"Benevolent Bandit"

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year. The weeks inbetween Thanksgiving and Christmas. Putting up the tree, decorating the house, baking up a storm, hot chocolate after playing outside in the snow (or just in the freezing cold with two little boys), and Christmas shopping!!! I actually do LOVE Christmas shopping. I don't mind the hustle and bustle....except in the parking lots. I am one of those people that will circle around and look for the "best" spot instead of just parking far away. I even send out a little prayer here and there....ok, maybe I do it more than I think because whenever we pull into a parking spot Caleb says, "Thank you Jesus for this spot."  So if I there was a way to shop without dealing with parking spots I would be all over it. ENTER CYBER MONDAY. I think last year was the first year I took advantage of this wonderful day. So Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving....and Cyber Monday is that MONDAY. (So if you look at your calendar, that is in just 2 days!!! Yay!!!) There are tons of online deals and many places don't have shipping....so you really can shop from home without paying more, wasting gas, or circling a parking lot in prayer. Well, what could be better than finding great deals online?? Glad you asked. :)  What about getting great deals while at the same time helping others? making a difference? changing lives? You can do all of those things THIS MONDAY!!

My awesome friend Lauren (and former college roomie) is adopting! She is great mom to Izzy (her first adopted child) and Norrah (her biological child) and now they want to add another munchkin to the group through adoption. As you know, this is an expensive journey, so being the creative person that she is, she has formed a Cyber Monday fundraiser. I love this idea because everyone wins! Here are more details (I will just copy what she wrote so that it is all clear). :)

Here is the scoop:
" What could make Cyber Monday any better? Only one thing, BENEVOLENCE - or doing good - while making out like a bandit. SO, I think that will be our slogan "make out like a benevolent bandit." OR NOT.

Here is the deal: Come to LuAdopts (click HERE) on Cyber (Nov. 29th) to check out some of the cutest, coolest, most relaxing, enjoyable, loveable, amazing gifts of the season. We will offer great gifts from both local and distant vendors, business owners and artisans. The high retail-priced items will be offered on a silent auction basis. Which means you will leave a comment under the item of your choice stating what you are willing to pay for it. HIGHEST BIDDER WINS (even if the highest bid is well below retail value). For some of our midline or baseline gifts such as baby gear, gift cards and other great items we will host a raffle. Each entry will cost only $5 but the value of the items you are entering to win will be much more. The more you enter, the higher your chances of winning and the bigger your kindhearted donation.



I am guaranteeing you that there will be some amazing gift ideas hosted on LuAdopts Cyber Monday. You will not want to miss items like:



A Photo Session by the VERY TALENTED Photographer, Nicola Herring (includes 1 hour session, online proofing and $75 print credit) This gift will be in the form of a certificate that you can wrap and give to that lucky person in your life. AN AMAZING PRESENT. Or use it for yourself.



A Premier Jewelry Set (earrings, bracelet, necklace)



A 60-minute massage at Alicia's Massage and Wellness Center



A pie plate from Lion Paw Pottery.(Perfect for the Penn State Fan)



AND MY FAVORITE, handmade kids' items, like crocheted beanies, a nifty kiddie kitchen unlike any you have seen before, tutus and hair bands, frames, quilts. I am such a sucker for handmade.



There are adult gifts too like handcrafted wall hooks, stationary sets, gift cards to Pier1 and Target."


How cool right?? HERE is where you can see a sneak peek of these items. Be sure to check back HERE at LuAdopts on Sunday for all of the rules. I cannot wait for this fundraiser. It really will be fun and you will make out like a "benevolent bandit!"

The SOUND of Freedom

This post is just another example of how God can use anyone's talents to give a voice to the voiceless. It is obvious that lawyers, investigators, and social workers are capable of making a difference in the fight against modern day slavery. But what about artists? musicians? Well, the new "Freedom" cd is evidence that they can too. "Top musicians have united together for a single cause: IJM's work to bring rescue to victims of modern-day slavery, sex trafficking and other forms of violent oppression. Twenty-six of today's leading artists contributed songs to "Freedom," a new two-disc album that supports IJM's frontline work."

This CD is only $5 and every purchase helps IJM with the rescue and aftercare of victims of oppression. Personally, I love music and cannot wait for my CD to arrive. It is even a better feeling knowing that my CD purchase is for an amazing cause. What a perfect gift too? And a unique way to spread the word to so many that have never heard of this issue.

You can read more about the artists/song list HERE at IJM's website.

If you are ready to buy your CD, just go HERE.

