There is a reason I live in Altanta

I came home last night from church and my mom told me she recorded part of the news program for me to see. She told me they did a story on child trafficking that is happening here in Atlanta. I posted the link on my FB page, but I will also post it here. Atlanta is a hot spot for child trafficking because of our major highways and airport. There is easy access in and out of Altanta. The city also has more strip clubs per capita than Las Vegas, according to Alesia Adams, who works for the Salvation Army as a local service coordinator against human trafficking. That is horrible! Here is the link to the news story...atl child trafficking
Fighting this injustice has been my passion since freshman year of college when I learned of child soldiers in Uganda. As I gained more information about human trafficking, my passion grew. There are many times I want to ignore it. God keeps reminding me it is here and getting worse. Most people who know me know that I am passionate about this, but even with the passion, I struggle to be active. Recently, it has been difficult for me to sit round and do nothing. I have to believe there is a reason I live here in Altanta and have this passion. With most horrific stories I hear, I pray about it but nothing more. This I can't shake off. I have to do someting, I must do something. God keeps sending me information to remind me and keep the passion ignited. There is reason I am here at this time.

I have decided to research the different views on manhood and womanhood and write about my findings. I want to take this time to get any questions you might have or suggestions of reading materials. I want both good and bad. It has always been enjoyable for me to read up on a subject and see both sides before making any final judgments or forming opinions of my own. This will probably be a multi-part blog.

I am mainly going to do this for my own growth and understanding. I actually do not care how many read this and give it thought. I hope who ever reads my blog is encouraged and challenged. I care about what I say, but not about how popular my blog is.

Okay, backing away from that tangent, I have a few resources already in mind: The Bible, John Eldridge and his wife's books, a book on womanhood by Carolyn McCulley. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have questions you would like to be addressed, please let me know via this blog or Facebook.

Thank you, Reader!

Precious Little Lambs--Part Two

 Psalm 23:1-4

1.The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.       

~God is the best example we have of a good shepherd who cares for His sheep. Because God is our Shepherd we are assured we will never be in want. He meets our needs.  

2.He makes me lie down in green pastures.

   He leads me beside still waters.
~Sheep need a Shepherd to lead them to good things. Sheep will not go out looking for clean fresh water or for green fresh grass, they will stay in one place until they die if not guided by someone.
3.He restores my soul.
~Our Shepherd gives us rest when we need it.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
   for his name’s sake.
~I can't imagine being lead in paths of righteousness as being pleasant for sheep who are not righteous. We are not familiar with the path God leads us down, but He is there every step of the way, guiding us sometimes firmly, but always lovingly.

4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

 I will fear no evil,for you are with me;

 your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.
~Shepherds never really rest when with their sheep, they must always look out for their safety. Our Shepherd protects us so we have nothing to fear. The next phrase "your rod and staff they comfort me" is a little strange. A shepherd's rod and staff are not just for protection from predators, but also to correct the sheep when they start going astray. Sheep need to be prodded and pushed to make sure they go the right way. That is not comfortable for the sheep, but how comforting to know that our Shepherd does this for our good and to keep us close to Him. 

Sheep are usually thought of in a flock, hundreds of them together as one unit. As Christians, we are one Body, THE Bride of Christ. Perhaps sometimes we feel alienated by this, we are part of something bigger than ourselves which is good, but we must not forget that we are still individuals who have personal relationships with our Shepherd. Jesus tells a story of a shepherd with a hundred sheep (Matthew 18). One sheep gets separated from the flock. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes after that one sheep. Jesus uses that parable to show that we are collectively one Body, but we are also individually, God's child. He cares for us as a Church and as individuals. Never think for one moment that your personal life does not matter to God.

