Free Saeed!

The Bible gives us a very important admonition that we so often overlook and many of us have never really considered.  In fact, I don't know that I've ever particularly heard a sermon on this passage, and what a shame that is.

Remember the prisoners as if chained with them--those who are mistreated--since you yourselves are in the body also.  Hebrews 13:3

And then there's this other verse, that likewise doesn't capture a lot of our attention:

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Proverbs 31:8

Today we have an opportunity to remember those who are chained and to speak up for those who cannot do so for themselves.

Pastor Saeed Abedini is an American citizen who is imprisoned in Iran for the crime of being a Christian.  He faces daily beatings, being threatened at knife point, and life-saving medication is withheld.  He is being kept in the same cell as violent criminals--murderers and rapists.  This gentle man is a husband and father of two.

In the U.S. negotiations with Iran over their nuclear plans and possible sanctions, the plight of Pastor Saeed was not addressed at all!  He was never even mentioned.  This is an injustice!  How can we leave one of our own left to die, his only "crime" being that he loves our same Jesus!

PLEASE ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE OUTCRY!!!!

How can you do this?

Well, start by signing these petitions:

ACLJ's Stand For Pastor Saeed Petition

and

Be Heard Project's Free Saeed Petition

Watch the following video for other ways to get the word out!



AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:  PRAY!!!

God hears our prayers on behalf of those suffering for His sake!  Lift up your voices!  Storm heaven, asking for his safe release and for his strength in this trial!  Pray that the powers that be with act justly!

Kadesh, Shechem, Hebron, Bezer, Ramoth, Golan, Christ

Been watching the Facebook feed and news on TV and if you didn't know any better you'd think:

1. There is no other news in the whole world aside from the Zimmerman trial.
2. Everyone on Facebook now has a law degree.
3. Christians have a lot of rage they need to deal with.

Calls for justice (and/or revenge) abound and even those of good Quaker stock are talking about the death penalty.  It's all an-eye-for-an-eye everywhere.  And now, as I type this, there are riots, vandalism and brutality happening, as well as a some peaceful protests.

Here's the thing, y'all, the heart of the Gospel is not that every man must pay for his sin.  At the heart of the Gospel is this completely unfair notion of grace.  It was prophetically built into the law from the beginning.  Even with the murderer Cain.  He was marked and no man was to touch him.  

The LORD replied, "No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him. Genesis 4:15

If tit-for-tat were the nature of God, I think we could look to how God dealt with the first murderer as an indication of that.  But, rather, we see that God was full of grace even then.

When God gave Moses His law there were rules about what would happen if a man took another man's life by lying-in-wait and with intent to kill.  He would die, eventually.  It is the law of reaping and sowing and not necessarily the law of retaliation.  But, if two people got into it and someone lost their head, and someone died, the one who did the slaying had one recourse.  He could flee.  Flee to a city of refuge.

"Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety."  Numbers 35:6

These cities, run by God's priests, were a prophetic picture of Christ and His Body.  God's people were not to merely cry out for retribution.  They were to provide a place of mercy.  

Let's face it.  We all need that place.  Jesus said that if you are angry with your brother without cause you are guilty of murder. (Matthew 5:22)  Today I've seen a lot of angry people.  Angry at the jury.  Angry at the one who pulled the gun.  Angry at those of a different race.  Angry at those of a different political party.  Angry at the police.  Angry, angry, angry.  And that pretty much puts us in Zimmerman's shoes and in equal need of God's mercy.

Yet, God has not called us to rant and threaten to move the Europe.  God has called us to be the ones who say to the guilty, "Run to us!  Find mercy!  Find shelter!  There is a place of refuge."

In the end, Jesus didn't come for the innocent.  Jesus came for the guilty.  If you feel that justice wasn't served, know this: Jesus came for the George Zimmermans of the world and not for the Trayvons.  That might rub you the wrong way.  That may offend your sense of justice.  Remember that Jesus is often offensive. 

"I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance..." Mark 2:17

He certainly is offensive, right up until that moment when you realize that you need Him to be your place of refuge.  When you come to the place where you think, "If He doesn't hide me, I will die."  And then Jesus' offensiveness becomes your best defense.

The Cities of Refuge in the Bible had specific names that spoke to specific traits of God:

Kadesh, meaning Righteousness

Shechem, meaning Shoulder

Hebron, meaning Fellowship

Bezer, meaning Fortress

Ramoth, meaning Exalted

Golan, meaning Joy

These are not just the nature of God.  These were cities, run by God's priests.  They speak to the six things, we, as God's people, have to offer the world, the guilty and to those in need of mercy.  If we don't have these six things to offer, what do we have?  As humans are sympathies are with the innocent.  As Christians, our reach extends to the guilty.

