Finding Your Place in the Kingdom

First-time Author Helps Readers Open Their Hearts to God’s Love and Live a Life of Faith

“His Glory: Reclaiming Dominion in the Kingdom of God” (published by AuthorHouse) by Darin Williams promises to help readers understand their own spirituality and take the first steps on a quest for knowledge and fulfillment by explaining how we all are created in God’s image.

Using a combination of Scripture and personal realization, “His Glory” shows readers that success in their personal and professional lives is a gift from God, and that all of the material possessions are worthless compared to the Lord’s love. Williams tells readers that true happiness is not found in drinking, drugs or stockpiled wealth — all it takes is for readers to look inside themselves to find contentment.

Reflecting on his own experiences, Williams relates how prayer and meditation can be an effective tool in acquiring the blessings of God, and how to help the faithful prepare for the return of Christ.

Through the course of conveying the message of God’s love and plan for each of us, Williams teaches that God has given the faithful dominion over Earth and its creatures and it is up to each one of us to deliver on the promise of stewardship. Williams states that by trusting in God’s plan the faithful will live lives of peace, prosperity and love.

Over the course of nearly 18 months of meditation and prayer, Williams wrote “His Glory” in order to assist readers in finding their place in God’s plan. Williams asserts that all Christians, whether they are strong or weak in their faith, can be clued into the Lord’s plan for them by opening their ears, minds, hearts and souls. Readers with a desire for a better relationship with God, their families and a drive to make the world a better place will be inspired to fulfill the vision of their heart’s desires and remain steadfast in their faith.

Darin Williams is a former U.S. Army Reservist and has worked as a high school teacher for the past 12 years. Williams spent one year with the urban youth ministry Young Life Urban and currently runs the Young Men of Vision mentoring program at his school. Williams has been married to his wife, Betty, for nearly 10 years.

For more information, please visit: www.BacktoHisGlory.com.

Becoming a Better Leader

How to Use Self-Analysis and Self-Improvement to Boost Your Leadership Skills

Leadership skills are a key component in the attainment of a successful life, and a person cannot become an effective leader without knowing who they really are. In the new book, “Self-Confrontation, Self-Discovery, Self-Authenticity, and Leadership: Discover Who You Are And Transform The Leader In You” (published by AuthorHouse), Patrick Chudi Okafor combines the process of developing facility for leadership with an invitation to self-discovery, self-growth, and self-empowerment.

This voyage — through a gradual exposition of common-sense, classical leadership theories, motivational theories and spiritual psychology — becomes a deep journey of self, involving the physical, the rational, the psychological, and the spiritual.

“Self-Confrontation, Self-Discovery, Self-Authenticity, and Leadership” stresses that the development of leadership skills is a lifelong quest. The underlying principles of leadership are openness and honesty as to one’s own nature, while continuously working towards becoming a leader. A good leader is self-actuating and self-transforming.

Okafor explains how the Enneagram personality theory can bring to light the unique impulses of each type of personality and how such knowledge offers possibilities for transformation. He maintains that the Enneagram theory shows us how our personality is limited by compulsive behavior patterns. Additionally, it uses the insight and lucidity of psychology as a gateway to our deep spirituality. Okafor utilizes the Enneagram personality theory in discussing the personality profiles of several world leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Pope John Paul II and Martin Luther King, Jr.

In an exploration of spirituality in leadership, “Self-Confrontation, Self-Discovery, Self-Authenticity, and Leadership” offers the theorem that, although the idea of spirituality as an aspect of leadership is new, the spirit of one’s inner self has always been an intrinsic part of leadership and the primary influence of good leadership behaviors. Our spirituality is what ultimately guides our leadership actions.

About the Author: Patrick Chudi Okafor holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and master’s degrees in theology, social and public policy. He holds a professional diploma and a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from St. John’s University, New York. He is trained in clinical pastoral education and is a chaplain at Stony Brook University Hospital, Long Island, N.Y. Okafor is the president and a co-founder of Childhood Development Initiative for Sub-Saharan Africa (CDISSA).

‘The Sound of Hope: A True Story of an Adoptee’s Quest for Her Origins’

Every United States citizen enjoys the right and the liberty to have full access to their own public records, including birth certificates — except adoptees. Only six states allow adoptees to view their original birth certificate. In the other 44 states, adoptees must petition the courts and show good cause for access to their own birth certificates while there is no guarantee that permission will be given. Author Anne Bauer is one of these adoptees and has written about her journey in her book “The Sound of Hope: A True Story of an Adoptee’s Quest for Her Origins” (published by iUniverse), honored with the coveted Editor’s Choice Award, Publisher’s Choice Award and the prestigious Rising Star Award.

In spite of the sentimentalized stories about adoption, there is another side: an adoptee’s desire for discovering his or her identity often threatens the adoptive parents, which creates a home filled with anger and jealousy. In addition, the law does not assist the adoptee in finding answers regarding their birth parents. Bauer has become an advocate in hopes of changing this. She believes it is the civil right of adoptees to be given full access to all of their own information, including their original birth certificates.

