirit to really be free means you are living from


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the heart of God. As always, thank you for your everlasting faith in me. I carry your heart in my heart. I carry your heart as mine.

-Lorraine Harrell 1/2009

Dear Universe,

Just look how far we’ve come! It’s amazing the lives we’ve lived! The deaths we’ve died. The risks we’ve taken. The blessings we’ve received. The patience we’ve mastered. The skills we’ve ac-quired, the dreams we’ve sought, the dreams we’ve won. The people we have loved. The losses we’ve endured, the wisdom we’ve gained, the remarkable joy and enthusiasm which still shines through our hearts, and the ra-diance of our strength to remain kind, loving and human, no mat-ter what.

Many of us at some point of our lives have taken both cou-rageous risks and outrageous risks. Some of which we applaud ourselves for, and some of which were ridiculously off centered. Nonetheless, we did it our way. One of the most significant com-ponents of creative visionaries in aligned with their soul’s pur-pose; is that they will try as many avenues as possible in pursuit of their dreams.

I am reminded of the won-derful story of the pioneer Afri-

can-American publisher, John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony Magazine. When he first began his publishing company he start-ed with the publication of The Negro Digest in November 1942. His initial print run was 5,000 copies. Although he had 3,000 subscribers from his job with Su-preme Life Insurance, he wanted to increase his readership circu-lation, so he went to the biggest distributor in Chicago. He was told that “We don’t carry colored books because colored books don’t sell.”

Johnson set his wheels to churning and thought of an idea as to how he could change that perception. He asked 30 or so of his friends from the insurance company to go to various news-stands through-out Chicago and ask for cop-ies of the Negro Digest. When this many customers kept asking for the magazine, the newsstands called the distributor to ask them to please supply them with copies of this “hot new magazine.” And when the newsstands received the issues, he paid his friends to go and buy them all. The strategy worked in Chicago, but Johnson was destined to think BIG! He wanted to develop a national strategy.

Consequently, Johnson found various salesmen in many cit-ies, to sell the publication on the buses, streetcars, and even in the cotton field. He opened up a bank account to have each salesman deposit a share of what they sold, and Johnson instructed each to deduct their share. Within eight months, circulation of the Negro Digest grew to 50,000 copies!!!! Is that not the epitome of think-ing outside of the box!!!!! And to

top that Johnson had been nag-ging the first lady, Eleanor Roo-sevelt for months to write a piece on race relations. When alas, she agreed, the article hit the news-stands, his circulation doubled overnight!

This type of courage is fear-less! And is a wonderful example of following one’s bliss, which is another way of saying following and living your purpose!

I’ll share a bit of one of my own stories. In the late 80s, when I moved into my luxury down-town apartment building at 10 E. Ontario St.,

I immediately rented a small Michigan Avenue office, and opened my own video production

and public relations company.

Prior to starting my company, I had registered with the Minor-ity Women in Business Adminis-tration, along with several other similar business related agencies. Within months, I was able to bid on a request for a proposal for the Department of Health – WIC program (Women, Infant &

Children). I won the bid, and I was in business! I was contract-ed to write a WIC brochure, and write and produce a video about the program, to be distributed throughout the city’s DCFS of-fices.

I was in heaven! So I shared this news with several of my en-trepreneurial friends, and they quickly cautioned me that before I got too happy, that I needed to realize that after all this was a “city contract,” which meant death to a small business, since

the average waiting time for the majority of vendors was 12-18 months, before even receiving just a small partial payment, and in some cases it was two years.

I was told this story over and over by various folks whom had been burned and lived to tell the story. I was even informed by at least two persons whom had to close their small business, because they were depending on their city contract as operat-ing funds, and I later learned of several businesses whom had to use their own money upfront ful-fill their vendors payments, and still had not received their funds from the city. None of this news burst my bubble. I was too naïve and optimistic to accept their

experiences as gospel!

Several weeks after presenting my rough draft proposal to the D e p a r t m e n t

of Health, I also submitted my invoice requesting fifty percent of the payment upfront and the balance upon delivery of the bro-chure and video. I was quickly admonished that this was simply not the way things were done. Without missing a beat, I in-formed them that if they didn’t mind missing their deadline, that that was fine with me.

Several days later, I received a phone call from the woman whom was in charge of super-vising the project, and she in-formed me that they would sub-mit my proposal, however, that the process was lengthy and that it would work to both of our ad-vantage if I just went ahead and got started on the filming and writing the brochure.

I thanked her for her concern, and reiterated that I still needed to receive fifty percent of my fee,

Mark Twain once wrote “Let us live, so that when we come to die, even

the undertaker will be sorry.”


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before I continued with the proj-ect, she called back two days later and asked that I meet with the “film committee.” And discuss how I plan to make the video. I agreed, and let her know that I would be bringing an invoice for my meeting time.

She sighed and asked for how much. I inquired about the length of the meeting, and told her that the first meeting was only $150.00. We met, and three weeks later, still no word about my proceeding with the project, although I had been calling twice a week. Going into the fourth week, I finally received a phone call asking for another meet-ing, I came armed with another invoice. After the meeting, I in-tuitively thought to ask a clerk in that office, what department had my contract bid and invoices been sent to. I learned that it was the procurement department.

So one morning that same week, I stopped by a local bakery and bought two dozen muffins and pastries, and went unan-nounced to visit the procurement department. When I arrived, I introduced myself, and informed them about my contract and in-voice. After gathering everyone’s name it was an office of about eight people, I let them know that I would be checking in periodi-cally to learn about the status of my invoice. They assured me that it was not a problem, and bid me a good day. Three days later, I returned with another box of muffins and pastries. It was just before lunch time and the women

were famished – therefore grate-ful to see me.

