Whitney Elizabeth Houston

 “Whitney Elizabeth Houston”

     “The Voice”     

   “To Know Her Was To Love Her”

Born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, Whitney Houston released her debut album at age 22 and scored three number one singles. Whitney (1987) delivered four more number ones and earned Houston her first Grammy. She made a comeback with 2009′s I Look to You. Houston died on February 11, 2012.

I have followed Whitney Houston since 1987, I was 19 years old; a very young man, who sang in my church choir growing up and enjoyed singing and listening to good music. Wow, just can’t even believe I decided as a fan to blog about Whitney after her death.  I had to give it a lot of thought as to if I even wanted to share my feelings about this extraordinary woman. Whitney was a star from right out of the gate. If you like music then you understand what I mean.  If you can put an album on and listen to every song and at the end want to listen to it again;  then you knew this was going to be a great album. This was how her music was, she set a standard for me when I listened to other female artist. I compared them to her in my mind and there was “No Comparison”!  She had something special that was all hers and as the old folk use to say,” if the world didn’t give it,  the world can’t take it away”.  Her voice and delivery was a gift from God. I felt this way as one of her fans from the very first time I heard her sing “Saving all my love for you”.  I had to have her in my collection.  Whitney Houston to me— and you must understand, the I had for her music; anyone who is or has ever been friends with me knows that  she was and will always be one of my all time favorite artist.  It goes without saying that she is and will always be and Icon.

As a young music collector, I owned more female artist Cd’s than  male artist back then, so if there was a woman out there that really had a great voice, then I more than likely owned her music. Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy listening to male artist, however, other than Michael Jackson or Luther Vandross I probably did not have their music until I was older; we will get into that later.

So why is this blog so important for me to share?  I have a theory about Whitney and her last days on this earth. In my heart of hearts— I believe she died from a broken heart among other things. We knew the famous artist from afar and could not get enough of “The Voice”, would you agree? I believe that she loved that and that built her up in her career, but at the end of the day, she just wanted to be “Nippy”.  The young woman who grew in up in New Jersey and have a life with her family.  Can you imagine being judged all the time?  I know, I know; everyone will say that this comes with the territory of being “Famous”—really.  You know the other thing I feel strongly about is that she never stopped loving her husband. Some may disagree with me there, however, I believe she still loved Bobby Brown and because the world looked down on her for who she fell in love with, it was just a tough battle to fight. I can relate in a sense because I know what it feels like when people do not feel you are good enough for the person you love or the person is not good enough for you. The only thing you know is that you want to spend the rest of your life with the person of your choice.

Just a few days before her death, I was in the living room painting an accent wall using stencils and my wife was in the adjacent room on the computer doing homework. I decided out of my round of Cd’s to play Whitney Houston’s greatest hits. It is so amazing now when I think about it the joy I felt while painting that wall. I could hear Anastasia singing along with me as the CD played from the other room. So why does this moment in time stick out for me? Well, first of all—Anastasia knew every word to every song that was played and she was singing loud; I could not believe she knew the music.  Anastasia is a church girl, so when did she have time to learn Whitney’s music?  I was thinking to myself how powerful the words are in each song. She must have recited every word, she ever sang, back to herself because the words where her life story. What do you think?

