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http://www.ozaraode.com 2
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VOL2, NO 8 | MAR/APR 2012
Content COVER STORY 14 My Gift to God
A story of an artist whose encounter with God produced a new and improved outlook on what she once thought about life, her gifts and purpose, and the world itself. Interview By: Tess Rutherford
FEATURES 12
Positioned to Thrive Learn some practical tips on how to position yourself to thrive! By: Marquita Miller
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Save Me A petition to the heavenly throne to save us from our own self-destructive patterns. By: Ozara Odé
IN EVERY ISSUE: 7 9 8 18 5
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Letter from CEO/Publisher: Tess Rutherford Laughter for the Soul: Della Evans Delicious Recipe Featured Product Review: Janet Hyun Readers’ Voice
Cover Cover Story Story
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CEO/Publisher Tess Rutherford
Editor Tina Mason - http://www.masonandmasonservices.com/
Graphic Artist Assistant Imari Rutherford
Writers Laughter for the Soul: Bathtime Bro, page 9
http://www.fivestartaxkc. com. info@fivestartaxkc.com Positioned to Thrive, page 12
Marquita Miller
Della Evans
http://www.ozaraode.com Save Me , page 10
Ozara OdĂŠ 4
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Readers’ VOICE
We Love To Hear From You!
Online Submissions Excellent issue! Thank you for the features on marriage and the poem with Ozara Ode! Blessings to you in this new year -Sheri Williams Pannell, Milwaukee, WI My favorite stories are Pastor Dani and Mr. Kurt Womack. This story uplifted my heart. - Ann Massey, Chicago, IL
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Š Ben Geyer Photography
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Letter from CEO/Publisher Tess Rutherford I have always been a tough little cookie growing up. Whenever I saw injustice happening, I thought it was my job to right the wrong. But now that I am older and a little wiser, I realize that my actions were not always noble in God’s eyes. The problem with my behavior is I attempted to act on God’s behalf by fending for myself and/or someone else. I figured, “Hey… this is downright wrong! And somebody has to say something. Somebody has to do something. And that somebody must be me!” The problem with this mentality is I rarely gave God a chance to intervene. The scriptures read in Romans 12:19 (ESV), “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” In other words, the Lord will fight our battles for us if we allow him the opportunity to do so. If someone has slandered your name, let the Lord vindicate you. If someone has betrayed you, let the Lord vindicate you. If someone has stolen from you, let the Lord vindicate you. If someone has mistreated you, let the Lord vindicate you. When the Lord vindicates you, it does not ex-
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clusively mean that he will get back at the person who did you wrong. If God operated like this, all of us would fall under the heat of his wrath because we all have wronged another person(s) at some point in our lives. When the Lord vindicates you, he makes sure the situation turns out favorably for you in the end. Let us look at good ole Joseph as an example…First, he was thrown in a pit by his envious brothers, who hated him vehemently. Then he was sold into slavery by his brothers. Next, he was falsely accused of rape by his boss’s (the king) wife. In all of these situations, the bible never makes mention of Joseph trying to vindicate himself. He never says, “I did not do this.” Instead, Joseph remains silent. Whenever your reputation is called into question, one of the hardest things to do is to remain silent. You don’t address your accusers. You don’t respond to your critics. But…you do take the matter to the Lord in prayer. This is what I imagine Joseph did. And after serving more than two years in prison for a crime he did not commit, guess what the Lord did? You guessed it! The Lord vindicated him. When we re-
main faithful to our role as God’s children, he will most assuredly remain faithful to his role as our Avenger. When we attempt to resolve the problem in our own power, we, in essence, tell the Lord, “Lord, I have this under control. I will take it from here. Please…Standby.” God will, indeed, let us handle it, but rest assured, it will never be done quite like the way he would do it. Don’t tie God’s hands! Give him time to do what he wants to do in your life. Even if it takes years for the Lord to exonerate you, wait on him. He wants to get the glory for your story. Your main priority throughout the process is to pray and let God be God. Dear friend, may this issue empower you to go up another level in God!
