Muhammad Rahman
Christine A. Young
Don Enzo
Juanita Headley
Paul Denikin
David Matteo
Neo Lloyd
Ann Lenaers
Negetee Hawkins
Tyrone Brackens
- Spiritual Living
- August 21, 2019
- 2 views
The Importance of Stillness: Silent Musings from God’s Holding Patterns
(To listen to this post, play below.) Do you feel the tension? Has the disillusioned process left you weary? Are you holding on for dear life to every prophetic promise that has been spoken in your life? Are you in a situation where you are targeted for your strength and prowess yet, it’s not your will but God’s will that prevails? Can you feel the sting of unrighteousness from a spouse, partner, friend, confidant, business associate or neighbor who doesn’t understand the position you have been called to heed in this moment in your life? Are you in a financial whirlwind with more bills than money presently to secure the debt? Did you ever feel like throwing in the towel and giving up? Well, you are not alone. Michael Jackson, Legendary Music Savant experienced the same trauma, drama, pain, upheavals, lies, deceit, aloneness, brokenness, and blindness and still was able create magic out of those insidious moments. Michael Jacksons’ hit song “You are not Alone” is a song from his ninth studio album History: Past, Present and Future, Book 1 (1995). If you can truly picture the irony of this song remember it was written by R.Kelly (R&B Sensation was wrote “Step in the name of Love”)who we all know has been in the media lately with tons of sexual misconduct allegations against minors. The important thing to note from R. Kelly and Michael Jackson as it relates to the holding patterns you may be experiencing at this moment is that you are not alone. There are thousands of individuals like you and me who has had difficult childhood experiences, near death experiences, abuse, neglect, betrayal, and just moments in time that has made us neglectful of the healing that needed to take place. Instead, we would keep trying to push past the pain as if it would just somehow go away. Many times, the shame that we created from our mistakes binds our hearts into a place, where we feel like a “Native Son” which Richard Wright explains as a black youth who lives in utter poverty. Although, we are bigger than our circumstances the weight of indifference and stagnation can make us feel like the mountain is too big to overcome. The embers of the psychedelic whirlwind want to speak to us in these moments, but we must settle in our hearts that its necessary to stay positioned for the turnaround. You might have been in the waiting room for the last 5, 10, 15, 20, years or longer. What’s important to understand is that God operates outside of time and may be a tough pill for your inner circle to swallow in this instant everything age. Overnight successes usually take in the ballpark of 15-20 years in some cases. Sometimes you will fly around and around until there are favorable conditions to land. Delay does not mean denial. Let nature take its course in your life and don’t try to change what seems uncomfortable and illogical to those in your inner circle. Approach the negativity head on in a logical and emotionally sound manner. Work on your…
Bonita Shelby
- Health & Wellness
- August 17, 2019
- 3 views
Better lifestyle choices and freedom from breast cancer – meet Bonita Shelby
Later in this post, I will share two books that radically changed the trajectory of my life! But first, the most important parts of my background… I was healed of a breast cancer over 29 years ago that awakened me from ignorance about how to really take care of myself. I immediately started on an intentional journey of making better lifestyle choices. Many years later, I made a bold career change in 2010 from a being a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) to a being a CCA (Certified Clinical Aromatherapist). I now share the amazing benefits of using Father GOD’s natural, plant-based provisions from the earth of genuine, unadulterated essential oils (like Frankincense & Myrrh) and infused products to whomever is open to learning more and living a harsh chemical free lifestyle. I believe it is imperative that the Body of Christ learn and use this life enhancing information. I enjoy learning and sharing empowering info, writing, creative, quick, healthy and tasty cooking, arts and crafts, uplifting music, experiencing adventurous events and traveling. I love being used by HOLY SPIRIT and remain amazed and grateful to Father GOD for being alive for such a time as this! I was born and raised in Washington, District of Columbia (DC) in the Petworth/Georgia Avenue area of Northwest Washington, DC; moved to Maryland in my early 20s and have lived in Maryland longer than I lived in DC. I love my native city even with it being a much different, (yet somewhat better) place. My desire is to reclaim my family’s DC home ownership heritage before I leave out of here. What are those two books? Back to Eden (the original version) by Jethro Kloss – I was made aware of it by my paternal grandmother who was an avid user of the books and herbs. As a young teenager, she told me I should go to college to research herbs. Being the know-it-all teenager, I thought, ‘they don’t teach that in college’ and I ignored