Our God is so good! Today, in the first hour that the abortion clinic
was open after 40 DFL began at midnight, here is what happened to one
of our Core Team members....
"I was at the abortion clinic at 8 am this morning and soon after I
arrived, a girl around 20 yrs old arrived with her mom.
They were in the clinic for close to 1 1/2 hrs. when they came out and
went to their separate cars. The mother's car was parked by the wall
and Mary, the sidewalk counselor, again asked if there was any help
she could offer. The mother said she wasn't going through with the
abortion. The young woman was parked across the lot and overheard the
conversation and shouted that she wasn't going to have the
abortion. Mary offered the woman a baby gift bag and she
walked across the parking lot to receive it!"
We will keep you updated of our stories 'on the sidewalk' as the
campaign progresses.
September 28, 2011
Let it begin! Let it begin!
Today we begin our fall 40 Days for Life campaign, with peaceful vigil and prayerful fasting until November 6.
Today we join over 300 cities around the world in praying for an end to abortion.
Today we claim 320 Fulton for Christ, asking that His healing and light and truth may prevail here, in the hearts of those who seek to end human life, in the budding hearts of these children, in the hearts of those gathered to pray on their behalf.
Peace be with you these forty days~
Today we join over 300 cities around the world in praying for an end to abortion.
Today we claim 320 Fulton for Christ, asking that His healing and light and truth may prevail here, in the hearts of those who seek to end human life, in the budding hearts of these children, in the hearts of those gathered to pray on their behalf.
Peace be with you these forty days~
Praying for those we can't see
Fabi at VirtuousPla.net writes about something all of us in 40DFL have experienced when praying on the sidewalk:
On Being a (Spiritual) Friend
The foundation of friendship is secret. It is not boastful, but quiet. It does not seek compensation, but pours out love as readily as a mother gives her child milk. I’m speaking of prayer and fasting. Both of which Jesus asked us to do without anybody noticing.
Few things show more profound love for another human being than time taken out of the day to pray for them. Heaven is listening but your friend is not and so there will be no “Thank you” or embrace from him or her. In this way you are strengthening your bond with another person and you are striving for a selfless love.
To take it a step further befriend your friend’s guardian angel. In this way the things you cannot do the angel will do for you.
Fasting is something that is relatively new to me. I usually just feel grumpy when I set my expectations too high, but offering up even the smallest sacrifices of your day for a good friend is a pain in the devil’s side. If you could actually see your friend’s spiritual battles in all their horror and magnificence you’d be throwing some pretty [bad] blows, making demons flee. It is exhilarating to think of this but also daunting. I think of these things and I don’t know if I truly love my friends this much, to sacrifice my comforts for the love of them. So when I do challenge myself I start small, because I am a spoiled child. I remind myself it is better to start small than not to start at all. Better to begin a squire then never be out on the battlefield defending not only myself, but those I love from evil.
In the eyes of the world keeping the foundation of friendship rich is a thankless job. Prayer and fasting are so hard to grasp for our modern go get ‘em minds. We want results and fun or nothing at all. But a true spirit of friendship is so much deeper than even I am able to grasp at this moment. It goes beyond the vain superficialities that we sometimes think make up our relationships.
If prayer and fasting is all you can do that is a great thing. Sometimes it is not practical, wise or mutually edifying to be in physical contact with a friend, but what can the devil do with your eyes lifted up to heaven and your hungry body ready to be fed by God?
God grant us all the grace to love with pure hearts and be living sacrifices for those we love, so that in the end we might be called True Friends.
On Being a (Spiritual) Friend
The foundation of friendship is secret. It is not boastful, but quiet. It does not seek compensation, but pours out love as readily as a mother gives her child milk. I’m speaking of prayer and fasting. Both of which Jesus asked us to do without anybody noticing.
Few things show more profound love for another human being than time taken out of the day to pray for them. Heaven is listening but your friend is not and so there will be no “Thank you” or embrace from him or her. In this way you are strengthening your bond with another person and you are striving for a selfless love.
To take it a step further befriend your friend’s guardian angel. In this way the things you cannot do the angel will do for you.
Fasting is something that is relatively new to me. I usually just feel grumpy when I set my expectations too high, but offering up even the smallest sacrifices of your day for a good friend is a pain in the devil’s side. If you could actually see your friend’s spiritual battles in all their horror and magnificence you’d be throwing some pretty [bad] blows, making demons flee. It is exhilarating to think of this but also daunting. I think of these things and I don’t know if I truly love my friends this much, to sacrifice my comforts for the love of them. So when I do challenge myself I start small, because I am a spoiled child. I remind myself it is better to start small than not to start at all. Better to begin a squire then never be out on the battlefield defending not only myself, but those I love from evil.
In the eyes of the world keeping the foundation of friendship rich is a thankless job. Prayer and fasting are so hard to grasp for our modern go get ‘em minds. We want results and fun or nothing at all. But a true spirit of friendship is so much deeper than even I am able to grasp at this moment. It goes beyond the vain superficialities that we sometimes think make up our relationships.
