Month: February 2013

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Chicken Run 2013


Be forewarned, this post has absolutely NOTHING to do with messy, fallen, sinfulness of man, nor does it contain any advice as how to deal with said mess. It’s just fun.

The last several days, ok months, of my life have been pretty well consumed with the deep, messy issues of life. Human trafficking. Domestic abuse. Teens in crisis. Adults in crisis. Me in crisis.

My doctor has told me more than once that I need a hobby. An outlet to get away from it all. Writing has always been my outlet, but now that I also write about issues concerning social justice and the Gospel, my outlet has been overtaken by the messiness of the world, too.

So I’ve picked a couple of TV shows as my “down time outlets.” Unfortunately, Downton Abbey has been one of my shows, and last night’s season finale was just too much real world tragedy invading my fictional escape, so today needed some distraction from it all.

Enter the Chicken.

While working on the final edits of a paper, I put my puppy Scout outside to play so I could get some work done. At one point, I looked out the window to check on her, and I saw that she and Old Man Elvis (our beagle that I really think died about four years ago and no one told him) were chasing a chicken. In the backyard. “Interesting,” I thought. “This needs to be captured on film” (which only old people think, because no one actually captures anything on film anymore. But it just sounds better than “This needs to be captured on iPhone”).

So I recruited my mom to first come watch the dogs chase the chicken. Then we figured we should probably help the poor chicken get back over the fence to her own yard before our dogs scared her to death.

Only problem? I HATE birds. They’re gross. I’m not touching a live chicken, especially not long enough to get it back over a fence that’s 20+ feet away.

The following was my creative outlet that brought some fun to this Presidents Day. It was a much needed break from reality, but also a reminder that fun and joy ARE supposed to be a part of our reality. Jesus said he came to give abundant life, and sometimes living abundantly means leaving your in-text citation editing for a couple of hours to chase a chicken.

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A Cry For Justice: Domestic Abuse and the Church


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A blog site addressing domestic abuse and the response of the church has picked up my series of posts about boundaries and healthy relationships.

If you have experienced domestic abuse of any form (physical, emotional, sexual, or psychological), you will find a safe haven of support there.

If you work in the church, I would encourage you to check out their posts and learn more about domestic abuse and how we can be a voice of support for women who are suffering in silence.

As always, there are points on which I would engage them in further discussion concerning the strength of their arguments against those with whom they disagree, but I appreciate and support their courage for talking about an issue that has been kept covered up in the church for much too long.

The church should be a safe haven for the hurting, and place to seek the Christ who cleans our wounds and heals our messy hearts. The ultimate goal of A Cry for Justice is to both offer support for those facing abuse and equipping for those in ministry to provide support in the church for them.

Check out their work and join the conversation!

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Why Human Trafficking?


Several people have asked me recently why I have become so involved in the cause to educate people about human trafficking and the overwhelming need to shine a Light of hope into an incredibly dark and scary part of the world in which we live.

The answer is relatively simple:

I watched a PBS documentary called Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I read the book. I met people right here in my hometown who were involved in rescuing people from trafficking. I heard and saw the stories of those caught in this nightmare of hopelessness, and I thought, “How can I not be involved? How can I not speak out?”

As a believer, I prayed God would send me like minded believers to work with. A friend began posting on Facebook about a group in India that was involved in raids and rescues of young girls from brothels in India. The same friend then introduced me to Brandi McElheny, the founder of She’s Worth It. One day, Brandi shared her “crazy idea” for the She’s Worth It Campaign with us on Facebook, and a group of us were crazy enough to believe God could work through a rag-tag group of men and women to change the world.

The video below is painful to watch (it is not associated with Half the Sky or She’s Worth It, but the info is accurate and powerful), but it’s reality, everyday, for the children who are being filmed by an undercover camera crew. Everyday, people around the world risk their lives to go into brothels to gather evidence like this so that raids and rescues can take place.

I would ask that you watch this and, painful as it is, let this reality become a part of your reality. We believe that Christ came to set captives free, that He commanded us to seek justice and to care for widows and orphans. If you watch this video and are not compelled to act, I would ask you to check your heart and your claim to both love and obey the One who purchased your freedom with His life. Watch and then act, with your prayers, with your time, and with your money. To donate, go here.

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Sex Trafficking, the Super Bowl and She’s Worth It


Today marks the official start of the She’s Worth It! Campaignn, a grassroots effort to raise money for the rescue, recovery, and reintegration of women trapped in sex trafficking both here and around the world.

Our goal is to raise $280,000 this month to this end.

This weekend, there is a lot of information circulating about human trafficking because this weekend is the Super Bowl.

How are these two things connected? Because each year, thousands of women are trafficked to the cities where major sporting events are taking place. As I type, thousands of women are being trafficked to New Orleans for the johns who will be there for the game and the girls.

Not only is the She’s Worth It Campaign raising money for global organizations, we are also raising money to help an organization here in the States that helps connect women who are escaping sex trafficking to medical services.

I issued a challenge on Facebook earlier today, and I’ll issue it here as well.

If you plan to watch the Super Bowl this weekend– the game or the commercials– I challenge you to share this campaign with the people with whom you are watching the game. At halftime, share about human trafficking, tell people about the women in NOLA who will be suffering this weekend. Pray for both the women trapped in human trafficking and the men who are using them. Give the website to them to donate straight from their smartphones.

To educate yourself about the connection between the Super Bowl and Sex Trafficking, visit First Things for a quality article about the issue.

Check out www.prayforthejohns.org for ways to pray for the men using these women.

Go to www.ShesWorthItCampaign.com for information about the women who desperately need to be rescued and the organizations that are working to rescue them. You can also find information on how you can get involved.

Want to donate to the movement? Go to www.tinyurl.com/SWI-BM

Human trafficking is THE human rights issue of our day, and YOU can be involved in putting an end to it.

Currently 27 million people are enslaved worldwide, more than at any other time in history. Be a part of putting a stop to it in this generation.