October 22, 2011
from Facebook
from Sean Carney
Lisa from Grand Rapids sent me a note about Pete, a
10-year-old who's come up with his own unique concept
of fasting for 40 Days for Life.
During this campaign, Pete's mom said he is fasting ...
from warm baths! From Day 1 through Day 40, it's only
cold water for Pete.
"I was speechless," his mom said. She has been fasting
from chocolate. "Here I am whining inside about my
chocolate withdrawal -- and my 10-year-old is taking
cold baths for an offering!"
Lisa said, "Clearly, Pete can teach us all something
about fasting!"
Leave a comment and let us know what God has taught you about fasting
10-year-old who's come up with his own unique concept
of fasting for 40 Days for Life.
During this campaign, Pete's mom said he is fasting ...
from warm baths! From Day 1 through Day 40, it's only
cold water for Pete.
"I was speechless," his mom said. She has been fasting
from chocolate. "Here I am whining inside about my
chocolate withdrawal -- and my 10-year-old is taking
cold baths for an offering!"
Lisa said, "Clearly, Pete can teach us all something
about fasting!"
Leave a comment and let us know what God has taught you about fasting
October 21, 2011
Did you know Laura updated our Facebook page so you can find it more easily?
Go to and it will be more direct than searching for it.
While you're there you might notice we have a Victory Celebration scheduled on Nov. 6 at Life International.
Until April 2004, the largest abortion clinic in West Michigan operated within a converted 19th century church in the heart of Grand Rapids. An estimated 20,000 children lost their lives in the depths of 72 Ransom Avenue. After years of ceaseless prayer by the community of believers, God redeemed His house by allowing the building to be purchased by LIFE International to be restored as a place that brings the light and life of Christ to the nations.
Go to
While you're there you might notice we have a Victory Celebration scheduled on Nov. 6 at Life International.
Until April 2004, the largest abortion clinic in West Michigan operated within a converted 19th century church in the heart of Grand Rapids. An estimated 20,000 children lost their lives in the depths of 72 Ransom Avenue. After years of ceaseless prayer by the community of believers, God redeemed His house by allowing the building to be purchased by LIFE International to be restored as a place that brings the light and life of Christ to the nations.
Starfish caught
Dear Faithful 40DFL Pray-ers,
Another mother and child spared from abortion....Praise the Lord!
Jackie acts as a 'hostess' every Thursday during abortion hours, from
8 to 1. Here is her account of what happened this morning.
God is so good!
Lisa Peters
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Thurs a.m.
Hi Lisa,
This morning a couple was in the stairwell, the young lady was sad &
her husband (?) was hugging her, looking at us & shaking his head. I
motioned for him to come out, they were there for a short time but
finally went in. I knew she did not want to go in so we all stood
together & prayed. I even went & got Megan, the sidewalk counselor,
but Ruth said we can't do anything but pray. A short time later they
came out told the counselors she would not have an abortion & told the
40 day for life prayer warriors the baby would not be aborted.
This lifted my spirits also, I was struggling going in this morning my
husband was complaining he did not want me driving in the dark in all
the rain, my daughter needed me this afternoon I was discouraged on
the way in thinking what is this all for? Seeing that mother's
beautiful smile of happiness was worth it. I will be back next week
with a renewed spirit. Praise God!!!!!!!
God Bless,
Jackie
Another mother and child spared from abortion....Praise the Lord!
Jackie acts as a 'hostess' every Thursday during abortion hours, from
8 to 1. Here is her account of what happened this morning.
God is so good!
Lisa Peters
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Thurs a.m.
Hi Lisa,
This morning a couple was in the stairwell, the young lady was sad &
her husband (?) was hugging her, looking at us & shaking his head. I
motioned for him to come out, they were there for a short time but
finally went in. I knew she did not want to go in so we all stood
together & prayed. I even went & got Megan, the sidewalk counselor,
but Ruth said we can't do anything but pray. A short time later they
came out told the counselors she would not have an abortion & told the
40 day for life prayer warriors the baby would not be aborted.
This lifted my spirits also, I was struggling going in this morning my
husband was complaining he did not want me driving in the dark in all
the rain, my daughter needed me this afternoon I was discouraged on
the way in thinking what is this all for? Seeing that mother's
beautiful smile of happiness was worth it. I will be back next week
with a renewed spirit. Praise God!!!!!!!
God Bless,
Jackie
October 20, 2011
Ethical Clarity
A professor of philosophy in Los Angeles, Christopher Kaczor is the author of the new book The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice. He talks to National Review Online’s Kathryn Jean Lopez in a five-page interview. Here's a sample, but do read the whole thing:
LOPEZ: What is the sum of all personhood debates? And why does it matter?
