This subject is actually near and dear to me. Child trafficking for labor and sex is specifically troubling to me.  It is a subject that has kept me up at night balling my eyes out in intercession for an end to this sinful madness.  It is a subject that has led me to get involved (on a small scale) with International Justice Mission and meet with my local congressman to urge him (well, his representative) to pass through important child sex trafficking legislation.  Please check out some of these sites and consider getting involved in this matter:  Pray for an end.  Pray for boldness to take political action.  For the record, most legislation brought before the U.S. Senate and Congress is bi-partisan, meaning both Democrats and Republicans “support it.”  So far, the amounts of money proposed to be spent by the U.S. government is a drop in the hat compared to the overall budget and not a concern for our government officials.  The reason these laws don’t get passed though is because they are pushed aside by the big dog laws: like health care reform.  These proposed bills get overlooked and then our congressman and senators take a summer break from their work… having no new interventions in place domestically or internationally to combat human trafficking, stop human trafficking, prosecute those who are perpetrators of it, or provide recovery assistance to the victims of it.

Now, I urge you again. Pray for an end to modern day slavery.  Pray to be a part of that end.  Pray to be a tool of healing and redemption for ALL of those involved in it.  Act when the Holy Spirit prompts – there are several organizations  and churches out there like Make Way Partners and Crossroads that can making getting involved relatively easy (logistically, not emotionally).

Don’t just complain about Craigs List on Twitter. That may be bringing about some awareness, but as my hubby pointed out to me, it’s also limiting awareness.  Human trafficking is advertised and perpetuated everywhere:  local yellow pages, on the streets through word of mouth (yes, Ohio has a HUGE trafficking problem).  Don’t just blame the Craigslist folk and think you’ve done your duty.  Don’t just think you’ve got your own cause you’re passionate about, and don’t have time to focus on this one too.  People’s lives are at stake.  It especially angers me to think that our entertainment driven culture  can watch (for leisure) Law & Order Special Victims Unit for an hour or more each week but not spend an hour combating similar REAL crimes through prayer, writing letters, etc.

Christian Women: Our ancestors helped kick African slavery in the butt and we should be actively doing the same to rescue the men, women, and children who are being traded and abused today.  Go to The Oaks tonight at 7:30pm and get more informed. May Satan be bound in chains, not those whom God created!

End Jill’s preaching here

Most importantly, in an attempt to really focus on Christ – the author and perfector of my faith – my savior, redeemer and Lord… I have been studying scripture regarding fear, trust, hope, etc.  I have been making a notebook full of scripture that I hope to focus on during my labor instead of focusing on the fears and lies of the enemy.  I have also been creating a music play list filled with worship music and other songs that bring me comfort and help me to lean into the Lord instead of prayer.

I have also been reading a book called Christ Centered Childbirth.  It’s been helpful in redirecting me toward scripture reading and meditating on Christ.  I wish I would’ve started reading it earlier in my pregnancy (when my dear friend originally loaned it to me).

Anyway, thanks be to God for once again reeling me back in.  I am experiencing PEACE AND JOY AND HOPE regarding this birthing process and meeting my Baby Girl!

Richard Foster has a section on the “prayer of tears” in his book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home.  I remember reading this years ago and feeling so encouraged that even through my wordless, tearful prayers, I am connecting with God.  I felt liberated from thinking I was just a silly emotional girl who frequently got overwhelmed by the world… to the point of tears.  I realized that the Holy Spirit was interceding for me through those tears.   I’ve experienced the prayer of tears a lot lately… and it has been both exhausting and wonderful.  I have experienced that raw dependence on the Lord that frequently gets overshadowed by my more intentional and “eloquent” prayers.  If you’ve ever prayed with me, you should laugh at the “eloquent” reference… all my prayers are a bit rugged and lack finesse!

Anyway, I believe prayer (communication with God) takes many shapes and formats… so be encouraged to BE REAL with the Lord.  Don’t try to fit your prayers into one mold or way of teaching.  It’s been a long time since I read Foster’s book but I think I’m going to revisit it… and be encouraged to pray constantly and with freedom.

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

If you read Acts 2 in its entirety, it seems that the generosity that flowed out of the community of believers was from their awareness of God’s generosity through Christ toward them:

Acts 2: 23-24

“this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.  God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

I have some awesome friends who live generous lives within and beyond their fellow community of Christ followers.  Wilson’s Mom has clothed our boys with hand-me-downs for years, Northside Squirrel keeps my hair cut and colored (often times providing lunch as she does so).  She along with my Waynesville friend have given me tons of prayer support and encouragement during this pregnancy.  Norwood Mama has given and loaned me things ever since I first told her I was pregnant with Justice.  Adelaide’s Mama is one of the most hospitable and welcoming people I have ever met.  These women along with so many more (like my “Macedonian Princess” and Anna’s Mom) have prayed for me, encouraged me, and taught me so much about what it looks like to love Jesus and depend upon Him to meet the needs of me and my family.   My mom belongs at the top of this list for Christian generosity – not just for all that she does for me, but for the way she sacrifices her time and comfort to serve and encourage the ladies in her immediate church family! I am so thankful for my community of believers – both locally and globally!

These women encourage me to be more generous (something that I desire to be but seldom do).  They encourage me to look at possessions and time not as my own, but as that which belongs to the body of believers for the sake of the gospel.  Please join me in offering up a prayer of thanksgiving for these women and the women in your life who are living out their faith and doing it right!

As a very cheesey (and now mega-TBN) church I attended a few times in Florida used to say to close celebrations : HIP-HIP-HOORAY!

Please pray I lean into the Lord this weekend and not frivolous cyber chatter.

Back when I was single, my Florida roommate and I decided not to get cable because we didn’t want to shell out the cash for it and we figured we would be way too busy enjoying sunny outdoor events to stay inside in front of the tube.  Unfortunately, the CEO where we worked did not like that we were without cable and found a way for the company to foot the bill so we could “keep track of our company’s infomercial air time.”  Needless to say, my roommate and I soon began to plant ourselves in front of the television watching E True Hollywood Stories instead of getting involved in a church and meeting new friends.  Fail.

When I moved back to Ohio and lived alone in an apartment, I initially had the TV on non-stop.  I liked the background noise.  It made me feel less lonely and less likely to worry about all the strange noises I heard around me.  (Or so I thought.)  Somehow, I don’t remember how, but God revealed to me that this was detrimental to my spirit: my fear of being lonely and my new best friend, the television.  I decided to put my TV in the closet (my big, cumbersome non-flat-screen TV).  On the dresser I previously used as a TV stand, I set up an altar to the Lord.  I had been reading about Abraham and all the altars he set up to mark the different places God had taken him through, and I thought it might help me to remember what God had done for me too.  It worked.  For a few months (somewhere between 3-6) my TV was hidden in the closet.  Anytime I got lonely and considered weight-lifting it out of the closet, I would look at its previous home and turn to the Lord instead.  I had a Bible and candles on my altar.  I would turn my heart toward the Lord instead of the cling and clatter found in the big black box.

I really learned how to live without TV during that time.  Don and I still don’t watch a lot of television (he actually watches less than I do).  I just can’t help think of that scene in one of the Batman movies where the Joker is using personal televisions to suck the brain power out of the Gotham citizens.  I honestly think that’s what happens to me when I watch more than an hour or so of television a week.  Even worse, I feel like many of the images and ideas TV places in my head lead me to anxiety and hopelessness.  I am weak.  I easily buy into the beauty and money myths: the more the merrier.  Thankfully, my gentle Heavenly Father continues to pull me back to himself through his Holy Spirit.