Do you feel trapped by bitterness and self-hatred? These and other emotional wounds seem too overwhelming to even deal with. You can’t imagine gaining freedom from them. I am here to tell you that freedom is within your grasp, if you are willing to do what is necessary to secure your release. There are two critical steps you must take to begin your healing: Step One: Change begins with choice. You alone have to make the decision to move forward. In my book, Redemption, Madison Turner is bound by her pain and bitterness and she is on a path to self-destruction. The whispers of her redemption come in the form of an old friend. During this relationship, Madison gains the courage to change direction. Yet…

Is it possible to find your life-purpose when you are in an abusive, destructive relationship? Absolutely! Listen, there are four critical truths to know: The first and most important truth you must grasp is that your purpose is absolute, no matter what your circumstances are telling you. What you are living through, right now, is not the life God created for you. In my book Rise, Lydia Green is struggling to live with her abusive husband. In her darkest moments, hope rises to light her way when she makes a discovery that could transform her life. The second truth you must understand is that change begins with choice Lydia’s discovery will come to nothing if she doesn’t use the free will she was born with….

Rise: The Secret of Hope “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 A secret is something that is not yet revealed. There is always a keeper of the secrets, the one who protects them and is in charge of giving them to those who ask. Why do I call it a secret? Because the hope we see in this world is fleeting and is based on changing circumstances. There’s no secret about that. What makes this hope so different? The secret must be revealed to us because the secret of hope is God Himself. The Keeper of the…

The words of Maya Angelou’s classic poem Still I Rise echoed in my ears as I created the character of Lydia Green and her story, Rise. The word “still” in the title speaks of overcoming adversity. Lydia has been fighting her own battle against spousal abuse for many years and is on the brink of taking her life in the first scenes of the story. I use the analogy of a cliff and stormy waters to depict what is going on in her soul: “…The rocky edge she clung to was slipping away, exposing her to the crashing waves below. She could taste the bitter waters running past her tongue, down her throat, filling her lungs as her body sunk into oblivion. Once she was…

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12 Jesus spoke these words as He neared the Cross, where He would lay down His life for us, His friends. There is no greater love than sacrificial love, the theme of One Sunday Morning. The essence of God is love and He demonstrates this on the Cross. What happens when an illness that comes with a stigma attached enters a relationship? Can the friendship stand the test, or will the stigma associated with that illness tear it apart? I tackle the issue in my first collection of short stories, The Phoenix Chronicles, through the main character in One Sunday Morning. Christy Duncan is faced with a difficult situation…

“…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31 Can anyone be born with perfect vision, still be blind? Some people claim to be. They call it color-blindness. In The Transformation of a Black Woman from my first collection of short stories The Phoenix Chronicles, I explore this provocative concept through the main character, Toby Maxwell. She has just gotten engaged when we enter into her thoughts: “I peeled one of his hands from the steering wheel to kiss each finger. His creamy whiteness contrasted my brown sugar skin. It was startling to the outside world, but we made a point not to notice (the color difference). In our universe race didn’t define us; it was secondary to the person…