give hope

2016 Total Woman Conference Fragrance 216: “When the KNOTS began to unfold”

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / 4 Comments

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Do you remember where you were the evening of Thursday, April 21st 2016? Any recollection of your final place of destination? Were you super excited as you packed, parked and paraded the luxuriously furnished maze-like corridors of The ACE conference center in Lafayette Hills?

TRACE IT!

IMG-20160430-WA0006Do you recall the big smiles on the faces of the beautiful ladies at the registration table as they celebrated your attendance with your personalized welcome package? Did you feel the aura of peace and yearning on the faces of women, miracle-expectant, longing-to-be-released into what the retreat has in store for them’ Holding on to the promises of the weekend.

FACE IT!

Indeed, even as the news of the death of the Artist formerly known as Prince was featuring on the lobby radio, the sympathy and grief expressed from those who remembered his 1984 hit song “Purple Rain” was pleasantly compensated by the huge appetite of an accessible sovereign Prince of peace everyone had come to encounter. There was Hope!IMG-20160423-WA0002

ERASE IT!

If you attended…’My guess is that you are still in awe and total amazement of the wonderful enrichment of those 3 days…’I know I am still basking in the rich fruitfulness of the ministration from all the speakers. I know just like everyone too, words wouldn’t be enough to express or explain the beauty and luster of the early Morning Prayer walk around the winding roads entwined within the golf course as dew drops amuse our awakening! IMG-20160422-WA0011

Ah! The early bible lesson in the glass covered patio as the high ceiling fans conduct a circular-halo above us, in unison with our outpour of praises! (One of my favorite mornings yet this year), the clattering of heels and the giggling of deep laughter that turned 3 generation of women into one-body, as we all danced in-tune and off-beat with the Zumba instructor (who knew…’these women still got moves), the smiles and excitement on the faces of women as they gathered around the buffet…all exuding radiant fragrance of a good-sense-of-WE BELONG HERE!

20160422_204039Ahh! The messages: the new hash tag to discover for bothersome wishers in our lives! The breakout sessions that were so deep yet so true, every woman felt a connection to the speakers! The heartfelt concerns for relational challenges. And best of all…’the anointing that loosen all the knots we carried into Lafayette Hills…

Oh-What-an-Awesome-Event!!  Oh-what new hashtags to live with…

#let go of insecurity and take hold of your true identity

#let go of comparison to others and take hold of your God-fashioned uniqueness.

#learn to say…’shut the front door after you

#let go of shame-filled condemnation and take hold of grace-filled acceptance.

#let go of crippling bitterness and take hold of radical forgiveness.

IMG_9061To all the Planning Committee Members!!  Take a bow…To my Team Moderators! ‘You are the best. Absolutely awesome!IMG-20160424-WA0013

For whatever still makes us needy after this event? For whatever makes our heart seem like a love vacuum? For whatever makes us doubt God’s love irrespective of what we are going through?IMG-20160430-WA0007

I hope we’ll be able to remember from the messages on Thursday, Friday and Saturday that we cannot expect imperfect human beings and relationships to satisfy our heart cravings. Only God can satisfy. Only God can untie the knots and keep them loose. Whatever tied-up knots we are experiencing.IMG_8961

Maybe we can learn to stop expecting others to meet our “love-vacuum” needs and instead ask God to help us to be rooted and established in the fullness of His all-satisfying love. Need more information about the Movement? Visit http://www.totalwomanmovement.com.  Look out for TW Insider Exclusive for more information on quarterly updates.

Yours in Hope as I share TWC 2016 photo recap and video clip. (See below).

Yinka Lawrence – Team Workshop Moderator.

 

 

 

 

Are you GOLDEN, MATURED & SEASONED? –‘Here’s a glimpse of what to expect at the upcoming TOTAL WOMAN CONFERENCE! (For the Graciously-Ripe and Germane OLDER ADULTS @ 55+

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / Leave a comment

4 MORE DAYS TO GO!!! (‘Countdown to Glory!)seniors 2

Dear Senior Girls! ‘My Ripe, Relevant & Resourceful Mentors!

