Many don’t know but the thriving reason behind this is to build a network of young people who want to get to know God and dialogue about spirituality without judgment. A good friend of mine started sending me daily gospel songs that would compliment the daily spiritual message in Pardon me. Her unyielding effort to provide me with inspirational songs has inspired me to share those same songs with everyone who comes into contact with this site. Today’s first installation is Heaven by Mary Mary. I hope you enjoy!

Am I getting Punk’d:

Did she say a real nigga need a real bitch?

It smells like water…. WTF….. I’m sorry ladies I must post Letter to a Young black Female AGAIN. CLEARLY SOME OF YOU OLDER WOMEN CAN READ IT AS WELL!

Letter to a young black female

What’s up young lady. You may not know who I am but I know who you
are. You see, I see your potential, I envision you accomplishing all
of your dreams and goals. Anything that you set your mind to can and
will be yours if you just Believe!

Believe in what you may ask? Yourself! Believe that you are the
intellect which has governed civilizations for century upon century.
Believe that you are the standard of beauty and not whatever images
the media shells out at you. Believe that there is no task too big
or too small that you can not reach for and achieve.

Realize young lady that women have always been at the helm of
everything great. James Brown said it best, “this is a man’s world but
it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl”. You have so many big
sisters to look up to, so many sources of inspiration that have
provided the framework of the strong work ethic known as womanhood.

Notice I call you young lady for these terms that I hear you referred
to are not your names. You are a Queen who must demand respect, your
mere presence should command respect. You must first respect yourself
however, and respect your fellow sisters as well. Together you young
ladies make up the future table of leadership.

God made you to be special, he made you to stand apart from the crowd.
So fear not if you feel isolated or alone, look back to your big
sisters who have changed the landscape of history, they once felt
alone too. I write you this letter to show my admiration for you, to
pay homage to the beautiful gift that the creator is bestowing upon
us. Follow your dreams and believe in your path young lady, for the
very thought of you reaching a tenth of your potential is an
inspiration to us all!

Truly yours,
Cedric D. Shine (your #1 fan)

Ok, is this stupid children Friday! I know, I know you should never call a child stupid but the nonsense in the news today is utterly ridiculous and disheartening.

A group of teens at Gloucester high School in Gloucester Massachussetts made a pact to get pregnant. Over 17 young women, most under the age of 16 have gotten pregnant during this school year. The numbers were so startling that the school officials decided to investigate what was going on.

What they found was that these young girls were getting pregnant on purpose. There is so much wrong with this situation that it is not even funny. 1. We have children playing with the lives and futures of these babies that they are about to bring into the world. 2. STD’s are spread through unprotected sex, it is logical to assume that if all these girls are getting pregnant that they are having unprotected sex with these men.

The article states that one man is 24 years old and homeless and he is the father of one of these young girl’s babies. These young girls are searching for love in all the wrong places. It’s sad that they went to such lengths to gain attention. I am truly worried for the young women of the coming generation. In a world where youtube booty shaking and naked photos of young girls pop up everywhere on the internet I am concerned for their well being. I am concerned for the future mothers of our children. Ofcourse it would be preposterous to assume that all young girls are acting this way. But any time you see 17 young girls at one high school making pacts to get pregnant that should let you know that this is a growing problem.

It would be a waste if I just ranted about these problems and said nothing in the way of solutions for such a  problem. We need young women to mentor these young girls. We need young men to mentor our young sisters and present them with more respectful and favorable images of themselves. We need to enstill respect in these young ladies. Not only respect for themselves but respect for their peers and most importantly their own bodies. I pray for these 17 young children coming into this world, and I pray for these girls because the road to parenthood is not be easy by any stretch of the imagination. Now that we have watched these young ladies make these mistakes it is up to their parents, communities, churches and us to help support young women in such a situation and to prevent other young ladies from making similar mistakes. Peace and Love!

Letter to a young black female

What’s up young lady. You may not know who I am but I know who you
are. You see, I see your potential, I envision you accomplishing all
of your dreams and goals. Anything that you set your mind to can and
will be yours if you just Believe!

Believe in what you may ask? Yourself! Believe that you are the
intellect which has governed civilizations for century upon century.
Believe that you are the standard of beauty and not whatever images
the media shells out at you. Believe that there is no task too big
or too small that you can not reach for and achieve.

Realize young lady that women have always been at the helm of
everything great. James Brown said it best, “this is a man’s world but
it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl”. You have so many big
sisters to look up to, so many sources of inspiration that have
provided the framework of the strong work ethic known as womanhood.

Notice I call you young lady for these terms that I hear you referred
to are not your names. You are a Queen who must demand respect, your
mere presence should command respect. You must first respect yourself
however, and respect your fellow sisters as well. Together you young
ladies make up the future table of leadership.

