What Goes Around

Today during the devotion time at work we looked at the story of when the Ark of God was being brought back to Israel.  1 Chron. 13.  And if you remember, the bulls stumbled and a man put his hand out to steady the Ark and God got angry and killed him.  We looked back at the instructions that God gave regarding the handling of the Ark and saw that God specifically stated that if someone touched the Ark they would be killed.  Even if they looked at it they would die.  So really, it shouldn't be too surprising that this happened, just as God warned.  But in our minds we see it as such a small act.  And act done with completely good intentions. I started to think about the whole gay marriage thing going on in America right now.  There are many Christians who strongly feel that gays should be allowed to get married.  They feel that God wants us to love and accept all people (I feel that way too) and by not allowing them to get married we are j...

I can't sit down without my rear end paining.  I can't stand up without my legs hurting.  I can't lay down because my stomach is aching.  Yes, I have made it again to Day 3 of P90X.  Since this is my second time, or maybe third, of doing the P90X routine I shouldn't be surprised.  But I am only doing half of the workouts so I thought it wouldn't be as bad.  I was wrong.  Stairs are the worst and I have three flights to get to the office and a flight at home. And the worst part about Day 3 of P90X is that I don't see any results yet.  I just walk like an old lady which makes me feel like I am really out of shape.  Good ego boost.  I know I can do it because I've done it before.  But I also remember the first week and how I had to crawl up stairs.  And I am two or three years older now, so maybe it will take longer to get over the pain and longer to see the gain.    Oh well.  It gives me something besides t...

I just finished reading this book, The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog , and loved it.  I found it quite fascinating and informative.  So I thought I would write a quick book report for those of you who don't want to buy a book but are interested in how trauma affects young children and the hope for recovery. This book has true stories that the write and psychiatrist has dealt with.  It is a study about children who have experienced severe trauma in their lives, in the form of neglect or abuse, and the brain development.  Several cases are of babies who are neglected by their parents or care givers.  Either children in orphanages or by parents who didn't realize it was abusive.  There was a couple babies who were left all alone when they were babies over and over again.  Because of this trauma or neglect in their life, their brains didn't get to develop the part that learns attachment.  So these kids grew up without being able to form attachments...

I cooked last night! I wanted to use some of the wonderful Tillamook Cheese that friends brought us, so I made noodles and cheese sauce.  But I also thought that maybe it would be good to have some vegetables.  Thankfully we had some in the fridge that were for the rabbits we were watching but were no longer at our house.  We had carrots and okra.  The rabbits didn't like the okra.  I like okra.  I decided to try to stir fry it up like our friend Hiroko does.  Here is what happened. I cut up the carrots and okra into nice pieces. Then I heated up the skillet with olive oil and dumped in the vegetables.  I stirred them around. I have this great sauce I bought in Thailand, but I don't know exactly what it is.  I added that. Some friends were staying with us a few weeks ago and left some parmesan cheese sprinkles that are pretty good, so I added that too. Ate it up!  And it was quite tasty too.

Two days ago we ordered pizza for dinner.  It is probably a weekly occurrence.  I like to order online so I don't have to chance getting a person who can't understand me on the phone. Steve answered the door when the pizza arrived.  The pizza man pointed to a lady laying on the ground at the base of the stairs outside our apartment.  She had fallen.  Steve said to me, "Someone has fallen!"  My first thought was that someone fell down the air shaft or the empty elevator shaft.  But as I walked out I saw the lady, face down, with her feet still on the stairs.  She wasn't moving and we didn't know how long she had been there. The neighbors also came to their door since the pizza man rang their bell first.  So we all rushed out to check on this lady.  The poor pizza man was shocked also.  He didn't know what to do with the pizzas in his arms.  No one was offering to take them and hand him the money because we were too busy try...

As I hear the stories of different girls that have been abused, I am shocked that so many try to get away only to find themselves in a new abusive situation.  This is called Revictimization.  I didn't know that it is common with victims of sexual abuse.  It is almost as if a victim has a sign on them that says "abuse me" and they can't get it off.  One of our goals is to help our girls be safe from being retrafficked or reabused. Not all victims are vulnerable.  Some become distrusting of everyone.  But one report stated that two-thirds of victims of incest experience rape later in their lives.  TWO -THIRDS!  This brings tears to my eyes.  These poor children who are abused by a family member, a person who should be showing them love, is then victimized again.  I did a very short study on why this happens by looking it up on the internet.  Some of the reasons make sense.  Sadly, one effect of trauma is that a person will h...

I was just sitting here thinking (I wonder how many of my posts start with that sentence) about tacos and potlucks.  Then as my mind kept thinking, I came up with the taco potluck idea.  It is a great twist on the old favorite, potlucks. The church (since churches are the only ones I know who have potlucks) can provide the venue for this event.  Maybe on May the 5th.  You could have an online list that people can sign up with if they want to, to make sure you have the basics covered.  Tortilla chips guacamole sour cream beans cheese onions tomatoes meat lettuce scrambled eggs sausage tortilla shells salsa rice surprise me Then you just invite everyone to come.  Simple, dimple.  Go ahead and try it.

I made a Pintrest page last week so that I could keep track of the craft ideas I have to do with Micah.  One of the great ideas I found (on a friend's page) was these adorable little owls. http://pinterest.com/pin/384846730628150324/ So Micah and I set out to make them.  I had Micah draw the pattern since he is good with drawing things.  Then I found an old kurta (shirt) to cut up.  I got some white and black felt and pulled at the sewing machine.  We were set.  It didn't take long and Micah did a great job of stitching on the black of the eyes by himself.

I read a lot of news articles on trafficking and rape from around the world.  Today I was reading one about a girl here in Delhi who ran away from home because she was being raped by her father.  She ran away with the help of a neighbor boy who is around 17.  What makes me mad, and I think is stupid, are the comments people make about the article.  I don't know why I read them because they are always filled with idiots making comments.  But many of the comments say that the girl was probably running off with the boy and having sex with him and that she should be punished. WHAT????? So many people assume that the girl is guilty and that she is lying, without knowing anything about her.  This is what is wrong with this country.  People are quick to blame the girl.  They assume the girl has done something wrong.