Hot Chocolate Proved A Commitment for Life Over Abortion

Yesterday, I was standing in a cold, icy downpour with our Cities4Life team. We were all soaked and chilled. Our nurse, Courtney, who does the mobile ultrsounds on moms who choose life was lamenting that since she had switched days on the sidewalk, no women had come aboard the RV. No sooner had she said that when a car pulled out of the parking lot of the abortion center. The car stopped in front of the RV for one of our counselors, and told her she had changed her mind and would like to have an ultrasound.

Since I am responsible for training our volunteers, I was the lucky one that got to counsel this mom on the RV, and have Kyndra, newly trained for RV counseling, shadow and learn the flow of how we work with the women who come aboard. Kyndra immediately asked the young lady if she would like some coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.

The woman who thus far had shown little emotion perked up at the word hot chocolate on this drenching cold day.

“Hot chocolate! But can I have hot chocolate?” she asked.

Since we had just offered it, I wondered why she was asking.

“Will it harm my baby?”she clarified.

Remember, just ten minutes ago, this woman had been sitting in an abortion center ready to destroy her baby. Now, sitting on the RV surrounded by people telling her she could be the mama God designed her to be and we would help her, her focus and concern was to protect her baby.

God was not done with touching moments to warm my heart. We all went to the back room to do the ultrasound. Kyndra stood beside me, quietly observing as she had been told to do. The image of the baby appeared on the screen. I heard an intake of breath by Kyndra. 

“That’s the baby?”she whispered to me.

“Yes,” I said, “Is this the first time you have seen an ultrasound?”

She nodded.

And then Courtney pointed to the tiny beating heart. “That’s the heart,” she said.

Kyndra burst into tears, covering her face. “These are tears of joy,” she explained, wiping her eyes.

“She’s crying over the miracle of seeing your baby’s heart,” Courtney told the young mama.

“AWWWW,” the young woman said.

I think Kyndra’s tears over the miracle of the heartbeat of a baby who a few minutes before was doomed to die was perhaps the most pivotal moment on the RV that day. The mother made a solid choice for life, and Cities4Life and Lovelife Charlotte will help her in the journey before her.

But God was not done with this string of miracles. The friend who accompanied the young lady told us that she had come to this abortion clinic over a year ago, intending to abort. She had taken one of the pamphlets that our counselors hand out to the women, and changed her mind! She left the clinic, telling no one she had chosen life. She still has our pamphlet.

Christmas is when we celebrate the greatest miracle of all. God became flesh, born a tiny baby who became a man who knew no sin, to pay the penalty of sin for us. By His sacrifice, we would be saved when we put our trust and our hope in Him. It is incomprehensible that He would do that for us, but He  did.

But miracles abound every single day, and all the more astonishingly in the darkest places like an abortion center. God instantly encouraged a faithful nurse who needed that uplift. He turned the heart of a woman bent on death instead to life. He gave a new young counselor the privilege and joy of being an integral part of a little baby living to see her first Christmas.

Our ministry is dependent on volunteers and donations to continue to bring hope and help and the light of the Lord to this dark place. Please consider donating in our end of year matching funds opportunity. Click HERE for information. Or join us, and be a brave voice for the voiceless like Kyndra whose tears bathed the soul of a conflicted new mother.

Merry Christmas.

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Luke 1:44 

For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

I Cancelled My Abortion, Not My Baby

Some choices for life at the sidewalk of the abortion center are sweeter than others. All the babies are precious souls saved from a barbaric brutal death and our Cities4Life teams rejoice over every one. This woman looked at me as she got out of her car, and the conflict in her soul was palpable. I was there on the sidewalk of the abortion center earlier than usual. If I had not been, I would have missed her. I called out to her and I knew she was listening. She walked into the abortion center anyway. I then lifted my hands to heaven and prayed out loud. I don’t often do that, mostly because I am self -conscious and don’t want to be too weird,  but I knew in my soul this woman was on the fence. Divine intervention was crucial.

A few minutes later she came out. “Please, let us help you,” I called.

“I’m okay,” she said, getting in her car. 

However, as her car pulled out of the driveway, I approached her again and she rolled down her window. She took our pamphlet. I asked if she chose life, and she didn’t answer. She and her friend said, “It is very hard.”

