A Dream, A Purpose

A few days ago, I was on Instagram, and I saw this post by Jon Acuff. (If you don't know who he is, you're living under a rock. And also, you should really find out who he is, because he's stinkin' hilarious and also really smart and a Christian.)

I was intrigued. I had no idea what he had posted, but I wanted to find out. When I went to his blog, I saw another post that simply said that if you were up for an adventure, email your name. address, and phone number to Jon. I was standing in the halls of CCA while Jorie was in VBS, and I quickly went into my email, filled it out, and then I... hesitated. What kind of adventure? What would this entail? I hadn't even read his latest book, Start, yet, so maybe I wasn't even qualified for this journey. But I felt a strange nudging from the Lord, so I sent it.

And then I forgot about it. Hey, it's been a busy week. That was four days ago, and since then I've driven to Collinsville six times, ran errands in Fairview, inventoried books, finished a yearbook, and started planning Jorie's birthday party. Jon who?

And then yesterday, I received an email back. It simply said, "The adventure is a go! Join this secret Facebook group to get the details." And anytime Jon Acuff emails you, you don't say no. Without giving too much of the secret away, here is what's happening, in Jon's words:

Welcome to the Start Experiment. 

Do you know what fear, fears?

Fear fears community.

Fear always tries to isolate you and put you on an island as if you’re the only one on the planet bumping into challenges. 

But how do you build community in a rapidly disconnecting culture?

That is the question the Start Experiment seeks to answer.

And it starts with an adventure. 

We’re picking teams of 24 people to risk 1 new thing individually for 24 days.

The group goes on to explain the logistics of it. And in the 24 hours since I've joined, people (there are 675 in the group so far) have been introducing themselves and connecting with others. I've already met another GC alum and someone else from the StL. There are college students looking to begin life even before graduation; there are people in their 50s and 60s looking to rectify regrets. And there are those of us in the middle who are ready for God to shake things up. 

I'm reading Start now. It's great. You should read it, too. And it's got me thinking. I'm a wife, a mom, a teacher, a friend. But am I average, or am I awesome at those things? Are there unfulfilled dreams in my life? Is there a purpose I haven't yet grasped? 

So to think aloud, here is what brings me absolute contentment, in no particular order (excluding relationships): reading, writing, music, and learning about the Holy Spirit and its power. 

I haven't defined any dreams. I don't know if I want to build an orphanage in Haiti or travel the country as a Christian speaker. Do I want to write a best-selling book or dig wells in Africa? Do I want to travel with missions teams to Indonesia or market Christian singers? What is my purpose? What's a dream that I've been too scared to start? 

I'm not sure. But I think that by embarking on this challenge, I'll get closer to discovering all that God has in store for me. I'm ready to live with purpose, even before I've defined it. In the roles already defined in my life, I want to be awesome.

What are your unfulfilled dreams?

Strangely Dim

There are a lot of things I could be freaking out about right now. First of all, it's summer. That means I don't get my regular paycheck from CCA, so money is always a bit of an issue during this season. Second, trying to sell a house is superduper stressful and hey, guess what? It costs money. Third, I'm about a week and a half behind on my yearbook, because that's how I roll with stress (I ignore it), and I'm hoping they continue to extend grace to me. Fourth, staying at home with a kid is HARD. I don't know how you full-timers do it. The three months in the summer wears me out. And finally, you know. The whole miscarriage thing. I should be in the fetal position under my covers without coming out for days at a time. 

But I'm not. I can't quit repeating these words to people who extend sympathy (which has been so appreciated): I'm okay. I really, really am. All those things weighing on me? Sure, they're big. Some of them are important and some are urgent and some are both, so I can't pretend they don't exist. But they're not my life. 

In fact, my life isn't really even about me. If you've known me awhile, you may be shocked that I've finally come to that conclusion. But, truth. If you need proof that life isn't about me or you or even your family, I saw this picture on Facebook the other day that puts it into perspective. 

