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Gone Fishin'

~ …“Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!”

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Tag Archives: trust

I Self-published My Debut Novel on a Wing and a Prayer

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Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Published Book

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advertisers, attract attention, award-winning, bestseller, chance, debut novel, faith, hope, impossible, limited income, marketers, on a wing and a prayer, professionals, publicists, sales, self-published, snowball in hell, success, support, target audience, trust

Is anything too difficult for [YeHoVaH]? ~ Genesis 18:14a

“Ah, my Lord [YeHoVaH]! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm—nothing is too hard for You! ~ Jeremiah 32:17

And looking, Yeshua said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with [YeHoVaH] all things are possible. ~ Matthew 19:26

I belong to several authors’ groups on Facebook and Twitter, and I am a member of these groups primarily because I want to increase the number of readers who would be interested in buying my new book. Many of the authors in the groups I’m a member of published their latest books either a few weeks before or after I published Torn Asunder: What Happens When YeHoVaH’s Will Is Ignored on January 29, 2022. Sadly, most of these authors are more concerned with promoting their own books than they are concerned about helping to support my novel, which I understand.

The same is true on Instagram, where I also follow some of the authors who are in the said Facebook and Twitter authors’ groups. Additionally, I am a member of various authors’ groups on Goodreads. Again, my reason for joining was to create a target audience.

Honestly, there is nothing I would love to do more than to support as many authors as I can who are in the groups that I joined.  I wish that I could buy every author’s book(s) – especially if the genre is one I love to read. However, I am a 71-year-old author with a limited income, so I can’t afford to put money in other writers’ pockets without being sure they will return the favor.

As I mentioned in a few of my Facebook postings, I would love to sell more copies of my debut novel that I self-published on a wing and a prayer. The reason this book is unlikely to attract the attention of book buyers and, thus, unlikely to become a bestseller is that I couldn’t afford to hire a reputable book marketer, advertiser, publicist, or any other skilled professional who could have helped me successfully launch my book, helped me to increase sales, and/or helped me to eventually become a bestselling or award-winning self-published author.

Yes, I still write for the thrill of it. However, I also write to create valuable books and blog articles, as well as write to be the best author I can be – not necessarily a best-selling author. Yet, I doubt that there is a published author who would say he or she truly couldn’t care less if a book he or she published didn’t make a bestseller’s list. I know I would care, but I wouldn’t obsess about it.

Be that as it may! Since I am a self-published author, the sad truth for me is that I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of making either The New York Times’ or the Wall Street Journal’s bestseller lists if I can’t afford to hire skillful professionals who can help me attract some much-needed attention for my book, as that attention could mean my sales might increase. Likewise, I don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming a bestseller on Amazon, if I can’t increase the number of potential readers who might buy my book.

If my novel does better than I alone was able to achieve, it will be because it is YeHoVaH’s Will. Therefore, I am hoping for a miracle and trusting that YeHoVaH will perform it today.

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Functional Family

21 Tuesday Jun 2016

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Devotional

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Baptism of the Holy Spirit, better Baptism, cooperative, divinely healthy, dysfunctional family, edifying, faith, friends, Functional Family, God's Children, God's holiness, God's Righteous Instructions, God’s righteousness, Holy Spirit's Filling, honorable, modern day churchgoers, nurturing, powerful, spiritual discernment, trust

Dysfuntional Family

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV

 

Without a doubt, many Christian churches have dysfunctional believers in them. Unfortunately, these dysfunctional brothers and sisters in Christ tend to rely on their own wisdom, understanding and knowledge—those pit lovers that end up pushing dysfunctional believers into their pits of their own making. In fact, most of the time these dysfunctional believers never will see their own imminent fall from Grace coming. Yet there they are—way off the path that leads to righteousness and holiness.

