Deanna's Blog

Say no to drugs. Save a child's life.

2011-09-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

This drug war in Mexico has been on my heart lately. I don't see the point in smoking pot or whatever else seems to be popular at the time especially when our selfish desires that we can do without are actually affecting the lives (both presently and long term) of children in Mexico. Like we didn't see this or something, wake up. Mexican children and teens are being used to transport drugs and money to and from making deals from local to International runs. Teens in Mexico think it's cool to put their very life to risk for the acceptance of their friends and older family members. Children are being kidnapped and used for ransom to get a secure deal. So, the next time you light up and get high maybe this article will bring you back down to earth.

Children Rights Group Reports 1,300 Children Killed in Mexico’s War on Drug Cartels << Link

Mexico Drug War Update

by Phillip Smith, September 21, 2011, 02:43pm, (Issue #701)

by Bernd Debusmann Jr.

Mexican drug trafficking organizations make billions each year smuggling drugs into the United States, profiting enormously from the prohibitionist drug policies of the US government. Since Mexican president Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and called the armed forces into the fight against the so-called cartels, prohibition-related violence has killed around 40,000 people, including more than 15,000 last year. The increasing militarization of the drug war and the arrest or killing of dozens of high-profile drug traffickers have failed to stem the flow of drugs -- or the violence -- whatsoever. The Merida initiative, which provides $1.4 billion over three years for the US to assist the Mexican government with training, equipment and intelligence, has so far failed to make a difference. Here are a few of the latest developments in Mexico's drug war:

Thursday, September 15

In Philadelphia, authorities announced the dismantling of a drug trafficking network with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. In total, five people were arrested, three of them in Pennsylvania and two in Texas. Ten kilos of cocaine, cash and weapons were also confiscated.

In Matamoros, fire fights and blockades were reported in several parts of the city, effectively shutting the city down. Residents posted pictures of hijacked buses parked across streets and city officials confirmed that incidents occurred on the highway to Reynosa. It is unclear whether any fatalities occurred during the incidents.

Wednesday, September 16

In Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, a car bomb exploded during Mexican Independence Day celebrations. No injuries were reported.

In Querandaro, Michoacan, Independence Day celebrations were canceled after a group of 40 heavily armed gunmen arrived in the town’s main square and ordered the crowd to disperse or be attacked, causing people to flee in panic or hide inside government buildings. No injuries were reported.

Saturday, September 17

In Huamuxtitlan, Guerrero, the body of a missing federal congressman and his driver were found in a river. PRI congressman Moises Villanueva had been missing since September 4th, when the two men disappeared after leaving a party held by a fellow party member. Mexican media reported that both men had been shot and appear to have been dead for some time.

In the Monterrey suburb of Santa Catarina, authorities announced that 44 police officers have been taken into custody on suspicion of working as lookouts for and protecting the Zetas. At least 69 others are still under investigation.

Sunday, September 18

In Mexico City, a high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel leader was arrested. Jose Carlos Moreno Flores is thought to have been the head of the Sinaloa Cartel in Chilapancingo, Guerrero, and is known to have had ties to drug traffickers in Guatemala and Costa Rica. He is also thought to have played a key part in turf wars fought over Chilpancingo between the Sinaloa Cartel and rival groups.

Monday, September 19

In Veracruz, 32 prison inmates escaped from three facilities in simultaneous jail breaks. 14 of the inmates have already been recaptured and the Mexican military has deployed to search for the remaining 18. All 17 prisons in Veracruz are being checked to ascertain whether any other prisoners are missing.

Tuesday, September 20

In Michoacan, the army captured a high-ranking member of the Knights Templar Organization. Saul Solis Solis, 49, is a former police chief and at one time was a congressional candidate for the Green Party, finishing fourth in the 2009 congressional race for his home district. He is also suspected of being heavily involved in narcotics cultivation and meth production, as well as in multiple attacks on federal forces, including a May 2007 attack that killed an officer and four soldiers.

In Veracruz, the bodies of 35 people were dumped on a busy street near a shopping center by a group of heavily armed gunmen who pointed weapons at passing motorists. According to Mexican media sources, most of the gunmen were identified as having criminal records and links to organized crime groups. A banner left with the bodies claimed that the dead were Zetas. Some of the victims had their heads covered with black plastic bags and appeared to have been tortured. One of the bodies has been identified as a police officer who went missing two weeks ago.

In Ciudad Juarez, at least eight people were murdered in several incidents across the city. In one incident, three teenagers were walking along a street when they were intercepted by a group of gunmen, who killed two and severely wounded the third. In another incident, a 32-year old mother of 8 was shot dead outside her home.

[Editor's Note: We can no longer accurately enumerate the number of deaths in the Mexican drug wars this year. The Mexico City newspaper El Universal had been running a tally on which we relied, but it stopped. Our estimate for this year's death toll is just that -- an estimate.]

Total Body Count for 2007 (approx.): 4,300

Total Body Count for 2008 (approx.): 5,400

Total Body Count for 2009 (approx.): 9,600

Total Body Count for 2010 (official): 15,273

Total Body Count for 2011: (approx.): 7,200

Mexico

"It is finished"

2011-04-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

Matthew 5:17 / John 19:28-30

لا تظنوا اني جئت لانقض الناموس او الانبياء. ما جئت لانقض بل لاكمّل.

