Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy by Mandisa with Suzanne Gosselin Book Review

Out of the Dark is Mandisa’s second book. Each chapter was song’s titles and contained some of her lyrics. In this book, she opens up about her life and she started with the meaning behind her top song, “Overcomer”. It was written about a challenge her best friend was facing. Her best friend, hairstylist, and former background singer, Kisha was battling stage three breast cancer for over a year and a half. Kisha found out while she was about pregnant. She was having to do a less harmful form of chemotherapy. Mandisa shared how they prayed for her and the unborn child to be protected in the womb. Her and her songwriters were almost done with the album and they needed just one more song. They wrote “Overcomer” to be a fight anthem and they never imagined how the audience would connect and relate to the song. This song is a reminder to listeners to stay in the fight until the very end even when you are down and overwhelmed. Her friend was able to attend the album release party and they raised $25,000 to help with her medical bills. She shared how she expressed hope and how they were all believing that she would be healed. She ended up going home to be with Jesus. 

 

 

Mandisa admitted to how she had a lot of hopeless thoughts and she explained how she had faith. She couldn’t understand as to why God took her home from her husband and she had two kids to raise. She explained how she was struggling with being an overcomer and each performance of this song caused her deep emotional pain. She was angry at God and upset. She opened up about her how she kept her grief in a box.  This opened the door to her past trauma, shame over her weight, and being eliminated from American Idol from still haunting her. She revealed how she went into a depression and turned back to letting food comfort her. She shared with readers her dark thoughts during this time and how she thought about taking pills to end it all. In the book, she will share with readers how she was able to come out of the pit and how others were there for her along the way even when at first, she didn’t see it. 

 

 

I would recommend this life changing book to anyone who is dealing with depression and they feel alone and not worthy. I immensely enjoyed reading Mandisa’s journey through dealing with sadness and hanging on and not giving up on her life. I had no idea she was batting depression and you couldn’t tell it. This book will benefit anyone is struggling with depression, food addiction, past trauma, and provide readers with hope. I met her a few years ago at a concert and she was personally one of the nicest people I have ever met. She has the joy of the Lord and has such a beautiful smile that is contagious. I read her first book years ago. This one also covered some of the past stories she shared about working at Lifeway and touched on her American Idol journey. I felt like in this book, she went into more details about her life. It was heartbreaking to read again about Simon’s comments and some of her trauma she faced as a child. I also liked how she talked directly to single people and included her experiences and how she encouraged them and reminded them that God can fulfill their longing with His love. 

 

 

"I received this book free from the publisher, K-Love Books for my honest review.”

 

 

 

If you would like to purchase a copy, check it out on Amazon.com:

 

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Out-Dark-Journey-Through-Shadows/dp/1954201001

Sad Times But There's Still Hope

Day 4 – Monday, May 24

I went a total of 2.51 miles today. I burned a sum of 158 calories. I took a whole total of 5302 steps.

Day 5 – Tuesday, May 25

I had to go to a love ones funeral today. It was a very sad day. But she lived a long life. She was one of the nicest ladies you could ever meet. She always went to church and she helped spread the love. That is what church is all about. I know her family misses her very much. But she is in a place with no pain now. She is sitting up there with Jesus and dancing away. I got to see some of my family and her friends. It’s kind of sad you only see this many people when someone dies. We should always be this close, when we are alive. I know many people are busy making a living, but take some time to spend it well with people you love. Think of how many people we could reach out to, if we just would do it. I remember how she used to get me off the bus sometimes. I also remember hanging out with my cousins at her house many times. This song was a song I thought fit her life. She had a lot of love to go around. I wanted to put this song on a family slideshow we did for my whole family at Christmastime. But we found other ones to include on it instead. But my point is I had the honor and privilege to be a part of my family’s history. She sat near my dad at my family Christmas dinner. He had to tell her who most of the people were. But she knew some. Her memory has been going for a while. But I know now in Heaven she remembers everything. She knows her family. The song is called, “Some Things Never Change” by Sara Evans. I want to thank the pastors and the church members who helped provide food for her huge family and friends. They had two rows of maybe 6 tables. They had to add another row. We had that many people. I didn’t count the tables I am estimating. But anyone who came saw a lot of people. Thank you. Thank you to the pastors who said nice things about her. Thank you to the people who sung at the funeral. Thank you for your prayers and your condolences.

Here is “Some Things Never Change”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkIWI1YH3nI

Another song that popped in my mind during these crazy times was a song by Mandisa. The song is called, “You Wouldn’t Cry (Andrew’s Song)”. The song is a about someone who is already in Heaven. He or she is telling that it is going to be okay. Jesus has them and you. Sometimes we get stuck in wanting to know why. I can’t answer that question. All I know is if I died I am going to Heaven. I know it’s hard when you lose someone you love. But we have to have hope that one day we will see them again someday. I know it hurts when someone leaves us on this earth. But if they knew Jesus and you do then you will see them again.

