When you think of slavery, you probably think of a lot of things.  Shackles, the Civil War, Abe Lincoln, abuse, discrimination, a bad time in American history.   You may even harvest a lot of emotions about it.  maybe your family tree leads back to slavery.  Maybe your family tree leads back to slave owners.  The days of slavery were hurtful.  The days where a human was owned by another human are over, thank God those days are over…. Right!!?

Wrong.

There are more slaves today than ever before in the history of humans.  MORE.  The industry makes an estimated $32 billion a year. That’s more than Starbucks, Nike and Google combined!

How does this happen?

A lot of different ways.  A woman desperate to escape poverty is promised a new life in America.  She accepts the offer, and next thing she knows she’s in a brothel.  A young man’s parents were killed in a war.  Next thing you know, he’s snorting cocaine and fighting a grown man’s war.  A young lady was proposed to.  She goes to get married, and ends up a slave to her ‘husband’.  A parent, husband or boyfriend, in efforts to make some money sell thier girls into it.  Not just mature grown women.  I’m talking 6-death.  The average age is 12 years old, but can start as young as 6.

A lot of times they will force these women into using drugs, (Which probably isn’t difficult, as it offers some sort of escape) so, when/if someone tries to rescue them, they have withdrawels, and go back to their pimp/drug supplier/the only thing they know.  Women are sold and forced to sleep with men 20 – 60 times a day!  When they’re younger, their hymens are sewed, to remain ‘virgins’ because that brings in more money.

Where in the world does this happen?  All over.  Atlanta is the number 1 city in America.  But sits at #8 for the entire world.  They are kidnapped, and flown to America.  They are kept under the radar in brothels, in your backyard.  This could be happening just five minutes away from your house.  Yet, we sit comfortably by and ignore it.  Knowledge is power, yet we choose ignorance, because it’s bliss.  Now you know.  You can sit on this.  Odds are good, if you live near a major city, or an airport of any kind, this is happening.  What does our country do about this?  Well, typically, instead of going after the big dogs, we arrest the 17/18 year old girl.  Get her bail and fine money, which is chump change to her pimp, and don’t offer her any help, we just send her back out to the street to be raped, beaten, abused, tortured emotionally and physically.

Do you watch porn?  Did you know that over half of the porn on the internet today is actually a guy with a video camera and a hundred bucks to buy this girl?  Did you know that he’s recording these slaves, and then charging you to watch them on the internet.   Did you know, that your hunger for porn is helping fund the demand for sex slavery?  My guess is you had never thought about that.

There are thousands of places you can go to help fight this.  There are places all over the internet.   Please think about this, and spread the word.  The world needs to know about the biggest slave trade in history happening right behind our backs.

Learn More:

http://www.callandresponse.com/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
http://www.innocenceatlanta.org/
http://www.humantrafficking.org/

Jesus said to take care of them, but most of His followers, I think, tend to think it’s someone else’s job. As a rule, we don’t even think they exist. Widows are largely out of sight, and we’ve empowered women to take  care of themselves so it’s not PC to try and help. And orphans are hidden away in orphanages or in foster care. But I wanna talk about widows. Who are they? What is our responsibility?

A careful look around my city reveals a couple of different kinds of widows. First, there are the traditional, elderly ladies, whose husbands have died. I’m from a small town, and there, they are everywhere. Usually they are looked after by their adult children or by a group of church ladies. I think this is what Jesus had in mind. I know a young father who spends time regularly just eating meals with the widows in his neighborhood, giving them access to his young daughter. What  a gift; they get a free granddaughter and she gets many grandmothers. Nothing better!

Then, there are the less visible or recognizable widows. With large numbers of immigrants in our midst, and with an aggressive deportation policy by our government, they are being left behind here without jobs and with children in larger and larger numbers. Inhumane immigration policies like those recently put in place in Arizona and Georgia give immigrants little recourse when they find themselves in situations where they have need. Even when crimes are being committed against them, they are powerless. No matter what government policy is, though, our allegiance is to our Creator, and His call is to care and to take care.

Two other groups of women who deserve our care are those made widows by one of the three wars we are in currently, and those made so by men who walk out of marriages to avoid responsibility.

