Meet The Keynote Speakers of Turning Your Past Into Purpose Retreat Cruise 2016: Evangelist Rein Johnson

Heireina Patrei Johnson, affectionately known as “Rein” or “Lady Rein” in art, ministry, and authorship, was born and raised in San Francisco, CA to Elder Huey P Johnson and Evangelist Yuvetta Pryor. Her father, prior to his passing, prophesied over her in the womb indicating that she would be a dynamic and anointed woman of God carrying on his legacy of high profile ministry and profound commitment to the cause of Christ, and that she would be used to bring deliverance and healing to the nations.

Rein was saved, anointed, and called to preach at the tender age of seven-- a ministry prodigy often astounding those who heard her preach with her keen insight, revelation, and theological reflections on the word. Her ministry was developed in the Church of God in Christ, where she held many positions in ministry respectively, including: youth and young adult leader and minister, praise and worship leader, preacher, children’s ministries leader, Sunday school and Bible study teacher, church administrator, drama ministries coordinator, praise dance ministries leader, etc.

Called to pursue advancement in ministry, Rein was later licensed as a minister in the A.M.E church prior to a call to leaving it to support her pastor in launching a non-denominational ministry geared toward reaching the marginalized and oppressed. It was there that she continued her work in the ministry serving as a clergy member, minister of music, and youth and children’s leader while launching out as an independent and highly sought after inspirational artist. Her ministry in the music has enabled her to minister alongside gospel greats and has afforded her numerous accolades throughout the bay area and beyond.

While Rein grew up fully committed to ministry in every aspect, her young life outside of the church was a devastating one that included early prostitution by her grandmother, molestation, rape, abortion, and later divorce and domestic violence. Her passion increased for the people of God, especially for those with past traumatic and abusive experiences who needed support and ministry to their deeper needs and weren’t being ministered to in the church. Fully persuaded that she could be used to minister to the hurting, marginalized, and oppressed, she began to seek God for the role that she could play in encouraging and promoting healing and transformation. In 2010, God ushered her off of a lucrative job as a Human Resources Executive and Chief Administrator and compelled her to chronicle her life’s journey toward transformation in her book, “I Am Not Garbage.” From there, God has opened numerous doors for her and established several partnerships that allow her to minister the gospel of transformation and the Word in general to multiple youth and women’s organizations, social clubs, schools, and churches.

Today, Rein spends her time in servitude to Christ through full time ministry. She is a dynamic praise and worship leader and psalmist, an author, a certified youth, family, and parent coach, and a highly sought after motivational speaker and preacher who is committed to leading others in the direction of wholeness, transformation, and freedom through the work of her organization HeReinz Ministries LLC—an organization founded on the Christian principles of hope and unrelenting trust in God, who by His power and love has the ability to transform us all-- one thought, one memory, one moment, and one day at a time.

Rein reaches many through transparent testimony in combination with Christian theology through speaking engagements, classes, webinars, music, devotionals, books, social and other media as a means of drawing others into their complete wholeness and transformation—teaching principles of living healthy and wholesome lives free from the pain of the past.

She is also the proud mother of three beautiful boys, Paris, Pierre, and Caleb-Lyric.

Meet The Keynote Speakers of Turning Your Past Into Purpose Retreat Cruise 2016: Prophetess LaTonya Powers

Prophetess, Dr. LaTonya Powers is a woman whom God has graced and gifted with many anointings and she moves in them fluently with excellence.  She is the Founder and Pastor of Warriors for Christ Global Outreach Ministries in Austell, Georgia and The Life Center of New Orleans in Gretna, Louisiana.  Prophetess Powers has endured and overcome many struggles, trials, and tribulations at a young age and has experienced and witnessed the power and blessings of God in her personal life.  She is a native of Mobile, Alabama and began preaching at the young age of 16. 

