23 Blast, new movie & exclusive interview with Travis Freeman

23 Blast, based on the true story of Travis Freeman, is a film of tragedy and hope, darkness and light.

When Travis Freeman a high-school football player, became blind from a football accident, his world, his hope and future looked to have come to an end. How could such a tragedy hit someone so young and so talented?

Freeman, played by Mark Hapka (Day of Our Lives, Criminal Minds), has not only lost his sight but his ability to live out his passion and continue playing football. But that passion will not quit and he finds himself dreaming football every time the game is played without him.

Friends, family and therapists help push Freeman along to a life worth living in spite of blindness.

The characters—played by Mark Hapka, Stephen Lang (Avatar, Terra Nova), Alexa Vega (Spy Kids, Machete Kills), , Max Adler (Glee), Bram Hoover, Kim Zimmer (Guiding Light, One Life to Live), Becky Ann Baker (Men in Black, Freaks and Geeks, A Simple Plan) Timothy Busfield (Field of Dreams, thirtysomething), Dylan Baker, and Fred D. Thompson (Sinister, Law & Order, Die Hard 2)—are convincing and believable.

23 Blast tells Freeman’s story—a story packed with raw emotion, fear, hopelessness, humor and the unexpected. An inspiring story the world should know.

Coming to theaters on October 24^th, you don’t want to miss this film. Ocean Avenue Entertainment and K-Love/AIR1 radio have teen up to support this family-friendly feature film, 23 Blast.

So, what does Travis Freeman think of the movie inspired by his story? Check out my interview below.

JD—HI Travis, good to meet you. Were you a strong believer before losing your sight?

TF—Yes. I professed faith at age eleven, the summer before I lost my site. (I lost my site at 12-years-old.) Thank God, I was grounded in the faith by a strong family.

JD—How did the film affect you? Did you find yourself reliving that period of your life?

TF—Yes, definitely. But the film is not the Travis Freeman story. It is only loosely inspired by my story. But the film does a good job and gets the message across.

JD—What was it lie to play football blind?

TF—Disability is not equal to inability. When we have strong faith, we can overcome obstacles. When I became blind, my life was turned upside down. It took me a year to learn to live life again. And by the end of 7^th Grade, I’d assimilated back into normal life.

When my mom asked the coach if I could just be an extra part of the team, he said, “No. If Travis is to be part of the team, I want him to play.”

So in August 1994, I became the first blind football player. It wasn’t anything special to me. I was living my life. It seemed normal. It wasn’t spectacular to me.

JD—When did you feel the call to serve God and what are you doing now?

TF—When I was a sophomore in college. I then graduated from the University of Kentucky, then got my Masters of Theology and a Ph.D. from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I’m presently an adjunct professor at the University of Cumberland.

In the future I’d like to teach full-time as a college professor and, at some point, to travel, write and speak. Also to focus more on the Travis Freeman Foundation: http://www.travisfreeman.org.

Travis has also written his autobiography, Lights Out, Living in a Dark World. Find it on his website.

This story will also appear in Assist News Service. 

Janey DeMeo M.A.

Copyright © October 2014

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Billy Graham in Quotes

Pertinent. Pure. Profound. Poignant. Powerful.

Ok, so I’m pushing the alliteration, but Billy Graham in Quotes is all of these things. This book is exactly as the title suggests: a book of quotes by Dr. Billy Graham, compiled by his son, Franklin Graham.

Billy Graham in Quotes is set up in categories so the reader can easily flip through to find Dr. Graham’s quotes on various subjects: abortion, work, the resurrection, church, evangelism, pain . . . Under the chapter titled Prayer for example, here’s a typical quote:
“Prayers have no boundaries.
They can leap miles and continents and be translated instantly into any language.”

This is a great book for just about anyone. Great for preachers as a source of spice for their sermons. And great for layman to glean from the simple truths and enrich their personal walk with Jesus.

Janey DeMeo M.A.

Copyright © July 2011

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PrayFit - interview with Jimmy Pena

I recently posted my review of PrayFit. If that whet your appetite to get fitter and closer to Jesus, you won't wanna miss my interview with the godly, fitness guru and author of PrayFit, Jimmy Pena.

Here's an appetizer... For the whole interview, read my article in The San Diego Christian Perspectives Examiner.

JD--I love that PrayFit challenges me to go further in my workout than I'd normally choose--while also inspiring me to go deeper with God. What gave you the idea for this unique combination?
JP— Well, from a fitness standpoint, I teach people that the body will only change according to the level at which it is stressed. Our bodies are pretty resilient and they adapt so well to what we put them through. For that reason, we have to continually ask more of ourselves day in and day out. I think the same thing goes for our faith. Spending good time with the Lord each day, seeking His guidance, going deeper into His word…that’s how we stay healthy on the inside.

