Protect Me!!!

To my readers,

The past couple weeks, I have felt uninspired.  I started this blog because I was just bursting with things I wanted to share with you.  A burning desire to share issues that were nagging at my conscience.

In part, my lack of inspiration is due to what I'm currently reading.  I usually read anywhere from 2-5 books at a time, depending on interest and opportunity.  Books open my eyes, my mind, my soul.  They teach me how to think, how to feel, how to love, and how to live.  The Bible is my primary inspiration and guide for life.  I am also reading Joni Eareckson Tada's Diamonds in the Dust, 2-minute mysteries, and a homeschool inspiration book (I always read one during the year to keep my enthusiasm fresh!)

Last time I visited my parents, I chose to borrow a book that has impacted me tremendously.  Do you remember the phenomenon of A Child Called "It"?  Everyone I knew was reading this book when it was published in 1995.  The story is about a boy who was horribly abused by his mother and narrowly escaped death when a teacher called and reported the abuse to authorities.  I read The Lost Boy as soon as it was published, but I had never read A Man Named Dave.  That was the book I took home.

I had never found out if this man, Dave Pelzer, had triumphed.  Usually, I read some fluffy fiction - Amish fiction novels or the like because they're "feel good" books with Christian morals and a tidy ending.  A Man Named Dave and his other two books leave me feeling...unclean.  Rotten.  Awful, really.  How can you read a book about a boy suffering child abuse and not get a little down?  How can you peer through the window of this man's childhood and not feel a little responsible for not helping him escape the torture he endured?

So, for the last two weeks as I've slowly digested this portrait of Mr. Pelzer's adult life, I've been feeling down and a little depressed.  As with most books, I usually identify with the main character in the story and experience similar emotions as I journey through trials with them.

What can I possibly write about this book, and the thought processes that have followed, that can be encouraging or inspiring to you?

And it hit me just this evening:


We could react by doing something about this.  But what?

How can we help children who are hidden behind closed doors?

That may be experiencing abuse, neglect, starvation, or worse?

During Christmastime, I try to buy my children exactly what they want.  Their heart's desire.  I love to see their eyes dancing with joy when they receive "that one gift" that they most hoped to open on Christmas morning.

This week, I explained to my children, as they listed the 30 things they want for Christmas, that some children don't receive any presents.  In fact, they don't expect presents.  Some children are simply hoping that they might eat something on Christmas day.  I recently found out that children who live within 1/2 hour of our home have no food to eat apart from the meals they receive at school.  Christmas break sounds great to most children, but to some, it is a lesson in survival.  It shouldn't have to be that way.

Especially in America, the "land of opportunity."

"The land of plenty."

So...what can we do?  Funny you should ask!

Compassion International sends us a Gift Catalog every year.  I love it because we can take some of our gift money and bless someone else with it.  That's the best "re-gifting" I can think of!  Instead of buying another video game or stuffed animal, each member of our family gives 5 dollars towards helping someone who...needs help!  International needs are met by buying chickens, ducks, goats, cows, clothing, medicine, food - you name it!  There is also a section for giving to the less fortunate in the good ole' U.S. of A.!  During the Christmas season, $25 will buy $100 worth of clothing like winter coats, hats, and scarves or other necessary clothes.  School supplies, medical care, shelter and disaster relief...it's all there.

This year, I noticed a new (to me) category:  Rescue from a Dangerous Situation. This is just what I was thinking about - a way to help children who are being harmed behind closed doors.

I have been so burdened for abused children and here was a way to help them - on my coffee table!!

Here is a video from Compassion that shows why they do what they do:

"For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well."

Psalm 139:13-14

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  

James 1:27

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."  

James 1:22