Rambling as I'm trying to figure it out...

Some people would call it coincidence, but I think God has been putting a new passion on my heart. Today I've come across two more concepts related to Sex Trafficking in America. You can read the first story here. The more I read stories about the horrible things happening right here in our American communities, the more angry I get and the more questions I have! How can this be stopped? How can those girls be helped? No little girl growing up in America thinks, "I'm going to be a prostitute when I grow up." Seriously, how can a community help?

I am studying James right now and he asks the Christians of his day, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is in need of clothing and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go- I wish you well. Keep warm and well fed.', but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith, when not accompanied by action is dead." Now Martin Luther would probably get into a debate about this verse as it could be argued that James is saying you have to "do stuff" to get into heaven. But, personally, I don't see that- I just see it as James asking "Why aren't you helping more?" or maybe even, "Why aren't you helping more than those who do not claim to be Christian?"

Now, I am a do-er. I am a problem solver. I want to know how many ways there are to solve a  problem, and which is the best one? Money can be a serious answer to someone's problem who doesn't have a place to live, food to eat or clothes to wear. Today, as these things were rolling around in my brain, my boss emailed me some information about an organization to put into our monthly women's newsletter. The organization is called the Thistle Farms. We have been selling some of their products, (lotions, candles, lip balm, etc), on occasion at our church functions. Honestly, I thought it was some kind of organic farm, but today, I looked at their website and was stunned. They are actually an organization run by a female priest associated with Vanderbilt University in Nashville. They let women who are trying to get out of human trafficking stay for two years at their sites, for free. And not only that, they teach them what they need to know to stay safe and build lives for themselves. You can read more about this amazing organization here. If you want to buy some of their products, I know a place close by that sells it :)