Posted on Wednesday, November 26, 2014

7 Negative Things I’m Thankful For…

Hello World,

At this time of the year, it is appropos to compile the obligatory gratitude list…I’m thankful for my health, family, spouse, etc….Yes, all of those are definitely true, but according to God’s word we are to:

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:1

This means that God expects us to be thankful for even the negative things that He has allowed in our lives, but we have hope in all circumstances, negative and positive, because:

We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

So with those two verses in mind, I decided to turn my gratitude list on its head and praise God for what I originally thought was negative, but God it turned into positive…I’m going all the way back to childhood…Come with me 🙂

1. Not Being a Popular Kid and Bordering on Being Chubby For Most of My Childhood…I guess I’ve always been self-conscious which doesn’t work well on the playground…If someone asks you to play with him or her on the playground, and you rehearse your answer before you reply…You will probably not be the most popular kid…You will be probably be among the weirdo kids…Or if you would rather watch the Brady Bunch [insert whatever show is popular now] with a snack instead of go outside and play kickball, you will probably be among the chubby kids…But not being the most popular, kinda chubby kid made me develop my inner qualities like compassion and kindness because I was sometimes treated without compassion and kindness…AND now that I’m adult, I have no illusion that I can just sit around and preserve my sexy…Good thing to know when you’re over 40…I have to eat right and work out…no excuses…God knows best…

2. Getting Into the Honors Program at Howard University, But Not Receiving Any Scholarship Money…Like many of my friends who spent our high school years watching a “Different World” or attending Atlanta Football Classic games, I just knew I would be attending an HBCU (historically black college or university)! My chosen HBCU was Howard University in our nation’s capital. I had visited Washington D.C. when I was in the seventh grade, and I vowed I would return there as a college student…But it wasn’t meant to be…Although I got into Howard University and the school’s Honors Program, I didn’t receive any scholarship money…It only made sense that at point to go to the school where I had three scholarships…The University of Georgia…a dreaded HWCU…LOL…To my surprise, I had a blast in college, pledged the most wonderful sorority (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.) in the world and got a great journalism education without worrying about being hampered by the debt I would have surely incurred had I gone to my “dream school.” God knows best…

3. Becoming a Christian, and Then Losing My Friends…When I decided to give my life to Jesus Christ and no longer depend on the fact that my father, my uncles and grandfather were pastors, I expected my life to get better…After all, if I know God, the creator of the universe, how could anything go wrong? We cool like that…I was wrong…so very wrong..Many of my friends didn’t understand why I spent more time than the obligatory Sunday morning in church or chose not to go to certain places…I cried and I cried I felt so alone…But it was during those moments that God got me alone that I got to know Him…Many of those friendships have been restored as time has passed…but I still know how to depend on God alone because of that time…God knows best…

4. Losing My Job Right After I Bought My First Home…I must admit I was frantic when I lost my job at a newspaper months after buying my first home…Up until that time, I had been living with my parents and while I paid for my own bills like for my car, clothes, etc., my parents didn’t force me to pay rent or anything although I was a college graduate…All of a sudden, I had to pay more bills with less money…During that year or so, I was depressed…I ignored some bills…I took some jobs beneath my education just to get by…But I also had time to explore my creativity like taking a class on “The Artist’s Way” and seeing a career counselor…And when it was all over, I learned that God was my resource not that job…I learned that I didn’t even want a traditional newspaper job anymore…God knows best…

5. Wanting to Get Married at 30 Years Old, Only to Get Married a Month Short of my 40th Birthday…My mom got married when she was 30 years old…Why would my life be any different? Well, chile, what I did I know? As it turns out, nothing at 30 years old…I had to date some good ones, some bad ones, some crazy ones, etc. before I was finally ready for the man God had for me…Those 10 years were heartbreaking, but they were also precious…a gift of human experiences…I wouldn’t want to go through them again, but I learned so many things about myself and other people that only be taught in the classroom of life…Plus, those years fueled my writing life like nothing else…As any writer knows, pain is the best inspiration…God knows best…

6. Taking Seven Years to Get a Book Deal…In 2002, I had an idea to write a memoir about developing a personal relationship with God, and in 2003, I began trying to get a publisher for my book…It wasn’t until 2010 that I got a book deal…Yes, seven years after I started…But it took all of that time to show me the book needed to include other women and not just me…When I became a Christian, I searched bookstores looking for Christian life books written by black women…I found one or two here or there, but I knew there needed to be more…Once I got some Christian living under my belt, I wanted to write one for a black Christian woman who, like me, wanted to know how other black Christian women walked out their faith…What I learned by being rejected over and over again was that I needed more experiences than just mine…My book includes the testimonies of 24 women in ONE book…This is so the book I wanted for myself years ago…God knows best…