God made you to be special, he made you to stand apart from the crowd.
So fear not if you feel isolated or alone, look back to your big
sisters who have changed the landscape of history, they once felt
alone too. I write you this letter to show my admiration for you, to
pay homage to the beautiful gift that the creator is bestowing upon
us. Follow your dreams and believe in your path young lady, for the
very thought of you reaching a tenth of your potential is an
inspiration to us all!

Truly yours,
Cedric D. Shine (your #1 fan)

Here is the article

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1016357,pregpact062008.article

Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, Psalms 34:11-12

This is officially the latest Pardon me message in the history of messages. I had the longest day ever and I was constantly on the go so I had no time to write. Around 4pm I was like this is ridiculous, am I ever going to get a chance to write today I thought to myself. Then I thought about where I was going and I realized that something that would happen later on in the day would inspire this message. And what more than our children and their beautiful, innocent faces teach us about inspiration and the hope of great things to come.

I will be teaching these 32 students for the next 5 weeks and if tonight was any indication of what my summer will look like then I can expect an engaging life changing experience. I immediately thought of finding a scripture that deals with our children for they represent our futures. And hopefully the wisdom we have gained over the years can help guide them on the right path and away from some of the mistakes we have made. There were a variety of students there from various backgrounds but as I reflect; no matter who each of us pray to, God brought us together. He brought me to teach them something, and from their youthfulness he wants me to gain something from them. I am more than willing and more than ready; hopefully we all as God’s children will learn the lesson from above and see many good days. Peace and Grace be unto you!

No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t and life can’t. The angels can’t and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow and the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 38-39

I was just thumbing through the pages this morning hoping to find some inspiration. Just some words that might correlate with what I was feeling and I am thankful because God did not fail, me in fact he blessed me with these words that helped make sense of my thoughts earlier this morning. Here in Romans the word is speaking about God’s unfailing love for each and every one of us. That’s something marvelous to think about, we experience love from human beings and are overjoyed. How great does it make you feel to know that the Creator of all things, a being that is ever present and all knowing has your back. The script writer, the world’s greatest author, the top notch director is casting the scenes of your movie called life.

And nothing can separate you from this role, nothing can separate you from this director; and he has the role that is best fit for you.  But its a movie yall, which means their is going to be some ups, some downs and depending on the acting some bad and some good reviews. The director has the plan, he knows how this plays out so allow him to guide you. I love that the word speaks of our fears,  and our demons because these two things can constantly keep us from truly connecting with our purpose. But I look back to the scripture and I see the words “I am convinced”, like I believe with all my heart that nothing can separate me from God’s love. And if God loves me this much I know that no matter what valley he makes me cross, what horrible situations that may occur in my life, through my faith I will not only survive but I will flourish because of the trials he set before me. I can’t front like I am always convinced, sometimes we all have doubts. We want what we want or what we think is best for us. However, I am looking forward to being able to speak with such conviction. Peace and Grace be unto you!

The miserly man is like a fattened ox: he will give of his fat only when he has been deprived of his life.

Just don’t give up on trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong. - Ella Fitzgerald

I love to big up people doing big things in our local communities and spreading knowledge to our people. Common is always pushing the envelope of awareness and integrating our communities with a sense of pride. If you are not familiar, I suggest you get familiar with his non profit Common Ground Foundation. There are several programs that this organization uses to empower our youth, I want to thank Common and the other artists who recognize that we need organizations like this to build our communities together!

Mission Statement:
The Common Ground Foundation is dedicated to the empowerment and development of urban youth in the United States.

Vision Statement:
The Common Ground Foundation was created by Hip Hop artist, actor and children’s author Lonnie Rashid Lynn, known as “Common”. Common’s social-conscience message serves as inspiration for equality, opportunity and hope among youth in underserved communities. The Foundation is committed to empowering youth in urban neighborhoods and providing life skills needed to achieve their dreams.

Click here to donate
http://www.commongroundfoundation.org/donate.html

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6EsuXCpp6Q&hl=en]

This is a very touching picture; it’s symbolic to me for so many reasons. I feel like I was that same little boy when Barack gave his speech at the Democrat National Convention and the headlines read “A Star is Born”.

I was that same young man when Barack won Iowa; a majority caucasian state. It showed me progress; it did not show me that we are there, but it said that we are rising.

Win, Lose, or Draw Barack Obama stands as a monument to young men and women of all cultures and creeds. He holds a special place in the hearts of young black men who have been assassinated in our society via the media, institutionalized racism coupled with our own mistakes. As I sit here writing this blog; I am still inspired, inspired by this image of a young black boy looking into the eyes of a transcendent leader and deep in his heart feeling YES WE CAN!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fZHou18Cdk&hl=en]

YES WE CAN! SI SE PUEDE!