Indefinite Hiatus

I'm taking a break, y'all. There are too many things in my life that need attention. Alot of attention. I am so easily and quickly sucked into this thing. This feels like a replay of the last time I took a break, and it is similar... except this time I won't be back in a week.

It's time I faced the music. I've gotta to be honest with myself and hold myself to a standard that I hold other people to, but have been unwilling to live by myself. I think they have a word for that: hypocrisy.

Continuing to spend as much time sitting at this computer as I have been... I can't justify it anymore. I'm overdoing it, and I need to step completely away for a while. Some people are able to balance this part of their life with everything else, but as for me, I have done very poorly. And I need to rectify that.

I teach my children to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do. I guess I'm back in school, relearning that lesson. Stuff is piling up around here, and I'm not just talking about the dust, dishes and unfolded clothes. My priorities are in the wrong place and it's costing me, big time. Bottom line: My house is not in order.

And I need to see about that.

I think it's important that I remind myself that this blog is not my life. It's just a blog. It's not really what's real.

The irony is that the fear of missing out on something "important" has cost me the most important thing. By putting off facing this issue that has been steadily growing and growing, I have sent the message to people I care about that this is more important to me than they are. And that is just wrong.

I don't know how long I'll be gone, but for now I cannot see an end in sight.

Thank you so much for your understanding, and for really making blogging fun for me... really. I'll miss y'all, but I'll see you when I get back!

*** I am still able to be reached by email. All comments left for me here
are sent directly to my email, so if you need me, I can still be found. ***

Thanks again all of my lovely friends!

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And, just in case you came here looking for something to read,
here are a few links to a few of my favorite posts....

A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever
I'm Outdone
I have sunk (sank) (sunken) to a new low
100 Things
I'm no flibberty-ibberty-gibbit
She saw me, and then I saw myself

Okay well, in case I don't see you... good morning, good evening and good night!

Running To and Fro & Hither and Yon

Before we get to today's post, I want to say thank you to all of you who commented on the previous one. It did just what I had hoped - raised awareness - and that makes me heap glad!

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Okay. So remember the running? It has commenced. And I am loving it. For the first 3/4 mile, at least.

And then I'm more or less hating it. But somehow still loving it.

I hate it. But I love it.

And I also love fragments {and rabbit trails, evidently}.
Always love those, never hate them. Just to clarify.

In other news, my mind has been all a-clatter, trying to inwardly organize things for an upcoming event where I will be selling some of my handmades. I am mass producing for the first time ever and she do not agree with me. I'm more of a create-as-the-muse-strikes kind of girl. This whole produce-produce-produce-must-keep-producing mindset is wearing me down... making me nervous.

Generally speaking, I am not a fan of The Nervous. I find it makes it difficult to do stuff.

And I really need to be doing stuff right about now.

I set a goal though. I will use up all of the materials I have, making as many things as possible with what I have on hand. And I will do it all this week.

I'll post some pictures relatively soon.

{Ya like how I threw in that "relatively"
so as not to actually COMMIT to any set and determined time?
See? That's more my style.
To know me is to love me.
Or to be perpetually frustrated.}

One of the things I'm making {Diaper/Wiper Pouches}, I posted pictures of long ago. I'll be making a slew of those, and also something else I have a hard time labeling. They're hand-stitched, framed quotes and words.

Every time people ask what I'm making I go all dead in the eyes. I don't know what to call them.

"Hand-Stitched, Framed Quotes and Words" is a bit loquacious, don't you think? Not to mention lacklustre. And dumb.

If you name them for me, I will make all your dreams come true.

I might even build you a cake or something.

So that is it lovely people.... that's what I've been up to.
Running on my legs, and running in my brain.

I feel like a hamster. Could someone bring me a salad?

traffic

Imagine for a moment...

A university student is looking forward to her summer job placement she's been promised overseas. She and her friend travel together. They are relieved to be received at the airport by men holding signs, speaking their native tongue. They are informed that plans have changed, and instead of going to Virginia as planned, they will now be heading to Detroit, to work there and to perfect their English skills. Too tired and weary from their long flight to question the change, the girls board a bus to their new destination. When they arrive at the hotel, everything changes.

The door is closed behind them and they are told to sit down. Their passports and papers are confiscated. They are told, "you owe us big money for bringing you here". They are then handed strip clothes and informed that they will be working at a strip club called "Cheetahs" to pay back their debts.

They work 12 hour shifts and are subjected to mental, physical and sexual abuse for one year before they are finally rescued.

Now imagine that's a true story, because it is.

human trafficking:
the recruitment, transportation, harboring
or receipt of people for the purposes of labor and prostitution.

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But this is a people robbed and plundered;
they are all of them snared in holes
and hidden in houses of bondage.
They have become a prey, with no one to deliver them,
a spoil, with no one to say, Restore them!
Isaiah 42:22

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Most of the time I feel ill equipped to do anything about this issue. It is so large, and I have no formal education, you know with degrees and capital letters behind my name which qualify me to do something big... and substantial. When looking at this issue, I quickly become outraged and then frustrated, because I feel powerless to help.

Finally, I've discovered a way to help! And I do mean finally, because I feel like I've wanted to do something for so long now... even more since I first heard the words of Sara Grove's song, When the Saints...

I see the young girl huddled on the brothel floor
I see the man with a passion come and kicking down that door

There's a campaign called The A21 Campaign. In their own words, their purpose is abolishing injustice in the 21st century. Particularly in the area of human trafficking. And I think that's pretty awesome.

I cannot think of a more worthy cause.

And y'all, you know what I love... that people are catching the vision - and offering me an outlet to DO something. Tigers Against Trafficking is a group that got started - that caught the vision - and they're hosting a 5K race at the end of this month. Every single dollar they bring in will go The A21 Campaign. Every single dollar. {Follow the link for more information}

But even if you think that's not for you, don't stop reading!

Not everyone can run that race, and not everyone can donate, but everybody can do something. Something that matters. Something substantial. And it's not just for people in this area. If you live on the globe, you can help. For a full list, click here. And to see if there are other ways to get involved in your area, click here.

I want to get my hands dirty in this. I want to have a part in seeing these people delivered and restored!

And now, FINALLY, I can!

We are called, y'all. Called to care. And true compassion demands action. So that's what I'm doing.

And I am fired up!

I may run that whole 3 miles.

King of Glory, have Your glory!

Colorful Insults

"You are lower than a hog's belly."

"You are so low you have to look down to look up."

"You got no more sense than a boiled egg."

"If brains were dynamite, you wouldn't have enough to blow your nose."

"You nasty, yellow-bellied, sneakin', lyin', pestiliferous scorpion!"

"You monstracious, cockeyed, good-for-nothing, snaggletoothed gaub of fat!"

"You egg-suckin', sheep-stealin', toad-eatin', frog-hearted, flop-eared groundhog!"

"You filthy, turtle-backed, snake-headed, bowlegged ton and a half of soap grease!"

...Because calling people names should be fun!