did you know...?

(now tuck your toes in)...there are 27 million...yeah read that number again...27 MILLION slaves in our world today?...not metaphorical slaves...actual slaves! That is more than the amount of people stolen from their homes and lives from Africa during 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade. Many of them are in Southeast Asia...BUT there some HERE in North America. Likely right in your neighborhood...yeah Canada and America. Vancouver is a gateway for sex slavery (you know "rape for profit").

Sometimes when I read history I often wondered what I would have done had I been alive in Nazi Europe or in the South during the time of the great plantations and slavery. would I have been part of the Underground Railroad?...you know...LONG AGO in a land far far away...? Would I have helped to save people or would I have let all those people pass me by and die...kept my eyes closed to all the horror because of fear for my own life and that of my family...self preservation? What would I have done?

What would I have done in 1993 in Rwanda? When the Tutsis where massacring their neighboring Hutus?...Where approximately 800,000 people where murdered in just 8 weeks.

I just read a book about a man who worked for the Department of Justice (U.S.A.) and was loaned to the United Nations to direct the genocide investigation team in Rwanda. do you know what he found in all his tromping through mass graves and massacre sites? Here's what he says,

"Massive man-made disasters of epic proportions...are not of a distant era;

they are the tragedies of history taking place on our watch. Among

the most common disasters are global sex trafficking (the massive business

of rape for profit), slavery, illegal detention, and sexual violence...In the

face of such massive suffering, one has to ask: 'Why does such great evil

triumph in the world?'...I believe one of the greatest insights was articulated

by Edmond Burke about 200 years ago "All that is necessary for the triumph

of evil is that good men do nothing"...This was certainly true for the Rwandan

genocide. The history now written makes on thing clear. It could have been

stopped. And we missed it"

What would I have done for Darfur...450,000 dead 2.5 million displaced...oh wait that's not history that's happening right now! Isn't it nice to read those numbers from the safety of my house and say..."Oh brutal...that sucks...wonder what's on T.V."

Psalm 10:18 says, "defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." (NIV translation) I just read a book that got it's title from the very last 3 words...TERRIFY NO MORE.

Psalm 10 says it well...the cry of a man over 4,000 years ago..His son was the wisest man who ever lived and he said "there is nothing new under the sun"... I would say that is absolutely true... Psalm 10 (The Message translation)

"God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you? Full of hot air, the wicked are hot on the trail of the poor. Trip them up, tangle them up in their fine-tuned plots. The wicked are windbags, the swindlers have foul breath. The wicked snub God, their noses stuck high in the air. Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls: "Catch us if you can!" "God is dead." They care nothing for what you think; if you get in their way, they blow you off. They live (they think) a charmed life: "We can't go wrong. This is our lucky year!" They carry a mouthful of hexes, their tongues spit venom like adders. They hide behind ordinary people, then pounce on their victims. They mark the luckless, then wait like a hunter in a blind; When the poor wretch wanders too close, they stab him in the back. The hapless fool is kicked to the ground, the unlucky victim is brutally axed. He thinks God has dumped him, he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight. Time to get up, God—get moving. The luckless think they're Godforsaken. They wonder why the wicked scorn God and get away with it, Why the wicked are so cocksure they'll never come up for audit. But you know all about it—the contempt, the abuse. I dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in you. You won't let them down: orphans won't be orphans forever. Break the wicked right arms, break all the evil left arms. Search and destroy every sign of crime. God's grace and order wins; godlessness loses. The victim's faint pulse picks up; the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood as you put your ear to their lips. Orphans get parents, the homeless get homes. The reign of terror is over, the rule of the gang lords is ended."

I need to learn to pray like that...Over and over and over again the Bible makes it VERY clear why God gives some power and wealth...something we have in the West in abundance. IT has NOTHING to do with them...It is only to help others. That's a very strange thing to say in the North American culture. Isaiah 1:17 says, "Say no to wrong. Learn to do good. Work for justice. Help the down-and-out Stand up for the homeless. Go to bat for the defenseless." There are SO many passages like that.

The man who was the director for all those investigations in Rwanda went on to start an organization call International Justice Mission. (http://www.ijm.org/). Their mission statement is this "to help people suffering injustice and oppression who cannot rely on local authorities for relief." They document and monitor conditions of abuse and oppression, educate people about these abuses, and mobilize intervention on behalf of the victims. AMAZING STUFF! They are all highly trained professionals in their fields of human rights work.

