dreams - New Birth Missionary Baptist Church · G God has a prophetic word for all of us: it is...

B I S H O P S P E A K STIME TO MANIFEST Message excerpts from Bishop Eddie L. Long

IT’S ABOUT A DREAMMessage quotes from guest speaker Dr. Mark Hanbyof Mark Hanby Ministries

GO HIGHERIf one of your dreams has been to earn a collegedegree, New Birth has a higher learning program in place to help you get busy. Presenting NewL.I.F.E. College—the degree-granting arm of New Birth’s Christian Education Department.BY NANCY M. LADSON

D R E A M S C O M E A L I V ESING DARLENE, SING!Darlene McCoy was “the little girl who didn’t want to sing.” Today, meet the young woman who is worship leader for New Birth, backup singer for Darwin Hobbs, and one of the newest recording artists and songwriters to sign with EMI Gospel. BY L ISA LOVE WHITT INGTON

A NOVA 4 JEHOVAHNova. Webster’s defines it as a star that suddenly increases its light output. With a beautiful smile that shines almost as bright as the sun and a personality to match, Holy Hip Hop artist Nova 4 Jehovah lives up to his name.BY L ISA LOVE WHITT INGTON

AN ELECT LADY STEPS FORTHAfter giving birth to a dead baby boy, having a disabled son born with part of his brain missing, and developing Lupus, among other hardships, Helga Moore was finally able to embrace her childhood dream. BY NORMA STANLEY

H E A L T H Y C H O I C E S

YOU’VE GOT SOME LIVING TO DO5 Things to Improve Your Health Right NowBY JAMAY LOGAN

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living yourdreams

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GGod has a prophetic word for all ofus: it is manifest time. God said to tellyou to dust off all your dreams thathaven’t come to pass that He spoketo you; all the vision that He hasgiven you. He is about to bring it topass—with quickness.

Over the last two years, many ofyou have been through great trial.God was aligning and transitioningyou. When you talk about Jesusgoing to the tomb and tellingLazarus to come alive, come forth,that was the final transition, the finalturning. Over the last two years, all

the stuff you were going through wasfor your final adjustment. It actuallypositioned you to receive an instantmanifestation of God.

When you get up now, don’t getup like you got up in 2004. Alreadyyou are starting to get discouraged,and things seem as if they are goingthe same way they went in 2004. Ifyour mind has fixed itself on traditionand routine from last year, when Goddoes His manifestation you won’teven know it because you are still tiedinto an old dimension. You need torelease; come forth. When Lazurusjumped out of that tomb, he didn’t

look back. God says to tell you thatHe’s bringing you out of the grave-yard, out of that dead place.

The prophet Joel said, And it shallcome to pass afterward that I will poorout My Spirit on all flesh; your sons andyour daughters shall prophecy, your oldmen shall dream dreams, your youngmen shall see visions. And also on Mymenservants, and on My maidservantsI will poor out My Spirit in those days(Joel 2:28-29).

Menservants and maidservants, thisis your day. One of the things thatused to make folk sick in the churchis that it looked like the only personbeing blessed was the preacher. Itwould cause folk not to go tochurch. God said that now He’sblessing the servants; I want to getthe manifestation in the pews. I wantit in your house.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 says, write thevision and make it plain on tablets,that he may run who reads it. For thevision is yet for an appointed time. It’stime. What God has in store for you,He’s been cooking up over the ages,but because it is going to be so deli-cious, you had to wait and wait. He’sabout to serve it up right now. Forfurther in this passage, the Word says,it will surely come, it will not tarry.That means, what God has comingcan’t be stopped. When you read on,it says the just shall live by his faith. Foreverything I just announced to you,all you got to do is believe it.

