Operation 2012: Go ye therefore...

Mark 16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

Tonight, we had our annual missions meeting at our Church.  We talked about where we do missions and why, and how blessed we are to be part of a Church that has so many opportunities to go on missions trips.  We currently have 19 trips scheduled, and more are sure to arise as the year unfolds (they almost always do).  We are sending teams to war torn Rwanda, earthquake ravaged Haiti, tsunami affected Japan, among other places.  Orphans, High School students, Widows and the like, will not only be taken the Good News of Jesus Christ, but will learn that people all over the world love them and pray for them.


Last year, I had the opportunity to go to Haiti twice, and both trips were a blessing.  My husband Michael went with me on the trip in July and we got to help in the Church of Hope's Vacation Bible School or "BBS" as the Haitian kids called it.  We had an average of 450 kids per day who got to hear a Bible Story, do a craft, play some fun games and get a hot meal.  In November, I went with a team of women from our Church, and we spent our days cleaning houses in the villages surrounding the Mission of Hope and our evenings having a Women's Conference similar to ones I have been to in the US.

My first love when it comes to missions, is and always will be Haiti.  The people of Haiti have so much joy and a true desire to know Jesus.  Worshiping and serving with the Haitians is so rewarding.  I hope to return there this year, and take my 10 year old daughter with me.  She has such a servant's heart and truly loves being with children.  I can't wait for her to meet Micherline, Pierre, and all the other orphans at Mission of Hope, that I have grown to love.

This year, another country has really stolen a piece of my heart and Michael and I feel called to go to Rwanda.  A couple of years ago, The Watoto Choir came to our church to perform.  Even though Watoto is in Uganda, a video they showed was of a boy who had been a Soldier in Rwanda and is now a refugee in Uganda.  Like Michael, the boy suffered from PTSD and struggled with a past that included him killing innocent people.  Since we saw that video, my husband has gone through treatment for PTSD and sought spiritual counseling for resolution of the guilt that comes from taking another man's life.  This boy's story, much like Michael's, was a story of redemption and renewal and as we sat in the missions meeting tonight it felt like Rwanda was calling for us to come.

The trip leader talked to us about how the former barracks for the Soldiers of Rwanda was given to the Diocese to build a school that would train new pastors, and I got tears in my eyes.  What a beautiful picture of redemption, and it is so similar to Michael's.  He was once a Soldier, and felt like God couldn't love him because of his taking other lives, and now he has surrendered his life to the Ministry and is going to school to learn to be a pastor.  Much like those buildings in Rwanda, Michael has been re-purposed for the Kingdom of God.  I scribbled a note to him on the back of our information sheet, "Rwanda's Story of Redemption = Michael's Story!"  We must've looked like a couple of fools, crying and holding hands in the middle of a meeting but we both knew at that moment, beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rwanda is where God wants us to go this year.

We got home and did the math, and we need to raise $10,000 dollars to go on both mission trips.  That seems like an enormous sum of money but with God, all things are possible.  We ask you to join us in praying that God provides the funds, like he has so many times before, for us to live out his calling on our lives.  We'll be setting up an Etsy page and putting handmade items up for sale and doing some other fundraisers.  We just know that God will make a way.

If you're interested in supporting us financially, please let me know.   Send us an e-mail at mikeandginnyheisler@gmail.com

In His Name,

Ginny

Some people can, and some people...

My 11th grade English teacher told me to never take up writing as even a hobby that "Some people can and some people can't!"  I think I hear those words in my head whenever I sit to write a paper, a blog post, almost anything.

And I started thinking, about all the times I let those words, "Some people can and some people can't," hinder me along the way.  Every time I start to write a sweet note to my husband, kids, a friend.  I struggle for words, thinking I sound silly or inappropriate.  When I go to pray for a friend, I stop and say, "I'm praying for you," and keep all the wonderful things that I want to say to her to myself because I don't want to sound like a "babbling brook."  That was his "special" commentary on a speech I gave once, that I sounded "like a babbling brook in that I made a lot of useless noise that would put any sane person to sleep."


Today, my college professor says: "I enjoyed reading your paper!  You are an excellent writer!"

What?  I'm an excellent writer?


