Category Archives: Relationships

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Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 3: Visions and Dreams…

Hello World,

There’s levels to this… That’s what I got from tonight’s episode of “Greenleaf.” So let me explain why in this Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 3: Visions and Dreams…

Vision of Love…

This episode begins in Phoenix, Arizona at the Desert Hope Work Release Center. Right after touching down in Arizona, Grace takes a cab to the work release center to see her son A.J. Delahaye. I notice a set of double doors have crosses etched in them. Hopefully, that means it is a Christian-oriented work release center. Grace goes straight to the person working at the counter and asks to see A.J. When the man asks her about her identity, Grace says, “I’m his mother.” Although visiting hours are over, the man calls for A.J. to come and see his mother. He is surprised to see her. “I thought you were just going to send the money.”

Then the young man practically recites a soliloquy. He tells her that he is not her “science experiment,” that she can’t leave him in a drawer until she is ready to take him out and how she didn’t want him the first time he came looking for her. He then tells the man at the front desk to not let her back in should she wander in there again. All of that simply meant that A.J. still loves his mother Gigi despite the fact that she gave him up for adoption. If he didn’t care, he would have said nothing and had no reaction.

Back in Memphis, Bishop and Lady Mae, who are slowly finding their way back to love, discuss a dream that Lady Mae had. “The Lord gave me a dream,” she tells Bishop. Apparently, the setting was a museum. She heard a scream and followed a guard to find out the cause of the outburst. Bishop was standing next to a painting of Jesus Christ that had been ripped down the middle. Blood dripped from the blade of the knife that Bishop held in his hand. In the dream, Bishop said he was sorry to Lady Mae. After that, she woke up, Lady Mae said. She says to her ex-husband, “You have to apologize to the church for everything.” But as much as Bishop is trying to please Lady Mae, he aine tryin’ to do that. He says, “I’m going to tell you like Reuben told Joseph. Keep your dreams to yourself.”

Kerissa tracks her husband down at Calvary since he is an associate pastor now. Although Jacob has told her he doesn’t want to sell the land the two own across from Calvary, Kerissa is determined to wear him down. A commercial developer is interested in buying the land from Jacob and Kerissa and is willing to pay more than what they paid for the land, she says. Although Jacob asked for a week to pray about his decision, Kerissa has declared and decreed that the commercial developer’s offer is the answer to prayer.

In another part of Calvary, Charity meets with Carlton, the choir director. They listen to a song that Judy Whitmore, Bob’s daughter, has mandated that all of the Harmony & Hope churches sing. Charity is not amused, calling it the “whitest piece of ear trash.” In addition to the melody of the song, which kind of has a country twang, the words are disturbing to Charity. “He comforts me with his rod,” she says in disbelief. I’m not sure why she is so upset, that line is in the Bible.  Well, Charity aine having it. She wants to get Judy told via e mail immediately, but Carlton tells her about Grace’s mandate. Grace has said that before anyone “bother” Judy, Grace must be told first. I’m sure that made Charity want to contact Judy even more because “Grace is not the boss of me,” I’m sure Charity was saying in her mind. Charity loves her sister, but right now, her vision is elsewhere.

And in yet another part of Calvary, a distraught Misty Williams shows up and approaches Karine regarding her appointment with Grace. Karine tells her that Grace is out of town and Misty is perplexed as to why Grace didn’t tell her she was going out of town. And then Phil DeMars shows up. He spirits Misty away to his office! But Karine still has love for her former pastor Lady Mae and tells her what happened.

You Make My Dreams…

One of the good things about Jacob and Kerissa and their family moving back to the Greenleaf estate is that Jacob has a chance to get close to his father again. Jacob probably never thought in his wildest dreams that he and his father would be the enemies they were in a previous season, but now they are friends again. Jacob shares with Bishop about Kerissa wanting to sell their land so they can buy a house in Germantown. Bishop refers to the land as  a “Piece of Paradise” that Jacob “boldly acquired” when Jacob raged against his father and mother. He tells his son to just tell Kerissa no. “Land is the closest thing to having faith in this life,” he says. He explains that having land is how “the rich stay rich.”

But Jacob is ready to do anything to just Kerissa quiet. Still, Bishop tells his son that buying a home is not what Kerissa is really dreaming of although she thinks that is the case. “She wants to know that she has a home with you” after that Tasha Skanks scandal. “Love her more and let her know it,” Bishop advises.

