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

Caution, the following video is extremely disturbing and will definitely make you extremely angry. I am not posting this video for kicks and giggles. Far too often do we sweep “taboos” under the rug in our society and people become victims of such crimes because of it. The news is depressing so we turn it off but maybe after watching this we will realize that not only do we need to turn it on. We need to be aware of the people in our communities; particularly sex offenders who have a habit of striking again. Having these types of dialogues may save a child’s life. Be safe and God Bless!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIU6ZpXVils&hl=en]

The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. “Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper” Genesis 4: 4-9

Pardon me, today I chose this verse because I am upset with the senseless killings in our neighborhoods. I thought what better way to illustrate such sin than the story of Cain and Abel. What causes such hatred, what makes people act the way they act! Jealousy and envy consume people and drive them to do heinous things. I’m not here to moralize on anyone but when young children are getting sliced in their face, murdered in cold blood we have to say something. It says it right there in the word thou shall not kill, yet often we show our children and family the energy that is behind such senseless nonsense. Jealousy! The Lord asks why are you angry, I ask too, why are we angry?

The Lord spoke to Cain, he told him when you think these evil thoughts, when you plot against another sin is crouching at your door. He said it desires you; that’s powerful we all want to be desired. When we lack attention and we start “hating”, we are showing our communities the same energy the Lord asked Cain to rectify. By no means am I calling us murderers, but I am speaking of the jealousy that is invoked when people see people living a life they wish they were living. The need to keep up with the Jones’, has caused us to lose sight and create a material world where our children don’t know the difference between right and wrong. The root of it all is our negative thinking minds, inspiring and injecting hate into the ones that watch us. Why not eject love, I know I’m guilty of being slick with my tongue. You know what words do, they conjure up a feeling, bad words conjure up bad feelings. If from day one we teach respect to our to sons, our mothers wouldn’t have to bury their sons. Maybe death is too deep for someone to understand well I see it in the church, I see it in the streets, man I even see it in the classroom. We are dying, if not physically, symbolically because we lack the love language that our Creator teaches us. God gives freedom, God gives knowledge, lets take that same knowledge and feed our youth, feed our people no matter what race or creed or gender! It may sound cliche but with a little bit of love this world would be a better place. Peace and Grace be unto you!

Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can.