The Gospel Truth September 2022

PUBLISHER

Sandy Walker

Publisher’s Prayer

Sandy Walker

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Sommer W. Davis

EDITOR

Jamil Rivers

CIRCULATION MANAGER

Robert Walker

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

My Father, My God:

LaDonna Fennell

Father, in the Name of Jesus:

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Moderator Johnny L. Barber

Anika Madison

Anika Madison

All is well with my soul as I focus my attention solely on You. I am thankful as I breathe the

You so graciously provide to me each

I am eternally grateful for the love You continue to bestow upon me. You love me unconditionally with all of my issues and all of my faults. You

wonderful it is to be Your child. How wonderful it is to know that You are in charge.

ful Dear Lord for the blessings

me, Father, in spite of myself. I thank You for being with me always. I am comforted by the knowledge that You are with me every moment of my life.

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bestow. Father I know that I am

of all that You give to me. You

Lord as I navigate this wonderful journey called

I am eternally thankful for the love you continue to surround me with. I am thankful for the love and support of my amazing family. There is nothing I have done or could ever do to earn the blessings You continue to bestow upon me. Father I pray to be a blessing to others as you so generously bless me. You, my Lord are so worthy to be praised.

and love. You give me food to nourish my

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Sandy Walker Publisher

You give me all that I need to survive. Your blessings are so much appreciated as You place the right people in my life and in my path each day. I know Father that You are also placing me in the path of others so that I might do Your will in being a blessing as well. Keep my eyes open, Dear Lord, so that I might see those in need.

The Lord is my strength, the Lord is my healer, the Lord is my true source of joy.

Father I pray for peace during these uncertain times. As much as we try to figure it all out, Lord You already know. When I find myself pondering the circumstances of the day I take comfort in the fact that You are in charge! Nothing will happen that You don’t allow and nothing will happen that You cannot stop. I realize Dear Lord that it is not my job to understand. It is my job to be faithful and to trust that with You all is well, at all times.

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Dear God,

Father I pray for all of Your children who are feeling pain, frustration and lack. I pray Dear Lord that they will seek You in every situation and circumstance. I pray that Your name will be the one that they call out to for relief. Continue my Lord to dwell in the hearts of Your children as an eternal source of love. Thank You today and every day. I am proud to be Your child. -- AMEN

To God be the Glory. -- AMEN

Thank You for the joy You place in my heart and for the simple pleasures of this life. When I contemplate what makes me unique I find myself thinking of the attributes of others, in areas where I fall short. Thank You Father for making these musings short lived. I am quickly reminded that You are a perfect God and that I am perfectly imperfect. One of the great joys of my life is striving to improve. I read books, I listen to sermons, I search the web and most of all I pray. Self examination for me is not a chore but a way of measuring how I am living my life.

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Sandy Walker

J. Rivers

Father please help me to remain appreciative of this life as the gift it is. Help me to treasure the blessing of a healthy body and to do all I can to protect, nourish and strengthen it. Give me the wisdom to continuously seek Your will for my life. Sharpen my mind with the dawning of each year so that I resist viewing the blessing of continued time on this earth as a step closer to physical decline.

Rosie Sands Fred Stimage

Jorge Maduro

You are my strength and You are my protector. Today is a blessed day. - AMEN

For 20 years, we’ve improved the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade. And we won’t stop until all our children have the opportunity to say… I made it!

Avenues of Excellence creates advantages in ministry and the marketplace

By. Zachary Rinkins

What makes a believer commit to a ministry? What entices a customer to keep supporting a product? Connection and service will always attract customers and multiply opportunities. Rose Hedgemond created Avenues of Excellence (AOE) to help people leverage protocol and etiquette to set themselves and their products and services a part in ministry and industry.

“It’s a fact that even in today’s modern-day technology-driven environment, understanding the importance of and using social graces are huge,” reveals Hedgemond, a veteran of the United States Navy.