Speaking of knowing, Karine lets Charity know that her big sister is in Phoenix, Arizona and Charity wonders if she is in Phoenix meeting with Bob Whitmore. Since Karine also told Lady Mae about Misty Williams, Lady Mae wants to go up to the church and meet with Misty and Fred Williams. Bishop, who says his ex-wife is looking “like the girl I married,” wants to accompany Lady Mae there. He tells her he will be ready in 15 minutes, but Lady Mae tells her son that Bishop won’t take a mere 15 minutes. And when he does reappear, he will come out looking like Billy Dee Williams! LOL Billy Dee was very handsome back in the day.

Charity, who doesn’t rely on the wisdom of her parents nor the advice of her co-worker, emails Judy.

In Phoenix, Grace and A.J. still continue to feel each other out. The two go to an apartment where AJ hopes he can stay. He notes that he will be the only one staying there. “I haven’t been alone in a long time. I used to dream about it.” But before he can get his hopes up to high, he is told that he cannot move in as he is an ex-con. He hopes to find someplace decent as an ex-con. He explains that the reason he went to jail in the first place is that he broke into a house to find something to sell. He wanted to sell the item to have money to buy food…How sad…And then, since he knew the owners were on vacation, he took a nap. He was caught while he was sleeping. The matter cost him 5 years in jail. Grace says something that up until now has only been said by Grace in A.J.’s dreams probably. She says she will continue to help A.J.  find a place. “I won’t leave until we find a place for you to stay.” A place that is “cold, quiet and safe.”

I don’t know if Zora’s new dream is to wife an NBA baller but she is acting like that’s the case as she waits for Dante Saunders of the Memphis Red Devils to show up at her father’s office at Calvary. But when he does show up, he’s got his girl Nicki, a tough-looking young lady who wears swinging cornrows, with him. Nicki stares at Zora like she knows Zora wants her man, but once Dante steps away to speak with Jacob, the atmosphere between the young women changes. Zora mentions that she lives in a cabin on her grandparents’ estate and Nicki, who has the “juice and the sauce,”according to Dante, wants to see for herself. Once at Zora’s place, Zora shows off her natural hair styling talent on her new friend. Nicki says she should host a class entitled “Lay Them Edges 101” and calls her a “boss.” After Zora’s relationship with abusive boyfriend Isaiah, her confidence isn’t what it once was, she tells her new friend. And then Nicki reaches out and touches Zora’s hair and necklace. I think Nicki likes boys and girls, but before my suspicion is confirmed, Dante shows up at Zora’s cabin.

Speaking of house calls, Lady Mae and Bishop opt to stop by the home of Fred and Misty Williams to determine what did Misty speak with Phil DeMars about for two whole hours. But since Misty has already shared her heart with Phil DeMars, she doesn’t feel like rehashing the scenario with Lady Mae. Believing that Misty needs some privacy before she shares with Lady Mae, Lady Mae sends Bishop outside to warm up their vehicle. Misty does share that she is disappointed that Grace didn’t tell her she was going out of town as Grace had promised to come to a drug intervention for her daughter. But in her place, Phil DeMars will be there. But Lady Mae continues to push until Misty shares it all.

She tells Lady Mae that she prefers Phil to Lady Mae, who wanted to stand in for Grace at the intervention. She says one of the reasons that she voted for Harmony & Hope is that Lady Mae had to know that her brother Mac was molesting those girls. Speaking for herself and her husband, she says, “It was you we wanted gone.” Lady Mae had envisioned that the church loves her, but now she realizes that not every person is rooting for her as a pastor.  In a near panic, Lady Mae calls her daughter. “When are you getting back here?” she asks. “Aside from Karine, nobody is minding the store. Phil DeMars is one wrinkly-eyed smile from taking over this church – my church.”

Speaking of Phil, he confronts Charity about emailing Judy. She explains that the song sounds like it “came straight from satan.” Phil DeMars reminds her of her dream. “Do you want to be AP or not? Then grow up.” However, Phil is pleased when Charity shares that she knows that Grace is in Phoenix.  Phil DeMars ponders whether Grace went to see their boss Bob Whitmore in Arizona.

