Keeping Our Focus on Him

Thanksgiving is behind us and most of us are now focused on Christmas.  This coming Sunday marks the 1st Sunday of Advent.

Ad·vent (noun)   The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important. 

Advent is a time when we prepare our hearts for the coming of something extremely important.  The coming of our savior.  The coming of our king.

This is one of my favorite Christmas pictures.  We have it as an ornament on our tree.  The Kneeling Santa.  This time of year everyone is focused on Santa.    But who is Santa focused on?  Baby Jesus. 

We spend so much time preparing, shopping and choosing the perfect gift for those we love.  We need to remember that Jesus is the greatest gift of all.  The presents we buy will be useful for a time and bring a moment of joy.  Those gifts will eventually be lost, broken, worn out or forgotten.  But the gift of Jesus is forever and His joy is eternal.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." 

It's easy to get caught up with the busyness of Christmas.  We get busy with buying presents, wrapping presents, sending Christmas cards, baking cookies and attending parties.  This list goes on.  But without Christ there is no CHRISTmas. Let's keep our focus on Him.

Here are some suggestions for keeping our focus on Him:

• Do an advent study or family advent activities.  There are many books you can purchase that outline your activities or you can find one on-line.  Good Morning Girls has a free e-book you can download with some fun family activities to do.

•  Do an Advent Wreath.  If the thought of doing a study or activity every night seems too much to handle during this season of your life simply do the wreath.  We eat by dim lights and candle light each night and say a simple prayer relating to which week of Advent we are in.  The kids look forward to this every year now and have fun racing around to dim all the lights when it's time for dinner.

• Relect Him in your decorating.  Display a nativity scene.  If your kids are smaller check out the Little People Nativity.  It's great for kids to play with and act out the story without the worry of them breaking something.  Find a special ornament for the tree that reflects the reason for the season (like the one I mentioned above).  I also like to collect gold cross ornaments for the tree.

• Say Merry Christmas.  It saddens me now that so many people and stores are saying "Happy Holidays."  Be sure to wish them a "Merry Christmas."

• American Family Association produces a Naughty or Nice list of retailers each year. You might want to check the list and see which stores are "Christmas-friendly" in their advertising and which ones are censoring "Christmas."

• Make a birthday cake for Jesus and sing happy birthday to him on Christmas morning.

• Read The Christmas Story as a family before opening presents.  If not reading from the Bible, I like the Little Golden Book version the best.

• Say a prayer before opening presents.  We use this one as our guide before all the excitement of opening the gifts begins:  

Heavenly Father,

We gather surrounded by a wealth of signs, symbols and reminders.

Our home is decorated with signs of joy at the presence of Jesus among us.

Spread at our feet are gifts; symbols of the love we share.

We pray in gratitude for these gifts, and even more for the person giving the gift.

In each gift we see a sign of love.

Love that begins with you and finds it fullest expression in your own greatest gift to us:  your Son, Jesus.  Through him we pray in joy and thanksgiving on this Christmas Day.

• Read Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright and then bless a random family with a Christmas Jar. The Christmas Jar tradition was started in 2005 by the author and his family. He went on to publish his family's idea in this book which became a New York Times Best Seller and a new Christmas Classic.  This could be a great tradition to start with your family.

• Visit a living nativity scene if you have one in your area or watch The Nativity movie as a family

• Serve as a family.  Ring bells for the salvation army, Select a person from the Angel Tree, participate in a Coat Drive or Mitten Drive

• See a Christmas Play.  Every year our church does a children's production of a Christmas play.  If your church doesn't do this, check other area churches.  I'm sure one in your area will be doing one.

• Consider 3 gifts in relection of the 3 gifts the wise men brought to baby Jesus.  There are many different variations of this.  If you do Santa, you can do 3 from Santa and 3 from family.  Or you can simply do 3 total gifts. 

• Reflect it in your shopping by supporting charity organizations.  There are many different organizations that support different causes.  Choose a cause that stirs something in your heart.  Here's what stirs mine.  Or as a family select a gift to bless someone in need. Here's what we're doing this year. 

However you choose to celebrate this year, keep your focus on Him and have a Merry CHRISTmas!


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Take Action to Stop Backpage

If you aren't familiar with Backpage.com please read my post The Ugly Truth

FAIR Girls has created an online ad that tells the true story of what happened to a 13-year-old girl who was sold on Backpage.  The ad also dispels the myth that girls are always trafficked by someone they don't know.  The fact is that in 46% of the cases the victim knows her captor.

It is estimated that Backpage.com generates about $29 million in prostitution ads over a 12 month period.

FAIR Girls has also started on online petition to urge the owners to stop the site's adult section where young women and girls are advertised and purchased for sex.  It's already gotten more than 41,000 signatures.  You can take action and  Sign the Petition Here

You can also write your senators and inquire what is being done to stop Backpage ads in your state.  If you aren't sure who your senators are you can search by zip code at Congress.org  Once you search, click on each individual for their contact information. 

Christmas Gifts that Give Back

With Christmas just around the corner most of us will be doing lots of shopping for our friends and family.   Why not shop for something that goes beyond just the gift itself?  There are many organizations and shops whose proceeds go towards helping those in need.  I wanted to highlight some of my favorite that help women and children who have been or are at risk of being trafficked.

WAR Chest Boutique is an arm of Women at Risk International.  Traffic victims are given shelter and care in one of their 5 safe houses and trained with a skill to help them go forward in life.  The items are sold online at their website, but they also have 3 store front locations in Naperville, IL as well as Wyoming and Rockford, MI.  They sell many different types of items, but this is one of my favorites.  A metal engraved bookmark made by a woman in Thailand.   Cost $10

Freeset offers women of the Sonagichi red-light district of Kolkata employment and the opportunity leave a profession they never chose.  Some of the women working there being as young as thirteen.  Freeset sells quality jute bags and organic cotton t-shirts.

Freeset has also teamed up with the MOB Society to offer this cute bag.  With 250 bags purchased, they can rescue FOUR WOMEN out of trafficking and train them for freedom.  These MOB Society bags are especially designed with blue-hued recycled sari’s (the dresses the beautiful women wear.)  Each bag is made by a woman freed from human trafficking. To read more or to purchase one of these bags go Here.


IJM (International Justice Mission) is a human rights agency that brings rescue to victims of slavery, sexual expoitation and other forms of violent oppression. This Christmas CD was written and performed by many of the biggest names in Christian music.   Every CD purchase helps to rescue another victim of Slavery.  Family Christian stores are selling for just $5.   Purchase online here

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.  As a family you might want to purchase something from their catalog to help victims of human trafficking.  You can read more about that idea in my World Vision Post

Books - Give yourself or someone else the gift of knowledge.  While this subject is a hard one, it is one that needs to be made known.  Sold is the story of what typically happens to young girls living in Nepal who are smuggled into India and sold into prostition.  You can read my review Here or purchase from Amazon.

Half the Sky is a book that has started a whole movement.  It is a passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation: the oppression of women and girls in the developing world.  Takes on the problems of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality. This book has moved many people to action.  Purchase from Amazon.

Do you have a Coffee lover to shop for?  The The Catalyst Foundation works passionately in Vietnam to prevent human trafficking by attacking its root cause - poverty and ignorance. They've teamed up with Vietnamese Coffee  to offer coffee where a portion of the proceeds will be donated directly to this worthy cause.

The Somaly Mam Foundation was Co-founded by sex slavery survivor Somaly Mam who was sold into sex slavery as a young child in Cambodia.  The foundation works to eradicate sex slavery, liberate its victims, and empower survivors to create and sustain lives of dignity. Buy a survivor-made product and help a survivor become financially self-sufficient as she embraces her new life. Wear your heart and hand to reflect your compassion for the enslaved, and your commitment to securing their freedom.



Freedom Firm is dedicated to the liberation of children enslaved in commercial sexual exploitation, to their effective rehabilitation, and to justice against those who have profited from their misery.  They sell beautiful hand-crafted jewelry made by women rescued from prostitution in India. Like this bracelet for $15.  Visit Ruhamah Designs to see more.


Sak Saum is a ministry that offers rescue, rehabilitation and restoration to vulnerable  women who have experienced the devastation of trafficking in Cambodia.  100% of the sales from the online store go back into Sak Saum's ministry budget for salaries, housing, transportation, healthcare, educational opportunities and more.  This super cute Apron Set for Mother and Daughter is $40.  Prices include shipping!

Love 146  works toward the abolition of child trafficking and exploitation through prevention and aftercare. They get their name from the number of a girl being sold in a brothel.  The ID number 146 was pinned to her red dress.  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.  For the man in your life, how about this T-shirt with the Martin Luther King quote? $20.

For the person who has everything how about Donating to a Cause in their name?  There are many great organizations out there.  I recently highlighted the work of Ink 180 in this post Here.  They are doing amazing work to help victims of human trafficking.

Or simply shop from a Fair Trade retailer.  I will talk more about Fair Trade in a future post, but here is a quick explanation.  Fair Trade retailers adhere to standards such as those banning child and slave labor and guaranteeing a safe workplace.

Happy Shopping...

I have linked up with Women Livng Well

The Art of Change

A one hundred and eighty degree turn:

a reversal of direction, a complete reversal in thinking or behavior, turning a negative to a positive.  That's the theory behind the name Ink 180.  Last night Chris Baker from Ink 180 shared his story and some pictures of amazing work that he is doing to help victims of human trafficking.  When I went to the meeting I had no idea what tattoos and human trafficking had in common.  What I left with was the reality of the depth of human depravity that exists in our world today. 

First a little bit about Chris...
When he first had the idea to do tattoo cover ups as a ministry using his artistic gifts for God it was to help former gang members who were trying to turn their life around.  His idea was to help individuals who maybe had left a gang, but because they were marked with a visual symbol connecting them to that gang, they were unable to find a good job or be accepted.  Some of them were still being targeted by rival gangs because they were identified by the tattoo.   He approached local law enforcement with his idea to cover up gang tattoos free of charge as a ministry to help these people.  During a meeting with homeland security, he was asked if would also provide the same service to victims of human trafficking.  Like most people, Chris thought "that doesn't happen here."  Unfortunately, he learned the reality that human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry (right behind drug trafficking.)  As Chris explained, "How could I say no to that?"

Chris is currently linked up with virtually every police depart in Northern Illinois and is on the FBI service provider list.  When the ministry first began, he expected to do maybe 5 tattoos a month.  What he ended up doing his first year was far more than that.  508 in just his first year.  508 people given a chance at a 180 degree turn in life. Freedom to go forward without the past branded on them like a neon sign pointing out where they had been. 

Now about the tattoos...
I was shocked to learn that what traffickers are doing is tattooing girls with bar code tattoos.  These tattoos have identifiers that track what pimp they belong to.    Even more shocking is the fact that there is a system these pimps use where if they find a girl, she can be tracked back to who she "belongs" to and brought back to her captor.  These horrible tattoos are not done by professional tattoo artists so the girl is left with a tattoo and raised scar tissue making it even harder to cover up.  Chris showed us some before and after pictures which were absolutely amazing.  You could not detect where the bar code had even been.   I was completely blown away by the ministry of Ink 180.  Chris does all these tattoo coverups for free because he wants to give these people a second chance.  In the first year his supplies cost him $12,000.  He's received threats because of his work, but he continues to make an impact for Christ.    We are called to use what talents God has given us. Whether it be an ability, financially or by use of our time.  We are called to use our talents wisely and to glorify Him.  Chris Baker is doing just that.
"Each of us can make a difference, but together we can make a real change." - Chris from Ink 180

For more information about Ink 180 or to donate in support of this wonderful ministry visit the
Ink 180 website

Beyond the Shoebox

The past few Christmas seasons we have participated in Samaritan Purse shoebox drive.  As a family we would shop for simple items from a suggestion list for either a girl or boy, pack the items in a shoebox and drop them off at a local church.  The shoeboxes are then sent to needy children around the world.  If you would like to do this the National Drop off week is this week, November 12-19, 2012.  You can search their website for a donation drop off point near you. 




This year though we are going to do something a little different thanks to an idea I heard from one of the ladies in my bible study.  Our family sponsors a child through World Vision and each year around this time we receive a gift giving catalog from them.  Normally, I don't pay much attention to it and it eventually ends up being recycyled.  But this year we are going to choose an item from the catalog and bless someone with the gift.  Perhaps a gift from the catalog can bring happiness as well as a way to improve their circumstances.  Bringing blessings for days, months and years to come. 

There are a variety of items to choose from.  From school supplies to farm animals.  They even include help, hope and shelter for trafficked victims.  We won't be picking one of those as a family as my kids are too young to have something like that explained to them, but I love that they have this option available.  My youngest wants to send a bible in the childs own language and my older one is still deciding.  Perhaps this will become a family tradtion.  One that they can carry on once they begin their own families. 

We are so blessed in our country. We have so much compared to other places.

• Did you know that if you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than seventy five percent of the people in the world?
• Do you own a car?   93% of the world population doesn’t. And here in America most families have 2 cars.
• Almost half the world's population, 2.1 billion people, live on less than $2 a day. Of these people, 880 million live on less than $1 a day.

What a wonderful gift to give your children. Teaching them how blessed they are. Teaching them compassion - to think about those who are more needy than they are. Give them the gift of joy that comes from blessing another person.

Give a gift. Change a life.

When we show compassion and choose to bless someone else, we are ultimately blessing Christ and bringing glory to Him.

Matthew 25:40  "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'


World Vision Gift Catalog






I have linked up with Women Living Well, New Life Steward and NOBH

Created in His image

 

I have been in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) for a few years.  I love how they take one book of the bible and study it the whole year long.  They dive deep into God's word.  Sometimes studying only a few passages each week.  I am so thankful that I live in a country where I have the freedom to meet with other believers and study my bible.  This year we are studying the book of Genesis. The lesson this week was Genesis 9 which talks about God's covenant with Noah and his commands to Noah  regarding how to start over after the flood. 

 

In Gen 9:4 God commands that they must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.  The blood symbolizes life, which God sees as sacred.

 

In Gen 9:6 God warns that if anyone takes a human life, that person's life will also be taken by human hands.  For God made humans in his own image. 

 

His commands to Noah remind me of the value God places on human life. I think that's why child sex trafficking just breaks my heart.  God created life. Every life is precious to God. We were created in His image (Gen 1:27).  And because we bare his image any offense against another person is an offense against God. 

 

As much as child sex trafficking breaks my heart I know it breaks God's heart even more.  No one has the right to force another person to perform an act that God meant to take place in the marriage bed.  Especially a young child.   

 

I have linked up with Women Living Well.