Modern Day Eye Openers

The thing about volunteering to be an audience member on the Dr. Drew Lifechangers show is you basically have no idea what the show will be about until you arrive and are getting "warmed up" by funny guy, Roger.

I have to be honest. There are a lot of things I know nothing about.  I wouldn't say naive, just unaware.  As a stay-at-home, homeschool, sports-minded mom,  there's not much time to watch television.  I find it nearly impossible to keep up on the latest programming, celebrity gossip, fashion trends, and the like unless it's part of news talk radio updates I catch in the early morning.  I don't know who is on Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, or Survivor.  I've never watched any of them, but I do know Lindsay Lohan evaded another trip to the clink.

I hoped the topic of discussion on Lifechangers would be something I could relate to.  After visiting Dr. Drew's website, I was a bit nervous to learn what the episode would be about.  I secretly hoped we'd be sitting in on a talk about finicky eaters or quick wardrobe fixes and not a topic familiar to the set of Jerry Springer.

I was hoping.

Well, when we arrived Roger told us we'd be part of a taping following up on the "Bunny Ranch."  I'm thinking 4-H, lopped-eared, little hoppers.

I looked at my friends.  I don't think they knew anything about it either.

Once again I felt like, country girl in the Big City.

Huh?

As it turns out, the bunny ranch is nothing sweet and innocent like I was thinking. It's apparently a place, in Nevada, where women go to become prostitutes.

Sad.

Dr. Drew followed two gals who were considering going into this age old profession to earn big bucks to support their families during this season of economic downturn.

Seriously?

The owners of the "ranch" talked about it like it was Disneyland or something.  "It's so fun!  So glamorous.  So exciting!"

Give me a break!  Such lies!

Dr. Drew, knowing the price that would actually be paid if either of the girls chose this profession, did his best to talk them out of it.

One gal opted not to seek a life of prostitution and said she'd continue on as an in home nurse.  Thank goodness!  She has a three year old.

The other gal was questionable.  There was a distinct strangeness about her.  One minute she'd sit crying her eyeballs out and the next she's checking herself out on the prompters, messing with her hair, lips and dress.  Something was just not right about her and her family.  She left telling Dr. Drew she was going to "give it a try." Yikes!

So...what came to mind watching this?

Well, first off...WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?????

There is NO money in the world worth making this type of decision!  Money will never buy happiness, peace of mind, purity, or fill the voids of life.  The cost of making a decision to live the life of selling your body will never be matched by dollars.  My momma heart wanted to walk up to the stage, give those girls a hug and say, "Don't do it!"

I couldn't help but think of International Justice Mission.  They go around the world rescuing girls from the terrible life of prostitution and yet these gals were willing to walk into it.  They made it sound like it's all about money.  So sad!  Around the world young girls are being sold into sexual slavery- all for money.  Fathers sell their daughters.  Young girls and young women are unknowingly captured or persuaded into the slave trade in the hopes of providing for the family.  This is SO wrong! This is why people from organizations like IJM are risking their lives to help these girls, yet here in Nevada, we have beautiful young women willingly walking into the same deceptive trap. Heartbreaking!

So what to do?

Recognize the reality of the world.  Prostitution is nothing new.  Even in Jesus's own lineage he had a prostitute, Rahab.  As we learned with Rahab, there is a renewed life of blessing for those willing to live lives surrendered to God.

Support International Justice Mission or similar organizations that fight against these evils.

I heard Mark Driscoll once talk about Annie Lobert and Hookers for Jesus.  These gals have experienced the life of prostitution and escaped it.  They have found a new life through Christ.  I read Annie Lobert has also been on Dr. Drew's Lifechanger's program.  Too bad she wasn't there for this episode.

Reading Annie's story reminds me there is always hope.  Hope for something better. Hope for tomorrow.

I hope these gals figure out there are other options in life than seeking out the lies leading down the road of destruction.

Nothing New Under the Sun

What has been will be again.

what has been done will be done again/

there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9

This morning during our Bible time we read about Elisha prophesying to the future leader of Syria, Hazael in 2 Kings 8.  God allowed the prophet, Elisha, to see Hazael's evil heart and the murderous plan he had to kill the ruling Syrian king and then take the throne.  In seeing Hazael's future, Elisha also saw what the Syrian king would do to the Israelites.  I thought to myself...Syria.  Israel.  Conflict. Nothing new under the sun.

In the book study classes I'm teaching, one class is reading The Drinking Gourd (also included Follow the Drinking Gourd) and the other class is reading Out of the Dust.

In Follow the Drinking Gourd a family of slaves is risking their safety and their lives to reach FREEDOM.  Others assisting them working on the Underground Railroad are risking their lives and safety to help the slaves reach FREEDOM.  FREEDOM is valuable!  FREEDOM is worth risking your life just to attain.  I tell our kids and the students in my class to never take FREEDOM for granted.  It is lost all too quickly and is hard to gain back, just look at history...Please!

Having the FREEDOM to homeschool is such a gift!  I'm thankful for everyday that we live in a country where we can homeschool, but I never take it for granted as the right can be taken away.

On a quick search I found at least 39 countries where it is actually illegal to homeschool.  Included in the list are:

Germany, Greece, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, Iceland, Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, Ukraine, Cuba, Greenland, Guatemala, Turkey, Brazil, and China to name a few.

Freedom is such a gift and if we truly examine history when people want for a change and turn over personal rights and freedoms to leadership or government in hopes that they'll be taken care of...they lose.  Remember, nothing new under the sun.  Just ask the Israelites what happened when they wanted a King and then make your way down the history timeline.

Before I leave the topic of slavery, let's not fool ourselves and think it's no longer around.  Just as evil is alive and thriving, so is slavery.  In fact, according to International Justice Mission,

More children, women and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade: Millions toil in bondage, their work and even their bodies the property of an owner.

This is an outrage that it still exists.  Nothing new under the sun.

In the Out of the Dust book study we're all getting a glimpse of what true poverty, tragedy, and desolation look like.  The people who lived through the Depression and Dust Bowl experienced hardship I don't think any American now knows unless they lived through it in their youth.  We are a blessed and spoiled people.  We don't understand the hardship experienced in the 30's.  My heart aches for what Americans during this era experienced, but what amazes me is their willingness to work hard (for meager pay), persevere, and be strong during this tough time.  I've watched many videos from survivors of the Dust Bowl on Living History Farm. These were tough times!  What the farmers of Middle America experienced caused me to think on the plagues Egypt experienced.  In addition to dust storms, those in the Dust Bowl saw drought, destruction, grasshoppers eating everything, including their clothing, famine, then day turning into night, death, disease, etc.

Finally, thinking on the poverty of the era.  The families we're reading about in Out of the Dust basically lived in extreme poverty, yet if someone stumbled onto their doorstep, or if a baby was born, they continued to find ways to give.  If we turn back to history, God tells us, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."  Give to the poor, don't expect someone else to take care of it.  God's command was to us, the individual.  Doing without, scraping by, being creative in providing for yourself and your family is nothing new and in this process give some of what you're blessed with to someone else.

There are many other correlations I've seen through our learning, but these were the few that have occupied my thoughts.  Disunity, strife, conflict, poverty, slavery, greed...nothing new under the sun.

I cannot close on the negativity though.  I also believe that faithfulness, truth, perseverance, hard work, honesty, humility, surrender, obedience, giving, compassion, kindness, and sacrifice are nothing new under the sun.  We each just need to make a choice where we're individually going to invest ourselves.