bernard's Word

Second opportunities

2012-01-22T07:16:00.000-05:00

It is unusual for me to write a blog on a Sunday morning but I was impressed by the Holy Spirit to share this message with you. Today is the twenty second day of a new year. Are you doing anything different? Are you pursuing your purpose? I hope that every day is a day where you live in the Presence of God demonstrating the power of God as you receive the provisions of God.

I want to encourage you today to be ready for second opportunities that are coming your way in 2012. I believe with all my heart that God is going to present many of His children with second opportunities this year.

A second opportunity is God bringing you the same experience that you missed the last time He presented you with it. And please understand that it is not my intention to cast you into the land of regret where you bemoan past opportunities that you now realize has past you by. I have great news for you, many of those opportunities that you let get away are coming back. You may be asking the question how do I know this?

Because God gave me this message to preach today at the New Mine Creek Church and the Holy Spirit got me up early this morning to write this message to you.

In St Mark chapter six Jesus came to Nazareth a second time. The first time He came to Nazareth is recorded in St Luke chapter four. The good people of Nazareth rejected Jesus the first time. They missed an opportunity of a lifetime, receiving God who came to deliver them from darkness into light.

But two years later Jesus came back. He came to give the town where He had grown up and where many of His family lived a second opportunity to receive Him and see God move in their community. But unfortunately they missed this second opportunity to receive Jesus. In a few months He would be dying on a cross and a few day later He would be resurrected and forty days after that He would ascend to heaven.

Like the people of Nazareth many of us have missed God opportunities in our past but I believe strongly that 2012 is a going to be a year of second opportunities. And I'm not talking about new opportunities I'm talking about missed opportunities. And so be ready to receive what you passed over the last time.

I missed an opportunity some years ago. I missed it because I was distracted when it appeared. I passed it over without praying about it. And when I realized that I missed an opportunity to live a dream I thought that a dream had come to an end but then some years later the opportunity returned for the second time. This time I prayed and I waited on the Holy Spirit to give me instructions and when He led me I grabbed hold to it. Excitement and faith rose up in me when I recognized that God had given me another opportunity. The same thing is going to happen to you in 2012. BELIEVE IT!

Experiencing Success and Sorrow

2012-01-15T23:16:00.000-05:00

I know that you have probably been wondering where I've been. It has been a couple of weeks since I have posted a blog but I have been busy and spending time on the release of my book DIVINE FAVOR: GOD ACTS FOR YOU WHILE YOUR ENEMIES ACT AGAINST YOU. It will be released as an ebook in a few weeks.

I hope that the end of 2011 was a time of joy and celebration for you as you look excitedly to the new year 2012. Me and my family closed the year with an invigorating vacation in central Florida. We spent five days in Orlando Florida and loved every minute of it. The weather was perfect. The resort that we stayed at was beautiful. The restaurants that we ate at where good, even though I didn't get to go to the Crab House that I was trying to find and kept getting caught in traffic! and our visit to the Holy Land Experience on Christmas Eve was great!

If you've never been to the Holy Land Experience I encourage you to go. The Crouches and TBN has done a phenomenal job in creating that park. It has created a desire in me now to visit the Holy Land in Israel and experience the place where our Lord lived.

My son Quincy

Me, Myself and I.

With a new year I have a new mind. I have new plans and new goals. I have new dreams and new projects. I am excited about 2012 and what I will accomplish because God has given me the idea and the grace to perform the idea but in the midst of this new year I have already experienced sorrow. That's part and parcel of this life that we live. Success is inside of me manifesting and sorrow is in me because of devastating losses.

On last Thursday my wife Vantoria received news that her best friend had died. Her nickname was Dee, her name Daveida Wallace. She was the mother of Eric, me and Vantoria's godson, Kayla and David. She fought valiantly with cancer but last week she broke the news to my wife that they had reached the end of the road together. She bid my wife goodbye and went into the hospital the next day. She died two days later.

It has been painful watching my wife deal with the pain from the death of her friend. The two of them had been through a lot together. They had shared many experiences, both good and bad. They were loyal to one another and they were friends to the very end.

Although the two of them lived hundreds apart and they didn't see each other often the distance didn't diminish their relationship. They counted themselves blessed to have known each other and Vantoria will have a great void in her life with her best friend gone.

Dee and her daughter Kayla

Dee and her firstborn Eric

The day after I received the news about Dee dying I discovered on the Internet that one of my mentors and a giant in the field of preaching died a month ago. The Reverend Freddie L. Brown was one of Cleveland's greatest preachers. He pastored the Mount Gillion Baptist Church for over thirty years. In the National Baptist Convention Reverend Brown was a renown revivalist and one of the most popular preachers in that denomination. He was packed with spiritual power and a dynamo in the pulpit.

For many years Reverend Brown was heard all over Cleveland Ohio and surrounding areas through his radio broadcast heard on Sunday nights from WJMO. As a young preacher I attended Mount Gillion every Sunday night where I sat and learned the fundamentals of soul preaching preaching from Reverend Brown. Before Reverend Brown would preach he would lead the choir in singing "Look where he brought me from." Another song that he would sing during prayer time was "God will take care of you." Over the weekend as I mourned his passing I can still hear Reverend Brown singing those songs lifting the congregation in the church and over the airwaves to a crescendo of excitement.

Reverend Brown encouraged young preachers like me. I preached on youth day at Mount Gillion when I was eighteen years old. It was the largest church that I had preached at up to that point and the experience was a foreshadow of where I was going in ministry. After that service Rev Brown told me to take my time and grow into the calling that God had on my life. That would be the first of many lessons that I would receive from Reverend Brown who opened his pulpit and his heart to developing me as a minister of the gospel.

Because of his openness to young preachers a gang of us assembled at at Mount Gillion. We were in school learning from one of the best.

The last time I saw Reverend Brown was in a November 2006. Reverend Brown had a stroke that summer that left him unable to speak. With no voice one of the greatest preachers in America could no longer do what he had been doing since the 1950's and he stepped away from active ministry. The church had a lengthy celebration as he was retired that November. I went that night to let Reverend Brown know how much he meant to me. The preacher that Friday night was Reverend Jasper Williams from Atlanta. The service was explosive, it took me back to old times, the way church use to be.

I walked over to Reverend Brown to speak to him and shake his hand. I told him that I would be praying for him and how much he had influenced me to pursue excellence in ministry as he done, to love people and care for their souls, and to be innovative and always seeking God for fresh approaches to ministry. He couldn't reply although he tried to.

So my mind is looking to success and what I need to do to experience success. And my mind is reflecting on these two incredible persons who I had the privilege of knowing. My heart is full of hope for the future and my heart is full of sorrow over the passing of these two very important people that blessed my life with their presence.

Please enjoy this short excerpt of Reverend Brown's message "The Seven Promises of God."

NEED AN EDGE FOR 2012? TRY YOUR FAITH!

2011-12-31T09:30:00.000-05:00

I am so excited that we have reached the end of 2011! Like me I'm sure that you've had a year of highs and lows, successes and failures, triumphs and defeats. I appreciate you for being a reader of Bernard's Word. It is a great blessing to have you visit my website and read about the things that concerns me and that I am passionate about.

I give God praise for 2011 and some of the incredible experiences that I had this year. Some of my highlights for 2011 are:

1. In March I visited the beautiful country of Nigeria for eight days preaching and teaching in the southern region of that country.

2. In June me and group of members from the New Mine Creek Church began learning about wealth building and successful strategies about money and finance from one of the greatest financial mentors in the country William V. Thompson, president of Dynamic Financial Training.

3. In July I celebrating twenty years of marriage with my beautiful wife Vantoria.

4. In August my son Bernard Quincy entered his senior year in high school.

5. In August I preached at the National Primitive Baptist Convention on the eve of the election that secured the presidency of Elder Bernard Yates.

6. In September I attended the African American Literary Awards in Harlem New York.

7. In December me and my family had an incredible Christmas vacation in Orlando Florida.

8. In October I connected with a group of writers in the John3:16 Marketing Network for a monthly prayer conference call.

I hope that 2011 has been an incredible year for you as well. Because they type of year that you had in 2011 should be a springboard for living with a edge in 2012.

A couple of weeks I was surfing through my television and I came across the Sports show First Take. First Take is a sports show that highlights two commentator who debate their opinions about what's happening in the world of athletics. One of the debaters is the straightforward Skip Bayless (I love it when he gives it to Lebron! I can't help it!) . On this particular show the other debater was the fast talking, take no prisoners Stephen A. Smith. Their topic of conversation was the Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. The comment that struck me was when Skip said that Tim's faith gives him an edge and that was a great part of why he was having a successful year.

I have to admit at this point that I don't watch the NFL. And I knew nothing about Tim Tebow, but Skip's comment caused me to do some reading about this quarterback who was the source of conversation on First Take. And what I learned about Tim had left me amazed once again at how God uses people who are available to Him and makes them a declaration to the world about who He is..

When Tim Tebow walks out on that field to perform as a quarterback he walks believing that God is with him. He believes that as he executes his plays and leads his teammates that the presence of God is surrounding him. And Tim believes that God speaks to him and gives him peace under a tremendous amount of pressure to perform and conform.

Skip said that Tim's faith gives him an edge. In other words Tim has an advantage because of the God that he believes in and what he believes about himself because God is operating in his life. Stephen A. Smith said that Tim's faith was a force, wow! no greater words have ever been spoken about faith. Because that what faith is, it's a force!

When you live by faith it gives you an edge. I'm not saying that faith makes you better than others but it puts you ahead. Your faith gives you an advantage. If you have faith and operate by faith principles that's put you in the company of champions. Throughout 2011 the Holy Spirit has been saying to me that He's raising up a generation of Davids. David is the spiritual prototype of a people who have a edge because they believe God and they are willing to go into the valley and kill the giants that has created fear among the people of God. When all of Israel cowered before Goliath faith gave David an edge.

2012 is going to be a year of conquering giants because your faith is giving you an edge. Your faith will make you stand out and take hold of the opportunities that others will run from. You are going to do impossible things because you have an edge. You have a confidence that God has spoken to you and that God is with you. The Holy Spirit has set dreams and visions in your heart that you will accomplish because you have an edge.

I see you in 2012 WINNING, GAINING, POSSESSING! Declare to the giants that you have faith, you have an edge!

YOU ARE IN HIDING

2011-12-15T07:13:00.000-05:00

How are things going with you? Can you believe that we have only seventeen more days left in this year? I hope that you had a great year. A year full of peace, purpose and prosperity. I can confess that 2011 was a remarkable year for me even with all the challenges that I faced. As I prepare to enter 2012 I have resolved to discard what is useless and keep what is useful for next year. I hope that you do the same thing.

This week I watched on of the most incredible videos I seen this year and I had to share with you this video and the impact that it had on me as it reminded me of God's dealing with me in another season in my life many years ago.

The video features Fred Hammond. Just in case you don;t know who Fred Hammond is, he is an incredible gospel singer and producer. He sings with incredible power and liberty in Jesus Christ. Fred is a native of Detroit and he currently lives in Dallas Texas. In this video Fred shares how his Mother attempted to abort him but the abortion failed. When Fred's Mother went back to the clinic they guaranteed that they would finish where they failed before and as she was lying on the gurney the fear of the Lord came over and she got dressed and left the clinic saving the life of her son Fred.

I was shaken emotionally when Fred said, "When I was supposed to be discarded. When the tools that were supposed to destroy me, the Lord took His hand and pushed me back." In my mind I could see God rescuing Fred from death because He had a great purpose for his life. I started celebrating the divine deliverance of God in Fred Hammond's life. I celebrated that God saved this gift that we know today as Fred Hammond, because He had a plan for Fred in this generation.

And as I was meditating on Fred Hammond's testimony my mind went back to a pastor's conference that I attended many years ago. It was during a dark season and I wasn't sure if I could keep going and doing what God had called me to do. In that afternoon session I sat in the auditorium of a hotel and the speaker announced his text. It was Isaiah 49:1-2 "THE LORD HAS CALLED ME FROM THE WOMB; FROM THE INWARDS PARTS OF MY MOTHER HE HAS MADE MENTION OF MY NAME. AND HE HAS MADE MY MOUTH LIKE A SHARP SWORD; IN THE SHADOW OF HIS HAND HE HAS HIDDEN ME, AND MADE ME A POLISHED SHAFT; IN HIS QUIVER HE HAS HIDDEN ME."

The Rhema Word of God spoke to me that day. I was assured that I was in the best place because God who knew me before my conception was hiding me in His hand. In God's hand I was safe as He fashioned me and shaped me in His image. I was reminded by the Man of God who spoke that day that the best place to be in was the hand of God. Because in His hand God was polishing me, shaping me and refining me to be a polished shaft. In the secret place of God's hand God was making me into a formidable instrument that would wreak havoc on the kingdom of darkness. God was getting me ready for the time that He would release me as His secret weapon against the kingdom of darkness .

As I look back over that time I can see how God was hiding me for this time and for times to come. So when I was watching Fred give his testimony and I heard him say, "God hid me." It brought forth that memory of the time when God was hiding me as well. And this may be where you are right now.

God may be hiding you, because He has some work to do in you before He sends you into the kingdom of darkness as his secret weapon. Rest in God's hands. Submit to His work in you in this season. God is getting you ready to bring the kingdom of darkness down. And when you show up bringing down principalities, running demons away because of the glory of God that shines through you the devil is going to say as I'm sure he said when Fred appeared as a mighty weapon tearing down bondage's and setting men free through his music, I thought I killed you.

Don't despair God is hiding you. He's keeping you in his quiver until He's ready to send you out as a mighty weapon. The best place to be is in God's hiding place. What He did for Fred Hammond He will do the same thing for you. Please share this video with others.

TASTE AND SEE: A SAMPLING OF FIRST CHAPTERS BY THE AUTHORS OF JOHN 3:16 MARKETING NETWORK

2011-12-12T21:56:00.029-05:00

Psalms 34:8 "O TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD..."

Lorilyn Roberts, the founder and president of the John 3:16 Marketing Network has compiled a series of writings from some of the authors that are members of the Network. In this compilation of works of varied genres you will see a impressive array of the artistic offerings. This particular work presents the talents of the enormously gifted and talented writers who make up this unique group of writers who are dedicated to the mission of spreading the love of Christ through our writings to the world.

The Sampling of first chapters is intended to stimulate your reading interest in the hopes that you will support these authors by purchasing their books. I am sure that among the fifty eight chapters presented in catalog that you will find many authors whose writings will enrich and encourage you during this holiday season.

From now until the end of the year you can download a copy of Taste and See in ebook format from Smashword for free. Go to Smashword now http://www.smashword.com/books/view/104475 and get your free copy. You can also purchase a copy at Amazon for .99. Go to Amazon now at http://www.amazon.com/Sampling-Chapters-Marketing-Network-ebook/dp/B006H9TJAA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=13237660633&sr=8-2

I am a proud member of this incredible group and it was my privilege to write the forward to this project. Please support and make it a success by getting a copy today. God bless you and I appreciate you for your support.

Pastor Bernard Boulton

WWW.BERNARDBOULTON.COM

GOD'S SKELETON KEY

2011-12-09T07:29:00.000-05:00

I love it when the Holy Spirit confirms a word that He has placed in my spirit. The confirmation of a word means that God has given us this word to be fixed in our hearts. Once the Word is fixed in our hearts it moves throughout our spirit establishing this truth on the inside of us. This confirmed word is God's instrument that He uses to make something in us and to bring something through us. That something is God's will, God's way and God's wisdom. Let me explain this, the word of God on the inside of us is God working His will in us. God works His will in us so that we can walk in His ways. As we walk in His ways His wisdom is strategies that answers he situations that arise in our lives.

Last week God gave me this word from St Matthew 6:10, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it in heaven." I preached from this passage last Saturday but since last Saturday and before I've meditated on this verse and feed my spirit with it as I considered this part of the prayer that Jesus gave to His disciples as a model of prayer. However when God confirms a word to me He will give me the same word from a different source in a short amount of time. It is then that my spirit is alerted that God is bringing a word into my life to establish it for that season. When I know that my heavenly Father is doing this in me it always excites me because I know that He is setting me for a new experience on the journey of faith that I'm on.

On Monday I received a book in the mail. The book was written by Don Nori Sr. the founder of Destiny Image Publishers. It is titled YES! THE PRAYER THAT GOD LOVES TO ANSWER. I won a free copy of this book after I entered a contest. In this book Don talks about the humble beginnings of his publishing house Destiny Image and how God led him to form this unusual house that would fulfill God's will in the publishing world. Okay so I'm reading my copy, along with three others books and manuscripts as well as writing my second novel and I get to Chapter two and Don talks about how his grandfather sent him into the house to get a skeleton key from his grandmother. Now I've never heard of a skeleton key but anyway it's a key that can open any lock. And then Don calls St Matthew 6:10 the skeleton key secret.

At this point after reading what Don Nori calls the skeleton key I sense the Holy Spirit calling me to a teaching sessions. I know that He wants to connect with this principle and pattern. As I continued to read chapter 2 of Don's book I see the confirming of this principle and where God is calling me to operate. And I wanted to share this with you. This prayer will open every closed door that has stopped or slowed you down this year. It will open and release heaven into your life every time you pray these words.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." God wants to answer this prayer in your life. Can you already imagine the kind of year 2012 is going to be for you because you used this prayer as a skeleton key to open every door and bring down heaven into your earth? Start using this key and let me know what happens for you. I'm already anticipating what God is going to do in my life in 2012 as I use this skeleton key to open doors that the devil closed in my face. Let me know what this key is going to do for you.

PLANNING FOR THE NEW YEAR: SETTING GOALS

2011-11-29T16:07:00.002-05:00

I've been reading EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey. Chapter 2 is titled, "Start with a Dream, End with a Goal." In this chapter Dave talks about the importance of setting goals to reach your dreams. Setting goals appeal to me because I love seeing progress in my life and I can't proceed if I don't have a signpost, which is what a goal is to me.

Dave talks about how important it is to have goals for every area of our lives. The areas of my life are:

1. Spiritual.
2. Health.
3. Relationships.
4. Finances.
5. Ministry.
6. Business.

After reading EntreLeader I felt pretty good about setting my goals for 2012. It is my practice to work on my plan for the next year during the month of December.

On yesterday I listened to Dr Amos Johnson on his video talk about having unfinished goals. Amos confessed that he set some goals this year that he didn't complete. He talked about how he missed those goals and how he wouldn't make the same mistake next year. Amos Videoblogs always has great information that is rich in application.

