DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
AN ACTOR’S TAKE ON PLAYING A SOLDIER

As Anita Addison in ‘Wire in the Blood’ ©NaimaLett.com, all rights reserved

I originally entitled this blog, “Happy Memorial Day!”

But then I thought about it and wondered, “Is happy the right word to describe the day that we honor our soldiers who sacrificed their lives fighting for our country?”

Happy doesn’t seem weighty enough, does it?

“Thank you,” seems more appropriate, I think.

THANK YOU

Today we thank all the men and women who have given their lives so that we can live ours.

When talking to His disciples about love and abiding, Jesus said this:

JOHN 15:13
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Many of our servicemen and women have laid down their lives for more than their friends. So, we honor you today. We remember you today.

AN ACTOR’S TAKE

I gained a whole new respect for our men and women in uniform when I filmed an episode of the television series “Wire in the Blood” called ‘Prayer of the Bone’ a few years ago (on DVD now).

As attorney Anita Addison, I represented an Iraq War veteran who was suffering from PTSD. I learned so much about our soldiers and the effects of war.

I filmed for a month, had stunts & weapon training (pictured above), and sweated through a few 100 degree days in suits and sweaters. But I had nothing on the actors who played the soldiers. They had to shoot a war sequence that placed them ‘in Iraq’.

My friends were fully geared in army fatigues in 100 degrees, no shade, desert conditions. It was brutal on them and the crew. Even though Gatorade flowed like water, one of our leads became dehydrated. Another producer had to be rushed to the hospital. Thank God everybody turned out alright.

But what really brought it home for me was in a conversation I had with one of my friends on set when he returned from the desert day shoot.

“How did you make it, man?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I just kept thinking, our real soldiers are over in Iraq right now in conditions just like this or worse, and their very lives are on the line. I better not complain. At the end of our day, we take off the costumes and go home. Many of them aren’t coming home. So the least I can do is represent them well.”

Put things in a whole new perspective for me, for us.

We were doing our part to bring to life stories that would help shed light on what some soldiers endure, but we were still on safe soil. Many of them were not.

SO VERY GRATEFUL

So, to all of our soldiers who have put your lives in harms way to keep us safe, “Thank you.”

And to all the families who have lost loved ones, you are in our prayers.

I especially dedicate this blog to my oldest brother and younger cousin, who are currently serving. We love you, we are proud of you, and we are bombarding heaven for you and your entire unit every day until we see you again. Thank you for protecting us.

So very grateful,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
CHOOSING LOVE (Anniversary)



©NaimaLett.com Geno Loro Jr, Photographer

“I heard you wanted to meet me.”

That’s how we met.

We were freshmen at Howard University. Kevin’s roommate had invited me to the Mr. Band contest in the Fine Arts building and told me Kevin wanted to meet me. So, I walked up to Kevin and stated the obvious.

True story.

I tell the extended version in Confessions of a Hollywood Christian (It’s coming!), but you get the picture. We’ve known each other for a long time.

And 11 years ago, Memorial Day weekend, we said “I do.”
That’s when the adventures really started jumping off.

“Love is a choice,” our premarital counseling workbook said.

At the time, I was so young and in love that it could’ve said, “Love is cotton candy,” and I probably would’ve agreed. But after going ‘over the river and through the woods’ of life together, I now can say that I understand that statement and agree, “Love is a choice, not just a feeling.”

What do I mean?
Kevin and I choose to love each other.
We choose to sacrifice for one another.
We choose to do life together in marriage.
We choose to be faithful. It’s a choice.
We choose to trust, not lie or keep dark secrets. I personally can’t live like that. Open Book.

We choose to accept each other for who we are. Why try to change each other now?
We choose to care for each other when we’re sick, hospitalized, beat up from accidents, surgeries, you name it. It’s not always easy, but it’s a choice.
We choose to love when we have money and when we don’t.

We choose to like each other and work through our differences as quickly as we can.
We choose to forgive when we hurt each other. It’s a choice.
We choose to support each other, sometimes even when we don’t necessarily understand.
We choose to adapt with each other as we grow older and hopefully wiser.

We are not perfect. Our lives are not perfect. But each day, we choose to do another day together. It really is that simple.

I think the hard times we continually survive have helped us see life differently. You know? Life is not promised. God gave us more time together post-cancer. So we opt to maximize our time, live life fully and do it together.

We have seen the very best of each other and the absolute worst.
You know our story. If you don’t, see the I’ll Trust You blog/video.

The point is, when it’s all said and done, we make a choice.
We choose to love.

When Paul talks about marriage, He draws an analogy to how Christ loves the church.

EPHESIANS 5:21-33
The Message
21 Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another. 22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands. 25-28 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage. 29-33 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

MYSTERY

Paul says it’s all a huge mystery.
Ain’t that the truth?!

But what’s clear is that Christ loves the church so much that He gave His life for us. That’s the picture of how a husband is to love his wife and a wife is to honor her husband. It’s a mutual giving of one another for each other.

We don’t always hit the mark, but we try.
And we do choose to love each other. That’s for sure.