Hedgemond used her military and corporate experience to create a licensed intercultural etiquette and protocol enterprise. The former corporate executive defines protocol as a series of social skills and behaviors performed in a formal or ceremonial setting. She adds that etiquette informs how you engage people in that defined setting. She fashions AOE as a finishing school that provides training.

“Our company provides training to youth, adults, and business professionals. Our classes are offered virtually, as well as in person,” Hedgemond says. “We want people to know we’re here and what we offer to the community, especially for children and young adults learning business etiquette, social skills, etc.”

Corporate and individual customers can hire Avenues of Excellence for the following programs: Adult Etiquette (Finishing Touch) Program, Etiquette for Leading Ladies, Young Adult Classes, Youth Etiquette Classes, Business Etiquette Program, Customer Service Training Program, Executive Assistant Coaching Program, and more. The firm provides private one-on-one etiquette classes as well.

“If there’s a desire to learn how to apply advanced social training in a specific private or professional setting, that’s what we do,” says Hedgemond, with an eye toward expansion. “Beginning in Spring 2023, we are launching an incredible Leading Ladies and Leading

Gentlemen Etiquette Program. This will be conducted in-person and virtually.”

Hedgemond highlights etiquette mastery as critical for social satisfaction and professional mobility in South Florida’s cultural melting pot.

“Miami is an international hub. Our community always hosts dignitaries, diplomats, international leaders, and visitors. In this setting, protocol and etiquette intersect. Learning how to interpret and demonstrate that intersection becomes imperative,” Hedgemond declares. “Understanding how to respect diverse cultures is critical and creates a business advantage.”

The burgeoning businesswoman says understanding protocol and operating with a sense of etiquette extends into the digital world.

“It is a major misconception to think that technology makes basic respect irrelevant. This can’t be further from the truth,” Hedgemond adds. “Irrespective of the environment, protocols and social engagement cues are always present and relevant.”

In 2019, Rose Hedgemond released her first children’s book, “Father-Daughter Dance: A Night On The Red Carpet,” a story about the power of a father’s presence and positive influence on a young girl’s life. The children’s book is a literary creation of the annual signature Father Daughter Gala hosted by Avenues of Excellence. The next gala is scheduled for October 8 at 7 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency in Coral Gables. More information is available on AOE’s website.

Hedgemond offers these three tips for protocol and etiquette excellence in ministerial settings.

Create an Inviting Spirit: “People want to feel welcomed when they come to your ministry. Ministries must have onboarding documents, including a welcoming packet and a first-time visitor sheet. Your greeters have to love people. Anyone engaging members or visitors is a ministry ambassador. So, they have to be inviting.”

Organize and Optimize Communication: “If you create an effective onboarding package, you should have valuable information that allows you to understand the person’s needs and be able to offer resources that are relevant to the person. You must be responsive. People want to hear from you quickly.”

Have a Plan to Retain Your Members: “The leader must develop the vision and implement protocols within the ministry. Then, the leaders and lay members must implement and unify that experience. In addition to viewing someone as an individual, we must view them as a resource. We should see them as a person, a family unit, and a source of knowledge or service. When we lose a person, we lose their knowledge, service, and family.” For more information on Avenues of Excellence, log on to www.avenuesofexcellence.com.

FPL’s PoweringFlorida.com resource hub helps support the growth of Black-owned businesses

According to the U.S. Census, Florida ranks #2 in the number of Black-owned businesses, with 250,000 in the state. But unfortunately, statistics also reveal that Black-owned businesses often find it more challenging to grow. Only 4% of Black businesses are open after 3.5 years, dramatically less than the national average of 55%. Black businesses also face greater challenges accessing investments and support to scale their growth. The teams at Florida Power & Light Company’s (FPL) Office of Economic Development believe that building a stronger ecosystem to support the growth of Black- owned businesses is prudent for the state of Florida’s economic prosperity.

