Unbox Me; I'm Made in His Image - One Purpose Magazine

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Publisher’s Page - About this Issue It seems that we get lost into thinking that once you are saved you have to become a certain way; as if we have to think like the pharisees and live by these strict rules and laws. TO HELL WITH ALL OF THAT!!!! Do you boo! As long as you are in relationship with Jesus Christ and governed by the Holy Spirit, be free in doing you!

Now, by no means am I saying disrespect the commandments, the church nor any of its offices or even those who judge in their immaturity. I am saying be an example and free enough to say God made me exactly how He wanted me and there is no shame, condemnation or regrets in being just that.

I used to be embarrassed by the fact that I had a little edge, but I realized that God can use my grit. I was born in one of Chicago’s roughest neighborhoods, granted, my mother was able to move our family to the suburbs by the grace of God, but I was still inflicted with a certain dialect, a particular way of understanding and an ability to hold my own no matter where I am. All of that came with being a product of the territory.

There’s no box on this earth that is big enough to define the makings of me. I am a product of my father in heaven therefore if you cannot put God in a box there’s no way you can put His children in one. When people do that they limit themselves in seeing how great the creator is.

A relevant example of this would be the ridicule for the Oxygen show “Preachers of LA.” So many people, in particular Christians, opposed it defending the opinion that it makes the church look bad, greedy and materialistic on such a large platform. Now, if we unbox that limited way of thinking and cease our religious opinion and allow these pastors through Christ to show the world that the people of God are imperfect beings who walk in grace and redemption; along with doing the work that needs to be done outside the church we may become the salt and the light that God called us to be.

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When you position yourself to judge the work of someone led into a mission, you must inturn evaluate your own work and make sure it is in alignment.

We have to free the church from the box we’ve put it in, people are dying and going to hell and this is our generation, this is our time and we will be held accountable for the times we did not take the opportunities to be the light, but sat idle because we thought like the pharisees. Don’t be a pharisee. Become a disciple and do the greater works God has called you to do in these dark days. You are the light to the world be free in your purpose. Contrary to what people say, God is not worried about your mistakes, your issues or whatever you use to condemn yourself or make you guilty. He wants to use you just how you are.

Don’t allow religious spectators to stop you from walking into your destiny. God will use the little education you have, he will use you if you’re an unwed mother, he will use what the streets has taught you, he’ll use the pain you had from any abuse, rejection or abandonment. Now, let’s get this out of the way, ARE YOU SAVED?

Volume 1 - Number 2 (Special Edition)

18 - 35 YEARS OLD

TATTED-UP IN THE CHURCH; WHAT GOD SAYS

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DISCERNING MOTIVES IN RELATIONSHIPS

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10 POINTS ON HOW TO RECOGNIZE YOUR SPIRITUAL GIFTS

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GENERATIONAL LEGACY BUILDING; ARE WE LETTING OUR YOUTH DOWN?

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SUNDAY SCHOOL - PART TWO: SHONDA’S FEARS ON JOINING CHURCH BEGINS

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RETURNING TO THE KINGDOM FROM THE SHACKLES OF IDOLATRY

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REMIXING TURKEY BURGERS

One Purpose Magazine is published online with an annual print edition, along with frequent special editions, by Jones Publishing & Enterprises, LLC at no charge to the reader and no subscription charges. Copyright Jones Publishing & Enterprises 2014. All rights reserved. All views expressed are those of the publisher/editor-in-chief Nia Jovan Andrews. Reproduction in whole or in part without the publisher’s consent is prohibited

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A Jones Publishing & Enterprises Publication Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Nia Jovan Andrews www.jonespubent.com Crete, IL 60417 (708) 367-0570

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Tatted-up in the Chur

Isaiah 49:16 King James Version (KJV), Be hands; thy walls are continually before me.

Tattoos, used to be a controversial topic in the church, but I’m not sure if it is anymore. Many young adult magazines cover the topic of tattoos.

We see them on everyone now. Maybe its just me, but the world find it’s way of maximizing the things that church people are against. The answer to this has yet to be revealed, but I am sure there are many Christians that will say that its the enemy’s mission and so forth.

I would like to challenge that mind-set. If you are a believer then you also believe there is an enemy always at work, but what if the work of the enemy is getting you to believe that he is at work on things that God is not offended by? What if that is his mission to keep you distant from God’s kingdom mission.

The enemy has used the same tactics over and over again and religiosity was one, as a matter of fact, read your Bibles, religiosity was one main reason a savior was needed. I mean let us be honest, will a tattoo get in the way of a person loving God, or loving your neighbor or even thy Kingdom come Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Why have we given something like tattoos so much power? God is the Alpha and Omega. He is the beginning and the end. The Elohim (creator) of all things. We do not serve a weak God who is intimidated or offended by ink on flesh that will die off. Yes, we are God’s temple this is true, a temple for the spirit to dwell. The spirit within the flesh is a representation of God.

