Category Archives: Heaven

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When We All Get to Heaven…RIP Dee Stewart aka Miranda Parker…

Hello World, 

When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be according to the beloved hymn. I believe that is true, but until we all get to heaven, we will experience grief and heartache when we lose a loved one. So it is with a sad heart that I type these words this morning. The Christian writing world specifically and the book publishing industry in general lost one of its own last week so as a fellow writer myself I’ve decided to post a picture of Dee Stewart and as well as her biography. While we are all sad that she has left this world, I am confident that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord…In spite of the many health challenges she faced including lupus and heart disease, Dee Stewart was a committed mother and crafted a wonderful career….

Below is her biography…

At DeeGospel PR, my role is to share my client’s stories with my peers, who are also gatekeepers. Be it traditional pr opps: radio, tv, print and performance engagements, online(internet tv, radio, networks, media,) or new marketing initiatives and inbound marketing services that infuse traditional public relations and events promotions with new technologies that channel and broadcast our client’s core messages, I work hard to build a communication bridge for my clients. I specialize in supporting publishers, music lables, musicians, authors, events planners, and businesses that support the publishing industry(music and literary.)

At Christian Fiction Blog, my role is to support writer’s of Christian Faith. I started Christian Fiction Blog in 2005 to help other writer’s deal with the sometimes overwhelming prospect of book promotion and book events marketing while still running a household and increasing in spiritual maturity. Today the blog has over 1000 email subscribers, a blog community of 300+ authors, and has been the catalyst for launching DGP.

As a journalist, my role is to compile and share stories I know will benefit the media outlets I support. I have been an editor, book reviewer and journalist for ten years. My writing has appeared in: RT Book Reviews, Gospel Today, Precious Times, Anointed, Hope for Women, Rejoice Atlanta, Romantic Times,Christianity Today, Spirit Led Woman, Atlanta Christian Family and Spirit Led Writer Magazines, to name a few. I also edit non-fiction for Christian ministers and authors.

As author Miranda Parker for Kensington Publishing’s Dafina Books, my role is to create stories my readers would love to read over and over again. My two books are “A Good Excuse to Be Bad” and “Someone Bad and Something Blue.”

If you would like to more about Dee’s commitment to raising awareness about heart disease, see the article “Survivor of Heart Failure Dedicates Birthday to Educating Other Women” on cnn.com. Also, here is a radio interview Dee conducted with Christian fiction author Tiffany L. Warren on blogtalkradio.com.

We will miss you…

Any thoughts?

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Sparkle…Whitney’s Last Time To Shine This Side of Heaven…

Hello World,

Since February 11, the world has mourned the death of the shooting star that was Whitney Houston, an iconic voice that is not likely to be matched for generations…But this Friday, when the movie “Sparkle” is released, the world will be able to see Whitney shine once again – her last time this side of Heaven…I do believe that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven,” and I believe the world was being prepared to release Whitney back to the Father that bestowed her with the voice of angels although we did not realize it at the time…

Mara Brock Akil, who wrote the screenplay for “Sparkle,” discussed the synchronicity at work as the screenplay unfolded in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“She kept calling me her angel,” Mara says. But Mara was baffled when Houston said to her, “I really appreciate your putting my church in your script.”

“I didn’t put your church in my script,” Mara told her.

“New Hope Baptist,” Houston prompted. Mara had unwittingly given the church in Sparkle the same name as the church in Newark, N.J., where Houston had started to make her indelible mark, singing gospel as a young girl. (The same church hosted Houston’s funeral service.)

“I believe in divine order all the time,” Mara says. (She and Salim are Muslim.) “But this particular time, I really felt the presence of God all the way through. It was like it was meant to be.”

And I do believe each of us is afforded the opportunity to claim “new hope” in Christ Jesus if we would only take Him at His word. In spite of the addictions and ailments she suffered from throughout her short life, Whitney professed her faith in Christ Jesus over and over again, and I pray that He guided her safely into the arms of Her heavenly father…In fact Whitney’s devoted mother Cissy Houston always felt that Whitney would never be in the world for very long and revealed so in an open letter to Whitney that appeared in Whitney’s funeral program. A copy of that letter appears on Essence.com.

I never told you that when you were born the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long and I thank God for the beautiful flower he allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years.

In the same letter, Cissy Houston revealed that for months leading up to Whitney’s passing, she had been depressed although unable to pinpoint the cause of her feelings…

The other day on February 11th He came for you. But not without warning. For two months now I have been depressed, crying, lonesome and sad not knowing why.

And I believe that if you choose to walk with the Lord, He will give you experiences that enable your burdens on earth to be a bit lighter in spite of the pain we all will experience from time to time…That is what He did for Cissy Houston on the very day of her beloved daughter’s death…

On Saturday, before I found out about your transition, my doorbell rang. I went to answer it but there was no one there. It rang again and again, no one was there so I called the concierge to tell him someone was ringing my doorbell. He checked the cameras and told me that no one was there. You promised me you were coming to spend time with me after the Grammys. I believe the spirits allowed you to come after all.

Last night, I attended a book signing for Denene Millner, who wrote the novelization of “Sparkle.” Millner detailed how she was entrusted with developing a back story for Whitney Houston’s character Emma, Sparkle’s single mother who was a former singer instead of a maid as in the original movie. In this modern-day version, Emma warns her daughters that show business has its pitfalls in spite of the dizzying heights of fame and fortune. We’ve all probably seen that the now haunting trailer for the movie in which Emma says, “Was my life not enough of a cautionary tale for you?” She said writing the novelization of the movie over a two-week period last month was particularly meaningful  in light of Whitney’s death months earlier. In fact, Millner wrote the book in two weeks as she only was offered the opportunity last month.

So, I hope you will join me as I plan to reflect on the beautiful brilliance of Whitney Houston in “Sparkle” this Friday! Your earthly vessel has been gone back to the dust, but your spirit soars on…

Any thoughts?

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We Will Always Love Whitney…

Hello World,

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted mainly because I was furiously working to execute my book release party which happened Friday night and my book release which will be on Tuesday, Valentine’s Day, and everything else in my life…but I’m back:)

I had planned on posting about my party, but in light of the tragic news of Whitney Houston’s passing today, I feel it is more appropriate to post about that at a later date so stay tuned to see all of the pictures from my party…

Whitney Houston, like she was for countless others, was on the soundtrack of my life…I remember seeing her first album cover when I was in the fifth grade and had just started to obsess over my appearance. I had started to develop, but I was chubby and wore huge glasses. Confidence in my looks I did not possess….When I heard all of the boys admiring Whitney’s beauty on that first album cover as we rode home from school on the bus one day, I hoped one day to possess the beauty she exuded…

I remember her song “How Will I Know” that was released when I was in middle school. It perfectly captured the bewilderment I experienced as I first started to feel romantic stirrings for some of the boys I met in middle school. Did he love me? Or was I just fooling myself? How will I know? I smile now recalling how serious I thought all of that was at the time. Those boys were probably still wearing Underoos at the time, and I was obsessing if they loved me…Foolish youth!

I could go on and on recalling the moments of my life that her voice and her presence touched, but more than anything, I just pray for her family and friends that actually knew the woman behind that heavenly talent…And I pray Heaven is just where she is this morning…

We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  2 Corinthians 5:8

And I hope she is singing this song face to face with the Father this morning…”I Love the Lord” featuring the Georgia Mass Choir…(I loved “The Preacher’s Wife!”)

 


Peace be unto you Whitney…

Any thoughts?