Wherever you are...

Wherever you are... You're on my mind... Last night your uncles and your dad and I went to see the holiday train... I looked around at the crowd and wondered if you were there. I watched the lights on the train cars and I cried for you. Your dad knew. We pray for you, where ever you are. We are praying that you are warm and safe and happy this Christmas. That you are with a family who will take care of you well until we are able to love you and care for you like you deserve. In Sunday school this morning your grandma was holding your little cousin and I thought of you. I wonder, will you be the kind of child that loves your grandparents so dearly? I hope so! They are wonderful people, the ones here who live close and the ones far away. They will all spoil you. They will buy you books and candy, play games with you, read you stories, give you all the love and hugs you can want... Wherever you are my darling, know you are so loved. You are prayed for every day. As I put out the nativity scenes this year I thought of you and I want you to know that I am so excited about telling you the story! I can't wait to help you learn to know the baby in the story. He grew up and He gave His life so that we would know how to love you.  I am so happy that I can tell you about that love. Wherever you are, whatever your life is like now, whether you will be here with us for only a short time or whether you will be with us forever and always, you need to know that we love you. We love you now, we will love you then, and we will love you after you are gone again from this house, be that as an adult or be that as a child gone back to another mother. So wherever you are, please hold on to hope. Please don't give up on us. We are getting to you as fast as we can! 

You give...

I'm writing a paper right now. The goal of the paper is to determine whether or not the Mennonite church as a whole truly lives out what Jesus taught. I have not come to any conclusions yet (I am still researching and not writing yet) but here is something I did find. 

When Jesus was on the mountain teaching those thousands of people for days on end, they naturally got hungry (we all know the story). The disciples did what I imagine any good Christian would do, they became concerned with how the people would be fed. They suggested sending them home. They looked at the crowds and became overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of the problem. Much, I imagine, like I do when I look at the foster system in our country. Jesus's reply to the disciples on this matter is something I've never seen before now. He said to them 

"They need not go away, you give them something to eat."

YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT. 

THEY NEED NOT GO AWAY.

The disciples, because of Jesus, had the answer. They had the sustenance. They had what the people needed. They just had to be willing to give it. 

We have the Answer. The Answer is Jesus. Nothing to big, nothing to frightful, nothing to far out of your comfort zone. They don't need to go anywhere else. You have what they need. Give it to them. 

Two White Dresses

Twice... Twice I stood at the same altar and vowed to stay true to something. Twice I knelt and was blessed by a man I deeply respect, a man who has faithfully taught the Word of God for as long as I can remember. Twice I publicly and permanently committed to things I can only keep by the grace of God. My family was there, my friends, my church... They support me, they love me, pray for me, carry me when I am too weak to walk. Was it my choice to make those vows? Yes. I battled long and hard with the decision to be baptized and join the Mennonite church. It was not a light choice for me, not a no-brainer. When Strider and I were dating I fought the demons of my past and my fears and by the grace of God, and by His intervention, I slew them and chose to spend my life with this man who rocks my world. 

Twice... Two white dresses. 

I did make those choices, but my friends I was given everything I needed to make them. Parents who love me, siblings who care deeply about my welfare, a grandmother who prays faithfully for me, a ministry whose deepest desire for me is that I serve the Lord... From little up I knew I was loved. Yes there were bumps, hurts, life shattering incidences that I wish had never happened. But still, for me, me who had those two white dresses to stand in judgement of anyone for making choices I deem as foolish or self destructive... I don't have that right. 

That is why, when I see the hurt and pain in the world, alcohol abuse, sex addiction, drug usage, whatever it may be, I pray with all my heart that God will give me the wisdom to remember my two white dresses and the fact that it is His blood that saved me from those vices and not my choices.

My Easter Rant

Keisha is asleep beside me. Barney is purring on my lap, fully contented to simply be with me. Thoughts of the love of Jesus and the incredibleness of His sacrifice are rumbling around in my brain. My heart is heavy with the pain in the world, full of the joy of knowing my sweet Saviour, and warm with the love of my family, both those I share my genes with and those whose name I will soon carry. In this bubble of cat purring and dog snoring and train whistling by outside I wish I could insulate myself. I wish I didn't have to think about the atrocities happening around me on this lovely Easter day. But if I don't think about them, if they don't touch my heart, I can do absolutely nothing to stop them. If, however, I lend a bit of my mental energy to at least some of them, perhaps I can make some small difference in this crazy world. 

So, as those of you who know me well probably already know, there is an issue I want to talk about. I'll try to keep it brief...

The issue is.... Soap. More specifically liquid soap. More specifically still liquid soap whose components are tested on animals. 

Now, before you write me off as a left wing PETA person please hear me out on this! The past two weeks or so my lab partner and I have been doing a project on the chemicals that are in our soaps... And I am horrified. Why? Because the terrible effects that the chemicals had on animals were completely discounted! 

Chemicals are placed strait up into rabbits eyes. Rats are forced to ingest obscene amounts of chemicals. And other stuff. I'm going to stop with that because you are perfectly capable of doing your own research. The government document that I eventually dug up (yes it is legit) detailed the things they did. It listed the terrible reactions the animals had to the chemicals. And then it dismissed them with: No Further Testing Recommended. Their final conclusion was that in spite of mutations, paralysis, blindness and even death, the results they saw were not indicative of what could happen to humans. 

Do you know what your largest organ is? Hint: its not your liver, intestines, heart or lungs. It is your skin. If these chemicals that are in nearly every name brand and off brand product cause disaster for animals, do you not think you could be in danger putting them on your skin? 

I propose to you some very simple changes starting with awareness. Research. LOOK what is in your shampoo, body wash and shaving cream/gel and then research it! 

I personally have simply switched to using all chemical free bar soap for everything. Shampoo, body wash, shaving cream... it works beautifully! I rinse my hair with apple cider vinegar and water as conditioner and it is shiny and smooth and I love it. 

So that is what's on my mind right now and I will tell you why. I closed my eyes and I thought about Jesus. I thought about His gentleness. I thought about how that wild young donkey let Him ride it with no problem. There is absolutely no way you will ever convince me that Jesus would put chemical into a rabbit's eye. Does that mean using chemicals tested on animals is wrong? Probably not, but if I'm completely honest I will tell you that I believe that we will each answer to God for how we handle His creation. 

So, this Easter day I leave you with this: Jesus died so that ALL may be free and live!! Can we as His children turn a blind eye to the pain around us whether it is human or animal suffering? I really think not! I'm not asking anyone to become an activist or fight to free all lab animals. What I am asking is that each of you give some thought to what you put on your body and in your hair and consider what the history of your products may be.