Defeated

I've been feeling pretty defeated lately.  I look at the world and get overwhelmed by the amount of pain that is inflicted on one human being by another.  I feel a sense of urgency to intervene and save those who are drowning in suffering.  I think and plan and try to feel what others are feeling so that I can empathize with them.  Then I cry because I realize there is nothing I can do.  People are grieving and I can't save them - no one can.  Basically, the world is just awful and crappy and full of pain.  I'm overwhelmed by this and feel the cloud of depression hanging over me. 

But the truth is, I've been handling this completely wrong.  It's true - I can't save anyone.  Thinking that I can is putting myself on a pedestal from which I will surely fall.  It is not my job to be anyone's savior.  It's Jesus'.  Hopefully, I can be used by Him, but HE is the only one who does the saving.  Not me.  Forgetting to focus my attention on being used by Him in the midst of the pain will only result in tiring efforts without results.

I'm reading the devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, which is written as if God is speaking to us.  Today's devotion said: 

When you set out to find Me in a day, you discover that the world is vibrantly alive with My Presence.  You can find Me not only in beauty and birdcalls, but also in tragedy and faces filled with grief.  I can take the deepest sorrow and weave it into a pattern for good.  Search for Me and My messages, as you go through this day.  You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with your whole being.

He is there, even in the midst of all of the pain.  It's not our burden to bear alone.  The pain won't go away, and we can be there to be used by Him, but we don't have to be swallowed up by the pain.  We can find Him in it and be used by Him to help others out of it. 


Romans 8:28

 

Summer Project?

Hi Everyone,

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I just haven't been sure of what to write or in what direction to take this blog.  However, I need some input now, and I thought what better place to ask for help than in my blog? So, here's the situation:

Last December I quit my job so that I could focus on finishing my master's degree in counseling.  This has been a HUGE help as graduate school is pretty demanding.  I have been in school full-time since quitting my job, but it just recently hit me that I will have almost a 2 month break from school in July and August, with no work either!! What to do with my time?

I was thinking it would be cool to travel somewhere and work with an anti-sex-trafficking organization to get some experience, but why travel somewhere else when there is a big problem right here in Virginia Beach?

So, this brought me to the conclusion that I could do a summer project right in the Hampton Roads area.  The only problem is that there's not a ton of time to raise money or support since it is almost May.  I thought about maybe heading up a SOAP outreach or doing some sort of fund-raiser, but I'm just not sure what to do.  I want to do a project that will have an impact on our community in raising awareness of the reality of sex-trafficking in our backyard, provide outreach and help for those currently being trafficked in our area, or to work toward a safe house or shelter for rescued victims.

I would love to hear any thoughts or ideas you all have!  Let me know if you are aware of any projects currently underway or if you have an idea for something new.  I welcome your feedback!

Thanks!

Keri

Love & Scissors

Last night I met Megan Hawkins, one of the co-founders of Love and Scissors. She is an amazing girl with a passion for sex-trafficked victims and seeing them restored through the love of Jesus.  She and Karlie Johnson are on their way to San Jose, Costa Rica in March to begin a 10 week cosmetology program for women who are trapped in prostitution.  Their desire is to empower women with skills that will provide income for their families and give them the courage to get off the streets.  It will also give Megan and Karlie the chance to build relationships and walk with them down this path of change with encouragement and prayer, giving them hope with the love of Jesus Christ.

I am so encouraged by these ladies who are stepping out in faith, even in the face of uncertain circumstances, to fulfill the calling that God has placed on their hearts.  For more information you can visit their website at loveandscissors.com.

The girls are leaving in 3 weeks and still have a big chunk of money to raise for their living expenses while in Costa Rica and for hair supplies for the program.  Megan is cutting hair at Rudy & Kelly in the Greenbrier mall on Fridays and Saturdays in an effort to raise the necessary funds.  If it's time for a haircut (or even if it's not) give her a call!

Virginia Beach Justice Initiative

Tonight I went to the Virginia Beach Justice Initiative monthly meeting.  They have some pretty awesome plans and ideas brewing.  Right now we are in the process of splitting all the volunteers into teams so that everyone's talents and interests can be utilized - and there really is something for everyone! Some of the plans that are in the works right now include: 

- A team for prep and planning for a safe house in VA Beach 

- Teams to do outreach to the homeless, at strip clubs, prisons, inner-city, international students

- A team for survivor advocacy 

- A team for speaking and raising awareness 

- A team for marketing needs 

- A bunch more teams...but I can't hold this one in any longer... 

A TEAM FOR COUNSELING AND RESTORATION OF SURVIVORS!! 

I think my heart exploded when I saw that. 

I am so pumped for all that is going to come out of VBJI and am so excited to be a part of it. Sometimes it is so hard to be patient in the planning, preparing, meeting, talking, stages. I just want to GET OUT THERE.  But, it will happen.  

