One of the sidewalk counselors shares this prayer request:
Dear Friends,
I had a very dear girl show up at the Fulton Clinic today late. I asked her if she had an appointment and she replied that she did.....but went on to say that she was only here for an ultrasound.....was going to keep the baby.....and that Planned Parenthood had warned her about protesters.
Immediately I was able to connect with this friendly girl that faced a difficult road ahead.
She explained the dilemma that lay before here and still confirmed that no matter what, she was committed to life but she needed the ultrasound today. Since she was only a few weeks along, I could not get a free ultrasound for her today at our care centers. After talking about her situation in depth and begging her not to go into the abortion clinic for an ultrasound and wait the few weeks, she gave me a hug and said that she had to go in.
After about a half hour, she came out with the picture of her baby. She confirmed that they were short and cold in the abortion clinic and was so grateful that the two of us were out there to talk.
She plans to talk to her parents soon and it is uncertain how they will react to her pregnancy. After speaking with this girl for only a short time, I trust that she will continue to protect her unborn child. Without giving you all the details, I just ask that you pray for "E", a strong, happy girl who is doing the right thing in spite of the conflicts that lie ahead. Ask our dear Father to keep her strong and send support to her through the next months ahead.
We all treasure your commitment to prayer!!! Praise God for another LIFE choice!
October 29, 2009
October 28, 2009
from the President's desk
Through the grace and mercy of God -- and the
faithful prayers and fasting of well over 200,000
people standing vigil outside abortion facilities
-- an incredible miracle has taken place.
Starting with the first-ever 40 Days for Life
campaign in Bryan/College Station, Texas in 2004, and
continuing through the international 40 Days for Life
effort that is under way this fall, we now have
received cumulative reports of ...
... OVER 2,000 BABIES whose lives have been saved
from the tragedy of abortion!
Who knows what wonders each of these children will
bring to the world!
Two thousand children would be enough to fill at
least 80 classrooms. Two thousand children would be
enough to make up 180 teams of little soccer players
-- and just as importantly, 180 teams of soccer moms
-- women who will enjoy watching their children run
and jump and shout, blessings they would have never
known if they had fallen for the lies that are so
often disguised by the rhetoric of "choice."
faithful prayers and fasting of well over 200,000
people standing vigil outside abortion facilities
-- an incredible miracle has taken place.
Starting with the first-ever 40 Days for Life
campaign in Bryan/College Station, Texas in 2004, and
continuing through the international 40 Days for Life
effort that is under way this fall, we now have
received cumulative reports of ...
... OVER 2,000 BABIES whose lives have been saved
from the tragedy of abortion!
Who knows what wonders each of these children will
bring to the world!
Two thousand children would be enough to fill at
least 80 classrooms. Two thousand children would be
enough to make up 180 teams of little soccer players
-- and just as importantly, 180 teams of soccer moms
-- women who will enjoy watching their children run
and jump and shout, blessings they would have never
known if they had fallen for the lies that are so
often disguised by the rhetoric of "choice."
Whose Victory?
Deuteronomy 1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God bore you, as a man bears his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.
Dear reader,
please join us at our Victory Celebration, to begin at LaGrave Church this Sunday at 2pm, and to end in thanksgiving prayer at 320 Fulton.
Victory? you might ask. But there are still abortions taking place at 320! That may be so, but there are also mothers choosing to spare their child's life and seek real help for their pregnancies. But not all the time slots were filled! That may be so, but there was more coverage from the Knights of Columbus during the Knight Shift this year than ever before, there were more non-Catholic churches involved than ever before, and there was almost total coverage during the hours when abortions are scheduled at 320. But...someone submitted a stupid zoning complaint to the city and we weren't allowed to park at Omega House anymore! Settle yourself. This was barely a setback. We had to walk a few more steps from our cars was all. In the end, we'll have a lovely parade of prayer from LaGrave Street all the way up to 320 that will draw quite a bit of attention from citizens who otherwise may not have known there are children perishing in their neighborhood every week. But...but...there were protesters...with signs...protesters? Where? I don't see any protesters. Oh-- you mean those two people coming on days it doesn't rain? Yeah, well...there aren't many people willing to get up every day and proclaim to the world, "Abortion rocks! Honk if you hate babies!"
Fortunately, there are many, many people in this city who chose to stand and proclaim before God and Grand Rapids, "I love life! I love Jesus! I want to humble myself through fasting, pray for an hour in the cold and rain, and seek the face of God in my brothers and sisters in need of healing at 320 Fulton!"
God's victories have never exactly made sense to our frail human minds. The Almighty Savior of the Universe, for example, was knitted in the womb of a virgin, a woman of low estate, was born in a small backwards speck on the map, and was first adored by shepherds, people who belonged to the most demeaned rung of their society. This same Almighty and Everlasting Prince would be whipped, stripped, and executed in the most abominable method known...and this was victory.