What do we owe these women? Basic needs. Companionship. Caring. All the things we have come to look to the government to do for those who can’t do for themselves. Where I grew up, there is the concept of treating all women they they were your mama. This assumes that you treat your mama right. Let’s get to it.

http://jeverettphoto.wordpress.com/widows-in-america/

“My life is in God’s hands, where it has always been,” said Pastor. “I am not praying for myself. It is better to pray for other people than oneself. I know I’m here for a purpose, even if I don’t know what it is. Not a leaf falls from a tree that God does not know about.” 
                        
              – Bernard Pastor

Bernard Pastor was born in Guatemala 18 years ago and came to America at age 3 with his extended family to escape religious persecution. Despite sharing the exact same circumstances, Bernard and his parents were arbitrarily denied legal status while it was granted to his other family members. Bernard grew up like any other American boy, graduating high school near the top of his class, excelling in sports, working at his church and becoming prom king. After years of trying, it has become increasingly difficult for Bernard and his family to gain legal status, and because of America’s unjust immigration system, Bernard is being shuffled around federal detention centers, sleeping in a cell, rather than spending this holiday season with his friends and family.

The DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act) is a piece of proposed bipartisan legislation that will allow undocumented graduates of US High Schools to earn conditional permanent residency by completing two years in the military or two years at an accredited four-year institution of higher education. If passed, this piece of legislation would finally provide a clear path to legal status for those students for whom the United States is the only home they have ever known.

Please sign the petition here: http://prayforbernard.com, and here: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/help_us_keep_bernard_at_home_bernard_pastor

We all know there is immigration reform needed.  The DREAM Act would be a great first step.

I was talking to Andrea last week,  when I told her I think this time of year screws with everyone.  At work, all of a sudden every single request or issue is a matter of life or death.  I honestly think that people let the season consume their lives.  I can probably say I’m guilty of this too.  Getting out to the stores, moving around people, and all of a sudden there is this sense of urgency in my life.  I can’t be 2 minutes late for church, I have to leave immediately, I can’t sit still.  You know the feeling?

I don’t know that this is the best way to celebrate the marked date for the birth of Christ.  I mean becoming a mob of a country from October (only getting earlier every year) all the way to January 1st.  We’re getting lost in shopping, marketing campaigns, and campaigns to “keepChrist in Christmas.”  Shortly after joining that campaign, we tackle a middle aged lady for a Tickle-Me-Elmo, then we run to the line to pay, when that little man jumps in front of us, so we proceed to curse him out.  Then we go to our over-heated homes, and every time we write the word, we put quotations around Christ.

If we are going to start a ‘Keep the Christ in Christmas Campaign’, are we doing it the right way?  Is Christ upset that people want to call it X-mas, or if people want to say “Happy Holidays”?  Personally, I think Jesus probably wouldn’t mind too much.  I don’t remember him ever really getting upset for people not giving him enough credit.  I imagine his desire for us is to love. (And I’m fairly sure tackling that middle aged lady probably isn’t what he had in mind.. no?)  So, if you are part of a keep ’Christ’ in Christmas campaign, ask yourself, are you living it, or are you merely putting quotes around it?

Remember, the reason we celebrate this time of year is because God sent his only son to save us from our sins.  Not to put lights up, fight for the best parking space, and get our kids the biggest best gift.  Jesus was born, so 30 some odd years later he could carry MY sins on a cross, all the way to the grave, not to insure his name be engraved all over cards, t-shirts, and Facebook Groups, but so you and I could have a chance at salvation.

Sara, who was once her elementary school’s student body president, met the man who would become her pimp when she was just 11. After acting as the father figure she never had for two years, he raped Sara at age 13 and trafficked her into the commercial sex trade.

For the next 3 years, from 6pm to 6am, strangers would pay Sara’s pimp to rape her and other adolescent girls he recruited and preyed upon.

Finally, physically and psychologically traumatized, Sara snapped. She shot and killed her pimp.

Her punishment? Life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The sentence was handed down by a judge in 1994 against the recommendation of the California Youth Authority, and before there was much awareness about the violence of child trafficking or an appreciation for the trauma of adolescent sexual and physical abuse.

The sentence was extreme and unjust. And it can now be overturned by one man: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Governor Schwarzenegger is leaving office at the end of the year, and will soon be considering clemency petitions. In response, there is a grassroots movement building to call on Governor Schwarzenegger to commute Sara’s sentence to time served.

Join the movement to ask Governor Schwarzenegger to free Sara Kruzan now.