The following Tuesday, I brought lunch for everyone. While the choral of women whooped about what they liked and thanking me all at the same time, I asked if I could use their empty corner desk and make phone calls and copies. They of-

fered a resounding “Yes,” and I set up office. I returned on Friday morning with more goodies, Mc-Donald’s breakfast meals. They were all glad to see me and ooohh and ahhhhed over their breakfast choices, I retired to my corner desk and phone, to conduct my business for the day. I stayed the entire day, and at lunch time, they treated me to lunch.

I continued this process for three weeks, about 3-4 days a week, sometimes I came bearing gifts, sometimes not. Around the 7th week of this entire process of my initial prep meetings and with the procurement depart-ment, one the ladies informed me that she’s really been pushing my contract invoice through the system. I thanked her profusely and continued to use my corner desk to drum up more business.

Mercifully after nearly four weeks of setting up office, after returning from picking up lunch for everyone, my favorite helper said with glee “Lorraine, girl, I

have good news for you!” I’ve got your invoice all the way through, a check has been cut and now we’re just waiting for everyone’s signature. I was so grateful that I hugged her. And she said “We’re so happy for you, but we’re sure going to miss those lunches and breakfast treats.

It only took one more week for

all of the signatures, with the ex-ception of one. One of the sign-ees had to go out of town, and would not be back for another week. I asked if I could meet him at the airport, he suggested that I meet him at his office instead, be-fore he left for the airport. Thus, at 4:30 that evening, I picked up the sign check from him and ran to the bank, to cash it immedi-ately. $25,000 thousand dollars later, I was in business – at last. I made it to my own bank just in time to deposit all but $5,000. I wanted to take that home to play with – so that my son and I could sift through the money and pre-tend that we were rich, before I returned it to the bank that Mon-day.

In reality, my purported 12-18 month process took only 7 1/2 weeks. How’s that for doing busi-ness with the City of Chicago? Of course, I was told afterwards, even by several of the city clerks themselves that nothing like that had ever happened before. And

although they didn’t mention it, I’m almost sure that no one else had ever set up shop in their of-fice, without official permission.

Sometimes, I think back on the story and laugh out loud, be-cause I don’t know where I got the nerve from to decide to set up office in the procurement depart-ment until received my check. I only knew that I had no intention of doing such a large project, in which I had to pay a videogra-pher, a director, a graphic person, and photographer, etc, without receiving some upfront money.

John Maxmey, founder of Whole Food Market, once stated “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.” Although, I must admit that I did not feel one bit uncom-fortable. I felt perfectly in my element, and I was determined to receive a check within two months time, instead I received it in 7 ½ weeks.

Consequently, I identify better with a quote by the entrepreneur Brick Lee, in which he stated “To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities.”

I shared that story because it indeed takes courage to be au-thentic. Celebrating our cour-age is necessary so that we can continue to remind ourselves just how determined we need to be in pursuit of living our purpose. When we take our dreams out into the world, we need a huge dose of warrior courage to carry us through the murky waters. When we pursue our purpose,

Many of us at some point of our lives have taken both courageous

risks and outrageous risks.


http://ceasefirechicago.org

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we reclaim our power. We an-nounce through our intentions that we are perpetually evolving as spirited devotees to our soul’s purpose.

Your soul has called you here today- to this moment to become a part of one of the wisest deci-sions you could ever make with your life, which is to discover, acknowledge and honor your in-nate God given purpose.

The candor in which we desire to live our lives is demonstrated in our everyday strengths, in the persistent pressing forward to be-come our better selves. We are all ordinary people striving to make our existence extraordinary. So designing your life of purpose, will take a rebirth of spirit. It will require days of “quiet time.” It will require courage not to give in to the habit of second guess-ing yourself, or listening to the annoying voices of naysayers. It will require you to tap into your reserve of perseverance, and persistence, so that when you stumble along the way, you get right back on the horse and keep on riding in the direction of your dreams.

You must be willing to step off the treadmill of going no-where at the same pace, and step into the path of tangible action. How many miles did you travel in your mind today, to activate the vision of your dreams? Will you create some time today to begin planting the seeds of your purpose, to take at least one step toward pursuing your goal? Will you choose to reflect upon the miracle of today?

Your gifts are at the center of your soul. In your heart is the map to create the world you de-sire. I promise you, that if you trust your instincts, and be brave enough to reflect upon your life,

to remove the shield from your heart, and not give in to your fears, and do the work that it takes for self-discovery, and self-reflection, your life will expand and blossom as large as the risks that you’re willing to take.

Make a commitment this week to write your “Soul Purpose Vi-sion Statement.” If you need help as to what that may look like, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me, and I will send you one that I wrote for myself three years ago.

And lastly, in your quest of going in the directions of your dreams, did you recognize the vitality being a “creative vision-ary?” Yes, you too have the mak-ings of a CHAMPION. And your dreams deserve to be heard, shared, manifested and rewarded!

Start today on your journey of embracing your inner champion! In the words of Yoda from “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” “Try Not. Do or Do Not. There is no Try!”

I have several short questions that I would like to mention, that you can respond to in your jour-nal for envisioning your purpose.

Questions to Ask Yourself:

In what ways do I live an au-thentic life?

What am I on this earth to learn to do? Look into the child-hood of your past for answers.

Do I believe in the beauty of my dreams? How are my gifts and passions relevant to hu-mankind?

In what ways, can I make my journey more meaningful?

Do I treat my dreams with re-spect? Do I teach others to treat my dreams with respect?

Everyday has tiny miracles. What miracles did I experi-

ence today?

In what ways have I reinvented myself and changed my destiny?

Am I willing to learn some-thing new?

Make a list of your skills.

Decide the “one” action that you will take TODAY toward re-alizing your purpose.

Lorraine’s Favorite Quotes

“The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it.” ~C.C. Scott

“Courage is not the absent of despair. Rather it is the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair. ~Rollo May

“Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the en-tire staircase.” ~Dr. Martin Lu-ther King Jr.

