Pam's Journey of Grace

It's Been Some Time!

2010-08-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

Wow... it's been some time since I have posted. It seems last year was crazy and so much happened, and I had to step back and catch my breathe! Kesean is still in my life, and will be a year old soon. He is an absolute darling! I also believe it is time to step back into the pro life movement...40 Days for Life begins soon.......

What a Year!

2010-01-02T15:23:00.000-08:00

WOW!! What an amazing year it has been! If someone had told me a year ago that at the beginning of 2010 a four month old would be living with me full time, I would own a condo, and have an incredible story to tell about a mother of four, who is progressing beyond her wildest dreams to become the woman the Lord intended her to be, I would of said NO WAY!! It has truly been amazing and very, very fast! I am just now catching my breath to start up the new year with 40 Days for Life's spring campaign in February, and the Pro Life march here in Raleigh on January 16, where Deanna Jones will we be one of the featured speakers at the rally! Woo hoo! Abortion rates are down here in Wake County...we do make a difference!! The photos above are of Ke'sean at four months old, us painting and fixing up Jerrica's apartment, ( it looks awesome! Our church helped furnish them with a wonderful Christmas, all in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!) my finished (painted and thoroughly cleaned) condo, and my young'uns in Georgia visiting the family! It has been one of the toughest years of my life, but the most rewarding I have ever experienced in my walk with the Lord. Just watching what the Lord is doing in Jerrica's life and taking care of Ke'sean is an abundant blessing! I pray this year many women decide to keep their babies, and many women show them the love of Christ. Love, Pam

Keshaun and Nana Pam

2009-10-24T17:44:00.000-07:00

Keshaun is 8 weeks old!

2009-10-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

Wow...it has been a while since I have posted anything. Life has been a whirlwind of changes! Keshaun is now living with me all the time. I have gone back to working full time...and....I bought a most beautiful Condominium for us!! Locked in at the low rate of 4.75 percent, along with the 8000 tax credit! Keshaun and I will be moving soon! Along with the three cats! Jerrica, his mom, is doing absolutely wonderful. She is very busy working, taking care of the other three boys, and doing what is necessary to establish a home for Keshaun later on! I am so proud of her! She doesn't have to worry about Keshaun at all, because Nana is absolutely spoiling him, and there is a long line of others who want to spoil him! Deanna, at www.motherhood.com has written a book about how the Lord redeemed her life, and her journey from having an abortion to being the mother to six children, four of them adopted! She also went on a tour interviewing mothers, and not long ago came over and interviewed Keshaun and I! It was pretty exciting, and I must say she did a most outstanding job! Deanna is very talented and very passionate about bringing motherhood back to the forefront of our society! I encourage everyone to check out her website and purchase her book! Well, hopefully, I will write again soon before a month goes by! Pam

Keshaun - 2 Weeks old!

2009-09-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Keshaun is now two weeks old and doing wonderful! Even his older brothers have given him the stamp of approval, and boy does that mean alot! More than he realizes right now! Jerrica is doing good also, and I am just thanking the Lord constantly for her progress. I have a friend that is providing her with an older van, and another friend that works as a staffer for a temporary agency, and she has promised to find Jerrica a job. Isn't that wonderful! It is amazing how much the basics in life mean to some people. Things I take for granted. Jerrica and her family are definitely a blessing to me. This past Saturday I was going to bring Keshaun to my house to spend the night and go to church, but thankfully, the grandmother had more sense and suggested we wait a couple of more weeks until he was a little bigger! Since there are illnesses going around and he only weighs 5 pounds 13 ounces. I am thankful for her! All I was thinking of was holding and rocking him for hours! Along with loving on him! Well, that is the latest, but next week 40 Days for Life starts back up! It will be from September 23 - November 1, and I am praying the Lord lets us intervene in another woman's life, and she chooses LIFE for her baby! The Lord is good, all the time, He really, really is.

This Sign Says it ALL!

2009-09-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! The Baby Was Born!

2009-09-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

Jerrica and Keshaun!

Alright, I am running WAY BEHIND! The baby was born on August 28th, at 11:48 pm! Jerrica got to feeling bad the night before, with her blood pressure going up. She has had pre-eclampsia before, and had to have a c-section. Therefore, they went ahead and broke her water at 3 am Friday morning. She had a VERY long day with him being born almost 24 hours later. She also got very sick and ran a fever, but he was born naturally, and I got to go in right afterwards! She decided to name him Keshaun Jerell instead, and he is so sweet and looks like a baby doll! I think he is beautiful! He weighed 5 pounds and 3 ounces, and was 17 1/2 inches long. That was good for being 2 weeks early. I am posting a few pictures, two of right after he was born and one of him five days later. Jerrica, Keshaun, and the other boys are doing wonderful, and they are enjoying being together. Jerrica is very happy, and it fills my heart with such joy! She has such hope for the future and knows the Lord will help her! Love, Pam

Jerrica, Kaleb, and 23 Days!

2009-08-19T17:48:00.001-07:00

Counting Down!

Today, Jerrica and I did our LAST minute shopping for Kaleb! 23 days left until he is due, but personally, I don't think she will make it that long! She is doing great, and things are progressing nicely. I ask Jerrica if it would be alright to blog Kaleb's life, and she has given me her blessing. For any of you that don't know, this is Jerrica's fourth child, she is twenty four years old, and her other children are 5, 3, and 1 right now. I met Jerrica when she was four months pregnant and everyone was telling her to abort her child. The Lord had me intercede in her life, and I have never left. We are close to one another, and I am going to take Kaleb when he is a month old, and keep him full time until she can get on her feet. She is doing wonderful, and is getting an apartment in a couple of weeks to establish a home for her family. She may even have a job lined up to start after the baby is born! Because of her prior drug use, Jerrica's grandmother has temporary custody of the children for right now. She has been working hard these past few months, attending mandatory classes and following the rules of DSS to get her children back. I can truly attest to that. She has NO desire to ever do drugs again, and has reestablished a wonderful relationship with her children, who tell her they love her quite a bit! How wonderful that is! I believe the Lord has great plans for her, and my desire is to see her succeed, giving all Glory to God! She will already tell you how much He has helped and changed her!

I feel so honored to be a part of this. There are a lot of things I have tried to do since being saved eight years ago to "help" the Lord, but I can honestly say, this was not me. This is all God. This was a terrible area for me, and something I would have never done six months ago. See, I had three abortions when I was younger, and they really did mess me up, very badly. The worse part was not being able to bond with my children. Abortion doesn't just kill a baby...it destroys the mother, and has effects on all of her relationships. Doesn't matter what the pro choice people say. I was pro choice also, and locked down my abortions, saying it was no big deal. They STILL messed up my life. However, I didn't put two and two together until this past January when the Lord opened the door to the truth. Twenty four years I lived in my own private hell wondering what was wrong with me. Why I was the worse mother in the world, why I couldn't feel like most mothers. It was amazing when I started talking to other women who had felt the same way. I can't begin to tell you the work God did on my heart to heal it, and then to set me free. It was through bible studies, going to the abortion clinics to pray, and helping other women, that God healed me. He is good. He is so good I am now taking on a newborn baby!! Can you imagine?? A heart that couldn't love a child very deeply can now take on another woman's baby and love him unconditionally? My friends, that is God! He is awesome! So anyway, now my heart just loves Jerrica, and wants her to do absolutely wonderful, and she is! Because the Lord is going to help her...and us together!! 40 Days for Life will be starting September 23 and I encourage everyone to go out and pray if possible! I also encourage everyone to get involved with someone's life that needs Jesus and some love, there are so many hurting people out there! We need to share the gospel with everyone! Which, by the way....Today, as Jerrica and I were leaving Bojangles, an older Middle Eastern man, smoking a cigar by his car, ask me if we would like to "spend the afternoon with him". I politely said "no", and then something compelled me to turn around and go share the gospel with him. I explained what Jesus did on the cross for us, and how what he was looking for would never fulfill him. Only Jesus would. There was such a sweet spirit present. I guess he never expected someone to respond to his proposition with the gospel! Praise the Lord! God is so Good! He is very, very good!

I also want to thank everyone that has sent gift cards to help out with diapers and formula! It is so greatly appreciated! What a blessing!

Love, Pam

President Obama Copying 40 Days for Life!

2009-08-19T14:51:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2009
taken from Jill Stanek

Breaking News: Obama knocks off 40 Days for Life with "40 Days for Health Reform"

Am listening to the liberal religious teleconference pushing Obamacare. Obama is supposed to speak at some point. (You can listen in, too, at 347-996-5501, no passcode required.)

The call, called "40 Minutes for Health Reform," will introduce 40 Days for Health Reform, an obvious knock-off of 40 Days for Life.

40 Days for Health Reform launches today. (40 Days for Life runs September 23 - November 1.)

Comment by David Bereit, executive director of 40 Days for Life:

Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but using the biblical 40-days concept in an attempt to salvage floundering health care reform proposals that would mandate taxpayer funding of abortion and force Americans into health plans with mandatory abortion coverage - we are anything but flattered.

I am confident that the prayers of millions of people, imploring God to inspire people to turn away from abortion, will be a much more powerful force in shaping the future.

Gag. The White House's Director of the Domestic Policy Council, Melody Barnes, formerly of Planned Parenthood and EMILY's List, is currently on the call.

This is amazing! Big difference however! We are trying to save the babies, and he is trying to kill them in the Health Care package! Pam

What causes someone to give up everything for God?

2009-08-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

David Brainerd
by Jeremy D. Lantz
Used with permission

"Only eternity will reveal how many fires of evangelistic zeal have been lit by the perusal of the account of [David Brainerd's] short but powerful ministry."¹

David Brainerd (1718-1747), a missionary to the American Indians, has become one of the most influential missionaries of all time. His personal ministry lasted only three years, but his journal and diary, edited and published by Jonathan Edwards, have inspired countless missionaries over the years to reach thousands, or even millions, of souls across the globe. His life was not an easy one; in fact, he suffered hardships of many kinds. It was for enduring these difficulties in order to further the gospel of Christ that he has gained such respect and had such a far-reaching effect. He life is worthy of study for anyone who desires to have a impact with their life on the growth of the Kingdom of God.

David was born on Sunday, April 20, 1718, in Haddam, Connecticut, to Hezekiah and Dorothy Brainerd. He came from a very notable family. His grandfather, Daniel Brainerd, had come to Connecticut at the age of eight from Essex, England, for reasons yet unknown. Daniel eventually became very influential as "the greatest landowner, a commissioner for the General Court, a justice of the peace, and a deacon in the church."² Daniel's son, Hezekiah, followed him in public leadership as a representative in the General Assembly, Speaker of the House, and a member of the Governor's Council. In reward for his service Hezekiah was given three hundred acres of land. David's mother, Dorothy, had been the widow of Daniel Mason and came from a family heritage of ministers. She brought a son, Jeremiah Mason, into the family when she married Hezekiah in 1707, and she eventually bore nine more children, of which David was the sixth.

In addition to being influential in the community, David's family was very devout. Hezekiah has been called a man "of great personal dignity and self-restraint, of rigid notions of parental prerogative and authority, of the strictest puritanical views as to religious ordinances, of unbending integrity as a man and a public officer, and of extreme scrupulousness in his Christian life."³ Under his father's instruction, David practically grew up in the Congregational church. As young as age seven he was expressing concern for his soul. This Christian foundation probably helped him even then to endure the first major struggles of his life.

David's teenage years were, in fact, quite a struggle for him. When he was only nine, his father died. Only five years later, his mother also died. After this, he lived for four years in East Haddam with his older sister, Jerusha, her husband, Samuel Spencer, and her three children. During this time he was often depressed and lonely. He himself described this saying that from his youth he was "somewhat sober, and inclined rather to melancholy."⁴ Throughout his life he would be struggling against his tendency toward depression. Jonathan Edwards said that he was "by his constitution and natural temper, so prone to melancholy and dejection of spirit."⁵ He was soon to face even more difficult battles.

In April of 1733, after he turned nineteen, Brainerd moved to a farm in Durham, 10 miles West of Haddam, that he had inherited from his father. There, he developed a desire to obtain an education, and he became very concerned about his religion. In 1738, he moved in with Phineas Fiske, the pastor of the church at Haddam, to pursue his religious interests. After Fiske's death, he continued his pursuit with his brother, and he soon felt great distress for his soul, realizing that he was selfishly trusting in his works for salvation. Though he had not yet had a conversion experience, he made a commitment at age 20 to enter into ministry and began plans to attend Yale College. On Sunday, July 22, 1739, at age 21, he finally had a conversion experience:

I was walking again in the same solitary place, where I was brought to see myself lost and helpless... I had been thus endeavoring to pray... then, as I was walking in a dark thick grove, unspeakable glory seemed to open to the view and apprehension of my soul. I do not mean any external brightness, for I saw no such thing... Thus God, I trust, brought me to a hearty disposition to exalt Him and set Him on the throne... At this time, the way of salvation opened to me with such infinite wisdom, suitableness, and excellency, that I wondered I should ever think of any other way of salvation; was amazed that I had not dropped my own contrivances, and complied with this lovely, blessed, and excellent way before.⁶

Shortly after this time, in September 1739, he enrolled at Yale.

David Brainerd's sufferings were to increase during his college years. He was older than most of the students, but, as a freshman, he was still subject to hazing from the upperclassmen. He also battled against constant sickness. During his first year, he was sent home for several weeks with the measles. During his second year, he began spitting up blood and was again sent home. This was most likely an early sign of the tuberculosis that would eventually be the cause of his death.

When he returned the second time, he found that the Great Awakening and a visit from George Whitefield had drastically changed the college. Brainerd gladly joined the student body in becoming a New Light, while the administration remained staunchly Old Light. Insults and disrespect grew between the two groups. On September 9, 1741, Jonathan Edwards gave the commencement address at Yale titled "The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God." To the disappointment of the administration, Edwards supported the students. This was probably the first meeting between Brainerd and the honorable Mr. Edwards.

The same day as Edwards’ address, the college trustees issued a statement saying: "If any student of this College shall directly or indirectly say, that the Rector, either of the Trustees or Tutors are hypocrites, carnal or unconverted men, he shall for the first offence make a public confession in the hall, and for the second offence be expelled."⁷ That winter, a freshman overheard Brainerd say in a private conversation that the tutor Chauncey Whittlesey had "no more grace than a chair." He was also reported as saying that he was surprised the Rector Thomas Clap "did not drop down dead"⁸ for fining students who became followers of Gilbert Tennent. Brainerd denied the latter, but refused to offer a public apology for the former, though he confessed his guilt. As a result, he was expelled from the college, though he stood at the top of his class academically.

Having been denied a Yale degree, Brainerd reevaluated the direction of his life. He moved several times, living with and being trained by Pastor Jedediah Mills, Pastor Joseph Bellamy, and the preacher Jonathan Dickinson. He spent much of his time studying and praying, seeking God for direction for his life. On July 29, 1742, he received a license to preach from the New Lights in the Association of Ministers of the East District of Fairfield County, Connecticut. With his license, he began preaching occasionally, but he still did not have a place or ministry to call his own. This transition period, however, was soon to end.

In 1741, John Sergeant, a missionary to the Indians, had visited the Forks of the Delaware River in Pennsylvania and seen their great need. He asked Scottish Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) to appoint a missionary to them. On November 8, 1742, Brainerd received a letter from Ebenezer Pemberton of New York asking him to consider this ministry to the Indians, and on November 25 he accepted the commission and began what would become his life's legacy. He would now forever be known as a missionary to the American Indians.

Brainerd spent the next six months preparing for his ministry. He traveled some, visiting friends and family and viewing the mission field he would soon enter. Then, he served as a pastor for six weeks that winter in a Congregational church in East Hampton, Long Island. While there, he gained some missionary experience by preaching to the nearby Indians, who were under the care of Azariah Horton, another missionary commissioned by the SSPCK. In doing so, Brainerd became overwhelmed with the destitute position of the Indians and felt "something of flatness and deadness"⁹ in his spirit. His heart went out to the Indians, and he developed a greater love for them. Meanwhile, he became more aware of his inadequacies, feeling extremely vile and incompetent for the job at hand.

At the end of the winter, Brainerd was ready to travel to Pennsylvania, but the SSPCG deemed the area too dangerous. Consequently, on April 1, 1743, he instead traveled to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and began his ministry to the Mohegan Indians at Kaunaumeek. Through the spring months, he lived with a Scottish man and slept on a bed of straw. He traveled a mile and a half each day to be able to preach to the Indians, and he struggled daily with depression, loneliness, and physical discomfort. His diary entry on May 18, 1743 remarks:

My circumstances are such, that I have no comfort on any kind but what I have in God. I live in the most lonesome wilderness; have but one single person to converse with, that can speak English. Most of the talk I hear is either Highland Scotch or Indian. I have no fellow Christian to whom I might unbosom myself or lay open my conversation about heavenly things and join in social prayer. I live poorly with regard to the comforts of life. Most of my diet consists of boiled corn, hasty-pudding, etc. I lodge on a bundle of straw, my labor is hard and extremely difficult, and I have little appearance of success, to comfort me.¹⁰

Brainerd lived alone in a wigwam through most of the summer and finally, on July 30, 1743, he moved into a hut he had built for himself.

Brainerd's year in Kaunaumeek was very eventful. In June 1743, he visited the SSPCK in New Jersey before setting up his first school for the Indians. He appointed his current interpreter, John Wauwaumpequunnaunt, as the headmaster, and found some encouragement through this new work; it was much easier to teach the Indians Christian truths after they had learned some English. Still, although they listened to him, Brainerd never thought the Indians really understood or accepted his message.

In September he visited New Haven to attend commencement at Yale, but he became very sick while he was there, again with symptoms of tuberculosis. Fortunately, friends in New Haven were able to treat him back to health. After returning to Kaunaumeek, he gave more attention to learning the Indian's language under the teaching of John Sergeant at Stockbridge; this also helped him to communicate his message more effectively. In March 1744, Brainerd was given a chance to leave the wilderness and become the pastor of the church in East Hampton, Long Island. By this time, however, his devotion as a minister to the Indians far outweighed his desire for a comfortable position, and he chose to stay. On May 1, 1744, however, he received orders from the SSPCK to move to his original commission with the Indians in Pennsylvania. Thus, the Mohegan Indian's were left to be cared for by John Sergeant, and Brainerd moved to the Forks of Delaware. Before delving deep into his work there, however, the SSPCK ordained him as a Presbyterian minister on June 12, 1744.

Upon his arrival in Delaware, Brainerd was discouraged at the state of the Indians. They had been scattered into the wilderness by land hungry whites and, though they seemed open to Christianity, they were very leery of listening to any white people. Nevertheless, he began preaching in turn to both the Indians and a nearby settlement of Irish. He lived with white people, where he had some English fellowship, and would travel each day to teach the Indians. As the word spread of this new teaching, the congregation of Indians soon grew from about twenty-five to over forty. Brainerd was somewhat encouraged by their response, as many "began to renounce their idolatry and refused to take part in the feasts during which sacrifices were offered to mysterious deities. Many became concerned about the state of their souls."¹¹ Still, although they rejected some of their old ways, they did not put their hope in God as a savior. Brainerd was very discouraged by this and did not think that his efforts in the Forks of Delaware were any success. In an attempt to find more success and reach more Indians, he took two trips to the Susquehanna River. Although Indians there had some interest in the gospel he was preaching, Brainerd still found little tangible success in his work. In addition, he became very ill during his second journey to the Susquehannah.

During this time, Brainerd became increasingly reliant upon God's working on the Indians before he would have any success. He described this in his June 27, 1744, diary entry: "My soul seemed to rely wholly upon God for success, in the diligent and faithful use of means. Saw, with greatest certainty, that the arm of the Lord must be revealed for the help of these poor heathen, if ever they were delivered from the bondage of the powers of darkness."¹² His desire to see the Indians saved grew deeper than it had ever been. On July 23 of the same summer he wrote: "Had sweet resignation for the divine will and desired nothing so much as the conversion of the heathen to God, and that His kingdom might come in my own heart and the hearts of others."¹³ Brainerd's Calvinistic belief in God's sovereignty was strengthened, and his dependence on God grew.

On June 19, 1745, Brainerd left the Forks of Delaware and went to Crossweeksung, New Jersey, where he would find the great success he had been searching for. As in Pennsylvania, he found on his arrival that the Indians were scattered throughout the land. Unlike before, however, they offered no objections to his preaching and began to quickly gather others to hear the message. As the Indians became increasingly interested, he began meeting with them individually to discuss the things he had been teaching.

At the end of July, during a return visit to the Forks of Delaware, a major breakthrough occurred in Brainerd's ministry: his interpreter, Moses Tautomy, and his wife were saved, coming into an "experimental" knowledge of Christianity and being baptized. This helped tremendously because Tautomy was then able to understand Christian doctrine and communicate it more clearly. In addition, other Indians were more likely to take the message seriously because of their respect for Tautomy as a landowner and leader.

When Brainerd returned to Crossweeksung in August, the Indians were eagerly awaiting him. On August 6 he described his first convert. It was a woman "who obtained comfort, I trust, solid and well grounded. She seemed to be filled with love to Christ, at the same time behaved humbly and tenderly, and appeared afraid of nothing so much as of grieving and offending Him whom her soul loved."¹⁴ That month, only six weeks after his first visit to Crossweeksung, Brainerd witnessed a spiritual awakening among the Indians. He was greatly encouraged as many came to a saving knowledge of Christ and many more traveled great distances to hear his message. He attributed this response fully to God's sovereign work in their lives:

I never saw the work of God appear so independent of means as at this time. I discoursed to the people, and spoke what, I suppose, had a proper tendency to promote convictions. But God's manner of working upon them appeared so entirely supernatural and above means that I could scarce believe He used me as an instrument, or what I spake as means of carrying on His work... God appeared to work entirely alone, and I saw no room to attribute any of this work to any created arm.¹⁵

Brainerd took this opportunity to begin discipling a new community of believers. He began baptizing those who showed evidence of their salvation, and throughout the fall he met with Indians individually to give them more teaching. On December 21, 1745, he began giving catechetical lectures to those who were ready for even deeper discipleship. On January 31, 1746, a schoolmaster arrived and began teaching children during the day and adults in the evenings. In April Brainerd began administering communion, and he taught them to pray and fast in preparation for it. That spring he took a huge step in his ministry by moving the Indians from Crossweeksung to Cranberry, New Jersey, so they could live close to one another in a permanent community and be taught easily. Less than a year after his arrival Brainerd had a congregation of over 130 Christian Indians who looked to him for guidance in both sacred and secular matters. This was the success he had been searching for:

I know of no assembly of Christians where there seems to be so much of the presence of God, where brotherly love so much prevails, and where I should so much delight in the public worship of God, in general, as in my own congregation; although not more than nine months ago, they were worshiping devils and dumb idols under the power of pagan darkness and superstition. Amazing change this! Effected by nothing less than divine power and grace!¹⁶

In the fall of 1746 Brainerd's illness began to overcome him. His diary is full of complaints about how weak he was and how hard it was to continue his ministry in his physical condition. Consequently, he left the Indians in November and traveled to New England, where he was cared for by friends. In March 1947, he returned for what would be his last visit to the Indians before his death. By this time he was very depressed by his sickness and even looked forward to death. On May 19, 1747, Brainerd moved into Jonathan Edwards' home in New Hampton, where he would spend the last nineteen weeks of his life under the care of Edwards' daughter, Jerusha. Finally, what he referred to in his diary as "that glorious day"¹⁷ came; he died of tuberculosis on October 9, 1747, at the age of 29.