So I want you to join me in setting your goals for next year. I'm not talking about New Year Resolutions but goals that's going to get you to the dream that's going to change your life. And if you have any uncompleted goals roll them over to next year. That's what I'm doing.

Check out Amos Video blog at http://amosjohnsonjr.com/vblogs.php?=64

Goals are the road map to your future. Your future starts the day you start planning. Make it today.

ANOTHER VISIT TO MY PRAYER JOURNAL

2011-11-18T06:41:00.000-05:00

I was meditating today on what I should blog about and I was led by the Holy Spirit to revisit my second prayer journal. It covered the period of the fall of 1994 when me and my family moved to Danville Virginia from Beckley West Virginia after I was called to be the pastor of the New Mine Creek Church.

On November 22, 1994 I wrote in my journal a thanksgiving to Holy Spirit who had revealed to me that the enemy was setting a trap for me by bringing a lot of activities into my life that would cause me to put on the back burner the time that I daily spent with God in prayer. I made a covenant with God not to fall into the trap of busyness but rather to continue to seek Him every morning as I had been doing for more than a year.

I asked the Holy Spirit to continue to give me alerts when the enemy was trying to steal this most precious time from me and thus render me ineffective in the ministry that God had called me to.

I also prayed concerning my dream of becoming a published author. I had not yet buried that dream. I asked God to get the glory from my writing and that He send me another agent to secure a publishing contract for my first novel.

As I read the words in my prayer journal it struck me that I was able to perceive the devil's scheme to fill my time with activities that would steal my time with God but I couldn't see how he was stealing something else from me, my dream to become a published author. I caught the devil coming in the front door but didn't see him coming through the window.

I didn't realize how my enemy eventually caused me to give up dreaming until I read these words seventeen years later while I'm writing this blog. But what was a victory for him became a knockout when my first novel was released in December 2009. What he stole God restored and is continuing to restore as I write my second novel.

I wondered why did the Holy Spirit warn me about his scheme of making me walk away from pursuing God in daily prayer but not warn me about the dream that he was stealing concerning my writing and just as quickly the answer came from the Holy Spirit. The devil could steal my desire to write because I didn't value it enough. In the pastorate I had become satisfied and comfortable being a pastor of a congregation and I told myself that pastoring was all I needed to do. I'd talked myself out of my dreams and made it susceptible to the devil to come right in and steal.

It would take almost a decade for God to resurrect the vision that had died and show me that He had given me many gifts and I would never be fruitful until I used all of them.

My prayer for you is that you recognize what the enemy is trying to steal from you so that you will guard the precious thing that God has given to you. And if the enemy has stolen your dreams I believe with you that God restore it sevenfold

Elder Bernard Yates Visits the North Carolina/Virginia Primitve Baptist Convention

2011-11-09T08:31:00.000-05:00

The delegates of the North Carolina/Virginia Primitive Baptist Convention was thrilled with the news that Elder Bernard Yates, the newly elected President of the National Primitive Baptist Convention was coming to the state convention to preach the final service on Sunday November 6, 2011 at 3:00 p.m.

The sanctuary of the State building was full as the delegation waited with great anticipation to hear the Word of God from Elder Yates. The pulpit was full of Elders, Preachers, and Pastors. The music was provided by the praise team of the Kings Mountain View Primitive Baptist Church,Westfield North Carolina pastored by Elder J.R. Strickland who is in his 55th year as pastor of that congregation.

Elder Timothy Lyons, the Vice President of the State Convention and Pastor Elect of the St John's Chapel Primitive Baptist Church of Charlotte North Carolina introduced Elder Yates in his rhmytic and eloquent manner. And then Elder Doctor Thomas W. Samuels, president of the North Carolina/Virginia State Convention for 35 years, took the podium to raise a love offering for Elder Yates. Following the offering Elder Samuels led the congregation in the hymn, "Father I Stretch my Hands to Thee," sang in the distinctive style of North Carolina. One of the unique distinction of the Primitive Baptist Church is the richness of the hymns sang in that region's manner. And Elder T.W. Samuels is a master of Primitive Baptist hymnology with his sonorous baritone voice. In a few moments most of the conventioneers were on their feet singing and giving God praise as a couple of hundreds voices blended in song.

After much rejoicing and praising the Lord Elder Yates took the podium as the members of the convention stood to give him an enthusiastic greeting. Elder Yates expressed his thanks to the North Carolina/Virginia Convention for their support of him and the convention. He stated, "I recognize that the North Carolina/Virginia State Convention is a force to be reckoned with." Elder Yates announced his text from Galatians 1:10-12. His preaching subject was "The Hurdles of Pleasing People."

Elder Yates is a dynamic preacher with a unique presentation. He expounded the text and explicated it in a serious and insightful way. He strongly exhorted the congregation to please God as he closed in his thunderous style of preaching that is uniquely Bernard Yates.

Elder Yates deserves the support of this entire convention as we move forward into the destiny that God has set for this branch of the body of Christ. I encourage you to pray for Elder Yates as his success is our success.

Letters to God on a Prodigal Son-Overcoming Addiction through Prayer

2011-11-08T08:11:00.000-05:00

Bernard's Word Presents Anita Estes

Today is my pleasure to introduce to you Anita Estes. Anita has written a personal story about the perils of addiction and how the prayer of faith has the power to destroy the plans of the enemy. I'm asking all the readers of this blog to purchase Anita's book today at http://www.anitaestes.com/landing-page.html

1. Tell us about your newest book, Letters to God on a Prodigal Son-Overcoming Addiction through Prayer? This power packed journal and guide was birthed from the painful passage I experienced while navigating the minefield of my son's addiction. I kept a diary that contained many insightful prayers, letters and scriptures that I thought would help others navigate the turbulent waters of a prodigal's addiction, so I worked on transforming it into a book.

I added two sections, Lessons Learned and Suggestions that I thought would further help others to avoid the same pitfalls I experienced, while offering a lifeline of hope. At the time that my son was going through this terrible ordeal, I couldn't find any Christian Books on the subject that gave spiritual and practical, not textbook advice

2. What are some of the pitfalls you experienced in dealing with your son's addiction and in writing this timely and powerful book? It is sometimes very difficult for a parent to recognize the warning signs of an addiction in their teenager, especially in this culture today when drinking is so accepted. This was my downfall. I kept thinking my son was going through a stage, especially because he would repent when something bad happened, like losing his license for a year or failing out of college. He would turn back to God and do what was right for a while, but then he would fall again.

One of the pitfalls in writing the book was trying to figure out a way to take my personal experience and help others learn from it. I didn't want to offer just another informational book or book of advice on addiction, so I kept it in a journal format. I wanted others to see that God held me through this very difficult time and that He can do the same for them. I also wanted to be very honest and real because as Christians we sometimes think we need to cover up our pain and even try to keep it form God and fellow believers. I wanted to show people that you can show God your pain, cry out to Him and go through different stages with Him right alongside. The last thing you should do in a crisis is stay mad at God and stop talking with Him.

3. What did you learn from this experience? I learned that God is faithful, even when we're not, even when we get mad at Him and don;t understand what He's doing. God wants us to draw near to Him and cast all our cares, concerns, worries and anxieties to Him. He has very big shoulders to carry our burdens and for us to lean and even weep upon. I also learned that God is true to His word. You can believe His promise as long as you understand them, have faith and continue to trust God for the outcome. I also learned that it's very important to surrender your prodigal to God. That's the best place for them.

You can find Letters to God at www.anitaestes.com and at http://www.anitaestes.com/landing-page.html Anita is offering a lot of great gifts with your purchase today.

SUCCEEDING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PRAYER

2011-11-02T08:17:00.000-04:00

One of the most fruitful and successful groups that I have had the privilege to be affiliated with has been the John3:16 Marketing Network. We are a group of writers and authors from all over the world. Our mission is to combine our marketing efforts to promote each others work. The moderator and visionary of this group is Lorilyn Roberts, author of Children of Dreams. God gave the vision to Lorilyn to create this place and she has been tireless in leading and helping us.

John3:16 is unlike any group that I've ever been connected with. God led me here in answer in to my prayers. The love of God connects us and the Holy Spirit has released gifts, creativity and favor on the members. I sense God raising up this group to represent Him well in the years to come.

Of course experiencing favor and pursuing the will of God has not come without a price. Many of us have been been under relentless spiritual attacks from the enemy throughout the year but it seemed to have escalated in the month of October. I don't use these terms spiritual attacks and warfare lightly but this has been the case for the members of John3:16. Many of us have had computer issues. Some of us have seen attacks on our families and there has been other challenges with spiritual oppression and on and on.

As I read what everyone was going through, as well as dealing with the enemy in my life the Holy Spirit lead me to call our group to prayer. In obedience to Him I did with the support of our leader Lorilyn.

On this past Monday night seven of us met via telephone to pray over John3:16. What an experience! The Holy Spirit filled the phone lines as each of us petitioned God for self and others. I know that hell was dealt a great blow by the coming together of God's children.

I can't attest how this prayer gathering affected everyone else but after I got off the prayer call I was revived. I had so much energy that I stayed up to one o clock that morning working. And I was back up at six that morning to enjoy an incredible day in the presence of the Lord.

Our partnership went to another level on Monday night. It only remains to see how God will use these burdens from the enemy and the blessings from praying together to affect a great future for John3:16. I sense 2012 being an incredible year for this group. And our prayer gatherings will be an essential key to the future that God has already prepared for our group as we war in prayer to bring God's purpose for this group to pass. .

I hope that my blog today will encourage you to connect with praying believers. Especially for you who are pursuing your dreams and other business endeavors. Jesus said and it is recorded in St Matthew 18:19. "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven."

Jesus teaches us this vital key to success. AGREE TO ASK THE FATHER.

All partnerships are founded on the principle of agreement. But when you bring the God of the universe, your heavenly Father into your partnership by asking Him to do what your partnership can't do the sky is the limit to what you will achieve. With God on your partnership team there are no boundaries to what you can accomplish. With Him providing you all the resources in heaven success is yours.

A partnership that includes prayer is a winning a partnership.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT EXPELS THE DARKNESS

2011-10-27T06:56:00.000-04:00

In the first creative act of God He said, "Let there be light." And then God gave light an assignment. He called the light Day, day was the assignment that God gave the light. And light has been fulfilling its assignment every since. Like the light that fills the universe and gives us energy that causes us to live everyone of us has been given an assignment. We were created to do what God has called us to do. And when we operate in our assignments we are living as God intended us to live.

The creation of light was God's answer to darkness which always existed on this planet. The fulfillment of your assignment is God's answer to the darkness that prevails in our world. The darkness that I refer to is not the physical darkness that governs the night, the darkness that rules most of the day at this time of year but I am speaking of a more pervasive form of darkness.

All around us is spiritual darkness. It exist in our communities, our schools, our governments and sometime even in the houses of worship where many gather weekly. People live in darkness because they live lives of misery. How many people got up today and got dressed and went to a job that will leave them miserable at the end of this day? How many people are trapped in relationships with people that leave them feeling miserable. They are living in the darkness of misery.

How many persons have bought the lies of the enemy. Lies that tell them that God doesn't love them and they are too far beyond His redemption. Lies that condemn them and tell them that God will never forgive them for what they did. Lies that tell them that they will never be successful, never prosper and never live an abundantly happy life. Any time a person accept a lie as truth they are living in the darkness of lies.

Your God assignment is the answer to the darkness in this world. As you embrace the call of God for your life and walk out that call daily you become the force that expels darkness from the world.
How do you know what your assignment is? First you have to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way to God. Second you have to submit to the Holy Spirit in your life. The Holy Spirit reveals your assignment. He speaks to your heart and then confirms through others what God has gifted you to do.

Your assignment will always answer the question, What can I do to make things better? What solution do I bring to the problem? What can I do to empower people?

You were born to drive darkness out of the world. What are you waiting for?

THERE'S TREASURE INSIDE OF YOU

2011-10-22T06:48:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone. I hope that you had a phenomenal week. I know that I did. I was on vacation this week. Last weekend I was in my hometown of Cleveland Ohio to celebrate with my family the 90th birthday of my grandmother Lottie Mitchell. It is an incredible blessing to have my maternal grandmother in my life. Being in her presence is evidence of God's goodness resting on her life. My grandmother has been an great influence in my life and I count her as one of the many gifts that God has given me.

This past week I sat in presence of God and listened to Him speak to me concerning the present and future. On my drive back home from Cleveland I drove through the Blue Ridge Mountain, what a testimony to he creative genius of God, meditating and worshipping God. This entire week has been one of rest in the presence of God as I reflected on the seasons that I have passed through and am currently in.

I wanted to write a blog yesterday but I didn't have anything to write. And so I rejoice that the Holy Spirit deposited this word in my spirit to write here today. I believe that these words will really motivate you to take some time to discover what God has planted in your heart that is now ready to come forth.

Do you know what treasure lives inside of you? Are you aware of the value that has been placed inside of you by God? Have you ever taken inventory of the wealth that lives in you?

If you don;t know what I'm talking about I want to give you the five-fold treasure that lives in you.

1. Purpose: You were created in the image of God to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion in the earth. These descriptions are given to us in Genesis 1:28. Every human being on the planet Earth was given this purpose. And even though our image was broken by sin in Jesus Christ we have a restored image to accomplish our purpose. Your purpose is the treasure in you.

2. Vision: On my Wednesday's blog I talked about living with Vision and so I won't repeat myself here. But I will say that the Vision in you is treasure because it is the gateway to your future. Purpose is who I am to do what I was born to do. Vision is what I see to do what I was born to do. Your vision is the treasure in you.

3. Ability: God placed Adam in the garden to tend it and keep it. God gave Adam a place where he could demonstrate his ability. God put Adam in an environment to succeed. God has given each one of us a place to demonstrate our ability. It can be your home, your job or business, your church or your community. Ability has to have a place to express itself. Your ability is the treasure inside of you.

4. Intelligence: God gave Adam intelligence. Genesis 2:19 says that God brought every animal to Adam to be named. God gave Adam an opportunity to express his intelligence by giving him a situation and then watched how he handled it. Intelligence is the ability to find solutions to any matter. God challenges our intelligence not by what we know but by how we are able to answer situations. Your intelligence is the treasure inside of you.

5. Recognition: When God brought the woman to Adam he immediately recognized her. Adam knew who she was. He knew that she was created for him. Adam had what I call INTUITIVE RECOGNITION. Adam knew who the woman was although God never said who she was. There are times when you don't have information but you know when God is bringing someone into your life for a certain purpose. You perceive that God is bringing someone into your life for a divine connection. Recognition not only applies to people but it also applies to situations. Recognition is the treasure inside of you.

With all of this treasure in us why are we not living at our full potential? Why are we not living incredible lives? Because the treasure inside of us has been buried by all the junk inside of us. The treasure has been buried by years of fear, doubt, unbelief, mental limitations and sociological messages. To discover the treasures that God has deposited in you you have to go dig for it. You have to reject everything in you that says to you what you can't do and you have to keep digging until you reach what God has placed inside of you. And then you bring the treasure to the surface by speaking it, meditating on it and doing it.

I pray that you find everything that God has deposited in you. Everything that God has placed in you is the keys to live an incredible life!

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU EXPEREINCE

2011-10-19T12:20:00.000-04:00

The idea of having a vision that would transform my life and create a future was first introduced to me in the mid 90's when I read THE POWER OF VISION by George Barna. George challenged me to believe God for bigger things that would change the church that I was pastoring and affect the community in a profound way.

As I got older I started to embrace this concept of Vision not only for the churches that I have pastored but also for myself and for my family. I embraced the belief that having Vision meant that I had a future. I had a mental sketch that was formed in my mind that was calling me to a destiny that was unlike my present and my past.

Whenever I meditate on the Vision for my life, my family, the church that I pastor and my business it stirs something in me. It gives room to my inner voice that says all things are possible when you believe.

Everyone needs a vision. Vision is the foundation of the incredible life that God wants to have. Everyone needs to be a part of a organization that has vision. Everyone needs to be a member of a family that has vision. Vision empowers, encourages and elevates.

The second time that God spoke to man God invited man to have a vision. When this revelation came to me I determined then that I would never again live without vision. The first time that God spoke to man is given in Genesis 1:28. God told male and female to take dominion over the earth. And the second time that God spoke is given in Genesis 1:29 He said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food."

Let me repeat this. The second time that God spoke to the human race He said to them SEE. After mankind was equipped and called to establish ownership over the earth then mankind was called to embrace vision. Where God has set you to rule, oversee and complete God has also set you to see what He has given you and for what purpose.

Because we don't see where we have been set we don't experience the results of what we see. Your vision calls you to see the provisions that God has placed in your view. Your vision calls you to recognize the potential of what is before you. Your vision makes the place where you are significant and meaningful. Your vision reveals God's purpose for what He is inviting you to see.

Can I make a suggestion to you that I am totally convince will change your life if you follow it? I hope you said yes. Spend the rest of this year, there are seventy three days left in 2011 and accept God's invitation to SEE, to receive the vision that is going to take forward in 2012.

First take a look at what God has set before you. What ideas keep coming to the forefront of your mind? What plans keep rising up in your imagination? Who is in your life that God has set there to help you move forward with your vision?

Second, identify the potential of your vision. What does it have the power to do? What will change because of your vision? What impact will it have on others?

Third, look at the place where you are. Is this where God wants your Vision to manifest? Are you committed to staying there until the vision comes forth? Are there limiting situations that would keep your Vision from growing and expanding? Will you have to move to bring your vision to pass?

Fourth, know the purpose of your vision. Why does your vision exist?

I pray that you will hear God say to you today SEE!

LIVING AFTER FAILURE

2011-10-12T07:36:00.003-04:00

As much as I hate to admit I have failed I have had those experiences where I didn't win. I have experienced the feelings that followed being beaten either by a person; of course I was a child!. or by a situation.

When you have failed in an enterprise that you had so many hopes that it would succeed because of your time, concentration and energy the emotional feelings of failure can be as traumatic as watching a love one die. In a sense failure is like death. Because when failure becomes your reality something in you does die. It may be your hope. Your vision. Your plans. It could be a relationship or a business.

I've never dealt well with failure. Many years ago I wrote my first novel. It was the year that my son Quincy was born. The novel was autobiographical as I drew comparisons between myself and the protagonist in the novel. He was a teenage boy who fell in love in a girl. The boy was a Christian, the girl was not. In a desire to be with the girl the boy compromised on what he believed. Months later the girl broke his heart and the boy spent the rest of his high school years pursuing meaningless relationships. (That really does describe my high school years).