And if I had to do it all over again, I’d put on my gown, tiara and train and walk down that aisle, again. We can probably still fit the same dress and tux, but I’m sure we look a little older. We have a little more life on us. My arms are probably not as chiseled as they were when I was working out every day. His hair seems curlier though. How does hair get curlier as we get older? Who knows?!

He can still pick me up off the ground when he hugs and lifts. I still feel safe in his arms. We still find reasons to laugh. Well, he laughs at me. I don’t know how I feel about that. Just kidding. We laugh at and with each other a lot. We just don’t take things too seriously around here. We do work hard, but we hang too. We enjoy this life. We have life and that abundantly.

Good times, bad, exciting, mundane… we choose to love.

How about you?
You choose to love somebody today?

Happy Memorial Day Weekend,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
FIRE, DRINKS & BIRTHDAYS

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Fire, drinks and birthdays!
Sounds like some kind of party, right?!
Would you believe the folks accused of being drunken fools are Christians?

I’m not making this up.
Roll with me.

This Sunday marks Pentecost and the Birthday of the Church.
Happy Happy!

She’s still looking spry, after almost 2,000 years.
Here in Bev Hills, we might wonder, “Has she had work done?” i.e. a little nip & tuck?
Or maybe it’s those fire treatments and purifications!
I hear those knock a few years off.

FIRE

God has a thing with fire. Ever notice?

Yesterday, in So Good, we saw God pouring fire from heaven after Solomon’s prayer and dedication of the temple. It wasn’t the first time. God used a pillar of fire to guide His children in the wilderness. He originally revealed Himself to Moses within a burning bush that wouldn’t burn up. He consumed Mount Sinai with fire when He spoke to His people. Fire. Fire. Fire.

So, when God chooses fire as a means to start His church, we shouldn’t be surprised, right?!

NO COINCIDENCE

And, the timing is NOOOOO coincidence.

Pentecost means 50th day. So 50 days after the resurrection of Christ, and 10 days after His ascension into heaven, God sends His Holy Spirit upon His disciples, and the church is born.

Traditionally, during the Old Testament, God’s people came from all over to celebrate Pentecost, a festival that originally marked the day God gave His people the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, which is – you guessed it – 50 days after their Exodus from Egypt. It was called the Festival of Weeks or Shavuot.

That’s why there are so many of God’s followers in Jerusalem that particular Pentecost that the church is born. They had come from all over the world to celebrate the Festival of Weeks.

God, in His sovereignty, aligned two of the most important days in the life of His people:
– the day He gave His law, and
– the day He sent His Spirit.

No coincidence, indeed.

NO ORDINARY EVENT

Nothing about that Pentecost birthday was ordinary.

ACTS 2 (The Message)
ENTIRE CHAPTER
Excerpt
1-4 When the Feast of Pentecost came, they (the disciples) were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. 5-11There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were thunderstruck. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; Visitors from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; Immigrants from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Even Cretans and Arabs! “They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!” 12Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?” 13Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.” 14-21That’s when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: “Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren’t drunk as some of you suspect. They haven’t had time to get drunk—it’s only nine o’clock in the morning.

DRUNKEN TOMFOOLERY

I love this. The Holy Spirit descends like fire and the disciples and women from the upper room start describing God’s mighty works in the native languages of all these pilgrims that have come to Jerusalem for the Festival of Weeks. The scriptures say that the pilgrims are thunderstruck, in awe. The only explanation they can come up with is that the disciples are lushes! Drunk off cheap wine!

Peter and his crew must not have looked like the kind of folks that would have access to a $100,000 bottle of Chateau Yquem. It’s assumed they’re knocking back the equivalent of Boone’s Farm from 7-Eleven… not that I’m an expert or anything. :=) We’ve all had vices. Mine didn’t happen to be alcohol/drugs.

The point is nobody had an explanation for why roughneck, sailor-type Jewish Galileans would be able to speak in the mother tongues of Jews and non-Jews from Egypt, Libya, Asia, etc.

PICTURE THIS

This would be like your family is from New Orleans. Your ethnic background is a concoction of French, African, Native American, Spanish, Italian and Greek descent. You trace your roots and find family members from all over the world and invite them to a family reunion which coincides with our nation’s biggest holiday, the 4th of July. People arrive by plane, train, car. You all go downtown to see fireworks.

When you arrive, you hear a sound like a whirlwind that looks like little flames from heaven that fill a building downtown. Then, Jewish men and women tumble out the building and start speaking French, Spanish, Italian, Greek, maybe Zulu, and a variation of Choctaw. Your family members from all over the world stand in awe. How in the world could these people know the language of the Choctaw tribe?

Or let’s bring it home.
Imagine you are one of the disciples. You’re caught up in the wind of the Spirit, something that feels like a tongue of fire rests on you and then you start speaking languages you have never spoken: Japanese, Russian, Swahili. You walk down the street and people who understand what you are saying start coming around you and dialoguing with you. Before today, you have never spoken Japanese. Now you are carrying on a full conversation and telling folks about the goodness of God.

