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    Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3 : The Third Day…

    Hello World,

    Long story short – what I thought about A.J. Delahaye isn’t exactly true, although he did reveal his truth in this episode…AND I still have questions…So let’s get into this exhaustive and entertaining Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3 : The Third Day… Trust. Any other recap just doesn’t compare…You don’t have to testify right now, but you will after you keep reading…

    Third Eye…

    This episode begins with Grace relaxing on the pier on the Greenleafs’ beautiful estate. Maybe relaxing is not the right word. She is contemplating. In a jeep, Darius drives up, gets out and says, “Black coffee as requested.” He tells her that he will soon be on a flight to Vegas to investigate Eden Vale Lending. Apparently, the company was involved with refinancing loans but other than that, there is no information readily available so Darius is following his leads where they lead him. He invites Grace to come along but A.J. still in the hospital, she cannot leave town. And she has no idea about his state of mind as he still hasn’t allowed her or anyone else (other than medical personnel of course) to see him. During their discussion, Darius also reveals that he was fired the night before. His editor asked him to kill the story on Harmony & Hope Ministries and focus on state politics. But when Darius brought up that Bob Whitmore was going into state politics and as a result, H&H should be investigated, he was fired. “Bob Whitmore killed the story,” Grace tells Darius. They share a kiss before he leaves.

     

    While Grace & Darius seem to be slowly finding their way back to each other, Jacob & Kerissa are on the road to Splitsville and fast. In their suite, she wakes him abruptly by opening the blinds so that the morning sun basks him in light. Kerissa says that because she will be meeting with Dante Saunders after school (remember Dante wanted to open a school I think…kind of like Lebron I guess), Jacob needs to pick up Winkie after his chess lesson. He agrees to do so but with a slight attitude. Kerissa throws out, “That’s why I want custody.” She thinks that his attitude means that he doesn’t want to spend time with his son. He responds with,”Just go and move out.” But Kerissa will not move until “me and my kids are properly taken care of,” she says.

    Bishop and Lady Mae are downstairs continuing with their plans to open a new church. One of their first tasks is coming up with a name. Bishop suggests Cornerstone Community Church, but Lady Mae tells him he should stop drinking brown liquor before bed because a church with that same name is down the street! LOL. I swear this family does seem to drink more than I’ve seen a preacher’s family partake. That’s for sure. Anywho, Lady Mae reminds him that they once took Zora there and they drank cider and explored the corn maze on the property. She says, “You got lost, but I got us out.” I cannot help but think she’s also referring to the trouble that Bishop has gotten the family into and how she is responsible for getting the family out of that trouble. Bishop’s forgetfulness worries Lady Mae and she presses him to get a physical. She reminds him of his previous health challenges. “You had a heart attack in the pulpit.” At Lady Mae’s direction, Karine, Bishop’s former assistant, makes a doctor’s appointment for Bishop.

    Charity shows up then and they continue to chide her for partnering with H&H. Lady Mae calls Judee a “wrinkled up, dried asparagus of a woman!” She also says it won’t be long until Charity will be “rocking cinnamon milk babies like a mammy.” Again, Lady Mae butchers with her words so I’m not surprised that Charity is not all that excited that Lady Mae slipped in a request for Charity to join them as an associate pastor no less at the new church. Lady Mae wants her to lead the music too. You cannot cuss me out while asking me to do something and expect me to comply. Sugar tastes better than vinegar. She tells her parents that she has a plan for staying at H&H, but Charity is not known for her sound judgment so…

    Speaking of lacking sound judgment, Zora was able to somehow delete all of Sophia’s topless photos from Snapchat. But instead of calming her cousin down, Sophia, in a rage, starts throwing Nicki’s clothing into the trash. As if on cue, Nicki busts into Zora’s cabin, sees Sophia and starts throwing blows. Sophia says that Nicki wears “nine pounds of makeup,” and Nicki retorts with a below-the-belt comeback. “At least I can have babies.” Zora had been trying to separate the two as if she wasn’t on either side, but now, thankfully, she sides with her cousin and throws the chick out. Once the door is closed, Zora says, “I swear I didn’t say anything” and advises her that her anger has gotten out of control…Well, how else would Nicki know such personal information?…unless she told Dante and Dante told Nicki…I hope that’s not the case but with my third eye vision, I’m wondering if that is the case…

    A Third Chance…

    Obviously, Noah and Grace were once a couple when they were teenagers. And when Grace first came back, the two had a second dalliance. And now that he’s back again and they are now parents of A.J., Noah and Grace have a third chance at a relationship. It’s clear that’s how Lady Mae sees it anyway. When he shows up at the estate, Lady Mae says, “Oh, how we have missed you!” She also tells him that he continues to get more and more handsome and that he looks like a movie star. She even tells him that once Zora has left for college, he can get his old cabin back. They have get back together at the very least for A.J.’s sake. She says, “One of you gave him away and the other one didn’t know he existed.” Noah is flattered by Lady Mae’s attention, telling her that he is staying with his mother. He also tells her that she wants to meet her grandson, and Lady Mae praises his mother for being “open to the unfolding of life.”

