Posted on Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Three Gifts Guaranteed to Give You Christmas Cheer…

Hello World,

Since Christmas is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year,” if your eyes aren’t twinkling like they are Christmas lights, if jingle bells aren’t attached to your ankles or you aren’t burping up eggnog, you don’t possess that sometimes seemingly elusive Christmas cheer…

I know that “Jesus is the reason for the season,” but can I be honest? Sometimes even knowing that isn’t enough to dredge up that Christmas cheer that everyone is supposed to be cloaked in like an expensive heavy coat that you only wear on special occasions….

Still despite the manufactured Christmas cheer that retailers will lead you to believe can only be bought, I have discovered there are three gifts, not 12, not enough for your whole family or all your network, simply three that will stoke the furnace of genuine Christmas cheer within you…

I don’t know if it is the example of the three Wise Men or because God is the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit or at the suggestion of my favorite author Catherine Marshall, but in my 20s, I decided that in addition to the gifts I would give to my friends and family, I would also give three gifts to Jesus…

Now, how does one go about giving gifts to Jesus? Although I feel His presence with me, I have never seen nor touched Him physically…So how was I supposed to do that? I was led to these three verses as I came up with a way to give three gifts to Jesus…

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:30

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:3-4

So what do these three verses mean?

1. I was give without expectation of receiving anything back.

2. I was to give to people and or organizations that served “the least of these.”

3. I was to give in secret and not tell a soul.

I have never revealed what I have done before, but since I am writing a post about this, let me share some of the gifts I have given over the years as a testimony to how God has blessed me with authentic Christmas cheer as a result….

There was once a homeless man that I saw every day as I walked from one location to another in downtown Atlanta…All of the store owners on the street were kind to him, and I could see why…He was kind and mannerly and even funny sometimes…I don’t don’t why he was homeless, but he seemed content to live on the street…I thought that since he seemed like he wanted to be on the street, I could at least help keep him warm…I tried to figure what what size pants the man wore and bought him a pair of jeans (he always had on jeans) and a blanket…When I handed him the wrapped up gift, he seemed not to know what I was handing to him until I explained it was a Christmas gift…Then he smiled…That simple smile made me glow on the inside…

Another year, I decided to volunteer one Saturday at My Sister’s House at the Atlanta Mission…I helped hand out supplies to the women and children that were staying at the shelter…At that particular time in my life, I pretty much hated my job and the fact that I was too poor to move out of my parents’ house…But spending just one Saturday at the shelter showed how much I had to be grateful for…My mom has always told me if you want to feel better, forget about yourself…

And finally another one of my secret three gifts was the doll I gave to a Christmas toy drive one year…although I am not a girly girl, I have always LOVED dolls…I wanted a new doll every Christmas for years and years…in fact, I used to worry that as a fifth grader, someone at school would find I still played with dolls and I would be teased…So one year I decided to give the prettiest, most girly, luxurious hair-having doll I could find and afford to a toy drive…I don’t know what girl was the recipient of that doll, but if I have learned anything about God, “every good and perfect gift” comes from Him…I’m sure that the girl who received that doll was the very girl that wished for and deserved that gift…

Although Christmas is a week away as of tomorrow, there is still time to give (and get) Christmas cheer…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2014

A Christmas Prayer – NEW BOOK ALERT!!!

Hello World,

Although the Georgia warm weather may have you fooled, the countdown to Christmas has begun for many people…Even though we still have to celebrate Thanksgiving, it is a good time to plan for the Christmas gifts we will give to our family and friends…At the same time, there are some who would rather avoid the holiday altogether…New York Times bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby is back with a new book that would be a great Christmas gift for family and friends and addresses those who are not looking forward to the holiday…Presenting “A Christmas Prayer”

In A CHRISTMAS PRAYER, readers meet Alexis Fletcher, who hasn’t had a merry Christmas in five years — not since her mother passed away. Every December she remembers the joy her mother brought to everyone during the holiday season and feels the pain of her absence, even more so now that she and her sister are barely speaking. More than anything, Alexis wishes her family could be whole again.

However, with her wedding fast approaching, Alexis might just be ready to make some holiday memories with a new family of her own. Alexis’s fiancé, Chase Dupont, is everything she ever dreamed of. He’s kind, handsome, completely supportive of Alexis’s career and is CEO of a large company. But outside forces threaten to derail this happy couple from ever reaching the altar. As tensions rise, a dramatic event causes Alexis to question everything. Will fate give her what she needs to finally embrace the season that has brought her so much pain? Will Alexis finally have a happy holiday? Or will her Christmas prayer go unanswered?

“A Christmas Prayer” is the first Christmas novel in Roby’s 21-book career, and one to which Roby — who hasn’t fully celebrated Christmas since the passing of her mother — can relate.