KACZOR: The debate about “personhood” is really the debate about who will be included in the human community, who will be respected, and who will receive legal protection. This debate goes back over the centuries, throughout which various classes of human beings were excluded from the human family. Those excluded tend to change over time but have been at various points Native Americans, Africans, Catholics in Protestant-dominated countries, Protestants in Catholic-dominated countries, non-Muslims, Jews, the handicapped, and women. Every single time we’ve said, this or that class of human beings does not merit protection and respect, I think we’ve made a terrible mistake. Today, I believe we’re making another terrible mistake in excluding from full protection and respect human beings prior to birth.
...remember that we are part of an Abolitionist movement!
LOPEZ: Congresswoman Jackie Speier made headlines this year when she emotionally talked about her abortion on the House floor, supposedly having the rhetorical effect of shutting down pro-life congressman Christopher Smith? Can you bring some ethical clarity to that episode?
KACZOR: After hearing Christopher Smith describe the gruesome reality of an abortion procedure, Congresswoman Speier said, “I really planned to speak about something else, but the gentleman from New Jersey just put my stomach in knots, because I’m one of those women he spoke about just now. I had a procedure at 17 weeks pregnant with a child who moved from the vagina into the cervix.” She continued, “I lost a baby,” she said, pausing again. “But for you to stand on this floor and suggest, as you have, that somehow this is a procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly or done without any thought is preposterous.” I’m not sure that Congressman Smith claimed that this was welcomed or done without thought. I also don’t think that Congresswoman Speier can generalize from her own case and say that all abortions are similar to hers. But what is at issue is not whether abortion is done thoughtfully or cavalierly, but whether what is done is intentionally taking the life of a human being prior to birth. The implicit and fallacious argument of Congresswoman Speier seems to be, “Abortion isn’t bad because I did it.” She is confusing a judgment about persons — this person is bad — with a judgment about actions — this act is wrong. We can and should refrain from judging people who have had abortions, since we do not know their mind and heart. We cannot judge their culpability for their actions. But at the same time, we can and must judge whether particular actions are just or unjust.
LOPEZ: What is the sum of all personhood debates? And why does it matter?
KACZOR: The debate about “personhood” is really the debate about who will be included in the human community, who will be respected, and who will receive legal protection. This debate goes back over the centuries, throughout which various classes of human beings were excluded from the human family. Those excluded tend to change over time but have been at various points Native Americans, Africans, Catholics in Protestant-dominated countries, Protestants in Catholic-dominated countries, non-Muslims, Jews, the handicapped, and women. Every single time we’ve said, this or that class of human beings does not merit protection and respect, I think we’ve made a terrible mistake. Today, I believe we’re making another terrible mistake in excluding from full protection and respect human beings prior to birth.
...remember that we are part of an Abolitionist movement!
LOPEZ: Congresswoman Jackie Speier made headlines this year when she emotionally talked about her abortion on the House floor, supposedly having the rhetorical effect of shutting down pro-life congressman Christopher Smith? Can you bring some ethical clarity to that episode?
KACZOR: After hearing Christopher Smith describe the gruesome reality of an abortion procedure, Congresswoman Speier said, “I really planned to speak about something else, but the gentleman from New Jersey just put my stomach in knots, because I’m one of those women he spoke about just now. I had a procedure at 17 weeks pregnant with a child who moved from the vagina into the cervix.” She continued, “I lost a baby,” she said, pausing again. “But for you to stand on this floor and suggest, as you have, that somehow this is a procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly or done without any thought is preposterous.” I’m not sure that Congressman Smith claimed that this was welcomed or done without thought. I also don’t think that Congresswoman Speier can generalize from her own case and say that all abortions are similar to hers. But what is at issue is not whether abortion is done thoughtfully or cavalierly, but whether what is done is intentionally taking the life of a human being prior to birth. The implicit and fallacious argument of Congresswoman Speier seems to be, “Abortion isn’t bad because I did it.” She is confusing a judgment about persons — this person is bad — with a judgment about actions — this act is wrong. We can and should refrain from judging people who have had abortions, since we do not know their mind and heart. We cannot judge their culpability for their actions. But at the same time, we can and must judge whether particular actions are just or unjust.
