Mission Accomplished or Is It?

Sunday ended our last weekend for our Walk n Talk Across Michigan to Stop Abuse & Bullying. On one end I was glad, on the other end sad. I was glad because we have a lot of speaking engagements coming up and our 2nd Annual Benefit for CHANGE on October 16, 2011. I was sad because we met a lot of people who needed help to get free from abuse and some who wanted to help us and others.

We don't always realize it, but the ABUSE realm is HUGE! I'm sure all of us can either say we've been bullied or abused or know someone who has been. Abuse is like a cancer in the world, spreading rapidly.

This is why I know my/our mission will continue.

It's been confirmed through other people as well. When I went to the barber to get the heart in the back of my head redone (shaved into the shape of the heart) I told him that I wouldn't be back because this was the end of our mission. He said, "You're mission is just beginning."

Then a lady I hadn't heard from in years and had no idea what I was doing, emailed me. She had a vision about me/us. She saw a map, a route all in yellow. God had orchestrated the map, and I was the one holding and looking at it. He had given us clear direction of where we (our family) needed to go and what we needed to do.

It encouraged me that God was confirming our mission in other people's lives as well. I'm excited about the road before us, and pray that we can have a huge impact on those hurting, abused, broken and desperate for healing.

Recently I had the opportunity to witness to a young lady addicted to drugs/alcohol and heading down a destructive path, due to the abuse she suffered as a child by her father. She is now CLEAN and serving the Lord. A few days ago I had a dream/vision and wasn't sure what it meant. Yesterday this girl texted me about something she was planning to do, but knew she shouldn't. Right then I knew the dream/vision was for her and I shared it with her. Thankfully, what Satan meant for harm, God turned around for good, as through that vision she was able to thwart the plans of the enemy and follow the Lord!

When my son, Brian, passed away a year ago, I vowed to go all over the world like he wanted to help others who are bullied and abused. We still don't have the funds we need to make a journey of that nature. But we did go all over Michigan this summer and God was faithful to provide everything we needed for this journey. So I know that nothing is impossible with God! If He calls you to it, He will bring you through it!

So my mission continues. And that's fine with me as long as I'm in God's will. I know his will is always the same to CHANGE HEARTS and SAVE LIVES. And that's what we intend to do, whether we're at home in Michigan or on the other side of the world.

There are many ways you can help/partner with us to make this dream/vision come to pass and forward us on this mission God has called us to: through prayer, fasting, volunteering, monthly support/or sponsorship, fundraising, donations or by simply purchasing our brand new CHANGE of HEART for BRIAN bracelets available on our website for only $1 each! http://www.ChangeForBrian.com. (The best part--every penny given stops abuse and is 100% tax deductible!)

Thanks so much for your help! Together we can Stop Abuse! Please share this link & info with all your friends and family! Wouldn't that be awesome if the sales from these tiny little bracelets funded our entire mission?! I would be ecstatic! God often uses the "little things" to bring about the biggest blessings! I know he has in my life.

You can also order these bracelets by mail. They come in a variety of bright colors: light pink, hot pink, lavender, blue, green, and tri-colors. Mail Check or Money Order to: Abuse Bites, Change Bracelets, PO Box 1582, Owosso, MI  48867  (Please include $2.50 for shipping and handling 1-20 bracelets, $5 for shipping for 21-50, $10 for 51-75, $15 for 76-100)

Scared To Death

Scared To Death

·         Did you know...

• 160,000 children FEAR going to school EVERY DAY
• 30 % of all parents FEAR for THEIR child's SAFETY every day? 
• Every 30 minutes all over the world a child attempts suicide? 
• Even adults suffer from bullying on the job?
• A whopping 18.9 working days are lost each year due to workers being afraid to go to work?

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It's true. We live in a world where kids, teens, and adults are literally scared to death. Most would rather die, than face another day at school, at work, or somewhere else being bullied. And who could blame them?

Our family/dogs have been called to go out of the comforts of our home, city, and state to educate others and help set them free. Normally I'm excited and jump at the chance to travel and go, especially when it involves helping others. I grew up on the streets years ago and really want to reach the hurting. But this week I had the opportunity to speak with a lady who moved here from Phoenix, Arizona. She explained that there were so many gangs there that nearly every day her husband left for work he was shot at, and that now, when her kids hear any popping sound, like fireworks, they jump and are afraid.

Hearing her story made me afraid. Gangs today are more violent than ever. Funny, earlier in the week before I met this woman I began doing research on gang activity. It didn't bother me to find that 40% of all gang members were teens and that there is gang activity in every city with a population of 250,000, because I live in a small town of Owosso, Michigan (population 15,713). No biggie. We don't have gangs here. I was gathering the research for our upcoming CHANGE Benefit and for future workshops. But after I spoke with this woman and reflected on the notes I had just taken, I woke up.

