I first heard of this story a couple of weeks ago, but as I was preparing to go out of town, I didn’t have the time to break this story down like I wanted to on this blog so I thought I would wait so I can get all up in it…
Some weeks ago, a wicked man snatched then nine-year-old Willie Myrick from his southwest Atlanta driveway into his car, according to police. The man drove the boy, who was in the back seat, around throughout Atlanta’s streets for several hours. Instead of panicking, the boy sang “Every Praise” the whole time until the man finally released him in East Point! Yes, the boy lived to tell his story and to help him celebrate his 10th birthday, gospel artist Hezekiah Walker, who wrote the song, flew from New York to Atlanta to meet the boy who used his song to help him get released from the kidnapper! They met at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (just down the street from my church) where Willie told the crowd his testimony! As we love to say now, won’t He do it?!!!
There are some who would chalk this story up to happenstance or a mere case of luck, but I know that Willie’s praise got him released!!! In fact, we can see several examples of the power of praise in God’s word! The most awesome example that I know is when Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison. Instead of tending to their wounds or falling into despair, they praised God right there in their cells! What happened next should make all prisoners, either figuratively or literally, start clearing their throats and brushing up on Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do to belt out a praise song…
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. Acts 16:26
I have a story about the power of praise in my own life…While my story is not as dramatic as the stories of Willie and Paul & Silas, I can testify too…Right after I graduated from college, I was unable to get a full-time job in my field so I got a job at a law firm. I figured that having a paycheck was better than incessantly job hunting for the perfect job…But every day on my lunch break, I did go to the nearby Kinko’s to use the computer and fax résumés. This was back in ’97 y’all…
Working at that law firm made me feel like I was in prison. I enjoyed working with the people, but the job itself was as boring as sitting in the class of the driest college professor you’ve ever had. Except going to college wasn’t even necessary for this job and every second I spent there made me feel like all like all of the brain cells that I had strengthened by four years at University of Georgia evaporated each time I showed up. In fact, one morning, after just being at work for a few minutes, my boss sent me home because I couldn’t stop crying. I don’t even remember when I started crying. I was just sitting at my desk and all of a sudden, it seemed, I was heaving and my nose was red. I just couldn’t fathom that a scoring a reasonably high score on the English portion of the SAT, skipping freshman English, cultivating a high GPA and completing four internships prepared me to be a file clerk…Yes, my entire job was to keep track of files. Manilla folders and paper cuts became like second nature to me…
Within a few months of working there, I started to meet or meat with a bucket of KFC original recipe chicken and biscuits on a weekly basis to express my feelings. And I told everyone who asked me how I was doing that I hated my job! And I saw no way out of my prison because no other employer wanted to hire me..Finally, my uncle, who is a pastor, threw a life preserver to me to keep me from drowning…He said to simply stop bad-mouthing the job and speak positively about the job no matter what…He told me this verse…
The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21
So because of that conversation, I began speaking positively about my job even though I still felt like I was showing up to have my nails plucked from one fingers one by one or have cold water dripped on my head a drop at a time…Within two months of that conversation, I got a job at gospel record company where I worked with Larry Tinsley, radio host of “Sunday Morning Praise” on V-103 and just a nice man…In fact, Tinsley, who seems to know everybody gospel singer, interviewed Hezekiah Walker about God using him to write that powerful song…
What we need to realize is that God is in everything and nothing happens to us without His permission! And once we demonstrate that we know that God is sovereign and working it out by our praise, I believe that God will release His power in our lives…
Thank you Willie for your testimony…It is a real-life example of Psalm 8:2…
Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
So what is your favorite praise song? My favorite praise song is Yolanda Adam’s song “The Battle is Not Yours.” God used this song to help me go through….
Any thoughts?
Below is a video in which Willie Myrick and Hezekiah Walker are interviewed by my Soror Blayne Alexander of 11AliveNews…
(Editor’s Note: I originally wrote this post in 2011, but I decided to post this blog entry again as the message is still relevant.)
Hello World,
Guess what? In a week’s time, this year will be half over… So if at this point, you realized that some of your New Year’s resolutions and or goals have gotten lost in the shuffle of life, it time’s to renew your commitment to realizing your resolutions, goals and or dreams for 2012.
