Category Archives: Relationships

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7 Reasons Why Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding Was the Best Royal Wedding Ever!!!

Hello World,

My husband couldn’t understand why yesterday I was nearly as excited as I was the day I got married almost five years ago (Yes, chile, we are almost at our first five-year anniversary!) A Royal Wedding is the like the Super Bowl, the NBA championship and the World Series (am I getting that right? so not a sports aficionado although I pretend to be sometimes) for romantics the world over! What’s better than an everyday wedding with a bride who feels like a princess and a groom who feels like a prince? A wedding with actual royalty!!! Bring on the Kings (with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. being my favorite earthly King…more on that later…) Queens, Princes & Princesses. Yes, I know as a Christian, I am a child of the King, but until Jesus returns, earthly monarchies will have to do 🙂 And I will not be made to apologize for my fan girl behavior…so take all of the shade elsewhere…And please indulge me as I make the case why Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s Royal Wedding was the Best Royal Wedding Ever!!!

As a little girl, who just completed first grade, I woke up early with my parents and watched the wedding of Prince Charles & Diana on July 29, 1981. I actually do remember some of the details including her blue sapphire engagement ring. As the great lyricist Lil Wayne says, “bling bling.” (I had become familiar with that concept after my father read “Cinderella” to me.) Similarly, I watched Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding on April 29, 2011. I remember before William was born so it was nice to watch him grow up and get married.

But babay, when I learned that a shonuff sista (yes, I know she identifies as biracial and I respect that.) was the love interest of Prince Harry (my favorite of Diana’s boys. Who doesn’t love a red-headed bad boy?) I knew special attention must be paid. And my dues were worth it when they announced they were engaged on  November 27, 2017!  And from then, it was off to the races, galloping until their glorious wedding day May 19, 2018. And it was everything I hoped for and more…So without further ado, let’s go…

Started at the bottom, now I’m here!

1. It was the “Cinderella” story come to life! Complete with the evil stepsister Samantha Markle (the sister who is writing the book “The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister”), Meghan Markle was supposedly not princess material. (I know she is officially the Duchess of Sussex but whatever.) Biracial. Divorced. American. Roman Catholic. Older than Harry. An Actress. A Commoner. All are attributes that were supposed to disqualify her from going to the royal ball like Cinderella, but Harry didn’t care about all of that. She was the one and he knew that pretty quickly from what I’ve read. Ladies, if you love romance novels, “Cinderella” was likely the first one you read and this story showcases the same themes explored in this timeless love story. What others think of you and maybe what you think of yourself to some degree does not disqualify you from the best of what this life has to offer if only would believe.

2. What would Cinderella be without her prince? The Royals are usually austere at least by appearances but Prince Harry was in his feelings yesterday and he let the world into his adoration for bride when he uttered these words when he first saw her, “You look amazing.” Insert sexy lip bite and shy look from Meghan. “I’m so lucky.” My heart just melted. Like the songstress Anita Baker says, “I was caught up in the rapture of love.”

3. The inclusiveness of the wedding. As a black person, I was so proud that black culture was infused into the festivities. I’m pretty sure this is the first royal wedding to include an address given by a black minister. The Most Reverend Michael Curry, the first African American to serve as bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church, delivered a word on yesterday. You hear me! Replete with references to slaves in the antebellum South to Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., you could not only hear his address, you could feel it. “There’s power in love!” Yeah, his message was a little lengthy, but that’s how the black church rolls. LOL. And did you see that woman? The Church of England’s Reverend Prebendary Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Queen Elizabeth’s chaplain no less? Who knew the Queen got down with blacks like that? And I love a female reverend! And she is Jamaican! Wah Gwaan! And “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King as sung by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir was magical in that moment! A gospel choir at the Royal Wedding?! And did y’all hear them sing”Amen” as the ceremony ended. Let the church say, “Amen.” I cannot forget 19-year-old Sheku Kanneh-Mason and his cello! A prodigy he is…And most of all, a black mama with locs and a nose ring!

