By the grace of God, the film premiered at the First Baptist Church of Plantation on March 4th of this year, and screened two weeks later at Alpha and Omega in Miami.  Since that time, we’ve been screened in Leesburg, twice in Wisconsin, and twice in California.  We’ve had the film viewed by distribution companies in Hollywood, Nashville, and even Australia.

And NOW, all glory to Jesus Christ, Youth of Christ has been picked up by ChristianCinema.com, a MAJOR distributor of independent Christian films!  This acquisition is what me and all the filmmakers behind the film have worked for, and I couldn’t be more thankful!

Because we are new to their site, ChristianCinema.com has ordered a small batch of inventory from us to see how well the movie sells.  The more people who purchase Youth of Christ from them, the more inventory they will order from us, which will allow us to go into production on the next movie!

So, to all my wonderful prayer warriors out there, my friends from high school and college; to my colleagues and coworkers, family members and fellow filmmakers, previous professors and life long mentors, I am writing to ask for your support in our launch on ChristianCinema.com.

We want to sell 500 units in the month of September, enough to have ChristianCinema.com know that Christ Effect Entertainment is serious about making faith based movies!

If you have an extra $18.00 (right now the film is 10% off!!), please purchase a copy of Youth of Christ-the Movie from Christiancinema.com.  The link is pasted here:

http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3934

Also, if you know anyone who wants to see more Christian films for young adults, please forward this link to them as well!

Christ Effect Entertainment’s mission is to empower youth through Christian entertainment, and by the grace of Jesus Christ, this acquisition will put us in a position to produce dozens of films that inspire teenagers to live out their faith in Jesus Christ!

Thank you so much for ALL your support in helping us reach this pivotal point in our development as a company; God is so good!!!

God bless you and thanks again,

Stephanie

CEO of Christ Effect Entertainment, LLC

Check out the trailer for Youth of Christ and our updated website here:

www.CEEChrist.com

PS- “Youth of Christ” the novel is coming soon!!!! XOXOXOXOXO!!!

PSS- More details about reaching the finish line soon!  God is so good to those who are faithful!!!

Philippians 4:13-14, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus Christ.”

Lessons Learned:

One year ago this past April, I made a goal list for my life.  It included things like “Write a novel,” and “get Youth of Christ on DVD,” things that would take a while to do.

This past Friday, Jesus allowed me to finish all eight items on my to-do list.  It took over a year to get everything done, and I remember the tedious process of slowly being able to cross items out on the list.

Guess what I did after the list was successfully completed?

I immediately created a new one.

Once I realized that I had accomplished some pretty big goals without taking a minute to celebrate before making new ones, I felt like I was doing something wrong.  I asked my husband if he’s ever seen me celebrate an accomplishment, and the honest truth was that no, I haven’t.  I didn’t.  And I don’t.

But why is this?  Why is it that when God allows me to reach a milestone, all I can think about is reaching the next one?

This morning during my daily devotion, I read Paul’s words in Philippians 4:13-14, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Jesus Christ.”

I finally understand why I’ve never celebrated my accomplishments.  It’s because there’s so much left to do.  How do I celebrate a job half finished?

Since I was the age of 14, Jesus has been very clear about what He wants me to do for Him.  He told me He wants me to make Christian entertainment for young adults, and He told me He wants me to speak to young girls and inspire them to live for Christ the way He inspired me to live for Him through Benny Hinn when I was a young girl.

As of right now, yeah, I accomplished the things on my 2011 goal list, but there’s still this unwritten goal list, this massive set of heavenly focused tasks, waiting to be accomplished.

And until they are, I’m going to keep pressing onward, forgetting what is behind me, and moving towards accomplishing what Jesus wants me to do.

This is what all of us Christians need to do for the Lord.  Yes, it’s wonderful when we are able to accomplish a goal we’ve worked towards for such a long time.  But we must not let that stop us.  Take a moment to celebrate what God allowed you to do, but then press on, because your work isn’t finished yet.

Our work isn’t finished until every single person on this earth has heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

XOXO,

Stephanie

Company Update:

That’s right folks, the novel and DVD are completed!  It’s going to take some time to get them up for sale online, but once it’s ready, I’ll let you know!

GOD BLESS YOU and your ministry in the Lord!!

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 Lessons Learned:

Recently, I ordered two books on cinematography from Amazon.com.  Both were only about 15 bucks, and boasted about teaching filmmakers the “essential camera shots every movie maker should know.”

After having produced three feature films, you may be wondering why on earth I would spend my money learning how to do camera shots.  Well the truth is that while God made me a writer, producer, and director, the one thing God did not make me is a great cinematographer.  In fact, I’m just about one of the worst camera operators that I know, and I went to film school!

