Lakisha, the Author

New Book Alert … Shattered

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What would you do, if you could no longer hide behind the wall you’ve created?

What would you do, if the shattered pieces of your life began to cut, deeper and you can no longer hide the blood?

For Camille Shannon, she’s unapologetic about who she is, until she comes face to face with a demon of her past and it sends her spiraling.

From unfaithfulness to drugs, to love and loss; she’s experienced it. Some of it is due to her actions yet when she tries to get her life together, it’s proving to be harder than she expected. Will Camille find the strength to deal with the skeletons, in her closet, the ones that left her torn and battered; or will she always be Camille Shannon, hiding instead of owning her truth … she’s SHATTERED?

BUY HERE

Excerpt:

“I’m sick of having this same argument with you.”

“And I’m sick of assuming you want this marriage,” I tell him.

“I do want this marriage, why else would I still be here?”

“To annoy me,” I shrug then laugh. “Maybe this is karma for everything I’ve done, to you or it’s God’s way of punishing me for breaking my vows. Either way, I can’t keep doing this. When I get back from Miami, I’m going to find somewhere else to stay and file for divorce. Now, get out,” I say walking over to open the door.

He grabs my arm, turning me to face him and closes the door. “I’m not going anywhere and you’re going to listen to me, for once.”

“I don’t—”

“Damn it, Camille.” The sound of his voice causes me to jump. “I’m sorry for yelling but I’ve put up with so much of your shit and never once did I say divorce. The nights, no the mornings you’d come in from doing God knows what, I was right here. When you threw in my face, your cheating, I still gave you chance after chance. The night you overdosed—”

“Don’t.”

“No,” he says pushing me back against the wall. “The night you overdosed, I gave you the option to stay and get help, but you left, and we all know how that worked out. You, laying in the hospital for seven days and I was right there, watching you fight for your life. Camille, I’ve always been here, for you, even when I should have put your ass out and now, the first time I mess up, you want to leave me. Well, you can’t because you owe me more than that.”

I snatch my arm away from him.

“I don’t owe you anything.”

“Like hell! You owe me the same freaking thing I keep giving you and that’s a chance. Camille, I made a huge mistake but why is my sin costing more than all the ones you’ve committed? Why should I have to pay, with our marriage when you almost paid with your life and yet, I’m right here? Am I not worth, fighting for?”

BUY HERE

Daily Devotional – 9/23/19 “IT’S TIME!”

As I prepared to blog, this morning, I open Facebook, to see a post from my cousin. Her words said, “I couldn’t heal because I kept pretending, I wasn’t hurt! I’m no longer pretending!” Baby, if this won’t preach. Let me tell y’all something … you better open your mouth. You’re walking around dressed up, acting like you’re good when truthfully, you’re bleeding under your clothes. You get up, earlier, every day, to make sure your wounds and scars are covered because, God forbid, somebody finds out you’re human. You don’t want folk to know your relationship is really a situationship. You don’t want nobody to know, you’ve been a victim of abuse, low self-esteem, depression, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide, broken promises, daddy issues and/or being taken advantage of by men or women. You sleep around because you’re afraid of being alone. Your words are harsh because you try to hurt folk before they hurt you, again. Beloved, you can’t heal because you keep pretending you aren’t hurt. Who are you?

There were times I’d be afraid of people knowing, the real me. Not anymore. I am, who I am and if you don’t know, let me tell you. My name is Lakisha Dionne Rucker Bloodworth Johnson. I used to be angry at our dead-beat dad who changed our last name but never took the time to raise us. I used to have bad credit, living paycheck to paycheck while robbing Peter to pay Paul, check advances, title loan, bankruptcy; all while serving in God’s house. I’ve been married for 21 years but it ain’t been all good, cause at one point he didn’t like me, and I couldn’t stand him, and it caused us both to be unfaithful and unhappy. I can go on, but the point is, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I had to confess some stuff to be cleansed of it.