Runnin’ Down A Dream…

After Bishop has had some time to think about Lady Mae’s dream, he goes back to her to discuss it. But Lady Mae says, “You weren’t wrong. The dream was for me. It was a warning.” While looking at picture of Faith on a slide, she shares what happened at Misty’s house. “Do you think I knew what Mac was doing with Faith and those other girls and the money?” “Of course not,” Bishop says. Lady Mae wonders if on some level she knew even if she did not know consciously. She cries on Bishop’s shoulder. I think she did know at some level, but she did but did not want to admit it. And I think she was abused too as a child although that detail hasn’t been focused on in a while.

In Arizona, A.J. believes he is about to wake up from his dream when Grace tells him she has to fly back before the two have a chance to find a place for A.J. to stay. He tells her that he is “sorry I called you and bothered you. I’m sorry I exist.” A.J. really needs Grace and she needs him too although she may not fully realize that yet. Phil calls someone to find out if Grace was seeing Bob Whitmore in Arizona, but we know that was not the case.

Back at the Greenleaf estate, Jacob brings a bouquet of flowers to Kerissa before explaining that they will not be selling their land. Later that evening, the family gather to look at old family slides, which includes plenty of their photographs from when Grace, Jacob, Faith and Charity were children. The first slide is of Faith. Despite this, the gathering is a jubilant one. Lady Mae asks Gigi,”Is there anything going on that you should tell me?” Gigi says no. The two are so much closer than they were in seasons past.

And maybe now that Gigi and Lady Mae finally have a good relationship, Gigi is hopeful the same thing will happen with her estranged son. After the family gathering, she calls A.J. and says, “I want you to come home.”

I had been thinking about this all along. It’s time that A.J. meet his family…It would be a dream come true and a vision to behold if the Greenleafs, all of them, finally united. And maybe that is what has to happen before Calvary can be returned to their care.

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 3: Visions and Dreams… 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?

 

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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?

 

 

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Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 2: Did I Lose You?…

Hello World,

Let’s skip all of the preliminaries shall we, and let’s just proceed with this Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 2: Did I Lose You?…We’ve got too much ground to cover…

Don’t Wanna Lose You…

This week’s episode begins with Grace waking up in her luxurious beige (or at least it looks beige in the morning light) bedroom. If my parents had a home that luxurious, I would stay with them too. Do you think she gives her parents something toward the costs of upkeep or something? Anywho, just as she steps out of bed, she hears a knock on her door. Charity, who has obviously just woken up as well as she has on a scarf and a robe, apologizes. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved last night,” she says, stepping into Grace’s suite. “I was out of line.” Grace, in a forgiving tone, says, “You were disappointed.” Charity asks if instead of being an associate pastor, she can be the music minister although the night before, she wanted to be an associate pastor or nothing else. “I just want to be on the team,” Charity says to her sister. Grace is grateful that she didn’t lose her sister in this particular skirmish. Grace promises to speak with Phil DeMars about Charity being the music minister. Once she walks out of Grace’s suite, Charity’s lips curl into a devious smile. Oh Charity, when will you learn?

Charity may be scheming with Phil DeMars, but her daddy, Bishop, still knows how to reach his baby daughter. He plays the song “Unforgettable” on the piano while he sings in that rich voice of his. Charity appears from upstairs and sings with Bishop. He says, “I know you’re upset and feeling left out, but God has a plan waiting for you too.” He then tells her that he has to skedaddle as he is meeting with a travel agent. “Operation Win Back Lady Mae” has officially begun and the first part of his plan is a second honeymoon for him and his now ex-wife.

Not wanting to get lost in the Greenleaf estate once again, Kerissa is using every spare moment she has to house hunt. She pulls up home listings on her laptop and studies them like she has to take a test. Living with her in-laws tests her sanity obviously. We learn that the Greenleaf estate is losing a resident as Sophia will be going to summer classes at Hampton University. We also learn that Zora is still Zora. When she learns that her Aunt Grace will be meeting with Phil DeMars, she says he’s fine in an “evil way.” Yes, Zora is like so many women: She has an unfortunate preference for bad boys.

At Calvary, Grace learns that Bob Whitmore’s daughter wants to meet with her in the future as she is over praise and worship for all of the Harmony & Hope churches. She notes that Bob is okay with nepotism when it comes to his family but not otherwise. She sends newly named Associate Pastor Jacob to meet with Phil DeMars as he gets on her nerves. She then goes on to her new office (Bishop’s old office) where Noah is sitting there, waiting for her. “How was your flight?” Grace says to him like it’s a leisurely visit. “Why didn’t you tell me we had a son?” Noah replies, ignoring her question. Grace explains that she was 18 years old and had recently told her parents about Mac and Faith. She says she originally wanted to have an abortion, but she couldn’t go through with it. She put their son up for adoption right after he was born. “He was so beautiful,” Grace says of their son, who is apparently named A.J.

