Sorry it has been a week since my last post... It didn't help that Blogger decided it would just stop working for a few days.
Yall- I just have to share this with you. My heart is wrecked. Early this morning I had to go pick up Chris from the car place and take him to work because he is getting his brakes fixed or something like that. Well a little backstory first is that my heart has been on sex trafficking non-stop since last Wednesday. A friend of mine (awesome Luv!) has been getting our church started in helping with a ministry called Stella's House that takes in orphans in Moldova to keep them from getting forced into the sex trafficking industry. Well she is in Turkey and Greece right now so we had a meeting at church that I was going to do for her. That was really the first time I had researched it and looked at the statistics. My heart was broken. So since then I have been researching and doing everything I can to learn as much about sex trafficking.
Well back to this morning. I was driving to get Chris and flipping through radio stations when these words came on the radio.... "Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me."
I just turned it off and cried. We use things like that as a form of entertainment and songs like that provide these artists with TONS of money when there are girls all over the world and even in each of our OWN cities that chains and whips and ideas of rough sex that is their NIGHTMARE. They have to live it out each and every day and it breaks them, gives them diseases, and eventually kills them. I can't grasp hold of how we as a people can download and purchase music using those kinds of words and not do whatever we can to help those girls.
They don't have the gift of enjoying their body because it is taken from them. They don't have the gift of enjoying intimacy because they are forced to have rough and brutal sex with men they don't know and will never see again. They won't have the gift of being with someone who makes them feel loved and beautiful. All they are to the evil men that use them is sex and a young body. I just can't sit by while that is what is happening to girls even in my own city, state, country, world. They deserve every opportunity I have had and every blessing I have received. They are beautiful and they deserve to feel that way and know that their body is supposed to be a gift to them and their husband and not to be taken from them. They deserve to know that even though they are hurting and they feel empty and broken that God is there and loves them.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Moms...
Since Mother's Day is this weekend I thought I'd send some love to my awesome mom! This isn't the best picture we've ever taken but it is from our wedding and I wanted to share! It is hard to believe that I could let a day go by when I don't thank God for my awesome Mom. She truly is so loving and would do ANYTHING for me! She has perfectly displayed this love nonstop since I was born. Mom was a single mom on a teacher's salary yet I never knew that money wasn't plentiful. She worked multiple after school jobs and summer jobs to make sure my brother Taylor and I had the best. She never missed a special occassion and spent everyday focused on being the best Mom she could be to Taylor and me. I could relay countless things that she has done over the years that showed her love for me but NOTHING could show it better than Chris and my wedding.
My mom bent over backwards to make the wedding more than I could have ever dreamed of! For example...
She printed each of our wedding programs and put them together herself punching holes and tying over 400 bows
She printed labels, scrubbed off original labels, put on new labels, and tyed over 300 bows onto miniature champagne bottles that we gave out as favors
She did the calligraphy on EACH of our wedding invitation envelopes (inner and outer!)
She created the invitations for my bridesmaids luncheon as well as my pedicure party for my bridesmaids
She wrapped (beautifully!) countless gifts for different people throughout the wedding
She scoured ebay to find beautiful silver revere bowls for table decorations
She scoured and purchased beatiful silver tussy mussy's for my bridesmaids bouquets so they would be more than just tied together
That is just a few things and mind you she did EVERY bit of this with a huge smile on her face and no complaints!
I LOVE YOU MOM!
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Thoughts for the day...
1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,[a he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b], he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b], he took the humble position of a slave[c]
and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,[d]
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phillippians 2:1-11
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Tomorrow
My song for the day...
Tomorrow, tomorrow.... you know the rest.
I need tomorrow to be here, hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. My wonderful husband comes home tomorrow. I'm going to go back to work tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a good day.
I have been sick since Saturday morning. Chris and I both had a stomach virus and he got better and I did not. We're not really sure why that is the case but I haven't been able to keep any food down in days. Words cannot describe how blah I have felt and how little energy I have. The only upside is that I'm a good 6 lbs lighter than I was on Friday. Since we're going to the beach in 2 weeks I'll take it but let me tell you... it was not worth it.
