Police Smash Global Pedophile Ring

My prayers have been expanding... Why should I pray for one lost child when hundreds disappear every day? So I have been praying for children all over the world to be found and for their abusers to be stopped cold.

This answer to prayer, of course, has *nothing* to do with my little prayers, but I was gratified to see this story in the Washington Post today: Police Smash Global Pedophile Ring, Nab 700.

At least 31 children were rescued and this operation continues all over the world and is ongoing within the United States.

Some of my friends at work, a few weeks ago, asked me where is God, why does He permit children to suffer? They were speaking of devastating illnesses but we can include child exploitation and abuse in it.

My answer is the same. God is wondering why WE permit it. I asked my friends... How much of your time in the last year did you dedicate to a child's welfare cause? (Zero) Did you volunteer in a hospital or with a church youth group? (No) How about your money, did you make a donation that could make a difference? (Hmmm)

Something I've learned about God. He gave us this world, told us to take care of it. He doesn't very often intervene if WE don't care enough to intervene.

Look at child sexual exploitation. Are we willing to take a stand against pornography of any kind, of all kinds? Naw. Too many of our society want to have the "right" to view pornography and to engage in all kinds of selfish sexual behaviors. Well, you can't promote and build and sustain one type of bad thing without promoting and sustaining its bedfellows.

The very first time a child was abused, millenia ago, I wonder how people reacted when they found out. And the next time, and the next. You see, it didn't just begin in our generation or in our country.

Somewhere, we turned a blind eye to it, got used to it, tolerated it. We got sold a pack of lies about things that weren't quite so bad as child abuse, or that come along with it quite innocently, and we got to embracing some of THOSE things.

Take Thailand, for example. Gorgeous country, beautiful culture and people. Horrific exploitation of children by a few. Law enforcement and government officials reportedly taking bribes to look the other way.

I have friends who visit Thailand on vacation. Why? Because it's so beautiful. But they say that business travelers are a huge reason why child prostitution continues. You go to a public bathroom and people try to sell you a few minutes with a child. So... as travelers, as a world community, can't we make our influence felt and insist that child prostitution and child sex slavery stop in Thailand, or we will never purchase there again, never visit there again?

Here's a simple one. Would we be willing to pray every day for the Lord to expose evil, expose the pedophiles, take down the porn sites, and help us find and rescue these poor children? Whether or not you believed in God, on the CHANCE that it might save one child, would you be willing to pray every day for a month for God to shake His mighty arm at these abusers and stop them dead in their tracks?

Do you see? We apparently don't REALLY care that children are suffering like this. We put the whole burden on God and wonder why HE doesn't do something.

I think He is wondering where OUR priorities are.

The cares I am casting today...

These are personal...

My niece Alex, who wants to move back in with her aunt and dad and try to get away from trouble at home and at school.

• Praise God. She was, indeed, able to move in with her aunt (my sister) and dad (my brother). She is doing well in school since another brother lives in the town and his kids are good kids and quite popular.

My brother, for his employment and his need to succeed over his legal and financial troubles

• Praise God. He has been on the same contract assignment for several months and he was able to get insurance. He was also about to get a workout deal on his mortgage so his home is no longer in foreclosure. There are still vast health concerns for his wife so I continue to pray mightily for them.

My team, especially for Matt, that they will be lifted and encouraged and willing to "fight the good fight", and for Mark, that he might be aware of his flaws and work to fix them before they cost him his job, and for our new manager, Vicki, that she might immediately see her role as a leader.

• Praise God. We are doing all right. We won our new contract. It is now January 2008 and we are enjoying the camaraderie of a team "fat off" (diet contest). We resumed our happy hours together at a Chili's restaurant yesterday, after a few weeks "off" due to the holidays. On this new contract, we are moving into a new building and that will take place in early February. Work is still very tough, we are very stressed. As the technical manager, I am trying to manage workflow and help prevent problems and I always ask God to help me in that. But a change is as good as a rest and I'm grateful.

For my sister, always, that she will be protected and lifted and able overcome. Oh, she is faithful!

For my middle brother, that he will have joy in his life

For my little brother, that he will be protected in his travels and in his job, especially, especially in his job, and that his family will be cared for

For my friend Patti, that her husband will continue to get well and to be able to help more with financial and household responsibilities, and that she will have many opportunities to take photographs and earn enough to support her seven children. What a great heart she has, how I love her and pray for her!

