CONTENTS
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Diamond Diva’ s Pink Pages
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MOVE IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD There’s a common word that never fails to strike fear in my heart. Move—or moving---always sends me into a funk that wants to make me pull the covers over my head and wait for it to go away. I’ve made five major moves in my life. Not town to town moves, but local moves to various houses I’ve owned in this city. The physical act of moving is pure hell, but I always learn some big lessons from each undertaking. The first four moves led me to one house bigger than the other. Always great to move up in the world. But the downside was that it gave me more space to accumulate more things. Furniture…books…records…movies…clothes…gadgets beyond imagination… All those stupid things that we thought were important to measure our success and importance in the world. I lived through the 80s and 90s, which were tremendous periods of consumerism. I drank the Kool-Aid and participated in it whole-heartedly. Lugging those possessions around every few years to a new house became a major bitch. As I got older
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and lacked the physical stamina, the job became even more intimidating. After move #2, it became clear that I was never going to move another vinyl record again. I refused to. Even a small stack weighed a ton, and, to be honest, I scarcely listened to them any more, as CD’s became popular. I transferred a few LP’s to compact disc, and just kept a few vintage albums that were rare or had striking cover art. The rest I willingly gave to my local thrift store. They were their problem, now—not mine! I see that vinyl is making a come-back now. I hope this younger generation has strong upper-body strength!
After move #2, it became clear that I was never going to move another vinyl record again. I refused to. Even a small stack weighed a ton, and, to be honest, I scarcely listened to them any more, as CD’s became popular. I transferred a few LP’s to compact disc, and just kept a few vintage albums that were rare or had striking cover art. The rest I willingly gave to my local thrift store. They were their problem, now—not mine! I see that vinyl is making a come-back now. I hope this younger generation has strong upper-body strength! Furniture was always a problem. I had too much of it, of course, and 99 per cent of the time, it never fit or looked good in the new place. I sold and gave away unwanted pieces. But went right out and bought more for the new place. I did this three more times. I’ve loved books, and always collected a ton more than I actually needed. During each move, I gave away boxes of volumes to friends and thrift stores. They were almost as heavy as the lps. And of course, I went ahead and collected more---I had more room in the new place! During the last move, before my present house, I came to an epiphany. I finally faced facts that I was getting older and it was really time to start letting go of things. I was in my mid-50s. Certainly not an old codger, but old enough to face facts that I was certainly not going to live forever. I also came to a co-epiphany that I wanted to simplify my life. I became secure in myself that these things were not a measure of my self-worth and did not make me happy. On the contrary, lugging all this excess baggage gave me stress and unhappiness. I began to think about what a friend of mine told me once, many years ago. He said that he thought he could get all his possessions packed into a couple of suitcases. A highly impractical, yet nonetheless enviable proposition. Here I am now, on the cusp of making another move, but this time it’s much different. Having just got married, I am preparing to move to my husband’s house—out of state. This time, it’s not an
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open space just for me. His things are there, and while he has welcomed my baggage with open arms, it is still forcing me to be considerate of his belongings, and to be measured with what things bring in. I have been proud of myself. I think I have finally reached that plane of inner-peace that has made it easier to let go of the things I’ve carried around for years. I stiffened my spine, took a deep breath, and let go of the greeting cards from my parents, vacation souvenirs, and other mementos. I had a huge estate sale and sold every piece of furniture, except for a few small pieces that had sentimental value to me or that would be useful in my new home. Losing these, along with a ton of useless nicknacks, took an enormous burden off me. Household goods were the next to go. No need for my duplicate toasters, blenders and other gear. I got rid of tons more books. Many of them were reference books that I often used in my writing. The internet has made these heavy volumes obsolete. A simple Google search will now give me what I need to know and takes up no physical space! Keeping a firm grip on the ‘7-year rule,’ I shredded boxes of old receipts, tax returns and other documents prior to the past 7 years. I probably cheated a bit and got rid of papers I shouldn’t have. But if the IRS audits me and I go to jail, I am sure one of you kind souls will bake me a cake with a file in it. The whole undertaking was a ton of work! But it was also exhilarating! I literally felt that a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders! It was that visceral! These things no longer owned me—they no longer had any power over me and my life. I’m just sorry it took me that long to find out! Sam Maronie is the author of the book, Tripping Through Pop-Culture, available from Amazon.com.
