Amber Ginter – Kallos

Who am I? 3 Things God says about you

Amber Ginter — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 06:55:00 +0000

Since I was 14 years old, I’ve struggled to know who I am and who God has called me to be. Like a stranger in someone else’s skin, I’ve felt uncomfortable in this body called my own. Though I didn’t inherently start out hating my body, I started limiting my food intake and exercising excessively to gain the ‘perfect’ body, falling into an eating disorder that I could not control. This unhealthy obsession with how I looked fed me lies that starved my soul.

Seven years into my struggle, aged 21, this painful discomfort was resting deep in my bones. But the more I tried to change my external body, the heavier I felt on the inside. I believed that if I made my physical self socially acceptable, I would gain friends. But begging for friendships in this way doesn’t end in genuine relationships — it compromises who we are. In those years, I traded the truth of His words for several lies. I stayed in patterns of sin that I thought would make me accept myself, but really only left me with an unhelpful idol called borderline anorexia and orthorexia (an unhealthy or obsessive focus on eating in a healthy way). In place of the happiness I was seeking, I received a mental disorder as a coping mechanism for control.

THIS UNHEALTHY OBSESSION WITH HOW I LOOKED FED ME LIES THAT STARVED MY SOUL.

Now having recovered at 25, I realise that my issues were not merely from a mental disorder, but problems with core beliefs about who God says I am versus who I believed I was. I had boiled my self-worth down to an image in the mirror when Christ calls me to eternal beauty that never fades. I want to encourage you with three truths of who you are according to God’s Word, so that you’re well-equipped to identify the lies you are told about who you aren’t.

I HAD BOILED MY SELF-WORTH DOWN TO AN IMAGE IN THE MIRROR

1. God says I am redeemed by Christ and not defined by my past, present, or future sins.
As I began to recover from my eating disorder and obsession with health, I had to reject who Satan had convinced me I was: an imperfect person who would never measure up. As my self-esteem plummeted, even though I knew that I was redeemed by the blood of Christ, I struggled to believe that God would be able to see me as a new creation who is forgiven of her sins (2 Cor 5:17; Eph 1:7). My past cast a shadow over my life in Christ.

Satan lies that I would never be good enough, but God says that in Christ, I am. In fact, Psalm 139:13–16 reminds me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made (v. 14)! Rejecting the devil’s lies helped me to see that I am of the utmost value to God because He loves me (John 3:16; Gal 2:20). All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), but because of His grace (Rom 3:24), we are forgiven and no longer bound by that sin (Rom 8:1–2; 2 Cor 5:21).

2. God says I can be healed of my sins, and I don’t have to keep them hidden.
In the thick of my addictions, I had a distorted view of who God created me to be. Facing my faulty image in the mirror, all I saw were my imperfections or reminders of why I’d never be enough to make up for how I’d harmed myself during my struggles. The enemy got me to believe that if I hid my sins even from myself, they would magically go away. I did not understand why I was a slave to these unhealthy mindsets and eating disorders, yet I sensed they were wrong and sinful. But healing doesn’t come when you conceal your sins — it comes when you bring them into the light.

James 5:16 tells us that confessing our sins to one another opens the door to healing. That’s exactly why the enemy would want you to keep your struggles behind closed doors — you are shutting off the possibility of resolving them soon. When we bring to light the lies of the enemy, it becomes much easier to dispel them with the truth.

3. God says I don’t have to be perfect to be loved and have worth.
I am a self-professed perfectionist, and I used to define perfection as having the best body, a perfect G.P.A., and having control over every aspect of my life. I even believed that God saw my value based on how much I served Him. But sisters, this thinking is not only flawed but destructive.

To be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48) has nothing to do with worldly views of perfection, but everything to do with Christ. When Christ calls us to His standards, that means being empowered by the Holy Spirit to endeavor to live a godly life as Jesus did. However, by our own strength, none of us can be fully righteous (Rom 3:10, 20). It is only through faith in Jesus that we are able to be counted as acceptable in God’s eyes (Rom 3:22–24).

