Don't Let Your Child Become a Statistic

Samuel (5) told me today, "Tickle me anywhere, Mommy! Tickle my butt!"

I said, "Oh, no. You shouldn't let anyone touch your butt. That's a secret spot."

He said, "No its not! I seen it before!"

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Yes, his response raises a chuckle, but how funny is it, really? Not much... His innocent comments got me to thinking about something much direr. Something that's not discussed enough. Something that, many times, isn't discussed at all... especially when it refers to the subject that this brought up in my mind... This subject? Someone is sexually assaulted every two minutes in the United States. Out of those untold "someones," several are children.

Do you teach your children about sexual predators? Are you helping them understand the difference between what's an "okay" touch and what's not? Are you telling them what to do should someone touch them in a "secret spot" or if someone says something like, "This will be our little secret..."?

There was a study conducted by the director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, David Finkerlhor. It found several different facts that are stunning:

😡 One part of this study confronted adults about what they remembered about their childhood experiences. According to this study, 20% of the women and 5-10% of the men confronted were victims of sexual abuseas children. 

😡 The most vulnerable years for children are between the ages of 7 and 13 years old.

😡 Among those 14 to 17 years old, 16% were sexually victimized just in the year of this study alone! 

Just to let you know, these statistics are for AMERICA! To make matters worse, you must remember that not every case is caught. Of those caught by family members, several are never reported to the police even to be added to these statistics. Why? (1) Embarrassment and (2) most sexual abuse incidents are done by someone the child knows and loves.

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So, how do we keep our children from becoming a statistic?

📝 Learn what you can about sexual abuse. This may be hard for you. Many of you may have been through sexual abuse yourself. Even if you haven't, the very thought of your baby being molested, or even raped, is hard to bear. It's a very hard subject, but it's a subject that must be covered in today's world. It's a subject you must know something about if you're going to protect your daughter and, yes, even your son. 

It's never too early to begin teaching them, either. It's important to know that 20% of all sexually abused children are abused before they turn eight years old! An excellent place to start learning is Darkness To Light. 

📝 Teach your children that sometimes even people they love and trust can hurt them. In fact, about 60% of children are abused by someone they trust, whether it be a teacher, parent, uncle, cousin, or someone else. Teach them what their secret spots are and that it's not okay for anyone to touch them in their secret spots... even people they love and trust.

📝 Always know where your children are and who they're with. Don't just know who they're with, but know the people they're with. Are they safe to be around? How do you know? List the reasons. Remember the "60%" factor? I don't mean to make you paranoid, but just make sure you know the people your kids are with.

📝 Don't leave your older child with just one adult--even if your child is with a group of peers. Adults sometimes take liberties with older children that they might not with younger ones. We've seen a lot of this lately with many of the teacher/student cases. Teach your children how sex offenders groom their victims to trust them and then lure them into a relationship. Teach them how they then take advantage of them. Grooming is a very real thing, and our older children need to know what it is and how to avoid it.

Another reason to make sure your child (whether young or older) isn't with a group of other children with only one adult present is that other children can be the abusers as well! If there's only one supervising adult, things are easily missed. Forty percent of sexually abused children are found to be abused by older or stronger children or teens! Almost half of the abused children under the age of six are abused by juveniles. Believe it or not, 14% of those juvenile offenders are under the age of twelve!

📝 Talk with your kiddos about their day. Ask them how it went, what they did, and what they saw. You want your children to know they can talk to you about anything and everything. Your young children might not know when to run from an adult or how to say "no." They might be too scared to tell anyone when someone starts making advances. You can stop it before it gets anywhere.

Older children need to know they can trust you to keep their secrets, to understand their dilemmas, and to be there to answer their questions and help them solve problems. They need to know you won't judge them. They need to know they can come to you if they feel uncomfortable around someone or if someone tries to hurt them or does hurt them. They need to know you'll be there for them. If you're not there for them in the little things, what makes you think they'll come to you with the big things?

📝 Know how to spot the signs of abuse. They're not always obvious. Unless you know what you're looking for, you might never catch them. You may even think your child or teen is just acting out" or "going through a phase."

What are these signs?

🛑Significant changes in mood;

🛑Significant changes in sleep patterns;

🛑Significant changes in eating habits;

🛑Strange behavior that doesn't quickly resolve.

📝 If you suspect abuse at all, take action! Don't wait! It's better to be safe than sorry! Call the Department of Social Services or the Police right away. They'll investigate and take action if there's something to it. 

If your child comes to you and says there's something going on, get help right away even if the abuser is a family member! Odds are, if your child claims there's abuse happening, there really is. There's only a 4-8% chance that the story is made up. Also, do not try to investigate it on your own! 

📝  If your child is abused, get him or her into therapy right away. There are many options. Schools have mental health programs available where therapists are made available at all times. There are therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Your child needs all the help he or she deserves, and I know you'll make sure it's received.

Again, I know this is a hard subject, but it's something that must be addressed. Please, I beg of you, address it with your children! It's never too early, but, one day, it may be too late.

Parenting Little Tykes

In front of the picture glass window sat my five-year-old, filled with wonder at the world around him. He was so curious. Just yesterday he was watching me sew and asking me everything that had to do with… well, everything but sewing.


“Why do birds fly? Why is the moon so little? Why is the sun bright?” So inquisitive!


I’ve put three others through their “fivedoms” already, but I’m always worried I’m going to screw something up. I mean, you can mess a kid up for life, right? If there’s one thing my four have taught me, that’s that there’s only one wrong way to parent, and we’ll get to that in a minute. So how do you do it right?

Be Real

Everyone is different. Just be you. There’s no one way everyone has to follow. Everyone’s style is different. I’ll never understand those people who look down their noses at other mothers who don’t do it the cookie-cutter way. Just be real and forget them.

Be Flexible

Every child is different. Each little tyke needs reared a different way. Some need led softly, taken by the hand and gently guided each step of the way. Some need to be shown and then given the reins, allowed to make their own decisions. They need you to nurture their independence. Some, you show the way over and over again, and they still just need to figure things out on their own. This type of child, you’ll find, will be the leader, the one that will end up jumping out in front of the pack and solving everyone’s problems. I have one of each.

Be Loving

This is that one place I was talking to you about—that one place you can really mess up. That one place you can go wrong. Loving your children is not giving them everything they want. In fact, sometimes, it’s withholding it. Loving your little tyke is being there for him every step of the way. I don’t mean physically. Sometimes that’s not possible. We have to work—to provide. Loving your child is being there for them emotionally… and physically when you can. Loving him is accepting who he is yet limiting his behavior. Loving him is teaching him that even though life may not always go the way we want it, you will always be there when he needs you. That’s love. That’s how you parent.

Can you "MAKE" Time?

Such a weird concept... I mean, MAKING time? There are only 24 hours in a day. Twenty-four. Can you really make more time? YES!

"Really..." you might say flippantly. "Prove it."

Okay.

Now, I'm not talking about adding more hours to your day, though you will be able to squeeze more day out of your hours if you budget your time correctly. To budget your time, keep the important things first and the most pressing things important. Remember to budget time for your family lest you lose them. They are more important than getting that newer, better job or cooking that special gourmet meal that takes four hours just so you can look perfect in front of your in-laws. But, I'm not talking about any of that either. 

Today, rather than speaking about making your days longer, I'm talking about making longer your days.

"HUH?!!"

Did I lose you? Let me explain. Actually, let's go to Scripture and let it explain. I Kings 3:14 says, "And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments... then I will lengthen thy days." Proverbs 3:1-2 basically tells us the same thing when it commands us. "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee."

So, can you "MAKE" time? YES! And, God gives us the recipe! We are not only to keep His commandments, but (according to the second verse) also keep them with our heart rather than just to obey them.

Can you name the commandments? Many can at least name a few. Even if you can't, there are two commandments upon which all the other commandments hang. If you know those two, if you follow those two, you can lengthen your days.

"What are they? Spit it out already!"

Matthew 22:35-40 tells us, "Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 'Master, which is the great commandment in the law?' Jesus said unto him, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." 

