When this juicy story arrived in my e-mail inbox on Friday courtesy of my girl U, I knew I had to write about it…this story is one for the history books…It should definitely be a chapter, if not section, in the Playa Playa manual….Okay, enough of the intro…

Oracle president Charles Phillips must have had a near coronary when he discovered that his former mistress of nearly nine years literally put their love display by posting a picture of the couple on billboards in San Francisco, where Oracle is based; Atlanta and New York’s Time Square. Apparently YaVaughnie (that name is something huh?) was inspired to do so after discovering that Charles was going back to his wife. But she did not stop there. She created a Web site, that has now been taken down, that included a montage of pictures of the couple complete with a soundtrack of karaoke tunes recorded by the former lovers.

I guess what trips me out about this story beyond the obvious is that Phillips is a black man and the president of Oracle…I mean I know that our president is black…but something about this makes me wonder what our forefathers like Frederick Douglass or Harriet Tubman would say…I’m like you defied the odds against you as a black man and rose the top of a major corporation and managed to be taken down by a woman…But I guess folks died so that we could be free – free to vote and free to cheat if we so desire…

And beyond that, I wonder how does one go about being the mistress to the president of a major corporation…They must have obviously run in the same circles…but what circle exactly did YaVaughnie come from…According to stories I’ve read, YaVaughnie is an actress and a writer…but I cannot find a single acting credit or anything she has written…hmmm…something to ponder…

And beyond that, I wonder how many women are approached by married men…As far as I know, two married men have approached me, but of course, I shut them down…But back to YaVaughnie, I understand her pain to a certain degree but how did she wake up day after day for more than eight years knowing that she was cheating with somebody’s husband, the father of a child…

If had to write a chapter in the Playa Playa Manual about YaVaughnie (I love her name), I would entitle it “It’s a Thin Line…” (Y’all fill in the rest…) I would say, “Playas, when thinking of taking a mistress, one must consider the temperament of the ‘lady’ in question. The same woman who is wild and free will remain wild and free when you decide her services are no longer needed. Please consult the section on Steve McNair.  You must also consider the station in life of the ‘lady’ in question. If she has nothing to lose, chances are you will be losing a great deal should you decide her services are no longer needed. Please consult the section on Tiger Woods.” I could go on and on…

I think there should be a yearly edition of the Playa Playa Manual, and the most infamous cheater of the year should be pictured on the cover. Although 2010 has just begun, I think John Edwards should be on the cover for the 2010 edition. (I’m just having fun now…I’m sorry for those who are offended…) You cheat on your cancer-stricken wife and father a child with the mistress…Really, there are no words…I think former President Bill Clinton should be a consultant for the manual…

But seriously though, it’s all sooo sad….since this is a religious blog, lemme go head and add some applicable scripture to this commentary…

But a man who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself. Proverbs 6:32

Any thoughts?

The post Broads and Billboards aka Oh YaVaughnie… appeared first on After the Altar Call.

With all of the focus on the word “negro” this year from the 2010 Census to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid’s description of President Obama as a “‘light-skinned’ African American with ‘no Negro dialect’ unless he wanted to have one,” I have started thinking about how black people refer to themselves. And how you choose to refer to yourself in spite of or because of how others refer to you.

Tiger Woods has famously referred to himself as “Cablinasian.” I wonder if he is now retreating in Cablinasia while all of this media fervor continues….We have had so many names in country… in no particular order, negroid, colored, Afro American and now African American…Radio host Glenn Beck has a problem with the term African American…Since my heritage is Jamaican and I was born in Kansas, I sometimes call myself a Jamerican…Since I’m a single black woman, some may think of me as doomed — let ABC ‘s “Nightline” tell it…

Above my race, heritage, and marital status, I refer to myself as a Christian…And as a Christian, I like to reflect on how Jesus, rather than the world, sees me…

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37

I am black but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tents of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon. Song of Solomon 1:5 (If I were the writer of this verse, I would say black and lovely…) Song of Solomon 1:5

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

As I have said before, I am no theologian. So if you know of some more verses, please comment and let me know what they are…

Any thoughts?

P.S. I love dreadlocks…to me, there is nothing to be dreaded about them….

Me...aside from the obligatory pimple or pimples I seem to always sport these days, I love this pic of me...fearfully and wonderfully made, yes indeed!

The post I’m a Negro, He’s a Negro, Wouldn’t You Like to be a Negro too? appeared first on After the Altar Call.

Hello World!!!

Guess what I spent most of yesterday doing? …Although I rarely sit down to watch a football game, I watched pretty much the entire SEC Championship game between the Florida Gators and the Crimson Tide — of course the wings, the libations and the raucous Roll, Tide, Roll fans helped…Yes, I was at a game party…

As I watched the game, those around me graciously told me about some of the players and explained some of the history between the two teams as I confessed my ignorance. One player caught my attention, Tim Tebow, the quarterback for the Florida Gators….As he was running up and down the field in the Georgia Dome, I finally figured out that he had a scriptural reference painted on the eye black on his face….John 16:33 actually…and since I am fascinated by religion and such…I kept wondering about the content of the verse…

And I wasn’t the only one. As the game unfolded and it was clear the Tide was going to wash over the Gators, people around me started saying variations of, “What’s up with that Bible verse on Tebow’s face?” So someone finally looked up the scripture on a Blackberry or some other smartphone…

John 16:33 (New International Version)

 ³³“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Of course, once someone read the verse, we tried to figure out what the verse meant as Tebow was beginning to tear up, anticipating his team’s loss…Some said it obviously meant that Tebow was going to be “aight”  though his team lost…That could be true…After a quick Google search, I have discovered that Tebow frequently has scriptural references painted on his eye black and is a unabashed Christian…..so why did God allow his team to lose then?  And when a sports reporter interviewed Mark Ingram from Alabama, he said the first thing he wanted to do was thank God for Alabama’s victory…One Alabama fan in the room gleefully noted that Tebow “doesn’t have the monopoly on God.”

So what’s up with all that? Most games, football or otherwise, can be compared to life…and with that metaphor in

Mark Ingram

mind, ponder these questions…

Why does God allow us to lose big sometimes when we are obviously believers in Him and His word? If two Christians are on opposing sides, how does God decide who will be the victor?  Does being a Scripture quoter mean that you know God more? 

Still on the same topic – the SEC Championship game …Besides the scripture discussion, folks were also discussing Tebow’s crying after the game. Many of the dudes at the party criticized Tebow for crying and also criticized one of his fellow players who tried to comfort him as he cried. They said Tebow needed to “Man Up!” and hit their chests for emphasis…hilarious…

So here is my second round of questions? Is it ever appropriate for a man to cry in public? If so, why? If not, why?

And here is my final round of questions…of course, we got on the discussion of Tiger Woods…y’all know the story…and if you don’t, a quick Google search will get you up to date. Most men at the party agreed that 90 percent of all men cheat at some point in their lives whether they are in a relationship with a woman as a single man or married…it that true? Why or why not?

Any thoughts?

The post Whose side is God on anyway?! A post about Tebow and Tiger… appeared first on After the Altar Call.