Faith is a divine persuasion thatdraws us away from unbelief and pro-duces in us a tenacious decision tostand on the Word of God. Faith is agift from God to rely on His abilityand not ours because it is a divinepersuasion that brings us into victoryand the positioning for it. Thatmeans there has to be an adjustment

in your mindset because faith is notsomething you do. Faith is some-thing that comes with what youreceive. If you receive what Godspoke over you, faith is in the WordHe spoke, which causes faith to go towork to make what you receive ofGod come to pass. Which means, if Itell you to dust off your plans, andyou go home and do the same thingyou were doing, nothing is going tohappen no matter how much youshouted because you didn’t receivethe Word that would put faith towork. The Bible says, to each he hasgiven a measure of faith. Hebrews12:2 says, looking unto Him who is theauthor and finisher of our faith. Thatmeans if God spoke it, He authoredit, and it is His responsibility to finishit. The only responsibility you have isto receive it and confess it, and thenit has to come to pass.

When trouble hits, God is trying toshow you another side of Him. Hehas already put faith in you to makesure you already have victory. Everytrouble is to show you His mercy,grace, personality, character andimage so you can walk more intothat. For everything that God isabout to release, the power to open itis in believing. The hardest thing todo right now is to get rid of doubt.The area you are having troublebelieving in is the exact area He’sabout to erupt in. Your unbelief isabout to be arrested.

This is the part that takes work: ifyou don’t read God’s Word, there isnothing to work. When God speaksto you, write it down, post it, dateit, and say, “It will come to pass.”Some of you need an “it will cometo pass” book. I know you havebeen waiting, but though it tarries,it has got to come.

M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 0 5 T H E N E W B I R T H V O I C E 5

For every-thing that

God isabout to

release, thepower to

open it is inbelieving.

B I S H O P S P E A K S | V

time to manifest


M e s s a g e q u o t e s f r o m g u e s t s p e a k e r D r . M a r k H a n b y

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“It doesn’t matter whereyou come from, when someone talksabout dreams, the whole world stopsto listen. Men who dream dreams arepeople who can see things that havenot yet come to pass. A dream iswhen you look into the unseen worldand visualize. I’m not talking aboutdoing something over and over againuntil when you go to bed you can’tdo anything else but dream about it.I’m talking about when your spiritgets so open, and God finds a chan-nel in your mind; He finds a portal inyour spirit so that He can introduceeven in your subconscious mindwhen you’re not trying to think ofsomething, when you’re not trying tomake something happen. Even in thetimes when your conscious mind isasleep, then something inside of youstill nurtures the idea of manifestingthose things that God has put in thespirit world; you start seeing picturesand illustrations.”

“When God makes acovenant then He gives seed, andseed has to possess that covenant.When God gives covenant, then Hehas to give seed to fulfill thatcovenant. We are so immediatelyimpulsively expecting God to dothings that we have a problem with

any extension of time. If God doesn’tdo it right now, we think that He’snever going to do it. That’s becausewe live in impulse religion. We alsohave lived in escapism. We think Godhas to do it all right now in my gen-eration or else it doesn’t exist.”

“How can Abraham bethe father of many nations? He wasbarely the father of one boy, Isaac,and then another child by a bond-woman. Let me remind you thatGod said, “In thee and in thy seedshall all nations of the earth beblessed.” In other words, God says,‘I intend to start with you Abraham,

and then I’ll continue with a seedand then I’ll take that seed and con-tinue with another seed. And I’llkeep continuing with seed until Ibuild My kingdom in the earth.’That’s why the scripture says we arechildren of promise according to thecovenant that was made withAbraham.”

“Abraham had Isaac, thenIsaac had Jacob and Esau. Eventhough Esau was first born, Godcould not approve the fact that Esauwas not a seed carrier. Why did Godapprove Jacob? Because Jacobdreamed a dream, that even thoughhe was second born, he could stillget the promise….If you dream adream, if you desire enough, if youdrive in your spirit hard enoughtoward the purpose of God, you canliterally have anything that Godpromised.”

“Someday the churches ofthis city and the people of this citywill look around and see that Goddidn’t call New Birth to be a king-dom unto itself. He didn’t call youjust to make you a big local church.He called you to be the dreamingfactor in the city of Atlanta—theseed, the dream in the city.”


it’s about a


The next time you step on to the New Birthcampus, you may be toting a few textbooks

along with your Bible…that is, if you’reseeking to earn a bachelor’s degree and

would like to conveniently do it hereat your church home.

