Posted on Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Finance Expert Terrell Dinkins Hopes to Bridge Gender Wealth Gap Through New Book “One Bucket at a Time”

Join Dinkins at Her Book Launch Party at The Commerce Club THIS Thursday!

Hello World,

‘Tis the season to spend! But if you’re careful, you can still have some money to spare after Christmas!

Ever since I worked with a financial coach back in 2009, I’m all about staying on top of my finances! That’s why I’m excited about introducing you to financial advisor and wealth empowerment speaker Terrell Dinkins, MBA, who has written a new book to help empower women when it comes to their finances. One Bucket at a Time: A Woman’s Guide to Creating Wealth , which costs $15.99, will be available starting Thursday, December 17, 2015, when the public has an opportunity to meet and have books signed by the author during a book launch party just in time for the holiday season. The event takes place from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at The Commerce Club at 191 Peachtree Street NE, 49th floor, in Atlanta. The first 50 attendees to buy a book will receive a special gift! To register for this free event, go to eventbrite.com.

Below is my interview with Terrell Dinkins.

1.How did you come up with the name of your book “One Bucket at a Time?” What does it mean?

The buckets represent the multiple streams of income we should create or fill throughout our lifetime to carry us throughout retirement and beyond. There is order in when we should fill our buckets. I explain the importance of this order in my book. Each bucket of money we create will be used at different intervals throughout our lifetime. There is also meaning to my book cover. The rain represents saving and being prepared for the storms we might encounter in life.

2. What inspired you to write your book? Tell us about the process of writing your book. How long did it take? How did you conduct your research?

A business colleague encouraged me to write the book sooner rather than later. Writing this book was on my bucket list (no pun intended). I just had not planned on doing it so soon. When my business colleague heard the message that I gave to my clients (my bucket approach system to wealth building) she said, “You need to write a book. The message should not be reserved just for your clients.” It took me about six months to write the book and conduct my research. The statistical data I included came from various sources, to include other authors and articles I have found. I reference all of my sources in the book. I also include my personal story and other encounters and experiences I have had with clients to teach lessons to others.

3. What do you hope women will take away from the book?

I hope women will realize that they must act now to prepare for the future. So much of the financial household weight will have to be carried alone due to divorce, widowhood or being single. Be smart about your financial choices and learn how to create balance between lifestyle and saving for a rainy day.

4. How did you get interested in building wealth and financial empowerment? What personal experiences fueled your interest in these topics?

Ever since I can remember, I have always been intrigued about wealth building. As a child, I daydreamed like any other child about what it would feel like to not have to worry about money and, of course, live in a big house (typical childlike thoughts). I always did a pretty good job handling my money. I’ve always been a saver (yes, even in kindergarten). My mother always told me to make sure I put something to the side just in case there was an emergency. I listened. No particular personal experiences fueled my interest. The interest has always been a part of me.

5. What happens during your “Women and Wealth” workshops? How often and where do you host them? What is the cost?

I come up with different financial topics that I think might interest women and talk about them over wine and hors d’oeuvres. As an example, one of my presentation topics was called “Don’t Leave it All at The Mall.” I presented this topic during the holiday shopping season as a reminder to women of the importance of keeping a budget for holiday spending. When I started my practice, I thought having a free workshop would help me reach more women and it did. I was told by a few male colleagues that I was wasting my time. I never felt like I was wasting my time. I found a few women who wanted to change their financial situation and that was what mattered the most. The workshops were held once a quarter at my office. I did have to cut back on the workshops because my practice did grow and I no longer have the extra time that I used to have because of the growth of my practice. The workshops also led to my speaking and sitting on panels for other organizations. Speaking to other groups still allows me to get my message out without having to host the events on my own. Because they were free, you did have the occasional person who showed up at every event because they were free. Not many, but a few.

6. What is the No. 1 habit or behavior that women can do right now to get them on the path to building wealth and financial empowerment?

Create a budget. If you do have a budget, review it every month when you pay your bills. Make revisions to the budget and don’t set it in January and forget it for the rest of the year.