We're a speck in the universe, a speck in time. But Jesus is forever. The creator of everything that exists, the author of life, the eternal God. He is the center of everything. 

A friend was listening to the new Francesca Battistelli song the other day called "Strangely Dim," and she texted me the lyrics as an encouragement:

But when I fix my eyes on all that You are
Then every doubt I feel
Deep in my heart
Grows strangely dim
All my worries fade
And fall to the ground
Cause when I seek Your face
And don't look around
Any place I'm in
Grows strangely dim

And it's so true. Fixing my eyes on Jesus doesn't mean that problems don't exist or that I shouldn't take care of them. It means that He is so much bigger than everything that I have going on. I think I prefer the old hymn that says it so concisely: 

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

If I live from an earthly perspective, I would be completely overwhelmed right now (well, most of the time). But I am choosing to look at life from a kingdom perspective. Ephesians 2:6 says that God "raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms" (NIV). When you're seated in the heavens with Jesus, your perspective changes. We have no choice but to view it through kingdom eyes. And the Bible makes it pretty clear that we cannot earn that seat in the heavens. Once we are saved, once we have trusted Jesus, we are called saints. We have the authority of Christ in us. In Ephesians chapter 1, Paul prays for all believers the following: "that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms" (1:18-20, NIV). 

Wow. Just, wow. The same power that RAISED CHRIST from the DEAD is IN US. And I'm worried about what, again? 

If I want to be more than a speck in the universe and a speck in time (and I think we all want to have significance), then I'm going to start walking in that power that is in me. I want to see life spring forth where there is death, destruction, and desperation. I want to see diseases healed and hope burst from people's hearts. I want to see young people walk in their own destinies and callings that God has laid before them. I want to see people who call themselves Christians (because they attend a church, occasionally give money, and maybe serve charitably) start embracing that same power and walking in the Holy Spirit in order to effect change in our homes, communities, organizations, schools, and nation. 

What can I do, what can YOU do, to start turning our eyes upon Jesus? To look at life from His kingdom perspective and let the things of earth grow strangely dim? Let's rise up, friends. Haven't you been searching for more? Let's walk this out. I'm so ready. 

In His Time

I should have picked digital. No idea what time this is.

I get really frustrated with people who are notoriously late. My boss might say that's ironic, because I arrive between three and eight minutes late to work most days. But when it's an event I should be at, or if it's anything not at the crack of dawn, I'm always early (or right on time, so as not to be the dork that arrives early). However, my in-laws (love you guys!) can run up to an hour or two late. Drives. Me. Nuts.

Punctuality is courtesy, to me. I understand emergencies, and I understand the difficulty of getting dawdling kids out the door. But if I'm throwing a party that starts at 7, and everyone arrives at 8, I'm going to feel a little slighted, like no one bothered to spend that first hour with me. Lesson for you all: be on time. 

But I think the Lord has a different sense of timing than I have. No, I know He does. For instance, it did not make any sense to me that my miscarriage last week would happen: 1. on a Saturday, when the main hospital desk is closed and I would have to go through ER; 2. when I was at my first shift of work; 3. when many of my Greenville friends were out of town at a conference; and 4. at the start of Deedra's two-week vacation, when she had no signal to even call me (for people who aren't as familiar with me, she has been with me each step of this process). 

Figures.

But over a week later, I can see how God's hand was at work in all of this, including the timing. Maybe especially in the timing. 

Last Monday, after I'd been up all night, practically in labor with a child I'll never meet this side of heaven, I wasn't sure that I could do this alone. I texted as much to Deedra, and she sent me a text that impacted me greatly. It said: "You know that part of the old lies you believe is that you're not old enough to do it. Combat it with the truth. You are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus. He is your strength where you are weak. You are able." And it was a revelation. I could do it. More than that, I had to.