That a fall from Grace is possible for people who have been in a local church for years is why it is unwise to put our trust in our own or in churchgoers’ wisdom, understanding and knowledge. That a fall from Grace is possible also is a major reason why it is unwise to put our trust in the world’s wisdom, understanding and knowledge. Only God can provide us with His Perfected Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge that will point our feet in the right direction so that we can escape life’s dreadful pitfalls.

God wants dysfunctional believers to know that He has a divinely healthy and functional Family that He wants them to fellowship with on a daily basis. God’s Family members are the cooperative, powerful, edifying, nurturing, and honorable friends of righteousness and holiness. These functional spiritual Family members are eager to help their fellow brothers and sisters improve every area in their lives where godly Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge need to be applied.

Since Godly Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge are closely related and well acquainted with each other’s characteristics, this truth is why God wants all believers in Christ not only to be intimately familiar with them but also to use them. God wants all dysfunctional believers to begin to function properly so that His Household of Faith only will have effective witnesses for Christ.

In order for all dysfunctional family members to become familiar with God’s divinely healthy and functional Family—the Bride of Christ—they first need to surrender to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit. Then they absolutely have to allow the Holy Spirit to baptize them. They need the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, because it helps all believers keep their spiritual eyes on the Omnipresent God; seek and apply His Holy Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge; trust in His Righteous Instructions; and discern where they can fellowship with others who are doing the same. Shalom. 

Keep it real…Live it out…Watch it work!

 

~ from my one-year devotional published in 2015—Keeping It Real: Daily Renewing the Mind

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On Time by Design

05 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Short Story

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1971, answered prayers, belief, by design, content, contentment, divine planning, divine timing, Fairchild AFB, faith, fictional, God's best-laid plans, intimate relationship, Japanese Garden, Manito Park, meandering path, on time God, revealed truth, Short Story, Spiritual, strolling, supernatural, together for good, trust, work all things, zigzagging river

Fairchild Air Force Base Back In The Day

I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE in an on-time God who achieves what He plans. Life has proven to me that the chief ways God works all things together for my good are through His best-laid plans and divine timing. This revealed truth has made all the difference. Intimately knowing and trusting in the One who works all things together for my good has helped me to become physically, emotionally, and spiritually content with everything.

My contentment’s development began as far back as 1971, when God’s divine timing and planning supernaturally revealed themselves to me while I was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base.

My second day on the base, right after Damon Anderson and I entered the Base’s mess hall, we casually approached the closest table to our right. One of the six men sitting around that table leisurely looked up at me. Seconds later my co-worker, Damon, made introductions.

     “My brothers. Meet our newest sister, Chellette—uh” 

He paused then apologetically whispered, “What’s your last name, again?”

     “Wood.”

     “That’s right.”

     “Fellows, this is Chellette Wood.”

     “What’s happening?” They chimed in. 

     “Just checking out the Base before going back to my crib to chill?” In the same breath, I quickly added a cordial inquiry:

     “What’s poppin’?”

They all agreed that there wasn’t much happening. Because Damon was rushing me, I was forced to end the conversation.

     “Well, it was nice to meet you. Check you later,” I said as I gave the fellows a friendly smile.

     “Right on, sister.”

Damon’s hand was in the small of my back, nudging me, so I waved goodbye and moved without delay toward the next table.      

My initial visit to the mess hall happened in mid-April. A few weeks later, I had my first dated with Titus Lansing—a high yellow, well-mannered, good-natured, handsome young man of medium build, with alluring brown eyes and tightly curled black hair. This delicious eye candy, as it turns out, was one of the six Airmen Damon first introduced me to—the guy who leisurely looked up at me from their table.

Though so good looking, what actually pleased me most about Titus was his persistent pursuit of me and the fact that—unlike other men, who only cared about my outer beauty—Titus was drawn to my humble confidence and gentle spirit, as he frequently mentioned. As it turns out, his brown sugar was me—a reddish brown, well-mannered, warm-hearted, attractive young woman of slender build, with drowning brown eyes and a shapely black afro.

