Education is KEY

Posted: July 28, 2010 by blueprintbaby in All Things New, Following Jesus, WRATH Campaign
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The Slave Next DoorIt is overwhelming and can be debilitating to think of modern slavery mainly because knowing it exists COMPELS us to do SOMETHING.

Education is key. With just a little bit of education, you can help rescue modern slaves TODAY.

The second-highest number of human trafficking victims are domestic house slaves. I know, it really doesn’t seem possible, but it is, it could be right next door to you and almost 100% of these slaves are women and usually women from foreign countries.

From their book, The Slave Next Door, Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter, give a few questions you can ask yourself when you notice something that’s just not right:

1. Is this person unable to move freely, or is she being watched or followed?

2. Does she seem frightened to talk in the presence of others?

3. Does this person look to be of school age, but is she regularly seen working during school hours?

4. Are there signs of assault–bruises, cuts, bandages, limping?

5. Does she seem disoriented, confused, malnourished, or frightened?

If you think you’ve seen a domestic house slave, you can call (888) 373-7888.

The Slave Next Door

Posted: July 24, 2010 by blueprintbaby in All Things New, WRATH Campaign
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The Slave Next DoorHuman Trafficking and Slavery in America Today
By Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter

Beware, I’m reading this book. I just got to a place where I’m ready to get educated on a topic that makes my skin crawl, my stomach convulse and most importantly, my soul ache. If you’re within ear shot of me, pretty soon you’ll hear about it, too.

WRATH Campaign

Posted: July 20, 2010 by blueprintbaby in Following Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit, WRATH Campaign
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Women Rallying Against Trafficking Humans.

That’s a pretty powerful statement unto itself. What could the average women possibly do about human trafficking? The cause of modern slavery is no different from the slavery that has existed since man knew he could intimidate and control another man. Since man determined to belittle another man’s self worth to nothing until he could hardly hold his head up, so burdened was he under the weight of insecurity.

That slavery still exists today. Rampant, actually. Drug dealers finding themselves at war have moved on to trafficking humans because the law enforcement is limited and the profit considerable.

But what can you do? Those are big men, with lots of money, guns, power. What could the average woman or man possibly do?

The simple next step is this: I am not making this up. I am not on some kind of soap box, preaching. Find out for yourself. It is true. It is as horrible as we make it sound. It is real. But there is something that you can do.

Be empowered. YOU can do something. TODAY. You don’t have to have special training or steel guts. You can act TODAY.

Equip. There are already people setting up safe houses, helping the victims. You can equip the houses with everyday materials, inexpensive and easy to come by.

If I’ve piqued your heart, check out the wrathcampaign.org. See what you can do. We originally set up in Oklahoma, but there is nothing stopping you from finding a safe house in your area and holding WRATH parties for that safe house. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.

After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Luke 10:1-3

Sex+Money A National Search for Human Worth

Posted: July 3, 2010 by blueprintbaby in WRATH Campaign
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My friend first told me about this young group of students with a profound comment: “These girls are in their 20s; we wasted so much time.” She means the years we wasted trying fulfill life with ourselves, running from God and all the while children and women are being used and abused as slaves in this country.

I’ve blogged about this before, but it is worth saying again and again and again until my fingers bleed: THERE ARE HUMANS, NAMELY WOMEN AND CHILDREN, BEING HELD AS SLAVES, THAT IS, AGAINST THEIR WILL FOR THE SEXUAL FULFILLMENT OF OTHER HUMANS.

You should be disgusted, appalled and spurred to action. Not out of guilt, not even out of Christian compassion. You don’t have to be a Christ-follower for this to astound you. You are a human and that is enough to act.

“Sex + Money: A National Search for Human Worth is a feature length film that will document the group of students as they travel in an RV for a second journey, this time across the United States, seeking to understand how the sexual exploitation of children has become the nation’s fastest growing form of organized crime.  As the students encounter the brave men and women who are fighting on the front lines of the modern abolitionist movement, they begin to consider what further action can be taken to bring an end to such obscene forms of injustice.

The final movement of  Sex + Money portrays the students quest to help make America the first slave-free nation in the world and to inspire others to do the same.”

YOU don’t have to be on the front lines.
YOU can donate to get this film out.
YOU can tell your friends about it.
YOU can donate to Children of the Night, a non-faith based charity to help children slaves.