Prophetess Powers is a nationally sought after preacher, lecturer and advisor that is recognized as an intercessor, innovator, organizer, visionary and 21st Century prophetess with superior and uncommon leadership qualities. She is known for her wit and sense of humor; yet noted for her powerful preaching and teaching the Word of God. The ministry is also noted for spiritual gifts in the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith and healing. This woman of God has a compassionate love for people and endeavors to bring fresh illumination to the deeper business, financial and Biblical truths that point the way to a better life in the Spirit so that it enhances the kingdom of God on earth. This is evidenced in her loyal attention to the daily activities and services of the congregation, as well as the pervasive impact of the church on community development initiatives such as homelessness, senior citizen and youth empowerment, cultural awareness and ecumenical outreach. 

Prophetess Powers ministers effectively to the heart of God’s people with power, truth and grace. A “pastor’s pastor”, her unique gifting transcends denominational, cultural, ethnical and generational boundaries. Not only is Prophetess Powers a gifted orator, strategist and entrepreneur, but she is a singer-songwriter and has participated in projects as a studio lead and background vocalist on live recording projects with artists such as Angie Stone. On July 17, 2014, Dr. Powers will release her first book which is available for preorders NOW, entitled "Spiritual DETOX" it is a seven-week guide to breakthrough for the soul.... Her love for Jesus Christ and the people of God have led her to speak and preach in churches, seminars and conferences throughout the country to include: Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) “Praise the Lord” program, Atlanta Live and The 2014 Atlanta's Epic Women's Event. Her ministry accomplishments have been highlighted in several publications including Charisma and Sister Keeper’s magazines. 

Prophetess Powers fervently believes that her mission is to “Rebuild the Broken – One Soul at a Time”, firmly stands on the word of God and is a living testament that God can make “a diamond in the rough”. She received her Doctorate in 2005 and is an alumnus of Bethel Bible Institute. She is a committed mother of three sons, resides in the state of Georgia and hails from a generation of pastors, prophets and bishops in her family lineage.

Meet The Keynote Speakers of Turning Your Past Into Purpose Retreat Cruise 2016: Prophetess Kelly Crews

Prophetess Kelly Crews is the CEO and founder of Kelly Crews Ministries (KCM). The vision and passion of this ministry is to proclaim the saving, healing and delivering power of Jesus Christ worldwide. KCM empowers people globally to walk fully and freely in God’s purpose for their lives. God has truly anointed and appointed Prophetess Crews to minister the Gospel of Jesus Christ with grace and love, dividing asunder the spirits of mediocrity and complacency in order for people to experience the extraordinary manifestation of God’s glory. She truly walks in an Isaiah 61 anointing, “to bind up the broken-hearted and set the captives free.”

  

Kelly Crews Ministries was birthed in 2003. She knew she was given a great mandate to boldly speak the Word of the Lord and it could not be ignored. Kelly has had to overcome devastating adversity in her life from the time she was a child, but never let the challenges obstruct God’s calling. Through this ministry, God allows her to travel all over the world preaching, teaching, singing and prophesying the Word of the Lord. Prophetess Kelly has authored and published four books, You’re Priceless, I Thought He Really Liked/Loved Me! What Happened?, The Designer’s Original” Foreword by Dr. Jamal H. Bryant and her latest release, Maximize Your Life. Some words to describe the ministry of Prophetess Kelly would be impacting, dynamic, radical, life-transforming, challenging, power-packed, revelatory, relational and real. God uses her voice as an instrument to shift atmospheres and bring change to people, houses and regions.

She has served in leadership for many years in the Cleveland and Akron, Ohio area. Prophetess Kelly says that she has taken all the limits off of God. As she is continually giving God glory, the sentiments of her heart are simply this: “Lord, please don’t ever take your Spirit from me, for I am nothing without you. She has committed her life to glorifying God by going wherever she goes. Accordingly, her personal life and ministry truly exemplifies the saying, “Lord, I’m available to you!” She is the proud mother of two beautiful children, Jordan and Makayla, who are her pride and joy.