Do you ever think that we forget people like Whitney, Michael and others who have died too soon human beings? They have to live with media paparazzi, over zealous fans, always following them; trying to get some ridiculous picture to sell to tabloids only for them to only put some hurtful title on it and publish it on the front of some piece of paper for the world to see and mock!  I have never been star struck, if I am or ever was it was it had to have been very subdued and low key, I would have never shown it in an outward way. I can remember before my wife and I were married, I would visit her home church in Nashville.  I remember the first time I attended service,  I sat two rows behind Alvin and CeCe Winans.  I saw their kids… they were young  and still huddling under the covering of their parents. After church, my wife asked me if I wanted to meet her;  at first I said “No”! Then I quickly changed my answer and said, “Yes”. We were introduced— she was such a sweet soul and absolutely beautiful. What really touched me, was the next time I was there at church visiting she saw me and she addressed me by my name. I was shocked she remembered my name. My wife shared many stories with me of Whitney Houston visiting her church. As we all know, Whitney, Cece and the Winans Family were very close friends. When Whitney passed I thought of how hurtful this must have been for Cece and the family; I pondered on how she might feel being such a close friend. You see, some of us can be closer to our friends than family at different times in our lives. My wife said to me she thought Cece will more than likely sing at the funeral and some how she knew she would sing the song, ” Don’t Cry for me” and she did. It was all very touching to sit home and watch something so sacred and private play out on television. Thank you Ms. Cissy Houston and Bobby Christina for sharing your final moments with Whitney; what a special gift that will never be forgotten.

Anna would tell me how Whitney would always enjoy church, she could just tell. Anastasia knew because she was apart of  the choir and on the praise team; so from the stage you can see everything. So to just cut to the chase, you know I was really hurt and offended by those who I call “Super Saints” questioned the fact if Whitney Houston was really a Christian. I do not know? I am not God! I do not own a heaven or a hell to put any one in—do you?  You see my hands have not always been clean, so as for me I knew what it meant to sin and be called a sinner.  We all have been sinners at some point in our lives. Right? We all have things in pictures, that if they were ever printed in a magazine; we would not be proud.  Lord knows I thank God for all my personal mess He covered…so let us not judge less we be judged as well. In my opinion, the problem is some of us have forgotten where we came from—you know that sin filled life that God redeemed us from. All the muck God has pulled us through and now there are those who feel they are superior to others.

I thank God for saving me.  I know to personally how sin ruins and can delay what God has planned for your life. My favorite part of worship is the alter call when people come to the Lord. I love to see people defeat the devil and his tactics. Satan’s plan unfortunately is the same for all of us; to kill, steal and destroy. God does not care what you did, nor does he care who you did it with, He just wants us to “Let it Go” (Bishop TD Jakes, 2012). Whitney loved the Lord with her whole heart, she said it over and over again; didn’t you hear it as well? The most important thing  that I have learned in my walk is no matter what you may think “God knew her first and He knew her heart best”.

I shared these stories because I want all of us to always remember that people we have pushed forward are still human beings. They have close friends, families, children, and parent.  God said in His word that “He will not have no other God before him”, how does this word fit into this situation?  In my opinion I think He is saying to always remember that no matter how gifted an individual is they belong to Him and they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Instead of worshiping and the vessel that is being used; pray for them that every weapon formed against them will not prosper.  I personally have been blessed in my life to know and meet many people who are Artist, Ministers, Pastors, Bishops, First ladies Etc. They belong to the Lord and with that thought, deserve their space and privacy and deserve to have a life outside of being a”STAR” for you or me to idolize. People are just “People” and that is how they want to be treated. They know they are gifted and they know they are great in the Lord.  They just want to be able to walk past you and be respected as an individual. Gifts come with out repentance—you know.

So I am guessing this blog entry did not go the way you thought, but I wanted to take a different approach and just place a new thought on your mind. I believe that Whitney Houston wished/wanted/longed to be— just Whitney  ”Nippy” Houston and not be judged when she did not always hit a home run. The title of my memoir is “Open Door Closed Closet” the reason for that title is we all would love to walk through open doors, however, for most of us; people bring our closet’s and dirty laundry with them every where we go. Constantly reminding us and those who we are meant to influence that we are imperfect. Did you know that we all have fallen short of the glory of God?  The bible makes this very clear. There has only been one perfect being to ever walk this earth, Jesus Christ. It takes everything within us to  try to walk in his footsteps daily. We will never be perfect, this way of life is a process and we all must work at.