7. Since it is the Christmas season, what is one tip that can be used to save at Christmas time?

Set a dollar amount that you plan on spending for all of your holiday gifts. Once you come up with this amount, determine who will get what percentage of the pie.

Terrell Dinkins is a financial rep with Peachtree Planning Corporation in Atlanta. She graduated from Georgia Southern College with a BBA in finance (minor: banking), and earned an MBA from Mercer University Stetson School of Business and Economics in Atlanta. An Atlanta native, Terrell completed the Executive Financial Planning Program from the University of Georgia Terry College of Business in Atlanta.

Terrell is an active member in civic and community organizations to include the Lake Spivey Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Tau Epsilon Omega Chapter), and The Twenty Pearls Foundation.

For more information about Terrell, go to terrelldinkins.com or onebucketnation.com.

Any thoughts?

Posted on Sunday, December 6, 2015

The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Articles for Black Christian Women in November 2015

Hello World,

It goes without saying that I am saddened by the tragic attack in San Bernardino. Maybe I’m just a simpleton, but as I’ve said before, I just don’t get man’s inhumanity to man. I’ve been praying that terrorism will be thwarted wherever it manifests and yet these tragedies continue to occur. Still, I will keep praying and I hope you do too. Also, tonight at 8 p.m., President Obama will speak to us from the Oval Office regarding what the government is doing to keep all of us safe. One of the first things I think the government should do is create stricter gun control laws. If you haven’t done so before, please read my interview with Lucy McBath, whose son was senselessly gunned down at a gas station because his music was allegedly too loud.

Now onto the focus of this post…I’m back with another list of interesting blog posts and or articles for black Christian women from November that intrigued me as a black Christian woman ( but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out:) ! ) Let me know if you like my list! Enjoy…

1. “Written by 14 Female Veterans, New Book Highlights Struggle, Successes of Black Women in Uniform” by JC Jones

Excerpt: A group of local women have joined with others from across the country to share their stories in an upcoming book, “Camouflaged Sisters,” which releases Saturday. Composed by 14 authors, the stories reflect a broad spectrum of experiences from current active-duty soldiers to retired veterans. Though their stories are unique, the women collaborated with a united goal — to share the perspective of the African American female service member. See more at: kdhnews.com.

2.”Bus Boycott took planning, smarts” by Josh Moon

Excerpt: School textbooks often describe Parks as simply a tired seamstress trying to make her way home from work one December afternoon. While it’s true enough that Parks earned a living as a seamstress, she was far from simple. At the time of her arrest in 1955, Parks was serving as the secretary of the NAACP’s state and Montgomery chapters and had been a civil rights activist for years. Her husband had been a protestor at the Scottsboro Boys’ trial in the 1930s. See more at: montgomeryadvertiser.com

3.”Pharrell Williams to Bullied Girl at Charleston, SC, AME Church Event: ‘You’re Beautiful and You’re Black’” by Yesha Callahan

Excerpt: A touching moment occurred when a 12-year-old girl named Sarah asked Williams for advice when it comes to dealing with racist bullies. Sarah attends a predominantly white school and complained that people make racist jokes about fried chicken and watermelon because she’s black. Initially, Williams joked about the food stereotype, telling the girl, “I love chicken!” before adding, “I’m not worried about what anyone in here thinks,” after the congregation started to laugh. At that point, the little girl was crying, and he explained to her that she is surrounded by love. See more at: theroot.com.

4.”When Did Black Folks Stop Loving Our Children?” by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts

Excerpt: Ben Fields must be held accountable for his actions—even above and beyond his firing. But what haunts me is the image of the Black male teacher watching as his young student is tossed out of her chair by Fields, and thrown violently onto the floor like a rag. Was that level of brutality so commonplace in the school that he never considered intervening on her behalf? Or on behalf of the children—because yes, even Black 16-year-olds are still kids—who were obviously frightened and devastated by what they were seeing in his classroom? See more at: damemagazine.com.