Permit me to steal a moment of your time as I ponder on the importance of your presence…

‘Do you know that there is so much for you to look forward to at this conference? Here’s an opportunity to mingle, share and learn. This is a time to discuss topics like how to maintain cordial relationships with in-laws, how to embrace and adjust to a new or different family dynamics with married children.

Are you an empty nester? Separated? Divorced? Or Widowed? Do you sometimes feel lonely and abandoned? You crave for something fruitful to fill the void in your routine life?spring 3

HELP IS HERE!! There is a session at this upcoming TOTAL WOMAN CONFERENCE that’s tailored to meet your needs! A cozy room has been set aside with beautiful greenery in the backdrop, prepared just for you! All for you!

So, come discover how YOU can be relevant and still be compatible while being fulfilled within your God-given maternal positions. Join in and learn how to embrace inter-cultural marriages, how to resolve relational conflicts and also stand in the  gap for our immediate family in time of distress. Come discover and revive buried dreams that can be translated into financial independence.  seniors

Need more information? Visit www.totalwomanmovement.com  to be plugged into the movement that will Heal, Enlighten, Liberate and Position you for a better tomorrow!

Yours in HOPE,

Yinka.

Are we comfortably numb in our denial? ‘Time to speak up on ABUSE!

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / 10 Comments

Connecting with “The Total Woman Movement” – A Refuge of Comfort in Brokenness.

I once attended a sorority party about 2000 miles away from my college in 1992. Our Destination: University of Calabar! Excitement mode activated! Trust me, I had carefully packed away my popular orange halter-neck dress, with matching brown lace up mules, and my hairstyle? Aha! I’d travelled all the way to Onne villa (outside Port Harcourt) just to patronize the best hair braider in the whole of Rivers state! Phew! Such youthful exuberance! Silly painful vanity!abuse 7

Halfway through the journey, I began to feel feverish and tired! Oh no! It can’t be happening to me… I was aching all over, ah!  It must be M-a-l-a-r-i-a! Oh great! How can this be happening to me? I had so prepared for this day! This wasn’t in the plan!

My temperature was spiking, this fever has no respect for my opinion! In fact, ‘it has come to stay like a desperate housewife! My travelling team was terrified! “How can it be (I was getting helpless).

Anyway, without much ado, as if that fever was a red flag, the party was cancelled due to serious vigilante watch as opposing rival confraternities were in the midst of a serious war. We all spent the night off campus, in a rented hostel.abuse 3

Six other girls and I shared 2 adjacent rooms. It was a night I will never forget. Amongst being confined inside our rooms, noises of gunshots blasting throughout the night, as we became more frightened we looked to each other for support.

In the middle of nowhere, we became each other’s trusted companion, well, we had no choice but to wait and see what the morning brings forth.abuse 4

The fear and helplessness we felt that night brought back horrific memories of abusive pasts, stories of years of abusive upbringing, relationships and stolen childhood. Storylines that 7 beautiful, intelligent and oh-so-cool girls have never dared to talk about!

Tales that have been buried for years with those clicking fancy bangles, baggy Pepe jeans, colorful trendy t-shirts, shining pink lip gloss and fake make-believe smiles! oh boy! Did we vent!

“Ah, I was molested by my neighbor when I was 10!’ “I couldn’t tell anyone”

‘I was raped by my uncle when I was 12, I’d wanted to commit suicide”

“ I was never touched, but told constantly that I was ugly and a weakling”  

“ My mother’s boyfriend was very aggressive, he would beat me up and rape me, I couldn’t tell anyone, I was too frightened”

“I was betrayed by a senior in school, she raped me, I can’t trust anyone anymore”

 “I watched my father beat up my mother for years” “He told us he loved us, but couldn’t stop hurting us” “His anger was uncontrollable”

“I was raped inside my house” “I was ganged raped and molested at a party on campus” 

and on and on and on…we all talked into the early hours of the next day…sleep eluding our consciousness…and we were never the same after that day…forsaking the beauty that material things have managed to conceal, our hearts were on fire!abuse 6

