Sherri Shepherd Responds to Ex Lamar Saying He’s ‘Praying’ For Her, That She’s ‘Bitter’ & Should Go to Therapy!

Hello World,

So two posts ago I posted an excerpt from an article summarizing what Sherri Shepherd said about her ex-husband Lamar Sally in a recent interview on the The D.L. Hughley Show. Below is how Sherry explained why she married him when she said many of her friends and celebrity colleagues warned her not do so.

“I was in a place in New York by myself, lonely,” she said. “At the time I was in my 40s and scared. I was like, ‘I’m getting older, who’s going to want to be in a relationship?’ It was a lot of stuff done out of fear. I was also raised to in the church to believe you can’t have sex before you get married, so I was horny! The whole celibacy thing, this idea that it’s better to get married than to burn. So I got married too because I was horny, and look, we never had sex.”

Well, Lamar clapped back, penning a letter that he released to TMZ! He accused her of abandoning the son they agreed to have together via a surrogate. However, the son (who is biologically Lamar’s son but not Sherri’s as a donor egg was used) was born after the couple broke up. Still, according to People magazine and TMZ, Sherri pays $4,100 in child support to Lamar each month! Although she is keeping up with her payments, he claims she has abandoned the child, called her bitter and recommended that she go to therapy – despite all of this, he says he is “praying” for her! Additionally, he claims that she blackballed him in Hollywood and has not has any TV writing jobs as a result.

(Aside: Regarding his claim that she abandoned the child, Sherri told me herself via this blog that his claim wasn’t true. She said, “…I have a son w special needs that I talk about incessantly… do I seem like the type of woman who would ‘abandon’ a child? A woman who would shirk her duties where children are concerned – if you have followed me at all- you would know that isn’t the case at all…must be more to the story, yes? Well I stop there, because I can feel the Holy Spirit tip tapping me on my shoulder; and it’s also too quiet in the family room which means Jeffrey is doing something he ain’t suppose to be doing! God Bless.” She commented on a post “Sherri Shepherd Jokes About Giving Her Surrogate Baby to Raven Symone & More on ‘The View’” that I wrote in 2015.)

Now I can understand that what Sherri said hurt his pride, but her truth is her truth whether he likes it or not!  Furthermore, if someone was paying me thousands of dollars a month, I would suck it up and chalk it up to a contentious divorce. And of course, TMZ had a get a response from Sherri after Lamar’s clap back! She said she didn’t blackball him at all. In fact, she said she hopes he does get some writing gigs so that her child support payments can be reduced! I hear that!

You can check out Sherri’s full response to Lamar’s response HERE on TMZ.

In other Sherri Shepherd news, the comedic duo of Sherri Shepherd and Kym Whitley will serve as hostesses for for the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association Dinner. The dinner is being held today at 6:30 p.m. at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. With music by DJ D-Nice, the exclusive, invitation only gala is attended by media influencers, policymakers, executives, corporate and advocacy organization allies and Hollywood VIPs.

The event will honor the accomplishments of media industry legends and luminaries of color, including “The Fly Jock” Tom Joyner, NBC 4 news anchor Eun Yang, EMMY Award winning journalist Veronica Villafane, and digital media executive Parker Morse. Congresswoman Val Demings(D-FL.) will also be honored for her seminal work to increase media diversity, and there will be a special tribute to John Singleton including family members.

MMCA is a nonpartisan/nonprofit organization leading a call to action to increase media diversity. In just its fourth year, MMCA has become a trusted convener and facilitator of thought leadership, resource and information sharing and strategic engagement between multicultural media stakeholders, tech and media decision-makers, policymakers and private entities committed to increasing the percentage of diverse media stakeholders and content. www.mmcadc.org; @mmcadc on all platforms.

Any thoughts?

