I just wanted to share a few pics of my weekend. I was one of several vendors that took part in the book market and street fair of the AJC Decatur Book Festival from Aug. 31 – Sept. 2. I shared Booth 208 with Dr. Pamela Thompson, author of  “Surviving Mama: Overcoming Strained Mother-Daughter Relationships,” and Judi Mason, author of  “The Chloe Chronicles: Life Lessons I Learned From My Cocker Spaniel” and “The Relationship Chronicles: Straight Talk, Real Love, No Drama!”

Setting up our booth…

Pam setting up her easel in front of our booth…

All set up…

A cute replica of Chloe, Judi’s beloved “four-legged life coach,” was very popular with festivalgoers…

Judi & Pam…

Making sure everything is right…

We’re Ready!!!

Pam speaking with one of our first customers…

A mother and daughter writing team and Pam discuss their respective books…

Our neighbors…We had some interesting discussions throughout the day…

Another neighbor…

Support literacy and health!!!

My friend and fellow author Ty Moody, who wrote “When Rain Falls,” the first book in the Victory Gospel Series, stopped by. She was featured in the Emerging Writers Pavilion!

Friends like Mara the Helper and Stephanie stopped by and sat with us in our “living room” as we began to call our booth…

My friends Natasha & Latoicha of luxetips.com stopped by…By this time, as you can see, the heat had gotten to me…

A very stylish festivalgoer…

It was such a pleasure (even in the blazing sun and heat) to speak with people about “After the Altar Call” and spread the good news about God’s love for each of us…

Any thoughts?

The post Saturday in the A – Featuring the AJC Decatur Book Festival appeared first on After the Altar Call.

I don’t have to tell you it’s NYE! For all of the obvious reasons, I am reflecting on the journey that was 2010 and optimistic about the path that awaits me and you in 2011. With that in mind, indulge me as I refresh your memory about the topics that found their way to After the Altar Call in 2010!

As of January, 2010 was christened the year of the Single Black Woman with the circulation of this video….While this story originally aired on ABC in December 2009, it really started to be the topic of conversation the following month and created a year of events, books, shows, etc. all dedicated to finding husbands for single black women at all costs…Lord help us!

With a black president in the white house, Black History Month, which is celebrated in February, has taken on a new meaning for all of America’s people…In the A, we were a little shaken when the Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpa, a white sorority, beat out members of the Divine Nine Black fraternities and sororities in the Sprite Step Off …But hey, if a black men is finally president, then white steppers can show out too…

In March, I blogged about the messages  in our dreams in Dream a little dream…(R.I.P. Corey Haim) Sadly, one of the teen idols of my youth, Corey Haim, passed away in March and so I dedicated the post to him as he starred in the movie “Dream a Little Dream” in 1989…

In April, I met Sherri Shepherd from “The View” at ABC News’  “Nightline” debate “Why Can’t a Successful Black Woman Find a Man?” This debate, which took place in the Dec (Decatur), happened due to the popularity of the aforementioned video dedicated to the plight of single black women…Did I forget to mention that Atlanta seems to be the capital of single black women?

My aspiration is to be an author, journalist and speaker so I felt particularly blessed to be chosen to be the keynote speaker at the 31st Annual Christian Women’s Retreat banquet which was held at the Westin Atlanta Airport hotel in May. My girl Latoicha from Luxe Tips did my makeup!

In June, I blogged about author Sherri Lewis’ book “The List” as I was asked to moderate a discussion on the book at  the Faith & Fiction Retreat which was held in the A this year…I could not help but post my own list…

front page of my list...yes, the back of this page is completely filled up...

I tried to avoid blogging on the plight of single black women in July, but the slant of this article, The Black Church: How Black Churches Keep African American Women Single and Lonely forced me to reckon with this topic again…We took a licking but we kept on ticking…

In August, I was saddened to hear that R&B star Fantasia Barrino, another single black woman, attempted to commit suicide  after being ”overwhelmed by the lawsuit and the media attention”  concerning her alleged relationship with her married boyfriend Antwaun Cook, her rep told TMZ.com. Just a week or so ago, a judge declared that Barrino did not break up the Cook’s marriage as his ex-wife originally claimed in the lawsuit against Barrino…

In September, I was blessed to see “the Black Man-O-logues II” written by Jacquay Waller! R&I had a good time that night…

In October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, my sorors of DST actually donned pink  in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk at Atlantic Station to honor our line sister Kimberly Hudson Causby, who we lost to this disease and honor those who are survivors!