The Day After
Bryan Kemper shares an invigorating blogpost about the ProLife Day of Silent Solidarity, which took place this past Tuesday. Here's an excerpt:
This year as I was reading the reports starting to come in and looking at the pictures, I was intrigued by some of the trends I was seeing. The first thing I noticed was how many pregnant girls were writing in about participating in this year’s event. Of course, I am not celebrating teen pregnancy, but I was thrilled to hear them talk about why they chose life for their child and chose to be a voice for others.This dovetails nicely with today's devotional:
Some wrote about how someone first talked to them about life and convinced them to keep their child. They knew that their choice for life was important and that they must take a stand for other young girls who are facing teen pregnancy. They were so passionate about being moms and the choice they made and they wanted to share that joy and passion with this generation.
Another thing that struck me this year was how many first-time participants we had who were taking on this day alone. I read about how nervous they were as they walked into school not knowing if anyone else would be taking the vow of silence or how their friends would react to their stand.
Many of these kids faced some heavy persecution from both their peers and school faculty as they went through the day. Students told me about dirty looks, rude comments, eye rolls and outright harassment — and this was from teachers. They talked about how other students would make comments about how they should have been aborted or how stupid pro-life was, but no matter what they faced they took a stand and shined a light in their schools.
While there were stories of harassment there were also many stories of solidarity and support from unexpected places. One student told me about how one of the most popular boys in school read her flyer and then joined her for rest of the day. Others talked about how they brought a whole roll of duct tape to school and by the end of the day it was depleted from the number of kids who joined them.
Therefore, His love for us is greater than His love for a plant, an
animal, or any other created thing.
And the book of Jonah tells us that He loves even the
most sinful people and seeks to bring them into His
merciful arms. And it's a love that seeks to touch
all of his created children: that desperate teenager,
the baby growing in her womb, even tyrants and
terrorists.
So it's up to us to imitate God's merciful love by
helping and praying for those who persecute us, and
those who don't love us back.
October 19, 2011
Voices from the Womb
The ground-breaking project called ‘Voices From the Womb,’ which brought live ultrasound to the U.S. Capitol Thursday, was a stroke of brilliance that will now be repeated across the nation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, issued the following statement about “Voices from the Womb,” a project that gave federal lawmakers an opportunity to see babies in the womb via ultrasound.
Fr. Frank said, “The ground-breaking project called ‘Voices From the Womb,’ which brought live ultrasound to the U.S. Capitol Thursday, was a stroke of brilliance that will now be repeated across the nation. It should be required viewing for lawmakers in every state that has yet to pass a bill ensuring that a mother has an ultrasound before aborting her child.
“Abortion supporters claim these laws don’t respect the woman’s ability to make informed choices,” Father Frank continued. “But on the contrary, they precisely enhance that ability, by helping her see what she often finds out too late, that the baby is far more developed than her abortionist admits.”
Father Pavone applauded the National Pro-Life Center (of which he serves as Pastoral Director and which he helped develop) for organizing “Voices from the Womb,” together with the Stanton Project, the Christian Defense Coalition and the Knights of Columbus, which supported the project financially.
“When pro-life groups work together, we can change hearts and minds, and laws,” he said.
To hear the sound of a baby’s heartbeat at various stages of development, go to http://www.priestsforlife.org/ultrasound.html
Rest in Peace
Dear Friends,
The team at SFLA is beyond saddened by the news that Jon Scharfenberger, Pregnant on Campus Coordinator and Campus Support Coordinator for Students for Life of America, passed away this morning due to complications from injuries he sustained from the same car accident that claimed the life of SFLA leader Kortney Blythe Gordon and her pre-born daughter, Sophy, on October 8th.
Jon had many successes in his short time with us at SFLA, including establishing a pro-life campus group at Florida International University that was successful in saving the life of a pre-born baby, a mere one week after its creation. You can read more about this incredible story here: http://studentsforlife.org/
We continue to offer prayers of support for Jon’s family and friends and grieve during this incredibly difficult time for our organization and mission.
-Students for Life of America
The team at SFLA is beyond saddened by the news that Jon Scharfenberger, Pregnant on Campus Coordinator and Campus Support Coordinator for Students for Life of America, passed away this morning due to complications from injuries he sustained from the same car accident that claimed the life of SFLA leader Kortney Blythe Gordon and her pre-born daughter, Sophy, on October 8th.
Jon had many successes in his short time with us at SFLA, including establishing a pro-life campus group at Florida International University that was successful in saving the life of a pre-born baby, a mere one week after its creation. You can read more about this incredible story here: http://studentsforlife.org/
We continue to offer prayers of support for Jon’s family and friends and grieve during this incredibly difficult time for our organization and mission.
-Students for Life of America
October 18, 2011
Do a 180
Watch the video wherein someone on the sidewalk turns from pro-choice to pro-life.
