About The Book

The purpose of this book is to teach you how to transform your life.  While this book is no substitute for the Word of God (The Bible), let this be a guide that simply helps you gain a deeper understanding of what God is trying to impart in all of us. Change Beyond The Pain will help you discover:

1. True healing comes from allowing God to transform your life
2. You do not have to revert back to the same cycle of hurt, anger, fear and depression
3. God has a plan for your life
4. There is power and purpose in your pain

This book will teach you how to move beyond accepting change to embracing transformation.  So, if you are seeking restoration, grab your Bible, this book, and open your heart and watch the transformation begin.

About The Author

Monifa Robinson Groover, a native of New York City, moved to Teaneck, New Jersey with her family at the tender age of twelve.  Upon graduation from Teaneck High School, Monifa obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Clark Atlanta University (Atlanta, GA), as well as a Master of Social Work Degree from Smith College School of Social Work (Northampton, MA). After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, and extensive work in the field of social services, she obtained a Master of Public Administration Degree with a concentration in Management from Troy State University (Atlanta, GA).

Monifa has devoted her life to helping others see the potential that lies within them. Having provided a number of services for diverse populations including but not limited to perpetrators of sexual crimes, individuals faced with substance abuse challenges and individuals in the criminal justice system; as well as having coached women entrepreneurs, her experience has taught her that neither position nor status dictate the level of pain and misfortune one may encounter. It was at this time she realized the call on her life was much greater.

In 2003 she released her first book entitled, Within Your Reach, Inspiration That Quiets the Mind and Soothes the Soul. (ISBN: 1-930231-03-2). This book is filled with devotions that shows people how to strategically turn their pain into gain, tragedy into triumph and victimization into victorious living. She released her second book entitled, Change Beyond The Pain in 2012 (ISBN: 978-0-9836776-0-4).  This book provides a more in-depth look at how individuals can use the Word of God to transform their lives. It also shows them how to begin moving beyond the blows that life may sometimes deal.

Monifa has been called by God to help others reach their God-given potential. Her duty is to equip others with the proper tools and resources to move beyond their circumstances and live healthier and more productive lives, which she believes can only be found when one has a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Her personal journey, combined with her education and work experience, and most importantly her relationship with Jesus Christ, collectively play a vital role in the work she passionately does today. She resides in Savannah, Georgia and is a faithful member of New Covenant Holiness Church #3, located in Savannah, Georgia, where her beloved husband, Jamie Groover is pastor.

• *Email Address: customerservice@withinyourreach.org
• *Website
• *Twitter page
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• *Amazon link: 
  

Book Excerpt

Chapter 5  - The Power And Purpose Of Pain

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose

Pain is a very important and necessary part of life. In the medical field, pain is defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Pain motivates us to withdraw from damaging or potentially damaging situations, protects the damaged body part while it heals, and serves as a reminder to avoid similar situations in the future. So even though pain is very unpleasant, it has a profound purpose; a purpose other than to cause you discomfort and make your life miserable. Since pain is so unpleasant, most would say they wish the feeling never existed, but in reality, many medical professionals become extremely worried when a patient has been injured and does not present any sign of pain. So, yes, pain does have a purpose. The question is have you discovered the purpose for your pain? Ahh, and I don’t mean physical pain. Have you discovered the purpose for your emotional and spiritual pain?

Change Beyond The Pain

Cycles, predictability, consistency, regularity…these are just a few things humans crave. The very thing humans long for is to know that everything in their lives will remain consistent. Sadly, this concept applies even when humans are involved in situations that are detrimental to their health and well-being. Most people never transition to the next level in their lives because they either don’t want change bad enough, or are unwilling to do what needs to be done for that change to occur. This may be harsh, nevertheless, it is true. Going to the next level will ALWAYS require us to move further, push harder, persevere longer, and dig deeper. Most sincerely believe they are ready for this, but the true test of our readiness comes when it is actually time to push harder, persevere longer, and dig deeper.