Once we started dating steadily, for the next three months and twenty days Titus drove his white 1959 convertible Thunderbird to my barracks every morning, afternoon, and evening. No exceptions!

Our Base was twelve miles west of Dawson and adjacent to a two-lane highway that stretched across acres of farmland. Since Titus and I enjoyed life’s simpler side, on weekends we amused ourselves by taking scenic drives on the faded, white-lined Route 2 into Dawson, where we cruised Division Street, Riverside Avenue, or North River Drive. 

A few times we ate a picnic in the rustic Riverside State Park—located northwest of Dawson. Zigzagging along this park, which also included a portion of a 37-mile-long all-natural trail, was the Dawson River.

When we had the money, we frequented Zip’s on Division Street in Dawson and pigged-out on a Papa Joe meal—a shake, some French fries or fried onions, and a Papa Joe hamburger with lettuce, tomato, American cheese, grilled sliced ham, bacon, and special sauce. Sometimes, we went to Longhorn Barbecue, which was near the Base, and feasted on this restaurant’s very pricy but tasty beef or pork rib platters. However, after one meal from Longhorn, we had to curb our eating out habit until our next payday.

On Sundays, we worshipped with some of our married or engaged military friends at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dawson. When the service was over, we either fellowshipped with our friends or we treated ourselves to a Coeur d’Alene day trip.

On the fiftieth consecutive day of our whirlwind courtship, Titus changed his weekday routine. When we were in our mess hall eating lunch, he softly whispered into my ear:

     “We are eating at a fine-dining restaurant tonight. Our reservation is for 7:30, so be ready by 5:45. Dress for the occasion.”     

My curiosity piqued. I must have asked a hundred questions, but he dodged every one. He refused to give me any details. 

For the rest of that afternoon, I was bouncing off the walls. I sprinted to my job’s pick-up/drop-off parking area and fidgetily waited. Spotting Titus’ Thunderbird from a distance, my heart raced faster. That was my body’s way of confirming my life would change drastically this very night.

By the time Titus pulled into my barracks’ parking lot, I was pacing back and forth in our favorite curbside spot. He stopped his car in front of me, left the engine running, chivalrously walked me to the passenger door, opened it and helped me into his car, then returned to his seat. Apprehensive, excessive energy was bouncing everywhere inside that Thunderbird.

The sun was setting. There was a warm, faint breeze. Though it was early evening, the masses had not begun to run helter-skelter.

The atmosphere was perfect for an intimate conversation, but there was dead silence in the car. We only exchanged smiles, as we watched the farmland’s spring green, wheat gold, cattle black, and foliage pastels gradually turn to Dawson’s leafy green west end of South Hill with its Gothic and English Baroque architectural styles.  

Our brief chats during our meal were a bit strained at times, primarily because nervous energy plagued us—him, because he wanted everything to be perfect; me, because I sensed Titus was going to propose. The question was in his flirtatious brown eyes, in his enticing smiles, in his kind hand gestures, and in his rapid breathing. The question was in the Sunday come-to-meeting navy blue three-piece suit he was wearing the heck out of, as well as hidden in between every one of his politely articulated remarks.

Much to my chagrin, I received no proposal during dinner. As soon as I thought that I read him wrong, I became even more disappointed. Then, as I wondered why he let so many wonderful moments go to waste, I became annoyed.

As we walked to the car, my displeasure and irritation suddenly dissipated the moment I sensed he was taking me to some other romantic spot to pop the question. Titus confirmed my intuition seconds later when he whispered,  

     “There’s a special place I want you to see.”

     “For real?  Where is it?”

    “In Manito Park. I found it a month before you came to Fairchild. I am certain that the reason why I’m just now taking you there is because of timing.”

     “What do you mean?”  

  “In my life, God’s divine timing and planning have been responsible for every wonderful and good thing that has happened to me, so I believe He had me save my special place for tonight.”

We sat in silence, once again. By the time I asked if he would play some music, we were nearing Manito Park’s entrance.