If prayer and fasting is all you can do that is a great thing. Sometimes it is not practical, wise or mutually edifying to be in physical contact with a friend, but what can the devil do with your eyes lifted up to heaven and your hungry body ready to be fed by God?
God grant us all the grace to love with pure hearts and be living sacrifices for those we love, so that in the end we might be called True Friends.
September 27, 2011
Wish I was there
I'll be fasting in solidarity with all of you beautiful people from my home in Alpena, where I moved at the end of last year's vigil.
At first I was sad to leave Grand Rapids. There isn't a 40 Days campaign in Alpena because there are no abortion clinics in that whole county. Which is a very good thing! yet, it left me twiddling my thumbs: how shall I show my commitment to children in the womb and the pro-life cause?
God didn't leave me asking that question for long. I was hired by the Alpena Child Abuse/Neglect Team as a Coordinator. We are the local council of the Children's Trust Fund, supporting programs in our county that work towards the prevention of child abuse/neglect. As coordinator, I take minutes at meetings and submit reports to the state detailing our use of their money. One program we support directly is the Alpena Baby Pantry. I am now a co-coordinator of the pantry, where parents can receive free diapers, wipes, formula and browse our clothing racks for all the infant clothing they could possibly need.
We respect the dignity of the parents in allowing them to choose what they like. We meet a physical need that will help support the parents, and parental support is one of the factors in preventing abuse.
God also blessed me with the opportunity to stay at home and show my pro-life commitment in raising my daughter well. She's now 20 months old, and soon to be a Big Sister in March. We are praying for our child in the womb as we continue to pray for all children in the womb.
I will be praying with you long-distance. I will depend upon all of you lovely people to be my hands and feet on the ground, braving the cold and taunts at 320 Fulton. God bless you abundantly!
At first I was sad to leave Grand Rapids. There isn't a 40 Days campaign in Alpena because there are no abortion clinics in that whole county. Which is a very good thing! yet, it left me twiddling my thumbs: how shall I show my commitment to children in the womb and the pro-life cause?
God didn't leave me asking that question for long. I was hired by the Alpena Child Abuse/Neglect Team as a Coordinator. We are the local council of the Children's Trust Fund, supporting programs in our county that work towards the prevention of child abuse/neglect. As coordinator, I take minutes at meetings and submit reports to the state detailing our use of their money. One program we support directly is the Alpena Baby Pantry. I am now a co-coordinator of the pantry, where parents can receive free diapers, wipes, formula and browse our clothing racks for all the infant clothing they could possibly need.
We respect the dignity of the parents in allowing them to choose what they like. We meet a physical need that will help support the parents, and parental support is one of the factors in preventing abuse.
God also blessed me with the opportunity to stay at home and show my pro-life commitment in raising my daughter well. She's now 20 months old, and soon to be a Big Sister in March. We are praying for our child in the womb as we continue to pray for all children in the womb.
I will be praying with you long-distance. I will depend upon all of you lovely people to be my hands and feet on the ground, braving the cold and taunts at 320 Fulton. God bless you abundantly!
September 26, 2011
Some advice
for the trepidacious:
What Jen Fulwiler Learned About Praying in Front of an Abortion Clinic
1. The pro-life movement is well organized.
2. Average people are getting involved in the pro-life cause.
3. Communities don’t want abortion facilities in their neighborhoods.
4. Pro-lifers care about the mothers just as much as they care about the babies.
5. Spiritual warfare is real.
6. Prayer works.
She discovered this during her community's 40Days for Life campaign.
You can join us in prayer outside 320 Fulton. You have the option, of course, to pray at home in the safety of your living room; I will be fasting in solidarity with you all the way up in Alpena.
But nothing can really replace the experience of standing there on the sidewalk, fully aware of the Lord's presence and the power of the heavenly host at your side, completely naked in your commitment to the pro-life cause...
...which is the lives of innocent fellow human beings and the persons who hold these lives in their hands.
What Jen Fulwiler Learned About Praying in Front of an Abortion Clinic
1. The pro-life movement is well organized.
2. Average people are getting involved in the pro-life cause.
3. Communities don’t want abortion facilities in their neighborhoods.
4. Pro-lifers care about the mothers just as much as they care about the babies.
5. Spiritual warfare is real.
6. Prayer works.
She discovered this during her community's 40Days for Life campaign.
You can join us in prayer outside 320 Fulton. You have the option, of course, to pray at home in the safety of your living room; I will be fasting in solidarity with you all the way up in Alpena.
But nothing can really replace the experience of standing there on the sidewalk, fully aware of the Lord's presence and the power of the heavenly host at your side, completely naked in your commitment to the pro-life cause...
...which is the lives of innocent fellow human beings and the persons who hold these lives in their hands.
September 25, 2011
We have liftoff!
I was providentially blessed to be able to attend the kickoff rally at Loosemore Auditorium today on the campus of GVSU.
Amy Oatley & Amy Launiere were the keynote speakers, and they both provided personal testimony that illustrates the ripple effects that take place when you stand at 320 Fulton to pray for an end to abortion.
Very often when we stand there, it might feel initially like we're not really doing anything. In fact, Mary Flegel made it clear that we really don't want you to do anything but stand on the sidewalk and pray!