To my 11th grade English teacher I say this, "Some people can, and some people are full of it!"

Operation 2012: Honoring God with Our Time

I saw this on a friend's Facebook post the other day:

Have you PRAYED about it, 

As much as you've TALKED about it?

Replace the time you spend talking about your problems, with time spent praying about your problems.  That will honor God, and He'll definitely show up in a big way!

Jeremiah 17:5-8

⁵ This is what the LORD says:

   “Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
   who draws strength from mere flesh
   and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
⁶ That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
   they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
   in a salt land where no one lives.

 ⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
   whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
   that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
   its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
   and never fails to bear fruit.”

Operation 2012: Honoring God with Our Bodies

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; ²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 

When I was growing up, this verse was used often to try and get me not to write on my hands and to "teach me" that tattoos were a sin (and worse a permanent sin).  Seriously, I'm not sure that's what Paul meant.  I mean tattooing "Jesus Lives" on your chest would, in my opinion, honor God but that's superficial and in the light of eternity may not mean a whole lot.

Honoring God with our bodies had more to do with what we do with our bodies, how we take care of our bodies and what we put into them.  Consuming a whole pizza with a six pack of beer and a half gallon of ice cream on the side isn't honoring God.  Sitting on the couch, day after day, becoming more lazy, more overweight and less active isn't honoring God.  Starving yourself and depriving your body of what it needs to function properly is not honoring God.

Step one of 2012, for the Heisler family, is eating better.  Cleaning up our diet is going to take some work and isn't going to happen overnight.  Michael has a sweet tooth and eats when he's bored and I have a tendency to binge on raw cookie dough in the middle of the night.  My kids LOVE candy and sodas as much as any other kids, and watching the disappointment on their faces when I tell them they get applesauce instead of Skittles breaks my heart.

We can clean up our diet though, we have to, Michael and I aren't getting any younger, and we're starting to notice the signs that we haven't been taking good care of ourselves.  Bigger waistlines and slower moving bodies aside, we're also having trouble with blood pressure levels and keeping our blood sugar stable.  For the first three months of 2012, Michael and I are doing the BodyByVi Challenge and if you're want to lower your calorie intake, increase your lean muscle mass, and getting those pesky pounds off the challenge is a great way to do it.  I'm sure the challenge, plus cleaning up the pantry and fridge and hitting the drive through a little less will get us moving in the right direction. 

Speaking of moving, that's Step 2!  We have got to get our bodies moving.  Michael and I are really bad about exercise, both of us have injured body parts and back problems that give us an easy excuse to stay seated on the couch.  We're starting slow...ten to twenty minutes on the Wii Fit...so as not to burn ourselves out, and we'll gradually increase intensity and time.

So come on and join us!  What are you waiting for?  Remember, we were bought at a VERY HIGH PRICE!

Don't forget to come back and check our progress, I'll be posting it here starting next Monday.

Operation 2012---It's all about Jesus

It's not a New Year's Resolution, per se, but it is definitely this years meme.  The Heisler family is dedicating 2012 to making the name above all names, Jesus, famous.  Through our lives, our actions, our giving, our service, everything we do to the glory of His name.

We started off 2012 in a HUGE way, sharing our testimony and the Word of God in a small local church this morning.  I don't know how well we did, but I do know how God showed up.

The founding Pastor's widow said to me as we were leaving, "You brought us a revival today!"

I can't wait to see how God uses this small congregation, but what she doesn't know is that the revival that started today was my very own personal revival.  Finally, I am fulfilling the call that I answered when I was 11 years old, the call to ministry.  Who would have known then that my future husband would receive the same call 26 years later and that his obedience would bring me to obedience as well?

God knew, that's who!

I can't wait to see what he has for us in 2012, nor can I wait to see what he has for all of you.

How is your Jerusalem?

Again, I'm back after a few months, to share the rest of my favorite verse.  I think it's my favorite because it was Jesus parting words to his Disciples.  When a mentor, a grandparent, a parent or friend passes away we tend to remember the last thing they ever said to us.  I remember my Grandma Billie told me that she was proud of me, PaPa Robert told me that I was raising some mighty fine youngins.  But Jesus wasn't just a mentor or a friend, he was the Son of God, equal with God, and the very last thing he said before ascending into Heaven had to be pretty important.

