Category Archives: dating

Posted on

Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 6: The Stranger…

Hello World,

Will Charity ever stop choosing the wrong man? That question and more will be answered in this Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 6: The Stranger…

Stranger Things…

It still strikes me as strange that after three seasons of functioning more as sworn enemies than mother and daughter, Lady Mae and Grace are kind to and understanding of one another this season. This is never more apparent than it is when Grace finally confesses to her mother that she has a son.

This week’s episode picks up after Grace’s confession. “Don’t you have anything to say?” says Grace. “I just told you that I have a grown son.” Had this been last season, Lady Mae would have probably accused Grace of trying to destroy the family and launched into one of her dramatic monologues. But this is a new day. At this point, Lady Mae only asks to see a picture of A.J. She follows up with asking Grace if she has prayed about the matter. She ends with, “So may I meet my new grandson?” Grace says she wants the family to meet him, but she is unsure of where he is as they recently argued. She also tells Lady Mae that her son has a prison record.

Just then, Charity walks into the kitchen and senses the tension. “What happened now?” she says. Lady Mae says, “This has to be kept in the family.” Charity says, “Who else would I tell?” We know that Phil DeMars is going to find out about all of this just as soon as she can leave the kitchen.

In the next scene, Grace calls A.J. again but has to leave a message. “I know you’re upset about the money. I told the family about you. They want to meet you. Tonight if possible.”

Later, Lady Mae and Bishop discuss the strange turn of events. “What has you so so transfixed?” Lady Mae asks Bishop. Bishop reflects on a conversation he had with Gigi 25 years ago. She had left home and called him from somewhere in Chicago. “She called, needing money. I thought she was obstinate, righteous and proud, but she was really pregnant, scared and lonely.”

Lady Mae wants to make things right with Grace and A.J. as well. “We need to graft him into the family and put him where the sun would do him some good.” I like that metaphor. (a plant metaphor for the Greenleafs)

At Calvary, Jacob walks up on Karine looking at a video of that strange fight that Jacob had with all of the Memphis Red Devils. She tells him he is now known as, “Pastor Holyfield.”  But he laughs it off despite the fact that the altercation cost him his job.

Strange Bedfellows…

As predicted, Charity runs to Phil DeMars to blab about Grace’s new son. “Stand up,” she tells him. Once he stands, she says, “You’re going to need to sit down. Grace has a secret son. She gave him up for adoption. She’s supposed to be the good one,” she says with glee. But Phil doesn’t immediately respond the way she had anticipated he would. “It’s not like she had an abortion,” Phil says. “He’s an ex-con and was in jail for five years for burglary,” she offers. “But that’s more about him than her,” says Phil in response. These two, not-so-strange bedfellows I’m afraid. They are just thirsty, I swear! She tells him that she hopes to meet A.J. that night as the family wants him to come over for dinner. Before she leaves to snoop for more dirt, Phil tells her that her hair looks nice. I must admit that it does. It is swept to one side and very curly.

Jacob sees Charity leave Phil’s office and asks, “Are you in trouble with Phil too?” Charity has to come up with a cover quick. “I called Judy Whitmore and told her we weren’t singing that song anymore.” “But I heard Carlton practicing that song with the choir,” Jacob says. Charity keeps it moving to keep from answering more questions.

Speaking of answering more questions, Grace realizes why she was unable to get in touch with A.J. for a while. “Hey, it’s A.J. I’ve been arrested,” he says once she answers the phone. She takes off for the Memphis police station. A.J. pleads with his mother to be his alibi. Apparently, he was arrested for a pharmacy robbery, but he wants Grace to say she was with him at his apartment the previous evening. He remembers that Aaron the attorney said that Grace was very kind, even to a stranger. “Pretend I’m a stranger. I can’t go back to jail.”

You can see that Grace is struggling with his request, but in the end, she decides to stick out her neck for her son for once. The police officer, who makes her sign a sworn statement, also makes sure that she knows that “lying to a police officer is a crime.”

Back at Calvary, Phil and Jacob finally meet regarding Jacob’s fight. “I was breaking up a fight,” Jacob explains. But y’all know Phil aine tryin’ to hear his explanation. Basically, Phil says it’s above him now as Bob saw the fight on television. Jacob wants to fight Phil, but he keeps it together although he is tempted to give him a taste of what Phil saw on television.  “You better leave before I do something I regret.” So Jacob is officially and completely unemployed.