My husband is great, but let's face it. He'll never understand the attachment that can form quickly to a baby in the womb, nor could he understand the hormones and emotions that were swarming through me. Plus, he works every afternoon and evening, so Monday through Thursday stretched ahead of me, lonely and difficult. The times when he left for work were my hardest part of the day. And yet, like I said in my last blog, I made it through, each day stronger than the day before. 

I know why I'm okay. I explained that earlier. It's because I have a faith and hope in Jesus Christ and the promises that God has a redemptive plan in every situation. But now I understand that much of this was in the timing. Because I couldn't rely on people around me, which was my standard MO, I had to rely solely on God. (Disclaimer: I had dozens of texts, Facebook messages, and a wonderful talk with a couple close friends during this, so I recognize I had support. I just was cut off from the normal dependence on others that I could have fallen back into.)

For my birthday, a colleague gave me a Bill Johnson book called Strengthen Yourself in Lord. As I started reading it yesterday (yes, I'm slow), I found a passage that spoke directly to me. It said:

"For the sake of becoming mature and growing in favor so that we can bless those around us, God brings moments into our lives when we have to stand alone in difficulty and testing. God will even blind the eyes and deafen the ears of our closest friends in those moments so we can learn to minister to ourselves."

Whoa. While I didn't feel like friends were ignoring me (the ones I could talk to have been great), I did feel let down that the one person who's been by my side on several difficult journeys this year was literally out of my reach. And though several people in my life had pretty much already told me that maybe God wanted to show me something out of that, it didn't sink in until I read those words by Johnson. The timing of this was exactly how it needed to be. 

I finally got to talk to Deedra today. And I see how much more beneficial this conversation was than it might have been if it had happened a week ago. I'm on the other side of a process that I've had to cling to God for, and as I told her all of this, she confirmed that the timing was right. She even mentioned that maybe this was less of a "test" of how I could survive, and more a way for me to see how much I've grown lately. Either way, I know all of this has only strengthened my trust in God. 

His ways are ALWAYS better than mine.

My Story

This isn't a blog I anticipated having to write, especially after the one the Lord prompted me to write about speaking life over my new son or daughter. But life doesn't often make sense, and here I am writing about the death of that child that never had a chance to live. As an introduction to what's been happening, I want to share part of the lyrics to a song by Plumb called "Need You Now (How Many Times)" that I keep hearing on the radio. 

Well, everybody's got a story to tell

And everybody's got a wound to be healed

I want to believe there's beauty here

'Cause oh, I get so tired of holding on

I can't let go, I can't move on

I want to believe there's meaning here

How many times have you heard me cry out

"God please take this"?

How many times have you given me strength to

Just keep breathing?

Oh I need you

God, I need you now.

I thought I would have to write a disclaimer about how I realize that what I'm going through is small business compared to other people's tragedies and problems. But a few weeks ago, a really wise woman told me that "everyone is on their own journey." So mine doesn't have to read as easier or harder or better or worse. It is simply my journey. And no matter our journeys, I'm sure that we've all related to those Plumb lyrics at one time or another, because we all have a story to tell. 

Two weeks ago, some complications arose in my pregnancy that concerned me. Because it was a long weekend, I tried to find most of my answers on Google instead of from my doctor. I decided that I probably had partial placenta previa and that everything would be fine once I was diagnosed. However, when I finally went in for an ultrasound a few days later, I learned that although my baby was moving around like crazy and had a strong heartbeat, he (gut feeling that it was a boy) wasn't growing as fast as he should be. The next day, my doctor confirmed that I was at a high risk for a miscarriage. 

At that point, I already felt like it was a sure thing. I texted this to a friend: "I know nothing bad has happened yet, and God is in control, but I feel a little like I'm just waiting for my baby to die. Helpless." Call it mother's intuition, but a part of me had already been feeling like I would never hold this child. 

However, that night, I opened my Bible to Matthew chapter 8. It happened to be the next chapter for me to read, and verses 2 and 3 say: "A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy" (NIV). I felt like God was telling me that He was willing to heal and that I shouldn't be waiting for death. I should be praying for healing and choosing life. And so, in faith, I began speaking life over the baby, much like God had told me to do earlier in the pregnancy, before any complications were even known. 

