Inspirational Women Series created by Tracey S. Yang Article #10 with Delendra TarsaVena Peterson
Delendra TarsaVena Peterson is an inspirational woman who is a global TV network owner, published author, songwriter, and minister.
Delendra TarsaVena Peterson
Music has always been in the spirit of Delendra. With singing talent coupled with a musical family, her interest in music was inevitable, and she went on to be a huge success. Her singles, “I’m Calling,” “Still Listening,” “Pray On,” and “This I Do,” landed her many concerts, six television news interviews, two compilation CDs with First Choice Gospel Records (TN), appearances on Bobby Jones Presents, on Artist Fest during the 2016 Stellar Awards, and on Atlanta Live, four gospel awards from S&M Gospel Indie Awards in May 2015 along with one gospel award in May 2019, and one gospel award from BlockBuster Showcase Music Awards.
Besides music, she is also a minister at heart and uses what she has learned in life in order to help others. This ministry of helping is showcased in one of her television shows called The Dating Chronicles, which the show features Delendra as a host where she discusses healthy dating habits for individuals. The show started after Delendra faced heartbreak in some of her past relationships. She also has transferred some of her expertise and life experience into books she has written. These books include The Diary of a Hurt and Confused Wife and One Last Try.
She also has experienced enormous success in her business, The OnPoint Network, which is a streaming network located in Alabama. The OnPoint Network is a major network that has the capability to receive 270 million households globally.
1. What is a skill you think all women should learn and why?
Born to parents with three boys, I learned that it was important to learn everything that my brothers learned. As I got older, I valued the fact that my family taught me how to change a tire and to fix minor things on my car and my house. I think all women should know the basic things. If not, research the pricing. Unfortunately, there are many vultures out there ready to overcharge a woman who might not know the value of the services they are providing.
2. What is one piece of advice that has impacted you the most?
The one piece of advice that impacted me the most was to know who I am. As you grow, you change. This means that what you need will change. Your purpose will change or expand. In order to be loved by the right mate and friends, you must understand who you are so you can love yourself first. Therefore, you will not allow people to use you or mistreat you because you truly understand the person you see in the mirror every day.
3. What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?
I have had so many failures. I have cried so much. Yet, with each failure, I cried, stopped, focused, and tried it again. My biggest failure was my second marriage. He and I were destined to make an impact on the world. Yet, we were both broken and weren’t walking in our purposes, which caused a lot of confusion. It took me a while for me to get over this marriage, and I had to find out who I was again. This led to my first book, Diary of a Hurt and Confused Wife. One day, I called my father crying. My father told me just to write it down. It turned into a book. It started the healing process. After seeing the hurt in my daughter from the separation, I told her to do the same thing. We ended up co-writing this book together.
4. What is the biggest risk that you have taken in your career?
The biggest risk that I have taken in my career was to leave my teaching job. I was teaching choir and science at Sumter High School in Livingston, Alabama. Even though I loved my students, I wasn’t happy. Once again, I still had not fully listened to God. I asked God to help me start The OnPoint Network. Yet, I was not relying on Him. I was still relying on my teacher’s salary to sustain me and fund the network. God allowed me to get sick, and I had to have surgery. From there, I know I had to focus on the desires that I requested from Him. Even though it was scary and financially, mentally, and physically hard, God has been blessing everything. When I left my teaching career, people talked about me. Now, they can see the glory in stepping out on faith and believing in God’s promise.
5. Tell me more about your business, The OnPoint Network. How did The OnPoint Network begin?
The OnPoint Network actually started as a channel. I was filming a show, The New Indie Gospel Show, and it was airing on the NOW Network and the Impact Network. I thought about how I love media and developing things. Even though it seems like I am always out front, I enjoy working behind the scenes. From there, I took my teacher retirement funds, and I started working with a new network out of Georgia to start a channel. I had to find over 300 hours of content. We had the launch party. During that same weekend in March 2018, I was ordained in ministry. It was an exciting weekend.
Yet, the network was not launched, which means my channel wasn’t launched. I lost all my funds. Through all the crying, a friend of mine got me focused and told me to start it on my own. I immediately went into beast mode. I researched and The OnPoint Network was launched in August of 2018. Even though it was a failure, God created praise.