We can only hope that we leave as much good as Whitney left in this earth. Where do broken Heart’s go? The answer— Whitney gave it to us in her last hit song “I Look To You”.  Whitney, thank you for showing us all sides of you and we all can do nothing but sit with our mouth’s closed. Why? Because one thing we all have in common is “we all have a past”.  Let’s just stop holding people to the falls you have seen in their walk on this earth. Because in the end, none of it matters! Not the material things, money, houses, fine cars, nothing –none of it is important when life ends. At her funeral service there was a beautiful Gold Hurst, but there was no U-Haul. Nothing went with her….

We as the Church, those of us who sincerely represent God and the Kingdom, should never let it be heard from our mouths if we wander if someone is saved. For the world to do that type of thing in today’s society, it is sadly expected. However, we are the Church and we serve One Lord and there is still plenty room for everyone who will to come to Christ. Come as you are. It is a Journey not a Marathon! There is an old hymn that says, “Just as I am without one plea…”, God will take each of us just as we are right now. All we have to do is open our heart and make room for Him and say “Yes Lord” like Whitney Houston did on many occasions. She had a heart for God and she loved the Lord and if you can not see it— shame on you. Get back on your knees and pray to see people the way God sees them.

This is about life in general, we all have just one and we all have to report in the end. God bless you and make room in your life for Him today. Live it out in front of others so that the world will be provoked to jealousy! They need to see the “Jesus” in you and me.

Sincerely,

Author Mario Nocentelli

Whitney Houston’s “I Look To You”

Whitney Houston’s I look to you!

“The Voice”
“To Know Her Was To Love Her”

Born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, Whitney Houston released her debut album at age 22 and scored three number one singles. Whitney (1987) delivered four more number ones and earned Houston her first Grammy. She made a comeback with 2009′s I Look to You. Houston died on February 11, 2012.

Are you playing a game?

"It just not worth your Life"

 There are no forces that makes some one go out and decide to have sex with someone outside of the marriage covenant. Most people are caught up in these relationship because in their mind the enemy has confused what God meant as a gift for marriage,They now use it to survive being in an unwanted relationship.

Yes, I said it! You are not making love you are trying to keep someone happy or keep he or she from leaving you because you are not ready to let go.  ”A Means Of Survival”. Sexual Sin is Sexual Sin.   Oh and in that one particular moment do you ever think about the health risk?  I was always taught if someone is willing to sleep with you right away then, “You are not the first person they have done this with”. They are giving it up to you and many more. Which raises the question now, How many people are sleeping in your bed?

This phrase is used loosely and in my opinion– needed to be made clear; just so that in the future it will be understood and not misunderstood. The word of God says in all thy getting get an understanding… With regard to my recent project “Open Door Closed Closet”,  available at (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/mario-nocentelli?store=book) and other online retailers;  my book was not written to bash, hurt or offend any ones lifestyle especially one I used to live as well.  I was in sexual sin myself and I know how you begin to feel trapped (in your own drama) after a while. The first time—- it was so good and now that you have to perform the sex act over and over again;  you feel dirty! In  your heart, you know it is wrong, however, you are trapped in a scene that should have never been written. Listen, I was saved by Gods grace and if it is enough for me it can be enough for you!  Gay, Bisexual, or Straight .  God is concerned and  wanted this subject brought to the forefront because we hide it so often or just decide we have to accept it and there is no hope for those who crave the lifestyle of sexual sin. News flash, this is not the will of  God.  The old folk use to call it bed Hopping!  You know…hop from one bed to the other.  If you do not stand for something you will fall for anything!  Now that statement has been proven over and over and time after time!

