They call this holy week.  The week when Jesus was very busy.  On Thursday they called it Holy Thursday because it was the day Jesus washed the feet of friends and strangers.  On Friday Jesus had his last supper with his Apostles.  On Saturday he died on a cross.  And on Easter Sunday, he rose from the dead.  We have all heard   this story before and many of us have read the Bible.  It seems though that our children know more about wolves   and   demons  then they know   about saints and religious heroes.  But Jesus works in many ways and we need to thank God for all the   gifts he has given us and this  Easter season I choose  to thank God for Shakira.  Yes, I am not a dirty old man and I did say Shakira.

The tiny blond bombshell can go by one name because when you are that well known and that beloved, people know   you   by one name.  She is known by young   people all over the world and is worth about $220,000,000 dollars now.  I thank God for her hips that seem to be able to rotate   360° as she sings and dances.  She is half Colombian and half Dutch, a combination that encompasses much of the world.  I thank God for her ability to be so hot that when she stands next to a wall it seems she could make love to that too.  We have much to be thankful for and what is wrong for thanking God for Shakira?

God works in mysterious ways and I truly believe that he is working through her.  She represents the new type of disciple since   she   is doing only   good things   with her fame and fortune.  Shakira is known to be an international singing sensation but she is so much more.  She is giving back to the poor and the helpless in her native country of Colombia.  Jesus was the son of God and was known this week to even give up his life for others.  Shakira is sensual with a capital S.  I guess that is how she attracts her followers.  Her unique way of making you want to listen to a combination of various rhythms in her songs helped her cross over from just being a  Latina  music  star  to a main stream popular song star.

After a   four year hiatus, she   recently released a new album that includes a duet with superstar Rhianna. Back in 2008 Forbes Magazine listed her as the 4th richest woman in   music and that was before her lucrative  contract with NBC to be a celebrity coach on The Voice.  What makes Shakira most interesting to me this Easter season is that fame and fortune   isn’t   enough for her.  She wants to give back.  She is not spending her fortune on wasting her money on living the fast life involved in drugs and alcohol like so many celebrities do.  She is a beautiful saint.  Our young people may not know the religious saints and what they were known for but I hope they know more about Shikera other than her amazing beauty and sexy dancing.

Cartagena Columbia is known for its drugs and its slums.  With that comes unreliable plumbing and poor electricityand for the children, school is often seen as a luxury.  She knows that there are so many kids that have nothing and little in the way of having a good shot at life.  Most children that must grow up in extreme poverty will become criminals.  They cheer for her now when she visits the streets of Columbia not because of her hotness or great voice or amazing dancing   ability even though she possesses all that.  They cheer for her because she was instrumental in creating a brand new state of the art   school for the children.

From the very first bricks, she made it happen.  The children are protected, healthy and away from drugs; a  place where kids can become kids.  Architecturally it looks like a castle on a hill overlooking Cartagena.  There is enough room for  1700 children to be educated and fed while their parents get support and training.  It is clear that being happy is this place for Shakira.  This is why I thank God for Shakira this Easter season.  I like looking at this modern day saint anyway.  She has been laying bricks in her country over the past two years.

It is not charity, it is an investment in humans.  Early childhood education has been her passion ever  since  Shikera  started her own charity.  It is called the Bare Foot foundation named after her first album.  Her foundation has built six new schools in Columbia as well as funding one in Haiti and another in South Africa.

She has given real purpose to her life.  There is more to life than just shaking your ass for a living.  Shakira is also a UNICEF Ambassador and three years ago she was even appointed to President Obama’s Commission On Education for   Hispanics.  Jesus didn’t have to die on   the cross and she doesn’t have to do any of this for any one else.  Shikera  has a full life. She is in love with   Spanish  soccer star Gerard Pique who is the father  of her child.  During this religious week think of some modern day saint  to help you to become a better person.