That’s what happened in Jerusalem.
God knew how to get people’s attention.
He made something happen that they considered impossible.
Impossible!

3,000 SOULS IN 1 DAY

Then Peter preaches the first church sermon and gives an explanation of what has happened. He breaks down the prophesies from the Old Testament, which God’s people at the Festival would’ve been familiar with, and connects the dots.

The people respond and want to know what to do next.

Peter says, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our God invites.”

The scripture says that 3,000 souls believe Peter at his word and are baptized that day. Talk about a pool party! Talk about the birth of a movement. 3,000!

In today’s numbers, that would be an instant megachurch. I believe the number today is 2,000 in weekly worship to qualify as a megachurch.

An interesting study by Hartford Institute reports that there are about 1,200 Protestant megachurches in America, which represents 3/10 of 1% of all congregations. The study shows that “megachurches are in 45 out of 50 states. The states with the most megachurches are Texas with 174 (14%), California with 169 (13.7%), Florida with 83 (6.7%) and Georgia with 64 (5.2%). Houston and Dallas alone account for 56 megachurches or 4.5% of the total.”

Where my Texas fam?! Houston and the Big D are representing.

Anyway, the first day the church exists, 3,000 souls believe. That’s pretty phenomenal.

WHAT NOW?

I think we can learn a lot from that beautiful birthday of the church and what happened thereafter.

First of all, the church is birthed out of a promise from the Lord. Jesus tells His disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit. He promises that God will send His Spirit and the disciples will be His witnesses throughout the earth. (Acts 1:1-8) So, they wait. We would do well to wait on the Lord and move forward based on His promises. His Word is paramount.

Secondly, the church is birthed out of the prayers of both men and women. Acts 1:13-14 recounts how the disciples and the women who follow Jesus, plus Mary, Jesus’ mother and His brothers all go to the upper room in Jerusalem and dedicate themselves continually to prayer. They pray until the promise of the Holy Spirit is fulfilled. Do we pray like this, Fam? Do we believe God’s Word and pray until it is fulfilled?

Finally, the church commits itself to God’s teaching, doing life together, eating together and praying together (Acts 2:41-47). The apostles perform signs and miracles. Believers live in wonderful harmony, with all things in common. People pool their resources to meet each person’s needs. They daily worship together followed by celebratory meals that are exuberant and joyful. They continually praise God. And each day, their numbers grow.

Why? Because people want to be a part of a community that looks like this: joyous, loving, exuberant, fellowship, needs are met.

Do our churches look like this?
Do we, as believers, look like this?
Are we doing life together? Or just showing up on Sunday morning?
When we’re invited to fellowship, do we accept the invitation or would we rather rough it alone?

Do we give as much as we take?
Do we pour into other’s lives or just expect to be poured into?
Do we use our spiritual gifts or bury them?
Do we meet needs?

Are we praying?
Are we living out God’s promises?
Are we asking the Holy Spirit to lead us?

Are we having a good time?
Look, people thought the disciples were drunk! Smashed on cheap wine!
Does that sound like they weren’t having a good time?!

What does our church look like, 21st century?
Does she need a little nip and tuck? Or a whole makeover?

Things to ponder on this 1979th birthday!
Let’s celebrate this weekend.
Happy Happy,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
SO GOOD!

© William Matthews “So Good To Me”

I woke up early this morning still reeling from the fiasco that led to yesterday’s blog, Rejection, Howard Stern & 7 Year Old. Rejection isn’t easy for adults, much less a child.

It’s great, as artists, that we are sensitive enough to feel each other’s pain, empathize with others and sound the alarms when stuff ain’t right. Great! But we also have to pull it together and make a decision to not stay in a place of grief and devastation.

That’s where I was this morning. Had to get. it. together.

Got a lot going on today:
* Being interviewed for an article in the local papers
* Find new scenes for actors I’m coaching
* Follow up with several ministry donors
* Follow up with DVD duplication
* Buried in D.MIN assignments due 1st week of June
* Prep for Sunday’s sermon
* List goes on and on…

My daily devotional time helped me to refocus and channel some of the volcanic emotions I was experiencing.

I really like using The Daily Bible because its in chronological order, and I can get through the entire Bible each year. Right now, I’m a couple of days off from traveling over the weekend, but I’m playing catch up and we’re in the section where Solomon dedicates the new temple. Good stuff.

2 CHRONICLES 7: 1-10
Excerpt
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”

I wish we could see this in 3D!
Talk about a spectacle!
Picture it:

Solomon calls the people of God to dedicate this magnificent gold-covered temple for the Lord. Solomon prays and asks the Lord to hear their prayers. Then fire comes from heaven and consumes their offerings and sacrifices. God’s glory fills the temple so much so that the priests can’t even enter. At that point, all the people fall on their faces to the ground and worship. They declare how good God is and that His love endures forever.

Something about seeing fire fall from heaven would probably lead us to fall on our faces as well and worship. And honestly, the fact that we’re not consumed by the fire, would certainly encourage me to declare that God is good! Just saying!