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Isaiah 49 says, “I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” I chose that verse intentionally, because the word “graven” according to the King James Dictionary means to cut or engrave. Furthermore, it tells us that God loves us so much more than our flesh and that he’s so much more concerned with our Spirit that He tatted our names on the palm of his hand.

Religious person, next time you see someone with tattoos ask them their story. Find out their reasons behind them. Maybe it represents the love they have for someone, or a reminder of a commitment or promise, maybe it’s an inscription of their dedication to their mission, who knows, but we have to stop wasting time on condemning people. Better yet, in your own personal relationship ask God through prayer if He wants you concerned with correcting people with tattoos, ask Him. He will guide and direct you in all things, even the small things.

He wants us focused on Him and the things that pleases Him. Since, you are a Bible believing Christian, you know that we must submit our plans onto the Lord, since correcting people for what you think is wrong has become a part of your mission, submit that plan to him through prayer just to assure that is a part of your Kingdom building mission.

Myeshia Yamini, shares with us where the idea for tattoo derived...

rch, What God Says!

ehold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my When I was 11-years-old I made my first Asian friend named Macey. I only saw her twice and we met at a summer camp. We talked on the phone everyday and we would mail each other letters. Her letters were special to me because she would send two. One would be written in Korean and one would be written in English.

After a year of talking on the phone and writing letters, I decided to catch four buses and two trains to the north side of Chicago to see her. I was only twelve traveling alone, so this trip was a major journey for me. When I got to her house, her mother was not pleased to see that I was black, nor did she appreciate the fact that my mother was single and worked as a secretary.

Photo provided by Myeshia Yamini

Despite the rude treatment that I received from Macey's mother, her grandmother showed me love and affection. I know this visit was just a couple hours long, but I felt like her grandmother could feel my innocent and curious spirit.

I can't remember everything but I will never forget the story she told me about hummingbirds. She told me that they represented peace and everything beautiful. Before leaving to return to the south side of Chicago, Macey's mother did not hesitate to tell me what she thought of me. She told me that Macey is not allowed to have black friends and that I came from a dishonorable home. Hurt by those words Macey's grandmother placed a small hummingbird figure in my hand and told me something in Korean. I do not know what she said, but I always imagined it was something beautiful like; "Travel in peace and carry the beauty of the hummingbird." After six years of writing to Macey and no response I said a mental goodbye. My tattoo is a reminder of my beauty, inner peace, and of course, Macey. -Written by Myeshia

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10 Points on How to Recognize Your Sp Being in the state where you are not sure of what you want to do in life or how you want to spend the duration of your days is a nightmare. One saying that goes along with that is when you do not have a purpose for yourself someone will give you one. The worse thing you can do is live your life according to what someone else told you that you should be doing.

It is particularly essential for parents to recognize what their children are good at and affirm them in those areas at a young age. I am a young adult myself, and I feel that we are an exiled generation. I say that in thinking about the children of Israel in the Old Testament of the Bible. The children of Israel were put out of what was home for them, and they left hoping that they would find a home again.

They were led into righteousness, and they rebelled against God, they were lost, confused and willing to subject themselves to unrighteous behaviors, because they were desperate in seeking a promise, not realizing they were already in their promised land, so they were exiled.

Reading Exodus in the Bible reminds me of this current generation. We have all the resources that we need, but many of us, not all do not take advantage of the open doors. We leave our parent’s home and in these economic times, our parents do not have access to equity in their homes, many have borrowed from retirement funds to sustain their homes, and many young people have to settle for loans in to obtain quality college education. So, we go to school, while accumulating debt. Many finish with the hopes of landing a job in the field that they have spent years in college working toward; for the majority that does not happen.

We have become mal-employed, graduates who could not find jobs that require a degree. Instead, we settle for lowskilled jobs, according to Chicago Sun Times. I have done this! I worked in the banking industry to help get me through college, and once I graduated from college with a degree in journalism I began working as staff support for a non profit organization

.While in college, I learned to research using the best research tool available, I gained techniques in interviewing used by the pros, I acquired and practiced superb writing and editing techniques that were critiqued by the best in Chicago’s journalism field, and yet I find myself in a cubicle, making copies, compiling contracts and setting-up meetings, with not even enough to make full payments to the loans that I borrowed for my college education.

So why are we exiled? Because it feels like a famine, many feel desperate for success and a lack of purpose. We rebel against the system, we abandon our gifts, and we aim for the top with frustration, we are in debt with a wealth of worldly knowledge. We are too smart to start from the and work our way up, because we were taught to go to college, we learned that knowledge has power and is the key to success, somewhere along the line we learned to neglect the process of obtaining power, we want to be leaders, but we do not want to be led. But, is this our fault?

The answers is, no, not completely, we were giving much growingup as a whole.