On a similar note....my good friend Rachael from RedRoverStyle.com (a lifestyle and charity magazine that brings people together to dialogue and network with philanthropists and charities) is coming along side Rescued and Redeemed Ministries to host a Dinner and Live music Benefit to raise awareness about DOMESTIC minor sex trafficking.  It always blows my mind that this is taking place in our own backyards....but whether we are aware of it or not, it IS taking place.  Rescued and Redeemed Ministries is a non-profit organization raising public awareness on domestic minor sex-trafficking "through events that provide advocacy, education and training. RRM works alongside with law enforcement officers to provide self-defense training for girls between the ages of 13-22 years old. RRM is also working towards establishing a safe house for victims of sex-trafficking that would be the first faith-based house of its kind in the state of New Jersey." Read more about them HERE.

What better way to make a difference than by simply eating a nice dinner and listening to live music with your friends? This benefit dinner will be help on November 19th in Red Bank, NJ! Go HERE to order tickets.

“…Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.” Isaiah 1:17


Here is a sneak peak at two of the songs on the FREEDOM CD. Happy listening. :) (I tried looking up a lot of the songs, but most of them weren't on You Tube....or at least the ones I was searching for. :) 

Chocolate Slavery

I am contributing to child slavery?? Never thought about it like that until recently. I know that kids are sold, taken, and tricked into working in horrible conditions, but most of the things I think about are brick kilns or other slave camps like that. BUT in reality there are thousands of children along the Ivory Coast in Africa suffering all so that I can enjoy my chocolate at a cheap price. It used to be that only the wealthy could afford chocolate, but now we can get it for almost nothing and we can have it whenever we want it....makes you wonder why? Kids as young as 5 years old are being beaten each day. It really is pointless, especially since there IS fair trade chocolate out there. Yes, it is more expensive. BUT I think I can afford to pay more when I am guarenteed that slavery and harsh conditions weren't involved in its production. There are so many places to get Fair Trade chocolate now, so it really is just a decision I have to make and hope that you will make with me. I am also going to look for the email addresses of Hershey, Mars, Nestle, and M&M. They need to know that we are aware of what is going on, their lack of effort to CHANGE the way they use children, and that we will no longer buy their products if something isn't done. Hmmm, something to email ELLEN about. :) HA.

REVERSE Trick Or treating

So I was sent an email today from Not For Sale Campaign (LOVE THEM!) and there was such a cool idea inside that I had to just share it. Global Exchange is having their 3rd annual "Reverse Trick or Treating" campaign. Here is how it works. As you walk your children around to get their goodies, YOU or YOUR CHILD hands the adult answering their door a piece of fair trade chocolate and a piece of paper that explains a little bit about the slavery and harsh conditions surrounding the chocolate industry. For those who don't walk house to house, you can give these treats (with info) out to those who come to your house. This is such a simple way to make people more away of what is going on. Watch a little girl "Reverse Trick or Treat" HERE. If you order by TOMORROW (Oct 8th) than you get a kit FREE!!! Go HERE to do it, I just did. :) Or you can purchase your own Fair Trade chocolate and attach your own informational card. Either way, you are still raising awareness. And believe me, there are so many people out there that have no idea what goes on behind the scenes for these kids in the cocoa fields.

There is also ANOTHER campaign going on along the same lines. This one involves one of my FAVORITE chocolate companies...HERSHEY!!! So back in 2001 Hershey and other leading chocolate companies committed to take “immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor” to end this nightmare by 2005.  WELL, it is now 2010 and not much has changed. Come on Hershey!! You can read more about it HERE. Join the Raise the Bar Campaign, demanding that Hershey bring an end

to this abuse. I mean, they are Hershey, a HUGE corporation...they CAN afford to do this....especially since they pride themselves on supporting children. The few steps suggested are to write an email to Hershey, host a screening of the Dark Side of Chocolate (trailer HERE), and switch to Fair Trade Chocolate. Not too bad! :)

What a good idea!!

So I was just "surfing the web," not planning on blogging, BUT this was just too good. Again, there is always a way to help out. And yet again, it is an easy way for anyone to help. Polaris Project is a non-profit organization combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery. They work with victims of sex trafficking and labor trafficking within the U.S. Well, Polaris Project set up a registry through Target to furnish the apartments of trafficking survivors. How cool (and simple) is that?? HERE is where we can all help out in such a practical way!

Any Talent Can be Used

It seems that every time I turn around, someone has another great idea about how to raise money or make people aware of the reality of sex trafficking and other injustices taking place in our world (and our own backyards). The article HERE talks about a Christian singer, Natalie Grant, and how she is using her singing talents to make a difference. (Man, I wish I sould sing! ) :)

Par-tay in (central) PA!!

