iBelieve Magazine

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iBelie e APRIL 2012 • Issue 3 • £2.90

THE CHRISTIAN LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

FASHION

Spring scarves

M A K E THE PERFECT HOT CROSS BUNS DEBT TR AP

How I won my fight w ith poverty!

Now I help others

Alex Monroe new pendant Make-up tips

Tara Mathew W hy she’s on song for Easter

Danniella Westbrook

GOD SET ME FREE FROM DRUGS

Hybrid has Lex appeal ISSN 2049-2022

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RETURN OF THE UMPIRE! What’s Dickie Bird so happy about?

iBelieve April 2012

36 Why I Believe

Contents

INTERVIEWS

38 BeBe Vox

ON THE COVER Danniella Westbrook The EastEnders star reveals how she beat drugs after finding God

56 Wild days are behind

Hit-selling pop star says her feet are now back on the ground

12

14 Jay Khan Star of Hollyoaks

and Corrie reveals he dabbled in the occult before becoming a Christian

20

ON THE COVER Dickie Bird One of cricket’s best known characters tells how he used to pray before umpiring matches

me Boxing’s Andre Ward says he is knocked out by the love of God

62 A slave to the cause

Hollywood sitcom actress Patricia Heaton talks faith, fun and family

REAL LIFE

11 My life changed after a

38

10

12

Gifts for loved ones

BeBe’s feet are back on the ground

car crash Beverley Smith stopped taking drugs after hearing a voice

22 Look on the bright side Paraplegic Jenny Edwards tells us what makes her stay so positive

30 I was a triad gangster

Kim Goh explains how he quit the triads and became a church minister

54

ON THE COVER Beating the debt trap We talk to the founder of Christians Against Poverty

FASHION

23

ON THE COVER It’s a wrap We choose the best scarves for chilly spring nights

24

ON THE COVER I couldn’t do without... Paddy Harris shares her make-up tips

26

ON THE COVER Golden wonder Alex Monroe’s latest must-have item, the Goring Shrimp

God helps Danniella beat drugs

43

Try our fab recipe for hot cross buns

OWZAT!

54 20 Battling poverty

Dickie Bird on beliefs

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FOOD 43

ON THE COVER Hot cross buns Try making these seasonal treats

66

Forget egos and be your own man Carl Beech reckons that he’s found a way for men to avoid stress

44 Emily’s tasty fishcakes

FEATURES

iBelieve’s food editor Emily Roberts shares a favourite recipe for Easter

Favourite things We are loving hats this summer

ADVICE

15 Rest days Forget snow and

feel guilty if God has decided to bless you with money – but don’t love it!

34 Devotion Why we should be

28 Accepting blessings Don’t 33 How to... get more miles for

your money by driving efficiently

41 Mandy Smith Let our resident agony aunt help solve your problems

47

The surgery Dr Ben Sinclair is on hand to give you the best advice with your health problems and issues

VIEWS

16 GP Taylor Why we only

9

skiing – Chamonix is a superb place for a summer holiday destination too! celebrating and not mourning at Easter

46 Picture perfect has it

cracked! Easter and eggs go together

49

Sermon Paddy Venner explains how we can exercise self control

51

Gadgets Should you ring the changes and use a Bible on your phone?

52

iReview We choose the best books and CDs on the market

57

19

ON THE COVER Motoring A hybrid car that’s good on the eye and the planet!

36 ON THE COVER I Believe

Puzzles Two packed pages to help you keep your mind active

need a mustard seed of faith

Are we in this together?

How do we react to bankers’ bonuses?

Christian pop star Tara Mathew on faith

60

15

Try Chamonix for your hols

iBelieve Magazine is published by New Life Publishing Co, PO Box 777, Nottingham, NG11 6ZZ. PUBLISHING Tel: 0115 824 0777 Email: info@ibelievemagazine.com www.newlifepublishing.co.uk Editor: Peter Wreford All content is copyright and must not be reproduced without prior written permission from the Editor. All rights reserved Printed by Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire, SK17 6AE. The acceptance of advertising does not indicate editorial endorsement.

We welcome your letters and comments regarding any of the issues raised within these pages. Write to the Editor at the above address.

Back copies are available while stocks last, at cover price plus £1.00

NEW LIFE

6

iBelieve

T

from the editor

his is not a good time to launch a new magazine... if it’s about politics.

According to official House of Commons statistics, just over one per cent of the population are members of a political party. In fact, The Caravan Club in Britain has more members than all of the political parties put together.

This is not a good time to launch a new magazine... if it’s about football. Last season, an aggregate of 13,437,946 fans attended Premier League matches. It sounds impressive, until you realise that an aggregate of more than 52 million Anglicans attended church services last year – and that’s without ‘This is a counting all the other great time to denominations.

This is not a good launch a new time to launch a new magazine... magazine... if it’s about atheism. According to if it’s about the Office for National Christianity’ Statistics (2010) just 20.5 per cent of UK adults have no religion, compared to 71.4 per cent who consider themselves to be Christians.

This is a great time to launch a new magazine... if it’s about faith, and especially if it’s about the Christian faith. Welcome to the third issue of iBelieve.