Party forgotten and ignored, we had released everything no one had ever inquired of us… or the story our culture forbids by acceptance or utterance! we released the dark secrets that harbors lingering pain! ‘the substance of our current day frustrations and rejections…’stories we could not confess to priests during penance…or even during deliverance…’stories that family traditions sweeps under the carpet as generation to come wallow in confusion…’these were stories hidden in misery and denial…but, we had to travel all the way out of town, be confided into a hostel with bullets flying outside our windows….just for those stories to surface. We all had closure after confiding and crying out about it and promised to seek help after. The burden is now shared, not to be chastised or reprimanded, but to begin healing and moving forward.

Ok…that was 24 years ago! I have lived past those stories, but currently still living amongst those who are unable to talk about their story…’Abuse stories or even use their experiences to help raise awareness and help someone going through it.

What’s your Abuse story? Broken dreams or failed relationship? Or what’s that Abusive storyline you played a part in? years ago, that is still lingering and haunting you presently? You know why it’s still trailing after you. But to get closure to it, someone else somewhere right now is going through the same ABUSE you encountered…and the circle is continual UNTIL you Seek help, Campaign against it! Create a platform for awareness!abuse 1

Let’s celebrate a season of closure and recovery…’like when a heavy burden has just been off-loaded from our shoulders. A sense of commitment and togetherness…like ‘Wow! I am not alone! I thought I was the only one!

Since that day, I have learned to respect and look at those ladies differently with respect and courage, for speaking up about their abusive past. And today, I am hoping our stories could save a life or two!  Or is it still happening?

So, if you are reading this, ask yourself…’Does my fragrance (that beautiful perfect-picture image, I carry with me effortlessly) have fragments (stains, shame, sorrow, abusive stories)? Am I really truthful to myself? Am I still hiding behind the veil of pretense and still hoping that one day I would wake up and say “It never happened” – Ah! If you are reading this and have ever encountered any form of abuse (sexual, verbal, physical or emotional) – don’t let it define you. When we talk about some of our stories, it helps someone else going through it or someone who’s gone through it and still struggling with acceptance of the shame of the aftermath.abuse 5

Our fragrance did have fragments! And it was time to break it open, not to ridicule each other or laugh at each other but a time of total submission, after all, we were all skeptical we’ll make it out of that place, alive. But we did, and now, there’s a story to be told to help uplift someone going through something similar…our Alabaster Jar just got cracked, and the spill is totally healing and comforting, what do you think?

Are we even aware of the comfort in our brokenness? Do we know that refuge from our circumstances and contentment in the midst of mishaps is found in the center of our surrender. Or is it in our brokenness?

If that is true, then why are so many women still living lives with little or no joy based on their past? I’m afraid that we have bought the lies of the enemy (the abuser), allowing him/her to steal our joy. Discouragement, weariness, disillusionment, shattered dreams, and unrealized goals are some of his/her favorite weapons, but the truth is that the enemy can only use what we allow him/her to use, “Our destructive abused past”

It is time for us to reclaim surrendered ground. Do you sometimes think you are fighting the same old battles you have been fighting for so many years? I do. Clinging to familiar pain because we find our identity there. Consumed with our own agenda, while  our joy is buried under a mountain of self loathing.abuse 2

Today, there’s HOPE! There’s a better tomorrow and it can be brighter than the past, the abusive past! Join the movement that comforts the abused today. The Total Woman Movement. Come as you are (BROKEN) learn how to release your inner fragrance (STORY) and let the scents relieve your life’s dents. (HEALING).

For more information about this movement, please visit www.totalwomanmovement.com

Yours in HOPE as I share Gloria Estefan’s “Coming Out Of The Dark”

Yinka.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is, ‘WORLD CANCER DAY!!

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Today is World Cancer Day, a day that unites us all by recognizing the impact that cancer has on the worldwide community and our role in taking action to finish the fight.world 2

This year’s World Cancer Day theme, “We can. I can,” encourages us all to explore what we can do – individually and collectively – to reduce the global burden of cancer.

