My mom and dad on their wedding day in 1971, just months before they arrived at Milligan College…

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I am thankful for so many blessings! But in today’s post, I want to express my gratitude for my mother and father. A week ago today, my parents and I traveled on the interstate through the mountains to Johnson City, Tennessee for my speaking engagement the next day at Milligan College. I was invited to speak there about a week or so before my wedding date. I thought it was one of those weird coincidences because I had never met anyone from the college except for my Dad! That’s right, my father received one of his several degrees there in 1972, the year before I was born.  So I asked my parents if they would come with me, and they happily agreed as they had not been back to the campus since 1972.

The entrance of Milligan College…

So even though the trip was about speaking to the students and hopefully imparting some of the lessons I’ve managed to learn in my 40 years, the trip was also a chance to get to know my parents before they were my parents. In fact, when they arrived on Milligan’s campus they had just gotten married months before in August 1971. I thought it would be interesting to learn about them as a newly married couple, particularly as I’m newly married.

The chapel were I spoke…When I saw the size of this place, I was so very nervous…

So here is some of what I learned about my mother and father before they were my parents:

• My mom experienced “culture shock” moving to Johnson City which is still pretty small now but was even smaller then. Although she is from Jamaica, she had been living in New York City with one of my uncles before she married my father so it was a definite change to move from the hustle and bustle of gritty New York City to the serene mountains of Johnson City.
  

  An outside view of the beautiful chapel…

• My father also had to deal with culture shock from a racial perspective. After I spoke during the chapel service, my parents and I had lunch with several students in Milligan’s Goah Diversity Scholars Program. Through this wonderful program, several minority students have been able to receive full-tuition scholarships to Milligan. The students that we met are Hispanic and shared how they often feel other than or different for a variety of reasons ranging from missing familiar foods to cultural celebrations. My father empathized with them because he said he had similar experiences back then.
  

  An outside view of the dining hall…

• My parents lived in a trailer on campus! I cannot imagine trailers being all that comfortable, but my parents said the trailers were actually quite nice. They did mention there was a student from Grenada that used to regularly barge into their trailer and march up to their refrigerator to see what my mom prepared. With a laugh, my father said he had to “nip that in the bud” pretty quickly.
• 

  Emmanuel Christian Seminary is across the street from Milligan College..

  My parents raved about how beautiful the campus was, and it is still a very beautiful campus.

• While my father was in school, my mother worked worked in the president’s office as well as another location on campus. My father was actually a co-pastor at a small church in Johnson City.

While eating dinner in town, a Milligan student who worked at the restaurant came up to me and said she enjoyed my message…Made me feel so good I had to take a picture with her:)

As I watched my parents reminisce, it occurred to me that they probably really bonded as a newly married couple in Johnson City because they were there without family and friends. I think that would probably be an experience that would valuable for most newly married couples. And it must have been an incredible adventure considering their age! My parents got married just as they turned 30 years old. I wasn’t ready to get married at 30 years old, but I must admit, I feel a little sad about waiting until I was just shy of 40 to get married. But then again, I trust in God’s timing…

So on this Thanksgiving Eve, I thank God for my parents – the people they were before they brought me into the world and the people that I have known in my 40 years…And thank you Milligan College for inviting me to speak and being a part of my parents’ history together…

The mountains from my parents’ hotel room…

What are you thankful for this year?

Any thoughts?

The post The Wonder Years…Mom & Dad Edition… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!!! As you know, tomorrow is the day that we Americans have set aside to give thanks for our many blessings!!!

“Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His. We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him and praise His name!”

Psalm 100: 4-5

My dad, Dr. Holness, preached on Psalm 100 on Sunday. (Yes dad, I was listening! ) I don’t know about you but I am prone to having pity parties every now and then. Usually these parties are prompted by my comparing my insides to someone else’s outsides – it never works! But what does work – what helps me regain my equilibrium – is writing a gratitude list! So in this post, I will simply list 101 things I’m thankful for this year. Why 101? Why not? …101 just sounds better than 100 to me anyway.

