Leave Tiger Woods Alone!

The news of the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday weekend concerning the world's number one golfer Tiger Woods caught me by surprise.  But scrolling through some of the speculation about his auto accident made me stop and think about our celebrity culture with over zealous reporters and people out there willing to just say anything to ride the headline!  

British tabloids are often the harshest critics and speculators!  As for me, my hope is that we will all leave Tiger Woods alone to work out whatever happened behind the scenes.  In a long past era, one of the great African American boxing champions, Jack Johnson was quoted as saying:

            "I know the bitterness of being accused and harassed by prosecutors.  I know the horror of

             being hunted and haunted.  I have dashed across continents and oceans as a fugitive, and have

             matched my wits with the police and secret agents seeking to deprive me of one of the greatest

             blessings man can have - liberty."

I'm not saying that Tiger's case is anywhere near as serious as some of the things that Jack Johnson went through in his tumultuous boxing career.

But give Tiger the chance to heal from his injuries in the accident and give him the freedom to work out whatever needs to be worked out......in peace!  Take a deep breath people!

The Sad Story of Shaniya Davis Should Shake Us to the Core

"Innocent until proven guilty" is an axiom we apply in our criminal justice system.  But the case of 5 year old Shaniya Davis is one of the saddest I've heard about in a long time.  I attended the National Council of Churches of Christ General Assembly held in Denver in 2008 and learned about the horrific problem of human trafficking in our world today.  Folks at the PolarisProject.org report that, "over 200,000 children in the United States are at high risk for human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation."

It is Shaniya's mom, Antoinette Davis, who stands accused of starting the chain of events that led to Shaniya's eventual death.

Human trafficking is one of the greatest tragedies of our world today.  It happens under the radar screen of the things that often hold our attention.  But for people of faith, good will and good conscience there is an organization that is working on this and they deserve and very much need our help.  Click on the PolarisProject.org and see how you can help stop human trafficking problems in the future.  It would be great if no other 5 year olds like Shaniya would ever have to die again. 

Want Spiritual Uplift? Try This!

So there I was sitting in front of the television one evening recently surfing through the channels trying to find something to watch. I stumbled onto CNN and a special show on their effort to name their 2009 Hero or maybe "She-ro" of the year. A racially and culturally diverse set of ten finalists each has a story that is sure to inspire you!

From wheelchairs provided to kids in Iraq to homeless veterans being helped in Florida I was inspired. There was the story of wine sold in America so that water can be provided to folks in developing countries and a door to door appeal to encourage women to take care of their breast health.

In Zimbabwe there is a program to aid sexual abuse survivors and hot food, coffee and goodwill provided to homeless folks in Queens, New York. There is a Filipino teen who is getting other Filipino teens to consider alternatives to gang life and an orphanage in the home of a couple in Indonesia.

There is a drummer in New Orleans who is helping kids after school choose music rather than trouble and help for amputees all over the United States from a young amputee who lives in a city I used to live in, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Please learn the names of the ten people responsible for these inspiring acts of courage and, if you can, vote for just one. You will surely be uplifted for your effort! Just click on this link and learn more: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/