Our parents were in a better financial place in the 80’s and 90’s, more jobs were available, the housing market was a sound place, and life was pretty good. There were struggles, but not as many survival struggles for overall needs for middle class - working class individuals. It seems that when life is good, we forget to pay attention to the areas we need to develop, just in case life circumstances change. Circumstance has changed and all we know is good, so we are chasing after the good old days.

When the good that we knew is not our reality, what do we do?

Easy, start fresh! Rebuild, we have to know our gifts and create, reconstruct and start over (return to our promised land). We may have been put out of a comfortable place, and easy credit lifestyle and now a place of high debt and little possibility, but that does not mean that what God has placed in us has to die. If you know what you are great at and focus on that you will find fulfillment and maybe even success, according to what success may equate to for you.

Here are ten points on how to recognize your gifts to

get you in the direction of Kingdom-building:

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piritual Gifts

1. Identify your spiritual gifts - it’s good to know your office in the Kingdom of God. There are many spiritual gift tests out there. You can find them online by Googling “Spiritual Gift Test” or simply ask someone in your church who helps with Christian Education. Also, read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 (regarding Spiritual Gifts) and Galatians 5:13-26 (regarding Life by the Spirit) in the Bible. I would suggest the English Standard Version, then The Message for more clarity.

2. At what, can you discern that you do well naturally What is it that you do that requires little effort? Do you jump in and help others without thinking twice? Do you write in a journal and enjoy it? Do you enjoy planning things even if it’s a small event or a simple meeting? Do you find yourself teaching your friends and peers just though regular conversations? Do people call you for advice and you do not hesitate to advise them? All these things that you do everyday are gifts and talents, and if you apply them to your career path you will find fulfillment.

3. Truthfully decide what bothers you to your core - If you begin to work toward something with the goal of creating change, you will find fulfillment in what you are doing. If you constantly complain about the education system and can come-up with creative ways to help students, maybe you should consider teaching, administration or a non-profit organization for youth.

4. Find a mentor, spiritual and professional - one of the best things you can do is connect with people who can guide you through a path that may be familiar to them as you grow professionally and spiritually. A good mentor will encourage you and hold you accountable to the things you set out to accomplish.

5. Pray for a vision - you may feel stuck at times, but God can and will give you a vision to work toward. You may not know how the vision will come to pass, but if you can see the vision that is motivation enough, because one thing is certain, God fulfills His promises.

6. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in creating a plan for

your vision - Once you have the vision invite the Holy Spirit into guide you to the vision. Even if it seems the path you are led to take is not going to lead to the vision. The vision may terry, but it will come to pass and the Holy Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. Trust the process!

7. Devote yourself to daily prayer and studying the Word of God for constant alignment to His will - Devotion - spending time in the Word of God is very important. This helps you understand God’s promises for your life. Through the word you’ll find that the process will connect to the promise.

8. View every task as Kingdom building business; it’s not for you it’s for the Kingdom - I like this one the most, because sometimes we can correlate where we are as being a steward for Christ, but even in a cubicle working for someone you can be doing Kingdom work. For example, being a Christian requires you to be able to respect leadership, in this, you may not necessarily like your boss, but being obedient to their rules and tasks create a good environment and make you a good example, then when someone asks you, how do you put up with your boss if he/she is a handful to deal with, you can minister to that person. A positive attitude may even cause your boss to self-evaluate.

9. Pray for alignment with a trustworthy accountability partner or prayer partner - It’s important to align yourself with like-minded people who seek Christ. Having a support systems helps create movement. It’s difficult to accomplish anything alone.

10. Network with people who are where you want to be This keeps you humble, because we never actually arrive.

As long as we are alive there is another height to achieve. *This is extra, may should have been first, but find a Bible believing church home. This will make achieving the 10 points a little easier. Make sure you go seeking God, because someone once told me that whatever else you go seeking in a church you will find. Churches are filled with imperfect people that serve a perfect God.

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Dis]_rning Motiv_s in relationships

Entering into a lustful romantic relationship does not necessarily mean that we are lusting after sex. It could be the idea created from a fantasy that the person we are involving ourselves with will fulfill, but because we are lusting after the idea we use manipulation to create the fantasy and once we get tired and eventually bored we give-up.

Love on the other hand is not deceptive and does not derive from a fantasy, but a willingness to give with no ill motive to gain anything, but is filled with joy from the open flow of giving and making the other person happy.

Fantasies create soul ties and either decide to live a miserable life with the one we know is not meant for us or we choose to sacrifice that relationship knowing it may be painful to do, but doing what right is most beneficial. With soul ties a decision has to be made. Entering into a soul tie was made from a decision that pleased the flesh. Then once the flesh is pleased we begin to create fantasies to appease the areas that are really not satisfied, which are really lies. Where the soul tie comes in at is we create dependencies on the other person based-off the lies we have told ourselves that derived from the fantasies that we have created in our minds. At some point, we have to come-out of the fantasy and deal with our reality. That will always lead us to having to make a decision that will hurt someone.