That all sounds neat and tidy doesn't it...us north americans don't like to go down the road, in our mind's eye, of what that actually means do we? It would be too graphic and disturbing. And we all know we don't like to be disturbed from our nice life. It might get ugly and we might have to DO something about it. No better go to the mall and buy one more thing or watch another movie and be entertained, or drink more alcohol to live in an alternate reality for a few minutes...I mean who wants to think? And then if we ever venture into the area of ,having thought, wanting to do something about it? It might just change our world and rock the boat...never mind...except I can no longer do that...you see the only thing is I have 2 beautiful innocent daughters who are 2 and 4. There are (well the youngest documented) 3 year olds that are forced into rape for profit. Wee beautiful little girls that are robbed of all innocence, brutalized, dehumanized, tortured, beaten if they don't smile and enjoy it, before they even get a chance to be a child. So the next time you see a 3-5 year old and she happens to be a daughter, a sister, a niece...imagine that life for her. What is a life worth to you (besides your own)? Are you going to turn a blind eye and not say a word? Am I?

Shaun and I are currently looking into an organization right here in Vancouver who helps people right here in Vancouver...who are brought in for slavery...we are going to see what we can do...we are tired of feeling the rage and helplessness. We WILL do something. It's not a world away...it's right here.

ok you can untuck your toes...as the saying goes.

Old friends...

Well I went down memory lane last night and today for WAY too long. I ran into many loved and familiar faces that I hadn't seen in 10 years (including my own). It's fun to do. There are so many memories attached to a face. I got to feeling rather nostalgic. Shaun and I have known each other for 11 years now. In September we'll have been married for 9 of those. There are so many people that have walked down our road with us. Some for the whole time, others have been in and out, and yet others have added new dimensions to our lives for only a season. But as I looked at each face there was a precious jewel that was given to us by each person. I think that I underestimate the value of a person way to often...in hindsight I can see more clearly exactly what they gifted me with...the impact they had on my life. One person made me laugh over and over, another taught me patience, another offered a sweet smile, another taught me how to be quieter, another person I didn't really notice until the second time of them coming back into my life and I saw that we have many of the same interests, another was a heart friend, another just loved me as I was. We each have something to offer to another person. I wonder what impact I had or have on their lives? Was my life a gift to them or a lesson?

Solution

If you would like to see the background to this song go to http://www.iheartrevolution.com/trailer.html
This is where Shaun and I are at.

"Solution" the lyrics to above song

Solution by Joel Houston
(click on the video above)

It is not a human right To stare not fight While broken nations dream
Open up our eyes, so blind That we might find The Mercy for the need
Singin Hey Now Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey Now As we hold to our confession
Yeah It is not too far a cry To much to try To help the least of these
Politics will not decide If we should rise And be your hands and feet
Singing Hey Now Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey Now As we hold to our confession
Woah-oh-oh,God be the solution
Woah-oh-oh We will be Your hands and be Your feet.
Yeah, yeah
Higher than a circumstance Your promise stands Your love for all to see
Higher than protest line and dollar signs Your love is all we need
Only you can mend the broken heart And cause the blind to see
Erase complete the sinners pastAnd set the captives free
Only you can take the widows cry And cause her heart to sing
Be a father to the fatherless Our savior and our king

We will be your hands, we will be your feet We will run this race On the darkest place,
we will be your light We will be your light
We will be your hands , we will be your feet We will run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place, we will be your light We will be your light (we’ll say/sing?)
We will run we will run We will (run with the solution?) (2x)
We will be your hands we will be your feet We will run this race for the least of these In the darkest place we will be your light We will be your light


I really like this song. Shaun and I have been messing around with it on the piano and e.guitar for about a month but I just sat down yesterday and read through all the words. It's exactly where we have come too in our journey. Anyway, I thought I'd share it with you. :)

Have a fantastic day. God made you for a purpose...what is it?
Tama

Heaven and Hell

I believe in the existence of both Heaven and Hell! I believe in that once we die our opportunity to change our eternal destination is over. So...I am starting an in depth study in the Bible on the the contract of Salvation in God's opinion found in the Bible. I realized that I have simply read over the Bible and taken other's interpretation of it for "gospel" as it were. I have not taken much of it in and studied it in depth.