YOU can act and you can act today.

Something New

Posted: June 11, 2010 by blueprintbaby in Following Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit
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My friends Brett and Kelli followed God’s call to take care of the orphans and adopted two boys from Rwanda. It was a grueling process with God cutting lots of redtape and in the process, giving them a heart for the people of Rwanda. Not long after that, God called them to actually move to Rwanda and be apart of the Kigali International Community School.

A recent post from his blog, Immeasurably More in Rwanda, gives Christian teachers something new: “Is God calling you on a new adventure?! Interested in being a missionary teacher?! Come join our work in Rwanda as a teacher at Kigali International Community School….get more info from the KICS website!”

That just sounds awesome to me! If you are a teacher, check it out. See what God might have in store for you!

Baptism, The Great Mystery

Posted: June 6, 2010 by blueprintbaby in Following Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit
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My son is getting baptized today, YAY! This decision is a big deal. In the church, there is great debate over this act. Some say it’s an outward showing of an inward committment, like a wedding ring. Others will hold it as a requirement to heaven for the remission of sins. Each side backs up their viewpoints with scripture. This short post is in no way a comprehensive look at the meaning of baptism.

I just don’t think either of these views encompass the mystery, the urgency and the majesty of a simple act of obedience to an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving God who sent His own son to die for the sins of all.

My friend has a theory that I think does explain the mystery, urgency and majesty of baptism, total immersion in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. What if after coming up out of that water, you look different, not in this natural world, but in the spirit world? The supernatural world sees you as marked: here’s another soul clothed in the light of what the Christ did on the Cross.

Now this is just a theory, mind you, if you don’t get immersed in water, are you still saved? Yes. Are your sins forgiven? Yes, Jesus died for you while you were still a sinner (Romans 5:8). And now that you’re following Jesus, you will run to do His bidding. Your soul is most satisfied when clothed in obedience. It’s a beautiful thing not to be tied down by the natural world.

Romans 6:3-10 Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country. Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the Cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us.

Pray for the Pimps

Posted: May 25, 2010 by blueprintbaby in Following Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit, WRATH Campaign
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Stop the handlers and the demand; stop the need for enslaving humans. You should be horrified to know that human and sex trafficking is a HUGE problem in the United States of America. Yes, this country. Not some foreign place where underprivileged, poor and oppressed people live. But right here under all of our noses.

From Dan Rather’s recent article on Portland, Oregon, the hipster, green lovin’ capital of the US, “[Prostitution] is a very lucrative business, according to Justus. ‘An average pimp with one kid will make between $800 and $l,000 a day. That’s seven days a week, 30 days a month,’ he said. And the pimps usually have a stable of young girls. No wonder so many criminals in the drug trade have turned to it which they have in droves. There’s less chance of being caught, less chance of being prosecuted if caught, lighter sentences — if any — if convicted. There is, and has been for a long time, a national ‘War on Drugs.’ There isn’t one on child prostitution and what amounts to a slave trade. Only feeble efforts at best. Justus is frustrated that the Portland police have only two full-time vice investigators, compared to dozens of drug investigators. ‘I’m not a politician. I’m just a cop. But if I’m a criminal and I got busted for drugs and I had a regional (drug) task force over here. And there’s another task force over there, and there, and then I know there’s only two vice investigators in the city of Portland, let me think. I think I’ll sell women because what are the chances of me being caught?’”

This changeover from drugs to humans is appalling. But like drug use, the consumption of it needs to end. Pray for the men who pay to have sex with children and the pimps that make the profit. Join Exodus Cry, the prayer ministry to end slavery. Check out the WRATH Campaign for very easy, tangible ways to help women in recovery.

Love Truth Care Ministries

Posted: May 17, 2010 by blueprintbaby in Following Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit
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“Empowering the body of Christ to be the body of Christ”

Operation New LifeThis is the motto of Love Truth Care Ministries, serving the inner city of Little Rock, Arkansas, and the villages of Honduras, the third poorest country in South America. Hang out with Jim Phillips for a few minutes, and your religious hang ups, material wants and everything else you hold before Christ, begin to melt away. LTCare has an old APNL building, nestled in the shadow of Central High School. THE Central High School of desegregation fame. To say the neighborhood is “bad” would be to agree with everything you’ve heard and why the suburbs and west Little Rock have grown exponentially.

