Slavery Still Exists

As I grow older... as we welcome more nieces and nephews into our family and as Casey and I prepare to become parents in the coming years, my awareness of protection and safety grows as well.  I look at children that have been abused as they arrive at the hospital for recovery and anger grows in my soul.  To look at another human being and see abuse; to talk with friends and hear stories, it births a sense of responsibility.  I immediately ask questions in my head like, “if someone had known”, “if only they had spoken up”, “if someone had done something” maybe the hurt wouldn't have been so bad, maybe the abuse wouldn't have gone on for so long. 

It’s hard when we live in a world that revolves around ourselves.  All we see and think about are how is this going to affect me and how my needs are going to be met.  That’s how we’re trained to think through media.  So when does change occur?  When do we stop thinking that way and take a stand?  When do we tune our ears to the cries of others and listen to God as He instructs us to follow paths of obedience? 

I learned about the A21 Campaign at Elevation church when Christine Caine spoke during our Code Orange Revival.  A21 is a partner of the End it Movement and together they work to end slavery of all kinds. 

27 million people are currently enslaved.  8 out 10 human trafficking cases worldwide involve the sex industry.  The average age is 12 years and yet only 1 in 100,000 European traffickers are every convicted. 

Katja's Story by A21

I think somewhere in our past we were taught that slavery ended when really the “industry” brings in an estimated $32 Billion each year.  So… do we go on as normal, turning our heads the other way or pretending not to see what’s going on around us? What if it was your sister?  Your niece?  Your son?  Is it going to take hitting close to home to wake us up?  If you’re ready to see change and take action, there are lots of ways to get involved.  Don’t wait until it’s too late, start now and learn ways that you can help!

#ENDITMOVEMENT

Don't let the "What if's" keep you from "What's next"

The older I get, the angrier I get at my complacency.

When I sit down at night and look back at my day, how did I spend my time?  Did I use my gifts to bless others? Did I strive for greater works?  Did I take the time that God gave me and use it to make a better tomorrow?

I sit in complacency too often.  I wait for others to do what I should do for myself.  I give in and give up too quickly and too often.  The only one to blame is myself.  God has given me everything I need.  It's sad to look back on days wasted, time given up and moments missed because I didn't put in the work.

It's as I sit here on a border line between the past and the future that I must reflect, review and prepare.  There was something about this past year that showed me my weaknesses and my strengths, something about realizing how much time and how many moments I didn't grab and fulfill their potential that terrifies me.  I don't want next year or the years to follow to be the same.  I want to be better, greater.. a force.  I want to stand for my beliefs and use my strengths to make a difference in my life and others.  I don't want to be ordinary or "normal".

I let so many things pass by because of FEAR!  I feared confrontation, complication and failure above all else.  I let fears in me keep me from my potential.  I don't live with regret because it's out of mistakes that I have learned and grown but that doesn't give me the right to continue making the same mistakes and to remain complacent.  I let my "what if's" keep me from my "what's next".

A year from now, if I turn around and see the same person, that's my fault.  If I find myself in a place, in a job, in a debt, in a circumstance that I didn't want, that's my fault.  It's time to work, to put my head down and push.  Push forward with everything I have.  The time for weakness is over.  It's now or never that I take the reigns and run.

I have gotten so familiar and comfortable in this zone that I didn't realize the time passing by.  I kept saying tomorrow, next week, next year.  What if there isn't a next year?  What if my opportunity is now?  God is here, listening, ready to empower me with everything I need to achieve, to succeed and to be greater.

It's time.. now.. today.  I may start small but I will move forward, every day, better and better and one day, soon, I will turn around look back and smile because today was the day that made my future possible.

No longer will my fears, my hesitations, my What ifs keep me from my What's next!

Elevation Creative: I Will Fight

www.vimeo.com/83497843

Leave a woman alone in her kitchen...

Leave a woman alone in her kitchen….

                                                                   and she’ll get creative with her food!

This afternoon my husband headed off to work a bit and that meant Eva and I were alone in the house.  I lit a few candles, poured some hot tea and watched the snow fall outside our windows.  As I stood in our kitchen and rambled through drawers and cabinets looking for some fantastic junk food to devour, I found myself stranded.  Here I was, snowed in with only healthy food to eat… no ice cream, no chocolate, no potato chips! 

It was just before I had a cravings pity party that I remembered I had two zucchini in the fridge.  I had bought them hoping to make “noodles” with them in accordance with a recipe I found on Pinterest.  You see.. my husband and I have been trying to cut back on gluten.. for no other reason than we would like to eat a bit healthier and pay more attention to exactly what we’re eating.  We have a couple of friends that eat completely gluten free and have seen tremendous results but I realize that living “gluten free” is extremely difficult and practically impossible at times, so we’re trying to start with small changes and get creative with other options.

After searching through my Pinterest boards, I finally found the zucchini noodles recipe.  It was really very simple and seems like it would be fun to play around with and add your own touch.

                 

I took a zucchini, shaved off the exterior coat(not required), then (using the guard) sliced the zucchini with our julienne slicer.  After letting the “noodles” sit for a few minutes, I warmed a skillet with the “noodles”, some marinara sauce, basil, garlic and black pepper.  It’s amazing how well the zucchini held it’s texture and I promise there was hardly any difference between my zucchini spaghetti and regular pasta spaghetti.  It will definitely be a new staple in our house. 

                      

I was reminded that this was the exact reason we try not to stock “junk food” in our house… so that when you find yourself ransacking cabinets looking for chocolate or salty chips and find nothing, you’ll turn to the healthy stuff and that helps keep me on my path to a healthier lifestyle!