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The greatest accomplishment in the ministry is seeing others become empowered to stand up against adverse situations and live victorious lives, as a result of the ministry. My name is Gerod Parker. I serve as Senior Pastor of Freedom Ministries Int’l Church. A Non Denominational Church, that seeks to impact the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been in the ministry for fourteen years and Pastoring currently for ten. I am happily married to my beautiful wife Kiesha Parker for fourteen years, who works alongside me in the ministry. I have one child Maleki’ Andre Parker, who also works alongside me in the ministry. My passion and vision is to see people rise up and live victoriously in every area of life.
The Ministry I surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus Christ at the age of 22 years old in my bedroom at 11 Shepherd Ave. in Newark, NJ. In 2003, at the age of 23 I was called in to the ministry and preached my initial sermon entitled, “Repent or The Wrath of God Will Come”. Within the next 3 years I was ordained to the ministry at the age of 26. In biblical times when God’s people would get into difficulty with their enemies, he would send
help from heaven. He would send Deliverers, Judges, and Prophets. The Spirit of the Lord would come upon them and he would speak to his messengers on how to deliver his people. The Lord began to deal with me abundantly and reveal to me the cries of those who needed spiritual help, and to those who were in bondage to the devil. The Lord showed me the Sinner needed deliverance as well as the Saints. Over the next several months the Lord would impart and impregnate the vision and the burden of Freedom in me. The more people were in enslaved to bondage, the more the Lord allowed me to experience the burden of his people. In 2008, the Lord gave the command to start Freedom Ministries International Church. Since the church’s inception, countless people have truly experienced God’s love and delivering power in a mighty way. I have served in many ministry capacities. My ministry has touched countless lives. I have ministered all across the New Jersey metropolitan area. I flow in a Heavy Apostolic and Prophetic Dimension of the Spirit, which brings healing, deliverance and salvation in the places in which I minister. The force that drives me is to complete my assignment, in which God has given me. The best advice that I’ve ever received is, to remain humble in whatever you do and serve others.
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What do you do to relax and unwind? What I do to relax and unwind is to just sit in a quiet room and watch sports. Tell us something about you that people would be surprised to know. The one thing that people would be surprised to know about me is that, I am very shy. I don’t like to be in spotlight. What advice would you give to a young man just starting out or have a desire to go in business but have no idea what to do with his hopes and dreams? The advice I would give to a young man aspiring to go into business is to first, find out what problem you would want to solve in this world. Secondly, gain the necessary knowledge that would solve the problem. Lastly, follow the DPGPA rule. Dreams, Plans, Goals, Action. 1. What’s your Dream that’s in your heart? 2. What’s your Plan on how you are going accomplish it? 3. Goals, meaning set a time period of when you want to accomplish your plan. 4. Once you have all these together, it’s time for Action.
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7|Diamond Diva
7|Diamond Diva
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MEET ME IN THE TRENCHES:
Picking Up & Relighting the Torch Today, I'd like to take the time to dissect & redirect some serious rhetoric often levied at our youth. They are often immediately prejudged and dismissed before we adults even get to know their names. Without hesitation, the strong-minded adults that come in connection with them (if even for a few minutes), tend to offer words of judgement verses an ear of understanding. They share their scorn and resentment verses a request for an open conversation. These angry, frustrated, finger pointing accusers don’t miss a chance at passing harsh judgement against the young people of the community; Yet, they are the ones who walk away from that very same opportunity to offer a word of encouragement to the youth in which they refer. They bypass the chance to ask permission of the young person(s) to give them something of value, something to enrich their lives in some way. As a Life Coach who is actively engaged in the community, there is very rarely a time I don't hear some of the most stereotypical, hypocritical, prejudice, most non sensible statements, that they in the moment truly believe to be logical, intelligent, and or so called professional. It used to be shocking to hear such things. Within a very short time of doing community work I’ve become beyond numb to angry myself with it. Angry at the audacity of these “responsible” adults; especially from those who have bared children themselves. The inflammatory claims go something like..."these kids today are just lost & out of control, disrespectful, lazy, confused, backwards, thuggish, heathens... and the list goes on. Their divisive statements accompanied with a sharp rolling of the eyes, stern shaking of the head & pursing of the lips." "What has happened the youth today?” becomes the question. Disrespectful, ignorant, fatherless gang bangers. Our girls have now acquired the T.H.O.T, T.H.O.T, T.H.O.T or gang, gang, gang tags. Let us not forget about the rather popular female music artists calling themselves "savages" in their songs aired on repeat-rotation daily. Our young ladies often supported in this destructive mindset not only by misled, self-destructive young men, but also by their female elders. So, let’s talk about these responsible adults, the ones put before these “lost ones” ranging sfrom their own parents, to grandparents, teachers, school administrators, local law enforcement agents and on. The nerve of the adults who were placed in their lives to guide them; being the one saying the kids are lost. Who was responsible for ensuring the were on track and in order? Once it had been identified that there was a problem with the