Let me give an example: so, Pookie did not have a job when you met him, but you want a man so bad and Pookie tells you everything that you want to hear that appeases your flesh, like he’ll never leave you, he loves you, you’re the only one -- all the sweet nothings.

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You settle in your thinking that Pookie is healthy and capable of working and all you have to do push him and encourage him to work. You are thinking that he just has not had anyone around to push him into becoming a better man who work and provides. So, you do everything to get Pookie to where he needs to be and it works for a little while, until Pookie begins complaining and taking his frustrations out on you, because Pookie never really had a desire to work, he just wanted you to think he did, so that you would eventually take care of him. [ This example can apply to a Pinkie too.]

I was trying to make sense of this very thing in my own life. Like many women, I have an innate desire to nurture and when there is a need, I will jump right in to meet the need with people that I care about, but what I have learned over the years in allowing myself to be abnormally used is that I needed God to increase my discernment, because people have unhealthy intentions that they operate in not knowing that they are even operating in them, because they are not selfaware. They spend most of their lives satisfying self they have not evaluated what they offer to others.

As I mentioned, I was trying to figure this thing out. I know God was taking me to new levels, but I knew that there was a stumbling block , or something in the way from me accessing or even seeing the paths that He had laid out for me.

Until, one morning I was watching Bishop T.D. Jakes as I normally do and he preached a sermon on soul ties, as soon as he introduced the title of the sermon, since I was examining my own dilemma,

it hit me that the solution to my lack of progress was my inability to release people emotionally from my life. Kind of like a mother having to watch her children grow-up, I realized that I created a dependency on expecting people to need me and I mentally nurtured that and allowed it to take over my thinking and interrupt my progress.

Discerning Motives

There is no way we can know a person’s intent for wanting to be involved with us. The very first thing you should do when someone tries to come into your life is take them to the Lord in prayer.

We should be praying for one another anyway, so that should be easy. Much of the time, we do not think to do this, because we are concerned with how we can benefit from the relationship, even if the benefits are not being lonely, having someone to tag in your posts on social sites (insert fascias laugh) or to have a face to imagine when you listen to Tamar Braxton’s song “Love and War.”(Maybe that’s just me)

If someone wants to be in a relationship with you and they tell you all the things that you want to hear evaluate the evidence. Are they capable of being in a relationship? Consider the length of their previous relationship, how did they end, furthermore, what is the relationship with their parents like. It was shared in the REBEL Issue released June 2013 in the article “ Building Healthy Unions,” if someone cannot have a relationship with their own mother the odds are they probably will not be able to have a healthy relationship with you.

Evaluate evidence may sound strange, but it simply means to take into account what that person has to show you to back-up what they tell you. It is true that people are capable of changing and so are circumstances, but change has to happen over time; miracles and deliverance can change situations too, but here we are discussing character. We can use the master teacher Jesus Christ as a example to help gain an understanding. In the gospels, when Jesus was in Gethsemane with the disciples before He was captured to be crucified his most loved disciple, Peter Simon, said that if Jesus was to die that he (Peter) would be there and die with Him. Jesus told Peter that he would deny him three times before the night ended. What we do is take people at their word, although their intentions may be good they may not have developed the maturity to see their words through. Had Jesus depended on Peter’s word He could have got caught-up in depending on Peter to be there for Him and have His back, if we are willing to be real with ourselves we do this all the time. We depend on people who are incapable of handling our burdens, insecurities, hurts, past traumas and destiny.

Focusing on God will position you and your relationships. We also have to pray for discernment or ask to increase our ability to discern. Relationships are the most important part of living out this life. Who we relate with and how we relate with them either help us or hinder us. This is why it is important to discern it up front.

Discernment is the ability to separate truth from error. It aids the body by recognizing the true intentions of those within or related to the body. It tests the message and actions of others for the protection and well-being of the body.

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Sitting in a Midas car repair conversing with a veteran who said that he grew-up Lutheran, which are Christians who believe that all Christian teachings should come from the Bible, even with his upbringing he said that through his experiences he questions if God is real. There was a guy sitting next to us, another older gentlemen who said, “you have to have faith.” He mentioned that he grew-up baptist, which is also a bible-focused Christian teaching denomination that includes baptism that submerges the believer in water. As I listened to these older gentlemen discuss their faith or lack of faith, I began to think about the younger generation. Some of many who are never exposed to a God-consciousness, yet see people even Christians at times living according to Christian precepts or Biblical principals.

The conversation made me think of how this generation is living. It is okay to be a survivor, but when you have an entire group of people on survival mode it gets strange. It seems now-a-days everyone is on survival mode. So many redundant business ideas, so many solutions that are beneficial to your household and no one else’s, so many tricks on how you can get ahead because you have bills to pay.