A year after writing that novel I secured the services of an agent. He spent an entire year trying to get me a publishing contract but he didn't close the deal. The day I received my manuscript from the agent I conceded that my first novel was a failure and I didn't have a story worth publishing and I didn't write anymore for more than ten years.

My reaction to that failure was to walk away from the novel and the desire to see it published. I decided to cut my losses and move on. I didn't believe in fighting for what I believed in and what I dreamed could be.

But since then I have learned how to live after a failure. I have a different mindset now than I did then because I've still had some failures but what I know now is that you can have a new season after a failure and you can even have a new beginning after failure. This is what I have learned:

1. MINIMIZE THE EVENT AND MAXIMIZE THE LESSON: After you've gotten over the hurt of your failure stop concentrating on what happened. Give yourself a couple of days to reflect and mourn on what happened and how it affected you, then take a seat, take a breath and review what you learned from your failure. Take my word for it, the lesson is greater than the failure. If you can extract a lesson from your failure than you can turn your failure into success!

2. RECOGNIZE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. When my first novel wasn't published I made myself believe that I was the failure. But it wasn't my failure, it was the agent's failure. I blamed myself for someone else inadequacies and that caused me to stop writing for more than a decade. In taking a look at what caused the failure you should rightly take responsibility for what you did to cause it but then you should refuse to take responsibility for what someone has done.

3. KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS: Sometime we fail because we try to do too much on our own. We try to execute plans that we are equipped to carry out. When you recognize what you can't do then you will seek the help of others. You will seek the help of those who are skilled in areas where you are not. We often fail when we don't have a team. When we don't have support. Failure is often the result of pursuing private concerns without partners. Everybody who wants to win needs somebody who can help them win.

After you've failed you can live again. Let the words of Psalms 73:26 challenge you. "My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

Life after failure is living where you trust God to give you the strength to continue on. I didn't do that after my novel wasn't published. I sought meaning in other things. I replaced my calling to write with my pastoral calling. I was in God's will, because he had called me to be a pastor but I wasn't in God's perfect will because a big part of my destiny was in my writing. Every now and then I would sit at my desk in my office at the church and the desire to write a story would speak softly in my spirit. But I wasn't strong enough to seek God for His strength to empower me to do what I was born to do.

And then living after failure is knowing that God is your portion. If you didn't receive what you wanted then you have to recognize that God has assigned you something else. And sometime we find that something else after failure. Because God is your portion he has a place for you. He has a plan for you and he has people for you.

Confucius said, "Our greatest glory is not in ever falling, but in rising ever time we fall."

Today I am including the link to the free chapter in my novel DO YOU WANNA BE MADE WHOLE? http://www.bernardboulton.com/books/dywbmw_excerpt.html In this chapter two characters in the story are trying to find life after they experienced failure in their marriage. Read and enjoy if you haven't haven't already read this novel.

ARE YOU LIVING YOUR DREAMS?

2011-10-10T07:35:00.000-04:00

What makes your life incredible? What sets you apart from every other person that inhabits the planet earth? It is your dreams that are formed in your imagination. A dream is the outward expression of your hope. It is the seed from which your future springs. It is a goal that you must reach to have something that you don't have.

Last week the world mourned the passing of Steve Jobs. Steve had a dream to produce a personal computer. With $1300 he started Apple. Today we have the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, all the results of Steve Jobs dreams. Your dreams are the gateway to your future.

God gave a dream to Abraham. The Almighty found Abraham in the country of his ancestors and showed him another land and then God told Abraham that I want you to go and live there and I will make you a great nation. A couple of hundred year later God gave a dream to the great grandson of Abraham, his name was Joseph. God showed him that he would be a great man. God is the giver of dreams. Matter of fact this incredible planet that we live on called Earth is the result of one of God's dreams.

Your dreams are what puts passion in your life. It is the energy that causes you to rise every morning ready to live and pursue what God wants you to experience. Your dreams are what gives you focus in the midst of distractions. Your dreams rescue you from living a mediocre life.

So I want to tell you today. DREAM! If your dreams have died resurrect them. How do you do that? Start talking about your dreams to your dreams. That's what I said, talk to your dreams. There was a prophet named Ezekiel who God sent to a valley that was full of dead bones. Those dead bones are your dreams that were slaughtered and decimated by your pursuit of an mundane existence. God asked Ezekiel can these bones live? And then God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones. Ezekiel did what God told him to do and something miraculous started happening. The bones started to move, a sound was heard from the bones that were dead.

That's what you have to do with your dreams. Start talking to them. Start telling your dreams to live again. And then start speaking your dreams to those whom you love and trust. Write your dreams on paper and place them on the wall of your house. Write them down on a card and keep it in your wallet or purse. Pull it out several times a day and take a minute to meditate on it.

Then develop a plan to make your dream happen. What do you need to do to make this happen? What resources do you need to make your dream happen? Whose help do you need to make your dream happen? How long will it take to make your dream happen?

And then you pursue your plan daily. Give yourself daily and weekly goals and monthly goals. At least once a week spend a hour with yourself or with a team if you need one and evaluate your progress.

Ask God to give you a mentor. A person who can teach you in the area of your dream and can reduce your time to see the manifestation of your dream.

I'm excited for you as you find the dreams that is resident inside of your imagination. If you need more help I have written a report titled RELEASE THE DREAM IN YOU AND LIVE AN INCREDIBLE LIFE. You can have this free gift when you go to my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pabernardboulton and visit my welcome page where you can click on the report. And please LIKE me on my Facebook page.

I'll be praying that you find your DREAMS!

THE CLOCK IS MOVING, ARE YOU?

2011-10-07T07:29:00.000-04:00

I have had a long and productive week. But the first week in October usually is a very busy for me. It is busy because I have been preaching at the Beulah Baptist Church since Monday night. In an era where most churches revival are held for three nights or less, Beulah under the leadership of the Rev. Jerry Wilson continues to hold their annual revival for five nights.

I started preaching yearly at Beulah in 2000 when I was the conference preacher for their Men's Conference. After a few years doing the Men's conference Pastor Wilson then asked me to preach the Church's annual revival and I've been doing it ever since. It has been an incredible blessing in my life to go to this church every year. Beulah is a loving congregation and Pastor Wilson is one of my best friends in the world. I am extremely proud of him and the great job that he is doing at Beulah after 20 years as their pastor. And alongside being pastor of Beulah he is also serving as the Moderator of the Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Association, an association of over 50 churches in North Carolina. As moderator Pastor Wilson is a visionary and he's calling this mighty army of churches to rise to it's God given capability as kingdom people.

The first three nights of the revival I preached a series of messages on Living under an open Heaven, Getting an vision under an open Heaven and Receiving Provision under an Open Heaven. If you are interested in getting these messages on CD let me know. I really believe that they will teach you the principles of living under an open heaven which is living in the supernatural presence of God where heaven fills our lives with the goodness of God.

Today is Friday October 7 and we have eighty five days left in this year. A week and a half ago I informed you that I was resolved to work on and finish the projects that I was lead to pursue this year. God is giving me grace to do what I need to do to finish. Since Oct 1st I have been writing my second novel, which is a sequel to my first novel DO YOU WANNA BE MADE WHOLE?. The story is shaping up quite well. The characters are coming to life and one of the main characters is slowly moving toward a relationship with Jesus. Another one of the main characters is also moving toward danger. I have high hopes for my second novel REST IN A WEARY NOVEL.

As I have been praying for direction the Holy Spirit is giving me direction about my teaching schedule for New Mine Creek for the year 2012.

And I am focused on completing some business concerns that must be completed by December 31st.

I hope that this blog will encourage you to finish what you need to finish before January 1, 2012. You an do it if FOCUS and then PERFORM. Maybe you don't know what to do or what you need to finish then in that case ASK GOD FOR HELP! When you pray, according to 1 John 5:14-15 God hears you and God will give you what you ask for.

So the Clock is moving, are you?

DAVID vs. GOLIATH; Pittsylvania Board of Supervisors sued by ACLU over Prayer

2011-10-03T07:26:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago the Danville Register and Bee reported that the ACLU had filed a lawsuit against the Pittsylvania Board of Supervisors because the Supervisors opens their meeting with prayer that specifically acknowledges Jesus Christ. The lawsuit accuses the Board of Supervisors of promoting one set of religious beliefs over others.

The lawsuit comes as no surprise to the citizens of Pittsvlvania County because it had been previously reported by the Register and Bee that the ACLU had sent a letter to the Board threatening them with a lawsuit if they did not immediately stop praying in their meetings. In response to the threat from the ACLU hundreds of citizens filled the chambers of the Board on Tuesday September 6 to support the Supervisors decision to continue praying in spite of the threat from the ACLU.

As dismayed as I am by the actions of the ACLU against the government in the county where I have lived and pastored for 9 years, my dismay has turned into acrimony toward the hypocrisy of the ACLU. This same group who has championed a secular agenda to remove God from the public venue. This same group who has threatened Christians and Christians across America is currently DEFENDING THE RIGHTS OF MUSLIMS TO PRAY IN SCHOOL.

That's right. I read this shocking news on WWW.BLACKCHRISTIANNEWS.COM It appears that Muslim students were not allowed to pray at the Carver Elementary School in San Diego and the ACLU has threatened the school district with a lawsuit for violating the constitutional rights of those students.

So in a world ruled by the ACLU it is alright for Muslims to pray to Allah but Christians can't pray to Jesus. That's right in the eyes of the ACLU Islam is okay but Christianity is not.

You may not live in Pittsylvania County Virginia but if you read this blog would you join me in praying for the right to pray for Christians in South Virginia. Please pray that God will give us victory in Pittsylvania county against this repressive organization that has positioned itself against all patriotic Christians in America.

This is the fight of David, the Board of Supervisors against Goliath, the ACLU. I believe that the prayers of the righteous will produce God honoring results.

HOME AGAIN NOMINATED FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN LITERARY AWARD

2011-09-30T07:28:00.001-04:00

It was a tremendous thrill for me to join Wanda B. Campbell in the flagship project of her new publishing house, micah68books.com last year. Wanda the visionary and founder of Micah68books was assembling a team of authors to write stories that described the range of broken human relationships restored by the power of reconciliation. When Wanda had completed assembling a team together nine authors would join rank to produce HOME AGAIN: Stories of Restored Relationships.

This anthology of fine tuned stories was released in November 2010 and one of the pinnacle of its continued success was being nominated for a Literary Award given by the auspices of the African American Literary Award Show. This star studded event took place on Thursday September 22, 2011 at Melba's Restaurant 163 West 125th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard in Harlem New York.

The African American Literary Award Show is the culmination of the vision of Yvette Hayward who has produced this unique venue for the last seven years. It is the only awards show that recognizes African American authors in America.

I had the honor to attend this event along with Wanda Campbell and many others who had been nominated in a certain category. Home Again was one of three anthologies to make the final round for Short Story/Anthologies and was the only Christian anthology competing for the award for the year 2011.

Some of the highlights of this Show was the opening song performed by Abby Dobson. Abby is a tremendous artist in the Neo Soul genre and I thoroughly enjoyed her acapella performance. The Award Show host was Napiera Groves, a contestant in Miss USA pageant in 1997. She was comical and entertaining throughout the night.

I was inspired by the acceptances speeches of Hip Hop power couple Danyel Smith & Elliott Wilson. Kimberla Lawson Roby who won the Author of the Year Female gave impassioned remarks as she dedicated her award to the memory of her Mother and recognized the support of her husband.

It was a thrilling evening and I was equally impressed to be in the company of so many famous authors and media personalities such as Mikki Taylor of Essence, Tara Dowdell and Dr Michael Eric Dyson. At my table was another author whose book was nominated in the field of Children/Young Adult. Her name was S.Dodson and she is the author of Teen Girls Need Love. It was great meeting and talking with her.

Home Again didn't win but I think that Wanda and the Home Again Crew can be very proud of this nomination given to us ten months after we were released. Congratulations to the assembly of outstanding writers who combined efforts produced Home Again:

This is the nominated group of authors who contributed stories to HOME AGAIN.

Wanda B Campbell at the African American Literary Awards Show, Founder and Publisher of Micah68Books, author of Blood Redemption.

Maurice Gray author of Family Matters

Shenette Jones author of Uncovered

Trinea Moss author of Couple on Trial

Dijorn Moss, Trinea's husband, author of Journey to the Throne

Dr. Linda Beed author of Flavorful

Tavares Carney author of Confidential Relations

Tyora Moody author of Birthing Pains

Bernard Boulton author of Jake and Eric

You can get a copy of Home Again on my website, at http://www.bernardboulton.com/books/homeagain.html

BUT WAIT BEFORE YOU PURCHASE YOUR COPY! Visit this page and read an excerpt from my story JAKE AND ERIC, http://bernardboulton.com/books/homeagain.excerpt.html

Congratulations HOME AGAIN CREW!

I could use your support on Facebook. Visit my fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pabernardboulton and give me a Like. On my welcome page you can download a free e-book that I have written titled "Releasing the Dream in you to Live an Incrdible Life!"

WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?

2011-09-26T07:02:00.000-04:00

At the end of this week we will enter the first day of October. There will be 92 days left in this year. I always get hyped at the beginning of October because I know that I have three months left in the year and if I have any unfinished projects I want to be sure that I finish them by December 31st. But also during the last three months of the year I start to plan and write visions for what I will be doing next year.

Do you have any unfinished projects that you are determined to finish before this year is over? Have you begin to form a vision for what you what to accomplish in 2012?

Whatever you have to finish before the year is over if you do these two things you can make it happen, FOCUS and PERFORM. Determine the amount of time that you need to give to your project so that on the last day of the year you can celebrate your accomplishment.

Is what you have to do too big for you to accomplish? ASK FOR HELP! What I have to finish doesn't require human help, at least not yet but it does require divine help so I've started today asking God to give me the grace to finish my assignment. Who ever you need go to them and ask for help. Success with the aid of another is still success.

Write down the tasks that you need to perform to finish what you have to finish. Some things you will need to do daily. Some things you will need to do weekly. Chart your course and follow it.

Now that I am giving you some principles on finishing your projects for this year I'm sharing with you what I need to finish by December 31st.

1. I need to finish my second novel. It is the sequel to my first novel, DO YOU WANNA BE MADE WHOLE?

2. I need to write my teaching schedule for WORD IN AN HOUR, the Tuesday morning and evening Bible studies at the New Mine Creek Church for 2012.

3. I need to finalize some urgent business concerns regarding my publishing company.

4. I need to write my marketing plan for 2012. I plan on releasing two books next year.

Please drop me a line and tell me what you need to finish this year. Let's share and encourage each other.

A NEW SEASON IN PRAYER: PRAYER JOURNALING

2011-09-16T10:28:00.000-04:00

Most of my Christian Life I have pursued God in prayer, but in 1994 I started a new form of prayer by writing my prayers in a journal. As I was contemplating what to write today I was led to pull out my first journal and share with you where I was in my prayer life seventeen years ago.

I first start journaling in 1994. I was pastoring a church in Beckley West Virginia. Me and my wife Vantoria had been married for three years and our son, Quincy was two years old. That was a challenging season for us on many fronts.

In my journal on August 3, 1994 I praised God for His righteousness and faithfulness.

I asked God to help me trust Him without reservations.

I meditated on Psalms 37:4, "DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD AND HE SHALL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART."

I wrote these principles to apply to my life that day:

1. Expect God to act on your behalf.
2. Get as close to God as you can.
3. Follow God today.

In those days I kept my prayer journal in a Composition Book purchased at Rite Aid Drugstore. Today I write my journal on my Microsoft Word program on my desktop personal computer. Back then I struggled to write my prayers, now it's as easy as breathing.

I have twenty five volumes of prayers written in the Composition Book and I have twenty volumes on my computer. These journals describe my journey with God for the last seventeen years. In them I have penned my failures and successes. My concerns and fears. I have shared with God on paper my heart and I have written what I have believed Him saying to me.

If you need a new season in your prayer life I recommend prayer journaling, it's worth it.

Pastor Bernard Boulton, Pastor Gabriel Ojunjobi, Deacon Henry Law, Deaconess Vicky Law.

I attended a prayer meeting in Lagos Nigeria with my host Pastor Gabriel Ojunjobi to my left, next to him are my two traveling companions, Deacon Henry Law and his wife Deaconess Vicky Law.

I led the congregation in the final prayer of the meeting. It was an incredible week to prayer journal.

NATIONAL PRIMITIVE BAPTIST ELECTS ELDER KENNETH DUKE AS VICE PRESIDENT

2011-09-12T09:21:00.001-04:00

After the announcement had been made on Thursday night that Elder Bernard Yates had been elected President of the National Primitive Baptist Convention I was having a conversation with a fellow delegate later that night.

"I don't think that Yates should nominated Duke as vice president. Some people are complaining about having the two top officers from the same state." The irony of this statement is that for the last six years the top two officers were from the same state.

The person to whom I was speaking with said, "Yates should nominate Rainey or some one from Alabama." Rainey is Elder Jeffrey Rainey from Mobile Alabama, a prolific and poetic preacher who thrills the constituency of the convention every year with his impassioned Bible expositions/messages as the convention's Bible Expositor.

I replied, "Yates is going to nominate Duke tomorrow. That's his choice."

"But people are saying...." I interrupted him.

"It doesn't matter what people are saying we need to hear what God is saying." I said. "Those two are anointed by God for this time. We need to stop looking at this from the wrong perspective, the choice of Kenneth Duke is not about geography, it's about what the Spirit is saying to this convention."

The conversation was over and the person I was speaking with agreed with me.

On Friday August 26, 2011 Elder Bernard Yates nominated Elder Kenneth Duke as Vice President of the National Primitive Baptist Convention. Elder Duke was overwhelmingly elected to the office.

One of the visitor to the convention told me that you could sense the change in the atmosphere that week. What was felt in the atmosphere become manifest on Thursday and Friday of the convention. To this national body change has come.

Who is Elder Kenneth Duke? He is the dynamic pastor of the New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church in Miami Florida. When Elder Duke was called to the New Jerusalem Church in 1985 this congregation numbered forty persons. Today it is a congregation of seventeen hundred people with a plethora of community ministries that is meeting needs throughout the populace of Miami and Dade County. Elder Duke is a dynamic pastor/evangelist who preaches through out the United States and for the last year and a half he has traveled to and given support to a congregation in Petit Guave Haiti.

