All For Jesus

by Sherri C.Walker

Poetry… It is a gift from God. It is close kin to music, in that both can touch the human soul in ways that words cannot quite express. This book by Mrs. Sherri C. Walker is no exception. It is a wonderful book of poetry that expresses the power of God and the victory of mankind, by God’s Grace, despite any hardship that may come our way. I think you’ll enjoy this book, as it exposes the heart of man in his every day trials in this life, and the overcoming, overwhelming, love and power of God expressed toward His children.

God is amazing. He is awesome. He alone is worthy to be praised by the lips of men. God is our Rock… our Might… and this book reflects upon all this and more through the poetic gifts of Mrs. Walker. You’ll want to leave this one on your living room table, so you can pick it up from time to time and realize… “You are not alone. God CAN and will, USE you.”

For me? It’s “Three thumbs up!”, all the way!

Matt Thompson, Writer @ MotivationByGrace.org

June 25, 2008

This weeks woman in the spotlight is a wife, a mother, and a native of San Antonio. She is a multi-hat wearing business woman. She is the CEO and President of Crystal Clear Communications- a Houston based advertising agency and public relations firm with a second office in Louisiana. She is a Honors College graduate of The University of Houston with a B.A. in Radio-Television, an accomplished journalist and has appeared on several local radio and television shows as well having had more than 500 editorials published including work featured in Vogue, People, Self, Shape, Washington Weekly, Building Edge magazine, The Capitol Times, Today’s Christian Woman, The San Antonio Informer and The Houston Chronicle. She is also the author of three poetry books and a nationally published fiction novel, “Caramel and Cream” and Saltwater Taffy and Red High Heels: My Journey through Breast Cancer.

Her name is Crystal Brown-Tatum and she is a breast cancer survivor. In April 2007 she was diagnosed with stage IIIA breast cancer. Crystal is a breast cancer survival. Back in March of this year Crystal submitted an article to us here at the Woman2Woman Lounge about her breast cancer and we were more than happy to immediately publish it, for we knew it would be encouraging to those who might have experienced or were going through the same ordeal as Crystal had endured. This is one of the reasons why I re-connected with Crystal in hopes that she would share yet more of her story of survival with us in an interview to further educate, encourage, and inspire others in the same situation. I was not surprised that she humbly agreed. You can read our interview with @ www.woman2womanlounge.com

Reginia Cotton is this weeks woman in our sportlight

Our woman in the spotlight this week is an encourager, motivator, and a leader. She has a true love for God and His people and a never-ending desire to impact the lives of other women. She is a graduate of Nova Southeastern University in Orlando, FL where she earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration and is currently pursuing a Masters of Business Administration degree from the same university.

Her name is Reginia Cotton and she is CEO / President of He ChoZe Me! where she is a motivational / inspirational speaker & mentor for women. He ChoZe Me! is designed to empower, enhance and encourage. She is also a youth mentor and a youth leader at Redeeming Light Center Church of Eatonville, FL, under the leadership of Pastors Thomas & Beverly Brown and the Director for Empowered4Life! Youth Mentoring & Leadership Development Program for ages 13-18.

To read our interview with her visit www.woman2womanlounge.com

Our woman in the spotlight this week is a wife, mother, and an award-winning graphic designer, who always had a passion for the creative gift she was blessed with. She has had a diverse career, which has spanned over 15 years as an art director/graphic designer. Anxious to make her “vision” come true she set out on her own and formed Visions Graphics Studio in 2005. Her name is Tammy Arceneaux and she is founder and creative Director of VisionsXpressed.

To me there is nothing more delightful than sharing your faith with others, proclaiming the gospel of Christ in whatever way you can, be it through your business, or just as you walk down the street and meet and greet people. The Bible says be not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power unto salvation to those who believe. Jesus himself said everyone who confesses HIM before men, HE will also confess before HIS Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies HIM before men, HE will also deny him before HIS Father who is in heaven.

Declaring your faith with boldness is what Tammy set out to do when she started Visionsxpressed in 2006. Their Dog tags and tee shirts allow you to literally be a walking billboard for the Lord.
Tammy says VisionsXpressed has been in the making for her entire life without her even knowing, however, she says, “God knew”! You can read our interview with Tammy @ www.woman2womanlounge.com

YANGON, Myanmar - The death toll from the cyclone that battered Myanmar last weekend has risen above 22,000, state radio has reported.