“No one should negotiate your dreams. Dreams must be free to flee and fly high. No govern-ment, no legislation has a right to limit your dreams. You should never agree to surrender your dreams.” ~Rev. Jesse Jackson

“It is never too late in fiction or life – to revise.” ~ Nancy Thayer

“It is impossible to drive out human passions from the human heart. You may sup-press them, you may deaden them, keep them in subjection, but you cannot root them out.” ~Mrs. Avery Ward

“Every day you can do more. Everyday is an opportunity to become more of your authen-tic self; more of your amazing, loving, daring self.” ~ Lorraine Harrell.

LORRAINE HARRELL’S BIO

Lorraine Harrell is the author of Creating a Map of Your World and Obama’s Hope: Our Youth Envisioning the Future, an award-winning poet, playwright and journalist, and a Certified Creativity/Empowerment Coach. She is the recipi-ent of the Grand Prize Nikki Giovanni/McDonald’s Literary Achievement Award -in poetry, an HYPERLINK “http://www.arts.illinois.gov/” Illinois Arts Council grant in poetry, and a Mary Roberts Rhinehart grant in playwriting. She is a former Chicago Tribune writer for TempoWoman.

A winner in the 1991 and 1993 Midwest and Califor-nia Warner Brothers/Lorimar TV Comedy Writer’s Work-shop, for her TV spec scripts for “Married With Children,” “Seinfeld,” “Home Improvement” and “Roseanne.” Her play “Wishing Well,” was selected for the 1998 Los Angeles Theater Center Wordsmith playwriting competition and dramaturg.

Lorraine has been published in Essence Magazine, The Chicago Tribune (TempoWoman), Sunbury10, Nommno: Re-membering Ourselves Whole, Kaleidoscope: Women at Work, and Chicago Poetry.com. She has been profiled in Jet Maga-zine, The Chicago Sun-Times, (Kup’s column), Screen Maga-zine, featured on Harry Porterfield’s Someone You Should Know, WNIB radio, The Heartbeat of Trinidad-Radio for Women, Mutual Black Radio Network, The Pasadena Gabri-el Journal, and the Pasadena Weekly and the L.A. Sentinel. Her article, “Family Legacy: Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Revels in Real Lives,” was selected as one of the top 50 of 100 of the Chicago Tribune’s Most Popular Articles & Stories.

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Apostle George is the Founder of Real Talk Ministries. It is a ministry that tackles every situ-ation, circumstance, trial, tribu-lation, storm, crisis and condi-tion that we as a people face and encounter in this world in which we live. Apostle George consid-ers himself a “ Dvd Specialist “ He knows that through this me-dium he can reach millions and transform an entire generation with Real Talk.

Real Talk Ministry is the cre-ator of The Essence of a Woman Summit. This summit is cen-tered around breaking down all of the barriers that divide the sisterhood by bringing sisters to-

gether in the unity of Love,Truth ansd Inspiration with Real talk; along with the famous summit panels (women & men)

There is even a blogtalkradio.com The Essence of a Woman Summit show which airs Mon-Fri@10pm cst.

However his passion is “ The Hip Hop Jesus “ dvd message. He states “ If President Obama can raise the bar and standard of our youth and young people as a Black man, then how much more will The Hip Hop Jesus do when the youth and young people can see that Jesus was just like them in everyway. The mes-

sage is real and revelant. The Apostle has taken Jay z, Snoop, Jermaine Durpress, Lil Wayne and a host of others and mani-fested the real through the life of The Hip Hop Jesus. He has a unique style of delivery that im-pacts everyone that hears or sees his dvd messages. He declares that this genertion is not lost or hopeless but rather the chosen generation that Jesus came to reach. The Hip Hop Jesus dvd is for every Parent, Youth Orga-nization, Youth Leader/Pastor and anyone that deals with our youth and young people. It will transform.

Real Talk Ministry is not

about church but about truth. Alot of people are proclaim-ing that they are teaching truth when in reality they are only teaching what is true disquised as truth. . Real Talk Ministry gives people of every race, color and creed the opportunity to compare what is true to what is truth. You see, what is true today can be false tomorrow but what is truth today will remain truth tomorrow. Real Talk Ministry is Truth!

www.realtalkministries.syn-thasite.com visit the site for great tools of wisdom that are not traditional or conventional but Real Talk!

HIP HOP JESUS

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Caneil Chill Oliver spoken word is uplifting, inspiring, mo-tivating and positive. His poetry is unique and written by himself based on everyday life experi-ences and from daily events in our society that effects us all; HIV/AIDS, Breast Cancer, Vio-lence, Spousal Abuse, etc. The love of the art of spoken word and Chill’s strong passion is what influences him along the way along with God opening doors for him to experience dif-ferent venues. Chill tells Fresh Swagger Magazine that he’s his own person and very much in tune with himself with many stories to tell his growing au-dience. Chill is set apart from many other artists while say-ing his story is simple and gives all glory to God. He has been blessed with such a wonderful talent that he says that gift came from God for him to share it with the world. God allows peo-

ple to feel his presence through the ministry of spoken word.

Since the release of “God’s Favorite” CD, Chill has been doing bigger and better things. His horizon is broader as well as unlimited. Chill has done the poetry spotlight on the follow-ing radio shows: 107.5 WGCI in Chicago, V103 Atlanta, 1480 WYZE in Atlanta, 89.3 Gospel Sunrise in Indiana, 1590 WGPL in Baltimore, 90.3 FM Harlem, 88.1 FM Hampton, Rejoice radio stations where Chill’s CD is in rotation. Chill was also featured on Miss Kitty Underground In-ternet Radio Show in Houston, Texas. He recently appeared on blogtalkradio.com, Lush Radio and the Hitman show. Chill was also a guest on Beatbox Radio station on the campus of IIT in Chicago. Others include; SNRa-dio at UIC College in Chicago and Kismet on blogtalkradio.