With the election of Elders Yates and Duke there is an excitement in the National Primitive Baptist Convention, much as it was in the United States in 2008 after the election of Barack Obama. With this sense of renewed hope and unbridled optimism news days are in the horizon.

I ask you to pray for Vice President Duke as you pray for President Yates. Pray these petitions for Elder Duke as you are led to:

1. That God will anoint Elder Duke as he partners with and supports President Yates.
2. That God will give Elder Duke the ability to hear His voice as he counsels Elder Yates and that the two will always walk together in agreement for the unity of the convention.
3. That God will send His angels to protect Elder Duke, his wife Julia, their children Kenneth, Kelon (Tina), Aheisha, granddaughter Kennedi
4. That God will cause Elder Duke to prosper and New Jerusalem to prosper.
5. That God will cause Elder Duke enemies to fall before him.
6. That God will increase Elder Duke's wisdom that he will successfully navigate his duties.
7. That God will protect Elder Duke's health as he travels and ministers in the country of Haiti.

FICTION FRIDAY

2011-09-09T07:01:00.000-04:00

TOM BLUBAUGH

AUTHOR OF NIGHT OF THE COSSACK

Bernard's Word welcomes Tom Blubaugh. Tom is devoted to the art of writing and Night of the Cossack is his first published novel.

1. Tell us when did you first know that you would be an author? This is an interesting question. I didn't know I would be one- really. I've been a writer for over fifty years (can it really be a half of a century?), but it wasn't until my unintentional novel was published that I knew I was an author. I say unintentional because it wasn't my intent to write a novel. I was creating a heritage for my children and grandchildren since both of my grandfathers died before I was born. I was simply taking a handful of facts about my maternal grandfather and was creating his character.

2. Who are your favorite authors? Louis L'Amour is one of them. I have always liked westerns and he has kept them clean. There is always a good guy, a bad guy and a girl. You'd think that it would get old, but it doesn't. The team of Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye for their Left Behind series.

3. What are your favorite books? The Left Behind series; Island of Saints, Breach of Promise.

4. Share with us your journey to publication? I wrote poetry at the age of fifteen. There were always ads in comic books about turning poetry into song lyrics. I was really into rock and roll, sideburns and duck tails. I had a dream of my poems becoming lyrics for Elvis, Conway and others. I would always get a packet back with a letter telling me if I'd send money, etc. I didn't have money so the dream died. My writing stopped until I was twenty eight, when I became a Christian. I began writing nonfiction and I self published a book for my ministry in 1974 and sold it at seminars. A few years later, I was published by two denominational magazines and a business magazine.

In business I wrote newsletters and and then text for websites. It wasn't until my mother passed in 2005 that I started writing fiction. As I stated earlier, both of my grandfathers died before I was born. I became a grandfather in 1998 and I didn't have a role model to follow. The hole my grandfathers would have filled kept getting bigger. I didn't know much about either of them, but one thing I knew-my maternal grandfather was a Russian Cossack soldier. This intrigued me enough to start me on a path of research. The Russian history of the Cossacks grabbed my interest and I started creating my grandfather for myself and my heirs. I joined an online Christian writer's group and as encouraged to pursue publication. I found a local critique group and joined. They agreed I was on to something. When I was close to completing my manuscript, a friend called me and wanted help with a website. He and his wife was starting an independent Christian publishing company. I didn't think anything about it because I wasn't writing a Christian novel. My grandfather was a Jew. During the process of developing their website, they read the first chapter of my book which was on my website. They wanted to read more and decided they would like to publish the story. This, of course, is not the unusual process, but it was God's way.

5. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? There are several things that I could say about writing, but if you want your book read by readers other than your friends and family, work diligently to build a platform. Not after you've written your manuscript, but from the very beginning. People need to know who you are before they will want to read what you have written.

6. Have you explored interracial themes in your writing? Not unless you consider my novel where my grandfather is a Jew. Being a Jew includes both nationality and religion.

7. What are the keys to success for a writer? Have a passion other than making a name for yourself and money. Never give up on your story. Everyone has one, but most don't write it. If it doesn't ignite your passion, it won't excite others.

8. Tell us about your future projects? I'm thinking about now. Everyone who has read my novel asks about a sequel. I will continue to build my author platform. I enjoy public speaking so I'm working with elementary, middle and high school creative writing groups and classes. When it turns cold, I'll stay in my office and probably work on the sequel.

You can find Tom at http://tomblubaugh.blogspot.com.

http://www.facebook.com/nightofthecossack

http://nightofcossack.com (read the first chapter for FREE)

NATIONAL PRIMITIVE BAPTIST ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT

2011-09-01T07:27:00.002-04:00

The ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Greensboro North Carolina was silent as the delegates of the 104th annual session National Primitive Baptist Convention watched the members of the Election Committee walk into the ballroom solemnly to announce the results of the 2011 Presidential election. You could feel the apprehension and concern in the air as Elder Robert Crocker of Nashville Tennessee walked to the podium to announce the election results.

Clearing his throat Crocker said, "four hundred and eighty six votes were cast. For Elder Oscar Montgomery one hundred and thirteen votes. For Elder Ernest Ferrell one hundred and eighty three votes. For Elder Bernard Yates one hundred and ninety votes. Elder Yates has the majority votes."

Shouting erupted from the back of the ball room where many of the young persons of the convention were waiting with anticipation. One woman screamed out, "Recount!" Another pastor was moaning, "Oh no, Oh no." The supporters of Elder Yates wanted to shout in jubilation but they did not. In spite of the fact that the man they supported and prayed for had won they were concerned about those who were hurt over the fact that the men they had supported had lost. However throughout the ball room you could see a few delegates praising God for an upset victory for Elder Yates.

On Thursday night the National Primitive Baptist Convention celebrates what is considered high worship in the church, the observation of the Lord's Supper and Washing of the Saints feet. The election announcement was read at the end of the worship.

To settle the range of emotions that were being felt in the ballroom Elder T.W. Samuels led the convention in prayer. Elder Samuels served as the president of this convention from 1995 to 2005. He is the oldest member of the convention having attended for more than seventy years, from his childhood.

God heard the prayers of many members of the National Primitive Baptist church by giving victory to Elder Bernard Yates who had served the convention faithfully as the vice president for six years. When he made the decision to seek the presidency after much prayer and counsel he was commended by many for having the courage to do so and he was vilified by others who perceived his actions as that of betrayal to the current president who was still eligible to serve for one more term.

Elder Yates recognized the times and the seasons of transition that is not only in the National Primitive Baptist Church but in the universal body of Christ as well. And he understood months ago that the times demanded of him to make himself available to the will of God in this role of national leadership. Believing that he had heard God and knowing what God wants to accomplish in this church Elder Yates said yes to God.

Bernard Yates did not run a campaign. He did not make promises to his supporters. He did not jockey for position. He did not praise himself for his accomplishments, although they are many. He did not make himself the center of attention. When he was attacked and criticized he did not retaliate. He simply prayed and asked those who supported him to pray.

Bernard Yates was not ruled by ambition or agenda. He submitted to the Holy Spirit and believed that God's choice would assume the mantle of leadership in August. And God's choice did.

From the time that Elder Yates informed me that he would offer himself to be the president I earnestly prayed that his win was the will of God. I prayed daily that Bernard Yates would succeed to become the next president and that through him the Holy Spirit would usher Fresh Wind and Fresh Fire into the hundreds of churches that make up this convention. But a month ago the Holy Spirit caused me to shift in my intercession for Elder Yates and Elder Duke who became the vice president the next day. My intercessions became faith spoken declarations that Bernard Yates and Kenneth Duke would become the president and vice president of the convention. The Holy Spirit changed my prayer agenda, I stopped asking God to make it happen and I started, as the Holy Spirit led me, to declare that it would happen. And it did, as the Holy Spirit revealed it to me, and I'm sure to others.

Who is Elder Bernard C. Yates? He is a dynamic preacher of the gospel who travels throughout the Body of Christ in America proclaiming a prophetic Word of God. He is the pastor of the Zion Hope Primitive Baptist Church in Pensacola Florida, a vibrant congregation that numbers two thousand members. He is the husband of Vonda Yates, his faithful partner for thirty years and father to LaBrea. For a number of years now he has preached the closing message in the National Convention always accompanied by his dynamic choir that ministers in the Shekinah Glory of God.

This is the man that God has chosen for this time. I challenge every member of the National Primitive Baptist Church to pray for our leader. I ask every member of the Body of Christ to pray for our leader. Pray these petitions as you are led to.

1. That God will anoint Elder Yates with wisdom so that he will know how to skillfully lead this convention in the seasons that are ahead of us.

2. That God will make Elder Yates spiritually sensitive to hear His voice and move accordingly.

3. That God will give Elder Yates discernment to choose a team around him that will bring success to the Primitive Baptist church for His glory.

4. That God will send angels to protect Elder Yates, his wife Vonda, and daughter Labrea from satanic attacks.

5. That God will cause Elder Yates to prosper and cause Zion Hope to prosper.

6. That God will cause Elder Yates enemies to fall before him.

7. That God will usher a new beginning into the Primitive Baptist Church through the presidency of Elder Yates.

FICTION FRIDAY

2011-08-19T17:24:00.001-04:00

JOHN 3:16 ADULT FICTION TOUR

PRESENTS

ASHLEY WINNTERS

Today I welcome the final author in the John 3:16 Adult Fiction Tour, Ashley Winnters. It has been a real joy introducing to you these exceptional authors. I hope that you have supported them by visiting their websites and purchasing their books.

This conversation with Ashley is going to be very different from the others writers that we have spotlighted on Bernard's Word. Unfortunately I lost Ashley's information, please forgive me for that, and so I am sharing with you some general information about today's author and two reviews of her books.

Ashley Winnters, pen name Ashley Dawn was born and raised in rural Arkansas where she developed her love for writing while helping in her parent's office. She graduated with an accounting degree from the University of Central Arkansas but is currently working as a legal assistant. Ashley had been writing professionally for the past seven years and has two published books. She and her family make their home in Texas.

Ashley's first book is titled SHADOWS FROM THE PAST.

"It is the price you pay for choosing to be a cop. Your brother's life..."

Those words haunt her dreams, and her waking moments. LAPD officer, Aurora Kavvan cannot rest until she finds her brothers killer. Digging into the past always brings back unpleasant things: memories, guilt....the hit man. Now she is in a race against time to find the murderer before he finds her.

Ashley's second book is titled SHADOWS OF SUSPICION

Revenge is the agenda...

"Find my sister."

Rick Reiley's words were what drove Luke to search mercilessly for Kerry. He is in a race against time to find her and will have to face more than a criminal mastermind to get close to her. He is prepared to give his life for her, but what about his heart?

"I would like you to meet...My wife."

Those words from her enigmatic rescuer threw Kerry more than anything else that had happened to her in the last few days...and that was saying a lot! Kerry's simple life is turned upside down when she is kidnapped and dragged to the middle of nowhere by a madman. She trust Luke with her life, but can she trust him with her heart?

As Luke fights to keep Kerry safe, the chemistry ignites and the danger gets closer.

Will God protect them while Luke tries to sort out his heart...and captures Kerry's?

You can connect with Ashley at:

http://ashleybookshelf.blogspot.com

http://facebook.com/awintters

MEN'S MONDAY

2011-08-15T11:24:00.000-04:00

MY TRIBUTE TO ELDER ASA AKERS

FEBRUARY 17, 1962-AUGUST 11, 2011

I was getting ready to go to bed when I received a phone call.

"Hello Pastor Boulton." It was Damien, Asa's oldest son.

"Hey Damien. What's going on?" I asked him.

"It's Daddy. He's been rushed to the hospital."

Alarmed I asked Damien, "What happened?"

"He got out of bed and collapsed. There was blood coming out of his mouth."

"Okay man I'm on my way."

I quickly got dressed and told Vantoria that Asa was sick and I was on my way to the hospital.The drive was ten minutes. I parked in the emergency parking lot and walked into the hospital to the receptionist desk.

"I'm here to see Asa Akers." I told the receptionist.

"He's in trauma room 1."

I walked to the trauma room. The hallway was crowded with people. The first person I saw and recognized was Damien, he was walking toward me crying. "How are you doing son?" I asked him as I placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not doing good Pastor." I waited for him to tell more but he didn't have anything else to say. I walked into the trauma room. The first thing I noticed was there was machines near the gurney where Asa lay. I didn't hear the sound of machines beeping. To the left of the gurney was Asa's wife Lottie crying, to the right was Scott, Asa's youngest son sitting with his head bowed down. I walked toward Scott and looked at Asa and then I knew that he was gone. Death had come and taken away my friend, my spiritual son and brother in the Lord.

As I looked at what remained of Asa Akers I saw the signs that he was gone but for a brief moment I believed that maybe we were mistaken and He wasn't gone, he hadn't died. But I couldn't hold on to that thought. I had to except the truth that Asa Akers had died.

I did the best I could to comfort Lottie, but what can you say or do at that moment. She has witnessed the death of her husband. The father to her sons is gone. Her world has been shaken. I placed my hands on her shoulder and prayed that God would help her to get through.

Since that Thursday night I have thought about Asa and who he was as I knew him. I came to the New Mine Creek Church in 1994. Asa had been a member at the church for a few years. He wasn't someone that I immediately connected with. He was a quiet man but after being at the church for a few years Asa sought me out and became one of the men that I had the opportunity to disciple and mentor. He faithfully attended the midday bible study that I started on Wednesdays at 12:00. And each week he would come to church early to spend time with me. We bonded and I helped him by sharing with him what I knew and understood about how God works in our lives.

Asa had a keen interest in knowing the will of God for his life and he was wrestling with knowing his purpose. I taught him and counseled him and God took the seeds that I planted to bring forth a great harvest in Asa's life. I left New Mine Creek in 2000 but Asa continued seeking God and a few years later it was with great joy when I was told that Asa had finally recognized God's call on his life to be a preacher of the gospel. I praised God for the part I had in Asa's life in helping him to develop in his understanding of God's will.

When I returned to New Mine Creek in February 2007 Asa was very active in the ministry of the church as a minister, a Sunday school teacher and a member of the Christian Education Ministry. He was also a candidate for ordination in the Sandy Ridge Association.

Over these last four years I've watched Asa grow in confidence and in ministry. He was my right hand, taking care of duties at the church when I was out of town. Asa was faithful and a valuable member on my team.

Yesterday I kept trying to avoid looking at the chair to my right where Asa sat. But I could see him in my mind, and in my memories.

Tomorrow we gather in the New Mine Creek Church to celebrate the life of Elder Asa Akers. He has planted many seeds that will continue to bring forth many harvest in the years to come. I don't pretend to understand why Asa died so suddenly at the age of 49 but I ministered to the church yesterday that we can know that when our hearts are breaking from a death invasion in our lives we can believe God who promises us that He will comfort us when we mourn. Jesus will heal our broken hearts and weeping may endure for a night by joy comes in the morning.

Asa was an incredible husband to his wife Lottie who supported Asa faithfully in all of his ministry endeavors.

Asa leaves to continue to his legacy in the next generations his two sons, two fine men who made their father very proud, Damien and Scott.

When a man lives all the world knows him from the power of his presence.
When a man gives all the world knows him from the generosity of his grace.
When a man loves all the world knows him from the sacrifice of his substance.
When a man dies all the world cries because such a man had lived.

Asa Akers was such a man.

JOHN 3:16 ADULT FICTION TOUR

2011-08-13T10:56:00.000-04:00

Bernard's Word Welcomes Amanda Stephan

Today's guest is Amanda Stephan. I apologize for being a day late and I will explain why on Monday. I hope that today's article will inspire you to go after your dreams. Please support Amanda by visiting her site and purchasing her products.

1. Tell us when did you first know that you would be an author? When I couldn't find anything to read. I was always more happy sitting down and writing my own stories. I guess that's when I first had an inkling.

2. Who are your favorite authors? Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, to name just a few.

3. What are your favorite books? Beside the Bible, I'd have to say my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice with Jane Eyre at a very close second.

4. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? Keep plugging away. Surround yourself with caring people for those times when you hit that wall of discouragement. And there's no shame in walking away from your computer to keep yourself from responding in anger.

5. Have you explored interracial themes in your writing? At this point, I haven't explored any interracial themes in my writing, but I can't say that I won't. Personally I see an opportunity for God's blessing and working in such relationships, and ministries that could abound from such. I think that all too often, we put God into a box instead of letting Him work through us and use us for His glory and honor.

6. What are the keys to success for a writer? PRAYER, PRAYER, PRAYER! Ask for God's will to be done. I'd rather be at the bottom of the Amazon list and in God's will than to be at the top and out of it. However that's easier said than done!:)

7. Tell us about your future projects? My second novel, Lonely Hearts, will be released in October of this year, and I'm so excited! It's about one lonely mother. Two matchmaking kids. Three very eligible bachelors and a VERY yummy apple pie.

The Price Of Trust is about an abused young woman betrayed by her fiance who finds trusting God is the only thing she can do to survive and love again.

If you are interested in reading more about THE PRICE OF TRUST go to http://www.booksbyamanda.com/sneak-peek.html. (I've read the three chapters and I'm hooked. Amanda has written a very intriguing story).

At this site is also the first chapter of Amanda's next novel LONELY HEARTS.

You can contact Amanda at the following sites:

http://www.facebook.com.amanda.stephan1

http://www.facebook.com.thepriceoftrust

http://www.twitter.com/amandastephan

http://www.thepriceoftrust.com

http://amandastephan.blogspot.com

CONTEST

Leave a comment on today's interview and win a FREE pdf File of PRICE OF TRUST. The winner will announced next week.

FICTION FRIDAY

2011-08-05T10:42:00.001-04:00

JOHN 3:16 ADULT FICTION BLOG

FEATURES

ROSE MCCAULEY

Today we are featuring Rose Mccauley who lives in the beautiful bluegrass region of Kentucky on a farm surrounded by God's creation.. She has been writing for over ten years and has been published in several non-fiction anthologies and devotionals. She is a retired schoolteacher and has been happily married to her sweetheart for over 43 years. She is also the mother to three grown children and their spouses and Mimi to three lovely grandkids.

Rose's website is http://www.rosemccauley.com

Rose blogsite is http://www.rosemccauley.blogspot.com

THE INTERVIEW

1. Rose can you tell us when did you first know that you would be an author? I always liked to make up stories and write, but didn't decide to pursue publication until I retired from teaching 13 years ago.

2. Who are your favorite authors? Whomever I am reading at the time! I just finished three historicals by Kim Vogel Sawyer, a wonderful author!

3. What are your favorite books? I love the Jan Karon books and other series set in small towns like several by Deb Raney.

4. Rose would you share with us your journey to publication? I wrote my first book and took it to the first ACFW conference almost 9 years ago. While there I learned how much I had to learn, so I went home and started studying, taking online classes and reading and writing. I've written four novels and started several others, but just got my first fiction contract last September, and the book comes out in September.

5. What advice do you have for an aspiring author? Join a group like ACFW, read lots of genres and writing books, and keep writing!

6. Have you ever explored interracial themes in your writing? I did have a book rejected once because the heroine was part Indian and the hero was white.

7. What are the keys to success for a writer? Perseverance and prayer.

8. Tell us about your future projects? I am almost ready to submit another anthology proposal with two other authors and then next month plan another proposal. I also have a women's fiction novel I plan to brainstorm with a couple writer friends. Too many ideas to ever stop writing!

CHRISTMAS BELLES OF GEORGIA

SURPRISED BY LIFE -AND LOVE -AT CHRISTMAS

Four letters are mailed from Monticello, a small antebellum town in Georgia. Sisters once, now heirs to a historic plantation, each young women must come to terms with the circumstances of her birth...

When she learns in a letter she's adopted, Holly feels betrayed by her parents- and she books a flight out of Missouri immediately. Will she ever be able to love again?

Raised in a wealthy, loveless home, Carol rushes to Monticello from college in Atlanta when she receives her letter. She's searching for family, but finds instead a boy she once mistreated. Will he remember her?...forgive her?

In one year, Starr has lost her parents, boyfriend, and job, so she's sure her letter is more bad news. When the attorney flies to California to offer proof, Starr takes a second look-at the message and the man.

Noelle always knew that she was adopted-and she always loved the foremen on her father's Texas ranch too. But he's so distant...perhaps a trip to Georgia is the break in life that she needs.

Will the sisters receive a traditional Christmas gift...of love.

WEDNESDAY'S WORD

2011-08-03T06:13:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday's I am sharing with you a message that I preached either at the New Mine Creek Church located at 1525 Malmaison Road Blairs Va, http://www.facebook.com/newminecreek or another place where I had the privilege of preaching God's Word. I pray that today's Word will give you focus and faith to believe God for the impossible in your life.

Romans 10;17, "FAITH COMES BY HEARING THE WORD OF GOD." What you believe is what you speak. What you speak is what you experience.

JEREMIAH 33:3 "SHOW ME THE WAY"

Jeremiah was in prison for delivering an unpopular message to Zedekiah, the king of Judah. But God was in prison with Jeremiah. And God spoke to Jeremiah in that prison cell.

Sometimes God will come into our lives to deliver you from a bad situation and sometimes God will come to deliver you in a bad situation. Many times in life God will not take you out of a situation but rather He will give you His Word in the midst of that situation. I believe that's what God did for Jeremiah.

See what God did for Jeremiah:

1. God gave Jeremiah an invitation: "CALL ME." God is inviting Jeremiah to pray. Jeremiah is in an intense place. Jeremiah is in prison because of his ministry. And God invites Jeremiah to pray. The word call means to make a specific request for a specific response.

I love this principle of prayer: Pray specifically and expect what you pray for. When your situation is critical you need to pray for God's intervention in a specific way and watch God move on your behalf.

2. God gave Jeremiah an assurance: "I WILL ANSWER YOU." God said to Jeremiah, when you call me Jeremiah I will reply to your petition. God's answer follows our initiative to call Him first. Rest assured that when you pray God will get back to you. If He doesn't get back to you right away wait for His call. Expect God to call you back.

3. God gave Jeremiah the method of His return call: "I WILL SHOW YOU GREAT AND MIGHTY THINGS WHICH YOU DON'T KNOW." God said to Jeremiah that when I answer you my answer is going to be what I show you. God said to Jeremiah that I'm going to give you a vision. I'm going to show you something that you've never seen before.

When God gives you a vision He shows you things that you've never experienced before. He shows you things that are beyond your current circumstances.

God shows you things that will exceed your current state of living. He shows you things that you have never done.

If you are at a crossroad in your life and you don't which way to go then ask God to show you the way. God loves showing the way that you should walk in and He loves leading us the way He knows is best for us. You see another word for way is life. God shows you a vision so that you will know what kind of life He wants you to live.

God gives you the vision for your life and then God says this is the way to go and accomplish what I've shown you.

When God shows you what you've never done before He wants you to do what you've never done before.

Make a decision in this brand new month to Ask God to show you the way, wait for His answer and see what He is showing you. And then DO IT!

MEN MONDAY

2011-08-01T13:15:00.003-04:00

Brother Your Vision is in front of you

Gen 1:29 "SEE I HAVE GIVEN YOU EVERY HERB THAT YIELDS SEED WHICH IS ON THE FACE OF OF ALL THE EARTH, AND EVERY TREE WHOSE FRUIT YIELDS SEED; TO YOU IT SHALL BE FOR FOOD."

Genesis 13:14 "AND THE LORD SAID TO ABRAM, AFTER LOT HAD SEPARATED FROM HIM; LIFT YOUR EYES NOW AND LOOK FROM THE PLACE WHERE YOU ARE..."

You were born to accomplish and achieve. You were born to soar and dream. You were born to live your dreams. You were born to rise above schemes. You were born to see the impossible.

One of the the greatest gift that God gave to a man is the ability to see the invisible. Not just see things around you but the inner ability to see things that are not yet but can be. That's what a vision is. It is the ability to see tomorrow today. A vision is the fruit of your imagination. It is the blueprint of your future.

When I was a little boy, although I didn't know it at the time, I had a vision. I had a picture of my future that was formed in my imagination. I saw myself writing books, telling stories that would be read all over this country. And you know what? My vision came to pass in December 2009 when my first novel was released. And the vision continues through my writing blogs that are being read in countries all over the world. It continues through the short story I wrote last year that was published in an anthology that has been nominated for an award. And the vision that I had as a little boy continues through the two books I'm currently writing.

My vision is no longer in front of me. I'm living in it and the vision is enlarging my possibilities to do more.

Today I want to help you focus on your vision by giving you some keys that will help you to discover the vision that you were born to achieve. The keys that I will show you are composed as the word V.I.S.I.O.N. Each letter represents a key. They are:

V is for Value.

I is for Insight.

S is for Search.

I is for Inventory.

O is for Observation.

N is for Need.

I know that these keys will help you to look ahead and see what is before. That's what Abraham did. In Genesis 13 God told Abraham to look from the place where he was. And when Abraham did what God said he saw his future and the future of generations of his descendants. That's what I want you to do today look from the place where you are and see the exciting future that God wants you to live. Your future starts with a vision. So here are the six keys to open the door to your vision.

1. Value: Your vision is determined by your values. Your values are a set of beliefs that you live by. Because I am a Christian my values are determined by the Word of God, and God's Word governs what I do and what I will not do. These values that I have adopted in my life has a great impact on what kind of stories and subjects that I write about. There are certain scenes and certain words that I will not use in my writing because of the values that determine my behavior. When you are looking for your vision you must first determine what is important to you and what will not change no matter what. Your vision will be discovered by what you value.

2. Insight: Having a vision is having a solution to your problem. Insight is being able to look within the problem and finding the answer. Your vision is the solution to your problem.

The Wright brothers wanted better transportation and so they produced a flying machine.

Henry Ford hated life on his father's farm. He envisioned a machine that would get men off the farm into living more productive lives and so he produced the automobile.

Mary Bethune was an educator but had no where to teach so she started a school in Central Florida for young women. She was a revolutionary educator who combined education with vocational training. Her school opened the doors for many young African-American women. Mary Bethune became a woman of great importance because of her vision. She was the only African American woman to attend the founding conference of the United Nations as a delegate from the United States.

These persons found their vision because they had insight. They each had a problem and they each found the solution to their problems.

3. Search: Your vision is a search for what is missing in your life. Look around you, what is missing? What are doing without? Look for what doesn't exist but could exist in your life. That's what your vision is, it is the thing that you are searching for that will complete something in your life. It could be a business, a book, an investment plan, a relationship. Look around and look within yourself to find your vision. Examine your heart and your imagination and discover what is that missing thing in your life. Your vision is inside of you. Search for it and you will find it.

4. Inventory: You have to do an inventory of what you need to do to accomplish your vision. Do you have all that you need to succeed? Is there something that you have to acquire to fulfill the vision?

Later after I had completed writing my novel my inventory lead me to find a team of editors to help me sharpen my book.

Pay attention to what and who you need to assist you in making your vision take place. Don't be haphazard or disorganized. Take inventory of what this vision is going to cost you and then proceed to make it happen.

5. Observe: This key may sound like the key Search but it serves a different function. Observe what you are doing as you bring the vision forward. What happen to a lot of visionaries is they lose the big picture because they are so focused on the process. And then a lot of visionaries start to focus on ancillary issues that causes them to lose focus on the main thing. Observation means that you are carefully watching what you are doing and making sure that you are following the necessary steps to bring the vision to pass.

You have to also observe yourself. Are you losing interest? Are you losing passion? Are you ignoring important people or other obligations?

It's important that you don't lose everything as you pursue a new thing.

6. Need: Your vision addresses a need in some one's life. It is the missing component in the lives of other people. Your vision is the answer to your success and achievement that will help someone to have a different kind of life. Your vision is the answer for someone else. What the needs in your community? When you find a need and meet it you have found your vision.

Bill Gates had a vision to put a computer in every home in America. That was the singular vision of his company for 25 years. His vision answered a need and made him one of the most significant person in world history in the 20th century. And one of the wealthiest.

Your vision is really right in front of you. Not outside but in your heart. And when you find it and start walking in it it will lead you further than you are right now. And your life will change because you saw it and you were inspired to make it happen. Let this blog empower you to go forward and make things happen. You can contact me anytime if you need my help. My address is BERNARDBOULTON@YAHOO.COM.

FICTION FRIDAY

2011-07-29T07:54:00.001-04:00

JOHN 3:16 ADULT FICTION TOUR

PRESENTS

TRACY KRAUSS

I hope that everyone is having a great week. No matter what you faced yesterday God has given you another day and for that reason you should rejoice in the wonderful gift called Life in the span of time called today.

Today I am featuring author Tracy Krauss another wonderful writer from the John 3:16 Marketing Network. One of the best moves that I made late last year was joining this group of dedicated talented writers who strive intentionally to glorify Jesus Christ in their writing.

Lorilyn Roberts, the founder and moderator of this group is a true visionary in the Body of Christ that God has raised up for this time to bring together writers from across the world. And God has used her to do just that.

For all of you authors who are looking for a manual to instruct you in how to launch a Best Seller please visit Lorilyn Roberts at Smashword and get a copy of HOW TO LAUNCH A CHRISTIAN BESTSELLER, THE JOHN 3:16 MARKETING NETWORK for $1.99.

Okay today's interview.

Tracy is an author, artist, playwright, director, worship leader, and teacher. She received her Bachelor's Degree at the University of Saskatchewan. She and her husband, a pastor and their children currently live in Tumbler Ridge, BC.

1. When did you first know that you would be an author? I started writing seriously about 25 years ago after my first child was born, I'd put her down for a nap in the afternoon and then bang away on my old typewriter. I looked forward to that time of day.

2. Who are your favorite authors? My favorite authors are Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. I like spec and sci-fi fiction and both of these guys deliver, but from a Christian perspective. I also enjoy some classics like George Orwell, and Jane Austen. When I was a kid, Edgar Rice Burrows was my fave. I guess my taste are a bit 'out there'.

3. Share with us your journey to publication? After many years of writing, I finally took a plunge about 6 years ago and started submitting. Many heart wrenching rejections later (all totally legitimate-I learned a TON through it all) I contracted my first book AND THE BEAT GOES ON in 2009. MY MOTHER THE MAN-EATER came out in 2010, and I have another book in the publication process called PLAY IT AGAIN. It is the prequel to my first book.

4. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? Keep honing your craft. It's a process and is not for the weak hearted. Keep submitting, listening to criticism and advice, and then go back and make it better. One mistake people make is thinking that their work is above reproach. Everyone can get better, so don't do yourself the disservice of ignoring negative criticism, Use it to your advantage and turn it into a positive.

5. Have you ever explored interracial themes in your writing? I am currently working on a novel with a Cree protag. He is a born again Christian, but he is also from a long line of medicine men. He ends up dealing with a lot of racial bigotry from all sides, while at the same time struggling with dark spiritual forces from the past, It's called Wind Over Marshdale and I'm kind of excited about it. I hope to start pitching it this summer.

Short Synopsis-MY MOTHER THE MAN-EATER

A forty something 'cougar's' search for fulfillment keeps getting foiled when her prospects fall for one of her daughters instead. Her ex-husband is out of prison and looking for revenge. He'll stop at nothing-even-to ruin Joleen's reputation as well as her relationship with their daughters.

You can contact Tracy at:

http://www.tracykrauss.com

http://www/tracykraussexpressionpress.com

http://tinyurl.com/Tracy-Krauss-Author-Fanpage

www.twitter.com/TracyKrausswrtr

www.kraussamazon.com

WEDNESDAY WORD

2011-07-27T09:18:00.000-04:00

ST MATT 11;12 "TAKE IT BY FORCE"

The kingdom of God suffers violence and the violence take it by force. For many years I avoided this verse because I didn't understand what Jesus was saying. My understanding of the kingdom of God couldn't associate this kingdom of love, peace, and goodwill with violence. Violence is negative and everything about the kingdom of God is positive.

Violence creates death and the kingdom creates life. I couldn't understand the correlation of violence and God's domain because I'd seen the effects of violence growing up in Cleveland, in the Hough community. And so I struggled with this concept. I struggled to comprehend these words, "The violent take it by force."

But one day illumination shined in my misunderstanding as I was reading a teaching article written by Pastor Jack Hayford. Pastor Hayford helped me to understand that the violence that Jesus was talking about was spiritual violence which is totally different from natural violence. Spiritual violence refers to energetically pursuing what God says is yours.

Spiritual violence is pressing through difficulties to gain what belongs to you. It is rising above obstacles to conquer what is trying to conquer you. It is overcoming pressures to declare victory.

Those who want to possess the kingdom of God, which is the benefits and possessions that God says is yours, have to violently pursue it because they are forces trying to keep you from possessing what is yours. The violence that you must engage in is not against the kingdom but it is against those spiritual forces who are trying to keep you out of the kingdom.

Ephesians 6: 12 says, "FOR WE DO NOT WRESTLE AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD BUT

AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS AGE, AGAINST SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES." Natural violence is against people, spiritual violence is spiritual beings who desire to keep us from experiencing the kingdom of God and the abundant life that Jesus has promised us.

Spiritual violence is an attitude that says no matter what I will never give up until I possess what belongs to me.

This type of violence is expressed in prayer.

It is expressed in using the spiritual resources at our disposals; truth, righteousness, peace, faith, the Word of God to establish ourselves.

It is knowing how to bind what is holding you back and how to loose opportunities that will bless you.

It is knowing how to decree what God says will be established in your life.

It is recognizing the boundaries that God has set in your life and operating in those boundaries.

Fight the devil, the flesh and the world and take what God says is yours!

TAKE IT BY FORCE!

MEN MONDAY

2011-07-25T07:41:00.000-04:00

"I'M A GOOD MAN": THE ANTWONE FISHER STORY

I was watching one of my favorite all time movies last week, The Antwone Fisher Story. I love this movie for several reasons. First because it is based on the real life of Antwone Fisher, a fellow Clevelander, second because it portrays the pain of a man who was emotionally handicapped as a child but rose beyond his history to produce for himself a great future. And third because Denzel Washington had a starring role and this movie was his directorial debut.

However its not just the movie's plot that captured my attention but the sheer magnitude of Antwone Fisher's life and the horrors that he was exposed to as a young child. It wasn't what Antwone went through that impacts me but how he came out of it. Many men have gone through horrifying events in their past and remain trapped in the prisons of their yesterdays. Antwone Fisher is not one of those men.

In the movie we see Antwone's past eclipsing his present and almost ruining his career in the United States Navy. Before he was unceremoniously discharged from the Navy for his violent tendencies and uncontrolled anger Antwone is sent to Doctor Jerome Davenport, Played by Denzel, a Navy phychiatrist. With Dr. Davenport counseling him Antwone faces the roots of his anger and discovers the cause of his inadequacies. Antwone confronts his past and realizes what he must do to secure a new future with a new behavior system in place . With his girlfriend Cheryl Antwone returns to Cleveland to find his family. He locates his aunt which leads him to meeting his mother for the first time.

The two scenes that always moves me are at the end of the movie. In one scene Antwone is sitting on a couch with his mother pouring his heart to her when he says, "I am a good man." Whenever I hear Derek Luke, who played Antwone, say that it moves me. Here is a man who was forsaken by his mother. Was left to be raised by people who scarred him emotionally, sexually, and physically. Here is a man who reaches within himself and declares that in spite of everything that he went through he knows this about himself, he is a good man. He is valuable man, He is man that is useful to society. He is the best that he can be. And even though no one ever affirmed he affirmed himself. "I am a good man." That's an affirmation that every man needs to make about himself. No matter what has happened in your life you are a good man because God created you in his image and when God looked at you He saw that you were good. See yourself as God sees you.

The second scene that moves me is the final scene where Antwone thanks Dr. Davenport for helping him by motivating him to find his family. And Dr. Davenport looks at Antwone and says, "You are the champ, you have beaten everyone who has beaten you." The Antwone Fisher story is a story about a man who should have been defeated and diminished by everything that he went through but instead he is a champion. He is a winner. He fought the hard fight of looking back at his yesterday, discovering what was pulling him down and then moving on to discover the missing link to his past. Having done that he could march with confidence into his future. What makes a man a champ is not getting in the fight. It's not being beaten in the fight but it's fighting until you have beaten everyone and everything that has beaten you. Paul told Timothy to fight the good fight of faith. I challenge you to do the same thing. Fight whatever beat you down and caused you to give up hope. Fight your past. Fight rejection and depression. Fight loss and pain. Fight!

Thank you Antwone for sharing your life with us. You are a champion and you inspire all of us to beat everyone and everything that has beaten us.

FICTION FRIDAY

2011-07-22T07:21:00.000-04:00

JOHN 3:16 ADULT FICTION BLOG TOUR

FEATURING EDDIE SNIPES

Today we are introducing Eddie Snipes one of the authors on this Blog Tour. Eddie is the author of the novel titled I Called Him Dancer. I hope that this interview will inspire you and uplift you today.

