In addition to books that you can relate to, I would like to introduce you to real people who look like you and go through what you do, but they are walking with a faith in God that is second to none. Read their stories and know that God loves us all and through our faith and testimonies, we are strengthened and are reminded, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Philippians 3:13)
Dear Lord, Today help me lose 5lbs....1pound of stress, 1 pound of doubt, 1pound of pain, 1pound of debt & 1 pound of regret! ~ Pastor Jamal Bryant
Overcoming drugs and alcohol is a huge feat. More often than less, anyone who comes in contact with these vices, immediately fall victim to its power. They lose themselves and become, what is labeled as an Alkie, Drunk, Crackhead or Hype. None of which are terms of endearment. These labels are often given by non-drug and alcohol users who look down on these people as if they are beneath them because of their habit. There are two different types of them. They are labeled as functioning and of course addicts. Those that are functioning, have these terrible habits, but are able to support themselves and conceal this from the world’s scrutiny. These people, strong enough to tame these vices, are able to continue to work to support themselves and their cravings, without having to let the world in on their secret. In my opinion, these people are handling their business as an adult and are not seen as a threat to the community or anyone else. They are your typical adults with a past time who choose to make a decision that may not be right or legal, but is not hurting anyone else.
On the other hand, the more extreme and popular of the two are stretched out and are hurting themselves and their families. They cannot get or hold a job, even if they could pass the drug test. They will do anything to anyone in an attempt to regain that initial high that they first felt, when they were introduced to it. They walk around in a trance, motivated only by the first high that they chase religiously. Their appearance screams the loss of their ability to care about hygiene or their surroundings. All relationships from their normal lives have been severed, for there is no loyalty amongst them, when you stand between them and their high. Many are lost in this satanic world, but few make it out and live to tell the story…
My friend Kenny Emmanuel Sr. shared his story with me. He told me how as a youth, in the South, his mother had given him and his siblings liquor in hopes that they would become so sick from it, that they would never forget about its horrific taste and aftermath, so when they became of age, they would not dare touch it. This did in fact work. Just not on Kenny. It worked on both his brother and sister successfully. Kenny on the other hand, enjoyed the taste of it, as it did the electric slide down his throat. He was so impressed by it, that he would go back for more. When he returned for more, he incorporated cigarettes into his diet as well. Now that the party had started, when a band member in his freshman year was kind enough to share his marijuana joint with him, he felt comfortable accepting it. He was never known to be an ungrateful man. He gladly added this “weed” to his list of things to do. In his later years, now in the early 1970’s, he had joined the military, where “acid-trips”, “speed” and “hash smoking” became just another notch under his belt. As most other military men did, he came out as a capable asset to the world. He learned roofing, carpentry and electrical wiring in his travels and exposure. He was the man with the golden hands. Those golden hands could set fire to all that they touched. So, with those capabilities, also came the money. It flowed freely.
Eventually, he went out as a freelance roofer. He recalls paying a friend to aid him on completing a job and offered to drop him off at home after handsomely compensating him for his contributions. Before arriving at their destination, this friend suggested a stop. Kenny, a military man and a friend first, had no problem with this request. In view of the fact, that Kenny rarely left the house without his 9mm gun. At the stop, the friend asked the doorman for “quarter bag”, while Kenny looked on. Kenny, looking forward to unwinding after a long day’s work, decided also to make an investment in this nice gentleman’s product. The doorman excused himself and came back with his keys to unlock the bars and allow them entry. Once inside the nice place, it was plain that they had interrupted him, while he was in the middle of a phone call as he weighed and packaged his product. While on pause, the nice man, decided to share with them some of the good stuff. He did something with the pile he had on the mirror, then he put it in this glass pipe for them to smoke and share….Like before with the liquor dancing down his throat, he enjoyed the smoke that took over his lungs!
This time Kenny did not just smoke it, but he perfected it. He dated it and courted it, until he learned its secrets. Soon he had become the master chef. He was cooking it for all to enjoy. They came from far and wide with their coke for Chef Kenny to cook. Kenny was in seventh heaven! Everyone knows the cook eats first! Always got his off the top- first. He supplied the girl (Coke) and the boy (Heroine), as it was affectionately called on the streets.