Listen to Mandisa’s “You Wouldn’t Cry (Andrew’s Song)”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFOdA52sjFA

Some of the lyrics are listed below:

“All you saw was pain All you saw was rain But you should see me now Moments filled with tears Lasted all those years disappeared somehow You never said goodbye On your knees you cry You’re still asking why, but Blue has never been bluer True has never been truer Honey never tasted so sweet There’s a song in the breeze A million voices in praise A rose has never smelled redder The sun has never been brighter If I could find the right words to say If you could look at my face If you could just see this place You wouldn’t cry for me today.”

If you like to see Andrew’s Story, check out the link below: Mandisa shares the message behind the song.

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=980a2cb94bf283772d30

Day 6 – Wednesday, May 26

I went a grand total of 3.00 miles today. I smoked a total of 206 calories. 6347 steps were taken by me today.

Day 7 – Thursday, May 27

All I have today is a song to share.

Here is some of the lyrics of “You're Gonna Be” By Reba McEntire.

You're gonna fly with every dream you chase You're gonna cry, but know that that's okay Sometimes life's not fair, but if you hang in there You're gonna see that sometimes bad is good We just have to believe things work out like they should Life has no guarantees, but always loved by me You're gonna be

Here is the video for “You’re Gonna Be”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kLs4VdfFlQ

“‘Cause anything worth doing is worth doing all the way Just know you'll have to live with all the choices that you make So make sure you're always givin' way more than you're takin'”

So let’s listen to these lyrics! That is the truth.

You can be whoever you choose to be. You can choose to love or choose to hate. It’s all a decision.

Check out:

http://sites.google.com/site/theofficialandrewsmith/week6

Journey of My Run Week 5 : Day 6 - 7

Day 6 – Wednesday, May 19


I went a total of 3.11 miles in my running a 5K journey. I am still having trouble running the whole laps straight through. Some days I do good and some days it’s a struggle. I burned a total of 199 calories. I took 6588 steps today. I can do this!

Does anyone have any tips on running a 5K?

How often do you work out?

What kind of sports do you do?

What comments or advice would you give me?

Thanks for the feedback and support!

Tonight ABC had a special showing of What Would You Do TV show. It showed a bragger getting called names. I have worked retail and some of the customers are rude and impatient. We need to change this. People, we need to change this. We need to bring back the love. I don’t care if you’re in a hurry. Slow down! You don’t want to be remembered for being rude to another human being. We can’t let fear push us down and keep us from standing up for people, who are being called names. This show is awesome in what stories they cover. It is a wonderful thing to see people standing up and helping one another. There are still good people out there.

I want you to watch the video on ABC What Would You Do TV show page.
http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/syndrome-grocery-clerk-scenario/story?id=10648284

Day 7 – Thursday, May 20

I went a full amount of 3.34 miles today in my journey to wellness. I burned overall about 221 calories. I took 7070 steps in my lap walking today.
Also, I wanted to encourage you to help one another in your daily lives every single day.

God LOVES you!

Here a song lyric from a song called, “God Speaking” by Mandisa.

“Have you ever cried a tear that You could not explain Have you ever met a stranger

Who already knew your name What if it's Him What if it's God speaking Who knows how He'll get a hold of us Get our attention to prove He is enough He'll do and He'll use Whatever He wants to To tell us "I love you"

Here is a video about the song “God Speaking”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZI2gOBvBHk

Dolly Parton is also doing a wonderful thing. This weekend May 22 and May 23 she is donating the proceeds from Dixie Stampede, Dollywood, and Dollywood’s Splash Country to the Nashville Flood Victims.

Here is her video on her encouragement to help out Nashville:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGa_V6OGYNY

To donate online or if you want to send her a check. Check out her official website for info:

https://www.dollyparton.com/

Total Donations so far are: $36,676.00

It is updated every 5 minutes on her website. So be sure to check that out.

Until next time, remember to keep following my journey on running a 5K for St. Jude’s.

If you would like to donate to help the children at St. Jude’s Research Hospital. Check out the link below:


The money goes to help children with cancer. Let’s fight this disease together. Help find the cure!


http://www.mystjudeheroes.org/hopenow

Check out my Official Google Site.

http://sites.google.com/site/theofficialandrewsmith/week5

How We Could Be

I am sure we all remember this in the news. Jessica Simpson is being called fat which she is absolutely not. No wonder girls think they are overweight and some of them are becoming Bulimic or Anorexic. Some are even doing things worst then that. We need to be focus on being the person God created us to be. I do believe we all need to work out and try to be as healthy as we can be. But we shouldn't beat ourselves up over it.

Here is a picture of the outfit she wore at a concert.
http://images.eonline.com/eol_images/Entire_Site/20090126/293.simpson.jessica.012609.jpgSo you may not like the outfit but that's okay. We all have different tastes and styles on how we dress. God didn't make us all have the same features and attributes. We would all be boring and very much the same. We all have different names which is a good thing. We wouldn't want to all be called one name.
I love how Point Of Grace Recorded a song about this entitled "On God's Green Earth".
The lyrics goes something like this "On God's green earth...if every color was the same And every child had just one name There'd be no beauty for each of us to claim". We were all created to have special talents that no one else has. We need to use those gifts and not waste them.