Kerissa has a meeting as well. She meets with the buyer of their land. She confronts him about his connection to Harmony & Hope Ministries. In an effort to extort him for more money, she tells him that she will tell her husband about that connection. Kerissa wants out of the Greenleaf estate and NOW! “This check isn’t even half enough of what we need.” The buyer doesn’t seem all that fazed by her threat, but he does give her more money. He also tells her that she has to keep quiet now. But after the business is over, he makes a move on Kerissa! He tells her that her husband is only giving her “half of what you need. I would make sure that you were always taken care of.” Y’all know that got Kerissa excited, but she keeps her wits about herself for the time being. She tells him she may just take him up on his offer  but only”after the check clears.”

And Kerissa ain’t the only one who contemplates stepping outside of the marriage. In the next scene, Jacob holds his cell phone in his hand as he stares at the top contact: Tasha Skanks…(I think Tasha is a better match for Jacob actually. Yes, I’m saying this again…)

Hey Stranger…

But before Jacob can act on his thought, Kerissa walks into his office. “Hello Handsome, I was just thinking about you,” she says to him. She tells him that she managed to scrape up a few more dollars to put an offer on their dream home. They plan to go out to dinner to celebrate, but Lady Mae calls.

“I think you should come home.” She tells him that Grace has a son and he needs to meet him tonight. But Kerissa aine tryin’ to be second, even to Grace’s secret son, especially since Lady Mae delivered the news. “Can you put me first?” she asks. “Can you man up and be my husband for once.” She reminds him that he has lost several jobs lately and she hasn’t made a big deal of the sad situation. She has a point there. But Jacob has made up his mind. “Are you coming or not?” he says. “Does it look like I’m coming?” Kerissa responds bitterly. Well, Jacob’s rejection was the incentive she need to call the buyer back. “The check cleared,” she says.

At the Greenleaf estate, A.J. finally gets the opportunity to meet his family. “Welcome to the family,” Lady Mae says. (Did y’all catch when she asked to Marisol to put up all of the valuables before he arrived though? LOL) Lady Mae and Bishop agree that he’s a “perfect mix” of Grace and Noah. If you say so…”How would you like to meet your cousin?” Lady Mae asks. She explains that Zora lives in the “hippie bungalow.” (If Kerissa and Jacob ever move, will Zora willingly move with them? Hmmm…I wouldn’t…) She takes him to Zora’s spot and Zora is Zora after her grandmother leaves. “So A.J., you wanna get high?” He says, “I thought you were a Christian.” Zora comes back with, “I’m Christian, not crazy.” Smh…

Unfortunately, an uninvited person shows up at this overdue family reunion. A detective wants to see Grace. He tells her that he doubts what she said about A.J. and his alibi and accuses her of concocting the story with him. Apparently, security footage  at the police station shows Grace having a serious conversation with her son. Grace accuses the police officer of trying to pin something on her son.

But Lady Mae is not unconvinced that her grandson is not guilty of robbing the pharmacy. “Did you do it or not?” she asks A.J. after she tells Zora to make herself scarce.

“Could you please answer the question?” But before he can answer, Charity shows up with a baby blue balloon with the words “It’s a Boy” on it. This chick…

Lady Mae is only momentarily interrupted but gets back to her interrogation. “A.J., would you answer the question?” A.J. still says nothing. That sets Lady Mae off and she goes into one of her signature speeches. She says,”You’ve never met anyone more formidable than me. I’m a formidable adversary and I’m even more formidable as a friend…I’m more useful to you than riches.” Worried that the family’s last remaining connection to Calvary could be tarnished, she advises Grace to get right with God. “As a Christian and as a member of your church, I’m imploring you. You go down to that station and tell them the truth.” A.J., who still hasn’t answered any of Lady Mae’s questions, leaves.

As all of this was unfolding, Kerissa was with that buyer, a white gentleman. She complains to him about Jacob. “I found the house, I found the money. He can’t even tell his mom no for one night.” He takes her rant as an opportunity to comfort her. “What are you doing?” Kerissa says. “You know what I’m doing,” he says just before he kisses her. She collapses into his arms like the morals she claims to have…

Once she gets home, Jacob asks, “Where have you been?” Of course, she lies about her whereabouts. But Jacob doesn’t seem all that concerned at the moment. He was just waiting for her to come home to be with Winkie as he has to return to Calvary for some business.

