Not Guilty-Casey Anthony Case

"Not Guility"

Those two words have played over and over in my head since the verdict was spoken.
Not guilty? Not guilty is like saying this little girl didn't matter; that she was worthless, that her life didn't have purpose. My immediate reaction was blood boiling anger, hatred, judgement and condemnation toward Casey Anthony. Thoughts of hatred came quicker than any bible verse entered my mind.

My heart broke and tears began to fall as i looked at the picture of the little girl and thought of what she could have brought to this world…the unique display of the creator she could have shown the world. My heart automatically cried out to God saying, "God this little girl never got to bring you glory on this earth!" Then i heard the voice of God tell me, "she already has, you're just seeing this situation through fleshly eyes of hurt and pain rather than through righteous eyes."

I believe she was guilty, but when i asked God for revelation,It was then that i was able to step back and see this through the eyes of heaven. Casey is a woman who is living , like you and i, in an evil world. The only difference between her and i is that she chose evil i chose love. She chose the darkness, i chose the light. She chose the name of satan, i chose the name of Jesus.

As i sit here writing here all i hear in my soul is:

"Justice will fall down like rain…he will break every chain, don't you think for a moment he hasn't seen your pain."

God is close to the brokenhearted and i believe he feels the pain of this little girl's death more than i ever could…he sees it and he is looking to us as his children not to point a finger of condemnation and shame, but to stretch out our hand to Casey, bring her in, and allow her to encounter the transforming life and restoration our Jesus offers.

Yes, this little girls death is tragic and horrific, it embodies evil, it shouts disorder and hatred in this world, but how are we going to choose to respond to it. I believe God wants us to respond with love and grace. I encourage you to do your best like i am to pray to heaven for Casey, not for her damnation or for karma, but for her to encounter the love of God and justice to be done through the hands of God.
I ask that you let the life of this little girl encourage you to press on and bring about justice in the world.
Let this situation cause you to humble yourself and seek God's face on behalf of Casey…
Lord let us see her through your eyes…give us the words to pray!
Whether Casey is guilty or not, one thing i know for sure is she needs the love of God like never before!

Esther Fast

So while on my trip to Wisconsin with Break the Grey I had plenty of time to tlak things through with God and their were plenty of silent moments to listen too 
As many of you know I have started the ministry www.battlecriesforthebrokenandbruised.blogspot.com as a means to bring awareness to the abuse and trafficking that is going on all around us at this very moment.
As I was talking things over with God I really felt like He was calling me to take the next step of faith and that is calling together a band of brothers and sisters, mighty men of valor and women of integrity to fight this battle with me. As I was reading the Elijah Revolution by Lou Engle (a must read) God really spoke to my heart and awakened a revelation within me.
I wholeheartedly believe that this is the Esther generation, one that is called to set its own people free. A generation full of beautiful people-not for outward attributes, but a devoted heart that is at rest with God and knows its mission in Him. When Esther was acting on behalf of the survival of her people she called a 3 day fast.
As I was reading this God really spoke to my spirit about how Esther’s fast changed history then and prayer and fasting can change history now! I believe God is calling me to ban together an army of believers and warriors like Esther who will pray and fast on behalf of the enslaved for 3 days a month, breaking the demonic strongholds that are keeping innocent children bound.
God has anointed, called, and crowned us for such a time as this: he is calling us to reach the hurting and save our people just like Esther ( Esther 2:17). If I keep silent and don’t do what I am called to do I are going against God himself. What I know I am called to do is assemble God’s people and fast for 3 days a month wrestling with principalities and breaking down strongholds in the spiritual realm. I believe that as we do this God will give us eyes to see and ears to hear the cries of the broken and enslaved! Ive realized that I am willing to risk my life for this, it truly is worth it!
As we rise up and fight in the spirit for the innocent and enslaved I believe we are bringing heaven to earth and causing a turn in the tide of human trafficking that could not happen any other way than thru prayer and fasting. I ask that you join with me taking the 16th thru the 19th of every month to fast and pray for sex trafficking in the United States and around the world to cease. Fast whatever you feel called to: the reason for the fast is more important than what you fast!

** Please send me an email or text (269-929-0163) back letting me know if you feel you are one of the chosen to fast and pray for captives to be set free ( I will keep in contact through text or email)! Also join the Esther Fast group on facebook as well  I believe that our prayers and fasting can literally change the fabric of history as we know it! **

Soaring in arms of love,
Karissa

Nothing but a dreamer waiting on her dream...