her and pursued the Bachelor of Business Administration major at Howard University with a concentration in Accounting instead. Long story short, I’ve been back tracking for the last 17 years once I was introduced to Seed to Seal® real, unadulterated essential oils. Healing Oils of the Bible by Dr. David Stewart – I was made aware of it from a conversation I had with a friend who had an encounter with a colleague who had experienced massive changes in her physical, mental and emotional wellness. My friend called to tell me what she found out about the Healing Oils of the Bible, like Frankincense and Myrrh, and it was on from that point to now! What can you expect from my posts here? My blog posts will be for your benefit for awareness, education, and application of empowering information about the importance of eliminating unhealthy water and fake foods, toxic environments, sleep deprivation, toxic personal and household chemicals, negative thoughts, words, relationships and actions, physical inactivity. I’ll share info about my preferred options for better wellness outcomes which work extremely well for me and many others. Join us in a special study! You are invited to attend our study of the book, Healing Oils of the Bible, for Christian Educators and other Christians who would like to know this part of the Gospel of JESUS…
Candace Paul
- More about "Spiritual Warfare"
- August 5, 2019
- 2 views
Spanish Edition of Spiritual Warfare Available NOW!
Aknowingspirit LLC just published a Spanish edition of Spiritual Warfare (Guerra Espiritual). It’s available on Amazon in ebook and paperback! Get a copy today! The book is great for Spanish reading groups, church groups, and for discussion. Also, join our growing community. Subscribe HERE.
- Opinion
- July 31, 2019
- 3 views
The “Expert Testimony” of Social Allegiance: Building a foundation for “Social Interconnectedness” in our youth
The “Expert Testimony” of Social Allegiance: Building a foundation for “Social Interconnectedness” in our youth Without going outside his race, and even among the better classes with their ‘white’ culture and conscious American manners, but still Negro enough to be different, there is sufficient matter to furnish a black artist with a lifetime of creative work. ~Langston Hughes In 1892, Jane Addams presented a speech titled “The Subjective Necessity of Social Settlements” as part of a symposium concerning the theme of philanthropy and social progress; and it reflects an idea that is needed even now in this 21st century. The settlement movement in a sense creates the narrative for interpreting a democratic idea in terms of a social context, the progression of a race, and the promotion of a Christian ideology concerning charitable endeavors. It is a fundamental idea that I believe could rejuvenate our creative aspirations and liven our moral sentiments as we share our gifts with the world. There has been a growing sentiment in the black community for building programs of significance (daycare hubs, learning centers, libraries, healthcare centers, and music programs, etc.), as a means of expanding the artistic expression and economic advancement of our rise. Although, we have suffered at the hands of those who sees our “Social interconnectedness” as a threat, we are just getting started in the turn of this century. Although, the black mind wasn’t allowed to soak up information or read for the first two hundred years into this country, we somehow never really complained about the lag. That’s an achievement gap for you to digest – yet, we never seemed to fully disassociate from the ideology of group consciousness. Group consciousness in this instance refers to “Social Allegiance”, or an attitude towards self-identification with a particular group that shares the same philosophies or theological interjections (i.e. gangs, brotherhoods, social groups, business circles, cliques, and or mastermind alliances). Navigating this social world alone isn’t an option for the black mind. We need our allegiance to a particular social order which grants us an identity that we can unite towards our moral, economic, social and political benefit. Although, the African American spiritual heritage provides the most comprehensive and lasting mental structure for our existence, it isn’t always well received by those who see the Pastor as a drug dealer, con artist, womanizer and pimp. Driven by a longing for excellence and a social home the “Social Allegiance” to communal structures is more about fitting in rather than standing out. Nobody likes to be an outsider. Nobody likes to be the martyr for his or her race. It’s those rare individuals (Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Marcus Garvey, Medgar Evars, Bobby Seals, Assata Shakur etc.) that embrace the calling to revolutionize the historical narrative of our dynamic communal forces. History calls these individuals rebels, black sheeps, loners, outcasts and rejects. Yet, it’s these same individuals who refuse to bury their gifts by the mainstream hands of fate and allow their struggles to become reduced to sand. Again, it’s all about the collective narrative of a power used in tandem with the primal force…
Nkozia Bethune
- Opinion
- July 24, 2019
- 2 views
Spike in Home Value & Crime in D.C.
