God is Moving

I went to Planned Parenthood to pray yesterday with 40 Days for Life. It was my second time to go be a part of the vigil. I try to go not expecting anything yet expecting anything because one never knows what will happen at events like these.

Well, yesterday was one of those 'anything can happen' days.

I was running late so didn't get there on time, but when I arrived, there were quite a few people present. I signed in and offered to take over the shift duties so the woman who was doing that could go pray without being disturbed. I think it was close to 2pm when I got there.

As part of being a Shift Leader, I like to take periodic head counts just to see what our numbers look like. At one point, we had 13 folks praying at the vigil. Quite a difference from my first sesion last week where there were only 4 of us for a while and then only 2.

We saw a few cars come and go and we always prayed for them right away. In fact, there were a few times when we would 'talk' to the cars and tell them to turn around. None did except for one.

(Time for a bit of comic relief)

This car pulled into the drive and I saw it and kept saying "Please turn around. Don't go in there." I didn't say it loud enough for them to hear, but that's exactly what they did. I was on the phone at the time, so I told the person on the other end that I needed to hang up because the car was pulling over!

I walked to the car and asked if I could help with something. There was a man in the car looking for me. Talk about shocked! Then, I noticed a sign on his car. My husband, the dear that he is, had decided that since I had already been at the Planned Parenthood for a while I was probably geting pretty hungry. He ordered two pizzas and had them sent over for us! That was about the nicest thing ever.

(OK, back to the rest of the day at the vigil)

We were minding our own business praying and talking to one another when a truck pulled up and sat there for several minutes. Now, my being legally blind, I had no idea what was going on really. I saw that there was something printed on the side of the truck but didn't know what exactly.

After several minutes, a gentleman stepped out of the truck and asked who was in charge. Well, since it was pretty obvious that I was the Shift Leader because of the name badge, I spoke up. He told me (in more words that I'll post here, lol) that although he supported our efforts, we were in violation of some ordinance that said that we weren't allowed to have signs propped up on the ground. It was fine to be holding them, but it was not fine to have them propped. We could either take the signs down or he would take them down himself. I decided it was best to simply comply since I am not aware of all the legal aspects of being in the grassy right of way. I immediately contacted our directors and informed them of what was going on. But, the most interesting thing to me in this situation is that the man (who was from the Indianapolis Department of Transportation) said more than once that he supported our efforts and told us to keep up the good work.

All this is to say that I really feel that God is moving among us in our efforts and Satan knows it. If we weren't being heard or seen, no complaints would have come up at all, I don't think. But, because we are getting negative reactions from some folks, I know that we are making a difference. And, by the way, our vigil site isn't the only one that has been targeted for sign removal.

Praise God our efforts are not going unnoticed! Some may see this as an obstacle, but I see it as a sign that Satan knows what we are doing and is darn mad about it.

My daughter's observation

I know I posted earlier today, but I just had to come back and post again.

While I was watching the videos I mentioned in my last post, I decided to watch some other abortion videos on YouTube. Now, the ones I watched weren't actually abortions. I was looking specifically for some that were pro-life. I found a music video with pictures of fetal development. I asked my daughter (who is 2) what the pictures were. She knew right away. When I asked her, there was a picture of a baby at 9 weeks. She was able to tell me that it was a baby.

What's the point of this, you ask? Simple. If my 2-year-old child can recognize that a fetus is a baby at that early of a stage in development, why can't the adults in our country see the same thing? Why are we even debating about when life begins. It just doesn't make any sense to me at all.

Awesome videos!

So, I was looking on my Facebook page today to see what new things people had posted. I tend to read anything posted by one particular woman. She had posted a video, so I was going to watch it but realized that it was a second part to another vidoe. So, I went to YouTube and found the original so I could watch that one too. TALK ABOUT POWERFUL!!!!!

The videos are of a young woman speaking in Austrailia. She is an abortion survivor! How awesome is that?! Well, not thta her mother tried to end her life by having an abortion, but that she survived! She is a beautiful young woman now and is not afraid to STAND UP for lives that are lost by abortion. She is not afraid to STAND UP for JESUS CHRIST!!! I am just amazed...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPF1FhCMPuQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8B1nKGIAeg&feature=related

These videos I am sure will touch your heart as much as they did mine.

So many thoughts

I have so many ideas and keep getting more. Granted, most of them have come from other people, but still... I would love to see some of these come to fruition.

First, I became active with 40 Days for Life a few months ago. We are gearing up for this fall's event to begin pretty soon (the 24th). I had one assignment that turned into two that then got turned back into one that is completely different from the first.

I'm glad I decided to participate and get as involved as I have been. Next year, I really want to take on some more responsibilities as far as planning and such. It's a good way to see my ideas taken seriously and maybe even acted upon.

