Bless Those in Need This Christmas

PURPOSE DEFINED

According to Webster’s Dictionary, purpose is defined as “the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.” Jade defines purpose as God’s intention, His aim, His aim for your impact, and His goal for your existence. It is a gift inside each of us. 

PLAYING THE PIANO

Since the age of eight, Jade thought her purpose was to play the piano. She dreamed of beautiful concert halls, fancy gowns, and world class symphonies. Her first music teacher wanted her to play out of a beginner book, but by the second lesson she could play the whole book. Her teacher continued to have her go through the book page by page until he passed away eight months later.

The second teacher gave her a level two version of the same beginner book. Although she played through it in one week this teacher also made her go through each page in the book. Five months later this teacher passed away too. “With my third teacher, I decided to be upfront. I told her what had happened to my first two teachers, that they’d insisted I played out of beginner books, and they were dead within a year.”

When she performs as an adult, she jokes with her audiences that it was her third teacher “whether from fear of an early death or from an actual belief in my talent, who freed me (and maybe saved herself) by way of Mozart and Chopin.” Her fourth teacher helped her advance quickly. As a result, Jade got into some incredible music programs, outstanding colleges, and conservatories. Yet even with all her hard work and accomplishments Jade was soon overwhelmed. Her happiness and self-worth were attached to this dream. 

One night Jade recalls venting to her husband, Jahrell, about her stuttering music career. He said, “I don’t think piano is going to be your thing.” At first, she was taken aback by his words until he further explained, “I don’t mean that I don’t think you’re going to play the piano. I just mean that I think the piano will be the thing that opens other doors.” Although she felt playing the piano was still her purpose, she knew deep down he was right. 

PURPOSE REMIX

When Jade was in her early thirties she developed, “the strangest bout of stage fright a few years into her career.” She was concentrating so hard on playing a piece perfectly that she began experiencing memory slips. In an effort to regain control, she began to build story breaks into her programs where she would talk with the audience. “Honestly, I was simply trying to catch my breath by strategically using that time to rebuild enough courage and confidence to return to the keys.” 

She soon began to get bookings not just for her talent, but also because she could speak and inspire her audience. A new atmosphere was created. She no longer felt the intensity of competition but felt more received by the audience as she shared personal insights including her own feelings about the music. 

Two years later, she began to realize who she was apart from the music. Her purpose was not her title or talent. She shares, “Your purpose is not the thing you do. It’s the thing that happens in others when you do what you do,” shares Jade. She started switching up the genres (rap and hip hop) of music she performed and created themed recitals. “She pivoted from playing the piano to impressing audiences, to using the piano as the vehicle by which to provide the inspiration, entertainment, and transformation that profoundly moves them instead,” reveals Jade. 

Whether she is providing a unique concert experience for her audience or speaking to companies like Mass Mutual or the Hershey Company her aim is to “inspire seismic shifts in mindset and activate audiences to go out and instantly start living more consequential lives of impact."

DON’T GET PUSHED OUT OF PURPOSE

Jade shares some of the common reasons you can be pushed out of purpose: 
•    The Squish Squash: You can stay in spaces that are too small for you and your big, fat purpose. As newlyweds Jade and Jahrell found a new church in Houston. Although she was a talented musician and speaker, Jade wanted to be a congregant who came to church to worship and then disappeared. When the pastor learned of her credentials, he wanted to put her to work as a keyboardist on the worship team. Jade turned down the opportunity. Shortly thereafter another well qualified musician filled the spot. If Jade had taken the position, she would have been in the wrong place taking up space when the right person came along.
•    The Fright Flight, Part 1: You can leave spaces too soon because of your inability to cope with challenging seasons.
•    The Fright Flight, Part 2: You can leave spaces too soon because of your inability to cope with or confront challenging people. When Jade was running for President of the United States in 2020 not everyone was on board with her decision and that is okay. 

CHRISTMAS MUSIC

Jade will perform the following music selections for the live show and the taped show:
•    LIVE
Rachmaninoff and We Three Kings mash-up (3 MINUTES)

•    TAPED FOR CHRISTMAS SHOW
Jazzy medley of We Three Kings, What Child is This and Carol of the Bells (5 MINUTES)

Get inspired and discover your purpose by purchasing Jade Simmon's book, "Purpose The Remix " and learn more about Jade at her website: www.JadeSimmons.com.