We've taken a look at the first part of this verse already, that as believers we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and that we Will Be His Witness, regardless of whether we choose to.  The life we live, because of the Holy Spirit, reflects Jesus to the world.

 The rest of the verse gave me even more pause, as I let the Holy Spirit speak to me through it, and I really started to question how I was doing in my Jerusalem.  You see, when I wrote the first post in April I was going to church every week, working in our Children's ministry, reading the word with my family, and I thought I had this part down.  I thought, "Jesus is proud of the work I'm doing."  But really, I was proud of the work I was doing, and used my one day a week of service to excuse that I was not serving in my Jerusalem the other six days.  The other six days, what I wanted and what I needed was in the front of my mind and I was turning a blind eye to the needs of my community.  The more I prayed for God to open my eyes, the more I realized that so much work needs to be done, so many kids go to bed hungry, so many mommas are raising their children alone and worried about the world where their children are going to grow up, right here in Little Rock, Arkansas...right here in my Jerusalem.  So many people are lost, wandering and wondering if anyone sees them and if anyone cares.  When I turn my eyes away from their hurt, when I turn my heart away from their need, my witness is not showing a very loving and compassionate Jesus.



The Holy Spirit began to do what only it can, it began to convict me in a very real way.  It began to show me where I can serve and how to show Jesus, the real Jesus, to my community.

As of right now, my Jerusalem has two extra hands and two extra feet that take the Good News of Jesus where ever they go.


How is your Jerusalem?

You will be my witness...

I posted earlier that God is doing some amazing things in our house.  And one of them, is the transforming of our little family to a family that serves God and shares the name of Jesus.  My next few posts, will be based on one of my favorite verses, Acts 1:8, and the mission that God has given us to carry his light across the world.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth." Acts 1:8 NIV, 2011

Every time I have ever heard that verse disected by a Sunday School teacher or a preacher I remember them explaining that we are to witness in our home town (Jerusalem), our state and country (Judea) and to our enemies (Samaria) and to other countries (the ends of the Earth).  While that is important and we'll talk about it later, today I read it and I noticed something different for probably the first time.  I noticed that Jesus didn't say, "I need you to be my witness," or "Some of you will be called to witness,"  or even, "Don't forget to be my witness."  Jesus said, "You will be my witness..."

At first I wondered why I had never noticed it before.  I was always focused on where to witness.  Then I thought about the words, "you will be."  It dawned on me that the words aren't leading up to a commandment, but a statement of fact.  I was taken aback, so I did what any normal person would do when they are faced with a serious conviction and I looked up several different versions of the verse just in case the NIV got it wrong (I know, self serving...but I am human).  The King James Version says, "you shall be,"  the ESV says, "you will be," the ASV says, "you shall be," and only The Message said it differently, "You will be able to be."  The next thing that happened, is I vowed to only read The Message ever again and put my NIV, KJV, ESV and ASV versions in the shredder...ok I'm kidding.  I actually looked up the definition of will.  "The expression of inevitable events," was the definition that best fit the use of the word when Jesus said, "You will be my witnesses..." he wasn't commanding us or he would have said, "You, go be my witnesses."  He was stating that for believers being His witness is an inevitible event, and for me that was eye opening and terrifying. 

"What if I don't feel like it today?"

"You will be my witness!" 

"What if I don't even leave the house?" 

"You will be my witness!"

"What if I don't feel called?"

"You will be my witness!"

You get the idea, I was arguing with the Holy Spirit, and no matter how many times I read this verse looking for a different answer it still says, "You will be my witnesses."  The Bible is crystal clear and left no question, no matter what I'm doing, what I feel like, or what I've been called to do, because I have given Jesus my life I will be his witness!

I guess there is only one question left.

"What kind of witness will I be?"

Will I send people running to, or running from Jesus?

An Apology!

I would like to apologize, mostly to myself, for not writing in months.  I have missed my little therapy sessions with myself, and I would like to say that I'm going to do better but honestly life is so busy that I probably won't do better for a while.

You will see a few upcoming posts from me though, there are some exciting things happening in the Casa de Heisler, because God is so good, that I need to share and shamelessly ask for your help.