Thankfully, I have completed one big goal for 2012 (the publication of my book 🙂 ), but I still have plenty more that I’m trying to accomplish before the year is over. And I know, through Christ, all things are possible! So move, get out my way, because I’m coming…
If you are experiencing some inertia as you contemplate your resolutions, goals and or dreams for this year, I have swiped some helpful tips for achieving them from Dr. Phil’s website!
Seven Steps to Reaching Your Goals
Successfully executing any personal strategic plan for change requires that as you develop your plan,you effectively incorporate these seven steps for attaining each and every goal.
1. Express your goal in terms of specific events or behaviors. For a dream to become a goal, it has to be specifically defined in terms of operations, meaning what will be done. When a goal is broken down into steps, it can be managed and pursued much more directly. “Being happy,” for example, is neither an event nor a behavior. When you set out to identify a goal, define what you want in clear and specific terms.
2. Express your goal in terms that can be measured. How else will you be able to determine your level of progress, or even know when you have successfully arrived where you wanted to be? For instance, how much money do you aspire to make?
3. Assign a timeline to your goal.
Once you have determined precisely what it is you want, you must decide on a time frame for having it. The deadline you’ve created fosters a sense of urgency or purpose, which in turn will serve as an important motivator, and prevent inertia or procrastination.
4. Choose a goal you can control.
Unlike dreams, which allow you to fantasize about events over which you have no control, goals have to do with aspects of your existence that you control and can therefore manipulate. In identifying your goal, strive for what you can create, not for what you can’t.
5. Plan and program a strategy that will get you to your goal.
Pursuing a goal seriously requires that you realistically assess the obstacles and resources involved, and that you create a strategy for navigating that reality. Willpower is unreliable, fickle fuel because it is based on your emotions. Your environment, your schedule and your accountability must be programmed in such a way that all three support you — long after an emotional high is gone. Life is full of temptations and opportunities to fail. Those temptations and opportunities compete with your more constructive and task-oriented behavior. Without programming, you will find it much harder to stay the course.
6. Define your goal in terms of steps.
Major life changes don’t just happen; they happen one step at a time. Steady progress, through well-chosen, realistic, interval steps, produces results in the end. Know what those steps are before you set out.
7. Create accountability for your progress toward your goal.
Without accountability, people are apt to con themselves. If you know precisely what you want, when you want it — and there are real consequences for not doing the assigned work — you are much more likely to continue in your pursuit of your goal. Find someone in your circle of family or friends to whom you can be accountable. Make periodic reports on your progress.
Any thoughts?
P.S. I know I have posted this Yolanda Adams song before, it always inspires me when I’m dreaming big…
I had planned to post my review of the film “Surrendered – The Story of Jay Harding” today, but as any journalist knows, breaking news happens! I was given the opportunity to interview actor, director and producer Kim Fields (aka Tootie from “Facts of Life” for my ’70s babies or Regine from “Living Single” for my ’80s babies) about her television Christmas special “Holiday Love.” She, along with her husband, Christopher Morgan, executive produced and directed the Christmas special.
The two-hour program originally aired on TV One last December but will be broadcast again on Sunday (Christmas) at 7 a.m. EST. (Please check your local listings for encore presentations.) Invited celebrity guests are: gospel sensation Marvin Sapp, comedian Ricky Smiley, chart-topping gospel artist Brian Courtney Wilson, Dove and Stellar winner Tye Tribbett, Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Yolanda Adams, jazz saxophonist Gerald Albright, nationally-known spoken word artist Karen Briggs, R&B sensation Kenny Lattimore, gospel workout guru Donna Richardson Joyner, Grammy Award-winning gospel artist Smokie Norful and others!
Set in a cozy, luxurious traditional home, the special will feature visits from today’s hottest stars in hilarious vignettes, heart-warming songs and glorious holiday fun. Kim Fields, an entertainment industry veteran who is a now a producer and lead director of Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” and “House of Payne,” has an impressive roster of celebrity friends who can’t wait to stop by the Holiday House to spread a little holiday cheer – singing songs, cooking, playing games, laughing and of course loving the way only family can. The show is reminiscent of “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Flip Wilson,” and “Laugh-In!” And she is hoping “Holiday Love” becomes a Christmas classic!