1. Who are your favorite authors? Ted Dekker, Stieg Larsson, James Scott Bell, and me.

2. What are your favorite books? My all time favorite book is the Phantom of the Opera. It was one of those books I hated to see the end. There aren't many of those around.

3. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? Writing maybe a solo activity, but publishing is a social journey. Get connected. Join writer's groups, critique groups, and find fellowship with like minded writers. We need each other during every step of the journey. Critiquing allows other's to point out what we cannot see. Believe it or not there is much that you can't see. The mind fills in the missing information, so what's clear to the writer may not be clear to the reader. Then we need others help in the publishing process. Finally we need others to help market the book. A great book sits on the bottom of the sea of literature unless others are helping to keep it afloat.

4. Have you ever explored interracial themes in your writing?

Probably not in the sense that you are speaking of, but I did put several characters in my book to show the diversity in Manhattan (where my story takes place). The character most readers have commented about is a man from Nigeria named Kenyon. He's unpretentious, struggles with God, but has a genuine faith that impacts the lives of those around him. He wrestles with God when he knows a sacrifice is necessary, but he obeys. Most people can see their own struggles in Kenyon's life so they identify with him. Plus they are encouraged when he perseveres.

5. What are the keys to success for a writer? Perseverance. Everyone aspires, but as the saying goes, the race is not to the swift, but to those who endure. It's a long race and filled with challenges. Most good books will never be published because someone gave up and stuck it in a drawer.

Keep writing, Have a thick skin, Seek out people who will challenge you to reach higher and not just those who will pat you on the back. Let kudos come from those who read the finished product.

6. Tell us about your future projects? I'm just finishing a manuscript called Simple Faith. It's designed to teach the basics of walking in faith and it written for both the new believer, and for those who want to know how to experience God more fully. It will be available on mot retailers shortly. I also provide free peeks into all my books with the Amazon look inside feature. My current book, I called Him Dancer, is for sale for .99 cents.

You can contact Eddie at http://www.eddiesnipes.com

Twitter @eddiesnipes.

Facebook: eddiesnipes

Linkedin: eddiesnipes.

FICTION FRIDAY

2011-07-15T06:56:00.000-04:00

JOHN 3:16 ADULT FICTION BLOG TOUR

FEATURING LISA LICKEL

I hope that everyone has had a great week. This is the second week of the Blog Tour that I am a participant of. In this group is an awesome gathering of writers from all over the United Sates and Canada. Although we all have different stories and write in different genres the one thing that we share is a love for Jesus Christ and a burning desire to represent Him in our writing.

Today I introduce to you Lisa Lickel. After you have read about Lisa please leave a comment and visit Lisa's website, http://www.lisalickel.com and purchase one of her books. I appreciate your support and thank you for stopping by.

1. What are your favorite books? I confess that I'm a fiction junkie, and extremely eclectic. I love fantasy and sci fi, I think Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine is the best novel of the twentieth century, I enjoy thrillers and mysteries from all eras and cultures.

2. Share with us your journey to publication? I am a local historian and I worked to put together a book of our township history a few years ago. I went on to write some articles for the newspaper, press releases and the like. I then went on to take the Christian Writer's Guild apprentice course and began selling my work before I graduated. A few years later I simultaneously signed with an agent and sold my first story, the cozy mystery, to Barbour Publishing. That book released in 2009, along with another, Healing Grace, a few months later. Meander Scar released in Feb 2010 and won a Grace Award this May for excellence in faith-based fiction. I continue to learn about marketing and enjoy helping other writers.

3. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? Learn all you can from people who have some professional credibility, take some reputable courses, find a mentor, keep trying, develop a thick skin and don't take things personally. Remember, publishing is a business, and the person who is considering buying your manuscript needs to make money too.

4. Have you ever explored interracial themes in your writing? Yes, in the Map Quilt, a former free black woman and her son are on the run from bounty hunters in the prologue. In Wisconsin a fairly large-sized, in fact, two, communities of free black farmers had settlements from early settlement period. I was fascinated with their story when we bought a farm in the same county as one settlement, and their story inspired me. In the contemporary story, the families play a key role.

5. What are the keys to success for a writer? Patience, Persistence, and a continued striving for excellence.

6. Tell us about your future projects? I have recently contracted two more books, and am writing a proposal for another novella collection with a couple of writing friends. My next novel is scheduled for release in October, and is a collection of stories about a family facing the loss of their farm. One unforgettable summer, a brother and sister and their two children come home to find their past, reveal long-held secrets, rediscover faith and find love. The book is not yet titled. The other book is scheduled for release in April and is the sequel to my cozy mystery. It's called the Map Quilt, and is about the mystery of a skeleton in the yard, a woman's claim to the property, murder and lost gold. The hopeful proposal I'm working on is another novella collection that lets me do some research into nineteenth century Louisiana and the Cajuns.

Thank you Lisa for shairng your time with us. You can visit Lisa's website at http://www.lisalickel.com

CONTEST FOR FREE BOOK

This week you have the opportunity to win a free copy of my novel Do You Wanna Be Made Whole? if you answer this question correctly. The question is:

What publishing company will release Lisa's novel The Map Quilt? HINT: You will find the answer on Lisa's website.

The winner will be announced on next Friday.

THE WINNER OF LAST WEEK'S CONTEST is Tom Blubaugh. Congratulation Tom.

VANTORIA: THE WOMAN THAT I LOVE

2011-07-13T08:07:00.003-04:00

More than twenty one years I walked into a church in Elyria Ohio and was introduced by my cousin to a beautiful woman named Vantoria Larkins. I entered into a new season that would dramatically change the rest of my life.

Our first date was a month later. We met at MacDonald's in downtown Cleveland on Good Friday. Vantoria was in the city for an appointment and I was in between attending Good Friday services that were being held all over the city that day. I only remember snippets of the conversation we had but what I have always treasured is the joy I felt being with Vantoria for a few hours that day.

From that day on we started pursuing each other. Our time together was precious. Because she lived in Elyria and I lived in Cleveland we didn't see each other every day. But the hours on the telephone connected my heart to hers and on Fridays when I would get off of work I sped down Interstate 90 to see the woman that I had fallen in love with. I knew in twenty one days that I had discovered the woman that I would spend the rest of life with. I'd found my companion, my help and my love.
Vantoria fulfilled my vision of a wife. She was beautiful, educated and gifted. She was outspoken, brutally honest and very transparent. She introduced me to a new way of life that I had not known growing up in Cleveland.

I proposed to Vantoria one friday night as we were riding in my Camaro on interstate 90. The soulful sounds of Luther Vandross filled our space as I professed my desire to spend the rest of my life with her. And she yes she would be my wife.

On Saturday July 13, 1991 we were married in the presence of our families and our friends. I stood at the altar and watched as Vantoria walked toward me on the arm of her father. I was grateful and frightened that Vantoria was becoming my wife. Would I be able to be the kind of husband that she needed? Could I make her happy? Would she have a great life with me? I didn't know what the future held for us but on that day everything looked golden. It was a day that new beginnings were being established.

I could write a book on our twenty years together. July 13, 1991 began a life in motion for both of us. Within a year Quincy would be born, our only child. A year and a half after Quincy was born we were moving to the state of West Virginia where I was called to pastor my first church. A year after that we were moving to Danville Virginia to our second church. We would live there for over five years.

When I look back its really astonishing that we made it to year twenty. We both brought a lot of baggage into our marriage. Although Vantoria grew up in a two parent home I had not. And my view of marriage wasn't that great either. The way that I dealt with conflict was not to deal with it. It was easy for me to shut down verbally and emotionally. Vantoria had a different way of dealing with conflict and so we much conflict in those early years. Becoming a pastor and pastor's wife so early in our marriage also created a lot of tension for the both if us. We overcame many challenges in the early years with God's help.

There are two gifts that Vantoria gives me: Her love and her pride. She loves me and she is proud of me. And each day I try to live up to her expectations of me. Of course I fail. But I try to give her what she expects from me. So today I reflect on our beginning and on our continued journey. I thank God for making this unique creature to share life and love with me. My heavenly Father knew who I needed and He brought her to me. And by His grace we have walked together for the majority of our lives.

This woman that I love is Vantoria. She is the expression of God's love for me. God's grace to me and God's favor toward me. She is my helper, my motivator and encourager. She is my partner, my ally and my friend. God knew me and He knew her and He brought us together to know each other. She is the catalyst of my growth and the voice in my heart. She is the woman that I love.

FICTION FRIDAY

2011-07-08T07:29:00.000-04:00

JOHN 3:16 BLOG TOUR

FEATURING SIDNEY FROST

This is week one of John 3:16 Adult Fiction Book Tour. Over the next seven weeks I'm going to introduce you to seven excellent authors. By learning who these women and men are I hope that you will be more than interested in the stories that they have to offer you.

Today I am introducing Sidney Frost, author of Where Love Once Lived.

1. When did you first know that you would be an author? My earliest memory of writing is when my sister decided we would publish a neighborhood magazine. We were living on Pete's Path in Austin at the time, so I had to be about twelve years old. By publish, keep in mind the magazine was handwritten and each copy was handwritten as well. So there wasn't a wide distribution and the magazine only lasted for a summer. When school started we were too busy to continue it. But I remember getting to write and I remember the encouragement from my sister.

2. Who are your favorite authors? For many years, my favorite all time author was James Michener. I love the way he researched and covered a geographical area in a way that made it come alive for me. As I studied writing, I read only books that were similar to what I wanted to write. My favorites at that time were Jan Karon, Dee Henderson, Philip Gutley, and Elizabeth Berg. Now I'm reviewing books for several publishers and belong to a neighborhood book club and I read books by a variety of authors.

3. Share with us your journey to publication? I've wanted to write for so long. I don't know where to start. I had some non fiction articles published n the 1980s plus a computer book in 1983. But, I've had an idea of an novel that I've carried around in my head since the 1960s. I even tried to to write it a couple of times. I finally decided to wait until I retired so that I would have time for what seemed like a monumental task. Then, I realized I didn't know how to write a novel. So the next step was to take online classes.

Four years later I had a good start for what eventually became Where Love Once Lived. It won several manuscripts contest, but I couldn't find an agent or publisher, Finally, in 2010, I decided to publish through a print-on-demand publisher, CreateSpace. I'm glad I did. The book is doing good and is currently #6 top rated in Amazon's Kindle Edition in the Religious Romance.

4. What advice do you have for aspiring authors? I am often asked how one goes about writing a novel and getting it published. All I can tell them is my own experience. However, I can add where I made mistakes so they can skip some of the trial and error I went through. For example, one thing I learned too late is that you should know the market before you start writing. I didn't know what genres were or what publishers were buying. It may have made it easier to get published if I had studied the markets first.
Another thing I tell people is to take classes. Not just for what you learn from instructors, but for what you can learn from reading your classmates' works and what they say about yours.

5. Have you explored interracial themes in your writing? I am the father of three children and I was a single parent with full custody for many years. I taught my children to be color blind. I believe in total equality of the races and believe that it is only possible if differences were noted at all. When my daughter started dating a black friend in high school, some of my friends were shocked. Not me. Because I knew she wasn't doing it for any other reason than the fact she cared for the person.
In Where Love Once Lived, there is a black family and an interracial marriage. I hope it comes across as realistic. I've had more comments about that part of the book than other parts and people have even asked abut a follow up book to find out what happens next.

6. Tell us about our future projects? I have completed another novel. It is Christian fiction, but it fits more in the mystery/suspense genre. It is called The Vengeance Squad, and it is about a young college professor who uses computer knowledge to track down the people who killed his fiancee. The book is complete and is in the final stage of getting ready for publication.

Thank you Sidney for sharing your experiences with us. If you are interested in learning more about Sidney or would like to purchase a copy of Where Love Once Lived you can find him at:
http://sidneywfrost.com
http://christianbookmobile.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sidney-W-Frost/131589900213725
http://twitter.com/#!/sidneywfrost

CONTEST FOR FREE BOOK

Each week you will have the opportunity to win a free book. To participate in this drawing you must answer the following questions about the author that I have just interviewed. The winner will be announced on next Friday when I feature another author of the John 3:16 Adult Fiction Blog Tour. The prize is a Free Copy of HOME AGAIN: STORIES OF RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS. The question is:
What is the name of Sidney's wife? Hint: The answer is at his website. http://sidneywfrost.com

FINANCE FRIDAY

2011-07-01T07:19:00.000-04:00

FINANCIAL FREEDOM

This Monday we will celebrate the independence of the United States and the forming of this great nation. In America we value the ideas of liberty and freedom. We are proud of being citizens of the greatest country in the world. But in this midst of all of this freedom many citizens are slaves. We are held captive by poor financial management. We are chained to poverty and we are the victims of consequences that were brought on by a lack of knowledge and discipline in the area of finances.

I hope that I don't sound as if I am judging because I can't. I too am bound by certain practices and decisions that I have accepted as normal. But this year I am declaring my freedom and I'm coming out of financial slavery. My exodus started in February of this year. I was writing a sermon to deliver at the church on the last Sunday of the month . The text of my sermon was Saint Luke chapter 19: 11-27. As I was writing the sermon God spoke to me from this passage about making an investment and calling the church to do the same.

The next step to my freedom came when I started watching a a pastor on television named Gary Keesee (http://faithlifenow.com ) Pastor Keesee teaches about the Christian's role in the marketplace and God's call to Christians to walk in dominion in the earth. One element of his teaching has been revolutionary to me, he teaches about the "earth curse system." (If you want to know more about this biblical concept read the book FIXING THE MONEY THING). After following Pastor Keesee's teaching I purchased his book that I mentioned previously. Although I own many books on finances and stewardship this book has planted many seeds in my heart for the season I'm in. Old truths are being renewed and new truths are being brought to light. When I started to implement some of Pastor Keesee's instructions I started to save money immediately.

The next step toward my financial freedom was to bring the group in the church to an understanding of the kind of investment that we needed to make. The Sunday that I preached the message from St Luke 19 I shared with the congregation how God was speaking to me about us making investments and watching those investments grow. I told everyone that I was led to ask each of them to make a commitment to set aside a certain amount of money each month and together we would see how God would lead us. Twelve members agreed to join me. I wasn't sure where we was going but I knew that God would make it plain. By the end of April He did.

A financial teacher that I had the privilege of meeting at a financial empowerment conference fifteen years ago came to my mind. I had been receiving mail from his firm for a few months. His name is William Thompson and he is the Co-owner of Dynamic Financial Training. (http://www.dynamicfinancialtraining.com ). I contacted William and told him about the group that I had formed and I asked him would he be interested in coming to our church and mentoring us in finances to which he readily agreed. We had our first meeting on Monday June 6, 2011.

We met for two hours and William challenged us to make the first step in becoming financially free by changing our mindset. His teaching was electrifying. He taught us the NINE LAWS OF FINANCIAL TRANSFORMATION. He taught us about the four houses that God wants us to bless. Two of the most impacting things that he said was "When you learn how to help others you create wealth." That's a great principle. The other was , "Money is an idea, those who lack money lack ideas."

Our group will be meeting with William for six months. Our next meeting is Monday July 18, 2011. And I can't wait. Our homework assignment was to activate the LAW OF RECOGNITION (One of the laws that William taught from the NINE LAWS).

I want to share with you what I'm being different this year to become financially free:

1. I've been reviewing our household bills to see what cuts can we make in our monthly expenses.

2. I've devoted a great amount of our finances to paying off debt.

3. I've increased my offerings to ministries that are doing the work of the Kingdom.

4. I've been talking to my son more about the financial picture in our family.

I feel the breeze of liberation blowing over me. I'll be sharing more with you as I take this journey toward financial freedom.

WOMEN'S WEDNESDAY

2011-06-29T08:37:00.001-04:00

A SUCCESSFUL WOMAN: Michelle Obama

In spite of how you might feel about Michelle Obama personally or politically I believe that we can agree that Michelle Obama is a picture of a successful woman. I remember watching her speak at the 2008 Democratic National Convention where her husband Senator Barack Obama was nominated to be the Democrat's choice to run for president. That night Michelle shared her story. The story of a girl growing up in a loving home in Chicago where her parents taught her the principles that would guide her to make many successful decisions in her life.

As First Lady Michelle has reached out to many encouraging and inspiring people all over the world. Just last week she visited South Africa and met with the legendary world figure Nelson Mandela. As I viewed the pictures of that iconic meeting I thought about the journey that brought Michelle Obama to that moment. And I wondered what principles could women take from Michelle to find success for themselves. These are the principles that I see operating In Michelle Obama's life. I hope that they help you find success as well. I believe with all my heart that is God's will for every woman to succeed.

1. Sacrifice: During the early years of her marriage to Barack Obama Michelle made many sacrifices. Barack aspired to public office and ran for a seat in the Illinois State Assembly. His statewide campaigning meant that he would be away from home for many days in a row. After he won the election he and Michelle decided that their family should stay in Chicago while he lived in Springfield coming home on the weekends. Michelle sacrificed the comforts of having her husband home to be with her and their children. She was willing to give up her personal comfort and desire so that her husband could pursue something that they both thought was greater. Successful people are willing to make sacrifices today for something greater tomorrow. Sacrifices never comes without a price but they always create great rewards . Michelle paid the price to allow Barack to pursue his ambition and today she is experiencing the rewards from those sacrifices.

2. Support: When the man Adam was living in the garden God made this pronouncement that is recorded in Genesis 2:18, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper that is comparable to him." God created the woman to help Adam the man. Now that may sound demeaning to some women but the word helper is very important in terms of understanding the principle of support. A helper is someone who aids someone else to get where they need to be. Jesus called the Holy Spirit a Helper. If you are a believer the Holy Spirit is in your life to help you be who you need to be and to help you get to the destiny that God has for you.

Michelle Obama supports her husband because she understand the power of two which is recognizing that the two can do more than. I'm not sure how far Barack Obama would have gotten without Michelle's support but I do see how far he has gotten with Michelle's support. Her intelligence complements his. Her strengths complements his and together they make a successful team. A person doesn't reach success alone, he reaches it because he has support in his life. Michelle supports her husband and together they are succeeding in life.