It seems certain that before his death romantic interest grew between Brainerd and Jerusha. Her close attention to him, however, was costly; she died four months later, also from tuberculosis. Despite the immediate loss of his daughter, Jonathan Edwards considered it a "gracious dispensation of Providence" that Brainerd was at his home during his last days. Brainerd's life and diary had been an inspiration to the Edwards family, and in response Jonathan edited and published The Life and Diary of David Brainerd. In time, this became his most published and most read work. For over two centuries now, it has served as an inspiration to ministers and missionaries throughout the world.

Certainly Brainerd's work was extraordinary, but the question still remains: why have the records of his short ministry had such a profound and lasting impact? To answer this, several characteristics of Brainerd's ministry must be considered.

First, David Brainerd gave up his life in complete devotion to the Lord’s work. We can see a picture of this in some of his final words:

It is impossible for any rational creature to be happy without acting all for God. God Himself could not make him happy any other way... There is nothing in the world worth living for but doing good and finishing God's work, doing the work that Christ did. I see nothing else in the world that can yield any satisfaction besides living to God, pleasing Him, and doing his whole will.¹⁸

Although he was originally concerned about material comforts, Brainerd came to believe that nothing mattered except serving God. He also sought God regularly through prayer and fasting. He records days of prayer and fasting more than anything else in his diary. In fact, it was so important to him that he taught the Indians to pray and fast before he would administer communion to them. Clearly, Brainerd had a heart that was intent on seeking God and doing His will to the best of his ability.

Second, it is worthy to note that Brainerd built for the long term. Part of his mission strategy was to build schools and bring the Indians together into a close, permanent community that could be easily taught and cared for. In doing so he became not only their religious leader, or pastor, but also their secular leader. He helped the Indians to restructure their entire lives around a Christian worldview. Integral to this vision of discipleship was the time that he spent discoursing with individuals and catechizing with small groups. He was able then to have direct, personal influence in the Indians' lives. Brainerd worked to establish the Kingdom of God among the Indians in a way that would long outlive his ministry to them.

Third, he faced immense physical suffering. His sickness hounded him throughout his life. Whether he was taking breaks from school or was detained during his travels, reoccurring symptoms of tuberculosis often kept him from working at the tasks at hand. Eventually, of course, it took him completely out of his ministry and soon took his life as well. In addition to sickness, he dealt with many other physical discomforts, such as sleeping on straw, living in a wigwam, and riding full days through the rain. After growing up in an important, wealthy family, this must have been very difficult for him. Nevertheless, Brainerd forsook material pleasures for the satisfaction of doing the Lord's work.

Fourth, he often struggled with depression and loneliness. His diary is full of entries about his discouragement. Sometimes he was disappointed about the way his ministry was going, and other times he was distraught over the blackness of his soul. At least twenty-two times he longed for death as a way of escape from his depression¹⁹, and, though he had made good friends among the Indians, he longed for a soul mate, something he never found, though he might have found it in Jerusha Edwards had they survived longer.

Finally, Brainerd's ministry was deemed a success. Had his ministry ended after only his first two years of mission work, he may not have had such a great impact, because it was not until his third year that his ministry showed much fruit. It is the victories that are exalted and inspire mankind, not the failures. Thus, the far-reaching effect Brainerd has had is in large part due to his work being visibly successful in the end.

The impact of The Life and Diary of David Brainerd has come as ministers have identified themselves with Brainerd's life. It has motivated them to faithfully pursue God and His ministry through all of their physical and emotional sufferings. It has shown the great reward of serving God with complete abandonment. As John Piper wrote, "Brainerd's life is a vivid, powerful testimony to the truth that God can and does use sick, discouraged, beat-down, lonely, struggling saints, who cry to him day and night, to accomplish amazing things for his glory."²⁰ The testimony of Brainerd's life gives hope to ministers desiring to faithfully continue Christ's work.

This, then, is the story of David Brainerd. As a man, he was unable to do the tasks set before him. As a missionary, God carried him through all his struggles in order bring the gospel to the American Indians in a personal way. Brainerd's perseverance and success has inspired many other missionaries since then to continue their work as well. Thus, his three years of faithful service to the American Indians has impacted the entire world for centuries. Knowing this, Brainerd might have said: to God be the glory, for great things He has done.

"May the Lord of the harvest send forth other laborers into this part of His harvest, that those who sit in darkness may see great light, and that the whole earth may be filled with the knowledge of Himself! Amen."²¹

^{Click here for article and website.}

^{What makes a man or woman give up everything for God? To see people won to Christ, and to live solely for Him? Do we do that here in the United States? Are we truly concerned more about the kingdom of God than anything else? Do we lay down our lives to help others? Pam}

John Piper's article on George Mueller!

2009-08-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

George Mueller's Strategy for Showing God

Simplicity of Faith, Sacred Scripture, and Satisfaction in God

2004 Bethlehem Conference for Pastors

Listen | Download

By John Piper February 3, 2004

George Mueller was a native German (a Prussian). He was born in Kroppenstaedt on September 27, 1805 and lived almost the entire nineteenth century. He died March 10, 1898 at the age of 92. He saw the great awakening of 1859 which he said “led to the conversion of hundreds of thousands.”¹ He did follow up work for D. L. Moody,² preached for Charles Spurgeon,³ and inspired the missionary faith of Hudson Taylor.⁴

He spent most of his life in Bristol, England and pastored the same church there for over sixty-six years—a kind of independent, premillennial,⁵ Calvinistic⁶ Baptist⁷ church that celebrated the Lord's supper weekly⁸ and admitted non-baptized people into membership.⁹ If this sounds unconventional, that would be accurate. He was a maverick not only in his church life but in almost all the areas of his life. But his eccentricities were almost all large-hearted and directed outward for the good of others. A. T. Pierson, who wrote the biography that Mueller's son-in-law endorsed as authoritative,¹⁰ captured the focus of this big-hearted eccentricity when he said, George Mueller “devised large and liberal things for the Lord's cause.”¹¹

In 1834 (when he was 28) he founded The Scripture Knowledge Institute for Home and Abroad,¹² because he was disillusioned with the post-millennialism, the liberalism, and the worldly strategies (like going into debt¹³) of existing mission organizations.¹⁴ Five branches of this Institute developed: 1) Schools for children and adults to teach Bible knowledge, 2) Bible distribution, 3) missionary support, 4) tract and book distribution, and 5) “to board, clothe and Scripturally educate destitute children who have lost both parents by death.”¹⁵

The accomplishments of all five branches were significant,¹⁶ but the one he was known for around the world in his own lifetime, and still today, was the orphan ministry. He built five large orphan houses and cared for 10,024 orphans in his life. When he started in 1834 there were accommodations for 3,600 orphans in all of England and twice that many children under eight were in prison.¹⁷ One of the great effects of Mueller's ministry was to inspire others so that “fifty years after Mr. Mueller began his work, at least one hundred thousand orphans were cared for in England alone.”¹⁸

He did all this while he was preaching three times a week from 1830 to 1898, at least 10,000 times.¹⁹ And when he turned 70 he fulfilled a life-long dream of missionary work for the next 17 years until he was 87. He traveled to 42 countries,²⁰ preaching on average of once a day,²¹ and addressing some three million people.²² He preached nine times here in Minneapolis in 1880 (nine years after the founding of Bethlehem Baptist Church).

From the end of his travels in 1892 (when he was 87) until his death in March of 1898 he preached in his church and worked for the Scripture Knowledge Institute. At age 92, not long before he died, he wrote, “I have been able, every day and all the day to work, and that with ease, as seventy years since.”²³ He led a prayer meeting at his church on the evening of Wednesday, March 9, 1898. The next day a cup of tea was taken to him at seven in the morning but no answer came to the knock on the door. He was found dead on the floor beside his bed. ²⁴

The funeral was held the following Monday in Bristol, where he had served for sixty-six years. “Tens of thousands of people reverently stood along the route of the simple procession; men left their workshops and offices, women left their elegant homes or humble kitchens, all seeking to pay a last token of respect.”²⁵ A thousand children gathered for a service at the Orphan House No. 3. They had now “for a second time lost a ‘father'.”²⁶

He had read his Bible from end to end almost 200 times.²⁷ He had prayed in millions of dollars (in today's currency²⁸) for the Orphans and never asked anyone directly for money. He never took a salary in the last 68 years of his ministry, but trusted God to put in people's hearts to send him what he needed. He never took out a loan or went into debt.²⁹ And neither he nor the orphans were ever hungry. The eccentric pastor and orphan-lover was gone.

He had been married twice: to Mary Groves when he was 25, and to Susannah Sangar when he was 66. Mary bore him four children. Two were stillborn. One son Elijah died when he was a year old. His daughter Lydia married James Wright who succeeded Mueller as the head of the Institute. But she died in 1890 at 57 years old. Five years later Mueller lost his second wife, just three years before he died. And so he outlived his family and was left alone with his Savior, his church, and two thousand children. He had been married to Mary for 39 years and to Susannah for 23 years. He preached Mary's funeral sermon when he was 64,³⁰ and he preached Susannah's funeral sermon when he was 90.³¹ It's what he said in the face of this loss and pain that gives us the key to his life.

Mary's Death and the Key to His Life

We have the full text of the message at Mary's funeral and we have his own recollections of this loss. To feel the force of what he says, we have to know that they loved each other deeply and enjoyed each other in the work they shared.

Were we happy? Verily we were. With every year our happiness increased more and more. I never saw my beloved wife at any time, when I met her unexpectedly anywhere in Bristol, without being delighted so to do. I never met her even in the Orphan Houses, without my heart being delighted so to do. Day by day, as we met in our dressing room, at the Orphan Houses, to wash our hands before dinner and tea, I was delighted to meet her, and she was equally pleased to seeme. Thousands of times I told her—“My darling, I never saw you at any time, since you became my wife, without my being delighted to see you.”³²

Then came the diagnosis: “When I heard what Mr. Pritchard's judgment was, viz., that the malady was rheumatic fever, I naturally expected the worst. . . . My heart was nigh to be broken on account of the depth of my affection.”³³ The one who had seen God answer 10,000 prayers for the support of the orphan, this time did not get what he asked. Or did he?

Twenty minutes after four, Lord's Day, February 6, 1870, Mary died. “I fell on my knees and thanked God for her release, and for having taken her to Himself, and asked the Lord to help and support us.”³⁴ He recalled later how he strengthened himself during these hours. And here we see the key to his life.

The last portion of scripture which I read to my precious wife was this: “The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Now, if we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace, we are partakers of grace, and to all such he will give glory also. I said to myself, with regard to the latter part, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”—I am in myself a poor worthless sinner, but I have been saved by the blood of Christ; and I do not live in sin, I walk uprightly before God. Therefore, if it is really good for me, my darling wife will be raised up again; sick as she is. God will restore her again. But if she is not restored again, then it would not be a good thing for me. And so my heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. And all this springs, as I have often said before, from taking God at his word, believing what he says.³⁵

Here is the cluster of unshakable convictions and experiences that are the key to this remarkable life. “I am in myself a poor worthless sinner.”I have been saved by the blood of Christ.” “I do not live in sin.”God is sovereign over life and death. If it is good for her and for me, she will be restored again. If not she won't.”My heart is at rest.”I am satisfied with God.” All this comes from taking God at his word. There you see the innermost being of George Mueller and the key to his life. The word of God, revealing his sin, revealing his Savior, revealing God's sovereignty, revealing God's goodness, revealing God's promise, awakening his faith, satisfying his soul. “I was satisfied with God.”

The Gift of Faith vs. the Grace of Faith

So were his prayers for Mary answered? To understand how Mueller himself would answer this question, we have to see the way he distinguished between the extraordinary gift of faith and the more ordinary grace of faith. He constantly insisted that he did not have the gift of faith when people put him on a pedestal just because he would pray for his own needs and the needs of the orphans, and the money would arrive in remarkable ways.

Think not, dear reader, that Ihave the gift of faith, that is, that gift of which we read in 1 Corinthians 12:9, and which is mentioned along with “the gifts of healing,” “the working of miracles,”prophecy,” and that on that account I am able to trust in the Lord. It is true that the faith, which I am enabled to exercise, is altogether God's own gift; it is true that He alone supports it, and that He alone can increase it; it is true that, moment by moment, I depend upon Him for it, and that, if I were only one moment left to myself, my faith would utterly fail; but it is not true that my faith is that gift of faith which is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 12:9.³⁶

The reason he is so adamant about this is that his whole life—especially in the way he supported the orphans by faith and prayer without asking anyone but God for money—was consciously planned to encourage Christians that God could really be trusted to meet their needs. We will never understand George Mueller's passion for the orphan ministry if we don't see that the good of the orphans was second to this.

The three chief reasons for establishing an Orphan-House are: 1. That God may be glorified, should He be pleased to furnish me with the means, in its being seen that it is not a vain thing to trust in Him; and that thus the faith of His children may be strengthened. 2. The spiritual welfare of fatherless and motherless children. 3. Their temporal welfare.³⁷

And make no mistake about it: the order of those three goals is intentional. He makes that explicit over and over in his Narrative. The orphan houses exist to display that God can be trusted and to encourage believers to take him at his word. This was a deep sense of calling with Mueller. He said that God had given him the mercy in “being able to take God by His word and to rely upon it.”³⁸ He was grieved that “so many believers . . . were harassed and distressed in mind, or brought guilt on their consciences, on account of not trusting in the Lord.” This grace that he had to trust God's promises, and this grief that so many believers didn't trust his promises, shaped Mueller's entire life. This was his supreme passion: to display with open proofs that God could be trusted with the practical affairs of life. This was the higher aim of building the orphan houses and supporting them by asking God, not people, for money.

It seemed to me best done, by the establishing of an Orphan-House. It needed to be something which could be seen, even by the natural eye. Now, if I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained, without asking any individual, the means for establishing and carrying on an Orphan-House: there would be something which, with the Lord's blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the children of God besides being a testimony to the consciences of the unconverted, of the reality of the things of God. This, then, was the primary reason, for establishing the Orphan-House. . . The first and primary object of the work was, (and still is) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided, with all they need, only by prayer and faith, without any one being asked by me or my fellow-laborers, whereby it may be seen, that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL.³⁹

That was the chief passion and unifying aim of Mueller's ministry: live a life and lead a ministry in a way that proves God is real, God is trustworthy, God answers prayer. He built orphanages the way he did to help Christians trust God. He says it over and over again.⁴⁰

Now we see why he is so adamant that his faith is not the gift of faith in 1 Corinthians 12:9 that only some people have, but was the grace of faith that all Christians should have.⁴¹ Now we are ready to see this crucial distinction he made between the gift of faith and the grace of faith. His entire aim in life hung on this. If Christians simply said: “Mueller is in a class by himself. He has the gift of faith,” then we are all off the hook and he is no longer a prod and proof and inspiration for how we ought to live. Here is what he says

The difference between the gift and the grace of faith seems to me this. According to the gift of faith I am able to do a thing, or believe that a thing will come to pass, the not doing of which, or the not believing of which would not be sin; according to the grace of faith I am able to do a thing, or believe that a thing will come to pass, respecting which I have the word of God as the ground to rest upon, and, therefore, the not doing it, or the not believing it would be sin. For instance, the gift of faith would be needed, to believe that a sick person should be restored again though there is no human probability: for there is no promise to that effect; the grace of faith is needed to believe that the Lord will give me the necessaries of life, if I first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness: for there is a promise to that effect. Matthew 6:33.⁴²

Mueller did not think he had any biblical ground for being certain that God would spare his wife Mary. He admits that a few times in his life he was given “something like the gift (not grace) of faith so that unconditionally I could ask and look for an answer,”⁴³ but he did not have that rare gift in Mary's case. And so he prayed for her healing conditionally—namely, if it would be good for them and for God's glory. But most deeply he prayed that they would be satisfied in God whatever he did. And God did answer that prayer by helping Mueller believe Psalm 84:11. No good thing will God withhold. God withheld no good thing from him, and he was satisfied with God's sovereign will. All this, he says, “springs from taking God at his word, believing what he says.”

How Did Mueller Get to this Position?

Let's go back and let him tell the story—essential parts of which are omitted from all the biographies I have looked at.

His father was an unbeliever and George grew up a liar and a thief, by his own testimony.⁴⁴ His mother died when he was 14, and he records no impact that this loss had on him except that while she was dying he was roving the streets with his friends “half intoxicated.”⁴⁵ He went on living a bawdy life, and then found himself in prison for stealing when he was 16 years old. His father paid to get him out, beat him, and took him to live in another town (Schoenbeck). Mueller used his academic skills to make money by tutoring in Latin, French, and mathematics. Finally his father sent him to the University of Halle to study divinity and prepare for the ministry because that would be a good living. Neither he nor George had any spiritual aspirations. Of the 900 divinity students in Halle, Mueller later estimated that maybe nine feared the Lord. ⁴⁶

Then on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of November, 1825, when Mueller was 20 years old, he was invited to a Bible study and, by the grace of God, felt the desire to go. “It was to me as if I had found something after which I had been seeking all my life long. I immediately wished to go.”⁴⁷ “They read the Bible, sang, prayed, and read a printed sermon.”⁴⁸ To his amazement Mueller said, “The whole made a deep impression on me. I was happy; though, if I had been asked, why I was happy I could not have clearly explained it. “I have not the least doubt, that on that evening, [God] began a work of grace in me. . . . That evening was the turning point in my life.”⁴⁹

That's true. But there was another turning point four years later that the biographies do not open for the reader, but which for Mueller was absolutely decisive in shaping the way he viewed God and the way he did ministry.

A Decisive Turning Point: Confidence in the Sovereign Goodness of God

He came to England in the hope of being a missionary with the London Missionary Society. Soon he found his theology and ministry convictions turning away from the LMS, until there was a break. In the meantime, a momentous encounter happened.

Mueller became sick (thank God for providential sickness!) and in the summer of 1829 he went for recovery to a town called Teignmouth. There in a little chapel called Ebenezer at least two crucial discoveries were made: the preciousness of reading and meditating on the word of God,⁵⁰ and the truth of the doctrines of grace.⁵¹ For ten days Mueller lived with a nameless man who change his life forever: “Through the instrumentality of this brother the Lord bestowed a great blessing upon me, for which I shall have cause to thank Him throughout eternity.”⁵²

Before this period I had been much opposed to the doctrines of election, particular redemption, and final persevering grace; so much so that, a few days after my arrival at Teignmouth, I called election a devilish doctrine. . . I knew nothing about the choice of God's people, and did not believe that the child of God, when once made so, was safe for ever. . . . But now I was brought to examine these precious truths by the word of God.⁵³

He was led to embrace the doctrines of grace—the robust, mission-minded, soul-winning, orphan-loving Calvinism that marked William Carey, who died in 1834, and that would mark Charles Spurgeon, who was born in 1834.⁵⁴ About forty years later, in 1870, Mueller spoke to some young believers about the importance of what had happened to him at Teignmouth. He said that his preaching had been fruitless for four years from 1825 to 1829 in Germany, but then he came to England and was taught the doctrines of grace.

In the course of time I came to this country, and it pleased God then to show to me the doctrines of grace in a way in which I had not seen them before. At first I hated them, “If this were true I could do nothing at all in the conversion of sinners, as all would depend upon God and the working of His Spirit.” But when it pleased God to reveal these truths to me, and my heart was brought to such a state that I could say, “I am not only content simply to be a hammer, an axe, or a saw, in God's hands; but I shall count it an honor to be taken up and used by Him in any way; and if sinners are converted through my instrumentality, from my inmost soul I will give Him all the glory; the Lord gave me to see fruit; the Lord gave me to see fruit in abundance; sinners were converted by scores; and ever since God has used me in one way or other in His service.”⁵⁵

This discovery of the all-encompassing sovereignty of God became the foundation of Mueller's confidence in God to answer his prayers for money. He gave up his regular salary.⁵⁶ He refused to ask people directly for money.⁵⁷ He prayed and published his reports about the goodness of God and the answers to his prayer.⁵⁸ These yearly reports were circulated around the world, and they clearly had a huge effect in motivating people to give to the orphan work.⁵⁹ Mueller knew that God used means. In fact, he loved to say, “Work with all your might; but trust not in the least in your work.”⁶⁰ But he also insisted that his hope was in God alone, not his exertions and not the published reports. These means could not account for the remarkable answers that he received.

Mueller's faith that his prayers for money would be answered was rooted in the sovereignty of God. When faced with a crisis in having the means to pay a bill he would say, “How the means are to come, I know not; but I know that God is almighty, that the hearts of all are in His hands, and that, if He pleaseth to influence persons, they will send help.”⁶¹ That is the root of his confidence: God is almighty, the hearts of all men are in his hands,⁶² and when God chooses to influence their hearts they will give.

He had come to know and love this absolute sovereignty of God in the context of the doctrines of grace, and therefore he cherished it mainly as sovereign goodness.⁶³ This gave him a way to maintain a personal peace beyond human understanding in the midst of tremendous stress and occasional tragedy. “The Lord never lays more on us,” he said, “in the way of chastisement, than our state of heart makes needful; so that whilst He smites with the one hand, He supports with the other.”⁶⁴ In the face of painful circumstances he says, “I bow, I am satisfied with the will of my Heavenly Father, I seek by perfect submission to His holy will to glorify Him, I kiss continually the hand that has thus afflicted me.”⁶⁵

And when he is about to lose a piece of property that he wants for the next orphan house, he says, “If the Lord were to take this piece of land from me, it would be only for the purpose of giving me a still better one; for our Heavenly Father never takes any earthly thing from His children except He means to give them something better instead.”⁶⁶ This is what I mean by confidence in God's sovereign goodness. This is the root of Mueller's faith and ministry.

