Birthdays are Awesome!

It has been almost 2 years since I first met this girl...Meet Kali! Today is her birthday and so I thought I would do a little blog just for her. Kali was an RA for me in my final year of Res Life and I am so happy she was brought into my life.

Kali was there the day I got baptized, just barely a month after meeting me. She was there when I went through a rough summer. She was there when I met Zeb. She was there when I struggled both personally and professionally. She was there when I overcame all the struggle. She was there when I passed comps, while I job searched and when I graduated. She is still there today.

I watched her marry her best friend last May and it was beautiful. Since then Kali has, probably unknowingly, set an excellent example of what it takes to be a wife. She remains humble and constantly seeks God in her life. She has lead me and other women in a Monday morning girls group to talk about life, love, and the meaning of all of it. She challenges me to be a better person and listens when I just need someone to listen. She is never judging or criticizing. I love her for that. She just takes people for who they are. Kali really is just a beautiful person inside and out. I feel blessed to call her my friend.

Thank you Kali for being my friend and sister in Christ! Happy Birthday! Looking forward to celebrating tonight!

And to the rest of you...Enjoy life today, go for the extra scoop of ice cream!

S.E.X.

Slavery

Exploiting

XXX

Today, January 11th, is National Human Trafficking Awareness day.

1. The United States is 2nd behind only Germany in human trafficking and 1st in child sex trafficking.

2. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest human trafficking events in the United States.

3. Oklahoma is in the top 10 for states with the most trafficking

4. Runaways and throwaways are most at risk in America to be exploited in the growing sex slave industry.

5. It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually.

That is a very small number of truths for a very large problem. These are our women and children that are being exploited.

It has been almost 2 years since I was introduced to this problem that I thought only existed oversees. I was so ignorant to the problem that sits in our backyard. It broke my heart.

Since that day I have done very little with the information I was given. There has been a small voice though that has never stopped whispering. My heart stirs for the victims of this horrible crime.

Take a moment today. Thank God for the things he is doing in this country to stop the violence. Pray for those still trapped. Pray for the men abusing. Pray for an end.

It all starts with an awareness day like today.

Nella Cordelia: A Birth Story

Nella Cordelia: A Birth Story

My heart overflowed when I read this story. As I got deeper into it I felt the lump in my throat grow bigger. I was trying so hard not to cry. I was trying so hard not to be in that room with all of those people when this small child was being born. I could not help but feel every emotion this woman was experiencing. I can't say I wouldn't feel the same way she did in that moment. Please read this story. You won't regret it.

Happy Monday! It is snowing here. Take it in and love your day.

Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired!

I missed basically an entire work week due to being ill. It gave me an appreciation for two things. I gained an appreciation for accrued sick hours and a good job, but I also gained an appreciation for my health. This is probably the sickest I have been in a long time and it makes me not want to be sick again for a long while. You see I am not a very good sick person and I think after this week Zeb would definitely agree with that. I whine A L O T! I do not enjoy having the chills, coughing up all that junk in my throat, and I certainly do not enjoy my head feeling like it is going to explode!

This week made me realize that those 8 hours at work are much better than being cooped up in a 500 sq ft apartment all day. I wanted so bad to be better just so I could get out. I have never been one for watching much TV and movies I can only handle in small spurts, so I guess it is just hard for me to sit here on this bony futon waiting to get better. Sleeping was unsuccessful even at night in my bed thanks to the body aches and head aches. I tried wedding stuff, but not even that could hold me over for very long. Needless to say I am thankful to know that I am reaching the end of this mess. I am not looking forward to the next go around and will do anything in my right mind to avoid it. I want to be sick free!

It's Messy

A little over a month ago I started a project that has now been unfinished. I set out to blog about country music; 1 song per day. Easy enough right? Well then what happened? I had a weekend where I had to do some catching up and then I never came back after the 23rd. Unfortunately life happened. Between the holidays and traveling and family, well I just got busy and my blog project became less important. Now, with the new year upon us, the famous question is, what are your resolutions? I suppose I could have some, but then they would probably look like my blog project and then I would focus on how I failed rather than grew.

As I was thinking about this the other day and kinda beating myself up for not completing my project that I promised myself and my readers that I would, something else came to mind. It is very similar to anything in life. Many will have set resolutions to read the bible everyday, workout 4 times a week, write a letter to their significant other once a week, whatever yours may be, but then life happens. Events get in the way. A day passes and we forgot to read Genesis and we think we are doomed for the rest of the year. Or how about this...we promise to love our friends, family, and spouse everyday and then a hard day comes. No matter how good our intentions were about not treating our loved one bad regardless of personal situations, we do and now their is mending to do.

My point to all of this is no matter what it is that you strive to do it is never easy. It is even harder when you are trying to do it everyday. Then there comes a day when you feel defeated and you have two choices; you can keep going or you can give up right there. I believe we were made for more. I believe we were made to keep going. When the going gets tough and it seems like there is nothing left...keep going. When your relationship is dancing in the fire and you can't seem to agree on anything, keep trying. When you have lost your job and nothing seems to be working out right, keep searching. When you committed to a project on your silly blog and didn't complete it, keep writing.

I hope you will keep reading.

Happy New Year!