IT IS INCREDIBLY FREEING TO KNOW THAT THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO BE ‘PERFECT’

Even today, I still have trouble understanding that our Heavenly Father’s perfection is something we are called to reach for but can never attain. At the same time, it is incredibly freeing to know that there is nothing I can do to be ‘perfect’. Instead, the beautiful thing is that Christ’s finished work on the Cross tells me that I am already loved and have worth — and that has nothing to do with my efforts.

We may be ugly, messy sinners, but Christ already died for you and me, just as we are (Rom 5:8).

DO YOU MEASURE UP?
When we believe these truths from God’s Word — that we are redeemed by Christ, can be healed of our sins by facing them, and don’t need to be perfect to be loved, something about how we see ourselves begins to change. When we look into the mirror, we won’t see a flawed, sinful being without hope. We will see someone worthy and redeemed in His eyes, not because of who we say we are, but who He declares us to be as new creations in Christ.

Remember, Satan prowls around like a hungry lion ready to kill, steal, and destroy, but Christ came to give life to the fullest (John 10:10; 1 Pet 5:8). Instead of feeding yourself with lies, fill yourself with the life- giving truths of God’s Word.

Uighur Genocide In Xinjiang

Amber Ginter — Sat, 01 May 2021 13:38:00 +0000

STATISTICS

BIRTH RATES DROPPED 60%
FROM 2015 TO 2018
AS A RESULT OF FORCED STERILISATIONS
(ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2020)

OVER A MILLION
Uighurs have been detained in re-education camps
(BBC, 2021)

MORE THAN 570,000 Uighurs
involved in forced cottonpicking
(Centre for Global Policy, 2020)

In recent months, increasing attention has been brought to a series of human rights abuses against the Uighur population in what has been termed the Uighur genocide. AMBER GINTER explores what is happening in Xinjiang, China.

HOW DID IT START?
The Uighurs (also known as the Uyghurs) are a Turkic ethnic group originating from Central Asia. There are 12 million of them in Xinjiang, China, roughly half its population. A largely Muslim minority, the Uighurs and Han Chinese in Xinjiang have experienced rising tensions in recent years, as the Uighurs have had limits imposed on their religious freedoms, and believe the Han Chinese are given preferential treatment in jobs and education. The unrest and violence reached its peak in 2009, with large-scale rioting in the capital Urumqi, as well as the infamous knife and bomb attacks in 2014.

As a result, the Chinese government launched a “year-long campaign on terrorism,” with controversial methods used to manage the violent separatists and others sympathetic to the Uighur cause. These include forced “re-education camps” and “vocational education centres,” which the Chinese government claims aims to stop the spread of religious extremism. However, they are now widely believed to be aimed at erasing the Uighur culture completely.

WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
Recent reports by the BBC revealed that these re-education camps and vocational centres are a guise for ideological indoctrination, systematic rape, forced sterilisations, and sexual and physical abuse — all with the aim of destroying Uighur identity. Tursunay Ziawudun, who was detained in one of these camps, recounted horrific accounts of women being removed from their holding cells nightly and being raped by 1-3 masked Chinese men in black rooms. She herself was tortured and gang-raped three times, but remained silent for fear of being sent back to said camps. She later fled Xinjiang after her release. And she’s not the only one. Numerous other women have spoken up about similar abuse.

In March 2021, the first independent, non-government report into China’s treatment of the Uighurs revealed that the Chinese government has breached every single article in the UN 1984 genocide convention with an “intent to destroy” the Uighur population, an accusation the Chinese government has vehemently denied.

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW?
Since the report was released, a spotlight has been shone on the human rights abuses faced by the Uighurs. In particular, there is a growing awareness of Uighurs forced into cotton-picking in Xinjiang, which produces over 20 per cent of the world’s cotton supply. Many of these Uighurs are also forcibly relocated away from their families because their lifestyle and customs are seen as a barrier to modernisation (BBC, 2020). The Chinese government maintains that cotton-picking is a way out of poverty for the Uighurs.

