Smash, Cut to pieces, what do we need to get rid of?

I read the story of the young King Josiah this weekend.  Do you know he came into the position of king at the age of 8?  Yes, eight.  What were you doing at 8?  Perhaps playing piano, brownies, playing t-ball, dancing, baton, the list goes on and on and I am willing to guess known of us were named King or Queen.  Anybody?

Imagine, one day in the little prince's playroom the leaders of the kingdom came and put a crown on your head and suddenly you were no longer allowed into the playroom with other children.  No suddenly you were in the throne room with a lot of boring adults that thought they knew everything!  Yes think of the little guys around you about the age of 8, well any of them sound like King Josiah?  I imagine not.

In 2 Chronicles 34, we read the words that he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right and to the left.  Imagine an 8 year old, but better yet imagine an adult!  Yes doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD and nothing or no one surrounding him influenced his walk!  Could we say the same?

I love this story!  His father did what was evil even worse than his grandfather before him and yet this little guy did what was right in the eyes of the LORD!  Yes, even with evil surrounding him ~ he did what was right!  We maybe surrounded by evil, but we are still able to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.  Listen to Him, read His Word and see where He leads you!  Listen to Him and follow His directions.  Let's learn from the little guy found in 2 Chronicles that rid the area surrounding him with evil.  Yes, purged it from the land!  

Indeed, we can learn from the little guys in our world!  We never know who God is using that is in the playrooms or the boardrooms ~ be open with ears to hear and eyes to see!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

What do we miss?

Today, I was reading the passage from Mark 9 about Jesus going up on the mountain and taking with him Peter, James and John.  What a special moment to witness it was!  

Peter is so excited like any of us would have been and he wanted to mark the moment for his memory or mark the spot so that it would never be forgotten.  So he opens his mouth and ask why don't we build three shelters. The Word goes on to tell us that he didn't really know what to say, so knowing Peter like we do from the Word he speaks what comes to his mind without any thought.  How often do we do the same?  First thought out it comes and the moment it's out we want to hit rewind right back into our mouths and back to our mind?  Well, I admit I do this quite frequently!

I love Peter because I see myself in him.  I relate to him.  I blunder, but I love the LORD and so did Peter!  How many of you are with me?  We love the LORD, but we sometimes get in the way?

Truthfully, I think Peter realized how special this moment was and he wanted to mark it down forever!  You know that moment that you know God speaks to you and you write it in your journal or in your blog?  It is committing it to your memory through keeping note of it.  Or perhaps Peter wanted to stay on in the midst of this mountaintop experience forever?  Ever wanted to just stay right there on the mountain never to return to the valley even though we know that is where the fruit is made?

What are we missing because we either forget to mark the experience or because we hang to long on the mountain resting in the afterglow?  

Read Mark 9 and see what God speaks to you.

Again, perhaps the LORD is telling me to think before I speak...but then again the LORD wants our relationship with Him and He wants truth from us.  So, perhaps even if the truth isn't pretty He wants us to speak it and allow Him the opportunity to spend time with Him to clean us up ~ just like He did Peter!  

So spend time with the LORD!  Don't miss out on the mountaintop experience or the valley because He will show up in both places!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Pray, Pray, Pray

Do you ever feel lead to write something, but thing this is so awful no one will finish reading it?  Not necessarily how badly written it might be, but that these things I am about to share with you are actually happening?  We must open our eyes to the things that are happening around the world and in our own backyards ( so to speak)  Yes, it happens right here in Shreveport/Bossier.  I know not to the degree that is it in other parts of the world, but it is happening.

I apologize before hand and if you can’t finish reading at least begin to pray for the children that are being sold daily into a life that no one should ever have to endure!  Please follow the link to the NY Times article that I am posting about the situation right here in America. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/19/opinion/kristof-not-quite-a-teen-yet-sold-for-sex.html  Also, please read more articles by Nicholas Kristof, a man that is trying to raise awareness world wide about this terrible situation!

I am going to introduce you to a few stories that are hard to believe, but are true.  The first is a young girl arrives at the brothel in Cambodia, Taiwan, India, and more countries after having been sold by her family for various reasons among them they simply needed the money to purchase food, medicine, or a karaoke machine.  Yes, a karaoke machine.  This young mom lived near the Manila airport with many children and although they were poor they had food, but she wanted a karaoke machine which cost several hundred dollars.  So the mom sold her oldest daughters ages 10 and 12 to various men to acquire the money to make the purchase.  Eventually these two young girls were taken from their own mother and placed in a shelter. 

Another story is about some young girls that found a woman in the middle of the road who appeared to be ill.  The woman appearing to appreciate their help offered them cookies.  The cookies were drugged the girls passed out.  The woman hired a taxi to take them to a brothel that she tried to arrange their sale.  These girls were blessed because the taxi driver realized what was happening and rushed the girls safely home.  A lot of girls are not so fortunate.

Another young girl was smuggled across the border from Vietnam and sold into the life at the age of 14.  She is a virgin and her asking price is $500, after that the price goes down to $10, another week it will drop to $5, eventually $2 to $3.  Servicing up to 10 to 12 men in one night.  Perhaps none of them wearing condoms meaning the rise of young women being infected with diseases.  The girls are becoming younger and younger so that it is less likely they will be infected and give these men anything!  Yes, these young girls are never allowed to be little girls.  One young girl stated how could she be made at her mother for selling her after all she was sick and needed the medicine.  It is hard for all of us to comprehend, but we must!  WE have to help!

You ask why I am sharing this information with you perhaps – well to open eyes!  To raise awareness and ask you to pray for these young women!  We are all able to pray right here for someone to cross their path and change the route that becomes their fate of a brothel.  Yes, we can pray for more taxi drivers to be aware and return the girls back home.  We might ask that someone realize and rescue them away from this awful life.  We just need to pray that someone will rescue the girls and take them to one of the different homes that have been setup to educate them, to love on them with the love of Christ, to give them hope and a whole new world.  ALL of us must begin to pray and share with friends this awful situation that is happening everywhere!

Another way that you might help is go their websites read about the different ministries and share with people in your part of the world!  Some of them include the Princess Home, Rabah Bazaar and these are just two of them!  So many trying to help these women.  We offer the jewelry in the Journey of Sisters Ministry office on Line Avenue and we can help right here by purchasing this jewelry, but we don’t care if you buy it from us!  All I am asking is that you become aware and do your part however you want to help!  Begin this morning by lifting up someone to cross the path of a young girl that is about to be taken by the evil way and return her to safety!  We don’t have to know their name God already does!

Shopping times today are from one until seven tonight at 6030 Line Avenue, Suite 340!  Share with your friends!  Hope to see you!

Sweet blessings,

Debbie

Smile and make everyone wonder what you've been up to...

Have you ever noticed when you smile at someone for no reason that they look at you sometimes like what did you do?  Or what do I have on my front teeth that they are smiling at?  Did I drop my lunch on the front of my shirt?  

Today, try smiling at everyone that passes by you and see if your day doesn't go a whole lot better!  It does I promise.  It even seems that you walk a little higher and with a little extra bounce in your step.  

A simple smile might be the only kindness shown to someone that crosses your path today.  When we remember to smile in kindness, God smiles.  He wants us to be His hands, His arms, His legs in this world so smiling would be what He would do along with perhaps an encouraging word!

Keep smiling,

Debbie