4. How Harry Remembered His Mama. If you are in my age group and older, you remember the tragic death of Princess Diana and the heartbreaking funeral featuring two lonely looking boys. I cannot imagine the pain they felt having to face the world (and what a big world they have) without the protection of their mother as they grew up. He was a mere boy of 12 when his mother passed away. But from various accounts, he thinks of her all of the time. And that was evident in the Royal Wedding. Princess Diana’s sister Lady Jane Fellowes gave the reading and all of her siblings were there. Princess Diana’s favorite flower, forget-me-nots, were featured in the bridal bouquet, and Prince Harry reportedly hand-picked flowers from their private garden at Kensington Palace for the wedding. Also, “Guide Me, O Thy Great Redeemer,” a hymn sung at his mother’s funeral, was also sung during the ceremony. Meghan’s engagement ring also includes diamonds from her late mother-in-law. And Meghan is 36 years old, the age of his mother when she passed…Coincidence? Maybe, but maybe not…

5. The Celebs! I’m a pop culture Ph.D. so seeing some of my favorite celebrities in the mix made it all the more festive. New mama Serena, one of the sports wonders of the world, slayed with those gorgeous braids! The ever handsome George Clooney was giving me geriatric goosebumps. The newly married Idris Elba looked at home in his home country. (What the ’90s Gucci Purse was his girl (wife) wearing though? The sweater dress in spring of it all!) Our American Queen, Oprah, was flitting about, seemingly spreading fairy dust, like the fairy godmother that she is. (Cinderella y’all?) There were others that I spotted but these are the ones that I was watching.

6. One of the Mulroney Twins’ reaction when the doors opened to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in England. His face captured how we all felt when Megan Markle was about to become the Duchess of Sussex! His toothless mouth agape with wonder was adorable and appropriate for the grandeur of what was to come…

7. Meghan Markle’s Wedding Reception Dress. I loved the demure quality of her wedding dress. But the dress that she wore to the reception “suits” her best…Not to mention it actually resembles the style of my wedding dress….

And I hope Harry turnt up just like dis at his wedding reception…

 

And there you have it…there’s more I could say, but I’ve given you enough to relive the highlights the royal wedding…So did I prove my case? Do you agree? What are your top 7 reasons?

Any thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Three Mother’s Day Devotionals to Warm Your Heart…

Hello World!

Mom….as a young girl in Jamaica…She’s the one on the left…

I hope that you are celebrating your mother today as this is Mother’s Day! I know that today is a bittersweet day for many as they have wonderful memories of their mothers but their mothers have passed on or have living mothers but long to be mothers themselves and this day is a reminder that another year is passing by. And there are many other scenarios that can cause this day to be a bittersweet one…

A few years ago, I wrote some devotionals about mothers and their relationships with their daughters, which can be bittersweet, and submitted them to a devotional book. However, my entries were not accepted for publication. 🙁  Still, in honor of mothers everywhere, I am sharing them with you here. The first one is about my relationship with my mother. Also, I have posted a few pics of my mom over the years.

Devotional #1

A Mother’s Mercy

“I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Yet I still dare to hope, when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.”

Lamentations 3:20-22

“A prom for eighth graders,” my father sputtered. “That is inappropriate. No. You cannot go!”

Look at my hot mom – stylin’ & profilin’!

A preacher’s daughter, I realized I had more rules than my girlfriends, but I had hoped in this case my father would let me join in with the crowd. True to form, however, he said no to my request and wouldn’t budge. On the Friday before the prom that weekend, I was a broken spigot of quiet tears and didn’t know how I was going to bear hearing about the prom from my girlfriends on Monday.

My mother, also a preacher’s daughter, surprised me when she said, “I have made an appointment for you to get your hair done and cut tomorrow morning.”

She agreed with my father, but she heard and understood my pain.

At school on Monday, I didn’t get to regale my girlfriends with stories about the prom, but they did “ooh and aah” about my sharp, new haircut!

A mother’s mercy, like God’s mercy, can go a long way in times of distress.

Devotional #2

 Our Impossibilities are God’s Specialties

“Then the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, Can an old woman like me have a baby? Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.’”

