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Teenage Girl

Posted in Guest Post, tagged creations, Creator, girl, gritty, guest post, lost childhood, social justice, Struggle, teenage girls, ybevoice on March 10, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Hum, this is a little awkward, but this guest post might be a little too … gritty for some of you.

This guest post is by a writer whose blog I have just recently subscribed to. She writes poignantly about whatever she chooses, often dealing with some of the daily plights that females might face.

The post I am providing a link to, today, is called Girl.

Girl reads something like a diary entry, written by a teenage girl. It is specific enough in it’s detail to let the reader understand the heart of this girl, yet leaves enough ‘holes’ where there is an absence of details to make you wonder.

As I read it I thought of the teenage girls I pass in the halls of the high school I work, every. day.

I thought of individual girls … girls who fake confidence … girls who ‘look’ tough … girls whose eyes … don’t … look.

Girls who struggle to fit. anywhere. with anyone.

Girls who were once …

cradled in their mother’s arms

cheered as they took their first steps

wondered at the bean seed they planted

smiled proudly as they were applauded at Christmas concerts

giggled with their girlfriends while swinging higher on the playground

What happened?

What is happening?

To our girls.

I say this as a mom who delights in the whimsical, beautiful, confusing, frustrating, magical, wonder-filled packages of hormone-filled females that my daughters are.

I say this as woman who works in a high school, and I see girls who are losing … have lost, all that they were created for.

I say this as a Christian woman, who knows that my breaking, broken heart for this beautiful creatures is breaking and broken like their Creator.

They were created for

SO MUCH MORE!

So, some of you might not want to click on the link I have provided today.

It might be too gritty.

It might be too upsetting.

But, I believe, it is the social justice issue that never gets mentioned, has always existed, and is within the power of all of us living in the First World to improve, impact, and maybe even … change.

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A Giggle to Start the Weekend

Posted in Guest Post, WONDER, tagged anjelah johnson, beautiful nail, boyfriend, comedian, giggle, mani/pedi on March 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I was introduced to this comedian by a young lady while on vacation in San Francisco a few years ago, and I have never had a ‘normal’ pedicure since!

Anjelah Johson is a brilliant young comedian, who is able to completely entertain and amuse without violating my course language sensitive ears.

In this particular skit, Anjelah shares her experience of going to have a manicure at a nail salon. I have never been to the ‘Beautiful Nail’, but I am sure that ‘Tammy’ works at the place I have gone to!

Enjoy a four minute giggle … a great way to start the weekend!

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Can You Forgive?

Posted in Guest Post, WONDER, tagged atrocities, concentration camps, Corrie Ten Boom, Forgiveness, jewish concentration camps, jewish underground, jews, world war 2 on March 7, 2013| 4 Comments »

Corrie Ten Boom … images-2

Those of us who know of her story feel the weight of our own struggles melt away, in the shadow of what she suffered.

Those of us who know of her story and who hold onto bitterness for the things that others have done to us, feel guilt for not forgiving knowing what she could forgive the awful atrocities she had endured … even the loss of her dear sister, Betsy.

Corrie Ten Boom …

her family worked in the Netherlands to save many Jews running and hiding from the Nazi SS
someone squealed on their good work
Corrie and her sister Betsie were sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp
both sisters suffered terrible atrocities in the camp
Betsie died
Corrie lived
Corrie came face to face with one of the guards, many years later
she had to choose whether or not to forgive

Please take a moment to hear, in the words of Corrie Ten Boom, about forgiveness.

… but He can!

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What Are YOU Hitting Him With?

Posted in Guest Post, WONDER, tagged John Piper, memorizing, memorizing scripture, Psalm 119:11, sunday school on March 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I remember vividly being dropped off at Sunday School as a child, and being very nervous, because I knew that the teacher would want to hear my memory verse. I was never so good at memorizing.

images As an adult, I am still not so good at memorizing.

Oh, I have students memorize, I encourage others to memorize, and I still sometimes try to memorize … I am just not very good at it.

The memorizing of scripture is a good, helpful and wise thing to be actively, regularly doing.

Presently I am working on a portion of Psalm 139 … I aim to have memorized it by a speaking date in May (imagine a clammy-palmed, dry throat, finger-nail chewing middle aged lady cowering in a chair … that would me be imagining that I can actually do this!

But, I am going to try … because it really is good for me!

John Piper is a brilliant author, speaker, pastor (I also realized when watching this video that he does a great impression of a bobble head doll). Check out his eight sentences on the value of memorizing scripture.

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The Sex Trade

Posted in Guest Post, WONDER, tagged 100 huntley street, Brian McConaghy, Cambodia, chapel, guest post, horror, Light, Ratanak International, Redemption, sex trade on March 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

6954433df19278e31fa16459d806097e Well, I got your attention, didn’t I?