LTCare shines bright in this beautiful, forgotten landscape. They not only care for the inner city in Little Rock, kids, elderly and handicapped alike, but take medical supplies and medical teams down to Honduras about 6-8 times a year; construction teams once a year and a family mission in July, centered around families with smaller kids. I love that! I’ve always wanted to take my little kids to the foreign mission field.

sponsor a child

Education for $360/YEAR

But checking out their website, they’ve got a ton of other missions, too. They deliver monthly groceries to those who need it; participate in a Greek Food Festival; train pastors with Men’s Fraternity; sponsoring kids for school and even more.  If you are in Arkansas, you can ask for a resuable Kroger giftcard and they’ll get 5% of all your purchases!! That’s a super easy way to give back. Email lovetruthcare@comcast.net to get your Kroger card.

They still have about 6 kids that still need sponsored this year. Check out their website for all the information. We just sponsored a child for $30/month. That’s it!

Why So Serious?

Posted: May 12, 2010 by blueprintbaby in Following Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit
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I got an email about Comedy Central making fun of Jesus and how we, Christians, should be up in arms. Last month, Comedy Central censored South Park for making fun of Mohammed, but continue to allow anyone to poke fun at Jesus, God the Father and His people.

Here’s the thing: This doesn’t upset me at all. Offense is the playground of the devil. Seriously, if a bunch of comedians are sitting around talking about Jesus, where is the harm? It may not be now, but it may be later, that those thoughts of Jesus penetrate their hard hearts. Also, think about how they’ll have to study the Bible to get good stories about Jesus! Think about the audience thinking about Jesus every week! What an opportunity! If you take offense, then you still believe this is your story and God plays a part. Not that this is totally God’s story and YOU play a part. This is classic God, using whatever means necessary to reach people. Only HE knows the outcome; “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NIV

I was already thinking about how effective humor is this week because Daren Neely with CityChurch is one of the funniest pastors around. He has a gift for making people laugh while also sharing Jesus’ good news. On Sunday, I kept hearing the newcomers behind me laughing. Well, we were all laughing, and not just politely, sometimes gut laughing. He challenged us to read James this week, Monday-Friday, one chapter each day while talking about chicken pox, prom and the practical applications in James, dubbed Jimmy for his Arkansas audience.

You know what he did, got us reading the Word every day. Thank God for humor and comedic talent!

Hubli Family

Posted: April 23, 2010 by blueprintbaby in Following Jesus, God the Father, Holy Spirit
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Divine appointments. That’s what we call them, but as Christ followers, isn’t everything a divine appointment?
Being in the right place at the right time.

One day, while chatting/praying online, I met the family from Hubli. According to a precursory web search, “Hubli is a centre for the textile industry. Situated 428 kms from Bangalore, it is a major railway junction for Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa. It is the twin city with Dharwad which is 16 km away and is a major town located in the northern part of the Karnataka.” WebIndia123.com

According to my brother in Christ there, at least where they are, it is very poor, no jobs and the place of what he calls “ideal worshipers.” When we met back in early January, he was starting a Bible study with no Bibles. We sent them 75 New Testament Bibles. They just got all the Bibles. He always ask me if I can come to preach Jesus. I’m like, “Uh, I’ve never preached.” He says, “The Lord will be with you.” Their complete faith in the midst of constant persecution is outstanding, inspiring and keeps me grounded. My biggest dilemmas  seem so inconsequential.

I’m praying to go to Hubli with a team of teachers, preachers, gardeners and most of all, lovers. I know only to start in prayer for it seems like the impossible. But God works best in the impossible. It’s Him, not me, that will make this happen. My friend says, “I’ll pray for your ministry.” And I’m thinking, I don’t even have a ministry . . yet.

In the meantime, I know what I can do. I can send clothes, toys and books for the kids and seeds to plant for the community. And more Bibles! They teach the poor kids who can’t afford school in their home. They don’t just follow Jesus; they depend on Him for everything.

Lord, provide for your people and protect the children from human trafficking, let know one who would seek to hurt them be able to find them. Bless their efforts to provide a school for the children. Bless the adults with the desire to spread your word to a hurting world. It’s by the power of your name, that we can come and ask for anything, Jesus. Amen.

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