Learning to Breathe

starting over

2008-07-12T10:01:00.001-05:00

I've decided to start a new blog. Sometimes I just need a beginning to get me inspired :).

http://wesingwedance.blogspot.com

Love Protects.

2008-04-17T23:01:00.003-05:00

"Love146 works toward the abolition of child sex trafficking and exploitation through prevention and aftercare. Love146 trains aftercare workers, multiplies safehomes, aids socioeconomic development programs in high risk communities and provides a voice for these victims of modern-day slavery." - www.love146.org

Through the words of Jared's and my pre-marital counselor and visits to the 146 website, this issue has become my heartbeat in the last few days. As believers in Christ, we are called to rescue the perishing and care for the dying - I cannot think of a better way.

Love146's website is a powerful tool for raising awareness about the issue of human sex trafficking and gives plenty of insight into other ways to research and fight against this international travesty. According to their site, around 1.2 million children are estimated to be trafficked per year. That's two children per minute. According to research conducted by the U.S. government, over 800,000 people are trafficked trans-nationally per year, not to mention the millions trafficked within their own countries. It is estimated that 80% of victims are women and girls, up to 50% are minors. Estimations reveal that approximately 27 million people are currently being trafficked around the world, the majority for sexual exploitation. Trafficking is one of the largest illegal markets in the world, second only to drugs. The total market value of human trafficking is estimated to be $32 billion, $28 billion of which comes from sexual exploitation.

American is not exempt. "The organization to End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Purposes believe that 45,000-50,000 persons are trafficked into the U.S. each year, 15,000 of them are children."

An example of this? Craigslist's "Erotic Services" section is a frequently used utility for pimps and pornographers to market and sell children as prostitutes. (www.love146.org)

This is a world-wide issue. Really, it is deeper than world-wide. It is a battle in the spiritual realm, and there are ways we can fight it. Above and beyond all - pray in faith. If our hearts' break for these precious girls, how much more does their Father's in heaven?

I implore you to visit Love146's website and see how you can fight against this horrendous injustice.

"Love protects. Love defends. Love restores. Love empowers." - Love146

Visit the site, watch the video, be stirred and shaken.

Love.

i'll always have more questions than answers.

2008-02-15T16:38:00.002-06:00

first, i am listening to the soundtrack from the recent movie "P.S. I Love You" which jared and i liked very much. i'd recommend it highly, especially if you have an inkling toward ireland, romance, and/or becoming a part of the film you are watching. we thoroughly enjoyed it. also, the soundtrack is worth the $9.99 on itunes.

now.
today i had one class - communication and women's health. however, we learn about health issues that affect men as well as women, and today we discussed AIDS. the article we read was by communication researcher Elizabeth Dow who was analyzing another article called "1,112" by Kramer, a gay-rights activist in the 1980s. in order to understand gay liberation, our professor told us about an event called Stonewall which occurred in 1969. for more information on the event itself, visit the following website. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/case1.html
as soon as she began talking about this event which, evidently, opened the doors for a magnificent push toward gay liberation in the united states, i was taken aback. why had i not heard of this event before? is it because i was home schooled? was i just sheltered from historical events not in line with conservative politics? i decided against this as jared, who attended public school, had no idea what i was talking about when i told him of the event. is it because we live in texas? do we simply avoid discussing the "liberation" of groups we disagree with?
now, hear this. biblically, i am not in favor of a gay lifestyle. i am not promoting the gay movement. i disagree with the lifestyle, but i love the people as i would any one else.
historical movements such as this should be discussed. why do we try to act as though gays are just now coming out? no! they've just finally been allowed to! am i necessarily in favor of this? not the issue. the issue is that we are learning "american history" from an extremely biased perspective. can bias be avoided? probably not. can truth be told? yes.
let's tell it.

a little dab of research.

2008-01-01T17:16:00.000-06:00

been enjoying a slow new year's day after a late, fun, rummikub and conversation filled new year's eve. the Lord is good and He is filling me with curiosity and hope for what the Church is going to look like in our generation. here are some thoughts of others whom i wonder alongside.

I Like Jesus...Not the Church by Dan Kimball
Read the whole thing to understand the title/point. And I like the Church as God intended it to be, just to clear the air.
http://outreachmagazine.com/library/features/MA07ftrILikeJesusNottheChurch.asp

Compassionate Care by Andrea Bailey
Love the hurting. Care for the dying.
http://outreachmagazine.com/library/stories/nd07storiescompassionatecare.asp

to belong.