If you’ve missed the rest of the tour you may catch up by clicking on the banner below:

Dee411 welcomes LeRon L. Barton who is on tour with At the Water Cooler Virtual Book Tours promoting his first title, Straight Dope: A 360 Degree Look Into American Drug Culture. As a site that deals with the downside of life and provides a list of available resources and promotes encouragement and a long lasting relationship with God as steps towards healing. This book is real and relevant and I am pleased to introduce to you its author, LeRon:

About the Author:

My name is LeRon L. Barton and I was born in Kansas City, MO in 1978 (totally dating myself – LOL). Like any Midwestern person, I wanted to come to California. Why? Because of the weather and the beaches, duh! After going to school for IT and moving from San Diego to The Bay Area, which I absolutely love, there was a void in my life. I broke down and admitted to myself, I am an artist! All my life I knew that I wanted to be a writer, well a stuntman, then a race car driver (I still want to!), but finally settled on using the power of the written word. I have written poetry, short stories, essays, and two screen plays, but I have always wanted to write a book.

The idea for Straight Dope came because I wanted to create something real and impact–something about which I had knowledge. Where I come from, in my neighborhood, circle of friends, and way of life, drugs have always been around. Instead of taking a judgmental view of the topic, I wanted to have people tell their own story as I listened. I just didn’t want to talk to law enforcement and get this uniform answer on drugs in America, I wanted a well rounded look into drug culture, hence the title, Straight Dope: A 360 Degree Look into American Drug Culture.

This is my first book, but definitely not the last. I hope to continue to release projects that will make people take a step back and listen, learn, and as they say around my way, “Recognize, realize, and analyze.”

About the Book:

Straight Dope is a book that asks the simple question–why are drugs so entrenched in America’s society. Instead of doing the same ol’ rigamarole song and dance and interviewing talking heads and experts, Straight Dope gets to the heart of the matter and talks to the people at ground zero–the drug addicts whose lives revolve around getting high; the criminals who profit off the misery of the addicts; the teachers who deal with children in drug abused homes; the drug counselors who try to balance breaking the addicts’ cycle of addiction while dealing with the bureaucracy of government politics; the legal marijuana growers’ battle against tobacco companies and how to thrive in the growing industry; and the parents’ issue of how they will prepare their children to just say no.

Inspired by the late great Studs Terkel’s many works, Straight Dope is comprised of raw, uncut hard hitting interviews about the participants experiences, thoughts, opinions, and outlook on drug abuse—why or why not drugs should be legal, and how the government is handling the war on drugs.

Removing nearly all of the questions, the interviews are more like monologues, allowing the reader to feel as if the subject is just, “talking,” instead of your standard interview.

In addition to the real life accounts, Straight Dope also contains spoken word pieces compiled of biting social commentary, as well as my own personal reflections comprised of my experiences with drugs.

Buy Now at Amazon.com: Kindle / Paperback

Connect with LeRon via:

Email: info@mainlinepub.com

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/leron-barton/1/b/2b7

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ninjagaiden78/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MainlineLeRon

Vimeo Channel: https://vimeo.com/channels/mainline

Website: www.mainlinepub.com

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/MainlinePub

My Thoughts:

LeRon’s writing style is a lot like mine, real, engaging, as though you’re talking to someone you know and that quote right there is something real. It’s true that he was writing interviews but as someone who interviews people all the time it is a hard task to give each person their own voice or I should say, make their voice come alive on paper or on the web. LeRon has managed to do that with each interview. I loved me some Gary! He reminds me a lot of my brother, tough and tender at the same time but a wily business man. I felt like I was reading Donald Goines all over again.

How Carolyn saved the money to bail her husband out of jail was ingenious I would never have been that quick on my feet. I’ve gotta give James some props, everyone wouldn’t consider him a success story, however, he was set up to fail from his youth yet he’s still fighting.

Gary, Carolyn and James are just a small sample of the depth and breath of the diversity of the people interviewed and the depth of the stories told. Some shocking in their intensity, some triumphant in their endings–each interviewee telling his/her story in his/her own way with no fear of being judged…for this is and was his/her reality and he/she made the best or worst of it and lived to tell about it.

Any which way we look at it, discussion has been had about the good, the bad and the ugly of the American drug culture and I have learned some stuff. And I believe that is part of what this project was about we are all teachable, no one knows everything. We can learn in the strangest of circumstances, as long as we are breathing there will be teachable moments. Stop sweeping real life issues under the carpet, bring it to the coffee table and let’s talk about it. We might not be able to solve it today, but who knows about tomorrow? I would have given a 5 for the awesome project that this is, however, some more work needs to be done on the editing side.

My Rating:

My Recommendation:

I invite you to grab yourself a copy of the book and join in on the conversation.

Enter the Giveaway

I’ve stepped outside my normal parameters of book reviews, website reviews and/or movie reviews to bring you a product review, in video format no less!

