Authorities say 9-year-old Savannah Hardin died after being forced to run for three hours as punishment for having lied to her grandmother about eating candy bars. Severely dehydrated, the girl had a seizure and died days later. Now, her grandmother and stepmother who police say meted out the punishment were taken to jail Wednesday and face murder charges.

Witnesses told deputies Savannah was told to run and not allowed to stop for three hours on Friday, an Etowah County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said. The girl’s stepmother, 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin, called police at 6:45 p.m., telling them Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.

Simpson said he saw a little girl running at around 4 p.m., but didn’t see anybody chasing or coercing her.

“I saw her running down there, that’s what I told the detectives,” Simpson said from his home on a hill overlooking the Hardins. “But I don’t see how that would kill her.”

Authorities are still trying to determine whether Savannah was forced to run by physical coercion or by verbal commands. Deputies were told the girl was made to run after lying to her grandmother, 46-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard, about having eaten the candy, sheriff’s office spokeswoman Natalie Barton said.

Savannah Hardin died Monday at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s release said an autopsy report showed the girl was extremely dehydrated and had a very low sodium level. A state pathologist ruled it a homicide.

The sheriff’s office received calls from concerned citizens who witnessed the girl running. No other details were released, but an official with the local volunteer fire department said rescuers thought something seemed odd when they responded to a call about the child.

“One of the ones who were down there said he didn’t feel like everything was right,” said Ruby Ward, vice president of the Mountainboro Volunteer Fire Department.

Gail Denny and her husband Phil, live just up a dirt road from the home. They’ve known the family since they moved to the area in northeastern Alabama seven years ago.

The couple said they were used to seeing Savannah and other neighborhood children out waiting on the school bus in the morning. Gail Denny said her grandson had a crush on Savannah.

“My grandson asked her to be his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day, and she said ‘yes,’” she said before dissolving into tears. She left a candle and stuffed animal outside the girl’s home Wednesday night, saying a prayer as she paused beside the road.

The trailer where Savannah lived was surrounded by a wooden fence, playground equipment and toys. Neighbors say they never saw children playing in the yard.

They told The Associated Press that Garrard owned a lot of property along the road and much of her family lived in homes on that property.

“It seems like a very happy extended family around here,” Denny said. “There are mothers, grandmothers, kids. It sounds like a punishment that got out of hand.”

Garrard and Jessica Mae Hardin are being held in the Etowah County Detention Center, each on a $500,000 cash bond.

Court records show that Robert Hardin filed for divorce in August of 2010. In his complaint, he asserted his wife was bi-polar and had alcoholic tendencies. He accused her previously of having run off with the couple’s own child. In her response, Jessica denied all of Robert’s allegations.

Five months after filing for divorce, the two asked a judge to dismiss their case.

Savannah Hardin was a third-grader at Carlisle Elementary School. Superintendent Alan Cosby said her desk had been turned into a makeshift memorial where her classmates could leave notes and mementos. He said counselors and social workers were made available for students.

“This is obviously a very tragic, devastating, heartbreaking situation,” Cosby said. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

http://news.yahoo.com/2-charged-death-ala-girl-forced-run-082216169.html

When someone comes to you with a personal problem, ask them the following questions: What do you think caused the problem? What have you done about it? What Scriptures are you standing on? What do you think I might be able to do, that you haven’t already done? These questions will help you weed out those who genuinely want help from those who only want attention. Some people see prayer as a magic wand; they think you can wave it over them and their problem will just go away, then they can go back to living their lives the way they please.

Here’s another situation. Someone may say, “The doctor has suggested surgery. What should I do?” Unless you’re a doctor, be very careful what you advise. If God has spoken to someone and they have faith that He will heal them, don’t throw cold water on them. So what should you do? Jesus said, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven” (Mt 18:19 NKJV). The real question is, are they standing on their faith or yours? You can teach people God’s Word, but you can’t force them to come up to your level of faith until they’re ready. Sometimes people may be ready and all they’re seeking is confirmation. The Bible says: “You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things” (1Jn 2:20 NKJV). But unless God has let you “know,” be careful what you advise!

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/02/23/be-careful-what-you-advise/

Then he said to me: Human one, eat this thing that you’ve found. Eat this scroll and go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. He said to me: Human one, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you. So I ate it, and in my mouth it became as sweet as honey.

Life is like that. Often, we are inadequate for the troubles life throws at us, and we need help from outside of ourselves. As members of the body of Christ, that help can come at times from our Christian brothers and sisters (Rom. 12:10-13)—and that is a wonderful thing. Ultimately, however, we seek help from our heavenly Father. The good and great news is that our God has invited us to come confidently before Him: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

At such times, our greatest resource is prayer—for it brings us into the very presence of God. There we find, in His mercy and grace, the help we need.

Have you ever felt like someone didn’t like you — maybe even hated you — for no particular reason? It’s puzzling, isn’t it? You wonder what you did to provoke a strong reaction, and if you can’t think of anything you did, it seems irrational. We Jews often find ourselves as the objects of such irrational hatred.

For example, at various points in history, Jews have been accused of being too poor or too wealthy; too politically domineering or too politically uninvolved. We’ve been accused of being too spiritual and too secular, unambitious and overly aggressive, too separated from others and too assimilated. Does that make sense? How can we be all those things?

Anti-Semitism, like other forms of racism, is a condition of the heart. It reflects a callous heart that has lost sensitivity to others. The writer of Psalm 73 says that “from their callous hearts comes iniquity” (v. 7). A hardened heart that has lost sensitivity to others is a breeding ground for evil.

In addition to a callous heart, anti-Semitism forms in a conceited mind. At the base of racism is the conceited belief that one person or group is better than another and “their evil imaginations have no limits” (Psalm 73:7). Rather than listening to the voice of reason, irrational thoughts prevail, driven by passionate hatred. For those who promote anti-Semitism, their hatred is simply hatred, without any reason or justification for it. This irrational racial hatred has often led to inconsistent accusations against the Jews — such as those above — because the accusations are not based on logic or merit, but hate.

Finally, the psalm writer says that those with callous hearts and conceited minds also have threatening lips, for “they scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression” (Psalm 73:8). Anti-Semitism, and other racial prejudice, often expresses itself in threats, intimidation, and oppression. Acts of terrorism against Jews and Jewish icons are an attempt to instill fear in the lives of Jews.

As the psalm writer concludes, when faced with unreasonable and unmerited prejudice, there is only one place to find hope and to remember, “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you?”(vv. 23-25). We can have confidence that in God’s presence and guidance no matter what our circumstances or difficulties we face.

http://www.holylandmoments.org/devotionals/an-irrational-hatred-2