Trafficking is REAL

A couple of friends and myself are going to Cambodia in Dec. to work with an organization that is helping to combat human trafficking. I am looking forward to this experience and know I will be changed and shaped by it. However, we don't have to go across the world to find this heinous crime.

Just Read Here

What will you do to make a difference?

We Build People

When I taught at NCSU one of my students was heavily invested at the YMCA and did her call to action speech on "We Build People". She is one of the only students that I continue to have a relationship with outside of the classroom. Now she and her husband are on staff with the Navigators.

Anyways, when I heard about the summer camps, after school programs, mentorship, etc. that the YMCA provides I was intrigued... but hadn't thought about it much until we joined the Y and now have close friends who work there. This year Matt and I get to be a part of the We Build People Campaign.

THERE ARE ONLY 4 DAYS LEFT!

Us getting involved with this effort coincided with a reminder to us of why this program and the opportunities that the financial support from this campaign provides is so important. We are friends with a family who could greatly benefit from having a consistent positive place to go in their lives. Just knowing that some of the children in this family were a part of this program would give me a bit of peace.

If you have read my blog much over the past year, you know that I have a deep love for the community aspect at the Alexander Family Branch. The We Build People Campaign is another aspect that will help impact our community in Raleigh.

I urge you to consider giving to this campaign! All you have to do is click here. By doing this you will make a difference in someone's life.

I challenge you to give today!

Fun Theory

Something fun that my dad just sent me... it made me smile :) I needed this today.

EDA Group News

As you know a few of us started a branch of Eating Disorders Anonymous about 8 months ago. We have been meeting every other week discussing recovery, our issues, and helping one another take steps towards holistic- free living. I'm glad to be a part of this group and am excited about our next several month focus.

Starting on Monday, Nov. 9th at 7PM we are going to begin "Finding Balance With Food" which is linked to the group Finding Balance. This 12 week curriculum will help us walk together to live life "outside the thin cage" in more ways than one. There are mid week projects, discussion questions, reflection times, videos etc.

If you have been contemplating coming to this group or know of someone who might benefit from working through some of these issues, please encourage them to come... if you don't know if this study is appropriate for you please consider the following questions:

Y / N Is food something that you enjoy, without feeling guilty later?

Y / N Do you eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full?

Y / N Are you able to recognize feelings of hunger and fullness?

Y / N Do you eat three regular-size or six smaller-size meals each day?

Y / N Do you select foods based upon how they’ll benefit your body?

Y / N Do you like to get out and be active, not because you should, but because you want to?

Y / N (If married) Are you able to be intimate with your spouse without worrying about how your body

looks?

Y / N Can you take a compliment without thinking there must be some hidden meaning behind it?

Y / N Do you feel like you’re taking good care of the body God gave you?

Y / N Do you have time and energy to pursue a deeper relationship with God?

Y / N Are you able to engage freely in relationships with others on a frequent basis?

Y / N Can you go more than two hours without thinking about food?

Y / N Can you get ready in the morning without beating yourself up about how tight your pants feel, or

worrying that everyone is going to notice how big your stomach, thighs or butt looks?

Y / N Can you look at another person without comparing the size of their body to your own?

Y / N Do you believe that your value is NOT dependent on your appearance or achievements?

If you’ve answered ‘no’ to three or more of these questions, it’s time to admit the truth: you are out of

balance when it comes to eating, weight and body image.

I definitely need to be a part of this group and welcome you to do the same, all you have to do is show up. We meet at Visio Dei Church.

My current prayer

This is beautiful... I am praying this for myself today...

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.

A prayer of Mother Teresa

Where is my hope?

Praise the Lord!

Let all that I am praise the Lord.

I will praise the Lord as long as I live.

I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there.

When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them.

But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is the Lord their God.

He made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them.

He keeps every promise forever.

He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry.

The Lord frees the prisoners.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.

The Lord loves the godly.

The Lord protects the foreigners among us.

He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

The Lord will reign forever.

He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.

Praise the Lord.

Why do we (at least me) so often put our hope in powerful people or think that we can do things on our own??

Jesus is worth trusting. I will follow him today.

Anything but Ordinary

This is the song that I have been listening to for the past 2 weeks, I think it speaks to the best and worst of me...