With all of that, no one is taking the time to step back and see how the world around us is being torn down. I mean; God’s people are to advance His kingdom, right? Are believers seeking God to have a clear understanding of what that means in these times, for this generation?

There are very few resources that are accessible for people who help the poor/homeless/hungry. Educating urban youth has become a difficult task in the public school system. We cannot depend on many of our local churches to stand in the gap, in times of need, because they are on survival mode too. No one is trusting God enough or the mission of the church to tithe. There are oversaturated businesses in the marketplace to where those struggling to meet their basic human needs are not making a sustainable income, which translate to a lack of creativity. Unskilled, untrained individuals classifying themselves as things that they are not simply because they can.

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Unequal distribution of wealth, employment and education.

Political broken promises, lies and corrupt advancement on the backs of those who have sacrificed, like the working class and veterans.

Where are we, who are we, what are we here for, what’s the point? What’s happening today reminds me of the film I watched in undergrad, called “KOYAANISQATSI,” which is a Hopi Indian word, which means life out of balance.

According to The Hopi Tribe, “Since time immemorial the Hopi people have lived in Hopituskwa and have maintained our sacred covenant with Maasaw, the ancient caretaker of the earth, to live as peaceful and humble farmers respectful of the land and its resources. Over the centuries we have survived as a tribe, and to this day have managed to retain our culture, language and religion despite influences from the outside world.”

That one paragraph says to me that there’s legacy. It says to me that they have something to look back at, as simple as a principle, which is to preserve and live in peace and have resources to survive because of a practical principle that connects their culture and sustains them.

Why can’t we have that as Americans? I know the biggest part that interrupts our ability as Americans is GREED, I get it. We want it all, selfishly. What is even more interesting is this country’s structure was formed from biblical principles that came from the only God, the true and living God, but we cannot find peace, maintain nor establish order. Why, because we are not preserving. We are not preserving what governs our constitution and that is the Word of God. As for you intellectuals who have concluded that the constitution is irrelevant when it comes to advancing a Kingdom of God, because under it’s construction it hindered certain races; you may be right, but people are not exempt from ignorance, unadvanced and limited ways of thinking, like advancement through movements from a complete unified perspective, of which this generation lacks, but I will get to that.

Generational Legacy Building; Are We Letting Our Youth Down?

On another note, maybe it caught you by surprise that our constitution is based from biblical principles. The know-it-all American, who's going to get yours, riches that is, by any means necessary. Yes, you the one who choose not to believe in God, but submit to the principles established by His word. Yes, you who vote religiously, pay your taxes faithfully, work your gifts and talents with the hopes that you’ll produce fruit for generations to come, so that your children’s children will have a harvest, the saints talk it, but you want it too. Now, I get that it included morality and ethics and not exactly Kingdom-mindedness, but God’s precepts are His precepts, regardless of how we divide them.

You don’t believe it, allow me to show you, read on, please…

According to, Delegate Governor Morris of Pennsylvania forthrightly professed, “I believe the religion is the only solid base of morals, and that morals are the only possible support of the free governments. Therefore, education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man toward God.” Then, not all the Americans of that era actually held to the Christian faith, yet they held to the commonly accepted morals, ethics and standard of behavior desired from English Common Law, which drew from biblical law given to the Hebrews by God.

The rule of the law laid out in the constitution descends from the ten commandments!

Moving on, I wanted to address advancement through movements and I will visit the great migration, seeing that when discussing America a huge part of the development of this country starts with Black people. Many of us brought the idea that it was okay to shackle ourselves in the credit culture. We wanted the American dream and many of us lack discipline, so when we are extended credit we abuse it, then was webbed into the shackles of debt and the idea of having more and more things are what define our success.

What happened to owning land, a home and your own businesses and multiple streams of income outside of an employer. What happened to us being completely dependent. Our ancestors did it. I know, the general consensus when I have this discussion openly is that the times have changed, but they have not our greed has changed. No one says that you have to have a $300,000 home on a $50,000/year income, with a 30-year mortgage. Those commitments place you in a cycle of owing, because you're living outside of your means. It seems these days we have to be forcibly humbled. We have to go through repossessions, foreclosures and bankruptcies in order to set us in our reality, which is to live under your income, so that you may have a reserve that is if you learned the lesson, some of us do not learn and become a slave to institutional/systemic masters.

With this, we’re getting further and further away from leaving anything for our children, aside from problems. Not only that, the stress of it all wears-us down and by the time our children are able to make a way for themselves; they have to take care of us. That cannot be Kingdom, surely it cannot be the plans that God has to prosper us.