Meet The Host of Turning Your Past Into Purpose Retreat Cruise 2016: Pastor Linda Hillman

Linda A. Hillman is a faithful servant of the LORD.  Her credentials reads like a Who’s Who in the Bible—she’s been through the school of very hard knocks and has survived and thrived because of her trust in the LORD and her saturation and application of His Word.  Adversity has to take a back seat to Linda because, in her own words, “God can and will do, I am a living witness.”

As a ministry leader, Ms. Hillman’s resume includes but is not all inclusive:

*Founder and President of W.H.O.L.E. Ministries

*Founder and President of Living Above Hurt Ministries

*CEO/Master Coach of Destined 2 B U Empowerment Group

*Currently an Elder and Single Adult Pastor on the Pastoral Staff of Victory in Praise Church, located in Stockton, CA

*Hosts a weekly small group in her home

*Has implemented cell groups in different ministries

*Has worked in home mission churches for 5 years

Three other areas that make up her ministry niches are Evangelism, Christian Education and Music.  Her work as an evangelist is a tribute to her determination to serve God’s children.  She sings and preaches wherever the LORD sends her—she’s even travelled Europe, helping to save the lost and lift up the saved.  As an educator, under the direction of Bishop Rufus K. Turner, Ms. Hillman assists in the development of VIP Bible Institute.  But it’s her music that has brought her to the attention of Christian music lovers with her appearance in the McDonald GospelFest two years in a row. 

As in her favorite worship song, Welcome into This Place, Linda welcomes the call God has placed on her life to minister to His hurting people.  God has trusted Linda to establish His work in the world and she continues to “study and show herself approved” by pursuing a Master of Divinity in Theology.  Linda Hillman is certainly an exemplary example of loving, dedicated servanthood…and the world is a much better place because of the Spirit of God in her.

Forgiveness is the Key to Moving Forward

Do you really forgive?

Many times we say that we forgive those that hurt us but when they enter a room or their name is spoken in our presence, we feel a certain type of way. We roll our eyes or we are careful not to speak against them but we deny them anything good. We may even hang around them but they are on a tight rope. Is this really forgiveness?

Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offense, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.

Now we tend to forgive with conditions, but real forgiveness is just the opposite. It does not release the offense and make it of non-importance but it takes the sting out of it, so you can move forward with your life. It frees you. It does not say that person did nothing or you accept what they did. It's still wrong and they do still need to correct any offense, however IF they never correct it, your forgiveness sets you in a place of reward and blessing. Forgiveness does not just happen over a period of time. It is something we have to intentionally do. We must choose to forgive.

Forgiveness allows us to continue to receive forgiveness from God. I don't know about you but that is the most important thing. I know that I need god to forgive me for my wrong doing and how can I allow my own unforgiveness stand in the way of receiving God's forgiveness.

We sometimes wonder why we are not able to heal from hurts, habits and hangups...I say to you today, check your forgiveness bag. Is it empty because you have used it to forgive or is it full because you have withheld your forgiveness of others? Then check your answered prayers bag. Is it full because you are operating in god's forgiveness or is it empty because God has not forgiven you? Something to think about. 

Let me leave you with this... God can not and WILL not bless mess. Sin separates us from God. So if we have not been forgiven by God, is our relationship with Him in jeopardy? Can we walk in obedience if God has not forgiven us? Can we be blessed if God removes His grace and mercy?

Why not truly forgive so we can be forgiven.

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries 

Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

Residue Part 2 - Who We are After Becoming New!

So in my last post I talked about residue and why it is important that we acknowledge it's existence and we actively work to become new and remove all residue from our lives. Residue is a contaminate and thus we need to make sure that it does not effect everything else that we do or become.

Well let's take a closer look at how we should get rid of it.

I Peter 2:9 – “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:”

Most of us never think twice about this passage and the demands that it places on us. We just quickly and glibly pass over it with thoughts of white clerical collars or Praise & Worship songs roll over in our head, but no real consideration that these titles place on us very specific responsibilities. Responsibilities that can not he done with residue in us.

