Cleaning Up the City – Guest Post by Kimberly Dawn Rempel

I don’t exactly remember when I met Kim, but I do remember that I was excited to find someone with four important things in common. 1) our first names 2) our middle names 3) service to our communities 4) love for the Savior. What great things to base a friendship on! She has a lovely place in the blogosphere called From The Heart Online, you really should check it out! And now, without further delay, here is her piece on one of the ways her family shows her community the love of God.

Hundreds of others (each one in a bright yellow Tee) spread across the city with gloves and bags, on the hunt for trash. Eleven churches work together to keep this city tidy each spring.

Cool, eh?

I wanted to get in on it, but no way would I drag my kids into community service. They’ve got to want it….

Join me over at my other blog What in the Word R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake? for the rest of the story.

Running The Race Against Human Trafficking by Tara Pohlkotte

Tara’s words drip like honey. You’ll have to see it for yourself here and here. But what I admire most about her is that her feet are following her words and heart. So many of us are well intentioned, and yet…that’s as far as it goes. Please join me as I delight in getting to know my world changing friend better…

I have this vibrant, full of life daughter.

She is beautiful because of how present she is in each moment, how in tune she is with her surroundings. She dreams of big things and far off places. She knows her future is wide and unending.

I have these other daughters, too.

Ones that I don’t know by name, but have been called to love. These daughters know a life where the only way of survival is to shut down. Block out the horrors of being sold. Of a number pinned on a red dress replacing their identity, their soul. They also dream of far off places, but only as a means of escaping their reality. The future to these daughters is to just make it through one.more.night. To read the rest of the story please join Tara at my other blog What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake…

Crushed, But Not Broken – A Way You Can Help Stop Human Trafficking (remix)- Painting Prose

…and stop crying your heart out by Carine Felgueiras

I recently heard of a young girl, known in my circle of friends.

Not somewhere else

…exotic and distant,

But here, nearby…

a summer’s walk away,

in a house just like mine.

A girl, fiery and opinionated;

Insisted she knew better,

even at the pain of her family.

She left,

 seeking freedom

and Liberation from the tyrannical rules of curfews and text checks.

Looking for love in all the wrong places.

And finding it,

just down the street from me.

Deceitful plagiarism called love.

The monsters deemed friends

had plans for her.

Plans to rape her and rip her heart out…

to strip her of human dignity.

She found herself chained to a bed.

Three. infinity. years.

A sex slave.

Imprisoned beyond imagination.

Treated like waste,

Less than human,

A sheet her only covering.

Passed off as a possession.

Sold for pennies.

Greed used her,

Like a disposable fast food cup,

Crushed, but not broken.

Until…

Grace found her,

Helped her escape.

Ironing out the wrinkles,

He tells her His plan:

A plan for good and not for evil.

His plan to make something beautiful

out of her nearly crushed life.

The greatest miracle of all?

That life can be beautiful again

for one such as this.

Is it more impossible

than the blind seeing,

the deaf hearing?

But butterflies break beyond their cocoon

and flit away to freedom.

Drinking nectar from a flower cup

dancing on the breath of God.

Oh dear one,

dare I hope…

dare I believe

the same for you?

 

 

Please consider purchasing this beautiful cookbook. The recipes are fantastic, (this writer might just have a few in there!) Just click on the picture and proceed to checkout. The proceeds from the profit go towards the Kwagala Project, which helps rescue young women in Africa from human trafficking. To find out more about the incredible story of this cookbook project visit my other blog, What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake?

Please feel free to linkup one of your lovely pieces to our loving community. Make sure you encourage a few of the contributors as the Holy Spirit leads you…because He does, you know…

If this is your first time here, let me explain what we are all about. We are a community started by Emily Wierenga. It was called Imperfect Prose. She is on a bit of a vacation as she has some extra responsibilities at the moment.

If you are new, please check out Emily’s blog. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and you need to be acquainted with the woman who made all of this happen!

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Cyber Monday Shopping With A Cause!

Today is Cyber Monday…and in order to get into the spirit of things, I am featuring 4 gifts that you can give 4 Christ’s Sake! So move over Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, here we come!

1. Since human trafficking is the very first issue addressed here at What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake? I thought it would be nice to find an item that donates its proceeds toward ending human trafficking. Look what I found! A beautiful necklace!! … for the rest of this post visit my other blog…What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake?

Giving Thanks with Ann:

61. For a mouse catching dog…

62. So thankful to have a house to clean, money for food, and friends and family to share with!

63. for the gift of Ann in my life…

64. for being done with Holiday meals…at least for another month. 😀

65. For the awesome grace graffiti of Michelle, Jen, Emily, Renee and Leanne

66. for the best girlfriends in the world…

67. for the opportunity to be a friend in deed.

Church in the Wild

Photo by JohnEdits

Concrete jungle
marble grey and bleeding
Unaware of Who it is they are needing.

Dripping rain forests
lush emerald gold
Downpour weeping stories untold.

Middle-aged prostitute,…
Read the rest at my other blog What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake?

Something Everyone Can Do To Help

I have followed Lisa @ Lisa Notes for some time now. She always shares her heart and gives scriptural foundation with her thoughts. In a world that questions the validity of the Bible, I really appreciate that. Recently, I stopped by her place and read this post. I was so excited because I knew that this post would be perfect for this site! Lisa has a practical idea all of us can do in order to make a difference in our world. This is a great followup to Kristen Bridgman’s post. I know you’ll enjoy this post as much as I did.

Sometimes you look away.

You see the man under the bridge or on the street corner.
But you don’t want to.

So you fiddle with the radio or watch the traffic light or check your phone.
All to avoid the human being.

But other times, you can’t help but stare.
You wonder.
How did this happen? Did he used to have a job? A family? A home?

To read this rest of this post, won’t you join me at my new blog, What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake?

Teaching Kids to Serve

I first stumbled upon Amy’s blog several months ago, and was blown away by her purpose for blogging. She states, and I quote, “Can one beyond-blessed family move from addicted to ourselves to devoted to others? This is where I share our story. Thanks for tagging along.” Many of her posts include practical ideas on how to get children beyond self-absorbtion and into being mindful of others. In today’s “it’s all about me” society, I think that’s an amazing feat, don’t you? You must visit her blog, amy l. sullivan, as it is a plethora of ideas and encouragement to do things for the love of Christ. This is a recent post on her blog about what she is doing for Christ’s sake.

Get Kids Invested in Serving Others in Five Easy Steps

Step 1: Find a cause that interests them. For this group of girls, the cause was a local center that houses people traveling to Asheville, North Carolina to seek medical treatment.

Please join Amy and I at my new blog What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake? to find out the other 4 tips!!

Sketches in the Dirt

Sometimes we think that it’s only big things that count
For the Kingdom.
Martyrs and missionaries.
Skill and sacrifice.

I have a friend.
At first glance she’s done nothing
out of the ordinary.
But… Please come visit my new blog What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake? to read the rest of this courageous woman’s story…

October Days

Everything about the October day is filled with fire. The trees are blazing red, yellow and orange. The light slants from a summer-tired sun, illuminating the world in pumpkin-orange, wind whipping crisp, burnt-leaf air into miniature cyclones.

The trees go out in glory. A final burst of beauty before a winter of loneliness. A final blaze of fire before the bitter cold. Do the trees drink in warmth before the cold? Do they soak it all in as an internal furnace for later use?

And I wonder…where in the seasons of life am I? Am I in a winter of despair? Am I desperate for the warmth of the Son? Frozen beyond feeling? Brittle and ready to break?

Am I thawing in a frozen world, with the tiniest bit of hope, branches bursting forth with budding beginnings?

Am I thriving in summer sun, and gentle rains? Bringing forth the fruit of the season?

Am I bulging with glorious bounty, both of beauty and baskets full of harvest?

Wherever I am, I am not alone. For He is with me. My Shepherd.

He is there in the green pastures.

He is there is the Thanksgiving table of plenty.

He is there in the Valley of the Shadow. of Death.

I will fear no evil.

His Word will comfort me.

Sharing with Michelle:

 

Giving thanks with Ann:

#33 – That God would save a chief sinner like me.

#34 – That my son’s art was featured in the showcase at school… (His is the swirly one)

#35 – One last Indian Summer day…

#36 – Doorbells ringing revealing little girl visitors with pink tutu basket presents

#37 – For the successful launch of my new blog What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake?

#38 – Finding the coolest bookstore ever on the greatest field trip of the year!

#39 – God sending messages while playing Words With Friends…

#40 – A daughter who has a heart for the lost, bringing two girls from work to church

An Invitation to Change the World

Some problems are so big that it seems like there is no way to fix them. Ever. So why try? Sex trafficking is one of those issues for me. For one thing, I’d rather not ruin my day with the sordid details. The facts literally turn my stomach, and send me somewhere dark that I really don’t want to go. But the truth is…to read the rest of this post join me at my new blog What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ’s Sake?

Linking with beautiful Emily at