Rape as a Weapon

ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse

Protester holding sign which reads:  “Don’t Kill Us!”

Photo: ROCIO VAZQUEZ/AFP via Getty Image

WARNING:  Graphic Images

Rape is being used as a weapon in Mexico against women and girls protesting femicide and other gender violence [1].  Women who dress in black or cover their faces – even as a hygiene measure against COVID-19 infection – are viewed as suspect.

Femicide in Mexico

The World Health Organization defines femicide as the intentional murder of women because they are women.

Nearly 3500 femicides were committed in Mexico in 2019 alone [2].  Approximately 10 women are killed everyday by strangulation, suffocation, stabbing, and drowning.  Some 93% of crimes are either not reported or not investigated.

The inaction of Mexico toward this situation has drawn criticism from around the world.

Media Demonization

Women taking part in protests have been demonized by the media.  In this way, authorities have undermined the legitimacy of protest. …

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Through The Fire

I used to have this nightmare that terrified me years ago, where I was surrounded by fire, covered in blood, and being attacked by something I could not see. Recently God revealed to me that it was not a nightmare, which I would argue until He gave me understanding. He told me that even though I was surrounded by fire I was not being burned. The blood that covered me was not my own, but His Son’s blood which was protecting me. Even though I was being attacked, that I did not die, but stood firm. That the fire kept the enemy from destroying me, and that it was His Spirit that surrounded me. This inspired this painting.

Through The Fire by Julie Sheppard

Which I hope inspires hope for those who are going through their own fiery trials, or nightmares.

Thought for the day / What do you do when you have done everything that you can?

emotionalpeace

What do you do when you have done everything you can do? I have not been able to write for a while and even today typing this message is hurting me a lot, but the inspiration to share what my current state is teaching me is stronger than the pain. For over a month now I have been in so much pain I have barely been able to make it to work, but that is all I have been able to do. I hate missing fellowship with my church River of Life Christian Center, they may not be my natural family but they are my spiritual family. The hugs and love and words of encouragement, I really miss. I am thankful that I do not have to miss the messages because I can watch them online which feed me God’s word, but it is not the same as being there…

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Just As I am

Discovering the Depths of God’s Grace

“Just As I Am” is one of the few hymns for which we know not only the author’s story but also the exact circumstances in which it was written. Charlotte Elliott of Brighton, England (1789–1871) was either born, or in early life, had become an invalid. Her life was a testimony to patient endurance in suffering, not only physical, but also emotional and spiritual. This was the context in which she wrote the hymn, as her nephew the Rev. Handley C. G. Moule recounted it in 1897:

“But ill health still beset her . . . it often caused her the peculiar pain of a seeming uselessness in her life while the circle around her was full of unresting service-ableness for God. Such a time of trial marked the year 1834, when she was forty-five years old, and living in Westfield Lodge, Brighton. . . .

Her brother, the Rev…

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Living in the Real World

StopAndPrayTV

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17)

People often think they are being practical when they place material values ahead of spiritual, emphasizing that we have to “live in the real world.” The fact is, however, that we are not living in the real world at all but in a world that is dying and will soon be gone. “The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17). This is not even the world that God created, for that world was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Because “sin entered into the world, and death by sin” (Romans 5:12), therefore, “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22). In fact, this world is not even as it was…

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The Struggle With Jealousy

StopAndPrayTV

1 Samuel 18:5-16

Jealousy is an emotion of displeasure over someone else’s good fortune. Constantly comparing ourselves to others leads to discontent, resentment, and bitterness. If these negative emotions remain unchecked, they can poison our relationships. What’s more, they can eventually flare into suspicion, anger, and hostility.

This is what happened to King Saul. His jealousy caused him to distrust David, who had served him faithfully. Saul’s suspicious attitude led to hostility and irrational behavior—so much so that he hurled a spear at David while the young man was playing music (1 Samuel 18:10-12). Instead of being grateful for David’s loyalty and steadfast service, the king repaid him with animosity and death threats. As a result, David was eventually forced to flee and hide in the wilderness (1 Samuel 23:15-26).