Of course, if you believe the secular media, the dinner party set and the TV soaps, Christianity died years ago, somewhere around the 1950s. True believers know differently though, and every week – and not just on Sundays – millions of UK Christians gather in traditional church buildings. Others hold church in school halls, theatres, cafes and even high-rise flats.

During the week, they meet for Bible studies, home groups and prayer meetings. They run youth clubs, drugs and alcohol groups and they work amongst the poor and homeless.

There are chaplains in hospitals, schools, prisons and even football clubs.

At iBelieve we are unashamedly Christian but never churchy, so we believe it’s a great time to launch a new Christian magazine. And it’s an even better time to be a believer.

Interview

ABOVE: Danniella’s drug addiction was well documented

Danniella Westbrook shot to fame aged 16 as Sam Mitchell in EastEnders.

But stardom led her into drugs. Now, after years of hell, she’s found heaven

‘God helped me to beat drugs’

F

ormer Eastenders star Danniella Westbrook has revealed that God helped her beat drugs and has given her a new life as a

Christian.

The actress, who battled cocaine addiction for more than ten years, says she has been saved by Jesus Christ and is now a regular churchgoer who prays, reads her Bible and tells others about her newfound faith. Danniella, who has recently moved back to the UK with husband Kevin Jenkins and their two children, Kai and

12

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Jody, has no desire for drugs and alcohol, insisting that Jesus made her feel ‘completely clean’ after she confessed her sins about a year ago.

“There wasn’t a human being on the planet who could have helped me – it had to be God. Jesus is my whole life now – there is no other life without him; things are so much different. I used to be ruled by the latest bag that Gucci were bringing out or the newest bit of gossip in OK! Magazine, but now I’m not interested in those things. Since I became a Christian,

I’ve felt completely clean,” says Danniella, who played Sam Mitchell in Eastenders. “I can’t believe that in my ignorance I didn’t have a relationship with Jesus for so many years, and I feel I’ve robbed myself of so much. But I do now have the rest of my days with him. I’ve got so much to learn and I am excited about what the future holds.

“I want to spread the Word of God and give others this feeling of freedom that I have. I want people to know what it’s like to not feel alone.” Danniella had a very

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Alex Monroe new pendant Make-up tips

MAKE THE PERFECT HOT CROSS BUNS

DEBT TR AP

my How I won poverty! fight with others Now I help

What’s Dickie Bird so happy about?

Westbrook Danniella

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Interview

RIGHT Dickie meets Prince ABOVE: The statue of Dickie Bird in Barnsley. of The Barnsley Chronicle courtesy Pic e. statu his of iling Charles at the unve

He’s the best-known cricketing umpire of all time, but what’s the secret behind Dickie Bird’s success?

Matthew Murray found out

A Dickie Bird tells me he loves God D

ickie Bird’s white hat, twitching shoulders and raised finger became as much a part of the test match as the battle between bat and ball.

He seemed to attract minor incident, without ever allowing the day to be soured by controversy. Burst pipes, reflecting windscreens and bomb scares all came to thwart him, but each attack was met with Yorkshire humour and common sense. He officiated at 66 test matches and 69 one-day internationals, 20

iBelieve

and somehow made the transition from cricket umpire to national institution for his legendary displays in the middle.

His autobiography is the best selling sports book of all time; he has been awarded an OBE and an MBE; he has met the Queen 29 times and there is a statue of him in his hometown, Barnsley.

But, in an interview about his Christian faith, Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird has told iBelieve the real reason behind his worldwide success and fame. “I’ve always had a strong faith in God,” he says. “Throughout my life

it’s done a lot for me and I hope I haven’t let the Good Lord down. I always say that God gives everyone a gift and that he gave me the gift of playing sport and then being an umpire – I am thankful to him for that and believe he was behind everything I’ve ever done and seen.

“I’ve been a believer all my life and I know that if you have faith in the Lord then you can conquer the world.”

The cricketing icon, who turns 79 this month, can be found at the Methodist Church in the quaint village of Staincross,

iReviews

What to watch, read & listen to...

Our choice of the best in entertainment.

This month we look at the pick of the Easter crop

52

iBelieve

Food

Hot cross

YUM!

Hot cross buns are a great Easter tradition and they’re also perfect for sharing your faith. What better way to introduce the message of the cross into conversation than via this tasty treat?

\ iBelieve

43

Sermon Don’t get too excited at the wrong moment... show maturity and exercise selfcontrol instead, says Pastor Paddy Venner

W

e hear about control freaks, control issues, remote controls and electronic controls.

We have immigration control and influx control, but the one control we hear about least is self-control – the ability to restrain yourself and do the right thing.

What we must remember, from the outset, though, is that self-control is actually not a suggestion, but a fruit.

As Christians it should be something that happens naturally as a result of our choice to be Christ followers.

In the Message Bible in Galatians 5:22-23, we read about self-control as, “Being able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” That means to take all the enthusiasm, ambition, vision, and the desire to move ahead, and couple it up with wisdom, humility, submission to the Holy Spirit and surrender to his will – this makes for a successful life in Christ. \

Learn to have self-control iBelieve

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How I won poverty! fight with others Now I help

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GOD SET ME FREE FROM DRUGS

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“It’s time for a new Christian Lifestyle Magazine”

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