God's victory is that every single day, for forty days, someone stood at 320 and acknowledged His greatness in the silence of their hearts. God bore each one of us, dear reader, as a parent bears a child, while we made our way to 320. God will continue to bear each one of us, will continue to shelter us, caress us, forgive us, bring us peace, bring us victory. God will continue to love us, will continue to love each child who perishes, has numbered the hairs on each of their dear little heads, has cherished every cell in their tiny infant bodies. God will show mercy to those at 320 who change their evil ways. That includes the both of us, dear reader. I too am in need of healing, and thanks be to God, healing will come. God will love me, even when I neglect Him, even when I behave like the wayward people of God have always behaved since the time of the Exodus to the present day. God bore them, bears me, bears you, as a father bears his son. God holds us tenderly to his breast and whispers in our ear, "I love you!"
That victory we could spend an eternity trying to comprehend.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God bore you, as a man bears his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.
Dear reader,
please join us at our Victory Celebration, to begin at LaGrave Church this Sunday at 2pm, and to end in thanksgiving prayer at 320 Fulton.
Victory? you might ask. But there are still abortions taking place at 320! That may be so, but there are also mothers choosing to spare their child's life and seek real help for their pregnancies. But not all the time slots were filled! That may be so, but there was more coverage from the Knights of Columbus during the Knight Shift this year than ever before, there were more non-Catholic churches involved than ever before, and there was almost total coverage during the hours when abortions are scheduled at 320. But...someone submitted a stupid zoning complaint to the city and we weren't allowed to park at Omega House anymore! Settle yourself. This was barely a setback. We had to walk a few more steps from our cars was all. In the end, we'll have a lovely parade of prayer from LaGrave Street all the way up to 320 that will draw quite a bit of attention from citizens who otherwise may not have known there are children perishing in their neighborhood every week. But...but...there were protesters...with signs...protesters? Where? I don't see any protesters. Oh-- you mean those two people coming on days it doesn't rain? Yeah, well...there aren't many people willing to get up every day and proclaim to the world, "Abortion rocks! Honk if you hate babies!"
Fortunately, there are many, many people in this city who chose to stand and proclaim before God and Grand Rapids, "I love life! I love Jesus! I want to humble myself through fasting, pray for an hour in the cold and rain, and seek the face of God in my brothers and sisters in need of healing at 320 Fulton!"
God's victories have never exactly made sense to our frail human minds. The Almighty Savior of the Universe, for example, was knitted in the womb of a virgin, a woman of low estate, was born in a small backwards speck on the map, and was first adored by shepherds, people who belonged to the most demeaned rung of their society. This same Almighty and Everlasting Prince would be whipped, stripped, and executed in the most abominable method known...and this was victory.
God's victory is that every single day, for forty days, someone stood at 320 and acknowledged His greatness in the silence of their hearts. God bore each one of us, dear reader, as a parent bears a child, while we made our way to 320. God will continue to bear each one of us, will continue to shelter us, caress us, forgive us, bring us peace, bring us victory. God will continue to love us, will continue to love each child who perishes, has numbered the hairs on each of their dear little heads, has cherished every cell in their tiny infant bodies. God will show mercy to those at 320 who change their evil ways. That includes the both of us, dear reader. I too am in need of healing, and thanks be to God, healing will come. God will love me, even when I neglect Him, even when I behave like the wayward people of God have always behaved since the time of the Exodus to the present day. God bore them, bears me, bears you, as a father bears his son. God holds us tenderly to his breast and whispers in our ear, "I love you!"
That victory we could spend an eternity trying to comprehend.
October 23, 2009
Guardian Angel Sighting
This good news was sent from the executive director of our campaign today:
I have often spoken publicly about how Satan has always hated babies. World and biblical history alike testify to the fact that he has always been attacking the next generation, I think, so that the faith dies with the parents and is not passed along. Today the god is no longer called Baal, but this culture is still sacrificing our children to this god of convenience.
But our God is still mighty to save; just as he rescued Moses from Pharaoh and Jesus from Herod, He is still the defender of the next generation. (In fact, He always identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and says that He will be faithful from generation to generation.)
On a smaller but perhaps no less significant scale, God has rescued the next generation today in Grand Rapids.
This morning I received a phone call informing me that 2 students from my church were on their way to the abortion clinic for their 5:00 a.m. prayer and vigil time when they were broad-sided by a semi-truck. Everyone has confessed that they should have been killed or seriously injured, but they were not! Praise God!
These two girls are from families that take seriously the call to pray for the end of abortion. They are pillar families in the church, and their children have caught the faith of their parents. I’m praising God today that they were miraculously spared from injury and death. Their resolve to defend life in this city has been steeled by this experience.