Tragically, the sexual exploitation Sara suffered is not unique. But what makes her case especially poignant is not just the injustice of her life sentence, but her response.

Rather than descend in hopelessness, Sara has found redemption in jail and become an inspiration to all those around her. She has graduated from high school, is on her way to completing her college degree, and started the prison’s Committee for Youth to serve as a mentor to younger women. She was recently voted “Woman of the Year” at her prison.

However, without intervention from Governor Schwarzenegger, Sara will likely die in prison.

Don’t let this happen. Sara has more than paid her debt to society with 16 years of incarceration. It’s time to set her free.

Call on Governor Schwarzenegger to free Sara Kruzan now.

Your Backyard

When you think of slavery, you probably think of a lot of things.  Shackles, the Civil War, Abe Lincoln, abuse, discrimination, a bad time in American history.   You may even harvest a lot of emotions about it.  maybe your family tree leads back to slavery.  Maybe your family tree leads back to slave owners.  The days of slavery were hurtful.  The days where a human was owned by another human are over, thank God those days are over…. Right!!?

Wrong.

There are more slaves today than ever before in the history of humans.  MORE.  The industry makes an estimated $32 billion a year. That’s more thanStarbucks, Nike and Google combined!

How does this happen?

A lot of different ways.  A woman desperate to escape poverty is promised a new life in America.  She accepts the offer, and next thing she knows she’s in a brothel.  A young man’s parents were killed in a war.  Next thing you know, he’s snorting cocaine and fighting a grown man’s war.  A young lady was proposed to.  She goes to get married, and ends up a slave to her ‘husband’.  A parent, husband or boyfriend, in efforts to make some money sell thier girls into it.  Not just mature grown women.  I’m talking 6-death.  The average age is 12 years old, but can start as young as 6.

A lot of times they will force these women into using drugs, (Which probably isn’t difficult, as it offers some sort of escape) so, when/if someone tries to rescue them, they have withdrawels, and go back to their pimp/drug supplier/the only thing they know.  Women are sold and forced to sleep with men 20 – 60 times a day!  When they’re younger, their hymens are sewed, to remain ‘virgins’ because that brings in more money.

Where in the world does this happen?  All over.  Atlanta is the number 1 city in America.  But sits at #8 for the entire world.  They are kidnapped, and flown to America.  They are kept under the radar in brothels, in your backyard.  This could be happening just five minutes away from your house.  Yet, we sit comfortably by and ignore it.  Knowledge is power, yet we choose ignorance, because it’s bliss.  Now you know.  You can sit on this.  Odds are good, if you live near a major city, or an airport of any kind, this is happening.  What does our country do about this?  Well, typically, instead of going after the big dogs, we arrest the 17/18 year old girl.  Get her bail and fine money, which is chump change to her pimp, and don’t offer her any help, we just send her back out to the street to be raped, beaten, abused, tortured emotionally and physically.

Do you watch porn?  Did you know that over half of the porn on the internet today is actually a guy with a video camera and a hundred bucks to buy this girl?  Did you know that he’s recording these slaves, and then charging you to watch them on the internet.   Did you know, that your hunger for porn is helping fund the demand for sex slavery?  My guess is you had never thought about that.

There are thousands of places you can go to help fight this.  There are places all over the internet.   Please think about this, and spread the word.  The world needs to know about the biggest slave trade in history happening right behind our backs.

Learn More:

http://www.callandresponse.com/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
http://www.innocenceatlanta.org/
http://www.humantrafficking.org/

The other night on Facebook, I posted a comment about Gov. Jindal asking for money.  I wrote:

Lousianna Senator, Jindal is asking for money from the federal government to help clean up the oil spill. The Obama Administration says the money won’t be there.. Jindal was the first senator to reject stimulus money way back when. I guess he’s kicking himself now…

I know it’s not really a laughing matter, but it is funny.

Andy, its Gov. Jindal, and thats what governors do when there is a disaster.

Delbert, I know, my liberal fingers typed too fast…

What I’m saying is, at a granular level, it’s the same scenario… just different political parties/views.  Right?

Let’s look at it like this.  Gov. Jindal is experiencing a disaster. There’s an oil spill, and… while some people think the private sector can/should clean it up, he views it as governmental responsibility.  So, he’s asking for money that we don’t have.

Obama came in to office during a disaster, there was an economic crisis, that could have very easily crippled our economy. (More than it did)  While some people think that the private sector could/should have cleaned it up, he viewed it as governmental responsibility. So he asked for money that we didn’t have.