Genesis 18:13-14

My Mom and Dad on their wedding day…

Just months before her thirty-second birthday and no husband on the horizon, Michelle reasoned she wouldn’t be like her mother who had her at 32 years old or her sisters who had their first children at 32 years old. After reading a newspaper article about a shelter, she decided to give to children by helping the shelter’s pregnant teenagers get their GED. Although the program was quickly phased out, Michelle volunteered with the shelter’s “Rock the Baby” program for babies born to drug addicted parents. She was transfixed when she met a dark brown baby dressed in pink named Nicole. The baby resembled her sister who died when she was a baby. Her name was Nicole too. She was surprised when an adoptive mother from the shelter said, “When are you taking Nicole home?” Nicole had become attached to her, but she hadn’t considered adopting her, Michelle replied. “Sometimes it’s not what you choose, it’s who chooses you,” the mother declared. Just months before her thirty-third birthday, Michelle adopted Nicole.

Miracles happen in God’s timing.

Devotional #3

Standing in the Gap

 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.”

Mom had da bomb Jheri curl back in the day…(Mom, me and my brother)

Matthew 18:5

Valerie was an unhappy child. Her mother, who suffered from manic depression, worked as a night barmaid, leaving her with her stepfather. Her stepfather used the time to sexually abuse her. After telling her mother about the abuse, her mother suggested that she move from their Brooklyn, New York home to her Christian aunt’s home in Atlanta, Georgia. Feeling relieved, Valerie, who was 11 years old, immediately moved in her with aunt and her family. From then on, Valerie called her aunt, “Mom.” Still, going from a home with few rules to a home with many rules was challenging. Punctuality and church attendance were not options. After high school graduation, Valerie left her aunt’s home and explored her freedom. Years later, however, Valerie credits her aunt with teaching her punctuality and inspiring her faith in God and prayer. “She filled in the gap for the entire family.” And when her aunt got sick, Valerie’s mother, a Christian by then, cared for her until her death.

God honors those who stand in the gap for children.

 

My Mom, Dad, brothers and me at my father’s retirement party in December…

Any thoughts?

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Software Developer & Author Vanessa Riley Writes Code By Day & Romance Novels By Night!

Hello World,

I’m always fascinated when I meet people who are truly multi-talented i.e.  someone whose fields of expertise are on the opposite end of the spectrum. For example, I know a medical doctor who is also a budding author. That is astounding to me because as a journalist/author, anything involving math and science is like a foreign language to me. Aside from my medical doctor/author friend, I would like to introduce you to another multi-talented author, Vanessa Riley!

Vanessa writes Regency and historical romances of dazzling multi-culture communities with powerful persons of color. She writes for historical romance readers who admire and acquire books that showcase women who find joy in sweeping kisses and strong sisterhoods. Even in the darkness, she promises to give you laughs, maybe a few cries, to show you how light always prevails and how love always, always wins.

Below is my interview with Vanessa:

1. You write novels about the Regency & Victorian time periods. For those people who don’t know about these time periods, please tell me about these time periods and what attracted you to writing about them?

Vanessa’s novel “The Bashful Bride, (see cover above)” No. 2 in the Advertisements for Love Series, will be released on May 28. Below is a description of the novel.
When a newspaper advertisement for a bridegroom nets London’s most famous actor, a shy, sheltered heiress risks all to be with him in a mad dash to elope, escaping her overbearing family’s plan for an arranged marriage. But does the actor with the voice of honey have far too many secrets to make a safe happy match?

A friend’s newspaper advertisement for a groom nets the most famous actor in London, Arthur Bex. Shy heiress Ester Croome proposes to elope with the handsome man, who she’s secretly loved for two years, in order to escape an impending engagement arranged by her overbearing family.

Trying to outlive the shadow of his infamous slave-trader uncle, Bex needs to marry quickly—to a woman of good character. And smart, beautiful Ester fits the bill. But a harrowing trip to Gretna Green and dangerous abolition rallies prove to be a more treacherous stage than either imagined. Infatuation and a mutual love for Shakespeare might not be enough to bind a couple looking to outrun the chains and secrets of family and the past.

For more information about Vanessa, please go to vanessariley.com. 

Any thoughts?