In 2012, over 1.6 million women worldwide were estimated to be diagnosed with new cases of cancer according to the American Cancer Society’s Global Cancer Facts and Figures, 3rd Edition. That statistic shows how critically important it is for us to rally together to ensure that no one will ever have to face this disease alone.less

My hope is that, even as you read this, you will consider taking time to reach out and encourage, uplift or show your support the best way you can.

And after today, when tomorrow comes, My hope is that you still consider reaching out to those closest to you that have been touched by cancer, and celebrate their life and the dedication you have to ensure no one else is touched by this disease or left alone.

world 3Whether it is someone who was recently diagnosed, someone who has been a survivor for decades, or someone who has lost a loved one to cancer, it is important to let them know that on World Cancer Day, your thoughts are with them.

Yours in HOPE. Together We can, I can.

Yinka – Team Greater Than Cancer.IMG_1450

For American Cancer Society

God of Broken Things by Wadza Mhute.

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / Leave a comment

I was having a discussion with my friend about therapy for Christians. My friend is seeing a therapist for work-related trauma but she had doubts about the process because she is a Christian. She moved passed initial misgivings once she started seeing a therapist and realized the need to speak to someone about her issues. Then a day later another Christian friend casually mentioned advice her therapist gave.broken 2

The message I was receiving from these seemingly random discussions was the need for me to look inward. It seems, at least to me, that once one receives Christ then the need for personal reflection takes a back seat and we are sometimes mired in religiosity and fail to understand ourselves. As Christians we speak to God through prayer and He speaks to us in many ways including through His word. In our prayer time, however, do we ask God to show us ourselves? This oversight maybe the reason a person who has been saved for 20 years still drinks spiritual milk while a new Christian is already on solid food.

I am not advocating for therapy, that’s a personal decision, but I am pointing to the need for introspection. We must take a step back, look at our lives and question why we think and act the way we do. This requires an openness to honestly view ourselves the way God sees us, through His lens without justifications or excuses. When you give your life to Christ, you are made whole and old things pass away. The issue with some of us is that we hang on to those old things without realizing. How will you know you need God’s help in certain areas of your life if you don’t analyze your thoughts and actions?broken 1

Change comes from a broken spirit, when we truly give up our lives for Christ. Living on the fence as a Christian, especially in this increasingly dark world, is not an option. We need to shatter the facade of being alright when we are not. We need to move from pride to humility. We need to understand our need for God everyday, every minute in everything we do. That requires brokenness. Often we ask God for help but behind the scenes we are working to solve our own problems.

David – the man after God’s own heart – understood his need for God. His words in Psalms show a man who knew his human limitations. However when he committed adultery and then murder, the Lord sent Nathan to show David who he had become. David did not even recognize himself in the story that Nathan told him. His internal decline had been a process that eventually manifested physically.

Therefore introspection is not to be done once but continually. We can never be too spiritual to accept that we are not perfect and as surely as sin entered this world, we will not attain perfection, only Jesus earns that distinction. On this side of eternity we have work to do. God is patient and merciful, He is waiting for your broken and contrite heart.

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Written by Wadza Mhute for #Moving Forward With Yinka

 

 

 

For such a time as this in Kenya!

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / 17 Comments
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The Maasai attendants at the QEG Summit.

My encounter with QUEEN ESTHER GENERATION 2015 Summit in Kenya.

When you hear the name Queen Esther, what comes to your mind immediately? Another fable in the bible? Or a story about a lady who spoke into existence her desire for her people? Or a tale about an orphaned Jewish girl raised by her older cousin, Mordecai? Or a myth about a serene girl who wowed the King over with her subtle character? Or a certain girl who suppressed Queen Vashti’s arrogance of ignoring King Xerxes (the powerful King who ruled over 127 provinces) by simply being responsive, reactive and receptive, when she was called upon to showcase her beauty – Who gallantly walked into a palace and made a King bow to her request? Or a common citizen of a then-generation un-known, who changed the agenda and royal protocol by standing out and living her destiny? Who do we know Esther to be?

