In my Sesame Street voice, this post is brought to you by the number 3.

Hello World,

2015 is shaping up to be the worst year ever for three pop culture icons: Bill Cosby, Josh Duggar & Jared Fogle. And we still have four months left in the year…

These three have starred in a trifecta of sex scandals this year. A New York magazine cover photograph earlier this month featured 35 women who accused Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them over the years. But most damning of all was his own “admission in a newly released court record that he had obtained quaaludes to give young women with whom he wanted to have sex,” according to a New York Times article. And if admitting molesting young girls wasn’t enough, as of a few days ago, “19 Kids and Counting” star Josh Duggar, a married man, has now confirmed he is a cheater too. And he is no run-of-the-mill cheater who met some chick  at a T.J. Fridays or Applebee’s. It was confirmed a few days ago that he used the popular Ashley Madison, a website for cheating spouses. And if the scandals that are Bill Cosby and Josh Duggar weren’t enough, Jared Fogle, who became a spokesman for Subway after his inspiring story of losing over 200 pounds by eating the sandwiches, has now been accused of having sex with minors and receiving child porn!

These men are a ménage à trois of messy, a trio of trips, a triplicity of duplicity, a threesome of creeps, a troika of trolls,  a triad of tribulations, a trichotomy of tricks, a ternion of vermin, a trilogy of tragedy, essentially an unworthy triumvirate these three…allegedly…

1. Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable was once hailed as America’s favorite father, but as of this year, he has been knocked off of his pedestal, proving again the only perfect Father is Father God.

And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Matthew 23:9

2. Let some conservative Republicans tell it, Josh Duggar was the embodiment of the perfect son, but as of this year with 2 sex scandals and counting, the Truth is only one Son is worthy of worship.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. John 9:35-38

3. The obese nation that we are, Jared Fogle was an inspiration for countless Americans as he was able to lose 245 pounds and for the most part, keep it off. But the Subway guy in no way compares to the inspiration provided by the Holy Spirit if only we would seek His help.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

The only perfect One is the triune Godhead, the only perfect Trinity…

Any thoughts?

The post 3 Reasons Why We Should Trust the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit Instead of Bill Cosby, Josh Duggar & Jared Fogle appeared first on After the Altar Call.

I absolutely love this time of the year: the few days after Christmas just before the dawn of a brand New Year…Maybe it’s because it’s winter or maybe it’s just in my head, but somehow the air feels crisp with excitement as the world prepares to hit biggest reset button of them all…Whatever has happened in a year – good or bad, the beginning of a New Year is an opportunity to continue to greater heights or leave pain in the past…It’s a time to reflect on all that has transpired in 365 days and wonder about what is to come…And that sentiment brings me the point of today’s blog post…If you mind, let’s take a tour of 2014 via my this blog…

January 2014 – I admitted that I do watch “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” (hiding behind my computer since you probably want to throw rocks at me ) and was fascinated by the storyline about Mama Joyce and how she couldn’t stand that her daughter Kandi Burruss, former Xscape songstress and current song-writing millionaire was engaged Todd Tucker, a production manager. (They are now married!) I was so fascinated with the storyline that I interviewed Mama Joyce: “Mama Joyce Gets Us Straight…And Steps Back…And Keeps Stepping…(MY INTERVIEW).”

February 2014 – I celebrated my first Valentine’s Day as a married woman in my blog post “Lovapalooza: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Love on Valentine’s Day.” Also, if you live in Georgia, remember this was the second time in just a couple of weeks that we were snowed and iced in…and this particular snowstorm/ice storm happened to fall on Valentine’s Day week…

March 2014 – Although I am a reality television show fan, I pleaded with gospel duo Mary Mary to rethink their reality show in “Why Mary Mary May Need To Get Off Reality TV…My Open Letter to Erica & Tina Campbell” as their lives seem to have unraveled for all the world to see…

April 2014 – I shared that I FINALLY completed the rough draft of my first novel in “This Novel That I’m Writing…My Modified NaNoWriMo Challenge…”  

May 2014– With my husband’s permission, I shared some of his testimony in “Delay is NOT denial…Celebrating My Hubby’s College Graduation!!!”

June 2014– Although the world lost “Phenomenal Woman,” Dr. Maya Angelou on May 28, I wrote about her in my June 1 blog post “Remembering The Phenomenal Woman: Maya Angelou…” The example of her life is a beacon that anything is possible for a black girl, a girl who once thought of herself as “a too-big Negro girl with nappy black hair, broad feet and a space between my teeth that would hold a No. 2 pencil” – her words…

July 2014 – I wrote the blog post “Young Pastors Vs. Old Churches…” that generated a great discussion…This post was inspired by this article “Young Pastor Voted Out By Veteran Members Of Historic Baptist Church In Philadelphia” by Cherri Gregg on CBS Philly’s website.

