Humanitarians Raping / Abusing Children

Stories like this make me extremely angry. You’re there and you’re supposed to be helping these people, yet you’re forcing children to have sex with you in return for what you’re supposed to provide anyway – food.

Story: Charity: Aid workers raping, abusing children

Humanitarian aid workers and United Nation peacekeepers are sexually abusing small children in war-ravished and food-poor countries, a leading European charity has said.

2 of 2 Children as young as 6 are among those who have been forced to have sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in return for food and money, Save the Children UK said in a report released Tuesday.

After interviewing hundreds of children, the charity says it found instances of rape, child prostitution, pornography, indecent sexual assault and trafficking of children for sex.

Homemade Cuppies!

DSCF5391, originally uploaded by lifeinreturn.

Yesterday, I had the honor of baking 2 dozen cupcakes for my nephew’s birthday party. He turned 1 last week (yay!) and I made cuppies in honor – a dozen yellow and a dozen chocolate with homemade icing. I was finally able to use my Wilton cupcake decorator which allowed me to create my swirls. I decorated with sprinkles, airbrush (food coloring), and various colored sugars. People enjoyed them and they were great fun to make! Yay! Thank You Lord for giving me opportunities to serve and have fun doing it!

Unwelcome Attention + Unfaithfulness

For the 2nd time today, I experienced unwanted attention. And for the 2nd time today, I had no idea how to really deal with it. I never want to come off as an ungracious, coldhearted woman, but neither do I want to seem as if I am okay with the advances… Oh, happy medium, wherefore art thou?

Situation #1
I had to park in a lot this morning because parking at my job was full. I paid my parking fee to the attendant by card and signed my receipt. As I gave it back to him, he looked at my signature and said, “What does this say?” and I responded by giving him my full name. He then said, “It says, ‘Today I marry you’”… I wanted to say something else (flesh versus Spirit) but I just said, “No, it doesn’t say that at all” and went to park my car.

Situation #2
I went down the street on my lunch break to pick up food from a local Italian restaurant.
Me – Can I get a chicken cheesesteak?
Him – Onions?
Me – Yes
Him – Salt, pepper, ketchup, mayonnaise?
Me – Salt, pepper, ketchup – Yes. Mayonnaise – Ew no.
Him – Anything else?
Me – Do you have provolone?
Him – *winks and smiles* Yes, for you.
Me – *straight face* Okay, let me get that.
Him – Anything to drink? Soda, beer?
Me – I don’t drink.
Him – *sly smile* Not yet.
Me – *straight face with raised eyebrow* No, never. That’s all I’m getting.

So after all the winks and smiles and flirtation was done by him (sigh), I waited for my cheesesteak to be done. As I waited, 2 nurses from a nearby hospital walked in. “6 days!” he says to them. “6 days?” responds one. “Yes! 6 days til she pops! And I’m going to be right there! I want to see everything!”… I put 2 and 2 together and came to the conclusion that his girlfriend (or wife) was expecting a child, which disgusted me even further that he would come at me the way he did.

This all makes me think back to when I was working for Best Buy on the Geek Squad. I was the only female technician working with a bunch of dudes. A speck of estrogen in a sea of testosterone. The married men I worked with, who went to church, who would say that they were Christians, would flirt with me all the time, and of course, I always checked them and let them know that Jenn was not interested and that they were married, and to that, I’d get the response, “But I’m not dead!” So sad… and so scary. Add that to past experiences in courtships where lies and unfaithfulness have been prevalent and you have a nervous Jenn, yet a Jenn who looks forward to being in a courtship that is done fully to glorify the Lord, one where the brother seeks to protect my heart 100%.

I haven’t dated since March of ’06 and by God’s grace, it’s given me time to mature and think over the things that are extremely important, time to grow as a woman, time to prioritize… so whenever I do get approached by a brother whose desire is to pursue my heart in hopes of marriage, I’ll be able to be better prepared mentally and spiritually and emotionally and be of more benefit to him, and actually be able to fulfill the role as a helpmeet.

Oh me ? I'm an INFJ.