We must remember to pray physical protection over those who are stepping out in faith to participate in the 40 Days campaign.
Thank you for all you do to defend life in this city. And may He continue to watch over each of you and your families, as well.
I have often spoken publicly about how Satan has always hated babies. World and biblical history alike testify to the fact that he has always been attacking the next generation, I think, so that the faith dies with the parents and is not passed along. Today the god is no longer called Baal, but this culture is still sacrificing our children to this god of convenience.
But our God is still mighty to save; just as he rescued Moses from Pharaoh and Jesus from Herod, He is still the defender of the next generation. (In fact, He always identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and says that He will be faithful from generation to generation.)
On a smaller but perhaps no less significant scale, God has rescued the next generation today in Grand Rapids.
This morning I received a phone call informing me that 2 students from my church were on their way to the abortion clinic for their 5:00 a.m. prayer and vigil time when they were broad-sided by a semi-truck. Everyone has confessed that they should have been killed or seriously injured, but they were not! Praise God!
These two girls are from families that take seriously the call to pray for the end of abortion. They are pillar families in the church, and their children have caught the faith of their parents. I’m praising God today that they were miraculously spared from injury and death. Their resolve to defend life in this city has been steeled by this experience.
We must remember to pray physical protection over those who are stepping out in faith to participate in the 40 Days campaign.
Thank you for all you do to defend life in this city. And may He continue to watch over each of you and your families, as well.
October 22, 2009
News from the front
A marvelous thing happened last evening at the prayer vigil. A group from a non-Catholic church in Sparta was meeting in the house next door to 320 Fulton. They decided to join the peaceful vigil and lined up along the driveway on the east perimeter of 320 to pray. A group of about 15 youth from St. Francis were lined up along the sidewalk on the north perimeter of 320 praying the Rosary. They decided to join their friends in Christ and link up their prayer perimeters. Everyone sang "Amazing Grace" together. Ecum-bayah!
There were also no protesters present yesterday. Plus, a few women were referred to the PRC where they can make a truly informed choice about the life entrusted to them by God. Lots of blessings....so keep praying and fasting and be encouraged.
I'm firmly convinced that this evil will not be cleansed from our midst until all Christians in this city unite in prayer: Reformed, Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox, whomever loves Him. Tonight, members of Sunshine Church will be standing with a few Knights of Columbus, braving the cold and praying with one accord. Let's continue to fulfill our Lord's prayer in John 17:
20
"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
21
so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.
22
And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one,
23
I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me."
There were also no protesters present yesterday. Plus, a few women were referred to the PRC where they can make a truly informed choice about the life entrusted to them by God. Lots of blessings....so keep praying and fasting and be encouraged.
I'm firmly convinced that this evil will not be cleansed from our midst until all Christians in this city unite in prayer: Reformed, Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox, whomever loves Him. Tonight, members of Sunshine Church will be standing with a few Knights of Columbus, braving the cold and praying with one accord. Let's continue to fulfill our Lord's prayer in John 17:
20
"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,
21
so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.
22
And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one,
23
I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me."
October 18, 2009
How has God blessed YOU?
David Bereit shares this anecdote from a woman in Ontario:
One volunteer often takes the hours right before
dawn. On this particular day, there was a
determination to spend an hour kneeling in prayer. It
was cold. It had been raining all night. An umbrella
was a big help, but it did not protect the vigil
participant's legs, which got thoroughly soaked as
the cold rain picked up and fell even harder.
"I found myself wishing for the hour to hurry up."
But thoughts suddenly turned to Christ's suffering,
and everything that Jesus endured for our salvation.
"At this time, my experience of discomfort began
changing. It struck me that I had set out that
morning with the attitude that I would be providing a
service to God. No; not at all. God did a service to
me. He blessed me with an enriched prayer experience
and understanding of Christ's sacrificial love."
Soon, daylight began to appear. "I literally watched
darkness give way to the light of day all around me,
and I could not help but see the metaphor for our
society's culture of death. Was God showing me that
he would use our 40 Days for Life to scatter the
darkness of abortion in our nation with a new dawning
light, and a culture of life? I hope so. I believe
so. And I am grateful that he allowed me to take part
in His mighty work."
If you have any examples of God touching your heart at 320, dear reader, please leave a comment and let us know. God does amazing work when we invite Him into our hearts.
One volunteer often takes the hours right before
dawn. On this particular day, there was a
determination to spend an hour kneeling in prayer. It
was cold. It had been raining all night. An umbrella
was a big help, but it did not protect the vigil
participant's legs, which got thoroughly soaked as
the cold rain picked up and fell even harder.
"I found myself wishing for the hour to hurry up."
But thoughts suddenly turned to Christ's suffering,
and everything that Jesus endured for our salvation.
