What You Thought Was Dead Can Now Come Back to LIFE on EASTER!!!

Hello World,

Happy Easter or Happy Resurrection Day! However you choose to refer to this day, this is the day that Christians the world over celebrate the most important day in our faith! Today we celebrate that while death is a powerful foe indeed, the power of death could not and cannot compare to the indestructible power of the Lord Jesus Christ! HE IS RISEN! We no longer have to live in sin, be ruled by destructive habits and or addictions or walk through this earth alone! We have a savior and a friend in Jesus Christ! Like the Baptists, I’ve got a reason to shout! Like the Pentecostals, I’ve got a reason to get my dance on! Like the Methodists, I’ve got a reason to be in silent awe! And then do it all over again! JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! Please find yourself in somebody’s church today because the Lord has a blessing for you, and you don’t want to miss it!

And speaking of blessings, I was reading the resurrection story in Matthew 27, and I read some verses that I don’t recall reading before…Do you know that Jesus was not the only one that God rose from the dead? According to Matthew 27:51-53, “51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.” Many theologians have differing opinions of what this miraculous occurrence meant, and it is not mentioned if these people remained on Earth or ascended with Jesus back to heaven.

As a lay person or a regular ole Christian or maybe even as a writer, these verses are further evidence that the death and resurrection of Jesus is not just about spiritual good that is just good for Heaven, it is also a good that makes sense right here on Earth! What do I mean? Using my sanctified storyteller imagination, I imagine that one of the dead was a mother who had passed away while giving birth to a son who had never known his mother except through the stories of family and friends. On the day that Jesus rose, this child was able to meet his mother for the first time! I can also imagine that one of those dead was a beloved husband of an elderly widow that had not seen him in decades unless she dreamed about him at night. Can you imagine how elated she was when he came to her during the day? Or what about the young woman that died suddenly after a brief and mysterious illness leaving her family and friends to question why God allowed this tragedy to happen? I imagined that they wept after she confirmed that even death could not keep her from the ones she loved! I’m sure this day of resurrection was a day of overflowing joy!

So what does this mean for us today? First of all and most importantly, we have a risen savior that promises to give us eternal life with Him in heaven. And while we are here on Earth, Jesus can break the chains of sin, sickness, addiction and destructive habits and give us joy and peace that sustains us through everything! AND he can bring back to life what we thought was dead…Maybe you dreamed of launching a business but you no longer have the financial backing to get it going. Don’t worry. Just pray! He can bring this dream back to life. Maybe you’ve been set back by setback after setback. God can restore your life! Maybe you are still grieving the death of a loved one years later and have been unable to really move on, God can show you how to live and not die!

What you thought was dead can now come back to life…

Any thoughts?

From Executive Producers Bishop T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams & Shaun Robinson, Lifetime Presents ‘Pride,’ the Next Title in Its ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ Movie Anthology THIS SATURDAY, April 8!

Hello World,

Following the immensely popular Seven Deadly Sins movies —Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed—Lifetime continues the anthology with a new sin and new movie, Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story. Executive produced by Bishop T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams and Shaun Robinson, and inspired by actual events, the movie centers on the story of a famous bakery owner and reality TV star Birdie Moore (Grammy-Award winner, Stephanie Mills) whose past secrets threaten the enormous success she has achieved. Joining Mills are costars Thomas “Nephew Tommy” Miles as Birdie’s son, Gabe Moore; Keeya King as her granddaughter, Ella Boudreaux; and Grammy-Award winner Erica Campbell as Pastor Trey. Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story premieres on Saturday, April 8 at 8/7c. The prior Seven Deadly Sins Lifetime original movies – Lust, Envy, Wrath and Greed – attracted close to 7 million total viewers in 2022!

Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story tells the story of reality TV star Birdie Moore (Stephanie Mills), whose carefully constructed world starts to crumble — like the baked goods that catapulted her to fame — when her family secrets are brought to light. To salvage her legacy, Birdie must let go of the pride that estranged her from her daughter. Birdie’s pride also prevents her from seeing that her son Gabe Moore (Thomas Miles) is actually a thieving opportunist and that her granddaughter Ella Boudreaux (Keeya King) is just a lost twenty-something trying to build up her life after some missteps. While pride helped drive Birdie’s success, it also made her blind to what was happening around her. Will Birdie finally be able to see and admit the truth, or face the consequences of her pride?

See the official trailer below!

Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story is produced by Neshama Entertainment, T.D. Jakes Enterprises, DNA Media Group and RobinHood Productions in association with MarVista Entertainment. Bishop T.D. Jakes, Derrick Williams, and Shaun Robinson serve as executive producers along with Larry Grimaldi, Hannah Pillemer and Fernando Szew for MarVista Entertainment, and Arnie Zipursky and Suzanne Berger for Neshama. Pride is directed by Troy Scott from a script written by Felicia Brooker. Award-winning composer and music director, Ray Chew, is the movie’s composer.

Below are a few photos from Shaun’s Facebook page:

Shaun and Stephanie

Shaun, Keeya & Victoria

Shaun and Nephew Tommy

In addition to Stephanie Mills, Thomas Miles and Keeya King, the movie also stars Lucia Walters (Virgin River) as Shanice; and Jaime M. Callica (Ruthless) as Khalil.

The Seven Deadly Sins movie anthology is inspired by novels from author Victoria Christopher Murray, who is a consulting producer on Pride. Additionally, Pride, the novel, was released yesterday!

Any thoughts?

Judy Blume’s Novel ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.’ is Coming to Movie Theaters!

Rachel McAdams as Barbara Dimon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley

Hello World,

I’M SOOO EXCITED! One of my FAVORITE novels as a child is now being made into a film! See below…

For over fifty years, Judy Blume’s classic and groundbreaking novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. has impacted generations with its timeless coming of age story, insightful humor, and candid exploration of life’s biggest questions. In Lionsgate’s big-screen adaptation, 11-year-old Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) is uprooted from her life in New York City for the suburbs of New Jersey, going through the messy and tumultuous throes of puberty with new friends in a new school. She relies on her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), who is also struggling to adjust to life outside the big city, and her adoring grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates), who isn’t happy they moved away and likes to remind them every chance she gets.

Kathy Bates as Sylvia Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Photo Credit: Dana Hawley

The film also stars Benny Safdie (Licorice Pizza, Good Time) and is written for the screen and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen), based on the book by Judy Blume, and produced by Gracie Films’ Academy Award® winner James L. Brooks (Best Picture, 1983 – Terms of Endearment), alongside Julie Ansell, Richard Sakai, Kelly Fremon Craig, Judy Blume, Amy Lorraine Brooks, Aldric La’auli Porter, and executive produced by Jonathan McCoy. Lionsgate presents, a Gracie Films production. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is slated to be in movie theaters only on April 28!

This is my favorite line from the book:

I haven’t been inside of a movie theater since the pandemic, but this movie (and I love Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates) is worth going back to the theater! Have you been back yet?

Any thoughts?