A news broadcast on government-run radio said Tuesday that 22,464 people have now been confirmed dead from Cyclone Nargis, which tore through the country’s heartland and biggest city of Yangon early Saturday.

The broadcast added that thousands more are missing.

Relief efforts for the stricken area, mostly in the low-lying Irrawaddy River delta, have been difficult, in large part because of the destruction of roads and communications outlets by the storm. The first assistance from overseas arrived Tuesday from neighboring Thailand.

Officials had said today that the toll could continue to climb higher than the 14,000 already feared dead from the Southeast Asian nation’s devastating cyclone as the international community prepared to rush in aid.

In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, state radio reported that the government was delaying a constitutional referendum in areas hit hardest.

Myanmar’s Information Minister Maj. Gen. Kyaw Hsan confirmed at a news conference that some 4,000 people had died in Yangon and the low-lying Irrawaddy delta region. He added that another 10,000 people could be dead in the delta.

Kyaw said tidal waves killed most of the victims in that region.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Nyan Win was quoted by state-run television as saying that more than 10,000 people had perished in Irrawaddy while a smaller number died in and around Yangon, the country’s largest city.

“News and data are still being collected, so there may be many more casualties,” he said.

It was not known why the two ministers presented different death tolls.

The World Food Program, which was preparing to fly in food, added its own grim assessment of the destruction: Up to 1 million people may be homeless, some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out.

A state television report gave two different numbers — 59 and 130 — for the dead in what is known as Yangon division. It did not explain the differing tolls.

The country’s ruling junta, which has spurned the international community for decades, urgently appealed for foreign aid at a meeting Nyan Win held with diplomats Monday in Yangon.

The U.N.’s emergency relief coordinator said Tuesday the government had indicated it was ready to start accepting international aid. The U.N., Red Cross and other aid organizations have been organizing supplies in preparation for shipping them to the country.

Some aid agencies reported their assessment teams had reached some areas of the largely isolated region but said getting in supplies and large numbers of aid workers would be difficult.

A military transport plane flew from Bangkok to Yangon Tuesday with emergency aid from Thailand while a number of other countries and organizations said they were prepared to follow.

Richard Horsey, Bangkok-based spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid, said Yangon’s airport is the closest to the region hardest hit.

“For those places accessible by land, there will be cars and trucks from those areas to meet at the halfway point with vehicles from Yangon,” he said. “For remote areas, assessment teams and assistance teams will need to go by helicopters and boats.”

The delta is riddled with waterways but Horsey said they are not easily accessible, even during normal times.

Based on a satellite map made available by the United Nations, the storm’s damage was concentrated over about a 11,600-square-mile (30,000-square-kilometer) area along the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Martaban coastlines — less than 5 percent of the country.

But the affected region is home to nearly a quarter of Myanmar’s 57 million people.

Images from state television showed large trees and electricity poles sprawled across roads and roofless houses ringed by large sheets of water in the delta region, which is regarded as Myanmar’s rice bowl.

“More or less all the landlines are down and it’s extremely difficult to get information from cyclone-affected areas. But from the reports we are getting, entire villages have been flattened and the final death toll may be huge,” said Mac Pieczowski, who heads the International Organization for Migration office in Yangon, in a statement.

State radio reported Saturday’s vote on a draft constitution would be delayed until May 24 in 40 townships around Yangon and seven in the Irrawaddy delta, which bore the brunt of the killer storm.

It indicated that in other areas the balloting would proceed as scheduled.

The appeal for assistance was unusual for Myanmar’s ruling generals, who have long been suspicious of the international organizations and have closely controlled their activities.

Foreign governments were poised Tuesday to rush aid to the devastated nation.

The United States, which has slapped economic sanctions on the country, said it likewise stood ready. The U.S. Embassy is providing $250,000 in immediate aid from existing emergency fund. But first lady Laura Bush said Monday the U.S. would provide further aid only if one of its own disaster teams is allowed into the country.

The European Commission was providing $3 million in humanitarian aid while the president of neighboring China, Hu Jintao, promised $1 million in cash and supplies.