That was Wednesday night. Saturday morning, I discovered a lot of blood, and I knew it was the end. I was running on shock (and a little anger that this was happening on a Saturday and would require an expensive emergency room visit). After an agonizing wait in the ER, I had my final ultrasound. As soon as I saw the screen, I knew there was nothing to see. My baby wasn't moving at all anymore. The tech quietly confirmed that there was no longer a heartbeat, and I went home to wait for the natural miscarriage. 

So far, I had been fine emotionally. It wasn't a big surprise. Everything had happened quickly, so I hadn't had much processing time since everything had been confirmed. In fact, for the rest of Saturday and Sunday, I had to keep reminding myself that I was no longer pregnant. 

All that changed Sunday night. If my night in labor with Jorie was one of the most physically demanding times of my life, this past Sunday night was the next. I essentially gave birth. Contractions, pushing, the whole nine yards. Keep in mind that I was twelve weeks along when I passed the baby. Around 2:00 in the morning, I fell into bed, sobbing. I woke poor Ronnie up and I cried, "It's not fair that I'm delivering a baby that I will never see or hold. The last time I had contractions like this, there was movement and excited anticipation. THIS. ISN'T. FAIR." And bless him, he agreed and stayed awake while I popped in and out of bed for the next two hours. That was the first time I'd cried. And it wasn't the last. 

Monday, I wasn't sure if I could drag myself out of bed after Ronnie left for work. Tuesday, Jorie asked for lunch, and I looked in the refrigerator, almost too overwhelmed to scrounge something up for her. But each day, I made myself leave the house. Jorie and I spent time at the library, at the park, at the grocery store. And each day got a little bit easier. I was fully present with Jorie, fully functional. And though each day brought more physical issues as everything was running its course, I marveled that I felt, miraculously, okay. 

No, it's not okay that I never met my baby (which I've decided, and Ronnie agrees, is a son named Carter James). It's not okay that I've talked to over thirty women in the past week that have experienced their own miscarriages (side note: ladies, why isn't this discussed more?). It's not okay that a friend of mine lost her son at the age of seventeen. It's not fair that other friends are struggling with loneliness, depression, and loss. Those things are not okay. God never tells us that they're okay. They're the opposite of okay. They are a result of a living in a fallen, sinful world. This world is broken. It has pain, loss, crying, rejections, abandonment, and fear. 

But that's not the end of the story. 

John 16:33 says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." That's our promise. And that's how I can be okay. I'm okay because God redeems what the enemy intends for evil. I can already see facets of redemption in my story this past week. I'm not healed yet, but I'm growing closer to my Healer. If that's the only good that comes from this, it will be enough. But I already know that there is more. More that I've seen already, and more that I may never see. Every life has a purpose, and Carter's twelve short weeks in the womb will accomplish that destiny that God intended. And so, even now, I speak life over Carter and over the plan that God has. Like the song above says, I believe there is beauty and meaning here. And even while I wait to see it all, which may not happen until I'm on the other side of eternity, I can continue to cry out my need to the Lord. That's all we can really hold onto in this life, anyway. And it will always be enough.

Throwback Thursday: Jesus & the Holy Spirit

Last year, my youth group was doing a study on the Holy Spirit. Even though I never volunteer to speak, I did then, because this is a topic that interests me very much. I was assigned to talk about the Holy Spirit in the Gospels, so I focused on the life of Jesus. This isn't written like a blog or even like a sermon. It's very much still in its rough "notes" form, with questions and answers.

1.       Did Jesus operate in the gifts of the Spirit?

Yes. He healed the sick, drove out demons, performed miracles, prophesied, used discernment, exercised wisdom & words of knowledge, and he expressed faith.

