Shown Mercy

Rest seems to be eluding us here on the home front these past few weeks (and weeks to come)...  Joshua is well into his first experience playing parks and rec basketball.    He is really beginning to understand the game and make good plays, despite needing to work on ball handling skills...  One thing is for sure, he looks like a pro in these pictures.  I cannot help but smile.    We had a snow dusting over night that caused a two hour delay for school the next morning.  The kids were ecstatic!  James is enjoying playing trumpet in middle school band.  He has a wonderful band director.  Last Saturday, I took him to the music store to learn how to clean his trumpet...   He absolutely loves taking things apart and putting them back together again...  Tony traveled to Florida over the weekend to preach so, the kids and I decided to head north to Virginia after worshiping with our IDC family s...

“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9 People of all ages have the power to be a voice for the oppressed and stand up on behalf of victims of injustice.  For our God  “loves righteousness and justice” (Psalm 33:5) .  This month our Imago Dei G3 (Girls Growth Group) and M.I.T. (Men In Training) students are leading a campaign called  Loose Change to Loosen Chains .   They have decorated containers and placed jars around the IDC building to collect loose change.  All the money that is donated will be used by the International Justice Mission to rescue victims of slavery and other forms of oppression.   This is one of many ways students can get involved through their church community, faith based organizations, school groups, etc...  You can learn more about the wo...

As mentioned in a previous post, this month was declared National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month .  I will be posting information about local and global ministries, as well as various ways for you to " learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. " (Isaiah 1:17) (Information posted here is taken from Transforming Hope 's website.  Please take time to visit and learn more about their ministry) Did you know… •    There are roughly 27 million slaves worldwide today, more than the total number of people brought to the US during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. •    In the United States, there are an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 immigrant children currently being sold and a conservative 300,000 domestic children at high risk for being sold into slavery. •    Child trafficking alone pulls in over $12 billion in revenue annually. Each child ...

This month we acknowledge as a nation the sanctity of human life.   Though perhaps not everyone will use those exact terms, as Christ followers we acknowledge the dignity and value of every human life, from the womb to the tomb , as being made in the image of God...   So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27 ESV) This month I will share more about particular ways you can get involved in seeking the God of justice and doing justice for the good of those made in God's image.  Stay tuned... First, I have included below a few excerpts from our president's proclamation.  You can read it in its entirety here:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/31/presidential-proclamation-national-slavery-and-human-trafficking-prevent This month, we rededicate ourselves to stopping one of the greatest human rights abuses of our time. Around the world, millions of men...