I learned an important lesson tonight too.  In the movement against sex-trafficking we are fighting to protect.  We aim to protect the young ones from harm, to protect the ones who have survived from further harm, and to protect those who are yet to be found. However, we can't protect others if we don't protect ourselves.  It's not a cause to be taken lightly.  If our God is for us, then who can be against us, right? BUT, we need to be carefully tuned into the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We should walk when Christ says walk, but stop when He says stop. He will protect us, but let's be smart about it. 

This is more or less a reminder to myself, but I thought I'd share anyway.(I may or may not believe that I'm partners with Olivia Benson from Law & Order: SVU and think that I can beat up bad guys with my bare hands and put criminals in jail. But, as much as I hate to admit it, that is a TV show.) Hey...a girl can dream, right? 

Pimp and Ho Chic

Wobble-dy wobble-dy wa wobble wobble
I’m st-stacking my paper my wallet look like a bible
I got girlies half naked that (stuff) look like the grotto
How your waist anorexic and then your (butt) is colossal
Drop that (butt) make it boomerang
Take my belt off (girl)....
Tippy tow tippy tay you gonna get a tip today

... Girl you talk to much, shut up...

These lyrics are from the #3 ranked rap song on the Billboard charts this week.

Barf. Seriously?!?!? And that's only what I could stomach to write on here.  No wonder we have a trafficking problem in our country.  

Boys are taught through the media that telling a girl to "shut up and dance" makes you cool and popular. That being a pimp is the life and that normal interactions with women look like this garbage.  Girls are desensitized to this kind of pornographic language and eventually just accept it as normal. Being a ho becomes glamorous and sexy, never-mind being degraded and used. 

"Pimp and ho chic" is everywhere you turn - in movies, on TV, on the radio. Girls have started calling each other ho's and being "pimp" is seen as the highest praise for a boy.  For kids who don't have positive role models in their life, the images that they see in the media are the only ones they look to.  It's a dangerous trap.

So this makes me wonder...why on earth do ALL rap artists (if you can even call them artists) and other media figures keep endorsing this facade?  Do they have any idea what images they are supporting?  Have they heard the stories of the girls who are kidnapped off the street, gang raped, sold to strangers, and treated like animals?  That scenario doesn't seem so chic.  

One voice doesn't seem like a lot coming from someone like you or me.  But if that one voice came from...say...Lil' Wayne, think of all the people that would listen. I would love to hear one song come on the radio that tells a girl she deserves respect and that tells a boy that being a man doesn't mean paying for sex.  Just one song, one voice, could start to cause a shift in this deluded way of thinking.  

Pray this week for a shift in the mainstream culture.  Pray that the age of "pimp and ho chic" can become a thing of the past. Pray that even one voice could come forward and promote truth rather than empty lies. 

Pro-Life, Pro-Choice, and No Choice

So...you all know Dr. House, right?  The cynical, atheistic, pro-choice doctor with severe daddy issues?  The clip above is from an episode where House must operate on a fetus while it is still in it's mother's womb.  Needless to say, House was appalled that a mother would put her own life at risk to save her fetus, who wasn't even a human being yet.  Or so he thought...check it! 

Sanctity of Human Life Week is this week, January 15^th-22^nd.  Sanctity of Human Life Day was initially declared by former President Bush back in 2003 in anticipation of the 30^th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which legalized abortion in the United States. 

I heard a statistic in church this past Sunday from the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Tidewater regarding abortions in our area.  They said that for every 3 babies born in the past year, 1 was aborted.  This statistic also means that for every 3 women who had a child, 1 woman was put at an increased risk for major psychological problems due to having an abortion.  These problems include post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual dysfunction, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, alcohol and drug abuse, eating disorders, chronic relationship problems, and repeat abortions. 

The “pro-choice” movement may seem like it has a women’s best interest at heart, but does it really?  Does encouraging a woman to make a choice that may lead to PTSD, relationship problems, and even death seem like a helpful voice of reason?

But I digress…

Now, think about it this way.  Think about a woman who is sold for sex every single day.  Despite all of the other mental, physical, and emotional trauma that she is experiencing, she is also being put at an increased risk of pregnancy.  Obviously a pregnant girl isn’t going to make a pimp as much money as he would like, so he takes care of it, whether the girl wants him to or not.  It is not uncommon for a girl who has been trafficked for 2-3 years to have had a dozen abortions.  That’s a dozen opportunities for increased trauma, increased suicidal ideation, and increased psychological dysfunction.

So, in light of Sanctity of Human Life Week, take a moment to pray for those whose lives have been torn apart by abortion.  Also, pray that those who are struggling about an unwanted pregnancy will have the strength and support to choose life, for their unborn child, and themselves.  

America: Land of the free?

There is such a broad misconception that sex-trafficking only occurs in far-away, developing countries.  Most would believe that a problem this horrendous couldn't thrive on American soil.  Unfortunately however, America is fertile ground for the growth of this dehumanizing crime. This video gives a quick, comprehensive look into the child sex-trafficking problem in the United States.  Show your friends.