P.S. Know this…Just because someone says they’re “praying” for you doesn’t mean it’s a good thing…

3 Reasons Why I’m Glad Michelle Williams & Pastor Chad Johnson Are Reportedly ‘Working on Things!”

Hello World,

Last April, I was so excited when I heard the engagement story of Michelle Williams & Pastor Chad Johnson that I wrote “7 Reasons Why I Love That Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child is Engaged to Pastor Chad Johnson!” Below is an excerpt:

1. Michelle Williams had to wait on the Lord…We’ve all heard that God is an on-time God, and He is. But the caveat is He may not come when you want Him to come, but He’s always on time…I must confess that I hate that sometimes…God’s timing that is…But there are so many verses that address waiting on God’s timing that I have to conclude that waiting is a part of the Christian life…Below are three of these verses:

“Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

“The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” Lamentations 3:25

“Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

I bet it was hard to watch Beyoncé get married 10  years ago, Kelly get married 4 years ago while Michelle, who is making gospel  albums, was just waiting for God’s best to arrive! She had even gotten to the point where she was bitter about love. This is a quote from  her Instagram page: “I used to be so bitter and a hater when Valentine’s Day  would come around. I even found myself tweeting things like “Valentine’s Day is for suckers!” Welp….I’m a sucker! The Lord has been kind!” But her “someday my prince will come” story started last year and from what I’ve read, he is an admiral man of God, a pastor no less! But like I’ve learned”“Eye has not seen, nor  ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Read the rest HERE.

Since last April, unfortunately, a lot changed. The main thing from what I can tell is that the two of them decided to share their road to the altar via their OWN reality series “Chad Loves Michelle.” Lord, why did they do that?  I watched every episode and really enjoyed it but seeing all of the online dissection of every exchange they had and the day-to-day events of their lives was just toxic. I truly believe that no relationship, even the most stable relationship, can truly flourish if its being scrutinized and picked apart by people outside of the relationship. I mean, according to the Bible, even our very own parents, the ones who loved us first, are not supposed to be in a couple’s relationship because what goes on in a relationship is sacred and must be protected. #LeaveAndCleave That being said, below are my 3 reasons why I’m glad that Michelle Williams and Pastor Chad Johnson appear to be “working on things” according to Page Six although they broke up at the conclusion of their reality show.

They were spotted together at the Kentucky Derby over the weekend. Check out this Instagram post from The Jasmine Brand. They look really happy 🙂

 

View this post on Instagram

 

#MichelleWilliams enjoys the #KentuckyDerby festivities with #ChadJohnson #ChrisTucker #Amerie and more

A post shared by the Jasmine BRAND (@thejasminebrand_) on

1. Some relationships don’t start out smoothly. It was evident by watching “Chad Loves Michelle” that were issues to work out. Michelle has admitted she had some mental health concerns. They are an interracial couple so there were assumptions and belief systems that had to be worked through. Michelle seemed to be skittish regarding commitment. These are just the things that I observed not to mention the fact that Michelle is a major celebrity.  From my own experience, I know for a fact that some relationships are not easy from the onset. One person commented online that this part of their relationship was supposed to be the easiest part…According to whom? Prior to my relationship with my husband, I had never been in a relationship longer than 8 months! I realize now that I choose men who didn’t want to be committed to me and subconsciously, I didn’t want to be committed either. But when my husband came along, I knew he was special but commitment felt foreign to me. I started a lot of arguments with him as result. Thank God he was patient with me, but had this all played out on television, I’m sure folk would be telling him to run and fast…LOL…

2. How they came together looked like how God works. If you’ve been a Christian for a while, you start to recognize when something is just not good, it’s God. This is not something I can explain, well, maybe I can, but I don’t have time to this morning, but maybe on another day when I have time, I will. But the engagement story of Michelle Williams and Pastor Chad just seemed like it was divinely done. One fact that sticks out to me is the fact that Pastor Chad started saving for an engagement ring that he would present to his fiancée 11 years ago. This is what he told PEOPLE magazine: “On my 30th birthday, everybody came and celebrated me. The next day, I woke up alone. I was so lonely. I had a little pity party. My personal life was lacking so much, and I  was living so single,” recalls Johnson, who turns 41 in July. “So as a response to that moment, I opened up a ring account, and for 11 years, I put $150 into a ring account.” As the old saints say, I don’t believe He brought me this far to leave me. I don’t think God lead his servant (a pastor, mind you) to save for an engagement ring for 11 years only to have him present it to the wrong woman. When my hubby came into my life, I had declared myself done with dating. I had concluded that it must not be God’s will for me to get married because every relationship I had just disintegrated. And not longer after that declaration, God did what He does…

