if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything...but if you stand for everything, does your stand really matter?

that's something God has been putting on my heart lately.
the fad right now is to be part of the solution to this growing problem in our world we call injustice. everyone wants to be an activist, a tree hugger, living for a cause greater than themselves. and that's great. it's so refreshing to see such a selfish world [especially our nation] reach out for each other. so many great organizations have emerged in the past two to three years that you can join and feel like you're making a difference and not just living for yourself.

but there are things closer to my heart than some organizations. yes, i know there are hungry children out there, and my heart breaks for them, and i want to help. yes, i know there are people who are bound up by meth addiction, and i pray for those people. i'm aware of the growing pornography addiction and the stronghold it has on our nation, and i boycott any clothing line that sends its profit to the porn industry. but if i join every activist movement around, i'm spread so thin that i don't really identify for those things, and i won't fight for them as violently as if i choose those closest to my heart and give my all to them. i'm not saying the other organizations out there are worthless, but i was made and wired to be unique, which means i'm going to stand for things completely different from things you're going to stand for.

i've been really praying about this lately, and it's been in my spirit.
and i've finally chosen what i'm going to stand for.

bound4life: this is a pro life organization. abortion is rampant in this country, and it's something that is destroying our nation piece by piece. did you know that 500,000 women were seeking to adopt in the 90's? i wonder how many of those never got a child because of abortion. women that can't have children, and yet, there are women taking that for granted all over the place. people always want to talk about how pro life people are selfish and only care about the baby. what if a woman is raped? having the baby would ruin her life. this sounds like a convincing argument, but it's not true. have you ever heard of post abortion syndrome? studies are showing that women who have had abortions are more likely to commit suicide after the act. they're finding that it's almost like PTSD, which a majority of Vietnam veterans suffer from. there is guilt that they can't handle, and this causes depression and in some cases, suicide. even in the cases where a woman was raped and she had an abortion. tell me i don't care about the women as much as the babies. i care about abortion as an issue because i was almost aborted. it's only by the grace of God and His hand on my mother's life that i'm here today. pro life is written on my dna.


twloha: did you know that suicide is the third leading cause of death among american teenagers? depression is one of the leading causes of disability. the national institute of mental health claims that over 18 million people suffer from depression in america alone. teenagers who have a history of depression in their family are more than three times as likely to suffer from the same condition. and yes, it's a condition. depression occurs alongside anxiety attacks and substance abuse in most cases. tell me that this isn't a problem. this is not okay. these people are broken. they're not crazy, they're not screwed up, they're not psycho, they're people and they're just crying out for healing. they just need love, and we have GOT to reach out and help them. i've been there. i suffered from depression my junior year and i had NO idea why. i even contemplated suicide. but there were people around me that loved me and walked me through it. don't you think that those people out there who are cutting themselves and dying for love, but asking for no attention, should get the same opportunity?


invisible children: there is a civil war going on in uganda. did you know that? i didn't for a long time, not until i got to CFNI. i'm not one to watch the news, because it's so depressing (that's why it was so easy for me to get rid of my tv). but i heard about invisible children, and i didn't know what it was all about. and then i read about the history of this war going on in uganda. it's a religious crusade gone awry. a woman named alice lakwena believed that the holy spirit had told her to overthrow the ugandan government for being unjust to the acholis. the movement gained momentum and she was thrown into exile. a man named joseph kony, who claimed to be her cousin, took over and created the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army). they have been at war with ugandan government since. this has been happening since the 1980's. in the 90's, the government moved the population into refugee camps in an effort to protect them. but this effort has turned on them and these camps have turned into death traps. they need not only our financial support to rebuild this broken country, but our prayers that justice would rise up and that joseph kony and his right hand men will be apprehended (in 2005, the international criminal court put out a warrant for their arrest).

so that's my stand.
and maybe when i grow up a little more, i can
stand for more.
but this is what i stand for and i'll stand for it till i die.

www.bound4life.com
www.twloha.com
www.invisiblechildren.com

check it out. find what you stand for.