The Aroma of Mueller's Calvinism: Satisfaction and Glad Self-Denial

But there was an aroma about Mueller's Calvinism that was different from many stereotypes. For him the sovereign goodness of God served, first and foremost, the satisfaction of the soul. And then the satisfied soul was freed to sacrifice and live a life of simplicity and risk and self-denial and love. But everything flowed from the soul that is first satisfied in the gracious, sovereign God. Mueller is clearer on this than anyone I have ever read. He is unashamed to sound almost childishly simple:

According to my judgement the most important point to be attended to is this: above all things see to it that your souls are happy in the Lord. Other things may press upon you, the Lord's work may even have urgent claims upon your attention, but I deliberately repeat, it is of supreme and paramount importance that you should seek above all things to have your souls truly happy in God Himself! Day by day seek to make this the most important business of your life. This has been my firm and settled condition for the last five and thirty years. For the first four years after my conversion I knew not its vast importance, but now after much experience I specially commend this point to the notice of my younger brethren and sisters in Christ: the secret of all true effectual service is joy in God, having experimental acquaintance and fellowship with God Himself.⁶⁷

Why is this “the most important thing”? Why is daily happiness in God “of supreme and paramount importance”? One answer he gives is that it glorifies God. After telling about one of his wife's illnesses when he almost lost her, he says, “I have . . . stated this case so fully, to show the deep importance to be satisfied with the will of God, not only for the sake of glorifying Him, but as the best way, in the end, of having given to us the desire of our hearts.”⁶⁸ Being satisfied in God is “of supreme and paramount importance” because it glorifies God. It shows that God is gloriously satisfying.

But there is another answer: namely, that happiness in God is the only source of durable and God-honoring self-denial and sacrifice and love. In reference to life-style changes and simplicity he says:

We should begin the thing in a right way, i.e. aim after the right state of heart; begin inwardly instead of outwardly. If otherwise, it will not last. We shall look back, or even get into a worse state than we were before. But oh! how different if joy in God leads us to any little act of self denial. How gladly do we do it then!⁶⁹

“Glad self-denial” is the aroma of Mueller's Calvinism. How can there be such a thing? He answers: “Self-denial is not so much an impoverishment as a postponement: we make a sacrifice of a present good for the sake of a future and greater good.”⁷⁰ Therefore, happiness in God is of “supreme importance” because it is the key to love that sacrifices and takes risks. “Whatever be done . . . in the way of giving up, or self-denial, or deadness to the world, should result from the joy we have in God.”⁷¹

A well-to-do woman visited him once to discuss a possible gift to the Institute. He did not ask her for the money. But when she was gone he asked God for it. And the way he did reveals his understanding of how the heart human works.

After she was gone, I asked the Lord, that He would be pleased to make this dear sister so happy in Himself and enable her so to realize her true riches and inheritance in the Lord Jesus, and the reality of her heavenly calling, that she might be constrained by the love of Christ, cheerfully to lay down this 500 [pounds] at His feet.⁷²

How Do We Get and Keep Our Happiness in God?

If happiness in God is “of supreme and paramount importance” because it is the spring of sacrificial love that honors God, then the crucial question becomes how do we get it and keep it?

But in what way shall we attain to this settled happiness of soul? How shall we learn to enjoy God? How obtain such an all-sufficient soul-satisfying portion in him as shall enable us to let go the things of this world as vain and worthless in comparison? I answer, This happiness is to be obtained through the study of the Holy Scriptures. God has therein revealed Himself unto us in the face of Jesus Christ.⁷³

Happiness in God comes from seeing God revealed to us in the face of Jesus Christ through the Scriptures. “In them . . . we become acquainted with the character of God. Our eyes are divinely opened to see what a lovely Being God is! And this good, gracious, loving, heavenly Father is ours, our portion for time and for eternity.”⁷⁴ Knowing God is the key to being happy in God.

The more we know of God, the happier we are. . . . When we became a little acquainted with God . . . our true happiness . . . commenced; and the more we become acquainted with him, the more truly happy we become. What will make us so exceedingly happy in heaven? It will be the fuller knowledge of God.⁷⁵

Therefore the most crucial means of fighting for joy in God is to immerse oneself in the Scriptures where we see God in Christ most clearly. When he was 71 years old, Mueller spoke to younger believers:

Now in brotherly love and affection I would give a few hints to my younger fellow-believers as to the way in which to keep up spiritual enjoyment. It is absolutely needful in order that happiness in the Lord may continue, that the Scriptures be regularly read. These are God's appointed means for the nourishment of the inner man. . . .Consider it, and ponder over it. . . . Especially we should read regularly through the Scriptures, consecutively, and not pick out here and there a chapter. If we do, we remain spiritual dwarfs. I tell you so affectionately. For the first four years after my conversion I made no progress, because I neglected the Bible. But when I regularly read on through the whole with reference to my own heart and soul, I directly made progress. Then my peace and joy continued more and more. Now I have been doing this for 47 years. I have read through the whole Bible about 100 times and I always find it fresh when I begin again. Thus my peace and joy have increased more and more.⁷⁶

He was seventy-one and he would live and read on for another twenty-one years. But he never changed his strategy for satisfaction in God. When he was seventy-six he wrote the same thing he did when he was sixty, “I saw more clearly than ever, that the first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord.”⁷⁷ And the means stayed the same:

I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God, and to meditation on it. . . . What is the food of the inner man? Not prayer, but the word of God; and . . . not the simple reading of the word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.⁷⁸

Which brings us back now the satisfaction of Mueller's soul at the death of his wife, Mary. Remember, he said, “My heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. And all this springs, as I have often said before, from taking God at his word, believing what he says.” ⁷⁹

The aim of George Mueller's life was to glorify God by helping people take God at his word.⁸⁰ To that end he saturated his soul with the word of God. At one point he said that he reads the Bible five or ten times more than he reads any other books.⁸¹ His aim was to see God in Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead in order that he might maintain the happiness of his soul in God. By this deep satisfaction in God George Mueller was set free from the fears and lusts of the world. And in this freedom of love he chose a strategy of ministry and style of life that put the reality and trustworthiness and beauty of God on display. To use his own words, his life became a “visible proof to the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord.”⁸²

He was sustained in this extraordinary life by his deep convictions that God is sovereign over the human heart and can turn it where he wills in answer to prayer; and that God is sovereign over life and death; and that God is good in his sovereignty and withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly. He strengthened himself continually in his wife's final illness with the hymn:

Best of blessings he'll provide us
Nought but good shall e'er betide us,
Safe to glory He will guide us,
Oh how He loves!⁸³

An Exhortation and Plea from Mueller

I will let him have the closing word of exhortation and plea for us to join him in the path of radical, joyful faith:

My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you. I just had to post this article because George Mueller was amazing in his faith in God. I pray that we all would have this kind of faith that would love others and build the kingdom of God. Pam

Confessions of a Sinner

2009-08-06T13:22:00.001-07:00

It is with great joy I have once again stumbled across George Mueller. He was a great, great, man of faith, and a prayer warrior that believed God did as He said He would do in His Word. Seven million dollars flowed through George Mueller's hands to build orphanages in the 1800s, and he never ask one penny from any person. He only asked God. He believed that God held every person's heart in His hand, and that God owned everything, therefore God would hear his prayers and influence people to give. And that they truly did...along with providing Mr. Mueller and his family with their necessities to live, for he had given up his salary as a preacher, stating he wanted people to give out of their hearts, not obligation. He was an amazing man of God, who trusted and believed God. Here is one of his quotes, and below it will be a link to an article John Piper wrote on him, which is a little long, but well worth the read. He is the most radical believer I have ever read about. (other than the saints in the bible!)

"There was a day when I died; died to self, my opinions, preferences, tastes and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God." (George Mueller) (click HERE for an article on George Mueller)

Last night, after reading about George Mueller, it made me realize I have no where near the faith and trust in God that he had. In fact, I don't know anyone else that does either. George Mueller believed everything that came from God's hand was good, and was meant as good for him. He believed that God would provide all his needs, and He would build those orphanages, and provide food for all the children. It was reported that many times the food didn't show up until the very last minute for the children, but they never missed a meal...along with George Mueller and his family. He didn't believe in debt, and took God at His every word when it came to supplying his needs. He believed the most important thing in a believer's life was first making your soul happy in God. That came before anything else, because our joy in the Lord was what determined everything else. He had spent some years in fruitless labor, until he stumbled upon that truth, which he had not heard from other Christians. I believe nowadays John Piper would be the closest one teaching this truth. As I read this I became extremely convicted of where my focus had been placed in the past few months. It seems my eyes had gotten off of God's heart, and onto His hands. The past few years of seeing no change in difficult situations had taken its toll. I had began to believe as many others do, that we are blessed by good things, and cursed by bad things. My circumstances had become the indicators of God's love for me, and I had put God on trial, and begun to grow bitter. It is one thing to go through a difficult season, but to go through years with no change and the situation growing worse is another. It can be a continual wearing and beating down. I know people that have gone through much, much more,and many years of a living hell. It can definitely wear on you. But God is good, and thank goodness for people like George Mueller and John Piper, who constantly point us to God and to find our joy in Him alone. As I set pondering how my focus had gone to the Lord's hand, it made me realize just how sovereign He is. It was Him that used George Mueller to break through my stubborn heart. It was Him that focused me back on His love for me, and that His Word is truth. It was Him that showed me I can believe in those desires He gave me, for He will make it happen. And it was Him that whispered, even if nothing happens, you are still mine, and we will be together for eternity. What peace there is when you know it is not up to you to do anything, it is God that does everything.....even gives you the Love you need to Love Him. Only God is Good my friends. Pam

Rejection

2009-07-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

What I Learned About Rejection Yesterday in Church.

This past weekend I went to my 30th High School Reunion in Charlotte. Fun stuff! I spent the night Saturday, and went to church with my friends Sunday morning, where I was blessed with being able to sit through the same sermon...twice! The sermon was on the Fear of Rejection, and we all know about that, and how we are taught not to fear man over God, so we can have much more confidence in witnessing. But I learned a couple of different things also, and was given more clarity in an area that I had not really focused on before. The area where all of us have rejected God. We have all gone astray. Our sinful natures are so rebellious there is not one person that deserves salvation. God owes us nothing. If everyone died and went to hell it would be absolutely just punishment for our sins. It seems nowadays we live in a world of entitlement.(that would include myself) For some reason we believe happiness and prosperity is our "right". We can see it everywhere, and that is what keeps people going, the pursuit of happiness. Going from one thing to another, or one person to another. It got me to thinking about how good God truly is. For Him to come die on the Cross for people who would never, ever turn to Him without the Holy Spirit to soften and change their rebellious hearts. He alone is good. It made me realize how dependent I am on Him for everything. From the outside to the inside. Even changing my heart, for my heart "is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" Jer. 17:9 I mean if we can change our hearts and cry out to Him without the Holy Spirit, why do we need Him? We are Holy in and of ourselves, which is absolutely hilarious! The other thing I really saw was how we can reject someones behavior, but not them as a person. The Lord didn't reject people, they rejected Him. I saw where we are not to reject people either. We may not like some of their actions, or what they stand for, but the Lord could have plans to save them, and then what? We decide to like them because they are saved? The Lord saved us while we were sinners! We didn't get Holy and then the Lord save us! This has been very freeing for me, because growing up I was rejected as a person because of my behaviors, causing me to do the same to others. Now, I understand how disagreeing with an area of a persons life doesn't mean I have to reject the entire person! The Lord knows I have some pretty bad areas in my own life that need work on! I am hoping this will not only help me with those people around me, but also with those in the Pro Choice movement that are so blinded and lost. I definitely don't like what they are doing with the killing of babies, but I also know that tomorrow the Lord could open their eyes and save them. Giving them the very same mercy and grace He extended to me, who didn't deserve salvation at all, because I absolutely, one hundred percent, rebelled against Him. He alone is Good. Pam

The 1925 Scopes Trial and the 21st Century Christian

2009-07-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

^{Matthew 18:
19}Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The 1925 Scopes Trial (Monkey Trial) as defined by Wikipedia:

The "Scopes Trial" (State v. Scopes, Scopes v. State, 152 Tenn. 424, 278 S.W. 57 (Tenn. 1926), often called the "Scopes Monkey Trial") was an American legal case that tested the Butler Act, which made it unlawful, in any state-funded educational establishment in Tennessee, "to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals."^[1] This is often interpreted as meaning that the law forbade the teaching of any aspect of the theory of evolution. The case was a critical turning point in the United States' creation-evolution controversy.

After the passage of the Butler Act, the American Civil Liberties Union financed a test case, where a Dayton, Tennessee high school teacher named John Scopes intentionally violated the Act. Scopes was charged on May 5, 1925 with teaching evolution from a chapter in a textbook which showed ideas developed from those set out in Charles Darwin's book On the Origin of Species. The trial pitted two of the pre-eminent legal minds of the time against one another; three-time presidential candidate, Congressman and former Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan headed up the prosecution and prominent trial attorney Clarence Darrow spoke for the defense.^[2] The famous trial was made infamous by the fictionalized accounts given in the 1955 play Inherit the Wind, the 1960 film adaptation, and the 1965, 1988, and 1999 television films of the same title.

I went to a conference not long ago where this case was highlighted as the beginning of the church separating itself from culture. If you haven't heard of this case before click here to read a brief summary. Basically, what this case did was bring the teaching of evolution into the classroom, where it had once been banned. The other side was it caused Christians to go inside their churches and themselves. The church is declining in America and especially my own denomination, the Southern Baptist. Just google Southern Baptist Decline. We are even lacking in our missions giving, which is an area we are usually very "proud" of. I believe next month we are taking up a special offering to try and make up the difference. At the conference I attended, there was a debate where the President of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Danny Aiken, was participating. The debate had to do with the Culture and the Church, basically who is influencing who? As we can see from this last Presidential election, it is quite obvious that the culture has come to have more influence over the church, than the church over culture. Why is this you may ask? One of the biggest reasons is because the church quit going. We decided to huddle in our churches and small groups, and play it safe. We decided we didn't want to be around sinners that were smelly, and drank, and cussed, and did things we didn't think were right, and believed things different than us. We only wanted to be around "good" people. We kept our "christianity" hid, and didn't really talk to any of those people "out there". Now, here it is 2009, and basically christians are laughed at, or ignored. We have no authority in culture, and our churches that look exactly like the world, do not impress the world. At this conference I attended there were many, many young people in their 20's and 30's. The one major theme of the entire conference was repentance. Repent, repent, repent. Repent of your self righteousness, and your desire for your own lives and comfort. Go out, go out, go out. Jesus went to the sinners. He went to the smelly people, the ugly people, the major messed up people. One Pastor who spoke said his congregation had gone to Durham County's WORSE elementary school that was about to close, and volunteered to work in the school to assist the teachers and students. Two years later it was the top elementary school. They couldn't MENTION Jesus, but they loved like Jesus, and when it was over they gave GOD all the glory. That school was impressed. They saw Jesus through those people. They saw a body of believers that served. That church of believers didn't just talk about Jesus and say verses, they lived it. They went out in the culture and showed people the love of Jesus. They influenced people by serving and loving them like Jesus. We have to go my friends, because that is what Jesus calls us to do. He did it for us. Pam

How Abortion Can Effect Parenting

2009-07-07T10:55:00.001-07:00

Study: Abortion Has More Negative Parenting Impact Than Pregnancy Loss

by Amy Sobie
July 6, 2009

LifeNews.com Note: Amy Sobie is the editor of The Post-Abortion Review, a quarterly publication of the Elliot Institute. The organization is a widely respected leader in research and analysis of medical, mental health and other complications resulting from abortions.

Email RSS Print

A new review of studies examining various types of prenatal loss and the effects on subsequent parenting has concluded that abortion may be "particularly damaging to the parenting process."

The article, published in Current Women's Health Reviews, looked at already published studies on miscarriage, induced abortion and adoption. The author, Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University, focused on psychological reactions to these various types of loss and discussed how they might affect a mother's relationship with children born after the pregnancy loss.1

It is now known that women usually begin feeling maternal attachment in the early stages of pregnancy. The paper notes that despite the increased responsibilities and stress involved in raising children, "numerous studies have documented positive psychological characteristics associated with motherhood including increases in life satisfaction, self-esteem, empathy, restraint, flexibility and resourcefulness in coping, and assertiveness." Losing a child before or at birth, for any reason, however, "can be a profound source of suffering."

While all forms of pregnancy loss can cause emotional distress that can impact future parenting, the available research indicates that emotional responses after induced abortion are more likely to go unresolved and to persist for a longer time period.

While "society understands that women who miscarry or relinquish a child through adoption may experience sadness and grief; however, grief after socially sanctioned because abortion is not acknowledged by our culture as a human death experience," and help to deal with the experience is usually not offered.

"In many cases, women may suppress thoughts and emotions related to an abortion, because they have not been able to process and or/openly express negative emotions," Coleman wrote, adding that the lack of acknowledgement and support after abortion gives the "covert message that others would rather not hear what we have to say, and this makes it difficult to even identify our reactions to our losses."

Finding help and support after abortion is further hampered by the belief that, unlike other forms of pregnancy loss, abortion is optional and therefore women experience less distress afterwards. However, having an abortion is "sometimes quite inconsistent with the woman's true desires" (one survey found that 64 percent of American women who had abortions reported feeling pressured to abort), and many women, especially those who feel conflicted or didn't want the abortion, do feel emotional distress afterwards.

"The best evidence regarding negative effects of abortion indicates that 20-30 percent will experience serious psychological problems," Coleman wrote. "With 1.3 million U.S. abortions performed annually, a minimum of 130,000 new cases of abortion-related mental health problems appear each year."

And while abortion advocates frequently argue that abortion is better than carrying an unplanned pregnancy to term, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Studies of women with unplanned pregnancies found that women who aborted had higher risks of depression, substance abuse and anxiety, and teens who aborted an unintended pregnancy were more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes than their peers who carried to term. Further, a recent New Zealand study led by a pro-choice researcher found no evidence that abortion provided any mental health benefits to women even in cases of unplanned pregnancy.

How Abortion Can Impact Parenting

The paper described a number of ways that a previous abortion can effect a woman's relationship with her living children:

Increased depression and anxiety. Abortion has been linked to higher rates of maternal depression and anxiety before and after birth, which may effect the woman's relationship with her children. In addition, depression is a common predictor for child abuse.

Sleep disorders and disturbances. Women who have had an abortion are more likely to experience sleep disorders compared to women who carry to term, and one survey found that many women attributed the sleep disorders to a past abortion. These sleep disturbances "could render the high energy demands of parenting more complicated."

Substance abuse. Studies have found that women who had an abortion were more likely to engage in substance abuse, and also more likely to smoke or use drugs or alcohol while pregnant. Mothers who abuse drugs or alcohol are more likely to "engage in authoritarian and punitive parenting practices," and parental substance abuse increases the risk that the children will suffer abuse or neglect.

Child abuse. Abortion has been associated with lower emotional support for one's children and with a higher risk of child abuse and neglect.

Abortion has also been linked to higher rates of suicide and to a wide range of mental health disorders. Coleman was also the lead author of a study published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, which found that the children of women who had abortions have less supportive home environments and more behavioral problems than children of women without a history of abortion.2

While the review noted that not every woman may experience psychological problems after abortion that will carry over into their personal relationships, "some women will have carryover effects into the parenting realm." The paper pointed to a need for better screening and awareness of possible psychological problems after miscarriage, adoption and abortion, and for more research to examine the effects of abortion.

Learn more: For more information on the impact of abortion, download and share our free "Recent Research" fact sheet.

Vacation, Menopause, and Jerrica

2009-07-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Well, my friends, it is wonderful to be back from vacation, even if I have yet to get back into the swing of things. During my visit, it was brought to my attention by my mother, that yes, I was going through the stage of life called menopause. Woo hoo! What joy! No, not really. It seems the over the counter medicine I bought to help with the symptoms is now making me sick. So, my remaining days of vacation are being spent nauseated and with a major headache! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know! Other than that I did get to meet with Deanna today to discuss where we are in our walk with the Lord, and the ministries He has put us in. It is exciting to talk with fellow believers who are stepping out in faith. And boy is that what we are doing! There are areas of our lives that God has got to come through or we are going to sink! But we have both agreed there is no better place to be than walking in faith and relying totally on the Lord. Yesterday I was able to take Jerrica out to eat and she is doing wonderful! Getting big as a house too! Which is wonderful also! The Lord has given her such hope and her middle son told her for the first time that he loved her! (Without her having to say I love you first) That was so special, and she has begun to understand that her boys just want and need their mom. She is becoming a good mother. I am so honored to be able to see the Lord change Jerrica. Our plan is to move her into the apartment complex I live in so we can both watch the boys and the baby. I think instead of me taking care of a baby, it will be an entire family, which is even better! She is very special to me. Other than that we are beginning to gear up for the 40 Days for Life campaign in the fall and are hoping MANY women decide to keep their babies! Our church is putting ministries in place to support these women if need be. God is so good, and we are so blessed! Hope everyone is having an awesome summer and staying cool! Pam

Vacation

2009-06-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

I am going to Georgia and taking 2-3 weeks off! Woo-Hoo!