God also tells us that He looks on our hearts (I Samuel 16:7) and that's it's our motives that matter (Proverbs 21:2). He said that He purifies our hearts if we let Him and that He will change us to be more like Him if we will allow Him to. So, not only will He give us long life in exchange for loving others and for loving Him, but He'll make that love possible!

So do you want that Fountain of Youth, those long days upon the earth? Do you want to "make" more time? Love the Lord God with everything inside you, and love those around you--enemy or friend.

Lastly, the whole reason we are taught things in our lives, the whole reason we learn things at all (at least it's true for me) is to pass it on to our children. Teach your children the way of God. Teach them these two most important two commandments, on which hang all the laws and the prophets. Teach them how to hide those words in their hearts. Teach them how to "make" time themselves. Not only will it be a blessing to them, but it will bless you as well. 

God Bless!

Nishoni Harvey

P.S. Make sure to make time for your children and make time for God! Also be careful to make time for your spouse so your relationship might flourish! These should be the highest of your priorities when you budget your time to squeeze more time from the 24-hours God has given you every day. Time with your family should also fill plenty of the life God has given you, plenty of the long days He will bless you with upon the earth. You can MAKE time. Make the most of what He gives you.

Do We Care?

Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Tiberius after healing the man at the Pool of Bethesda. There, Christ had proved His authority as God—the authority of the Son, and the multitudes followed Him. The sad thing is, they had not followed Him to learn more about Him or to gain that spiritual bread but because they’d seen His miracles! They saw how He could heal the diseased and give the blind their sight.

Jesus said, “Well, here they come. I guess we should feed them.”

“But, Jesus,” Philip stuttered, “Even if we did have enough money to feed them all, there’s not enough bread around to be bought to feed them all!”

We’re going to look at a few wee-little people who said, “We care.”

THE WEE-LITTLE LAD

LET’S READ:

“Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?”  (John 6:7-9)

This little boy, this young teen, this lad had brought his food with him. Now, do you really think that out of that whole multitude that there was absolutely no other person that thought to bring food? What about Mommas—snacks for their toddlers? Don’t you think there were families within an hour or two’s walk or less from home? Why did no else offer to supply for even one family? For one adult? For one child? I always had twice, sometimes three times more than what I needed! They could have offered their food to Jesus, but they didn’t. Why? They didn’t care! When it comes your turn to be called upon, will people see you as one who just doesn’t care? Or can you say, like this little boy, “I care!”

This one lad’s lunch fed 5,000! Wouldn’t you love to be known as someone whose little gift fed so many? We have so many hurting people around us today! Be one of those that say, “We care!”

THE WEE-LITTLE MAIDEN

LET’S READ:

“Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife. And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.  (2 Kings 5:1-3)

This little girl shared her knowledge. She knew there was a man who could heal her master. She shared. She cared.

Now, think about this. This little life had been changed because of this man. His army had come into her city and devastated it. His army had destroyed her home. His army had most likely killed her father and older brothers. She had been ripped from her mother’s protective arms, where they were clinging one to another, and taken captive. She was no longer free.

This little maid, this little girl, could no longer play at will, tease her brothers, take rides on their backs, or chase butterflies. She couldn’t learn to “cook” with her mother, kneading the dough or washing the leaks. In fact, she may never see her mother again. She would never jump on her father’s back as he knelt to tend the field or startle him as he came around the corner ever again. She may have even seen her father and brothers die. She would never again see her family.                                                                                                                                                                                                    At the time she was stolen from her family and from her homeland, it was devastating to her. It must have seemed inexplicable. Why would her God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, allow her to be taken her from her family, her home, and everything she knew? It must have seemed like no help, no relief, would ever come, yet he cared about the man that made it happen, the man she may have thought was to blame.

She cared through it all! (I tell you what, her mother must have taught her right! I hope I can be even half the mother she was! A mother like this little maid’s.) I don’t know how long after all of the devastation that she reached out to her mistress, but she was still a little maid at the time of this story, and she was old enough to know of and remember about Elisha when she was ripped from her mother’s grasp!

Do you care? Do you care enough to tell others? Do you care enough to share your knowledge? What knowledge do we have?

