My Prayer for 2014

Heavenly Father,

I just want to thank you for this day! I want to thank you for walking me up bright and early this morning and starting me on my way. I thank you for your mercy and your grace, though we don't deserve it. You have truly been good to me.

However, on this day I am calling on your holy, precious and mighty name to turn things around in my life and in my family's life for the long-haul! For many many years my family has been divided and has struggled financially and it hurts my heart something terrible. I still keep the faith because you have ALWAYS provided and made a way, but I am asking for you to break the chains and enlarge our territory. My family has always said that when I was born the curse was broken--the curse of poverty, divorce, struggle, teen pregnancy, abuse...and hopefully with that financial trouble. I am about to turn 21 and I feel that though I've accomplished some things, I'm not doing enough.

I ask you to forgive me of my many sins of omission and comission. That you would SHOW me and lead me to exactly what it is I need to do. I do not want to be like a lot of people who make lots of money, but they do it by ripping off other people, for that method will only bring temporary happiness and material wealth, but what does it profit a man to gain the WHOLE WORLD and lose his soul? That is also greed and dishonesty.

This past year I've felt disrespected a lot and I don't like it. Though I am often quiet, and mild tempered, I do not know why that merits people to talk or treat me any kind of way. I feel like I'm walking into a dead end. My non-profit doesn't need humans or fundraisers...It needs your blessings and favor! What is it that I am missing? Please take off my blindfold and reveal to me what I need to do. (I am not and have never been afraid to declare your name, so I know it's not fear that's holding me back!) I've been trying to contact people whom I KNOW could give me invaluable advice and training, but they are either too busy or choose to ignore me. I've tried to get bookings in places where I know a breakthrough would result, but none of them want to take me...it's all about the world's corrupted celebrities :( Because I am feeling this way I know that you are about to open some doors and windows and pour out continuous blessings...not just for me and my family, but so I can continue to give that back! So that people will know that it not the world that did it, but YOU! Have mercy on me Father.

Lord, please hear my cry and do not forsake me!!! I don't know what to do from here. You brought me into this world for a purpose, and I intend to fulfill it, but I need your help, I cannot do it alone. Please silence all other voices and let yours shine through clearly. Please give me comfort and peace, love and direction.

I declare in Jesus' name that 2014 will be DIFFERENT! I will stand firm on your promises, walk by faith and walk with confidence. I will travel to places I've never been, meet amazing people I haven't met, invest, work harder, manage my time more wisely but most importantly remember to give you my praise, worship, reverence and tithes and offerings.

I thank you that though everyone has their own personal beliefs that you didn't just limit your death to one elite group of people. That you did not die saying, they are coming to be with me in the end, but these others are not. ALL HUMAN SIN (sin has no color, race, creed, ethnicity, country or denomination) put you on that cross, and ALL and ANYONE who excepts your gift of salvation through the Father by faith will be saved! I thank you Lord for saving a wrench, gentile like me. I am saved, I am forgiven, I am somebody, and I have the power that you have vested in me the very day I accepted your gift of salvation and the holy spirit! In the book of Matthew, chapter 17 you say, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain MOVE! and it will MOVE!" Praise God! Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!" Anything is possible and so therefore I say mountain of financial struggle MOVE! I declare that the chains of frustration, and dead-ends, and disrespect, stagnation, depression, be broken in 2014! 1 Peter 2:9 says, But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 

I am your special possession Lord. I am your child. Hold my hand and lead me to where you need me to be and if I am where you need me to be help me to have patience and stand still. Remind me that the world's confirmation, is not necessarily YOUR confirmation! I love you, I give you my life, I give you my praise and worship. I LOVE you Lord and I thank you for sacrificing your one and only holy son, for us...that is the ultimate sacrifice. Remember your daughter,

YazzieSpeaks

Look Where He Brought Me From: Sistah Peaches

Ms. Beatrice Haywood, better known as Sistah Peaches, is making moves! She had a concert at the New Beginnings of God Prophecy Church in Lanham, MD last Saturday (June 2013), reflecting over her life and where God has brought her from. She invited two of her close friends to host--Eric "Big Cire" Hines was the opening host and dj of reception and Tonja Palmer, a legendary radio host. Tracy Morgan, a Stellar Awards winning announcer introduced Sistah Peaches.

