Thursday April 26th, 2012 began early, with the sun peeking out around 7:00AM and disappearing quickly into a cold, cloudy, overcast and rainy morning. While driving, I wondered about the outdoor activities scheduled for Amidon-Bowen Elementary School and hoped the charity work wouldn’t be rained out.

For two days, my television show “Unity” was able to cover #1New Your Times Best Selling Author Joel Osteen. As creator and host of “Unity,” this opportunity was an honor for me. I fully intended to concentrate on Pastor Osteen’s book “Every Day A Friday” and the upcoming “America’s Night of Hope.” I was also elated to interview his wife Co-Pastor Victoria Osteen about her book “Gifts From the Heart.”

But something happened while covering the preceding charity events the Thursday before “America’s Night of Hope.” I noticed the Osteens were a close knit family. One could perceive their reverence for each other. Although most would assume that this time of reporting was all about Pastor Joel Osteen, it became abundantly clear he wanted the spotlight on his family and the charity event itself. Pastor Osteen emphasized the importance of the Generation Hope workers and all that they were doing to help beautify Amidon-Bowen Elementary School. After doing press with ET inside the school library, he requested his other interviews be outside with the workers.

My first stop Thursday was at Sharp Health School to have a one on one interview with Victoria Osteen. As a children’s book author myself, my excitement to interview her could barely be contained. This was a common ground that as a reporter, I wasn’t privileged to reveal to her. I thought to myself, if she only knew what an inspiration and an honor it was for me to interview her about what inspired her to write. She was and continues to inspire me as an author.

Cassandra interviews Victoria Osteen

Cassandra with Victoria Osteen

At Sharp Health School, Victoria Osteen took the time to give me a brief synopsis of “Gifts From the Heart” saying, ”It’s a book about children helping children. It’s about a young girl who thinks she doesn’t have anything to give. She realizes the greatest gift to give is within her, it’s her own gifts and talents. The setting is in a King….in a castle in medieval times. So she sang for the king when she didn’t think she had anything to give him, no money, no riches. And so he loved her gift the best of all.” See YouTube Video Part 1.

At Amidon-Bowen Elementary, Co-Pastor Victoria Osteen took center stage once again reading “Gifts From the Heart.” Reporters staked out prime real estate to get the best shot. The event soon became a family affair. After her reading, she introduced her children Alexandra and Jonathan to the attentive and excited children. She brought up their cousins while quietly in the back of the room, Pastor Joel Osteen crept into the library. Everyone was thrilled when Amidon’s staff introduced Pastor Osteen to the kids. “Like Victoria said, you all are going to do great things in life. God has great things in store for you. Thanks for letting us come today. We love you,” Pastor Osteen beamed.

Pastor Osteen Greets the Children

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