So many times people say that our dreams are not God's dreams, but i disagree witht hat. I believe the dreams that we hold inside were put there by creator God and are waiting to be fulfilled. I've had aspirations and dreams my whole life to be a "hero," but it wasn't until recently that my focus narrowed and my dream and desetiny became clear.
I have realized my destiny is to be a warrior for the powerless and a voice for the speechless, to go on the frontlines and open the prison doors of those who are trafficked and abused. This is the dream that haunts me....this is what wakes me up out of a perfectly-good-nights-rest...this is what sets my heart onfire and gives breath to my lungs. It haunts me to think abotu the hell that some many girls live in everyday and few people notice. Few people see the hell that these girls go through every day in the midst of evil men's hands. My dream is to rescue these girls and show them that they are more than a pervert's obsession or posession.They are beautiful and unique a display of the creator...ther are radiantly called for what is on the inside, but few people ever see the truly beautiful side of these girls.
I know this dream was not one my heart created on its on, it was one that was placed in my spirit by God himself. Its not my dream-its HIS DREAM! He has just given me the oppurtunity to be the one to set his hearts desires free! This is what allows me the assurance that my dream will come to pass...becuase ALL things God speaks forth WILL happen...its just a matter of time :)

sacrificial love

I am finding myself at a place where there seem to be way more questions than i have answers for? A place where i miss many more people than i get to see...a place where regrets and "what ifs" fill my mind...and a place where my spirit is everything but still...its at times like these i wonder what a girl is to do...its at times like this i wonder why God gave us the ability to make choices and have consequences for those choices...and why we experience pain and heartache and have the ability to love so deeply, while facing the risk to get hurt deeply....
But like my lovely friend Jenny has told me, there is no significant gap for God to come and do a miracle when we have all the answers...she says that we cheat the world out of miracles when we do things that are easy... but i am like seriously Jenny, you say i challenge you to step out and do the unthinkable but i find myself in the same place...can i do this...am i truly called to this...can i love the hurting and broken children with all my heart only to have them disappear in the blink of an eye after pouring my whole soul into them...and seeing their potential, visioning the amazing things they'll do one day...can i really spend the rest of my life giving my whole life and heart to possibly never see the repercussions of the sacrifice of love?
My friend Deanna talks about Ephesians 5 and how true love is sacrifice..its the laying down of our lives to show others the infinite love of Christ...sometimes i want to run from that calling...i do not want to put myself in this place...i do not want to hurt like this...but then i realize like Jenny and many others have told me so many times...ITS NOT ABOUT ME! Yikes, that is a humbling thing to say...its not about me and my comfort and the measure of love i wanna give..its about these kids and the calling that God has put on my life....
I just pray that he will give me the strength and grace to live this life of love and sacrifice....the way of Jesus is all about sacrifice..about putting others before ourselves...yet it is a place of being stretched of being molded more into the likeness of Christ. Christ gave of himself no matter how much it would hurt him in the end, he did everything he had to show the love of the Father. Jesus had a radical love that He has called us to...a love that is beyond human ability...we must rely on Christ to flow this radical love through us as willing vessels.
I am at a place of weariness, at a place of questioning...of doubting...but it's the promises of God that are leading me in the calling he has given me. It's the promise that His love is enough to sustain me, its the promise that His hand is strong enough to hold me...its his promises that are pulling me through....and so...i am at this place where i wish that i led a "normal life" whatever that looks like...
I wish i lived a normal life where i could invest myself into just being the owner of a candy store, or a costume shop, or a magical fairyland...something fun and charming...not one with passion for abused and trafficked kids...passion and an unimaginable love put in my heart by God himself for hurting children....but this is what i am called to...and this must be my aim...because if i didn't spend my life going after the call God has put in my life, what am i living for?
I am not destined for a life of comfort, i am destined for a life of love and sacrifice...a life that will be filled with heartache and pain, along with many joyful and worthwhile moments. It feels so right and such a part of my path, yet this life of sacrifice feels so wrong to my flesh...its in this place, in this moment of utter silence and humbleness that i choose to do the only thing i know how to do: trust in God to equip me with strength, love, and compassion that goes far beyond human understanding!I must continue on this path of sacrificial love, not for myself...but for the many hurting and hopeful children out there...the children crying in the night for someone to save them! Its not an easy life, but its a life worth the sacrifice <3

The silent epidemic

Its heartbreaking, debilitating, earth-shattering and eye opening..its the lives of so many, yet so few actually see. It’s the life of a child, treated like a slave. It’s the tearfilled existence of one born to be free….it’s human trafficking. Over 200,000 children annually are enslaved in the United States. The trafficking is generating around 31.6 billion dollars while these kids suffer in silence. There is something wrong with this picture!

This is not only a problem in Cambodia, India, or other brothels in far away lands where we never have to be exposed unless we CHOOSE to be…this is happening right in our own backyards, churches, and schools! Just because you live in a nice neighborhood or go to an “amazing Spirit-filled church” means nothing! Sometimes the darkness will lurk in what seems to be the lightest places possible. We have let our guard down and thus, opened the door for darkness to lurk in our lives, communities, and states like never before!