And somebody reading this, it’s time you owned your truth, too or you’ll dread opening your eyes, every morning, for having to fight another day with your present circumstances knocking the life out of you. Yea, I know, you’ve always been the strong one and now you’re too ashamed to show weakness because you think it might stain your image. You’ve been the encourager, for so long, that you don’t even recognize your need for encouragement. You’re always the one helping that you’ve yet to see it’s you who is now in need. You’re always the one feeding folk (physically and spiritually) that you can’t even hear your own stomach growling for nourishment. IT’S TIME … time for you to stop pretending and IT’S TIME … time you get healed.

12:38 AM Prayer

God,

I pray your spirit will saturate and comfort your children, who need you. Father, in this watch hour, I petition your throne to confront every storm of destruction and every wave of distraction that is being put into motion against your people. Father, destroy every curse that tries to steal blessings, stop purpose, interrupt destinies and dismantle the attack; before it even begins.

There’s somebody restless with worry and tossing because their pillow is wet with tears. There’s somebody who keeps drinking, just to stop the visions of the worst day of their life. Somebody is starring at pills, to quiet the voices. Somebody is in the eye of the storm and chaos is everywhere they look.

God, rescue your people.

That’s why I’m up, at this very hour, praying for peace. This is why, I’m up, praying for light to cast out the darkness during the darkest time of night. God, I’m decreeing peace, right now. Even if we don’t understand, give peace to trust your plan.

Father, I’m pleading the blood of your only son Jesus, right now. Why? For those who need to feel your touch and see you work. I’m pleading the blood of Jesus. Why? For somebody who simply needs you. I’m pleading the blood. Why? Because you said, if I ask in faith, it shall be. I’m asking for those who can’t find the words, those to weak to pray, to tired to cry and to angry to believe.

Allow my faith to cover them and don’t allow their faith to fail.

Amen.

Midnight Prayer

God, I pray that your spirit will saturate those who are tired, suicidal, depressed and at the end of their rope. Father, in this watch hour, dismantle every attack that is being put into motion, silence every demonic voice, remove the nightmares, don’t allow the gun to fire, the pills or poison to work. Instead God, rescue your children.

While I’m praying, break the shackles, destroy the chains and open prison doors of their mind that they may be free. While we’re praying, dispatch your angels. They may not take away the pain but they can strengthen and hold up the ones going through. And if the person reading this, is going through a dark period, give nighttime vision to see until it’s over. Comfort, tonight, those in mourning. Give hope, peace and understanding where there is none.

God, I need you to do it now, for your people. Place a song on their lips instead of sorrow. Let them rest, tonight, in you, knowing that someone is praying their faith doesn’t fail and that they survive.

Amen.

Daily Devotional – 9/6/19 “Keep Going!”

I need to encourage somebody, who is going through a dark time. Maybe its grief, sickness, abandonment, loneliness, financial problems, ministry woes, business failing … whatever.

KEEP GOING!

There’s a devotional, I wrote last year, regarding roller coasters. When you’re on a roller coaster, there comes a time when you might have to go through the part of the ride, that’s dark. Although, it only lasts a second, you still experienced the darkness. Why? Well, it’s part of the journey. You don’t get to customize the ride to fit you, by telling the operator, “I want to skip the dark parts,” do you? No, you get on, pull the bar down, to lock you in place and then prepare for the ride. If this is the case, what makes you think, you can change the parts of this journey, you have no control over.

Instead, here’s what you do. BUCKLE UP!

Sure, there’s going to be some twists and turns, some moments that cause your stomach to drop, sometimes you’ll have to scream out, squeeze your eyes shut and pray for it to end. It will but while you’re riding, this roller coaster of life; hold your head up, only lowering it when you’re in the posture of prayer. Trust that your God has made you to endure, withstand and overcome. And if nothing else, know that sometimes, in the dark parts of our journey, is when God has taken us down for maintenance. Hold tight because you’ll be back, running, in tip top condition in no time.

“It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8