We must have walked for fifteen minutes before we reached the heart of the park—the Japanese Garden. From the moment I saw this place, I not only knew this was Titus’ special place but also I knew it was Manito Park’s showpiece.

There was something spiritual about our stroll on the Japanese Garden’s meandering gravel path, which actually looped around the garden. The path was lit by granite lanterns, and it was surrounded by exotic, aromatic, breathtakingly manicured plants, shrubs, and trees.

Inside the Japanese Garden were an oriental gazebo, a teahouse, and assorted statues. Framed by colorful foliage that hid a small waterfall was an arched Asian stone bridge. This Japanese footbridge was situated over a stunningly serene Koi pond.

After we stopped in the middle of the bridge and watched the koi below us, Titus finally proposed to me. There was more silence, while my wet with tears eyes danced a love waltz. After about ten seconds, I finally mustered my audible loving acceptance.  

Titus wept through a gleeful grin. I swooned with teary-eyed joy. After he held me in a minute-or-so embrace, he stepped back, reached into his right pant pocket, and pulled out a royal purple ring box. Flipping it open, he showed me the symbol of his love—a solitaire engagement ring in white gold—which Titus tenderly slipped on my ring finger.     

Suddenly we were transfigured. Stock-still, as if paralyzed by a supernatural spell, we lingered in this state of consciousness, while all about us onlookers passed by in slow motion. 

When the spell broke, we were still oblivious to others, even though we resumed our stroll. Before long we were back in our car heading home.

From that second on, time flew. My last rousing memory of this night’s activities was our passionate goodnight kiss. 

Before drifting off to sleep that night, I took one last peep at my ring and then thank God for His best-laid plans and His divine timing. I had prayed many times to God, asking Him to show me the man He wanted me to marry, and He finally answered my prayers that night. After thanking God, I slept briefly but peacefully.

The next few days, in almost every waking hour, my thoughts were held captive by wedding visions. Before the year was out, my visions came true.

~ from my Contemplation manuscript, which I composed in 2004. This entire manuscript is based loosely on my life, and that is why the names of some places, people, and events in this opening chapter are fictitious. This is the first time I have edited or revised any portion of my manuscript since 2004, and I have done so this week just so I could turn the opening chapter into a very short story.

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May God Richly Bless You in 2016!

31 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Praises and Thanks

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2016, be fruitful, be honest, be kind, be loving, be richly blessed, be sincere, be thankful, believe, faith, new dreams, new experiences, new hopes, new joys, New Year, renewed strength, trust

Happy New Year 2016

 

 

‘Y’varekh’kha Adonai v’yishmerekha.
[May Adonai bless you and keep you.]
Ya’er Adonai panav eleikha vichunekka.
[May Adonai make his face shine on you and show you his favor.]
Yissa Adonai panav eleikha v’yasem l’kha shalom.
[May Adonai lift up his face toward you and give you peace.]’ ~ Numbers 6:24-26, CJB

 

I pray that our 2016 will be filled with new dreams, new hopes, new joys—all the new experiences life, love, and liberty may bring to our doors. In this New Year, with the Holy Spirit’s help, may we also learn how to be truly understanding of our differences, learn how to be truly thankful for our own existence, and learn how to be truly loving and kind to all human beings, especially our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In other words, with the help of the Holy Spirit, let each one of us no longer practice hatred, greed, envy, jealousy, or partiality. Lastly, with our Holy Spirit given renewed strength and power let us endeavor to let go of our past and hold fast to Father God’s Promises and Divine Truths so that we might outlast the inevitable hard times that are ahead, by trusting (having faith that is) solely in the Godhead.

Shalom . . . . .

  

Trust in Adonai with all your heart;
do not rely on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him;
then he will level your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:5-6, CJB

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

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When God Brings It to Your Door

25 Sunday Jan 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Faith and Wisdom

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bear, brings, burdens, consolation, control, depression, door, faithful, injured, insensitive remarks, killed, storms, struggles, sufferers, trust, truthful, way maker, way to escape

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able t bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, KJV).