    Grace gets fed up with Lady Mae fawning over Noah and attempting to fuse them together as a family. She storms off and Bishop follows. “Don’t you walk away when I’m speaking to you,” he says. He understands Grace’s frustration, but he also understands Lady Mae’s efforts to join Noah and Grace together as a family. “You will be a family and you need to be to bring that boy on track.” He warns Grace that because he and Lady Mae weren’t on the same page regarding Faith, that the disunion may have been one of the factors that led to Faith’s demise.

    Back at Calvary, which is soon to be demolished, Phil DeMars tells Charity that he and Judee want her to deliver the welcome on the first Sunday at the new location (a gym while the new building is constructed). She tells Phil that the First Lady she should be doing the welcome as she wants to preach. “You will preach very soon,” Phil promises after prefacing his statement that he will have to “run it by Bob.” SMH. He then proceeds to tell Charity that Judee needs help with music until Carlton is replaced. Charity agrees but only for a selfish reason. “You start messing with our music, and we’re out.” Charity wants to have a church to actually preach too after all. Based on the chemistry between Charity and Phil, I believe they at least have a second chance at their relationship…How it will happen though…I don’t know…

    Speaking of second chances, Jacob shows up at Tasha Skanks’ apartment where she is wearing a little black number to get Jacob’s attention. She explains that she only wears black since Basie died, but she points out that, “I don’t have anything black and casual.” Chile please. He asks, “Does Tara know we’re coming? Does she really think that Bishop killed her Daddy?” Just before they go inside New Revelations Memphis Mission where Tara works I guess, Tasha tells Jacob that Basie died in a roadside hotel where his body was found in Laredo, Texas while Rochelle made it to Mexico. (Now in SOAP OPERA 101, you learn that if a character has not actually seen the body, the person may or may not be dead so do with that what you will.)

    The mission is located in a warehouse which includes chairs and that’s about it. Jacob loves the scaled down church. “This is a ministry I understand.” But Tara ain’t trying to get into small talk. “What do you want, pastor?” Jacob hems and haws a bit before finally asking, “Did my father kill your father?” Tara responds with, “That’s accurate.” She also also explains that while Basie, her half-brother, and Rochelle, her sister, took God’s vengeance into their own hands, she had a different approach. She patiently waited for the “day that a Greenleaf would be moved by God to make it right.” Jacob continues his interrogation and asks if her father knew Loretta Davis, the name on the will that Jacob found in Mac’s tackle box. Then Tara clams up. “I’m not comfortable answering any more questions. ” Once the two leave, Tara calls somebody and says, “I had a very interesting visit from Jacob Greenleaf.” Is Tara speaking with Rochelle?

    Meanwhile, at the Greenleaf estate, Karine agrees to handle the music at Bishop and Lady Mae’s new church particularly since the best of gospel music will not be expected at a bar.

    Plans continue to be made for the new H&H church as well and Judee pops up to harass Charity although it’s under the guise of attempting to work together. Judee repeats Phil’s request for Charity to deliver the welcome at the new location. She then shows her new-to-her engagement ring which was once worn by Phil’s mother. She asks Charity if she thinks it’s “stodgy.” Charity says she knows that Judee is trying to get her to quit and asks her if she’s heard of the story about the tortoise and the hare. In her scenario, however, Charity is Godzilla and intends to preach and teach her way past her and Phil. She then tells Judee that while her father may have some influence, her father, her Heavenly father that is, has more. “He always wins.” Say THAT, Charity…

    Judee was speechless after Charity’s speech but finally A.J. is ready to talk…but not to Grace…To Grace’s surprise, Sophia sails right into A.J.’s hospital room. “Finally a friendly face,” he says. Sophia starts to tear up, but A.J. warns her that he will kick her out if she starts crying. He tells her that he is leaving the next day. This makes the third time that he tries to find a way out. First was after his robbery. Then his attempted suicide. And now he is planning a third escape. What’s up with this kid?