The Wild Wunz Radio show out of DePaul University and Gospel Synergy Radio. He also featured on WJAB 90.9 FM at Alabama A&M. He recently was the fea-tured artist on www.tcmradio-station.com. Chill was also the guest host on the internet radio show Windy City Underground along with radio host Deacon Drew.

He just didn’t stop at radio but Chill also made a special ap-pearance on People’s TV, Com-cast Channel 24 in Atlanta and was a guest on Comcast channel 19 in Chicago and appeared on Off the Alley. He was on Break-ing the Chain, Comcast Aurora Channel 10. Recently appeared on Skope TV on Youtube. Chill was also on R.P.TV channel 6.Chill made an appearance on The Mcgraw Report Channel 21 In Chicago.

He was in Aurora, IL Beacon

News paper as well as Biz Net Market online newspaper and EMagazine. He also appeared in the 316 magazine. Gospel Syn-ergy Magazine. Chill recently graced the front cover of Coffea Magazine in the January 2010 issue And Also Chill Was Fea-tured In Action Magazine In The January 2011 issue.

Chill performed in the stage play titled, Devil’s Prayer and was the opening act for the in-spirational play called, All For Love. He also opened for anoth-er play titled, Love Don’t Live Here Anymore. Chill performed in the hit stage play called Apol-ogy, From One Sista to Another. He was in the preshow for the stage play, Seeking for a Mate. Chill also opened for the stage-play, “In Due Season”.Chill also opened up for the stage play My wife And Baby Mama. He recently made his debut ap-pearance in the stageplay called “Connect the Dots” where he played a character named, Car-los.Chill also made is second debut in the inspirational stage play called Be Not Un Equally Yoked he played the character named Lucas.Chill also did the sequel to Connect The Dot’s One Bad Decision Can Change Your Life he played himself.Also chill had a role in the Inspira-tional stage play Seeking For A Mate he played the charac-ter name Denzel.Chill also was the host for the stage play The Wrong Woman.Also Chill was in the play called”Baby Girl”he played as Detective Davis.Also chill was in the stage play “Pink October”playing the character Mike.Chill Also Had A Role In The Hit Stage Play Deadly Games Were He Played The Character Name Harold.

Chill performed on the Healthy Living Gospel Con-cert Cruise in the Bahamas. He also performed at various com-


CANEIL “CHILL” OLIVER

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The 2011Bud Biliken Day ParadeWe were here!

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We are a part of a culture that is in constant change, in a midst of technological evolution that’s unlocking many ancient myster-ies. We as a people are more in tune with how the mechanics of the body works, which equates to living a long and healthy life.

This is why you see more peo-ple living a healthier lifestyle such as; seeing more and more people running and/or participating in a boot camp, but still there are those that do not understand the importance of exercise. This is evident in many ways. “Accord-ing to the Sourcebook, the aver-age American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of non-stop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube”. For decades, research and stud-ies have demonstrated that heavy television viewing may lead to se-rious health issues. “Studies have shown that television leads to an increase in the consumption of energy-dense, snack-type foods (junk food),” reports founded by CNN. This is a stimulus towards poor dietary behaviors. Nearly one-third of children ages 4 to 19 eat fast food every day, and over 15% in that age group are obese--

-Time To Wake Up People! Just 15 minutes of exercising a day adds 3 years to your life, accord-ing to WGN report on exercise study. Posted below is your 21-Day Transformation….

21 Day Transformation

Week 1: Keep an exercise jour-nal. Dedicate 2 minutes a day to notate your progress. Do two sets of 8 to 12 reps per move two times a week on nonconsecutive days and 10 minutes of cardio four days a week.

Week 2: Plan your workouts. Schedule it the night before. Do three sets of 10-14 reps per move three times a week on noncon-secutive days and 15 minutes of cardio four days a week. Perform cardio first on weight-lifting days.

Week 3: Find solutions to all problems, not excuses. If you are unable to train a full ses-sion break into to 10 minute bits. Do four sets of 15-20 reps per move three times a week and 20 minutes of cardio five days a week, performing cardio first on weight-lifting days.

Squats: Targets Buns, Hips, and Thighs

Place a chair just behind you

and stand in front of it with feet about hip- or shoulder-width apart.

Contract the abs and keep them tight as you bend the knees and slowly squat towards the chair.

Keep the knees behind the toes as you sit down on the chair for a few seconds.

Contract the glutes and ham-strings to lift up out of the chair and begin extending the legs.

Fully extend the legs until you’re back to standing position.

Repeat this for 1-3 sets of 10-16 repetitions.

To progress, squat down until you’re just hovering over the chair, but not sitting all the way down. Always keep the knees in line with the toes!

Jumping Jacks …Total Body Cardio: Targets Shoulder, Backs, Thighs, and Calves

Begin by standing with your feet together and arms at your sides. Tighten your abdominal muscles to pull your pelvis for-ward and take the curve out of your lower back.

Bend your knees and jump,

moving your feet apart until they are wider than your shoulders. At the same time, raise your arms over your head. You should be on the balls of your feet.

Keep your knees bent while you jump again, bringing your feet together and your arms back to your sides. At the end of the movement, your weight should be on your heels.

Repeat the exercise, working in sets and resting briefly in be-tween. As you become more fit, perform jumping jacks faster and for a certain length of time rather than in sets.

Lunge Twist (can use a broom-stick, medicine ball, etc)…Be creative: Targets ABS, Obliques, Butt, Hips, Legs

Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding ball between palms in front of hips.

Lunge forward with left leg, bending both knees 90 degrees as you rotate torso to left side and raise ball diagonally overhead with arms extended.

Rotate back to center and lower ball, then step left leg back to return to start position. Switch sides and repeat complete to complete 1 rep.


WAKE UP!Carmie Burnett Professional Fitness Trainer, Motivational Speaker www.r7fitness.com

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Bicycle: Targets ABS

Lie face up on your mat and place your hands behind your head, lightly supporting it with your fingers.