Tess
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There was a single parent named Monica who had two children. She had a daughter named Shanny and a son named John. John was the stubborn one. He always had a mind of his own and always wanted to do whatever he wanted. Monica had a terrible time getting him to take a bath! Everything she tried simply did not work. One day, Shanny approached her mother with a confident look and said, “Mom! I have the solution to your problem. I will make sure John takes a bath tonight!” Not really having the faith that her daughter could do what she could not do, Monica replied, “If you can make your brother take a bath, you will NEVER have to wash dishes again.” Full of confidence, off Shanny went towards John’s room. She walked into her brother’s room, and she started crying. John, worried about his sister, asked what was wrong. Shanny began talking and said to her younger brother, “I don’t want you to go to hell…” John replied, “Sissy, don’t worry that’s not gonna happen!” Shanny said, “Well, have you heard
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the saying ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’? I was reading in the Bible the other day and it said in 2 Corinthians 7:1 that we must cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the body. Since you do not wash you must be far away from God and you are going to hell.” Surprised at Shanny’s discovery, John was convinced that he needed to take a bath to be closer to the Lord. So that evening, John took a bath. Monica was shocked, to say the least, and asked her daughter how did she convince her brother to take a bath. Shanny said, “Mom, you do know that I am a natural actress. Well, I decided to put my skills into practice to see if I could convince John. I told him that his filthiness will eventually lead him to hell -- worked like a charm!” Monica wondered why she did not think of that. Monica had mixed emotions about the method that Shanny used, but, she was happy for her son’s turn around. Then suddenly she remembered the outrageous promise she made to her daughter…!
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bac k
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-Ozara Odé
Got a compelling story? Empowered Magazine wants to hear from you. We are constantly looking for inspiring material. Send your story to editorial@empoweredmagonline.com.
Handle your Emotions God’s Way! explores 52 negative human emotions and provides real life examples and biblical principles to controlling one’s emotions God’s way.
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The book is available at Berean’s bookstore, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, tessrutherford.com and many other internet sites!
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Positioned to Thrive By: Marquita Miller
Find your GATE Most people do not think much about gates or doors but everyone passes through them daily. This is the same case when it comes to opportunities. How many times have we overlooked things that could have been potential opportunities? Our Father is the Master Creator; which means as His children, we have creative powers that most of us rarely tap into. You and I are made in the image of Christ. The Word of God indicates that we can do greater work! Where is your work? Where is your fruit? The enemy doesn’t have new tricks; they are the same thousand year old tricks: Steal, Kill and Destroy. One thing the enemy steals is our time. This is the time we should use daily to seek the face of God for direction, insight and wisdom. As believers we often say that God is leading and directing us, but how can you follow His guidance without a relationship with Him? A better question to ask yourself is when was the last time you followed a complete stranger? Relationships develop when you invest optional time in learning more about a person. The better you get to know someone the more comfortable you both are with one another. Beginning with the surface, the depth of the conversation changes from “Now I lay me down to sleep…” to “God reveal to me the “aha” of my existences.” Every person has unique fingerprints. Those unique fingerprints are one’s key to surviving and thriving. The marks you make in this world have their own patterns; so ask God to reveal your gate. That gate will lead you to financial freedom, a unique selling position, a competitive edge and cost effective inventions. Hey….your Dad is the Creator… Produce your fruit!
Starting with the END in mind 12
How do we know when to say “and it was good”? There are times we are so busy trying to get to the finish line that we forget we’re in the race! I heard my Pastor make an analogy about flying in an airplane versus driving an automobile to a specific location. He spoke of how most people say they’d rather fly so they can get to that desired location in a faster manner. People that fly often arrive faster than those that drive but they miss the sights to see during the drive! Settle on the facts of what you will declare as success in your project, work, business or life. However, don’t forget to enjoy the trip that takes place called, “there.” My first lady says, “Enjoy the journey”. How tragic to gain the world and lose your life. I am not speaking of physical death. Physical death is being absent in body. How many of us know that our bodies have been in one place while our minds have been in a thousand other places? I had a best friend that would say, “Be where you are at.” If you are working on your business or at a job then be at that place 100%. If you are doing family time then do family time 100%. We’ve all heard the old saying “you can’t be in two places at one time”. Well, we sure try to, but we often mess up both of those places when we don’t focus on ONE! Learn to thrive on a daily basis by simply enjoying the moment.
Backup and Plan Do you ever find yourself being tossed here and there? This commonly occurs when you have no plan. A plan is a method of working toward or achieving an expected end. What method do you need to establish a plan that will thrive? Perhaps your little fox is my fox, which is time management. Perhaps you need to establish a daily and/ or weekly timeline for your business and personal life. I heard a time management speaker suggest
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having a calendar that leaves unscheduled time. That unscheduled time allows one to make adjustments for unexpected things that come up; however, if something unexpected comes up everyday, then your life is not planned. Your life may just be out of order. We have the dominion and the power to demand that our days be lined up to allow us to be effective leaders, efficient business owners, productive parents, etc. One of our goals is to thrive so that success is intentional – it doesn’t just happen!