About the Author

Kimberla Lawson Roby is the author of the acclaimed works “The Prodigal Son,” “A House Divided,” “The Perfect Marriage,” “The Reverend’s Wife,” “Secret Obsession” (novella), “Love, Honor, and Betray,” “Be Careful What You Pray For,” “A Deep Dark Secret” (novella), “The Best of Everything,” “Sin No More,” “One in a Million” (novella), “Love and Lies,””Changing Faces,” “The Best-Kept Secret,” “Too Much of a Good Thing,” “A Taste of Reality,” “It’s a Thin Line,” “Casting the First Stone,” “Here and Now” and “Behind Closed Doors.” She lives with her husband in Illinois.

Visit the author online at kimroby.com.

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, December 29, 2013

Looking Back: 2013 in Posts…

Hello World,

In just two days, we get to press the virtual reset button on our lives and begin anew…But before we plot our path into the future, it is always wise to see where we have traveled up until this point…One the ways that I reflect on my journey is to go through the posts on this blog month by month and consider the events of the year…so indulge me a bit as I highlight the best of After the Altar Call 2013….

January 2013 – I was one of two authors selected as an emerging writer for 2012 by Written Magazine! Kim Green (author of “Hallucination”) and I read from our work as a part of Written Magazine’s “Wine & Words” at the historic Hammonds House Museum. It was a real blessing in more ways than one! In January 13, my beloved sorority celebrated its 100th birthday!

February 2013 – I recounted some of the the scandals that have shaken up the church, particularly the Atlanta church …From Bishop Eddie Long Accuser Centino Kemp To Release Tell-All Book to RHOA Kandi Burruss Releases Gospel Song “Stay Prayed Up” with Marvin Sapp

March 2013 – I revealed I am working on a novel in “The Next Big Thing…aka My Next Book in Progress…” I’m not quite finished with the rough draft, but my novel is shaping up to be a juicy page-turner (if I say so myself…at least prayerfully… 🙂 )

April 2013 – By April, I was in full wedding planning mode and was stunned by the average cost of a wedding…An astounding $25,656, according to theweddingreport.com….so of course I wrote the post “The Wedding Industry Heist aka maybe I should go in the wedding planning business.” I was also saddened by the Boston Marathon bombing…Although I am a late bloomer to running, I have fallen in love with it and wrote “An Ode to Running (my tribute to the people affected by the Boston Marathon bombing…).”

May 2013 – President Obama becomes an honorary “Morehouse Man,” delivering the commencement address to the 2013 to the graduating class of Morehouse College! It was the first time that a sitting president has ever addressed a spring commencement in the state! I was blessed to be to cover the event…

Brand new Morehouse Man President Obama!

June 2013 – I expressed my disappointment that a wedding vendor “jacked” $600 from me, but thankfully, with the Lord’s wisdom and guidance, I was able to get my money back!

July 2013 – The day after George Zimmerman was allowed to go free in spite of killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin, all I could do was be quiet and reflect in “Why the Trayvon Martin Murder Case Matters…Peace Be Still”…And while I am no psychologist, one has to wonder why George Zimmerman continues to get in trouble following the not-guilty verdict…Is his guilt prompting him to act out in ways that will get him locked up? I guess we will know in time…

August 2013 – One of the best events in my life happened this month…I married my ace boon coon on August 10, and we traveled to Hawaii, the state of President Obama was born, for our honeymoon…Yep, it was the best month of the year…We also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his impassioned and ultimately prophetic “I Have A Dream” speech.

September 2013 – I joined the 4-0 club this month…I still cannot believe I am 40 years old…I remember when I turned 13…but those days are gone now…Hello Middle Age…LOL…Sadly, 50 years ago this month, members of the Ku Klux Klan, planted a bomb at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and killed four girls, Addie Mae Collins, 14; Denise McNair, 11; Carole Robertson, 14; and Cynthia Wesley, 14…

October 2013 – On Oct. 22, my friend and Delta line sister went home to be with the Lord…Although she is with her savior, the one who knows her and loves her best, and is now cancer-free, we miss her so…I had a dream about her last night…Please keep her family in your prayers…“The Light and the Life that was Lola…”

November 2013 – I was blessed to be able to speak to students at Milligan College and take a trip down memory lane with my parents who accompanied me on the trip…My father received one of his several degrees there in 1972, the year before I was born. In fact, when my parents arrived on Milligan’s campus they had just gotten married

The entrance of Milligan College…

months before in August 1971.

December 2013 – Every holiday season, it is hard not to lose ourselves in the Christmas commercialism, but thankfully, I am always able somehow to remind myself that Jesus is the real reason for the season in “Seven Scriptures to Remind Us that Jesus is the Real Reason for the Season…(Repost)” I also celebrated my first Christmas with the hubby…we are still working on figuring out to celebrate holidays with two families…

Our first Christmas together tree ornament…I know it’s corny but…

Any thoughts?