At what point do we stop and ask God what He requires for us to get on track. There is no question that in such a divided country, unity is unthinkable. However, Kingdomminded individuals should be more concerned with the plans of God over our lives. Believers should be focused on transitions from generation-to-generation. That transition should be our established wealth to continue on the legacies of our businesses, ministries and churches to pass on the core-values of our beliefs and the resources to help the generations come to be innovative in their time here on earth to continue to bring forth the Kingdom of God. If we pay close attention there are many blueprints that are already designed to help us get back on track. We can take a look at the black metropolis in Chicago as an example.

How the black community grew and established itself with political power, business enterprises and union activism.

Regardless of how we devalue the hard work of our predecessors the point is that it was established. If the structures and opportunity to continue to build legacy deteriorate we can only blame ourselves, but we are allowing it to happen without thinking about the next generation, then they have nothing and are not equipped by us to help them rebuild and establish, because not only do we not respect what was established for us, we fail in teaching the youth the history so they know of the broken-down barriers and possibilities.

We have work to do! If at the simplest let us follow the established moral code, respecting one another to be free in establishing their own way as long their plans are ethical not harming or impacting people in a negative way, not allowing greed to hinder people’s possibility to move forward.

Along with that encouraging unity in whatever area you are planted in; if you are Kingdom-minded most importantly be about Kingdom-business.

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Shonda’s growing, but she’s being tested. Her financial needs and a desire for sex challenges God’s will for her to remain Kingdom-minded.

She’s pursuing God with her own capacity to love Him, while her Spirit is at war with her flesh, and there’s chaos in the church which is making her at war with not many allies, so she’s feeling alone.

Here I am writing in this damn, shit I supposed to stop cursing, hell one thing at a time, I have to tell myself all the time that God sees our progress not perfection. Anyway, but this diary has become my pimp. It’s crazy when something becomes a habit. I went from chasing paper on the streets to running to paper to clear my mind. I am learning that we really don’t change our perspective does.

I run to this thing to tell it everything. It’s hard not having anyone to talk to. I thought it would be different at church, but I feel more alone now than I did before I got saved. I know a super-saved blood bought Christian would say I am not alone, because I have Jesus, reminding me of shit...I mean stuff I already know.

August 25 ~ Morning I’m so sick of this it doesn’t make any sense. I swear no one gets it. It’s so easy for people that never been through shit to play with God. These people haven’t sacrificed nothing. They walk around flashing their pearly white bleached teeth, driving their nice cars with self designated parking spaces and living in their nice homes with a cooked meal everyday and have yet to sincerely give someone in need a damn thing, yet along a prayer and have the audacity to ask God to enlarge their territory. I can only imagine that God is saying, I did, look! The first thing I learned when I got saved was two greatest commandments, love God and love thy neighbor like yourself. Maybe these people just don’t love themselves, I guess shit shows up differently in everyone. I just didn’t realize that I would come into church and experience so much emotional and mental dysfunction.

I know I should have grown from talking like this but where and what I came out of, this is real for me. If these people have been through a portion of what I have they forgot. Anyway, I have to respond to the youth pastor’s email, so I may as well get out of my feelings.

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Sunday School - Part Two: Sh

So, the youth pastor wants me to come to a meeting. As I am headed there I am getting my thoughts in order so that this will be a productive meeting, because I need solutions, I hate wasted time. But, before I walk through the door let me prepare my fake smile so that I can fit. As I walk in I run into the minister who called the meeting.

As I enter the doorway that he’s exiting he stops right in front of me, we speak and he begins mumbling a question but I couldn’t make out what he was asking because I was taken aback by how his eyes caught my lips as I was saying hello then they began to roam down like he was Tom and I was Jerry and he was about to dive into what he’s been chasing. It was a very awkward encounter. Eventually, I slithered my way around his aggressive gauge and found a seat. He did not stop making it weird for me as the meeting began and went on, because he didn’t conduct a meeting or say much, he allowed the invited group to introduce ourselves to one another and had no agenda, but as others shared their excitement on being involved with this new initiative, he stared at me.

He either knew my past or had no idea of what he could potentially be setting himself up for, so as we ended the meeting I rushed out as if I had somewhere to go, because I just wanted to get away from that environment, because my mind still at this point goes back to playing games like I used to in the streets with them tricks. I have to write.

onda Fears on Joining Church Begins After I ran out of there, I got in my car and hurried to my apartment, oh yeah, I have my own car now. It’s not much, but I bought it with legit TM money and its mine.

August 25 ~ evening Just as you think you can trust people. Just when you think there’s a possibility that people have good motives. As soon as you take a chance to move forward something happens that knocks you right back down to where you started. I built strength.

I put my past behind me, and here I go again allowing people to control me. In a moment, I felt like my old self again. Just a piece of meat in the eyes of a man. Just something he can have his way with, even if it only happened in his fantasy, what he will never realize is at one point it was my job to create those fantasies so that he’ll come back and I would take his money. I know that look, I know what had already taking place in his head, because I had done it before with so many others.