To my amazement, she pulled to the side of the road, and listened to me as I shared our resources. And then she agreed to go on the Monroe HELP RV to see her baby on the mobile ultrasound. When she saw her acrobatic, active child on the ultrasound, she said, “Seeing my baby already loving his life...it makes what was uncertain in me a certainty now.  Even though I don’t know how I will get through, I know this first decision is right.”

I asked her and her friend what made them leave the abortion center. They both agreed it was God...but more specifically, “When we walked through that door, you could feel a weight of heavy despair. Maybe in some there was relief, but it was only temporary. I mean, at the end of the day, it is a LIFE. As a mortal, do we have the right to take its life? No. We don’t.”

The “prochoice” people told them not to stop, not to talk to us. But our offers of help were compelling, and welcome. They stopped, and were so grateful they did. We talked a long time about God, how righteous lives are built on one righteous step followed by another, and the myriad resources that could help. 

After the sweet young mother, relieved and joyful left, I read what she had written on her intake form answering what she felt was the best decision regarding her child:

I cancelled my abortion...not my baby.

1 John 3:7 

Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

Cities4Life

What Kind of Hard Boiled Egg Are You?

My grown son requests my Deviled Eggs each Thanksgiving. I can really give my brilliant and well-married son nothing that he doesn’t already have in abundance, except my Deviled Eggs. I am pretty good with Deviled Eggs.

So it is a labor of love and one I joyfully tackle each Thanksgiving. I may have failed in most of my parenting endeavors, but I made delicious Deviled Eggs for my children.

This past Thanksgiving, I was as usual busy before Thanksgiving with the single task assigned to me by my precious daughter-in-law. I was whipping up 4 dozen Deviled Eggs. All the eggs came from the same carton. All were boiled together in the same pot for the same amount of time. All were then submerged in the same cold water.

Yet when I peeled the shells from the eggs, they were decidedly different. They basically fell into one of two camps: the incredibly effortless easy to peel egg, or the rebellious impossibly hard to peel egg. 

Why? How? 

I cracked the eggs using an identical procedure, rolled them all gently in my palms in the exact same manner. Nonetheless, while some eggs’ shells glided away in two easy halves leaving perfect hard boiled eggs behind, others splintered and each small millimeter of egg shell had to be painstakingly peeled away, often pulling chunks from the white of the egg. Sadly, in many cases, what remained were deformed and pitted eggs that sometimes had to be tossed in the garbage.

Why? How? 

Why were some eggs almost begging to be effortlessly peeled, and others fighting me every step of the way?

I don’t know. I was the same Deviled Egg Cook using the exact same methods for all the eggs God had given me.

Some emerged as masterpieces. Some were utter disasters.

What was God telling me?

Sometimes, the best I can do is show up in obedience to do the work set before me. I cannot guarantee the results. Unique, intangible qualities that I have no control over may affect the outcome. For me to take credit for the easily peeled egg is as foolish as for me to be punished for the hard to peel egg.

The Holidays are fraught with emotional baggage. Some of us are struggling with wounds we don’t even know we have that bring inexplicable pain to a time when everyone else is rejoicing. Some of us have experienced loss, or unrealistic expectations, or deep disappointments over things we cannot control. 

Some of us have been given easy to peel eggs, and some of us have only had the hard to peel variety.

My suggestion is to recognize that we probably cannot control which type we are handed. What we can control is to peel them to the best of our ability and make the best Deviled Eggs we can with the tools we have been given.

I hope that helps you.

Merry Christmas.

***********

“So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:7‬ ‭

My Confidence is in the Lord

Hebrews 4:16 

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When life takes unexpected turns and we face hurdles our tired bones are not quite nimble enough to clear, God always seems to reach out in miraculous ways to assure us He will lend a hand. Sometimes it is through the kindness of friends, the gentleness of a sweet encouragement from strangers, or just someone who listens to the cries of a weary soul. In my life, nearly always, God intervenes by reminding me I have purpose before Him, and if I obey His call, He will confirm the source of my confidence. Him.

I was on the sidewalk of the busiest abortion center in the southeast all but one day this past week with our awesome Cities4Life teams.  I will admit, my heart was heavy with many struggles and as I drove to the place that God has so clearly called me, I wondered how my distracted soul could be of any use. Yesterday, it was very cold and our team was very small. At one point, a couple stood on the porch of the abortion center, clearly conflicted. I called out to them the whole time, offering hope and help, encouragement and pleading. They went to their car and sat in the car a long time. My fellow counselor prayed with me as we asked God to intervene.