In November, my girl Tess Gadwa, the designer of this blog, released her book, Southern Cross: True Stories of miracles, visions, voodoo, snake handling, civil disobedience, and my search for existential answers along the back roads of the Bible Belt.  Again, You got to check out this book…and it’s free on her website!

As love and relationships is one of my favorite topics, this month, I blogged about marriage as The National Marriage Project, which provides research and analysis on the health of marriage in its yearly State of Our Unions Report, released its 2010 report. To read the entire report, please go here.

I also want to mention that my sorority lost two influential and beloved sorors this year – Sorors Dorothy Height & Lena Horne…I would be remiss if I did not mention them.

I thank you for taking this journey with me!!!  How was your 2010?

Any thoughts?

The post After the Altar Call: 2010 In Posts… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Latoicha Phillips Givens

As if you did not know, today is Mother’s Day, and I have to pay tribute to all mothers, particularly by mom! Do your thang today Mrs. Holness!!! (Of course, the fam is taking her out today…) And if you want to read my tribute to my mama, check out this post…

Last week, I pondered what should be my Mother’s Day post…Since I wrote about my mom last year, I decided to write about another mother…But since I’m not a mother and really have no personal experience in mommyhood, I thought it would be best to pay tribute to mothers by having a real mother speak in her own words…So I asked My Girl Latoicha Phillips Givens, wife, mother, attorney and blogger extraordinaire to share her experiences about truly one of the highest callings a woman could have…

The hardest thing I have ever done is becoming a mom. I am not going to lie – being a mother is darn hard. You are your children’s source for emotional fulfillment, basic everyday needs and often times, financial support.

Jemel, 5 and Sydney, 2

Children seek out their mothers for their emotional well-being. When they are teased at school, they come to you to rebuild their self-esteem and self-worth. As a mother, you listen, give your child a big hug and tell him, “Baby you are the best!  Those kids are clearly out of their minds because you are so amazing and the smartest and the cutest boy I know.”  When your child is angry, you are the one that calms him down and determine the source of his anger, giving him solutions to deal with his anger in a constructive rather than destructive way.  When your children experience self-doubt, mothers make sure their children feel secure and comfortable in their skin.

What I find is the hardest is a mother’s responsibility to provide the basic day-to-day needs for my children.  These needs are greater when children are younger – the daily bath time, cooking meals, packing lunches, ironing and laying out outfits for the week, making sure your kids brush their teeth and floss properly. Let’s not talk about changing diapers and potty training. Really, need we go there? Definitely not my favorite part of being a mother. Whew!  Of course, ensuring all of these tasks are taken care of means that Mom does not get any sleep. I mean I always heard that, but it is so true. Completion of these tasks mean you rise as early as 6 a.m. and go to bed as late as 11 p.m. I am always exhausted!  Plus I have my own business and I write two blogs. Crazy!

And of course there is the financial burden of caring for a child.  I never knew how expensive and financially taxing it is to care for a child until I had to do it. We have to provide a roof over our heads, buy groceries, clothing and shoes and make sure we have transportation.  We also pay for their tuition and soccer, guitar and karate lessons. I find that our financial responsibilities are the most stressing of all.

Jemel, Latoicha and Sydney

But despite all of my complaints about the difficulty of motherhood, it is so worth it. When I see my children wake up with a bright and happy smile on their face, I feel joy. When the dentist tells me my children do not have one cavity and their teeth are well-cared for,  I am so proud. It is so gratifying when my children show off their academic skills and people remark on how well they speak. I am elated when they get so exited about a new movie, an ice cream cone or new shoes. The fact that my children are happy children and are polite and most of all caring means so much to me. Yes, being a mom is hard work but knowing my children are on the right path to becoming wonderful adults makes it so with it! 

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