Do we even understand the magnitude of the legacy she’s left behind for a new generation of women and their un-born children to come, even as we are reading this?

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Dr. Kinyanju Ng’ang’a, Apostle Despina and Pastor Esther Obasi-Ike giving MOTHER’s BLESSINGS AT KICC, KENYA

Well, I do now.

And so do the 6,000 women who attended the Queen Esther Generation summit with me in Kenya just recently.

qeg crowd

SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS AT KICC, KENYA.

So, what is Queen Esther Generation movement all about?

It is a non-denominational women’s program in Nairobi, Kenya. Founded by Pastor (Dr.) Mrs. Esther Obasi-Ike. The vision is to have a society of transformed, equipped, empowered and engaged Christian women in selfless service to God and humanity. Fondly referred to as ‘QEG” – the mission is aimed at becoming a premier organization committed to providing and promoting women leadership with a difference.

Allow me to indulge your audience as I bring to you, the wonderful life transforming experience at Queen Esther Generation summit, which I was so blessed to be a part of courtesy of my home church Pastor (Thank you!).

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PRAISE & WORSHIP NIGHT AT NYAYO STADIUM.

Permit me to reminiscence and conjure up the powerful solidarity of a team of devoted and dedicated women whose storylines and paths are interwoven with life’s issues! The power of prayer amongst a determined group of women in need of a breakthrough for their household! The impact of the ministration that was so strong that it pulled out a crowd of over 500 attendants to the pulpit during altar call to dedicate their lives! The testimonies of women who were once teenagers and had wandered away into the wilderness or suffered abusive relationship, desperate for a change and ready to cancel any generational curse evident in their lives!

 

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QEG Summit uniform. Praise Dance.

The radiance and glow on the faces of all the women who couldn’t have cared less about the person standing next to them! The govt. power house and the bread seller, the college professors and the janitors! The CEOs and the teenagers. All under one roof. For one mission. To seek God’s face.

Oh! The beauty and relief of just letting go and allowing the worship songs to take its place during praise night…and the dance moves! Aha!” it was like I couldn’t even remember the last time I danced so much in God’s presence! And didn’t even want to stop 2 hours after! It was indeed a summit of issuing an eviction notice to every illegal occupant in our lives! The amicable connection that developed with the new friends made! The personal stories that linked us together by fate!

Wow! Such a time as this!

The sudden rush of crowds filling up the stadium, the excitement on the faces of those already seated, beads of perspiration lined up on the foreheads of those stranded in traffic, the hustle and bustle of the open market, anxious drivers subconsciously driving in and out of the scattered potholes causing passengers to hold on tight to the edge of their seats, the pile up of cars and buses on the busy Mbagathi Way, the excitement at the Masaai market as women begin to pack up for the day – all in anticipation of attending the summit – I was just too blessed to witness all these around me!

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I KNOW WHO I AM – Praise Night at NYAYO stadium.

What blew my mind as I interviewed some attendants was the deep devotion and pure love they all have for this movement. “I was nothing but a lost a teenager when QEG transformed me, today am here with my children” “I always feel like a lost woman, but QEG turned my tears into joy” “Society has labeled me as a useless being, all the men in my life were just interested in what they could get from me” “I used to be on fire for God, campus life changed me, QEG delivered and supported me”  

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Food & Décor Shopping for the QEG Summit.

So, every woman carries the boldness of Queen Esther in them (sometimes it takes longer to discover it). Every woman is a star. And because every star was created to shine for others (not for ourselves) we become story tellers, and sometimes we all need a guide too to lead us into the kingdom, especially those of us who are not strong enough to win the battle of whatever we are struggling with. That is where the bond begins! That is how unity is built! And for every un-paved roads we’ve taken in life, the journey ahead becomes smoother and easy; only! When we are able to tap into the lessons of those before us. Literally, we become the GPS for the generation of women to come, after us. If only we lay a solid foundation for them now.

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QEG President & Founder, Pastor Esther Obasi-Ike acknowledging our presence. (Mrs Taiwo Ola & Yinka Lawrence). at KICC.