Grace also leaves the estate to follow her son back to his apartment where she finds him packing. “Don’t you want a family after all this time? If you leave like this, they’re going to think you’re guilty.” Despite Grace trying dissuade him from leaving, A.J. doesn’t want to chance being locked up again. (Why didn’t he answer Lady Mae’s question?) She gives him her car keys. “Take good are of yourself,” she says. “You do the same,” he says before throwing the keys back to her. I didn’t expect that…(Did y’all see when he packed those pills in his bag? He did hit up that pharmacy…But maybe not for money…Maybe he’s sick…He could be on drugs but he wasn’t all that excited when his cousin tried to get him to get high with her..)

Now that Charity has more information on A.J., she rushes back over to Calvary where Phil is still working. She tells him that A.J. is a robbery suspect and that Grace offered herself as an alibi. “She’s lying.” Charity says. And she tells Phil that she has recorded Grace saying she’s lying. That bit of information gets Phil hot and bothered. They begin kissing as if she has told him the most romantic sweet nothings. Why can’t she see that Phil is using her?

Speaking of romance, for the first time since season 2, I think, we see Bishop and Lady Mae in bed together. They are just lounging, but it shows that they are getting closer. He tells her a story about a girl that he was told about before he met the girl. “You’re going to love her,” he was told. He said that stranger was more wonderful than he had ever imagined. “What’s to come is just like that girl. It may be better than you think.” Bishop tells Lady Mae that she was that stranger. He’s trying to get Lady Mae to continue to hope that they will get Calvary back although their situation continues to deteriorate.

Finally, at Calvary, as Jacob goes to his office, he hears a couple laughing together in Phil’s office. He peeks into the glass door and sees his sister Charity all up in Phil’s arms as they passionately kiss…Just a Judas…betraying her family with a kiss…Unless Charity gets some intense therapy, I think her men picker is just broken…Until next week, y’all…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 6: The Stranger… and my other recaps so far. If you would like to keep up with OWN’s “Greenleaf,” and my recaps, please click on this link to subscribe to my blog 🙂!

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Pastor Jamal Bryant’s Ex-Wife Gizelle Bryant Says the Divorced Couple Are Back Together!

Hello World,

My Word! I thought it was enough that Kanye brought his Sunday Service to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on yesterday, but the real tea is that Pastor Jamal Bryant is ready to make his first lady Gizzelle Bryant his First Lady yet again! The exes Pastor Jamal Bryant and Gizzelle Bryant are dating! I guess he is heeding my advice to him given through Al Gore’s Internet! See my post Why Pastor Jamal Bryant Should Get Married Following Tweet’s Announcement That She is Done With Church…

Maybe that is another reason why Tweet was in her feelings regarding her relationship with the new New Birth pastor. She sensed he still had feelings for this first wife! And for the record, I think this is great news! As I said, I think Pastor Bryant should be married and if he can reunite his family then that is the best outcome possible! In case you don’t believe me, Gizelle confirmed their new relationship on with ex-husband Pastor Jamal Bryant during Part 1 of the RHOP Season 4 reunion last night!

According to Bravo, what she said is below…

However, when Andy asked at the reunion if the mystery man was her ex-husband, like he had heard, she confirmed the gossip and said she and Jamal reconnected last year.

Gizelle admitted that the transition from married couple to exes back to dating hasn’t been easy for her and Jamal’s three daughters, Grace, Angel, and Adore. “You know what, they’re a little confused, to be honest with you, because they’ve never seen us together in that way. We got divorced 12 years ago,” Gizelle explained. “So when he comes into town and he wants to take me to dinner, they’re like, ‘Wait a minute, aren’t we all going?’ Because that’s what we normally do.”

I wonder what brought the two back together? I haven’t read My Word as of yet, but the written word is powerful. Maybe reading their fictionalized relationship from her point of view opened his eyes to what broke down their marriage. Or maybe being in Atlanta and away from his ex-wife and their daughters made him realize that being with her and his family is what he wants and needs. Whatever the reason, as I said before, bringing a family back together is the best outcome! I hope his congregation lifts them up in prayer because the devil stays busy, but I do think a new thing is being done at New Birth in more ways than one!

Any thoughts?