·      1.   Everyone’s a sinner.—Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

We all know about the Ten Commandments. Many of us probably have them memorized or at least know them well enough to name a few. Hmmm… Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart. Thou shalt not lie. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. That only names a few, and, no, I don’t think they’re in order. 😊

Let’s look at a few:

         Everyone has told a lie. Even a little white lie will take you to Hell!—Revelation 21:8, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

How many people do you have to kill to be a murderer? One. How many lies do you have to tell to be a liar? Think about it…

That verse talks about murderers. Did you know that if you’ve hated someone, you’ve murdered them in your heart.—I John 3:15, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” Is murdering a sin? Yes! Have you ever hated someone in your heart? Even for a second? Are you a murderer?

Idolatry is coveting what someone else has.—Colossians 3:5, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:” “Covetous,” according to the “Oxford Dictionary,” is “having or showing a great desire to possess something belonging to someone else.” The Bible says again in Ephesians 5:5, that “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”  Are you an idolator?

So according to this list, you’re a lying, idol worshiping, murderer at heart! Is that enough to get you labeled a sinner?

·     2.  There’s a price for sin.—Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death;” That’s eternal death. The rest of the verse continues with a BUT and tells us that God’s gift is eternal life. Remember Revelation 21:8? “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” The good news is, we don’t HAVE to go to Hell! But how? Why?

·   

 3.  Jesus paid that price.—Romans 6:23b, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And Roman 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus came to this earth, was implanted in a virgin’s womb, and was born on Christmas day. He did nothing wrong, living a sinless life, healed the sick, raised the dead, and gave the blind their sight. Yet, one day, He was taken by soldiers, buffeted, had a crown of thorns beaten into His brow, was stricken repeatedly with a rod and then with a whip of nine tails, having broken glass, rock, and chunks of sharp bone woven into its chords. Then he was led through the streets, barely looking like a man, to the place of his death, nailed to a cross. It was dropped into a deep enough hole to hold it upright—probably at least four feet deep, pounding into the ground when it hit the bottom. It yanked his open flesh against that rough wood and those large, sharp splinters that jutted out from the surface. His bones were violently jarred out of joint. The weight of his body, pulled down at such force, ripped at his hands and his feet. Blood rained down his face, poured down his body, slowly emptying the ground. The soldiers gambled for His clothing beneath Him. He felt an unbearable weight upon His shoulders that only the Son of God could bear as God placed the sin of the whole world upon Him. God the Father turned His back on Jesus, as He cannot look upon sin. A thick darkness fell. Jesus cried out, “My God, My God! Why hast Thou forsaken Me?” already knowing the answer—God had too. Finally, He died.

Three days later, something glorious happened! He arose from the dead! He went to Heaven, came before His Father, placed His blood, the final payment for sin, on the mercy seat, and returned to Earth to heal and teach once more. Forty days later, He returned to Heaven to sit on His throne at His Father’s right hand.

·   3.  What are you going to do about it?—Romans 10:9-10, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Do you believe you’re a sinner? Do you believe that your sin will send you to Hell? Do you believe Jesus paid that price? All you have to do is confess that! Tell Jesus what you feel, what you believe. You talk to Him just like to talk to anyone else.

“Well, He’s not in the room,” you might say. That’s fine. Talk to Him like you’re on speakerphone with a new friend. Besides, He is in the room. He says, “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.”  (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

THE WEE-LITTLE ME

You might be thinking, “I can’t help, I have a bum leg,” or “I can’t do much, I have so much to do,” or “I can’t do Soul Patrol, I work on Saturdays,” or “What can I do, I’m pretty much housebound,” or “I don’t have a car,” or “I’m stuck on this walker,” or… Whatever your case may be, God has SOMETHING you can do!

You can witness where you are, telling others of Christ. You might say, “I can’t do that. I’m scared.” You can hand out tracts where you go, which is, in fact, telling others of Jesus! You can be a witness, doing those things which are right before your neighbors. You can keep your testimony. God wants you to do all of these—telling of Jesus, being a witness, and keeping your testimony.