So, while you are chanting (or tweeting or Facebooking), "Justice for Trayvon" and "No Justice; No Peace!" and "If you're not for us, you're against us."  Perhaps think about the call to say: 

Righteousness for the guilty, of whom I am chief.

Zimmerman, do you need a shoulder? He cares for you.

No matter what you've done, we offer you fellowship.

Zimmermans of the world, do you need a safe place?

God will be exalted through every life that takes shelter in His house.

God can and will turn ashes into beauty and give you the oil of joy for your spirit of heaviness.

Christians, remember that the grace and forgiveness you give out is the grace and forgiveness you will receive.  Jesus, out of His great love, died for the guilty.  I don't know about you, but I think we should put down our stones and accept some of that love for ourselves and share a little with a world full of Zimmermans.

Religious Freedom In Every Sphere

Below is a letter I wrote on behalf of my dear friend and midwife, Brenda, who was arrested for exercising her faith as it applies to childbirth.  She has always felt it was her calling to assist women in birth.  She's a Traditional Christian (unlicensed) midwife, a fact that she has never hid.  In fact, she has openly advertised that fact, because there are those of us out there who are looking for just that--independent, religious centered birth on our own terms.  

We also started a petition on Brenda's behalf.  Even if home birth is not your thing, please sign it.  Even if you are not a Christian, please sign it.  At its core, it's not about home birth or theology.  It's about the essential right we all have to decide what we believe and how that is best lived out.  That is the right and responsibility of every individual (our "inalienable rights") and should not be infringed upon by the government.

SIGN HERE.

To Whom It May Concern:

            My name is Daja Gombojav.  I'm the mother of seven, all born at home.  In six of the seven labors I have been attended by Brenda Capps.  My husband, Gana, is seminary educated with a Master's Degree in theology from Fuller Theological Seminary.  We have been missionaries and pastors in Mongolia.

            When we found out we were expecting our first child we specifically searched out a Christian midwife.  We were thrilled to be introduced to Brenda Capps and to learn she practiced under the Religious Exemption Clause.  We have always viewed birth as not only a spiritual, but a religious experience.  Only in the rare cases of emergencies is it a "medical" experience. 

           This understanding of birth as primarily religious can be found to span many, if not most religious thought and dogmas.  In Judaism, "A midwife’s role, among other things, is to encourage a birthing mother to "let go" and allow herself to become a conduit for this great Force to flow through. Trust in the natural process of labor and in a woman’s body to birth normally and safely is the hallmark of midwifery care. Every culture and religion has their own words and metaphors to describe their reverence and awe of this process. But for Jewish midwives, this reverence stems from an understanding that birth is G‑dly in nature. Their faith in birth is inexorably bound with their faith in G‑d." (Source)

            In Catholicism, birth is understood to be participating in the same creative power that took Eve from Adam's side.  St. Hildegard of Bingen, theologian and Doctor of the Church explains, "When birth is approaching, the vessel in which the child is enclosed is torn, and then comes the eternal energy that took Eve from Adam's side, and is present and turns upside-down all the corners of the shelter in the woman's body.  All the structures of the woman's body rush toward this energy, receive it and open up to it.  They do so until the child emerges.  Afterwards, they return to their previous state.  As the child emerges, its soul too feels the eternal energy that sent it, and meanwhile it rejoices." (St. Hildegard of Bingen in Causes and Cures)

            In Charismatic/Pentecostal Christian traditions, the belief that Jesus reversed the curse, thus lifting the pain of childbirth is in agreement with Romans 14:23 which says that anything not from faith is sin.  In a now classic Christian childbirth text, Supernatural Childbirth, author Jackie Mize writes, "When I refer to supernatural childbirth, I’m talking strictly about being able to conceive and to have babies with a pregnancy free from nausea, morning sickness, pain, moodiness, depression and without fear of any kind; then going through the entire labor without pain, and through the delivery without stitches and anesthetic. I’m talking about using the Word of God to overcome, change and make things better." (Supernatural Childbirth, Jackie Mize)

           In Reformed Christian traditions, the understanding of birth being religious extends to conception and pregnancy also.  God is seen as completely Sovereign.  He alone opens and closes the womb.  "Each time a human baby is born, another image bearer of God is brought into the world, thereby making each birth a very spiritual event.  Birth may be a commonly-occurring experience, but that does not make it common, mundane, or insignificant. It is miraculous. Isn't that how God is sometimes? Even His own son's coming to earth seemed "insignificant." A baby born in a stable to a poor family is far from the regalia appropriate for our Messiah, the Son of God.  It almost seems like He chooses to allow Himself to be "hidden" in the most obvious of places." (AboveRubies)

            For our family, we are always striving to live fully integrated lives where our faith informs every aspect of our day-in-and-day-out.  This includes our family planning (or lack thereof), pregnancy, birth, post-partum and the way we raise our children.  Because this is our outlook on family, we believe that childbirth is an expression of our faith.  It is not a medical event that should be managed by men. It is an act of the Sovereign God. 