See you soon,

Ginny

Haiti: Day 1, Part 1, Worship

Telling the story of being in Haiti for a few days is probably going to take a while.  It's emotional for me, mostly because God did so much work in me that week.

Once we got into the country we road in an old Clayton County school bus from the Port Au Prince airport to the village of Titanyen, Haiti where Mission of Hope Haiti resides.  There is no way to describe what Haiti looks like.  There is trash everywhere, there are tents everywhere, there are people begging everywhere.  The sights, the smells, the sounds defy language.  The only thing I can do, is recommend that you go yourself.  The people of Haiti, they need you.



We drove straight to worship, it was a Sunday morning in Haiti, and the church at Mission of Hope was packed with people who came to fellowship with God and each other.  I can't describe the worship service either.  I can only say that I have never been in a church in the United States that unabashedly praises the Lord like the church in Haiti did.

My journal entry from Sunday Night:

I have never seen such squalor;


I have never seen such hope;


I have never seen such filth;


I have never seen such love;


I have never seen so many;


Touched by the Hand of God!

I really feared that when I came home that my kids would irritate me to death because of their endless demands for more after hearing so many cries for "just one thing."

Instead of being irritated with my kids, I feel convicted myself.  I feel convicted not for what I have, because I know those are God's blessings, but because of my inability to completely abandon myself for the purpose of worshiping my Savior.  I saw so many with so little lay prostrate at the feet of Jesus worshiping Him with all the emotion they could muster, yet I have so much and don't do the same because I worry about making the person next to me uncomfortable.

Jesus didn't worry about anything when He hung on a cross for me, and I love him for that but can I really abandon all to worship Him?

Pay it Forward Friday: Take Time to Say Thanks

Yesterday, after dropping Michael off at the VA Hospital for a procedure.  I attempted to make a mad dash out of the hospital to get some errands run while he was waiting for his procedure to begin.

I didn't get out of the parking lot in a hurry, and ordinarily this would have bothered me.  This time, it didn't.

Walking right down the middle of the aisle, about 25 feet in front of me was a WWII Veteran.  Instead of getting irritated and honking my horn, I watched him walk.  He had a limp, either from a wound received in combat or a life well lived, I'll never know.  I watched him look for his car, and I almost started to get impatient.  Then I watched him do something amazing.

Each time a Veteran walked past him he would stop and salute.  The younger Veteran would return the salute and both men would continue walking.  He stopped four times to pay honor to his fellow comrades; by the time he found his car and I went on my way, I was in tears.

I started to wonder how many of us have stopped to say, "Thank You!"  How many of us take the time to honor our Veterans, or to remember their sacrifice.

I certainly don't do it enough, and there is no shortage of Veterans in my life.

I started when I picked Michael up from the hospital yesterday afternoon.

I gave him a big hug, a kiss, and a "Thank you!"

It's October 11th

This is the follow-up to When It's Not Just a Stage and "Mom!" "What?" So if you haven't read those yet, go read them now.  We'll wait for you!

We've been waiting for this day, and this appointment since July.  He was looking forward to it too, and has been praying for the doctor to help him not to walk silly anymore.

We don't know anymore than we knew when we walked in this morning, but we at least have a direction.

Robert can't seem to control his right leg.  He can hop up and down on his left foot all day long, but couldn't do it once on his right foot.  He's right hand and eye dominant so this was a cause for concern.  When he walks, he drifts to the right and sometimes bounces into things.  Even when she gave him a line to walk, he would drift right off the line to the right.  He also has some trouble controlling his left hand, which may or may not be related to the problem with his right leg.  She ordered an MRI and an EEG to rule out a neurological cause.  If it shows nothing, he'll do physical therapy to strengthen his leg and learn to control it.

She was more concerned, as are we, about his lack of social development.  She suspects Aspergers and has ordered a consult with a specialist.

Meanwhile, we have to give him some help.  When we sit at a table, we have to make sure there's no one across from him.  When we walk through a parking lot or in a store, we have to hold his hand to keep him from running into things.

We also get to remind him that he is the sweetest and best behaved little boy ever and that we love him just exactly the way he is.

An evening with my daughter...

It has finally happened!  Bailey, my nine year old, has finally gotten too big for her britches.