"At this time, my experience of discomfort began
changing. It struck me that I had set out that
morning with the attitude that I would be providing a
service to God. No; not at all. God did a service to
me. He blessed me with an enriched prayer experience
and understanding of Christ's sacrificial love."
Soon, daylight began to appear. "I literally watched
darkness give way to the light of day all around me,
and I could not help but see the metaphor for our
society's culture of death. Was God showing me that
he would use our 40 Days for Life to scatter the
darkness of abortion in our nation with a new dawning
light, and a culture of life? I hope so. I believe
so. And I am grateful that he allowed me to take part
in His mighty work."
If you have any examples of God touching your heart at 320, dear reader, please leave a comment and let us know. God does amazing work when we invite Him into our hearts.
October 15, 2009
Perseverance
St. Paul in his epistles famously used the metaphor of a footrace to describe the Christian life of virtue. If we stay with it, we will be embraced by our Lord who will exclaim, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"
The rain makes it difficult to stand. The cold makes it unbearable. The fact that we have to park elsewhere only adds to the inconvenience. On top of it all, we have hecklers sharing the sidewalk with us.
It has always been this way for Christians truly willing to walk with Jesus to Calvary. He told us it would be so, and so it is. Yet, consider what may result from your commitment to fasting & prayer: a mother, walking into 320, might change her mind and walk back out again; a passerby might see you praying and ponder anew their commitment to life; a person who never knew that abortions take place in this city might decide to get involved in the pro-life movement.
Consider what might take place inside of you (other than a growling stomachache). You will be able to walk away from this knowing that you did not leave these children abandoned. You did not let their death go unnoticed. You were with them, prayerfully with them, as they were carried by an angel to the throne of God.
And when that day, Lord willing, comes when you stand before the throne-- God will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" and peeking from behind the throne will be a child who knew your love, the love you felt in your heart, the heart that was present at 320 on the day they died.
Dear reader, don't give up. What we do, we do for love of Jesus and love of a child, a friend we hope to meet one remarkable day. I'll race you there...
The rain makes it difficult to stand. The cold makes it unbearable. The fact that we have to park elsewhere only adds to the inconvenience. On top of it all, we have hecklers sharing the sidewalk with us.
It has always been this way for Christians truly willing to walk with Jesus to Calvary. He told us it would be so, and so it is. Yet, consider what may result from your commitment to fasting & prayer: a mother, walking into 320, might change her mind and walk back out again; a passerby might see you praying and ponder anew their commitment to life; a person who never knew that abortions take place in this city might decide to get involved in the pro-life movement.
Consider what might take place inside of you (other than a growling stomachache). You will be able to walk away from this knowing that you did not leave these children abandoned. You did not let their death go unnoticed. You were with them, prayerfully with them, as they were carried by an angel to the throne of God.
And when that day, Lord willing, comes when you stand before the throne-- God will say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" and peeking from behind the throne will be a child who knew your love, the love you felt in your heart, the heart that was present at 320 on the day they died.
Dear reader, don't give up. What we do, we do for love of Jesus and love of a child, a friend we hope to meet one remarkable day. I'll race you there...
October 13, 2009
"This movement is about LOVE."
-Rick Santorum, speaking about the pro-life movement at last night's dinner
My sentiments exactly!
My sentiments exactly!
October 12, 2009
Loving ALL Creation
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother's womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
-Psalm 139
Kay Bolinger, who coordinated last year's vigil, is offering bumper stickers that read: "We can save the whales...but we're killing unborn babies?" It drives home the point that care for all the wonders of creation necessarily includes our children. Care for the earth is vital, but so are human rights.
Every single day, we trample upon the human rights of those some consider undesirable. Our society lavishes more love upon puppies and kittens than their own flesh and blood. We spend small fortunes on veterinary care while children end up in the local waste treatment plant because caring for them would have been too great a financial burden. We decry the presence of mercury in our drinking water while something more detrimental to our health and civility is contaminating our soil.
Let us restore our ecological balance. Let's make care for creation a priority, and let's start by caring for the least among us, our children, the most precious natural resource in our land.
knit me together in my mother's womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
-Psalm 139
Kay Bolinger, who coordinated last year's vigil, is offering bumper stickers that read: "We can save the whales...but we're killing unborn babies?" It drives home the point that care for all the wonders of creation necessarily includes our children. Care for the earth is vital, but so are human rights.
Every single day, we trample upon the human rights of those some consider undesirable. Our society lavishes more love upon puppies and kittens than their own flesh and blood. We spend small fortunes on veterinary care while children end up in the local waste treatment plant because caring for them would have been too great a financial burden. We decry the presence of mercury in our drinking water while something more detrimental to our health and civility is contaminating our soil.
Let us restore our ecological balance. Let's make care for creation a priority, and let's start by caring for the least among us, our children, the most precious natural resource in our land.
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