He Makes all Things New

This woman of the Bible was caught in adultery, and the religious leaders of that time demanded full punishment. Interestingly it says nothing about the man who was also caught, however the woman was considered a whore and therefore must receive punishment. Just as each one picked up their rocks to stone her, Jesus protected her and confronted the religious leaders and said "he who has no sin, should cast the first stone." Then one by one, they began to walk away, starting with the oldest then the youngest. You can see her reach out to Jesus for mercy, and he gives it to her freely. This is the heart of the Father.

"Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

"No one, sir,” she said.  “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus is the Deliverer. He came to forgive, restore and heal us. All we have to do is reach out and ask for His mercy.



This story is in (John 8:1-11).

Women Taking Care of Dying Exes

It looks like even years after a bitter divorce, women are taking care of their dying exes these days. 


"The study, which focused on 10 divorced women who had become caregivers for their ex-husbands, found that the women were spurred by a host of motivations, including altruism, guilt, and, perhaps most important, the need to protect their children..."


“It wasn’t that their children were incapable,” said study co-author Christine Proulx, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Missouri. “But their children were at the peaks of their careers and involved with their own families. In many cases the women were trying to ward off a sandwich-generation situation for their kids.”


Article continued.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42478293/ns/health-aging/

$1.5 Million in Grants Awarded to African Women

"United Nations, New York — UN Women, under the Fund for Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS, today announced approximately US$1.5 million in small grants to twenty grassroots and community-based organizations in sub-Saharan Africa to strengthen women’s property and inheritance rights as a critical strategy for addressing women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

“There is evidence that increasing women’s economic security through access to assets such as land, property, income, credit and skills training helps to prevent HIV and strengthens the ability of women to mitigate its impact in their households and communities — especially when women are the main providers of care in AIDS-affected households,” said UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet.

With grants of up to US$75,000, the grantees — selected from nearly 650 submissions — will implement one-year projects. Initiatives will focus on strengthening legal frameworks to better promote women’s property and inheritance rights in the context of HIV/AIDS; building the capacity of legal professionals and informal justice system providers to make legal services available, accessible and affordable to women living with and/or affected by HIV/AIDS; as well as increasing the influence of organizations and networks to ensure national HIV/AIDS laws and policies protect and promote women’s rights.

Launched in September 2010, the Fund for Women’s Property and Inheritance Rights in the Context of HIV/AIDS is generously supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Given the overwhelming response to the initial call, CIDA doubled its initial contribution bringing the total amount of its support to US$2 million and enabling UN Women to award twice as many grants."

This March 2011 article is from UN Women.

Ashley Judd Speaks Out About Being Abused

Ashley Judd is a huge humanitarian. She wrote a new book "All That is Bitter and Sweet". In this book she talks about her childhood sexual abuse and how she deals with it today. She contributes her ability to deal with what has happened to what God has done in her life. I admire her bravery. Especially being someone in the public. Her willingness to share her story will encourage many others who have suffered.

Video:
This is an interview with Meredith Vieira: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41993963/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

11 Year Old Gang Raped in Texas

This is a very sad story. A young girl's innocence has been stolen. Some say that she was voluntarily involved, other say it was forced. Whether it was forced or not, is not the issue here. An eleven year old is just a child and most of these are grown men. 


How can we better protect young girls from things like this? What can we do to make a difference? Young girls need to be taught to speak up for themselves and speak out if they are being harassed so that it doesn't wind up leading to something more serious. We need to address this sort of thing in schools and help teach self-confidence and self-defense. 


This whole thing makes me wonder how often this sort of thing goes on and we never hear about it. Luckily, this particular incident was recorded on a cell phone and is being used as evidence against the 29 men involved. I hope the law cracks down hard on these men.

The Story

"(CBS/KHOU/AP) CLEVELAND, Texas - Police say the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl was captured on cell phone video, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by several Houston media outlets. Eighteen juveniles and adults are accused of sexually assaulting the girl at an abandoned mobile home in Cleveland, Texas.

Police say the lurid video circulated at a small Texas middle school.

The girl, who police have not named, told investigators she was raped at the home on Nov. 28.

Indictments in the case say there also were attacks on Sept. 15 and Oct. 25. Each time, at least two individuals were allegedly involved. The indictments say the girl was attacked by at least three people in November.

Both police and prosecutors have declined to discuss details of the case.

So far, well over a dozen suspects have been arrested in the case, some of whom are juveniles and students.

Investigators believe there could be even more suspects.

"I've heard as many as 28 or more. The case now has 16, 17 people who have been arrested," defense attorney James Evans III told CBS affiliate KHOU."

Article is from Crimesider, CBS News.




Another article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41993963/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

One of My Favorite Songs - Inspirational

Valerie Plame Wilson, Fair Game

If you have not seen the movie Fair Game, you need to see it! It is a true story about a former female US CIA Operations Officer who was outed in 2003. Once her cover was blown, she lost everything, including several of the Top Secret missions she was covering internationally at the time. After her identity was compromised, everything was immediately over, and people lost lives.

The movie shows how Valerie Plame Wilson has to choose between career and family. She is a real person with a real story. Her story seems like it would be the perfect Angelina Jolie film about a female CIA agent betrayed by the government while doing covert operations, only this story is true. Valerie also has a book out called "Fair Game" which I have yet to read.

Valerie is an inspiration to working women, wives, mothers, and even our country. She is a woman of courage and bravery who risked it all to help our nation and people in other countries. I am so glad they made this movie. It is good to know these kind of people really exist.