Well, not really!

I got home from work the other day and Bailey stopped me just inside the door.  "Mom, we need to talk!"  I stopped and listened, waiting for some silliness that I was sure she was about to share with me.  I was shocked when she said, "We don't spend enough time together!  We need a girl's night!"

I'm pretty over extended right now.  Between getting Robert some help, getting ready for Haiti, and a hundred other things, I really haven't made time for her.  I told her I was working at the church one night this week and she could go with me.  She was so excited, and told me every day that she couldn't wait for our night together.

We're getting the new set ready and it's going to be awesome!  It's going to be even more awesome knowing how much fun Bailey and I had helping.  It was so awesome to reconnect with her.

In the new Pastor stool.
Pretending to be our Pastor.

With the ball, that used to be the stripe

Here are some things I learned about my daughter tonight:

• She talks, a lot.  She doesn't know what a stranger is, and feels as comfortable in a group of adults as she does in a room full of her peers.
• She's a problem solver.  We were removing contact paper off a hard wood floor and she kept trying to find the "best" way to do it.
• She's competitive, she only wanted to find the "best" way to remove the sticky so that she could win a contest with her mom.  A contest she clearly won, by the way.
• She's bossy!  I've seen her boss her brothers around, but never a group of adult women.  I had to remind her several times that she was to listen and do what she was told.
• She's a born volunteer.  Every time the person running things would say, "OK, we need to..."  Bailey would say, "I can do that!"
• She isn't a complainer, which honestly surprised me since both of her parents are.
• She's growing up WAY too fast!

Who loves you the most?

I don't think I've shared a cute story about Mac yet, so here goes!

Mac is cuteness personified!  He is sweet, funny and adorable but he has a fierce independent streak and isn't afraid to speak his mind.

This morning Junior, his dog, got out of the fence as soon as we let him out to go to the bathroom.  We realized it about ten minutes later when we went to let him back in.  My husband and I started walking the neighborhood at 7:20 this morning, calling him and hoping we'd see his bouncy little self going up and down the road.  

Junior making sure no one steals Mac's Blankie

As I passed back by our front door, a cute and worried little boy ran out to help me.  He said, "I want to help find Junior, I know he'll come if I call his name!"  We walked for a little while, talking about where he could be.  I tried to both reassure him and prepare him in case we couldn't find Junior.  He cried as he said, "If we can't find him, I'll put signs up everywhere that say, 'Wost Dog!' and then someone will call you."

We walked the neighborhood one more time and then headed back to the house.  When we got to our front yard, Mac yelled, "JUNIOR!" one last time!  He bounded toward Mac happy to see him as he always is.

Mac and I lay down together for a nap shortly after we got Junior home.  I always ask him, "Who's the best little boy in the whole world?" and he says, "Me!"  Then I ask, "Who loves you the most?" and today he said, "YOU...and Junior!"

"Mom?" "What?"

Ever notice that when you are either on the phone or talking to your spouse that your kids think this is the perfect time to tell you something that is SO IMPORTANT that it can't wait?

They all start the same way, "Mom?" "What?" They also usually hit me up with a "MOM?" when I'm driving and they are behind me.

This is just a few of the things that I had to be told, so as to avoid massive world ending catastrophes.

My Oldest:

"I learned how to braid!"

"The Air Conditioner in my class is broken!"

"When I was in the shower my butt itched, so I scratched it.  When I was scratching it I discovered HAIR, on my BUTT!"

My Youngest:

"Can we go to the park?"

"Do we have any money?"

"I love you!"

"I'm thirsty!"

"I'm HUNGRY!!!"

My Middle Child, Robert:

NOTHING!  He never tells me any little silly thing when were going down the road.  I rarely remember him interrupting me at any other time either.  It is really bothering me, so I started asking him, "Robert, did something happen today that you need to talk about?"  Almost every time, the answer is "I got a 4!" or whatever number he got that day at school for "B" points.  He thinks showing up and behaving is the most important thing, while his siblings are all worried about money and hair on butts.

I want him to notice the silly things, and I want them to be so important to him that he has to interrupt me from whatever I'm doing to tell me.  I want him to look at me, and not the floor when he's talking to me.  I want him to interact with his classmates and participate in classroom activities.  He is doing none of these things.