Noah notes how the news of his son with Grace could potentially cause him to lose Isabel and their marriage although they created a son years before Noah and Isabel were a couple. Apparently, Noah and Isabel haven’t been able to conceive and the fact that Noah actually has a son with his first love would further devastate her. Grace also reveals that A.J. looked her up years earlier when Sophia was 12. Apparently, the adoption agency had unsealed the adoption records. I swear, knowing all of this about Grace has caused me to see her in a different light. All of this time, she easily pointed the finger at other people and their mistakes and misdeeds all the while knowing that her mistakes and misdeeds were just as bad as other people’s. “I just want to make it right now,” Grace says. Noah tells her that their son is being released from jail. I guess we will see if Grace makes all of this right after she has been wrong for so long…

If I Ever Lose My Faith in You…

After Noah leaves Grace’s office, he runs into Jacob and they catch up for a bit. Jacob jokingly refers to Kerissa as the “same Excedrin headache.” (So am I the only one who kind of thinks he is mismatched with Kerissa? Tasha Skanks and Jacob seem to have more of a genuine connection…What y’all think? I’ve almost lost faith in their marriage.) Although Jacob invites Noah over to the estate to visit his parents, Noah declines and asks Jacob to not tell his parents he was in town.

Jacob agrees to Noah’s request although he thinks it’s weird. He comes into Phil’s office to meet with him. He explains that since Grace got pulled into a meeting, he is meeting with Phil instead. Although Phil is perturbed that he is meeting with the associate pastor rather than the pastor, he explains that Calvary’s children will not be attending “Blue Lake Camp” this summer due to the costs. Jacob asks him to reconsider as the camp offers the children the chance to learn more about their black heritage when it comes to art, dance and music. Phil says that Harmony & Hope is all about diversity not just focusing on one heritage. Before he dismisses Jacob, he says, “Welcome back, brother” in an icy tone.

Jacob keeps his cool although he now understands why Phil get’s on his sister’s nerves. When he tells his sister what happened in the meeting, Grace says she will help pay the cost of the children attending “Blue Lake Camp.”  Jacob also mentions that he saw Noah and that he was acting weird. Grace explains that she thinks Noah is having trouble with his wife. See, that’s what I’m talking about. Grace doesn’t have any problem bending the truth when it comes to her stuff, but she is always demanding the truth from everyone else. After Jacob leaves, Grace calls the jail where her son A.J. is incarcerated.

Away from Calvary’s campus, Lady Mae and her granddaughters Zora and Sophia go shopping. While the girls are in a dressing room, Lady Mae receives a text from Deaconness Connie that makes her so incensed she throws her cell phone into one of the dressing room mirrors.

Apparently, she owes more than $38,000 to Calvary for her “A Day With Lady Mae” production. She explains the cracked mirror by saying that she dropped her phone. Bishop, who is posted on the stairs in a green velour tracksuit when Lady Mae returns home, notices that his wife is mad enough to spit. She calls Deaconness Connie a “cutout of a woman” and explains what she did.

Kerissa has lost all faith in the Greenleaf estate and has moved beyond simply looking at homes online. Now, she’s attends an Open House with her real estate agent. She is interested in putting an offer on a home, but she and Jacob don’t have money for the down payment. When the real estate agent asks her about asking her in-laws for help, Kerissa says, “Girl, I would rather sell my plasma.” Deep.

Meanwhile, Jacob finally meets Dante Saunders, the troubled Memphis Red Devils baller. Dante rolls up on Jacob in Calvary’s parking lot and challenges him to play basketball using a football. The things that the male species do to prove themselves! LOL After their game is over, Dante offers Jacob a bribe to turn the other way when Dante acts a fool, but Jacob doesn’t accept his money. Dante is impressed and Jacob feels that he has a real chance to mentor this guy.

And Phil’s meeting with Jacob is not his only meeting for the day. At some restaurant, he also meets with his spy Charity. She says, “I don’t know if I can do this.” Bishop’s singalong got to her obviously. “[Bishop] says that I’m the heart of the family.” Phil points out that Bishop is an accused arsonist, owes the IRS and more. In other words, he is insinuating that Bishop cannot be trusted. Phil tells her family doesn’t see her as the “jewel” that she is.