This lack of ability behind the camera has plagued me since high school.  By the grace of God I was always able to create a great story, but the camera work showing that story was always terrible.  I never won any competitions because of my camera shots, and that followed me well into film school.

Yesterday, I encountered a fellow Jesus freak who had the opportunity to watch my latest film, “Youth of Christ,” the other day, and the first thing she said was that the cinematography was amazing.  She loved how crisp it was, how colorful it was, and how well it was lit.

And while she was saying this, I couldn’t help but wonder how someone could possibly compliment a movie I made on its cinematography.

And then I read that Bible verse this morning, and I got my answer.

For “Youth of Christ,” we hired a professional director of photography who was incredible at bringing what I saw in my head to life.  All I had to do was tell him what shot I wanted, and he understood how to translate that into an actual camera setup. 

In my weakness, God provided me with someone who could create a beautiful picture on screen, and through that, His glory was shone.

I have always been bad at camera, and because of that, I was able to genuinely tell this woman that the reason why the cinematography looked so great is because Jesus Himself made it happen.   Jesus provided me with an amazing cinematographer who lives in South Florida and worked for the amount I could afford. 

 Where I am weak, Jesus is strong.

What are you weak at?  What are the abilities that you wish you had?  What are the qualities that your friends and family members possess, but seem to elude you?

Whatever they are, whatever they may be, this is where Jesus will show His miraculous power in your life.  This is where He will give you your testimony to glorify His name.

Embrace your weakness, however bad it may be.  Because at the end of the day, it only makes us stronger.

 Company Update:

We have got some BIG screenings planned for “Youth of Christ” this summer.  Stay tuned for when we will be revealing our new company website, our new Facebook page, and our screening locations!!  Praise the Lord!!!

2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Lessons Learned:

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to watch the newest film from Sherwood Pictures that will hit theaters this September, “Courageous.” The film was absolutely incredible, and it’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year!

I was so encouraged after watching this film because Sherwood started exactly where I am now. They had a tiny budget and made their first film completely off faith.

Now, just a few years later, they’ve released several films, one that was named the highest grossing independent film of its year! And by the grace of God, that record is going to be repeated with Courageous!

This movie has the works! It has a GREAT script (I cried like six times), a fantastic cast, and a whole lot of faith supported by a whole lot of humor. The cinematography was fantastic, and the directing was superb.

I was so encouraged to see it because it made me realize that faith in Jesus and hard work truly can equal great movie making. This is the reason God has allowed me to experience the fear of failure, and the fear that I’m not good enough.

It’s because He’s going to use my testimony to inspire others the same way that He has used Sherwood Picture’s testimony to inspire me!

It’s the same thing with you. Whatever trial you’re going through, whatever struggle, God is allowing you to go through it because He’s going to use your story to help someone else!

Doesn’t that make things just a little bit easier? Knowing that the struggle you’re going through now will make someone’s life easier down the road?

When I read the Bible verse of the week, it reminds me of those words. Where the Spirit is, freedom is.

So if the Spirit lives in me, then I am free. Free from what, you ask? This verse means that I am free from negative thoughts, free from the fear of failure. I’m free from the discouraging words I hear from others; I’m free from people who think I’m not good enough.

I’m free from those who don’t want to take the time to shake my hand. I’m free from those who don’t think my ministry will ever make it. I’m free- because Jesus is freedom, and Jesus lives inside of me.

Company Update:

PRAISE JESUS, the novel is almost finished! It’s incredible to think that this is going to be published in just a couple of months! I can’t wait to share it with you all!

Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”

Lessons Learned:

This past weekend, I got to see “Soul Surfer.” It’s a phenomenal movie, incredibly inspirational and motivating, AND an extremely well made faith based film! I loved it so much and left the theater pumped up to do big things for Jesus!

But then all of a sudden it hit me: Soul Surfer was so awesome, and there was no way my movie could ever compare to it. Yes, as ridiculous as it sounds, I actually compared my faith based film to someone else’s faith based film, and I allowed my insecurity to take over my confidence in Youth of Christ.

I went from feeling incredibly inspired to feeling incredibly defeated. I thought there was no way anyone would ever want to pick up Youth of Christ. There was no way we would ever achieve a theatrical release or inspire the masses.

I allowed my insecurity to defeat me.

The next morning, I woke up with absolutely no desire to work on Youth of Christ. The past few weeks I’ve been working on the movie every single day, but after watching Soul Surfer, I felt like there was no point. I felt like no matter what I ever did, Youth of Christ would never be successful, because it just wasn’t good enough.