2009-06-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

The Office of Global Women's Issues, The Devil's Will, and Crisis Pregnancy Centers

I hope by now, everyone has heard of the new, Office of Global Women's Issues, created by the infamous Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton . To be honest, no one really knows exactly what goals this organization plans to accomplish, but you can sure bet your last dollar the one thing that is at the top of their deceitful agenda - reproductive health or reproductive rights, whichever term you would like to use. The correct word the world still uses is ABORTION, and the correct word GOD uses is MURDER. What I cannot understand is how these women are all about women's empowerment and women becoming the best possible women they can be, by promoting the murdering of their babies. Excuse me? Isn't that an oxymoron? Become the best you can be by murdering your baby? Have they even listened to the thousands and thousands of women who regret and agonize over their abortions? And now, they would like to "empower" more of their global sisters by giving them the opportunity to murder their children. Wow...I could be a little more upset if I didn't realize this is such a spiritual battle, and this is the work of satan. In fact, here are some great verses to remember -2 Timothy 2 ²⁴And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. ²⁵Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. (NIV) That last part is kind of scary, huh? The devil has taken them captive to do his will. Which leads to the next part. How they (the pro choice movement) continue to do the devil's will in all different areas. Like even defining what a Crisis Pregnancy Center is on the internet. Read for yourself -

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), also known as pregnancy resource centers^[1] are non-profit organizations established by pro-life supporters that work to persuade pregnant women to give birth rather than have abortions.^[1] Most CPCs are in the United States. CPCs are usually affiliated with pro-life Christian organizations; two such organizations are Care Net and Heartbeat International.^[2] CPCs are distinct from centers providing pregnancy options counseling, a non-directive form of counseling where secular, medically-based information about all available choices, including abortion, is provided.^[3]

Did you catch that last sentence? Was it worded in such a way that made CPCs seem kind of "back woods"? What about this description of a Crisis Pregnancy Center found on Planned Parenthood? This is what to do if you think you are pregnant:

Planned Parenthood - Look for a clinic that will give you complete information about your options. If you need help, call your local Planned Parenthood. If you would like to have a confidential conversation about your pregnancy options at your nearest Planned Parenthood, call toll-free, 1-800-230-PLAN. Beware of so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" that are anti-abortion:

• They may perform your pregnancy tests without medical supervision.
• They won't give you complete and correct information about all your options.
• They will try to frighten you with films that are designed to upset you about abortion.
• They may lie to you about the medical and emotional effects of abortion in order to prevent you from considering this option.
• They may tell you that you are not pregnant even if you are, to fool you into continuing your pregnancy. The delay would keep you from getting early prenatal care or early abortion.

Now, I would love to say that every CPC is Godly and ran with very loving, caring Christians. However, in all reality, there have probably been some wrongdoings somewhere. But what I do know, is that as Christians supporting the sanctity of life and our love for Jesus Christ, that is a terrible lie and misrepresentation of a CPC. They are not only trying to save the baby, but the woman as well. If anyone is lying to the women, it is the Pro abortion movement. However, as we all know, it is the devil's will that many would be killed, stolen from, and destroyed. I have to admit the lies are growing deeper and broader, but he will not win. We have already obtained the victory through Jesus Christ. I just pray that many fellow Christians will continue to stand up and speak out wherever you are. At home, in the community, or at work. Be a voice for the unborn, and for the Lord, our savior, who loves us...and who also loves the people killing the unborn and lying about it. They are blinded and held captive by satan. I was also, and people prayed for me. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.

Pam

websites for info on the Office of Global Women's Issue:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jun/09061107.html

http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000010236.cfm

(click here for website with Planned Parenthood describing CPC)

The Darkness Has Gone Absurd

2009-06-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

June 9, 2009 Carhart compares Tiller to MLK, pro-lifers to KKK
From the Washington Times today, some remarkable statements by sloven late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart:

go here for original post

Dr. LeRoy Carhart, one of the nation's few providers of late-term abortions, called on the federal government to treat as hate crimes all activities by "anti-choice domestic terrorists," compared the slain Dr. George Tiller to Martin Luther King and said planting crosses was equivalent to actions by the Ku Klux Klan.

"This is the equivalent of Martin Luther King being assassinated," Dr. Carhart said of the May 31 slaying of one of America's best-known late-term abortion providers. "This is the equivalent of Pearl Harbor, the sinking of the Lusitania and any other major historic event where we've tolerated the intolerable for too long."...

"I think there is absolutely no difference in putting a cross in front of a person's home because of what race they belong to than there is putting a cross in front of our homes because we do abortions," said Dr. Carhart, who assisted Dr. Tiller in providing late-term abortions at his Wichita, KS, practice every 3 weeks.

Dr. Carhart's abortion clinic, based near Omaha, NE, performs almost 2k abortions a year, though he cannot perform them after 24 weeks' gestation because NE law forbids post-viability abortions. Dr. Carhart, who was the plaintiff in both the Supreme Court decisions on partial-birth abortion, could not say what will be the Wichita clinic's fate.

"I just got off the phone with Mrs. Tiller," he said, "and I know no decisions have been made about anything. What I want to assure the press and reassure the women of America is that we will somehow, somewhere continue to provide abortions later in gestation."

("Assure the press"?)

Dr. Carhart, 67, was in Washington for a memorial service Monday evening at National City Christian Church in honor of Dr. Tiller.

About 300 people attended the service and heard Dr. Carhart talk about his late friend.

In a quivering voice and apologizing for losing his composure, Dr. Carhart spoke of Dr. Tiller's early life as a pots-and-pans salesman. He said Dr. Tiller's motto was that "when the going gets tough, the tough get Dairy Queen."

The mood quickly turned serious, though, as Dr. Carhart's voice broke, and he pleaded with the crowd to treat "anti-choice domestic crimes as crimes of hate."

Observing the crowd were US marshals and also a private security detail that was hired for the occasion, said Marjorie Signer, communications director for the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. These observers were stationed at the entrances and also seated in the pews.

Speaking earlier at an afternoon news conference organized by the coalition, which encompasses 40 denominations and religious groups, he said the matter of whether to have a child is "a religious freedom issue" that revolves around a woman's right to decide according to her beliefs whether to bear a child, he said.

"God gave that fetus a 'guardian ad litem' when he chose the mother that fetus is born with," he said. "That mother, I feel, has been charged by God to make the right choices for that child during its unborn and early born years."

(Is Carhart here advocating the freedom to commit infanticide? Yes. And has a "guardian ad litem" ever opted to kill his or her charge? This man is crazy. Where is MSM?)

Dr. Carhart said he considered becoming a Methodist minister at one point, and at the press conference blamed the pro-life movement and its churches for a decline in religion.

"Not that we've lost religion," he clarified, "because a lot of these religions are fostering these horrific ideas," referring to killing abortion providers....

[Carhart photo attribution: Washington Times]

How does Dr. Carhart with good conscious, truly relate Dr. Tiller's murder with that of Martin Luther King? Abortion has been very seriously related to slavery, because we treated slaves as non people. We did not think slaves had any value as human beings. That is exactly what we are doing to the unborn. We give them no value or right to life. Martin Luther King fought for the RIGHTS of the African American people. Just as Pro Lifers, we are fighting for the RIGHTS of the unborn babies. Has our country grown so cold and so dark, that Dr. Carhart can jump to this conclusion and escape from any criticism? Also, if you notice how he stated, "that mother, I feel, has been charged by God to make the right choices for that child during its unborn and early born years." Notice EARLY BORN YEARS. Remember the Infanticide Bill that was introduced in Texas, where a mother can kill her baby one year old and younger, without harsh sentencing, if she suffers from Post Partum Depression? That was the planting of another seed to make that acceptable. Also, think about this. Which mothers are going to kill their babies? Just like which mothers usually abort? It is usually the lower classes. The top administration is not stupid. It is eugenics, and it is getting rid of the people they feel are a burden on society. Jesus went to those people and loved them, and offered healing and hope in Himself. An abundant life through Him, and a relationship with God. We have got to reach out my friends. We have got to embrace and love people, telling them about Jesus. Because our government and society only wants them dead and destroyed. Pam

2009-06-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Prevention First Act - The Beginning of the Freedom of Choice Act in Stealth

2009-06-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

taken from Jill Stanek
June 1, 2009
Abortion mill replaces Christ with rubber chicken

Last April, I wrote about pro-abort shenanigans at the Northern Illinois Woman's Center in Rockford, IL (here and here), where staff hung a lynched rubber chicken in the window, displayed dolls in coffins, dressed like satan, and threatened pro-lifers, all with no notice from MSM.

It appears the noosed chicken turned off many of the mill's African-American clients, so staff recently hung it instead on a cross and also made other aesthetic changes. These came as a result, according to pro-lifer on the scene, Kevin, who also took the following pictures as recently as last Friday:

It seems these pictures were this abortion mill's response to the success of the Rockford 40 Days for Life campaign. We know of 19 moms who chose life, and that upset the abortionist and clinic owner.

WARNING: Blasphemy and graphic language follow...

taken from Jill Stanek

Please click on 40 Days for Life Button on side bar and get on their email listing. We will begin the fall campaign in September and we need EVERYONE to pray!

This abortion clinic has been doing this for awhile. Pam

2009-05-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

Dr. George Tiller, late term abortionist, and 4000 babies killed today.

Sadly, late term abortionist Dr. George Tiller was killed this morning in church. While as Pro Life believers, we did not agree with Dr. Tiller killing thousands of innocent babies during his lifetime, we also do not agree with his killing. ALL life is precious to God.

This is what President Obama had to say:
“I am shocked and outraged by the murder of Dr. George Tiller as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over difficult issues such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence.”

My question is to President Obama? What do you call abortion? Do you not believe it is a heinous act of violence when you suck, rip, tear, and cut a living baby out of a mother's womb?
Do you President Obama feel that Dr. Tiller's life was of more value than the 4000 other babies that died from abortion today?

I fear that Dr. Tiller will be made a martyr, and he is not. In fact, it would be interesting to hear what Jesus has to say to him about his "profession". I would not like to be him meeting God.
Just in case anyone does feel like he was doing something honorable, here are a few of his latest charges from 2003:

The 11 specific cases KSBHA cites are awful:

14-year-old girl who was 26 weeks pregnant, July 2003
10-year-old girl who was 28 weeks pregnant, July 2003
15-year-old girl who was 26 weeks pregnant, August 2003
15-year-old girl who was 28 weeks pregnant, August 2003
15-year-old girl who was 25 weeks pregnant, August 2003
14-year-old girl who was 25 weeks pregnant, August 2003
15-year-old girl who was 25 weeks pregnant, September 2003
13-year-old girl who was 25 weeks pregnant, November 2003
15-year-old girl who was 25 weeks pregnant, November 2003
18-year-old girl who was 25 weeks pregnant, November 2003
16-year-old girl who was 29 weeks pregnant, November 2003

KSBHA is charging Tiller "has committed acts likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public."

for the full article click here.

We have to CONTINUE to SPEAK OUT. George Tiller's death does not nullify all the innocent babies killed everyday. The administration may use it against us, but abortion is still murder. Murder is murder is murder is murder is murder. Pam

Children of Hope

2009-05-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, our church had the Children of Hope perform. They are from different parts of the world, and most have lost their parents due to tragic diseases such as AIDS, or accidents. The children live in homes in their villages, sponsored by Christians, and given food, medical attention, education, and a loving environment where they learn about Jesus. It was very sad to see the video clips of sub Saharan Africa, and the devastation AIDS has brought to the country. There are many children left as orphans, with no adult support whatsoever. The Children of Hope come together and travel the United States performing to bring awareness to these tragic situations. It really does make you cry. However, then there is the hope of Jesus Christ, who is working in many of these childrens lives to give back what was taken from them. The children who perform are not up for adoption, what they are taught is to get an education so they can help the people in their own country. Many aspire to be teachers, doctors, nurses, and etc. They are also being educated on how to avoid AIDS by abstinence until marriage, and faithfulness in marriage. As you know, the Lord's WORD is good, and is life. It was perfect timing for our church, because we have just recently started a Pro Life Ministry, and are expecting the Lord to do great and mighty things through us! I would encourage all of you to click here to check out their website and see how a Youth Group raised money to fund a village. However, pay special attention to the Youth, and see how the Lord transformed them to KNOW that YES! God is ABLE!!! Praise be to our Lord, who is sooooo GOOD! Pam

2009-05-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Jerrica and Kaleb

As I sit here writing this, it has been only a little over four months since the Lord opened the door to my abortions. It seems like it has been at least a year, so much has happened in such a brief period of time. The Lord has been gracious to me, taking the most humiliating and shameful part of my life - my motherhood, and has begun to turn it into something beautiful. Jerrica and Kaleb are the people He is using. Jerrica is the woman that was going to abort at four months pregnant, when the Lord had me intervene in her life. Kaleb is her son she now carries, and will be born into this world sometime around September 10th. My eyes are beginning to overflow with tears as I recall the day she went to have her ultrasound done at the local Crisis Pregnancy Center. She was beaten down, and in despair. There was not one person in her life offering hope, nor telling her to keep the child and give him life. Odds were stacked up high against her, but the Lord had other plans. As we talked, and she saw that her child was quite fine in the ultrasound, moving and hiccuping, the Lord began to work in her heart. He began to speak that she would be alright, He would help her, this child was important to Him. By the time we left Jerrica's countenance had changed from death/despair to life/hope. Believe it or not, that was two months ago today that I first met Jerrica and prayed with her. My friends, today things are so different for Jerrica. She is very confident that the Lord is going to help her in working things out, for she has prayed and asked Him into her heart and understands she is a sinner in need of a savior. She has asked Him to take away her desire for drugs and He has done just that! She has been clean for three months now. She is confidently completing her drug rehab classes, parenting classes, and doing everything that Social Services requires, to move forward in her life. She understands she is responsible for the decisions she made, and is paying the consequences of those decisions, not complaining, because she knows the Lord will honor her obedience. I have been involved with Jerrica, along with her family, these past two months, and because of her change, and the hope she has in the Lord, her family around her is changing. It only takes one person in a family to display the glory of God, to ignite a burning desire in others. Jerrica is doing wonderful, my friends. Now, let me tell you about another person who has changed. That would be the one writing this story. The Lord has done a marvelous work in my heart through Jerrica, the abortion clinic, the post abortive bible studies, the praying, and the wonderful friends in my life, who have been my encouragement in the tough times the past few months. He has definitely changed and prepared my heart for His plans and His purposes, which is something I would have never dreamed of in a million years. His name is Kaleb. He was named from the bible by his mother and myself, for when he is six weeks old he will come to live with his Mi Mi, which will be me, Pam. I will keep him for as long as Jerrica needs to get on her feet, and to bring her other three children back together as a family. Her family is very happy about this, and we are in agreement that if anything happens, I will adopt him as my own. He is very special to me. For just two months ago I could not have taken him, for my heart did not have the ability to, it couldn't bond with babies because of the three babies it killed many, many years ago. I could never bond with the three children I gave birth to. Fortunately, they understand, and have been most gracious and forgiving to me. They too, are excited about Kaleb, and what he means to us all. God has been so good to me. He didn't have to restore my heart, or give me a baby to love and bond with, along with his beautiful mother, whom I cherish deeply. He didn't have to send His only son to die a terrible death on a cross, so that I would be forgiven for all the sins committed against Him. He didn't have to love me as deeply as He does, so that I would have the ability to love others that deeply, and to experience great joy in that love. But He did. He is taking the most shameful, humiliating, part of my life, and turning it into something beautiful. A ministry for others. Love, to be poured out to others. Who could ever have imagined this? Only God my friends, only God. Pam

2009-05-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Who is Signing the Fight FOCA Petition?

The key to this map is that the darker the state, the more people from that state’s population have signed the Fight FOCA petition. Way to go Utah! Maryland, you’ve got some work to do.

Encourage your friends and neighbors to sign the Fight FOCA petition. You can use the wording below to send an email to them.

Dear Friend,

I’m writing to let you know about a terrible piece of legislation called "The Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA).

FOCA would establish the right to abortion as a fundamental right (like the right to free speech) and wipe away every restriction on abortion nationwide.

It will eradicate state and federal abortion laws that the majority of Americans support and prevent states from enacting similar protective measures in the future.

Please read the expert analysis by Americans United for Life (AUL) and sign the Fight FOCA petition at: http://www.FightFOCA.com

Thank you!

taken from AUL - click here

If you haven't signed the FOCA Petition, please do so! You can also get information sent to you about what is going on with this movement. I have a new website called Stand to Know that has all the information on the Freedom of Choice Act, and especially how they are going in stealth mode, to try and sneak it in by bits and pieces. I try to keep the website updated with recent information only on the FOCA, and of course information on the Supreme Court Justices being considered. Click HERE for the website. Pam

2009-05-21T18:01:00.001-07:00

May 21, 2009
New poll on Supreme Court: Americans think conservative
taken from Jill Stanek

Today Americans United for Life released fascinating poll data by Kellyanne Conway's group, the polling inc./WomanTrend. AUL detailed the findings in a letter to senators:

justice is blind.jpg

By overwhelming majorities, Democrats, Republicans and Independents agreed that judges should exercise restraint and check their own beliefs and predispositions at the courthouse door.

They agreed on upholding common sense abortion regulations already in place in the states, including parental consent laws, and objecting to late-term abortions and taxpayer-funded abortions in the US and overseas.

Further, this consensus was held even among Americans who self-described themselves as "pro-choice."...

Finally, when asked whether the next Justice should be a man or a woman, the tri-partisan consensus also volunteered that it does not matter (79% of Republicans, 78% of Independents, 61% of Democrats, 78% of conservatives, 67% of moderates, and 62% of liberals -- as well as 66% of women.)

All the poll findings are well worth reading. I was invited on a conference call to journalists this morning, wherein Conway indicated one of 7-8 questions asked of every recent SC nominee has been on abortion, so this issue is important.

Conway said those polled rejected Obama's "empathy standard" or that the court was the place for representation. "Americans say in this survey they know justice is blind," said Conway. "The constitutional place for representation is in the legislative branch.

"We found one thing that frustrates people is jurists who put their own pictures into opinions," continued Conway. "People have limited tolerance for personal opinion in justices. They believe they are there for their credentials."

The majority of those polled opposed partial birth abortion, supported parental notification of minors before abortion, opposed using tax dollars to fund abortion in both the US and internationally, and believed the people, not the courts, should make abortion policies, particularly on the state level.

Obama stands in stark contrast to all these beliefs and is anticipated to nominate a SC candidate who thinks like him, not the majority of Americans.

Prepare for pro-lifers to make a big deal about that.

It appears people are starting to think about what is going on and speak out. Praise God! It would have been wonderful if I had known all this years ago! Pam

2009-05-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Comments

Empathy Versus Law

by Walter E. Williams

05/20/2009

President Obama's articulated criteria for his nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court is: "We need somebody who's got the heart to recognize -- the empathy to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom, the empathy to understand what it's like to be poor or African-American or gay or disabled or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

What is the role of a U.S. Supreme Court justice? A reasonable start for an answer is the recognition that our Constitution represents the rules of the game. A Supreme Court justice has one job and one job only namely; he is a referee. There is nothing complicated about this. A referee's job, whether he is a football referee or a Supreme Court justice, is to know the rules of the game and make sure that they are evenly applied without bias. Do we want referees to allow empathy to influence their decisions? Let's look at it using this year's Super Bowl as an example.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowl titles, seven AFC championships and hosted 10 conference games. No other AFC or NFC team can match this record. By contrast, the Arizona Cardinals' last championship victory was in 1947 when they were based in Chicago. In anyone's book, this is a gross disparity. Should the referees have the empathy to understand what it's like to be a perennial loser and what would you think of a referee whose decisions were guided by his empathy? Suppose a referee, in the name of compensatory justice, stringently applied pass interference or roughing the passer violations against the Steelers and less stringently against the Cardinals. Or, would you support a referee who refused to make offensive pass interference calls because he thought it was a silly rule? You'd probably remind him that the league makes the rules, not referees.

I'm betting that most people would agree that football justice requires that referees apply the rules blindly and independent of the records or any other characteristic of the two teams. Moreover, I believe that most people would agree that referees should evenly apply the rules of the games even if they personally disagreed with some of the rules.

The relationship between Supreme Court justices and the U.S. Constitution should be identical to that of referees and football rules. The status of a person appearing before the court should have absolutely nothing to do with the rendering of decisions. That's why Lady Justice, often appearing on court buildings, is shown wearing a blindfold. It is to indicate that justice should be meted out impartially, regardless of identity, power or weakness. Also, as Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Men should know the rules by which the game is played. Doubt as to the value of some of those rules is no sufficient reason why they should not be followed by the courts." The legislative branch makes the rules, not judges.

Interventionists often make their case for bending the rules based on the unfairness of outcomes such as differences in income, education and wealth. After all, how can the game of life possibly be fair when some people's yearly income totals in the hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars, while many others scarcely earn twenty or thirty thousand dollars? Some people find that argument persuasive but it's nonsense. Income distribution is an outcome and fairness cannot be determined by outcomes. It's the same with football. The Steelers winning six Super Bowl titles and Arizona winning none is an outcome and cannot be used to determine football fairness. Fairness in either case must be settled by process questions such as: Were the rules unbiased and evenly applied? If so, any outcome is just and actions based on empathy would make it unjust.

Dr. Williams is a nationally syndicated columnist, former chairman of the economics department at George Mason University, and author of More Liberty Means Less Government

taken from Renew America - click here

This, my friends, is a much bigger issue than we realize. The hate crimes laws are being built around empathy for the homosexual movement, which in reality, makes no sense. I imagine more children and women are harassed and abused, than homosexuals every year, but we don't have hate crime laws for the female gender, or children, say, under 10. So why are we targeting out homosexuals to get special treatment? Does that mean if a lesbian ask me what I believe about homosexuals, and I am a Christian, and say that it is wrong, that God says it is wrong and an abomination against Him, does that mean she can use it against me, because I don't agree, nor believe in homosexuality? Look at the attacks on Miss California for stating what she believes about marriage being between a man and woman. The liberal movement is doing to the conservatives EXACTLY what they say the conservatives were doing to them.
However, I leave you with this passage:

Isaiah 5:
²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good

and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.

²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes
and clever in their own sight.

Pam

2009-05-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

May 19, 2009
KS Planned Parenthood's paltry pep rally

Last Friday KS state Sen. Tim Huelskamp's amendment to defund Planned Parenthood was sent to the desk of pro-abort Gov. Mark Parkinson (who took Kathleen Sebelius' place) to sign.

Parkinson has less than a week to make his decision.

Don't forget PP of of KS and Mid-MO is currently charged with over 100 criminal counts of illegal late-term abortions, tampering with evidence, and other typical PP offenses. Yet the State of KS still funds PP handsomely, to the tune of $300k annually.

Yesterday pro-abort blogger Kansas Jackass issued a rally call! Count 'em, 4 pro-abort groups were co-sponsoring an event on the steps of the state capitol today to show support for PP! Click to enlarge...

When I heard about this rally, I knew it would be impotent. It's hard to get rah-rah abortion supporters unless they're paid. Fortunately, the weather was nice or the event would have been a guaranteed no-show. Sure enough, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported a whopping total of 20, through the combined efforts of the ACLU, KS Equality Coalition, NOW, and PP, came out in support..

The KS City Star, past recipient of PP's Maggie Award, embellished the "crowd," as Kansas Jackass twittered it, to "30," but pictures don't lie. From PP's Facebook page, it was 20....