• Praise God. Her husband is quite ill, more bad days than good, but there are major changes in the family dynamic, more of the kids helping. Patti has her own studio and gets frequent photography jobs. I have enjoyed a monthly breakfast with her, early on an occasional Saturday morning, before the family is up and about. It makes me feel good that a friend with seven kids has time for me, someone who is single! And she enjoys visiting with me -- we used to work together in Relief Society.

For Starla, for continued healing of her cancer and relief of her pain, and praise for giving her hope. Please help her to continue to earn a little extra money so that she has enough for co-pays.

For myself, for success and protection and victory on this tough, tough day [court]. It's a big care and it's a problem of my own doing. Please forgive me and help me to come to a workable conclusion.

• Praise God. It has been too long since I updated. Court was no big deal at all and yes, I found the documents I needed, much worry about nothing. I made a reasonable payment arrangement and as of this writing, that debt is entirely paid off. My finances are still overcommitted but after a while, you outlast all the debtors and come out the victor. No foreclosure, no bankruptcy. It's all getting done. House is out of mortgage trouble, IRS has a workout deal. It will yet be several months (after eight years) of tight finances but the end is in sight.

And thank you for a neighbor who cut my fallen tree limb and bundled them, and for showing me how to use plumbers tape and work with my washing machine line. Please help me to get it working and to fix the bathtub and the kitchen sink, too, and to find a good way to repay my neighbor.

• Praise God for this neighbor. I have been shoveling their walks for them during snow season by way of repayment for helping with my fallen tree limbs and then the fall leaves.

For Sheila, help her to find security and happiness in her employment.

• See my later prayer experiment. She has turned in notice at her job and things are changing, hopefully for the better.

For Corrie, for her protection. Help me to be alert to her needs.

And just help me to find the documents I need this morning.

Thank you!

Casting All Your Cares

Casing all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

From Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God Day By Day Devotional.

As you've no doubt discovered, becoming a Christian does no make your problems go away. But it does give you an Advocate to whom you can take every concern... God does not differentiate between problems we can handle on our own and God-sized needs. He asks us to turn them all over to Him.

God Bless America

I was down a few days ago because of the sad endings to some of the situations over which I had been praying.  I am on a parallel spiritual journey of my own, and praying for others is helping me to find my own way through my personal concerns.

 

I haven't been so good at prayer... or reading my scriptures...

 

But I have frequently used Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God Day by Day devotional journal to sort of get me back on track.  Many times, I have tape recorded the devotional reading and then added whatever my journal for that day would have been.  Then I can listen to it during those times when I don't feel like reading.

 

I pulled it out last night and this morning to see if I could find something that would "breathe on me".  I bought some AAA batteries and reloaded my digital voice recorder.  It contained my journal entries from June and July of last year, and November and December. 

 

What a blessing it was to listen to those entries again.  They told of the story of the Children of Israel wandering in the desert for 40 years.  God wanted to create in them a heart willing to listen to Him, ready to act on His word and to do His bidding.  He wanted to help cleanse them of rebellion and criticism and hard-heartedness and help them become, truly, His own children, his Chosen people.

 

And that seems to be what hardship can do for us, IF we seek God's hand to shelter and lift and guide us through it.

 

At the end of their wandering, the Children of Israel had to defeat giants before they could rest in the Promised Land.  They were so mighty and victorious that their enemies KNEW that God was with them.

 

I think that is what God would like to create in me... a heart that no longer struggles and resists, one that is pure and devoted and doesn't rebel or doubt. 

 

I searched online today to see if there was a Blackaby journal online, and I stumbled across a marvelous website where they give these daily devotionals to military members for free. 

 

http://www.ndptf.org/military/

 

We believe when people are placing their lives daily in the face of danger that we need to do all we can to bring them assurance that God is watching over them and that they can have courage and peace in their difficult circumstances.

Blackaby Ministries International is proud to stand with the National Day of Prayer in support of the brave men and women serving our nation at home and overseas. Join us as we pray for America's armed forces and the families who stand behind them.
 

So this is one little thing that I can continue to do, to lift my voice in prayer for the protection and encouragement and support of our troops all over the world, but especially for those who are directly in harm's way.  I know that they serve with honor and try to do their best to protect the innocent and the victims and to serve our country.

 

Father, thank you for reminding me that my small, solitary voice is still heard.  Thank you for bringing so much of beauty and peace into the hearts of those who serve in battle.  Thank you for making spiritual readings like Bibles and devotionals available to them.  For many, this is their first chance to know Thee. 

 

We do not fight earthly battles.  We fight "spiritual darkness in high places" and the battle is much bigger than just for Iraq or Afghanistan or any of the other places of war.  Our prayers serve not only to lift our soldiers but to put our own hearts and minds in tune with Thy will, and to bring us into Thy presence.

 

Thank you for leading me to pray for others.  It is helping me to overcome my own wounds and defenses and become one with Thee again.  I praise Thy holy name, in the name of Thy Beloved Son.  Amen.

 

 

Amazing Grace...

Sometimes, we just need to be reminded...

The story of Amazing Grace



An interview with Ioan Gruffud, the actor who portrayed William Wilberforce in the film, Amazing Grace



Music Video to the movie
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Kelsey has been found but it's a sad ending

I'm very sad to report that Kelsey has been found. Police tracked her cell phone signal and found her body across the state line about 15 miles from where she was abducted. My guess is that she was killed within a short time after she was taken.

I am grateful that this discovery puts an end to one part of the nightmare, and I will now pray that her abductor be found quickly. I was surprised at the video trail and the cell phone trail. It was a blessing that so many people tried to reach her so that her phone could be tracked. I hope that in the future, the police can jump on that technology quickly... although she was likely already dead by the time she was reported missing.

Father, I'm sad beyond words. In the past, I have kept a prayer journal as I have prayed for people within my stewardship or my family or my friends or co-workers. That prayer journal was so full of hope and prayers answered in the most amazing ways.

This journal shows what a wicked and decaying world we live in, how much evil is out there. I believe -- I believe in Jesus Christ -- I believe He is the Savior of the world. Perhaps with these sad, sad circumstances, my prayers will expand to plead for evil to be exposed and eradicated and for the Savior to hasten His return...

Please be with Kelsey's grieving friends and family and lift them up, carry them through, help them never to lose faith. Thank you for letting her be found today. May there yet be some good to come out of this.

Please find the person who did this, quickly, and let him be brought to justice. Let someone step forward who recognizes him, knows the truck, and let there be enough evidence to quickly convict him. Please teach us, Father, as law-abiding communities, how to contain and punish sex offenders so that our children and our daughters and our sisters and mothers and our little boys and young men and fathers and all others may live in peace and safety.

I know Your mighty heart is broken, too. I love you and thank you for the blessings of this day,

Teresa

6/7/07 Just noting that the suspect has been arrested. He is being held on a $5 million dollar bond. The blessing is that he was found quickly. I hope that law enforcement agencies continue to share the techniques that enabled them to find her so quickly and to capture her assailant. Perhaps in malls and parking lots, someone needs to actually be looking at those cameras so they can intervene.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/07/missing.teen/index.html

For someone special that I know

Father, I'm so grateful for Thy tender mercies towards those I love.  So many have struggled with job loss and illness and the heavy financial burdens that come with them.  Thank you for teaching me not to judge but to lift and encourage and have compassion.  The lessons are very difficult for all.  I pray for someone You and I know and love well.  He has terrible, terrible bondage from debt resulting from the many trials in his life.  He is faithful.  He serves Thee whenever he is asked.  He has cared tenderly for his ailing wife.  I know the burdens he carries, they are merciless.  Thou who art the God of all Comfort, the Redeemer of Israel, the Father of us all, please make his burdens light.  Please remind him of his improvements in employment and in his wife's health.  I praise Thy name for having carried him through many dark places in the last five years, I see Thine hand in it all.  Just please help him to peacefully maneuver through this most recent crisis and to consider his legal options like medical bankruptcy, if it be Thy will.  We all want to pay our debts but in this fallen world, sometimes you cannot escape the chokehold.  Thank you for blessing him, for blessing us all, so much.  I love Thee!  In the sweet and precious name of Thy Son.  Amen.

For Kelsey Smith

Father, I just lift my voice heavenward for Kelsey Smith, the teenager who was forced into a car by an assailant in Overland Park, Kansas.  Let the police work swiftly to enhance and identify suspects on surveillance videos.  Let them get a picture ready to put on the news so that someone can step forward and identify the person who took her.  Let her be found alive and well.  Keep her strong and resourceful and able to cope.  Bind her kidnapper so that he cannot harm her further.  Let her be found today, please, father.  Just as video helped to swiftly capture the assailant at the Catholic church a few weeks ago, let it prove useful, now.  Bless all of those who are searching for her to be insightful and effective and tireless.  I praise Thy name that we know so much already.  Please send Thine angels swiftly to her aid.  In Jesus' name. Amen.