Presenting New L.I.F.E.College—the degree-granting arm of NewBirth’s Christian Education Department,which allows individuals to earn a NorthCarolina Central University (NCCU) bache-lor’s degree locally here at New Birth.

NCCU of Durham, N.C., has beenapproved by the Nonpublic PostsecondaryEducation Commission of Georgia’sDepartment of Education to offer the follow-ing degrees at New L.I.F.E. College: Bachelorof Business Administration, Bachelor ofScience in Criminal Justice, and Bachelor ofScience in Hospitality and TourismAdministration.

a vision embraced It was not too long ago that Bishop Eddie L.Long had a vision of individuals receiving acollege education at New Birth MissionaryBaptist Church. New L.I.F.E. Collegefounder Dr. Gwen Mitchell, a 10-year collegeprofessor who has worked with programs atAuburn University, Strayer University, andOhio State University, caught the vision andembraced it. She connected with the headshipof New Birth’s Christian EducationDepartment to begin plans for the program,and they teamed up with Dr. Beverly Jones,Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs atNCCU. Two years later, New L.I.F.E.College became a reality.

Prior to starting the program, the foundersconducted mounds of research and interviewedseveral historically black colleges and universities(HBCUs). North Carolina Central Universitywas the best fit, says Dr. Annette Mitchell, NewL.I.F.E. College Director. She says NewL.I.F.E. College founding members adminis-tered countless surveys to find that a largenumber of people were interested in earningbachelor’s degrees and would be in favor ofearning them here at New Birth. The programaccommodates non-traditional students whohave busy work schedules and families; it’s ideal

8 T H E N E W B I R T H V O I C E M A R C H | A P R I L 2 0 0 5

gohi

gher

If one of yourdreams has beento earn a collegedegree, New Birthhas a higherlearning programin place to helpyou get busy. Inpartnership withNorth CarolinaCentral University,New Birth is nowoffering coursestoward bachelor'sdegrees in variousdisciplines.NANCY M.LADSON reportson yet anotherKingdom-buildingvision of BishopEddie L. Long thathas come topass—the NewL.I.F.E. College.



for those who never attended college,or for those who started but didn’tfinish. Classes are held at New Birthin the evenings, between 5:30 p.m.and 9:30 p.m. New L.I.F.E Collegestudents will also have access toNCCU online courses.

“This is truly one of the most excit-ing programs we’ve had in distanceeducation,” says Dr. Beverly Jones ofNCCU. “What’s most exhilaratingabout it is that it gives non-traditionalstudents the opportunity to furthertheir careers and realize their dreams,and that’s part of what the mission ofthis university is all about.”

Dr. Jones speaks highly of BishopEddie L. Long’s leadership andKingdom-building efforts, describ-ing New Birth as “the most uniquechurch that serves as a model inreaching out and helping people inmany areas of their lives.”

NCCU is one of the oldest andwell-known historically black institu-tions of higher learning. Founded in1910, it was the first state-supportedliberal arts college for AfricanAmericans. The university is accred-ited through the SouthernAssociation of Colleges and Schools.NCCU has prestigious alumni, suchas Willie Gary, named a top triallawyer by Forbes magazine, the for-mer Atlanta Mayor MaynardJackson, and our very own BishopEddie L. Long.

“Some time ago, Bishop issued adecree to the congregation that weneed to help historically black col-leges and universities,” says ElderPatricia Riley, Director of NewBirth’s Christian EducationDepartment. She says partneringwith NCCU allows New Birth theopportunity to actively take part insupporting the rich legacy of educat-ing African Americans through anHBCU. Elder Riley also points outthat the development of this pro-gram is directly in line with Bishop’s

vision of wanting to provide qualityeducation to individuals right hereon the New Birth campus—fromthe time of childhood (FaithAcademy) through the college years(New L.I.F.E. College).

caliber of excellence…Applications for admission are sub-mitted to New L.I.F.E College, andthe NCCU Department ofAdmissions selects all students whowill be enrolled. Candidates are notrequired to submit SAT or ACTscores if over the age of 23, buttranscripts from attended educa-tional institutions reflecting a 2.0GPA are required. If a candidatedoes not have a 2.0, a personalstatement explaining an average lessthan 2.0 must be included.