            SOME ALARMING STATS:

• There are approximately 24,500 gangs in the U.S. There were an estimated 750,000 gang members in 2000. The 2009 estimate is One Million gang members with 147,000 of them currently incarcerated.

• Of the 1 million gang members, about 40% are juveniles (under 18) and 60% are adults, or about 400,000 teenage gang members and 600,000 adult gang members.

• Between 90% to 94% of gang members are male. Between 6% to 10% are female.

• Every city in the U.S. with at least 250,000 people has gang activity. 86% of those with at least 100,000 people report gang activity

*59% of all homicides in 2001 in Los Angeles and 53% in Chicago were gang related, there was a total of 698 gang related homicides in there two cities combined where as 130 other cities with population of at least 100,000 with gang problems reported having a total of 637 homicides between them

REASONS MOST JOIN GANGS:

• Low income

• Learning disabilities and emotional disorders: 60% - 78% of Incarcerated gang members have emotional and learning disabilities. This is the percent found by states that test all delinquents for special needs

• School Failure and Truancy

• No involvement in positive activities outside of school

• Friends and peers who are delinquent

• Early involvement in petty theft and behavioral disorders in grade school

• Sexual abuse and victimization

• Family dysfunction

• Early drug use and sexual activity

• Emotional disorders

• Exposure to violence

Everything in life I've done afraid. 

I've battled panic attacks since I was a young girl. Every time I get up to speak in front of a crowd I'm nervous, but after about a minute or so, I get over it, and I'm able to deliver a message of hope to a people that are at their wits ends. I won't let fear hold me back from saving other people's lives. 

No matter how scary it looks out there, we will fight this war on ABUSE, BULLYING and VIOLENCE, but we are going to need your support, through prayer, donations, and word of mouth to help pave the way for us to speak as we travel around the country.

We need commitments from you: If you would like to read more about what we do, what we believe, and what we've done already log onto www.abusebites.com

 

*I Will Support Abuse Bites through Prayer—Email us @ abusebites@gmail.com and write "Prayer" in the Subject box/ send us a little note, introducing yourself, and we will get back to you regularly with a list of current prayer needs.

*I Will Support Abuse Bites through a Monthly Financial Commitment—Email us @ abusebites@gmail.com and write "Monthly Financial Commitment" in the subject line and let us know how much you'd like to pledge/give per month and how you'd like to pay and we'll get back to you on a variety of ways you can send in your monthly commitment.

*I will Support Abuse Bites by Raising Awareness In My Community & Setting Up an ABUSE BITES RALLY—Email us @ abusebites@gmail.com and write "Abuse Bites Rally" in the subject line and give us your information and what you'd like to see happen in your community and we'll set the date and work closely with you to plan it all out.

*I will Donate now and when I can in the future, because I believe in what your family is doing and that Abuse Bites and I want to help Stop Abuse, Bullying and Violence. We'd also like to hear from you

Don't Bury Your Child's Dreams

Even though my son, Brian, had a rare heart condition and Asperger's Syndrome. I never dreamed the day would come when he would die. He was so healthy at the end, although on the heart transplant list for five years, I was certain he'd outlive me and his father.

Losing a child is sad. But losing a child who has suffered so much physically and mentally due to being bullied is another terrible tragedy. He lived and died forgiving his bullies. He was working in our program "Abuse Bites" right up to the end to educate others to stop bullying, abuse, and violence. His lifelong dream and goal had been to travel around the USA with us in an RV to take this important message to others.

It's only been a month since he passed away.

As I sat on the couch missing him and reading his obituary last night, I reread this touching poem on the inside: A Time will come when my life will cease, But when that time comes, I ask that you will remember these things:

*Bury my body, but don't bury my beliefs.

*Bury my heart but don't bury my love. 

*Bury my eyes, but not my vision. 

*Bury my feet, but not the path of my life. 

*Bury my hands but don't bury my diligent efforts. 

*Bury my shoulders but not the concern I carried. 

*Bury my voice, but not my message. 

*Bury my mind, but don't bury my dreams. 

*Bury me, but don't bury my life. 

*If you must bury something, let it be my faults and my weaknesses, But let my life continue in you!

In my son, Brian's honor, his beliefs, love, vision, path, efforts, concern he carried for others, his message and life, will continue on through us to go out on that mission he always wanted to. Please help us in our efforts (see CHANGE for BRIAN) to go on this mission. We will have to quit our jobs, we will need to raise enough money for an RV, and to feed us and our dogs and supply the gas to travel.