    Third World…

    While Rochelle may have escaped to a third world country and Basie is dead, Jacob and Tasha now have an opportunity to do what they thought about doing before. As Jacob takes Tasha back to her place, she asks, “Do you want to come in?” Jacob explains that he has to pick up Winkie. Then Tasha says, “Did you really like me?” He tells her that he did and that once he and Kerissa are divorced, they can pick up where they left off. She tries to kiss him before she gets out of his vehicle, but Jacob stops her. “Let’s do it right this time.” Why did he have to do that? Tasha is in love for reals now. “You’re such a good man,” she practically sings. In actuality, I’m proud of Jacob. He has shown some character development throughout these five seasons…

    You know who’s not in love? Phil. At least with Judee. While Judee tries to tell him about her encounter with Charity earlier in the day and how she referred to herself as Godzilla and more, Phil appears to be disinterested. He interrupts, “Can we pray? I’m hungry.” Then, this woman launches into a loong prayer with her eyes closed while Phil rolls his eyes. I bet he wishes he could escape to a third world country with Charity.

     

    When Jacob makes it back to his suite, he overhears Kerissa discussing him with her attorney. He declares the deal is off and that he wants shared custody of Winkie. When Kerissa brings up that Bishop may be going to jail if he attempts to get shared custody, he doesn’t back down. “Either he belongs there or he doesn’t. Either way, I’m about to find out.” Good for you, Jacob. I’m sick of Kerissa and her threats.

    He finds Bishop on an elliptical machine, huffing and puffing. He says, “Did you call Darryl James the night he died and tell him to come to the church?” Bishop says that he didn’t call him. Jacob also tells his father that Loretta Davis left the Greenleaf estate to Darryl James.  “What’s going on here, Jacob?” Bishop asks. Bishop says that he has a will that refutes that claim.

    Meanwhile, Lady Mae seems to be softening up just a little bit when it comes to Charity. She goes to Charity’s suite where she finds her playing with her son. She tells her that she found an old hymnal in which Charity had written the words “Rev. Charity Greenleaf” when she was a little girl. (I submit that she is still a little girl…) “Maybe you were on the right track,” Lady Mae says to her daughter. “Maybe we’re all fools a little to think we can play a role in what God can do on His own.”

    Charity says she never really aspired to be a worship leader and that she wanted to be a preacher all along. I’m still like whatever. Until she can get somewhat of a handle on her personal life, I aine trying to listen to what she has to say in the pulpit. No one is perfect who is in or not in the pulpit. However, your life should be at least somewhat stable and reflective of the principles about which you preach. Anwho, Charity suggests that the new church be named Eternal Faith Fellowship. That reminds me of a funeral home in my opinion, but Lady Mae takes a liking to the moniker. And she tells Charity that she can be an associate pastor at the family’s new church.

    And now the moment that you’re likely waiting for…at least it was the moment I was waiting for the entire episode…Sophia finally persuades her brother to reveal his truth however devastating it may be. She knows that he wouldn’t be leaving unless there was something that he did not want to reveal. She explains to him that she, too, is dealing with a devastating loss. “I lost my ovaries for no reason. If you send me away one time, I’m through with you.”

    As she leaves his room and sees Grace, we don’t see what he told her. But we can see by her facial expression that his secret is pretty bad. But apparently, Sophia was also successful in getting him to reveal his secret to Grace. Once she walks into his room, A.J. says. “I’m going to tell you something and after I say it, I don’t want to talk to you about it.” He tells his mother that while he was in prison, he was raped and as a result, he is HIV positive…WOW…right…Well, that explains why he hit up the pharmacy…but who was that dude who wandered onto the Greenleaf estate and knew Grace’s name? Saints, something is still missing from this story…Do y’all agree? I guess that’s why we have to keep watching…Ready to testify yet?!

    Thank you sooo much for reading my Greenleaf Recap Season 5 Episode 3: The Third Day… 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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    Season 10 of BET’s ‘Sunday Best’ Premieres TONIGHT at 8/7C!

    Hello World,

    Returning to BET for season 10 is America’s most inspirational singing  competition, “Sunday Best,” on Sunday, July 5th at 8/7C. Season 10 welcomes back GRAMMY®-winning music legend Kirk Franklin as host; returning as judges are GRAMMY® winning songstress & host of “Get Up Mornings,” Erica Campbell, GRAMMY® nominated artist & star of BET’s “American Soul” Kelly Price and GRAMMY® nominated & multiple Stellar Award-winning artist Jonathan McReynolds.

