Hello World,

Here in the A for the past couple of weeks, folks have been flocking to rapper 2 Chainz’s Pink Trap House to take pictures in front of the hood anomaly. For those of you who have been privileged enough to not know what a trap house is,  a trap house is a “term used to define a crack house, or the surroundings in which a drug dealer or(trap star) would use to make their profit,” according to urbandictionary.com. In an effort to promote his latest album, “Pretty Girls Like Trap Music,” which debuted last month, 2 Chainz had a house in the A painted pink with the word “TRAP” painted on the front of it. Reportedly, the inside of the house is an art gallery. Since then, folks from all over have positioned themselves to take fun pictures in front of the 2 Chainz’s shrewd publicity tool and posted them on Instagram.

Below are just a sampling of these photos from ThePinkTraphouse Instagram page.

@abbeymace #pinkhouse #prettygirlsliketrapmusic #atlanta #pinktraphouse #2chainz

A post shared by 2 Chainz Pink Trap House (@thepinktraphouse) on Jul 3, 2017 at 4:07pm PDT

@Itslaroneppl #2chainz #pinktraphouse #atlanta #prettygirlsliketrapmusic #pinkhouse

A post shared by 2 Chainz Pink Trap House (@thepinktraphouse) on Jul 3, 2017 at 1:04pm PDT

@tylerthecrayon #prettygirlsliketrapmusic #prettygirlsliketrapmusic #recent4recent #recent4recent #spamforspam

A post shared by 2 Chainz Pink Trap House (@thepinktraphouse) on Jun 30, 2017 at 1:32pm PDT

@Itslaroneppl #2chainz #pinktraphouse #atlanta #prettygirlsliketrapmusic #pinkhouse

A post shared by 2 Chainz Pink Trap House (@thepinktraphouse) on Jul 3, 2017 at 1:04pm PDT

I admit I want to go to the Pink Trap House and take a cool picture. And although a trap house has a negative connotation, some have found positive uses for the Pink Trap House including a church.

As you can see, I guess service was held this past Sunday. And yesterday, a free HIV testing was offered was at the Pink Trap House…

But Greenforest Community Baptist Church Youth Pastor Al Hollie Jr . says he hates the Pink Trap House (although he doesn’t disrespect 2 Chainz) which he talked about on his Facebook page on Sunday and since then has been reported by Fox 5.  Below is his original video, which has been shared at least 400 times. He told the news station that his father regularly visited trap houses where he used drugs and is still a substance abuser today. Hollie noted the generations of families can be affected by what happens in a trap house and said that the people who have been taking pictures in front of the Pink Trap House couldn’t have experienced what he experienced as a child nor grew up near a trap house.

My husband and I discussed this over the weekend, and I can see his point. He doesn’t think it’s cool to take a picture in front of the Pink Trap House either. What do you think?

And do you think despite the negative connotation of a real trap house that 2 Chainz’s publicity tool can be used for positivity?

Any thoughts?

The post Should Rapper 2 Chainz’s ‘Pink Trap House’ Be Used for a Church? appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World,

Unless you have taken a vacation from the planet the last week or so, at some point, you have watched the Summer Olympics in London! And if you have watched even a few minutes of the games, you have either heard about or seen the wonder that is 16-year-old Gabby Douglas! Her name will forever be a part of history as she won the women’s all-around gold medal in gymnastics, becoming the fourth American to do so and the first African American to achieve this feat! In addition, Gabby is the first American to win both of the individual and team events at the same Olympics! And even more importantly, she is an unabashed Christian who incorporates her faith in God in all of her astounding achievements…

Here is one of her Facebook status updates after she won her gold medals…

“Wow!!! I am still trying to grasp that I am the All-Around Olympic Gymnastic Champion and that my teammates and I won the Team Gold Medal. You all have been so great to me! I am sooooo thankful for all of your support and love! We have event finals coming up this week – starting tomorrow with Vault Finals. I would love it if you would keep my teammate MaKayla Maroney in prayer & cheer as she competes for a medal #TeamUSA.”

Also, just after she made the Olympic team, she was interviewed at Valley Church in West Des Moines, Iowa where she has attended over a year while she trained for the Olympics. Below is a video in which she asked the church to pray for her and her teammates as they headed to London, and she shared how her faith in God helps her to excel in gymnastics. Also, Gabby revealed how her mother e-mailed Bible scriptures to her every morning that she used to inspire her, and she also e-mailed Bible scriptures to her at night that helped her fall asleep! Here are a few inspiring quotes from her interview…

“I love reading about the Word. It really helps me during gymnastics. I mean it’s very important. Whether you are really like scared of a skill, like you just have to just rely on God. He’s not given us the spirit of fear but a spirit of of peace, love and a sound mind…”

“…If we’re having problems with a skill, like I keep falling on my two and half which is like I can do this, all things are possible to Him who believes, so I just meditate and meditate, and it just builds my faith and my confidence on the floor so you have to put on the full armor of God when Satan tries to come against us we already are prepared…”

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the Summer Olympics and Christian Olympians after my experience at the 1996 Summer Olympics which were held in the A! In fact, I wrote about my experience covering the Summer Olympics from a Christian point of view in my book “After the Altar Call: The Sisters’ Guide to Developing a Personal Relationship With God.” In my story, I shared how although I was sent by “The Christian Index” newspaper to cover a rally for Christian Olympians at Greenforest Community Baptist Church in Decatur, I ended up rededicating my life to God that evening. Here is an excerpt from my story below…

As various athletes shared their stories, I was impressed with how muscular and lithe they looked even though they had on jogging suits. What impressed me more was the earnestness in their voices as they spoke of having a personal relationship with Jesus
Christ and how this relationship pointed them to their purpose in their lives.They spoke as if God was with them when they trained and even as they completed their events in the Olympics and other competitions. Some of them talked about how God was even with them in their losses. I was attracted to two things: the way that Jesus Christ seemed like a person they actually knew, and that God was fulfilling a purpose in each of their lives, and they knew it.

In fact, it was their stories that inspired me to develop my own personal relationship with God…I just pray that Gabby will not only inspire people through her athletic prowess but also through her personal relationship with God…And if you would like to read more about Gabby story’s before and after the Olympics, check out this article  “America’s Megawatt Sweetheart” from “The New York Times.”

Any thoughts?

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The post Gabby Loves God and so do I!!! (VIDEO) appeared first on After the Altar Call.