We all love to look good, however, sometimes due to genetics, age, stress on the hair or misuse of chemical products we find ourselves dealing with the predicament of noticeably thinning hair.

For some of us it’s the hairline, for others it’s the crown of the head and for others it’s just all over. Today, I want to present a hair loss treatment for women called FiBond.

Before Video:

After Video:

FiBond Facts:

FiBond’s ingredients:

• *Plant Resinous Fiber
• *Keratin Derivative
• *Antistatic Agent

The product is available in six colors:

• *Black
• *Brown
• *Dark Brown
• *Med Brown
• *Light Brown
• *Blonde

It is distributed in a 25g (0.88 oz) box and is for external use only.

My Thoughts:

Not only is the product lightweight, it really does blend quickly and easily with your own hair, however, just because it’s so lightweight, don’t be like me and be tempted to get tap happy. You will be cleaning FiBond out of your ears with a Q-tip…lol.

One of my fears was color matching…that was dashed away, it blended with my gray, seamlessly. Another fear was that since it contains a fiber and I have really sensitive skin that I would be all itchy (in reality or becaus my mind said I should be) but that has not reared its head. The only problems that I foresee, for me and maybe men and women who like to run their fingers through their spouses’ hair is that you do come away with a bit of residue on your fingertips. Now that might be because I got a bit tap happy, only time will tell.

So ladies, I would give this product four thumbs up, but I’ve only got two! So I’ll go with 4 out of 5 mice.

My Rating:

And just so you know that we want you to have the opportunity to be just as tickled as I am, here is a giveaway of any color of your choice of the FiBond hair loss solution product.

Enter below to win and good luck!

When we are young we don’t realize that some of the decisions we are making are not quite sound. We take unnecessary chances that endanger ourselves and those around us. When I first learned how to drive, in New York, mind you, I was teased by my family for being what they called “faithful to my lane.” I would pick the middle lane and stay there until I knew my exit was coming then carefully signal, change to my exit lane and get off the highway.

I was careful for a reason. Driving is not something I do by choice; it’s something I do to prove that I will not be governed by fear or circumstances. I was in two car accidents before I was eleven years old. I escaped unscathed physically, but mentally I was tortured by nightmares, until my only recourse was to learn how to drive to take the power back. Since I was a child at the time, I do not know if either of the two drivers who collided with us or caused us to go off of the road to avoid collision with them were driving under the influence (DUI).

What I do know is that it caused me to be a careful driver, however, in my mind driving under the influence was attributed to drinking and I’m not a drinker. I can’t touch the stuff. I don’t like it, and it certainly doesn’t like me.  However, around age twenty-seven I began to suffer with terrible migraines and was prescribed with medication for it. Again, being a careful person, I read the directions, which stated drive with caution until you are aware of the effects of the drug.  So I did and what do you know? I felt fine! Never better!

Yeah, well, the good old caffeine in said prescription had a nifty effect on me so said careful driver who felt fine did not realize that whenever she happened to have a headache and took her “I feel fine” pills, she was not so faithful to her lane and took corners on two wheels, because, say it with me now—she felt fine!

Had I not had a scary experience late one night when I was thankfully alone in the car and mostly alone on the road, I would probably have kept on driving under the influence. Were I living in Glendale, Arizona, I would probably have needed a glendale dui lawyer

It would have been devastating to me, after the two experiences I had as a child and all the years of vivid, Technicolor nightmares to have been on the other side of the fence having to page through a listing of glendale dui lawyers to find the one that I trusted to be fair to me and to the other side to defend me.

In accidents, no one wins, however the best defense lawyer for me would be the one who understands and puts into practice the notion that money does not replace a life, or cure a hurt, or even really say, “I’m sorry;” however, it is what he or she will work with in all fairness until something else becomes available.

Loving In Spite Of

When life gives you every reason to hate, can you still love in spite of? This is a story based on true events. It captures the honest, gripping tale of the life of a young girl who overcame insurmountable hardships, which would have driven most into a mental institution. Everything she considered valuable was stolen from her.

Her adult reunion with her best childhood friend reopens the tragedies as she divulges every painful moment as if it were yesterday. The spotlight then zooms in on Hadassah as she authentically and passionately shares her story about the sexual abuse, murder and death that occurred in her life during her adolescence.