Like NCCU, New L.I.F.E Collegeoperates on a semester system; thereare three semesters—winter, summerand fall—in one year. The Collegerecommends that students only takeone class per term, unless they opt totake two classes per semester.Students change classes every sixweeks. “Keeping in mind the busyschedules of many of our non-tradi-tional students, we designed it sothey will only need to come to NewBirth one night a week for theseclasses,” says Dr. A. Mitchell. TheCollege hopes to expand its majorsand degree offerings in the future,which could possibly include anMBA program. The founders are alsoreviewing some one-year certificatecourses and training programs.

New L.I.F.E. College studentscan retain credits previously earnedby transferring them from approvedlearning institutions and throughthe College Level Exam Program(CLEP), which allows students totake an exam demonstrating thatthey have mastered all course objec-tives. Credits can also be transferredthrough the Credit for Prior

Learning (CPL) program, whichallows students with certification toreceive credits.

Maintaining the same caliber ofexcellence as NCCU, New L.I.F.ECollege students are graded andranked based on the standards ofNCCU students. Professors at NewL.I.F.E College are also held to thesame criteria of excellence as NCCUprofessors. New L.I.F.E Collegeprofessors have to submit an appli-cation to NCCU demonstratingthey have acquired a master’s degreeand 18 post-secondary credit hoursin the field that he or she will be

teaching. Many New L.I.F.ECollege professors are members ofNew Birth who meet those require-ments. When there is not a profes-sor available to teach a course atNew L.I.F.E College, NCCU willsend a professor to New Birth toconduct that course.

In the fall of 2004, New L.I.F.ECollege began with a trial run of 15students. This summer, the Collegewill open its doors to all who areinterested in attending. New L.I.F.ECollege will benefit the communityby allowing individuals and businessowners in the community thechance to earn a bachelor’s degree;providing a variety of employmentopportunities; and enabling thechurch to receive funds from thetuition generated.

New L.I.F.E College openhouse will be held March 13after second service in theMultipurpose Room. For moreinfo, contact Dr. AnnetteMitchell at 770.696.9600,ext. 6240.


DDarlene McCoy, worship leader forNew Birth, and backup singer forDarwin Hobbs, recently secured arecording deal with multi-platinum,Grammy award-winning producerDallas Austin (TLC, MichaelJackson, Boyz to Men) and a pub-lishing deal with mega label EMIGospel. Her distinctive and freshapproach for reaching today’s gen-eration has been classified ‘UrbanGospel Soul.’ In her music, shetakes ownership of her style and isdestined to wear the crown. EMIVice President Larry Blackwell says,“In her voice I hear urban faith-based soul. She will reach a youngerbut mature-based audience in the

church and outside the four walls.”Darlene’s first CD will be releasedthis March.

“Kanye West and R. Kelly aredoing well because they are filling avoid between Missy Elliot and KirkFranklin,” says Robert McCoy,Darlene’s husband and manager.“We feel like this is what God hascalled us to.” Gospel recordingartist Darwin Hobbs adds,“Darlene’s ability to ‘be as theRomans when among the Romans’will carry her into numerous arenaswhere many artists can’t and won’tgo. She’s just got what it takes!”Darlene has also sung backup forGary Oliver and Kelly Price.

Sing Darlene,

EMI Gospel Recording ArtistDarlene McCoy: “God is show-ing me how to lead the secularworld into worship.”