5.”Church Leaders To Meet To Discuss Domestic Abuse Solutions”

Excerpt: Key figures from Britain’s black Christian community have been invited to a specially convened meeting which will look at how African and African Caribbean churches can respond more effectively when cases of domestic violence and abuse arise in their congregations. See more at: voice-online.co.uk.

6.”Layered Up for Fall” by Liz Roy

Excerpt: Guys, guess what! It’s FINALLY fall in Los Angeles! Sadly, fall in LA merely means dipping into the 60s, but I’m grateful for the climate change nonetheless. I love layering and fall is the perfect time to experiment. In fact, fall was my favorite season when I lived in New York because the scenery was beautiful (God is really good at colors, isn’t He?!) and the weather was perfect for creative fall layering. – See more at: downtowndemure.com.

7.”Quilters’ Club Features Diversity of Skills, Techniques and Colors” by Heather Norris

Excerpt: It was founded in 1989 by three Baltimore women looking to form a guild that would serve as a space for black women to freely express their creativity with quilting. It has since evolved into a diverse group in just about every way except for a shared interest in quilting and community, where members regularly reach out to young people to introduce them to sewing and quilting. See more at: baltimoresun.com.

8.”#TBT Remembering R&B/Hip-Hop Church Music” by Nina Ruff

Excerpt: Music is a huge factor in how we validate a culture. It is often the pulse for entire societies and ways of life. So when hip-hop began to dominate as a genre, there was an entire group of young Christians left looking for their place in the church. The artists that stepped out of the Black church box not only kept true to themselves, but they paved a way for a younger generation of churchgoers determined to evolve their beliefs & practices in order to keep the culture relevant. In blazing their own trails, they fought against a lot of what keeps young people from being involved in churches today. See more at: hivesociety.com.

9.”Shepherding Women: What Boundaries Must Be Maintained?” by Isaac Adams

Excerpt: A church’s most important decision is who they call to be their leaders because pastors have room for great exploitation, particularly of women, or great effectiveness. In this sense, the church’s greatest need is a holy pastor. What are appropriate boundaries to be maintained between pastors and women in the church? How should a church view a pastor who is having an illicit sexual relationship? What are signals of a pastor grooming a sister for abuse? C’mon up and join the conversation. See more at: thefrontporch.org.

10.”There Are No Black Angels in Heaven” by Lisa Sharon Harper

Excerpt: As she showed me all five black ornaments in a store dedicated to ornaments, tears filled my eyes and began to spill over. We are not wanted in this world. We are erased — from the public through police brutality and mass incarceration. And we are even erased from popular conceptions of Christmas and heaven. There are no black angels there. See more at: washingtonpost.com.

Posted on Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Resilience & the Bible: How to Use Scriptures to Bounce Back From – Losing Your Home

A Thanksgiving Post...

Hello World,

Today’ s post is the second installment of my 7-month interview series entitled “Resilience & the Bible” which is about how Scriptures can be used to bounce back from the trials we all have to go through from time to time. Once a month, I feature someone who has used Bible verses to bounce back! If you know of someone who has bounced back using Scriptures and would like to be featured on my blog, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com.

How to bounce back from losing your home is the focus of this month’s “Resilience & the Bible” blog post. I don’t know about you, but at this time of the year, the Thanksgiving season, I am especially thankful for my home, and I couldn’t imagine if I had no home, but that is what Kimberly Atkins faced in August 2005 as she, her husband and three children lived in New Orleans. Ten years ago in August was the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Kimberly credits three Bible verses with helping her to survive this storm, both literally and figuratively, in her life.

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Psalm 91: 1-2

And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head. 1 Samuel 1:11

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

Please describe what happened when you and your family faced losing your home in Hurricane Katrina.

The storm hit Aug. 29. That was early Monday morning. My cousin who is a pastor in Cincinnati visited us about a week before Hurricane Katrina hit, and she saw a vision. She saw men who were boarding up the house, and she woke up the next day and said, ‘When did those men leave?’ Also in her vision, she saw, I guess they were angels pushing water away from the house. And when she shared that with us, of course, it was before the hurricane, we thought, ‘Maybe she’s going a little wacko.’ But we didn’t say anything because I respect her as a woman of God.