So, if you are reading this and you know a young adult/woman/man/teenager who is going through some turbulence in life? This is the time to be that movement. You don’t literally have to be in Kenya to be the change; you can start within your community. This is the time to stand up and adorn yourself with garment of compassion and kindness. This is not the time to judge or single out their misgivings. This is not the time to play church, but…to take the church to the needy! This is the time to reach out!

Never have I witnessed such a huge crowd of anointed gathering with everyone’s focus on making an impact or hungry for a change! I am hoping to pass down all QEG has taught me: Refining of character, Accessing the favor of God and being Alert to God’s lead. For having the best spirit-led hostess, Her Excellency at the Nigerian High Commission Residence, Thank you ma! For re-connecting with my so-long-ago-now happily married adopted baby sister in Kenya (Bola, Mr. J & Tiwa) Priceless! For having the most adorable protocol-in-service ladies from RCCG Solution Center, Kenya. Ss. Priscilla & Virginia, Thank you!. For the blessings that came from all the anointed speakers…’Powerful! ‘Because of you all…’It was indeed such a beautiful time of my life! ‘Much love.

Yours in HOPE as I share my favorite QEG praise night worship song “I know who I am” by SINACH.

Yinka.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Time to Control Our Enthusiasm…

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / 4 Comments

enthuMotivation dies when hope becomes a slow-moving wagon… ‘Confidence hides its face around dull edges… ‘Anticipation rolls down the road of unknown…’Desire knocks on our doors of in-effectiveness! Where is our drive to move forward in life?

How do you manage your: Eagerness, Frenzy, Joy, Passion, Zeal, Craze, Glow, Keenness and the way I fondly address it with my kids….My Oomph! My energy for life! What Curbs Your Enthusiasm? ‘Your keen Interest? ‘Your Excitement and Passion for a Task?

Enthusiasm is the natural outgrowth of all your efforts toward success. What is important is that you now recognize that every appropriate move you make is building your enthusiasm as well.

Enthusiasm Changes Lives: it is the fuel that drives things forward, a way to control our mind. The same control can be used on our enthusiasm, so that it is continually fed into the cylinders of your mental engine, where it is ignited by the spark of our definite purpose and explodes, pushing the pistons of applied faith and personal initiative. Enthusiasm is power. With faith, it can transform adversity, failure, and temporary defeat into action.

Our mindset is Transmutation. It depends on the control of our thoughts, for they can just as easily be expressed negatively as positively. By controlling our enthusiasm, we can change any negative expressions and experiences into positive ones.

So, when your enthusiasm runs high, make a note of it in a notebook. Write down the circumstances that inspired you and the manifestations of that enthusiasm. Were you spurred to action? Did you solve a problem? Did you persuade someone of something? Also, keep a written copy of your definite major purpose and your plan for it inside your notebook. Then, whenever your enthusiasm is ebbing, pick up your valuable book. Not only will it remind you of the reason you should be enthusiastic, but it will also review for you the benefits of that enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is a spiral, turning inward or outward, rising or falling. To give your enthusiasm a push in the right direction, refer to your notebook when the spiral is collapsing in on itself.

Wow! What power enthusiasm has! Especially when we are able to help others around us! What fulfillment and accomplishment we receive! That power is released to support definiteness of purpose and is constantly renewed by faith. It becomes an irresistible force for which temporary defeat and failure are no match. You can communicate that power to anyone who needs it. This is probably the greatest work you can do with your enthusiasm. Excite the imaginations of others; inspire their creative vision; help them connect with Infinite Intelligence.

I hope someone reading this will grasp their dreams and twist the world’s agenda to fit their passion and share their enthusiasm. It’s infectious. Boredom is a killer, but the world will buy joy gladly. But, because you’ve got IT! Why not encourage someone who doesn’t have what it takes to build-up hope today – share your gift of Positive Influence! Be someone’s ticket to success!

Yours in HOPE as I share one of my favorite Tracy Chapman’s songs.

Yinka.

 

 

When “Hurt is Heavy” the co-carrier feels the weight too!