When singer and songwriter

Darlene McCoy steps into the

recording studio, the happy

Buddha in the corner takes on

a frown. The Christian book

casually lying on a table

begins to breathe. Colors burst

from the paintings on the wall

and the humming from the

equipment in the room

becomes illustrious. LISA LOVE

WHITTINGTON tells the story

of a child of God who is living

her dreams and taking her

rightful place in the world.


dreams come

alive!


after, they secured a publishing dealwith EMI Gospel. “Everyone wasblown away with her writing,” saysRobert. As for Darlene, she nowadmits, “I’m a writer! I can’t believeI can say that!”

on creativity“I believe every creative person hasto be connected to God, becauseHe is the creator. I also believe thatwhen Dallas was creating thesetracks, he was having his momentswith God,” says Darlene. She recallssomething Dallas said to her. Hesaid, “I’m just a regular Joe on thisearth. What makes me differentfrom anybody else? God gave thecreativity to me. The best I can dois at least give this back.” Darlenesays that’s an understanding thatcan only come from God. “In con-

necting ustogether, God is

showing me howto lead the secular

world into wor-ship,” she points out.

“In working with sec-ular producers, I have

found that this is some-thing they want to doso badly. They aregrateful for the oppor-tunity to express them-selves back to God.”

New Birth’s famed maestro andWorship and Arts Director, ElderKevin Bond, calls Darlene aprophet. “Unique is not the word.Darlene’s presentation will takemany by surprise,” he affirms.“Those who relate to urban and oldschool grooves will be pulled intothe kingdom. New Birth is blessedto have such a special gift in thehouse.”

For more information, visitwww.darlenemccoy.com.


the girl who didn’t wantto singWhen Darlene was a little girl shewould ask, “Mama, why do I haveto do this?” Her mama replied,“Because you have something thatwill save a dying world.” SadieSherman Johnson, Darlene’s motherand a professional singer herself,recalls, “When Darlene sang, therewas something you felt. When shewas 5 years old, people would giveher requests to sing in church.”Mama Johnson’s prayer for her chil-dren was that “God use their giftsto save a dying world.” She’d ask,“Let my children be the one to tellanother ‘Yes, you can make it.’”Mrs. Johnson adds, “Darlene usedto argue in rehearsal sometimes or

look at me unsure. I would look ather and tell her ‘Yes you can.’”

leaving homeTwelve years ago, Darlene couldhear an ethereal sound calling her toAtlanta. Close family ties in herhometown of Greenville, S.C., madethis move difficult; her mom didn’twant her to go. But Darlene felt shehad to move on with her life, so sheloaded up the pick-up truck and hermother listened as the truck pulled

off with her daughter and all of herbelongings. “God told me to releaseher,” says Mama Johnson. “I prayedGod would put her around peoplethat know Him. I thanked Godwhen she told me she was singing inthe choir at New Birth. I knew withBishop Eddie Long she would bealright.”

write Darlene write!“I couldn’t see beyond singing inthe choir. I couldn’t see writing anysongs,” says Darlene. “Bishop Longwas right. Everything I needed wasinside of me.” It took Darlene’shusband to extract it. “Darlene hadso much to offer in her conversa-tions, and expressed herself well inthe letters she wrote to me,” hesays. Robert was confident in hiswife’s talents; he sensed what wasinside of her.

“I’m not a songwriter,” Darlenetold Robert. And in her resistance,

she calledall of thegoodsongwrit-ers that she knew, but no one hadthe time, she remembers. TheMcCoy’s had an imposing deadlinecreeping on them, which forcedDarlene to put pen to paper in ahurry. “I was definitely at war,”Darlene says. Yet in two hours, shehad one song completely written. Intwo days, she and her husband hadfully completed six songs. Soon

Sing!


tes-timonyof his life,won the2004 GospelChoice Award forBest Holy Hip Hop ofthe Year. Nova’s secondalbum will be released thissummer. He will perform at thisyear’s Re:present Youth Conference,MegaFest, and New Birth’s July 4thcelebration.

He is currently featured in theApex Museum’s Voices of Influenceexhibition, running now throughApril. In the exhibition, Nova is hon-ored alongside some of the blackcommunity's greatest historical lead-ers--Mary McCloud Bethune, MartinLuther King, Jr., and AndrewYoung--as well as a host of contem-porary leaders that speak to the cur-rent generation--Spike Lee, AliceWalker, Outkast, Oprah Winfrey, PDiddy, and Jill Scott, to name a few.Nova is the youngest honoree in theexhibition.