Bring the knees in to the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the floor without pulling on the neck.

Rotate to the left, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee as you straighten the other leg.

Rotate to the left, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee as you straighten the other leg.

Push-Ups: Targets Chest, Triceps, Shoulders

Lie chest-down with your hands at shoulder level, palms flat on the floor and slightly more than shoulder-width apart, your feet together and parallel to each other.

Look forward rather than down at the floor. The first con-tact you make with the floor with any part of the face should be your chin, not your nose.

Keep your legs straight and your toes tucked under your feet.

Straighten your arms as you push your body up off the floor. Keep your palms fixed at the same position and keep your body straight. Try not to bend or arch your upper or lower back as you push up.

Exhale as your arms straighten out then pause for a moment.

Lower your body slowly to-wards the floor. Bend your arms and keep your palms in fixed position. Keep body straight and feet together.

Lower body until chest touches the floor. Try not to bend your back. Keep your knees off the floor, and inhale as you bend your arms.

Pause for a moment. Begin straightening your arms for a second push-up. Exhale as you raise your body.

Dumbbell Bent Over Row: Targets Middle back, Bi-ceps, Lats, Shoulders

With a dumbbell in each hand (palms facing your torso), bend your knees slightly and bring your torso forward by bending at the waist; as you bend make sure to keep your back straight until it is almost parallel to the floor. Tip: Make sure that you keep the head up. The weights should hang directly in front of you as your arms hang perpendicular to the floor and your torso. This is your starting position.

While keeping the torso sta-tionary, lift the dumbbells to your side (as you breathe out), keep-ing the elbows close to the body (do not exert any force with the forearm other than holding the weights). On the top contracted position, squeeze the back mus-cles and hold for a second.

Slowly lower the weight again to the starting position as you in-hale.

Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

Plank: Targets Abs

Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor.

Push off the f loor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows.

Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels.

Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle.

Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat .

edy shows including Jokes and Notes and also Get Your Laugh On Comedy Show part 1 and 2. Chill performed at the Sugar Hill Club in Atlanta’s Under-ground with R&B singer Jahiem. Also has showcased his talents in Brooklyn, NY at the Spoken Word Café. In October 2010, Chill performed in Key West Florida, Nassau Bahamas and CocoCay during the Royal Ca-ribbean cruise with the Healthy Living Gospel Foundation. Chill also took the stage at the Para-mount art’s center located in Aurora,were he participate in the Martain Luther King celer-bration.

He’s entertained at the follow-ing places: Mocha Match & Red Café of Atlanta, Kasbar, The Barn Yard & First Temple Church of God in Christ all in Denver, Colorado, Mike & Mikes in Los Angeles, Chaparral High School also in California. He has trav-eled to South Bend, Indiana and Adrian, Michigan. He has done shows in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland and Rich-mond, Virginia. He also per-formed in Huntsville, Alabama. He also was the featured artist at Divine Deliverance Worship Center in Statesboro, Georgia. Chill also made his way back to Southbend, Indiana to be the featured artist at Rhema Word

International Ministries. Chill performed in East Orange, NJ at New Life Church and also in West Orange, NJ at Cecil’s Jazz Spot. He made his way back to Manhattan, New York where he was the featured artist at The SIP Lounge. also chill was the featured artist at Soul 4 Soul’s located in West Hempsted New York. He Was Also The Featured artist at Spoken Word Revolu-tion in Orlando Flordia. He also performed in Winter Park Flor-dia, at Tatame Lounge.Mad is way back to Atlanta to perform at the Licquid Lounge and also the C-Room.

He performed at Aurora University, Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa and North Central College and Northwestern Business College, Naperville, Illinois. Chill has performed at Alabama A&M. He also performs at alternative schools and church events, visits youth facilities, prisons, gradua-tions and weddings.

You can catch Chill perform-ing at these open mic spots in Chicago: Touch of the Past, Spoken Word Café, Inclusive, Giovanni’s, Urban Myth and the Negro League Café.

Chill has taken spoken word to a new level and he gives God all the Glory.

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Food combining has been around since early 1900s and for some who are dealing with digestive issues and believe they are eating all the right foods; this is something that you may want to look at. You might ask; what is food combining? Food combining is a balancing of foods being eaten according to their digestion times.

It is thought that the human stomach would be able to digest any number of different foods at the same time. However, diges-tion is governed by physiological chemistry. Where one person may be able to eat a combination of some foods eaten together and have no problem, another person who may consume the same foods may not be able to digest that combination. This is due to the different times it takes a protein, carbohydrate or fat to break down in the stomach. It is

not what we eat that is crucial to our health, but what we digest and assimilate. To some it could also be not just what we eat, but when we eat.

Here’s the deal . . . Digestive enzymes are very important to our diet. They release very specific amounts of digestive enzymes at very specific times. Different food types require different digestive times. Car-bohydrate foods require amy-lase enzymes, whereas protein foods require protein protease enzyme, and fat requires lipase enzyme, etc. Today many holis-tic health practitioners promote food combining as a way to cor-rect digestive issues.

There are 5 different types of food in the stomach at one meal, each eaten separately and in sequence, there will be 5 dif-ferent kinds of digestion going

on at the same time, each layer having different enzymes di-gesting each food, according to the needs of the food contained in that layer. If you just think about it, this could be a ball of confusion. The stomach is re-ally having a hard time trying to figure what to do with the food that has been eaten. Trying to break it down the foods and give you the best nutrients is very dif-ficult. It could actually backfire on you and make you feel bad after eating like this.

Here are seven food combin-ing rules and some keys to suc-cess when eating to ensure you are making sure your foods are providing the proper nutrients and proper digestion. These keys just may keep you in bal-ance or repair some plumbing inside your body.

