A friend of mine recently lost a close friend. Her friend passed away after giving birth to her & her husband's fourth baby.
I am reminded how precious life is and how very short it can be. Losses like this cause me to stop and think about how truly blessed I am.
I am at a loss to even begin to comprehend how my friend's family moves on from here. God's Word tell us the His grace is sufficient, that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. In Psalm we are told that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted.
Thank you, God for your Word. Thank you that in times of weakness You are our strength. I pray that Your grace would abundantly flow over this family, that in this time of great loss and weakness Your strength will carry them through. I pray even now - as their hearts are broken, Father that they could feel You close to them - carry them through.
A portion of a song came to my mind this morning as I was praying for the family.
"You give and take away"
"You give and take away"
"My heart will choose to say Lord, blessed be Your name"
This could not be truer for this family. I pray that they can find the strength to bless Your name Lord.
Here are the rest of the words to this song.
Blessed be Your Name by Matt Redmond
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
27 Million
27 million is the number of slaves in the world today. Imagine if you can, EVERY man, woman & child in the states of Texas and Iowa combined being forced into a life they cannot control. Young girls and boys forced to prostitute their bodies, women forced to cook or clean tables in a restaurant or allow themselves to be ‘bought’ in brothels, men forced to work in fields and factories…
What is Human Trafficking?
The United Nations definition of human trafficking is “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation". Trafficking is a violation of human rights. Victims of trafficking suffer from physical and mental abuse and social stigmatization. They become isolated, losing ties with their former lives and families.
A Few Statistics
• Today there are more people enslaved than at the height of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• According to Not For Sale there are approximately 200,000 people trapped in human trafficking in the US.
• Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime today, generating approximately US$12 billion a year.
• People are bought and sold for an average of $91
• Every 30 seconds a victim is pulled into human trafficking
• 80% are women and children
Where can you go for more information?
• Stop the Traffick
• Free the Slaves
• Not For Sale
• www.humantrafficking.org
What can you do?
Pray: Trafficking Prayer Guide: Use this prayer diary over a period of three weeks to focus your prayers on the issue of trafficking, praying for the victims of trafficking and for change around the world.
Day Three from Prayer Guide
Thirteen men in Pennsylvania, USA have been accused of trafficking girls as young as 12 into forced prostitution. Judges and law enforcement officers noticed that they were arresting and charging the same young girls over and over again. Often they had the money already prepared to pay the fine. It became clear that they were being controlled by a child sex gang and forced to work truck stops in the Toledo area. Many of the girls were from north Ohio. One of the accused claimed that the young girls were working of their own accord. “She’s choosing the best investment for her money,” he said. “The prosecutors are trying to make it like a bunch of us running around with candy in our pocket, going to parks and picking up little kids. It wasn’t like that at all - period.” In fact, it is illegal to employ a 14-year-old as a prostitute and taking these girls across state lines could mean that the men are charged with human trafficking. “They just become accustomed to that lifestyle,” Chip Burrus, the FBI’s acting assistant director for criminal investigations said. “You can’t consent to be a prostitute at age 14.”
Please pray for children from abusive backgrounds that drift into child prostitution, not only in the US, but also across the world. Often these children are trafficked and controlled and once in a situation of prostitution they find it hard to break out.
What is Human Trafficking?
The United Nations definition of human trafficking is “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation". Trafficking is a violation of human rights. Victims of trafficking suffer from physical and mental abuse and social stigmatization. They become isolated, losing ties with their former lives and families.
A Few Statistics
• Today there are more people enslaved than at the height of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• According to Not For Sale there are approximately 200,000 people trapped in human trafficking in the US.
• Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime today, generating approximately US$12 billion a year.
• People are bought and sold for an average of $91
• Every 30 seconds a victim is pulled into human trafficking
• 80% are women and children
Where can you go for more information?
• Stop the Traffick
• Free the Slaves
• Not For Sale
• www.humantrafficking.org
What can you do?
Pray: Trafficking Prayer Guide: Use this prayer diary over a period of three weeks to focus your prayers on the issue of trafficking, praying for the victims of trafficking and for change around the world.
Day Three from Prayer Guide
Thirteen men in Pennsylvania, USA have been accused of trafficking girls as young as 12 into forced prostitution. Judges and law enforcement officers noticed that they were arresting and charging the same young girls over and over again. Often they had the money already prepared to pay the fine. It became clear that they were being controlled by a child sex gang and forced to work truck stops in the Toledo area. Many of the girls were from north Ohio. One of the accused claimed that the young girls were working of their own accord. “She’s choosing the best investment for her money,” he said. “The prosecutors are trying to make it like a bunch of us running around with candy in our pocket, going to parks and picking up little kids. It wasn’t like that at all - period.” In fact, it is illegal to employ a 14-year-old as a prostitute and taking these girls across state lines could mean that the men are charged with human trafficking. “They just become accustomed to that lifestyle,” Chip Burrus, the FBI’s acting assistant director for criminal investigations said. “You can’t consent to be a prostitute at age 14.”
Please pray for children from abusive backgrounds that drift into child prostitution, not only in the US, but also across the world. Often these children are trafficked and controlled and once in a situation of prostitution they find it hard to break out.
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