Being on the other side of these emotions now, it’s tough to write this down. But it’s what I felt. And I know it’s what so many people feel over and over again in their lives.

As human beings, it’s not like we do it on purpose. We all want to be successful and confident and “spectacular” in everything we set our minds to.

But sometimes- ugly times- the doubt creeps in, and we allow that doubt to completely overwhelm anything we would have done to achieve our dreams. And because of that, we stunt ourselves from being able to move forward, and our feelings of inadequacy become a self fulfilling prophecy.

But this isn’t what God wants. This isn’t what God has for us!

That morning, when I didn’t feel like doing anything for Youth of Christ, I heard God whisper to me, “Go to Potential Church today.” So I went to Potential church that morning. And you know what the first thing out of the Pastor’s mouth was? “Insecurity is the result of comparing ourselves to someone else.”

 Repeat: Insecurity is what happens when you compare who you are, what you’re doing, and how you’re doing it, to somebody else.

The enemy uses insecurity to stop us from achieving what God has in store for us. God used the Pastor to teach me that I can’t go by my feelings and emotions, but I must go by what God feels about me, and what God sees in me.

As I took notes on the service, I felt the Holy Spirit lead me to write these words:

“This is what God gave you to do. This is what He saw in you when He created you, and saved you, and set you apart from all those people you never fit in with. This is your mission; this is your fight, your challenge. Jesus gave you this because He knew you could handle it. He knew you could achieve it. He knew you would never quit. Don’t see yourself through your eyes, see yourself through God’s eyes, the way He’s seen you every since He first brought you into existence.”

Take these words with you on your journey. When the insecurity creeps in, when you feel like you’re not enough and it’s not good enough and it’ll never be good enough, take a step back from yourself and remember- GOD BELIEVES IN YOU. God believes you are capable of everything you set your mind to, because through Him YOU ARE ENOUGH, and He’ll never leave you or forsake you.

A-men.

Company Update:

PRAISE JESUS, we hosted our first two screenings of Youth of Christ in the month of March, and the screenings were phenomenal!! Now, we’re spending the month of May booking as many screenings as possible so we can continue sharing the “live big for Jesus Christ” message to teenagers and young adults all across America!

If you’d like to book a screening, email screenings@CEEChrist.com.

Also coming soon, Youth of Christ- The Novel. I’ll give you an update when it’s available, praise the Lord!

Lessons Learned:

I’ve struggled a lot over the past few days about whether or not I wanted to write this particular blog. But today, as I read more of Bethenny Frankel’s A Place of Yes, I realized that I didn’t need to struggle anymore. God is who He is, and there’s no reason to ever hide what He has done.

So, here it goes.

I can feel it, deep inside of me, that it is about to happen. What exactly, I’m not sure. But I feel that it, the moment in my life where the struggles I have today become part of my yesterday and the blessings that I’ve dreamed of become a reality, is about to come true.

Last week, as I drove home from work, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper to me that it was about to happen, that what He’s been telling me He would give me was about to come true.  The next day, I received emails from two different film distributors- one in the US, one in Australia- saying that they would love to see Youth of Christ.

God is so good.

Yesterday morning, as I thought about the possibility of putting Youth of Christ in theaters on my own, without any distributors, I realized that we would need the help of another Christian organization that already has ties to the church community here in South Florida. Just a few hours later, an organization that fits that exact description emailed me and offered to have us come and screen the film at their church.

God is really really good.

About two years ago, when I was just beginning the journey of Youth of Christ and didn’t know what was going to happen, Jesus told me through the beautiful voice of the Holy Spirit that if I keep my eyes on Him, I’ll see blessings that I’ve never even imagined.

Here’s the lesson in it: even as things start to happen, even as blessings start to be realized and opportunities start to become realities, we must keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. He’s the same God who walked on water, who created this world in seven days, and who died on a cross to give me a shot at spending forever with Him.

And even if Jesus does decide to hold off, even if He does tell me that it’s not yet my time to reach the destination of this journey He’s given me to live, I’m going to keep my eyes glued squarely on His.

Because at the end of the day, no matter what I’m walking through, I’m always looking at something really Beautiful.

Keep your eyes on what’s Beautiful. You’ll never regret it.

For the past several weeks God has had me reading through the books of Acts, which begins when Jesus ascends into heaven after being crucified and resurrected. It starts with the first followers of Jesus, and then expands to over 3000, and then spreads again as more and more people are touched by the Holy Spirit.

What an incredible story, to see how one Man, one Savior, started a revolution so powerful and full of love that in 2011, just a little over 2000 years later, BILLIONS of people are willing to die for His name. From one, to 12, to over 2 billion.

