Me and Sherri

By now, many of you have heard the latest news about one of my favorite Christian celebrities Sherri Shepherd….She is going through a divorce…

While I don’t profess to know her, I have met her twice – once at ABC News’  “Nightline” debate “Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man?” in 2010 and again just last month when Sherri debuted her new wig line LUXHAIR NOW. As a result of meeting her at the debate, she agreed to be interviewed for my first book “After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God.” I believe that her story in my book is one of the reasons why I scored a book deal in 2010…

When I saw her just last month, she seemed to be as positive, upbeat and friendly as she has always been…She gave no indication of the private turmoil she may have been experiencing…And that’s the key: privacy…Her pending divorce is a private matter…Now, let me not be hypocritical…As a self-pronounced pop culture expert and celebrity aficionado, I love to dish and dice the latest and most provocative pop culture and celebrity stories…But since I feel have a personal connection with this celebrity (although most minute I know), I have elected to take the stance of her friend Niecy Nash who was asked her opinion about Sherri’s struggles…Take a look at her brief interview with Hip Hollywood below…

Any thoughts?

The post Pray for Sherri Shepherd… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

My ring atop my favorite Bible…

A man at one of the courthouses I go to for my job came up to me as 2011 came to a close and said, “As good as 2011 was for you, I hope that 2012 is even better.” As he said those optimistic words, my ears tingled because I believe that God was speaking prophetically through this man to me, and I was excited about what was to come. And indeed though 2011 was very good, 2012 was even better. Many of those reasons were highlighted in the post “12 Reasons I’m Thankful for 2012…,” which I wrote last month…

Who know that God would bless me with more in December? As December is the month that the world pauses to celebrate the birth of my Savior, it is one of my favorite times of the year, and I was content to celebrate it as I have for many years – pondering Emmanuel at church, scurrying around the malls of Atlanta hunting for the perfect gifts for family and friends and opening gifts around the tree…But on Christmas Eve, my boyfriend R. (now fiance’…Wow…) asked to marry me, and I said, “Yes.”

Stop the presses…

It’s funny how quickly life can change…In 2009, in one of my favorite posts “Hope. Wish.. Pray…” I wrote about two dreams that had been deferred no matter what I seemed to do, but I never revealed what those dreams were…Well, now I’m ready to reveal them…I wanted to be a published author, and I wanted to be in a relationship that led to marriage…And wonders of wonders…Here I am at the close of 2012 – engaged and published…

So what’s next…

Y’all pray for me, and pray for R. If you’ve read any of my relationship posts, y’all know that relationships have never been easy for me. Some women seem to be have been born knowing how to be coupled up…I am not one of them…In fact, if you want to get a better idea of the angst that I have felt around romantic relationships, these are just three of the blog posts that you have to read…

“Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Can’t Find a Man? THE DEBATE”

“Alert: Black Men Are Officially on the Endangered Species List and other useless propaganda…” (Also, two of those women in the video are now married. )

“So is the black church keeping black women single and lonely?”

We have not set a date…We’ve got a marriage and a wedding to plan…so that’s it and that’s all…

Any thoughts?

The post My Soul Looks Back in Wonder…Good-Bye 2012…(I’m Engaged!) appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Jenise & her new hubby on their big day...

I know the day after tomorrow, the United States will be awash in the commencement of the Christmas season. And it is the most wonderful time of the year, but I think the Lord does want us to celebrate His many blessings that He has lavished on us…And Thanksgiving is the perfect time to do so…The best way that I know to celebrate His many blessings is to count them or make a gratitude list…And let me share a secret with you…When life is hard and nothing seems to be going the way that you had expected or hoped for, making a gratitude list has an uncanny way of reminding you that your circumstances could be worse, thus inspiring hope for the future…And without further introduction, I present my Top 20 gratitude list for 2010…(in no particular order…)

1. Jehovah-Rohi(My Shepherd), Jehovah-Jireh(My Provider) and Jehovah-Shalom(My Peace). I’m thankful for the relationship I have with the Lord, who is my savior and my friend. Even when I don’t understand His ways, which is often, I just couldn’t live on this Earth without Him…

Jenise's bridesmaids on the way to the wedding in the limo...

2. The sermon I heard on New Year’s Eve about Joshua finally leading the Israelites into the Promised Land after they wandered for 40 years in the desert…This sermon inspired me to claim my entrance into my own personal promised land this year, and it is happening saints, Hallelujah!

3. My family. I don’t know how people live hundreds of miles away from their loved ones…My family is my rock…

4. R, who has been my biggest cheerleader this year…

5. The wedding of Jenise, one of my best friends…After suffering a heartbreaking relationship loss years ago, she is finally the wife to a man who truly loves her…

6. All of my girls…you know who you are…

7. Nevaeh Publishing LLC

8. Tiffany Warren and The Faith & Fiction Retreat

9. My favorite author, Catherine Marshall, whose words and influence continue to inspire me even after her death…

10. My job…

11. Traveling mercies…

The beautiful bride...

12. My formal financial coach who has taught the value of keeping track of every penny and making the best use of my resources…

13. My various spiritual and religious communities…

14. My line sister, Lola, who has an incredible story of hope, faith & victory…

15. Inspired Sistah, whose words and encouragement has inspired me to live on top of the world…Go Tangie Go!

16. All of my many adventures this year from covering the ABC News “Nightline Face-Off”: Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man? to calming down a chick who wanted to start a fight with one of my girls at the Phipps movie theater where we went to see Sex and the City 2. Hilarious…and pitiful at the same time…

17. The 31st Annual Christian Women’s Retreat. I thoroughly enjoyed being the featured speaker, particularly since I had to study this Bible verse…

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Romans 12:1-2

18. My blog. Not only is it a way to satisfy some of my creative urges, I have learned so much from writing and the people who appreciate my writing…thank you very much…

19. Spiritual Discernment…

20. Books…They are one of the loves of my life…

Any thoughts?

All of us...

The post Count Your Many Blessings…(aka Happy Thanksgiving 2010!) appeared first on After the Altar Call.