Kenny knew that this was not his world. He unlike the others could see himself becoming lost in it. He also knew that it was not as easy to get out as it was to get in. Many times, he said that he was out and walked away from it, just as many times as he would come back to it. Kenny came to the realization, that he needed help. He HAD to get out and could not do it on his own. He prayed and prayed for deliverance. God did not come when Kenny wanted him to. Kenny was caught up in this world for 19 years. God came when Kenny needed him. He touched his heart and overnight, Kenny found the strength to leave that world, cold turkey never to return. No 12-step program or group intervention. Only God was the answer and the key! As a test, 9 months later, he was offered a taste and found out it did not taste good. It was bad. In fact, it left a nasty residue.
Today, Kenny is known as Minister Kenneth Emmanuel Sr. Today, if he sees any drugs, he disposes them before another falls into its clutches. Minister Kenneth Emmanuel Sr. is a successful radio show host with a large racially diverse radio show on www.freedomizerradio.com and www.Sounddoctrinecm.org. His Sabbath show can be heard weekly @ 2pm-4pm cst on both Saturdays and Tuesdays and 12:30=2pm cst on Sundays. Tune in and allow your ears to enjoy one of God’s miracles! And enjoy the message while you are there! "There ain't no secret what God can do." The Minister wishes us all peace and blessings to our homes!
On the other hand, the more extreme and popular of the two are stretched out and are hurting themselves and their families. They cannot get or hold a job, even if they could pass the drug test. They will do anything to anyone in an attempt to regain that initial high that they first felt, when they were introduced to it. They walk around in a trance, motivated only by the first high that they chase religiously. Their appearance screams the loss of their ability to care about hygiene or their surroundings. All relationships from their normal lives have been severed, for there is no loyalty amongst them, when you stand between them and their high. Many are lost in this satanic world, but few make it out and live to tell the story…
My friend Kenny Emmanuel Sr. shared his story with me. He told me how as a youth, in the South, his mother had given him and his siblings liquor in hopes that they would become so sick from it, that they would never forget about its horrific taste and aftermath, so when they became of age, they would not dare touch it. This did in fact work. Just not on Kenny. It worked on both his brother and sister successfully. Kenny on the other hand, enjoyed the taste of it, as it did the electric slide down his throat. He was so impressed by it, that he would go back for more. When he returned for more, he incorporated cigarettes into his diet as well. Now that the party had started, when a band member in his freshman year was kind enough to share his marijuana joint with him, he felt comfortable accepting it. He was never known to be an ungrateful man. He gladly added this “weed” to his list of things to do. In his later years, now in the early 1970’s, he had joined the military, where “acid-trips”, “speed” and “hash smoking” became just another notch under his belt. As most other military men did, he came out as a capable asset to the world. He learned roofing, carpentry and electrical wiring in his travels and exposure. He was the man with the golden hands. Those golden hands could set fire to all that they touched. So, with those capabilities, also came the money. It flowed freely.
Eventually, he went out as a freelance roofer. He recalls paying a friend to aid him on completing a job and offered to drop him off at home after handsomely compensating him for his contributions. Before arriving at their destination, this friend suggested a stop. Kenny, a military man and a friend first, had no problem with this request. In view of the fact, that Kenny rarely left the house without his 9mm gun. At the stop, the friend asked the doorman for “quarter bag”, while Kenny looked on. Kenny, looking forward to unwinding after a long day’s work, decided also to make an investment in this nice gentleman’s product. The doorman excused himself and came back with his keys to unlock the bars and allow them entry. Once inside the nice place, it was plain that they had interrupted him, while he was in the middle of a phone call as he weighed and packaged his product. While on pause, the nice man, decided to share with them some of the good stuff. He did something with the pile he had on the mirror, then he put it in this glass pipe for them to smoke and share….Like before with the liquor dancing down his throat, he enjoyed the smoke that took over his lungs!
This time Kenny did not just smoke it, but he perfected it. He dated it and courted it, until he learned its secrets. Soon he had become the master chef. He was cooking it for all to enjoy. They came from far and wide with their coke for Chef Kenny to cook. Kenny was in seventh heaven! Everyone knows the cook eats first! Always got his off the top- first. He supplied the girl (Coke) and the boy (Heroine), as it was affectionately called on the streets.
