Table 4 One

Ever since I was a little girl, religion, church, spirituality (or whatever it is you call it) has been a part of my life.  It has never been a choice for me; at 2 years old, I had the first ten books of the Bible memorized and had devotion every day at school. The ideals of marriage, honesty, loving-kindness and discipline were instilled in me daily.  My family wasn't super-religious, but we did go to church every Sunday.  This wasn't abnormal to me… It's what everyone did.  As a child, church was like a show to me; the choir would sing, the old lady in the corner (who sat in the same seat every Sunday) would fall asleep, then a few people would catch the Holy Ghost and run around the church.  I also loved to dress up and compare the ruffles on my dress to all of the other little girls' dresses.  I had no concept of what these symbols actually meant as a child, it had become the normalcy of what church was. Church, the Black family and the high regard ...

I am who I am and have been given all that I have not only because I am blessed but because of the influence of those who came before me.   Pastor Horace Smith says, “We are losing the future generations by raising them incorrectly and not holding them accountable for their actions and it is our responsibility to be the leading example for them to follow.” I will be the first to admit that I am not perfect; in fact, I’m quiet flawed… but who isn’t?   All of my “wrongs” will be “right” to someone, someday.   In my life, I have been blessed with two loving and successful parents who were able to provide a wonderful life for me, but on top of that I was allowed to be myself.   Free-spirited, imaginative and bursting with energy! I am without a doubt loud…but I have reason to be!   I am blessed beyond measure and living in the best times of my life, why wouldn’t I want to share that with the world? I love to have fun and my over-the-top personality is a...