When I was in college, I didn’t have a car. I could only go within walking distance of the college. Sure, I went out on Saturday mornings a few short hours with my route to visit my bus kids and knock new doors, but that just wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more, so I took out the phone book, sat at the phone—the real, wall-bound kind, dialed numbers, and witnessed to people at the other end of the line. And, guess what! Yes, I had people hang up on me. I had people thinking I was a telemarketer and tell me, “I’m not interested,” right away. I even had someone threaten to call the police once because they were on a no-call list and I was disturbing their privacy and violating the law by contacting them! But… I also had those precious few who trusted Christ as their Savior.

You can pray! I know you hear this all the time, but there are so many that don’t pray today. Maybe they “forget,” getting into the rush of the day and just… forget. (Just setting apart a time and making a point to pray, by the way, will get it done. I do my devotions at 5AM every morning and 6AM on Sundays).

Some people don’t know how to pray—in Jesus’ name, in His will. Instead, they pray for what they want. They forget to pray for others’ or just skip it in their rush, praying only for their own selfish desires. You know, it’s not bad to pray for those things you want. It is not good, though, to pray for things you know God doesn’t want you to have, like the neighbor’s car. 😊 You know it’s not God’s will for you to have the newest pistol if you’ve been convicted, incarcerated, and served for murder. He’ll let you know, if not through His Word or through the law, then through His Spirit. His Spirit communes with ours and shares things with us as His children.

Also, there are those who don’t know Who to pray too. These would be the unsaved or the saved, praying to their own god’s. Sometime, these could be Buddha or some other idol, but at other times it’s things like the god of convenience. “Oh, God, let me get to my appointment on time (which would be fine)” as they speed through a 45mph zone (which makes it NOT fine). “Oh, Dear Jesus, let me get this college paper in on time (which, again, would be fine)” as they copy and paste, plagiarizing, from the internet.

There are many other things you can do, but I want to give you one more idea: you can send out cards. There was a lady in our church in Michigan that sent out birthday cards, anniversary cards, and get-well cards to every member every year. Her name was Miss Nancy. It was such an encouragement. Wait! Isn’t that something we’re supposed to do—edify, encourage, the brethren?! She put a tract inside every card, too, that corresponded with the card: birthday tracts with birthdays, etc. just in case… Just an idea. 😊

Another card you might think of is sympathy cards. In the church we went to in Christina, I used to find people in the obituary section, locate their families in the white pages online, and send them a sympathy card with a tract in it. We had a few people call and thank us, and we had a few people shew up at the church. What a blessing!

If these Wee-little people in our lesson can do something for God. If even children can do something for Christ. If even the rocks can call out praises to God. If even creation can witness of Him. YOU CAN DO SOMETHING FOR HIM!

Remember Philippians 4:13? “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

Get on your knees. Seek His face. Ask Him what that something is that you can do, and JUST DO IT!

Let’s list some other ideas of things we can do as ministries to others. What are some other ideas to reach souls? What are some other ways to edify others? What are some things you can do? Let’s share our ideas so we can help others! COMMENT BELOW!

My Life's Pact

My Life's Pact

We spend our years

As a tale that is told--

As have all the men

And women of old.

As a woman of faith,

I choose to walk;

As one of uprightness,

I choose to talk.

I choose for my story

To be clearly for God,

To lift Him up

And of Him laud;

For if my tale

Of Satan doth tell,

It may lead

Countless others to Hell!

--Nishoni L. Harvey

10/26/2018

06:36 AM

Picture Credits to Markus Spiske Temporausch

Careful! Too Good to be True!

The Fanatics

I'm an author, and I freelance as well. I love to write, and I do everything "writing" I can. I get a lot of my work from a site called Upwork, a great site by the way! I highly recommend it! 

Ten days or so ago, I applied for an hourly writing job for a company called Pharma Waldhof. Seven days ago, they contacted me, telling me they'd like an interview on Google Hangouts. I called Upwork to make sure that was kosher. It was within policy and pretty standard. I agreed to the interview. They set the interview and briefing (should the interview proceed well) for 9-3 the next day.

I was going to have a steady, real, stay-at-home writing job?! It all seemed too good to be true! No more freelancing and piecing jobs together? This was going to be great! But, what if it was too good to be true? Be careful of things that sound too good to be true, ladies and gents!! Sometimes they are!