The first is a baby shower/birthday party for those mothers and babies who never got one due to abortion. I believe it could be a wonderful time of healing and celebrating that these little ones are in Heaven with the Lord. It will also be a time of grieving, but we cannot heal without going through that process.

The second is a parade of sorts. Maybe during the big opening rally for 40 Days. While walking to the Planned Parenthood during our opening, we could push empty strollers to signify life that was lost, blow bubbles to signify breath that was never taken and release baloons (or something) to signify those little souls returning to Heaven.

The third could also tie into the last. I believe that babies are human beings from the time of conception and that the bodies of these precious little ones need to be respected. So, why not have a proper burial for them? It would be really touching to be able to contact a cemetery to see if they would 'donate' a small plot or something for these babies to rest. I don't know. This is another thing I read from a friend and thought it was very touching.

I don't tend to have my own original ideas, but ideas of others are so great that I want to capitalize on their thoughtfulness.

Now, one last thing that is comepletely an idea I came up with all on my own...

I am a volunteer at a nearby Life Center and we offer counseling to those considering abortion. We also offer free ultrasound. But, technicians aren't always available. So, I was thinking of getting a portable Doppler. I've been wanting to do this for my doula practice anyway. That way, if there isn't an ultrasound tech available when I'm there but someone is interested in one, I can at least offer them a listen to their baby's heart (if they are far enough along). This is a far-off dream for now though as Doppler equipment can be rather expensive. But, it would also be tax deductible. ;) Gotta love that, lol.

Well, those are my thoughts for the day. Hopefully, they'll soon be more than just thoughts.

Successful Completion

I know I was all concerned about how well the Walk for Life event was going to go because of my lack of financial donations, but, it seems I was worried about nothing.

It was a wonderful experience. It didn't start off that way though. The day started by my sleeping too late, taking too long in the shower, not getting my husband and kids up early enough and being more than 30 minutes after the event was to begin. The walk was to begin at 9, registration beginning at 8. We got there at 9:30. But, we weren't the only ones who were late, so that made me feel a bit better. And, as it turned out, the event got off to a late start as well. When we got there, testimonials were being given over a sound system from the outdoor stage at the State Fairgrounds. We actually had enough time to get registered, take a potty break and put on the t-shirt that was given to me, eat a donut or two (I only ate one, but my hubby ate a few, lol) and get in place for the walk to begin.

We walked about a mile and then spent a little time just socializing. There were a couple activities set up for children to enjoy that included a bouncy house and big inflated slide. My daughter enjoyed both of those greatly. :)

So, in the end, it was a great experience. The only two things that were a bit of a downer was that it didn't last long enough and I ended up with a sunburn. But, hey, those are trivial things and good 'problems' to have with the whole thing, lol.

I'll definitely be a part of this again next year. And, maybe I'll actually figure out something with this whole money part of it all. :)

Fund raising: Maybe it's just not for me

I'm really feeling quite disheartened today.

I signed up to participate in Life Centers' (formerly Central Indiana Crisis Pregnancy Centers) annual Walk for Life event. I thought it would be so much easier this year because instead of going door to door asking for donations (which still works), I could just give people this web address and they could go straight to my personal page and make donations instead of having to worry about handing money over to me and not being completely certain of where it was going or anything like that. I thought it would be so much easier on both parts. I guess I was wrong.

I asked several people and sent out probably 30 emails to people in my contact lists and only received one single donation of $25. I'm quite embarrassed that this is the only contribution I have made for the organization. But, I guess I should be happy with whatever I can bring to them. After all, $25 is $25 more than they would have had if I hadn't signed up. I'm just thinking that maybe fund raising is just not something I am good at. Guess I'll try again next year. Might try a different approach, though I don't know what that is going to be...

Political Frustration

I am not a political person, so I don't profess to know much. But, I do know what is right and what is wrong.

I am thrilled that we have broken new ground in our country this election by having a black man running for president and a woman chosen as a vice president. But, there seems to be a great cost in such triumph.

Some women are angry that a woman is in the running because they feel that it is nothing more than a strategy to get more women voters instead of voting on important political issues. But, that is a far cry to me from what is going on on the other side.

While I am excited that we have our first black candidate, I will not be voting for this man. I cannot, in good conscience vote for him.

Why?

Because he is okay with killing the unborn because he doesn't understand it. What is there to not understand? I am a legally blind woman and even I can see little hands, feet, arms, lets, heads and torsos in abortion videos. If that's not a human being, then what is it?

But, my frustrations go deeper than that.

The other thing I just don't understand is why people support him on this issue. I know there are some people out there that are in agreement with abortion, but I don't understand how some of those people could be Christians.

I have a friend who is so blinded by Obama's charm that she will vote for him regardless of his abortion views. To me, regardles of which political party I belong to, this would be a deal breaker. I could never vote for someone who accepts, allows and encourages abortion as an acceptable choice for women. What happened to the rights of the unborn? Who will speak for them?

I will. Will you?