2007-12-19T18:29:00.001-06:00

do you ever sense the divine ordinance of a moment? i do.

this moment, for example. i sit in jared's parents living room, jared sleeping soundly (rather drugged up) after an afternoon of wisdom teeth removal. he's lying on the couch, i sit next to him and his hand rests in my lap. i belong here.

this morning, i sat in the waiting room working through a day of beth moore's a woman's heart: God's dwelling place - an in-depth study of the old testament tabernacle. she pointed my eyes to verse after verse of God's provision for his people, namely the Levites, those who were consecrated to the service of His tabernacle. He never failed to provide for them - mostly through the generosity of their community. God always takes care of those He has called to his service,which is each of us, .and He is so fond of providing through His children. i crave, and am discovering, this community. i belong there.

this weekend, i sat at blue baker with jenn and lindsay. we shared, laughed, felt deeply. we celebrated what has been, rejoiced over the present, and grew joyfully wide-eyed at what is to come. i belong there.

there are so many more of these moments.
reading red moon rising.
listening to ross king and eisley.
dancing. coffee. kissing. writing. cooking. loving.
playing apples to apples.
taking pictures, having pictures taken.
living.

sometimes the concept of "life" is just more clear than normal. praise God for those moments.

and how fascinating to think that this is not the end. that though i feel these are places where i belong - not even they are my home or satisifaction. but someday glory will ultimately overcome my depravity and i will see my Savior face to face. and above all, no questions asked - i belong there.

2007-12-11T18:01:00.000-06:00

another semester down.

5 down, 3 to go...kind of strange.

it is so nice to be on a break, though today has been a day of realizing that a break from school does not mean a break from real life...

2007-11-13T18:45:00.000-06:00

i'm strangely impassioned right now. i don't know if "impassioned" is a word or if it means what i want it to mean, so just for clarity, all i mean there is that i'm, um...made to be passionate?

i'm reading red moon rising by pete grieg and...all i know to say right now is that God is doing something deep inside my soul. He is awakening my heart, enlightening parts of me that i thought had died and left me for good. but, "hallejulah, i lose again" (ross king) and God's love wins yet again. read "http://notallthatwanderarelost.blogspot.com" which is my roommate, sarah elizabeth's, blog for more on the thought of "Love Wins" - fyi...it always does.

may God teach us to pray.
may He teach us to love as He has first loved us.
may He teach us to see outside of ourselves, our school, our town, our country - and see Him.
may He teach us to have a passion for the salvation of the nations.
may He teach us to seek His heart, His face, more than anything, anything.
may He teach us to sit, to be quiet, to come away with peace and zeal radically unlike this world.

"for Zion's sake i will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake i will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch."
- isaiah 62:1

2007-11-09T16:31:00.001-06:00

it's been a while.

i forgot my user name. which is kind of ridiculous because...never mind. it's just ridiculous.

since i've last updated...

i'm getting married!

the Lord is good. He is teaching and growing Jared and I very much in the concepts of His love and goodness toward us. He is freeing us greatly of legalism and the lists of rules it is so easy for us to think life is about. we are happy to be free in Him :).

planning the wedding is almost surreal. i can't believe its time to do this, but at the same time...i wish it was tomorrow :).

the semester is nearly over and that's a crazy thought. i honestly couldn't be happier with it, it's been a tough semester for me academically....this is the last time i'll ever have to take over 13 hours - praise the Lord. it's just too much for me. but He is good and i'm fine and it'll all end well :).

and then Christmas will come!
hooray Christmas.

a brief thought

2007-09-13T20:25:00.000-05:00

"what indeed, can tend to deprave the character more than outward submission and inward contempt?" - mary wollstonecraft, a vindication on the rights of woman.

thoughts on contentment

2007-09-10T16:07:00.000-05:00

I'm taking Greek 2 this semester. I like it, I think. I really do. Yet I sit down to do it today and half of the words are completely unrecognizable to me and immediately I feel as though "I don't like you anymore." How fickle I am.

I think I need to grow up. I think my contentment needs to come from some place much deeper than Greek homework. I know it does, I know it does. But I want to live out of that something more. Breathe out of it. Crave it. Be satisfied with nothing less.

I don't want to complain. I don't ever want that to be a word that can be associated with my name. I crave to be a joy-giver - a breath of fresh air. Not so I can be Abby, joy-giver. But so I can be a reflection of Jesus Christ - because He is my, He is our, joy-giver. That's who I want to be.

why am i here?

2007-08-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

why a blog? i'm not quite sure yet. i know i love to write and to process and to unveil. i know i learn by teaching. i know i thrive on mutually discovered thoughts and penetrating conversation. i know for me, to share life is to discover the abundance of life itself. so perhaps that is why i am here.