“No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NRSV).

How often have we heard Christians say that God will not give us more than we can bear? Even Apostle Paul says that either our burdens are in proportion with our level of strength, or they are burdens that God will make us able to wrestle with and win–meaning, that God knows exactly how much we can handle and will give us no more than that, or that God will give us what we need to be able to stand firm against our great difficulties so that they do not overpower us (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13).

In theory, these words sound glorious. However, in reality, just telling others in the storms of their lives that God will not let them suffer beyond what they are able to handle, or beyond the supernatural strength that He will give to them to help them withstand until He provides a way for them to escape–either by circumventing their storms or by lessening the affects of their storms–often will not give the suffers any real joy. Then too, just preaching, teaching, and consoling others about the fact that there are no valleys so dark that God cannot find a way through them, that there are no sufferings so dreadful and terrible that God cannot prevent, remove, or help people to bear them, and that God will work it all out for the “good” (that He will overrule the evil in their favor, if they would but keep their faith in Him and rely upon Him to see them through) often isn’t enough to give the suffers a new outlook on life. That’s why, in theory, the spoken, written or sung words of encouragement, wisdom, and truth sound gloriously great, but in reality sufferers often need more than high-sounding theories, no matter how righteous and true they are.

Now, when the sufferers are unbelievers, we can understand why they could need more than just words of encouragement, but what if the people who are providing these words of encouragement, wisdom, and truth do not practice what they preach, teach, and console? What happens to God and His Word after He brings to believers’ doors more than what they would want to bear, or think they can bear? Does God vanish, leaving believers to fend for themselves? Is His Word now powerless, or only good for some people? Do believers crumble under the weight of their burdens? Do they question: “Why me?” Do they shake their fist in God’s face? Or, God forbid…do they walk away from their faith?

Certainly, how we (Christians) talk about coping with suffering and persecution with people who are in their individual storms will determine whether or not our words of comfort prove the faithfulness of God and the truthfulness of His Word. How we (Christians) handle the suffering and persecution that are in our own personal lives also will demonstrate to us (and others) how much belief and faith (trust) we actually put in the words of comfort we speak to others. Sure enough, crisis situations will reveal just how big of a gap there is between our talk and our walk–between what we say we believe, and how we live what we believe.

In my life, God has brought many storms to my door that nearly “killed” me–literally speaking. And, if my life wasn’t in grave danger from some of these storms God brought to my door, my innocence, dignity, identity, strength, and faith were.

Moreover, while I was in m storms, I never was satisfied by the people’s patented and often insensitive remarks. I especially got nothing beneficial from sayings, like: if it doesn’t kill you, it will make you stronger; trouble don’t last always; you have to forgive the ones who hurt you; you are much smarter than they say you are; hold your head up high…never let them see that they have gotten the best of you; if that were me, I wouldn’t have let that happen to me; don’t sweat the small stuff, and everything is small stuff; let go, and let God; or, God will work it out for your good.

In truth, as I went through so many of the storms that arose in my life prior to 2000, I didn’t always respond to them like the Christian I was supposed to be. Even though I was quick to preach, teach, and console others on God’s Word, I often didn’t practice what I preached, taught, and spoke as consolation. What’s more, for many of my Christian years, I often reacted to my storms in some of the ways that I did before I became a Christian. Prior to March 1, 1965, I reacted to my storms out of my innocence and ignorance—using my writings, fist, tongue, or defiant body language to silence my naysayers and bring peace to me in my storms, but this peace was never long lasting. However, the sad truth is that I am even more ashamed of my later behaviors than my earlier ones, for after I received the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit I still didn’t practice what I preached, taught, or spoke as consolation.