High Crime in DC is Overshadowed by High Housing Value Urban areas across the country have become strategic opportunities for wealthy investors and developers to convert housing in impoverished communities into high-priced homes and condominiums for wealthy buyers. A recent study cited the District of Columbia (D.C.) as having “the highest intensity of gentrification of any U.S. city.” Therefore, in order to keep attracting wealthy outsiders, true crime statistics are going unreported. It’s no surprise that publication of criminal activity affects the home values of low-income areas targeted in the gentrification takeover. The crimes of D.C. are not formalized, documented or publicized for the communities which are exceedingly affected by violence. Moreover, there is not a centralized platform for local communities to meaningfully fight against the increasing crime and the continuous incompetence of police entrusted to protect them. The more law enforcement keeps crime rates out of the news, the better image the D.C. Metropolitan area has for international investors buying property. Statistics on the Rise of Crime Crimes are not publicized because of this: The majority of homes are bought without the knowledge of the increase in homicide rates, spiking to 4 percent since 2018, according to the Metropolitan Police Department: CRIME PERCENTAGE % (Increase since 2018) ROBBERY 4% AUTO THEFT 3% ALL THEFT 10% ARSON 100% PROPERTY CRIME 6% HOMICIDE 8% Homes are bought by international and foreign business people, many of whom were able to take advantage of the recession period in 2007-2010 to purchase homes at a low rate and generate high revenue from the home investments. Another Child Dead from Violence & No One Knows May 27th, 2019, a 15 year-old boy was killed just 7 minutes away from the police station in the Congress Heights neighborhood. There were four people fatally shot among 20 injured in the three day span of constant violence in the area. I’m of the belief, the media failed to report this influx in criminal activity, in order to maintain what has come to be viewed as a progressive and “changing” urban area, which encourages gentrification. When crimes are publicized housing values are lowered drastically. In many ways, it becomes an intentional act of concealment from the public by the news media not to report these crimes that are affecting the dynamics of long-standing communities and youth. D.C. residents are ill informed of the dangers that plague the D.C. area due to the lack of information reported in attempts to advance the city’s aggressive gentrification craftiness. Interestingly, these acts of communal eugenics is uncanny to the Tasmanian indigenous people of Australia, whom were pushed out of their communities and exterminated for the interest of white Europeans. Gentrification: Fight Against Eugenics This information supports the constant complaint among many groups that gentrification is becoming genocide for the Afro-American community. We need to begin encouraging the development of organizations within these communities to fight against gun violence, gentrification, and the lack of publication of vital information within community news. According to the Fire and EMS District of Columbia Time Metrics, it takes law enforcement more than 13 minutes to respond to a call.…
- Spotlight , Writing Tips
- July 15, 2019
- 4 views
Quick interview with Author Michael LaBorn
You’re a Christian author, how important is it that your faith be reflected in the work you produce? It is incredibly important to me. Jesus is not just a part of my life. He is my everything. Tell us about your book! The Master Narrative The Master Narrative is a detailed look at the history, culture and context of the entire Old Testament. I guide my readers through this foundational part of the Word, book by book, and help to paint a picture of the overarching story being told. I genuinely believe it will help anyone who reads it understand God’s Word at a deeper level. Tell us about the process – how long did it take you to write your book from start to finish? Forever! Just kidding. But it did take me quite a while. I actually took a group of young Church leaders through the Old Testament, book by book, and studied with them as I wrote the book. So, I would say it took a little less than a year. What a journey! Whenever I speak to writers there’s usually a fascinating back story that led to a career in writing, what’s yours? Growing up, my mother always encouraged me to read. And by “encouraged”, I mean that she threw out the television and refused to buy a new one until I had the top reading scores in my school. You’d think it would have