Don't park at Omega House, don't walk along the wall, don't hold signs, don't talk to the people going in, don't engage the protesters in conversation- simply pray & fast.
It might not seem like much, but in our peaceful, vigilant prayer we have all the power and effectiveness we need- because when we stand and pray, we stand with God, who is the only One who will conquer. Our signs won't conquer, our righteous arguments won't conquer- only God will conquer. Prayer conquers. Fasting conquers. It's the sidewalk counselors job to reach out to the women, and we needn't interfere with their job.
Our job is to fast, to stand, to pray. I dare you to tell God that's not enough.
Because what we learned at the rally is that peaceful vigil shuts down abortuaries, it causes abortionists to quit their job and join us in prayer, it causes women to choose life, it causes people's hearts to change. Abortion will end, and it will be God's victory. We'll be able to praise God knowing we did our part:
Fast. Stand. Pray.
Amy Oatley & Amy Launiere were the keynote speakers, and they both provided personal testimony that illustrates the ripple effects that take place when you stand at 320 Fulton to pray for an end to abortion.
Very often when we stand there, it might feel initially like we're not really doing anything. In fact, Mary Flegel made it clear that we really don't want you to do anything but stand on the sidewalk and pray!
Don't park at Omega House, don't walk along the wall, don't hold signs, don't talk to the people going in, don't engage the protesters in conversation- simply pray & fast.
It might not seem like much, but in our peaceful, vigilant prayer we have all the power and effectiveness we need- because when we stand and pray, we stand with God, who is the only One who will conquer. Our signs won't conquer, our righteous arguments won't conquer- only God will conquer. Prayer conquers. Fasting conquers. It's the sidewalk counselors job to reach out to the women, and we needn't interfere with their job.
Our job is to fast, to stand, to pray. I dare you to tell God that's not enough.
Because what we learned at the rally is that peaceful vigil shuts down abortuaries, it causes abortionists to quit their job and join us in prayer, it causes women to choose life, it causes people's hearts to change. Abortion will end, and it will be God's victory. We'll be able to praise God knowing we did our part:
Fast. Stand. Pray.
September 24, 2011
Kickoff tomorrow
I will be attending the kickoff event tomorrow in Loosemore Auditorium. Will you be there?
I'm very excited to see the ArtPeace Project unveiled. As a team, we discussed last year the possibility of entering some piece in ArtPrize as a means of drawing attention to our peaceful vigil. I'm so glad that someone finally took this idea and followed through with it for this year's vigil.
Be on GVSU's campus downtown from 2-3:30 in the Loosemore Auditorium (same site as last year).
I'm very excited to see the ArtPeace Project unveiled. As a team, we discussed last year the possibility of entering some piece in ArtPrize as a means of drawing attention to our peaceful vigil. I'm so glad that someone finally took this idea and followed through with it for this year's vigil.
Be on GVSU's campus downtown from 2-3:30 in the Loosemore Auditorium (same site as last year).
November 25, 2010
Pray for All Nascent Life
The Pope has invited the Bishops of the world and all people of Good Will to join him on Nov.27 in a prayer vigil for the recognition of the sanctity of all human life coming into existence.
You don't have to be Catholic to make the day before Advent a time to recall that Jesus came into the world as a fertilized ovum that became a zygote and an embryo and a fetus and was born of a Virgin. That recollection should reinforce that as Christians, we believe that all human life is sacred, because the All-Holy Incarnate has rendered it so.
In fact, that recollection should give us pause to consider: Christ was sacred even before he was a fertilized ovum, when he was yet a promise on the lips of a messenger of God, "Emmanuel".
So, too, God loved us before he knit us in our mother's womb. He loved us into existence.
Thus we are invited to make this prayer on the night before the season before Christmas. Let's begin at the beginning of all things, with the Word.
Nov.27 2010, 7pm.
You don't have to be Catholic to make the day before Advent a time to recall that Jesus came into the world as a fertilized ovum that became a zygote and an embryo and a fetus and was born of a Virgin. That recollection should reinforce that as Christians, we believe that all human life is sacred, because the All-Holy Incarnate has rendered it so.
In fact, that recollection should give us pause to consider: Christ was sacred even before he was a fertilized ovum, when he was yet a promise on the lips of a messenger of God, "Emmanuel".
So, too, God loved us before he knit us in our mother's womb. He loved us into existence.
Thus we are invited to make this prayer on the night before the season before Christmas. Let's begin at the beginning of all things, with the Word.
Nov.27 2010, 7pm.
November 18, 2010
33rd
In a recent Men's Health survey ranking the most religious cities in the country, Grand Rapids came in at #33. The results were based on number of churches, attendance, and financial contributions combined.
As the City of Churches, do we live up to that ranking? Do we not only attend services faithfully but also live the Gospel faithfully? Do we give God our full allegiance, even more than we pledge as citizens?
Something to think about.
As the City of Churches, do we live up to that ranking? Do we not only attend services faithfully but also live the Gospel faithfully? Do we give God our full allegiance, even more than we pledge as citizens?
Something to think about.
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