It began a few days after Christmas 2022. Lua Basnayake, a hardworking mom and online teacher, started having a hard time concentrating on anything but work. “I thought it’ll just go away. I can deal with it, I’ll find an answer,” explained Lua. “So much confusion. I would sit to get my taxes done, and I couldn’t spend 10 seconds focusing on it, not even 10. I’d get up and walk away and then try to do something else, say read my Bible, or write something,” she said.

Since she wasn’t having any pain, Lua decided not to see a doctor. In fact, she didn’t tell anyone. “I didn’t discuss this with my husband. I didn’t tell my children about it. I was trying to deal with it myself,” Lua recalled. “I didn’t think anyone would understand because I couldn’t understand it either. And the doctor would just put me on some medications.”

As time went on, the confusion grew worse. Getting through the day got even harder, leaving Lua feeling overwhelmed. “I was getting frustrated with stuff that is incomplete. I had to get so much done and things were piling up and piling up because I kept putting it off,” Lua explained. “Now you’re confused because you don’t know where to begin all over again. That mental block, it’s not allowing you to proceed. I didn’t pray about it, but I vented to the Lord. And I said, ‘What is this? Just take it away,’” she said. “It must be biological changes. Maybe I need to get some nutrients from my food. I haven’t been eating a balanced diet. I still thought, you know, it’s just gonna get better with time.”

By the end of two months, Lua was exhausted. “I felt defeated,” Lua confessed. “It was shameful for me, honestly, because when you have your standards up there and you fall short of your own, there is shame in you. I did feel like giving up many times. I would just stop everything and watch T.V. and that’s how I spent my days,” she continued. “Cause that’s the only thing that can get my mind off of the things I have to do.”

Then on February 13, 2023, Lua was watching The 700 Club when she heard Gordon give a word of knowledge. She noticed right away he was talking about her.

“There is somebody who is suffering from mental confusion,” said Gordon. “This is how you will know it is you. You cannot stay focused on one thing enough to actually solve the problem. Your attention keeps drifting, and you find it very hard to stay on one thing, to stay on task with your mind to focus your attention on one thing. God is healing you. He is giving you a sound mind. Receive that right now.”

“I knew that was me,” Lua said. “Everything that he said was correct. And I knew that the Lord was speaking to him about me. Nobody knew…it was just me and the Lord. I felt like something was taken off of me. Like the veil was lifted, kind of clarity.”

Lua says the results were immediate!

“I did my taxes and I got it done in a day. Then moved on to reading the Bible,” she said. “I was able to sit there and do it and not get up from the chair like every 10 seconds. I talked to God about it and I was praising Him and thanking Him.”

With a clear mind, Lua was soon back to studying God’s word with her husband, Rohitha, and their children. Inspired by the experience, she and Rohitha joined The 700 Club.

“The Lord reminds us that, no, you’re not in control of everything,” she said. “You don’t know everything. So for me, that was a lesson I learned…a humbling lesson that I can take anything to the Lord. The little things matter to Him. The big things matter to Him. We don’t have to do anything on our own. He’ll take care of us when we are close to Him,” Lua concluded.

As a mother, Elizabeth’s darkest fear was that her precious son, Emmanuel, would die.  

Elizabeth explained, “In the night, he can’t sleep. He would wake up and call me complaining that his stomach is hurting him. Then he will start to cry. I will start crying too, ‘God, please help me. You are the only One that I serve. If You don’t help me, no one would.’” 

Emmanuel was in constant pain. Emmanuel said, “My stomach hurts badly, my temperature becomes very high, and I’m unable to eat anything.”

Doctors diagnosed Emmanuel with a hernia and said he needed surgery, but as a farmer, Elizabeth couldn’t afford the procedure. When CBN’s Operation Blessing visited their village, we learned about Emmanuel and paid for his surgery. Now he’s back on his feet again, healthy and happy.

He loves hanging out with his friends, and his mom is thrilled to see her son thriving. Elizabeth exclaimed, “Thank you CBN. Thank you for helping Emmanuel.”

“We didn't anticipate any issues.” Steve Hertz recalled. “It looked like a very normal evening for flying, and we were just looking forward to getting in the air.” Steve and his friend, Don St. Clair had done this hundreds of times before; prepping their gear to enjoy an evening of powered paragliding.