He was recently selected by theNBA All-Star Houston Rockets player

DikembeMutombo,and theMutomboFoundation, to writeand perform the themesong for the "Help HealKinshasa" international healthcampaign. Nova’s music is helpingto raise money to build a hospital inKinshasa, capitol of the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo, to addressrampant AIDS, high infant mortalityand short life expectancy of the peo-ple of Kinshasa.

Nova.Webster’sdefines it asa star that sud-denly increases itslight output. With abeautiful smile thatshines almost asbright as the sun anda personality tomatch, Holy Hip Hopartist Nova 4Jehovah lives up tohis name. BornChristmas day, andonly 21 years old, heis living his dreamsand taking theKingdom by force toboot! Recently, theartist sat down toshare parts of his lifewith writer LISA LOVEWHITTINGON. Butfirst, learn a littleabout the accomplish-ments of one of God’shumble servants…

His first album,G.O.D Til I D.I.E, a

Na novaforJehovah


dreams come

alive!


pressureI was puzzled about life. I ran aftereverything that this world said youhad to acquire to have happiness andbe accepted. In high school, you hadto have gold teeth, fly chains, flyclothes… I had those things. I wasMr. Popular in high school. And Isaw that those same people thatdissed me when I didn’t have any ofthose things were the same peoplewho were on me, sweating me after Igot it. I felt like, ‘this ain’t real.’ Icould easily lose this stuff and thenI’m not good enough any more. Iknew I needed something more.What I was really looking for wassome love and some peace.

peopleLife is more than getting things andtrying to impress people. I got to thepoint I didn’t care about life. I got tothe point I did not give a darn aboutpeople. That’s what really drove meto get away from people. I wanted togo the opposite way. I wanted to gowhere something was bigger than allthat little stuff. I had to go towardGod because He accepted me forwho I am, not for what I got. Hefreed me from depression. He freedme from low self-esteem. Man looksat the outward appearance and Godlooks at the heart. God saw some-thing in me He could work with andHe pulled me out of it.

temptationThe lure of the world for me was loveand acceptance. I was searching forlove in girls, and I did much of what Idid to get their attention. I was alsotrying to find love and acceptance indudes. So I started to hang with thewrong crowd trying to fit into whatmy world labeled as cool. I started tosmoke weed and drink for the samereasons. I got caught up in this worldto the point that I sold weed; and thesex was an addiction. But God deliv-

ered me from all of that. The life thatI was living brought me no real joy. Itactually left me depressed and to thepoint that I didn’t care if I lived ordied. God showed me that all I reallyneeded was Him, because He is love.I use my testimony today to lead peo-ple who are struggling with addictionto drugs, alcohol, sex or pornographyto Christ. I let them know that thefleeting thrills aren’t worth the hell firethat’s promised to them if they contin-ue to live a sin-filled life.

salvationI got saved when I was about 13years old. But I didn’t start to live asaved life until I was 17. I went tochurch after staying out [late onenight]. By the time I arrived, churchwas over. But when I came in peoplewere telling me about the G.A.N.GConference, which was New Birth’sannual youth conference. After beingasked by almost everyone that Ipassed if I was going to attend theG.A.N.G Conference, I thought tomyself, maybe this is part of my des-tiny. So when I met back up with myMom, who had come to church withme, I found that she had alreadysigned me up for the conference. Itwas at the G.A.N.G. Conference thatI rededicated my life to Christ. It wasthere that I was exposed to gospelrappers and gospel singers that pulledme in. They pulled me in because Iwas into music, but I was trying todo secular music. Just seeing thesegospel rappers made me think, ‘ifthey can do it for the Lord I can doit.’ By the end of the youth confer-ence I wrote my first gospel rap.

debutI first performed for the youth duringHosea Williams’ Feed the HungryCampaign at Turner Field. It was offthe chain! From the beginning it wasa ministry for me. Once I began rap-ping I just got into a zone and was

just trying to get a message across tothe youth. I forgot about what theymay have thought about me.

