Halloween
This is a day that has had different meanings for me throughout my lifetime. When I was little, it was a day to dress up and get lots of candy and stay up late and be on a sugar high for weeks. As I enter my teenage years, it was a day whose dark meaning became something I delved into with as much excitement as that kid who wanted more candy. Into young adulthood and my Christian commitment, I feared it, kept my children from it, and felt strongly about not participating in any aspect of it at all. In my middle aged life - OLDER middle age - I've come to some conclusions. Kids dressing up and getting candy is fun, wonderful, and innocent. The evil of that is that kids will be hopped up on sugar and drive everyone around them crazy. There is a dark heritage that is real, and that darkness is not confined to one day, so I do not participate in dark spiritual practices. Tonight, my beautiful grandchild will come to my door dressed up as an airplane! I will open the door for him and all the other children who do the same. I will squeal with delight and wonder at these marvelous creatures of light that God will place at my doorstep, and I will thank God for the gift of children and innocence and imagination and sugar.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Time Change
Well, the manipulation of time has once again interfered with my internal clock. Sleep is so difficult for me and the time change throws my confused clock into more confusion. I don't understand why people have to mess with time. It makes exercise after work difficult because it's so dark, I feel exhausted at the end of my work day because the sun is going down and it feels much later than it is, and I can't get up any earlier to walk at the beginning of the day because I'm becoming less of a morning person as I age. I feel sorry for farmers and agricultural workers who have to get up earlier to use the sunlight to their advantage. Anyway, the time change twice a year is one of my pet peeves. I find it easier to recover from jetlag than the bi-annual time change.
www.committedtofreedom.org
podcast
Yesterday was very exciting for me. Apple's iTunes recognized our weekly podcast as "New and Noteworthy" and placed it at position #84 in the podcast category: Health and sub-category: Self-Help. This is a wonderful affirmation for this project. The podcasts were designed to be a place of encouragement, inspiration, and comfort that are offered free each week. We professionally produce them so they are high quality. Podcasts can be downloaded from our website. Take a few minutes to listen and hopefully, you'll find them to be just what you need each week.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Flu
Everyone I know has the flu right now, including me. It is remarkable how a tiny germ can impact so many things from family to work to exercise. We are gearing up for the last women's retreat of the year near Dallas, November 10-12, which means we have a lot to do. We are passionate about our work to help abuse survivors, and yet my entire office is almost incapacitated by the flu. Drinking lots of water, forcing ourselves to rest, concerned about getting the work done. Keep us in your prayers.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Women's Retreat Nov 10-12
Yesterday was staff training day, preparing for our last women's retreat of the year near Dallas. The retreat is Nov 10-12, about 1 1/2 hours south of Dallas. Registration deadline is Oct 27th, so applications need to be in this week. We are busily preparing for the retreat, expecting another healing weekend for women who were abused as girls will learn spiritual tools to help them move beyond their abuse.
www.committedtofreedom.org
25 Years
Twenty-five years ago today, my husband and I arrived at Teen Challenge to direct a struggling program. Along with our toddler daughter and soon to arrive son, we embarked on the journey of a lifetime, with no idea of what awaited us. It was a huge risk, as any leap of faith is. Committed to Freedom was born because of this. As I reflect back on the past twenty-five years, I embrace the hardships, the rewards, the sacrifice, the fulfillment, the growth, the change, and the continued evolution of the spiritual being that I am. We are truly blessed people to see God's work in the thousands of people who have come our way over these past twenty-five years. We have had front row seats to the miracles of people finding freedom and hope.
www.committedtofreedom.org
No Place Like Home
"Home" is an interesting word, creating all kinds of images and feelings. It can be where you're from, where you're going, or where you hope to go. In my journey, I've discovered the place I most needed to be at home was in my own skin. That's taken quite a bit of adjusting for me. Something that used to be my disgusting enemy has now become my friend. I am learning to be kind to my home, to see its value, to care for it, and thank God for it. Home is where I live.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Flooded Basement
Our home was poorly built in the 1970's. Every time it rains, water leaks in through the basement walls and we have a real mess on our hands. We live at the top of a very high hill, so you'd think flooding would never be a concern, but it is in our home. Watching the weather for several days, it looked like rain was approaching. Slow moving, heavy rain. My husband, anticipating this, made sure all the drainage around the house was clear and the rain gutters on the roof were clean. Rain came last night and continues all day today. So far, the basement is dry. When you know something is always going to be a problem, you strategically plan for it to minimize the damage.
www.committedtofreedom.org
OnLine Support Group
Last night we launched a brand new OnLine Support Group. Members of the group were women who attended a Committed to Freedom last month. We had no idea how this would work, and it did exactly what we hoped it would do - provide support and connection! We are using my book,
The Uncaged Project, for our discussion format, so everyone reads a chapter and we discuss it, online, the next meeting. This is an experiment that works, and we will begin to incorporate it as follow up for all of our retreats in the future. Our next women's retreat (and last retreat of the year) is near Dallas, November 10-12, 2006. The registration deadline is nearing, so if you know a woman who needs to attend, download an application and get it in.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Children and War
I saw a movie this weekend entitled
Turtles Can Fly. It is a remarkable film about children living through war. Regardless of your thoughts or politics, this needs to be seen. It puts a name and a face to the sanatized versions we get through the media. The children in this film are victims of something terrifying and beyond their controls. Much like any abuse survivor, the decisions they make are those of children who are in circumstances that can have no empowering resolve. I am changed forever because of this movie. I am grateful that I saw it.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Bicycle Loops
I went bicycling yesterday. It's getting dark earlier now, so I began to run out of daylight. I'm by no means ready to really get out on the road, so I road around a one mile loop of a local park for six miles. Six times I went around the same loop and each time I passed the same house or street or lawn, I saw something different. The more familiar I became with the loop, the more of the passing scene I was able to absorb. I recognized the music playing at one house after the third pass. I remember the phone number of a house for sale after about four times. The dog who barked at me on the first loop evidently got bored with me by the fourth and stopped barking. I waved at the same walker for three loops and passed a runner all six times. At the end of my ride, it was almost dark and the whole landscape changed. A huge, bright white moon illuminated one end of the loop, low on the horizon. A glowing, orange sun illuminated the other end of the loop, also low on the horizon. The clashing of soft white with brilliant orange gave me just enough light and color to see my last mile in a whole new way.
www.committedtofreedom.org
Congressional Page Tragedy
Let me say at the beginning, that this is NOT a political commentary. That being stated, the headlines about U.S. Congressman Foley's sexually explicit and inappropriate communication with underage Congressional Pages has the potential of being a national mirror to the individual tragedies faced by children every day. The tragedy is first and foremost the exploitation of a child. Upon that blatant destruction of a child, the "adults" in this obscene display focus on protecting themselves. The national discussion is about politics. THAT IS NOT WHAT WE SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON!! There are young people who have been exploited by those entrusted with power. Congressman Foley and those who were aware of his sexually abusive behavior misused their power with children and are now misusing their power to control the conversation. They are doing this so effectively that the media has missed the greater catastrophe: the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Any child who has been exploited by someone with more power is surrounded by people who cover up, justify, and deflect attention away from the wound. As an adult survivor of sexual abuse, this is not just about politics, political careers, or political parties. It is about a young person who has experienced the tragic reality of predators who are still more concerned about their own hide than that of the child they have just violated.
www.committedtofreedom.org