3. My hubby said Pastor Chad was a good dude. I know you must be rolling your eyes at this one, but hear (read) me out. Hubby and I have have very different TV viewing tastes. For example, he watches car shows, “Incredible Hulk” reruns and basketball.” I watch “Sex and the City” reruns, “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and Wendy Williams. Well, one Saturday night, he decided to watch an episode or two of “Chad Loves Michelle” with me. Every once in a while, my hubby will watch what I’m watching but will be criticizing things the whole time. He thinks the housewives are catty and that Wendy Williams is mean and nosy. But as he watched “Chad Loves Michelle,” he said that the pastor looks like a good dude. I turned and looked at him and said, “I know.” I told him that various people online were criticizing him and I couldn’t figure out why. He told me that he didn’t know about all of that but that Pastor Chad seemed like a genuine guy, the kind of guy you could introduce your sister to because he was nice. I.WAS.SHOCKED. My hubby isn’t perfect, but my hubby and my father are the kindest men that I know. If they say you are good people, I believe them.

So these are my three reasons. Have I proved my case? What do you think?

And thankfully, Michelle and Pastor Chad are taking a different approach now that they are “working on things.” Apparently, Michelle has noticed that people have noticed they are spending time together again. This is what she said on Twitter about it…

Yes, I know that Michelle and Pastor Chad opened their relationship to the public before, but now they’ve decided to close it. That’s why you can open AND shut a door. People are allowed to change their minds and praise God, I hope they continue to mind their business and not let outsiders in it…

Any thoughts?

 

Lamenting the Death of Christian Blogger & Author Rachel Held Evans…

Hello World,

One of my favorite funeral songs is “When We All Get to Heaven.” I know it’s weird to even have a favorite funeral song, but even in coming together to celebrate the life of a loved one, there is comfort in singing songs as a collective I’ve found. But as I thought about this song this morning, it occurred to me that that the key word in this title is “All” when I typically focus on the “Heaven” part. When we ALL get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be…

Till we ALL get to heaven, there is no day of rejoicing…This morning, I’m saddened by the news of the death of a wonderful Christian blogger and author Rachel Held Evans, who passed away yesterday at 37 years old after a brief illness…

If you would like to know more about her life, please read “Rachel Held Evans, Christian writer of honesty and humor, dies at age 37” by Emily McFarlan Miller.

If you like to read some of her writing, please read these three posts below:

1. This is from her last post “Lent for the Lamenting.”

Excerpt: There are recovery programs for people grieving the loss of a parent, sibling, or spouse. You can buy books on how to cope with the death of a beloved pet or work through the anguish of a miscarriage. We speak openly with one another about the bereavement that can accompany a layoff, a move, a diagnosis, or a dream deferred. But no one really teaches you how to grieve the loss of your faith, or the loss of your faith as it once was. You’re on your own for that.” – Searching for Sunday. Read the rest at: rachelheldevans.com.

2. As a romantic, I enjoyed this post “10 Marriage Reality Checks (from 10 Years of Marriage).”

Excerpt: This week Dan and I celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary!  Of the many good things in my life, I must say my happy marriage is probably the best. But like every couple, we’ve had to learn as we go. So here are a 10 myths and 10 reality checks we’ve encountered along the way:

 ***

Myth #1: The best way to prepare for marriage, and to thrive in it, is to learn the differences between men and women so you will know what men/women want.

Reality Check: The best way to prepare for marriage, and to thrive in it, is to learn about your partner so you know what your partner wants.

You don’t marry a gender; you marry a person. And yet the majority of Christian marriage books dole out advice based on gender stereotypes: “men need adventure,” “women need security,” “men like quiet time,” “women process verbally,” “men crave respect and control,” “women crave love and emotional intimacy,” “men are like microwaves,” “women are like ovens.”  But even before we got married, Dan and I realized that just as often as we fit these generalities, we don’t. Dan knows I’d prefer tickets to a football game over a nice piece of jewelry and that too much security and not enough adventure leaves me feeling bored. I know that Dan is better at nurturing friendships than I am and thrives creatively when he has the chance to collaborate with other people. Read the rest at: rachelheldevans.com. 

3. And this one is really brave – “Life After Evangelicalism.”

Excerpt: This is for everyone who stayed home from church yesterday—for every mom of a special needs kid, every survivor of sexual assault, every black or brown body in a predominantly white community, every son or daughter of an immigrant, every defender of the marginalized who just couldn’t bring yourself to stand and sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” alongside the people you feel sold you out this week, the Christians who supported Donald Trump. Read the rest at: rachelheldevans.com. 

May you be rejoicing in Heaven on high,  Rachel while those below lament your death…

Any thoughts?