Ok, I have totally been MIA this summer. Maybe that means we have been outside so much that I don't have time to sit on a computer? (Heat wave after heat wave would make that statement false). Maybe morning sickness, which really means evening sickness in my body set in each night this summer and the last thing I wanted to do was research?? (Yes, that would be totally correct). So now that I am feeling more like a human being, it is time to start blogging again. There are so many topics that have I have been wanting to write about all summer....so now I just have to buckle down. (maybe in September though).

FOR NOW, I wanted to invite you to another Party with a Purpose, but this time it will be hosted by the wonderful Heidi Mitchell in Central PA (New Cumberland to be exact)!!  It will be Saturday, September 18th from 7pm to 9pm. We will be learning more about the sex trade industry and what we can do to help innocent women and children caught in this modern day slavery.

Of course there will be food, chocolate, fun, chocolate, fellowship, and some chocolate. You are more than welcome to bring a friend!!!

Biggest Flop of World Cup

The girls were flown in. The pimps were standing by. The journalists were ready to report. And advocacy groups were ready to spread the word. Leading up the World Cup, I read several articles that documented the dramatic increase in sex trafficking in countries hosting this huge event. It really made me upset to think that there seems to be no place that traffickers leave alone. Can't they just let us enjoy a sporting event? In response to these fears, Not For Sale set up a "Red Card Campaign." They handed out red cards (the biggest offense in soccer) with statisics and Not For Sale's website on them. The video below shows a bit of their work.


Well, the World Cup is officially over and the results are in! The sex business actually suffered a LOSS over the past month!! Who would have thought? I don't know exactly why. I read one article that thought perhaps it was the remote location of South Africa. Not really sure. Perhaps it was the Red Card Campaign?? Not sure either. But I am hoping and praying that this trend continues for future games! HERE is an article you can read that has more information on this big "defeat."

High Heel a What?

I will keep this short. I want to do THIS to raise money for two organizations: IJM and LOVE146. The only problem is, it just might be too big of a task for me to plan on my own. So when I say I need your help, I don't mean I need moral support. I need actual PEOPLE who will sit down with me and plan this and make it happen. I have all of the will and drive to do it (trust me) but I just need "man" power. If you didn't click on the link above, it is an article about one of the many High Heel A Thons that people host to raise money and awareness about causes that are important to them. I think that this would be so do-able (and FUN)!  I am thinking sometime in the fall...possibly end of September or sometime in October before it gets too cold and close to holidays. I can't do it by myself. I have ideas and some plans written out, but more heads are better than this one. :)

Ta-Da!!!

Dan and I were JUST talking last week about how we would really love to know if the products we are buying are made "on the backs slaves" or not.  Buying in America, or at least in my middle class-on a budget world, revolves around finding the best deal. Well, now that we are finding out how many products are made by slaves, we would love to make informed decisions when buying. It may cost us more money, but at least it won't be costing others their lives. That's our little decision and then, TA-DA, there is a book that does exactly what we wanted. It is called The Better World Shopping Guide. You can read more about it HERE. Basically, it (in their words) tells you which companies and products are the "good guys" and which ones are the "bad guys". I am really hoping that some of my favorite places to get "cheap things" aren't on the list! We shall see!

Partied with a Purpose!

What an awesome night! Last night was the film screening/fair trade/anti-slavery party. AKA: Party with a Purpose. Leading up to last night, I had so many emotions. The initial planning phase was of course optiministic and dreamy. :) However, as the days passed I started to feel discouraged. I was afraid no one would be able to come and that those who could come would wonder why I threw such an event. It was not until about 30 minutes before guests arrived (when I was in the shower) that I officially gave the party over to God to do with it what he wanted. During my "discouragement days" I was praying for the party and wondering if I should just cancel. I thought maybe I just needed more help or time or some other excuse. Looking back, I realize that when you are doing something that God calls you to, attacks like that will happen because Satan obviously wants this business of slavery to continue. Anyway, I had such peace taking that shower ( and if any of you know me, you know that the shower is my favorite place and the place where I usually come up with ideas). So I knew the party was going to be a success at that moment with my Dove Shampoo.

        I posted some pictures below of the party. Overall, we ate lots of goodies, laughed a ton, watched "At the End of Slavery" from IJM, and came up with some fresh and creative ideas to move forward NOW that WE KNOW! See, our knowledge is causing action!!! :)   I REALLY want to take these ideas and keep going! I don't want them just to be plans that stay on a piece of paper. I also cannot accomplish these by myself. So if you can help, LET ME KNOW!

        The ideas ranged from fundraisers (like a heel-a thon) to film screenings at Burlap and Bean (a local coffee shop). We also talked about having the Trade As One merchandise at local cafe's and bookstores. I laid in bed after the party and couldn't stop talking about the possibilites with Dan, who eventually told me I had to stop talking so that we could sleep for a few hours. :) I want to start planning ASAP.