But Phil is not content to just meet with one Greenleaf sister when he also asked for a meeting with the eldest Greenleaf sister. “When I ask to see you, I expect the courtesy of a visit,” Phil says to Grace when he sees her at Calvary. Grace makes it clear that Phil is not her boss although she says so in a mostly professional way. She also tells him that she will help to pay for the children to go to the “Blue Lake Camp.” He is surprised that she has that much money as it may cost about $100,000 when it’s all said and done. Y’all, where did Grace get this money? She barely works as a pastor at Calvary and before being a pastor, she was a reporter. Maybe because she’s likely not paying rent, her money has added up. (Sorry y’all, the budgnetista in me is coming out…) Grace also uses this opportunity to ask Phil if Charity can be the music minister. He quickly agrees which makes him appear more generous and accommodating than Grace originally thought, but we know what that is about…

Now that Zora is back, her and her cousin have rekindled their relationship. Zora convinces her cousin to stay with her at Noah’s old house (although he may need to move back in it if Isabel founds out about AJ) AND go to Lady Mae’s early morning Bible Study with her instead of going to Hampton for the summer.

Since Bishop is trying to woo Lady Mae back, he concocts a way to fix his ex-wife’s problem with Deaconness Connie. Cloaked by the cover of night, in the Calvary parking lot, he meets his old assistant Karine who is adorned with a black hat and sunglasses like she is a double agent. She hands him some papers and he speeds off the premises. Once he leaves, she says, “This sure doesn’t feel like church.” Ya think? Apparently, Bishop has lost faith in God because he’s resorting to using the devil’s tactics. And we know that what is done in the dark will surely come to light.

Lady Mae reminds her ex-husband of this principle when he presents with documentation proving that Deaconness Connie is receiving payments from Harmony & Hope. He says, “I’m trying to get this church back for you.” She says, “This is not the way.” It won’t be power or might that gets Calvary back for the Greenleafs but by “my will says the Lord,” says Lady Mae. She goes on to say, “We have to get our house in order, we have to get our hearts in order or we’re going to lose everything.” Tell him, Lady Mae.

Speaking of getting a house in order, Grace finally tells her daughter about her older half-brother. Sophia points out that Grace always criticized her parents for not being there for her sister Faith when Grace completely abandoned her child. She calls her “such a hypocrite” and says that that she doesn’t want her to accompany her to Hampton. Apparently, her mother’s revelation was enough to convince to go away again when Zora had convinced her to stay. Has Grace lost her daughter forever or at the very least, a very long time?

Win, Lose or Draw…

Kerissa is willing to lose it all to escape from the Greenleaf estate. She wants to sell the Real Church land, the land across from Calvary that they bought when they were going to build a church there. She believes the profit from the sale of the land will be enough for a down payment on a home. “I want out of this house.” But Jacob doesn’t want to sell the land without praying about it especially as he may have other ideas about how to use the land. The former jock is considering building some sort of youth athletics facility where he can minister to athletes like Dante. Kerissa says she will hold off on getting a market analysis for now but as soon as she is out of Jacob’s sight, she contacts the real estate agent anyway. She is forever trying to lead the marriage. SMH…

Bishop is wondering whether he will be able to win Lady Mae back after all as he looks at the plane tickets he bought. Not only is she asking him to court her, she is also asking him to clean his heart. Can he do that? I don’t know and clearly he doesn’t either…

It’s looking like Grace has lost her daughter for now. Early in the morning, she takes off in her jeep for her long drive to Hampton but not before telling her that her father will be joining her on the journey. Ouch. I feel it for Grace, but she did bring this on herself.

Lady Mae is determined to win back Calvary God’s way and tells Bishop’s accomplice Karine the same. She presents Karine with a check for all of the costs associated with “A Day With Lady Mae” and asks her to give it to Deaconness Connie before the scheduled board meeting. She says she is taking this action according to Romans 13:7.

Now that Grace has lost Sofia, at least for now, maybe she will attempt to win her son back. A.J., who has nice locs, calls her from jail and says, “So you gon help me out or what?” She says will help him with his monetary needs and as well as help him find a place to stay. And after Sofia got on her mother for only wanting to throw money at her son and not develop a relationship, maybe developing a relationship with her and Noah’s son is what she needs to do win her daughter back as well…

Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 4 Episode 2: Did I Lose You? 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?