Two days before the hurricane, I had an eerie experience. I had a feeling something was going to happen, but I had no idea what it was. I had no idea there was going to be a hurricane that was a category 4 storm. I had an agitation in my spirit. I thought it could be the group of kids that my son was hanging around. I couldn’t sit still. I was on edge. And I saw my neighbors plowing down the street with loads of plywood. I thought, ‘Well, what is that for?’ I’m from the Midwest, but apparently, they were from the area and knew what to do when there was a warning of a hurricane.

It was also really interesting because my niece was scheduled to have a wedding in Cincinnati during Labor Day weekend which would have been the weekend after Hurricane Katrina, but we had to evacuate because the mayor of New Orleans said to evacuate. We evacuated on Aug. 28^th early Sunday morning. And so as we were preparing, I felt compelled to get my garments for the wedding in Cincinnati because I was in the wedding and take them with us. My husband said, ‘You don’t have to take those. We will be back.’ I said, ‘No, I just sensed that I needed to grab them.’ My girls were in the wedding too so I got their dresses, shoes and jewelry. I just felt like we wouldn’t be back. Sure enough, about 5:30 a.m. that morning the 29th, the storm hit, and by then we are at my mother-in-law’s home in Birmingham, Alabama. And we were watching the storm, and we didn’t know what to think. Probably a week later, I had tons and tons of friends who were calling me because they were worried. Cell phones weren’t like they are now, and people couldn’t get through to me. The path of the storm mirrored the path of our evacuation so once we got to Birmingham, we saw trees that had been uprooted. I mean huge trees. And my father was calling my sister saying, ‘They haven’t gone far enough. They need to go to at least Tennessee.’ And if you go back and look at some of the news records during that time, you’ll see there was some devastation even in Alabama and in Georgia.

What did you think about your home and everything else as you watched the news coverage?

As I watched the coverage, I was pleading the blood of Jesus over our home. Actually before we left, I remember going outside in our driveway and just like Jesus, I spoke to those winds. I rebuked the winds. I believe we have power in the name of Jesus. I invited God to sit on our window sills, our roof and to protect our home.

And as I watched CNN, I was amazed. I was thinking about my church members. I was thinking about the kids that my children went to school with. I thought about my friends and where we had just gone to dinner a week or two before. And I knew they were closer to the storm because they were in the central part of New Orleans. And I just wandered would everything be okay. It was so devastating to see people holding the signs and looking for helicopter rides to safety. I was totally numb because I was thinking about the people. I couldn’t believe it. It was literally unbelievable. We were glued to the TV.

How did these Scriptures help you to cope?

In Psalm 91, these scriptures help center me on that space in my home that I basically created as an altar where I can go before the Lord and spend time with Him and become intimate with Him. And when I am in that secret place, I have oneness with God, I am encouraged and I am built up. That is a Scripture that I take with me. I share it with my children. It was a scary time. I mean there was an opportunity to be fearful.

And in 1 Samuel 1, it is Hannah saying, ‘Lord help.’ She went to the Lord, and she laid out on the table, ‘here’s my affliction. I need You to remember me. Don’t forget me.’ And I remember having a conversation with God before the hurricane hit. I went into my bedroom closet, and I said, ‘Lord, please, if everything else is destroyed, please spare my photos because those photos can’t be replaced.’ We have three kids so we had a lot of boxes. And I remember having that conversation with God. I guess it was just an act of faith in itself to leave them, and I trusted that He would protect them. Looking back, I guess I could have just grabbed them and thrown them in a big garbage bag. It was a unique and different experience, and I just didn’t know what to do. That’s why I was just encouraged by this verse to go to God and say, ‘Help me, help me in my affliction.’ Also, during that time, I had been diagnosed with a medical condition for which there is no cure. It was a trying time – a perfect storm. No pun intended.

Psalm 121:1-2 are my mom’s favorite verses. I was really clear on where my help comes from because at that point, I really couldn’t even describe what I was feeling so Scripture really helped me get through it. Despite the circumstances, my help is in God.

