A Shift Towards Sharing - First up: SheLoves Magazine

Hey Everyone,

(A Little Life Update)

Life is busy for me right now... if you haven't gathered that from my infrequent posting. Gone (for now) are my days of posting something lengthy and elaborate once a week :/ Let's get real... those days have been long gone for a few months now, ha!

Next week I head off to Vanderbilt to go the Accepted Students Weekend before I begin graduate school there in the fall. The following week, I'll be traveling to Haiti for a mission trip in an orphanage. A few weeks after that, I'll be heading to Atlanta for a conference. In April, things will be picking up with work and in 6 months I'm uprooting my life to move states away to Tennessee.

Overwhelming if I let myself dwell on it. But, I try not to because, Matthew 6:34 says:

"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today."            

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't spend all day, every day worrying; my life is most definitely NOT just trouble.

There is SO much joy and goodness in my life right now. 

A path for my future. A fulfilling job. Great friends and family. A supportive and wonderful boyfriend. Great community at church. January and February days in the 80s, full of sunshine. Lots of on-sale Valentine's day chocolate I picked up from CVS today ;)

(A Shift Towards Sharing)

However, because I want to keep an active presence on this blog, I have decided that I will try to get back in the habit of more regular posting but instead of writing a post each week, I might just do a quick share of something that I love or find interesting.

It may just be a quick picture or quote.
Maybe a devotional I've read. 
Possibly a book suggestion.
Even, perhaps, a current favorite song or YouTube video...?

But, most likely, it will be an article or blog I like.

(First Up: SheLoves Magazine)

My boss recently introduced me to this blog because there was a post about Haiti where I'll soon be leading that mission trip.

However, I began looking around and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED WHAT I SAW. 

Not only was there a phenomenal post about human trafficking, there were great posts daily from women living and loving around the world, empowering others to do the same. 

This is how they describe themselves: 

You wanted to know what SheLoves is? Yes, we call ourselves a magazine, but now that we’re almost two years old, we’ve discovered we are more than that: We’re a global community of women–a Sisterhood–who want to know and experience freedom, justice and transformation, for ourselves and others.

Our mission is: To mobilize and empower women, so we may transform our world together.

Sounds big? We simply do it by sharing our stories with each other six days a week, learning, growing, encouraging each other and coming alongside the dreams God puts in individual women’s hearts.

How fabulous is that????

They continue with things like: 

"We believe in Sisterhood. Women who Love, in spite of our shortcomings and mistakes and even differing perspectives. Love, in spite of, SO that we can come together and be part of creating change on the earth. We are gathering and strengthening for a purpose: so our voices may rise together on the injustices that demand our awakening, our attention and our strength."

And:

"We want to be educated and informed and we want to think through what we believe, so we may each find our voice in the story God draws us into. We want to do it beautifully, with great Love."

 And:

"We believe in prayer. Period. Fragmented prayers, directed prayers, passionate prayers, intercessory prayers, humble prayers, honest prayers. Scared prayers. Silent prayers. Sighing prayers. Sacred prayers."

This is their BEAUTIFUL manifesto:
__________________________________

Let us be women who Love.
Let us be women willing to lay down our sword words, our sharp looks, our ignorant silence and towering stance and fill the earth now with extravagant Love.
Let us be women who Love.
Let us be women who make room.
Let us be women who open our arms and invite others into an honest, spacious, glorious embrace.

Let us be women who carry each other.
Let us be women who give from what we have.
Let us be women who leap to do the difficult things, the unexpected things and the necessary things.
Let us be women who live for Peace.
Let us be women who breathe Hope.
Let us be women who create beauty.
Let us be women who Love.

Let us be a sanctuary where God may dwell.
Let us be a garden for tender souls.
Let us be a table where others may feast on the goodness of God.
Let us be a womb for Life to grow.
Let us be women who Love.

Let us rise to the questions of our time.
Let us speak to the injustices in our world.
Let us move the mountains of fear and intimidation.
Let us shout down the walls that separate and divide.
Let us fill the earth with the fragrance of Love.
Let us be women who Love.