Major brands like H&M, Nike, and Adidas, all members of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) have expressed their concerns over the forced labour used to produce cotton in Xinjiang, and have faced boycotts in China as a result.

WILL THE SITUATION IMPROVE?
The Chinese government has categorically denied all allegations of human rights abuses, and these camps continue to exist. While the international attention on the issue is certainly a cause for hope, it has proved mostly ineffective to change things in China. Many Chinese citizens have expressed their support for Xinjiang cotton and the boycott of Western brands who raised concern about the Uighurs. However, the growing awareness about the potential abuses in Xinjiang could also gain important momentum as more pressure is placed on the Chinese government.

WHAT NOW?

PRAY FOR:
• The Uighurs, who are loved by God. He grieves for the abuses they suffer.
• The Uighur women who are sexually and physically abused, and those that have undergone forced sterilisations. Pray that they can find healing from the trauma.
• International brands to value ethics over economics, and continue to place pressure on the Chinese government to ensure ethical cotton-picking.

Rising Porn Exposure In USA

Amber Ginter — Mon, 01 Mar 2021 08:01:00 +0000

STATISTICS

9.1 MILLION SEARCHES
FOR PORNOGRAPHY
USING
COVID-19-RELATED ITEMS
(E.G. MASKS, GLOVES, MEDICAL SUPPLIES)

11% INCREASE
IN GLOBAL TRAFFIC ON PORNHUB
FROM FEBRUARY TO MARCH 2020
(JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS, 2020)

Since the initial onslaught of Covid-19 one year ago, it is startling to see just how much porn usage has advanced alongside this deadly disease. As the pandemic rages on, porn exposure in the US has risen as well. AMBER GINTER explores why.

WHAT’S HAPPENING?
With worldwide lockdowns and the pandemic raging on, the demand to be comforted is at an all-time high. People are lonely, so victims are more easily seduced, and sexual means are seen as coping mechanisms to stressful life circumstances. Covid-19 lockdowns have caused a surge not only in the use of websites like Pornhub but also an increase in those seeking help when their intimate pictures are posted online without their permission.

According to Pornhub, 42 billion visits to the site were made in the last year, an average of 115 million visits per day. At the same time, the BBC reported that traffic to Revenge Porn Helpline, a UK-based service for adults experiencing intimate image abuse, nearly doubled in the first four weeks of the pandemic, more than any other reported time. None of this is new — but the pandemic has certainly made things worse.

WHY IS THIS A PROBLEM?
While some media posted to pornography sites like Pornhub is consensual, much is not. In a now-famous investigation by New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, it was revealed that Pornhub’s defense from rebuke is that they provide solicited adult images, for adults, and fight to remove videos of rape or abuse. Victims like Serena K. Fleites, 19, however, would say otherwise. Fleites attempted suicide twice after her naked videos were posted on Pornhub by a boy she had a crush on. Her naked videos, since they were taken at 14, are tantamount to child pornography, yet remain online for the world to see.

And she’s not the only one. The Internet is rife with child pornography and videos of non-consensual violence. As porn exposure in the US (and around the world) rises, these precious souls are victimised again and again, for years and years, for as long as these media remain online.

WILL THE SITUATION IMPROVE?
Covid-19 has only amplified what was already in existence — the insatiable hunger for love, devouring lust as a substitute, with the huge increase in traffic to pornography sites as testament.

G.K. Chesterton, an English writer and lay theologian who died 100 years ago, is thought to have said, “Every time a man knocks on a brothel door, he is really searching for God.” Unless people recognise that the false comfort they find in pornography will never satisfy, pornography consumption will continue; there are no immediate, simple, or permanent fixes to end porn exposure for good.

Encouragingly, following Kristof’s journalistic expose on Pornhub, some concrete actions have been taken by the company to make access to non-consensual pornographic material more difficult, including disallowing downloads on videos and improving moderation to remove videos of rape and child pornography. In addition, Visa and Mastercard have blocked the use of their cards for payment on Pornhub. All of these give hope that the situation can improve as more people recognise the evils of being complicit in another’s suffering, or worse still, using their abuse for enjoyment.

WHAT NOW?

PRAY FOR:
– Those whose lives have been compromised by their intimate images being leaked online, or who have been sexually abused for someone else’s pleasure.
– Companies who can make a difference to take a moral stand against child pornography and rape videos, and to stop enabling companies like Pornhub that profit off the sexual exploitation of millions of victims worldwide.
– Those seeking comfort in pornography, to find healthier outlets and find their true fulfilment in Christ.

Kenyan Women Affected By COVID-19

Amber Ginter — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 01:11:00 +0000

STATISTICS

WORKING MORE TIME FOR LESS WAGES,
WOMEN IN KENYA HAVE BEEN
DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED
BY COVID-19
(BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
RESOURCE CENTRE, 2020)

50% DECLINE
IN ACTIVE TRADES
BY EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY
(EAC) WOMEN TRADERS
(THE AFRICA REPORT, 2020)

All across the globe, many are settling into what has become one of the most unprecedented times in history. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, lives have been turned upside down. In Kenya, Africa, specifically, the women impacted by this deadly disease are at a much greater threat. AMBER GINTER explores why.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?
With border closures and a reduction in regional help, countries like Kenya and its women are on the forefront of fatal repercussions. Due to a disruption in trade routes, imports and exports have ceased in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19, and trades have now declined by 50-60%. With an increase in caring for needs at home while attempting to still provide for those needs amid a pandemic, this tension is creating immediate financial inadequacy, leading to poverty and hunger (Foothold International, 2020). Women are among one of the most vulnerable groups exposed to the negative impacts of COVID-19, as they are direct caregivers and essential providers. They are therefore directly exposed to the virus by more than 60%. As traders, these women are the primary breadwinners, and with few avenues for success due to limited time, lacking resources, and accrued debts, existing inequalities are widened.

According to Cherie Catron from Foothold International, young women are particularly at risk during this outbreak due to schools being closed. Schools often provided one meal daily and menstrual pads, and with the closure of trade routes and schools, many girls are now at higher risk of facing early marriage, sexual abuse, or turning to prostitution in order to provide food and extra materials now needed for their families. As a result of these increased risks, teen pregnancies are now beyond what Kenya has ever seen, showing thousands in each region (Kenya Department of Health, 2020).

WILL THE SITUATION IMPROVE?
Like many East African countries, the rates of infection due to COVID-19 are not nearly as high due to younger populations, cultural distance, environment, and the government’s response; however, the effects of the virus have directly impacted a lack of supplies, transportation, and food scarcity beyond the disease (Foothold International, 2020; Advisory Board, 2020). Therefore, on their own, it is unlikely that Kenya’s women will recover successfully from this major impact.

HOW CAN WE PRAY?
– Women in Kenya to find support so that they do not have to resort to extreme decisions like prostitution in order to provide food for their families.
– Organisations in Kenya such as Foothold International or World Vision as they assist women with better avenues for these needs.

The Women Giving Away Their Children

Amber Ginter — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 03:42:00 +0000

STATISTICS

AN ESTIMATED 6.5 MILLION VENEZUELANS
WILL HAVE FLED TO ESCAPE POVERTY BY THE END OF 2020
(New York Times)

70% INCREASE
IN ABANDONED BABIES IN 2018
(BBC, 2020)

90% OF THE POPULATION
LIVE IN POVERTY
(INE, 2020)

Having to give your child away is a reality no mother wishes to face, yet it is one that many in Venezuela face on a daily basis. AMBER GINTER explores why.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?
Venezuela has been in the throes of what the United Nations has called one of the worst humanitarian crises. In fact, according to the U.N. World Food Program, 9.3 million people — nearly one-third of Venezuela’s population — are unable to meet their basic dietary needs. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has only worsened overall conditions, as access to food, resources, safety, and adequate education are increasingly out of reach. For women in Venezuela, however, another heartbreak is present.

Under socialist president Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan women are encouraged to have as many children as possible to heal the economy, a solution with fatal results. For most families, the crippling economic situation means that caring for the children they already have is a struggle in itself. More children means more mouths to feed, resulting in older children being kicked out of their homes or voluntarily sleeping on the streets to find food for themselves.

With the 2020 demand to re-populate, more women are forced to give up their newborns or live on the streets to survive. From warning signs to not abandon children in trash cans to beggars on the streets, Venezuela’s economy is increasingly declining, even with additional births.

WILL THE SITUATION IMPROVE?
With Venezuela in the midst of an ever-worsening economic crisis, the problem can only worsen. With an urgency to reproduce, women are forced to give up a child they can’t provide for, become homeless, or leave the area in attempts to find a new life. Children are often left behind with neighbours, other family members, or simply abandoned when their parents leave the country or region in search of better prospects (The Guardian). As a government-wide authorisation (U.N. Population Fund 2019), 17,000 hormonal contraceptives have been distributed at hospitals and clinics to prevent pregnancy. For those not receiving the implant, however, pregnancy is still possible. Once a child is born, the vicious cycle of reproduction, homelessness, and malnourishment begins all over again.

HOW CAN WE PRAY?

– For children living on the streets after their parents have been unable to care and provide for them to find the help they need.
– For government officials who have citizen’s interests at heart to be elected so that children can be better cared for.

DONATE TODAY

1. UNHCR
The UN Refugee Agency that works on the frontlines of providing food, medicine, shelter and water to those in need.

2. Save the Children
An organisation that provides safe spaces, emotional support, and learning centers for children.

Victims of Revenge Porn

Amber Ginter — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 16:20:00 +0000

STATISTICS

207,405 VIEWS OF PORN ARE ACCESSED EVERY MINUTE
(Forbes, 2020)

27% of non-consensual media is retrieved through images, videos, and recording,
23% privacy violation,
20% voyeurism,
11% peeping,
9% a combination,
and 11% disorderly conduct
(Psychology Today, 2020)

Non-consensual and Revenge Porn is the release of intimate images and videos without proper consent. Through sex tapes, explicit photos, upskirting, or hidden cameras, voyeurs and ex-partners have one goal: to expose an individual in a sexual way either for personal pleasure or to harass, threaten, coerce, or intimidate the person depicted (revenge). AMBER GINTER explores how it can affect young women and how we can pray for them.

WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHEN DID IT START?

Dating to the 1800s, porn is said to have originated as “a powerful vehicle for social and political protest” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020). Deriving from a desire for pleasure, however, the exact origin is impossible to pinpoint because of its subjective definition. While many scholars side with the 1800s, others argue that the artistry of sexual religous art or explicit Rome sculptures could be the guilty culprit as well.

Nevertheless, fighting porn can be increasingly difficult. According to the NCSL(2020), non-consensual porn is popular as human trafficking with often deadly results. In a recent study, 1 in 20 females, 53% of 3,044 surveyed, reported revenge porn. As a result, these victims received numerous hate claims because of the leaked selfies.

Although many releases come from consensual uses sent to a lover, the difficulty is stopping the widespread availability once publicly exposed, especially when victims are unaware of its exposure. This can lead to significant mental health stresses and affect a young woman’s very identity.

BECAUSE CONTENT REMOVAL IS NOT CHEAP, PERPETRATORS MAKE BETWEEN $300 AND $550 ON EVERY CLICKED LINK.

WHY IS NO ONE DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

Porn is more accessible than ever before. With more social media platforms comes an increased risk of content spread. Because of accessibility and a low likelihood of being caught, non-consensual and revenge porn are in high demand with little repercussions for its viewers. Most victims never report the crime due to embarrassment, therefore, it goes unpunished. The Internet is always capturing our past, present, and future. It’s almost always irreversible and impossible to retrieve something once it’s released to the public, hence many victims feel a sense of helplessness and do not know what to do.

HOW CAN WE PRAY?

– Young women who are being harmed by non-consensual or revenge porn to not to be ashamed to get help, especially for mental-health issues.
– Perpetrators to be free of the greed of using non-consensual porn to make a profit.
– Victims and perpetrators alike to know that true love and fulfillment only comes from the Lord. Pornography kills love and reduces human beings to temporary pleasures which dissipate with its use.
– Young people to recognise that true sexual fulfillment can be found in the safety of covenantal marital relationships. “Love teaches us to serve others. Porn teaches us that others exist to serve us” (Covenant Eyes, 2020).

Skin Bleaching In The Philippines

Amber Ginter — Wed, 13 May 2020 14:15:00 +0000

STATISTICS

1500s A.D.
Origin of skin bleaching.

GENERATIONS of mixed-race relationships,
it now impacts countries like Ghana, Africa, the Philippines, and India.

US$31.2 BILLION BY 2024
Expected industry size of the Skin Whitening Industry according to studies
by the World Health Organization.

In many countries around the world, skin bleaching is a counter-cultural phenomenon. Otherwise known as ‘skin lightening’ or ‘whitening’, this procedure has insurmountable side effects, and can cause deadly results. Even if products are used in legal limits, skin bleaching can cause the skin discolouration, scarring, kidney, liver, or nerve damage, mercury poisoning, and abnormalities in a newborn baby (if used during pregnancy). Yet to many, the possibly painful consequences are ignored in the pursuit of “beauty”.

Seen as a benefit that outweighs the risk, users of these creams, pills, and medical procedures believe that though the substances are banned, beauty is pain, and a price they are willing to pay. But why? Through a historical trend of success, wealth, and value attributed to lighter complexions, many have fallen victim to the claim that beauty is only skin deep.

WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHEN DID IT START?

Since the 1500s, people groups have been taught to love fairer skin. In the Philippines, for example, the descendants of the native brownskinned Indios people and the white-skinned Spaniards became a group treated as higher-class, status, and worth just because of their fairer complexion. Through colonial influence, this desire for lighter skin can be traced to European colonists (Portuguese, French, Dutch, and British) who according to Ngunan Adamu of Wellcome Collection, “exported their prejudice to the people they enslaved.” Becoming desirable for its ascension to prosperity and rank, the importance of this paleness was an attempt to justify racial slavery. That is, African Americans were seen as inferior to whites, and because whites had more opportunities, skin bleaching could bring success.

At this moment, Filipinos are just one group fighting for lighter skin, with the hopes of securing a brighter future with more economic opportunities opened up to them as a result of their updated look. Going as far as retrieving banned substances to attempt these procedures, luminous skin is seen as more favorable in classroom textbooks, social media, and even family culture. While many are fighting against this phenomenon, it is a global and booming industry, expected to reach US$31.2 billion by 2024 (according to Gideon Lasco of Sapiens).

WHY IS NO ONE DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT?

A look inside this dark world of lightened faces, with its attempt for social appeal, individual self-worth, or societal benefits can leave us feeling utterly shocked and helpless:

– At its best, these products often do not produce the outward beauty many are looking for.
– At their worst, they produce life-altering, and permanently damaging consequences.
– Little action is currently being taken because there is a strong demand and it would take a miracle to shut down this behind the scenes billion-dollar industry.

HOW CAN WE PRAY?

Pray for people who are unknowingly being harmed by skin bleaching practices and the greed of those supplying these products. Stand on the sidelines and fight with them—advocate for true inner beauty and confidence that comes from the Lord! Let us also strive for an inner beauty in our personal lives that will last forever and doesn’t cost anything because it was already paid in full by our Creator.