Update on Street Grace

Hello all,
Last Saturday I went with Street Grace to do a volunteer day with one of the ministries they partner with, Bright Futures Atl. I think I mentioned in a previous post that Street Grace does Volunteer days so you can get to know a ministry and see if it is where God is leading you to get plugged into.
This was the first time I have done anything with Street Grace and the first time I went somewhere to volunteer by myself. I was a bit nervous because Bright Futures is west of Atlanta, in the "not-so-great" part of town. I thankfully had no problem getting there. The ministry is located in a residential area and it was a nice house that the kids in the area can go to. Bright Futures provides after school and summer programs for the kids to encourage them to stay in school and graduate and keep them off the streets. The people at Bright Futures also use this time to pour into the lives of the kids and give the Gospel at any opportunity. Recently, they started a school for middle and high school grades. They have 13 enrolled in the school and they tutor and mentor many more.
Saturday, me and about 20 volunteers helped BFA do some maintenance around the property. I helped clean the inside of the house, others picked up trash and rake leaves and things like that outside. I met a few other volunteers with Street Grace and it was encouraging to talk with others who want to minister in the way I do--to get involved with aftercare of trafficked children. BFA does not work with that audience so I probably will not volunteer there, but it was good to see the place and learn what God is doing in the Atlanta area.
After we cleaned, we ate pizza with some of the kids and played volley ball. It was fun to hang out with the kids, but a part of me felt guilty that I was only going to be there that day and more than likely I will never see those kids again. I question what the point of it is? I know I helped out a little and it was appreciated, but what did I do that one day to encourage or spread the Gospel? I did something good, but did it speak Truth into the kids who worked along side me? I felt good about myself, but that is not the point of serving. I do know that day taught me that I should be willing to commit more time than I originally thought. For example, I was talking to one of the volunteers, Nicole, and she was telling me about if we volunteered to mentor a child who has been trafficked we had to make a serious commitment. If we say we are going to be there at such and such a time, we better be there. I didn't realize until then what a big commitment it will be and how unprepared I feel/am. So, for now, I wait for God's timing. I am going to see about getting training through Street Grace to mentor a trafficked victim and hope I can commit time and not back out because of fear. Continued prayer is asked for and appreciated.
Thanks for reading!
oh, and if you are interested in learning more about BFA here is their website: bright futures atl

Filling in Blank Spaces

Hey Everyone!!
I am so excited and I have to share this you guys.

Back in September or October, I emailed this ministry called Street GRACE about volunteering. Street GRACE is a ministry that works with organizations in the Atlanta area to provide physical needs, education, and mentoring to youth who are at risk of abuse, and child trafficking. I can't remember how I heard about them, but when I read their website I knew I wanted to work with them.

So, like I said I emailed them last Fall and never heard from them. I convinced myself it was God closing that door and I should just keep looking. Well, yesterday they emailed me back and said they had trouble with the email and so they were backlogged with hundreds of emails they could not read and respond to. Recently they had been able to get in there and respond. They apologized and gave me a name and email of the lady who is in charge of volunteers. I contacted her yesterday and filled out an application to volunteer. This morning I had an email form the lady, Amy, and another email about my application. Now, I have a profile I can log into and see the opportunities out there for me.

Amy also told me about a service day they are having and that it would be good for me to go and talk with other volunteers and with some other organizations and see where I might want to volunteer long term. There are a few ministries I already want to volunteer with. One is a mentor opportunity for girls in low-income neighborhoods. The other is for children healing from abuse. I really hope to work out a schedule that allows me to go out to these places and serve. I can't tell you how overwhelming and exciting this is.

God has His reasons for His timing. He fills in the blank spaces when its time to.

BTW: anyone who wants to should check out the website and see if this is something you want to join me in doing.
www.streetgrace.org

The Service Day is February 20th. I am planning on going as of now.

I would appreciate prayers about this, that I follow God's guidance with regards to where I volunteer, and for strength as I see broken families and hurting children.

Precious Little Lambs! --Part One

If you know me, you know I love using the analogy of a shephard and his sheep to explain our relationship with God. Well, I want to write about it here and go into more detail.
I saw the significance of this relationship when reading a book about servant leadership called "The Way of The Shephard" by Kevin Leman. This a good book for anyone who is in a leadership postition or wants to be. Its a small book and has seven principles to go by when leading a group no matter the number of people under your supervision. I had to read the book when I was a Resident Assisstant at Bryan. It helped me in leading people and knowing how to handle difficult situations with grace and paitence. As I read the book I couldn't help but be humbled by how perfectly we can be compared to sheep. Ever since reading that book, I love reading in the Scriptures when Good refers to us as sheep.
I used to read those passages and think "okay, we are like sheep because we are stupid and need a leader." But its more than that. We are stupid, like really stupid. Do you know how stupid sheep are? I found out by reading the book mentioned above and going to a sheep farm.

I will list the dumb things sheep do and their neediness and see if you can see the similarities:

• If sheep get stuck in a fence or between two trees, they are stuck there until someone gets them out. All they have to do is walk backwards, but they are too afraid to do that.
• Sheep will not go out and look for greener grass. If it was up to them they would stay in one spot forever, whether there was still grass there or not.
• Sheep will drink dirty water if that is where they are led to.
• Sheep trust when they shouldn't and don't trust when they should. Like for instance with food and drink, they will go where led and eat and drink what is offered, but they fight to follow their shephard.
• Sheep have to be constantly trained and retrained. I met a shephard who trains sheep for fair shows and he told me about how he has to train the sheep every day to do the same thing. If he misses one day of not training, he must start all over again.
• In a storm, a sheep will not run for cover, the shephard must lead them to safety. If a sheep stays out in the storm, they could get struck by lightning, or their wool can get drenched and weigh them down so they cannot move.
• Sheep have no defense mechanism, they might try to run away from predators, but they can't last long and soon give up.
• When a shephard guides his sheep he must use force to get them to go where he needs them, They don't follow easily.