Compare that to the pro-life rally held this past January at the same state capitol with 1,500 supporters...

This is the way it always is. Pro-aborts have been winning with money they get from abortions and give to pro-abort politicians. But this is slowly being surmounted by simple pro-life might.

Kansan pro-lifers need to contact Gov. Parkinson immediately at 877-579-6757, by fax at 785-368-8788, or e-mail at governor@ks.gov.

[HT: Matt Lewis; photo attribution for pro-life photos: Kansans for Life, taken by Joseph Meyers at yourbestphotographer.com]

You gotta love it, abortion supporters rah-rah when they are paid!! Woo-hoo! The truth will set you FREE, saith the Lord Jesus! Pam

2009-05-18T03:00:00.001-07:00

Obama Outside US Mainstream On Abortion

New Gallup Poll Shows A Slight Majority Of Americans Are Considered Pro-Life

By JOE MURRAY, The Bulletin

Monday, May 18, 2009

As Barack Obama’s appearance at Notre Dame yesterday divided the Catholic campus, a new poll shows the president’s view on abortion could divide the country.

Fifty-one percent of Americans consider themselves “pro-life” and 42 percent say they are “pro-choice,” according to a new poll released by Gallup. This is the first time a majority of the nation has identified with the pro-life movement since Gallup started taking to the poll in 1995 when only 33 percent said they were “pro-life.”

“In recent years, we at Priests for Life have been saying that the pro-life movement is winning, and that one of the signs is the shift of opinion polls in our direction,” said Fr. Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life.

“This new Gallup poll reinforces that fact, showing the highest levels Gallup has ever measured of people indicating they are ‘pro-life’ and indicating that all abortion should be illegal.”

The poll documents a growing trend in U.S. public opinion concerning the legality of abortion. When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion on demand in 1973, 22 percent of the country believed abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.

The number of Americans holding such a view hit a low in 1995-1996 when just 12 percent agreed abortion should be illegal under all circulates. But now the Gallup poll shows 23 percent support a ban on all abortions; the highest since Gallup started taking the poll.

As for those Americans believing abortion should be legal in all situations, just 22 percent polled by Gallup hold such a view. In 1973 21 percent agreed with the idea abortion should be legal under all circumstances and the view peaked in 1992 with 34 percent of the public agreeing.

The poll credits Mr. Obama’s election with causing the shift in U.S. public opinion.

“It is possible that, through his abortion policies, Obama has pushed the public’s understanding of what it means to be ‘pro-choice’ slightly to the left, politically,” the poll found. “While Democrats may support that, as they generally support everything Obama is doing as president, it may be driving others in the opposite direction.”

Pro-life advocates said such a shift was a long time coming and not unexpected.

“It’s not shocking that we’re seeing stronger pro-life opinions. This trend has been steady since the early ‘90s,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser.

“What is interesting is American’s shift in self-labeling to a majority ‘pro-life’ identification. Americans are now seeing through the PR-generated label, ‘pro-choice.’”

Ms. Dannenfelser believes Mr. Obama’s pro-choice policies are putting the White House at odds with the U.S. public. Since taking the oath of office, the president has worked to increase abortion services with the latest example being his call to remove a ban on taxpayer funded abortions in the District of Columbia.

The president has also lifted the ban of funding overseas abortions and has moved to rescind job protections for health care workers refusing to participate in abortion procedures. During the presidential election he campaign in favor of the Freedom of Choice Act and said the abortion issue was above his “pay grade.”

“President Obama and the pro-abortion majority in Congress are in a collision course with public opinion on abortion policy. What we’re debating right now – taxpayer funding for abortion – dramatically outstrips public opinion,” Ms. Dannenfelser said.

Another factor why a majority of Americans indentify with the pro-life movement is due to the advance of medical science. Unlike in 1973, modern medicine now calls into doubt the proposition a fetus is not a child worthy of protection.

"In the last two decades, ultrasounds have made people aware that abortion kills a baby, and women have been vocal about regretting their abortion,” said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America.

The Gallup poll showed the pro-life movement making gains across the board. The number of pro-life Catholics, Protestants, women and men increased during this year’s poll. And as Americans move towards the pro-life movement, pro-life leaders say the Republican Party needs to follow.

“GOP leaders across the nation should take note of both this week’s poll and last week’s Pew research that show the pro-life position is strengthening the Republican Party,” said Ms. Dannenfelser.

“It’s time to abandon the ‘blame pro-lifers first’ approach when the GOP loses. If Republicans want to improve their electoral performance, standing on the side of Life is one of the best decisions they can make.”

The poll found the number of Republican-leaning Independent voters who consider themselves pro-life rose 10 points, from 60 percent to 70 percent, since the last time the poll was taken in May 2008.

The number of Republican leaners identifying themselves as pro-choice dropped from 36 percent to 26 percent.

Joe Murray can be reached at jmurray@thebulletin.us

This is wonderful news, that people are waking up to what abortion truly is. Pam

2009-05-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

May 15, 2009
Pro-lifers, including elderly priest, arrested at Notre Dame

UPDATE, 2:35p: Am adding stills from archived video of the arrest...

Note all the media...

If you go to the video link above (video #4), begin watching at about 12:00. The arrest of this dear elderly priest (photos on page 2), while perhaps following the letter of the law, was despicable. Think of the circumstances. This almost made me cry....

_______________

I gotta say I'm changing my mind on the value of civil disobedience at Notre Dame and the willingness of Alan Keyes et al to get arrested.

From Fox News, within the hour:

Protesters opposed to President Obama's address to the graduating class of Notre Dame were arrested Friday after they disobeyed rules about staging their demonstration and walked onto the university campus....
Protesters were told they could protest all they want in the town of South Bend, IN, but once they stepped onto Notre Dame property, they would be arrested.

Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes led about 50 people onto the campus. They came across the gate and about 200 yards up the driveway where campus police were waiting. They were peaceful. The police asked the protesters to leave. They refused and were taken into custody. Vans were ready to load them up.

Perhaps the most dramatic moment happened when Father Norman Weslin of Omaha, NE, a former army colonel and founder of the Lambs of Christ, refused to leave. He was singing and was carried off on a stretcher, not strong enough to march off on his own.

All in all, about 15 people, a group not from the Notre Dame community, were arrested.

Outside of the arrests, the campus was generally quiet. A lot of students say the president's visit has been a constant source of debate about the school's teachings on life.

Both sides have been very civil. However, the activity off campus has caused some anxiety for members of the community who say that raucous protests may detract from the students' graduation day....

[HT: reader Gene P.; photo attribution: Associated Press]

taken from Jill Stanek's blog.

President Obama will be speaking Sunday at the graduation. There is a lot of peaceful protesting, and obviously you are arrested only if you go on campus. Question of the day. Would you go on campus and be arrested if given the opportunity? Pam

2009-05-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

Great News Everyone!

Just finished listening to David Bereit from 40 Days for Life talk about this past Spring Campaign, and the one we are gearing up for in the fall.

Here are the results from the Spring Campaign:

215,000 people involved
240 cities involved
4 Canadian Providences involved
6 nations involved
1561 confirmed mothers whose hearts were changed and kept their babies
18 abortion clinic workers quit their jobs
3 abortion facilities closed

Praise the Lord! Isn't that wonderful! This is what happens when God's people get on their knees and pray! Also, they are gearing up for an even greater campaign in the fall. This summer we are focusing on getting out in the community to get people educated on the truth of abortion! We are also hoping to get more and more churches involved. Anyone that would like to participate and get involved with 40 Days for Life, contact the director in your city. We NEED more and more people to get the word out in between the campaigns!

Also, reports are coming in that Abortion support has decreased by 8% in the past months. Click here to read Jill Stanek's latest report. One more thing that was brought up by David Bereit from 40 Days for Life. If abortion was decreased or defeated under a legislation that was Pro Life, man would get all the glory, and the Pro Choice movement would look at the politicians. When abortion is defeated, and it will be!, under a radical Pro Choice administration, GOD will get ALL THE GLORY!!!! Keep praying my fellow prayer warriors! God is moving and He will be victorious!!! Pam

2009-05-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

May 9, 2009
Breaking news: Pro-life ad to air during American Idol finale

There was great news at yesterday's National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. According to NCRegister.com:

EWTN's Raymond Arroyo announced that this new pro-life video ad has been accepted for broadcast on the closing episode of American Idol.
Produced by CatholicVote.org as part of its series of "Imagine the Potential" ads, the new ad promotes adoption by highlighting famous people who were themselves adopted.

The ad is fabulous! You'll watch it more than once...

This is the most absolute, wonderful, best thing, we in the Pro Life movement could do. Start promoting adoption, adoption, adoption. Getting the abortion laws overturned isn't going to happen anytime soon, but changing how people think, can. If we renew people's minds, especially the young girls and women to think LIFE for their baby, well, we wouldn't have to worry about the laws. Pam

2009-05-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Moral Debate - Take the organs from aborted babies, or go the higher path and clone them for their organs.

taken from Life Training Institute

Killing Two Birds With One Clone [Bob]

I recently wrote on my own blog about the moral questions surrounding organ donation. In a nutshell, the topic has become more morally controversial in recent years as technology -- and a redefinition of what it means to be dead -- have "evolved" with the times. It used to be that one was considered dead when they became cold, blue and stiff. But as medical technology advanced to the point that organ donation became more viable, transplant medicine demanded that vital organs not be degraded beyond a useful state — a state that “cold, blue and stiff” often violates. So, in 1968, a Harvard committee proposed a more updated definition of death based on the brain dead criteria that has become a part of the national lexicon.

Even more recently, another definition of death has been put forward for organ donor candidates. The notion of cardiac death is defined as an “irreversible cessation of cardiac function.” This questionable criterion hinges on the definition of "irreversible," especially when you consider that the heart from one patient who has been labeled thus can be removed and instigated to go on beating in the chest of another patient. In that case, does irreversible mean that "we can't" restore cardiac function, or that we "won't." [re: Salvo, Spring 2009, Issue 8, p. 32]

In each case, there is a dilemma in play that begs us to consider the morality involved in not only choosing between offering one -- or several -- individuals a new lease on life through organ harvesting and taking the life of another by doing so.

These are difficult decisions. At least they have been in the past. But now, thanks to the insight of Sir Richard Gardner of Oxford University, they no longer need be. Gardner has found an ingenious solution to avoid the moral and medical difficulties of organ harvesting by completely bypassing the need to tiptoe along the hazy line that defines death ...

An Oxford University stem cell expert has urged the use of aborted children in organ transplants as a solution to the shortage of available organs. Sir Richard Gardner has called for a feasibility study on the possibility of obtaining organs from the bodies of aborted babies.
He said, "It is probably a more realistic technique in dealing with the shortage of kidney donors than others."

Brilliant!

But, as if Gardner's clever solution isn't despicable enough, a careful reading of the announcement shows that there may be a method to his macabre madness and that his outrageous suggestion may be nothing more than floating a trial balloon.

Notice that Dr. Gardner is described as a "stem cell expert."

No doubt he, or someone like him, will soon propose that, in order to mollify the moral objections that the "extremists" may see in using aborted fetuses to harvest body parts, we could avoid all such controversy by creating embryonic stem cells for the specific organs we need to replace. In other words, utilizing IVF embryos or engaging in therapeutic cloning for the purpose of embryo destruction to produce needed organs would be touted as a morally superior option. No ripped up babies! No motivation to abort babies! We'd just be doing "therapy."

This is the place where stem cell research and harvesting organs meet. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that there is a slippery slope here and that we have been on it for many years. Those who have constructed the slope are doing nothing but covering it with grease.
http://lti-blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/killing-two-birds-with-one-clone-bob.html

Wait and see, they will end up using both aborted babies and cloned ones for organs and research. There will be a lot of money involved with the aborted babies. How did we get here? Pam

2009-05-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

Pro Choice People are Smart

It is 11:30 at night as I write this with an aching head, back, and heart. It has gotten to the point where much time is spent keeping up with what all is going on. Let me tell you something, I am not very smart. There are articles and opinions out there that are amazingly written and well thought out. They use their words wisely. The Pro Choice people are very smart too. They are good at manipulating words, manipulating thoughts, and manipulating lives. The Pro Life people aren't real good at that, because most of us have our Father to answer to, and He requires us to tell the truth. No manipulating of anything. Truth only, as His son did while here on earth. People didn't like His son too much while He was here on earth wanting to help people, telling the truth about sin, and pointing people to His Father. Kind of sounds like what the Pro Life people are doing, doesn't it? And kind of sounds like those Pro Choice people are like the ones that didn't like Jesus.

Unfortunately, there are many that don't like Christians because they feel we are taking away their rights. They feel that we are restricting their lives from having fun and living freely. Kind of like rebellious teenagers. That is what the liberals remind me of. Destructive, rebellious teenagers who think only of themselves, and do not realize that certain rules and laws are put in place to help and protect them, along with society. That boundaries are good. That their actions and decisions have consequences. Not only for themselves, but others also. Although the Pro Choice people are smart, very smart, they have regressed mentally and emotionally back to being rebellious, dangerous teenagers, who destroy everything in their paths. And that would include our President. Pam

2009-05-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Readers, will you please read this article and tell me what you think?

taken from Jill Stanek
May 4, 2009
Psychological warfare: Students complain about "abortion plane"

I've been writing quite a bit about the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform Midwest's "abortion plane," as Wonkette called it. I requested donations for this important pro-life work over the weekend. (Thanks to all who donated. Please give now if you haven't.)

Received this email from Gregg Cunningham, head of CBR:

This is very much a psychological warfare tactic. The students are now complaining in large numbers that they can hear the plane inside their classrooms and it bothers them.
Planes fly over Notre Dame all the time and they have never before bothered these students. What is happening now is that when any plane flies over, it is suddenly audible at a new level. They fear that it is not just some plane, but THE plane.

Now instead of picturing a generic plane, they picture "that f***ing" plane, as so many messages call it. Now the sound of the engine forces them to see an aborted baby in their minds eye and it deeply stresses them. This is the first pro-life project from which they could not totally shield themselves. It reaches them wherever they try to hide....

This project isn't just about teaching ND a lesson. It is about signaling to every other Catholic college that if you invite this serial killer to speak on your campus, you are going to be inviting an intolerable level of disruption. It is about signaling to the White House that if they try to pull this stunt again with any other Catholic college, we are going to be there to embarrass the president by relentlessly, remorselessly hammering the administration, faculty and student body at that school.

FYI, this is finals week. Everyone is in class. I've received word the plane will fly 6 hours instead of the usual 3 each of the next 2 days.

What do you think about this? Is it wrong? Is it good? Is there a better way? Should we not say anything or stand up? Pam

2009-05-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Please Read this Article and Donate to the Huge Protest in Notre Dame to Keep the Planes Flying!! Help Keep their Stress Level Up!

May 2, 2009
Weekend question

President Abortion's anti-life activism has caused an unexpected backlash.

The 1st sign was the public's reaction to Obama's overturn of the Mexico City policy so as to provide taxpayer $$ to international abortion groups. This got him a 65% disapproval rating according to Gallup.

Then Politico.com reported a spike in pro-life recruitment and mobilization.

This week a Pew Poll showed the biggest drop in abortion support in 15 years - mostly from abortion-leaning Independents.

Obama may be winning battles like the Sebelius confirmation, but at this point he's losing the public opinion war.

Translation: Obama is making abortion unpopular.

The public fights Obama is instigating about abortion through his staff-picks and policy decisions are having an impact.

Next will be the fight over David Souter's Supreme Court replacement.

But right now Notre Dame is where it's at. When ND President Fr. John Jenkins announced ND would honor Obama at its May 17 commencement, I'm sure he was braced for backlash. But no one could have anticipated the tsunami.

Read this convicting email from Gregg Cunningham, president of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. As I've previously reported, CBR is running an effective ground and air Obama Awareness Campaign. Someone asked him how much $$ he needs for the next 16 days:

... But $15K is a bare-bones budget which I could easily and usefully spend in the time remaining till graduation by simply increasing the number of hours we fly each day.
If I had even more money, I would bring in one or more additional planes. I would very much like to do that because the more hours we fly the more stress we cause the campus and community. The more stress we cause, the less likely it will be that Mr. Obama will end up on another Catholic campus any time soon.

Every time Catholic leaders venerate this mass murderer, they reinforce Obama's subliminal message that "you don't have to agree with me on abortion, as long as you agree with me that abortion is no big deal." That empowers him. It makes it easier for him to ram his agenda into law. It makes it easier for him to get re-elected and expand his loony-left majority in Congress.
Our very stressful presence at ND signals the left that if they want to make a pact with the devil, they will pay a price. Mr. Obama just announced he is putting FOCA on the back burner until "some of the anger" dies down. He is talking specifically about us.

The left scoffed at pro-life protesters at ND till we showed up. They scoff no longer.... Liberals think they should be able to get away with serial murder and we should just shut up and take it. They don't want to be criticized, but they really don't want to be forced to face the truth that abortion kills real babies and Obama is a real baby-killer. The pictures rain on their commencement parade. The pictures out the fact that everything isn't alright at ND. Now the pro-Obama students can't feel quite so good about abortion, Obama or themselves.

I could spend $30K here between now and graduation and still wish I had more. This is an extraordinary opportunity to pound the opposition. This is one of the few times when Mr. Obama's handlers have stupidly walked him into a political ambush, and I don't want to let them walk him back out. They have made the mistake of underestimating the pushback this invitation would trigger, and that makes them extremely vulnerable for the next 16 days.
We have paid for 3 more days of flying at 3 hours per day, but that merely covers graduation weekend. Keeping the pressure on between now and then will fray nerves exponentially with each passing day. That greatly magnifies the impact of those last 3 days. This is a classic psychological warfare operation, and the effect of the stress we are imposing is cumulative. If we ease up and let everyone recover, we greatly diminish the influence of those last 3 days of flying. This is such an extraordinary opportunity.... Don't you agree?

Yes, I do! Which brings me to this weekend's question:

Will you please invest money NOW in this critical pro-life battle?

The Stanek website receives between 4-6k unique visitors each day on weekends. If 4k people gave CBR $25, that would give CBR $100k. I know some people coming here are pro-abort, and some pro-lifers can't give. But you can see there is easy potential to meet a $15k goal and for us to pay to fly CBR's plane through commencement. I sent CBR a $100 check last week. Some of us can donate a little more. Please give something.

Mail checks to: CBR, PO Box 360503, Columbus, OH 43236

Donate online here. If that link doesn't work, go to the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform Midwest homepage and click the donate tab 4th line down on the right.

Donate online if possible. You'll get 'er done and not have to think about it again, and CBR will better know how much $ it has for this project.

Thanks in advance... :)

[Top photo courtesy of AFP; 2nd photo courtesy of ABC; bottom photo courtesy of CBR]

I am donating my 25.00 because I want to be able to say I contributed to their stress and uncomfortableness! Pam

2009-04-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

April 30, 2009
Texas bill would decriminalize infanticide
taken from Jill Stanek

Democrat pro-abortion Catholic state Rep. Jessica Ferrar has quite a resumé. There she is pictured right holding a Planned Parenthood Public Affairs Award she received last year "for her work on reproductive health issues," according to her website.

Ferrar opposes a bill currently before the legislature that would mandate abortionists offer mothers the option of viewing an ultrasound of their baby. She currently is sponsoring a bill that would force Catholic hospitals to dispense the morning-after pill. And Ferrar maintains a 100% approval rating from NARAL.

But disregard for prenatal life isn't enough for Ferrar, who is also sponsoring the first legislation of its kind in the nation, known as "The Infanticide Bill," HB 3318.

The Infanticide Bill would decriminalize infanticide of babies under 1 year old from being a capital murder offense, punishable by life in prison or the death penalty, to 180 days to 2 years in jail and a fine not to exceed $10k, for mothers found to be suffering, in the court's opinion, severe post-partum depression.

A defendent would be eligible for this sentence if her "judgment was impaired as a result of the effects of giving birth or the effects of lactation following birth," wrote Ferrar in her legislative analysis.

While I empathize for mothers suffering this malady, it does not extend to dehumanizing their babies so killing them is any less heinous in the eyes of the court than killing older children.

After all, depression extends throughout the life spectrum. Why should infanticide be set apart as a more tolerated crime?

Obviously, because of Ferrar's pro-abortion proclivities and the company she keeps, this is a veiled attempt to portray pregnancy as an illness, to provide a loophole for mothers committing 4th trimester abortions (postnatal murder), and to blur the line between abortion and infanticide.

It just keeps getting worse, doesn't it? This means women are given permission to kill their babies. This means women WILL kill their babies. Please pray this doesn't pass. Pam

2009-04-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

President Obama's First 100 Days: Major Abortion Promotion, Attacking Pro-Lifers
by Steven Ertelt LifeNews.com EditorApril 29, 2009

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- President Barack Obama marks his first 100 days in the White House today and his record is replete with aggressive promotion of abortion and attacks on pro-life advocates. Obama has used tax dollars to pay for abortion and embryonic stem cell research and stacked his administration with abortion advocates.
The president's litany of anti-life decisions began immediately after his election in November, when he selected a long-time abortion advocate as his White House chief of staff.
Obama began fulfilling his promises to abortion advocates during his first week in office when he overturned the Mexico City Policy that prevented forcing taxpayers to fund groups that promote and perform abortions in other countries.
Instead of urging Americans to honor and respect the dignity and worth of human life as other presidents have done, Obama used the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision to celebrate the 50 million abortions that have been done since then.
Janice Shaw Crouse, of Concerned Women for America, says the media presentation of Obama's first 100 days likely won't feature an overview of his extensive pro-abortion record.
"The media hype about President Obama's first 100 days spares no cliché or hyperbole in trying to convince America that our new president ranks among our nation's greatest," she told LifeNews.com.
"The political commentators need to take off their rose-colored glasses and stop bending over backwards to describe Obama's policies as moderate and his changes as positive advances for freedom and democracy around the world," says Crouse. "Underneath all the media visuals that make a compelling story, there is the sobering reality that this president is very divisive and extremely partisan."
She condemns Obama for "restructuring the domestic social policies of the United States of America by usurping the basic foundation stones of America's domestic policies and the pro-life ... stances that have made this nation the envy of the rest of the world."
Even those who say they want to work with Obama are concerned about his extensive pro-abortion record.
Frank Page, leader of Taylors Baptist Church and a member of Obama's White House faith committee, told CBN News, "By and large I have not been very encouraged by our president's first 100 days in regards to pro-life issues, in regards to sensitivity to the evangelical community.""I have not been surprised by anything our president has done, but I have been surprised at the rapidity with which he has done what he has done," Page added. "[The] removal of what few protections there are for example regarding innocent unborn babies-- this has happened quickly."
During his first two months, Obama put people in key policy positions in the White House, Justice Department and his Cabinet who are not only abortion advocates but former staff and board members for top pro-abortion organizations like Emily's List and NARAL.
Obama's second major pro-abortion policy decision came in February when he proposed overturning pro-life conscience protections President Bush put in place to make sure medical staff and centers are not forced to do abortions.
One day later, he nominated pro-abortion Kathleen Sebelius to become Secretary of Health and Human Services and she is expected to put that decision in place now that she has been confirmed by the Senate.
In his third decision, Obama announced $50 million for the UNFPA, the UN population agency that has been criticized for promoting abortion and working closely with Chinese population control officials who use forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations.
Obama's fourth major policy decision saw him sign an executive order forcing taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research.
The Obama administration has also aggressively attacked pro-life advocates.
In March, Obama's team shut out pro-life groups from attending a White House-sponsored health care summit. Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business, made the invitation list as did other pro-abortion groups.
Then, earlier this month, the Obama administration released a document that claims pro-life people may engage in violence or extremism.
The future doesn't appear to hold anything different when it comes to Obama promoting abortion.Obama made his first judicial appointment and named pro-abortion federal Judge David Hamilton to serve on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Other judges, including potential Supreme Court nominees, are expected to be pro-abortion as well.