FPL created the Black Business Resource Hub on its PoweringFlorida website to provide access to programs and information aimed to support the development of Black owned businesses. The site also covers how to become an FPL or NextEra Energy supplier; provides access to a Black business directory and Black business resources that help cultivate success for Black-owned businesses; information on minority owned business certifications; and a list of workshops, training sessions, and programs for Black entrepreneurs and Black business owners offered via various organizations.

“At FPL, we are not only committed to working with minority-owned businesses, we want to help connect all Black businesses with the right resources to en-

sure they are tooled and equipped to build the infrastructure needed for their business success,” says Pam Rauch, FPL vice president of external affairs and economic development. “We are excited to share this new resource hub and we look forward to continuing to grow and expand this exceptional platform for many years to come.”

The site provides information on key issues involving the Black business owner, such as:

• Black Business Directory – List of Black businesses throughout the state providing a vast range of products and services.

• Black Business Resources – A listing of organizations throughout Florida that are dedicated to providing resources that help cultivate success for Black-owned businesses.

• Minority-Owned Business Certifications – Information on the numerous certification programs that are available at the federal, state, and local levels.

• Events and Programs – A listing of organizations throughout the state with educational programs and networking services and more designed to help to take your business to the next level.

To find out more about FPL’s PoweringFlorida Black Business Resource Hub, visit us online at www.poweringflorida.com/how-we-help/black-business.html.

Backpack Usage

With school in session again, many children have resumed wearing backpacks. As this is typically the heaviest load children carry, children who suffer from musculoskeletal pain will often feel it most intensely while using a backpack, but pain can also persist or flare up afterward. Of course, children are not the only people who are vulnerable to misusing backpacks, but we thought now would be a good time to share some advice about safe usage with all our patients, and to provide some guidance on how chiropractic offices can assist people experiencing pain in their backs, shoulders, and necks.

Common Problems

When a backpack is overloaded, the straps tend to dig into the shoulders and trapezius muscles of the wearer. This can restrict circulation to the arms and put stress on the rotator cuffs. Potential consequences include shocks, numbness, or tingling along the upper limbs, and the effect may be worse if a person wears a backpack on just one shoulder. It’s also common for wearers to lean forward to try to balance the weight, which is an inefficient posture that forces them to bend their necks in order to see ahead of them. It is also

easier for a person in this posture to fall over.

Back pain and other problems from inefficient backpack usage do not usually cause permanent problems in children, but they won’t go away as long as the child is misusing the backpack. Older people should be mindful of the risk of wear-and-tear injuries and take pain seriously, as well.

Proper Backpack Usage

To begin with, a backpack is still a better option than a messenger bag, due to having two straps, but this is only true when both straps are used. The straps should be wide and padded. They should not be tight enough for the shoulders to feel compressed, but they should prevent the backpack from dangling down to the wearer’s lumbar region. It is also advisable to get a backpack with a waist strap.

Chiropractors usually recommend keeping a backpack’s weight to less than fifteen percent of the wearer’s weight. But how that weight is distributed also makes a difference. Heavier objects should be placed in the bag first so that they won’t shift around, and they should be

put on the side closer to the body. Other objects should be distributed throughout different compartments in order to spread out their weight. A backpack also shouldn’t be worn for longer than is necessary to move objects from one place to another, and features such as pull-out handles or wheels are dead weight if they aren’t actually being used.

Relief from Backpack-Related Pain

Normally, pain from overusing a backpack will subside when somebody stops overusing it. Pain may be worse in children who are developing scoliosis, which they should be regularly assessed for. If your child is still complaining of soreness, your chiropractor can offer several non-invasive, non-medicative therapies, including spinal adjustments for developing bodies. Many offices also offer soft tissue therapies such as low-level laser and therapeutic massages that can reduce muscle inflammation and speed the healing process. Your chiropractor can also provide advice on more efficient posture and how to set up a workstation so it won’t additionally stress a child’s back.

CHURCH DIRECTORY