The Bible says in Philippians 2:12 "...to work out your salvation with fear and trembling". Notice the "work" word. I never did before. I mean really notice it! That doesn't mean assume that someone else is right. Or get spoon fed. WORK! The Bible also says that MANY (that means even those that have called themselves "Christian" as well as those who haven't) will be shocked when God says to them "Depart from me I never knew you" (Matthew 7:21-23) and they end up in torment and agony for all eternity. I think it's worth my time to figure out what it takes to spend life in heaven instead of hell. (If you would like to do the same Matthew 6, 7, 24, 25 are a good place to start).

On the topic's Jesus talked about He only talked about money more. He obviously felt strongly about it. So I have started the journey. I am not looking to have my ears tickled. I am looking for truth. I read this book "Rescued" (you can see the cover there). It's all about this. It's a novel. Now I am going to do the Bible Study. I imagine it will take me some time.

Today I was reading through the book of Job (in the Old Testament of the Bible). I did not realize that chronologically Job was before or around the time of Abraham. Do you realize what that means? He did not have a Bible, he did not even have the tenoch (sp?), he did not have a people to go to and watch them as they lived for God. No one to really talk too...he knew nothing about good or evil from any books or another person. He had no idea that a Messiah would come to the world and be a bridge between death and a hopeless tormented eternity and God and all that is beautiful, good, all that is GOD! ...He simply knew! that God existed. Do you know why? Because we all do. God built that into us when He created us. None of us have an excuse. That REALLY got me today!

So my desire is to, at the Judgement Seat of Christ, have Him say to me "Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God and appointed to eternal salvation], inherit (receive as your own) the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34).

I will finish well...so I am now going to learn exactly what that takes...by "work"ing.

Study well your eternity depends on it.

Tama

Shaun and Portia's b-days

Well it was an eventful week. Shaun

turned 31 and Portia turned 2 :). This time of year is always so busy. We have all our immediate family birthdays from March until May...so between that, Easter, and all the other holidays it's nuts! But we have fun.

Shaun and I made our first (and likely last) Elmo cake. We enjoyed doing it and we thought that Portia would love it...I don't think she connected that it was Elmo on her cake until she saw the picture on the computer screen...but hey!
We tried.
Keiko even got to wear a shirt (one of Mercedes') and party hat for the first time...she was quite indignant I must say. The shirt was our first attempt at getting her to stop opening a cut that she keeps scratching every time it starts healing. We have since started putting a tupper-ware lid taped around her on and she cannot scratch...she looks funny but the wound is finally healing BUT she has been walking around QUITE indignant for sure
My mom came up to celebrate. We all always love her coming.

The girls especially have fun
It was a great weekend

God thought of me WAAAAAAAAAAAAY back then...what will He say about me when it's all said and done?

There are 2 passages of scripture that I have been pondering lately…Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do “ The last part is what I’ve been thinking about. What is it that God created me to do? What is it that He laid out for me before that foundations of the world? He thought about me that much…that makes me smile. The other passage is Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I’ve never really paid attention to that last little part about the race being marked out for us. It goes along with that other verse. I find it very interesting. It’s the issue of What is the great work that God has called me to do in my life?

As I read through the Bible it took Moses 80 years of training before he did the great work God called of him, Abraham 25 years, David 15ish years, Nehemiah was cup bearer to the king for decades before he re-built the walls of Jerusalem. There's comfort in reading about people, GREAT people at that, who've gone before me and needed time. I don’t think the answer will come all at once (and I’m not comparing myself to those people...but it seems to me there is something for all of us) but if God has layed something out for me I for sure don’t want to miss it…so while I’m in training I’m going to pay attention. I have my eye on the Judgement Seat.

On a rabbit trail just for fun ;)...2 Corinthians 5:10 says this "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." and Romans 14:10 says " You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat." there are more passages...1 Corinthians 3:10-15 says, " By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. "This is talking about people who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour. Only Christians have the Judgement Seat. On this side of heaven we thankfully with the "mercy seat" and once we die we face the judgement seat where the catalogue of our lives will be unrolled before heaven and all unconfessed sin that we did not ask for forgiveness for on this side at the mercy seat will be judged...NOT WHAT we did but our motives for doing them (1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Matthew 6, Hebrews 4:12-14, and others talk about this:)). I want to hear "well done...". I don't want to just make it into heaven by the skin of my teeth and be on the edge. I want so much more. My position in heaven (yes there ARE indeed positions we won't be sitting on clouds strumming harps) and reward for ALL of ETERNITY (yeah that's beyond a REALLY long time) is determined by this "blink of an eye" life here on earth. I WILL FINISH MY RACE STRONG!

Have fun thinking and racing :)