Okay, so a common question I’m asked: are people born Gay?  My answer to that is no! Homosexuality is not genetic— it is a spirit. There is no way for anyone to go down to  the local hospital and pick out the Gay babies, hores, pimps, strippers, liers, or the next president. And to add insult to injury by telling your mother she gave birth to a gay baby is hypocrisy. Another lie the enemy uses to keep you (us) in bondage…

Question :What about gay men who say they cannot get rid of the desires of wanting a man? The enemies job is to attack the mind first that is how he can keep one bound in sin. The bible says so a man think, so is he…(proverbs 23 niv) the life we lead is created by our thoughts, meaning your thoughts become your reality… If your mind is made up that this sin is no longer an option for you then you too can be delivered. God has no respective person.

Question: Why would I choose this lifestyle, I would not wish it on anyone some would say, I never chose this? In my opinion, I spent approx eighteen years in homosexuality. I was molested as a child from the age of 6 until 12 years of age. My first reference for when it came to sex was a man. So the enemy used that to steer me into a lifestyle. What did the enemy use to get you involved in whatever it sexually that you are doing. You may not have  been Gay but what i s your issue?  God never intended for us to live in our flesh man. We all have one and if you feed him he will grow. That  is why we have to turn to the word of God to strengthen our Spirit man so that he can be the one to lead us and make us strong… If  you noticed I put a picture I liked on my Facebook  page it states, “Life does not get easier, You just get stronger”   I was 16 years old the first time I entered a gay bar… My father was not in my life; my mother was a single parent. Even though all these things were factors in me being homosexual, I still made a choice to live in Sexual Sin for many years. Even though deep down in my spirit man I knew it was wrong.  We choose the roads we go down in life. Just like, I chose to stop and say enough and ask God to make my crooked path straight. These are all choices…

Question: How is it that you (Mario) have been able to support a straight lifestyle and have not gone back, when it seems so hard of a fight for others?  God delivered my  mind before anything , and then I had a change of heart. At  that point I cried out to God for many years before He answered me. His desire was that I was sincere this time…There were times when he answered me and because of the environment or state I was in I went right back to my same old sin… You see the key was I had to let go of  everybody and everything that looked like that sin until I was strong enough in the lord to deal with it on my own again. So that is what I did I pushed everyone and everything that did not look like where God  wanted my life to go My destiny, out of my life. You see the roads and associations you have will alter your purpose and delay you from your destiny!

“Do not be fooled by an Imitation of Life”

You see God loves us all, He said in his word (Deuteronomy 30:19) “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

So we have the right to “Free will”God is not going to force us to live the way He desires for us to live. He is just not that kind of God. Loving, not forceful. Yes, God loves you. And he has a plan for your life if you are interested.

You might ask, what if I am living with a girl and we are just testing things out to see if we are a match? Well here’s my advice,  if the Lord came back in the middle of the night and you are laying with a woman or a man who you are not married to you will have to explain that to him! ” I would love to be a fly on the wall in that conversation….

Now there is “His Will” this is when we say he is lord over our lives we live in His will for our lives. God’s desire is for us to have his best life. Try to give your Life to God! You will have so much more peace!

 It is a choice if you live in sexual sin no matter if you are in fornication, lewdness, restfulness a whore or a homosexual whatever your out-of-order sign says!. I will end with this scripture and in my opinion this is all God wants from any of us. (2 Chronicles 7; 14) However, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, search for me, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear [their prayer] from heaven, forgive their sins, and heal their country. So there you have it this is what I believe God wants me to say to his people… “There is hope and He can heal anyone from anything including Our minds from Sexual Sin”.

Thank you, may these words be a blessing to you and yours that God can do anything. He is God, you just have to be serious enough to really want to repent and change your life. Otherwise you will just exist and never reach you fullest potential that He has for you. God’s best life. “His Will” at that point you’ve come to the understanding, that your life is not yours to live any kind of way. Because of Calvary, He gave his life, and we owe him our lives.

Hey it just time for those of who know better to do better bottom line….Hold yourself  for the one that God has for you it will save you a lot of trials in tribulations. God bless and I hope this will provoke you to a decision .