Now, its not all bad, sheep are smart in one thing: They recognize their shephards voice and follow him. I actually didn't think this was really truly what happens, but the shephard I met said it was true. They can distinguish between voices and will only follow voices they recognize.

Okay, This is part one of the subject. If I keep going it will be a very long post. Please post questions and comments.
The next post will focus on the Scriptures that use the Shephard/sheep analogy. I want to look at them more in depth and so that means a whole new post.  Thanks for reading!

Yay! I have three followers!

My post has nothing to do with the title, just felt like declaring that! :)

I want take this opportunity to share a way you can donate to Haiti.
         Bethany Christian Services (a company I work for) works with an orphanage in Haiti called God's Littlest Angels. Its a Christian run orphanage. The orphanage building did not collapse, but they do have many broken dishes and property. The kids are okay and no one in the orphanage was badly hurt. Because of the aftershocks they have been sleeping outside the orphanage for fear that an aftershock will bring down the building.
        If you or someone you know would like to donate, but not sure where then follow this link and make a donation to Bethany "Haiti Earthquake Recovery" www.bethany.org/donate

 You can also go to the website for GLA and make a donation and stay up-to-date by reading their blog. http://www.glahaiti.org/home Click on Dixie's Message for her blog.

Bethany is also hoping to get a trip together to go help with recovery. I requested more information about it to see if God will open that door.

Of course, I strongly encourage prayer for Haiti and all those helping. From what I hear, there is not enough supplies to care for the survivors that have been found so far. And desperation brings violence.

I received this email this morning and want to share it with y'all.

Hi all-
Just wanted to give a quick update on the Haiti situation.
Please keep all of these families in your prayers over the next few days. It is very exciting for Bethany to be part of this event that will unite 80 children with their adoptive families late this evening.

Here is the update:
Bethany Christian Services is working with its orphanage partner in Haiti, God’s Littlest Angels (GLA) to bring 80 orphans to the United States to be united with their adoptive families, late this evening. A flight leaving at Haiti 7:40 p.m. on Thursday, January 21, will arrive in Miami at 9:40 p.m.

·    It is important to note that these Haitian children were already living at the GLA orphanage and their adoption was in process prior to the earthquake.
·    Out of the 80 children arriving, 58 children are placed with Bethany adoptive families.
·    Bethany has arranged two private jets for families traveling to Miami to meet their children.
·    Families will be meeting their children at the Miami International Airport Hotel, after the immigration process.
·    Earlier this week, the US Embassy in Haiti granted VISAs for these children to expedite the adoption process.
·    Typically adoptive parents would travel to Haiti (in two separate trips) to pick up their children.
·    This is unprecedented in the world of International Adoptions, where children are being flown out of the country to complete their adoptions.
·    Bethany Christian Services will have three staff members on the ground in Miami to assist families who are uniting with their children.
·    With these children now safely with their families, the orphanage director, Dixie Bickel, and her staff will be able to return to Haiti to help newly orphaned children at GLA.

Isn't that wonderful!?! 

I have had this blog for a few months now and still have not posted anything. I always get ideas and have a hard time with follow-through. Well, today is the day...

I have been reading "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers and read this..."There are times when you cannot understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings the blank space, see that you do not fill it, but wait. The blank spaces may come in order to teach you what sanctification means, or it may come after sanctification to teach you what service means. Never run before God's guidance. If there is the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt--don't."

Chambers goes on to explain that when we wait on God's timing to do things, we are prepared and we save ourselves from heart-ache. I think we still feel deep emotion and it is hard to follow God's will at times, but He does equip us to wholeheartedly follow Him.

I am in a blank space right now. I need to wait on God's timing and be content where I am at but its difficult, especially not knowing what God has in store. God has me here for a reason. He is showing me that I have opportunity here to minister, but because its not how I thought it would be, I have been blind to those opportunities.I have no doubt I am where God wants me. I have a job at a Christian agency, so I have encouragement from co-workers to minister and witness to those I come in contact with at work. I have a friend living with me who will willingly go with me on Saturdays to serve at Wellspring or where ever we find God leading us. I have a family that has said they will support me and go with me to minister to people in and around Atlanta.

So, what's my problem? What is stopping me? I am. I was talking to a friend Saturday and he point blankly told me that. You know, he's one of those friends :) He is right though. I am the reason I am frustrated that life isn't what I thought it would be. I am the reason it is hard to follow God and wait on His timing. How appropriate  is it that I am teaching about God's timing and patience on Wednesday night to the kids.

God's timing is perfect!