LIVING THE NEW NORMAL

About the Book

“You are having a stroke and we need to bring your blood pressure down now!” shouted the ER doctor. I am stunned. My first reactions are denial and then fear; bring what blood pressure down? Those words changed my life as I knew it forever. Stroke is the second leading cause of death, responsible for 4.4 million (9 percent) of the total 50.5 million deaths each year. Stroke affects more than 700,000 individuals annually in the United States (approximately one person every 45 seconds). About 500,000 of these are first attacks, and 200,000 are recurrent attacks. More than 4 million people in the United States have survived a stroke or brain attack and are living with the after-effects. Living with the after-effects means that the stroke did not kill you, but left its mark and has affected your life permanently. Statistics show how many die per year and how many survive. Statistics cannot show how one lives with the knowledge that their life is permanently altered. We all have experienced life changing events; births, deaths, sickness, jobs, divorce to name just a few. There are some changes we choose to make and there are some changes that are made for us. There are changes that bring us joy and happiness and there are changes that bring up despair and misery. But what do you do when you experience a situation in your life that changes the very core of who you are and what you believe? When you ask the question of God, “Where were you when this happened to me?”, and how do you handle the answer. What do you do when you realize you just experienced a miracle from God, but without the expected outcome? This book is a journey of my life from what I considered normal to what is now a new normal. How God brought about a spiritual renewal and awakening that I was waiting for my entire life. If you have ever found yourself in a place where life has shifted you without your permission, then this book is for you.

About the Author

Evangelist Salonge Crenshaw is the Pastor of the Union Outreach Fellowship Church of Farmville, Virginia under the leadership of her husband, the Senior Pastor, the illustrious Bishop Lylton C. Crenshaw. She is the loving mother of three sons, Eddie, Andy, and Brian and two daughter-in-laws, Tomeisha and Norma along with five grand-daughters, Cheyenne, Breanna, Ariel, Leah, and Lauren, and a grandson Andy Jr. Pastor Crenshaw resides with her husband in Cartersville, VA. Pastor Crenshaw was licensed to preach the Gospel in 1997 even though God had given her words of wisdom for women long before that time through teachings and counseling. She currently works along with her husband preaching and teaching the people of God. She is the founder of the Union Outreach Fellowship Inspirational Choir and also the of the Women’s Ministry, Women of Wisdom. She has developed and taught classes to the people of God such as “Breaking Generational Curses”, “Becoming a Christian Worker”, “God’s Armor Bearers”, and “Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit” to name a few. Through the Women’s Ministry, she hosts a monthly session of “Women’s Word Empowerment”, an open counseling session for women of all ages to come together for instruction in righteous living and an annual Women’s conference held each May. Through these conferences, many women have given their life to Christ and have been set free from the bondage of the enemy. She is constantly invited to preach and teach at Women’s services and conferences throughout the states of Virginia and North Carolina. While hearing the teachings of Pastor Crenshaw, one is left knowing that truly this is a woman anointed, appointed, and approved by God. She has been gifted with the ability to identify the strongholds that cause bondage and the ability to identify the way of escape. She walks awesomely in the deliverance anointing of God and she has come to set the captives free. She has been endowed with the ability to preach and teach from her experiences and lives have been changed as a result. Pastor Salonge Crenshaw has proven herself to be the epitome of a Proverbs 31 woman. She has humbled herself to be the vessel that God uses to teach sanctification and consecration. Pastor Crenshaw knows that the joy of the Lord is her strength. Through trials and tests she has come out as pure gold. She is a very giving, loving and caring person. Pastor Crenshaw is often heard quoting her favorite scripture, Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint” Truly an inspiration too many, she desires the people of God to walk in purpose and true holiness.