What happened after the storm ended?

Once we understood the extent of the devastation, we knew we needed a more permanent solution than to stay at my mother-in-law’s home for a week. So we moved back to Cincinnati back into my parents’ home. The kids slept with grandparents. The two younger kids. And my son and I slept on my couches. I mean we just kind of made do. I wasn’t working at the time so my husband came to Cincinnati and just stayed with us a couple of weeks. Then, he had to go back to Louisiana. He worked at a Folgers plant in New Orleans, and he had to help get the plant up and running again. And that was an ordeal in itself. When my husband went back to our town, he said it looked like it was war torn. He said he had never seen anything like it. Power lines were down. Everything was flooded. Our church was flooded. Our first lady of our church. Her Porsche was floating in water. Our children’s schools were flooded. All of the infrastructure was gone. There were no grocery stores. There were no ATM machines. There were no banks.

How were your children affected?

Our son was more resilient than the girls. I remember taking the kids to a school in Cincinnati for the first time, and one of our daughters was just screaming. It was just the new surroundings and not understanding why we couldn’t just go back home. The school system gave us donations because we just had the bare essentials. We had to start all over with new school supplies, not having birth certificates, all of the critical things we needed were in Louisiana. We had a wonderful woman named Pam Abrams who adopted us. I remember the first dinner that she served us. I mean the love and the reception from the community was just awesome.

When did you find out what happened to your home?

About couple of weeks later, we found out our home had been spared. I mean we had some damage in the back and maybe a couple of shingles were gone, but that was it. I remember my husband telling me that when he went to our house, he saw a water mark on the house that was about seven feet in height. Our yard was flooded. Debris was everywhere so you could tell that water had surrounded the house, but it wasn’t damaged inside. We thought about the vision my cousin had about the men boarding up the house and the angels. It was just a miracle that we give God all of the praise and glory for!

You and your family moved back to New Orleans in 2006 but then permanently relocated to Cincinnati in 2007. Why?

It was very slow in the whole rebuilding process in New Orleans, and I had tried to get on at the Folgers’s plant in New Orleans but I didn’t get the job. So I felt like it was God saying to move back home. Also, I know my mother was praying for me to come back too because she wasn’t comfortable with her daughter living on the Gulf Coast anymore.

As it is the Thanksgiving season, how do you feel now every Thankgiving knowing that you have been through this ordeal?

I am very grateful, and now I see Thanksgiving as just not an opportunity to stuff myself with carbs, but I actually see Thanksgiving as a time to bless others. I have a friend who has a son with an illness, and I called her a couple of days ago. I said, ‘Let me know how I can help you.’ And she said, ‘You know if you could make a couple of sides for me and bring them over, I would really appreciate that.’ That’s just an example of something I do to not focus on my problems and focus on the needs of others because someone did that for me 10 years ago. And I want to make sure I give back.

Kimberly Williams Atkins is an author, Bible teacher, and inspirational speaker. Her articles have appeared in Applause! Magazine and The Albany Journal. A survivor of a debilitating disease with no medical cure, Kimberly boldly proclaims God’s healing power, love, and glory. For over 20 years, she has served as director of women’s ministries for her church and passionately ministers to many women who are rejected and abused.

In her recently released first book Empowering Women To Walk In God’s Glory: A Practical Guide for Real Life Situations, Kimberly helps women find the path for walking in God’s glory. Thanksgiving is a great time, Kimberly says, to consider and learn about God’s glory, because when we understand His tremendous power that works on our behalf, we cannot help but be thankful as we ask for His help. To enter a random drawing to win a free copy of her book, click HERE to subscribe to my blog and receive an email whenever I post AND leave a comment on this post! I will choose the winner next Wednesday!

Kimberly is a senior manager for a Fortune 100 company. She and her husband, Brian, have three children and live in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information about Kimberly, go to kimberlyatkins.net.

For more Bible scriptures online, go to BibleGateway.com.

Any thoughts?