            When planning for our births a few things are essential: We want to give birth in an atmosphere of faith, peace, and love.  We don't invite anyone who will bring fear, control, or worry.  Everyone present must be in agreement with our objectives of a birth without pain, fear, or intervention.  I want someone who will encourage me to surrender to the Power that is eternal and available.

            This is why we have chosen Brenda to attend us in childbirth six times.  The role she fills is not medical, it is spiritual.  She acts as a sort of guide between a woman and the innate power she has at her disposal to give birth.  Had Brenda not been practicing her art the way she has been, we would have searched out another Christian direct entry midwife.  If we were unable to find one we would have chosen to birth unattended.  That's how strongly we feel about our children not being born into a medical environment--whether that be at the hospital or recreated at home by a caregiver who doesn't truly trust birth.

            We count ourselves extremely blessed to live in a country and state where women have the choice to manage their reproduction according to their own conscience and religion.  We realize that many places the government tries to intervene to tell families how, when and where their children can/should be born.  We pray that California is not headed down that road.  It will be to the detriment to all of us.

            We stand wholeheartedly with Brenda Capps and her practice under the Religious Exemption Clause. 

Sincerely,

Daja Gombojav

Brenda and my sixth baby

If you believe in the First Amendment, if you value your Religious Freedom, if you think that parents should decide for themselves how, where, and with whom they birth their babies, PLEASE sign the petition and make your voice heard.

(Linked to Fight Back Friday, Best Post Of The Week, Simply Natural Saturdays)

The post in which I let my lactivism show...

Have you seen this story?  Basically, a Houston mother was fired from her job because she wanted to use a back unused room at her work to pump breast milk for her baby at home.  She took her employer to court and the judge ruled that it was not discrimination, that employers are under no obligation to let a woman pump during her regularly scheduled work breaks.

Can you see the steam coming out of my ears?

Multi-tasking.
Working on the computer and cuddling Belgee.

We have this idea in our society that because a woman can decide not to breastfeed and use formula instead that she should make that choice.  Lactation is not seen as the inevitable conclusion to the biological rhythm of life.

The rhythm of life goes like this: a woman ovulates.  If she doesn't get pregnant, approximately fourteen days later she menstruates.  Approximately fourteen days later she ovulates again.  Repeat, repeat, repeat until she either gets pregnant or hits menopause.

Menstruating is the natural conclusion of the 28 day cycle.  It is her natural state.  She can choose, of course, to take medical means to interfere with that.  But, can you imagine an employer firing a woman because she's not on the pill.  (Unless her employer is a pimp.)  Would a judge rule in favor of an employer who didn't give a woman the time and appropriate place to change her tampon?  I think not.

Lactation is the natural and obvious conclusion to the cycle of ovulation, fertilization, implantation, gestation, and birth.  Lactation is simply what happens next.  It is how human mammals feed their babies.  A woman's body does that all on its own.  A woman can choose, of course, to take medical means to interfere with that.  But, should she be required to?

The judge in this case said that lactation was not pregnancy-related.  (Methinks this gentleman needs a biology lesson.)  As a result of this faulty understanding the judge ruled that firing a woman because she is pumping breast milk is not sexual discrimination.  Are you serious?  People get breaks to smoke, use the restroom, make personal calls, etc.  But, if you want to use your break to pump it's out of the question?  Of course it's sexual discrimination; only women lactate!

Have sling.  Will travel.

I can hear some of my readers saying that this Houston mother shouldn't have been in the workplace if she had a nursing baby.  Regardless of how I personally live my life (I stay home with my children and don't even leave the baby with a sitter), I cannot be too quick to judge another's situation.  Many women, for one reason or another, work. We don't live in a perfect world.  Ideally, I believe a woman should be home resting while on her period (red tent anyone?).  But our world doesn't ordinarily give women the space to do that either.