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / 15 Comments

palmI met one of the most impressive and amiable person in 1998. I’d just relocated from Maryland, moved into a new apartment in Philadelphia with my husband, close to the Art museum. We had two other Temple University students as co-tenants, except for one, who lived in the front studio. He seldom comes out of his room, but sings and plays the piano with such excellence you’d thought we were neighbors with the gifted singer, Steve Wonder!

One time I heard him play…‘Overjoyed’ I have been building my castle of love! and another time, heard captivating Afro beats, rhythms likened to Fela’s soundtracks coming from his room. Inquisitively and nosily, I’d knocked on his door and was surprised to meet an elderly man with such southern warmth, ‘I’m his father” he’d mentioned with a questioning look, but the man behind the piano told his father It was okay to let me in. “She’s my new neighbor” he stated.

I’d walked into that spacious beautifully decorated studio with my husband… and that was how a mutual “feel-free-to-hang-out-with-me-relationship started between us and the one and only multi-talented Leon Evans, a gifted choreographer, composer, singer-musician, educator and actor who has appeared on stages from Broad Street to Broadway to overseas, but at that moment was in a very challenging period of his life..

August 1998 he died after a prolonged illness. Evans, who sang and arranged vocals for his company, Tru-Le-Hype, also originated and founded Eleone, the Leon Evans Dance Theatre. Eleone, best known for the “Carols in Color” holiday show, has been performing for 15 years. A great companionship gone too soon. My heart bled.

So, just recently I had a painful phone conversation with a girlfriend. She was heavy with hurt. Spiritually helpless by circumstances. Her faith has been greatly challenged and weakened. It broke my heart. I wanted to reach through the phone line and hug her but, of course, I couldn’t.  So I listened, reminded her of God’s love for her, and prayed. And also, shared Leon’s story with her, to encourage her.

But really, why do we feel the pain of others when they are bruised, grazed or scarred? “Because we care..

Today, everyone is desperate for a miracle. Today, someone reading this is feeling overwhelmed or confused. Discouraged by the complicated challenges you face? Perhaps you have a friend who is nursing emotional wounds. There are so many hurting hearts. So many burdens being carried by souls weary of the task. So many people desperate for a miracle from God. Desperate for healing and hope.

What is that burden affecting you or someone you love? Maybe you bear the pain of a broken marriage, broken dreams, or a broken body. If you are desperate for healing, help, and hope, ask the Lord to increase your faith today, and make a determined choice to trust Him. When you do, He will meet your needs and carry the load of your burdens for you.

He lovingly points us to Hope. When we fall before Him in prayer, He will sustain and strengthen us, not when we try to handle things in our own strength, we remain weak and ineffective. Desperate times call for a desperate faith. Faith is the core of our lives. Let’s move forward and turn all our hurts to God.

Yinka.

Sharing…

/ Yinka (Anthonia) Gansallo-Lawrence / 4 Comments

Dear ANTHONIA YINKA,

Ashley (left) and Jena

Ashley (left) and Jena

A year ago today, I lost my older sister Jena. At the young age of 29, breast cancer took her life. There are no words to describe the emotions that arise when a disease shatters your loved one’s reality with no explanation. But Jena taught me so much through her determination and courage during her fight against breast cancer.

Jena showed me – and so many others – that even in the midst of hardship and suffering there is still potential to witness generosity and compassion. She allowed me to recognize that real change can happen by one person deciding to lend support in any way that they can; because even a small act of kindness has the ability to generate an incredible feeling of hope.

Inspired by Jena’s example I found comfort, healing, and empowerment by making a recurring monthly donation in her memory to Komen Philadelphia. By continuing my sister’s legacy in this way, I know that I am allowing her story to motivate action and aid survival in the fight against breast cancer.

Please join me by giving now to help bring more hope to families touched by breast cancer.

Remember, you do have the power to make an impact! On behalf of Komen Philadelphia, my sister, Jena, and for all women and men who will find hope in your kindness, I thank you.

With sincere gratitude,

Ashley Furlong

Written for #Moving Forward With Yinka