If you read the liberal side of his 100 Days you would think he is sent from God. The one thing bothering me is if they are Pro Choice, why isn't adoption ever mentioned? Why isn't there more funding for adoption? If they are about choice, what are the other alternatives? The only thing I hear is women's rights and abortion. Which means they are Pro Abortion. Which equals Pro-Death. Which means and equals a Pro Death Squad running our country. Can one of them please just whisper the word adoption? Pam

2009-04-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Deanna and Mother Teresa

"But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child - a direct killing of the innocent child - murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another? How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love, and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even his life to love us. So the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love - that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts. By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. That father is likely to put other women into the same trouble. So abortion just leads to more abortion. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching the people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. That is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion. " Mother Teresa

Please go to Deanna's Motherhood in Real Time blog to view her video on the difference between Hillary Clinton and Mother Teresa. It is very good, and very informative. Pam

2009-04-24T21:03:00.000-07:00

Planned Parenthood busted in Charlotte, N.C.

taken from Jill Stanek

by Kelli

From Students for Life of America:

On Wednesday, the FDA announced it would allow 17 year olds to purchase the "morning-after" birth control pill without a doctor's prescription or parental knowledge. As proved in the SFLA Oct. 2008 undercover video from Charlotte, NC, this announcement will only help Planned Parenthood and their abortion allies to continue to cover up cases of rape...
In June of 2008, a college woman volunteering for SFLA entered a clinic in NC posing as a 15-year-old girl who had unprotected sex with her mother's live-in boyfriend who was in his 30s; the girl told the clinic workers he suggested she come get the morning-after pill.

Not only did PP workers fail to report the statutory rape as required by NC General Statues... they told the girl her rapist could go into any drug store to purchase the morning-after pill... Plan B.

SFLA Executive Director, Kristan Hawkins, said, "The FDA ruling this week which expands access of Plan B to minors is just going to allow rapists to continue to cover up their crimes. Parents won't even know that their daughters are being raped."

2009-04-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 5:11
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

taken from Jill Stanek

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) fabulously called out Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing:

First, the stellar Congressman Smith:

In receiving Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger's award in Houston on March 27th, you said that you were in "awe" of Margaret Sanger; you said that Sanger's "life and leadership" was "one of the most transformational in the entire history of the human race" and that Sanger's work both here and abroad was "not done".
With all due respect, Madam Secretary, transformational yes; but not for the better if one happens to be poor, disenfranchised, weak, disabled, a person of color, an unborn child, or among the many so-called undesirables Sanger would exclude and exterminate from the human race. Sanger's prolific writings drip with contempt for those she considers to be unfit to live....

I've actually read many of Sanger's articles and books. Sanger was an unapologetic eugenicist and racist who said "the most merciful thing a family does for one of its infant members is to kill it." And said on another occasion, "eugenics is the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems."
In her book, Pivot of Civilization, Sanger devoted an entire chapter, which she entitled the "Cruelty of Charity," to explaining a shockingly inhumane case for systematic denial of prenatal and maternal health care for poor, pregnant women.

"Such benevolence is not merely superficial and near-sighted" Sanger wrote "it conceals a stupid cruelty" and leads to a "deterioration in the human stock" and "the perpetuation of defectives, delinquents and dependents."

So it is extraordinarily difficult how anyone especially a Secretary of State could be in "awe" of Margaret Sanger, a person who made no secret whatsoever of views that were antithetical to protecting human rights and that suggest that "her work" remains undone here and around the world.

In 2007 alone PP killed over 305k children by abortion in the United States and millions more worldwide.

As part of "Sanger's work" that remains undone, is the Obama Administration seeking to weaken or overturn pro-life laws and policies in African and Latin America countries either directly or through multilateral organizations including and especially the UN, African Union, or the OAS, or by way of funding NGOs like PP?

And so we have total transparency, does the United States' definition of the term 1) "reproductive health" or 2) "reproductive services" or 3) "reproductive rights" include abortion?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded:

Congressman, I deeply respect your passionate concerns and views, which you have championed and advocated for over the course of your public career. We obviously have a profound disagreement.
When I think about the suffering that I have seen of women around the world - I've been in hospitals in Brazil where half the women were enthusiastically and joyfully greeting new babies and the other half were fighting for their lives against botched abortions. I've been in African countries where 12- and 13 year-old-girls are bearing children. I have been in Asian countries where the denial of family planning consigns women to lives of oppression and hardship. So we have a very fundamental disagreement. And it is my strongly held view that you are entitled to advocate and everyone who agrees with you should be free to do so anywhere in the world, and so are we.

We happen to think that family planning is an important part of women's health. And reproductive health includes access to abortion that I believe should be safe, legal, and rare. I spent a lot of my time trying to bring down the rate of abortions and it has been my experience that good family planning and good medical care brings down the rate of abortion. Keeping women and men in ignorance and denied access to services actually increases the rate of abortion.

During my time as First Lady I helped to create the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancy, and while we were working to provide good information, access to contraception, and decision-making that would enable young women to protect themselves and say no, the rate of teen pregnancy went down. I'm sad to report that after an administration of 8 years that undid so much of the good work, the rate of teenage pregnancy is going up.

So, we disagree. And we are now an Administration that will protect the rights of women, including their rights to reproductive health care.

Jill's follow-up for Mrs. Clinton:

Prove your claim that in Brazilian maternity wards half the women are delivering babies and half being treated for botched abortions.

So your concern is that 12- and 13-year-olds be able to abort when the real problem is they're being RAPED.

And exactly why do you want abortion to be "rare"? Why have you "spent a lot of my time trying to bring down the rate of abortions"?

Doesn't it just amaze you how blinded and irrational the leaders of our country are becoming? It seems common sense is going out the window in every area, along with compassion and charity. Instead of working through issues and helping people, just get rid of the issue and the person. (baby) There also is the problem of sexual promiscuity and sexual disease that everyone seems to be fine with. As long as we have Planned Parenthood all of our problems are solved. They aren't solving the problems, they are only creating more problems for the women using their reproductive health services. Why aren't we addressing the core issue of the main problem here in the U.S.? And that would be the promoting of sexual promiscuity in every media and entertainment outlet there is. People are told constantly to have sex. That is what drives our country. Then we kill what comes out of this terrible sin, the innocent babies. What is going to happen to our country? Where are we headed?

Pam

2009-04-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

³¹So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

I had an exciting afternoon. After work I came home, crawled in bed, pulled the covers over my head and proceeded to tell the Lord why this life was not for me anymore. The list went something like this: Lord, I am tired and overwhelmed, and it is just too much for me...there is so much to do and is it even making a difference? Lord, we are not winning, everything is stacked against us....Lord, I am really tired and lonely and broke. It would be nice to just run away and start over somewhere fresh, but I can't afford it and my car won't make it anyway....Lord, I really have no more energy to go on, it just doesn't seem like anything is working out...and so went my list of crying to the Lord. Have you ever done that? Please someone, tell me you have!! It is a desperate feeling, and the entire time I was also asking the Lord to help me. It is one of those places we get to where we truly need His refreshment. We are nothing but bone dry, and need a Word from Him. So I continued to lay there, whining and begging with my cats looking at me in a strange way. By this time the covers had come down from over my head. All of a sudden, a very still quiet voice spoke to my heart. Get up and do everything for Me. Live for Me. You know what? I could feel life flowing back through my veins, and I had a reason to get up. It wasn't because of the Pro Life movement. It wasn't because of the list of things I needed to accomplish. It wasn't because of work. It wasn't because of my children. It wasn't even because of me. It was because of Him. Jesus. I understood more clear than I ever have. I am doing EVERYTHING I am doing because of Him. Every breath I breathe, every meal I eat, every moment I live is for Him. It is all for Him. So, today I got out of bed and started back in life refreshed, all for Him. He is so good, and I love Him so much. So....will one of you please remind me of this next month when once again the covers are pulled over my head??

Pam

2009-04-17T02:14:00.000-07:00

Pro Lifers Classified as Terrorist

taken from Jill Staneks' blog
April 16, 2009
Go ahead, put me on your terrorist watch list

Hey, Department of Homeland Security, I was on a rightwing conference call today to discuss your April 7 report slandering us as potential domestic terror threats. Were you listening in?

Recall this is the same DHS that issued guidelines for the entire government to purge itself of language such as "jihad" and "islamofascism" so as not to offend Muslims.

Yet its report is replete with the word "rightwing," because offending us isn't a problem.

Knowing that for me as a pro-lifer to write my blood is boiling may land me on a violent threat watch list makes my blood boil more. Here's what the report says about us:

Paralleling the current national climate, rightwing extremists during the 1990s exploited a variety of social issues and political themes to increase group visibility and recruit new members. Prominent among these themes were the militia movement's opposition to gun control efforts, criticism of free trade agreements (particularly those with Mexico), and highlighting perceived government infringement on civil liberties as well as white supremacists' longstanding exploitation of social issues such as abortion, inter-racial crimes, and same-sex marriage.

This is 1984. The U.S. government has gone stark raving mad. The people who merely want to save preborn lives are considered white supremacist terrorist threats by those authorizing the killing of preborn lives, most of whom, proportionally speaking, are black.

Barack Obama has surrounded himself with radical liberals like himself who are now overtly attempting to intimidate pro-lifers as well as finfluence public opinion against conservative values. The document says so in its opening paragraph:

Federal efforts to influence domestic public opinion must be conducted in an overt and transparent manner, clearly identifying United States Government sponsorship.

Well I'm not going to take it. Give me liberty or give me death.

If Patrick Henry were alive today, Janet Napolitano would have him on a watch list.

It appears the Obama Administration is trying to influence America as to who their enemy is when it comes to the pursuit of happiness and peace. If enough negative information can be said against us, we can become the enemy, and the cause of many problems in America. Evil is truly being called good, and good evil. Pam

2009-04-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

What the Media Messed Up About the
Obama Stem Cell Story

This is taken from a website on Stem Cell Research
This article is a little long, but is worth reading to
have accurate information. I will leave it posted for
a few days. It is obvious President Obama is on an
aggressive agenda to expand abortion in all areas.
It would be good for all of us to know the truth.
Pam

9 Things the Media Messed Up About the Obama Stem Cell Story

By Josh Brahm (bio)

The longer I live the less I’m surprised by poor journalism in major media outlets. However, I think the reports about President Obama's recent decision (3/9/09) to force taxpayers to pay for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (HESCR) takes the cake. After reviewing the articles and videos by major media sources, as well as the local media here in Fresno, I offer this analysis of what you likely either missed or were misinformed about if those were your only sources for information.

#1. Omitting the importance of iPS cells


Who did this?
BBC; NPR; The Guardian; Fresno KMPH (FOX 26); Fresno ABC (Channel 30)

Why is it significant?
One of the major areas of the stem cell research debate over the last decade concerns embryonic stem cells that are pluripotent, or pliable, as opposed to adult stem cells that are only multipotent, and supposedly less pliable and useful. However, It’s worth noting that several studies have indicated that this can be worked around. One study was conducted when a researcher took stem cells from Jackie Rabon’s nose and used them to correct her spinal cord injury. The once paralyzed girl now walks.

However, this debate has been completely changed by the research in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, or iPS cells. These are adult skin cells that scientists may soon be able to reprogram into embryonic-like stem cells, without killing a single human embryo! This discovery is no small thing. In fact, the ability to reprogram cells like iPS cells was named the “biggest scientific breakthrough of 2008” by Science magazine. Bernadine Healy, the former head of the pro-HESCR National institutes of Health and the American Red Cross published an article last week in U.S News and World Report. What some may find surprising is her disapproval of Obama’s stem cell policy. Here are some choice quotes: "Even for strong backers of embryonic stem cell research, the decision is no longer as self-evident as it was, because there is markedly diminished need for expanding these cell lines for either patient therapy or basic research.” "In fact, during the first six weeks of Obama's term, several events reinforced the notion that embryonic stem cells, once thought to hold the cure for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and diabetes, are obsolete.” “To date, most of the stem cell triumphs that the public hears about involve the infusion of adult stem cells. We've just recently seen separate research reports of patients with spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis benefiting from adult stem cell therapy.” “A second kind of stem cell that has triumphed is an entirely new creation called iPS (short for induced pluripotent stem cell), a blockbuster discovery* made in late 2007.”* Obviously there is still more work to be done, and the jury is still out on whether iPS cell research can be done ethically. There is no question however on whether we can ethically pursue HESCR. We cannot ethically conduct Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research as long as human embryos are being killed for their body parts. Amazingly, not only did most media outlets fail to report on iPS cells, but it looks like they all left out the fact that President Obama rescinded President Bush’s executive order funding Adult Stem Cell Research (ASCR). Now who’s anti-science?

#2. Omitting that the diseases everyone is talking about curing (diabetes, Parkinson's, paralysis) have already been treated with adult stem cells.


Who did this?
CBS News; New York Times; LA Times; Newsweek; BBC; NPR; The Guardian; Fresno KMPH (FOX 26); Fresno ABC (Channel 30); Fresno CBS (Channel 47)

Why is it significant?
The reason so many Americans support the killing of human embryos for research is because of the desire to see diseases cured. Perhaps if more Americans understood that this can be accomplished without killing human embryos, maybe this “complicated moral decision” would suddenly not be so tough.

Naturally we want to see people afflicted with painful diseases treated or even cured, but IF these embryos are individual living human beings, as science says they are, THEN we should not kill them for their body parts. Of course, if it can be proven scientifically that these embryos are not human beings then I will promptly withdraw my objection and put my full support behind this research. I patiently wait for even one person to make a good scientific argument that the embryos used in human embryonic stem cell research are not human…but I'm not holding my breath.

#3. Perpetuating the myth that stem cell research will likely cure Alzheimer's disease


Who did this?
New York Times; Newsweek; The Guardian; CBS News; Fresno ABC (Channel 30);

Why is it significant?
No one disagrees with the fact that Alzheimer's is a heartwrenching and tragic disease. On a personal note, I volunteered as a pianist for a nursing home serving Alzheimer's patients for several years. After watching the disease slowly take over the minds of
my audience, I can empathize with those who have a parent, grandparent or other loved one suffering from this condition. HESCR advocates have included Alzheimer's in their list of talking points for years when talking about what diseases may be cured. This has caused Nancy Reagan to become a public supporter of HESCR, but it seems that Mrs. Reagan and many others have been misinformed. According to Wesley Smith, writing in The Weekly Standard, "Researchers have apparently known for some time that embryonic stem cells will not be an effective treatment for Alzheimer's, because as two researchers told a Senate subcommittee in May, it is a 'whole brain disease,' rather than a cellular disorder (such as Parkinson's). This has generally been kept out of the news. But now, Washington Post correspondent Rick Weiss, has blown the lid off of the scam, reporting that while useful abstract information might be gleaned about Alzheimer's through embryonic stem cell research, 'stem cell experts confess . . . that of all the diseases that may be someday cured by embryonic stem cell treatments, Alzheimer's is among the least likely to benefit.'" This doesn't mean Alzheimer's disease won't ever be cured. It just means that the cure will probably not come from stem cell research, of any kind. It will probably be a separate area of scientific research. It is therefore, at best, disingenuous for pro-HESCR advocates to continue to claim that Alzheimer's disease will likely be cured by their research.

#4. Omitting the dangers of HESCR


Who did this?
ABC News; CBS News; New York Times; LA Times; Newsweek; BBC; NPR; The Guardian; Fresno KMPH (FOX 26); Fresno ABC (Channel 30); Fresno CBS (Channel 47)

Why is it significant?
Because we just might kill some adult human beings by starting human clinical trials prematurely. See,
something interesting happens during about 50% of animal trials with embryonic stem cell research: the stem cells form tumors. (Just what America needs - more cancer.) Embryonic stem cells have the potential to become anything, but scientists have not yet learned how to harness that power. In other words, although scientists can engineer some ESC's to become a particular cell type, and sometimes the stem cell obeys, and sometimes it doesn’t.
For example, a man in China had embryonic stem cells transplanted into his brain to cure Parkinson’s disease. While some of the stem cells became brain cells like they were supposed to, the others became hair and bone cells! The man died a painful death as bone tissue grew into his brain and killed him. (1) Another shocking result occurred at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March, 2001. In some of the patients, the implanted embryonic cells apparently grew too well, churning out so much of a chemical that controls movement that the patients writhed and jerked uncontrollably. Dr. Paul E. Greene called the uncontrollable movements developed by some patients as “absolutely devastating.” The New York Times quoted him saying, “They chew constantly, their fingers go up and down, their wrists flex and distend. It’s a real nightmare. And we can’t selectively turn it off. No more fetal transplants. We are absolutely and adamantly convinced that this should be considered for research only.” More recently, news came out in February 2009 that fetal stem cells injected into a young boy in Israel caused disabling, if not deadly, tumors. (2) Bernadine Healy included this story in her article, saying that the news should cause Obama to instruct the Food and Drug Administration to "take another look" at its decision to allow the biotech firm Geron to use embryonic stem cells in a clinical trial involving human patients. Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith made a similar point: "Which brings us to the Geron license from the FDA. Geron's work with its product has been exclusively with mice, which were not kept alive nearly the four years it took for this patient to develop stem cell-caused tumors. This raises a question of whether, in light of this report, the FDA should revisit its go ahead to Geron to use ES cell-derived cells in human beings,particularly since it might take years to learn whether the product causes tumors." Of course, there are afflicted people that are willing to risk such gruesome results, in hopes of being able to recover. This is certainly understandable, and even laudable, as their risk, in addition to helping to cure their own disease, may allow scientists to come closer to curing others. But these patients have two possible methods of experimental treatment: HESCR, which has not produced a single effective treatment and has resulted in painful and gruesome ends, and ASCR, which has produced cures, and has not had such dangerous consequences. Why then does President Obama push funding for the method that does not work, and pull funding for the method that does?

#5. Confusing or combining reproductive cloning with research cloning


Who did this?
CBS News; New York Times; LA Times; Fresno KMPH (FOX 26); Fresno ABC (Channel 30); Fresno CBS (Channel 47)

Why is it significant?
There are two different types of cloning: reproductive cloning, and research cloning. The term "reproductive cloning" has been used to describe when a human clone is implanted and delivered as a full term pregnancy. "Research,"
"experimental" or "therapeutic cloning" have been the terms used for the other type of cloning. In this, a human embryo is cloned and experimented upon in his or her first few weeks of life and then killed. Opinion polls show that the vast majority of Americans disapprove of both types of cloning. (83% against reproductive cloning, versus 81% against research cloning.) (3) In another poll asking Americans to rate the morality of 16 social issues, 86% said human cloning was morally wrong. In fact, the only social issues ranked lower than human cloning were extramarital affairs and polygamy! (4) Many media outlets noted that President Obama supposedly condemned cloning, saying “And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any society.” Read that again. Did President Obama condemn all human cloning, or did he only condemn reproductive cloning? Amazing! We just figured out what practically every other media outlet missed. By the way, the only reason the list of media outlets that missed this is shorter than the first three on this list is because most of them didn’t mention cloning in their article. Fox News is the only media outlet who mentioned Obama’s remarks on cloning and then explained the difference between reproductive and research cloning. Obama's careful wording here is similar to the misleading language used in last year's "Human Cloning Ban and Stem Cell Research Protection Act," sponsored by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. This bill doesn't close the door on cloning, it simply redefine's cloning so that only reproductive cloning counts, and research cloning becomes referred to as "nuclear transplantation research." Redefining words like that is clever, but it's also extremely deceptive to the general public. Why would scientists want access to research cloning when they already have the right and the government funding to use “leftover” embryos from in vitro fertilization for research? One reason: there is simply not enough “leftover” embryos to produce the results HESCR scientists have been promising for years. People from both sides of the debate often talk about 400,000 or 500,000 frozen embryos that could be researched on. This number is simply incorrect. There ARE that many embryos currently frozen, but most of them are NOT available for research. Most of them are being held for later use by their families. According to a 2002 study, only 2.8% of the nation’s frozen embryos, roughly 11,000 total, were designated for research. (5) Only a small number of those 11,000 embryos would actually yield stem cells. Using what it calls “a conservative estimate” the study calculated that only about 275 stem cell lines could actually be developed from the embryos available for research. And even then, the study concedes that this number “is probably an overestimate.” There is general agreement in the U.S. that the selling of body parts, even for medical transplantation is immoral. The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (NOTA) bans the buying and selling of organs, and the Senate Report accompanying NOTA stated that "human body parts should not be viewed as commodities." This is not too far from what would be happening with research cloning. Yet instead of merely purchasing a body part for transplantation, we taxpayers would be funding the mass creation of human beings for the sole purpose of killing them for their body parts. In a future and hypothetical sense, the movie "The Island" posed the same question as a premise for their storyline: rich celebrities pay a bio-tech corporation to grow their own clone underground, so that when the celebrity has a future health problem, his or her clone can be killed and the clone’s body parts harvested to prolong the celebrities life. What does it mean for our society morally and ethically when we are creating human beings for their body parts?

#6. Creating a false choice that “leftover” embryos will either be used for research or be killed


Who did this?
CBS News: "Mr. Bush and his supporters said they were defending human life; days-old embryos - typically from fertility-clinic leftovers otherwise destined to be thrown away - are destroyed for the stem cells." Fox News: "Dr. Curt Civin, whose research allowed scientists to isolate stem cells and who now serves as the founding director of the University of Maryland Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, disagrees with those who say embryonic stem cell research is morally wrong. "This was already life that was going to be destroyed," he said. "The choice is throw them away or use them for research."
Newsweek: Quoting Amy Comstock Rick, president of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR), a pro-HESCR advocacy group: "Personally, I have trouble with the ethical argument that it is inappropriate to use these embryos to save lives, but somehow it's appropriate to throw them in the Dumpster. I don't understand that."

Why is it significant?
Those are not the only choices. Human embryos that are no longer wanted by the family can also be placed for adoption. Organizations like Snowflakes have been helping couples through embryo adoption for years now. President Bush has even flown several of these families to the White House to stand behind him when talking about the issue, pointing to the babies, and remarking that “these boys and girls are not spare parts.” Families would have to consent to having the embryos adopted, and I think many families would make this choice if told about the possibility. Many view adoption as a much better option than donating living embryos to be killed for research that can be done without killing anybody.

#7. Dehumanizing human embryos


Who did this?
ABC News: “Embryos, which are balls of cells created by putting a sperm cell and an egg cell together and allowing the result to divide, are valuable to researchers because they represent a source of undifferentiated cells not programmed to be any type of cell in particular.” CBS News: “First off, let’s talk about what embryonic stem cell research entails. An embryo is ‘a clump of cells that would fit barely on the head of a pin,’ as Susan L. Solomon, CEO of the New York Stem Cell Foundation, says.”

Why is it significant?
It’s much easier to pacify our feelings toward human destruction if the people in question are dehumanized. Who would care about a simple “ball of cells?” But embryologists know that there is so much more going on here than a simple clump of cells.


	"In the hours of conception every aspect of the genetic inheritance for a new individual will be determined once and for all: to be a boy or girl, with brown, or with blue eyes, fair or dark, tall or short; all the rich detail of physical attributes from head to toes... The new genetic program is achieved when the two parent pronuclei come to lie side by side within the egg for perhaps a day, as their contents combine in the ultimate biological union of male and female. In the instant when the union is consummated, the whole egg substance divides into two entirely new cells, identical to one another. These are the first two cells of the baby-to-be. So begins the first day of the first nine months of life." (6) Beginning Life, Geraldine Lux Flanagan, 1996

	“The only thing necessary for [the embryo’s] growth and development, as with the rest of us, is oxygen, food, water, and healthy interaction with its natural environment, because this organism, like the newborn, the infant, and the adolescent, needs only to develop in accordance with her given nature that is present at conception.” (7) Francis Beckwith, Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice, 2007

#8. Responding to a Strawman argument that pro-lifers are concerned about embryos being misused in laboratories (other than killing them)


Who did this?
Fresno ABC (Channel 30): “As for the fear that embryos will be misused in the laboratory, Dr. Bush says there are many checks and balances in place to prevent that. "They have to be donated, "he said, "There has to be consent from the individuals. It's not some mad scientist in the lab doing Frankenstein kind of science. There is a protocol that has to be followed.”

Why is it significant?
According to LogicalFallacies.info, "a straw man argument is one that misrepresents a position in order to make it appear weaker
than it actually is, refutes this misrepresentation of the position, and then concludes that the real position has been refuted. This, of course, is a fallacy, because the position that has been claimed to be refuted is different to that which has actually been refuted; the real target of the argument is untouched by it." Pro-lifers are not concerned about embryos being misused in a laboratory. We are concerned about embryos being killed in a laboratory. The protocols being followed end with the embryo being killed. I don’t think HESC researchers are “mad scientists” doing “Frankenstein science.” I think these are scientists that have a different view of the value of young human beings than many Americans, and that is the concern.

#9. Bush’s policy restricted tax dollars being used on “all” stem cell research


Who did this?
Fresno ABC (Channel 30): "President Obama makes another sharp break with his predecessor making a symbolic change in signing off on the use of taxpayer funds for stem cell research. In 2001 President George W. Bush limited the use of taxpayer money for stem cell research out of concern about the destruction of human embryos."

Why is it significant?
President Bush’s stem cell policy did not restrict tax dollars for stem cell research. It restricted tax
dollars to be used to kill more human embryos. It allowed tax dollars to be spent on research using the embryonic stem cell lines that had already been created, as well as funding research with adult stem cells. On the contrary, President Obama is the one restricting tax dollars for stem cell research. In fact the only type of stem cell research President Obama seems interested in funding is the very type that has consistently failed to produce any positive results. Another common misnomer is that President Bush outlawed embryonic stem cell research. He didn’t. Scientists have always been able to conduct HESCR, even during every year of President Bush’s term in office; they just had to use private funding to do their research. However this doesn’t always make it easy for HESCR scientists because private funding for HESCR has dropped steadily, because HESCR is simply one of the worst investments ever. Millions of dollars have been spent on this and there has still been no return. There’s the idea of a return, but adult stem cell research has successfully treated at least 73 diseases! Thus much of the private money has gone into non-HESCR therapies which are showing greater return. Ironically, Investor's Business Daily just published an editorial on why private investors have been fleeing from HESCR for some time now. According to them: "The president keeps a promise by lifting restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research — what he calls "the gold standard" of such research. Judging by results, fool's gold is more like it." "What has handcuffed our scientists is the difficulty of controlling embryonic stem cells and what they develop into." "Venture capitalists think IPS cells are promising and are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Last year, Kleiner Perkins, the veteran Silicon Valley venture capital firm that helped found the biotechnology industry, announced it was backing a new Bay Area company, iZumi Bio Inc., which will work on further developing the technology for creating and using IPS cells developed from adult stem cells." " If embryonic stem cells are so promising, why aren't venture capitalists lining up and why does ESCR need federal funding?"

Conclusion

To be clear, I'm not offended that major media outlets aren't advocating the pro-life position. They shouldn't advocate for either side. However they should attempt to present the pertinent facts in any given story to help the public gain a well-rounded understanding of the issues at hand. This simply didn't happen in the Obama/stem cell story.

This is not a small news story, ladies and gentlemen. This isn’t like a news channel failing to report that a large freeway is shut down due to an accident, and a bunch of people are late for work. This is a major event with profound moral and societal implications. President Obama left the door open to allowing American scientists to grow human beings for their body parts. This is a major ethical issue, not a trivial question about whether you should go vegan or not, and the mass media decided that it wasn’t important.

We should be ever vigilant keeping our eyes and ears wide open when watching the news, looking out for any bias or obvious omissions of facts. We can only do that if we are already informed about the issue. Don't depend on major media outlets to educate you. Look for the facts yourself.

P.S. There are some great stem cell research resources on the web, including StemCellAnswers.com, StemCellResearch.org and Wesley Smith's blog.

Sources:
1: "Survival and proliferation of nonneural tissues, with obstruction of cerebral ventricles, in a parkinsonian patient treated with fetal allografts.” Neurology, Volume 46, Issue 5. May 1, 1996.
2: Ninette Amariglio, Abraham Hirshberg, Bernd W. Scheithauer, Yoram Cohen, Ron Loewenthal, Luba Trakhtenbrot, Nurit Paz, Maya Koren- Michowitz, Dalia Waldman, Leonor Leider-Trejo, Amos Toren, Shlomi Constantini, Gideon Rechavi. PLoS Med Vol. 6, No. 2, e1000029, published online 17 February 2009. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000029.
3: International Communications Research, surveyed over 1,000 adults, May 19-23, 2006. Download PDF.
4: Gallup poll, surveyed over 1,000 adults, May 10-13, 2007.
5: 2002 survey by the RAND Corporation of IVF clinics in the U.S.
6: Flanagan, Geraldine Lux, Beginning Life. New York: DK, 1996. pp. 14, 23.
7: Beckwith, Francis. Defending Life: A Moral and Legal Case Against Abortion Choice. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 67-68.

ShareThis

Click here to follow us on Facebook. Click here to follow us on Twitter. Click here to donate.

If you liked this article, you might also like "8 Bad Arguments for Embryonic Stem Cell Research" or "Stem Cell Research - What You Need to Know." Check back soon for more articles!

Josh Brahm is the Director of Education for Right to Life of Central California's Fresno/Madera Office. He hosts a weekly youth-oriented pro-life podcast: "Life Report - Pro-Life Talk. Real World Answers." Josh is available to speak to your church or school. Click here for his bio/vitae.

2009-04-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

Thank You Jesus, We Love You

2009-04-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

Planned Parenthood's record - They cleared 1 Billion Dollars according to their 2007-2008 Annual Report

Taken from Jill Stanek's blog
April 9, 2009
Planned Parenthood unfazed by tanking economy: Cleared another $1 billion 07-08

UPDATE, 1:05p: Here's another good chart, received from the same friend. PPFA stands for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Click to enlarge:

_______________

UPDATE, 1p: I heard a good proverb yesterday: "If you want more of something, you subsidize; if you want less, you tax."

Here's an example of the former. I received the following chart from a government friend on PP's funding as it correlates to the number of abortions it commits. Click to enlarge...

_______________

According to its 06-07 annual report, Planned Parenthood cleared $1 billion in income for the 1st time, $1.018 billion to be exact.

According to its 07-08 annual report, the tanking American economy certainly didn't hurt PP. In fact, PP improved its bottom line to $1.038 billion. PP ended the reporting year with $1.014 billion in assets, up by almost 10%. That's pretty good!

PP got 1/3 of its income from we the taxpayers: $350 million, up from $337 million last year. Click to enlarge:

Abortions were up, too, from 290k last year to 305k this year.

In the next chart we see PP's statistical trickery. PP's report states abortion accounts for only 3% of all its services. But 10% of everyone (including men) who walk into a PP walk out an abortee.

Put another way, as its statistics show, 1 in 4 who get a pregnancy test at PP will abort. It would be interesting to know how many test negative, 1 in 4, 2 in 4? It is possible - likely - that at least half of mothers with positive pregnancy tests at PP abort. Click to enlarge:

LifeNews.com has more insights on PP's latest annual report, as does Life Decisions International.

posted on April 9, 2009 10:30 AM

We have to keep praying and speaking out!! Pam

2009-04-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

WHITE HOUSE STAFFER: TWO MILLION RED ENVELOPES CAME TO OBAMA AGAINST ABORTION
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A White House mailroom staffer has confirmed that nearly 2.5 million red envelopes have made their way to President Barack Obama to protest his pro-abortion record. The staff member says the campaign is one of the largest efforts he can recall in his 35 years working at the White House. Click HERE to read article.

2009-04-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

How Can People Agree With This????
Has Our Nation Gone That Dark?

Taken from Jill Stanek's blog

April 6, 2009
New Episcopal Divinity School prez: "Abortion is a blessing... holy work," abortionists are "saints"

Here's one I missed last week while on vacation. From the Boston Globe, April 4:

Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge... the Rev. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale will be its new president...

Ragsdale... is best known as an abortion rights activist who has sat on the boards of NARAL... and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice....
She is also openly gay....

Ragsdale... recalled that 3 women, spying her collar, once tried to keep her out of a meeting room for NARAL - even though she was a member of the league's board.

"I've experienced far more resistance and discrimination in the progressive community for being a Christian than I do in the Christian community for being a lesbian," she said....

But conservative bloggers are furiously criticizing the appointment, citing some of Ragsdale's remarks about abortion rights.

Interesting that the Globe didn't post those remarks, from a NARAL speech Ragsdale gave in 2007:

The ability to enjoy God's good gift of sexuality without compromising one's education, life's work, or ability to put to use God's gifts and call is simply blessing.
These are the 2 things I want you, please, to remember - abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Let me hear you say it: abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.

I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing... the health care providers, doctors, nurses, technicians, receptionists, who put your lives on the line to care for others (you are heroes -- in my eyes, you are saints); the escorts and the activists; the lobbyists and the clinic defenders; all of you.

You're engaged in holy work.

[Photo courtesy of European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development ]

Right now, I can feel my stomach churning and my head pounding. Sickness and righteous anger are the two things causing this manifestation in my body. Speaking of manifestations, it is obvious from this article the United States of America is no longer a Nation under God, or a Nation with any common sense for that matter. I really believe, my friends, we are going to experience some real changes soon. People wanted change, well, they are going to get it. But I believe when it does come, it will not be the change they hoped for. It will be something evil that will overtake them, unless they cry out to the Lord. Pray, pray, pray, my prayer warrior friends. Pam

2009-04-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

Day 40 and Last day of the Campaign!
368 Babies Saved!

Well fellow prayer warriors, today marks the last day of the Spring Campaign for 40 Days for Life, but not the actual end!! No, I believe it is the beginning. Denise, co-coordinator here in Raleigh, said something different is happening. More people are stepping up and speaking out, God is definitely moving. This is just the beginning. It's funny because obviously, according to society we are outnumbered, but according to God's way of doing things, that is just when He likes to step in! I don't know about you, but it is an exciting time to be on the Lord's side! Let's pray He opens the eyes and hearts of many, especially our President. Let's continue to pray for President Obama, for we are to bless our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us.

I haven't written lately because there has been so much going on in the Pro Life Movement, and it seemed better to pass that information along to keep everyone informed. But with the conclusion of 40 Days for Life I would like to share with you a couple of things the Lord seemed to impress upon my heart:

1) Everything I do is because of my love for the Lord, because He first loved me, and anything I do of any worth or value is from Him.
2) I am not responsible for the results, only my obedience and love for others, and even that comes from Him.
3) It is truly a sheer joy to lay down my life for God and others. No drug, no alcohol, no sexual encounter, no money, no nothing, has ever compared to the joy I have experienced from doing God's will.
4) There is something special brothers and sisters in Christ share when on the front lines of battle, and it is an honor to serve with everyone in this battle.
5) God is beyond any of the most glorious words I could ever say. He is God.
6) I love Him because He first loved me.

If any of you have felt the Lord impress something upon your hearts and would like to share, please do.

We are also starting a Pro Life Ministry at our church, with two of the projects being to pray at the clinic one afternoon a month, and to have a church baby shower for a Crisis Pregnancy Center. Those two things are very simple, but what if we had 30 more churches to participate! It would cover the entire month for prayer at the clinic, and provide plenty of resources for the Crisis Pregnancy Center, which struggles to make ends meet sometimes! Regardless, let's all continue to pray and help in every way we can to protect the sanctity of life that comes from our God and Creator!! I am so thankful, for tomorrow is a new and fresh day, with great plans to be made about the upcoming fall campaign, and getting many more churches involved! So don't slow down prayer warriors, and thanks for everything all of you have done! It has mattered a lot in the Kingdom of God!!

With great love for all of you!!

Pam

2009-04-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

Taken from Jill Stanek's blog

April 2, 2009 Notre Dame pro-life students want our help for 1st protest planned

Eric Scheidler of Pro-Life Action League sent out this alert yesterday, the first public action being taken by the pro-life Notre Dame student group NDResponse.com, and their first public request for the pro-life community's help. Please attend if you're anywhere close. This debut of pro-life objection to the ND administration's plan to honor Barack Obama at its May 17 commencement must be strong.

Dear Jill,
Ever since word broke that Barack Obama is to give the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, pro-lifers across the country have been eager to speak out against this scandal.
Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins has been flooded with phone calls, e-mails, letters and faxes urging him to rescind the Obama invitation.
NOW comes our first opportunity to publicly demonstrate ON CAMPUS against Barack Obama's appearance there.
Notre Dame Response is hosting a pro-life rally this Sunday, April5 - Palm Sunday - at 2 p.m. at the Dome, after the Noon Mass at the Basilica....
EVENT: Pro-Life Rally at Notre DameWHEN: Sunday, April 5 at 2 p.m.WHERE: Outside the Main BuildingMAP: http://tinyurl.com/NotreDameDome
Pro-life lawyer Harold Cassidy will be the keynote speaker for the rally, which will also include speeches by members of Notre Dame Response, and a Rosary. More details here.
If you live within a few hours drive of South Bend, IN, I encourage you to make the trip for this first public demonstration against the Barack Obama commencement scandal.
Meanwhile, keep your calendar clear for the weekend of May 15-17.Many plans are in the works for what may well be the biggest pro-life protest in a generation.
Yours for Life,
Eric
P.S. To keep up with the latest news from Notre Dame Response, bookmark their website.

Prayer Warriors - this is going to be a huge protest, and if we can't be there, we can PRAY!! Click on the link in the beginning NDresponse.com to subscribe for updates on what is happening! We have got to support them in every way we can! Pam

2009-04-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Be Heard!!

2009-03-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

Prayer Warriors, we have got to e-mail and respond to the Conscience Clause by April 9th!!!

Pro-Life Advocates Can Respond to Obama Dumping Abortion Conscience Clause

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 10, 2009

Email RSS Print

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- After waiting for the Obama administration to fix an email issue, pro-life advocates can now respond to President Barack Obama's decision to dump the Provider Conscience Clause. That is the regulation President Bush put in place to protect doctors and medical centers not wanting to do abortions.

Three different federal laws provide legal protections for medical professionals. After determining those laws were not always followed by local governments and some medical centers, the Bush administration sought to strengthen them.

The Bush administration put the rules in place to require a written agreement to follow the conscience laws and gave victims better access to federal employment discrimination agencies to consider legal action if their rights were violated.

Relying on claims from leading pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood, Obama instructed his administration to overturn the new rules.

The Obama administration published its proposal and provided an email address the public could use to comment on his plan to dump the rule. The email address has not been working since it was first made public last Friday.

That has changed and, now, pro-life advocates can express their opposition to the Obama proposal by emailing proposedrescission@hhs.gov. The deadline for submitting comments is April 9.

Pro-life advocates tell LifeNews.com that the proposed rescission of the Provider Conscience Clause was posted online on Friday but was not printed until today, which left the Obama administration with a published email address not working for days after the initial announcement.

Comments may be submitted electronically on the Web site www.Regulations.gov (by entering 0991-AB49 in the search box).

By mail, one original and two copies of written comments may be sent to: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Rescission Proposal Comments, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Ave. SW, Room 716G, Washington, DC 20201.

Despite the problems, several pro-life leaders are working to generate comments against the Obama plan to scrap protections for pro-life doctors and medical centers.

The newly-developed Freedom2Care Coalition will be putting together a web site and asking people to visit it to participate in various ways to help oppose the Obama proposal.

The group will be focusing on Health and Human Services and then expanding to reach members of Congress with opposition to the Obama plan.

Meanwhile, Rep. John Fleming, MD, a Republican congressman from Louisiana, is asking members of Congress to join him in signing a letter that urges President Obama not to rescind the regulation. The letter is expected to be delivered to the president shortly before the comment deadline.

Sen. Tom Coburn, MD, an Oklahoma senator, is circulating a similar letter in the Senate that will be sent to Obama early next week.

Click on highlighted areas in article for the information and to send an email.

Also go to Freedom 2 Care for more information!!

2009-03-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

Prayer Warriors!! You gotta read this!!!
taken from Jill Stanek's blog

March 30, 2009
Rush Limbaugh: Obama vs. Notre Dame's Touchdown Jesus

My Mom told me Rush spoke on his show Friday about President Abortion's votes against Born Alive while state senator in conjunction with Notre Dame inviting him to speak at its commencement.

Thankfully, reader Jeff G. sent me the transcript. Rush got the concept right, although Obama voted 4x against Born Alive, not 3...

The Most Anti-Life President in US History to Speak at Notre Dame

March 27, 2009

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: This Notre Dame business, I have to admit that I'm perplexed. Notre Dame is what? Notre Dame is the only university that I know of that has a giant mosaic of Jesus overlooking the football field, with arms up-spread as though Jesus is signaling touchdown. That's why they call it Touchdown Jesus at Notre Dame. They're a Catholic school.

They have a tradition of inviting new presidents to deliver the commencement address -- and so they invited, in the spirit of this tradition, President Obama. Now, as we know, the Catholic Church's official position on life is...LIFE. The official position on life is not abortion or "choice" or anything of the sort.

I know this is going to perhaps be offensive to some of you who are new to the program, but the truth is the truth, and this program is about truth. We attempt to find the truth. We secure the truth on this program, and the truth is, that President Obama -- by virtue of his votes, as a member of the Illinois Senate, and as a member of the United States Senate - is perhaps the most anti-life president.

Well, there's no question. He is the most anti-life president we have had in American history. This is a man who three times voted for infanticide in Illinois. He tried to excuse it any number of ways, but this is a man who voted three times, that if a baby survives an abortion, it may still be killed because of the mother's original intent to abort it.

If the abortion is botched, the doctor can go ahead and complete the job outside the womb. He voted for it three times. I don't care what your position on abortion is, but now we're not talking about abortion, not when the child has been born outside the womb and is alive. And Obama voted three times to support the notion of infanticide....

The pro-abort crowd is a militant ideological group of people to whom abortion is a political advancement. It's a political achievement. It's rooted in feminism and liberalism, which is also inexorably linked. He has taken steps every chance he's gotten to make abortion easier.

His nomination of Kathleen Sebelius... Well, his whole administration is made up of these people. I'm not Catholic, but I look at this and say, "This doesn't make any sense. This does not pass the common sense test." I understand the tradition of inviting newly elected presidents. I understand the historical nature of President Obama's election. I understand all of that. But do none of our institutions value their principles anymore or their core beliefs or their religious foundations? Are they so easily discarded for public relations or political correctness? You know what's even more stunning to me? This is -- and I say this happily. What's even more stunning is the degree to which this is being protested there, by students.

Now, some students are just upset that the whole commencement is going to become a circus because of this, but some of them are upset over the substance of it. There are a lot of Catholics who are upset about this. There are also a lot of Catholics who voted for Obama, knowing full-well everything that I just told you. But in an era where principles, core believes, and the essence of one's being are so casually discarded, it is a shock to me to see something as venerable at Notre Dame University cast theirs aside for reasons of comparatively no substance. Political correctness, tradition. Does not the tradition of having the newly elected president do your commencement address pale in comparison to the foundational building blocks of the university and the church on which it's founded? Are they going to have to cover up Touchdown Jesus the day Obama makes his speech? How could they not?

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: One more thing about this Notre Dame business. You know, ladies and gentlemen, it's not just that Obama has the most outrageous anti-life record and agenda of any president in history, it is that they're going to give him an honorary degree. There are some people who wouldn't really care about the commencement, but the honorary degree, that's sending other people over the top. Of course, the honorary degree is automatic for a president showing up to do the commencement address. There's a lot going on behind the scenes at Notre Dame. Protests are being planned. Some faculty and former faculty are really mad about it, but they're not going public yet. Notre Dame is not backing down on any of this. The times when people stand to assert their principles just boggles my mind. Now, here's something else. For those of you -- Protestants and Catholics alike, and even you Jewish people, I mean everybody, while all this is going on, you need to know that the Obama administration is now thinking of rescinding what's called the "conscious clause."

Right now 15% of American hospitals are Catholic hospitals. Rescinding the conscious clause, this is currently under comment period 'til April 9th, of all days, that's Good Friday, or close to, bad Thursday, whatever. The comment period here going on until April 9th, if they rescind the conscious clause, if you've never heard of it, you'll understand what it is here in mere moments -- rescinding the conscious clause would force Catholic and religious pro-life health professionals to seek other careers, possibly shut down Catholic hospitals that would refuse to provide abortion services. Rescinding the clause would require Catholic hospitals to perform abortions. Now, we wonder how this fits with the universal health care message. So while the Obama administration is actually thinking of rescinding the conscious clause -- the conscious clause means that I can't willingly perform an abortion because of my conscience, I'm Catholic. Catholic doctors have an exemption right now, federally funded places. That's going to be taken away, they're thinking of taking it away forcing Catholic and religious pro-life health professionals, people, to seek other careers and maybe shut down some Catholic hospitals. All this and Notre Dame is not backing down. Notre Dame is holding firm to their invitation.

END TRANSCRIPT

posted on March 30, 2009 2:32 PM

For more information on the Conscious Clause, click here on Freedom 2 Care. There is so much that President Obama is changing and so fast, that we have got to keep our eyes and ears open!! We have also got to keep those around us informed. Getting the information out to people is vital. If there is not a Pro Life Ministry in your church, think about starting one to keep people informed of what is going on!! Everything we do exposes the lies! Keep going prayer warriors!!

2009-03-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

40 days for Life Article featured at Life News!!

National 40 Days for Life Campaign Sees Abortion Centers Temporarily Closing

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 29, 2009

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- For abortion center staff who don't want to face the prospect of going to work with dozens of pro-life advocates outside their facility, temporarily closing is the next best thing. That's what two abortion centers in Austin, Texas and Jacksonville, Florida have done in the face of community opposition.

"I've heard from numerous 40 Days for Life vigil coordinators that on certain days, every one of the abortion center's patients left without having an abortion," 40 Days director Shawn Carney told LifeNews.com.

How does he know the abortions didn't take place?

"Because the clinic was closed. Locked tight -- nobody home," he said.

A pro-life advocate named Pat reports that as many as 50 people are praying and educating people outside a Planned Parenthood abortion business in Jacksonville. When they see the pro-life advocates at the center, women considering an abortion decide otherwise.

"Many cars will drive in, make a U-turn -- and keep going out," she said.

Carney comments: "Because of the pro-life presence at Planned Parenthood, these women went someplace else -- a pro-life pregnancy center -- where they saw ultrasound images of their children and chose life for their babies instead of abortion."

Another group of women came for their appointments for abortions the next Saturday, but, this time, Planned Parenthood shut down for the day due to the lack of customers the week prior.

"Many of these people don't know Jacksonville so they didn't know to drive two miles to the next abortionist, they just went home," Pat said.

Pat says the results are prompting pro-life advocates to make a commitment to be present outside the abortion center to deter even more abortions.

"We already know we will return to honor Planned Parenthood with our presence in the fall," she said. "They are definitely unhappy. I think their profits may be down. I know our spirits are up."

Shawn also informs LifeNews.com of a pro-life advocate named Elizabeth in Austin, Texas who has worked with others and has seen an abortion center there close down two Sundays in a row when abortions were scheduled thanks to the 40 Days campaign.

"With the clinic not opening its gates for clients at all last Sunday that makes two Sundays that the clinic did not harm women and abort children," she said. "Even though we do not need to see the fruits of our labor to know we are doing what God wants, it sure is unbelievably encouraging."

Elizabeth says 450 pro-life people are participating in the Spring campaign and that has resulted in lives saved.

Carney says the results show that a peaceful, prayerful presence at abortion centers is effective in saving unborn children from abortion and helping women avoid a decision they will regret the rest of their lives.

"I know I've said this before, and I'll say it again and again: being there makes a difference," he said. "Being there on a regular basis makes a bigger difference. Being there on a regular basis in large numbers makes an incredible difference."

Related web sites:
40 Days for Life - http://40daysforlife.com

This is absolutely wonderful!! Please realize prayer warriors that every moment of your presence in front of the clinics has a huge effect on what goes on behind their doors, and the women going to get the abortions! It does matter! It does help! We are making progress!!! Every little prayer means a lot!! Every small thing done helps in a huge way! Keep going, keep going!!! All of you are so important in this movement! Pam

2009-03-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

March 31!! Very Important Day!!

It's the red envelope day! The day we send red envelopes to President Obama to let him know that we stand for LIFE! It's everything we are praying for and doing!! Please click here on Red Envelope Project to get the address and other information! Even if you run a day behind just do it!!! You can go to the Dollar Store and get a pack of invitations that have red envelopes for 1.00! Thanks my prayer warrior friends!!

2009-03-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

30 Days and 256 Babies Saved!!

Ten more days to go in this campaign, but let's not stop praying! Hopefully, we will all continue to pray at home and at the clinic. We are starting a Pro Life group at our church, and one of the things I am recommending is that we pick one day a month to pray at the clinic. Also, to sponsor a Crisis Pregnancy Center, and arrange a collection for their needs, once a month. Something simple, but effective. Those are my two favorite words...simple and effective!

Went to pray at the clinic today with Carol, my friend from church. I love going to pray, because something always happens! Upon arrival, there were three ladies praying from Wake Forest - Lynn, Linda, and Sandy. We prayed for awhile and then we watched as the man from the water department came and tagged the abortion clinic's water. I had no clue of what was going on, but Lynn was ecstatic! She had been praying for the clinic's utilities to be shut off! You gotta admit, that was pretty awesome, because the tagging meant their water bill had not been paid and would be shut off if not paid within a certain number of days! Isn't it great how something so little we know is of God! For He is sovereign! Jessica was there and commented on God's sense of humor! Sometimes we all need a good chuckle! We got a chance to stand around and talk for a few minutes, and Lynn blessed me with her Silent No More sign that states "We Regret our Abortions". I had been wanting one of those. The lies of this movement are astronomical, and so cleverly hidden with words that sound good, like "protecting a woman's reproductive health". You know what that says? " The right to kill her unborn baby". Point blank. So the more I am in this movement, the more I want to scream out they are lying! The abortions will destroy the woman's life and those around her! They are lies from the pit of hell, for nobody beats God. No woman kills her unborn child, takes a life that God has created in her, and then reaps NO CONSEQUENCES. A woman can say all day that her abortion didn't hurt her or change her life, but I bet if you take a good look at her life, you will see otherwise...for denial can be a temporary shield of protection, but it isn't truth....

2009-03-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

Some encouragement my fellow Prayer Warriors!!!

Just posted today on Jill Stanek's blog.

11 Notre Dame Student Groups repudiate Jenkins/Obama

The number of petition signers at NotreDameScandal.com has grown to 135k,

Meanwhile 11 Notre Dame student groups have formed a coalition repudiating the University for inviting Obama. They released a harsh statement today:

In defense of the unborn, we wish to express our deepest opposition to Reverend John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.'s invitation of President Barack Obama to be the... principal commencement speaker and the recipient of an honorary degree. Our objection is not a matter of political partisanship, but of President Obama's hostility to the Catholic Church's teachings on the sanctity of human life at its earliest stages....
We cannot sit by idly while the University honors someone who believes that an entire class of human beings is undeserving of the most basic of all legal rights, the right to live....

It is a great irony that the University has chosen to award President Obama an honorary law degree. As the oldest Catholic law school in the country, the Notre Dame Law School states that its mission is "to facilitate greater understanding of and commitment to the relationship between law and social justice." The social justice issue of our day is the deliberate, legal attack on the most vulnerable members of society, the unborn. To award a Notre Dame law degree to a lawyer and politician who has used the law to deny equality to the unborn diminishes the value of the degree itself.

Additionally, Fr. Jenkins has placed some of his students in a moral dilemma as to whether they should attend their own graduation. Many pro-life seniors, along with their families, are conflicted about whether to participate in the commencement ceremony. The lack of concern for these devoted sons and daughters of Notre Dame, who love this University and the Catholic principles on which it was built, is shameful.

Wow. And the children shall lead them. The groups are...

Notre Dame Right to Life
The Irish Rover Student Newspaper
Notre Dame College Republicans
The University of Notre Dame Anscombe Society
Notre Dame Identity Project
Militia of the Immaculata
Children of Mary
Orestes Brownson Council
Notre Dame Law School Right to Life
Notre Dame Law St Thomas More Society
The Federalist Society at Notre Dame Law School

Meanwhile the Obama administration released a statement today. Per LifeNews.com:

White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage shrugged off the criticism.
"Notre Dame is one of the first universities President Obama will visit as president and he is honored to address the graduating class, their families and faculty of a school with such a rich history of fostering the exchange of ideas," she said in a statement.

Brundage said Obama understands not everyone will agree with his pro-abortion views.

"While he is honored to have the support of millions of people of all faiths, including Catholics with their rich tradition of recognizing the dignity of people, he does not govern with the expectation that everyone sees eye to eye with him on every position," she added.

"[T]he spirit of debate and healthy disagreement on important issues is part of what he loves about this country," Brundage continued.

posted on March 25, 2009 4:00 PM

2009-03-25T11:50:00.000-07:00

Praise Report!! She is keeping her Baby!!

Thank you for all your prayers!! We went to the Crisis Pregnancy Center, and everyone there was so kind! J told me later she was overtaken by the kindness of the counselor! She had her ultrasound and I got to be in there with her! The baby was moving around everywhere and had the hiccups! We could see the heart very clearly, and the nurse calculated her being a little over 17 weeks pregnant. J even got a picture of the baby, along with a gift bag of baby clothes and goodies! I know all of you were praying because of the way she changed. She was very down, and heavy with indecision in the beginning. Adoption was not an issue for her, it was either keep the child or have an abortion, she was very confused. As we went through this it was obvious the Lord was opening her eyes and heart to life, and Himself. She became much lighter, open, and hopeful! J was a different person when I took her home! Praise be to God! Please keep her in your prayers, and thank you so much! He is so Good!!

2009-03-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

I Need Your Prayers to Save a Baby!!!

Alright friends, I need your prayers to help save a baby. My co-worker's daughter is four months pregnant and wanting to have an abortion. I have been talking to her (the co worker) about the situation for a couple of weeks, asking to see if there is anything I can do to help. Today, her daughter comes in and my co-worker tells me, there's my daughter, you can go talk with her. So I proceed to pour out my heart, ask questions, and pray with her. She still leaves unsure and undecided. I call a friend to send out an urgent email for everyone to pray. A couple of hours ago there was a tugging at my heart to call her mom and check to see if the daughter had changed her mind. She told me to call her daughter and ask. To be honest, I had no clue of what to do, so I called Denice to see about getting an appointment at the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Raleigh. I was able to get one for 11:00 in the morning and the daughter has agreed to go. I am picking her up at ten in the morning. She is aware there will be an ultrasound, and other options discussed concerning her baby. She already has three children that her mother is taking care of. Please pray for this girl. Just call her J, and ask the Lord to intervene mightily tomorrow when she sees her baby in the ultrasound. Thank you all my prayer warrior friends!!

2009-03-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Mid Point Rally!!

Last night we had the Mid Point Rally for the 40 Days for Life Campaign, and it was wonderful. It was a time to come together to reflect and share what we were experiencing and seeing happen! I would like to give a big thank-you to Mary and Denice, who have worked so hard during this campaign. Your efforts are priceless and the rewards will be everlasting when our time here on Earth is done. Speaking of our time here on Earth, as you know this life is so temporary. Think of how fast the past year has gone by! Question is, are the things you are doing in your life going to matter in eternity? Are you focusing on building the kingdom of God, and doing the will of God because you love Him and have a relationship with Him, or are you chasing the things of the world that will not matter in the end? Where are you in your walk with the Lord? Every little thing we do for the Lord matters, but what matters most is the motive of your heart. Where is your heart today? What are you focusing on? Are you right with God through what Jesus Christ did on the cross by reconciling us to God? Do you have the peace that passes all understanding? That peace that only comes from being reconciled to God, or are you still seeking fulfillment and peace in the world? I encourage everyone reading this to examine their heart today and be honest before the Lord. Is the Lord calling you to step out and help more with 40 Days for Life? Is He asking you to let go of something? To forgive someone perhaps? To trust Him more? Let today be the day you respond yes, Lord and draw closer to Him, for He is Good and worthy!!

2009-03-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Day 21 - 144 Babies Saved!! Praise You Lord!!

The Lord is doing amazing things in this campaign and you may click here to read some great news about it! We are officially over the half way mark and Mary sent out a wonderful, encouraging email to everyone. The rally is coming up on Saturday night, and I am excited about joining ALL OF YOU, my fellow prayer warriors!! What a glorious time we will have together, to refresh one another in the Lord. Which makes me think of all the Pro Lifers who have been in this for many, many, years, and have seen the laws not be favorable to them. In fact, they have watched it grow worse, despite their valiant efforts in the name of Jesus Christ. Let us lift them up in prayer to be renewed in spirit and mind! For they are the true heroes. I am thankful the Lord has called me out with all of you, and I enjoy listening to the hows and whys of individuals now involved in the Pro Life movement. The passion is so very contagious!

Got a question as usual. How is everyone doing? Any personal battles or attacks been going on in your life? Or is it just the usual everyday irritations getting to you? Spoke with a friend this morning who was listening to a sermon about spiritual attacks, and how it isn't always the devil. We are also battling our flesh and the world. I can say a healthy AMEN to that. Fleshly desires don't go away on their own, and the world, well... it is growing darker. In fact, if you stop right now and think about the things attacking you, along with how you are responding to the attacks, it might give you a clue as to what you are battling. Flesh, world, or satan? (I don't like to capitalize the s on satan even if word check tells me to!) Believe me, I have my battles, and it seems one area has really heated up, and I find myself responding from the flesh in anger. In fact, every time the battle comes up there is anger. Now righteous anger is good, and there is some of that involved that I could try and lay claim to, but it wouldn't work. Because God knows the truth. He knows my heart. So I might as well lay everything out in front of Him, and ask for His help. That is what I did. Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble, I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me. The battle I am in has grown to be too much. What about you? Is the battle you are personally in too much? We know the battle we are in with the Pro Life movement is way too much for us!! I wonder, if God, in all His glory and majesty loves to rescue us when it is way too much! For when it gets to that point we know there is no way we can do it ourselves, it is too far gone. Interesting thought, huh? Kind of a biblical thought with many stories to back it up! Alright.... so I laid my battle out to the Lord and ask Him for a Word to stand on. A verse to stand on to know that my God and Savior has heard my cry for help. The battle is not yours....is what I seemed to hear the Lord speak. So I looked up verses with battle is not yours and this is the one I was led to. 2 Chronicles 20:15 Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but Gods. I read the entire chapter 20 and it was wonderful. It spoke of how the King sought the Lord when he heard a great multitude was coming against him and the people. The Lord sent a prophet to tell the King the battle is not his, but God's. Do you know what the people did? They stood still and praised God! Do you know what God did? He had the enemy destroy themselves by fighting with one another. They were their own destruction. Stop and think about that for a few minutes. He is a good God and is all about glorifying Himself! This morning during prayer the question kept coming to me, "what is the most important thing in life?" What is the most important thing in your life? What is it that motivates and keeps you going? What is it that gets you through the day? We can be motivated by a lot of different things or people. We can go from one thing to another, and back to the other, and then to something entirely different. In fact, sometimes we can do it without even thinking!! It happens to me a lot it seems! I can definitely be motivated about getting off of work, not going to work!! So, as I went through my list, it seems the one thing I got down to that would make everything alright in my life, regardless of where I was, or what was happening to me, was this.....the presense of God. Didn't the disciples love being with Jesus because they knew everything would be alright as long as they were with Him? Of course, they didn't understand everything that was going on, but they knew Jesus. We can't walk physically with Jesus now, but we can walk spiritually with Him, because of the Holy Spirit that indwells us. As I went to pray at the clinic today I wanted to be alone in His presence and just pray and pray and pray...... There was no one else praying at the clinic when I arrived, and even Jessica didn't join me today. (what a coincidence? I think not!) As I began walking back and forth in front of the clinic, it seems my praying began to turn into praising. Then my praising began to turn into singing. Then before I knew it, my sign was on the ground and my hands were lifted in the air to praise my Lord and Savior, who is so good and worthy and deserving of every word of praise from my lips. For a while there was nothing but praise, and there was no one, but me and Him. It did not matter if there were cars driving by, or people walking by, or people staring at me. It didn't matter if people thought I was crazy, or people thought I was sane. I didn't care. I only cared that my Lord and God is worthy of all praise I can give....because He is Life, and He is Goodness, and He is my Savior. I truly felt the presence of the Lord as I prayed for His spirit to fall on the clinic...for the clinic workers to be able to see His goodness and beauty and Love. It makes me wonder if while I was doing this, was there an argument going on inside the clinic to try and figure out if I really was insane!! Who cares!! Me and the Lord had a wonderful, special time together!! Shall we praise Him my prayer warrior friends? Shall we really confuse the enemy??

2009-03-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Day 16 -109 Babies Saved!!

This morning I was scheduled to pray between 11-1 with Beth and Carol, two wonderful friends of mine. By the time 10:00 rolled around, unexpected circumstances had occurred and they were unable to go. It didn't bother me, and I told them not to worry, because God had a plan, He always has a plan. Upon arrival at the abortion clinic, Jessica was pulling up and we were able to greet and then settle into prayer. After a short time we began to share our previous day's experiences, which were extremely similar. We both had been trying to open the eyes of our African American friends to see how abortion is destroying their race, because it is minorities having the most abortions. Both of us had used the same information we knew and were just very heartbroken over their inability to see the truth of abortion. Well, that was the beginning of one very serious subject on the ability to see truth. In fact, let's stop right here. Right now, I would like everyone to pause and think about what gave you the desire to go pray at the abortion clinic. Or what it was that opened your eyes to see this issue. Did you on your own wake up one day and go "well today, I have decided to step into the pro life battle?" Or were you like me and Adrian, my prayer warrior friend from SAS, and began to take notice of the abortion issue because of the elections? What did God use, my friends, to open your eyes to the truth? Because six months ago, if you had said I would be praying at an abortion clinic in March, it would have been hilarious to me. I would of said you were crazy. That was the last place I would ever desire in my heart to do a ministry. So, what happened to my heart, friends? Am I smarter than other people that don't see the truth? Am I wiser? More righteous? Am I more determined to see the truth? Kinder? Have more compassion for others? Or could it be that if God had not intervened with the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to the truth of abortion, that I would still be ignoring the entire issue today. Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately wicked, Who can understand it?" In all honesty, I will have to raise my hand and say "that would be me Lord." Without the Holy Spirt to open my eyes and show me the truth, I would still be hiding my own abortions and ignoring the entire issue. But the good news is, as my friend Adrian says, the Lord is calling out people to fight this huge battle, and we can stand and pray, and pray, and pray, for those who cannot see......yet. One last thing. I have found that praying at the abortion clinic is changing me more than anything else. As I was praying the other day, the Lord seemed to question my motives for being there. I began to go through a list. Lord, I am here because of the babies... Lord, I am here because of what it does to the mothers..... Lord, I am here because it is destroying all of us........... Lord, I am here because it is destruction................ Lord, I am here because it goes against you, the Creator of Life................. Lord, I am here because you are God...................... Lord, I am here because you called me and showed me the truth.......................... Lord, I am here because you want me to be here and put that desire in my heart...........................................oh my gosh............. Lord, oh Lord, I am here, because deep down, where you showed me how beautiful you are, I fell in love with you Lord, because you love me. I am here Lord, because I love you..... I love you! Even if no woman changes her mind, even if I am laughed at and riduculed... even if no one understands and nothing in the abortion movement changes, but gets worse, I will still be standing right here.....because I love you God, and I know how good you are.........and that my friends, is why I pray at the abortion clinic....how about you?

2009-03-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

Day 14 -99 Babies Saved

Tonight I write with great heaviness. The reversal of the stem cell research is heart breaking. I know there are many others out there rejoicing, especially people who are paralyzed, or with terminal illnesses, and of course, all the scientist involved. At first glance this is great news, helping those that are already alive obtain the greatest happiness and quality of life. Look, I admit, happiness is important to me also but there are a couple of questions I have been pondering. What is happiness and who defines it? It seems in order to think on this, you would have to examine the foundation of what you believe. If you believe that happiness is acquired on your own, then this is a dog eat dog world, where the strong destroy the weak in order to get the most happiness and quality of life they can, because happiness is of your own creation and defined by you. Basically, Social Darwinism, survival of the fittest. Kind of like the people alive are stronger than the people not born yet, excuse me, I meant to say embryonic cells. So they destroy the weaker for their own personal happiness and boast in the accomplishment. But, if you have faith and are sick and paralyzed, your idea of happiness will not come from the destruction of another human being because you know that true happiness can never be obtained that way. Only through obeying the Lord and respecting life is true joy obtained. We are taught to love our neighbors, care for the elderly and orphans, and protect the weak. Not destroy the weak. We are taught to protect life, that it is a precious gift of God. Not experiment on it, and use it to satisfy our desires, and needs of advancement and fulfillment. God is not only the giver of life, but He also grants the enjoyment of life.
John 10:10 says The devil comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that they may have life and more abundantly.
One of the kids at work said, Miss Pam - they kill the babies, steal their stem cells and destroy the mothers. I don't think anyone could say it any better, and I don't believe any of the people involved in the destruction of babies - from the abortionist, to the scientist, to the ones being treated with the embryonic cells will have happiness they so crave, because God doesn't bless killing and destruction. May the Lord have mercy on the United States.

Please go to Wells of Hope to read an article on Margaret Sanger and Eugenics, (the founder of Planned Parenthood) that was written today.