This Sunday millions will gather to cheer on one of two teams, the Seattle Seahawks or the Denver Broncos. Millions will snack on chips, salsa, dips, pizza and beer. Millions will stay glued to their TV to watch the infamous Superbowl commercials. Millions will enjoy the company of their friends during this annual tradition.
But something bigger will be happening during the game. Something horrible. Disturbing. Perverted. Something straight from the devil.
Superbowl Sunday, while full of fun, cheers, and team pride, has also become a day where the most underage children are being sold into sex trafficking within the US.
While statistics may vary, this documentary states 300,000 girls and boys are sold into sex trafficking each year, in the US alone. The average age girl is 12-14 and average boy is 9-11 years old. And another heartbreaking statistic, 25% of these children are sold into sex trafficking by a family member or guardian.
While this documentary is very difficult to watch, it opened my eyes to this issue that I had assumed was happening primarily in 3rd world countries. I had no idea it was so prevalent right here under our noses, "in our own backyards."
It will break your heart to watch this video however, the end of it is just.... phew... let's just say the woman is saying what she's saying and feeling the way she's feeling because of the overwhelming love of Jesus Christ.
I think it's perfectly fine to watch, cheer on and enjoy the Superbowl. Heck... we are hosting a party for it! But what we must remember is that Satan is at work. He is constantly working to tear this world apart, twist the truth, blind people from reality, and consume as many people as he can with perverted sins such as indulging in child prostitution. He will use anything, even a football game, to distract us from the truth of the underground sin of sex trafficking.
All I'm asking is that you please watch this video so you can be aware of what will take place this weekend due to the massive influx of people that will infiltrate New York in addition to what is already happening every day of the year.
May your hearts be stirred. May your hearts be broken. May you spread the word to raise awareness so we can pray for these children to be saved and for those involved in this sick industry, to fall on their knees before God and seek forgiveness.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Friday, January 3, 2014
The happy jar
I found this idea on Pinterest, where else? And I am super excited to implement this in our home and hopefully make it a yearly tradition. I've seen it called a Gratitude Jar but I like to call it the Happy Jar because the idea can involve more than thankful/grateful moments.
The idea is that starting January 1st, you begin writing down little nuggets of happy things that you experience on any given day. You put these happy notes in a jar for an entire year and then read through them on December 31 so you can remember all the wonderful moments that happened that year. It can be anything that brings a little smile to your face, big or teeny tiny. It could be anything!
For instance, something I'm going to add to our jar is that on January 2, our neighbor snow-blowed and shoveled our driveway for us (a blessing!). We have rock star neighbors; this is not the first time this has happened nor is this the first neighbor to serve us in this manner. This will be going in the happy jar! Something I definitely want to remember!
As a stay-at-home mom who doesn't get out much, I find it easy to get in a slump or complain about stupid things like Selah only napping for 30 minutes or how I spent the majority of my day wiping her snotty nose. Instead, this "happy jar" idea encourages me (and my growing family) to be thinking through their day and writing down something that made them smile or made them happy.
I L.O.V.E. the idea of reading through them at the end of the year. I guarantee that the happy moments we read through, we will have easily forgotten about and it will be such a blessing to read them and think "Oh yea! I remember that! That was so awesome when ___ happened!" God places even the littlest of things in our lives to serve as reminders of His love for us and the joy we can find every day if we so choose.
Here's to a happy and memorable 2014.
The idea is that starting January 1st, you begin writing down little nuggets of happy things that you experience on any given day. You put these happy notes in a jar for an entire year and then read through them on December 31 so you can remember all the wonderful moments that happened that year. It can be anything that brings a little smile to your face, big or teeny tiny. It could be anything!
For instance, something I'm going to add to our jar is that on January 2, our neighbor snow-blowed and shoveled our driveway for us (a blessing!). We have rock star neighbors; this is not the first time this has happened nor is this the first neighbor to serve us in this manner. This will be going in the happy jar! Something I definitely want to remember!
As a stay-at-home mom who doesn't get out much, I find it easy to get in a slump or complain about stupid things like Selah only napping for 30 minutes or how I spent the majority of my day wiping her snotty nose. Instead, this "happy jar" idea encourages me (and my growing family) to be thinking through their day and writing down something that made them smile or made them happy.
I L.O.V.E. the idea of reading through them at the end of the year. I guarantee that the happy moments we read through, we will have easily forgotten about and it will be such a blessing to read them and think "Oh yea! I remember that! That was so awesome when ___ happened!" God places even the littlest of things in our lives to serve as reminders of His love for us and the joy we can find every day if we so choose.
Here's to a happy and memorable 2014.
I'll be home for Christmas
This year Christmas was... well... different. Not in a bad way. Quite the opposite actually. This was our first Christmas with a baby! That means a few things. It means celebrating Christmas with my side of the family didn't actually fall on Christmas Day like it usually has. It means meals were more informal, eat as you can, everyone take turns holding the babies. It means interrupted gift opening because it's nap time for the babies. It means TONS of pictures, well... because... you get it.. babies!
For 27 years, Christmas Day was spent opening gifts and spending time at my parents house during the morning. Then for lunch, we'd meander down the road to grammy and papa's for lunch and presents. And the evening was spent at the farm with more eating and more present opening.
But there comes a time when traditions must change. Families grow. People move away. Transitions become necessary.
This year, my dad suggested celebrating the weekend after Christmas. Since Caleb worked the day after Christmas, it would have been too much to travel with a 7 month old for a quick 24 hour trip. We'd all much rather take it a bit slower and extend the festivities if at all possible. Thus the weekend idea was born.
This year, my dad suggested celebrating the weekend after Christmas. Since Caleb worked the day after Christmas, it would have been too much to travel with a 7 month old for a quick 24 hour trip. We'd all much rather take it a bit slower and extend the festivities if at all possible. Thus the weekend idea was born.
Even though I love this idea, that means one thing. Christmas Day is left being... different. Remember, I've done the same thing for 27 years.
This year, we were excited to have Christmas morning with our new little family of 3. I quickly and messily wrapped Selah's presents Christmas morning (all of which she used before I wrapped them). Hey... when they grow as fast as they do, you want them to wear things as soon and much as possible before they don't fit anymore! Of course we busted out our trusty video camera to capture her first Christmas. I would say she did pretty well opening her gifts. Here are some shots of a little photo shoot we did with her Christmas morning pre-present opening.
We spend all of Christmas Eve with Caleb's parents. This year was special for more reasons than one. Jason and Sarah have been in Honduras for the past 2 Christmases; this year we were all reunited and this time, there were 2 new additions! Aren't they just too cute?
We took off for Canton Friday morning; thankfully Selah has mastered the car seat and 99% of the time does extremely well in the car. She played quietly by herself and drifted off to sleep. Ahh bliss. The ride home on the other hand was the 1% of trips that are downright miserable. But anyway, Christmas with my family was full of laughs. I love it when we're together, play fun games and just laugh. It's refreshing. I'm not very good at capturing the moments with my camera so unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the weekend other than the ones I swiped from my mom's Facebook account :-)
We had our traditional Christmas Eve "picnic" which has moved to the dining room table because we're all getting too old and sitting on the floor just plain ol' hurts now. I wish I had a picture of the table before we messed it all up. It was gorgeous! And my parents... TOO CUTE. They had a menu all planned out with 4 courses and here's the cherry on top... they served us! It was such a nice gesture and true picture of serving others.
We spend all of Christmas Eve with Caleb's parents. This year was special for more reasons than one. Jason and Sarah have been in Honduras for the past 2 Christmases; this year we were all reunited and this time, there were 2 new additions! Aren't they just too cute?
We took off for Canton Friday morning; thankfully Selah has mastered the car seat and 99% of the time does extremely well in the car. She played quietly by herself and drifted off to sleep. Ahh bliss. The ride home on the other hand was the 1% of trips that are downright miserable. But anyway, Christmas with my family was full of laughs. I love it when we're together, play fun games and just laugh. It's refreshing. I'm not very good at capturing the moments with my camera so unfortunately, I don't have any pics of the weekend other than the ones I swiped from my mom's Facebook account :-)
We had our traditional Christmas Eve "picnic" which has moved to the dining room table because we're all getting too old and sitting on the floor just plain ol' hurts now. I wish I had a picture of the table before we messed it all up. It was gorgeous! And my parents... TOO CUTE. They had a menu all planned out with 4 courses and here's the cherry on top... they served us! It was such a nice gesture and true picture of serving others.
4 generations
Mmm dessert
A nostalgic gift from my brother
And another adorable thing... my dad (Selah's Popi) made her a little cardboard house to play in. If she could crawl, and boy does she want to SO badly, she would have had a blast crawling through it. In the meantime, we just placed her inside :-)
While my usual Christmas Day traditions made a few transitions this year, I was still able to say "I'll be home for Christmas" as I spent Christmas in my home with the 2 loves of my life. And even though my family celebrated Christmas 2 days after the actual holiday, it was still spent in the home I grew up in with family whom I dearly love. Turns out, it doesn't have to be on the actual day in order for it to be familiar or "just like you remembered it". Just as long as you're all together creating memories, you can still be home for Christmas in more ways than one.
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