Thoughts on Abortion

So this is a very important topic, one I am certain that I am not qualified to speak about. Therefore, I'll leave the actual arguing against it to the people who know what they're doing over at abort73 .
This story and what I've concluded from it, however, is mine.

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April 12, 2006. A happy, growing family of eight is expecting their seventh child, due in September. They recently purchased a bright red fifteen passenger van, which they named "Big Red" (for obvious reasons) so as to accommodate all of them. They are very excited, from the oldest to the youngest, for "Peanut's" arrival.

The kids and dad are working out in the garden while mom is at her doctor's appointment. When the phone rings, the blonde eight-year-old runs to answer it and bring it to her daddy.
"Get Daddy," her mom's strangely urgent voice commands.
After a few minutes, the dad breaks the news to the children. "Peanut is dead."

The world stops.
What could this mean?
How could a little baby, not even born, die?
To me, it made no sense.
At eight years old, I believe I was too young to even really grieve properly.
My great-grandmother had died recently, but that was different. I had known her. I had talked to her. I had loved her.
I hadn't really loved "Peanut," in the same way, I suppose.
But it hurt. A lot. It still does sometimes.

On April 15th, 2006, the day before Easter, my mother delivered her dead child, my little brother.
He was eighteen weeks old.
We named him Joseph, after a man in the Old Testament who claimed the promise of Romans 8:28 for himself. We trust that although his death was a terrible thing, God would use it for good. We also had hope through Easter that year, that death is nothing to fear now that our risen Savior has conquered it. I look forward, Lord willing, to someday meeting my little brother in heaven.
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I have pictures of him, you know.
At only eighteen weeks, he had a little nose.
Little toes.
Little fingers.
Little eyelids.
He fit into my dad's hand.
And yes, I firmly believe that he was alive. He was a human being, just like you and me.
I may not be a scientist, or a doctor, and I don't claim to be really knowledgeable at all about this topic.
But to look at his little face, the face of a fetus, and say, "If he's going to have a bad life, if his mother doesn't want him, if he was never expected or wanted by anyone in the first place, if his family will have a hard time caring for his handicap, then he doesn't deserve to live. He's not human yet, anyway."

Excuse me? 

You can't honestly be telling me that I am any more human than that little boy, that I have more of a right to live than my little brother simply because I have already been born. You can't be telling me that he's not a person yet simply because he hasn't yet taken his first breath. I believe that Joseph was a person, even in his  eighteen short weeks of life.
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     "Like toddler and adolescent, the terms embryo and fetus do not refer to nonhumans but to humans at various stages of development. It is scientifically inaccurate to say a human embryo or a fetus is not a human being simply because he is at an earlier stage than an infant. This is like saying that a toddler is not a human being because he is not yet an adolescent. Does someone become more human as he gets bigger? If so, then adults are more human than children, and football players are more human than jockeys. Something nonhuman does not become human or more human by getting older or bigger; whatever is human is human from the beginning, or it can never be human at all. The right to live does not increase with age and size; otherwise, toddlers and adolescents have less right to live than adults." ---Randy Alcorn, quoted from his article "Abortion" in the April 2013 edition of Tabletalk Magazine.
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This is my story.
These are my thoughts.
What are yours?

A Servant's Heart

When I was asked to write on the topic of volunteering, I thought over a couple options of what I could talk about. What my family does to volunteer, volunteer opportunities, etc. But one thought just kept coming back (in my experience, that's usually the one from Jesus) - having the proper attitude in volunteering.

I like to invite you to read Mark 12:41-44. Pray before you read and ask God to open your heart and mind to hear His truths.

This is one of my favorite Bible stories. At first, it may seem unrelated to volunteering, but the principles illustrated here outline the attitude we should have when we give our time serving. In Bible times, the pharisees were known for their good deeds - they dedicated their time to serving the church, giving money, and praying. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, when Jesus came to earth, he had many an encounter with the Pharisees and he saw them for who they really were. Jesus knew that everything the Pharisees did was purely to make themselves look better, not to serve the Lord. In Matthew 23:27, He even calls them a "brood of vipers" and "white-washed tombs" - beautiful outside but dead within. Ouch.

Anyway, in the story, I imagine the Pharisee proudly sauntering up to the offering plate, and loudly clanging his many coins into the plate, waiting for the crowds' impressed gasps and comments. As the onlookers are still enamored by the Pharisee's grand offering, I then picture the widow, clothed in rags, taking all she has and humbly offering it to the Lord, without drawing anyone's attention. But isn't it just like Jesus to notice her? Jesus praises her for her humility and willingness to give all she had to Him just for His glory.

I believe that this is the attitude we should have in volunteering. We should serve others selflessly, loving them because he first loved us. Before we can honor God in our service, we must learn to have a servant's heart like the widow in the story - willing to give it all without any personal gain. After all, volunteering is not about what we can gain, but how much glory Jesus can gain through our service to Him.

