So Guess Who Wrote a Book?

Your truly and I am delighted with the response thus far AND by the fact that it has hit the Amazon.com marketplace. Read the information below on how you can support the book:

Two months after its release, I am excited to say that ESTEEM MAKEOVER: GOD’S EDITION has been selected for sale on Amazon.com! Thanks to each and everyone of you who have supported the book by buying it or spreading the word… you have helped to make this possible.

Today I received an email from my publisher alerting me that my book was selected and my jaw dropped to the floor! This news is so new, the synopsis of the book has not even yet been posted on the Amazon.com website, but the book is there for ordering! You can only imagine how excited I am about the possibilities! But I still need your help. And there’s two ways you can do just that!

Number 1: Order the book at AMAZON.com or tell people to order it at AMAZON.com

This is an incredible next step, but there are many more to take. As an unknown, Amazon.com is listing the book with a very limited stock. It is highly likely that online orders will be a little slow to fill–that is, until Amazon.com sees real demand for the book. This is your opportunity to help. Most of you already own a copy, but spread the word and encourage others to order the book from Amazon.com.

Number 2: Write a review
If you’ve already got a copy of the book, this is a great way for you to help. Simple click on the link to Amazon.com below and add your comments about the book. This will be supremely helpful, especially as an unknown and as I work out the synopsis corrections.

Again, thank you all for everything and if you haven’t got the book, get it!

Miss Mai Is Always About Her Poetic Ministry

Time does fly, doesn’t it? I’ve been so busy doing this, that and thus and so, that I haven’t had a chance to post anything to this blog in a minute. But never fear, I have been holding it down for abuse survivors, you can believe that. But before I toot my own horn even a little, I want to apologize for my absence.

That being said… Hi people!!! God continues to be good, allowing me to use this gift that I love so much to be an opprotunity to talk openly and honestly about abuse and the goodness of God. Time robs me of a good memory, but I’ve ministered at several events since, some of which I am including pictures for below. My man and adopted father in the gospel Adrion Roberson of Destiny Ministries, invited me once again to minister to his young people. This third time out I performed a set called “The Aftermath”–focusing on what abuse does to a person.  Then, Rosedale Church of Kansas City, Kansas invited me to come and speak at their yound people’s bible study where I taught on Romans 8 to more than 100 young people. It was an awesome time in the Lord, which I will not forget and am honored to have been invited back.

The Aftermath: How abuse can tear apart a life

As Bad As I Had It, Others Had It Worse

As bad as my own personal abuse was… as bad as my memories are… I am sickened everytime I think about how some have been abused by members of the church. By priests, pastors, ministers, and others–people you should be able to trust. It makes me so sad to think that young boys and girls are as we speak having to deal with this tragedy, and men and women all over are dealing with the repercussions of something that happened in their childhood.

I do not regularly read “The Pitch” and am staunchly against much of what they print, but as a journalist I defend the paper’s right to free speech. This time, they have written an article I can read and wanted to share. It doesn’t offer any answers and it certainly isn’t P.G. or P.C. but it does make it clear as many survivors know that we are not alone. Click here.

Destiny Ministries Invites Me to Talk About Abortion

Destiny Ministries tackle the abortion issue

Brother Roberson talks straight to the kids

My brother in the gospel, Adrion Roberson, invited me out once again to minister to the youth, this time about abortion. In a very no holds barred atmosphere, Brother Adrion and others ministered and ripped the curtains back on this important issue. An issue you would be surprised at how prevalent it is in the church.

 

No Fear!!! Are you fearless?

This past Sunday, I had the honor of being asked back to Tree of Life Ministries in Kansas City, KS (my old stomping ground) to share my performance ministry with their young people for a second time. The theme of their back to school bash: NO FEAR. Could there be any more fitting a theme for someone willing to stand up to the abuse suffered at the hands of another?! Even with the short notice, I could not refuse.

“This Is The Poem”–the piece that I ministered and which is central to my ministry with 1 Small Voice–is about finding the core of your courage and standing saying no more. It has been such a gift to share what the Lord has given me through that poem that I never tire of it. Knowing that in the room every single time is someone who knows the precise pain and shame I went through and is somehow encouraged and touched by my words is a blessing I could have never really imagined I would receive.

Are you living a fearless life? Free now from the hand of your abuser, are you walking in the freedom that is there for you or are you living in fear? Are you suffering from the shame of what was done to you (or what someone has caused you to believe that you allowed)? The bible teaches us that fear is not of God, so why bother to hold on to it. He has given you the power of love, peace and a sound mind. The POWER!!!! He has given you power! Power to be fearless, unafraid of those who have hurt you, are hurting you, or dare not to believe you. My prayer for you today is that you live fearless, powerful, God-centered lives, that you might know the joy of the abundant life that God has promised you!