The government had apparently taken few efforts to prepare for the storm, which came bearing down on the country from the Bay of Bengal late Friday. Weather warnings broadcast on television would have been largely useless for the worst-hit rural areas where electricity supply is spotty and television a rarity.

“The government misled people,” said Thin Thin, a grocery story owner in Yangon. “They could have warned us about the severity of the coming cyclone so we could be better prepared.”

Yangon was without electricity except where gas-fed generators were available and residents lined up to buy candles, which have doubled in price since the storm hit. Most homes were without water, forcing families to stand in long lines for drinking water and bathe in the city’s lakes.

Most telephone landlines appeared to be restored by late Monday, but mobile phones and Internet connections were down.

Some in Yangon complained that the 400,000-strong military was only clearing streets where the ruling elite resided but leaving residents, including Buddhist monks, to cope on their own in most other areas.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Its government has been widely criticized for suppression of pro-democracy parties such as the one led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for almost 12 of the past 18 years.

At least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained when the military cracked down on peaceful protests in September led by Buddhist monks and democracy advocates.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080506/ap_on_re_as/myanmar_cyclone

April 30, 2008

This weeks woman in the spotlight knows walking in faith is a constant challenge. After watching her husband go through some life changing experiences she learned to trust the Lord completely. Her husband asked her to tell people his story, and she has done just that in her book “With Wings As Eagles.” She is author Ann Stewart.

Ann gave her book the title “With Wings As Eagles  because it describes the challenges we face. The book chronicles the trials and errors she has gone through, and how ultimately the victory came. It tells of how her husband Jack now lives one day at time, he has forgiven doctors, professionals, and mistakes that were made and has put the past behind him. He has joy and is thankful for God’s miracles. He loves encouraging others and his wife Ann has helped him accomplish this by documenting his journeys and sharing it with others through her book. Together their mission is to give God the glory and to be a blessing to others. You will find “ With Wings As Eagles” much more than a source of comfort. It is a practical how-to book to encourage and instruct you as you go through your trials. Ann and Jack want you to know what God has done for them, He promises in His Word that He will do for you! We are grateful Ann took a few moments of her time to grant us this interview and we thank her for sharing her and Jack’s journey with us. Visit the woman2womanlounge to read our interview with her.

April 16, 2008

Our woman in the spotlight this week is a native of Detroit, Michigan. She is a freelance publicist, an author, and an advocate. She is a highly sought-after speaker for organizations, churches, and schools. Her ministry is a ministry of healing. She is an advocate for individuals suffering from the effects of child sexual abuse. Her name is Stephanie L. Jones and she is the author of the book
“The Enemy Between My Legs”.

In her book Stephanie shares her story with the world on how she was able to overcome the effects of over seven years of child sexual abuse, which began at age five. Being a victim herself she has the ability to understand and connect with other abuse victims, especially teenagers and young adults.  Her book will set  victims of sexual abuse free. It will help them deal with the hurt of their past and bring about healing. We had the honor of interviewing Ms. Jones recently, here is what she had to say.

Our woman in the spotlight this week is a writer, author, advocate, proud mother of two, and a true survivor. She survived ten years in foster care, overcame teenage pregnancy and homelessness. Society deemed her destined for failure but she defied the odds and came out a true victor.

She is a native of Houston, Texas and her name is Arlether Walker.  After having to drop out of high School in 1985 because of pregnancy, and later surviving the divorce of her five year marriage in 1992 she applied and was accepted into the police academy and graduated number one in her class.

visit the woman2woman lounge and read our interview with her.

Special Creation “A Psalmody of Encouragement”
by Irma White


A Psalmody of Encouragement.’ It is a collection of psalms that came straight from the Spirit of God. The psalms, which are scripturally based and bibilically sound, have uplifted, inspired and encouraged many people over the past decade. Now that same book is available here in digital format. The Word of God never changes and is timeless so, it is just as uplifting, inspiring and encouraging now, as it was then. My prayer is that the words contained therein will inspire and encourage you to become all God created you to be. I challenge you “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2 - New King James Version) because one word from God can change your life — for the better — FOREVER.

For ordering and more information regarding this book visit: http://www.encourage-meant.com/