Saturday Gourmet

So I went to lunch with my mom and we wanted something special... something new! We named off our favorites: Panera, Taziki's, and so on so forth! Nothing sounded good. Surely, you've been in a similar situation before... Well someone suggested we try The Saturday Gourmet Cafe... we were on Hwy 280 and only two minutes from Hwy 41! So we decided to try it out and what an experience!!! It was this small, quaint cafe in "the town" of Mt. Laurel. You're greeted once you walk in the door and are overwhelmed by the aroma of the food. The menu, in and of itself, is astonishing! You're thinking "cafe"; sandwiches, salads, etc. No, don't get me wrong, they have all that, as well as pork loin, steak, chicken, meatloaf, lasagna, and more! (And we're not talking about ordinary recipes either...) My mom ordered the special for that day, pork loin with a pumpkin sauce, and I ordered the Fried Green Tomato Club with Gouda mac. As we waited we sampled the cranberry white chocolate cookie and the triple chocolate peanut butter brownie.... INCREDIBLE! (that's coming from two sweet tooths!) When the food arrived, it took a while to decided whether or not we wanted to eat it or just stare... it was so pretty. The smell won out- we ate! Words truly cannot describe the feelings you feel as food that savory touches your tongue! WOW! Words cannot express...Go and see for yourself! By the way all their food is fresh and not to mention organic! YUM!!

here's a link... check it out:
http://www.thesaturdaygourmet.com/index2.php

I Love My Ladies!

For Amber's 25th... been meaning to post these for some time now- Im a week behind, or two! I love you Amber!

Economics What?

I just took my first economics test for this semester, which btw I'm having to retake bc I've failed once before! I don't know what it is about this subject but you're girl does not get it. All this supply and demand, market eqilibrium, blah blah... I haven't decided if its the concepts I don't understand, the graphs throw me off, or that theres just too much information to retain and apply. I will admit my professors really good but its my brain I'm a little worried about! (I wonder if I'm starting to see some side effects of past decisions Ive made- Im pretty sure the Lord has restored what the enemy stole!)

Anyway I took the test and now my brain feels as if its dying- I wander if Im just not able to take that much challenge at one time?!? I need a nap now but still have one more class to go- ahh sometimes I wonder why Im back at school... that makes me want to sing the song Billy Madison sang on his first day back at school... "back to school, back to school, hope my dad thinks Im not a fool...." I think thats how it goes...

Anyway schools a good thing... I think (at least Im trying to think it is!) Wow... the Lord's moving!

buh valentines

I just wanted you guys to know that I really don't like Valentine's day but I must inform you that I am doing one of my favorite things ever all weekend- Babysitting!!! So, therefore, I do have a valentine... His is Jesus- and He gave me the best present! I get to watch my little ones all weekend... ya hooo!

Inform Yourself: SEX TRADE/ HUMAN TRAFFICKING

I love watching movies and new ones at that... I'm not too big on scary stuff but I do like the thrillers! I recently watched a movie in theatres (as shown at the left). This movie was most definitely a thriller- it had me at the edge of my seat the entire hour and 33mins! I knew it was about this spy guy that wanted a better relationship with his daughter and so he lets her go to Paris for a vaca. (and there she's "taken")

Well, little did I know that the movie is about human trafficking and the sex trade!

Whether you want to believe it or not- its not a myth- human trafficking and sex trade are real and our country is a part of it! Polaris Project Action Center defines human trafficking as "the second largest and fastest growing criminal industry in the world. Victims experience a loss of freedom and exploitation at the hands of their traffickers who buy and sell them in pursuit of profit. As a result, human trafficking is commonly known as modern-day slavery.
In human trafficking situations, traffickers gain complete control over victims and force them into the labor, services, or commercial sex industry in order to generate profit from their labor and commercial sex acts. Some of the forms of violence traffickers use to control their victims include brutal beatings, rape, lies and deception, threats of serious harm or familial harm, and psychological abuse." The saddest thing about it is there are no real requirements... man or woman, infant or child, adolescent or adult, white or black!

A huge percentage of human trafficking is used as a means of sexual exploitation. That means that children as early as the age of 3 are being abducted and forced into prostitution! THIS IS HAPPENING IN OUR CITIES RIGHT NOW AS WE SPEAK! Wikipedia explains further by stating," Sexual trafficking includes coercing a migrant into a sexual act as a condition of allowing or arranging the migration. Sexual trafficking uses physical coercion, deception and bondage incurred through forced debt. Trafficked women and children, for instance, are often promised work in the domestic or service industry, but instead are usually taken to brothels where their passports and other identification papers are confiscated. They may be beaten or locked up and promised their freedom only after earning – through prostitution – their purchase price, as well as their travel and visa costs."

One of the things the movie expounded on was the possibility of finding one that has been sold into slavery through human trafficking and/or sex trade was virtually impossible! It's just like a wholesaler... they get their product at low price from a factory then potentially sell their product to a consumer, who then sells that product for a higher price and the chain goes on... the difference is there is paper work and with that, making it easy to trace. When it comes to human trade paper work is not involved... there are no traces and these are humans we are talking about!