August 2014 – My husband and I celebrated our first anniversary as marrieds and I wrote about our journey together thus far in “7 Lessons Learned: Going From ‘Single Lady’ to ‘Smug Married.'” It was the third in series of three posts I wrote about being married for a year   To read my first post, go to  “Couples’ Night – Going From ‘Single Lady’ to ‘Smug Married’”… and my second post was “Cooking & Cleaning Oh My! – Going From ‘Single Lady’ to ‘Smug Married.’”

September 2014 – During this month, I met newly minted Soror Suzan Johnson Cook, who is not only a former pastor and current author, she also served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. Her book “A New Dating Attitude” made me know that I know that I know that I truly know my husband was and is God’s best for me…I wrote about our meeting in “Making Your Divine Appointment…”

October 2014 – I explored my fear of Ebola in my blog post “Seven Scriptures to Dispel F.E.A.R. About Ebola…”

November 2014 – I forced myself to separate Dr. Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable, America’s favorite dad, from Bill Cosby in “What Would Jesus Do About Bill Cosby?” I still don’t know what to do about these allegations…This ranks up there with finding out there is no Santa Claus and the chocolate factory in “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” is not real…

December 2014 – Ever since I got engaged during the Christmas season two years ago, I see Christmas as a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and celebrate the beginning of my new life with my hubby…So I was especially elated to interview Malinda Williams, who starred in the movie “Marry Us For Christmas,” which premiered on UP. Check out “‘Watch ‘Marry Us For Christmas’ Tonight/My Interview With Malinda Williams.”

One last thing:

I’ve found the best way to bring in the New Year is in church where I will be tonight…And what better way to prepare for Watch Night Service and the whole year than to pray? Join Girlfriends Pray as they begin a Pray-A-Thon today at noon EST….Details below…

Any thoughts?

The post Saying Good-bye: 2014 in Posts… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

If anyone has ever doubted the power of Google, just say three words. “Bill Cosby Rape.” In just over a month, just these three words have been able to tear down a career that took decades for the noted actor, comedian, philanthropist, author and more to build. Since fellow comedian Hannibal Buress first delivered these words as a part of a show in Cosby’s hometown Philadelphia on October 16, video of the show went viral, heightening interest in what Buress claimed…

I admit that I first came across an article in which the author alleged that Cosby had coerced several women to have sexual contact with him about three weeks ago. I quickly scanned the article but dismissed it an Internet hoax and or outright hogwash because Bill Cosby is Dr. Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable to me. And everyone in my generation knows that Dr. Huxtable is a noted obstetrician,  husband to wife, attorney Clair Huxtable née Hanks and father to their five children. Although Cliff and Clair were busy working parents, they took time to have fun together as a family. Remember when the family memorized a dance routine to Ray Charles’ “Night Time is the Right Time” to entertain Cliff’s parents as they celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary? And has having five children would suggest, Cliff and Claire took time for romance too, emanating unadulterated adoration as they gazed at each other listening to jazz greats like Betty Carter when she sang “Look What I Got.”

Dr. Huxtable is a proud graduate of the highly esteemed HBCU Hillman College and sent his daughter Denise, the original boho-chic fashionista, there. When she left the Huxtable nest, her college days were chronicled in “A Different World.” While at Hillman, Denise was schooled in the honor and high jinks characteristic of attending HBCUs although she didn’t graduate from the school. However, her friends Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert were able to carry on without her. In fact, they later married and moved to Japan when Dwayne got a job offer from Konichiwa.

Yes, these fictional characters became a part of my family. But now as these 16 women have recounted stories of starstruck naïveté, pills and forcible sexual encounters, I have been forced to extricate Bill Cosby from Healthcliff Huxtable. They are not one in the same. And I suppose that is one of the fallacies of fame – confusing an image with a person. Since the allegations have spread throughout the Internet, spawning by the day, FB friends have declared that they will no longer watch reruns of “The Cosby Show” and “A Different World,” networks have dropped the shows from their programming and while other people and entities have taken a more centric approach. I am a part of the latter group.

The journalist in me knows that 16 accounts of anything should be considered, particularly since the accounts seem to be similar. Many of the women themselves seem to similar (at least at the time they allege these encounters occurred) as they all paint a picture of Cosby as a powerful Hollywood player while they were young wannabe starlets eager to ascend with his influence. The home training advocate in me wonders just what did they think would be the end result of carousing alone with this married comedian. The realist in me wonders if the truth is also somewhere in the middle. Maybe Bill Cosby used his fame to attract the attention of these then young women under the guise of innocent fun. And maybe what happened between them was consensual until it wasn’t…

The fact of the matter is no matter what is proven in court or has not been proven in court or what Bill Cosby and his accusers have said or haven’t said, only Jesus is the ultimate and final arbiter of truth…

There are many Bible verses that I can list to support my point, but this verse comes to mind today…

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.  Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

Any thoughts?

The post What Would Jesus Do About Bill Cosby? appeared first on After the Altar Call.