40 Days for Life - Praying to End Abortion

I meant to post on this yesterday, but didn't get to. Yesterday was the Kick Off day for 40 Days for Life, an annual national campaign to end abortion.

Last year, a sweet friend in our Sunday School class organized a day that members from our class could spend praying outside a local abortion clinic. What a humbling experience. As we stepped onto the property, I think all of us were overwhelmed with emotion. It was as though we could almost sense how many precious, innocent lives had been ended there.

But I am so happy to report that through 40 Days for Life, innocent lives are being saved one by one. At 6:30 yesterday morning in New Jersey, a couple went into an Abortion Clinic and was handed a flyer and saw people praying. Ten minutes later, the couple came back out, seemingly arguing. Before they left, the woman looked at the people praying and made the sign of the cross. One baby saved! Minutes later, two babies were saved in New York City. Even into the evening yesterday, lives were being saved and changed through the transforming power of Christ's grace and mercy.


No matter how the pregnancy came to be, God knew that child before it was formed. I pray when these girls, and those that are going through the pregnancy with them, feel there's no other way but abortion, that God would put someone in their path to love them, to guide them to experience the mercy that all of us experience when we sin and ask for forgiveness. The mercy that opens its arms and comes running to us and gives us the grace to make it through whatever may come. Lord, let ME be an instrument of your peace.

The Campaign has a prayer focus for each of the 40 Days. Today's is: Pray for those who work in the abortion industry and for those who have repented of commiting abortions and have resolved to defend life.

I'm going to end with the prayer in today's Campaign devotional:

Lord, we thank you for those who have repented of committing abortions and have resolved to defend life. We too repent and resolve.

We repent of every instance in which fear has made us silent when we should have spoken. We repent of the ongoing bloodshed in our land, and for thinking that we can deprive the unborn of protection but keep it for ourselves.

We resolve that we will advance the cause of righteous candidates for public office, and that we will be more afraid of offending you by our silence than of offending others by our speech. We resolve that we would proclaim your name to the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Will you join me in praying that prayer and in praying for all those involved and affected by the abortion industry?

For more information and to find out available times to pray in your area, visit www.40daysforlife.com.

My Little Cha Cha

Well, life's been busy around our house lately, in large part because I'm trying to prepare for the move and getting our house on the market, but there's a special little two-year-old that makes everything a little more interesting. We like to call her Cha Cha (thanks Pa!). Don't let that cute little face fool you.....she's no angel. :) She cracks me up -- I've never met a child that age that has such a sense of humor or could get into as many things as she can.

Exhibit A:

Look closely at the doughnuts. Do you notice anything odd about them? Yes, that's right, a bite has been taken out of each one. I had picked up a special treat for the kids after dropping little man off at school one day (the doughnuts) and thought they could have one for an after school snack. Everything was quiet while I was upstairs working that morning. I came downstairs to find this box on the table and this little face looking up at me:
Is that a guilty little chocolate covered face or what? And notice her top - she had also taken her clothes off and put a bathing suit on backwards! I couldn't help but laugh!! Then, a couple of weeks ago I was in our study making some phone calls for Sunday School and Brooke came running in saying, "Mom, you're not gonna like this. Come and see what Eva has done!!!" And I went in the kitchen to find our betta in this condition:


Little Cha Cha had dumped not one, but two, complete bottles of fish food into Dory's bowl. Dory already has issues - (s)he is a little gender confused. If you know bettas, by looking at him (her) you can tell he's a male but our kids wanted to name him Dory (from Finding Nemo) and pretend he was a girl. So we refer to him as a 'her' all the time anyhow. And now the poor thing is about to bust a gut from trying to eat that food. I quickly cleaned his (her) bowl and after a few days of uncertainty, I'm happy to report that Dory is still with us.
So, we're just a cha-cha-ing along, trying to make just as many messes as we can along the way!

**no animals were harmed (well, at least not killed) in the creation of this blog entry. :)

He's There

I hesitate to post this after my little Smoothie Commercial. That post revealed my warped sense of humor (please forgive me). This one just shows what God has been teaching me.
After reading Melissa's post, I was prompted to put this song on my blog, because I just can't get it out of my head. Most of you know by now that we're moving and I've struggled with it a bit because I just love where we're at. But most of the time, that's when He moves you! And, praise Him, he'll be wherever we go....He's already gone ahead of us! Please pray for us as our family goes through a time of transition and busy-ness, that we'll continue to keep Him at the center of all we do! For now, though, just enjoy this beautiful song!! :)