I want to hear, "Mom?" and be able to say, "Yes, Robert?"

I want October 11th, the day we see the Neurologist/Psychologist, to hurry up!

Pay it Forward Fridays: The Joy Jar

Every Friday, provided I'm not swamped with something kid related, I'm going to try and post a little snippet about how my family is paying it forward.

This isn't about us, and it isn't to brag.  It is a way to spark a conversation about making the world a better place.  PLEASE comment below on how you and your family are paying it forward.  Better yet, put it up on your blog and do your own Pay it Forward Friday!

The Joy Jar

I did not come up with this idea, but I am so grateful someone did.

Here's how it works:

1) Get a plastic cookie jar with a twist on lid, it should hold about 1/2 a gallon.

2) Decorate it with inspirational quotes, Bible verses, etc.

3) Pray that God will help you fill it up

4) Pray about who to bless with your Joy Jar!

5) Put your spare change in the Joy Jar without exception.

6) Bless a family in need with it, anonymously if you can.

We started in July, and ours is about 3/4 of the way full.  The kids are already trying to come up with families and charities to bless.  God will let us know when the time is right!

Now, go make your own...spread some JOY!

The Song Remembers...

We all have a song that takes us back.  Some take us back to good times, our first love, our baby's birth, our wedding.  I had one take me back to a really dark place today.

I got in the van and my usual station, the wonderfully uplifting K-Love was off the air for some reason.  I flipped to the country station and it was a "this day in history" moment and the song they played was from 20 years ago.

Twenty years ago, I had just turned 16.  I was a miserable wreck.  I thrived on drama and I hurt a lot of people. I didn't really mean to hurt people, I was just so used to chaos in my home life that I tended to create it outside of my home.  I let people use me and take advantage of me and if someone came to me with absolutely no agenda, I used them.  I would gossip and spread lies any time I thought someone I knew was happy.  I hated happiness, at least it felt like I did.  I hated love, at least I thought I did.  I hated those who loved me, and desperately sought love from those who couldn't provide it.

Of course, when I was 16 I didn't realize any of this.  That took years of therapy!  Years to realize that chaos had become a comfortable blanket, years to realize that I was being abused at home, years to realize that I didn't really hate happiness and love; I just craved it and was insanely jealous of anyone who had either.

God healed that girl, and I see very little of her when I look in the mirror.  Today though, the images of all of the people I hurt flashed before me like a motion picture.  I started writing letters to every one of them in my head, but how would I ever do that?

Can I just say:

"I'm sorry for the turmoil I tried to create!"

"I was hurting and abused and never learned how to relate to people."

"Forgive me, for trying to cause you pain."

"I'm so sorry I used you, when you really cared about me."

I guess I kind of just did!

Portion Distortion? In 1st Grade, SERIOUSLY???

Every once in a while, I get infuriated.  When that happens, I find a soap box.  Raising Little Heislers, is a great soap box, mostly because it's MINE and there is no one here to disagree with me!

My kids brought home a Portion Distortion handout from school last week.

One side, was acceptable.  It gave simple, easy ways for kids parents to figure out what is a portion.  It explained how many calories a kid (and adult) should consume in a day.  It also showed; chips, popcorn, soda, pizza, chocolate chip cookies, etc.  Most of which my kids don't eat very often (if ever) but I understand that not all parents teach their kids healthy eating habits, I also understand that not all parents have healthy eating habits themselves.

Here was has me incensed, it's the OTHER SIDE OF THE HANDOUT!!!!

There's the "What you are served?" vs. "What's one serving?" picture of a meal of a hamburger, fries and ketchup. "What you are served," is a HALF POUND HAMBURGER, a LARGE ORDER OF FRIES, and 3/4 CUP KETCHUP!  "What's one serving," is HALF of a HALF pound hamburger (a quarter pounder), a small order of fries, and 2 tablespoons of ketchup as a proper portion.

What kid is going to read the print?  Are they going to look at the pictures and think they should eat half of every meal they're given?

Raise your hand if you most think people are buying their kids half pound hamburgers!  Also, raise your hand if you buy your kid a HAPPY MEAL, which has an 1/8th of a pound patty!  How many weight conscious 3rd grade girls are going to refuse to eat the other half of the hamburger?