That night she also debuted her new magazine called The Gospel Revue http://thegospelrevuemagazine.com/ as well as her music video "You Are Worthy," which has amassed nearly 1,000 views on Youtube. The video was taped live on the streets of Chinatown in Washington, DC. And not only did she debut her new projects, but it gets better...she was proposed to by C. Barry Martin! That's right.

At one point during the concert, Sistah Peaches got emotional reflecting on times when she was young and repeatedly had thoughts of suicide, but thankfully she had people in her corner who would comfort her in those times, such as Tracy Morgan. What an emotion-filled day it was, yet it was a glorious celebration! Sistah Peaches even changed outfits after intermission...as we were surely in the presence of royalty. Sistah Peaches is definitely a shining example of Sacrificial Living for Christ! I am so proud of her and I look forward to seeing where the Lord will continue to take her!

Christian Comedian Lexi: She's Crazy, but Truthful

Usually I'm the one to discover new talent via Youtube (lol), but my grandmother discovered this one! And she is a handful!!! Christian comedy is always fun...you get to look, laugh, point and say...that's my Aunt so and so, or yes, that's Grandma Patti! This Youtube and Gospel Singing sensation's name is Lexi. Hopefully you enjoy! Now if you get offended for some reason, you will have to take it up with Lexi, not me, lol. She has some other videos on Youtube. If you need a laugh ever you should check them out.

True Sacrificial Living for Christ Min. Travis Ellis

I met Min. Ellis at a Gospel Benefit Concert for my non-profit ScholarCHIPS. He told me is story and I transcribed it. To hear his story in real life in his own words is amazing, and also to read it is amazing, so I wanted to share! A true man of God, who gave his life over to Christ and is allowing God to use him and his story to empower those around him. 

Min. Travis Kevin “P.T” Ellis was born January 9, 1989 in Southeast Washington, DC.  Min. Ellis is a youth advocate, life-skills and juvenile rehabilitation coach, entrepreneur and Christian Hip-Hop artist. What is even more amazing about this young man than his many talents and service activities is his personal story that led him to where he is today.       

Growing up in the inner city, being raised by a single-mother, Ellis found himself as a troubled youth quickly immersing himself into a life of drugs and crime. By the age of 17, Ellis was diagnosed with a persistent vegetative state (PVS) in which the human brain suffers severe damage to the point of wakeful unconsciousness. He was then referred to a psychiatric ward. Ellis remained in the psychiatric ward for over a year and that is where he met Bishop Dwayne E. Stewart Sr., of The Gospel Truth Life Changing Ministries, who began to minister the Gospel to Ellis in his brain-dead state. Miraculously, when Ellis decided to give his life to Christ, his consciousness returned and from that point on, he never looked back. 

Ellis knew he had a unique story and a responsibility to give back and uplift the youth within his community. Ellis received his ministerial license April 21, 2008 under Bishop Stewart. Min. Ellis specializes in urban outreach, teaching Sunday school classes and Youth and Young Adult Ministry classes. In addition, Min. Ellis teaches classes as an instructor for the non-profit Living Classrooms, an organization founded in 1895 that provides at-risk youth in DC, Maryland and Virginia with hands-on education and job training. 

He also serves as the student development coordinator for the Fresh Start Program, a sub-program under Living Classrooms, that targets youth ages 14-17 who have been involved in the juvenile justice system, providing them with individualized vocational, life-skills, leadership and self-esteem development training.  Ellis is also founder of two robotics teams called Fresh T.E.C.H (stands for Technology, Engineering Carpentry, and Higher-Learning) at Living Classrooms for young men ages 16-19 and is a mentor for the Renaissance Boys Program at Septima Clark Public Charter School in Southeast DC.