Steve recalls, “I think it was pushing 80 degrees. The winds were light, and it was a beautiful blue sky evening.” Don started to take off first, but when he couldn’t get his wing properly inflated, he had to abort and start over. So, Steve, with his GoPro recording, took off. He circled the field then flew to the rendezvous spot to wait for Don. Steve says, “After 10 minutes of not seeing him in the air, I decided to fly back to the airport and check on him. I saw him inflate the wing and begin to take off.”

Then… something went wrong. Don was too low and heading towards some trees that lined one side of the airfield. Steve recalls, “Normally his machine would have enough power to climb out and straighten out, and this particular evening it didn't.” Don banked hard to the right and avoided the trees. But now the wind was at his back and he was picking up speed -- heading straight toward some power lines. All Steve could do, was watch. He says, “I thought he was dead. I literally watched him turn into a ball of fire and I thought, that's not survivable. It was just the worst feeling I've ever had.”

Immediately, Steve landed at the airfield. He grabbed his phone to call 9-1-1, as he ran across the street to his friend. Steve recalls, “I was praying that he was alive. I really thought I watched a human being die.” But, as he got closer he couldn’t believe what he saw. Don was conscious and appeared to be unhurt. Steve says, “He looked up and talked to me and I thought, ‘Wow, this is a miracle.’”

Incredibly, Don recalls everything that happened. He says, “As soon as I saw I was gonna hit 'em, the only thought that went through my head is I'm dead. When I hit those lines, the whole world turned into a ball of fire. And I was just waiting literally for it all to come to an end 'cause I expected it...any minutes for the lights to go out. And instead I had the feeling of falling. And next thing I knew I was on my back on the ground looking up at the sky. I couldn't believe I was alive to be quite honest. And as I laid there, I said, ‘thank you, God,’ because I knew right away the only way I survived that was divine intervention.”   

Within minutes, paramedics arrived and rushed Don to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, Steve called Don’s wife, Karen. She recalls, “Steve's like, ‘Oh, Don's gonna be okay but he had a little accident.’ He was very calm, which was very good. I was praying instantly from that point on.”

Karen drove the 30 minutes to the hospital, praying the whole way. When she arrived, she learned Don had second and third degree burns over 25% of his body. She recalls, “Definitely the Holy Spirit was with me 'cause I don't know how I didn't panic or didn't have an anxiety attack.” Don says, “When I finally got to see Karen, first of all, I was elated to still be there. But seeing her and assuring her that I was gonna be okay and that I was gonna make it through it, that just strengthened our bond even greater.”

Now Don would begin the long process of recovery that would start with skin grafts. Karen started texting people to pray for his healing. Two days later when Don went in for skin graft surgery, his doctor discovered something remarkable. Karen recalls, “It looked like the skin was starting to heal itself. They went ahead and covered his burnt skin with pig skin to allow it to heal on his own.” Don says, “In my heart, that wasn't a surprise. Literally hundreds of people sending out prayers to me. And I know that that was part of my healing process.”

Don says those prayers also helped in the painful weeks that followed. He recalls, “I actually had waves of pain that would course through my arms, my legs, and as I, I closed my eyes and just concentrated on what was going on. And the image that came to me was that those waves were hands that were actually caressing those wounds. It was those prayers that were coursing through me, and that set me at ease.”

Just two weeks after the accident, Don’s doctors decided he was well enough to go home. Don recalls, “The surgeon had looked me over and he said, 'you're healing quickly.' I knew it was the prayers doing a good job, but I healed quicker than they expected.”

Don was soon back to his chores on their ranch and six months later, he had made a full recovery. There are few that don’t agree that Don’s survival was a miracle. Especially considering the power lines he hit were carrying 140,000 volts of electricity. He says, “When I hit those lines, the explosion knocked the breath outta me. Had I inhaled that super heated air, it would've seared my lungs. The electricity surrounded me, it should have gone through me. The gas didn't ignite or explode. The battery didn't explode. 50 foot fall should be fatal. I came down motor side first. Had it come down face first, that 85 pound engine would've crushed me. The list of things of why I know I'm blessed and why there was divine intervention is a long list because there's no way I should have survived that.”

Karen recalls, “It definitely strengthened my belief in prayer and realizing how specific you can pray.” Don adds, “Put your troubles into Jesus' hands. You'll get through this life so much better. You'll have a comfort in your soul that is unmatched by anything else.”