I want us to journey back into the Old Testament and examine the daily jobs or duties of the priesthood, those that were set  apart for God, because I think they still translate and speak to us today. I want us to remember that there an be no residue in us if we want to operate correctly. We have ministry that we are required to do on a daily basis as priest of the Kingdom! 

1. The first duty that the priest was responsible for was to diagnose sickness. Their job was to examine the folks around them and be aware and sensitive enough to see sickness for what it was. They were to determine how severe the sickness was. They were to prescribe remedy for the sickness. They were to act as physician to the sick. God’s go between. God’s means of brining diagnosis and healing. And didn’t Jesus reiterate that for his followers and for us? 

1. The second duty of the priest was to transport glory! The assignment of carrying the Ark of the Covenant which was the place of the manifest presence of God fell to the priests. 

I would declare to you today that the reason we are inept at transporting glory because we are inept at living holy! we are inept at living holy because we carry in our heart the residue of what we have been through. The priests that were called to transport glory had to be holy. They had to live pure. They had to be consecrated and set apart. It wasn't enough to just hang out in the glory, worship in the glory, they had to apply the glory to their lives.

In my next post we will take this a bit further and will talk about each of the two steps separately and in depth so we can start to remove the residue and Live as God intended us to live. 

You are Bound No More. 

Pastor Linda Hillman 

(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries

Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com

Residue

Residue, what is residue?

First let's look at how the dictionary defines it. Residue is a small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or been taken or used. So what got me thinking about residue is the PAM cooking spray commercial. You know the one with the ghost of food past. He basically describes himself as the definition found in the dictionary but with a twist. He says that you combines with the new food being cooked. So the residue from the old is now affecting the new.  Yes, someone just got that.

So what does it mean to us in our journey to be free and delivered from our past.. We have to apply the word of god to use and be washed thoroughly. no residue can remain. if it does we will be tainted from the past in every new situation, choice, and relationship. 

Have you ever asked yourself after an argument or an outburst: "Why did I do that or why did i say that?" or maybe it was "where did that come from?" or "I thought I was over that." these statements alone gives us a clue that residue is there. the Bible says:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

This weekend I learned from Evangelist Rein Johnson that to be IN Christ means to be encompassed (See clip below). In order for us to remove all residue we have to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. we have to allow the Word of God to change how we think. We have to forget the former things as Isaiah 43:18 says and move on the the newness that comes from being transformed. We have to press into the things of God and not allow what happened to us to hinder us. It's not pretending that it did not happened but it is sitting with a journal and allowing the truth of your situation and past to teach you the lessons you could not learn at the time.

It's freeing yourself, let liberty and redemption happen. It's forgiving yourself for thinking you could have done something different. For thinking you could have made a different choice or said something differently. It's understanding that you are who you are because of what you have gone through and that does not make you a bad person or less than. It's not getting over stuff and pretending it did not happen but it is understand that you went through it. In going through it you must let the word wash over over and cleanse you so when you step out one the other side you are a new creature.

Let me end with this. Getting rid of residue is a simple process. Let's take a look at a butterfly and the transformation that occurs when it is ready to covert from a caterpillar. 

First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out. But the contents of the pupa are not entirely an amorphous mess. Certain highly organized groups of cells known as imaginal discs survive the digestive process. Before hatching, when a caterpillar is still developing inside its egg, it grows an imaginal disc for each of the adult body parts it will need as a mature butterfly —discs for its eyes, for its wings, its legs and so on. 
Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, those discs use the protein-rich soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell division required to form the wings, antennae, legs, eyes, genitals and all the other features of an adult butterfly. 

This process is a natural look at what takes place supernaturally in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Everything that God needs for us to be whole and complete is already in us but we need to get wrapped in our cocoon called Christ and let him completely transform us to be NEW. He will then make sure that all residue is done away with. That you will become exactly what he intended you to be and all old ways are destroyed and done away with. No more Residue!

You are Bound No More.


Pastor Linda Hillman 
(c) 2014 Living Above Hurt Ministries
Pastorlindahillman@hotmail.com