But seriously, this reminded me of the William Matthews’ song “SO GOOD TO ME” from the Hope’s Anthem album.

The truth is God is so good to me, so good to us. Certainly we can take a second and declare that He is good.

Love this song. And I hope that it encourages you today as much as it encourages me. We don’t have to wait for fire to fall from the sky. We can just go head on and worship.

Dancing around my office,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
REJECTION, HOWARD STERN & 7 YEAR OLD

Did you see this last night?
7 year old rapper Amir Palmer aka Mir Money fell apart when Howard Stern explained why he X’ed him on NBC’s America’s Got Talent. Even I cried.

And I don’t even watch the show. How I ended up on NBC at that exact moment when the first grader walked on stage is still a mystery to me. But I saw this little pint-sized child rapping about money and thought, “There’s got to be other things for children to talk about…”

Amir is cute.
He has charisma.
But the refrain of “Get money” wasn’t the best fit.

Then Howard Stern hit the big “X” buzzer.
Followed by Sharon Osbourne.
Howie Mandel was the only one who had the decency to not destroy the child.
Nick Cannon rushed out to be supportive.
But by then, it was all tears.

Look, I’m not saying Amir should’ve been put through the next rounds. But X’ing a child on international TV is just cruel.

WHO’S TO BLAME?

And I don’t blame Howard Stern. He’s a figure head. I blame the producers. Everything that we see on reality TV is produced. There are thousands of contestants that producers wade through to get to the ones that they allow us to actually see during prime time. It’s all calculated. So, this is no mistake.

According to an article in the New York Post, Amir’s mother Regine Palmer says that Amir was told that he had actually made it to the next rounds and was going to Vegas. Nick Cannon instructed him to say to the cameras, “I’m going to Vegas!” Amir prepared. Regine received a call the day they were supposed to leave from the producers that Amir would not be going on after all. Hot mess!

The decisions about the show are not made by the 3 judges that you see sitting there every week. The decisions are made by producers based on what they can edit together as a show that will keep people watching and advertisers buying.

Nobody cared to explain this to Amir.
So, I hold the producers and NBC responsible for this fiasco.
Stop the madness.

REJECTION

The reason this hit home is that I felt Amir’s pain – the awful sting of rejection.

As actors, we live through this scenario every day. Thank God it gets better over time, but something about seeing and hearing those X buzzers on that child hit a raw nerve.

I not only cried for Amir.
I cried for every actor I know who is X’d in LA every day.
I cried for the rejection that we feel.
I cried for an industry that would think it’s okay to exploit our children for financial gain.
At what point do we say, “Enough!”

This was my first and last time tuning in to America’s Got Talent.
I will not support this circus or the advertisers who under-gird it.
That might seem like an over-reaction, but is it?

What happens to Amir now?
What does this do for him as the rapper who cried on national TV?
How can I help educate parents about what really happens with reality shows?

I pray that Amir will bounce back, I do.
I hope that he knows that beyond this, he truly is accepted and loved.

ACCEPTANCE

For every artist and person who reads my blog, please be encouraged today.
Your value as a person is not derived from how well you perform.
You can have an off day, an off performance, and still retain the truth that you are most precious in the eyes of a Heavenly Father who created you.

You may or may not get the audition.
You may or may not book the job.
You may or may not work this year as an actor.
You may or may not pay your bills as a singer/songwriter.
It doesn’t matter. You are still loved and cherished.

Here is PSALM 139: 13-18
I hope that it will encourage you.

13 For you (God) created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand — when I awake, I am still with you.

We are not alone.
No matter what, God is still with us.

I send love to Amir today. Maybe I’ll meet him at some point and give him a big hug. Maybe I’ll find a way to employ him in one of our projects. You never know.

I send love to each of you.
And when people start throwing up X’s and spewing out rejection, let’s remember that they don’t define us. We are wonderful. God says so,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
MONDAY MORNING IN HOLLYWOOD

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Monday morning in Hollywood is a scramble… for numbers.
Studios, agents, actors all want to know one thing:
How much did our movie make?

That box office number can make or break a studio’s budget for the next year, an agent’s next pitching plans for his/her star client, and an actor’s entire career.

Everywhere else in the world, life goes on. People could care less that The Avengers made another $55 million in America or that Battleship (based on the video game) having made only $25 million, is considered a flop. Those outside of Hollywood might even ask, why is $25 million a flop? Why? Because Universal spent $209 million.

To be honest, even writing these numbers is bizarre to me.

I am very much apart of this industry, and I too care about its successes and failures, but the fact that a studio has $209 million to spend on making 1 film tells me that there are billions behind the scenes. The fact that The Avengers has made over $1 billion worldwide tells me that people are still going to the movies and supporting films that they really want to see.

NUMBERS DON’T LIE

So, it’s hard to understand when producers try to slash budgets and squeeze working actors out of residuals, health insurance, etc. I wear both hats as a producer and an actor, and I get both sides, but let’s stop trying to convince each other that the industry is not making money.