From the age of 13, when my Christian walk started, there have been times in my life when I have crumbled under the weight of my burdens. There have been times in my life when I have asked God, repeatedly, “Why me?” There have been times in my life when I have shaken my fist in God’s face, challenging His decisions and reasons for why my life couldn’t have been easier and full of more peace. There also have been times in my life when I almost walked away from my faith.

However, because God is who He says He is, He never let me go. Even when I wanted no more of a God who would allow the atrocities and evils that were happening throughout the world, let alone the “seemingly” unbearable circumstances in my life, He wouldn’t let go. Even when I thought that He had turned His back on me, He was there through all of my storms. He was there when I wanted and didn’t want Him to be, always providing a way for me to escape.

Here are a few of the storms that God has brought to my door:

  • Being raped as a young girl (at 5) and again as a young woman (at 28); at the older age, having my life, and the lives of my children, threatened if I continued to fight my rapist … after both physical attacks, being consoled this way: forget about “it,” don’t talk to others about “it,” get over “it,” “stuff happens” …
  • Being born into a poor family with parents who drank away much of their money, leaving their children to go without wholesome food, suitable clothes and shoes, necessary school supplies, and the playthings that so many other children our ages had
  • Being on welfare most of my childhood and laughed at because I wore outdated Salvation Army and Goodwill clothing, or, when I was old enough to make my own clothes, laughed at for wearing the clothing I stitched from McCall’s, Simplicity, Butterick, Vogue, and other such patterns
  • Being laughed at for bringing soiled brown paper bag lunches to school in which there almost always was ONLY just one peanut butter and jelly sandwich
  • Being laughed at for not having any Christmas gifts to bring to school for “show and tell”
  • Being called a crybaby or looked at as if I were diseased, just because I have inherited my maternal grandmother’s teary eyes that run when any breeze hits them, or from too much sunshine, or from too much pollen, or from being too tired, or from looking at something too long, or just for the fun of it
  • Being placed in the back of my elementary classrooms, along with other “unattractive” browned-skinned “blacks,” while the more “attractive” light-skinned “blacks” were allowed to sit closer to the front of the classroom
  • Being publicly humiliated and called stupid, dumb, and lazy, because I could not do the tasks my “white” elementary teachers were writing on their blackboards, primarily because I could not see the blackboards from the back of the classrooms … after I began to wear glasses early in second grade and could demonstrate that I indeed understood the mathematical problems and other work my first and second-grade teachers were putting on the boards and orally quizzing me about, my teachers never apologized for the way they had treated me
  • Being told in front of my classmates that I could not carry a tune, and then questioned why that was so since “ALL ‘Negroes’ were singers”; when I said that I would try to sing better, I was made an example of; my punishment for “disrespecting authority”: I had to pantomime the songs that my other no-tune carrying classmates were allowed to sing during our class’ Thanksgiving musical and dramatic presentation
  • Being given lower grades for the work I did for many of my elementary, junior and senior high teachers, which usually was the case when my grades were higher than many of the “best white” students in my classes … those teachers’ actions often were supported by their rationalization: I “must have cheated” in order to get my test scores
  • Being devastated by the death of my maternal grandmother, who gave her ALL to the Lord, yet she was taken shortly after God had called home my maternal grandfather (the very ones in my life who kept me grounded in the Lord); and devastated, too, by the deaths of so many of my God-fearing Christian cousins who died at very young ages in horrific accidents, or by an excruciatingly painful disease (like cancer)
  • Being laughed at and called UGLY, just about all of my life
  • Being rejected because of my skin color and my looks, because I didn’t fit their “image”
  • Being given a sedative after my water broke, but my labor had not begun, and it was a drug that I didn’t know I was allergic to … so my “code blue” allergic reaction to this drug, the severe respiratory distress I experienced, nearly claimed my life while I was still carrying my youngest son
  • Being in numerous car accidents, some of which should have taken my life
  • Being threatened, daily, for four consecutive months, by white students and faculty members who sought to do me bodily harm, because I had informed school administrators about a “white” high school teacher who used the “N” word in front of her study hall students to describe an upcoming Black History Month school program
  • Being unable to find work in my discipline for over 5 years after I resigned from the school in which the teacher openly used the “N” racial slur … unable to find employment primarily because of the egregious comments made about me by that school’s Superintendent and because of the media frenzy this incident caused
  • Being unsupported by my spouse and my fellow African American faculty members during my whole dreadful ordeal at the school in which I reported the abovementioned racial slur incident Being tempted with the thought of taking my own life, while I was experiencing a deep depression that lasted, on and off, for over four years of my life after my spouse fell in love with another woman
  • Being divorced after nearly 27 years of marriage, because my husband wanted to marry someone he loved more than me
  • Being denied by my local church family any financial support, or help in any way, that would make my relocation to another area much easier (a church family, by the way, that I had been a member of, had held many positions in, and had given my tithes and offerings to for 17+ years), and they did so because they believed my husband would had abandoned me for another woman would do right by me and give me what I needed to live my life in the custom that I was used to—but he never did
  • Being devastated by a friend who invited me to live with her in Phoenix, AZ, assuring me that I could take my time getting myself together; … after persuading me to travel across country on a Greyhound bus with $300 in my pocket and virtually just the shirt on my back, in less than a month after my arrival, she told me that I had to leave her house; she put me out primarily because I was led by the Holy Spirit to go on a religious retreat rather than accept a temporary employment position through the temporary agency she used (my decision kept her from receiving a referral bonus); also, she put me out because I was so depressed and not the cheerful person that she once knew; and, lastly, she put me out because I refused to lie for her; the irony of her deed, telling me that I had to move out of her home, was that she told me I had to go right as she was dropping me off at a bus stop, a spot near where I would have boarded the bus that would have taken me to where my permanent job interview was to take place; she gave me until the end of that week to find shelter; it was Wednesday
  • Being called into the ministry but having what God has given to me to impart often dismissed or rejected by family, friends, clergy and church members, because I had not graduated from a Bible College, Divinity School, or Theological Seminary, or because I was not ordained by a church affiliated with “them,” or because I was just plain, old Nadine from Wilkes-Barre—in essence, a female nobody