familyMy mom helps to push this ministryforward. She has been my manager,booking agent, public relations andmoral support. When I was consider-ing secular rap, I used to show hermy songs. I would look to her forspiritual guidance. I knew what I wasdoing was compromising my beliefs,but I didn’t really care. I was justthinking about getting some money.She did not support what I did backin the day simply because I was doingit for the wrong reason. When I amreaching people, she is reaching peo-ple. I have a 17-year-old little broth-er. He does all my graphic work. Hedid the graphic artwork for thealbum and for my website.

musicMusic is my voice and it allows me toget issues or thoughts off of my chest.People need to hear more truth in themusic. Music has shown me that Ihave a responsibility to

impact people’s lives and change theworld positively. You can live an abun-dant life. But you must first let Jesusinto your heart. That’s when your lifewill really start. It’s on when you getChrist in your life.For more information, visitNova4Jehovah.com.

“”

I had to gotoward Godbecause He

accepted mefor who I am,

not for whatgot.


Nova wins 2004 Gospel Choice Award.


oan elect lady

steps forth


said that the message he was aboutto share was directed to about fivewomen, and after a few moments, Iknew one of those women wasme,” recalls Helga Moore. “Thatday my entire perspective on lifechanged for the better.”

The message preached thatSunday was called “The ElectLady” from the second epistle ofJohn. Helga found out that she andwomen like her were selected byGod specifically to withstand issuesand circumstances that not toomany people could have endured ifthey experienced the same things.

“[God] spoke directly to me[through the sermon] and told methat He loved me, hadn’t forgottenabout me, and had plans for meeven though He had allowed someawful things to happen,” Helgasays. She remembers crying whenBishop read the scripture that said,“To the elect lady and her children,whom I love in truth…God lovesyou….’” Helga continues, “Then[Bishop] explained that we don’tchoose our destinies, that destinychooses us; that we may have a cer-tain direction in which we want ourlives to go, but God would change

it in an entirely different directionfor a specific purpose. That justoverwhelmed me because I knew itwas true [in my life].”

Taking her from her childhooddream of becoming a singer into alife as an advocate and caregiver forthe disabled is just one way in whichGod changed the direction ofHelga’s life. After giving birth toher son Moses and finding out abouthis disability, she was determined todo what it took to maximize hispotential as he grew older.

“I not only did what I could tohelp my son, but I was able to alsohelp other mothers of special needschildren by providing respiteservices and foster care services forthem,” says Helga. “This was cer-tainly not what I had in mind whenI was younger, but I found that Iloved working with these children,and that I was helping them andhelping their families find joy, peaceand some much needed time tothemselves every now and then.”

After 15 years of such service,Moore realized she was providing aministry and became very involvedand well sought after by numerousnon-profit community-basedorganizations that provided servicesto disabled children.

After giving birth to a dead

baby boy, having a disabled

son born with part of his

brain missing, and develop-

ing Lupus, which caused her

to lose her speaking and

singing voice, Helga Moore

resolved to just do the best

she could to make the most

out of the traumatic situations

she faced. Writer NORMA

STANLEY tells her story.

“One Sunday, Bishop Long

dreams come

alive!



a dream for a greaterpurposeAfter hearing the message thatSunday morning, Helga felt Godtelling her that it was time to returnto her dream of singing, as she felther voice returning over the pastyear. She connected with somefriends, and as a result, is in theprocess of producing and recordinga contemporary gospel/inspirationaljazz CD, in which one of the songsis titled, “The Elected Lady,”inspired by Bishop Long’s message.Three songs from the CD, including“The Elected Lady” on which thereare excerpts from Bishop’s sermon,are currently available on a CD

and exciting to watch it all unfold.I’m using my gifts and talents in allthe ways God has given me for agreater purpose. I know now thatthere’s quite a life waiting for meout there and even though I’ve beenthrough so much, it has all taughtme more about who I am, who Godis and where I’m destined to be—and I must say, I’m looking forwardto my future like I never havebefore!”