The thing that bothers me most, is for that moment, I did not think about having some type of emotional bond with him. I did not think about him being attracted to me for no other reason than sex and not for one moment did I hope there could be more to it. Immediately, I began thinking about his gross income and how what he makes is not worth the risk. I wonder if I’d think that way if I was making some real money.

I have to get ready to visit a client. I typically style women because its just easier in Chicago. In this city there are a lot of professional women who like to dress and spend money doing it, but this time I have a guy. So I have to dress kind of conservative funky, because I have to look like I get this money while having style. I guess I’ll wear my black pencil skirt with my Wolford tights, Christian Louboutins with my fierce poncho cape. That will do it. I play the styling game, just as I did prostituting. I don’t believe in wasting anything and I learned how to hustle when I was on the streets and I apply that to styling. Its almost the same thing you create a fantasy and people buy into it.

I’ve learned that when you are intelligent its much easier to manipulate people. The thing is that I never accepted that I was intelligent, but I operated in it forever. I was always good at controlling how people think. I just misused my ability to lead, because I was selfish and wanted what I wanted.

Oh, it’s not over! Visit www.onepurposemag.com for Shonda’s journey weekly. www.onepurposemag.com | 17

Turkey Burger Remix Everything will be alright, one time, JERK IT!!! Nial Jerk Seasoned Turkey Recipe

1 pound ground turkey meat 1 1/2 tablespoon of onion powder 1 whole yellow onion 2 small portobella mushrooms 2 slices of mozzarella cheese 1 chicken bouillon cube Olive Oil

SEASONING INGREDIENTS 1tbsp cayenne pepper 1tsp black pepper 1tsp thyme 1tsp cummin 1tsp brown sugar 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp ground red pepper

TOPPINGS Sliced Beef Tomato Carmelized ( sugar and butter) onions and mushrooms dollop of may dollop of mustard Spring Mix or a leaf of lettuce Whole wheat bun

Directions In medium bowl, combine ground turkey meat, opinion powder, and crushed chicken bouillon cube.

Then combine all the ingredients for the seasoning in a separate bowl, mix evenly and add it into the turkey meat, using your hand to massage it into the meat.

Cut 2 slices of mozzarella cheese into quadrants of four. Take a small portions of turkey meat and roll six small turkey balls. Flatten out the turkey balls. Add three pieces of cut-up cheese on top. Place another flatten turkey meat on top sealing in cheese center.

Cut yellow onions into ring and slice the mushrooms cartelizing with sugar and butter to taste until tender and brown with low heat in a skillet or sauce pan.

Add olive oil to a separate skillet and add turkey patties. Place patted out turkey meat into pre-heated skillet. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes flipping over meat. Once meat is done, add 3/4 cup of water cover the skillet with lid and let meat simmer in steam, until the water is gone from the skillet and absorbed in the meat. Take round burger bun and add mustard and mayo to bottom of bun. Place cooked turkey meat on the bottom bun. Take caramelized onions/mushrooms and place on top of meat with a slice tomato and leaf of lettuce or Spring mix.

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After the Steve Harvey TV Show Sibling Food Fight, I wanted to continue on and do something fun and exciting with my turkey burger ideas.I decided to start a blog reviewing the turkey burgers throughout Chicago land. We are a community of foodies in Chicago and although we love to eat; we often do not watch what we eat.

What I am finding amazing is how the turkey burger option is being added to so many menus for a healthier more lean meat option, but I was curious to find out is if they make them tasty, like my award winning at-home burger.

Nia Jovan Andrews, Publisher

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With the many adversities that we are experiencing today, believers, we cannot help but ask ourselves if we have removed ourselves from the plans of God. Have we adopted the world’s standards and somehow have twisted them into becoming “Kingdom Principles.” Are we so far removed that our foreclosures, divorces, lack, debt, bad relationships are all a reflection of our own separation. In a crowd anywhere in America, you cannot tell the difference from a believer and a non-believer. We idolize all of the things that worldly people do.

It seems that we got so caught-up in the “American Dream” that we forgot that God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us, and the route to that prosperity just may not be submitting to the world’s way of obtaining it.

We have become a generation of believers who are afraid to suffer, even though we may believe there is eternal joy, we do not want to deny ourselves and follow God’s plan. For some reason, we think Christianity translates into having it all together, nice car, nice home, nice things and so on, even when we call out some of our favorite scriptures we think materialistically or monetary gain, for example, Jeremiah 29:11, is a popular one when you’re going through we like to say, “For God knows the plans that he has for me, plans to prosper me and not to harm, plans to give me hope and a future,” most of us indirectly quote that thinking of stuff. What it really tells us is that God is thinking about us and wants us to have peace. It tells us that we’re in His thoughts and he has not forgotten about us, so we can rest assure that whatever we are suffering through in our sacrifice in the name of His son Jesus, is not forgotten and through it He wants us to have peace knowing that there’s an expected end of eternal joy.