See my Q&A with Kim Fields below!!!
1. How did you get the idea for “Holiday Love?”
Well, last year, I had wanted to do a Christmas special, and I think it just kind of was literally dropped in my spirit. I was working with such wonderful crew out here in Atlanta, and being out here where you have 24-hour gospel, you have access to great music, and we just have so many friends in the industry. And it just started snowballing from there. The people that said yes immediately. Not wanting to do just a concert or a string of performances, but something that the artists would have fun doing and that audiences would enjoy seeing their favorite artists not in their regular light. Growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, I remember all the great Christmas specials – like Carol Burnett or Bob Hope, Sonny& Cher and wanting to do something like that.
2. What is your favorite segment in “Holiday Love” and why?
Oh my goodness. There are so many quite honestly. I think, from a worship standpoint, I really love the Christmas carol segment between Yolanda Adams, Wess Morgan, Bryan Courtney Wilson and Kenny Lattimore. Every time I’ve seen the special, hundreds of times in editing and then just watching the special, that brings me to tears in absolute worship. And that’s something, while it’s great to have all of these other elements, the laughter, great music and even messages of love and all sorts of things, you have to worship in this season and heighten that worship in this season. I believe you should worship all of the time, but in this season for us, it is heightened. I was thrilled and grateful that God allowed us to have those moments as well. And by the time Kenny gets to the end of “O Come Let Us Adore Him,” I’m always in tears.
My other favorite moment was working with my sister (Alexis Fields) via Skype in the piano store as she and I are stalking Smokie Norful. I’m in the piano store to rent a piano for the Christmas party. I see him in there, and I recognize him, and I call my sister who is in California. She doesn’t believe me so I get my computer, and I Skype her so that we can look for Smokie Norful in the piano store. And He ends up sneaking up on me. It’s really my tribute to all of the great Lucy and Ethel moments of “I Love Lucy” and all of the great “Laverne & Shirley” moments.
There is something for every one – for every kind of music lover from jazz to ballads, to R&B, to gospel. There is certainly lots of funny stuff with Ricky Smiley and myself. There is a wonderful tap number from a Broadway star. Tye Tribbett does a great rendition of “Little Drummer Boy” with my son Sebastian and two other little boys that’s a lot of fun. The idea of families being together on Christmas morning watching this, it makes my spirit leap!
3. Obviously, “Holiday Love” demonstrates your faith in Jesus Christ. How, when & why did you become a Christian? And was it hard to be a Christian in Hollywood? What keeps you a Christian today?
I was 14, and I was visiting a church with my mother. My mother had written a play, and this church was supporting the show. We went to certain churches to tell people about the show. I was always brought up to be a very good kid. I didn’t grow up in the church, but I had home training. And when I was in the service, I felt, I guess the best way to explain it is that I felt this wave of love. I had always felt loved, but it was such a new level and that led me to God.
It was not hard for me to be a Christian in Hollywood because I was a child. And at 14, I hadn’t yet had to deal with some of the things that young people or young adults deal with that would come later. And because I had God, I was able, I think, to not do battle with those things that young people and teenagers have to deal with. But again, I had home training and a strong mother who never forgot that she was a parent even in the face of having a celebrity or a working actor for a child. So there were some things that just would not be tolerated in my house.
What keeps me a Christian today? Oh His goodness, His mercy. His power that helped me keep my mind when I should have lost my mind a long time ago just based on life. Of course, people know how child actors fall by the wayside or former child stars. I mean actors today, just people in the industry, and even if you’re not in the industry, life can be, you know, very difficult. And if you don’t have that rock and that grace over you…uh uh, I couldn’t even, I wouldn’t even know how to act without God. That is what keeps me a Christian. And you when you try to strike out on your own and do stuff on your own and make decisions on your own and you’re like, ummm, okay, yeah, I see why I need God.