Readers will identify with the feelings of revenge and the strong wish for the death of her perpetrator as the details pull you in. Plagued with the ravages of victimization and threats to her life, she stumbles through a myriad of emotions accompanied by the hatred she harbors in her heart for many years. As if physical and sexual abuse is not enough, she suffers from the death of a special loved one at the hands of her perpetrator.

Hadassah, the main character in the story, now believes she has reasons for hatred and her one desire is to see her perpetrator dead. Many cannot find the courage to give voice to their true thoughts of hate; but she does. This story provides an intriguing character study that shares on so many levels what many girls, and women in general, have faced but are unwilling to admit. That is the “hushed” abuse they’ve encountered, yet are still afraid to talk about. Hadassah graphically describes the egregious acts that devastated her life.

Her intentions to murder were changed through an epiphany, which led to an unexpected, unplanned encounter with the miracle of forgiveness. The hunger for revenge and the pain of her past were eventually let go. Through love she discovers her true self and that love comes from her journey with forgiveness. The strength of this story is in its details. It will make you smile, make you cry and may even make you angry. This story of triumph against the odds will definitely capture you.

Reasons For Hatred is a story about an ordinary person faced with extraordinary trauma and how she came to forgive and learned to embrace wholeness.

The reason this book was written is because many have been trampled on; they still live with un-forgiveness in their hearts because they have valid reasons for holding a grudge.

I believe my book will be a source of hope and inspiration to those who have suffered pain due to the conduct of others.

It is my prayer and desire that the reader who may be hurting and stuck in un-forgiveness will be able to begin to take steps toward their internal freedom; realizing there is a greater purpose in their pain.

ABOUT THE BOOK

This a story based on true events. It’s about two best friends who were separated during their childhood. The spotlight then zooms in on Hadassah; during their adult reunion, she divulges the painful moments of the sexual abuse, murder and death that occurred in her life during her adolescence. It is a story about an ordinary person faced with extraordinary trauma and how she came to forgive and learned to embrace wholeness.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.E. Thomas is a high-spirited woman of faith who was born in Los Angeles and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She trained with Precept Ministries and became a certified trainer in “How to study the Bible”. She is also an active member of the Fellowship of International Christian Word Of Faith Ministries (FICWFM).  She is the founder of “Keep It Real Ministries” which is a non-profit organization whose mission is to conduct local bible studies which teach people how to continuously live in the reality of God’s Word; regardless of their experience.

Being an “at risk youth” herself, J.E. has overcome insurmountable obstacles. She is a bright light to women who have suffered abuse and a vital assistant in producing overcomers.

She has a passion for people and teaches youth, men and woman how to fight to win!

As a true worshiper and Intercessor, she boldly believes that NOTHING is too hard for God!

In spite of the multiple challenges we face, she believes the greatness which is inside us all, can be extracted, developed and targeted to reach its designed purpose.

Her Focus: to express qualities that bring inspiration to others. Her motto is “We Always Triumph!”

Her inspiring influence, and her down to earth, “Keep It Real” style are certain to leave an indelible impression.

Order your copy:

1. Amazon ( Paperback |  E-Book )
2. Barnes and Noble
3. Author’s Website

View the Remainder of the Tour

From the Back Cover

Accompany Eugene Uttley on a mythological “hero’s journey” to another world and back again, and join him as he articulates the prize that he won there–The Ultimate Boon.

Through his struggles in coping with schizophrenia, Uttley has come to know what he wants. Now he just needs to figure out how to get it.

This experimental open letter includes original and appropriated prose, poetry, song, prayer… memoir, travelogue, sketches of Uttley’s present-day life, and literary exegesis. Its many sources and topics are ranging, but circle always back to the overarching theme of recovery from mental illness through better knowledge of self and becoming more whole, a complex process both mental and spiritual, which entails increasing awareness of connectedness to the greater whole, the infinite.

Win the Boon Giveaway

The Boon: Thoughts of a Schizophrenic in Remission is a memoir of psychosis and recovery by Eugene Uttley.

An English teacher in Asia when the disorder took hold, Uttley was propelled by delusions into a yearlong psychosis.

This first-hand account of madness and the road to recovery shows what it is to be fragmented, mind and soul. The Boon is Uttley in the process of becoming whole again.

Enter to win a copy of The Boon or $15 in books from The Book Depository!

About the Author:

Through his struggles in coping with schizophrenia, Uttley has come to know what he wants. Now he just needs to figure out how to get it.

