I was inspired to write this post while reading the book, The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson. What an amazing book! Just a few pages into this 1,000 plus page moving account of the "Great" migration of African Americans from the South to every part of this country, and something has hit me. There are so many lessons for black marriages from black history. In fact, my … [Read more...]
Should I Commit to Marrying a Woman With Six Children?
I usually do not share my business on social media because people are too judgmental, plus I grew up with the ole school saying, “What happens in my house stays in my house.” However, I am lost and need some guidance. That old saying is not helping me out so I decided to write you. I am going to get straight to the point. Should I Commit to Marrying A Woman With Six … [Read more...]
You’re All In, Is He? How to Have “the Talk”
Have you ever been with a man for a while (let's say 6 months) and he was clearly enjoying your company, but he never defined the relationship? You wanted to know-- "where is this going?"-- but you silenced your voice because you didn't want to pressure him. You're not sure how to have "the Talk," but the question remains, you're all in, is he? Or, maybe he told you in the … [Read more...]
Top 3 Things that 18 Years of Marriage Have Taught Me
Anniversaries are super special in my house. I would never have imagined being married to my husband for eighteen years. Real talk, my parents didn't even think my husband Don and I would remain married past the first six months. They expressed this to us more times than I can count. Why would my parents think this, let alone have the nerve to verbalize this to us? Well, the … [Read more...]
How to Stay Together When Your Family and Friends Want You to Divorce
For years, my husband Don and I had an extremely rocky marriage. During those tumultuous years, I confided in a lot of girlfriends. I told them everything he did and did not do. I was painting a picture of him that had them not speaking to him or wanting to be around him. When things were at their worst, I ran my mouth. Straight up. I even convinced myself that I was going … [Read more...]
A Dozen Great Ways to Keep Your Relationship Fresh
As I reflect on my relationship (which I have been in now for over 16 years, more than a 1/3 of my life), I am so grateful for the fact that it doesn’t feel that long. In fact, the longer we're in it, the better it gets. And as I take a step back to reflect, there are definitely some intentional things that we did that have kept us both happy, fulfilled, and feeling like the … [Read more...]
Seven Strategies that Saved My Marriage
I’m going to be totally honest with you: sometimes, I am annoyed when folks say they want a marriage like mine and Don’s. What they don’t know is that we experienced many ups and downs in our marriage. The 'downs' seemed to last forever. We’ve experienced the difficulties of blending a family, numerous periods of unemployment, a child going to jail, alcoholism and an emotional … [Read more...]
6 Tips to Help Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick
Every year, like clockwork, I ask myself four very important questions: What did I learn from the last year? What do I want to accomplish next year? How am I going to do it? And, how will I stick to it? In my opinion, it is the last question that is really the most important. Because if you don’t stick to your resolutions, none of the other questions and … [Read more...]
How God’s Sense of Humor Healed My Blended Family; Plus, 5 Tips for YOU
Many people ask, "how did you make your blended family work?" With so many couples turning to divorce in our society, I can see how this perplexes folks. My prayer is that these five tips will help you in this journey called LIFE. 1. Pray!!!! I am so serious about this. Bringing children and a spouse together is a totally different dynamic, which can make or break a new … [Read more...]
Rocking Out with LaShawn and April Daniels of the Tamar & Vince Show
I recently had the pleasure of chatting it up with the always real, down-to-earth LaShawn and April Daniels, co-stars of the Tamar & Vince show. When I was new to the blogging scene, they were one of the first celebrity couples I interviewed here on this website. I immediately became a superfan and loved what they stood for. I adored how they showed the world that there … [Read more...]
My Greatest Love Lesson for a Happy Marriage
There's no doubt about it: any relationship worth having will take a commitment and hard work from both parties. With marriage, I've never liked to use the term "hard work" because it has a negative connotation. My greatest love lesson comes in knowing that marriage is "love work". It's "commitment work". It's "joy work". You could even say, it's homework; but after a long day, … [Read more...]
3 Distinguishing Qualities of a Faithful Man and How to Spot a Cheater
Can a man be faithful when he has the option to lay in "greener pastures?" Really think about that for a moment. The statement above, if true, would seem to prove otherwise. All men have the option to cheat. Whether or not a man cheats has little do with availability. It has everything to do with the character of that man. To be, or not to be faithful are both individual … [Read more...]
4 Things to Know About ‘I Love You’ that Can Help Your Relationship Succeed
“Feelings are like sales prices. They are subject to change without notice.” -Derek Q. Sanders ‘I love you’ is among the sweetest words that our ears will ever hear, especially when the words are uttered from the lips of someone we care for deeply. Love is a behavior. Love is what we do. Love leads. Those three short words can touch and warm almost any heart in ways that … [Read more...]
Singles: 7 Things to Talk About Before You Commit….Not After
By: Jazz Keyes You meet this amazing individual and you swear its fate. It feels as if someone is sending electric shock through your entire body. The chemistry is magnetic and you are drawn to their energy. You haven’t been able to stop thinking about them since your first encounter and here you are, 3 months later, and the heat is still burning. Neither of you wants … [Read more...]
Women: The Naked Truth About Why He Won’t Commit…At Least Not to You
"Why won't he commit?" or "Why are men afraid of commitment?" There are any number of variations of the same question asked by disenfranchised women just looking for answers as to why the men that they love will not commit to them. There seem to be more excuses than there are reasons. Men have their reasons. Here, we look beyond the surface to find some answers. Man … [Read more...]