The fact that breastfeeding women are not protected under the law is ridiculous, in my opinion.  President Obama's health care law does address breastfeeding and requires employers to give new moms a break to nurse.  However, it doesn't protect women from being fired if they ask to pump!  There's a severe chink in this logic.  (The more I learn about the President's healthcare law, the angrier I get.  There's no room for following the dictates of your conscience, is there?!)


I think some nurse-ins are in order.  Who's with me?

Their First Protest

Start 'em young. 

Back in March, my friend Kristina and I took the kids to the Federal Building in Los Angeles to protest Genetically Modified Foods, especially GMO foods that are unlabeled and being introduced to consumers without prior testing and without the consumer's knowledge.

Afterwards we ate lunch at an organic restaurant.  A very fun and enlightening day for the kids!

Even Saraa got in on the chanting action!

"No, no, GMOs!"

Meg and Anna

The cute and clever sign that Anna, Meg, and Alyssa made on their own!

What the boys did when it wasn't their turn to hold the sign.

We made a few new friends--
a mom with children equally as passionate about their food and the world!
Their converstation was like,
"You don't eat fast food either?!  Hey, Mom!  Guess what? 
They know who Michael Pollan is!!!"

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one."  --C.S. Lewis

"Let me tell you what's in your food!"

Something about old hippies still out for a cause that makes me smile.

The boys get a turn.

So super clever!

Our group of protesters took up most of the sidewalk outside the Federal Building.  But, on the grass was a different group of protesters.  These were a mixture of Arabic speaking immigrants protesting the U.S. government's role in the Middle East.  They all shouted out what country they were from--I heard Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, Libya--but no Israel.  When they all moved over to the sidewalk and started crowding us, I stopped calling out "Israel!" to my son quite so loudly.  :-)

Invoking Allah over a loud speaker.

Historic Mixed Feelings

Ding Dong.  Bin Laden is dead.

Forgive this bi-polar post.  I'm happy and sad, proud and irritated.

I'm so proud of our service men and women.  So many brave people willing to risk their lives for my safety and for, indeed, the safety of the world. 

"Greater love has no one than this....."

And my intensely patriotic soul is so proud of being an American.  Forgive the sentimental video.  I can't help myself:



And I'm happy.  I know that this gives a lot of closure to a lot of people who lost everything dear to them on September 11, 2001.

To be honest, I'm also a little irritated that I've heard people already heaping accolades on President Obama and "all of his hard work."  Excuse me?  He didn't even believe we should be in this war.  Remember he voted against it?  And spoke against the war (it was one of his campaign platforms!) and President Bush's determination to go there?  What short memories we all have.  And now he gets all the credit.  Well, for me, the credit goes to our military.  They were the ones who risked it all--not just their political future. 

I'm also sad.  Perhaps it wouldn't have made a difference if he was caught instead of killed, but I wish--in my intensely idealistic heart--that he would have had a chance to repent.  Regardless of how evil and heartless--no one is beyond the saving blood of Jesus.

"Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the LORD see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him."  Proverbs 24:17-18  (and all my Quaker friends said, Amen?)

Irritated and sad.  Proud and happy.

Good-night.  God bless the U.S.A.

Super Bowl Sunday - A Day To Pray

Super Bowl Sunday is not-so-super for a lot of people.

"The Super Bowl is one of the biggest human trafficking events in the United States," said Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

From the Abolitionist blog:

During the 2009 Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida, the Florida State Department of Children and Families took in 24 minors who had been trafficked to the Tampa area as Sex Slaves for the Super Bowl. These were just the ones that were found.

In 2010. the Women's Funding Network found an increase of 80% in Craigslist sex ads during the Super Bowl. Craigslist recently shut down their "Adult Services" section after receiving over 10,000 petition signatures from the public and pressure from a number of State Attorney Generals.

Although no one knows exactly how many people will be trafficked to North Texas for the Super Bowl in February 2011, anti-trafficking organizations estimate it will be in the thousands.

This is partially due to the fact that the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that over 14,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year and 25% of all trafficked persons come through Texas.

Didn't know human trafficking was such a problem?  Consider this: there are more slaves in the world today than were extracted from Africa during 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade. More than 25 million human beings are slaves in 2007. They are not slaves in a metaphorical sense. They are held in forced servitude by other human beings.  (Source: Christianity Today.)

While you are rooting for your team and chowing on your chips and queso, please take some time to pray.  And read from some of the links provided and find out if there is a way you can help in today's abolitionist movement.

The following video highlights another sporting event, The World Cup.  Although a different country and a different event, the reality is profound: