ACCEPT or EXCEPT Gays & Lesbians & Those who are Different

ACCEPTANCE

Some people are confused today about what bullying is. BULLYING can be as simple as not accepting someone, or excluding them from your little group, or making a verbal comment about their choice of lifestyle, moral or religious beliefs.

I will tell you I am a Christian, but I love and accept all people of various religions, race, creed, and sexual orientation. I may not agree with all their views, but I respect and love them. The only people we can change is us.

The Bible tells us in Mathew 7:5 that we are hypocrites when we are looking at the speck in someone else’s eye, without first removing the PLANK in our own.

My daughter has chosen to live in a lesbian relationship. Do I agree with her decision, not fully, but I do accept her decision and love her no matter what.

That’s how God is, he loves us so much that he gave each of us a free will and choice.

So as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, by loving and accepting all people, of all walks of life, and be the CHANGE that others need to see.

I’m an educator in the public schools as well. Acceptance and Differences are a couple of my favorite topics of discussion. With smaller children we use four very different looking puppets to display how different they are, but also to point out that underneath, just like us they are exactly the same—they’re puppets. For older children we play a dollar game. Each of seven kids are given various bills and coins that total a dollar. They all look very different, but they all equal the same, and have the same value just like us!

We are all different, yet very much the same.

We all want to feel accepted, valued and loved for who we are, not for how we look or the choices we make.

Matt’s Safe School Law just passed in Michigan. They finally accepted the law Kevin Epling and his wife Tammy have been working on for years in regard to their son Matt who committed suicide in relation to bullying. However, when the bill past, our legislature put a twist on that bill, that states anyone can still bully for moral or religious views. This is something that we as educators SHOULD NOT accept!

I hope you will stand with us and be the change that others need to see. Not only do we present workshops in schools, work places, and communities, but our goal is to leave each community better than when we came, and equipped with the tools they need to be the change. Safer Schools. Safer Families. Safer Communities.

Contact us today! I would love to speak with you about bringing our program to your community!

Lisa Freeman, CEO Abuse Bites

Healing Projects Specialist, Bully Police USA

Award Winning Author & Speaker

Certified Pet Therapist & Dog Trainer

Http://www.abusebites.com  Email: abusebites@gmail.com

Proposed bullying law could actually protect bullies - WNEM TV 5

Proposed bullying law could actually protect bullies - WNEM TV 5

By Liz Gelardi, TV5 Reporter - bio | email

SAGINAW, MI (WNEM/AP) -

Proposed anti-bullying legislation could be a license to bully.

The Michigan Senate version of the bill might justify bullying based on religious or moral beliefs.

"I believe that nobody should be allowed to bully," said Lisa Freeman.

Lisa Freeman runs an anti-bullying workshop with her son Jeremiah.

"It goes against everything we're pretty much trying to teach."

The bill is called Matt's Safe School Law. It is named for Matt Epling, a teen who committed suicide after he was bullied. The law would require schools to draft anti-bullying policies, but supporters are now worried it could protect bullies.

A spokesman for the Republican House Speaker said Monday the clause doesn't have support, and it will be removed in a House version of the legislation.

Copyright 2011 WNEM. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report



Contact Lisa Freeman @ 989-729-2124 via email @ abusebites@gmail.com or online via website @ http://www.abusebites.com

Help Kids Stop Bullying

160,000 kids miss school every day for fear of bullying

1 teen dies every 1/2 hour in the USA from bullying/bullycide

That's why AbuseBites.com CEO Lisa Freeman offers educational workshops to raise awareness, and teach safety, prevention, and healing methods to stop bullying, abuse and violence. Her entire family was bullied in some form, one son nearly bullied to death.

By offering their real life stories of survival along with statistics, and some fun, interactive games, kids, teens, and even adults learn at their level how to defeat the bully without violence, work together as a community, and have a great time doing it!

We don't just put a band-aid on bullying we give kids, parents, educators and everyone everything they need to bring about safer schools, safer kids, and safer families!

Contact Lisa Freeman today @ 989-729-2124 or email @ abusebites@gmail.com

Anti-Bullying Workshops that Save Lives

Lately we've been swamped with emails, phone calls, and letters from parents, schools, and churches to do anti-bullying workshops.

The need to stop bullying and get help is huge.