traumatized me. But it honestly gave me a deep appreciation and love for literature, and I decided I wanted to chase that dream. How has your family supported your desire to write? My mother was my first and greatest fan! She believed in me in ways that I don’t think even I understand. Her encouragement fueled the beginning of my career, and honestly keeps me focused even now that she has been gone for near a decade. What were some unexpected challenges you encountered on the path toward getting published? Ignorance and laziness. The same challenges most of us face in the early days of this career. There is just so much to know, and every day the game is changing and growing! It can be hard to navigate the waters early on. But I’m getting the hang of it. As a writer of faith, I view my work as a calling, do you view your work the same way? What moment showed you this was your purpose? Absolutely. This is what I was made for. I have no doubt. The number of people whose entire lives have been changed by simple words I’ve written on a page, it’s mind boggling. This is what I am here for. To equip the body. And writing helps me do that. What’s a bit of advice you would give to new authors? Educate yourself early on, and actually do what you set out to do. Why do you think it’s important to pursue writing about matters of faith at this point in time? Because the Church is hungry for something more. And they aren’t getting it in the places they have been looking.…
David Chandler
- Spotlight
- June 26, 2019
- 1 views
Meet Author David Chandler
It is a pleasure being added to the Aknowingspirit team, so let me provide you all with an introduction. I’m David Chandler and I esteem myself as somewhat of a cult expert. I’ve been a Born-again Christian for quite some time now. I like to study aberrant theological belief systems and compare those ideas with the Word of God. I am also an author of the speculative, having written well over ten novels. Connect with me on facebook!
Nelson Hawkins, Jr.
- Spiritual Living , Understanding Your Faith
- June 26, 2019
- 1 views
Why We Struggle With Identity….
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV) Before I get to the blog post proper, I almost never deal with NKJV. Not a knock on it, I just usually study from the ESV or the NRSV. <shrugs> About the Scripture itself though. Do y’all see this here? It’s kind of a big deal. Galatians 5:16-23 talks about the nature of the flesh, the nature of the Spirit, and how they do battle with each other, to literally prevent us from doing what we want (also see Romans 7:14-23). But why does this matter as it pertains to identity. Well, in the last entry, we talked about identity having four real elements to it: (1) Being made in God’s image and likeness, (2) purpose, (3) heritage, and (4) race/ethnicity. Well, most people don’t get authentically saved in their formative years (please don’t believe the statistics). Because most kids have a fundamental rebellion in their teen years (because they have to explore, more on that next time) and many don’t get to experience God for real until their 20s. This is when their heritage and race have been well established, and sometimes they are already pursuing (what they at least think) will be purpose. I can’t speak to everyone, but in my teen years, I knew there was a God and that He was supreme in the cosmos. But I didn’t know God. I went to church sometimes, and considered myself a Christian. And then when I was in college, a young lady did street evangelism ministry with me. Her: Where are you going when you die? Me: Heaven. Her: Why. Me: Because I’m a good person. God was like, “That’s adorable…” //imgur.com/ClQ956Q But why did I give the wrong answer? My identity didn’t line up, despite the fact that I thought I was a Christian. A few years later, I got saved, and got this answer right. (Although there were so many more to get wrong after) I would say that once we get saved and become that new creature, we have to switch all of our thinking over to that of Christ: mind, heart, nature…we even have to shift our gifting and talent to Christ…despite the fact that God put those in us to begin with. And that conversion is tough, because we know our heritage and our race (most times) our whole life, but most of the time we struggle with the “made in God’s image and likeness” part because we just weren’t wired that way. It takes a long walkthroughs in the Scripture, fervent prayer and supplication, and often years of long suffering to get to this point. Over the next couple of entries, we will juxtapose identity to our stages of life (natural growth), and our stages of spiritual growth. Join us then, okay?