    The other thing I want to do is host more Parties with a Purpose. Obviously, I cannot keep having them at my house with the same friends and family (I would actually love to do that because I love everyone that came, but that might get a little redundant) :) I say all that to then say that if you want to have one of these parties at YOUR house just let me know. And I will bring all the goods and info!

  Ok, lastly, if you couldn't come to the party and there is something that you want from TradeAsOne, let me know by Wednesday. I will be putting together the order (and then you won't have to pay shipping). I will just get the item to you as soon as I see you! Otherwise, if you live far far away you can just order on your own and spread the word to friends and family so that more people can make a difference.

     THANK YOU to all that came last night. I can't wait to get started on the next event!! (oh and take notice of the red bowl holding the chocolate..how cute! You can get that at TradeAsOne too!!  See if you can find the youngest guest at the party! She was a trooper!)

Unfortunately...

So with my Party with a Purpose only 2 days away, I figured I should work on getting ready for that and just post a little video. This is a video about a young girl and her experience in a brothel. As a read more and more, I am still not sure that I understand how real this all is. I believe what I am reading, but cannot truly grasp the reality of the situation. Unfortunately, it is all TOO REAL.


(I couldn't embed the video so go HERE and then scroll down. You will see the video on left). No one should go through what this girl, and many others, have gone through. Especially children.

Sportin the Goods ;)

This post will mainly just be a picture of "someone" wearing a piece from Nightlight. :)  I love this piece in general, but I also love that if I get a compliment about it I can SPREAD THE WORD. I recently was able to share with a friend of mine who had never heard of child sex trafficking EVER.  It was more concrete being able to tell her the facts and literally show her a necklace made by girls that have been rescued from that nightmare. Praise God!!!! So anyway, this is one of the necklaces from my last post "Mom Jeans".

Mom Jeans!

One of my fears about becoming a mom a few years ago centered around me somehow getting caught up in all of the spit up, poopy diapers, time-outs, pink eye, and then next thing I know I am running out to K-Mart to pick up a pair of classic "mom jeans." Ok, maybe I wouldn't go that far, but in the back of my mind, I have held fast to not choosing things to wear simply "because I am a mom now." This applies to the jewelry I wear too. I don't want to look like I am 14 and won a shopping spree to Claire's or Icing, but I also don't want to look like I stole my Nonnie's jewelry box. (Actually, she has some cute stuff and vintage is so in right now) ANYWAY, now that Mother's Day is approaching (less than 3 weeks), let's not insult ourselves or our moms that we are buying for. Let's stay young, "hip", and wear jewelry that has a story behind it. Here are a few inspiring pieces that I loved. By the way, all of this looks super awesome with sweats and mom jeans.....just saying.

Just Clicked...

Wow, I think that I update this blog every night....in my head. Too bad I can't just send my thoughts through the computer! There are so many things that I think about writing and just never get around to it. So finally, I am going to write about one of my recent thoughts (spurred by a new advocate friend). The topic of pimps. I have written about them before. Basically, that post was about praying for pimps. Which sounds weird, but really, if their hearts can be changed (and I completely feel that they can) than this issue wouldn't be here. Anyway, there was some celebrity hype recently between Demi Moore and Kim Kardashian. You can read the article HERE. The whole "argument" happened over Twitter and centered around the use or misuse/overuse of the word pimp. Which got me thinking. At first, I read the article and thought, "What's the big deal? People say pimp all the time. Pimp my...everything." But that IS the problem. We are so desensytized to the word that we really aren't thinking about the true definition of a pimp.When I was teaching, several boys dressed up as pimps for Halloween. What are we doing??? It is scary that we know what a pimp is and what they do to women and young girls, but because we glorify the "character" of a pimp in songs, movies, T.V., etc. we begin to forget the REAL lifestyle behind the word. Totally made me sit and think.

This is a little bit random, but still on topic. (This is totally the "just clicked" section). So as I was thinking about pimps, I remembered my highschool senior class trip to the Dominican Republic. The trip was amazing. We stayed at a place called Casa de Campo. It was beautiful....basically a dream for 55 eighteen year olds. (Yes, we had a tiny class).  Anyway!  One night, at one of the boys' houses, a real pimp knocked at the door offering services to the guys. Of course he was turned away (I am assuming first by the chaperone), but we all laughed about it for a long time. I didn't even think about how sad that really was. Not until the past few years did I learn that the Dominican Republic has a huge sex trafficking ring. What if that girl was there against her will?? I can't believe it now that I think back on that.

Well, going back to earlier. Pimps are real. They are lost and they need Christ to change their hearts. Here is an interview with a pimp. There is really nothing cool about pimps after hearing his experience in that lifestyle. I wish that someone would write a song about true "big pimpin" and show what really goes on.