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“CHILDREN” where were these responsible adults to redirect them or get them the assistance needed to reel them back in? Where were these strong, savvy, logical adults then and where the are they even now to still redirect them, in a positive way? Just as the fire begins to swell in the pit of my belly, I remember the importance of remaining humble, grounded, & non-judgmental myself. I remember…that I must remember the end result I want to achieve in the conversation, and not respond from they anger they made me feel in the moment. Remembering that in order to get these good people to hear the message & not turn on me like a 4am Black Friday shopping mob, I must be delicate in my approach and gentle in my delivery. I can no longer stomach hearing negativity spewed at our youth; when in reality all sensible logic indicates that it is us who are out of order. If our children are lost, well hell who lost them. Who was and is ultimately responsible for keeping, protecting and guiding them onto the right path? And in the same vein who should be responsible for going to get them and return them to the state and day of the “respectful youth”. The youth, many of these very same parents forget that they were just like. Where are the parents, neighbors, school administration and staff & so on to finger point and speak on that? Who else is responsible for the degree in which our children have supposedly lost their minds. What level of accountability do we have in this? See, I clearly recall my childhood and bumpy journey into and through adulthood. As a clear-thinking adult today, I can honestly & factually say the torch was dropped on the youthful generation since the late 60's, midseventies. When communities of color were bombarded with crack cocaine and families who were just getting to a position of learning to work together & build through unity & love; they were viciously side-swiped and left mangled & devastated. My peers & the youth of today are still suffering from the effects of a drug torn, poverty ridden generations of lost adults and are expected to be this shining beacon of hope for our own futures. Please tell me how the hell that is suppose happen? From dysfunctional environments to belligerent, inept parenting plaguing their young lives two to 3 generations back and the “adult” examples placed before them not reflecting the image of what our adults want to see out of them today. How dare we. It is us who (adults) who must do better. We must see that if they are lost, we lost them. And then means them all, even the one you didn't birth. It is our responsibility to pick the torch up related ignite them and keep'em going. Simple logic tells us that it takes a village, well we're that village. Where are the men, elders & the wise ones? Where are the ones to past down family tradition verses family disfunction, the ones who offer love & kisses when spiritual healing is in order verses fiery, cursed filled insults about how bad & ignorant the child they birthed are. Where is the constant visual demonstration of proper social etiquette, class, morals & ethics, family values and principles for our youth to observe from verses the image of irresponsible acts of disrespectful, childlike behaviors of the very same adults put before them to lead and guide. While we’re so quick to point a finger, do so in a mirror. After you’re done, ask yourself how many of us are ready to lift a hand to help someone outside of your own for the sake of the overall community. See, the ill behaviors of youth stem from the lack of exemplified adults that have come into their lives and have failed to pour into them when the opportunities present themselves. Let’s be clear, it doesn’t stop there. We as the adult leaders and primary decision-makers can use our time and energy to create opportunities for open, safe and respectful conversation to take place. As a youth, I too had been described and vilified in the same manner. Fortunately, there were some responsible adults who didn't take the defeatist attitude that I was unsalvageable. We need our intelligent, respectful and professional adults to work against all apathetic, defeatist mindsets. The torch was dropped on us good folks, and no one has taken the time to pick it up and relight for the youth of our tomorrows. Well, for the past 8 years I have fully dedicated my life to picking up that torch, re-lighting and igniting it again for them! Those just pointing fingers and running your traps, you can tell your stories walking. For all the rest…Meet me in the trenches.
By: D. Hillman
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7|Diamond Diva
Rest in Paradise
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