 Ellis coaches basketball via the DeLoren Foundation and coaches at numerous recreational centers throughout the DMV area. He is a co-founder of The Hood Proud Foundation, with Franklin Dent and Nicole Rudd, which also provides life coaching, tutoring and mentoring for at-risk inner-city minorities of all ages. Most notably, Min. Ellis is founder of the record label and entertainment company Team G.U.C.C.I. (God Uses Chosen Children as Instruments) Entertainment LLC (2013), a mission he began in 2008 to spread the Gospel through various forms of entertainment (i.e. stageplays, liturgical/hip-hop dance, and Christian rap).  G.U.C.C.I. Ent. LLC travels to various churches and community venues all over the country in states such as Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, North Carolina, Atlanta, Florida, California and Texas. Ellis received his Bachelor of Science from WestWood College in 2010. Ellis is married to India Shonté Ellis and they are the parents of a three-year-old son named Josiah Travis Ellis.

Dog Praying, The Cutest Thing Ever

Goals for 2013

As January of 2013 comes to a close, think about all the things God has done for you in 2012, and don't forget to praise Him in the good times and the tough times. Write down your goals for the year and how you are going to work towards those goals. Take them to God in prayer and make sure they are in His will for you to have. The Lord does not always answer right away with a big booming yes, but walk in faith and know that it will come in due season :)

YOU ARE Destined For Promotion

Just got finished reading a book by Pastor Sir Walter Mack Jr. entitled, Destined for Promotion. As Christians, we ought to know and believe this to be true because the Lord tells us this in Jeremiah 29: 11, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Pastor Mack Jr.'s book starts out informing us that all of us are in line for a "promotion" from God, and that all of us are always constantly seeking for God to reveal Himself to us in new ways. However, in order for us to receive the promotion, our desires must line up with God's desires. Pastor Mack goes on further to say that as there are forecasting tools to predetermine the weather, there are also signs that Christians can look out for to help reveal to us that a promotion is on the way. Now understand that a promotion can come in a variety of ways...it can come financially obviously, but also spiritually and emotionally, and sometimes it can come in a way of us losing something or someone and feeling like we are actually making a step back.

Some of the chapters that stood out for me were, You Are Destined For Promotion When: God Begins to Do New Things in You, When Your Character is Corrected, and When You Learn How to Handle Betrayal and Rejection. What, you thought I was going to clue you in on ALL the chapter topics? Well, you'll have to read it for yourself, but I want you to know that God wants to bless us, but sometimes our habits (we are unwilling to let go) and lifestyles get in the way. We must praise him in advance and also learn to worship Him because of who he is! Depression is real and it's a target the enemy often uses to make us feel defeated, useless, and sometimes even guilty. Seeking God's face and his help are the only ways to seek deliverance from our own selves and demonic spirits such as depression.
If these truths still don't encourage you to believe that you are destined for promotion, the Lord tells us in Philippians 4:19 "And my God will meet ALL of your needs according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ." My next step is to revisit the book "A Purpose-Driven Life." I read the entire book when I was about in jr high school, and it inspired me and humbled me sprit then for Kingdom building, so as a college student, I would like to find out the new revelations God allows me to have now! I highly encourage reading Christian help books written by people of God, for people of God (if the Lord touches you to read them)...now this does not substitute for reading the Holy Bible itself, but as a babe in Christ, I find that these books often help me to apply scriptures and help me to keep things in perspective as I try to live in God's perfect plan for me, while still having to survive in the secular world. If you feel moved, I welcome you to share at the bottom of this post ways in which you feel God is revealing to you that you are about to walk into a promotion, or a time in which you look back upon and realize that God was preparing you for a promotion. God bless you!