By the Grace of God

GOD is good, may be cliché to some, but to me it’s a statement of all statements. I’m truly blessed to even write this page of acknowledgments. Amazement is still running warm in my veins as I pinch myself and realize I’ve done what my heart desired.

I give honor to my God in heaven for gracing me with the gift to tell the stories He’s given my heart. It’s not as easy as it seems to put words in a sentence and a sentence in a paragraph and paragraphs into a page. But all things are possible with God our Father. Thank you, my Lord and Savior, for never leaving me throughout my life’s experience and pointing me to my destiny. You are my Father. I thank you, Lord!

Family is important, so much that I’d like to acknowledge the family of which I’m a part. My parents and my younger sisters Fanasha and Angel. Fanasha, thank you for taking the role of big sister during my pregnancy and putting up with my whining when I was so through with being pregnant—LOL! Love you ... my first baby! Thanks go to my daughter, Chayse Karyngton-Dawn, Mommy loves you with her whole being. You are the best baby ever. Thank you for being my inspiration to pick up the pen once more.

To my extended family, my cousins in particular, those I see often and those I don’t, I love you and thank you for the support over the years. You’ve always been my cheerleaders and I cherish you for that! Kim, you are strong and people will only understand you when they themselves become real. I love the realness with you!

To the Pratt and Sauls family, thank you for being the blood that runs warm through my veins. Somehow you’ve made me into the writer that I am and I am grateful for you all.

To the Crenshaw (Ms. Crenshaw) and Hunt family (Aunt Bobbie and Uncle T), thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives for all these years, attached and detached. I honestly love you for the welcome! Ms. Crenshaw, you’ll always be loved by myself and Chayse. The way you think of us often is a blessing!

Some people think that I love my friends a little too much. I call it a blessing to have friends that have become family to me. To have communication and a loving, emotional relationship is awesome! Alex and Shakira, thank you for being an inspiration and praising my work and accepting the role of godparents toward my Chayse-ee. Rodney, Yolanda, and the boys, thank you for throwing my very first, By the Grace of God surprise party when I self-published. You all are the example of what God meant for husband and wife. Even though I don’t see you often, you are always on my mind.

The legacy of my family runs more than three generations in the COGIC church. I want to thank Bishop J. Neul and First Lady Vivian Haynes along with the Saintsville Sanctuary Church of God In Christ in Dallas.

Thank you for promoting me when I first self-published. I’m grateful! As well, I’m blessed that God has moved me to Greater Zion Temple in Temple, Texas where I’m under the tutelage of Superintendent Shelton C. Rhodes and his wife Missionary Deborah A. Rhodes. The teachings from both of you have molded me and helped move me to my next level. Thank you.

I must, must, must give a shout out to those who have accepted me in the world of writing. Starting in 2003 when I self-published, I had the opportunity to be amongst some great writers and in some great writing groups. Wanda D. Hudson, I have to thank you for helping me make sense out of all the mumbo jumbo that sat on my computer. You were my editor before I knew what an editor was. My freelance editor, Shonell Bacon, who did a wonderful job making me really feel like an author. Thank you! Toschia, for being the first “author friend,” and giving me the low-down on how to work book signings! Sister Friend Writers, Black Christian Writers, Fiction Folk Writers . . . big ups to you and all the help that you’ve given relentlessly throughout the years.

Most recently, when I was determined to pick up the pen again, I found THE HUT. Writers Hut, an on-line writing group, headed by Essence best-selling author, Kendra Norman-Bellamy, is the best I’ve come across. Not to mention the most open and honest group of individuals that I’ve come across in a looooong time! Big ups to you!

Elissa Gabrielle, thank you for sharing my story in The Triumph of My Soul, thanks for loving my story!

And thanks for allowing inspiration to pour through Peace In the Storm Publishing.

Most definitely I’d like to thank my publisher: Urban Christian, Carl Weber, and editor, Joylynn Jossel! Thank you for picking up the telephone and welcoming me into the family! The best is yet to come for Urban Christian!

There is a group of ladies that will become closer to me than most starting July 2008! Literarily Saved is a Christian tour group that developed, and thanks to God, these women have brought their expertise, their fiction and nonfiction Christian literature and molded . . . our tour. Fon James, Mikasenoja, Cheryl Donovan, and Betty Knight-Allen.