And the list could go on, but these are just a few of my storms; and I haven’t mentioned any of the foreign mission field storms. I have experienced so many ups and downs while ministering in Japan, South Korea, and China—too many to write about here. However, I must say that the storms I have faced since 2000 (when I received the call into ministry) have received the appropriate responses, for the most part. That is to say, that I have walked my talk, and stayed the course, but only because of the Holy Spirit working inside of me. May God be praised!

The upside of all of my failed attempts at being the true Christian that I was supposed to be all along is that God still has chosen me to be His mouthpiece, in spite of myself. He has taken my messes and made them His messages. He has called me to write about, preach about, teach about, and console people in many of the very areas in which I have fallen way short. That I have fallen short and recovered from my falls is true only because of God’s Grace, and that I NOW allow Him to keep me from falling is my living testimony. Today, when I write, preach, teach or console people, saying that God is in control…He never will leave you or forsake you…He’s a friend who sticks closer than a brother…or, He will work it out for your good, I can do so because I have firsthand experiences and have learned from them that, without a doubt, God and His Word are faithful and truthful.

So, when God brings it to your door, know that He will give you everything you need to go through each storm, and that you do not have to face any storm without Him. He truly is a “way” maker. Therefore, if you are in a storm right now, won’t you let Him make a “way” for you today?

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Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen

Sanctified Child

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Perfect Peace, published 2-19-2015; collection of my Haiku poetry

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Keeping It Real..., published 10-20-2015; collection of my devotions

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My Spirit's Musings, published 1-9-2017; collection of mostly Free Verse poems

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My mini-memoir deals with love, loss, and forgiveness. Published July 26, 2018.

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Moody Woman - published January 12, 2020

An inspirational, emotional, and spiritual literary fiction debut novel . . . published January 29, 2022 . . .

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