Due to the title of this blog, my stats will be through the roof.

You would not believe the sort of searches that I awaken to each and every morning. It is, at times (too many times) offensive, frightening and causes me to wonder what causes these men to seek images and words of child sexual assault. I also smile when I realize how ironic that these, presumably male, seekers who are looking for something so dark, have come to my blog, which I pray is saturated with the light of Christ.

I heard about Ratanak International at my workplace in a high school, when the founder (and former RCMP Investigator), Brian McConaghy spoke to our high school students and staff. Over five hundred individuals sat there, in utter silence, while this rather plain-looking, middle aged man told simply the facts of the lives of too many young girls (as young as five).

No one walked away unchanged.

Today I bring to you a video produced by 100 Huntley Street. Please watch it, not because it is ‘good’, but because the more people who know what happens to little girls all over the world, the more light that is shed on this dark, dark hell on Earth …

the easier for redemption to come to those who need it’s re-birthing breath of fresh air …

and light.

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Are You An Invisible Woman?

Posted in Guest Post, tagged Biblical truths, dramatist, Encouragement, fresh brewed life, nicole johnson, the invisible woman, women of faith on March 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

This week I am prepping and preparing for a speaking opportunity in May, and so the posts this week may be more the contribution of others rather than of myself.

Today, I want to introduce you to Nicole Johnson.

I ‘met’ Nicole at a Women of Faith Conference. She was the dramatist, and she weaved her own experiences into her personal learning of Biblical truths that made me giggle, sigh and sob.

If you ever get the opportunity to attend a Women of Faith Conference, GO! I promise you will leave energized with encouragement, thought-provoking learning and a sense that you have a purpose … and couldn’t we all utilize that?!

Please, please, please … check out the video of Nicole Johnson, learning about the building of cathedrals.

“Because God sees …”

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Revolutionary Change

Posted in Guest Post, WONDER, tagged aholyexperience, Ann Voskamp, Girls, gratitude, guest post, how women can get really radical for their sisters, revolution, thanks, Women on March 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Last week I wrote about how just doing ‘good’ is not enough, in my post If I … but don’t have Love.

The day after I wrote it, I received a post from one of the people whose blogs I follow, and I thought how timely it was, for where my head was on the issue of love, and social justice.

I love the heart of this woman!

Ann Voskamp, book writer (One Thousand Gifts), blog writer ( http://www.aholyexperience.com ), mother to six, wife to the Farmer, child of God.

This post had me silently ‘amen-ing’ her thoughts at 6am, smiling and eyes filling with the fluid of the heart.

images-3 Ann deals inwardly, and then with words, with the plight of too many young women around the world. She deals with the need for revolutionary change, and where that change can be birthed. She deals with the message of the world (one of good intentions … but … without … love) and with the message of the power of gratitude, of love … in making the change.

The post, How Women Can Get Really Radical For Their Sisters, moved me. I encourage you to take a read.

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Old to New: The Weight Loss DiaBLOG – Month 8

Posted in Weight Loss DiaBLOG, women, WONDER, tagged accountability, diaBLOG, diet, Exercise, goals, losing weight, myfitnesspal, Old to New, pounds, Shaun T, weight, Weight Loss on March 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

More than any loss of pounds, I am excited about how much more physically active I have gotten on a more regular basis.

I walk at least three times a week, for twenty to forty minutes. Finally, after months of physical stagnation and lack of motivation I have gotten my butt in motion!

So, with all this new-found activity, one would think that I would have lost a significant amount of poundage … sigh …

Well the four pounds that I added in January are gone 😀 . It seriously took until yesterday to finally be able to see it on the scales and declare it. Like house guests who came unannounced, and undesired, I thought they would never leave!

So, now it is on to March, and my five pound loss a month goal.

I am realizing that I am going to have to get really focused, both in regards to what I put into my mouth, and what I do to get active.

images-1 Next month I will focus more with regards to the area of food. For now I want to introduce a video. This video is only 15 minutes (truly we all can find 15 minutes each day … or at least 15 minutes three to four times a week). I discovered it on Pinterest, but it comes from an episode of Dr. Oz.

Shaun T is a fitness expert … and he looks the part (sorry ladies, I tried to find a photo of him wearing a shirt, to no avail). He has two exercise programs, Insanity and Hip Hop Abs. I am not sure, but I believe that he is the male version of Jillian Michaels.

What I loved about this particular video is that it is just 15mins. … a small chunk to get started with.

So, though March may come in like a lamb, I am hoping it (and I) go out like a lion!