In the meantime, I researched the company. They appeared to be an outstanding company! I called the US government to see how I would work taxes since they were based out of Germany and found the IRS had a contract with them, so all was well at that end. I studied up on the company's policies and their self-proclaimed strengths, expertise, and ambitions so I'd be able to wow them with my knowledge--the first rule of a good interview ;).

Stay at Home?! :)

The interview went very well. The briefing was quick. They told me they offered benefits (Dental, Medical, 401K, and more)! ...Then they told me I'd be self-employed. My husband and I didn't think much about it except that it was odd that they would be able to offer those benefits without my being an employee. But then we thought maybe it was a business thing we just didn't know about. I'd be getting $20 an hour during the week of training on their programs and $30 an hour when I started working. I'd be setting my own hours. 

They said they'd be buying me a business computer (sounds reasonable) and a business phone. They'd be paying the bill (also sounds reasonable since I'd be calling Germany). Then they said I'd need the receipt in order to claim the laptop and cell phone when they were shipped to me, so they'd send me a cashier's check. I'd use that money to purchase the computer and phone from their vendor and, therefore, have the receipt. --Okay...

My Bank wouldn't wire the money.

I deposited the cashier's check, waited for it to completely clear into my account and let them know I was ready for the ordering information. Instead of a website, they gave me the information to wire money to the vendor. I asked if I could pay it via credit card or electronic check. They told me, "no," that they needed me to start immediately and that wiring the money was the only way we could get the money to the vendor in time to get the computer out by the next day so I could start work. They said I could only work on that computer because it would have the programs I needed. --Sounded reasonable.

I called my bank and asked them to wire the money. Our bank, which is an online bank, only wires money to title companies, not to people--THANK GOD! Unfortunately, the "company" came up with a different way for me to get the money to them--Amazon cards. I went to the store and bought $2,400 in Amazon cards, scratched the backs off, took pictures of them and of their receipts and emailed the photos to the provided website. NEVER DO THAT!

Amazon Cards--The New Scam!

The next day, they sent me a second cashier's check. They said this was the last of the money the vendor needed and that they needed to be sure they could trust me with the first half before they gave me the rest to send to the vendor. They had told me the day before that the computer would arrive that day before 1 pm, which was when my first day of training was supposed to take place. The vendor, however, needed the payment before the computer would be delivered or it couldn't be delivered.

Since I needed it by 1 pm and didn't know what time it was scheduled to arrive, I woke the kids at 7 am, ordered an Uber (taxi) and went to Walmart for Amazon cards. Would you believe the Walmart here doesn't carry Amazon cards?! We went to the store we got the cards the day prior; they didn't open until 8 am, and I hadn't wanted to wait that late. The store wouldn't sell me any more since I'd bought so many the day before. They said they'd have to fill out money laundering paperwork.

We spent $75 on Uber!! :O

To make a long story short, we were out until lunch, visiting several stores, calling several banks, and visiting one bank to see if they would be a middleman for a wire transfer. I couldn't find anyone. The last bank I went to said that they thought I was being scammed. Little did I know they were right! God had kept me so safe that day! We went back home. I had already spent $75 in Uber just in that one day alone, and the kids were spent.

When we got home, I called my bank and asked to talk to the security department. Sure enough, the cashier's checks were fake. We were taken for $2,400, but it would have been $6,000 if I had found someone to wire the money for me or to sell me the Amazon cards! God sure is great, isn't He!

My husband and I let the real Pharma Waldhof know someone is impersonating them and stealing people's money. We alerted the police and gave them the packet of information I had obtained--I keep records of everything. The police said this will be a long, drawn-out process. Our bank security is conducting their own research. The thieves will probably never be caught, and we'll most likely never get our money back, but it's an excellent opportunity for others to learn from! That's why I shared our story with you. Please don't make the same mistake we did! If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

Call upon the name of the Lord,

and Thou shalt be saved!

There's only one thing I know of that really is true even though it sounds so good! That's the story of Christ. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died a horrible, undeserving death just. for. you, and rose again three days later! 

John 3:16,  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Romans 10:9,  "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."