JD--As well as being a brilliant fitness coach, PrayFit shows that you walk close to the Lord How does your faith impact your desire to help others get in shape?
JP— Well, all I know is that I love the Lord, and I am so thankful He’s in my heart. I’ve said before that it doesn’t necessarily take faith to be healthy, but if we have faith, we should strive to be. The message of PrayFit has been formed and molded into some simple concepts, most important being that we believe that while life is not about the body, our health is a means of praise. That we’re called to take care of the body that carries the soul and that there are plenty of biblical references and examples that point to and require a response in the area of physical fitness and proper eating. We believe that many areas of life require a sacrifice. Is our money required for heaven? No. But we’re told to be good stewards of it. Same thing goes for our bodies. Required for heaven? Nah. But we’re called to take care of them because they’re not ours to neglect. After all, that’s what a steward is anyway; someone put in charge of something that’s not their own. It’s not about a six-pack, but something so fearfully and wonderfully made deserves better attention and upkeep. Things like lower blood pressure and sensible weight loss can be seen simply as bi-products of obedience.

JD--One of the things I love about PrayFit is it's gimmick-free. The exercises don't even require equipment. I'm often in Haiti or other third-world countries where there's little opportunity to exercise. Do you have any special tips for me in this situation so I don't get back home stiff and out of shape?
JP—So glad you asked. We wrote PrayFit with bodyweight as the resistance because anybody and every body can experience a solid workout in very little time, without costly equipment and in the privacy of their home or hotel room. Few people realize how effective a bodyweight workout can be, but if you’re at home and you have only 10 minutes before work or if you’re in a hotel room, the simple bodyweight approach is so effective. The best thing? It’s all relative. My best effort, your best effort, anyone reading this article…we all have a threshold. Someone who can only do 5 push-ups or bodyweight squats or someone capable of 500, it doesn’t matter. Your best is your best, is your best… And each individual will see results. So while you’re in Haiti doing God’s work, you can Stayfit with PrayFit.

JD—I like that: STAYFIT with PRAYFIT. Yay!
With all the talk about the dangers of obesity, are Americans finally catching on? Are they becoming more health conscious or are they still caught in the deadly cycle of unhealthy food and little exercise?
JP—We’re great at identifying the dangers, risks and haunting statistics, but obesity is still something we see yet don’t yet feel. For that reason, it’s our opinion that the believer needs to lead the way. Whether you’re Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Non-denominational or otherwise, we believe that the believer should be the example. In 5, 10, 50 years, when this country puts statistics together to summarize the state of health in our nation, may there be one group that led the way to a healthier America…the Christians.

For all the links and more from Jimmy, click here.

Janey L. DeMeo M.A.
Copyright © March 2011

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Defining Faith Part 2

(Video & photo credit Louis DeMeo)



It took a whole lot of faith to sit under that collapsed building on top of a ton of stinky rubble. Eeeeeooh! Who knows what lay underneath that stuff? But what is real faith -- the kind that delivers our souls from damnation? And what makes the Christian faith, belief in the Bible as God's inspired Word, different from other faiths?

One defining aspect of the Christian faith is faith. Sound simple? It is. But some people make it so darned complicated.

The Bible teaches that by faith we are saved, not by works (Ephesians 2:8). Faith, as discussed in last week’s article, must be based on truth in order to be true faith. To the Bible-believer, that object of truth is God’s Son, Jesus.

Most religions – just about all religions – believe that you must try to be good enough to merit Eternal Life and Heaven. That’s what makes Christianity or Bible-believing different from other religions; the very premise of Christianity is that humans cannot do enough good to merit God. They cannot arrive at perfection because they are bound by old sin natures.

The Bible says none of us will ever be good enough for all have sinned and fall far from the mark of perfection demanded by the very personification of perfection, God (Romans 3:23). That’s why God sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay the price of our imperfections and to die for our sin, so we could, in essence, go scot free to Heaven on the merit of what He did—and not on what we did or didn’t do. That’s called grace: receiving something we don’t deserve and never earned or merited.

Bottom line: He did it for us. We must accept it and accept Him, believe in Him, put our faith in Him. It’s not hard but it is clearly the most important decision one can ever make because it’s this decision that determines our eternal destiny. If we believe in Him, we become His adopted child and He promises Heaven and a life walking with Him now. Just takes a little faith...

But that doesn’t mean that once we have put our trust in Jesus and accept Him that we can live like Hell with no consequences. Whatever a person sows, he or she will also reap (Galatians 6:9). And a person who has asked Christ into his heart will be changed over time. Truly changed. And that will show on the outside.

The Bible says that faith without works is dead.

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:14-18, NKJV).

So here’s the cincher. If you really know Jesus you’ll walk the walk that reflects who He is. You’ll reach out to the hurting, pour out to the poor, reach out to a needy neighbor, pray for loved ones, seek to make your own wrongdoing right, sense when you’ve done something that grieves God and ask for forgiveness… The list goes on. But all that’s for another time. Stop by again soon for more on this subject.

Feel free to leave a comment. i value your feedback.

Janey L. DeMeo M.A.
Copyright © February 2011

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