Carbohydrate foods and acid

foods should not be eaten at the same meal. Do not eat bread, rice or potatoes with lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, pineapples, tomatoes or other sour fruits. This is because the enzyme, ptyalin, acts only in an alkaline medium. Fruit acids not only prevent carbohydrate digestion, but they also produce fermentation. Dr Percy Howe of Harvard Medical School states: “Many people who cannot eat oranges at a meal derive great benefit from eating them about fifteen to thirty minutes before the meal”.

PROTEINS DO NOT COM-BINE WITH STARCHES!

This rule heads the list as being the worst of the disease-producing habits. If you know anything about the facts of di-gestion, you’ll realize that there is no way this combination will

Could “Food Combining” be what your diet is missing?


50

ever digest. Well, “What about meat and potatoes, hamburgers, sub sandwiches, meat pizzas, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and all”? Take for example, the hamburger – the meat is a pro-tein and the bread is a starch. It takes a series of acid digestion juices to digest the protein, and a series of alkaline digestive juices to digest the starch. Remem-ber in chemistry class when you burned yourself with some acid, you were told to apply an alkaline, to neutralize the acid! Well, the same result happens to the digestive juices in the stom-ach when you eat protein and a starch together. They neutral-ize themselves and NO DIGES-TION IS THE RESULT. Then, as we have learned when our food doesn’t digest, it ROTS. John H Tilden, M.D. used to say, “Nature never produced a sandwich!!” Some exceptions: Avocados combine well with all starchy vegetables and grains and legumes combine fairly-well with grains.

FRUITS DO NOT COMBINE WELL WITH STARCHES!

The digestion of fruits re-quires hardly any time at all in the mouth and stomach while starches require most of their digestion time in those areas. The fruit sugars are quickly ab-sorbed into the intestines while the starch requires digestion in the mouth and stomach. (In-cidentally, Starch is the only food that begins to digest in the mouth with the enzyme Ptya-lin.) If the fruit sugars are held up in the stomach while diges-tion of starch continues, the

food will rot in no time! You will ALWAYS have problems with this bad combination. The rule of thumb when eating fruit is – to eat fruit as a fruit meal. This doesn’t leave too much in favor of the raisin bran prod-ucts, fruit preserves on toast, bananas in one’s cereal, carrot slaw with raisins, etc. When you think about it, oranges and rice doesn’t sound too good either!!

FRUITS DO NOT COM-BINE WITH PROTEINS!

Once again, the fruit sugars are absorbed directly into the intestines and the protein re-quires much time digesting in the stomach. If the sugars are held back in the stomach while trying to digest the protein you can bank on this 100% of the time, the food will ROT.

There is an exception to this rule – avocados combine well with acid and sub-acid fruits and there is enough oil in seeds and nuts to prolong the protein digestive gastric juices in the stomach while the fruit sugars of acid fruits and papaya are ab-sorbed into the intestines.

FRUITS DO NOT COMBINE WITH VEGETABLES!

An easy way to remember this rule is that FRUITS ARE CLEANSERS and VEGETA-BLES ARE BUILDERS. No way you can build and clean house at the same time. Tomatoes are a fruit and an exception to this. You can have tomatoes with the following vegetables – Lettuce. Celery, Okra, Cucumbers, Egg-plant, Bell Peppers, and Summer Squash – The Fruit Vegetables.

EAT MELONS ALONE OR LEAVE THEM ALONE!

Melons combine with NO OTHER FOOD. They are in their simplest form and require no digestion time at all in the stomach. If they are held back in the stomach of 104 minutes while digesting anything, they will surely ROT. Put a piece of melon outside in the sun of 80 to 90 minutes and watch it rot before your eyes. If you eat mel-ons with any other food, you’ll surely have stomach problems.

It’s no wonder so many people are bothered by melons. They al-ways eat them before, with or di-rectly after a meal. There is NO EXCEPTION to this rule. EAT MELONS ALONE OR LEAVE THEM ALONE OR YOUR STOMACH WILL MOAN.

ACID FRUITS DO NOT COMBINE WITH SWEET FRUITS!

These two food groups defi-nitely repel each other. Ba-nanas and grapefruit, oranges and raisins, tangerines and prunes – don’t sound very good, do they? NO EXCEPTION TO THIS RULE!

DESERT THE DESSERTS!

When you eat sweets, even fruit, after a meal, you foul up your digestion process and your

food rots. Bacteria turn the foods into Alcohols and Vin-egars and NO DIGESTION IS THE RESULT. Nature’s way of releasing gas from the system via the bowels is a natural pro-cess but it’s not natural to have foul-smelling gas.

The bottom line is “The strength of a person lies not in the food they eat, but with the continuing of eating the foods the way they should be eaten.” So, “Combine When You Dine and keep Color In Mind.” These rules were shared and taken from Dr. Wayne Pickering, “the Mango Man”.

A SIMPLE TEST FOR ANYONE

One simple test that you can use to know if food combining is for you is to eat different foods and wait for 24 to 72 hour. Lis-ten to your body and you will know what should or shouldn’t be combined together for you. I have shared these rules to many of my clients and students and many of them find out what is eating them inside. What a way to take back your body.

Anyone can try this test, but to be accurate, the different foods must be eaten one at a time, and follow each other in sequence. Remember you are What you eat and When you eat!

BE WISE – DON’T COMPROMISE. Your health is your greatest treasure. When you have it, you have everything. When you don’t, nothing else matters. Those who have earned it are richer than Kings and Queens.Audree Lee, CHHC, AADP-Certified Holistic Health Coach; Health Minister, Medical Missionary; Food Fitness Educator, & Live Food Chef

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Granny’s Drop Biscuits INGREDIENTS:

3 cups all-purpose flour4 teaspoons baking powder1 tablespoon sugar1 teaspoon salt1 teaspoon baking soda1⁄4 cup unsalted butter1 1⁄4 cups buttermilk2 eggs, lightly beaten1 teaspoon canola oil

PROCEDURE 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl mix the flour, bak-ing powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Using a large fork, cut the butter into the flour mixture until well incorporated. 2. In a separate bowl mix the buttermilk and eggs. Add all but 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk and egg mixture to the flour mixture; stir until moistened. (Dough should be moist and sticky.) 3. Grease a baking sheet with the canola oil. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart. Brush the tops with the remaining buttermilk mixture. 4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in the middles comes out dry.