Shaun T’s Miracle 15min Workout

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If I … But Don’t Have Love …

Posted in WONDER, tagged 1 Corinthians 13, 1 John 4:7, a God thing, But don't have love, causes, first world problems, Francis Chan, God is love, golden rule, king and country, love others, Luke 6:31, occupy movement, proof of your love, social justice, support, trendy on February 28, 2013| 2 Comments »

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy
but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

If I speak God’s Word with power,
revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day,
and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps,
but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr,
but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere.

So, no matter what I say,
what I believe,
and what I do,
I’m bankrupt without love.”

1 Corinthians 13:1-4

In 1 John 4:7 we are told, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” Then, later in 1 Corinthians 13 we are told it is “is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (v. 4-7).

It would appear that if we are to love like God loves, we need to do so with the mind and actions of Christ in all that we do … otherwise, Christ, and all that He brings to the table is omitted.

Everywhere we go today we are faced with two words. They are ‘trendy’ words. They are ‘in’ words. But they are not always accompanied by the love of Christ. They are … social justice.

Social justice is an attempt within a society to address issues such as world poverty, clean water, sickness, human trafficking, homelessness, the environment, and oppression around the world. It is a valid, and valiant desire to fulfill the Golden Rule (“do for others what you would want done for you” aka Luke 6:31).

Our North American society is gaga over social justice. The phrase “first world problems” (complaints made by only those of us who live in the privileged 10-15% of the world) has replaced the phrase “out of the box thinking” of just a few years ago. The Occupy movement that littered many cities with everything from human refuse to biodegradable coffee cups, preached an end to the injustice of economic inequality.

Politicians pull out Social Justice issues to win over voters and elections. Teachers integrate into our curriculum teaching of the need to give and to do for those who are not as fortunate as those of us in the ‘first world’. Preachers preach of our need to love our neighbor … in another country, another continent.

“… but if we don’t have love …”

Back in December, I wrote in my post, A God Thing, about the apathy of my homeroom class in choosing one of the prescribed causes to support. The overwhelming response was, “I can easily donate _____ to one of the causes, but it really does not have any real meaning for me.”

I wonder if what these teenage students were really saying, “I can give, but I don’t have love … heck, I do not even know who I am giving to.”

I believe strongly in social justice, I donate to causes and organizations that are the hands and feet of my moula (as well as of Christ), but I have to admit that, like those teens in my homeroom, I have become so satiated with the message of social justice that it is losing any real meaning for me.

Social justice has become so trendy, so … loveless.

What if, rather than try to save those living on the streets of Tijuana, we help our neighbor who is struggling under financial burdens that might make that family homeless?

What if, rather than try to get kids out of prostitution in Thailand, we work towards building up the young girls in our neighborhoods, our schools, our churches, so that they are not tempted into

What if, rather than helping the sick, the lame, the disabled in a third world country, we got to know the senior citizen who lives alone, or the single mom whose son is Autistic, or the gentleman in the wheelchair who you see whenever you go to the swimming pool?

What if …

we showed love …

to those most near to us?

Could there be a more ‘just’ action to do as a society?

Then maybe helping those under oppression, without basic needs, and without hope around the world would have more meaning to us?

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The Main Course

Posted in WONDER, tagged being, doing, doing verses being, hang on every word, hard-wired, help, Luke 10:38-42, Mary and Martha, praise God, Sustenance, the main course, To Do List on February 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

We humans are hard-wired to ‘do’ things. I wonder if that was the case in the garden of Eden? I wonder if Adam and Eve awoke with a mental list of all that needed to be accomplished in the hours that day provided to them? I wonder if they were goal-oriented individuals?

Can’t you just imagine it, Adam’s eyes opening as the sun creeps across his butt naked flesh, he stretches, stirring Eve. Adam then declares:

“Eve, I need to get up from this cozy lamb wool bedding, and praise God.
Then I will walk over to the animals, and praise God.
Then I will look at the trees, and praise God.
Then I will wade into the water, and praise God.
Then I will look up at the sun, and praise God.
What are you doing today?”

I am just not thinking that this is how it was before sin entered the garden, and all of humanity was banned from it’s perfect beauty. I somehow think 4fbaa0a968bbc5f72c0f50452a2524e7 that Adam and Eve were hard-wired differently. They were never concerned with existing, they just breathed the breath that God had given, and everything else that they needed was there, for them to enjoy.

It reminds me of my struggle with the story of Mary and Martha:

“As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”

The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”
Luke 10:38-42

I tend to relate to Martha … I would be inclined to be in the kitchen preparing the grub for the gang that has just descended on my house, unannounced. I would be fuming because my sister (no doubt a younger sister) was not helping me to prepare what might be served to the guests.

But my ways are not God’s ways … thank goodness!

The main course has nothing to do with food, but spiritual sustenance.

He only requires that we live a life relying on Him for sustenance for life.

He only requires that we sit at His feet, and “hang on every word.”

No ‘to do’ list required!

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