28 بعد هذا رأى يسوع ان كل شيء قد كمل فلكي يتم الكتاب قال انا عطشان. 29 وكان إناء موضوعا مملوّا خلا. فملأوا اسفنجة من الخل ووضعوها على زوفا وقدموها الى فمه. 30 فلما اخذ يسوع الخل قال قد اكمل. ونكس راسه لا تظنوا اني جئت لانقض الناموس او الانبياء. واسلم الروح ما جئت لانقض بل لاكمّل

We Retreat when we really need to Surrender.

2011-01-20T17:07:00.000-08:00

There are days when doubt is inevitable, we have bad days and bad weeks, some of us have bad years....We feel as though our faith is crawling instead of walking, like a beggar looking for something that lightens our load even a little bit. We go pick-pocketing for dreams or hope and the only thing that lifts us up is something that gives us a moment of clarity. Then, we are back at it. Our faith is limited on what happens day by day and moment by moment. We rate the experience when we go to church because we are a society that feeds off of instant gratification. If, and when, the preacher says something that we desperately need to hear, we make excuses by using our personal experience, that it "really doesn't apply" to our situation. When the Holy Spirit is tugging at our hearts, often we feel compelled at the beginning to at least get prayed for, but then we make promises to God at our seats, and do a full retreat. As soon as we hit the doors those promises fade until next Sunday.

* About three years ago, this was totally me.

When two hearts beat as one - 11.16.10

2010-11-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night i had a time of worship, alone. Have you ever just surrendered everything that's going on in your life to God? In that moment...i said, "God, i don't want to manage my life anymore!!...i don't want to stress about it. I just want what you have for me."

I've finally collided with this understanding that God might not have a "perfect life" planned for me. With a perfect future husband, a beautiful home and a career, or children. I just have to let that go. When my dreams and my desires overtake God's voice or his will, i have to let it go.

I've heard people say that if God has placed that desire to have a family in your heart then it will come. That's well and good, but then again, i've desired many things, even some that i thought were from God that never happened. examples: attending Central Bible College back in 03', Jobs, Relationships, Missionary opportunities, most recently making a move to Oklahoma, during those times my heart cried out..God, seriously...what are you doing to me?
When my cry should have been this...

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139: 7, 9-10, 23-24)

Surrendered Faith

2010-11-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

Surrender

a : to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand

b : to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another

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It is a matter of Faith in God that causes us to trust or to not trust him with our very life.
My faith has become stronger in the past couple of months, sometimes i think that God is out to teach me a huge lesson in trust. Listen to this...

Think about it:
We trust employers, We trust the government and military, We trust church people, We trust our family, We trust our neighbors sometimes more than we trust God.
Instead of coming to our Heavenly father first, we seem to go to everyone else and then we remember who is really in control.

All we have to do is trust God that the situation is going to be taken care of through Him. I've known families that go through hard times but never been without a home, never been without food, never seen a bad outbreak of sickness, God has always provided! Time after time he has proven himself Faithful in all circumstances, still they fear for their lives and worry what will we do "IF" this happens. Well, it hasn't happened yet. It may never happen. Yet, we are convinced that somehow God is going to forget us? You are not forgotten even if you have lost a home, even if you've had to ask for help from others. God still has a plan of prosperity for you!

He knows how many hairs are on your head yet, you lack faith.
He has plans to prosper you not to harm you yet, there is still a lack in faith
He has provided in times where you didn't know how that bill was going to be paid for. Yet, God intervened in ways you still can't figure out. In his Word it says that the birds don't worry if they will have supplies to build their house, it's just provided. We need to develop that natural faith with God, that faith that walks out the door every morning and just knows that God is going to pour out blessing after blessing.

My prayer for you is that your faith in God will grow, that you walk in his grace and provisions everyday. My prayer is that when you wake, you can thank God that you're still here and you are still being blessed day after day, after day!

Psalm 46:10
-Deanna

Also, think of the boy that had two fish, and five loaves of bread. It was all he had yet, he surrendered it to Jesus in Faith that somehow he would be blessed.

Feel free to leave comments!
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LUKE 12:22-29
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? ²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹

Plundered Honor- Part 2

2010-10-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

I had a dream recently: There was a young couple engaged to be married. The Bride was adorned in jewelry. She had on necklaces and gold bracelets that covered both of her arms, a beautiful white wedding gown on. She was breathtaking! But, in my dream the Groom makes advances at another lady...he lusts after another woman and allows himself to become vulnerable to the desires of the flesh.

Shortly later, the lady comes up to the Bride and removes every piece of gold jewelry leaving her bare and devastated. Totally astonished and robbed of her glory, mocked and betrayed. Sin/satan stripped her of her title.

Something to think about...
Do we allow sin to take control & steal away our glory in Christ?
Do you think that couples lack the understanding of unity in marriage?
When you are married and you allow your sinful nature to overtake you, is it also affecting your spouse?
In the book of Genesis it say's that we become "One flesh" when we become married ? What does that mean?
Also, take a look at Matthew 19:6

Please share any thoughts!

Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Revelation 21:2
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

Unveiled Marriage- Part 1

2010-06-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

God challenges us to love our spouses.

In 1 Corinthians 13: it says "Love is patient, Love is kind, it's not envious, not boastful. keeps no record or wrongs" etc. just think of what marriages could become if we started displaying love this way...like totally living it!

In the film " Facing the Giants" one of the many things that i noticed was that despite all of her husbands shortcomings, despite everything that they struggled with both as a couple and separately, his wife is the steadfast encourager pushing his faith to greater heights. When she was fighting her own giants her faith in God was a rock that he could stand on.

In most marriages we see the women relying mostly on the man to be the head of the household & also to be the spiritual leader...i know a lot of guys who don't feel that they have the faith to accomplish this. Or, because of their insecurities they tend to throw that "authority" and use it to manipulate or make the wife feel inadequate...we need to get it together and start loving the way God designed love to be...there are still opportunities to turn it around and make it right. Better late than never!

Despite your insecurities or failures or the past, rise up. You have the power to defeat these obstacles by faith.

There are also wives that make their husbands feel inadequate maybe as head of the household or as the spiritual leader... We should be empowering our spouses daily with prayer, encouragement and by reading the word of God :)

And just because i am single i don't get an easy alibi :) I have a TON of hurdles that i can, by faith defeat as well !!

i am single and writing a blog about marriage....seems silly. But, Apostle Paul was single too :)

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Proverbs 12:4 - An excellent wife is a crown to her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

Proverbs 31:10-12- An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.

Ephesians 5:25- Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

1 Peter 3:7- Likewise husbands live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel and as heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Prayer request.

2010-05-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

In the past few months i have felt very strongly that i am being called to missions so i really need prayer...i need God's direction like never before. Not sure how to go about this...honestly, i am scared and excited but mostly just ready! I've decided to return to Haiti this fall on a trip as long as they still have room. I also plan to attend a christian university this fall that focuses on missions training and biblical theology. Please, pray for me that i get plugged in where i need to be...not just a place that's familiar but totally challenges my faith! Thanks!!

A Vision for Outreach Ministries.

2010-05-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hey, Just thinking about some interesting & innovative ways to minister to people :)

* Coffee House Stations- A local spot that isn't as formal for those who don't feel totally comfortable being in "Church" but each service is webcasted at the Station. Also, the staff would be affiliated with the church and should be interacting and asking if they have any needs maybe they are new to the faith and just have questions about doctrine, etc.

* Missions Warehouse- A warehouse either on or near church property that is stocked with Items needed overseas or for urban ministry opportunities within the community. So hypothetically, a missionary/church in Kenya would contact us and let us know that they are low on medical supplies, clothes, translated bibles, etc. We, in turn would have those items ready to be shipped out within a week or so.

* A Christian Search Engine- maybe there is one out there...not sure but it would be nice! I am tired of the "News" and "Gossip" i want to hear about what God is doing around the world! I want to be able to easily get to ministry tools and worship music should be playing at all times while you are using the site!! cool, huh?

Feel free to leave comments, feedback or suggestions!! Thanks

** More to come soon **

I think it's about time!

2010-04-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

Recently i built a facebook group called Epic Underground. Its purpose is to organize mission projects for Derby & surrounding areas. I think as Christians we should step it up with our giving. We say God bless you & I am praying for you a lot...but Jesus ultimately served in a manner that the church has forgotten. I believe it has become more about what the church can do for those inside the church rather than those outside the church. Yes, i believe in building and encouraging the body of Christ & it's important to equip believers and sharpen each other in our faith but com'on people...when do we start reaching outside of our comfort zone? We need to give our time, our resources & yes!! get out in our community and start inviting people to our church...open the doors to the brokenhearted. It's become too easy to ignore people & their needs. We think about ourselves way before we think of anyone else...i am guilty of this. I think of my free time and my weekend and what i want to do instead of focusing on what God wants me to do. What are we here to do?

Matthew 25:40-45

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these; you did not do for me.

3/11/2010

2010-01-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Last night i was frustrated...really frustrated. If you're single- never married- like me...you probably have a lot of questions for God when everything is so blurred. Lately...here are my questions: God, why is it that i find myself in awkward situations? Why haven't i been asked out in forever? If i am going to remain single...i'd kinda like to know so that i can jet, just wander the globe & talk about you! Why can't i sing? I can whistle on key..so, what the heck. Am i really making a difference at the law firm? Do you want me to stay with the law firm? Should i go back to college & go into FT ministry? Most of these questions are still not answered...but my hope is renewed!

Btw- If you are really frustrated or seeking direction in your life...cleaning your church is an awesome way to relieve stress, communicate with God & find some peace in his house! :)

God is ever faithful!
Deanna Ruhter

Hey, I have a blog :)

2009-12-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, so i created this Blog to share thoughts, be inspired and to inspire others....pretty simple. But, it could get complex...sometimes my thoughts are like Downtown Seattle on a rainy night and then at times a nice walk in the middle of an open field of flowers. Could get interesting :)