Bauer’s memoir details how she set out to uncover her origins while going against opposition from her family and society. She brings an unforgettable message that no one should be cut off from their origins, but allowed to add to the tapestry of their lives. It’s her hope that laws will be reformed to give adoptees access to their records.

About the Author

Anne Bauer was inspired to write a true account of her life as an adopted individual in hopes of raising awareness of civil rights of adoptees and instigating reform in the current laws pertaining to adoptee records. She is a registered nurse and Reiki energy healer and lives in northern New Jersey with her husband and their three children. You may find out more about her at www.adopteesvoice.com.

‘Showdown on the Frio: The Good and the Evil’

Implementing his experience as having been a parole and probation officer, author Calvin Bowden weaves a suspenseful story about a victim who has to confront her rapist again in order to survive in his novel “Showdown on the Frio: The Good and the Evil” (published by iUniverse).

Having learned about the different levels and types of criminal behavior while witnessing the shortcomings of state and federal criminal justice systems, Bowden took his real life experiences and decided to fictionalize them in his novel. Protagonist Helen Kipling’s testimony sent the serial rapist and murderer to prison, but his escape brings him back to the ranch where she lives. Kipling must stop her psychopathic stalker, if she can break free from her paralyzing fear.

In his novel, Bowden also makes readers look more closely at their feelings regarding rape. Wearing a skimpy bikini, was the victim asking for it? Should the victim react by fighting and risk being severely beaten or killed, or give in to the rapist? What are the long-term effects of being a rape victim? Readers are also asked to consider the theory of the defense counsel who utilizes the three basic principles of the human personality, the id, ego and super ego, in the defense of the rapist.

Gripping and entertaining, “Showdown on the Frio” reflects Bowden’s findings on the traits of honorable people struggling to defeat evil while preserving values and rules of behavior that offer the best of hope for a life of purpose and harmony.

About the Author

Calvin Bowden worked for many years with juvenile delinquents, adult criminals, law enforcement officials and members of the state and federal judiciary as a parole/probation officer. He lives with his wife in Nacogdoches, Texas and writes a column for The Daily Sentinel. He is the author of the novel “Voices from a Far Field.” Find out more about the author at www.calvinbowden.com.

Tips on Writing a Love Poem

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a new book of love poetry has been published by internationally known author Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech. Bicycles (Harper Collins) is a collection of poetry that serves as a companion to her widely acclaimed 1997 Love Poems.

“Bicycles are trust and balance…and that’s what love is,” said Giovanni of her latest book that includes 65 poems to match Giovanni’s 65 years. Although recent years have brought Giovanni much sadness, including the death of her mother and sister, as well as the tragedy at Virginia Tech, she still confirms that you have to find what’s good.

The book jacket proclaims that “Here romantic love – and all its manifestations, the physical touch, the emotional pull, the hungry heart – is distilled as never before by one of our most talented poets.” The NY Times noted, “Giovanni is as outspoken, prolific, and energetic as ever.”

Reading Bicycles aloud may be a great way to start off a romantic evening but if creating an original poem sounds intriguing, Giovanni reflects on what it takes to write a love poem:

“5-If I could give just one piece of advice about writing a love poem I would remind the writer that love is about the lover not the beloved. It’s about how you feel not how he responds. That should free you to set your heart on your sleeve; no one is going to knock it off.

“4-Everything about love and life is the simplicity of it. The most important thing to keep in mind is to be clear. The Dells sang Love Is So Simple and I think they are right. Nat ‘King ‘ Cole sang I Love You (for Sentimental Reasons); clear as a bell. Cole Porter wrote You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To. Classic. All of them. Clear. You can feel the longing.

“3-The most common writing mistake, period, is complication. The reader does not want to figure out what you mean. Neither does your beloved. Prince says I Want To Be Your Lover. Boom. You know where you stand.

“2-There must be an internal rhythm to a love poem; the desire must come out. The mistake a lot of people make is to over-think the poem. To reach out for images when just letting the longing of the heart come through would be sufficient.

“1-If someone writes you a love poem you’d have to be an idiot to say it was not a good poem. That’s like someone saying ‘I love that dress on you’ and you saying ‘What? This ole thing?’ The proper answer is a sweet smile and a thank you. If you have feelings for that person you can always blush.”

Giovanni concludes, “Writing a good love poem is like being a good lover. You have to touch, taste, take your time to tell that this is real. The Supremes say You Can’t Hurry Love and you can’t fake it, either.”

The author of 30 books, Giovanni won a 2008 American Book Award for The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni 1968-1998. Over the course of more than three decades of publishing and lecturing she has come to be called both a “National Treasure” and, most recently, one of Oprah Winfrey’s twenty-five “Living Legends.” The winner of four NAACP Image Awards, Giovanni’s honors have been steady and plentiful throughout her career. She was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award, and she has also been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. A scientist who admires her work even named a new species of bat he discovered for her!

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