This experimental open letter includes original and appropriated prose, poetry, song, prayer… memoir, travelogue, sketches of Uttley’s present-day life, and literary exegesis. Its many sources and topics are ranging, but circle always back to the overarching theme of recovery from mental illness through better knowledge of self and becoming more whole, a complex process both mental and spiritual, which entails increasing awareness of connectedness to the greater whole, the infinite. 

We hope you’ll enjoy the opportunity to visit each of these sites on this tour: 

1. A Grumpy Young Woman
2. BooksRUsOnline
3. BookZone
4. Brooke Blogs
5. Dee411
6. Delia Bourne
7. Fly High
8. Girl-Who-Reads
9. Jody’s Book Reviews
10. Man of la Book
11. Marat M’saev Daan
12. Mary’s Cup of Tea
13. My Vegan Gluten Free Life
14. Oh, Chrys!
15. Plum Crazy About Coupons
16. R. Tsoumbakos
17. Uttley’s Take

Weddings are exciting and life changing events. A lot of time and thought go into the planning and execution of a flawless wedding.

A good thing to know would be if there are different considerations when it comes to wedding planning for Christians. For e.g. If there is going to be no alcohol at the wedding, is that something to be handled via word of mouth or is there a chapter in the etiquette book to cover where it would appear on the wedding invitations?

If you find that one out, please let me know. Not that I’m getting married anytime soon, but I do like to be prepared. Another question I’ve always had was, who started the idea of inviting guests to the church service and not to the reception. Is that even Christlike?

Just a couple of the curiosities at the back of my mind. I guess that’s why they used to call me Curious Dee.

DESCRIPTION:

When desperation leads to homicide, can healing, freedom – and faith – be found?

A Sunday school teacher hides a dark secret. Charisma Joel’s family has been plagued by mental illness for years, leaving her in denial and too ashamed to get help. Desperate and angry with God, she turns to cocky, womanizing Dr. Miles Logan for solace. But when a homicide occurs and more dark secrets are exposed, Charisma is left to wonder if she will ever find the relief and freedom she desires for herself and her family.

Secret Place is a story that reveals the devastation mental illness can cause within families, while offering solid hope and inspiration along the way.

AUTHOR BIO:

Wife. Mom. Writer. Social Worker. Pursuer of Christ.

That about sums it all up.

Leslie J. Sherrod lives in Baltimore, Maryland with her husband and three children. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland at College Park with a B.S. in Family Studies. She also studied writing at Johns Hopkins University before completing her masters in clinical social work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Her debut novel, Like Sheep Gone Astray (Grand Central Publishing, 2006), earned a Starred Review from Booklist and was featured on AOL’s Black Voices. Leslie is also a contributor to two devotionals in the bestselling A Cup of Comfort series (Adams Media) and writes poetry for Paintbrush Poetry, a home-based business she shares with her husband, combining her creative writing with his original artwork.

Through suspenseful and thought-provoking stories, Leslie offers readers hope and encouragement to live out their God-given dreams and purposes. One of her favorite Bible verses is Ephesians 3:20, which states that “[God] is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” It is this message she carries to book signings, bookstores, workshops, and church events both in her neighborhood and across the nation.

For more information, visit www.LeslieJSherrod.com

There they are—the center of attention.  When all eyes are not on you, the bride and groom, they are usually fixed on the spot where they sit: beautiful, marvelous, outrageously gorgeous…wedding centerpieces!

That’s the response you are working towards…the piece pictured above grabbed my eye very quickly! It had warmth, color, depth…but uh oh…I wasn’t feeling the clothespin holding up the number card. It’s the little things that make a big difference.

When you are planning your reception, you want to have a clear picture of your table and centerpieces in mind. Table centerpieces can be traditional, contemporary, simple, or complex, but what makes it work for you is to tweak whichever style to choose to ensure that you theme matches and it speaks your language.

When I got married, it was a simple civil service affair with just two witnesses, as required. That was not a problem for me. By the age of nineteen I had been to my fair share of weedings…ahem…weddings and I realized that the preparations up to the wedding was really like a weeding out process to see who was really going to act ugly or not. Things are so black and white at that age aren’t they? We have no tolerance for the foibles of others.

Now that I am older, I am sorry that I skipped that rite of passage and I am looking forward to the opportunity to choose and/or create unique wedding favors that will say something about us as a couple. I will probably drive everyone nuts because I will try to combine doing it myself and personalizing ready made items to get the look and feel that I want.