    Kicking off in Sunday Best fashion, the series returned from Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, the first two episodes of season 10 begin with the contestants having to show their true talent, with no smoke and mirrors, by performing acapella with no band support, as the judges narrow the field from 20 to the top 10. The top 20 contestants are:

    1. Armyia Bryant – Vienna, GA
    2. Ashling Cole – El Sobrante, CA
    3. Niiella Coffie – London, England
    4. Edward “Busta” Fields – Philadelphia, PA
    5. Jada Spight – Buffalo, NY
    6. Jamal Roberts  – Meridian, MS
    7. John Houston Smith – Detroit, MI
    8. Kay Racquel – Baton Rouge, LA
    9. Lonnie Banks – Charlotte, NC
    10. MarQuis Harris – Emporia, VA
    11. Mikaela Brown – Austell, GA
    12. Nicole Gregory – Kansas City, MO
    13. O’Livya Walker – Millington, TN
    14. Roman Collins – Hawthorne, CA
    15. Stephanie Summers – Colorado Springs, CO
    16. Sterlin Hill – Greenwood, SC
    17. Takira Rogers – Robbins, IL
    18. Tonyce Hollis – Toledo, Ohio
    19. Tyree Miller – Philadelphia, PA
    20. Veronica Stephens – Groveland, FL

    Below is a preview of what you will see tonight!

    In light of the of COVID-19 pandemic and in an effort to keep the shows judges, contestants and crew safe – new and innovative technology, techniques and artist-generated content were used to complete production of episodes four through eight of season 10 – allowing the viewing audience to join in on weekly praise & worship during the time when America needs it most.

    Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment (BET Awards, The New Edition Story),  and Dionne Harmon (The Bobby Brown Story, Hip Hop Squares) serve as executive producers of season ten of Sunday Best along with executive producer and showrunner Jeannae Rouzan-Clay (Dear Mama, Black Girls Rock!), and Torrence Glenn (Celebration Of Gospel, Trumpet Awards) is co-executive producer.

    Season 10 auditions were previously held earlier this year in Atlanta, GA at The House of Hope. The season 10 winner will receive a recording contract with RCA Inspiration, a cash prize of $50,000 and the title “Sunday Best.”

    For updates and more information about “Sunday Best”, please visit BET.com/SundayBest. Join the conversation on social media by logging on to our social media platforms using the hashtag: #BETSundayBest.

    Any thoughts?

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    The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Magazine Articles for Black Christian Women in June 2020…

    Hello World,

    Wow, the first half of 2020 is over… What a year so far, huh?!…Again, despite ALL that is going on in the country, which I won’t go into right now, black Christian women continue to make an impact.  So I’m back with my monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine articles for black Christian women. Below is my Top 10 monthly roundup of blog posts and or magazine/newspaper articles for black Christian women for June, but you don’t have be a black Christian woman to to check them out. As usual, let me know if you like my list! Enjoy and share!

    1. “A Missouri Woman Asked Merriam-Webster to Update its Definition of Racism and Now Officials Will Make the Change” by David Williams

    Excerpt: Kennedy Mitchum wasn’t expecting much when she emailed Merriam-Webster last month, but she wanted to let the dictionary publisher know that she thought its definition of the word racism was inadequate. So she was surprised when an editor responded and even more surprised that the company agreed to update the entry. Mitchum has gotten into a lot conversations about racism and injustice where people have pointed to the dictionary to prove that they’re not racist. It’s happened a lot more lately as the world reacts to the death of George Floyd while in the custody of four Minneapolis police officers. See more at: cnn.com.

    2. “Kadir Nelson’s Inspiration for the July Cover of Rolling Stone” by Kimberly Aleah & Angie Martoccio” 

    Excerpt: He discusses the woman at the forefront of the illustration: “The people who were pushing for those changes were African American women,” he notes. “They are very much at the forefront in spearheading this change, so I thought it was very important for an African American woman to be at the very center of this painting, because they have very much been at the center of this movement.” See more at: rollingstone.com.

    3. “NASA to Name DC Headquarters After ‘Hidden Figure’ Mary W. Jackson” by Ivan Pereira

    Excerpt: Mary W. Jackson was once a “hidden figure” at NASA, but now her name will grace the agency’s office in the nation’s capital. NASA announced on Wednesday that its Washington, D.C., headquarters will be renamed in honor of Jackson, the agency’s first Black female engineer who spent decades juggling complex research with pushing for more diversity in scientific fields. See more at: abcnews.go.com.