3. Service: Michelle's work with addressing childhood obesity and helping the families of our military has demonstrated her heart to serve America. Michelle is a successful woman not just because of who she is married to or not because of her position but because of what she has done with her position. She uses her voice to help others. Her actions are benefiting many people. When a woman serves others she is making herself successful because she's giving to others the gifts that God has given to her. I read this quote on another blog, "The world estimates your importance by how many people are serving you. God estimates your importance by how many people you are serving." (http://hereIblog.com )

This is my word to you. I hope that you are pursuing success and being a successful woman. Maybe you have some principles that you would like to share on this blog on what makes a successful woman. I would be glad to read what you have to say.

While visiting this blog please stop by my website, http://www.bernardboulton.com and take a look at my books. Thanks for visiting Women's Wednesday.

MEN'S MONDAY

2011-06-27T07:29:00.000-04:00

EMOTIONS THAT CAN DESTROY A MAN

It was a Saturday afternoon and I was leaving the store. In the parking lot was a man in his mid twenties holding a baby. The baby was crying. But that wasn't what got my attention. What got my attention was the man's response to the baby crying. The man was cursing at the baby. Although I can't be sure it seemed that the man was angry because the baby was crying. It was as if the man was offended by this very natural reaction of the child to cry. As I watched the man continue to verbally assault the baby that he carried in his arms I wondered what caused the man to react in such a manner. Was he impatient or was he irritated? I wondered was he the child's father or the boyfriend of the child's mother? One thing was very clear to me, this man was responded emotionally to this baby and the display of his emotions revealed destruction.

I watched the man with the baby walk across the parking lot to his car and angrily put the child in the car seat cursing one more time as he slammed the car door. As I drove home I thought about that young man's emotions and then I begin to think about the negative emotions of men. Emotions that if not dealt with can destroy a man and those around him. The greatness in every man can be ruined by a man's inability to rule negative emotions. What a man doesn't control will control him.

Today I wanted to write about emotions that can destroy a man if he doesn't recognize them and deal with them. I will conclude this blog on next Monday. Today I am listing three emotions that can destroy a man and on next week I will list the remaining four.

1. Anger: A man is angry when he is displeased with himself or displeased with others. Many times a man will direct his angry at someone else when the object of his anger is himself. Anger is the hidden voice within a man. It wants to speak. It wants to say that I'm scared or I'm tired. It wants to say that I'm struggling but he doesn't speak because he's afraid to reveal his vulnerabilities. He shuts up the voice within himself and when the voice can no longer stand to be silent it screams instead of speaking. It yells because the voice is a prisoner wanting to be set free. The scream is anger.

2. Hate:Hate is pain turned outward. A man hates because of his history. Many men are taught to hate people. A few years ago a prominent clergymen was accused of preaching hate against America but what many of his critics didn't understand was his cry was the cry of pain. A pain born from a history of prejudice and racial intolerance. It was the cry of a wounded man who hadn't dealt with his pain and so his pain was turned outward. His hate represented his aversion to a history that he couldn't be free from. When a man is in pain a man will hate. The first murder in the world is in recorded in Genesis chapter 4. Cain murdered his brother Abel because of hate. Cain hated his brother because God approved his act of worship and God rejected Abel's act of worship. God didn't reject Cain but he rejected his worship. And when God confronted Cain about his offering and the sin that was about to overcome him Cain responded by turning his anger at God into hate toward his brother. One day they two were in the field, a place of partnership and fellowship and Cain killed his only brother.

3. Bitterness: A man becomes bitter when he is not able to accept his life. Bitterness is a man's response to his refusal to accept or forget something that happened in the past. Many men become consumed by bitterness because he can't get over the unfairness of yesterday. A lost job. A lost opportunity. A lost relationship. When a man does not release disappointments from his past he will impose those disappointments on others. Hebrew 12: 15b says, "Lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled." Bitterness is a seed that has been allowed to grow in a man's heart until it comes forth as a harvest. When it comes forth it brings trouble in a man and it defiles him and everyone that he is connected to.

Your feelings on Reading Fiction

2011-06-24T07:06:00.018-04:00

FICTION FRIDAY

I was listening to an interview this week. The gentlemen being interviewed had written a best selling book that landed him on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The book was based on his life. During the interview the gentleman said that he would never write fiction because he wanted to be taken serious and that he believed novels wouldn't get you the same kind of opportunity to be featured in the media.

His comments caused me to think about people's feelings about fiction, of course every person is entitled to his opinion. And there are many persons who think as that man thought. I was in the Post Office one day last year and a business owner was there asking me about my novel. She wanted a copy. The postman who was waiting on us also said that he wanted to purchase a copy of my novel. I went to my car to get the two copies and when I returned I sold one to the business owner but when the postman looked at it and then asked me what kind of book it was and I told him it was a work of fiction he decided not to buy it. He said, "I only read real books."

So today I wanted to engage you in a conversation on what are feelings about Fiction? Do you read it? Do you love it and why?

My personal feeling's on Fiction is I love it. I love reading it and I love writing it! I love stories. I am fascinated by entering into the world of people who are living life and dealing with whatever they face. And I love this genre called Christian Fiction. I love stories that show redeemed people who have a relationship with God living life by the principles of God's Word or people who don't have a relationship with God finding God in the progression of the story.

There was no Christian Fiction when I was a boy growing up in Cleveland Ohio. The only fiction in my community was novels by Donald Goines and Iceberg Slim. Those stories depicted life in the ghetto. They were sordid details of sex, drugs and violence. Years later when I penned my first novel I grappled with what kind of story would I write. Would I write about Christians who lived by different values from the community that they lived in or would I write about people in my community who lived by their own rules? At the end I wrote about a teenage Christian who got involved with a young woman who wasn't a Christian and that one relationship caused him to make a series of bad decisions in his life that would take him years to recover from.

I am a writer of both fiction and nonfiction. My second book is a nonfiction inspirational book that shows many experiences from God's Word and my life. I loved writing that book as well as writing my first published novel Do You Wanna Be Made Whole? but the difference between the two books was when I wrote my novel I created a world of people. It was my world, created in my imagination. Writing fiction is my expression of the creativity that God has placed in me. It is the release of my imagination. And God uses it to entertain and encourage people. After Do You Wanna Be Made Whole? was released the first email I received from a reader thanked me for writing it and the reader shared how it caused them to recognize a problem in their life and admit to them self that they needed to get help. God used my story to open this person's eyes and set them on the path to be made whole! I give God praise every time I think about how He used my story in that person's life.

So again my question to you is do you read fiction? Do you love fiction? Why do you read fiction? Thanks for stopping by!

PEACE, PURPOSE, PROSPERITY

Pastor Bernard Boulton

http://bernardboulton.com/books/index.html

MANPURPOSE

2011-06-21T06:25:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wondered why you were born? Why do you exist? Why are you alive today, in this period of human history? What is your purpose in life? Do you know the answer to any or all of these questions?
Every man needs to know his purpose. You need to know why God brought you into this world for this particular time. Hopefully I've got you thinking about where do I find my purpose? The answer to your question is found in the beginning, in Genesis 1:26, "Then God said, Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...So God created man in His Own image..." It's pretty simple isn't it? The reason why you exist is because God wanted you to be His image and like Him on the planet earth. Okay, so what is this image and likeness business all about? What it's about is God created you to be like Him. What does that mean? Do you have any children? Do you have any children that look like you? If your answer is yes, then you know the answer. Just as your child or children bears a resemblance to you so you were created to bear a resemblance to God. Okay now you may not have any children and that's okay. You do have a parent. Which one of your parents do you resemble?
Although the resemblance to your parents is physical you probably resemble your parents in other ways as well. There is a brother who lives in my neighborhood and he walks just like his father. It makes me smile every time I see him walking because his walk in the exact representation of his father. Well your resemblance to God is not natural or physical. It can't be because God is not a man or a human being. God is Spirit, any resemblance you have to God is spiritual. However when you represent God in His image your spiritual characteristics are demonstrated in the physical world. For example God is love. Within each of us is the capacity to love like God and when we love it touches everyone around us. Although women are known for their love when a man loves it affects generations!
So your purpose is to look like God, to bear a resemblance of God. You are important to God because within you is His image. But how do we act out this resemblance to the Almighty? First we have to understand that to live in His image means living out the gifts and abilities that he has put inside of us. These are the questions that you have to answer to discover what specific thing you were born to do and the specific person you were born to be. What are you excited about? What are you passionate about? What gets you excited about being alive? What is it that you can't live without? If you know the answer to these questions then you know your purpose, you know what you are supposed to be doing and who you are supposed to be that represents God. If you don't have the answers then it it time for you to have some alone time with your Creator God. Get in His presence and ask Him to give you answers. And expect Him to answer you.
For you brothers that know your purpose I want to give you three principles to fulfill that purpose for your life. Here they are:
1. Fruitfulness and Multiplication: We succeed in fulfilling our purpose when we are engaged in life and what are doing and who we are being is going to produce fruit and bring increase in our lives and other lives. Being fruitful and having a increase is the result of what I am doing. A man works and on a certain day he expects to receive his paycheck. The paycheck is the fruit and increase of his work. A man develops a business strategy and it brings him increased revenue for his business. The revenue is his fruit. A man loves and meets the need of his wife and children and he is respected and loved by his family. The respect and love is the fruit of love. If you are doing something that doesn't produce fruit and increase in your life you are not fulfilling your purpose.
2. Fill: The word fill is interesting It means to satisfy a need. Living your purpose is always going to meet someone else need. You were born as an answer to a problem. There is an innate ability in a man to always solve problems, that's because that is part of your purpose. You are a problem solver. Your presence is the answer. Everything that is in you is has been given to you by God to meet a need. Now understand although you were born to meet a need you were not born to meet all needs. Some men reach a point of burnout because they are trying to be everything to everybody. Only God can do that. You are like God, you are not God!
3. Subdue: This word reveals a concept that really started with the first man Adam. God wanted man to control the planet earth. Every man is given something to have authority over and to govern. But this word first speaks about a man's ability to control himself. What area of weakness do you struggle with? That's the area that you must first subdue. If you don't control your weaknesses then your weakness will frustrate your purpose. God gives authority to the men who rule themselves. What habits do you have that is detrimental to your future, rule it, subdue it.
Thanks for stopping by and remember that you are MANPURPOSE!

Bernard's Word

2011-06-20T13:20:00.001-04:00

I hope that you have enjoyed reading my blogs as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Today I am launching a new blog with different focus. I will still write about the issues that matter to me and to you but I will be also be more focused on writing commentary that I believe will encourage and empower you.
The mission of this blog is for me to share with you stories and principles that will engage you in seeking a more fulfilling life. I believe that words have a powerful influence in all of our lives. They can make us and they can break us. Words have had the ability to change people's lives and correct devastating consequences.
Recently I was talking with a church leader at a leadership conference that I was teaching in and he asked me what turned my interest toward writing. I shared with him that an English professor in a college course that I was enrolled in told me that I had a gift and I should pursue writing. From my childhood I dreamed about writing but that dream did not become active until that professor spoke to me. It was his words that set me on the path that I am currently on almost twenty five years later. That's the role I want to have in your life. I want to be that person who speaks to you through my blogs and release the dreams that are within you. I believe that God created every person with a purpose and when we find that purpose and start to daily do what our purpose is than our life becomes a exciting adventure.
It is my intention to blog at least three days each week.
Mondays will be MEN MONDAY. I will write on what interest men and what men need to succeed. Wednesdays will be WOMEN WEDNESDAYS. I will write on the issues that are important to Women, I'm glad that I have a wife that can help me because I'm going to need her help! Fridays will be FICTION FRIDAYS, FINANCE FRIDAY, FAITH FRIDAY and FUN FRIDAY. I hope that you will be blessed and that you will visit many times. And please share this blog with your family and friends.

A FATHER'S DAY GIFT FROM DAD

2011-06-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

My wife Vantoria came up with a great idea that we incorporated in our church this past Sunday for Children's Day. After worship was concluded we gathered in our fellowship wing to celebrate our children. Each parent present read a letter to their child or children affirming the importance and value of their child inthe life. It was incredible and emotional gathering as many parents were moved to tears as they read their letters.
Both me and my wife wrote letters to our son Quincy. Writing the letter last weekend allowed me to take a stroll down memory lane as I penned my feelings for my son who will be entering his senior year in high school in a few months. I remembered the day Vantoria told me that she was expecting. The days when I would lay my hands on Vantoria abdomen to pray for our unborn child. I remembered the trips to the doctor, the first sonogram. The beginning of Vantoria's labor and the birth of our son. His first steps, the first immunizations shots, his first lead in the church choir, his first day in school. A plethora of memories traveled through my mind as I wrote that letter. And to hear those words read my wife to my son almost released a flood of tears as I heard my feelings about my son being read to him.
And so I am inviting every Father who reads this blog to take some time this weekend and write a letter to your child or to your children. I know that Sunday is your day. It will be a day where you are celebrated and appreciated. A day of fun and gifts. A day where you will you be loved by those whom you have loved. But I want to encourage you to make it a day where you give your words on paper. A day where you share with the people in your life that was given to you by God to love and raise as Fathers. How about joining me in starting a new tradition for Father's Day. A tradition of giving as well as receiving. And may God grant you many Father Day's filled with love and blessings.
Please write back and let me know how this gift blessed you and our children.

Jason's Faith

2011-06-14T07:24:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of lessons learned from the 2011 championship series of the NBA. I watched with great interest as Jason Terry was interviewed after the Dallas Maverick secured their first championship. From the words and actions of Jason I saw a modern example of faith I wanted to share with today.
What is faith? Faith is believing in what you can't see and having an expectation that what you believe is going to happen. As I listened to Jason Terry Sunday night I heard faith in words. This is what he said:
1. "My faith was in God and that gave me confidence." Faith is directed toward a person or an object. To Christians our faith in always directed to and centered in God. And because we believe in God and we believe God that gives us confidence that we can do all things with Him.
2. "God was my strength." When you are facing impossible moments and it seems like you should give up you find the resolve to rise beyond your weakness and do what you need to do to win. Jason and the Mavericks were counted out in every series that they played in. The experts all said that they wouldn't even make it to the finals. When they made it to the finals against the Miami Heat the commentators said that Miami would take the championship in six games. But Jason found the strength to explode in the sixth game and his performance made the difference and Dallas won. Like David facing Goliath Jason found strength in God and the world celebrates him.
3. "I give glory to God." After you've had a faith victory. After you've done the impossible in the moment of your celebration you take your victory and give it back to God. That what giving God the glory means. When we give glory to God you are saying that God is the cause of my winning and I celebrate His presence in my life.
Without a doubt those were great words that Jason spoke Sunday night but even greater than what Jason said is what Jason did. Faith is not just talking about God or acknowledging God but faith is acting on what you believe. In October 2010 Jason had the Larry O' Brien trophy, the championship trophy for the NBA, tattooed on his arm. And although I don't endorse tattoos I saw a great display of Jason's faith in his unusual action. Before the Basketball season even started Jason believed that the Dallas Mavericks would not only go the NBA Finals but they would win. And he acted on what he believed. What have you done lately to demonstrate your faith? Faith is not for the future,faith looks to the future. Faith is for today. Hebrews 11:1 says, "NOW FAITH.." You need faith right now, without it you will not have a victory tomorrow. It is demonstrated by your words and your actions. I encourage you to have the Jason kind of faith. Which is really the God kind of faith. It was Bishop Victor Curry of Miami Florida who said, "Faith honors God and God honors faith."

How do I discover the Plans that God has for me?

2011-05-23T07:49:00.000-04:00

In an earlier post I talked about the plans that God has for each of us. But you may be wondering how do I discover the plans that God has for me? I want to give you the process that I use to find God's plans for me. It is a five step process that I call PLANS. Each letter shows a specific step that I use to discover God's wonderful plans. I pray that this same process will help you find God's exciting Plans for your life.
P.L.A.N.S.
1.Pray: Set aside some time and talk to God. Get yourself a journal and write down the areas of your life that you are seeking God to show you His plans. Come to God with an attitude of faith, which is the attitude of believing that God wants to show you His plans for your life. Approach this prayer time as a PLANNING SESSION with the CHIEF PLANNER. Be willing to surrender all of your plans to His plans. You may even discover that your plans are His plans for your life. But know that if God changes your plans and gives you new plans you can trust His plans because you can trust Him.

2. Listen: As you seek Him for His plans come to Him with an open heart. Be willing to listen to Him. Because God is Spirit He primarily speaks in spirit or He speaks in your spirit. During this time pay attention to any impressions or any verses of the Bible that comes to your mind. For me this is an exciting time. God often speaks to me and gives me ideas and words of His plans for me. Every story and book that I have written the idea came as I was listening to God. When I receive a plan from God it stays in my mind or in my spirit. To be very sure that it is God speaking I will meditate on it. When I know it's God I will continue to pray over what I'm hearing for three days and If the impression or thought is still with me than I know it's God revealing His plan for me. Let me give you an example of how this work:
A couple of years ago I ended a business relationship with a person and I needed to connect with another person to complete the business that I was involved in. I wanted to know if the person I was considering was God's plan for my business to be completed and so I prayed about this person for three days. Each day it became clearer to me that the person I was praying about was the person that God had sent to me. After three days I decided to partner with that person and it was the best decision I made that year. The person that I ended the relationship with I didn't pray about him I just took a leap on my understanding and it cost me a whole year.

3.AGREE: Whatever you hear God say agree with it. Whatever plan God reveals to you agree with it. Say yes to God's plan and ask Him what does He want you to do. Sometime agreeing with God means doing something entirely new but trust Him and say yes. Without your yes God will not execute the plans that He has for you and you will miss a life changing encounter. Your future depends on you coming into agreement with God's Plan. Being in agreement with God is not just you saying yes but it is also joining God in partnership for your life and everyone who will be affected by your decision to cooperate with God.

4. NOURISH: The plans that God reveals to you is a seed. He plants it in your mind and He makes it grow until it is seen. Your assignment is to nourish it. You feed the plan until God brings it forth. You nourish it by remembering it and meditating on it. You pray over it and you protect it from doubt which is a weed. You keep it by focusing on it. As you nourish it it will grow. What you don't nourish will die.

5. SEARCH: Praise God for the plans that you bring forth in your life. Life is so exciting when you know that you are participating in God's plan for your life. But as you carry out the present plans for your life always keep your eyes open for the new plans of God. Plans are for a season and when the season is over God will give you a new plan for a new season. It was God's plan for Israel to cross the Jordan River and after they crossed the river it was God plan's for them to go to Jericho. That's true for all of us. God's plans for each of us is progressive and unfolding. As you remain faithful to God for the current plan also be a seeker for the new plan that God may bring. Don't ever accept an attitude that this is it for me. I'm at the end of the line. God may have another plan for you.

