I was blessed with the opportunity to cover this marvelous concert event for Houston native & worship artist, Chad Brawley. His debut album, The WeWorship Project, is co-produced by Grammy nominated producers Terence Vaughn and Cedric Smith. It also features guest vocals & appearances by Cheryl Fortune, Sheri Jones- Moffett, Daniel Johnson, Gene Moore, and others. All ticket sales from this event went to the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. I'm sure like most of you reading, this is my first time hearing of Chad, and if so all I can say is: thank me later! Scroll over the links to check  him out!

Now on to the event...


Let me tell you, it was a true worship encounter!! The red carpet before-so many artists gathered under the roof of The Luke Church to support and congratulate Chad. The Walls Group, Brian Courtney Wilson, Eric Carrington, author Jotina Buck, along with a plethora of others. There was so much love in the building.

Amber Shaw w/ The Walls Group, Brian Courtney Wilson, Eric Carrington & Jotina Buck; Dr. Timothy Sloan Pastor of Luke Church w/ Antre'chelle Dorsey

 I can honestly say Mr. Brawley is a hidden gem that has begun to surface and shine. It may be because the songs from the album were performed live, but the arrangements in every song-my God- I FELT every harmony, every note! They took me there. They sent me into my mode of just thanks, prayer, love, the whole nine! A poet whom I never heard of by the name of Sharee Johnson was one of the many guest appearances there. I bet I followed her on every piece of social media she has after hearing her speak the Word through spoken word lol. That woman is ANOINTED!!

Poet Sharee Johnson

There was a "contest" ,if you will, during one of the intermissions for a copy of The WeWorship Project. People were picked randomly from the audience and there were 2 categories: the younger generation singing an older hymn, and the older generation singing a gospel song that was no older than 5 years ago.

The young man pictured above blew us all away!! Power certainly escaped his lungs and placed praise on our hearts! He received a suiting roaring standing ovation.

There were 2 women selected for the 5 year and younger song challenge, but as you can see the one pictured above took it on home! The entire building stood and hollered for her. She took us to CHUUCH and set the perfect tone for the second half of the concert. Of course I have all the images so enjoy!!

Chad ministering through song

Jojo Martin; Chad's godbrother & fellow gospel artist

This concert was one of a kind and an overall blessing to my spirit. This album is definitely gonna be dubbed as a new favorite. I left this place full!! So full of inspiration, love, along with new connections! I want to send a special thank you to La' Torria Lemon of Lemon Lime Light Media for this amazing invite!

Don't forget to check out all the individuals listed throughout this post, and purchase a copy of Chad Brawley's debut album The WeWorship Project. Create new vibes, give God all the glory and remember

PS!!!

Here is a video to place you into the spirit!! Hope you like it!

Here's a video!duced by Grammy nominated producers Terence Vaughn and Cedric Smith

Suicide Awareness Month: You Are NOT Alone

Sept. 10th is National Suicide Awareness Day
Love on the wrist in support

Today is September 13th, 2016. Today would have been my cousin's 28th birthday...

May 31st, 2016 I got a text from my mother. A text that confused me, a text that startled me, a text that would break my heart. She simply said "Nikki's dead". I called her IMMEDIATELY. She confirmed it to be true. There were other speculations of course, but there was no denying the fact that she had taken her own life. 

My cousin suffered from depression- in mass amounts. She fought through it day by day. She still smiled. She still laughed. She still conversed. But even with that there was SO much she was going through internally. How do I know this? She told me. Growing up, I would come visit Texas for the summer. Whenever I would spend time with her, we would stay up all throughout the night sharing secrets, sharing pain, sharing tears, and bursts of laughter. We were close.  One of the things we had in common that we helped one another through was depression, and suicidal thoughts/ attempts. We were each other's safe place. A lot of the pain she held onto, she wasn't able to shake it. We grew up, I stopped visiting as much. We both had kids. Life happened. Fast forward, I moved to Texas. When we saw one another again, it was like we never had a brief decline. We picked up exactly where we left off. Reminiscing, laughs, love, sharing more secrets...

Nikki & I in our younger days

I have the guilt of not being there as much as I should have been, as an adult, like how I was when we were growing up. I felt like I could have saved her life if I would have just been more present. We lost contact last year. The last conversation we had was through text. I was going through a bout of homelessness, and was about to get a car and she text me to check on me. I love you were the last things we said to one another. Earlier this year I thought about her ALOT. I kept saying I would contact her, but kept putting it off. 

I truly believe our souls were connected though. The day/night before she died, I kept singing this song called Leavin' by The Tony Rich Project. I sang and hummed it all day. I drove home that night playing it on repeat. The next morning, the song remained in my head until about 30 minutes before I received the text from my mother. It stopped out of no where. For those of you that aren't familiar with it, the chorus goes:

Said I'll be leavin'

I'm looking for my wings in the sky

My journey's long over and my body's tired

So when I'm leavin' 

I'll make sure I'll tell you goodbye 

I know somebody really loves me

But I gotta be leavin' 

Depression is so severely real. So many people feel as if they have no one to speak to about it. Suicidal thoughts are real, and should be taken seriously. I know there are people out there that do it for attention, but all I ask is that you pay attention. Learn the difference. Don't blow it off- EVER. If someone is coming to you and speaking about what they've been experiencing mentally, don't say 'you need help' or 'I'll pray for you'. Be ACTIVE. Be THERE. Dig deeper. I came across the perfect meme the other day about suicide: 

And it's true. Those of us that have been there, knows all to well how it feels to feel crazy, or alone, or left out. Simply because we try to express how we feel but it never seems to work that way. People avoid the subject of depression and suicide. I have family members that know I suffer from depression, but because they aren't educated enough on it (or because they are in denial that their loved one is 'one of them') they simply ignore it, or say 'you need to get out of that'. There is nothing to get out of, when it hits, it hits. 

The point of this post is simply for awareness while sharing my story of being even more affected by suicide. If you have a loved one that trusts you enough to let you in, don't take it for granted. Trust me when I say it takes ALOT of courage to speak on it. Educate yourself. Ask questions. But again NEVER EVER IGNORE IT!! 

Be safe & remember