Let us listen for those who have been silenced.
Let us honour those who have been devalued.
Let us say, Enough! with abuse, abandonment, diminishing and hiding.
Let us not rest until every person is free and equal.
Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who are savvy, smart and wise.
Let us be women who shine with the light of God in us.
Let us be women who take courage and sing the song in our hearts.
Let us be women who say, Yes to the beautiful, unique purpose seeded in our souls.
Let us be women who call out the song in another’s heart.
Let us be women who teach our children to do the same.
Let us be women who Love.

Let us be women who Love, in spite of fear.
Let us be women who Love, in spite of our stories.
Let us be women who Love loudly, beautifully, Divinely.
Let us be women who Love.

 If you aren't sold yet on subscribing to their "Stories of Sisterhood," I encourage you to scope out what has quickly become my new favorite website.

Southern Belle Feminist Takin' the Capitol.... tryin' out politics

On Tuesday, February 24th, I headed to the capitol... of South Carolina to shake things up.

It was a start.

And so empowering.

About 50 of us - mostly women  but a few guys as well - showed up bright and early at the State House to lobby against human trafficking.

You may remember my post explaining when Passion put it on my heart. But I didn't just want my heart to be heavy and sink - along with the urgency I felt to "do something now" as they had encouraged all of us in attendance while we were in Atlanta.

Fortunately, this perfect opportunity to maintain the pull on my heart and my urgency for action presented itself through some email correspondence with a former professor of mine. She welcomed me and another friend from Passion to tag along with her to lobby in Columbia.

I was slightly intimidated because I had never done this before.

But, ANYONE can do it.

Polaris project was there to give us a bit of training but most of it was simply us - strength in numbers - just going and sharing our thoughts with our congress people.

Some striking things the Polaris organizers and some SC lawyers shared with us were:

• People - especially in South Carolina - seem to think that slavery is a thing of the past when everyone lived in plantations. False. It is alive and flourishing today with more slaves on the planet RIGHT now than in ALL of human history. 
• South Carolina is a particularly ideal area for traffickers because we have so many highways, water access points AND (something I'd never thought of) privately owned planes and boats that utilized by traffickers because they are not as regulated as larger vessels where most authorities assume people are smuggled. 
• People tend to think this is just a problem for foreigners who just happen to be in our country. Ok. A) So what. They are still people and deserve to be fought for... this is a humanity issue, not an American or Indian or Thailand or (insert any country's name here) issue. And, B) This problem is affecting Americans. Polaris estimates that as many as (and probably more than) 100,000 native-born children are trafficked within our borders and most between the ages of 11 and 14. Vulnerable children on the streets or in broken homes and sometimes from just next door in a white, wealthy, suburban home. 

A poster we had that day

 

After sharing with our congressmen or their staff  in their offices as well as anyone looking important that we passed in the statehouse/elevator/outside/etc. (which I promise we tried to do in the least annoying way possible but some things are worth nagging over!), we headed to a press conference.

After that, we simply sat on the steps of the State House reading victims' stories. It was so powerful.

And we were all given a piece of purple duct tape to wear on our wrist as a visible reminder and a conversation starter for people held in "chains" whether metal or manipulation. However, one woman made quite a statement by walking around the grounds wearing a piece of that duct tape over her mouth, representing the silence of the victims that go unnoticed by so many of us.

The most exciting thing?

Before we left that afternoon, we heard that the bill (H3757) which had been basically stagnant since it was introduced almost a year previously, was pushed through the house and onto the senate floor!?!

Our voice was heard.
The victim's stories, names, and pain were heard.
Action was taken.
Change was made.

Now the fight is by no means over. However, SC was previously in the bottom 9 of the states to have legislation on this issue and if this is fully voted in, we will be one of the most comprehensive states in the nation.

So now we've got to raise our voices and the victims' voices to the nation.
Join me.
To raise YOUR voice, reach out to your own congressperson: http://www.fyi.legis.state.us/

And, maybe I'll head to THE capital next... Anyone wanna join me in DC?

Pretty legit with all the flags and everything right??? There was an open podium so we tried it out ;)

Help end human trafficking.

Bringin the Gospel to the Ghetto

"I'm afraid to die."

That came out of the mouth of a 10-year-old little girl named Kayla that I met doing Vacation Bible School in Washington, D.C. last week.

Kayla is about to be a fifth grader. Fifth graders should NOT be worrying about dying.

But in Kayla's neighborhood - a ghetto just outside of D.C. - dying is a reality.

My group of fifth graders for the week; Kayla is in the middle with the white bow

This place in DC was truly dangerous. And I was not just a frightened Southern Belle exaggerating the situation.

• One boy saw an old man killed: two teenagers had asked the old man for cigarettes but the man lied, saying he didn't have any so when he turned his back, they stabbed him... just for some smokes.
• A local lady who worked in the neighborhood told us the first day as we were handing out flyers that we should NOT walk around there, that it was too dangerous and even she ran to her car every day when she left work. (Despite this, many of these children walked home alone because their parents never came to pick them up.)
• A man who worked with the center where we held the VBS told us that statistics show most of the children in that neighborhood - most of the kids we met at our VBS - would NOT LIVE TO BE 18. 

And these kids know that.

Kayla knows that.

Death is a reality for them.

They grow up losing family members. They don't make many friends because they lose those too.

Most depressing: they don't have dreams because they probably figure they'll lose those as well. Most kids have the cliche dreams of growing up to be a firefighter, a ballerina, a singer, etc. These kids in D.C. did not know what they wanted to be. They had not let their minds wander that far down the road. They did not have anyone in their lives encouraging them to think that far into the future.

So I tried to.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

                                                                                                       - Jeremiah 29:11

But they could not grasp the concept of hope.

They. Had. No. Hope.

They did, however, have HURT.

Every single one of my 10 year olds had been hit or hit someone within the previous month.

When I suggested they hug instead of hit they looked at me as though I were crazy. BUT, I understand why: I come from a different culture. I come from a place where neighborhoods are safe, where people don't die for a pack of cigarettes. I have never hit anyone (other than my brother.... but siblings are kinda a given, right?).

Still, I was hoping they could understand the concepts of mercy, forgiveness, and love:

"But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love."

                                                                                        - Nehemiah 9:17

Ultimately, though, these children were angry. They were afraid.

They have lived a hard life and, according to statistics and stories, most of their lives will be cut short. So, like Kayla, they are afraid to die.

In a last ditch effort to give them some hope in a way they could grasp it, I told them

how NOT to be afraid to die: heaven.

I told them about heaven being a place full of love and laughter where they could be safe and surrounded by friends and family who believed in Jesus WHERE THERE WAS NO HURT. And that they could get there by asking Jesus into their heart.


That broke MY heart.

The best that I could offer them beyond the free meals and hugs for a week was a better view on death:

"He [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever."

                                                                                 - Revelation 21:4

"There he will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over the earth. He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears."

                                                                                  - Isaiah 25:7-8

______________________________________________________

Through my heartbreak of bringin' the Gospel to the ghetto, I realized I am living in a bubble.

A bubble of comfort.
A bubble of blindness to others suffering.
A bubble of limitation on my Christianity. 

This mission trip BURST MY BUBBLE.

And I am sooooooo grateful for that because before this trip I was not doing this: 

"Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people."

                                                                                        - Psalm 82:3-4

"Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

                                                                                       - Matthew 19:21

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

                                                                                           - 1 John 3:17-18

Those are only a few of many verses that call for Christians to care for the poor.

I hope reading them - and perhaps even this post - helped to burst your bubble of comfort and blindness and limitation.

"Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." [whether it is in D.C., on the other side of the world or in your own neighborhood.]

                                                                                       - Isaiah 1:17