    4. “The Hidden Figures of the Church” by Kathryn Freeman

    Excerpt: As evangelical organizations and white pastors speak out with new urgency to declare “black lives matter,” many have in mind the deaths of black men. The high-profile murders of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and George Floyd in Minneapolis have spurred a global outcry and shifted something within the church. But in this new iteration of evangelical reckoning with systemic racism and police brutality, there has not been the same attention toward black women—namely, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, who was killed in March by Louisville police who entered her home unannounced in the middle of the night looking for suspects who were already in custody. The officers responsible have not been charged and are still on the job. See more at: christianitytoday.com.

    5. “‘Aunt Jemima’ descendants upset her likeness is being ‘erased from history’” by Karu F. Daniels

    Excerpt: An unlikely food fight is afoot. The descendants of two women who portrayed the Aunt Jemima character on Quaker Oats food products are expressing concerns about the company’s recent awakening and proposed decision to scrap the controversial imaging, saying it could erase their family histories. Relatives of Lillian Richard and Anna Short Harrington, the two deceased women who were hired by the company to portray the character in the 1920s and 1930s, spoke out this week after PepsiCo’s Quaker Oats said the brand’s “origins are based on a racial stereotype.” See more at: nydailynews.com. 

    6. “Driving Parades and ‘Insecure’ Screenings: How 13 Black Women Are Celebrating Juneteenth This Year” by Shannon Barbour

    Excerpt: “I’ll be participating in #BLACKPUBLISHINGPOWER this Juneteenth, an initiative to change the face of historically racist best-seller lists by buying books from Black authors. I’m a book lover first, foremost, and always and believe that indulging in Black joy, Black magic, and Black stories honors myself and our humanity. This is especially important right now, when we’re forced to prove we deserve to exist and be free while being inundated with fallacious reasons why we don’t. Our joy is revolutionary. It is an honor. And we deserve to be seen.” —Ashley Mitchell, 30 See more at: cosmopolitan.com.

    7. “Joy Reid Set to Become Cable’s First Black Female Prime-Time Anchor” by Sara Nathan

    Excerpt: Joy Reid is about to make history as cable’s first black female prime-time anchor. Back in March, Page Six first reported that Reid was on a short list — along with Shep Smith and Steve Kornacki — to take over the slot occupied by Chris Matthews until his abrupt exit from MSNBC. Now we’re told that the deal is all but done for Reid to assume the 7 p.m. hour. Reid hosts “AM Joy” weekends on the network, but has filled in for its big prime-time stars like Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes. The spot opened up suddenly after Matthews — who’d been hosting “Hardball” on the network since 1999, and had been expected to retire soon anyway — quit after accusations of “inappropriate comments,” including flirting with a guest off camera. See more at: pagesix.com. 

    8. “Vegan Influencer Tabitha Brown Gets Own Show on Ellen’s Network” by Anna Starostinetskaya

    Excerpt: Vegan influencer and actress Tabitha Brown will be the star of her own show on the Ellen Digital Network (EDN), a digital media platform operated by Ellen Digital Ventures—a collaboration between television personality Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros’ Digital Networks. The new All Love web show—which is slated for release during EDN’s 2020 programming schedule—will feature Brown’s advice on cooking, parenting, social media, and self-care. See more at: vegnews.com.

    9. Rayshard Brooks’ Widow Gifted Car, Life Insurance, College Tuition for Kids

    Excerpt: Some of the good people of Atlanta are pitching in to help Rayshard Brooks‘ wife and kids … with some very generous and useful gifts. Rayshard’s widow, Tomika Miller, was surprised with a new car Friday, plus life insurance for their 3 children and full rides for them to attend Clark Atlanta University. Tomika’s new ride is a Ford Escape, and it’s already paid for … she got the keys at her lawyer L. Chris Stewart‘s law firm. A couple of Atlanta restaurant owners are picking up the tab on the car, life insurance and college tuition … Slutty Vegan owner Pinky Cole, and Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks owner Derrick Hayes. See more at: tmz.com

    10. “A Record Number of African American Women Graduated from West Point in 2020” by Michelle Ruiz

    Excerpt: The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is known for producing white male generals and future presidents—George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, to name a few. But among the 1,017 cadets who graduated from West Point on Saturday in a social distanced, no-audience ceremony with President Donald Trump as commencement speaker was a record number of African American women. According to the Diversity and Inclusion Studies program at the prestigious Army academy, 38 Black women graduated with the class of 2020, the most in the school’s 218-year history. See more at: vogue.com.

    If you know of any black Christian women bloggers and or writers, please e-mail me at jacqueline@afterthealtarcall.com as I’m always interested in expanding my community of black Christian women blog, magazines and websites. As I noted before, while this is a roundup of interesting blog posts and or magazine and newspaper articles for black Christian women, you don’t have to be one to appreciate these pieces  🙂.

    Any thoughts?