For more information on Helga Moore,All Children Are Special, Inc., or theCD sampler, call 877.245.9382, orvisit cdbaby.com/helga.

sampler called “Stronger!” Thesampler was released to help raisemoney to build a comprehensivedaycare facility for special needschildren and their parents. Thesongs are now playing on a fewgospel radio stations locally.

Today, Moore is founder andpresident of All Children AreSpecial, Inc. a non-profit, 501c3organization that is working towardbuilding the daycare center. She isalso living her dreams by using herlove of singing to support a veryworthy humanitarian cause.

“My life has taken on a whole newdirection and I know God is at thehelm,” says Helga. “It’s awesome

“To the elect ladyand her children,whom I love in

truth…God lovesyou….”

Helga Moore



healthy choices | V

you’ve got some living to do[5 things to improve your health right now]

As you aspire to live out yourdreams, get your temple inorder. Wellness specialistJamay Logan shares informa-tion to help you actually putinto practice five commonsteps that can make youhealthier. No matter what your current illness,ailment, or condition, the followingfive steps can help cure, improve orremiss any health issue you may beexperiencing. God’s temple needs tobe in tip-top shape to help you walkout your destiny. So, men, womenand children, get started with thesefive steps today:

drink waterdo: You’ve heard it before…drink at least eight

8-ounce glasses of water every day. Ifyou don’t like water, or if you have ahard time drinking it, try consumingit through a straw. To many it seemseasier to drink this way.

know: Make sure the water youtake in is quality. If you drink fromyour tap, use a filter. City water maycontain as many as 500 different dis-ease-causing bacteria, viruses and par-asites. Also, water is your mostimportant catalyst in losing weightand keeping it off. It naturally sup-presses appetite and helps your bodymetabolize stored fat. Low waterintake causes fat deposits to increase.

alter your dietdo: Stop eating bleached

flour, refined sugars and carbohy-drates. Eat more fruits and vegetables(green leafy) and try to buy themfrom a farmer’s market. Buy organic,whenever possible. Drink soy insteadof milk or dairy.Eliminate pork andred meat if at all possible.

know: The food refining industrytakes our wheat, strips it of 22 nutri-ents then adds back a few syntheticvitamins and minerals and calls it“enriched.” Have you seen this onyour bread and cereals?

exercisedo: Take on some form of

exercise on a regular basis.Walking is ideal because it’s easy.You don’t even have to power walk.Just walk. Or if aerobics or Pilates ismore your style, do that. Just dosomething. We were not meant tobe stiff and immovable.

know: While walking, deep inhala-tions flood your body with fresh oxy-gen, and deep exhalations releasemetabolic wastes along with CO2.

rest & de-stressdo: Eliminate, control,

and deal with your stress. Asgo-getters in a do-all, have-all socie-ty, we simply try to do too much.Scale back. Unrelieved stress eventu-ally weakens our immune responseand our ability to fight off disease.And stop staying up watching thenews at night. Go to bed. Stress andthe inability to rest properly, alongwith poor nutrition, is thought bymany researchers to cause and

increase the rate of diseases, espe-cially for women (diseases such asLupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,Depression and Cancer)

know: Cortisol is the stress hor-mone that suppresses our good,healthy hormones, thereby allowingour bodies to be vulnerable to anonslaught of autoimmune condi-tions, inflammatory diseases andallergic reactions.

supplementdo: Begin taking a good, natural whole food supple-

ment. A synthetic additive vitamin ormineral is just as toxic to our bodies asis medication on a long-term basis. Anatural, whole food supplement willreally help you feel better and give youmore energy, allowing you to enjoy lifemore. Also, get your children on awhole food supplement. You will seeillnesses, like colds, vanish; also, recov-ery time from an illness will be quicker.

know: The greatest problemwith vitamin and mineral supple-mentation is poor absorption.Make sure your vitamins and miner-al supplements are chelated, whichmeans coated with protein/aminoacids, making them more efficientlyabsorbed into the system.

Jamay Logan is an RN with more than19 years of Nursing experience thatincludes health, wellness, and diseasemanagement. Her company,Generational Blessings Care Ministry, isa Health and Wellness Affirming service.For more information, send emails [email protected].

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