Thank you TREE OF LIFE MINISTRIES for the invitation and I look forward to joining you again!

Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams, & Donnie McClurkin- Medley

“When I think about Jesus, and all that He has done for me…” It seems so trite sometimes because it is a go-to answer in the church. But when I think about how it was nothing but the grace of God that has kept me all the 30+ years, I can’t help but love Him more. When I didn’t deserve His love, He gave it. When I didn’t want it, He waited for me. I want my testimony to be that I know that Jesus is mine, and that I know for myself how great my God is. I encourage you today… believe Him.

more about "Shirley Caesar, Yolanda Adams, & Donn…", posted with vodpod

St. James AME in Odessa… Thank You!

While I might have been invited to bless the women in attendance at your first women’s conference, truly the pleasure and treat was mine. I remain humble and amazed at how God moves through “This Is the Poem” and am just overwhelmed that it touches so many so profoundly. To me, sometimes my poems are just an outward expression of my inner turmoil and triumphs. That anyone can share in them, relate to them, be freed by them, is something I only dreamt about growing up.

Your “Secrets of an Irresistible Woman” Conference was friendly, warm, and just what a women’s conference should be. Thank you for having me and I hope to see you all again soon!

Celebrate That You Never Could Have Made It Without the Hand of God on Your Life

I placed this video before my own words because Marvin Sapp says this so perfectly… he so superbly sets the tone for this post that my hope is that you play the video and let it minister to the hurt child in you. While you read these words, listen to what he is saying. You know as well as anyone that there is no reason that you can name this side of heaven as to why you made it through all you have gone through. You know better than anyone that you considered so many other ends and alternate lives… but to be standing here today, living out loud and striving everyday to be more than a simple statistic is a testimony to the work of God in your life.

And it does not matter that you still struggle to feel His presence. It does not matter that when you were being abused, you could not believe in Him. It does not matter that there are still scars to heal and nights when you cry out “Who is this God?” It only matters that He is and He is here… was there… with you… always. He kept you from ending your life prematurely. He kept you from disease. He kept you from a abortion. He kept you from prostitution. He kept you from mutilation. He kept you from promiscuity.

Whatever it is you are not, know that it was God and God alone that protected you. Know that it was God and God alone who held your hand in the dark of night as what was done to you. Know that it was God and God alone that walked the streets with you, keeping death at bay when you ran away. Know that it was He and not another that brought you through.

I know one thing for sure, I am here today only by the grace of God. I tried to end my life, and yet here I am living proof everyday that there is life after. All we have to do is hold on.

Listen to what Marvin is saying. From everything that he has suffered, he has gained strength and wisdom. He says he is better. And, watch this now, he says he made it. Know that you can make it. No matter what it is that is plaguing you, whatever the trouble is in your life, whatever you are going through or have endured, you will make it. I dare you… shout now.

Searching for that Special Someone

When you have been battered and bruise, beaten and abused, mistreated and misused, it can be next to impossible to find that special someone to spend your life with. Not because that person is not out there, but because we ourselves have so much baggage to work through in maintaining a healthy relationship that we often send the good ones running for the hills. That’s real talk… and often, real talk is not what we areinterested in. We want to believe that we have dealt with the pain of our past and that people just don’t get us. That’s not true. You don’t get you. Looking at our own reflection is not always easy but it is ever so necessary. I challenge every survivor of abuse to live a Happily Ever After by creating and shaping it first by honestly and realistically looking at self. And it wouldn’t hurt to do this as a single person. If you have the luxury to deal with you under the cover of singlehood, thank God for that. Your relationship-to-some will be so much the better for it. If you are in a relationship, it is not too late. Do it anyway.

I found this website today and could not take my eyes off of this trailer. This movie is so important and I am proud to spread the word. The Soulmate File at www.soulmatefilm.com.

 

“Time” – A Poem

Today, I will be speaking to the young women of New Directions for Teen Parents (a Catholic Charities program and I am super excited for this opportunity. This short poem is an old one that reminds us that no mistake is so defining that you can not overcome it and become whoever it is you want to be. I salute you, young mothers, striving to be more than the statistic someone says you will be. Enjoy your Life After!!!

“Time”

 

indeed

time waits for no one

and no one can escape its reach

you can either let it teach

you what has to teach

or you can struggle

troubled by the things you simply can not control

but try

the things that make you cry

things you don’t understand

but lie about

time can teach you to forgive

to live free from the stains of pains

you needn’t own

time can show you where you’ve grown

and where you’ve failed

if you let the mistress of time tell the tale

instead of trying to write the book yourself

let her be the help she is intended to be

then see…

just wait and see…

whatever should be

will be

 

A Miss Mai Original