Is it Love?

I have come to realize over the years how important prayer is in the life of a believer. The sermons on prayer that tell us we only use prayer when things are going wrong are not entirely true. For those who know how to pray, prayer is a daily sometimes multi-daily thing. What is in my heart is prayer for our young adults who think they are in love. By the way, at what age do we consider a person an adult? When they can make decisions? When they find a job or continue school, or move out on their own? For some maturity comes quickly. I remember leaving my parents home at age 18 and never looked back,that is to move back home. No matter what the situation, I was determined to make it on my own. But in doing that I had some bumps and bruises along the way. Does a person’s age necessarily constitute adulthood? At 18 I was much more mature than my 26 year old counterpart. (Typically girls mature faster.) Now I’m dealing with something and praying that these people will hurry up and grow up. The ying and yang of young love is wearing on me and I’m so tempted to put an end to the Romeo and Juliet syndrome. But who am I to interfere?

Time for A Second Act

Amidst the sad faces, the tears and the long dialogue the unspoken questions hung on the tips of everyone’s tongue. The beginning of the end was here. In an agonizing decision to step down from the pastorate and let another lead, my husband the great teacher, trainer, and educator was himself tearful as he explained to the church the proper protocol for his retiring from ministry. The discussion had already taken place with his family and the jurisdictional bishop. The thoughts and concerns of the members were taken into account. After all had been said and concerns were aired,one wise saint asks “What is it that you want to do? What is the Lord telling you about us, the church?" As the pastor bravely stood there trying to explain, the Lord allowed me to prophetically see some things. It would be alright. Dismantling a ministry was not what he wanted and he adjured the saints to stay to make the transition easier. What had happened, what went wrong, why was he having to step away from something he loved, the people the teaching? It’s not easy to say goodbye to loved ones, but in order for the next phase to take place saying goodbye to a pastorate was quite necessary. Two thoughts developed throughout the discussions. One) My husband had so often bragged on the saints; his members, about how strong they were in the word and just anybody would not be able to come and minister to them. They had to really bring it… Two) He knew that the members would not be there forever. Some of the members had come for edification, for training and would move on to the office in which the Lord would allow them to flourish. That had happened on several occasions throughout his pastorate. The revolving door swung wide. A number of reasons surfaced involving who would use that revolving door. But how do you tell your beloved you do not want to burden them, that there is a remedy. In all of the talk I myself wondered if the saints were seeing the bigger picture. We had been trained well and somewhere in the world the students were waiting for the teachers to show up. And now with his decision to retire as pastor my husband would be freeing the well trained members to go into any arena and exercise their gifts. So now the tears that I had only seen on one other occasion would fall, but in relief that he had done what the Lord had told him to do. And now it was time for his second act because God was not through with him yet. It’s so hard to say goodbye.

Tardy for the Party

If you're following the "Tardy for the Party" saga on the Real Housewives of Atlanta you'll know that there has been a real issue with Kandi collecting producer points on the song. Royalties were paid to her as a 1/3 publishing partner but seems there was no agreement for payment for producer credits. If you've ever attended one of my music business seminars you would have heard me speak on the issue of royalties; who gets credit for what. More importantly who gets paid! Kandi was relying on Kim to do the right thing because of their friendship. Because they didn't sign an agreement Kim choose to take all that she felt she was entitled. As the producer, arranger, singer and publisher Kandi's expectations were quite ambitious. I've discussed this too. If you find someone who allows you to be all of that you stand to make a pretty good piece of change. As for Kandi's relationship with Kim, she's not going to burn those bridges. She's no dummy. Even though Kim can't sing worth a lick - she has showmanship and tenacity. Don't cry for Kandi RHA fans, she'll make a pretty good sum on the next Kim snaffu. And the next time she'll get it in writing.