Author Mario Nocentelli

The Oiram Company

Phone:(214) 614-8443

Email: Mario@OiramCompany.com

Twitter:  https://Twitter.com/Nocentelli

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheOiramCompany

Purpose vs Destiny

The Definition of Purpose is
1. The object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal: “And ever those, who would enjoyment gain/Must find it in the purpose they pursue”.
2. A result or effect that is intended or desired; an intention.
3. Determination; resolution: He was a man of purpose.
4. The matter at hand; the point at issue.

The Definition of Destiny is
1. the future destined for a person or thing; fate; fortune; lot
2. the predetermined or inevitable course of events
3. (Philosophy) the ultimate power or agency that predetermines the course of events

God has been dealing with me these past few weeks on these two words My Purpose vs My Destiny. Now I have provided you the meaning of both words so there will be no disputing what I am about to tell you. God wants us to be unique, authentic people not carbon copies. There are so many of us who go to church to learn how to be like someone else and we have no Idea of who we are ourselves. You see once I figured this out, I said the devil will never be able to hold me down in this area anymore. I know who I am and I know who I belong to. I am a son of the only living God and he is Lord over my Life. I live for him and all my work is unto Him. When I was in sin the enemy used fear on me for years to say you will die because you are a homosexual. You will die because you are in sin. Then God started speaking to me while I was still in sin, believe it or not he started to deal with my mind, heal my mind, God started telling me that I had a purpose in this life and I had to live to fulfill my destiny. That was amazing to me because I said God you are going to use me a person that has been in homosexuality for eighteen years? He said yes, I am going to use you and give you a ministry that will not mimic nor look, like anyone else’s. I have a special call on your life and I did not allow you to go through all the Hell you went through to not use it for my Glory! (2 Chronicles 7:14) If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

I know people think I tell my testimony too much, God said not so, there are still too many caught up in the enemies trap. Your authentic testimony will save the lives of millions. I just began to cry because I just thought I could not be used in the church…Then he spoke to me again and he said to me I will not only use you in the rim of the church, but I will use you in the Kingdom. You will be one of the ones to help my Kingdom come on this earth as it is in heaven. He said you can’t die for it is God whom chooses whom he calls. I am just humbled at all that the lord has done in my life over the last twelve years. It has just been awesome. It amazes me that we think we are going to die from things like High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Cancer, HIV or Aids and that is not why we die. We die from the lack of knowledge because we do not know the end that God has determined for our lives. I did ask God why me? God said to me the world is no longer interested in the hearing of my word however they are moved by what they see in how you live your life. He told me I was a living sacrifice. Because I live with integrity and I could speak to his people. I thank God because nothing I do is on purpose, I just have this burning desire to live right. I have it from the debts of my heart…That’s why when I see immature people in leadership roles I just “cringe”…Because they are insecure and they say childish and insecure things and this affects the people of God and can cause some to fall by the wayside. (1 Corinthians 13:11) When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

So now I knew that I had a Destiny, something in which God gave me it was my Fate, my fortune, my lot it was predetermined by God. Everything I had went through was and inevitable course of events He already knew the resolution the matter at hand. He had an expected end.

Then there was part two, now I knew my purpose and God said be delivered from people and their opinions of you for if you do not do this it they will try to interfere with you pursuing your purpose and detour you from your destiny. I thought to myself God is going to take this former homosexual and allow me to be born again, Give me a purpose so that I can reach my destiny in life. What a mighty God we serve. People ask me all the time why do you cry so much when you are in church. I say when I think about all the lord has done for me, I just get full and cry. They are tears of joy because he desires to use me and he has a purpose for my life. I just have to keep my mind focused my purpose and I will reach the goal which is my destiny and it will be fulfilled in Jesus Name! (Jeremiah 29:11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Thank You Lord for choosing me, I am a thankful man for all you have and will do in my life. Amen!

Mario Nocentelli

“Open Door Closed Closet”

        Now available         E-Book!

Which man will you allow to lead you? Flesh or Spirit?