I buy neither, but that is besides the point!  I feed my kids normal serving sizes, but that is besides the point!  I teach my kids to make healthy choices, BUT THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT!

The point?  My health conscious, vegetarian 9 year old starts asking for half a Veggie Burger, and those of you in other states will hear a VERY LOUD and VERY ANGRY mother yelling from Central Arkansas!

The day after...

The whole world remembers 9/11/2001, and we all should.  It's a reminder of a lot of things for a lot of people, but this post is not about that.  This post is about what happened to me the day after.

On 9/12/2001:

I read a newspaper for the first time in at least 10 years.

I prayed as soon as my feet hit the floor, for the first time since I was 12.

I started paying attention to politics, both in the US and abroad.

I went to church, not because someone else wanted me to but because I needed to for probably the first time ever.

There were so many other things that slowly began to change in my life as a result of the events of 9/11/2001.  For those changes, I am a better person.  I now know what is going on, both in the world and in the US Capitol Building.  I now am involved, in political campaigns and in making the world a better place.

Because one thing happened for sure!

On 9/12/2001, I (finally) began to grow up.

Big News...

I leave for Haiti in 41 days!

I am nervous...

              ...but also excited!

                                 Vaccinations are making me sick...

                                                                                       ...that is all!

So, I guess I'm a...Lobbyist?

I wear a lot of hats every day.  I'm a mom, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a friend and a lot of other things.  I'm a reef keeper (Saltwater Aquariums, not guarding someone's reefer stash), a hooker (I crochet...get your mind out of the gutter), and a mentor to young kids.

There are a lot of things that I do on a daily basis, and now I can add to the list.  I'm a lobbyist!  I know what you think of when you hear those words.  You're thinking of back room deals with politicians, bought votes and dirty little ethics violations.  A lot of people lobby on behalf of themselves, bills that will the improve the industry where they work or for bills that will benefit their specific interest group.  I want to say right now, that I had no interest in being a lobbyist for this reason.  I guess you could say I kind of fell into it.

One day the founder of The A21 Campaign was speaking at our church about human trafficking and just how big a problem it really is.  She showed a video and I was so completely overwhelmed that I felt like I couldn't breathe.  I just had to know everything there is to know about Human Trafficking and I had to do something about it.  I started looking for facts, and what I found was sickening.

There are 27 million human trafficking victims in the world right now.

Victims are expected to service between 40 and 110 customers each day.

According to UNICEF over 2 million children are are forced into prostitution.

The average age of a sex slave in the United States is 11, and there are (estimated) over 100,000 currently.

If you read the Government Trafficking in Persons Report, you will throw up.

In my mission to find more information, I found an organization called International Justice Mission.  One thing I really liked about this organization is that they are taking the fight to the perpetrators.  They are in the trenches to bring justice to victims and help them  recover and go on to lead productive lives.  I didn't do anything major, I signed up for their newsletter and asked for more information on being a volunteer.  One day this summer I got an e-mail asking if I wanted to meet with my Senators to talk about a new Senate bill, The Child Protective Compact Act (Senate Bill S3184).  I signed up and almost forgot about it.  Then I got this e-mail saying, "Your appointment with Blanche Lincoln's staff is scheduled for..."   I got some training, went, took the co-founder of Rush Hour [Traffic] with me and had a very intelligent conversation about Human Trafficking with Ms. Lincoln's staff.  A few weeks later, I got another e-mail asking when I could meet with my other Senator's staff.  I went yesterday, along with another amateur lobbyist and got a very positive response from Mark Pryor's legislative aid.

It felt so empowering, and fulfilling to sit in a Senator's office and speak about an issue that is very dear to my heart.  Not because I was doing anything special, but because I felt like I was really making a difference and possibly affecting some change in the world.

A year ago, I didn't even know what Human Trafficking was.  This month, I proposed to two Senators (via their staff) that they Co-Sponsor a bill to help fight it.  If that makes me a lobbyist, then so be it!

You can be a lobbyist too!  Contact your Senator here!

If you want to know more on Human Trafficking and just how real the problem is, I have some suggested readings: