Is this what I wanna be doing...

 I heard a story the other day of an old woman, who lived her life every hour as if Christ could return any moment.  She was sitting at an outdoor play and suddenly became upset saying, "I don't want to just be sitting here being entertained if Christ comes right now!  I would much rather be serving."  Ever since I heard this a couple of days ago I think several times a day, "is this what I want to be doing when Christ comes back?"  I wanna live the rest of my life like this, living as if Christ could return at any moment, because after all, He could!  The Bible says, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." Matt 24:42.  God has laid two concepts on my heart regarding this matter, the first is money.  We have been having a lot of financial difficulty lately and our house was hit by the tornado and sustained damage. God has been SO FAITHFUL to meet each and every one of our needs, in so many different ways, financially, prayers, and encouragement- thank you to every one!  My faith has grown immensely.  While I'm watching Him provide, I'm starting to realize, this is God's money!  Used to be if I had an extra dollar I would find a way to carelessly spend it.  After this season I'm beginning to live like Christ is visibly beside me every minute, would I spend this dollar I have on this if Jesus was right here?  Would I want to be using His resources in this way if He came back this hour?  Every penny we have is from Him.  He is our provider! "Every good and perfect gift is from above,coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" James 1:17, it's His money!  I want to honor Him with it.  I repent of the careless ways I have used His money.  Piling up debt, and spending on things just to satisfy my wants on every whim.  God please forgive me!
  The second concept God has been laying on my heart is, serving.  Serving so does not come naturally to me, it's absolutely not my spiritual gift :) But I have felt convicted of my selfishness.  Getting burned out picking up clothes off the floor, cleaning, and dumping the trash!  Every day I would wake up exhausted just going over my list of to-do's.  The many I roles I play, "wife,mom,friend,daughter,employee" too much!  When do I get time for me?  I'd been so cranky.  Consequently, or not consequently I have been reading through Matthew.  My heart is changing as I read about Jesus pouring out His life serving others.  He spent all of His day seeking out ways He could share love, truth, and serve those around Him.  He was on a mission.  I have been so selfish!  In the deepest part of my heart I long to be like Him.  I long to share the love He has so generously poured out into my life.  I'm starting to see, all these roles,all this work I've been given, are opportunities to do just that.  My flesh is kicking and screaming at the very thought of it!  But is me having "me" time, alone doing what I want, when I want to, the way I want to be when Christ returns?  No, so I am praying God would burn these concepts into my every fiber of my being.  I pray I live every day, by His power and might, not my own minimal strength and energy.  Then and only then can I live my life in expectancy as if He were to return any minute! Pray for me!

O.A.T.H. Conference

I am new at this whole blogging thing so bear with me :). Yesterday I attended the Oklahoman's Against Human Trafficking Conference. I will NEVER be the same. The things I learned are going on right here in Oklahoma shook me to the core, disgusted me, broke my heart, and filled me with righteous anger. I listened to three middle aged women tell horrific stories, each different but all the same in that they were sold as modern day slaves, or trafficked. Two of them from Oklahoma, the other also from the USA. Only now can they talk about what happened to them , each of them in their teens when it occured. They have layers upon layers of trauma they have had to work through, two of them crediting their very lives to the Lord.

The conference was for professionals looking to gain CEU's and for those who want to minister to these girls and in some case boys. I left saying I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!

Here is what I learned:

1) The USA is the #1 destination for child sex trafficking

2) 90% are female

3.) 300,000 children are exploited annually

4.) Every 20 seconds a child is reported missing

5.) Every day 4300 children are reported missing

6.) Every year 2 million are reported missing and an estimated 500,000 are not reported..

7.) We in Oklahoma and in the Midwest hold the majority, and are responsible for the most trafficked victims

8.) There are 4 types of traffickers: Pimps; Large national or International Crime Networks, and Small networks in in multiple areas

9) The vulnerable are targeted for example: inner city kids;runaways/throaways; those from low income homes; kids whose parent's are addicts; troubled or unhappy; insecure teens; minors that are groomed through social networks; legal,illegal, undocumented foreign nationals

10.) Children as young as infants are used for pedophiles pleasure, the growing trend is the younger the better because they are more "pure"

11.) Demand is extremely high, for example a 5yr old can be expected to service 10 to 25 men/day

We have to put an end to this! I am currently working with others from my church to raise awareness, please pass this information on! There are many ways to get involved, please let me know if you are interested and I can help you find a good fit for helping. There are so many roles to play and so many children to help... The Lord has placed a huge burden on my heart to serve in this cause. It is our responsibility to protect these children, if we don't who will!