Too good to be true? See for yourself.
It's an emotional appeal, which isn't lasting, but it makes a good point:
we should never be afraid to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Too good to be true? See for yourself.
It's an emotional appeal, which isn't lasting, but it makes a good point:
we should never be afraid to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
October 17, 2011
Day of Silent Solidarity
Are you willing to give up your voice for a day for those who will never have one?
Tomorrow,October 18th, marks the 2011 Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity.
Students from across the country and at over 1,800 participating schools will give uptheir voices in support for the 50,000,000 children who have been silenced by abortion since January 22, 1973.
If you haven't yet talked to your campus group about the Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity,
we encourage you to take part in this incredibly moving and solemn tribute.
Students will wear red duct tape over their mouths and on their arms to sacrifice their voices for those who never had the opportunity to "choose" whether to live or die. They will also be passing out literature and fliers to explain their silence and educate others about the injustice of abortion.
This year, the Pro-life Day of SilentSolidarity is dedicated to our friend and Abortion Abolitionist, Kortney Blythe Gordon and her pre-born daughter, Sophy Joy. As many of you already know, Kortney and Sophy were killed on October 8 in a car accident in Macon, GA after speaking at a pro-life conference. Please continue to keep her family and the mission of Students for Life of America in your prayers as we continue to grieve during this difficult time.
Registration is FREE and so are the fliers. Make sure you and your group:
Register for the event.
Promote it to your friends.
Let your teachers know you'll be silent tomorrow.
Make a red arm band or use red duct tape.
Print out our FREE fliers.
Promote it to your friends.
Let your teachers know you'll be silent tomorrow.
Make a red arm band or use red duct tape.
Print out our FREE fliers.
For more information, visit www.silentday.org.
This is an Abolitionist movement
A Southern California abortionist, James McMahon,
once explained how he justified killing children
after 20 weeks gestation by partial-birth abortion.
He did not deny that this was a child, but rather
asked, "Who owns the child? It's got to be the
mother."
Did you catch this little tidbit from a recent 40 DFL daily devotional?
I have said on more than one occasion that Roe v.Wade was all about the right to privacy, which means the issue of abortion is an issue of property, not propriety.
Everyone knows slavery is wrong. But until the law recognizes what science already has proven, that conception results in a genetically distince human individual, the courts will continue in its miscariage of justice.
Right now in this country, we are promoting slavery through legalized abortion.
Let us pray for freedom- for children in the womb.
Let us pray for their parents, who ought to protect that freedom as they would for themselves.
once explained how he justified killing children
after 20 weeks gestation by partial-birth abortion.
He did not deny that this was a child, but rather
asked, "Who owns the child? It's got to be the
mother."
Did you catch this little tidbit from a recent 40 DFL daily devotional?
I have said on more than one occasion that Roe v.Wade was all about the right to privacy, which means the issue of abortion is an issue of property, not propriety.
Everyone knows slavery is wrong. But until the law recognizes what science already has proven, that conception results in a genetically distince human individual, the courts will continue in its miscariage of justice.
Right now in this country, we are promoting slavery through legalized abortion.
Let us pray for freedom- for children in the womb.
Let us pray for their parents, who ought to protect that freedom as they would for themselves.
October 16, 2011
ArtPeace
To all who submitted art for the ArtPeace Project:
Check out 144 Fulton before we have to move out! There are more than 650 individual art pieces on display in 6 storefront windows lining the street between Jeffererson and La Grave, right where Ransom Street ends on Fulton.
Also
Please go to Facebook, search for 40 Days for Life - Grand Rapids and check out the video on the visit by National Director David Bereit. The 4 min video has shots of the art on Fulton.
I am collecting ideas for a large display for the ArtPeace Project to be built for next year's ArtPrize.Please let me know if you have suggestions!
David Bereit was super impressed with your efforts in the success of the ArtPeace project. Thousands of people saw this during ArtPrize.
-Patrick Keeley
Check out 144 Fulton before we have to move out! There are more than 650 individual art pieces on display in 6 storefront windows lining the street between Jeffererson and La Grave, right where Ransom Street ends on Fulton.
Also
Please go to Facebook, search for 40 Days for Life - Grand Rapids and check out the video on the visit by National Director David Bereit. The 4 min video has shots of the art on Fulton.
I am collecting ideas for a large display for the ArtPeace Project to be built for next year's ArtPrize.Please let me know if you have suggestions!
David Bereit was super impressed with your efforts in the success of the ArtPeace project. Thousands of people saw this during ArtPrize.
-Patrick Keeley
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