Word Praize

Trapeze Flying Without a Net?

Hello Chosen Ones:

I’m usually one that MUST post, full, edited, tightened, rewritten, and retightened pieces or I’m not posting.  But today I’m feeling it way different.  I’m feeling like a for real-for real blog piece.  Hey, I might not even do a spell check.  I’m taking flight here.  I’m flying on a trapeze without a net.

This is my last entry until 2007 so I want to make sure I give you something positive and just some good information and some hope that will float you on to the next piece that God has in store for you.  And he does have plans in mind for you—since the beginning of the beginning.  Read it for yourself in Jeremiah 29:11:13, “God says, ‘For I alone know the plans I have for you, plans for prosperity and not disaster, plans to give you a future and a hope.’”

I’m holding on to that promise right along with you and I am seeing God move on my behalf.  If you’re watching closely…if you’re listening you’ll hear him say, “here, my child, walk this way.” Or “Wait, I got you.  I know the desires of your heart.  I got your tears right here in a bottle beside me.”  Or ‘I know it’s been a long time coming but change is coming…I just want you ready and wise enough to walk tall with the change.”

Some of you, like me…have been digging soooo long it seems.  You been praying and praising, writing and sending, talking, and hushing up.  You’ve been hoping and disappointed.  You’ve been holding on and letting go.  You been watching folk all around you move out into the deep and yet you feel tied to the shore waiting for your ropes to be cut.  You been soaring and then crashing.  You been… you been… bad English and all but can’t stop now…

Perhaps God is saying to some of us right now… ‘you’ve dug long enough now let me bring the oil to you!  You just step up on the escalator and let me take you on up to where I birthed you to be even during Genesis times.

I’m writing to someone out there in cyberspace…you were predestined to be right here, right now…on this page reading this outpouring of whatever that I offer up to God feeling that it is flowing with the help of my Helper the Holy Spirit straight to you.  I pray that God is meeting you within the words.

The scripture beside the one I shared in an earlier paragraph that is the foundation of my writing and speaking ministry is Revelations 12:11, “We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.”  Thus, here is a testimony that I feel led to share…

If you as a writer, author, author-hopeful—consider setting up a free myspace profile page.  The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few but you are one of them…

At my son’s suggestion, I became actively involved in myspace profile that I had set up some months before but had just laid dormant.  Within two months of taking his suggestion I had over 5,000 profile views, over 1,000 comments left on my page, networking opportunities that have equated to more book sales, speaking engagements, radio and print media interviews, praying with people, leading folk to Christ, singing opportunities, friendships, connecting with old readers and building a whole new audience of readers, the need to go into the studio to create a CD because of demand. To view and to see the possibilities of utilizing your space there go to my profile at www.myspace.com/isayaprayerforme. 

A year ago, I prayed and asked God for a radio show.  In faith, I bought some equipment to at least produce a podcast which would be a start—although the equipment stayed in the box.  Well, I launched my podcast, Faith-Lift™ with Stanice on myspace profile using the free technology at www.gcast.com and a telephone.  In less than two months, there are been over 11,000 downloads.  To listen or subscribe free to my podcast go to:  http://www.gcast.com/u/staniceanderson/main. And now it is also available on iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=206994621

About three weeks ago, feeling led, I sent an email to an owner of an internet radio station, Take12Radio.com. (Recovery Talk and Positive Music 24/7) I followed through in about a week, and he said that he was looking through possible interviewees but had not chosen yet.  I let it go and went on to the next thing I felt led by the Spirit to do—finding the equipment the podcasting/radio equipment I bought back in February so I could at least produce a better quality sound podcast product.

I got a call from the radio station owner.  He wanted to interview me on my show. 

The day before the Take12Radio.com show interview, I had read equipment manual and produced my first radio quality podcast installment and posted it.  My interview was at 2:00 pm EST, at the show’s end off-air the owner, Monty-man Meyer, said that the Lord had impressed on his heard to offer me my own radio show.  I gave him an excited, YES!  And told him of my prayer to the Lord for a show a year or so prior.  We both had chill bumps, Holy Ghost was moving and it was soooo clear.  He said all I needed was to tell him if I wanted 45-minute show or an hour; a title, theme song, and of pray about the content.  It was already done.  I took the hour show option.  The show is an extension of the brand God had already made possible, Faith-Lift™ with Stanice: The Radio Show; theme song?  The song, Just an Illusion, I co-wrote with my ex-husband, and it’s content? Here’s the 60-second promo as recorded on my radio equipment in my dining room make-shift studio in the quiet wee hours of this morning:

Hello Chosen Ones:

I am Stanice Anderson, host of Faith-Lift with Stanice here on Take12Radio.com.

In recovery for over 20 years.  One day at a time.  I’m an inspirational speaker, author of I Say A Prayer For Me: One Woman’s Life of Faith and Triumph, published by Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books.

And now I have the privilege of being here with you for one-hour on Thursdays!  Transparency, hope, excitement, healing, humor, and life stories are the gifts I bring.

Inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging people through personal testimonies of getting real, prayed-up and empowered to discover and live out God’s plans and purposes is what I do.  Infuse that with topic-related music, seal it with a prayer, and you have the recipe for Faith-Lift with Stanice.  Thursdays on Take12radio.com

My first show will air on Thursday, December 21, 2006.  It’s posted to be available that morning and will run until the next Wednesday evening which a new show is posted to be heard on that Thursday.  To listen go to www.Take12Radio.com It doesn’t pay anything, but it doesn’t cost me anything either.  Other than time… and for me it’s all about ministering in the Name of Jesus…my writing, the speaking, podcasts, radio shows, and whatever else God has in mind.  I just want Him to get as much glory as possible out of my life that He has spared over and over and over and over again.

In the meantime, I move on listening and watching, believing God is ordering my steps to His desired rhythm and places.  And grants such favor with people and institutions.  You just have to be open to listen and follow His lead and sometime He leads with the children.  My son, also suggested that I do a show to help pay the bills.  Oh, I wish it wasn’t so but the Lord knows we got to have money to take care of our living expenses and everything…Cesaer looking for his…

So I listened to my son, believing that God is using him to bless me and to get me where I need to be.  My first major show outside of speaking engagements is scheduled for Saturday, January 20, 2007.  It’s more than a show, it’s a One Woman Experience and I gave it the title that the Lord gave me about two years ago (I just didn’t know what it was for until now) –  The result –

Mike Tucker and Moms Present…

Walkin’ On Water When the Ground Ain’t Enuf: A One Woman Experience
Cada Vez Restaurant
1438 U Street NW, Washington, DC (Historic U St. Corridor), Tickets $20 in advance, more at the door (if seats left)
and available online at www.stanice.com and www.myspace.com/isayaprayerforme

I do hope that you are encouraged.  Just be on your way…God will take care the rest.  Trust him.  Don’t go into it looking for money and fame, if that is your due, God will do it…cause I feel like this if God don’t build the plays, the stories, the podcasts, the radio shows, the house even…the builder builds in vain.  But with Him in it…my my my.  I will tell you this, I ain’t missed no meals, and as I take care of His business, He takes care of mine, my hope is in Him and the best is yet to be.  My latter will be better than my former and I got His Word on that and that’s enough for me.

Nope, not going back to spell check or nothing.  This is what it is.  This is for you, with love and wishes for one of the Most Joyous Christmas you’ve ever experienced.  I’m flying on a trapeze of faith and Jesus is my net.

Stanice Anderson

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Sharon Ewell Foster

ABRAHAM'S WELL by Sharon Ewell Foster (Bethany House Publishers, November 2006)

ABOUT THE BOOK

The time is 1838.

Armentia pointed to a well on the land their Cherokee master owns. "It seems hard to believe now, son, but someday we'll have our own land. Land with a well just like this one…."

Inspired by true events, authentic slave narratives, and other historical accounts, Abraham's Well is the profoundly moving story of the Black Cherokee--African Americans, both slave and free--who, along with native people, walked the Trail of Tears. It is the story of their forced removal from the Southeast to Indian Territory--modern day Oklahoma--and of the courage and faith of one woman as she struggles to overcome her desperate circumstances.

And it is the story of an author who, in researching and writing, found her own way home.

"Foster returns to historical fiction with an evocative tale of the sticky lies and bloody promises of an often untold journey in American history--the trek of the Indian slave on The Trail of Tears. As a Christian, a woman, an African American and one who also has "Indian in her family" this book took me 1000 miles in both my heart and mind. As always, Foster's mastery of setting and language paint a family and a nation that we must never forget. This book will be required reading for all my children and their children after them. It's not to be missed."
--Marilynn Griffith, author of Pink and Made of Honor

"Sharon Ewell Foster merges little known history with fiction to pen another amazing novel with Abraham's Well. In her trademark style – rich language that makes you want to read passages again and again and descriptions that take you back two hundred years – Foster creates an engaging story that not only pulls on every one of your heart strings, but will have you talking out loud to the characters.  Abraham's Well is hard to put down.  Definitely, one of the best reads of the year!"
--Victoria Christopher Murray

HEAR THE INTERVIEW

Listen as Marilynn talks with Sharon Ewell Foster about her groundbreaking new historical novel ABRAHAM'S WELL. The tape cuts off at the end, but this is a good one. Check it out!

BUY THE BOOK

Grown Folks Talking: Me and Victoria, Part 1

Hiya,

Last year I joined a writer's group--the Atlanta Black Christian Writer's Group, which consists of ten devotional divas and a host of writing mentors. One of our mentors, is bestselling author, Victoria Christopher Murray.

This woman, who lives all the way on the west coast(California) takes the time to encourage, give advise, line edit, and offer agent referrals to us wee woman in the South(excuse my Scottish accent. I just watched Dear Frankie.)

On top of that she agreed to let me interview her about her bestselling, watercooler buzz novel, Grown Folks Business.

My two line snippet of the novel: Grown Folks Business is about a wife and mother, who relies on her faith when her husband leaves her for another man.

This interview will consist of Three Parts. Part One below.

Dee:Why the title[Grown Folks Business]?

Victoria: That's a good question, but why not this title? When I write a novel, I try to come up with a title that fits the story. I think with the topic of this book, I couldn't have come up with anything better than Grown Folks Business. Because this is the kind of stuff that we usually send children out of the room when we're discussing.

Dee: Homosexual lifestyle and writing about it in any context is off limits in most CBA fiction. When did God call you to write on this subject? And were you apprehensive at first?

Victoria: I was never apprehensive about writing this novel. I'm not part of the CBA market so there are no restrictions to what I can write. In the mainstream market, there are no writing guidelines. I first got the idea for this book in 2002.

Dee: Some readers think of you as more of a crossover Christian fiction author. Would you agree?

Victoria: I'm not sure I know what you mean by crossover. I hate labels and categories, but if I HAD to classify myself, I am an author who is a Christian. I think being a Christian is not an adjective, it's a verb. So in my walk with Christ, I pray that you can see Him in everything I do. But I just write every ordinary stories...with Christ in the center. Interestingly, I think by saying that I'm a Christian author, takes away from other writers - who are Christian, but who do not necessarily write books with a Christian message. I've had other authors (Brian Egeston, for one) question why I'm called Christian when they are not.

Dee: Wouldn't you agree that people want to read good and real stories over anything else?

Victoria: Yes.

Dee: Do the story's come to you or do you wait on the Holy Spirit to direct you?

Victoria: The Holy Spirit directs every part of my life, everyday. So blessedly, I don't have to sit and wait for the stories. I am so blessed because God has filled me so many stories already. Honestly, I don't know how I will have the time to write them all. But He will make the time.

To be continued...

Davidae 'Dee' Stewart is an editor, book reviewer, speaker and writer. Her works have appeared in Romantic Times, Gospel Today, Romance in Color, Soul Source, Precious Times, and Rejoice! She resides in Suwanee, Georgia with her daughter, Selah and is completing a christian fiction novel.