The numbers don’t lie.
Somebody’s making money.

OK, I hear the objections. According to the L.A. Times box office article by John Horn this morning, the three new releases in the Top 5 did “awful” this weekend. Universal’s Battleship drowned at $25 million, Liongate’s comedy What to Expect When You’re Expecting tanked at $10.5 million (having cost $40 million), and Paramount’s The Dictator only made $17.5 million back of its $65 million production budget.

I look at the same data and wonder if studios should simply take a hint.

Just because a video game sells well doesn’t mean we have to spend $200 million to turn it into a movie. Perhaps we should leave it as a video game. And just because we put Rihanna in an acting role doesn’t mean the film will be a blockbuster, nothing against Rihanna. I haven’t had the privilege to meet her yet, but I’m addressing the thoughts of producers to put singers, rappers and reality stars in films in lieu of actors in order to bring an audience.

Besides, the only reason $25 million is considered a flop is because the studio spent $209 million. Most Tyler Perry movies make $25 million or less opening weekend; they’ve never made blockbuster status of $100 million; yet people rave about how financially successful they are. Why?

Because Perry spends about $3-6 million or less to make the film and Lionsgate matches whatever he spends to distribute, then they split the profits. If together they spend $6 – $12 million and opening weekend makes $25 million, both Tyler and Lionsgate make their investment back + $12 – $19 million pure profit the first weekend. Everything after is more profit, and it doesn’t even matter how good the film is. People are looking at the numbers.

ALL ABOUT PERSPECTIVE

It’s all about perspective.
$25 million opening weekend can mean a huge success.
Or $25 million opening weekend can mean a dismal failure.
It’s all based on the initial amount that has been spent.

And people are rewarded or not, accordingly.
The president of Disney will undoubtedly see a huge bonus this year based on Disney’s distribution of The Avengers. At Universal, somebody might get fired based on Battleship.

It’s all about the numbers.

MATTERS OF FAITH

As people of faith, we are encouraged not to shy away from the numbers, but to understand what’s going on in our world and model our faith in the midst of it all.

Do you remember Jesus’ parable of the shrewd manager?

LUKE 16: 1-15

Please take the time to read or re-read it.

The cliff note version is that a rich master calls his manager into account when the manager has wasted and mismanaged the rich man’s possessions. In order to build relationships to use when he is fired, the manager wheels and deals to gain favor with the rich man’s clients.

Instead of criticizing the shrewd manager, Jesus says the following:

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

FAITH & MONEY

Jesus does not shy away from talking about faith and finances. He talks about money candidly. He addresses numbers.

He reminds His observers that there is nothing wrong with knowing how to deal shrewdly with money. He commends the manager for knowing how to make the best of a bad situation. He even draws the conclusion that if people do not know how to handle worldly wealth, they will not know how to deal with the true riches, which are heavenly.

Can you believe that?

This flies in the face of all Christians who believe they are not supposed to concern themselves with how to handle money. Jesus says the opposite. He says if we do not know how to handle money, which is earthly, we will not know how to handle true riches, which are spiritual.

If we are dishonest with our worldly possessions, there is NO WAY we can be trusted with spiritual possessions. Does that make sense?

On the other hand, Jesus says we cannot love money and love God. We are to handle money, not love it. We are to love God. Don’t get things twisted.

FAITH, MONEY & HOLLYWOOD

Monday morning in Hollywood is all about the numbers.

As people of faith in Hollywood, we need to know what those numbers are. We need to be well versed on what is going on in our industry and understand what’s happening with what projects, which studios and how it impacts all of us.

If we can make a movie for $6 million and it makes $25 million, great!
If we make a movie for $200 million it it makes $25 million, let’s learn from it.

We do not shy away from the numbers.
But we also are not to fall in love with the numbers.
At the end of the day, they are just numbers.

How we handle them reflects what is truly in our hearts.
How we handle them reflects how we serve and honor God.
When it’s all said and done, we love God, who knows our hearts.
And we strive to handle well the true riches, which are not of this world.

It’s a new week.
Thanks for your prayers for the weekend.

The “Reveal Your Glory” event in Maryland was phenomenal. The Lord met us there. And my flight was not only on time, but early, back to LA Sunday to preach at our bible fellowship. God is faithful.

Shout out to all the ladies in Randallstown and B’More. You’re wonderful!
Shout out to my good friend filmmaker Avril Speaks for coming through. Great to see you.
Shout out to the HOPE fam, who endured the sounds of the parking lot power-washing while I was preaching yesterday. Who power washes on a Sunday? Only in LaLa Land folks. Only in the LaLa.

Today is my day off.
So, with that, I’m off!
I’ve got to find a way to write these Monday blogs on Friday or something… but then it wouldn’t truly be a Monday blog, would it? I don’t know. I’ll figure it out!

Thinking of ways to make our next project under-budget,
Naima

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DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
CRISSCROSS COUNTRY

photo source

At the airport. Crisscrossing country this weekend:
LaLa to B’More and back again. Sweet.