Instead of having a channel, I now have a network. We started with a few hundred views a month. Now, we are getting from 2.5 million to over 8 million views a week. It is amazing how God is growing the network. It’s available on several platforms; Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV, Vimeo, DailyMotion, YouTube, Raydiant, Facebook, Amazon Prime (select content), The OnPoint Channel and Network app, and our website at www.onpointnetwork.tv. Soon, we will have a Samsung TV app where our app will be available on Samsung TVs. Now, we have OP Studios, which is located in Linden, Alabama. I love being the owner of The OnPoint Network because I am blessed to help others to fulfill their dreams and goals of being on television and media. Independent content writers are able to have their content viewed globally, without using all of their money.
6. Tell me more about your book, One Last Try.
I had the thought of One Last Try back in 2016. Yet, things didn’t come forth. I didn’t have the right co-author nor was I truly ready to give love one last try. It is amazing. I met my co-author, Bishop Marcus Hill from Buffalo, New York, on Facebook. I can’t remember how we became friends on Facebook or how we started communicating. All I know is that it was God-ordained.
From the way he and I communicate, people would think that we have met and spent lots of time together. Yet, we have never met. We talked about our divorces and how we tried to repair our marriages. From the many conversations, we realized that we needed to write One Last Try together. Too many people give up. They feel like they are the only ones going through their situation. Plus, they focus on what their mates are doing wrong. In our book, we expound on the things we did wrong in our marriages.
7. Tell me more about your TV show, Dating Chronicles, on The OnPoint Network.
After all the brokenness from life and relationships, I am seriously dating. Honestly, I never stopped believing in love and the fairytale. I think God embedded this in me. I have tried to close that part of me off. Now, I embrace it. I realize there are other women and men who are scared to date or maybe, they are not dating properly.
From there, Dating Chronicles was born. Since I am a minister, I knew people wouldn’t be open with me. There is a stereotype in church. Many African American churches in the South don’t discuss relationships and marriages. This is a big downfall for many people. God talks about love, relationships, and marriages in the Bible. Why shouldn’t we talk about it with Christians so they can find the right mate for their lives and purposes? With my mindset, I am very open with people about dating. To me, Dating Chronicles is necessary for my viewers and for me.
8. Why do you think it’s important to seek guidance from God for all endeavors?
I think it is very important to seek the guidance of God in everything I do. In my past, I would pray and jump. I didn’t take time to hear from God. I just believed He would be there in everything I do. Things would not always turn out the way I wished. Now, I pray differently. I don’t make moves without hearing from God because I know my purpose is greater than my own personal desires. I know God has my best interest because He loves me. The gifts, talents, and skills that He poured into me were for a greater purpose. In order for them to excel the way they should, I must follow three spiritual Goods; God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Since I have been doing this, I have seen growth and success in my life.
9. What type of music are you currently working on?
Music has always been the foundation of my life. It feels like how I breathe. I know I am not the best singer in the world, but it is a part of me. Writing music is how I express my emotions or deal with things that happen in my life or the people around me. I have sung several genres including opera. Currently, I am working on music for other artists. I am also working on music for some OnPoint Network original movies with a very special person. I can’t wait to present this music to the world. The music that I have already released is available on all digital platforms under TarsaVena, Hog Pin (a group with my ex-husband and brother-in-law), and Passion.
10. Do you have any parting words before this article ends?
People look at business owners and entrepreneurs and see the money. They don’t see the hard work. They don’t see all the hours you spend working even when others are sleeping. They don’t see the tears. They don’t see how often you want to quit and how often you actually quit. They don’t see all the finances that you have to pour back into your business yet keep the love for what you are doing. Make sure you are walking in your purpose. Consistently, seek the Holy Spirit for guidance. You will achieve your success.
This article is a part of a series that is created and written by Tracey S. Yang called the Inspirational Women Series. This series is used to highlight and showcase inspirational women across the globe. Tracey S. Yang’s inspiration for this series came from the book Power Up, Super Women: Stories of Courage and Empowerment where she, in the book, is also one of the women coauthors.
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