1. For my Lord and Savior, who is none other than Jesus Christ – my best friend. If you see my mouth moving in car, sometimes I am singing along with a song and sometimes, I am talking with Him!

2. For my Mom and Dad. They have taught me to be a person of character even when it is unpopular. (I am trying to be as service-oriented as they are, but I’ve got a ways to go.)

3. For my brothers D and D. They have brought a lot of joy and pain to my life..as Frankie Beverly so sweetly croons, they are “one in the same.”

4. For my niece and nephew. My 7-year-old nephew’s mischievousness is both maddening and hilarious at the same time! My baby niece is just learning to walk. The wonder of it…

5. My church in the SWATS. I’ve been attending there since I was 6 years old, and I always feel safe when I walk in it’s doors.

6. My church family. You’ve watched me grow up and you still love me!

7. My girl J, who freely opened up her home in North Carolina to me.

8. My health. According to my doctor, the only thing wrong with me, at least physically, is that I have low iron. That’s a blessing for sure!

9. All my girls (you know who you are) who help me navigate this single life.

10. My job! No more needs to be said!

11. My Bible Study class led by our fearless and mouthy Bible warrior!

12. My blog. I love it!

13. My girl Tess, who designed this blog.

14. The cruise I went on in October! Wish I were in the islands now…it’s so cold!!!

15. Turning 35…I still look good!

16. For my home. I can afford it!

17. For my car. I can afford it!

18. For my spiritual community. Y’all have taught me more than I can say…

19. For Barack and Michelle…

20. For this year’s election process, it was heady in every way…I think I have a crush on Anderson Cooper!

21. Black talk radio – it gets me through the day!

22. My cherry red locks…I think they are pretty.

23. All of my extended family, particularly my aunt, who I run with from time to time

25. The Internet – You are never far from me

26. RH, my friend who came in at the last minute and designed my church’s Homecoming Service magazine, to my mother’s delight! You saved us!

27. For Beyonce and Jay-Z, who show me that being “equally yoked” is entirely possible. Can y’all say, “mo money, mo money mo money?”

28. For QT – love those taquitos!

29. For U, who doesn’t mind crying with me every now then! Love you girl

30. For my freelance writing opportunities…

31. Books. I couldn’t live without them.

32. My mechanic- See my post on Joe, the mechanic!

33. My girl Renee’s wedding – Your were lovely in your wedding dress! And I hope I get a ring like yours one day. Ballin’!!!

34. “The Young and the Restless.” One of my favorite shows since I was six years old!

35. My girl C, who doesn’t think I’m weird when I tell her about my spiritual dreams and nudgings…

36. My neighbor’s little son who says, “Hello Miss Jackie,” when I get home from work nearly every day at least when it’s warm outside. At least someone is glad to see me come home…

37. My laugh. Thankfully, God has gifted me with the ability to find humor in most things!

38. The A, shawty. For all of its ups and downs, it is still my city!

39. Idris Elba. How fine is he?

40. Chastain Park – Jill Scott turned it out there this summer.

41. My mentor, Ms. B. Your relationship with God is inspiring!

42. For A aka SD, I didn’t feel so alone the other day because of you! You are a true friend!

43. For all the support I have received on this blog. Y’all encourage me to keep expressing myself!

44. My classes at L.A. Fitness. I feel like I’m a video dancer when I’m teaching. No matter what anyone says it is a not-so-secret dream of mine to be a dancer in a video. Am I the only one that LOVES the video for “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)?”

45. My bank account…touch (go head and touch the computer screen) and agree with me that it will get bigger in 2009, but of course, I’m thankful for how God has already blessed me because y’all know in this economy, it could be much worse!

46. Candles…they make me feel like I’m having a romantic evening when I am dating no one

47. My other mentor, also a Ms. B, who is the real “straight talk express!”

48. My journals…you lead me back to my best self and remind me of how God really does love me…

49. Romance – although you have left my life at the moment, I sense that you will be back in 2009!

50. Life itself – ever an adventure…

Yeah, I know I’ve only reached 50, but I can’t write anymore…

What are you thankful for?

Any thoughts!

The post 101 Reasons To Be Thankful in 2008 appeared first on After the Altar Call.