He didn’t use tongues or interpretation. Because He already prayed the will of the Father, He didn’t need those gifts. They didn’t appear until the Holy Spirit fell at Pentecost in Acts, after Jesus had ascended.

2.       How was Jesus able to operate in the Spirit?

By being completely dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit working through Him.

Jesus himself could not heal the sick, raise the dead, or perform miracles (John 5:19—The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does).

Yes, He is 100% God, but He chose to live as a man, with the same limitations man would face after redemption. This is hugely important, because if Jesus performed miracles as God, these acts would be impossible and unattainable. We would read about signs and wonders and say, “Wow, good for him.” But if Jesus did miracles as a man, I am responsible to pursue that lifestyle!

3.       How was Jesus empowered?

Jesus was empowered by hearing God’s voice and then responding in obedience. How did He so easily know the will of the Father? Simple. He spent time with the Father.

Jorie, as my daughter, knows my heart because she spends a lot of time with me. If she wanted to know how I would respond in a specific situation, she probably wouldn’t ask all my friends or read someone’s biography of me. She could, but at best all that would do is point her in the right direction. No, she would ask me. Watch how I act. Read my journals, maybe. The more time you spend with someone, the better you know them.

In Luke 4, the context is that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days, where He did nothing but pray and fast and was tempted by Satan. (Luke 4:14--Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.)

He has been filled with the Spirit. Did someone prophesy over him? Did anyone lay hands on him? Was there a band playing amazing Hillsong and Jesus Culture songs? What was he doing that filled him with the Spirit?

                He was 1. Spending time with the Lord and 2. Standing up against temptation.

I think it’s important to note that his time with the Father included prayer, fasting, and meditating on Scripture. In fact, he battled Satan simply by confessing Scripture…OUT LOUD. But that’s another topic.

Turn to Mark and someone read 9:14-29 (OR) context: The disciples were trying to drive a demon out of a boy, and they couldn’t, so Jesus was summoned. Read 4:28-29.

Now, did Jesus stop right then and began praying? No. He led a lifestyle of prayer and spending time with God. It was intentional devotion. His time in the desert is proof that time with God empowers the Spirit.

Now read Jesus’ response to the same scenario in Matthew 17:20 (If you would only have faith, nothing would be impossible). Okay. Seems like a different response, right? One time he calls for prayer, the other, faith. Make up your mind! But hang on. Look up Romans 10:17 (Faith comes from hearing the message). How do we hear the word of the Lord? We pray. We study the Bible. We confess Scripture out loud. We spend time with Him. Then look—nothing will be impossible. As we hear the word, faith builds!

4.       How often did Jesus operate in the gifts?

All the time! For a frame of reference, I looked up JUST instances of healing in Matthew chapters 5-25. There are over 20 listed, and in over half of them, there is no way to count all the healings. Words are used like “every,” “large crowds,” “all who were ill,” “every disease,” “all were healed,” and “great crowds.”

That’s just healing. That isn’t including times he prophesied or used wisdom or drove out demons, etc. He was constantly moving in the Holy Spirit. He never fell out of the anointing. His lifestyle of personal devotion didn’t allow Him to.

5.       Why did Jesus operate in the gifts?

He moved in the Spirit to bring God’s kingdom to heart. He wanted to serve and minister to all, so that Heaven would be recognized here.

How do we follow the example Jesus left? We spend time with the Lord. We let our faith grow. We allow the Holy Spirit to fill us. And we exercise that power by operating in the gifts of the Spirit for service, ministry, encouragement, and simply to know Jesus better. The more time we spend with Him, the more clearly we hear Him.

Stewarding the Call

On Friday, April 12, Jorie and I were headed home from school. We decided to stop by Wal-Mart to get supplies for a GNI (girls' night in), like cookie dough, pizza, and a Barbie DVD. And also...a pregnancy test. Now, since I've been married, I've had a weird fascination with pregnancy tests. I can't tell you how many I've purchased over the years, even when I was pretty dang sure it wasn't even possible. But I have an app on my iPhone that tracks certain female things, and if it even seemed like I was perhaps a day off, then I was off to the drugstore. Generally, buying one ensured that certain things would occur the next day, so often I bought it to trick Mother Nature. (Is this too much information for my male reader(s)? I apologize, but get used to it.)