4. I loved you as “Tootie” in “Facts of Life” and as Regine as “Living Single.” When you played “Tootie,” were you aware that you inspired little black girls across the nation because they were so few little black girls on television? And what did you like the most about playing Regine?
Not at all. I was aware of the love that I felt from the black community, but I was so young that you don’t equate it to oh, I’m the only one. You just say oh they like the show, thank you. And because I never set out to be famous or be a celebrity or rich or anything like that, I was just doing what I liked doing. So to me, that is was it was about.
And about Regine? That she was so absolutely different from me. It was a challenge. To me, any actor worth their salt, the desire or the goal is to keep stretching out. You as a reporter or as a journalist, if you kept writing the same stories over and over again and the same types of things, after a while, you would want to be challenged and feel like you were stretching out or covering new ground. And so for me, Regine was definitely that. And she was just so much fun to play!
5. Do you prefer acting, director or producing and why? And what is it like to work with Tyler Perry?
I love it all very much. I’m still as passionate, if not more passionate, about acting and being a contributor to the entertainment industry. I’m more excited and more passionate as I was the day that I started. You certainly grow older and wiser, hopefully, prayerfully, and with wisdom, not letting any experiences turn you bitter but make you better. And so for me, I love it all.
Sometimes, my choices are made based on my schedule. For example, there are days when it’s nice just to be worried about what I’m doing as an actor because I don’t have to worry about the big picture. I don’t have to worry about the budget. I don’t have to worry about other departments. I can just go in, do my lines and go home. And then you have times where it’s great to contribute to the entire project and really have a voice on all fronts – the writing, the vision, the costumes, the music, the location, the casting, all of that. It’s all great.
First of all, it’s a blessing to work with Tyler Perry, but I don’t really work with him. Because when I’m directing, he’s not. He’s doing other things which is why they brought my mother (Chip Fields) and me in to direct to free up Tyler to be able to do other things and know that somebody was minding the store and taking care of his babies, so to speak, the way that he would because those projects, the characters that he created are a part of his heart and soul. So it’s more so working for him I guess. And with that, it’s a blessing. He’s incredibly creative, extremely generous and very funny, and very, very smart. I mean extremely smart about the team that he puts around him, the fact that he knows his audience so incredibly well. It’s inspiring as well.
6. What is your favorite Bible scripture and why?
Girl, it depends on what’s going on in my life. I think for where I am in my life right now, I’m almost at a bit of a crossroads in terms of expanding what I’m doing as a director and as a producer, reinventing myself as an actor, reinventing myself as a wife, growing as a mother, making stronger commitments to myself as a woman and as a human being, I think with all of that, right now, the scripture that is most applicable would be in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths, lean not to your own understanding. There’s also a proverb that says in all of your understanding, get wisdom. The whole idea of wisdom and understanding. I’m desperate for wisdom. I’m desperate for knowledge.
And learning from my, as my pastor calls it, my “missed takes.” You know, we can be so down on ourselves when we make mistakes, and Pastor Marlon said once look at it as a missed take, and when you have a missed take, you take it again, you take it from the top or you pick up from where you left off. Take 2, Take 3, Take 4. That helps me not be so hard on myself because I can get really hard on myself when I have to go back and examine mistakes and missteps. I think those scriptures pertaining to not leaning on my own understanding or not following all of just my own instincts and praying and diligently seeking wisdom.
7. Tell me something about you that most people, particularly since you grew up and still are in the public eye, would be surprised to know?
I think people would be surprised to know that I have great discretion (laughing). I’m very discrete. But people would be surprised to know that I’m very shy, and I’m also very sensitive.
And Kim has many other projects in the works as well! She will be back in front of the camera in a new GMC (formerly Gospel Music Channel) TV special, “A Cross to Bear,” due out for release in February 2012 and the Jennifer Lopez film, “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” based on the best-selling book. The film is scheduled to be released in Spring 2012!
4. I loved you as “Tootie” in “Facts of Life” and as Regine as “Living Single.” When you played “Tootie,” were you aware that you inspired little black girls across the nation because they were so few little black girls on television? And what did you like the most about playing Regine?