exploited – The Adventures and Musings of Peach and Batman

Peach here:

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” — Matthew 24:6-8 KJV

I recently wrote that nowadays the world seems on fire and I just can’t watch it burn. I believe in being informed. But, it’s also important not to be misinformed and it’s also important not to fall in the trap of getting emotionally worked up and either angry, fixated or hopeless. I mean that’s what the donkey and the elephant want. It’s what the ‘news’ media and social media want. But, it’s not what I want. It’s not what Jesus wants for us either.

I was raised to pay close attention to society, religion and politics. For many good reasons. however, that was long before the 24/7 instant news-tainment was a thing, much less a hand held device to keep it coming constantly, right?! I have to turn my phone face down at night or the flashing ‘urgent’ notifications wake us up at night! Lol.

I started pulling back from the news November 2018. But, at the turn of this year I felt the Lord encourage me to keep my eyes on Him, so that I don’t get distracted from what’s most important. For me, too much news crowds out what, for me, is most important to my assignment. (I believe we all have assignments, more on this another day!)

I stay informed. But, I keep it short. And I move on. The verse He put on my heart, I come back to over and over, it’s a commonly quoted verse on social media, because it’s bulletproof! — “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” — Isaiah 26:3. Says it all for me. And it’s so true!

I particularly like in the Matthew 24 verse above, that He tells us ‘See that ye be not troubled’. It means we have a choice in whether we get upset or not. By His grace we can relearn how to respond to the news. I have to try to not be shoved, mentally, into the quick reaction the media is hoping for, (and the political parties as well). I’m learning response is measured and I control it. Reaction is volatile and it controls me. That’s not going to work. It’s not what we are made for. Self control is my favorite fruit of the spirit. Now, I’ve come a long way in this regard, but of course, I still have far to go! It’s ok though! I’m learning and the Holy Spirit is a great teacher.

Here’s another fool proof verse for keeping our focus so that we are most effective at being salt and light wherever we are and whatever we do! — “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK on these things.” — Philippians 4:8

For me, my goal is to not dull my shine, not waste my salt. Train my mind to respond, mentally to what I learn, pray and move on, not react and get emotionally worked up, which leads to (in my case) unhelpful attitudes, and words. It’s tricky. Because I do believe there’s a lot of evil in this world. And evil can cause a reaction for obvious reasons. But, in the darkness light shines the brightest! We have His light if He lives in our hearts, so I’m going to respond. In faith. And move on.

I’m learning. Like Robert Frost said ‘And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.’

This might be the start (or might not, we will see!) of a Tuesdays are for Thinking series!

I hope your day is filled with His peace and thoughts of virtuous, lovely and ‘good report’ things!

Love, Peach

Batman Says:

I’m not sure why, but I’m sure it is going on, most of the world turning a blind eye to “Human Trafficking”. Where are the outcry’s of rage? Where is the supposed “news media”, where are the family members of missing loved ones? Where are the Police? Where are the elected officials? Where for Gods sake are the red blooded American citizens who should be beating down the powers that be’s doors?

There are an estimated 800,000 missing children EVERY YEAR and these estimates are lowballed and do not include adults. There are evil people out there, snatching kids off the streets, playgrounds, and even yards, to sell as slaves and sex objects. It is not a new thing, it has been going on for ages, in the background, silently and stealthily, people are being snatched and disappear hourly.

Where is the outcry? It makes no sense, with all the families of the missing, there should be marching in the streets. Where is the so called news media, that says they have the public’s interest at heart in their “news” stories, one would think something like this would be front and center DAILY so people would see the severity of the problem and rise up to begin to stop it. They are not reporting it because it’s not sensational enough, there are no bad cops to show, nor politicians whose ideas they don’t agree with to bash, therefore they do not care. Folks to fix the news media is another story all by itself, but emailing and writing may help, I suggest something radical that I’m sure not a lot will do, but it would work, stop watching the news, stop watching that network, the one thing I do know these people want is ratings, without you they don’t have that, then they send out polls as to why and you can express your opinion and tell them why, but this is about the missing not the biased news.

This is no fantasy story, nor something happening only in lower class places, this is something that effects us all. Human traffickers care about only one thing, money, and to get money they need live bodies, boys, girls, men and women are ALL targets. We as people have GOT to make a stand and start thwarting these (and I won’t use foul language) lowest of life forms on the planet, by EVERY means available to us.

Here are a few tips:

Moms and Dads know where your kids are at all times

Watch your neighborhood, call the Police over suspicious people and / vehicles

Go places as groups not alone

Look at your surroundings as you move about, look up, not at your feet

Always tell someone where you are going to be, and when to expect you back

Let someone know your route you plan to take.

(Where it’s legal) Carry pepper spray, mace, or a stun gun, in your hand Anytime you are walking or running.

Park your car as close to the store you’re visiting as you can get, under a light if possible.

Do not park next to a van or truck, especially if it is between you and the store front.

When you leave the store Know where your vehicle is prior to wandering all over the lot.

(Where it’s legal) Walking to your vehicle have your pepper spray / mace/stun gun in your hand until you are in your car, with the door locked. Look at your car, does it look like it’s been disturbed? Is there a car or truck or even a car with dark tinted windows around it? If so, ask a store worker to walk you to your car.

There are hundreds of things we can do to make ourselves and our children and friends “hard targets” but it takes constant vigilance to do it.

As a Police Officer, I am appalled at the lack of concern, lack of public knowledge, lack of commitment by most anyone on this subject. It’s a disgrace and should not be allowed to stand.

Folks, if you know ANYTHING at all that could lead to finding even one missing person, one human trafficker, one location, or anything, I beg you to tell a Law Enforcement Officer, or anyone you can that may be able to help…if you’re afraid or don’t want to get involved, message us here privately and we will get the right people to the right places.

Together we can stop this horrible crime and maybe rescue someone’s loved one in the meantime.

Use the tips I posted 24 hours a day 7 days a week, pass them to your friends and family, pass the word around, information and diligence is key and together we can win.

Peach and I are both available to speak to groups about personal safety, just shoot us a message and we will see what we can come up with.

God bless you all and please be safe.

“Your stun gun is fully charged Peach, is my hair sticking up?”