I could use your prayers:

* For Saturday’s “Reveal Your Glory” event (sneak peek video) at New Antioch in MD to really reveal God’s glory! :=) I’m keynoting followed by a concert from Dove & Stellar Award nominee Vicki Yohe, and I’m praying for the Lord to meet us through His word and worship.

* And for Sunday’s flight to be on time and get me back to LA to preach at our bible fellowship by 11:30. For backup, I did ask Kevin to re-prep one of his bible studies, just in case.

All in all, should be exciting.

Yesterday was Ascension Day. Sunday is Ascension Sunday, so we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Up, Up & Away!

Today, let’s remember His message to His disciples before He jetted.

MATTHEW 28:18-20

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The family of God calls this message “The Great Commission”.

Why? Because it’s where Jesus commissions His disciples to go forth and make other disciples. Jesus basically says this good news is for everybody, so, get to stepping! Spread it! Baptize folks. Teach them God’s commandments.

And the best part, He will never leave us. He promises to be with us always. Can’t get much better than that.

So, how are we doing, Fam?
On this commission?
Told anybody the good news lately?
If not, we must get to stepping! :=)

An analogy:
If we were millionaires with complete financial security and we could share the ability to become millionaires with every person we knew and loved, wouldn’t we share that information. Wouldn’t we want everyone to come up?

Millions are good, but temporary. Eternal life is better. We have this good news of eternal life through Christ. Shouldn’t we want to share it?

Those first 11 disciples turned Jerusalem and the world upside down with that good news. And when the Apostle Paul came on the scene and started sharing with all the Gentiles, it was on! Folks died for their faith. Folks are still dying. This is so much bigger than us individually. It’s been a global phenomenon for 2,000 years.

So, let’s celebrate.

It’s Ascension weekend.
Christ crisscrossed heaven and disappeared into the sky and will return, as promised.
That’s something to shout about!

OK, got to make a restroom run before this 5 hour flight.
That’s probably way more information than you wanted to know! :=)

Have a great weekend,
Naima

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UP, UP & AWAY

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Up, up & away!

Who comes to mind when we hear that phrase?

Superman, circa 1950
The 5th Dimension, circa 1967
Or Kid Cudi, circa 2009

What about Christ, circa 33? :=)

Today is Ascension Day, Fam.
It’s the 40th day of Easter and the day believers all over the world celebrate Jesus going up, up and away!

What a sight that must’ve been!
Can you imagine?

One minute, He’s giving final instructions. The next, He’s floating into the sky – no wings, no plane – just Him, defying all matter of gravity.

In Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles, he records that Jesus is taken up before the disciples’ very eyes until a cloud hides him from their sight:

ACTS 1: 1-10
Excerpt:
3 After his suffering, he (Jesus) presented himself to them (apostles) and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God… 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

WHERE’S THE KING?

What amazes me about the conversation that takes place before Jesus ascends is that His disciples are still asking if He will be the Messiah, the King, that many of them had hoped for – the One who would restore the kingdom of Israel!

Since He had conquered death, rose from the dead, and walked around on earth another 40 days after He arose, surely He could topple Rome, right? Who would be able to stand against Him? He couldn’t die… or stay dead, rather!

Think about it. He’s the perfect warrior. Even Superman could catch a case of kryptonite and expire.
But Jesus?! They all witnessed Him die on a cross and come back alive. He showed them the scars on His hands from the nails and His side from the piercing, and proved to them that it was indeed Him. Certainly, He could restore Israel to its rightful place, right?!

But what is Jesus’ response to His disciples?

He basically says it’s not for them to know the times or dates of their restoration. They’ve got to focus on what’s at hand. They will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to be His witnesses. I love it.

Jesus says, “You’re focused on the wrong thing! Re-focus! Your next task is to be my witnesses to the ends of the earth!”

RE-FOCUS

Before we judge the disciples, don’t we do the same thing?
Anybody ever asked the Lord, “When are you going to take over this wreck of a world?”
“When are You going to restore your people to their rightful place?”
“When are You going to get the bad guys and reward the good guys?”
“Why do those who are corrupt in government get away with so much?”
“Why did the powers that be get away with tumbling our entire economy into a down spin?”
“When are You going to take control and bring order?”

And how many times has the Lord said to us, “You’re focused on the wrong thing! Re-focus!”
“You’re gig is to be my witness to the ends of the earth!”

LAST WORDS

People’s last words are considered most important.

Steve Job’s sister Mona revealed his last words last year were, “Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow…”, and the news outlets carried the story for a week.

Famous entrepreneur and circus founder P.T. Barnum reportedly asked at his end, 1891, “How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?”

Jesus’ last words before flying up were a reiteration of their commission, our commission, which is go be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.

That’s probably pretty significant.

UP, UP & AWAY

Then, he ascended.
And 2 angels appeared and said that the same way He ascended, He will return.

What difference does Jesus’ ascension make in 2012?

It gives us hope and assurance that He is who He says He is and that He will return as He says He will. We have hope that as we believe in Him, we too, will be raised from death and spend eternity in that perfect place with Him, free of all things bad.

One day, we all get to go up, up and away.
This ain’t it… meaning this current world… this is temporary.
The one thing that we are all promised is that we will leave this place.
I’m so glad Jesus showed us the way and sacrificed His all so that we can go up, up and away with Him.

No cape necessary.
But if I had one, it’d be fuchsia and black and dance in the wind,
Naima

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COLOR BLIND CHURCH?

Looking forward to serving alongside Vicki Yohe this weekend in MD.

Color blind casting (the practice of casting a role without considering ethnicity) is supposed to be all the rage these days.

Angelina Jolie will follow in Elizabeth Taylor’s footsteps as the next Egyptian queen Cleopatra.
No comment. :=) And Samuel L. Jackson has benefited from the reinterpretation of General Nick Fury in Marvel’s The Avengers franchise. This last movie just hit $1 billion in 19 days, by the way.

But does color blindness work in the church?
Or better yet, should it even be our goal?

Color blindness is defined as the inability to distinguish the differences between certain colors. Most people with the actual retina condition have trouble distinguishing between red and green and really have to know their way around a traffic light.

Others refer to color blindness as an ideal state of society in which people don’t see color, race or ethnicity when they deal with other people.

For the record, I don’t believe this secondary color blindness is possible in our wonderful America. We have too much racial history and baggage.

In our country, no matter what people say, they will not be able to look at me and not see that I am a woman of color. They may not know what I am, and I’ve had more than one industry professional ask me that exact question, but no one looks at me and goes color blind. They see that I have color, and I love it.

I believe we all should embrace who we are. We have no control whatsoever of who are parents are or our bloodlines. We are born as we are, and if we believe in an all-knowing God, we believe that our formation is not a random accident. We have purpose.

So, back to my original question, does color blindness work in the church?
I don’t think so.
Neither do I think it should.
The church is not a building. It’s a huge family!
A multi-cultural family of all nations, tribes, people and languages held together by a common belief in Jesus as our Messiah.

When John recorded his heavenly vision in the Book of Revelation, he noted the diversity of God’s people:

REVELATION 7:9-17
Excerpt:
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:“Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

Does that sound like God is trying to make us color blind?
Not at all.
Around the heavenly throne is a great multitude of every color we can imagine.
The heavenly choirs are more diverse than “We are the World” Part I and Part II.

Now, that being said, can the church do a better job of loving one another and others who happen to be different colors and ethnicity. Of course! The church, the family of God, need to lead the way in reconciliation, positive race relations, and treating people with equality regardless of ethnicity.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King is credited as saying, “the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday morning.”

If we worship in the communities where we live, and those communities are homogeneous, that could explain the segregation. But the truth is, many worshipers get in their cars and drive up to 45 minutes across town to serve in segregated congregations. People worship and serve where they feel most comfortable. I believe God is more concerned about His children walking with Him, meeting the needs of others and fulfilling His commission.

I have to admit that I am biased, though.

We’ve started a bible fellowship in Beverly Hills that champions the vision from Revelation. We dream of a fellowship that looks like heaven (diverse), sounds like heaven (worship-filled), loves like God loves and lives like Christ lives.

One of our visitors recently commented, “This really has to be God. Where else can you find a place where a hip hop dancer and a descendant of a concentration camp survivor can worship together?”

She was not being color blind.
She marveled at the diversity of color the Lord brought together. Why else would these two of cross-generation and cross-culture ever even meet?

She caught a glimpse of the family.
She caught a glimpse of heaven.
And we yearn for heaven.

Deep down, we can’t wait for John’s Revelation 7:16-17 to come to pass:
16 ‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Bring it on!

This Saturday I get to experience a little bit of heaven as I serve alongside Dove Award and Stellar Award nominee, Vicki Yohe, (pictured below). I have been invited to give the keynote for the “Reveal Your Glory” Event and Concert at New Antioch Baptist Church in Randallstown, MD. Program starts at 3 PM.

When interviewed by CBN, Vicki, who ministers in song in black and white churches alike, recently said, “ Faith is not a color, and the Lord loves all of His children the same.”

Thank God our faith isn’t a color.
And thank God He made His family of faith all kinds of colors.
We are one big beautiful sea of hues.
And I celebrate us.

Loving my 3-D, one red lens, one blue lens glasses,
Naima

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I’ll TRUST YOU

Naima dances @ Allen Cathedral’s Worship Conference in New York
©Donnie McClurken, I’ll Trust You, Lord, Zomba Recording LLC, Live in London, Buy MP3

Trust is a choice.
What happens when God asks, “Will you trust Me?”

TRUE STORY

Four years ago, my beautiful friend Rev. Eyesha Marable, founder of the National Liturgical Dance Network, invited me back to serve and share at Greater Allen Cathedral’s bi-annual Worship Conference in New York. Allen has a rich AME history dating back to 1834 and has grown to 18,000 members under the leadership of Pastors Floyd & Elaine Flake. We’re looking forward to this year’s conference, July 25-29th. It’s a huge, international family reunion with hundreds of arts ministries. If you’re an artist of faith, particularly in dance, register. It’s amazing.

So, in 2008, I was asked to minister in dance for the Sunday morning 8:30 service following the week-long conference. Allen actually has 3 services each Sunday: 6:30, 8:30 and 11:15. Leading up to that week, I had been fervently praying about what to share. Each house of worship is different, and I pray to be sensitive to what’s needed.

I had a strong impression about Pastor Donnie McClurken’s song, “I’ll Trust You, Lord”, which had been out for some time, but had recently been re-released on his ‘Essential’ album. Honestly, I didn’t really want to minister the song.

I kept thinking, “What am I going to do, Lord? Ask the whole congregation if they will trust you? Really?”

But that’s exactly what was intended. I kept seeing, in my mind’s eye, a scenario in which I invited the whole congregation to trust the Lord, and then, declare our trust to Him through a simple movement – everybody, corporately. Only problem was, I didn’t actually believe that the WHOLE congregation would roll with me. Are you kidding?

It sounded crazier the closer I got to Sunday. I tried to change songs, but I didn’t have all of my repertoire with me. I had no peace about changing, but wasn’t sure what would happen if I went forward with this notion “from God”. What if I was wrong and people refused to move?

We’ve all been there, haven’t we?
A visiting minister asks us to do something during worship that we’re not comfortable with!
A-W-K-W-A-R-D!
I didn’t want to be that girl.

Then, it happened.
In a rehearsal room. By myself.
As I finally began reluctantly choreographing the song, I heard in my spirit, “Will you trust me?”
I stopped moving.
The song went on, “What if I tell you to let go of the very thing you think you have to hold? Will you trust me?”
I crumbled to the floor.

“What’s coming, Lord?” I asked.
“Will you trust me?” I heard.
“What will I have to let go?”
“Will you trust me?”

Now, tears are racing each other for my chin.

In the choreography, I’m supposed to throw up both hands in surrender and say, “Yes, I’ll trust you, Lord”; but I couldn’t do it. I lay in a heap on the floor remembering the last few years of trusting God through my husband’s cancer battle, healing our broken marriage, trying to get through seminary, starting our production company. Just when the sun was beginning to shine, and we were feeling “normal” again, what life tsunami was on the way?

I had a decision to make.
Tsunami with God?
Tsunami without?
Tsunami was a’coming. Would I trust Him?

I mean, God had a stellar track record.
He had healed my husband and obliterated the cancer through the chemotherapy.
After a year of intense marriage counseling, our relationship was solid and healthy.
Made it through seminary and Lett’s Rise! Productions was on its feet and moving forward.
Life, at times, had been unbearable, but God had proven Himself trustworthy.

The truth is I simply have a strong aversion to hard times. I don’t really like them. I don’t do cartwheels for trials and tribulations. I prefer easy-breezy.

I live in LaLa Land for a reason. It’s 80 degrees with a breeze most days. No rain. No 106 degrees in the summer. No snow. No ice. No tornado. No hurricanes. Just mild, gorgeous, easy-going weather. Now the earth shakes every now and then, but if you can get used to that, it’s great.

So, another earthquake was on the way.

I ministered the song at Allen in August 2008. And amazingly the entire congregation flowed together! See video above. It was truly something to experience. Thank God.

But by November 2008, the tsunami/quake hit: unemployment, severe car accidents, physical therapy, temporary homelessness, church upheavals, complete life redirection – all at no fault of our own. If we had mismanaged our finances and ended up on the street, I could understand. But we hadn’t. If we drove recklessly and had accidents, it would make sense. That’s not what happened. For 2 years, stuff kept shaking.

And guess what?
I had to “Let Go!” of everything.
Nothing was solid… except that Kevin and I were alive and still together, walking with the Lord. That’s it.

Each time something else or someone else fell away, I’d hear the question, “Will you trust me?”
Some days, I threw up both hands and said, “Yes, I’ll trust you, Lord.”
Other days, all I could do was whisper, “I don’t right now, but help me trust you. I’m sure all this will make sense down the line…”

Why do I share this story with you today?
Because there may be things that have occurred in your life that make absolutely no sense whatsoever, but sometimes, it’s not about the thing. It’s about our faith and trust in our God.

Is He still God when things fall apart?
Is He still God when we’re sick? Or is He just God when we’re healthy?
Is He still God when we don’t have a home? Or is He just God when our home is tight?
Is He still God when our children act a fool? Or is He just God when they’re straight?

Which earthquake/tsunami will occur that breaks our faith where we declare, “He’s not God”?
Even if we declare it, that doesn’t make it true.
He’s still God – whether things in our lives are grand or not.
On this broken side of heaven, stuff happens. Things break. People break.

Question is, “Will you trust Him?”

I pray that you will be encouraged today by Pastor Donnie’s song.
And I pray that we’ll be able, at some point, to throw up both hands and say, “I’ll trust you, Lord.”

PSALM 25
Of David
1 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.
2 I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long

Let’s hope in God all day long,
Naima

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