So, it’s not that I agree or disagree with either approach.  Granted, had Obama not bailed out some banks, I certainly would not be in the position I am, to take care of your grand daughter, and great grand daughter, I still am not sure of the long term effects of his decisions. (And, we probably won’t be for quite some time.)

Mr. Jindal’s approach may very well be the right one. I certainly agree that our earth needs to be taken care of, I don’t know who’s responsibility it is.

What i do know, on both accounts, is that as Christ Followers, it is our job to do several things.  Love people.  The people of the Gulf coast, Gov. Jindal, people without jobs, and Barack Obama.  It’s our job to lend a hand, and figure out ways to get around the red tape the government has certainly put up and offer whatever we can, to love our enemies as Christ loves his bride. (Jesus Christ got around a LOT of red tape… remember, he should have been killed when he was born.)

I will be the first to admit that I struggle with that more than the next person… BUT, Please hear my heart.  When I say things like this, it’s irony, sarcasm, and satirical.  I am certain most people in political offices do things they think will benefit the people who voted them in..  Both ways.  Both parties.  I don’t claim a party, but have been labeled as a liberal.  I’m ok with that. It sounds hip.

I’m not too concerned with labels.  I am concerned with sharing the love of Christ, and sometimes I fail.  I fail badly.  For THAT I apologize.

As I grow up. (And sometimes down) I realize that none of us can truly side with one political party.  I don’t have any evidence in the Bible that Jesus was, indeed, a republican or democrat, but I do know that Jesus was a lover of the weak, the oppressed and the poor.  I know that Jesus would wander off alone to pray for everyone.  Jesus would love, unconditionally, so much so, that while he was being beaten, spit on, and nailed to a cross for MY sins, he turned and invited to criminals to walk with Him in Heaven!

Re read that last sentence.  Walk with Him in Heaven.  In their execution, he was being executed for what they did too, and he turned to them, and offered them His Kingdom.  He didn’t ask how they voted, how they protested political events. He just loved.  and that’s my goal… even though I fail… a lot.

I hope you understand my heart, and my sometimes sarcastic take at politics.

I would REALLY love to hear your thoughts on my thoughts… Be honest. it could get fun.

We were all talking about it, and we decided that we could also use this event to bring awareness to, and raise money for, several different non-profits.  We talked about it for a while, and decided that we would try to raise money for two.  Marah Water and She Is Priceless.  So.  We are asking you to donate a little money.  For your donation, you’ll get a thank you, and we will run our tails off at this race.  Know that your money is going towards two great causes, to fight two horrible injustices in this world!

Marah Water was founded by our very own Adam Black. (Indulf)  Exodus 15 tells of the Israelites wandering in the desert for three days without water. When they finally found water, it was undrinkable. They called the place Marah, which means bitter.  Moses cried out to God and he provided a way to turn the water from bitter to sweet.  This is Adam’s goal.  To help implement cheap, repeatable, teachable, simple solutions to the water crisis around the world.

I think we can all agree that there shouldn’t be a ‘water crisis’ in this world, and I believe with 100% of my heart that Marah Water will do what it takes to stop this.   If you want to give, simply fill out the box to the left, and the donations will go directly to our Paypal.  Please leave a comment below to let me know you’ve donated.  One person will win a small prize.

This medal, although it has nothing to do with ranking or winning, means a lot to me.  See, this medal represents the moment I got off my butt and did something.  This medal represents a change in my life that I plan on holding on to until the day I die.  This medal represents the day I decided to not let my weight control me.  This medal is something that I’ve worked extremely hard for, and it’s a reward for my hard work. 

How was the Warrior Dash?  One word.  Awesome.  It started out with about a mile run (or so).  It was pretty hilly, but I was hanging in there, I felt good about my pace, and I was actually passing people. (WHAT!?)  We came up to the first obstacle.  It was a plank of sorts, basically, a balancing act on a piece of wood, laid on top of a lake.  I breezed over that, and immediately jumped to obstacle 2.  Wading through water.  That slowed me down immediately, and assured that I would have mud and rocks in my shoes for the remainder of the race. 

Obstacle 3, I got out of the lake, ran around a turn, and did the tires.  I rocked the tires. I actually passed several people, and moved forward to the wall climp/jump.  The walls were probably 4 feet high.  Which fortunately, are pretty easy for me to jump. (using the hand plant)  I think there were 3 walls. 