Shoot for the bull’s eye Thriving is when you have the courage to shoot for success. You have already defined your future success, you have the plan for your success ….now GO for the success. Address the issues that may keep you from reaching success and faith them out of your way. One reason some don’t reach success is because they STOP before they reach the mark. If God was to reveal to people how close they are before they quit, stop or called it off, there would be some seriously sad people! Learn to stay the course when God has shown you the results. It’s also equally important to stay the course when He hasn’t! Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things NOT seen. Remember it isn’t about how fast you reach the mark as long as you REACH THE MARK! On the other hand, keep in mind that “time is a factor.” In other words, there are some things you can do at the age of 20 but they are harder at age 50. Do not procrastinate your time away. Get your visual dream board of the bull’s eye and see yourself hitting it every day.
Reviewing your COI
the Son, you and the Holy Spirit. One of your greatest “circle of influence” partners is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can help you make up for wasted time. The Holy Spirit can reveal to you how to do things in half the time. The Holy Spirit can also reveal to you the perfect time for launching your business, project or task.
Be a Truth teller Thriven people have to learn to be their own truth tellers. We love to be truth tellers to others but typically not to ourselves. Be truthful about your short comings that could try to stop you from thriving. Notice that I say TRY. Staff your weakness so that it will NOT stop you. If you lack education, then get educated. If you lack resources then gain more resources. You should love yourself enough to tell yourself the TRUTH! Tell the truth and deal with it. The truth being revealed is great but you have to change the situation. If you desire to have more, maybe your mind set is an issue. Get or be around people who have a mind set for increase. If you talk more than you work, position yourself around people who are working. I guarantee you, when you hang with folk who are working, you will start working too. Ultimately and prayerfully, your work will eventually transcend into a THRIVING SUCCESS! Marquita Miller Accountant/Business Consultant Five Star Tax & Business Solutions 106 W. 11th Street Ste1520 Kansas City, MO 64105
In order to thrive, there isn’t time to recreate the wheel, so you must learn to tap into your Circle of Influence. Whom do you know that can open doors for you? Whom do you know that you have opened doors for? When God gives you a vision He always provides provision! Sometimes your provision is in one of your greatest resources - your relationships. An important step to thriving is that you have healthy and safe relationships. The Bible references various times; the power of relationships; Ruth and Naomi, the Father and
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My Gift to God
Interview By: Tess Rutherford 14
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J
anet is a professional artist, who seeks to revolutionize the world with her paintings. Her artwork has been featured on billboards in New York City. She is a highly sought out artist for Christian conferences. She is living her dreams! But, ten years ago she would have never imagined the extensive plan that God had in store for her. Born and raised in Korea, Janet decided to travel to the States to receive formal education in art. Therefore, she attended the Art Institute of Chicago for one year. She later moved far west to sunny California because the windy city was blowing her creative concentration away. She decided to change her focus to fashion design and studied fashion in Los Angeles. For three years she worked in the fashion industry but she soon lost a passion for it because in her eyes they tend to focus more on selling rather than on creativity. This discouraging revelation reunited Janet with her first love - painting. Janet enrolled in a college of design school in Pasadena to further hone her art skills. After completing her degree, Janet got married and had three beautiful children. Her early work focused primarily on illustrations, portraits, and landscapes. She later launched her own business and started selling her work commercially. Janet carried on with her life assuming that it couldn’t get any better, but then she experienced her first encounter with the God. She had attended a spiritual camp meeting, and during service she fell straight back, hitting the floor.
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She stated that she was slain by the wind of the Holy Spirit. The wind of the Holy Spirit is an expression used to indicate the spirit of God moving. Janet was fortunate enough to get caught up in the presence of God as He moved during worship service. So as Janet lay on the floor, God began to reveal some things to her about past events…
Janet brushed it off by saying that they were just lucky. While lying on the floor, the Lord reminded Janet of the accident and told Janet that it wasn’t luck that saved her; rather it was the handiwork of God. He informed Janet that he was there protecting them from a serious fatality. At that moment, Janet felt an overwhelming sense of God’s
The Lord reminded Janet of the automobile accident that she and her son were involved in years ago. One day, Janet and her son were walking and a truck was traveling full speed heading in their direction. In an attempt to hit the brakes, the driver hit the accelerator instead, hitting both Janet and her son. Janet passed out and her son flew across the sidewalk. Thanks to the brick wall, the truck finally stopped; but the wall quickly came tumbling down. Surprisingly enough, Janet and her son walked away with a few bruises and no broken bones and a little shaken up over what had just transpired. Even though everyone counted the event a miracle,
love. And upon rising up from the floor, everything suddenly looked brand new to Janet. The sky was blue and nature itself radiated with a newfound beauty. On that day, Janet made a vow to God to paint for him moving forward.
