FORUM
My 50th Birthday
Ronee
Walker
Guest
Columnist
Traditionally, birthdays
are associated with celebra
tions, receiving gifts, well
wishes, and partying like
there is no tomorrow!
Believe me, I have been
there, and done that!
However, on my 50th
Birthday, I took a different
approach. I wanted to do
something outside of the
day-to-day-box of my life.
My sister, Freda, the attor
ney, said, "Girl, you are
going to be half of a century.
I mean 50 is half way there.
You're on the top of the
mountain. You gotta do
something!" p
I took her advice.
I decided to take my 8
year old daughter, Aaliyah,
to New York for the weekend
before my birthday, which
actually fell on a Tuesday
this year!
Everyone knows New
York is not an inexpensive
destination. This trip was
going to be financially chal
lenging and a huge sacrifice
to my bottom-linef However,
I have learned that even in
this trying economic climate,
if you are diligent and
prayerful, you can still have
the desires of your heart.
even if it is a sacrifice. We
had a grand New York City
adventure! There was an
added treat. While at a movie
theater, we saw the beautiful
and talented Jennifer
Hudson. She was there pro
moting her new movie. The
Secret Life of Bees. (By the
way, let us keep her lifted up
in prayer. 1 cannot even
imagine what she must be
feeling after such a devastat
ing triple-tragedy in her life.)
On my actual birthday,
Oct. 14, I started my day
with prayer and getting into
the presence of God, as I do
each morning. However, my
prayer that morning was a
little different. It was more
reflective and thought-pro
voking.
I had so many more rea
sons to be thankful. I first
thanked God for allowing me
to see the morning, 50 years
from the day of my birth. 1
realized that so many
friends, family and loved
ones did not make it that far.
I thanked Him for keeping us
safe during our New York
adventure. There are count
less stories of vacationers
not returning home, falling
prey to the wrong element
while on vacation. I thanked
God for my parents, James
Zell Walker and Jeannette
Walker Mason, for bringing
me into this world with His
blessings.
I am especially obliged to
my father who was my nur
turer and caregiver from nfy
childhood into adulthood. He
taught me many valuable life
lessons, which shaped me
into the woman I am today.
Many of those same lessons I
have already passed on to my
daughter.
I am equally obliged to
my mother for taking care of
me when I was inside her
womb. I am not sure if that
pregnancy was one of glad
ness, worry or remorse, but I
thanked God it resulted in
my life! When my mom was
young, she was a great
dancer. She also had secret
aspiration of becoming an
actress. I thanked God for
allowing me to live out her
fantasy, as former profes
sional dancer and actress. I
thanked Him for still having
the ability to praise Him
through dance, for being
youthful in my appearance
and healthy in my mind and
body.
I thanked God for all of
those who played a role in
helping me develop charac
ter in my life from my aunts,
uncles, pastors, teachers,
grands, sibling, mentors, ex
lovers, family and friends.
Each person touched my life
for a reason, a season or a
lifetime, and for that 1 am
eternally grateful.
Although 1 have already
been forgiven, I also apolo
gized to God for knowingly
or unknowingly hurting peo
ple in my life. I apologized
again for all the wrong 1
have done in my life and,
with His guidance, vowed
never to repeat those same
mistakes again! I thanked
Him for the blessing and
gifts he has given me and for
covering my life with His
Grace and Mercy.
1 prayed ro continue to
grow in ministry, that I will
be faithful and committed to
spreading the gospel of Jesus
Christ not through what I
say, but how I life my life
each and everyday.
1 prayed fiercely for
Aaliyah, my brothers, sis
ters, family, friends that He
will continue tci bless us,
keep us and that He will
allow us to be ip good health
and grow in spirit and^yros
perity, especially during
these economic trials. I
asked Him to remove every
thing that is not like Him
from our lives: anger, envy,
jealousy, pride, doubt, self
ishness, slothfulness, greed
and replace it with wisdom
and divine order.
Finally, 1 thanked Him
for allowing me to live in the
sunshine (anointing) of His
vast and infinite glory and
majesty! Then 1 said,
"amen!"
To all that have not
reached this significance
milestone. I pray you will.
For those that have hit other
significant m^estone of 55,
60, 65, especially those 70
plus, you are truly blessed. 1
pray we all get there' too!
What an awesome God we
serve !
Min. Ronee Walker lives
in Winston-Salem.
Still good time to buy home
Phyllis
Caldwell
Guest
Columnist
With unstable conditions
in the country's and world's
financial markets, many peo
ple in our community who
want to buy a home may
wonder if now is a good time
to do so.
The short answer is, yes.
Stock market volatility and
uncertain credit markets may
send some people running,
but they shouldn't affect the
decision to purchase a home
? that is, provided con
sumers do their homework.
That means pursuing home
buyer education, diligently,
before jumping into the fray
and becoming an unfortunate
foreclosure or bankrupt sta
tistic.
At the Center for Home
Ownership (CHO), part of
Consumer Credit Counseling
Service, we hear regularly
about folks who've overex
tended their credit, or fallen
victim to unscrupulous or
deceptive tactics. There's the
man I'll call "Mr. Z," for
instance, who entered into a
lease-purchase agreement
with an investor and thought
he was paying off a mort
gage. Instead, Mr. Z. was
paying the investor. Then
there was the "M" family,
who put down the exorbitant
sum of $5,000 in earnest
money deposit at contract
signing. The Ms thought it
was their down-payment for
the home; then they had to
scramble to scrape pp a down
payment.
CHO works every day to
prevent these sorts of real-life
miscommunication dramas.
We provide homebuyer edu
cation and counseling,
empowering consumers with
resources to guide them
through the homebuying
maze. Our housing coun
selors make sure consumers
understand the home buying
process, types of mortgages,
loan terms and what wiH hap
pen if they become delin
quent on their mortgage. We
talk about what consumers
can do if they become unem
ployed; about payment
options; and about dangers of
subprime mortgages and
predatory lenders. We can
help them negotiate a better
lending deal, or set up a home
maintenance fund so that
they're saving for future pur
chases and budgeting for
emergencies.
We often get asked the
question - "Why buy a home
now? Why not just rent, espe
cially in these hard times?" #
The proof is in the num
bers. Statistics from Ginnie
Mae, a U.S. government
agency, compare a renter's
costs with a homeowner's.
The renter starts out paying
$800 a month, with annual
increases of 5 percent. The
homeowner buys a home for
$110,000 and pays a monthly
mortgage of $1 ,000. After six
years, the homeowner's pay
ment is lower than the
renter's monthly payment.
Add in tax savings, and the
homeowner's payment is less
than the renter's payment
after just three yfears!
Plus, look at the other
advantages to homeowner
ship: Buying offers greater
stability; it is, most times, a
good investment, and it's a
good way to build equity. A
first home purchase often
leads to a better home down
the line. A home purchase
offers more options in decor,
choicest space arrangement
and more of a sense of securi
ty than does a rental property.
Buying a home, to many,
epitomizes the "American
Dream."
It stands to reason, then,
that people who develop a
commitment to homebuyer
education are on the way to
establishing a strong financial
position. And, whether it's
for a first-time or a repeat
purchase, homebuyer educa
tion and counseling is right
for everyone, regardless of
situation or financial status.
With marketplace dynamics,
it's also one of those subject
areas where the student con
stantly needs a refresher
course.
So, there's no need to put
off that home purchase that
you've been dreaming about.
Just remember the saying,
"Knowledge is Power!"
Phyllis Caldwell is the
director of the Center for
Homeownership in Winston
Salem.
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