Now that is a testimony in itself.

But what has really gotten me, and what has really inspired me from the verse of the week, is knowing that simply having the Holy Spirit in me means that I’m encouraged. And this encouragement means that God is going to use me to grow the church in numbers.

And God is going to use you.

In fact, God is going to use every single person who confesses the name of Jesus Christ to grow His church. And isn’t that amazing?

I’m been pursuing the establishment of this whole Godlywood industry in South Florida since I was 14 years old. I haven’t been at it every day, but basically my whole life’s purpose is to make Christian films the way Jesus told me to.

But at the core of it, it really isn’t about making movies. It isn’t about being successful or being a director or even getting the film into churches. What it’s really about, what God has really called me to do, is grow His church. And simply because I have the Holy Spirit in me, that’s going to happen.

No matter how much I mess up, no matter how long I cry or how often I let doubt creep into my faith, God is still going to use me, because I’ve got a Holy Spirit inside of me that is going to encourage me every single day of my life.

Let that fact encourage you. No matter what you’re going through, or how hard your day seems to be, or what trial just won’t seem to go away. Remember that the Holy Spirit is inside of you and encouraging you every single day of your life. And He’s never leaving, so keep your head held high as Jesus uses you to grow His kingdom.

God bless you, and God bless your Ministry!!!

XOXO, Stephanie

We are holding the premiere at my church, the First Baptist Church of Plantation, on Friday, March 4th, 7:30pm!

Words cannot express how grateful I am to the Lord for allowing this day to come!  For those of you who have been following the progress of this film, you know how overwhelming it became at points to see how much work was left before a premiere could even be thought of.

Now, by the grace of the Lord, the night has finally come to share Jesus’ message to the world through “Youth of Christ- The Movie.”

The next step is to work on distribution for the film so that the rest of the world can see it, so keep in touch to see how that process goes!

Thank you SO MUCH for all your prayers, and if this isn’t a testament to how you can achieve ANYTHING you put your mind to with the help of the Lord, I don’t know what is!

But just in case you missed the point: YOU CAN DO ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD AS LONG AS YOU KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS CHRIST!

He’s capable of making us fly!

XOXO,
Stephanie

Case and point, a couple of weeks ago I had a severe panic attack about “Youth of Christ” being a major flop.  I was convinced that there was no way this movie would ever make it to theaters, or be successful, or make a profit.  I was so worried that God wouldn’t allow a distribution company to be interested.  Can you believe that on the following Monday, as soon as I got into work, one of the producers on “Youth of Christ” called me and said that he had a connection that would allow us to get “Youth of Christ” seen by the distributors of a major film studio in California!  On Saturday I’d been crying my eyes out, worried that this movie wouldn’t make it.  And on Monday morning, I find out that a major motion picture studio is going to watch my movie.

Only Jesus is capable of doing such big things, praise the Lord!!!

So with that lead in, let me give you an update on what Jesus has been doing on “Youth of Christ”!

1.) WE FINISHED ADR.  It took over 30 hours and a dozen actors in a tiny room to record all the dialogue that we needed for “Youth of Christ,” but only by the grace of Jesus it is finished.  I never want to do ADR again, but I have this sinking feeling that I’ll probably have to do it again on the next movie, and the movie after that, and so on and so forth.  Blah.

2.) Our sound designer has started working on designing the film.  Praise Jesus for that! 

3.) We got work from a Christian film distribution company, and this is in addition to the major motion picture distribution company, that they want to see the movie when it’s finished! 

4.) Ever since August, I’ve been working on adapting “Youth of Christ- The movie” into a novel to release along side the film.  The novel is only about 5,000 words away from being finished, praise Jesus!!!   By the grace of God we’d like to have it released early next Spring, right before “Youth of Christ” comes out in theaters.  We’ll see what Jesus says!

5.) The “Youth of Christ- the movie” facebook fan page is up and running!  It houses all our “Making of” videos, AND THE TRAILER FOR THE MOVIE!  So if you’d like to see what all these blogs are about, come visit the page and take a look at the trailer!

 Thanks so much for reading!  What I’ve been learning the past few months is that even when you think you’re secure in your faith and in what God wants you to do, the enemy will do everything he can to make you doubt it as often as he can.  It’s been hard keeping my head focused on the idea that this film is going to be a success, but at the end of the day, I’ve come to a wonderful peace inside of me that knows that whatever is going to happen, Jesus already knows.  And if He already knows, I’ve got nothing to be afraid of.

God bless you, and God bless your wonderful ministry!

XOXO,
Stephanie