Human Trafficking Awareness Day (and month)

I wasn't ready to post this blog yet but decided I needed to, especially after reading someone else's blog on the subject. Think about this: It's been said that the 2011 Super Bowl will be the largest human trafficking event in the history of the U.S. That bothers me--does it bother you? Didn't slavery end back in the 1800's? or even before that? There are more slaves in the world today than there have ever been in history. There are approximately 27 million slaves worldwide. Is there any help? Any hope?
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor: a form of modern-day slavery.
I've been reading a book about a young abolitionist. No, not Harriet Tubman or William Wilburforce. His name is Zach Hunter and he has become a voice for the voiceless. All around the world, including our own country, people are oppressed and enslaved. Zach Hunter wants to see them set free. At the age of 12 he started "Loose Change to Loosen Chains", a student led effort to raise awareness and funds to free slaves. Since then, he has written 3 books on the subject, encouraging young people to become aware and to discover their passion to change the world. Zach is 17 years old and has spoken in front of thousands of people across the country. He works with International Justice Mission, a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. You can learn more on ijm.org.
Zach Hunter's books can be found at your local bookstore:
Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World
Generation Change
Lose Your Cool: Discovering A Passion That Changes You and the World

The Starfish Story

Early one morning a boy was walking along a beach. Hundreds of starfish lay stranded on the shore, having been washed onto the sand the night before by a storm. As he walked, the little boy would pick up a starfish at random and throw it back into the sea. An old man came down the beach, walking in the other direction. He asked the little boy what he was doing. "I'm saving starfish," he answered. "Young man, don't waste your time. There's no way that you can make a difference for all these starfish," the man said. The little boy leaned down, picked up one more, and threw it back into the sea. He looked the man in the eye and said, "I made a difference to that one." (adapted from the story by Loren Eiseley)

Who's the one on the beach waiting for you? Who's the starfish in your life that you need to help? You might think that you are just one person in this world. But to one person, you might be the world.

Your Hands

I added the following song to my playlist because it ties in with the previous blog: Reminder to Self.

Your Hands
by JJ Heller

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That You would take my pain away
That You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crookedly lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands

When You walked upon the Earth
You healed the broken, lost, and hurt
I know You hate to see me cry
One day You will set all things right
Yea, one day You will set all things right

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands

Your hands
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave You when...

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave...
I never leave Your hands

Reminder To Self!

(Caution: Read only if you are filled with Joy and Love at this time of year, otherwise you may tear up or even cry.)

I began writing this blog containing Christmas cheer at the beginning. However, I decided to post two separate blogs--one of things I like about Christmas and then another as sort of a reminder to myself that not everyone sees this as a joyful time.
I suppose not everyone enjoys Christmas for one reason or another. There are a lot of hurting people in the world--all around us, in our own family, in our church, in the workplace and in third world countries. Stress takes its toll on some of us: loss of a loved one, financial burdens, loss of a job, prodigal son or daughter, family, or poverty and hunger. Whatever it may be, not everyone is enjoying the season. I’ve seen facebook posts of friends losing their “Christmas spirit”, including myself. Perhaps I’m missing family, maybe it’s something else. Maybe I need a heart checkup like the people in the following examples.
The other night I watched a Christmas movie--a man returned to his home town after several years and demanded the nativity on display be removed since it sat on public land.
I just read a quote from the letters of C.S. Lewis when he recounts the time his brother ‘...heard a woman on a bus say, as the bus passed a church with a crib (manger) outside it, _”Oh, Lor’! They bring religion into everything. Look...they’re dragging it even into Christmas now!” (C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady, 29, December, 1958.) I found that interesting.
I saw a billboard (on the news) put up by an atheist group in New York that said ‘You KNOW it’s a Myth, This Season Celebrate REASON!’ Well, in my opinion, Jesus IS the reason!
Not everyone has the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ--some have never even heard the nativity story in their own heart language. There are those that have lost all hope. They may be starving. They may see “no light at the end of the tunnel”. They may be homeless and destitute.
Whatever we’re going through, God is right there walking along side of us, that is, if we’ll only let Him. He is our strength. He’ll lighten the load. He’ll make it a little easier. Will we let Him? Will I let Him do that for me this Christmas season?
Why would I dare write a depressing blog? Actually, it wasn’t intended to “be a downer” but a reminder to pray for one another and pray for the world during this special time of the year.
For those that know me, I’ve had Africa on my mind for years, however, Africa is not the only continent that fights the pangs of poverty, famine and drought. Back in the ’80’s--1984 to be exact, a group called Band Aid put out the following song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas Time?”. I’m posting the song to my playlist and will post the lyrics below:

Do They Know It’s Christmas Time?

It's Christmas time
There's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time
We let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty
We can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
At Christmas time

But say a prayer
Pray for the other ones
At Christmas time it's hard
But when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
Is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring
There are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time
Feed the world
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

And there won't be snow in Africa
This Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time again
(Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone
(Here's to them) underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time

I do hope you have a wonderful Christmas celebration, remembering the Christ of the season and those hurting all around us.

Christmas Cheer!

Things I like about Christmas:

Kids being kids up on stage at the Christmas performance--love, love it!
Christmas trees!
Lights strung on the tree, across the houses, even in the bushes (even the moving deer that lights up)!
Stockings hung by the chimney with care--though ours are on the bookshelf!
Christmas music playing on the radio, in the stores, and in the elevators!
Smells of pine trees, cookies baking, cider brewing!
The taste of FUDGE!!! YUMMY!! My favorite!
Children laughing, sizing up and rattling their gifts, trying to “guess” what’s inside!
Christmas carols being sung around the Yule Log--or just around!
Christmas movies--tiring of the same old ones year after year, but watching them anyway!
Christmas decorations, though before Thanksgiving is a bit too early if you ask me!
Making gingerbread houses with the kids. After our kids had grown, I began having the Abdelaziz children over at Christmastime to make gingerbread houses. Of course, my grown kids continued having fun making one or helping the younger ones. After moving to Tennessee, I had to find some more children to come over to make our Christmas decorated houses. Over the past 4 years, we've had several coming over to decorate.
Most of all, I enjoy the nativity scene which represents the reason that we celebrate Christmas. We have 3 in our house. One makes into a puzzle. Jim made it years ago. He’s the only one that can fit it back together. One my niece Jenni made for us. And this year we get to use Carey’s Willow Tree. All reminders of Christ’s birth and childlike faith.

Hosanna

For the past few weeks I have been sad. Sad for my close friend's loss. It has really hit me hard for some reason. Tears came to my eyes in church the other day as we sang this beautiful song. Of course, it's nice to actually hear the music itself, but the words will do for now. Only He can give the strength to face each and every day. He's the one who washes all our fears away. I lift this family up for comfort and peace.

Hosanna
by Paul Balouche
Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You, we turn to You

Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You, we long for You

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day 

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away 



CHORUS

Hosanna, hosanna 

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises
Hosanna, hosanna 

Come have Your way among us 

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus



Hear the sound of hearts returning to You, we turn to You

In Your Kingdom broken lives are made new, You make us new 

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away 



Hosanna, hosanna

You are the God Who saves us, worthy of all our praises

Hosanna, hosanna 

Come have Your way among us

We welcome You here, Lord Jesus



'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away

'Cause when we see You, we find strength to face the day 

In Your Presence all our fears are washed away, washed away 


Girl's Road Trip to the Smokies

Take a ride on the Jurassic Park river boat, visit the Titantic or try to stand in the upside down mansion. However, nothing compares to the drive-thru chapel. What state are we in? Tennessee? Nevada? Confusion?

Today (November 2) the girls and I headed out on a road trip to the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN. What a treat--we were to meet up with our friend Annelyse, her husband Edward and his sister Marta for a few days. A. & E. flew in from Alaska and M. from Florida. We only had about a 4 hour drive.
It was raining when we left home and continued for most of the drive. It did let up after Knoxville. (I'm thinking Knoxville is bigger than Nashville. Not much further we turned off the freeway to our destination. All along the main road through Sevierville was roadwork--widening the roads. Then we hit Pigeon Forge with its neon signs, cheesy stores and tourist traps. Nearly every block had a "As Seen On TV" store. (How many do you really need?) The candy stores were numerous and then we saw a ginormous 3D shark as the doorway to a swim shop. Not to mention several miniature golf courses--from farm life to sea life--and everything in between. There were go cart raceways and any type of eating establishment you'd ever want to see. I wasn't sure if I was in Dolly Parton's Pigeon Forge or at the ol' time Long Beach Pike. All of sudden, Carey hollered out: "Mom, the Happy Days Diner". So of course, not to disappoint, we turned around and headed back for a Dagwood BLT.
Since we had a little time before meeting up with our friends, we headed back to the outlet mall while we were out and about.
I knew there were a lot of attractions here, but I never dreamed to this extent. However, as soon as we entered the National Park, what a change of scenery (well, for a bit). The fall colors were beautiful. We're not too far into the park and we spot the resort where we were staying in the mountains. We meet up with Annelyse, get our room keys and head to our room. We were in a studio with a little kitchenette and bathroom. I noticed a warning magnet on the fridge that says not to put trash out between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m. because of the bears. Hmmmm! Thought we'd go on a walk around the property, but quickly changed my mind. We had a nice visit with the friends and then off to bed.
Thursday I got up at 8:30, read a little, ate a p'nut butter sandwich, took a walk around the resort and then we headed off to the Smokies. To get to the park, we had to drive through Gatlinburg which was filled with little shops of everything imaginable. We stopped off at the visitor's center to look around and I picked up a few souvenirs. Then we were on our way to Cade's Cove--24 miles into the park. Cades Cove is a valley surrounded by mountains filled with colorful leaves of yellow, orange and red. It was beautiful. We took the 11 mile loop through the cove that had stops along the way of churches and cabins that once were inhabited.
John Olivers cabin is the first on the loop--1 of 70 historic buildings in the park. Usually the parents, infants and daughters slept downstairs and the boys slept in the loft. However, this may have varied from family to family.
The Primitive Baptist Church was established in 1827. The church closed during the Civil War. Official church correspondence after the war: "We the Primitive Baptist Church in Blount County in Cades Cove, do show the public why we have not kept up our church meeting. It was on account of the Rebellion and we was Union people and the Rebels was too strong here in Cades Cove. Our preacher was obliged to leave sometimes, and thank God we once more can meet."
I've been very interested in the two-door churches since being in Tennessee. The two doors leading in to the front of the Methodist churches, separated the men from the women as they sat on opposite sides during the church service. This particular church didn't follow that custom but the plans were copied from a church that did divide its congregation. The one in the Cove was built in 1902 by J.D. McCampbell, a blacksmith and carpenter. He built the church in 115 days for $115. He later became the minister.
The Missionary Baptist Church was started by a group from the Primitive Baptist Church who were expelled because they favored missionary work. The church began in 1839.
Several of the trails, some of them now roads, were Cherokee trails, walked by many of the Cherokee that lived in the area.
The Elijah Oliver place was a larger cabin than some of the others found on the loop. It had a "stranger room" added to the front porch to accommodate overnight visitors. They needed a "springhouse" to keep milk and butter cool. The smokehouse stored and preserved hams, shoulders and side meat for the year. Pork was easier to preserve than beef. The corn crib was needed to store enough corn for grinding into meal.
The Tipton House was built in the early 1870's by "Col. Hamp" Tipton who served in the Mexican War. The property included blacksmith and carpentry shops, a long shed to house sheltered bee gums, a smokehouse and a wood shed. Across the road stands a double pen corn crib and a cantilever barn. In the 1800s such barns were built to hold tons of hay in the loft and to shelter cattle and other livestock down below where they could mill about without bumping into posts.
Along the loop it began raining a hailing so a few places we didn't get out to get a closer look, but we saw most of the buildings.
We drove out of the park around 5:30 and headed to Pigeon Forge to stop by the grocery store before heading back to our room. We shared a meal with the others after they returned from horseback riding and driving around the Cades Cove loop. We watched some TV and headed off to bed.
Friday we awoke to rain again--and it rained most of the day. That didn't keep us from strolling through downtown Gatlinburg to check out the plethora of shops--Mr. Tablecloth to Fannie Farkle's for a mondo corn dog (no, we didn't have one) to down home moonshine in Ole Hickory Holler. We kept warm in the shops we visited and then warmed up to a cup of hot cocoa and a REAL cake donut. (extinct in the Nashville area--well, I haven't found any yet) We then moved on to the crafters village but after a few stores, we gave it up to a warm cozy room. (I did meet a gal from Vacaville, CA though, that worked at a Native American store doing some leatherwork.)
The others had gone to a play or concert. The girls and I rested for a bit then headed out to the outlet mall in tinsel town and dinner at Mels Diner. A good day.
Saturday I woke up around 8 a.m.--Edward and Annelyse are leaving this morning to head out to Ashville, NC. We'll most likely stay until tomorrow. Not sure what the roads will be like so won't go anywhere til later since it snowed last night. Just a light dusting but still it was snow, and beautiful. It didn't last long though. I did get to hear some beautiful music before they left. Edward plays several instruments and brought his guitar, violin and penny whistle. He and Marta played/sang a few worship songs.
We headed to the "strip" to take pictures of all the crazy sites. Stopped at stores we hadn't been to. A cute little old fashioned area with a grist mill, general store, pottery shop and souvenir shops. We also went to the Apple Barn restaurant, bakery and gift shop (like at Opry Mills). Traffic has been bumper to bumper all day. UGH! We then headed to Gatlinburg to eat at Bubba Gumps. YUM! We shared a basket of shrimp--4 kinds--and some mahi-mahi.
It was so cold out. The town was quite crowded, people all over the place and traffic bumper to bumper again. We headed back to our room to watch Camp Rock II.
Check out was at 10 on Sunday. Marta made pumpkin pancakes for us, we finished cleaning up and headed out. We stopped by the visitor's center across the street to get more postcards and a memory game. It took us an hour and a half to get from Gatlinburg to the freeway--about 15 miles away. Everyone was leaving town. It was a beautiful, sunny day.
What a terrific week.