Destined for Greatness: It’S as Easy as Getting Back on the Bus

Copyright © 2012 Dale C. Broome

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

From Prayers New and Old, copyright 2007 by Forward Movement (Cincinnati, Ohio). Used with permission.

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from The Holy Bible, King James Version, Copyright © 1976 by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are from The Message Bible, Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-(866) 928-1240

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4152-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4153-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-4151-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012903575

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/23/2012

Contents

How it all started

Time to wake up!

Stinking Thinking

A Change of heart

You are what God says you are!

For those in authority

To Parents

To the youth…So you strayed! What now?

A Spiritual Expungement

Destined for Greatness

An Invitation

Decree a thing and it shall be established unto thee.

~Job 22:28, KJV~

The Book Destined for Greatness is a God ordained written journal. It chronicles the life of possibilities, holding hands with impediments and the raw naked truth of God’s destined purpose.

I read this book and did not stop to take a water-break until half-way through because the honesty of the author, Dale Broome, held my attention from beginning to end. I was captivated by the strong sense of appeal to parents, teachers, the judicial system, and more importantly to the worth of self as defined by God. The author’s emphasis on the power of words completely touched my moral and spiritual belief system. It’s a timely reminder of being our brother’s keeper. Her ability to capture the essence of experiences and recall them with such flair is likened to a river-flow dance of rhythmic words.

We all make mistakes, but this author makes the point that today’s mistakes does not define tomorrow’s outcome. Young people, this author documents an energy and passion of words which encourages you to complete the journey of destined greatness.

In my humble opinion the merger of experiences, wisdom, knowledge and understanding, makes this book a best seller.

  Well Done DB!

 ~Margaret Inniss, J.P., BSc, MSc, Barbados~

Dedication

This book is dedicated foremost to my sons, Mario and Malik. Mighty Warriors! Mighty men of Valor! Mighty vessels of God’s kingdom! Set apart for Greatness! May God bless and direct your paths always, as the unlimited and underutilized potential is unleashed in your lives.

Secondly, this book is dedicated to all the other young people out there—filled with untapped potential, waiting for a word of Life and Hope. Waiting to be encouraged and propelled into Destiny and Purpose!

You are Destined for Greatness!

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I want to thank God who is the Head of my life. To Him and Him alone, be all the Honor and all the Glory given.

Next, I want to thank my parents, Barbara Broome and the late Neville Broome, who brought me up in the fear and the admonition of God. As the Bible says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6, KJV). Dad, I will see you in heaven.

Special thanks also to my siblings and their spouses who have always been there for me, especially those who have been uplifting and interceding for me and my boys spiritually. Not forgetting my out-law Marj, as she jokingly refers to herself. You will always have a high place in my family. May God bless each and every one of you exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think, according to Ephesians 3:20.

Honorable mention goes to my two children, Mario and Malik—rising stars in God’s kingdom! May God’s name be glorified in every area of your lives. You are both Destined for Greatness!

Finally, I want to acknowledge those who significantly impacted my spiritual journey: My pastors, Apostle Frank Burton and Pastor Tasey Burton, who have imparted to me the powerful message of speaking a word of Life and Hope into the lives of others, especially the youth, and continue to feed me the meat necessary to walk in my Divine purpose and Destiny. May God richly bless you and your ministry.

Next, my former pastor, Steve Hare—the blue-eyed, red hair brother with a heart for the youth, especially those in challenged neighborhoods. Thanks for opening my eyes to the least of them that are right here in our very own backyards.

Also, thanks to television evangelist, Benny Hinn, who my two boys and I have watched and attended your crusades for more than a decade, and who has unknowingly helped to groom me for ministry. My boys and I are eye-witnesses to the irrefutable and tangible proof of the miraculous power of God—still today!

Never will I forget my dearest friend, Margaret Inniss, a Mighty vessel of God’s kingdom, with an awesome gift of the prophetic. Thanks for your unconditional friendship and Godly encouragement, as well as the painful rebukes that helped me to refocus. To my equally dearest friend, Deirdre Sadler-Crew, a woman of great wisdom and quiet strength. For over nineteen years, God placed you right at my side in the work-place as a true friend and confidant. I thank you and I love you dearly.

Additionally, thanks to the very anointed and appointed spiritual mid-wife, Pastor Mary Cooper and Daughters of Esther Ministry for a year of birthing preparation. Thanks for training, developing and empowering women to fulfill their God-given destiny. To echo the ministry’s scriptural invitation—Whosoever is thirsty, let him come.

Last, but by no means least—thanks to some other Mighty women who God has strategically placed in my path at the right time to speak into my life with a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge, a prophetic word, or simple practical advice—Jacqui, Susan, Dorothea, et al. You know who you are, and God knows who you are! Thanks for all of your encouragement. I love you all, and to God be all the glory!

Introduction

The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. Isaiah 50:4

I had no idea what God was telling me as He led me repeatedly to this particular portion of the Bible, but I figured that sooner or later He would let me know just what He was revealing to me. He did!

This book is one of Hope, especially for those who have lost motivation, those who have been wounded by poisonous words, those who are at risk of going astray, or who might have already gone astray. There is also a strong word of caution to parents, those in authority, and those who work with or come into contact with young people. But, most of all, this book is primarily for the youth, as Satan seeks to destroy them, especially males. If he can accomplish this, then he can wipe out an entire generation, and future generations to come.

I want to tell you young people to make a decision to change—to get back on the bus to greatness!

Young people, you do not have to end up being a prison statistic. God wants to steer you away from the tentacles of the Adult Criminal Justice system. I am convinced that the remedy for reducing crime is not band-aid fixes such as licensing citizens to carry guns, building more prisons, and cranking out plea convictions, but rather to cause change in the hearts and lives of our young people. Only God can do that!

I pray right now that every plan of the devil for the lives of our youth will be cancelled in the name of Jesus, and that God’s Divine purpose and destiny for their lives will unfold, and prevail. I bind the spirit of violence and lawlessness that plague our cities, and clog our courts. I bind the spirit of rejection and abandonment, depression and fear, suicide and defeat, and hopelessness and despair that seek to destroy the youth everywhere, and I pray an unleashing of God’s Mighty Greatness and Divine Favor upon their lives. And all God’s people say—Amen!

~Chapter 1~

How it all started

You are hereby sentenced to three years at level five, to be suspended for one year of level three intensive probation, followed by one year at level two…

To the average citizen, these words sounded like Greek, and meant absolutely nothing, but I could practically unscramble the mechanical recital in my sleep—jail time suspended for probation. Sounded pretty reasonable, right? Well, hold that thought! As I sat there in the courtroom, hearing the same words week after week, after week, I felt a familiar stirring. I realized I was starting to get angry. For years, I had witnessed the same group of people—primarily young black males—being led to the podium like sheep to the slaughter. I was getting mad as hell at the devil for having all these males set up in this vicious, oppressive, recycling trap! Boy, was I filled with righteous indignation! The dull, empty look in their eyes told a familiar story—one of utter hopelessness and despair! Something needs to be done! I hissed under my breath. Do something, God!

My presence in the courtroom on a weekly basis stemmed from a shortage in my department. Due to budget cuts, a case manager from the Criminal Department that I supervised had been transferred to the Civil Department. Consequently, my department was one case manager short, so I was asked (actually ordered in a camouflaged way) to fill in the gap until funds became available. I