Grandpa’s French Toast French Toast with Warm Maple Syrup and Fresh Berries

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs 1/4 cup of cream1 teaspoon of cinnamon 1/2 ounce of vanilla extract1/2 ounce of powered sugar4 slices of potato bread1/4 cup olive oil 1 cup maple syrup 1/2 pound of fresh berries

PROCEDURE 1. Crack 4 large eggs and cream into a mixing bowl and whisk.2. Next add the cinnamon, vanilla, and continue to mix well. 3. Add the powered sugar and continue to whisk until all ingredi-ents a mixed and dissolved.4. Next coat a skillet with olive oil and place of medium heat.5. Next, pour syrup into a sauce pan and place over low heat.6. Dip potato bread in the egg batter mixture and make sure both sides are coated.7. Place bread on hot skillet and cook for 3 minutes on each side until bread is golden brown. 8. Place French toast on a plate, cut in half, and drizzle with syrup.9. Garnish plate with fresh berries and sprinkle entire dish with powered sugar and serve.

GRANDMAS KITCHEN……

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 lbs of lean ground beef 2 eggs½ cup ketchup 2 tablespoons of lemon juice ½ teaspoon of blackening spice ½ cup of bread crumbs1 cup of white onions

Momma’s MeatloafOld Fashioned Meatloaf

PROCEDURE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place ground beef in a large bowl and add onions, shallots and garlic. Mix well.

3. Next add the eggs and lemon juice. Mix well.

4. Add the garlic, seasoned salt, pepper, parsley and bread crumbs and mix well.

5. Next slowly add the vegetable stock and continue to mix. Set aside.

6. Smooth oil over the inside of a baking dish and place the ground beef into it, forming your meatloaf shape. Coat the top with the ketchup.

7. Pour water around the bottom of the baking dish, then sprinkle blackening spice on top of the meatloaf.

8. Place in oven for 30 minutes.

1 tablespoon of shallots 2 cloves of minced garlic 1 teaspoon of parsley 2 teaspoons of seasoned salt 1/4 teaspoons pepper¼ cup of vegetable stock ½ cup of ketchup ¼ cup of water


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INGREDIENTS:For Roux

1 stick butter½ cup flour

For Stock4 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds shrimp shells1 white onion 2 peeled carrots 3 celery stalks 2 scallions1 garlic bulb½ tablespoon fresh pepper-corns 2 fresh bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 2 cups white wine 4 cups water

For Gumbo2 andouille sausages2 lamb sausages2 Italian sausages1 ounce gumbo filé 1 pound partially cooked chicken wings 1 pound crawfish 2 pound large shrimp 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 pound fresh okra 2 large leeks 1 pound lump crabmeat 1 pound back fin crabmeat 1 ounce hot sauce

PROCEDURE

For Roux Add one stick of butter in large pot.

Melt butter completely.

Gradually stir in flour.

Reduce the heat to medium-low.

Cook for 5 minutes. Stir con-tinually until mixture turns light brown.

For Stock

Coat a large pot with olive oil.

Add shrimp shells. Stir.

Chop an onion, carrots, cel-ery, and scallions. Add to pot then stir.

Chop garlic bulb in half. Add to pot.

Add peppercorns, bay leaves, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix together well.

Pour in two cups white wine.

Remove pot from flame.

Add 4 cups water (or enough to fill the pot).

Return pot to flame. Bring to a full boil.

Stir. Lower heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

Take another large pot with a colander and strain the stock into the new pot, leaving only the liquid.

Discard strained items (i.e. shells, vegetables, etc.)

For Gumbo

Coat skillet with olive oil.

Add sausages. Sear for 2-3 minutes for color.

Remove sausages. Set aside.

Pour stock into rue. Mix. Cool for a few minutes.

Add sausages and gumbo.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cooked chicken breasts4 tablespoons olive oil1 tablespoon chopped garlic1 tablespoon chopped shallots¼ cup chopped celery¼ cup chopped carrots¼ cup chopped asparagus¼ cup chopped onions1 pinch salt1 pinch pepper¼ cup corn¼ cup snow peas 2 ½ cups chicken stock¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons heavy cream2 tablespoons plus 1 table-

PROCEDURE 1. Break chicken breast apart into small pieces then set aside. 2. Heat a medium size pot over medium high heat and coat with olive oil 3. Add garlic, shallots, celery and carrots. Then stir 4. Add asparagus and onions 5. Season with salt and pepper 6. Add corn, and snow peas. Then stir 7. Pour in chicken stock and ¼ cup heavy cream 8. Add unsalted butter and stir 9. Add pieces of chicken and bring to a boil 10. Mix cornstarch and water to create thickening agent then pour into pot 11. Stir in unsalted butter 12. Add chopped rosemary and thyme then stir 13. Cut puff pastry sheet in half then set aside14. Beat egg and cream together to create egg wash then set aside 15. Fill two ceramic baking dishes with chicken mixture 16. Cover with puff pastry 17. Pinch edges to seal, and then cut off excess around sides 18. Take a fork and poke a few holes in top of puff pastry 19. Brush egg wash onto puff pastry 20. Place in oven at 350 until crust is golden brown

spoon unsalted butter¼ cup cornstarch3 tablespoons water1 sheet puff pastry1 tablespoon chopped rose-mary and thyme1 egg

Chicken Pot Pie Delicious Heart Warming Gumbo

INGREDIENTS:

3⁄4 cup canola oil6 four-ounce pieces fresh tilapiaSeasoned saltBlack pepper3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour

PROCEDURE

1. In a sauté pan heat canola oil over medium-high heat.

2. Season tilapia on both sides with seasoned salt and pepper to taste. Dredge fish in flour. Fry fish quickly in very hot oil until golden brown. Serve with fried corn.