7. Taking Seven Years To Get a Book Deal…Yes, I know already wrote that…But I have more to share on this topic…In 2007, my dream publisher (I still walk around with the business card of the acquisitions editor of this company.) at the time was interested in my original memoir, but my book was ultimately rejected because I didn’t have a platform….I.Almost.Died…At least it felt like I was nearing death because I got so close to realizing my dream only to wake up to the cruel reality of life for an unpublished author…But I didn’t let that rejection stop me…I got busy on developing my platform…This blog was birthed as a result of that rejection…This blog has become a way that I connect to others across the nation and the world…a place to dream…a place to vent…an online history…I love it so…And it is one of the reasons that I got a book deal as I met former “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd, one of the women featured in book, because of this blog…

So what “negative” things are you thankful for today? Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

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, September 21, 2014

Making Your Divine Appointment…

Hello World,

Delta Authors on Tour…

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day…I had gotten up around 5:30 a.m. to pray and write and then I mapped out the rest of day…I had planned to go the Delta Authors on Tour event for a couple of hours and then get on with my Saturday washing clothes, grocery shopping, etc. – basically the mundane stuff…

In my mind, I was grumbling about the various things I needed to get done – the fun stuff and not-so-fun stuff…I LOVE to write, but writing this first novel has been a challenging feat for me for several reasons…For the sake of brevity, I will only name two…Reason #1…Up until the last year or so, I haven’t read a novel in some years…I’m a non-fiction afficionado…In fact, even though I’ve been a part of a book club that has read novels for roughly 16 years, I have read very few of them (I’m grateful they allow me to come back to meetings 🙂 ) Reason #2…Since I’m trained as a journalist, I can whip up a competent article or two or three if threatened in a few hours…But writing chapters and for hundreds of pages is a marathon I’ve never run before…

The not-so-fun stuff was obviously my household chores…Sometimes my week is so hectic, I have to relegate mundane chores to the weekend…and the last thing I want to do on a weekend is wash clothes, plan meals, clean, etc. When I was single, I could ignore all of the not-so-fun stuff and let things pile up including dishes, clothes, dust bunnies, etc. But now that someone is living with me, I no longer have that luxury…(although my husband would probably argue that I still allow myself that luxury…)

Sorors Dr. Fran Breakfield & L.D. Wells...

Sorors Dr. Francene Breakfield & L.D. Wells…

So yesterday, I had all of that planned as I charged into Greenbriar Mall where the Delta Authors on Tour event was held. My plan was to stay there for two hours tops…I was there to support two of my collegiate chapter sorors L.D. Wells and Dr. Francene Breakfield and then meet 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…But when I was told Soror Johnson Cook wouldn’t be there until 3 p.m., I realized that my day would unfold as planned…

Me & Soror, Dr., Ambassador & More Suzan Johnson Cook…

How many of you know that “in their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps?” (Proverbs 16:9)

What I understand now is that I had a divine appointment to be there and not just for two hours but for the WHOLE day…I got there early about 11 ish in the morning and didn’t make it home until roughly the same time last night…

Me & Soror Victoria Christopher Murray…

While I was there I met Soror Suzan Johnson Cook whose 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…But that wasn’t the only reason I was there…I reconnected with authors I’ve met before such as Victoria Christopher Murray and met authors I’ve never met before such as Angela Ray, Dr.

From left to right, Dr. Martha Ward Plowden, L.D. Wells, Brenda Jackson, Dr. Fran Breakfield

Majorie L. Kimbrough, Dr. Martha Ward Plowden, Ruth P. Watson, Stephanie Perry Moore and Brenda Jackson…In fact, I hobnobbed with the Delta Authors on Tour so much I was invited to go to dinner with them that evening at The Pecan restaurant in downtown College Park…New York Times Best-Selling Author Brenda Jackson, who I’m ashamed I’ve never heard of before yesterday, has written over 100 books!!! (Y’all know she has been blessed by God, all gifts do come from Him…)

Stephanie Perry Moore and one of her adorable young fans…

The conversation at dinner encouraged me to continue in my divine appointment of being a wife (maybe mother someday…I know I’m 41 and the countdown has started…Mind yo business 🙂 ) and an author with dreams so big only God can accomplish them through me…

As I and some of the author Delta Authors on Tour made our way back to our cars, little did we know that we had another divine appointment…We met a dynamic downtown College Park business owner that regaled us with story after story after story of her “mustard seed” faith and how she encourages people to not only dream but to WAKE UP!

Don’t we look hungry? LOL…Me & Angela Ray…

And I’m only giving you the “public personal” version of the divine appointments that I experienced yesterday because I’m still pondering everything and this is the Internet…lol…

So this morning, I’m awake and ready to continue to writing this novel that I hope to have “spit shined” and ready for perusal next month…Y’all keep me in prayer…

Won’t He Do It! Guess What? He Already Did!

Any thoughts?