 

 

Posted on

Jacqueline J. Holness (AKA ME!) Reveals the Cover of Her New Novel ‘Destination Wedding!’ (INTERVIEW)

Hello World,

Sorry I had to do it. Write in the third person that is. I just couldn’t figure out how to state the fact that I have written my first novel without being a little extra. And referring to yourself in the third person is as extra as you can get on a written page. So pardon me for being braggadocios. It’s just that I’ve written a novel that I’m extremely proud of and it’s finally time to tell you all about it!

When I first imagined myself as a writer at the adorable age of six, I saw myself weaving words into worlds as a novelist. Well, maybe not a quite a novel, but certainly a work of fiction. As I matured and began to grasp that writing was not as simple as it seemed, I gravitated toward journalism where real life (just the facts, ma’am) was written down and every story was thankfully short. I just didn’t think I had enough words to write a whole novel. But in my heart, behind the wall of fear, I wondered if I would ever summon enough stamina and skill to craft a world of words also known as a novel. In 2009, yes, 10 years ago, a real-life event took hold of me and demanded that I explore this topic as a novel. And it literally took me 10 years to learn how to write a novel AND get it published. So Destination Wedding written by Jacqueline J. Holness (oh so extra I know) will be released in December to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the real-life event that inspired me and captivated me enough to write a novel at long last! So below is the synopsis followed by my interview with 96Kix’s Kimberly Kaye, who interviewed me as I wrote Destination Wedding. (Read and or listen to the interview.)

Three successful best friends in Atlanta believe they are thriving in the Black Mecca. Bossy bank executive Senalda breaks down men from business to bed no holds barred. Hip hop PR guru Jarena praises the Lord and pursues married men with equal persistence. Famous and infamous radio personality Mimi fights with her fans and for the love of her on-and-off-again boyfriend.

But when an ABC News Nightline report, “Single, Black, Female — and Plenty of Company,” asks why can’t a successful black woman find a man? The friends are suddenly hyper-aware of their inclusion in the sad statistic: 42% of black women who have never been married. Like the women in the report, they are career-driven, beautiful black women living in Atlanta who have everything — but a mate. They resolve to defy the statistic by marrying in a year and have it all by tackling their goal as a project with a vision board, monthly meetings, and more. Project Destination Wedding is born. A “happily married” best friend Whitney is a project consultant.

But as the deadline ticks closer, the women wonder if they can withstand another year of looking for love in the media-proclaimed no-man’s land of Atlanta. Senalda wrests a marriage proposal from the male version of herself, but the proposal comes simultaneously with a devastating secret. Jarena unleashes hell when her call to ministry coincides with dating her married college sweetheart. Mimi faces losing her career and jail time chasing her boyfriend and marries another man in the process. Whitney’s power couple profile plummets when her husband, a pornography addict, announces he would rather pursue photography than be an MD.

Inspired by an actual Nightline report, Destination Wedding charts four women’s journeys as they discover that love is not an experiment easily confined to a timetable.

These are the four main characters as I saw them in my mind as I was writing- Jarena, Mimi, Senalda & Whitney…Can you match the women to how they actually turned out on the cover?

Kimberly: 96 KIX. On the line with me, I have Jacqueline Holness. How are you Jacqueline?

Jacqueline: I’m great. How are you Kimberly?

Kimberly: I’m wonderful. Welcome back to the show!

Jacqueline: Thank you so much for having me!

Kimberly: You know the last time you we talked it was all about ‘After the Altar Call.’ Now, what have you been up to? I know I always read your blog. Always.

Jacqueline: Thanks so much for reading. I really appreciate that. You never know who is reading. Thank you so much.

Kimberly: How is it working with the blog?

Jacqueline: Well, I love to write so it’s a creative outlet for me. And I’m always surprised when people actually respond to what I write because it’s not something that I get paid to do. I just love to do it. Even if people didn’t read it, I would still write.

Kimberly: You said, regardless, you’re gonna blog!

Jacqueline: Yes! Definitely.

Kimberly: Now, how do you pick your topics to know what to blog about?

Jacqueline: Well, the most important aspect of my life is my faith so I always want to talk about my faith and whatever area I choose to talk about whether it be pop culture or whether it be more serious issues, I always try to look at it through the lens of having faith in God and how God would want us to see certain things that play out in our society.

Kimberly: Right,  well that’s great. Now, also I saw that you are getting ready to write another book for us.