That tells us that our peace is not on earth that it is in Heaven.

However, we look for peace in things, stuff and people to never find it, because its not there and it has no place there.

Now that I went there, allow me to make the point culturally specific. The young adult black American seems to know more of the “American Dream” than connection to a cultural dynamic. I would venture to argue that many would associate themselves with being simply American, detaching themselves from the association with Africa in anyway and will render their association as being inconclusive upon lack of proof.

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I will admit that for the sake of unity, I will accept the idea of being just American, believing that it would be a dream again if we all could be in this together, that’s ideally. However there is a reality that we live in a divisive country; democrats vs. republican, rich vs. poor, classisms, racisms, socialisms. It does not matter how unified you try to be unfortunately you have to choose a side. However, fortunately, there’s this concept that is called “Kingdom.”

Where one hopes are focused on the Kingdom of God, their precepts are formed from this place of Kingdom mindedness.

This concept on earth forces you to question systems that are set-up for worldly gain, but God’s wisdom gives you power to think and create beyond these systems, because when you are Kingdom-minded you believe that God’s Kingdom will come on earth as it is in Heaven. This manifestation is not an illusional manifestation, but one that happens through you. Where you’re not of the world and its ways, but since your mind is focused on Kingdom you overcome the ways of the world.

Kingdom-mindedness says, you cannot view love like the world, you cannot view how you work as the world does, while I am here I would like to interject a thought, God wants us to work smarter not harder. It is very important to work, because we have to eat, but do you think that God will have you so busy that He would not have it so that you have time to commune with him. Hustler, is a worldly mentality that we’ve adopted, we have to let it go. With a Kingdommind, you cannot view finances the world or family, friends nor marriage.

Kingdom is King’s domain in the earth realm where is the King, well unfortunately, he’s missing from many of our family structures in the black community. When there’s no King, there’s no order. Not to say that you cannot be covered by God, but the Kingdom, here on earth is suffering, violence maybe, take a look at Chicago in particular and many other urban cities.

One way out of this whole is to stop depending on credit and IOU and begin to build capital. When Nehemiah (in the Bible), felt compassion for his people, he went to the King in God’s authority to discuss his needs, not begging, not saying that he’s pay anyone back, but he knew that he’s have favor with the King because he first fast and prayed for instruction.

You may ask, what does being a young adult black American have to do with that, well take a look at our communities. Sure many young adult blacks are doing extraordinary, but really take a look at young adult blacks holistically. We are in captivity. Some if not all of us are so far in America’s debt that the only way out is to depend on the systems that are set-up for more debt. We have nothing to leave for our children, many of us do not own our own homes and if we do we’re enslaved to a lender for 30-years, but with our diets we won’t even live to see that paid-off. We were led into a dream without having one for ourselves. So whatever idea was given to us on how to acquire this American Dream, we followed it.

Twenty-five and older we may have missed the memo. There’s a simple math problem that says if we begin investing a portion of our money into an account that accrues compound interest that by the time we reach retirement age, we could be a millionaire.

So, what is compound interest you say? I am glad you asked. According to inventoried, compound interest is the interest an investor earns on his original investment. Plus, all the interest earned on the interest that has accumulated over time. It is simply, interest on top of interest.

When we are in your twenties, early thirties we like to spend money. We’re just getting a taste of earning our own and being giving responsibility with credit cards and so on, but we walk right into bad decision-making right into adulthood. Granted, even writing this article may not cause young adults to evaluate, but its better to say we told you so than to have never told you at all.

When I think about finances, the first scripture that comes to my head is “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and it’s Righteousness and all these things will be added on to you.” the second is “We are to be the lender and not the borrower” Now why those scriptures?. Granted, we have to survive, we have to live, we have to have a roof over our heads, but what is most disturbing about the structure of the American system is that it starts a young adult out in debt. Thousand dollars in student loans, car notes and mortgages, but we cannot blame the American system, we have to take some responsibility for our greedy thinking. Many of us are so quick to want to be grown run from our parents or guardians that we run right into debt.

We sign up for credit cards, we sign-off on student loan agreements and car loans without evaluating the long-term effect, but we know we do this already and have done and have not set-up anything for our children not to run into these issues. We’ve embraced the idea of continual debt and accepted that is the way it is going to be and we’ll just live off credit without building any capital.

Those scriptures come to me because it helps me shape my thinking. If I am the lender and not the borrower, what sense does it make for me to buy a home and sign a 30-year-loan. I know this is not a popular point, because America’s plan on the American dream is bigger than your God, I mean, since you live in this country it is the standard so why not.

Lust: According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, lust is sinful longing; the inward sin which leads to the falling away from God (Rome 1:21). "Lust, the origin of sin, has its place in the heart, not of necessity, but because it is the centre of all moral forces and impulses and of spiritual activity." In Mark 4:19 "lusts" are objects of desire. www.onepurposemag.com | 21