Janet recalls illustrating a design for an upcoming spiritual camp meeting. She wanted to provide her services for the event; therefore, she painted a theme on a postcard and printed 10,000 copies. But to her dismay, the event registrants did not receive her postcard. Janet was informed that her postcard was not used because it was too modern in style. The overseer of the event was seeking a theme Mar/Apr 2012 | http://empoweredmagonline.com
with a traditional feel. Well, this crushed Janet’s heart to say the least. She began to question whether her paintings were indeed God inspired or Janet inspired. One month later, Janet went to Kinko’s to make copies and she recalls giving one of the cashiers her postcard. Because of what had occurred in the past, Janet refrained from telling the lady that it was actually her design. The woman took Janet’s postcard and called her one week later to say that she had been asked to determine a theme for an upcoming Christian conference. The woman had been praying about the theme and Janet’s postcard came in the nick of time. She used Janet’s postcard for the theme of the conference and printed 200 copies and sent the invitations out. Boy did this lift Janet’s countenance and spirit. This was confirmation to Janet that she was, indeed, on the right track with her God inspired artwork designs. Shortly after this, God had given Janet her first assignment. The goal was to paint 29 large canvasses in 52 days and send them to Taiwan Ministries. Although, Janet did not fully know the reason for this, she gladly accepted the challenge.
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After completing each painting, Janet prayed over it, packaged it, and shipped it to Taiwan one by one. Taiwan Ministries had recently purchased a church building in the downtown area of Taiwan. The building was once a Buddhist temple. The ministry had informed Janet that her paintings were breaking demonic strongholds and setting the atmosphere for God to inhabit the sanctuary. After completing this Taiwan project, Janet was asked to do prophetic art during worship services at church. Initially, Janet was a bit intimidated by the offer. She knew nothing about prophetic art, but as she stepped out on a limb and obeyed in faith, the Lord taught her everything she needed to know. Prophetic art is an expression of God’s thoughts and feelings. While people are singing, dancing, and shouting during worship, prophetic artists are painting. Once people discover the meaning and interpretation behind the artwork, it ministers to their hearts and they depart service with an encouraging message from the pastor and a (visual) prophetic message from God in the form of a painting. The process of prophetic art is quite simple yet the
artist must be in touch with the heart of God to be effective at it. In Janet’s case, God paints an image in her mind prior to service. For example, she may see an eagle but she may not know what kind or which species. As she begins to paint during worship service, the hidden details unfold as do the painting. Janet serves as the leader of the prophetic art worship team at church. She also has an organization dedicated to helping fellow artists grow, develop, and network. The team meets regularly in various communities with the intent to impact the world’s vision of God. Janet also teaches at a university. When asked what she does to maintain a close relationship with Christ, Janet replied that she isolates herself from worldly things. She tries with all her might to stay in the spirit, because as a leader and a teacher there is a stricter judgment for which she does not want to risk. Janet tries to keep her spiritual antennas in tune with God because the very work that she does depends on it. To connect with Janet or purchase her artwork, please visit her website at http://janethyun. com.
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About Artist Janet Hyun studied Fine Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago and graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California in 1998. In her earlier years as an artist, she worked as a contemporary fashion designer and taught high school students to prepare their portfolios for art colleges, and also worked as a freelance illustrator. But during the past five years, she has been focused on live painting in front of many people on the streets with music, during live worship, or in conferences. She communicates with her audience showing her paintings through her website and blog on the Internet. “It was a totally different experience as an artist, being able to communicate immediately with audiences like a live musical, or theater,” she says. “I was able to get an immediate response of people’s feelings and I realized how it touched their hearts. It’s a different kind of joy as an artist, compared to being an artist in a secluded studio.” Often times Janet still receives “thank you” letters from her viewers about how her paintings have left impressions on unknown people. She now has an art team of various people called “Luminosity 21” to give more beauty and light in our community, specifically in the twenty-first century. The main reason for this is because in this generation, a visual image is more influential and powerful rather than in previous generations. A visual image can have an extreme positive or negative effect, which is why she is dedicated to providing that positive effect to the world. “I dreamed of impacting the world with my artistic gifts.”
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Empowered Magazine is published bi-monthly: Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun, Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec online and in print. Tess Rutherford, President/CEO. Online subscriptions: Free. Printed subscriptions: $5. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. It is the mission of Empowered to provide a quality publication to enlighten, educate, and empower our readers to reach beyond themselves and soar by riding on the strength of God’s power. For submissions and orders contact us: Empowered Magazine Address P.O. Box 882416, San Diego, CA 92168 Email editorial@empoweredmagonline.com Website http://empoweredmagonline.com
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