Oy

I feel like if I say too much, I will spew hot venomous word vomit on this blog. I could rant about several things, but instead, I will look to the positive and talk about good stuff that's coming up.

1. Ok'd is this weekend! I am really excited to see how all the hard work turns out. I can't wait! This year, the most excellent DCE Suzanne organized the servant events (with which I helped minimally), Heath and I wrote the drama (and one of my youth made the video), Nikki and I wrote the Bible studies, planned the prayer stations and had big components of the theme development for the theme of "one."
2. I'm driving to Illinois for Thanksgiving on Tuesday! Yippee! Home coooking, progressive rummy, family and rock band. I also hope to see "Twilight" with the sister, hang out with my recently (as in march) engaged cousin Lynn as well as spend time with the fantastic Jenny P. Also, guess who else is going to be around in So. Ill the same time I will? Go ahead, Guess?! Ok, I'm not going to tell you, but it's very, very interesting. I'll leave it at that.
3. I wrote my second full length article for Youthesource based on "Ministry Teams: The good, the bad, the ugly". I think it gets "published" in the beginning of December.
4. Youth Quake in February. I know not everyone enjoys a weekend spent in a hotel with 500 middle school youth, BUT, this year, we have the potential of taking a really big group, which I think will be a LOT a LOT of fun. Or, you know, end up being sent to a funny farm when it's all over.
5. Advent. It's soon. I can't wait. I've been enjoying my new Christmas-esque album from Andrew Peterson, "Behold the Lamb of God: The tall, true tale of the coming of Christ."
6. Last night's confirmation board game, "journey to the promised land" game went extremely well other than the kids who didn't listen to directions and I had to explain it SEVEN times--(directions: flip the coin, move two if heads, one if tails, do what the space says and read the bible verse).
7. Ok, work is calling me, but I figured that this would get Moose-tipping off my back.

Refrigerator Door 2

So, Bethany gave me this idea as a way to teach the Exodus in a week. I'm pretty proud of the end result. :) It's the "Journey to the Promised Land!" Game.

Abandonment

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/14/nebraska.safe.haven/index.html

I don't know if you've heard about what's going on in Nebraska these days, but here's a short intro:

Nebraska passed a safe haven law that didn't include any age restrictions. About a month ago, a widowed father dropped off 10 of his 11 children saying, "I just can't raise them anymore on my own." The children ranged in age from 1-17.

Since then, as Nebraska law makers have tried to re-write the law in a way that specifies that only INFANTS (up to 30 days) fall under safe haven laws, 34 children (all over the age of 10), have been dropped off at Nebrasak hospitals. Many of these teens are from single parent homes and many of them suffer from mental illness that their parents were unable to get treatment for. Some have been flown in from places such as Florida, and Georgia.On the news last night, one of the nurses at the hospital was quoted saying that the teens were often left crying out, "I promise I'll be better! I promise I'll try! Please love me! Please don't leave me!"

The situation, no matter how you look at it, is heartbreaking. It is heartbreaking for the children who have been abandoned, who have been essentially told, "I can't take care of you," or "I don't love you." It is heartbreaking that families can't get care for their children and feel like abandoning them is the only choice that they have.

As I have watched, I have observed several things, and have more questions that I want your opinion on.

Has the media helped the situation by alerting the nation to the failings of the mental health system or have they made it worse by making it national knowledge that you can "safe haven" your teenager enabling children from other states to be dropped off?

Where's the root of the failure? Is it the law that didn't specify age? Is it the family that abandons the child? Is it government who didn't provide appropriate care for these children in a timely manner? Is it the parent who didn't know how to properly parent the teen when it was younger? Is it society who abandoned the family so that it felt that it had no options?

Please, leave some comments.

Well...

That was unexpected.

Thought to Ponder

"Or were the nails and the spear in my side
not quite enough to provide,
the victory you need in your life?"
Jill Paquette-"Come to Me" (good luck finding that song on itunes)