Imagine my surprise then, when out of the hundreds of pregnancy tests I've taken (perhaps more like dozens), the one on April 12 turned out to be...positive. Like, without any doubt in the world positive. We tried for Jorie, and the first test I took with her was so faint that I had to take four more over the next week just so I was convinced. Not this time around. This one was screaming, "Hey! There's a kid in your belly! SURPRISE!"

Backstory: I had a not-great pregnancy with Jorie, and since it was coupled with the world's most unbelievable labor and delivery that I have since tried to block from my mind (keywords: back labor, power outage, squirrel, failed epidural, emergency c-section), I had pretty much unofficially decided that one child was just perfect, thanks.

Flash forward to April 12. Omg. I'm pregnant. As the shock rolled in, I knew I needed to talk about this. Slight problem: Ronnie was with my brothers and sisters-in-law at the Cardinals game, and there was no way he would be able to have this conversation in front of them. But since I owed it to him to be the first to know, we had the world's most stealth and awkward phone call.
Me: Don't react. Don't say anything.
Ronnie: Got it.
Me: I, on a whim, took a pregnancy test. It's positive.
Ronnie: Okay, thanks for letting me know. Talk to you later.

To his credit, he didn't even blink at the news. My brothers never suspected a thing. But five seconds later, I did receive a text that simply said, "WOW!" He was surprised but very excited.

I, on the other hand, was not so excited. I mean, there's always the initial excitement of oh my gosh, there's a baby growing inside me. I get to pick out names. I love that new baby smell. But most of those thoughts were replaced quickly with oh my gosh, we live in a two bedroom house. I work full-time. I have a five-year-old. Babies take diapers and bottles and sleepless nights. And these thoughts were not-so-fleeting. In fact, they were constantly in my head for several weeks. While I wasn't at the point of wishing for a miscarriage (this is my child, after all), I wasn't yet ready to face the reality of a new person in my house.

But all that changed one night when I was reading Face to Face with God by Bill Johnson. There is a section devoted to John the Baptist, and in this section, Johnson was discussing John's life while still in his mother's womb. If you'll remember the story, John's father did not believe when the angel spoke of John's impending birth. Because of his unbelief, the father was rendered mute for several months while John was still a bun in Elizabeth's oven. Johnson argued that one of the reasons Zacharias wasn't allowed to speak was so his words couldn't disagree with God's will on baby John's life.

He goes on to say that Elizabeth hid her pregnancy for the first few months in order to protect John from the careless words of others. Obviously, our words have effect. Can they thwart the will of God? I'm not sure we'll ever know the real answer to that question. But why are we warned so much in the book of James about the power of our tongues if there weren't damages caused by our words?

The greeting from Mary to Elizabeth caused John to leap in his mother's womb. Obviously, the words in that greeting had the power to reach the unborn baby and fill him with joy. Why would speaking negatively not affect the unborn baby in the opposite way? Johnson writes, "In the story of John's birth we see a powerful illustration of partnering with the Lord in speech and action in order to steward the call of God on his life."

Wow. Just, wow. What was I speaking over my unborn baby? Fears, anxieties, worries, concerns, sprinkled with the occasional drop of excitement. How was this possibly stewarding the call of God on my child's life? It wasn't. That was a huge moment of conviction and repentance for me.

I'm not sure why God chose this timing to give my family a new child. I'm not sure that I'm worthy to parent another beautiful person. But I do know that I am now rejoicing over this development and speaking life over my unborn baby.

I choose to use my words and actions to partner with the Lord in this endeavor.