What do you do to volunteer? Have you ever struggled with having a servant's heart in volunteering?

"Do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be the sons of the Most High..." 
Luke 6:35

Adjust Your Sails

A guest post by Jessica P.

Imagine you are on a boat. You are enjoying the sun shining down on you. You breath in deeply and relish the scent of salty freshness. You look out over glistening, azure waters and sigh blissfully. If only life could always be this good. But it can't. In the distance you see dark clouds looming and soon enough, you find yourself in the midst of a storm. Your thoughts are muddled. You are fearful as the wind picks up and angry that God has allowed you to be in this situation, and most of all, you feel completely lost. As the rain beats down against the deck of the boat, you look out from the helm and realize you can't see the shoreline anymore. Both the rain and your own tears have blurred your vision. Suddenly, it's clear that you no longer stand in a position of control.

Storm Sailor, a photo by Abaconda on Flickr.

There are so many experiences you can have in a boat. There are days when there is no wind and you are just floating out there, dead in the water. Then there are times when you get bashed around in the waves. And there are some days when the winds are constantly changing directions and you have to keep adjusting your sails in order to move forward.

Life is like that. Events and circumstances come up that we weren't expecting and we have to adjust. I have experienced many such instances in my life. Loved ones fall sick, finances grow tight, friendships fall apart... and through it all, it can be hard not to feel disheartened.

Taking Peter as an example (Matthew 14:28-30), we need to make sure that our focus isn't on the circumstances, but on God. When you focus on the waves, fear and worry tend to set in. But when we focus on God, we are able to find strength, courage, joy, love, and comfort.

Going through life's storms can be a humbling experience. However, remember this – in our weakness, God is glorified. When we can't fix things in our own strength, it only stands as a testimony of God's goodness.

Satan will try his hardest to rock the boat and make you drown. But take heart. God is on your side. Keep your eyes on your spiritual compass. Let God be your guide when you can't see ahead of you. And remember, above all, God loves you and wants what is best for you, even if it takes a storm to draw you closer to Him.

Jessica is a Christian young lady striving to serve God in everything she does. She is also a home-school graduate. She loves all sorts of crafts, but has a special place in her heart for all things writing. She blogs at Literary Pursuits, Young Homemakers, Meditations Of His Love, and Meditations Of His Love Daily. 

Shaky Hands

A guest post by Rose H.

I stood up in front of the class and signed Born For This. I made some mistakes, due in large part to the fact that I was really nervous. Normally I'm more confident in front of people. That day my hands were shaking through signs. By the end of my song, I knew I hadn't done a great job.

365.28, a photo by Dyanna Hyde on Flickr.

That day I went home depressed. Was this really going to work? Come on, I've been taking ASL for four months and I still get nervous when I sign. It doesn't matter whether I'm talking to my teacher or an actual deaf person, I tense up and my hands shake. I get scared I'm going to sign something wrong or that they won't understand.

I tried to sort out my conflicting emotions. I wanted to do well, but at the same time I felt like I was failing. It was then that I felt God's gentle whisper (some through my parents and friends), He spoke to my heart. He asked me the why I had taken the class. My mind wondered back to the reasons. I wanted to communicate with the deaf and learn what I thought was one of the most beautiful languages in the world. It hit me that I was doing that. I had been able to communicate with some deaf people. I was learning ASL.

Then I came to another conclusion. God can use shaky hands. For God it doesn't matter that I have poor self-confidence or that I shake while I sign. He just cares that about my heart to reach out to others.
When you think about it, God has never chosen the best qualified. He has always chosen the people who were weak, forgotten by men, the broken-hearted, those with shaky hands.  When we are weak we show God's strength.

In the months since this realization, God has done some amazing things in my life. Not only have I learned a ton of new ASL, but I'm also meeting more deaf people. I'm getting to know them as friends. And sometimes I still shake. Yet the more I let God work with these shaky hands the more people are blessed.

What about you? Are you weak? Broken-hearted? Struggling to make it through the day? 

No matter what you struggle with, God is there with you, ready to take your weakness and turn it into strength. Just trust Him and keep using what you have been given for Him. You'll be amazed at the results. 

My name is Rose H. I live with my amazing family tucked away the country in Texas where I enjoy a myriad of activities. I love singing praise to God, cross-stitching, crocheting, and card making, spending time with family and friends, listening to audio books and reading spiritual books, being out in nature, enjoying a long walk out in the woods behind our house, teaching at a local home school co-op, filmmaking, blogging and sharing my thoughts with others. 

God is at the center of all that I do. I could not live without Him. You can find out more about me from my blog homemadeministry.blogspot.com or forhimsimplethoughts.blogspot.com.