After listening to Sunday’s sermon again, where my pastor made a joke about personality tests, I was driven (out of curiosity) to take one… so I took the Jung… and here’s the outcome!

Your Type is
INFJ
Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging

You are:

• very expressed introvert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• moderately expressed feeling personality
• moderately expressed judging personality

Famous people of your particular type
John Bradshaw, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, John Calvin, Nicole Kidman

I knew I liked Calvin for a reason… ha!

From here:
Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJs hold deep convictions about the weightier matters of life. Those who are activists — INFJs gravitate toward such a role — are there for the cause, not for personal glory or political power.

INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden. They often are found in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress. INFJs may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless. The concept of ‘poetic justice’ is appealing to the INFJ.

“There’s something rotten in Denmark.” Accurately suspicious about others’ motives, INFJs are not easily led. These are the people that you can rarely fool any of the time. Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJs are selective about their friends. Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words.

INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication. In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by others intimately.

Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs frequently find their niche.

And from here:

The Counselor Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and enterprising and attentive in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends, and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time, friends who have known a Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another’s emotions or intentions — good or evil — even before that person is conscious of them. This “mind-reading” can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend. Even Counselors can seldom tell how they came to penetrate others’ feelings so keenly.

Quite interesting stuff, and to a huge extent – true.

Oh me ? I’m an INFJ.

After listening to Sunday’s sermon again, where my pastor made a joke about personality tests, I was driven (out of curiosity) to take one… so I took the Jung… and here’s the outcome!

Your Type is
INFJ
Introverted Intuitive Feeling Judging

You are:

• very expressed introvert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• moderately expressed feeling personality
• moderately expressed judging personality

Famous people of your particular type
John Bradshaw, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, John Calvin, Nicole Kidman

I knew I liked Calvin for a reason… ha!

From here:
Beneath the quiet exterior, INFJs hold deep convictions about the weightier matters of life. Those who are activists — INFJs gravitate toward such a role — are there for the cause, not for personal glory or political power.

INFJs are champions of the oppressed and downtrodden. They often are found in the wake of an emergency, rescuing those who are in acute distress. INFJs may fantasize about getting revenge on those who victimize the defenseless. The concept of ‘poetic justice’ is appealing to the INFJ.

“There’s something rotten in Denmark.” Accurately suspicious about others’ motives, INFJs are not easily led. These are the people that you can rarely fool any of the time. Though affable and sympathetic to most, INFJs are selective about their friends. Such a friendship is a symbiotic bond that transcends mere words.

INFJs have a knack for fluency in language and facility in communication. In addition, nonverbal sensitivity enables the INFJ to know and be known by others intimately.

Writing, counseling, public service and even politics are areas where INFJs frequently find their niche.

And from here:

The Counselor Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in reaching their goals, and enterprising and attentive in their interpersonal roles. Counselors focus on human potentials, think in terms of ethical values, and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (little more than 2 percent) is regrettable, since Counselors have an unusually strong desire to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their companions. Although Counsleors tend to be private, sensitive people, and are not generally visible leaders, they nevertheless work quite intensely with those close to them, quietly exerting their influence behind the scenes with their families, friends, and colleagues. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

Counselors can be hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. With their loved ones, certainly, Counselors are not reluctant to express their feelings, their face lighting up with the positive emotions, but darkening like a thunderhead with the negative. Indeed, because of their strong ability to take into themselves the feelings of others, Counselors can be hurt rather easily by those around them, which, perhaps, is one reason why they tend to be private people, mutely withdrawing from human contact. At the same time, friends who have known a Counselor for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that they are inconsistent; Counselors value their integrity a great deal, but they have intricately woven, mysterious personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another’s emotions or intentions — good or evil — even before that person is conscious of them. This “mind-reading” can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend. Even Counselors can seldom tell how they came to penetrate others’ feelings so keenly.

Quite interesting stuff, and to a huge extent – true.

Take Five

There is no other jazz song that has my musical heart quite like “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. This song will be on my playlist for decades. I never get tired of it; it’s hands down (to me) one of the best jazz pieces of all time!