PEACE, PURPOSE, PROSPERITY.

God has Plans for you - Chocolate Pages Network

2011-05-23T07:47:00.000-04:00

God has Plans for you - Chocolate Pages Network

WHAT EVERY DREAM MEANS by Scott Shafer

2011-04-04T21:18:00.000-04:00

A prophetic author has released a message to the Body of Christ and the world. That author is Scott Shafer and the message comes to us today in the form of a book titled, "What Every Dreams Means."
What words can I use to describe my journey over the last month as I have read and meditated over the words that Scott has produced from his wealth of knowledge on the subject of dreams. The words that come to mind are enlightened, empowered, edified and excited. Since I was a teenager I believed that God spoke to me in my dreams. This belief was strengthened by the characters in the Bible who dreamed. Men like Joseph, Solomon, Isaiah and Joseph the human father of our Lord Jesus. Yes I believed that God spoke and continues to speak though dreams. Even though my denominational background and my theological training did not support my belief I believed anyway.
I am totally convinced that because I never gave up believing that God does speak through dreams God brought Scott and his book into my life. And what an impact this book has had on me. The last five weeks have been some of the most incredible times in my life.
Like the gifted teacher that he is Scott has woven together an impassioned teaching tool that will enlarge the church ability to teach the meaning and message of dreams. Scott has restored to the Body of Christ a lost jewel that will enable us to hear clearly the voice of God spoken to His children in the night seasons. Never again will the Church be deceived about this divine method of communication.
Since I've been studying What Every Dreams Means the prophetic dreams that I have had all of my life and was largely ignorant to what they meant, had increased exponentially and some of them I have been able to even interpret. I am a more knowledgeable Teacher of God's Word because of What Every Dreams Means.
The night seasons has become a new season for me. I want to encourage you to get your copy today at http://www.whateverydreammeans.com/Launch.
Today I am offering a free copy of my novel "DO YOU WANNA BE MADE WHOLE." Everyone who leaves a comment at this blog your name will be entered in the drawing for my free novel. The winner will be announced on tomorrow.
Keep Dreaming
Pastor Bernard Boulton.
Your spiritual understanding will be enlarged by this life changing book.

Journey to Nigeria; a leap of faith

2011-03-13T05:46:00.000-04:00

In twelve hours I will be boarding a plane on my way to Ifo Town, Ogun State Nigeria. My connection flight is in Atlanta and from there I will fly to Lagos Nigeria for six days of preaching and teaching. I've experienced a mixture of emotions as each day moved me closer to today. I've gone from fear to peace. From doubt to faith. From aggravation to certainty.
The preparation for this trip has been a journey of faith. During the last eight months I have seen God move in my life in tremendous way.
It all started one July day when I received an email from a Pastor in Nigeria name Gabriel Ogunjobi. Pastor Ogunjobi had discovered my website and felt compelled from the Holy Spirit to invite me to come to Nigeria and minister in that region. I can still see myself as I read that communication for the first time. My initial response was skepticism and suspicion. Seven months prior I was targeted by a fraudulent group who invited me to come to their conference in England. Thankfully that attempt was exposed. So when the invitation came form Pastor Ogunjobi suspiciously I thought that I was being targeted again.
However as I continued reading the communications from Pastor Ogunjobi I sensed a pull in my spirit, a nudge from the Holy Spirit to pay more attention to what Pastor Ogunjobi was saying to me. After a few days of peace I start to seek counsel from others friends. Most of the counsel that I received was negative and fearful. There appears to be a great deal of fear in America concerning overseas travel. But as me and my wife Vantoria continued to pray I was assured that God was extending me a Macedonian call to Nigeria.
After two months of deliberation and praying I accepted Pastor Ogunjobi's invitation. I told him that I would come to Nigeria in March of 2011.
Accepting Pastor Ogunjobi's invitation was a great leap of faith. Believing God for the funds to go was an even greater leap of faith. For the 26 years that I had preached throughout the United States I had never paid my own way to go to a church and minister. I would have to do that this time. And the Holy Spirit led me not to ask anyone for money but just tell others of my plans to travel to Nigeria. The first person, besides the church that I pastor; New Mine Creek Church in Blairs Virginia, that I shared with was a deacon from my home church, New Sardis Primitive Baptist Church in Cleveland Ohio. The deacon was Edward Watson. He had called me to order some copies of the anthology HOME AGAIN that my short story JAKE AND ERIC appeared in. When I shared with Deacon Watson that I was going to Nigeria he became so excited that he went to our pastor, Elder Larry Tatum and asked if the church could raise support for me which they did in a big way. I am so grateful to be a member of this church that has blessed and supported me without fail for the twenty years that I have been a member of that church. Again and again I shared my intentions to travel to Nigeria in March and again and again the Holy Spirit impressed people to give toward this venture. Through this effort God has revealed Himself to me in a new way as Jehovah Jireh. I first came to know Him as God my Provider when I was struggling in my first pastorate in West Virginia but these last months I have seen Him manifest as the giver of VISION and the PROVIDER.
Not only has God provided funds for me but He also moved on the hearts of two leaders of New Mine Creek to journey with me. They are Deacon Henry Law and his wife Deaconess Vickie Law. Henry is the first deacon ordained in my pastorate and it was with great joy that I recommended Vickie to serve as a deaconess in the church.
So the three of us are on our way this evening. I plan to write some more blogs from Nigeria this week. Pray for us as you read these words.
PEACE, PURPOSE, PROSPERITY
Pastor Bernard Boulton.

Steve Harvey: Should a Person's Past Disqualify them from their present work?

2011-02-02T09:28:00.000-05:00

This past Monday morning I was driving my son to school when I turned on the radio to listen to the Tom Joyner Morning Show. Tom was interviewing Mary Harvey, the ex wife of comedian and relationship expert Steve Harvey. Mary shared with Tom the circumstances of her life since she and Steve divorced and the current trauma that she was now facing as a result of her keeping silent about her life with Steve and what had occurred since their divorce.
Mary Harvey's conversation with Tom Joyner caused me to think should a person's past failures and mistakes disqualify them from their present occupation? Should Steve's past marriage failures hinder him from being a voice of counsel to the millions of women who purchase his books and listen to him on his radio show?
Steve Harvey has risen to great levels of fame since I first saw him on the Steve Harvey Show in the mid 1990's on the WB network. Today he is a best selling author of "Act like a Lady, Think like a Man." His radio show is heard on radio stations all over the country and on the internet. And his radio show is seen on the Centric Cable Show. Steve's exposure on radio and television has created an audience that listens and follows his advice on relationships that is derived from his point of view.
Mary Harvey alleges that Steve's past infidelities while they were married disqualifies him as a man of integrity whose opinions cannot be taken seriously.
Hearing Mary on Tom Joyner was not the first time I had heard her disturbing allegations against Steve. Last week I saw Mary on You Tube where on one of the videos she accused Steve of having an affair during their marriage with his present wife Marjorie.
Although Mary's allegations and accusations may be new to us Steve has not shied away from talking about his past struggles and mistakes. On one occasion Steve said. "It took me two marriages to really get it in my head, 'Steve you're messing up because you're getting ticked at these woman who want all this stuff from you, and you're saying, Hey this is enough. I'm doing this. What do you want?"

So what really qualifies Steve to be a relationship expert? Should his past disqualify him? Or does his past experiences give him the qualification needed to be an expert in matters of the heart?
Please share your comments on this blog and everyone who leaves their comments will be placed in a drawing for the prize of a FREE COPY of HOME AGAIN: Stories of Restored Relationship. In this anthology of short stories I have written a story titled JAKE AND ERIC. One of the scenes in my story was inspired by Steve Harvey's interview on TBN's program PRAISE THE LORD, with Pastor Donnie McClurkin. I will select the winner of the FREE COPY of HOME AGAIN on February 14.
PEACE, PURPOSE, PROSPERITY

My trip to Haiti

2010-12-18T07:10:00.000-05:00

It has been more than six months since I journeyed to Haiti with Pastor Kenneth Duke of the New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist church (http://www.njpbc.org) of Miami Florida, His son Minister Kelon Duke and a a member of the church Saraita Anderson, who served as our interpreter. This was a life changing experience for me and I have struggled over the last six months with how to adequately express what I experienced on this short trip.
Haiti is a country of contradictions. It was devastated by an earthquake on Tuesday January 12, 2010. Many buildings were destroyed and many lives were lost but what I witnessed was a resilience among the people of that land. They were broken but not crushed. They were defeated but not conquered. They had lost much but they possessed so much more.
Haiti has remained in my heart and spirit from the first time that I saw it. We arrived at the airport on Wednesday June 2, 2010 and we were greeted by a band. I asked Saraita what type of music were they playing and she told me that they were playing Compas, a mixture of Spanish and french music. The music was so alive and the men who played it had so much hope and joy as they welcomed us to their homeland.
After we passed through customs and secured our luggage we walked out into the sunlight. And we were surrounded by a mass of people who looked like us but spoke in a language that I could not understand. We were met and greeted by several members of the Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church of Petit Gauve where we would be traveling to that day to worship with and minister to. Guylaine Jermaine, the wife of Pastor Edner Jermaine was there to greet us along with several brothers from the church. Each one embraced us with hugs and kisses and then led us to the van that would carry us throughout Haiti for the rest of our trip.
A frightening moment occurred for me when we got to the van. We were surrounded by Haitians with their hands out, all saying very loudly, "Dolla, Dolla!" I was unnerved at that moment and tried desperately to get in the van away from what I perceived was a mob. And then I looked at Pastor Duke who was calm and not bothered the least. I wish that his demeanor had a calming effect on me but it didn't. I felt safe only after we were in the van. There would be a lot more moments like that for me as we rode through the streets of Port Au Prince.
Our driver Brother Vanel was very aggressive but that was necessary because every driver on the roads of Port Au Prince was very aggressive. There was chaos everywhere as both automobiles and people filled the streets and the sidewalks. What amazed me was I didn't witness any automobile accidents or people being killed as they walked with no fear between these vehicles. The driving situation was dangerous but there seemed to be some kind of order in the chaos. The driving was reckless but the people were bold as they walk with their wares on their heads. I seemed to be the only one panicking.
I saw large numbers of children coming from schools wearing beautiful uniforms and buses that are called tap tap. They were beautiful buses covered in painted scenes and filled with people. And in the midst of destroyed buildings I saw people selling their wares. They were living not dying. They were doing the best they could with what they had been dealt with.
It took us an hour to get out of Port Au Prince. It took us another hour to drive to Petit Guave and after that it took us maybe two and a half hours to get to the site where the Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church meets. We rode for an hour and then we walked for another hour and a half. Several people from Mount Olive met us as we walked up the mountain where their village was. I really needed their support and encouragement as I tried to conquer the mountain that was conquering me. The music in worship was electric and the praise of the saints was energetic. Myself and Kelon gave words of encouragement and Pastor Duke delivered a strong message to the congregation who were gathered there. I made an presentation to the pastor, a cash donation that was raised by the members of New Mine Creek Primitive Baptist church where I have been the pastor for nine years. The monies would be used to educate the children in that community.The church, which was destroyed in the earthquake was also a school during the week.
There is so much more to tell and I will. But I ask you to continue to pray for the relief effort in Haiti and pray for the people of Haiti. If you are interested in contributing to the Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church of Petit Guave Haiti please contact the New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church (http://WWW.NJPBC.ORG).

Goodbye Lebron

2010-07-17T15:17:00.000-04:00

Lebron you were an incredible asset to the Cleveland Cavaliers and now you have left. Man it seemed like yesterday we the fans of the Cavaliers waited and anticipated your coming into our lives. I can still feel the excitement in the air in June of 2003 as we faithfully believed that there was a possibility that the Cavaliers might snag you in the lottery. And then it happened, the probable became possible and you joined the Cavs bringing with you hope and excitement that haven't been seen in my generation. Your joining the Cavaliers helped me to deal with the loss of my Mother, we buried her three days before the lottery.
All of Cleveland believed that you would bring us a championship. For seven years we hoped and we waited. We dreamed and we imagined that it would happen but it didn't and now you're gone. Things won't be the same without you but all of us are not hatin on you. We just hoped that things would have been different. And as much as I loved your game and your drive I can't leave the Cavs and go with you. The Cavs are a part of my legacy and my history; they have earned the right to keep my loyalty. I remember Campy Russell and Austin Carr from my childhood. I remember the first game I saw at the Richfield Coliseum. World B. Free was on that team. I remembered the first time I saw Michael Jordan play at Richfield; he soared through the air and delivered a dunk that every Cavs fan honored as we stood on our feet, that night we witnessed the greatest who ever played the game. I remember the dream team of the 90's; Price, Daughtery, Ehlo and the others. I even remember the one time I was angry with management, when they traded away Ron Harper, but I stayed a Cavs fan. I haven't lived in Cleveland for almost twenty eyars but I have remained a loyal Cavs fan.
But I have a confession to make, after the Boston series I was ready to walk away. I was so depressed after we lost the series that I decided that loving the Cavs was to high a price to pay. I decided that I was giving up on the Cavs. I didn't beleive that you were coming back but my DECISION was not based on your DECISION, it was based solely on my emotional response to the Boston series. But then something happened after you told us and the world of your intention of joining the Heat. I read a letter from Dan Gilbert and that letter changed my mind. Although I'm sure you didn't like what Dan said about you, that communication gave me a new resolve. And so my allegiance to he Cavs was renewed and my loyalty was rediscovered. I will stand with and support my hometown team, even though you are no longer apart of us.
Goodbye Lebron.

Haiti Bound

2010-05-13T05:57:00.000-04:00

In great shock I watched the events of Tuesday January 12, 2010 unfold before my very eyes. The news channel announced that an earthquake had devastated the country of Haiti. The first reports highlighted the impact of the destructive force of nature as it uprooted the capital city of Haiti, Port Au Prince. As I listened to the reports I was grief stricken and I considered the lost of life that would forever affect that country.
A few hours later I went to church to teach in the weekly bible study. As I led the group in prayer I heard the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit saying to me that I was going to Haiti to comfort and help the people there. For the rest of that evening I contemplated the inner impression, the knowing in my spirit that I had heard correctly from God that I was going to Haiti. I wondered to myself what could I offer. What skills did I possess to make a difference? As I wrestled with the commission the Holy Spirit gently reminded me that I was a pastor, an author and a witness. As a pastor I was gifted to feed the people of God and love them as Christ loved me. As an author I was gifted to write and tell stories that others would read. As a witness I was to go to the ends of the earth declaring the purpose of God in my words and deeds.
Content that I had heard God speak I wondered how He would make this trip happen. I had never been to Haiti and I didn't know anyone who had connections or contacts in the country. But God had it all worked out and the plan would unfold over the next few months.
On Sunday January 17 I received a text from my friend Pastor Kenneth Duke of Miami. He informed me that his church, New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist church of the city had become a distribution center for relief in Haiti. New Jerusalem had a large number of Haitians in its congregation and the community that surrounded the church had many Haitian living in it. In the text message that I received Pastor Duke asked for basic necessities to ship to the country and for financial contributions. I shared his information from the text message with the congregation and some of the members readily responded. But a plan was forming in my mind, a plan of what God wanted us to do for Haiti.
A few months past and I learned from Pastor Duke that he had been to Haiti and had identified one of the villages that was in great need of help. I asked him could I travel with him the next time he went and he readily agreed. The date was set for June and preparations began.
I informed the congregation of what God had placed in my heart and His call for me to travel to Haiti to comfort and help the people there. I outlined our plan of action to be a blessing to the village of Petit Guave in Trou Chou Chou county. As a congregation we would set aside a sacrificial amount each day over a period of two weeks for the people of the village and bring it to church and present our offerings to the Lord as a sacrifice. The occasion that we would bring our sacrifices would be a worship of song headlined by a tremendous gospel artist named David L. Wilson Jr of Danville Va. The other worshippers participating will the New Mine Creek Praise team, True Praise, the Tucker family OF Gretna Va. This event would take place on Saturday May 15th at 6:00.
The congregation along with myself have received this open door that God has set before us to give long term help to the people of Petit Guave. May God be glorified in our efforts and may His people in Haiti be blessed.
I will be sharing more information with you concerning this new phase of ministry that I am entering in. Please Pray that God gains much fruit through me in Haiti.

TRUST THE DIRECTIONS

2010-03-21T09:06:00.000-04:00

I was driving to an appointment in Jacksonville Florida a month ago. Because I didn't know where I was going I secured direction to my appointment on Mapquest. Leaving the hotel that cool afternoon, I was really looking forward to a nice warm sun in Jacksonville but unfortunately all I got was a chill the entire four days I was in the city, I drove confidently through the streets of this unfamiliar city with my directions on the seat next to me. I approached a bridge and crossed it enjoying a quick glimpse of the river as I ascended on the expressway. I started looking for signs to indicate that I was going the right way and after reading several signs I became concerned because the signs were not given me any indication that I was going in the direction that Mapquest had communicated to me. After driving for a while I decided that I was going the wrong way and that Mapquest had let me down. I drove off the expressway at the next exit and turned around deciding to go back the way that I had come. When I got to the street that I had gotten on at the expressway I got off, but now I was driving in the opposite direction. At this point I was very flustered because I was going to be late for my appointment and I didn't have a lot of time to spare before I have to go to the airport to get back home. I started praying for direction and I was led to turn at the next intersection and then to make one more turn at another intersection. Driving down the street I looked up and saw a huge sign with several road names that I was looking for as I traveled the expressway. I was going the right way but to my amazement and shame the way that I was now going was the way that I was going before. The only difference now was I was starting at the beginning of the expressway where the sign gave me the information I was seeking as I drove on the expressway. The exit where I had gotten on the expressway was further down the road from where I now was. If I had just trusted the directions I would been at my destination instead of starting over. I had wasted 25 minutes getting off the right way going the wrong way because I didn't trust the directions and in an unfamiliar place I decided to get off the right path.

This Jacksonville adventure spoke loudly to me about the lives of many persons. In Proverbs 3:6 Solomon says, "IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AND HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS." The Holy Spirit will give you the directions that you need to get where you need to go but because you don't trust His directions when you get in a unfamiliar place you get frustrated with where you are going. And in your frustration with your journey you decided to get off the path and turn around only to discover that you were really going the right way. How do then get back to the right path? Do what I did, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM by asking Him to get you back to where you need to be and He will. The Holy Spirit will lead you back to the way that you left. And the next time He leads you into a unfamiliar place and the signs are not saying that you are going the right way TRUST THE DIRECTIONS.