Tiffany Warren Interview

WP: Word Praize family, please welcome Tiffany Warren, debut author of WHAT A SISTA SHOULD DO by Walk Worthy Press. Welcome Tiffany!

TW: Thank you for having me!

WP:We're glad to have you. Tell us about your book. It's about three friends, correct? Pam, Taylor and Yvonne? Tell us a little about each of them.

TW: Well, Pam has the family and the career, but she really wants her husband to know Christ.  But he's more concerned about getting PAID and he's living that fast life, using marijuana and alcohol.  Taylor is a single mother and her battle is with self-condemnation.  She has repented for her past indiscretions, and the Lord has forgiven her, but she still has not healed.  Yvonne's struggle is with unforgiveness.  She lives with an adulterous husband and sits int the pew every Sunday with his mistress.  She feels that her rage is justified, so her forgiveness is truly a process.

WP: Umph. More faith in money and marijuana than God. You've got me hooked already. And sitting in the pew with your husband's mistress? Now that's more faith than I currently possess! LOL This sounds like a great group of sistahs. How did you come to write about them?

TW:  I knew that I wanted to write a book about the power of prayer, sisterhood  and godly friendships.  I've found that in my life, my sista friends have been so important to me.  When I came to know Christ, my friendships took on the added dimension of prayer partner.  I traded my kickin' it partners for prayer partners. 

WP: Wow. There's always a story behind the story. I know with all the twists this story promises the way it came about had to be just as interesting. You touch on a lot of real subject matter, things that people don't really talk about, like neglecting family for the church or how to deal with unsaved husbands (or saved ones who act like they aren't). What has been the readers' response to the novel?

TW: So far, the response has been overwhelming to me!  Just to hear one woman say that she was blessed by reading my book would've been enough!  It just confirms a lot of things for me because I spent a lot of time in prayer during the writing process.

WP: I can definitely see how women would love to finally see some of the issues facing them in a novel. Everything doesn't always end up (or start out) happily ever after. That's why your first chapter drew me in. I know that you have a message board on your site as well about some of these issues. What kind of conversation are you looking to start there?

TW:  On my message board, I really want to address those issues we deal with everyday be it family, work, marriage, ministry.  Sometimes there are things you're experiencing that you can't tell your friends, because you don't want to be judged by them.  What I really want on my message board are some anointed prayer intercessors!

WP:Right. Well, I'm definitely looking forward to getting through my deadlines and curling up with WHAT A SISTA SHOULD DO. Will their be a sequel or do you have another project in the works?

TW:  My next novel is called FURTHER THAN I WAS MEANT TO GO and it's about a woman of God with self-esteem issues.  She battles with her weight and the thought that she might not ever be married.  Needless to say, the WRONG brotha comes into her life and she disobeys the voice of God and marries him anyway.  Drama, drama and more drama.  Right now, I'm doing the promotion thing.  I'll be in the Washington D.C./Maryland area July 8th and 9th and Atlanta the first week of August for the National Book Club Conference.

WP: All right! Well, we'll be looking forward to many more excellent books from you. I hope everyone will surf over to Tiffany's site at http://www.tiffanylwarren.com and check out her message boards there as well. Her first chapter is available at http://www.walkworthypress.net and the title can be purchased at any local or online bookseller. Until next time, give God all the glory and all the praize . . . Word Praize!

Patricia Bailey Interview

Dr. Patricia Bailey, author of WOMEN RISK TAKERS, talks about her project rescuing Angolan girls from prostitution and perversion. Listen in!


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Dr. Gail Hayes Interview

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Neta Jackson Interview

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Robin Lee Hatcher Interview

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Cheri Paris Edwards Interview

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Ruth Axtell Morren

Chat with romance writer Ruth Axtell Morren, author of Wild Rose. Great thoughts about surrendering writing to God, triumphing over trends and more. Listen in!


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