Kenny knew that this was not his world. He unlike the others could see himself becoming lost in it. He also knew that it was not as easy to get out as it was to get in. Many times, he said that he was out and walked away from it, just as many times as he would come back to it. Kenny came to the realization, that he needed help. He HAD to get out and could not do it on his own. He prayed and prayed for deliverance. God did not come when Kenny wanted him to. Kenny was caught up in this world for 19 years. God came when Kenny needed him. He touched his heart and overnight, Kenny found the strength to leave that world, cold turkey never to return. No 12-step program or group intervention. Only God was the answer and the key! As a test, 9 months later, he was offered a taste and found out it did not taste good. It was bad. In fact, it left a nasty residue.
Today, Kenny is known as Minister Kenneth Emmanuel Sr. Today, if he sees any drugs, he disposes them before another falls into its clutches. Minister Kenneth Emmanuel Sr. is a successful radio show host with a large racially diverse radio show on www.freedomizerradio.com and www.Sounddoctrinecm.org. His Sabbath show can be heard weekly @ 2pm-4pm cst on both Saturdays and Tuesdays and 12:30=2pm cst on Sundays. Tune in and allow your ears to enjoy one of God’s miracles! And enjoy the message while you are there! "There ain't no secret what God can do." The Minister wishes us all peace and blessings to our homes!
MEET GERRARD B. LAIDLER
LIFE & FAVOR One day I got in my car as usual. I dropped my girlfriend off to work, but never would I have imagined not returning home. I drove out of town to pick up a package and shortly returned to do my dirt as usual. I was heavy in the drug trade and I made up my mind this day to collect as many "Bands" as possible.
On my way home I stopped by a familiar drug spot and picked up a guy to make a quick transaction. We hit the block and to my surprise I observed a guy who had violated me a few mouths prior. We made eye contact as I slammed on brakes to jump out the car. I had it out for him and today we would settle our beef like men (I thought).
As I approached him I observed him reach into his waist and in one seemingly quick gesture he had a gun pointed straight at my head. Startled and a bit surprised, I stood paralyzed as he said "Jigalo, (my street name at the time) I am not gonna fight you!"
Before he could finish speaking, I felt my head kick backwards as if someone had hit me in my face with a baseball bat. He had shot me at point-blank-range in my face. The excruciating pain from the bullet that went into my mouth, which knocked out 4 of my teeth as it exited out of the back of my neck, was indescribable.
As I mustered up the strength to run back to my car to save my life, I knew my death was imminent. I would die a bloody death in the streets like many homies who were in the same dope game as me had already died. But LIFE & FAVOR!
I drove myself to the hospital and eventually collapsed in the ICU. After immediate surgery to close the hole in my neck from the bullet wound, police & DEA agents were standing over my hospital bed inquiring about drugs. There was noway I was saying a word. As far I was concerned, the drugs belonged to the nurse who searched my belongings looking for ID to no avail.
In the meantime, I was arrested the next day from the hospital for drug trafficking. My 10 year drug run, sometimes amassing profits of $10,000 in a week, had come to an abrupt halt.
A federal judge put me away and I suffered in prison for 11 years, 1 month, & 10 days straight. Men were falling dead and falling in love with each other all around me. But during that time, the girlfriend who I dropped off at work the morning that I was shot in cold blood, gave birth to my son. He grew up without his dad like 24,000,000 children living in single family homes do today in the US. But LIFE & FAVOR!
I was released from prison where I found Jesus Christ one day while on my knees in tears in my jail block. He made a man out of me through my suffering and my life has never been the same. Prison did not change me, but Jesus did.
On June 6, 2013, my son who was born while I was on lockdown, celebrated his 13th birthday. But thanks be to God, although I missed the first 12, we celebrated this one together.
I know I could have been dead and gone...But LIFE & FAVOR! I have other kids as well. And bit by bit our lives are being restored. I thank God for the opportunity to be a father in this crucial era where a father-figure is very encouraging and important. There is no reason on my part to still be here, but I humbly know that it is All LIFE & FAVOR from God!
