Caged No More

Did you know that slavery is still happening in the world today? Human trafficking is the world's fastest growing global crime and that every 30 seconds a child is sold into slavery. Don't just think it's happening in some other country. It is happening in our nation as well. Every year 1.2 million children are sold from the ages of 12 to 18 into human slavery. Makes you wonder about all those kids that go missing. Are they simply part of the human slave trade? Did you realize that parents are often the biggest criminals selling their own children into the human slave trade market? An estimated 27 million people are enslaved worldwide. Slavery is not over, it is still happening and we need to put a stop to it now!

Caged No More takes viewers into the heart of a fictional movie inspired by real events. Aggie (Loretta Devine) Prejean, a grandmother on a desperate search to find her two granddaughters, Skye and Elle, who have been kidnapped by their sinister father (Kevin Sorbo). As the details behind the girls' disappearance begin to unravel, they have been discovered to have been taken overseas to be sold into the sex trade, under the guise of a modeling contest in Greece. Aggie enlists the help of the girls' uncle, a well-respected philanthropist, and his son Wil (Alan Powell), who is a former Special Forces officer. A global hunt ensues, and the team will stop at nothing to see the girls safely returned home.

This is not a family-friendly movie, but it is one that cannot be ignored. For far too long many groups that are working to put a stop to human trafficking, are merely overlooked by the public and media groups. Our goal should be to see this come to a halt, whether it is public and national exposure or even working with our local community groups to do all we can to see this crime exposed for the pure evil it is. It might be your daughter, friend, niece, sister or family member that is sold into the human sex trade. We need to ensure that every church and community sees this film, but more than that, to do our part to help. You can find out more information about human trafficking and how to help at CagedNoMore.com. You can even find the nearest group working to end this in your community.

I received Caged No More compliments of Word Films and Edify Media Inc for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a copy of this DVD in exchange for my honest and unbiased personal opinion. One thing is certain, we need to spread this message and expose the darkness in this world and see an end to human trafficking once and for all. Every family, church and community needs to see this movie. We need to talk to our daughters and let them know that this is a crime that often goes unreported or falls under kidnapping or missing kids. Who are your kids chatting with online or through social media. It's time we all take a stand and protect our kids. I easily give this DVD a 5 out of 5 stars and encourage everyone to watch it. It is rated PG-13 and runs about 97 minutes.

For more information about Caged No More, Word Films or where you can pick up a copy of this DVD today, please click on the links below:

Caged No More by Word Films

You can find out more about Caged No More, by visiting their Facebook page.

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Ruth's Redemption

Sometimes reading about the mistakes of America's past can be difficult especially when it happened over 200 years ago but it doesn't minimize the impact it would have on you reading about it. Take for example the recent book I just read, Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks about the horrors of the slavery conditions that happened in the early 1800's. Even though the story is a fictional account it was still based on true events. This one centered around the Nat Turner Rebellion in Tidewater, Virginia and is where the story begins.

It shows how the differences in peoples mind's about slavery between those in the North and those in the deep South. The North had begun to accept that slavery should be abolished but the progress was slow in getting people to come to terms with equality among all men and women. Bodine Peace was left free when his master died and left him adequate land to begin a life for himself. He finally found that deep within himself that all along, owning slaves had been wrong. He made sure that the terms for freeing Bodine Peace was upheld by his sons. Bodine Peace, or Bo as he was called was a man of God who believed that despite how long it was taking for God to bring about justice to all men, He would eventually free them all.

Bo used his land to help other slaves become free as well. Asking that all they had to do for freedom was work off the price he had to pay for them by working on the land Mr. Maitland had given him. He would teach them a fair trade, educate them and when a year's time was up, he had legal papers drawn up to provide them their freedom. It was during this time that Bo came across a woman who called herself Ruth. He was in town to purchase slaves as he felt led by God and when Ruth's determined actions cause her owner to beat her in public, Bo felt he had God's answer.

Yet it would take time to heal the hatred in Ruth's heart towards all men and especially to heal her bitterness and resentment towards God. Ruth had been sold into slavery primarily for breeding based on her good looks which she saw as a curse from God since there wasn't anything she could do about that. So she remained determined to do whatever she could to find freedom even if that meant using her looks to her advantage.

I received Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and really loved how well the characters of Ruth and Bo were developed by Marlene so that the reader would be immersed in their lives and could see things from their eyes, how cruel the world could be, and how not everyone believed people should be treated like livestock. This one rates a 5 out of 5 stars in my book and shows just how much God's plan will work for those who LOVE Him despite the outward circumstances.

For more information on this book, the author and where to purchase a copy of this book, please click on the link below:

Ruth's Redemption by Marlene Banks

Deliver Me From Evil

Perhaps one of the most powerful books I've read in a long time, exposes the world of child kidnapping and human trafficking. Often times we think this happens in other countries far away from us, but we would be so shocked to learn that it may in fact be happening in our own neighborhoods in this country.

Using a fiction based story, Deliver Me From Evil by Kathi Macias is an eye-opening and tragic story of one girl, Maria whose name is changed to Mara is sold by her family in Mexico to her uncle in hopes of a better life. The better life she had dreamed of turns into a nightmare when she learns she has been sold into a prostitution ring and her uncle is running it. Now year later, Mara has found a way to cope, a way to place herself outside of what is happening to her body in hopes that one day she will die from the hands of one of clients who beats and abuses her. She knows she can never escape and find a life of freedom again.

Jonathan is on the verge of graduating high school and works nights delivering pizza at Slice of Italy. Only tonight's delivery will change his life forever when he encounters a young girl running from a motel room, half naked, begging him for help. An older man appears and takes the young girl back from him, claiming he is her father and she is mentally unstable and hasn't been taking her meds. Just as Jonathan tries to intervene, Mara calls for the young girl and validates the story. Thinking nothing more of it, Jonathan leaves, but can not forget the image or the young girls face pleading for his help.



In the novel, Deliver Me From Evil from Kathi Macias, the first book in the Freedom series, Kathi takes the reader into the world of human trafficking in the prostitution market within San Diego as the setting for this story. Finding it difficult to read as a parent of two girls, this book really hit home for me. Wondering if this isn't really occurring in our own towns and neighborhoods as young girls go missing, claimed by police as merely runaways or the victims of internet dating. How would a parent ever know if their child wasn't a victim of this senseless crime that is happening all over the world, especially when kids are walking home from school or attending late night events or a day at the beach.

This makes the reader more aware that these things are happening and even want to take a proactive approach at seeing this end. Not just criminals placed behind bars but for the need of this type of service to end and the tragic lives that are taken away forever, finding a way to heal the pain inside. I want to thank Kathi for taking a stand and writing a difficult novel with a strong story line like this one, if not to create an awareness in us, but to cause us to help in finding a way to stop this abuse once and for all.

I received this book compliments of Pump Up Your Book Tours and New Hope Publishers for my honest review and highly recommend it. Not a subject for young adults but definitely something that the church ministries should all actively be pursuing in their own communities. The more aware we become, the more we can find a way to end this nightmare for those involved. I rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information on this book, the author and where to pick up a copy of this book, please click on the links below:

Deliver Me From Evil by Kathi Macias

You can also find Kathi on Facebook by clicking here.

Across The Wide River

Your freedom. How often do you think about it? Do you take it for granted? Are you willing to fight for it?

Lowry Rankin's family have been freedom fighters for quite some time. They are living in the midst of the war against slavery. While others think it's their God-given right to own one, the Rankin family is willing to risk their own lives to help slaves find freedom in whatever states in the US and Canada are willing to treat men as equals.

John Rankin is a minister. A minister that believes that we should treat all men as the Bible tells us to and isn't afraid to teach about it in his church. However he can't be all places at the same time, and when a childhood friend is whipped to the point of death, the family believes its time to move from Kentucky to Ohio and begin over again. There are too many people that believe that there is nothing wrong with owning a slave, while he believes they deserve the same freedoms his family does.

The Rankin's become one of the first families to use their home as a station for the Underground Movement. Just when Lowry thinks that his life has no point and school is unnecessary, his father has him help move men in the middle of the night to the next safe house. When a tortured and beaten slave by the name of David tells him during his rescue that he will forever remember Lowry, suddenly he feels a different calling in his life.

I received Across The Wide River by Stephanie Reed compliments of Kregel Publications for my honest review and in the process learned about a true story in the process. This book just isn't a story about the Underground Railroad movement but about the story of the Rankin family and their role as abolitionists at the time. They too had much to fear if people found out they were helping slaves to freedom. She spent years researching the material for this book and in the process we can see just how difficult this time in history was for everyone involved.

This book is founded on the faith of Jesus Christ that is evident by the way they shared God with those that they helped along their journey to freedom. I rate this book a moving 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it! For more information about this book, the author and where to get a copy for yourself, please click on the links below:

Across The Wide River by Stephanie Reed

You can also find out more about the Rankin family by going to www.ohiomemory.org and search for the name Rankin and find the Ripley Anti-Slavery Society charter when the names of Lowry and Ibby Rankin along with other Ripley resident are entered. You can even find photos of John and Jean Rankin, Lowry's parents.

To follow Stephanie on Facebook, click here.