Posted on Sunday, September 21, 2014

Making Your Divine Appointment…

Hello World,

Delta Authors on Tour…

Yesterday was a whirlwind of a day…I had gotten up around 5:30 a.m. to pray and write and then I mapped out the rest of day…I had planned to go the Delta Authors on Tour event for a couple of hours and then get on with my Saturday washing clothes, grocery shopping, etc. – basically the mundane stuff…

In my mind, I was grumbling about the various things I needed to get done – the fun stuff and not-so-fun stuff…I LOVE to write, but writing this first novel has been a challenging feat for me for several reasons…For the sake of brevity, I will only name two…Reason #1…Up until the last year or so, I haven’t read a novel in some years…I’m a non-fiction afficionado…In fact, even though I’ve been a part of a book club that has read novels for roughly 16 years, I have read very few of them (I’m grateful they allow me to come back to meetings 🙂 ) Reason #2…Since I’m trained as a journalist, I can whip up a competent article or two or three if threatened in a few hours…But writing chapters and for hundreds of pages is a marathon I’ve never run before…

The not-so-fun stuff was obviously my household chores…Sometimes my week is so hectic, I have to relegate mundane chores to the weekend…and the last thing I want to do on a weekend is wash clothes, plan meals, clean, etc. When I was single, I could ignore all of the not-so-fun stuff and let things pile up including dishes, clothes, dust bunnies, etc. But now that someone is living with me, I no longer have that luxury…(although my husband would probably argue that I still allow myself that luxury…)

Sorors Dr. Fran Breakfield & L.D. Wells...

Sorors Dr. Francene Breakfield & L.D. Wells…

So yesterday, I had all of that planned as I charged into Greenbriar Mall where the Delta Authors on Tour event was held. My plan was to stay there for two hours tops…I was there to support two of my collegiate chapter sorors L.D. Wells and Dr. Francene Breakfield and then meet newly minted Soror Suzan Johnson Cook, who is not only a former pastor and current author, she also served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom…But when I was told Soror Johnson Cook wouldn’t be there until 3 p.m., I realized that my day would unfold as planned…

Me & Soror, Dr., Ambassador & More Suzan Johnson Cook…

How many of you know that “in their hearts, humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps?” (Proverbs 16:9)

What I understand now is that I had a divine appointment to be there and not just for two hours but for the WHOLE day…I got there early about 11 ish in the morning and didn’t make it home until roughly the same time last night…

Me & Soror Victoria Christopher Murray…

While I was there I met Soror Suzan Johnson Cook whose book “A New Dating Attitude” made me know that I know that I know that I truly know my husband was and is God’s best for me…But that wasn’t the only reason I was there…I reconnected with authors I’ve met before such as Victoria Christopher Murray and met authors I’ve never met before such as Angela Ray, Dr.

From left to right, Dr. Martha Ward Plowden, L.D. Wells, Brenda Jackson, Dr. Fran Breakfield

Majorie L. Kimbrough, Dr. Martha Ward Plowden, Ruth P. Watson, Stephanie Perry Moore and Brenda Jackson…In fact, I hobnobbed with the Delta Authors on Tour so much I was invited to go to dinner with them that evening at The Pecan restaurant in downtown College Park…New York Times Best-Selling Author Brenda Jackson, who I’m ashamed I’ve never heard of before yesterday, has written over 100 books!!! (Y’all know she has been blessed by God, all gifts do come from Him…)

Stephanie Perry Moore and one of her adorable young fans…

The conversation at dinner encouraged me to continue in my divine appointment of being a wife (maybe mother someday…I know I’m 41 and the countdown has started…Mind yo business 🙂 ) and an author with dreams so big only God can accomplish them through me…

As I and some of the author Delta Authors on Tour made our way back to our cars, little did we know that we had another divine appointment…We met a dynamic downtown College Park business owner that regaled us with story after story after story of her “mustard seed” faith and how she encourages people to not only dream but to WAKE UP!