Last week we did three workshops. We did a back to back entire youth presentation for 7th-12th and then K-6th for the younger students. Wow! Great time! But it hit a nerve in my heart when I heard that even a 2nd grader who had been terribly bullied said, "I want to kill myself."

I had been contemplating if the younger kids should really hear our "bullycide" story about my son, Jeremiah. But I felt led to share it, and now I'm so glad I did.

We never know who might be feeling ready to end their life because they just can't take it anymore. Our workshops can literally save lives.

Another thing that I heard was that people were thankful that we addressed how we "help and love the bully" knowing it's not a person, bullying is an action, and anyone can change, but first we must BE THE CHANGE they can see.

Little kids even came up and said it was a great time. So thankful that we can have fun, play games, and interact with the kids and teens--that's so important.

We don't just tell them a bunch of stuff, we have lived abuse and we have healed from it.

We don't simply put a band-aid on bully, we help others heal in a fun, safe way.

So if you're in need of an antibullying presentation for your school, church, or community--give us a call!

Together we can change hearts and save lives!

989-729-2124

Almost Bullied to Death

Lisa Freeman tells story about her teenage son that was almost bullied to death in high school. After getting him the appropriate help now he's healed and writes and sings songs to help others. MTV is even considering a film about Jeremiah entitled "Bullied" and using one of his songs.

Say No To Peer Pressure

DOGS BEHAVING BADLY

Last week we did the Perryfest Parade in Perry, Michigan. Since we were already shorthanded I thought it best to leave our little stinker "Baby Ruth" at home and just bring "Snickers" our Certified Pet Therapy Dog.

BUT Daddy (my hubby) said she could go. So I turned to Baby Ruth (our min pin, rat terrier, chihuahua mix) who was waiting impatiently by the door and said, "Guess what? Daddy said you can go?!" She started dancing in a circle all excitedly. Everyone laughed it was so cute.

So I grabbed both the dogs leashes. Then realized I didn't pack any waters or even a water dish for the dogs! OOOPS! After grabbing the waters last minute, we were out the door right at 10:30 a.m. like we had planned.

As we drove down our street I had a bright idea.

"We should let the dogs have a quick run before the half hour drive to get their energy out," I announced to my husband.

He pulled the van over at the soccer ball fields, and I let them both out, unleashed, not even thinking. Another OOPS!

We were laughing at first to see Baby Ruth running crazily around the whole open field along the creek, but then she stopped and started eating something.

I commanded her to "Leave It!" and every other dog command I could think of, which only encouraged her to eat faster. That was an even bigger OOPS!

I commanded her to come. Instead of coming to me, she stopped eating, dropped, and rolled in whatever it was, smearing her face entirely in it, and then since Snickers had ran back to the van, she did too. That's when we realized she was covered in poop and had a BIG CLUMP stuck to the side of her face! URG!

So back home we sped.

My son Jeremiah took her around back to put her on the chain, while I fled in the house to wash the leashes (she had even gotten poo on Snickers leash too!) The door was locked and none of the 5 million keys on the ring would work! REALLY?

Finally, I got the door opened, washed the leashes, and cleaned the sinks and counters, but I had no time to bathe Baby Ruth or we'd really be late. So I had no choice but to leave her on the chain until we got home.

Thankfully, despite the slew of mishaps that morning, the parade turned out fabulous! The parade director even told my husband, John, to drive slow through town because they were going to give us an extra long shout out about our Abuse Bites program and pay tribute to our son, Brian, who passed away last year.

I've been in a lot of parades, but their announcement, that morning, was so wonderful, it made me cry.

Later, I returned home and bathed the little stinker, which by this time, the poo was all hardened and stuck in her fur. Two shampoos later and she came out smelling like a dog I could cuddle and hold again.

But I'm learning that some dogs (like Baby Ruth) if given an inch, will take a mile, so they need more discipline and structure and probably shouldn't be unleashed for their own protection. I've also learned from experience that when she does eat something nasty, she always ends up sick.

We're actually a lot like dogs. We often go back to the same old garbage too, in our friendships, relationships, and other things that pull us down, which can make us physically and emotionally ill. So let's take care of those that we love, work on changing the bad behaviors, and staying away from the garbage in life.

I've had to work much harder with, Baby Ruth, than perhaps with Snickers, but I love her so much. Instead of hurting her when she's bad, I tell her NO, and focus on the times she's good and praise her for that!

Love and praise are the most powerful and effective tools for training dogs, but especially for dogs behaving badly.