I started to feel pretty fatigued here.  I knew I had to keep pushing, because in my head I’m counting the obstacles, and realized that I still had a long way to go. 

The next obstacle was the junkyard dash.  basically a bunch of old beat up cars blocking your path.  That was fine, I made it over the first car, and realized that I may be able to actually jump the second car.  So…. in true warrior spirit, I tried. (clearly thinking I was still 18.)  The whole time I was in the air, I was thinking, “I’ve got this! I’ve got this!” Then my butt hit the car.  It was the very corner of the car, and my feet cleared it, but my butt hit the car, and it hurt!  I got up, finished this obstacle by climbing over an old beat up truck, and continuing on my way. 

Running.  Running.  Running.  Getting passed, and passing people.  Running.  Uphill.  Come around a curve, and I see a crew of folk standing there handing out water.  Praise God!!! I knew 2 things.  I NEEDED that water and that water meant I was halfway! 

I honestly, at this point, forget the order of the race, or how I did it, so I’ll tell you the obstacles until the last few.  Cargo climb.  I climbed up a cargo net, and then back down the otherside.  I’d say the net was 15 feet high, or so.  It was really easy for me.  There was a wall climb kinda, which was pretty much rope hanging down a sloped piece of wood.  It was a little slick from all of the other warriors climbing up it, but I breezed up that as well. The run through the forest was pretty intense. it was pretty much all uphill.  I ran, until I couldn’t run anymore and slowed to a walk, which worked out well, because this part of the coarse was pretty much single file, due to the narrowness of the trail, and everyone else was walking.  I broke through eventually and got to the top.  Crawled through some muddy tunnel, and then ran down a muddy hill.  Dangerous?  yes.  I slipped but did not fall. 

The end of the race was getting near, I could feel it.  I ran around a corner and noticed the mud pit. I knew I was close. I dove in to the mud, and started crawling.  I realized quickly that the bottom of this mud pit was uneven, and covered in gravel.  I could feel rocks cutting in to my legs.  I wanted it to stop, and knew the only way to make it stop.  Get through this! 

After the crawl, it was pretty much a stomp through deep, slippery, thick mud.  I fell 3 times, but was able to get up and keep pushing.  I ran up to a lake, and saw logs floating.  While I didn’t remember reading about this, I knew I could do this.  There were 3 or 4 logs, and I had to get to them, and get over them. (The water, for me was about chest deep)  I made it over those, kinda lazilly pushing myself through the water.  I make it out of the water, and I hear cheering.  I see fire, I know, that this is it!  I’m about to complete a race! 

Two lines of fire were between me and the finish.  I kick it in to high gear, and I jump the first flame!  A couple of steps and I clear the second flame!  I hear my name being shouted, I think my wife and sister, and I burst into a run.  I see the words “Finish”. 

I could have cried right there.  I didn’t, because I’m a man, but I could have.  All of the hardwork and determination paid off. All of the discouraging days, and the back injury.  All of the doubt, and fear.  overcome. 

I don’t know what to say about it, other than I did it.  I can’t believe it, but I did it.  Now.  Where’s the next race?

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When they aren’t pregnant anymore, these children’s children are abandoned, or also raised into a life of sex trafficking.  This happens all over the world, but one of the highest rates of something like this happening happens in Moldova.  There are girls, starting around the age of 12 years old, being sold for sex.  Sometimes, they will sew their hymen, because they can make more money for a virgin.

These girls aren’t any different than any 12 year old you may know, except for the fact that they were born, a lot of times, out of a result of prostitution.  They never had the childhood we were blessed to have, and now, they’re trapped, being held captive, and being sold as objects.  They’re being passed from man to man, kept in a brothel, having their dignity stripped, their hymen sewed, and their innocence taken, day in and day out.

I’m not talking about once or twice a day here guys, I’m talking about 20 or 3o times a day.  A DAY!  So, how can we help?  Head on over to http://www.nicolewick.com/2010/05/stopping-the-secret/ and read all about Children’s HopeChest.  If you don’t have time to head over there today, simply click the image below and give.  $1.00, $2.00, whatever you can.  Every single penny helps.

$1,200 will finish renovation on the group counseling area.

$14,500 will provide an addition onto the building that will serve as an individual counseling area.

Will you help stop the secret?