- Writing Tips
- May 24, 2019
- 1 views
Unpopular opinion: Your Friends and Family Aren’t Your Customers
A member of a Christian author’s group I joined expressed disappointment with the lack of overall support she’s gotten from her friends and family. She confessed to expecting much more from them and was somewhat blindsided by their disinterest in her book. While I understood her frustration, my feelings were a bit different. I offered the following advice to her – and to my surprise, it was very well received. I thought it would be best to turn it into a blog post for other writers. First, Understand the Magnitude of What You’re Writing – Not Everyone is Ready As a Christian writer your work carries a greater purpose. It’s not just for entertainment value. I imagine that there’s a deeper message you want the reader to understand about the importance of our faith. Truthfully, not everyone is ready to receive that message…at least not yet. It’s for this reason, I say, Christian books find the hands ready to receive them. I couldn’t tell you the number of faith-based and inspirational books I was given that I didn’t read until years later. They just collected dust on a shelf – mainly because I wasn’t interested at the time. However, when I was ready to read, and when my heart was open to learning more about my faith, I knew exactly where to go. Sometimes, it’s as simple as letting people know where to find your work when they’re ready for it. Not having the Initial Support of Your Friends and Family Helps Build a True Following Let’s face it, sometimes people will just buy your books because they know and love you (thanks, mom!). Don’t get me wrong – that’s great, but unless they’re actively reading and engaging with your material, it’s hard to know if they truly like your work – or just being the beautiful supportive family and friends that’s helped you with everything else in life. The silver lining to having a lack of support with your writing among those closest to you is the ability to gauge how others really feel about your work. If your following is primarily comprised of your family and friends, it’s hard to know for sure. In my case, my first book, “Spiritual Warfare” broke the top 100 on Amazon’s Bestsellers list multiple times – including holding the #3 or #4 spot for a few days. Since I have a rough estimate of who among my family and friends purchased my book and when, I know that their contribution alone did not make that possible. However, it was my community of followers on social media – over 13,000 people, that helped me hit that goal. I refer to those that support my work as a community, because that’s how I truly see them. It’s a two way street. We learn from each other. We help each other. I’ve chatted with many of them, prayed for many of them, and I make it a point to consistently share important news from around the world that mainstream media doesn’t talk about with them. So, when I receive unexpected praise from strangers like, “You’re one…
- Understanding Your Faith
- May 6, 2019
- 1 views
Be Careful with Modern Bible Translations
A man posed this consideration in a Christian group I follow on Facebook. He used Proverbs 16:31, to support his argument that the Bible is no longer applicable to our time. The verse says, “Gray hair is a mark of distinction, the award for a God-loyal life.” At first his reasoning seemed logical. He said, since we know by science that gray hair is genetic and has nothing to do with leading a “God-loyal life” maybe we should question more of what the Bible says. He continues by suggesting that the example described is one of many, ancient people used to help explain a condition that modern science had yet to discover. Again, it sounded reasonable, but then I looked at the where he had gotten the verse from. The verse came from The Message Bible which is a translation written by Eugene H. Peterson. According to the introductory chapters, the intention of the translation is to keep the language of the Bible “current and fresh and understandable.” It is a noble goal, but might the true meaning be confused by doing this? To support my point, that same verse from the King James Version, clears up any misunderstanding. The verse says, “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.” So, what the KJV is telling us, “hoary head (white or greyish hair)” is a mark of distinction if found in righteousness. It is not an “award for a God-loyal life.” Gray hair is only a mark of distinction if that person is also righteous. This understanding makes more sense, because there are many people with gray hair that have no loyalty to God. The modern translation conflates righteousness with leading a God-loyal life, and then makes the marker of assessing this, something as arbitrary as having gray hair! Yes, that doesn’t make sense… but more importantly that is NOT what is actually said. This YouTube video gives a pretty good breakdown on Bible Translations, what you should look out for and why it all matters.