I know it's so easy to listen to other people criticize us. But we can't live and let them win. We have to continue to be positive about ourselves. We need to stop being negative and saying poor poor me. I am not saying we should criticize them and tear them down. That will help no one. But we need to encourage our friends and enemies.
"God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ. He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him! So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it". 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 (The Message Bible)
"Would you mind if I said something to you? Under the circumstances it's hard to keep quiet. You yourself have done this plenty of times, spoken words that clarify, encouraged those who were about to quit. Your words have put stumbling people on their feet, put fresh hope in people about to collapse". Job 4:1-6 (The Message Bible)


Hollywood will try to tell us to look thin and act a certain way to fit in. "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you". Romans 12:1-2 (The Message Bible)
"If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face." Romans 12:6-8 (The Message Bible)

You don't need to get stuck into peer pressure and have that first drink or first smoke or first "hook up" whatever you want to call it these days. I am not judging you if you do that type of things. But for me I choose to try and do my best and stay strong and reject them.

Will I make a mistake? Yes, I will. I am by far from perfect. But God will forgive you when you make a mistake. All you have to do is ask for forgiveness. Natalie Grant also recorded a great song about "Perfect People." "There's no such thing as perfect people There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are, broken and scarred Lift up your heart and be amazed And be changed by a perfect God." Natalie Grant has suffered from Bulimia. But she chose to overcome it. Now she sings songs that will hopefully change people lives and touch them in some way.

We also have another Christian artist Mandisa. She was on American Idol. Now she is trying to teach girls to be happy and focus on their True Beauty. She recorded a song called "True Beauty” Some of the lyrics are "What's inside of you What's inside of me The hands that made the moon and stars The mountains and the seas Made you wonderful, beautiful, marvelously Let the whole world see your True beauty" This is another verse of the song "Doesn't come in a bottle, doesn't come in a box You can't spray it on, you can't wash it off You can't nip and tuck, you can't sew it up So don't waste your time It's the love in your heart, the peace in your soul The hope in your smile lets the whole world know This little light - you gotta let it shine." That song is the truth. We have to let people see what's inside of us. You have to let your light shine.
"The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:11 (New International Version)
"Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection." Ezekiel 27:4 (New International Version)

We need to love people and help people out whenever we can. We have to live and make our Dreams happen. When people hurt us we have to forgive and forget. I say a quote from God Daily Promises. "I can forgive, but I cannot forget," is only another way of saying, "I will not forgive." HENRY WARD BEECHER. That quote is so true. I have struggled with this. I have not let stuff go but I have been slowing starting to let stuff go. It doesn't do you any good to hold on to past mistakes and hurt. Joel Osteen has written two books telling you how to live a Better Live. One is called "You Best Life Now" and the other one is called "Become a Better You". He has helped me to finally realize that I have to let things go. I think everyone should pick of a copy of both of those books and read them.
“Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”
1 Kings 19:3-4 NLT
“Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, forgive him. “
Luke 17:4 NLT
Another quote from God Daily Promises is "It is far better to forgive and forget than to hate and remember." AUTHOR UNKNOWN. That one is also very true.
Amy Grant recorded this song called "Simple Things".
"Cuz I dream of simple things I can believe in Like the feeling this day brings True love and the miracle of forgiving I believe in simple things"

Natalie Grant even recorded a song called "Let Go" and that's what everyone needs to do.
"But I'm ready to let go Looking forward to don't know Forget about yesterday, get away And live in the right now Yeah, I'm ready to let go And I'm ready follow Anywhere the road bends Where it ends I don't know So let go. Oh, we live in the future We got our regrets Cause we don't live in The present tense
(It's) hectic in my mind (Gonna) leave it behind. Don't wanna over think it Don't worry so much Gonna live this life And not lose touch I'm gonna let go."


"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality. Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down. Get along with each other; don't be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don't be the great somebody. Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it." Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good." Romans 12:9-21 (The Message Bible)

I lost an aunt a few months ago. She died from cancer. She was in her 40's. I get another day if it's God's will. It was her time to go. But I got another day.
Mrs. Natalie Grant recorded this awesome song that really moved me. It is called "Another Day". The lyrics are "Another day Another chance to love the ones I love To find my way To laugh, to dance Watch the sun come up Another day I get to live As if Every breath could be the last I take I get another day. To make somebody smile Go the extra mile Take a wrong and make it right And try to touch somebody's life."
We don't know when we will die so we have to live when we get another day. I first heard this song the day after she died and went to be with the lord. Coincidence no. I believe God wanted me to hear this song then. I have had that CD with that song on it for a while. Nothing happens for a reason. God makes it happen when it's suppose to happen.


So are you going to let go? Are you going to forgive people who hurt you before it's too late? Are you going to love people and try to make a difference? Are you going to make your dreams come true? Are you going to be positive?

I hope you will. In fact I know you will! May you live and your dreams come true!

Andrew