Jealousy is not something to be excused or rationalized. Ask the Lord to examine your heart and show you if…

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The Struggle With Jealousy

StopAndPrayTV

1 Samuel 18:5-16

Jealousy is an emotion of displeasure over someone else’s good fortune. Constantly comparing ourselves to others leads to discontent, resentment, and bitterness. If these negative emotions remain unchecked, they can poison our relationships. What’s more, they can eventually flare into suspicion, anger, and hostility.

This is what happened to King Saul. His jealousy caused him to distrust David, who had served him faithfully. Saul’s suspicious attitude led to hostility and irrational behavior—so much so that he hurled a spear at David while the young man was playing music (1 Samuel 18:10-12). Instead of being grateful for David’s loyalty and steadfast service, the king repaid him with animosity and death threats. As a result, David was eventually forced to flee and hide in the wilderness (1 Samuel 23:15-26).

Jealousy is not something to be excused or rationalized. Ask the Lord to examine your heart and show you if…

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The Table of Shewbread

Reasoned Cases For Christ

This post is one of “The Tabernacle” series. Select  “The Tabernacle” under Categories to view the other posts in this series.

The Table of Shewbread

Read Exodus 25:23-30; 37:10-16; 40:4, 22

In the Holy Place, opposite the golden lampstand, on the North side of the Tabernacle, was placed the Table of Shewbread. The bread of the Presence (also called the showbread or shewbread in some translations) was special bread always present on a table in the tabernacle (and later in the temple). Leviticus 24:5–7 The bread was called the “shewbread” (Hebrew, “bread of faces,” or “presence bread”) because it was before the symbol of God’s presence — the veil only intervening. This table was fashioned of acacia wood, covered with pure gold. In our measurements, it was three feet long, 18 inches broad, and 27 inches high. It is notable that it was exactly the height of the grating on…

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Reality (Fact or Fiction)

What is reality? Is it real? To be honest with you AI am not so sure. Reality T.V. is abundant, covering all areas of life, but to me it isn’t real. It is just a way for someone to make money off of people behaving badly. You don’t need to have talent to be famous these days. So what is real? Is reality real or a work of fiction? I look around the world today and see that people can say whatever they want and say it is true, even when it is definitely not. Fact, fiction, truth or lies, seem to have no true meaning anymore. I have looked back on my own life and wondered how much of it is true. Have I just been living in some dream or at times it is more likely to say a nightmare?  Once upon a time, you could read a newspaper and it would actually have real facts. Journalists were accountable for what they wrote; you could trust the majority of what you read. Now even the news isn’t real. It is opinions, and temper tantrums, or exploitation of people’s private lives that is none of our business.

So once again I ask the question what is real? There is only one answer for me, and that is Jesus is the Son of God, who is my Heavenly Father, Creator, the Great I Am. Jesus paid the price for my sins dying on a cross and rose on the third day to give me life. Jesus is my Lord and Savior. He has gone to prepare a place to take me home to. He has given me His Holy Spirit to be my Helper and Comforter. I have hope because of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit that no matter how bad this life gets, and no matter what happens that I am going to be okay because He is never going to leave me and that His love I can always count on because it is the ONLY real thing to me in this world.

These are my thoughts. God bless and keep you, in Jesus name.

Listening Prayer

Curriculum of the Spiritual Life

“If you have ears to hear, listen,” Jesus repeatedly says. It is the first act of the art of prayer, the middle act, and the last act.  Over time we find the wisest and most humble among us understand prayer to be “nothing but listening.”

In 1980 Dan Rather interviewed Mother Teresa:

Dan Rather: “When you pray, what do you say to God?”

Mother Teresa: “I don’t say anything; I listen.”

DR: “Well, then, when God speaks to you, what does he say?”

MT: “He doesn’t say anything. He listens…  and if you don’t understand that, I can’t explain it.”

Quoted in “with” by Skye Jethani

Inexplicable, but not without gaining understanding. Learning to pray often reveals our constant novice status when we think we ought to have graduated. But as Mother Teresa reveals, we are always just learners, we are always just listeners.

Today’s poem/prayer come from…

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