First giving honor to God, all ministers present, & to the bereaved family of Mrs. Whitney Houston. Good morning to all of you.
We are here to celebrate the life of Mrs. Whitney Elizabeth Houston Brown. Whitney was a loving daughter to Gospel singer Cissy Houston, god daughter to Queen of soul Aretha Franklin, a loving wife to Bobby Brown, and a loving and compassionate mother to Bobbi Kristina. She was a very special daughter, niece, cousin, & friend to many. Whitney touched many with her life. Her music & modeling career put her in the spot light at a very young age. Whitney received many honors and awards throughout her career as an actress and songstress. She traveled all around the world and touched millions as was shown by her sold out concerts. Whitney Houston released her debut album at age 22 and scored three number one singles. In 1987 she delivered four more number ones and earned her first Grammy. With her marriage to singer Bobby Brown in 1992, Houston's career got off track. She made a comeback in 2009 with “I Look to You” on her latest album. Whitney’s life was filled with up’s and down’s. She had a reality show featuring her husband Bobby Brown in which we saw some of her trials and tribulations with being famous and living in the public eye. We often forget that although Whitney was famous, she had the same trials and tribulations that most of us have. With her passing, the music world has lost one of its most legendary stars. Her longtime supporter and mentor Clive Davis once said that Houston "is in the great tradition of great, great singers, whether it's Lena Horne or Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughn or Gladys Knight." We can learn from Whitney’s life by being more understanding in realizing that while the public displays life by its views, there are privacy lines that don’t need to be crossed…for these are real people dealing with real issues as we do. We can continue to honor Whitney by playing her music and remembering the...