Don’t we look hungry? LOL…Me & Angela Ray…

And I’m only giving you the “public personal” version of the divine appointments that I experienced yesterday because I’m still pondering everything and this is the Internet…lol…

So this morning, I’m awake and ready to continue to writing this novel that I hope to have “spit shined” and ready for perusal next month…Y’all keep me in prayer…

Won’t He Do It! Guess What? He Already Did!

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, September 10, 2014

#WhyIStayed…Don’t Judge Domestic Violence Survivors…

Hello World,

As we all know, domestic violence, unfortunately, is not a new issue and has often sparked national conversation…Remember the Farah Fawcett movie “The Burning Bed?”…But with the Monday TMZ release of the video in which former Ravens running back Ray Rice punched his wife Janay (then fiancee), knocking her unconscious and to the floor of an elevator, domestic violence is once again the topic of a national conversation…as it should be…

For women like myself who, fortunately, have no experience with domestic abuse, it is hard to understand why women will marry an abusive man as Janay did AFTER the incident in the elevator and stay with an abusive husband…However, unlike in 1984, when that groundbreaking movie “The Burning Bed” was released, new platforms such as Twitter and Instagram give the opportunity for women across the nation and the world to speak about their experiences with domestic violence…

Janay spoke out yesterday about she is choosing to stay with Ray Rice on Instagram…

And many women, in an effort to help people understand rather than judge, tweeted about whey they stayed using the hashtag #WhyIStayed….

Below are a few of the tweets that I read with this important hash tag…

#whyistayed He said he’d kill himself if we broke up.

— Carol Howard Merritt (@CarolHoward) September 10, 2014

#whyistayed I didn’t want to have a failed marriage at 25 #whyileft I didn’t want my daughter to think this was ok and normal

— Hoops (@Hoops2122) September 10, 2014

Beverly Gooden, author of “Confessions of a Church Girl” and creator of the hashtag #WhyIStayed, spoke about why she stayed in an abusive marriage on ABC’s “Good Morning America” this morning…

And below is a video of the interview…

Watch more news videos | Latest world news

So as we continue to have this important conversation, let’s support rather judge domestic violence survivors…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Season 2 of the “Preachers of L.A.” Starts Tonight!

Hello World!

It’s time to peek into the lives of our favorite “reality” preachers again tonight! Season 2 of the “Preachers of L.A.” airs tonight on Oxygen at `10 p.m./9 p.m. CST…Below is a trailer for the new season…

Below is an interview with Bishop Noel Jones about what unfolds in this new season…

Last season on Preachers of L.A., Bishop Noel Jones was featured largely in the context of his relationship with Loretta. (Yes, they’re still friends, and they’re still a source of controversy on Season 2!) But, this season you’ll get to know the bishop on a different level: the professional one. We spoke to the Bishop about his international ministry, his modernized view, and his inability to slow down! Watch more of the Bishop’s story on Season 2, premiering August 20 at 10/9c!

Last season you were worried about your health. Have you slowed down?

No I haven’t slowed down. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. You gotta do what you gotta do. When time comes to put the brakes on, I will. Just have some back pains. I did an epidural and I think it’s working somewhat. They say it’s progress. We’ll see what happens!

What was the outcome of Season 1 for you?

It has been very positive. What I was trying to postulate certainly came across: no man is perfect. The show gave people access by screen to an environment that 95% of the viewers never had. People began to see me in a more congenial, personal light. TV has a way of making people feel like they know you.

Is it uncomfortable letting people into your personal life?

It’s not uncomfortable. My problem has always been to try to create more distance from the public!

To read the rest of the interview, go to oxygen.com.

In other preacher news, metro Atlanta Pastor Dr. E. Dewey Smith, Jr., of House of Hope in Decatur, Ga., raised a man from the dead last Sunday…He was a visitor and was declared dead after his heart stop beating in church…To read the entire story, go to joy105.com!

Any thoughts?