Hi, 

My name is Rachel Burgess,  I have been a victim of cyber bullying, and almost ended my life when someone told me that I had to keep fighting for all the people in the same position as me. I realized I needed to stand up again and help fight back. I cannot start a non-profit right now… But I am trying to do what I can to help stop bullying. Children and adults don’t deserve to lose their lives because of the insecurities of others. 

So today I am asking for your help. 

http://www.change.org/petitions/supreme-court-pass-real-anti-bullying-legislation-to-protect-lives

This may be the single hardest thing I ever do, but it may be the greatest thing I have ever been a part of. After working really hard on ideas for a non-profit, 3 years of college, and countless experiences. I have found myself, I know what I live for and what I am passionate for. 

I know I can be a dork sometimes, and annoying all of the time, but that doesn’t excuse the bullying that I had to endure and the bullying millions of other students who are middle, elementary, high school, and college have to endure. The fact that innocent children have lost lives, and our school systems do nothing about it is wrong and unjust. 

I want to make a change, and with your help we can make a difference. At my HS  students walked into school everyday with a sign that said one teacher can shape a student, and one student can shape the world, so what can 100,000 people do together?

On December 1st, 2012, North Caroline made signing up a teacher for junk e-mail a bullying crime, that a student could be sent to jail for. In August 2008 California passed a law related to cyber-bullying, until 2011 North Dakota did not even have any legislation defending those who are being bullied, and the state of Montana does not even have any law protecting and bringing justice to those who are bullied. In 2011, the State of New Jersey passed the toughest bullying legislation within the 50 states, enforcing that each school have an effective long-term plan on dealing with bullying and bullies risk expulsion. ONE state out of 50.

Massachusetts- 15 year old Phoebe Prince

Virginia- 16 year old Christian Taylor

New York- 16 year old Jamey Rodemeyer

Missouri- 13 year old Meagan Meier

New Jersey- 18 year old Tyler Lementi

This is just a minute fraction of people who have ended their life because of the rigorous bullying they endure daily. I am speaking out for all the students and non-students alike who suffer daily at school, at work, at home, and have seen no justice. In our constitution the first ten amendments are known as the Bill of Rights, a set of limitations derived to protect the natural rights of liberty. Another section of the United States Constitution states, “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” I am speaking out because we deserve a bill that is actually going to hold meaning within our country, our children, our future. My entire life I’ve been told that it’s my generation that is going to change the world. Well we cannot change the world if there aren’t any of us left. I am doing my part to make a change, please do yours.

http://www.change.org/petitions/supreme-court-pass-real-anti-bullying-legislation-to-protect-lives

suile-glasa asked: How do you deal with having doubts about God?

Unka Glen answered: Well, awhile back I had me some doubts. And I tried talking to my Christian friends about my doubts, but they were no help, because they were too busy repressing their own doubts to hear mine. Besides they were worried I’d talk us both into disbelief.

So I tried talking to my atheist friends, but I realized they were worried too, about losing their faith in nothing. Who knows, if they doubted all their non-belief, they’d end up, ya know, being a believer. So they weren’t any help. 

In the end, there was nobody to talk to except God, and that conversation went a lot like this:

Me: I have, like, doubts about all this stuff.

Him: I get that.

Me: You’re not mad?

Him: Nope. I like to do things on the down-low, so that way people come to me by choice. It’s better for the relationship that way. But it sometimes leads to moments of confusion.

Me: Yeah, I guess I kinda suck at the faith thing.

Him: Well, I can just give you the faith, that’s how it’s supposed to work anyway.

Me: Right on. I can dig that.

Him: I knew that you could.

Me: It’s just that sometimes things really look bad.

Him: There’s much more to life than what you can see.

Me: Yeah. That makes sense.

Him: But you can always come to me for answers, that’s how that’s supposed to work too.

Me: That sounds like a lot of me coming to you, and like, depending on you.

Him: Now we’re getting somewhere!

Me: Okaaay. You don’t mind me being kind of a hot mess about all this?

Him: I love talking to you about all this stuff, and there’s so much more for us to talk about as well. Don’t worry about your doubts, fears, or stumbles… just focus on keeping us connected. Everything you need will flow from that connection.

The one thing that should concern us is, are we representing Jesus well. It is unfortunate that often times we still allow our old nature to dictate our behaviour and actions. Sometimes we say and do things without even processing what the potential outcome will be. We feel the emotion and allow ourselves to react. He have the thought and speak it out loud. The network television stations have a 3 or 5 second delay on their live shows so they can bleep out things that are inappropriate. It is too bad we don’t have the same delay built into our personal system. It is why our mothers taught us to count to ten before reacting to things that made us mad.

We live in an age where a lot of our personal, private thoughts are now shared with everyone. Those things we use to think, process and often times throw away, are now shared across the world. You would think that we would use some kind of filter to prevent these things from harming others, but many of us don’t. In doing this we fail to represent Jesus. And it is all about representing Jesus.

If we have any doubt about our behaviour, and even if we don’t, we should be comparing ourselves to what we find in God’s Word. We don’t compare ourselves to other Christians but to Jesus and what God says is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. He has called us to his holiness and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is not good enough to excuse our behaviour with “I’m tired” (one I use a lot) or “I’m only human”. Excuses don’t cut it with God and he is the one to whom we answer. We have to bow before him and own our fault, confess it and allow him to remove it from us.

We shouldn’t need people to correct us; we should see and know our errors, faults and sins as soon as they happen. We know it because we know the Word of God. We know because we are convicted by the Holy Spirit. Don’t ruin that. Don’t deny the correction of the Spirit through the Word. Don’t become insensitive by trying to justify yourself before God:

Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

It isn’t about us. If we have done something outside of the character of Jesus we need to deal with it so it doesn’t get in the way. It is always about Jesus. Always. We represent him, not our church, not our family, not ourselves; only Jesus. And because of that we need to follow the instructions set out before us in the Word of God for dealing with our faults, sins and mistakes. There is a correct way to behave and the Word of God gives it to us. This is the only code of behaviour we measure ourselves against.

Are we representing Jesus well?