The May study done by “Michigan Women’s Foundation” stated the two main outlets for human trafficking to be developed and continued is the internet and escort services. In MI alone during the month of May 141 girls alone were victims of commercial sex exploitation. It is found that the monthly trafficking of adolescent girls in MI is higher than the annual amount of those 24 and under involved in fatal car accidents and those who committed suicide! (And we still want to say that this kind of stuff doesn’t happen in our nice closed-off mitten known as MI)?!

Even though we have police and tight knit communities people are still missing the rampant reality of human trafficking. It happens at teen sex parties and through the mouths of other trafficked girls themselves. The reality of this should do more than break a person’s heart it should enlist others and give them tools to help us combat the war for young girls’ (and boys) purity, dignity, and destiny.

This is an epidemic situation, yet it is rarely at the forefront of the news broadcasts or television networks. I know it’s a doom and gloom topic, but its reality! It is lurking in the lives of this generation whether we want to talk about it or not; we can choose to see it for what it is and do all we can to prevent and stop it or we can choose to walk through our lives as if what is going on still only exists in far-off lands.

Trafficked girls can’t just carry themselves out of the places they are in. It is an issue of coercion and blackmail, degradation and defeat. They degrade and defeat these girls until any sense of self esteem is thrown away so that they can be built up in the trafficker’s way; with low sense of value and few morals. These girls (and boys) need others breaking the silence for them and fighting when they are at their weakest place!

So many times this becomes the girls’ identity. They seem themselves as the trafficked and abused; and as one who has been there (not to this extreme level, but definantly in a place of brokenness, coercion, and shame), I say: THIS IS NOT THEIR IDENTITY! It is merely a piece of the greater picture; their life! I ask for everyone who is reading this blog to allow a spark of purpose to be birthed in you, if praying is all you can do, than pray! But seek the face of God, ask Him what He wants you to do in the fight against human trafficking! It may be closer to your heart and your life than you know!

Blue Ribbons

The month of April is just around the corner and this is one of my favorite months; not because of a birthday or anniversary, but simply for what it brings awareness too. April is child abuse and neglect awareness month and there is a lot coming up. God has called me to make my ministry into a small group at church and to get involved in the Roofsit and Tips for Kids! God is moving in mighty ways and beckoning me on even in the midst of my own healing all He is doign is super exciting! What is the most amazing to me is how our destiny is birthed long before we realize it is there. When i was in 7th grade trying to work through the hurt and pain of my abuse i wrote a poem titled "blue ribbons" and now i am realizing that my poem was the turning point for me where i realized that i wanted to help kids who had been abused and today that desire and dream is becoming a reality. So here is my poem hope you enjoy, mind you its from an 11 year old's perspective:

BLUE RIBBONS

Blue ribbons tied around a tree

If only they represent children let free

Blue ribbons represent child neglect and abuse

April is the month of awareness we should use

The tragedy some must share

They know these kinds of things just aren't fair

These people are afraid to just walk tall

But one day all those ribbons will fall

Blue ribbons falling off a tree

Represent children let free

How are we fighting?

"In 2008 3,154,00 cases of child abuse were reported, while only 1 million were confirmed...and 1/2 of all Americans SAY child abuse is the most important public health issue." ~www.childabuse.com

It gives me some comfort to know that many Americans were seeing child abuse as the most important issue, but then why aren't all of us doing something about it? If everyone who thought of it being the worst public health issue(which i think it's close to, if not it the worst one) would stand in teh face of it and fihgt for children's innonce; it would happen much less. There are few advocates who would risk their lives for these children, but the ones that do are my heroes. i strive to be one of them, I strive to be one who lays my life on the line for those who fight for theirs.
I know what its like to wake up in the morning and not know what danger or what peace that day could hold...i know what it's like to cry for the wrongs being done to you and mourn for the love you never received. I know what it's like to feel liek you're all alone and misunderstood in this world when there's many people who walk past you every day. I know what the feeling is like and i can't bring myself to allow them to suffere in silence when we all know what's going on! If all I'm able to do is blog about the reality and heartbreak of abuse, so be it!! But i refuse to go another day without fighting for those who have been abused. I ask that you do the same, even if all you do is pray i beg, plead, and simply ask you to do something to fight for these helpless kids who are victims of evil everyday!
As i think of Thanksgiving being right aroudn the corner, I am most thankful for Christ's death on the cross and His love for me. Unlike most other victims of abuse I can say i am thankful to be brought out of the darkness and secrecy of abuse and brought into the love and light of truth: that I am more than a victim and I do have a purpose; which is not to be used for pleasure by men...please...help me make this prayer of gratitude happen for other abused children in Kalamazoo, MI, and all around the world!


~signed~
~a thankful heart