Mind you all of this sickness happened after a slightly rough week last week. Last Tuesday morning I found out our pastors Lester and Janeese Spencer who I love were reappointed to a church in Gulf Breeze, FL. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Janeese has been such a mentor for me and I have learned so much from her and my heart was just broken. She is in charge of the Women's Ministry at St. James and being on Renew Leadership Team I was like "Oh no what are we going to do." I'm much better now. While I am going to miss them terribly I know that we serve a big God and He still has BIG plans for St. James and He still wants Chris and me to be a part of that. So everyone (The Spencers, the congregation, the new minister) are all having to truly live out walking by faith and not by sight because we don't really know what is to come. I think God is trying to teach me a lot of that right now... waiting and living by faith. I am terrified of the unknown but I am having to learn that God is in control and I need to rest in that.
Then, this huge conference we had been planning for work on Shaken Baby Syndrome was Saturday. I was SOOOO excited about it! My co-worker Sara and I had worked so hard getting everything together and set up and details worked out. Well remember when I told you I got sick... SATURDAY MORNING. I went, yall I really tried to be there. I got sick before I went, got sick in the car on the way there and got sick a few times while I was there. Sadly, I got as much done as I could and then I just had to go because I could barely stand anymore. I was so sad and felt horrible about leaving everyone there in charge and I couldn't help.
So like I said, last week was a little rough. But tomorrow is a new day and I can't wait. We have Staff Breakfast at work tomorrow which is always good, I can pretty much guarantee you I won't be able to eat the normal sausage, eggs, breakfast casserole but it will still be nice to see everyone after being holed up here since Friday afternoon. So if I could ask a favor... I'm about to attempt to eat something. PRAY my little weak body can handle it!!
Tomorrow, tomorrow.... you know the rest.
I need tomorrow to be here, hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. My wonderful husband comes home tomorrow. I'm going to go back to work tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a good day.
I have been sick since Saturday morning. Chris and I both had a stomach virus and he got better and I did not. We're not really sure why that is the case but I haven't been able to keep any food down in days. Words cannot describe how blah I have felt and how little energy I have. The only upside is that I'm a good 6 lbs lighter than I was on Friday. Since we're going to the beach in 2 weeks I'll take it but let me tell you... it was not worth it.
Mind you all of this sickness happened after a slightly rough week last week. Last Tuesday morning I found out our pastors Lester and Janeese Spencer who I love were reappointed to a church in Gulf Breeze, FL. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Janeese has been such a mentor for me and I have learned so much from her and my heart was just broken. She is in charge of the Women's Ministry at St. James and being on Renew Leadership Team I was like "Oh no what are we going to do." I'm much better now. While I am going to miss them terribly I know that we serve a big God and He still has BIG plans for St. James and He still wants Chris and me to be a part of that. So everyone (The Spencers, the congregation, the new minister) are all having to truly live out walking by faith and not by sight because we don't really know what is to come. I think God is trying to teach me a lot of that right now... waiting and living by faith. I am terrified of the unknown but I am having to learn that God is in control and I need to rest in that.
Then, this huge conference we had been planning for work on Shaken Baby Syndrome was Saturday. I was SOOOO excited about it! My co-worker Sara and I had worked so hard getting everything together and set up and details worked out. Well remember when I told you I got sick... SATURDAY MORNING. I went, yall I really tried to be there. I got sick before I went, got sick in the car on the way there and got sick a few times while I was there. Sadly, I got as much done as I could and then I just had to go because I could barely stand anymore. I was so sad and felt horrible about leaving everyone there in charge and I couldn't help.
So like I said, last week was a little rough. But tomorrow is a new day and I can't wait. We have Staff Breakfast at work tomorrow which is always good, I can pretty much guarantee you I won't be able to eat the normal sausage, eggs, breakfast casserole but it will still be nice to see everyone after being holed up here since Friday afternoon. So if I could ask a favor... I'm about to attempt to eat something. PRAY my little weak body can handle it!!