Jacqueline: Yes, I grew up reading fiction books, but when I got older, I just veered off into non-fiction books. But recently, I rediscovered my love of fiction and I decided to write a fiction book about three single black women in Atlanta.

Kimberly: Alright. Can you give us a little bit more? Or is that all you can give us?

Jacqueline: (Laughter) I’ll tell you a little more about it, but I’m not finished yet. But basically, I’m not sure if you saw the ABC News Nightline special that came on in December 2009 where it was quoted that 42% of black women have never been married?

Kimberly: Wow! That’s a high percentage.

Jacqueline: Yes, a very high percentage and they featured black women in Atlanta who had everything but a mate. And from there, there was a debate that was held in Atlanta. Steve Harvey was here. Sherri Shepherd. A lot of notables came in town to debate this issue in Atlanta. So as a black woman, I was single at the time, I’m married now, it really impacted me. And I thought what if I wrote a book about black women, fictional black women, who saw this report, and decided to defy the statistics and get married in a year.

Kimberly: Now you live in Atlanta?

Jacqueline: I do live in Atlanta.

Kimberly: Do you see that problem?

Jacqueline: Well, I see it all over. When I travel, I meet a lot of single black women, but for some reason, Atlanta seems to be the epicenter I guess of single black women. And because I was single and just got married at 40 years old, I know what it’s like to be single and I know what it’s like to wonder, ‘Why aren’t men choosing me?’ So I decided to write a book from my own personal journey and do it through the lens of fiction.

Kimberly: That sounds great. Do you know when you will be finished?

Jacqueline: Well, I hope to have the rough draft finished very soon. I’m going to work on it for the next few months. What interested you when you read, I know you read the blog post about me working on this book. What interested you? I’m just curious.

Kimberly: Like you said, we have a lot in common, Jacqueline.  I got married when I was 40. Same thing.

Jacqueline: Oh really?

Kimberly: Yes, we have that in common. I was going through life, and I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna ever get married.’ But once I quit thinking about it, dwelling on it, it happened so that’s what kind of intrigued me. It takes a lot. You wonder, Am I doing something wrong? Is it me? Why didn’t I get married when I was in my 20s or in my 30s? So that’s why I was interested.

Jacqueline: Wow! So I’m so glad we have that in common. We may have to talk off the air later about that as older women who have gotten married. That’s a category in itself – older brides. I may have to write something about that.

Kimberly: (Laughter) Yes! Well, I’m anticipating it.

Jacqueline: Yes, well, please go to my website AftertheAltarCall.com and you will see updates about the book. I’m really excited about, and I hope it will be on bookshelves as soon as possible.

Kimberly: And that’s also why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to spread the word about your blog. I think it’s just terrific, and I want everyone to be aware of it.

Jacqueline: Oh, thank you so much!

(Note: There is just a minute or so more left of the interview, but I included what pertains to today’s blog post.)

 

Below are some advance reviews I have received about Destination Wedding!

“Jacqueline J. Holness has penned a delightful read that puts a new spin on the age-old dilemma of the beautiful, successful, single black woman finding a mate! Did I say beautiful and successful? Set in the Black Mecca – The ATL – Destination Wedding will have you asking, “Why is this so hard?” I found myself in the moment, rooting for these women – and thoroughly enjoyed their journeys to happily-ever-after.” – Monica Richardson, author of the Talbots of Harbour Island series

“In need of a getaway? Destination Wedding is the read you need. Filled with characters that will remind you of your girlfriends and unexpected adventures, it’s the perfect vacation read.” – Chandra Sparks Splond, author and blogger

“In Destination Wedding, Jacqueline J. Holness takes readers on page-turning twists and turns that hijack several friendships on the path to love. If you’re eager for an entertaining read that will leave you rooting for the characters as if they’re your friends, pick up your copy today.” – Stacy Hawkins Adams, multi-published author of Coming Home, Watercolored Pearls, The Someday List and more

So Destination Wedding will officially debut on Dec. 3, but it is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound and Target right now! And I’m not gonna be shy about this: I want this book to be a best-selling book so your pre-orders will help me achieve that goal! As a matter of fact, I will be offering some free gifts if you pre-order so come back here often for updates!

Finally, if you would like to be a member of my book launch team which means getting a FREE advance copy of Destination Wedding, email me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com!

Thank you so much for reading this blog post, and I hope and pray you will be reading my first novel Destination Wedding very soon!

Any thoughts?