Wow, in just THREE DAYS, a New Year will be here! To me it is no coincidence that the New Year follows our celebration of the birth of Jesus. Once we discover and rediscover our Savior, life can begin anew…and so that is where we are three days before 2012 commences…

As has become my custom, I like to take the time to reflect on my year here on After the Altar Call and remind me and you of my favorite posts for every month of the year…So if you have a few minutes, take this journey with me…

January 2011 – Remember our snowstorm earlier this year?! We in the A were hemmed up for nearly a week!!! I wonder what God has in store for us as far as weather is concerned this winter – Divine Hem Ups aka Atlanta Snowstorm 2011

February 2011 – Although I have lived in the A since I was six years old, I went to the Bronner Bros.  International Hair show for the first time in February, and I took you with me! If you haven’t been yet, you definitely need to check it out!  See for yourself why – Saturday in the A – Featuring the Bronner Bros. International Hair Show

March 2011 – I pondered what happens when your girls start getting married and you’re not. This is an issue that continues to evolve as other issues continue to emerge – What To Do When You Friends Get Married

April 2011 – I got it poppin’ on After the Altar Call after I posted my thoughts on Anthony David’s song “God Said.” Tribute to God or Jesus it was not in spite of the title…And David stopped by here to speak his piece making for a very interesting discussion of 31 comments – Controversy – Anthony David’s “God Said” video…

 May 2011 – I wrote a tribute to my mama that I’m proud of. I rewrote Proverbs 31 to describe my mama-girl Alice May – Alice May, It’s Your Day (Happy Mother’s Day to All Mothers)

June 2011 – I “spoke” publicly about my book for the first time…I still cannot believe that in less than two months I will have the published copy in my hands…Goose.bumps. – 2011 Faith & Fiction Retreat aka Debuting My New Book!!!

July 2011 – In July, after a few revisions, my book cover was released…I love it so…what do you think? – The Vision I Had in My Head Debuting My New Book Cover Woo Hoo!!!

August 2011 – I was blessed to interview Dr. Alveda King, niece of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and daughter of his King’s younger brother Rev. A.D. King, about her uncle and his dream the week that the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial, which is located on the national Mall, was to be officially dedicated…But God had other plans…A hurricane made it necessary to postpone the dedication to later in the year – Let Freedom Ring: Dr. Alveda King Remembers Her Uncle Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 September 2011 – In spite of the attack of the enemy, we are still here 10 years after September 11, 2001 – Remembering 9/11 10 Years Later…aka We Won’t Stop…

October 2011 – I never imagined when I began blogging in September 2008 that I would love blogging soooo much!!! And this year, I went to my first blogging convention where I was able to meet other bloggers who love it as much as I do – Be Blogalicious! 

November 2011 – My line sister Lola Brown, who is a two-time breast cancer survivor, was featured on 11 Alive and TheGrio.com. Her full testimony is also featured in my book – My Line Sister is a Two-Time Breast Cancer Survivor Under 40 Years Old

December 2011 – And I was so elated to interview Kim Fields (Tootie from “Facts of Life” and Regine from “Living Single” last week!!! And wasn’t “Holiday Love” great?! I hope it becomes a Christmas classic! – Check out Kim Fields in her TV Christmas special “Holiday Love” airing on Christmas Day!!!

Any thoughts?

The post Retrospect: 2011 in Posts…. appeared first on After the Altar Call.

It’s gettin’ hot out there, huh? I guess spring was last week, and now it is straight summer…well not really, but it sure feels like it…

Atlanta soul singer Anthony David is tryin’ to get it hot out there with his new song “God Said.” You like that segue, huh? I don’t know much about his music honestly, but when I saw an article posted about his latest song on Facebook, I was compelled to read it. David is an atheist or secular humanist according to the article in Creative Loafing. And his song “God Said” from his album “As Above, So Below” demonstrates his beef with us religious folk. For the record, I have some beef with some religious folk too, but I wander if dude threw the baby out with the bath water. Nothing on this earth is perfect and that includes Christianity. And anything that involves flawed human beings is sure to have some issues.

Below are a few interesting quotes from the article in which David discusses how his views about various institutions from religious faith to marriage have evolved as he has gotten older…

“What’s really interesting on this album is that I learned a lot of things over the past three years that I’ve been mulling over for a while,” says David, who turns 40 this year. “The biggest change is I became what I call a secular humanist, or an atheist. All I know is that I’m interested in being nice to people but I’ve never believed in any religion. But it’s tricky when you’re in the South and you’re around the culture that I’m in.”

“I like the idea of marriage but I don’t think it works,” he confesses. “I think we need to rework it, I just have no idea about how. That bugs me and I couldn’t really be in a relationship with those kinds of thoughts with no resolve, and that’s part of what happened. Even with ‘4evermore,’ there was a lot of rationalization going on if you listen to my verse.”

And from another Creative Loafing article, below is what David said directly about the new video.

I’m sure there will be some disagreements. I put some of my more radical ideas in there, and there will probably be some disagreement about a few things here and there. That’s ok with me, I’m all for civil discussion and people having their own ideas. I don’t mean any harm, but they’re my ideas (and the directors- we all pitched in). There will be places to have these discussions, but mostly, I tried to stick to the unifying point, which is anti extremism and fundamentalism. I mean well by it. I encourage THOUGHT, REASON, LOVE, and RESPECT. I hope that comes across at the very least.

So check out the video for yourself…

Any thoughts?

The post Controversy – Anthony David’s “God Said” video… appeared first on After the Altar Call.