The people who are involved in this "under the table" business, if you will, range from small business owners to pimps. They could very well be your neighbor or the family that owns the diner down the street!

I know this information is not a beautiful melody in your ears but I must tell you that there have been stories that have ended in success... there are many that have found themselves free and there are tons of ministries, organizations, etc. that seek to end this horrible truth that our world is involved in. I could go on for hours about this topic pulling information from so many different sites, seeking to inform the nations and trying their best to encourage people to act. Look it up for yourself ,form your own opinion... I personally think the opinion we would most benefit from would be that of the Lord! Seek His heart on the issue and you'll find His heart breaks for the people bound in slavery! With that some stats...

Gathering enough information on human trafficking/ sex trade is a difficult task due to the fact that the issue is so "hidden"....

(Another fellow blogger, Doug Nichols, posted these stats from Make Way Partners in Jan. 2008)

• There are at least 30 million victims of modern day slavery in the world today (US Trafficking in Persons Report).
• Each year it is estimated that there are 1 million new victims of human trafficking (The US Department of State).
• Estimates as high as 80% of trafficking victims are women and over
• 50% in slavery are children (US Government).
• Human Trafficking generates approximately $9.5 billion each year. It is second only to drug trafficking in international crime (US Trafficking in Persons Report).
• “…Experts say that at any given time, some 2.5 million people are being trafficked …” (http://www.makewaypartners.org/effects.html)
• The USA is the number one country of destination for trafficked victims. The land of the free and the brave has become the receiving country for sex-slaves and forced manual workers. Run-away or kidnapped children are also sold and exploited within our borders and Internet child pornography or solicitation is thriving. (http://www.makewaypartners.org/effects.html)
• A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the USA. That is more than 2,000 a day and more than 800,000 every year. Another estimated 500,000 disappear without being reported. For most, these bodies are never found. What happens to them? (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
• Rising tide of human trafficking by Americans against other Americans
• between 1.3 and 2.8 million runaways and homeless youths living on America's streets are one of the most at risk populations for exploitation. (PR Newswire)
• 1 in 7 teenagers in the USA run away from home. Living on the streets, one out of every three teens will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. And the longer they are gone, the more likely they are to engage in "survival sex." After three months away from home, 90 percent of children will turn to sex. (National Incidence Studies of Missing, Runaway and Throwaway Children)

Well that's all I have for now... in response to all of this, God is still good! Look at all the people who are raising awareness of the issue and the people truly taking action by risking their lives for the sake of others! Pray church- Hes giving us a voice as a whole and as an individual! He has sent us to comfort the brokenhearted, proclaim the captive will be released, and the prisoner will be free!

(Just because I used certain site's information on this matter does not mean that I fully comply or agree with their beliefs, etc. The information was only used for informing purposes)

Transition- the way of Heaven?

The past year has been- hmm... whats the right word- life altering! God just has a way of transition- if there's anything that I've definitely grasped it would be that His ways are not our ways. I mean I could get a glimpse of something ahead,knowing its from Him but never encompass what all goes into it- His plans are far too great for our minds to fully take it in! Plus, I think He likes to show off so when we think something looks a certain way He switches it up on us- it most definitely keeps us on our knees, in reliance upon Him. We must remain faithful because He is and trust Him, which in my case has not been easy. Trusting is letting go!

In the past year things have shifted in my family, my brother's back home and I moved in with my dad and step mom (for those of you who truly know me that move was not easy)! I've quit my job and gone back to school to finish a degree that i started 3 years ago. These are just a few of the many things that have changed over the course of 12 months.

Through it all though my identity in Him has drastically changed. I'm a daughter of the Most High, my inheritance is in Heaven (what a great inheritance it is too), His Love for me is so great! His love for you is so great! Jesus' death brought me life but His resurrection brought me power! The revelation of me being His bride, what He longs for has openned my eyes and taken me to a new level. I'm not content just staying where I'm at- I WANT MORE OF JESUS! He's coming for a pure and spotless bride, therefore I want to be pure and spotless. Wash me with Your word, create in me a pure heart, renew in me a right spirit! I want to take the journey of love that was sung in Song of Solomon- I want to mature as His bride.

There's a book I read, Hinds Feet in High Places, I highly recommend it! Its about her journey to the "high places" with the Lord. Her story is a tale of struggle, suffering, pain, healing, renewal, and hope. On her way to the high places she takes a turn, one that looks as if she were headed the wrong way. She had to go through the desert place to reach the promised land! The desert place is a wilderness, a dry and weary land. I believe that this place is also a place of rest, a place for Him to restore, refresh, and renew... its a place our mindset is changed, where our weaknesses outway our strengths. Its a place you have to fight to find Him, but His word says that when we seek Him we will find Him. He likes to play hide-n-seek but in the wilderness its your turn to seek and His turn to hide.

For all of you who feel as if you're there, in a place of transition, or the wilderness... have hope! God is faithful to complete the work He's started in us all! We are more than conquerors! Keep on keeping on!

I love Jesus!