***In life we all make some bad choices, but don't ever allow your history to decide your destiny. It is not how well you start, it is how well you finish. God can turn any tragedy into a triumph. If you believe hope is possible even when all seems hopeless type "Yes" or "Amen". If the devil has more power than God keep strolling...
On my way home I stopped by a familiar drug spot and picked up a guy to make a quick transaction. We hit the block and to my surprise I observed a guy who had violated me a few mouths prior. We made eye contact as I slammed on brakes to jump out the car. I had it out for him and today we would settle our beef like men (I thought).
As I approached him I observed him reach into his waist and in one seemingly quick gesture he had a gun pointed straight at my head. Startled and a bit surprised, I stood paralyzed as he said "Jigalo, (my street name at the time) I am not gonna fight you!"
Before he could finish speaking, I felt my head kick backwards as if someone had hit me in my face with a baseball bat. He had shot me at point-blank-range in my face. The excruciating pain from the bullet that went into my mouth, which knocked out 4 of my teeth as it exited out of the back of my neck, was indescribable.
As I mustered up the strength to run back to my car to save my life, I knew my death was imminent. I would die a bloody death in the streets like many homies who were in the same dope game as me had already died. But LIFE & FAVOR!
I drove myself to the hospital and eventually collapsed in the ICU. After immediate surgery to close the hole in my neck from the bullet wound, police & DEA agents were standing over my hospital bed inquiring about drugs. There was noway I was saying a word. As far I was concerned, the drugs belonged to the nurse who searched my belongings looking for ID to no avail.
In the meantime, I was arrested the next day from the hospital for drug trafficking. My 10 year drug run, sometimes amassing profits of $10,000 in a week, had come to an abrupt halt.
A federal judge put me away and I suffered in prison for 11 years, 1 month, & 10 days straight. Men were falling dead and falling in love with each other all around me. But during that time, the girlfriend who I dropped off at work the morning that I was shot in cold blood, gave birth to my son. He grew up without his dad like 24,000,000 children living in single family homes do today in the US. But LIFE & FAVOR!
I was released from prison where I found Jesus Christ one day while on my knees in tears in my jail block. He made a man out of me through my suffering and my life has never been the same. Prison did not change me, but Jesus did.
On June 6, 2013, my son who was born while I was on lockdown, celebrated his 13th birthday. But thanks be to God, although I missed the first 12, we celebrated this one together.
I know I could have been dead and gone...But LIFE & FAVOR! I have other kids as well. And bit by bit our lives are being restored. I thank God for the opportunity to be a father in this crucial era where a father-figure is very encouraging and important. There is no reason on my part to still be here, but I humbly know that it is All LIFE & FAVOR from God!
***In life we all make some bad choices, but don't ever allow your history to decide your destiny. It is not how well you start, it is how well you finish. God can turn any tragedy into a triumph. If you believe hope is possible even when all seems hopeless type "Yes" or "Amen". If the devil has more power than God keep strolling...
MEET DARRIN E. LOWERY
Seven years ago in March, I was told after suffering from a massive pulmonary embolism that chances were very high that I would be dead within several years due to another PE. When I had the first one I had 13 blood clots in my back, one in each leg and two massive ones on each lung. Part of my lung was removed. I have a filter in my main artery and I am on blood thinners for life as well as b-12 shots for life, I get CT scans every month, INR every month for life and this is after two weeks in a coma, 42 days in intensive care, learning to walk again, talk again, physical therapy etc., (my friends know this story and many were there). I went back for my masters which the doctors said was admirable, but unrealistic. I was told to collect disability and I work a full time job (and a stressful job at that). I was told to travel and enjoy myself because chances were that the odds were against my making it to 40. TODAY IS MY 45TH BIRTHDAY, And I'm still here! The credit goes to God of course, but I am reminded of how bad I am each doctor visit. I counter that with how blessed I am. So for friends, colleagues and others who wonder why I get upset about people squandering there time, calling off work or complaining about health issues, it's because EACH DAY IS A BLESSING. We each have a designated amount of time. Don't waste it. To my readers, I love you. You along with faith keep me going along with the prayers of my friends. Love you all!
MEET MEL... (as of 11/9/13 she has lost 119lbs!)