Melt in your mouth TilapiaFlash-Fried Tilapia

53

Jeffrey Brown is pursuing his destiny with a passion! His wide range of professional experience and expertise range from over 25 years of hands on experience in the environmental industry, motivational speaking and en-couraging too building strong relationships in communities by partnering with many organiza-tions that share the same pas-sion “Building and strengthen-ing families”.

His motto “A family that not only prays together - but that prays and spends time together will stay together!”

Jeffrey is a devoted family man! He has been married to his wife Veronique for 21 years and has two children, Jeffrey Jr and Chavonne. He is very dedicated and active in his church – New

Life Family Bible Church in Newark, NJ; where the Founder is Pastor Tyrone and First Lady Rose Sharpe Sr.

Jeffrey has been establishing ties in the community in one of his most recent endeavors as the Spokesperson/Marketing Ex-ecutive of the “Jersey Express” New Jersey’s only ABA Profes-sional Basketball Team.

He also works very closely with faith based businesses and organizations to promote Gos-pel Artists and their Music Min-istries

Jeffrey is the radio host of “Your Faith Unlocks the Door”. He is also the President of In-sight by Jeffrey Brown LLC. This is a Motivational Speaking and Life Empowerment Service. This company was created to

Entrepreneur of the Month Jeffrey R. Brown Sr.

provide mentoring, motivation and encouragement to families, individuals and organizations. Insight strives to strengthen all parts of the family – parents and children to help make and keep them whole.

As a part of the Pinnacle Group - Jeffrey is very involved

Whos Got Swagger

in community efforts to pro-vide housing opportunities for the homeless in the Vicinity of Newark, NJ.

Jeffrey was recently invited and attended the White House Urban Entrepreneurship Sum-mit at Rutgers University in Newark to network and partner with other local Entrepreneurs.

54

The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness, written by Kris and Jason Volloton, is much more than a book that might be rec-ommended as an outstanding read. It’s a roadmap for HY-PERLINK “http://www.ibethel.org/the-supernatural-power-of-forgiveness-by-kris-vallot-ton-and-jason-vallotton” \l “skiptocontent#skiptocontent” redemption through God, by providing the reader with the necessary tools to swing open the door to a powerful, happy, and peaceful life.

The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness was written by Kris and Jason Vallotton, a father and son team. It’s based on Ja-son’s catastrophic, life-changing experience when he learned of his wife’s infidelity and her plans to leave him. He thought his world had come crashing down around him. He fell into an abyss from which he never thought he could or would get out. He sought help and ref-uge for his broken heart and his great loss from his father, Kris.

Together, Kris and Jason had a definitive mission in writing The Supernatural Power of For-giveness. They wanted to teach people how to handle pain with the help of God so it does not be-come a crippling, negative force that will have an adverse effect on the rest of their lives. Basing the book on Jason’s catastroph-ic, life-changing adversity, they fulfilled their mission to help others.

By describing his experiences, along with the mental anguish and the overwhelming feeling of loss, their stated mission was “to help reshape mindsets by work-ing through pain and becoming an emotionally whole person [again].” The book provides the way forward by illustrating the effects of pain.

Kris and Jason remind the reader “pain is something that most people have been taught to ignore, hoping it will some-how disappear.” They continue, “Living like this leaves most people wounded; trapped in unhealthy cycles of brokenness, never eradicating the damaging pain, but instead, [they’re] shut-ting off their emotions in order to cope with life.” However, they say “God’s plan for us has never

been to avoid hard times or live an isolated, lonely life. Trials are meant to propel us into our des-tiny.”

As the book unfolds, Kris and Jason show readers many impor-tant lessons. The most essential is emotional wounds can teach you how to reframe your under-standing of redemption. While it may be difficult to see how they can be interpreted as “gifts” (especially when they continue to hurt so deeply), the hardest times and deepest pain can be piloted to allow to help them attain not only complete resto-ration, but also give them the strength to face adversity in the future. Pain is not something we must live with forever. Instead, no matter what its source, God can and will provide healing and freedom for everyone.

The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness will help you dis-cover that God cannot only heal your wounds, He can also use the healing process to equip you for a whole, fulfilled and power-ful life. It provides a pathway to a revolutionary, enlightened way the Body of Christ lives life. In so doing, it has the power to bring emotional health to the nations.

Review Books

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Review Books

Conventional wisdom tells us that regular physical exercise and some kind of spiritual con-templation are necessary for our overall well-being. But who has time? Prayfit offers a way to double the value of an hour by doing both at once.

Actor and TV host Mario Lopez says the author of Prayfit, Jimmy Pena, is the first person he calls when he needs to get in shape for a special occasion. LL Cool J calls Pena “one of our nation’s leading fitness resources.”

“Marching Orders,” “Time Can Wait,” and “ “Let Opportunity Knock” are just a few of the chapters in this short but impactful book, which shows readers that a healthy regimen of prayer - or of exercise - needs just four elements in order to have the best impact: “simplicity, consistency, progression, and effort.”

Technically, you can’t pray yourself thin. On the other hand, haven’t we learned that help comes to those who help themselves? So, whether you can pray yourself healthy is up to you. Spending time dedicated to improving your health and spiritual condition can only help. If you miss a day, get back to it the next day. Our minds and bodies are closer entwined than we realize. It’s no coincidence that people who look a mess don’t feel good either. Prayfit offers a manageable, enjoyable way to make a healthy improvement to both.

-L. Velousis

september issue 2011

Documents

thought of unconditional

newness of life

world of joy

new beginning of possibility

variety of categories

things of yesterday

new journey of self

powerful act of kindness