to be brave

i have a really heavy heart today
i've been thinking a lot about what it means to live in this world
and how broken our world is
sometimes when michael & i talk about when to start a family i start thinking about all the things that are wrong in this world. all the darkness and the evil.

at everett's birthday party josh & leah shared what the names of their boys, Jay & Everett meant. Ev's name means BRAVE. and they shared how their hope for Ev was that he would be able to stand up for others & do right, even when no one was watching. that he would be brave and courageous. i think we need to continue to bring light into this world. to raise up kids that support justice and compassion!

my heart has been so heavy because i've started reading the news on a regular basis.
i remember when my grandpa klassen was really sick, in the month before he finally went in to the hospital, and i had asked him if he wanted to watch the news. he told me that he already knew that it would be full of tragedy, hurt and pain, and didn't really want to spend time thinking about it that evening.
but since i'm not sick, and have to live in this world daily, i think it is good to remain informed so that i'm better equipped to live in this world, but not of it.

i have been following the candace derksen trial. there is a reporter on the winnipeg free press website that tweets the entire time he is in the court room. so essentially i've been reading everything he's hearing. yesterday the lawyers did closing arguments and now it's up to the jury. it's been so many years and justice is so close, but it lays in the hands of 13 people. on wilma's blog she writes that this feels like the 9th month of pregnancy. where they don't know what the gender of the baby is, and at this point, it doesn't even matter, they just want it to come out!

this morning i read an article about a man who goes on the internet to find people that are talking about committing suicide. then he poses as someone who is also struggling (normally poses as a woman) and gives them tips on how to finally commit suicide, and he enters into a "suicide pact" with them. 3 people have committed suicide because of this man, and he's pleading not guilty. saying that he has freedom of speech, and he's not a murderer, he just likes the chase.

this world.
when we think about the true brokeness it can be so much harder to be brave
to be different
to be strong
to be light in the darkness
to pray for the broken
the murders and those who's hearts are hard

to be brave.

no, O people, the LORD has told you what is good,

and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

micah 6:8