Looks just like me. Can't you tell? Yeah, me, neither. :)

Guest Post by Ginger Coakley: Set Free

I am a modern-day abolitionist. I know, cool title, right?! While I love my job, I still find myself shocked at the reality that there is a need in the world for people like me. There is a need for thousands, maybe millions of modern-day abolitionists. Modern day slavery is rampant in our world…our 21^st-century slavery-illegal-in-every-country world…the best known number of slaves counts there are more slaves today than at any other point in human history: 30 million. That is 30 million individuals who are living and breathing, who have the image of God stamped on their souls, and who have (or had) hopes and dreams for their lives. Instead of experiencing freedom in all of those things, they are in bondage and forced to work for someone else’s gain.

Why am I shocked? Don’t we become numb to terrible realities that are put before us everyday? Yes, we do usually, but I am regularly made aware of new terrible realities. Here are a few: Law enforcement in St. Louis reports they could rescue at least 4 girls everyday from being pimped out but they don’t have anywhere safe and equipped to send them. In a neighboring town a mother is pimping out her son and her daughter so she can buy drugs. Young people are wrapped up in pornography and deceived into thinking they are loved by a guy, when in actuality they are being set up to be pimped out. A restaurant in a neighboring town is moving young Hispanics from work site to work site giving them no freedom and extremely little pay. All the major clothing brands I could buy for my young son (Oshkosh, Carters, Garanimals, Just One You, etc) have known slave labor in their supply chains. My shock, and perhaps better described as my heartache, continues and grows with each new reality I encounter.

The US Department defines human trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where such an act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age--OR--
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. Human traffickers are garnering $32 billion each year off the individuals who meet this definition in their everyday life. When I began working and ministering in this field, human trafficking was ranked 3^rd among top grossing international organized crime; recently it has been moved up to the 2^nd place position. Why? Because drug traffickers are using their incredibly networked system to move people instead, after all, people are a renewable resource whereas drugs, once used, are gone.

The Set Free Movement is committed to collaborating with first responders and key stakeholders to ensure communities are ready to help victims when their terrible reality is made aware to us. We are moving toward being a Zero Tolerance (for slavery, for injustice) Community. YOU are a key stakeholder in this community, in your community, and in our world.

This Friday, May 10, 2013, The Set Free Movement is hosting a training session where we will learn about slavery’s realities. From Assistant US Attorney, Monica Stump, we will be equipped to recognize the signs and indicators as well as be provided explanations of the laws that surround human trafficking in America today. JeffOthic is a special investigator for Homeland Security’s Immigration and Custom Enforcement Division, and he will review the process of investigations within human trafficking cases. We will also hear from CleoTerry, Coordinator of the Rescue and Restore Coalition of Southwestern Illinois, who will be giving in-depth explanations on how to work with victims of human trafficking.

I recently found myself amidst a group of college students committed to pray around this issue. The prayer that came from my own lips was about Moses. Moses, the first abolitionist of our faith, was terrified to do what God called him to - he was called to free his community. And with that first call, I believe God put abolition in our spiritual DNA. The rest of my prayer was for the traffickers, that they would find plagues heaped upon them and be destroyed. There is a way to end modern day slavery, but it will only be accomplished by thousands, maybe millions, of abolitionists. We must be willing to heed the call, one that will break our hearts and shock our “safe and quaint” communities. We must be willing to change the way me make purchases (start with www.free2work.org) and buy ethically sourced goods. We must educate ourselves (find out more about the Set Free training event here) as much as possible. We must move in three directions: Prevention, Rescue, and Restoration (check out the Set Free Primer).

I will end with the prayer of five year old Mariah: “Dear Jesus, Thank you that we are free to walk and run and ride our bikes.  We are sad because you are sad that there are kids that are not free.  Please help those kids to know that you are near to them and you can be in their hearts.  Help them to not be too sad and help them to be free too.”

Thank you to Chrisy, Megan, and Wick who graciously invited me to guest post on their blog. If you have further questions or want to join the ranks of abolitionists around the world, feel free to email me: ginger@setfreemovement.org.