We rejoiced as the couple finally drove away. They looked at me, troubled, as they pulled slowly down the street. They stopped as they passed our RV parked on the curb, clearly reading the slogans along the side offering help. Another of our counselors waved to them and they stopped and rolled down the window. I was already on my way over as they had slowed at the RV, bringing a blessing bag of gifts with me. I knew they had chosen not to abort.

As I approached, it was clear this couple did not speak English. The man spoke a little and asked, “How can you help?”

After determining they spoke Russian, I pulled out my phone and accessed Google Translator. In this manner, I managed to share our resources and offer hope and encouragement. At one point, in English, I asked, “Do you believe in God?”

The woman smiled and spoke the only clear sentence in English of her entire interaction with me: We believe in God.

The unedited/unpunctuated screenshot of part of our texts back and forth is pasted above. When I sent the portion of my discussion copied above, I handed her the blessing bag. I pulled out a little handmade baby blanket and told her she had a choice. She could wrap her child one day in this soft beautiful baby blanket, or she could instead abort and the child would be disposed as medical waste in a biohazard bag. Which would she prefer?

Her eyes filled with tears and she nodded as she held the blanket. 

“We will call you,” the man said, touching his wife’s arm. “Thank you so much.”

There were many miraculous interventions by God. First, we did not have a nurse for the mobile ultrasound RV that day. Normally, it would not be there if we didn’t have a nurse to do the ultrasound. However,  due to some miscommunication, the faithful driver didn’t know that and drove the two hour round trip anyway to bring it to the sidewalk. He could have gone home when he realized there was no nurse, but instead, he said he would stand with us on the sidewalk.

It was the HELP Pregnancy Center RV with the large message of HELP written on its side that compelled the distraught couple to stop. If Chris the driver had not been there, they may not have stopped to get the help they needed in their choice for life.

If we had been unable to communicate with the couple, we could not have offered help either. But technology aided me...me... who is about the least technologically savvy person on earth.

And when I was speaking to them via Google Translator, Liz, my fellow counselor made some calls and found a Russian interpreter who would help as needed down the road.  Later I asked other friends for Christian interpreters who might be able to help us and at least five people volunteered.

I have NO confidence that I am able to offer anything to alleviate the difficulties we encounter in women each day on the sidewalk. Lord knows I have no confidence I can even handle the situations I personally face. 

But God is able...and my confidence is in Him.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and all our needs will be satisfied when we trust God’s provision. He is sufficient. I am so humbled and grateful for the ministry of Cities4Life where I am daily reminded of this incredible truth.

To volunteer with this amazing ministry, click here for information.

Satan Really Wanted to Destroy This Precious Baby

A year ago, the mother of the baby on the far left, Izzy, met me at the abortion center sidewalk. She was there to abort her child, but God had other plans. She looked at the Cities4Life literature I slipped in to her as she drove into the parking lot. Her heart was convicted and she chose life. She called me, listened intently as I shared the Gospel, asked Jesus to be Lord, and since then, has strived to follow God as best she can.

Recently, she was driving her truck with her boyfriend. Her baby Nazzy was in the car seat in the back seat. The lights on the dashboard flickered, then the truck engine stalled. Izzy noticed smoke oozing out from under the hood. As they pulled to the side of the road, the smoke intensified, followed by flames! Fortunately, it was a quiet back road. Smoke and fire billowed in impressive plumes. Despite the obvious explosive danger of that truck now in flames, Izzy frantically wrenched open the door, pulled little Nazzy’s car seat from the base, and sprinted with the baby away from the truck. Across the field from the truck, she photographed the burning vehicle while her boyfriend ran to summon help.

Later, Izzy sent me another picture. The truck was totaled but she asked her boyfriend to see if any items were salvageable. In particular, she wanted him to see if her daughter’s few things in the truck and a special notebook had been spared. Sadly, the fire had engulfed everything but the notebook. The notebook did not have a single charred mark upon it. It was a notebook where she recorded special Bible verses and her musings about what God was doing in her life.

The fire that consumed everything else in the truck left the notebook with the word of God untouched.

The truck is destroyed, but this faithful little family is safe. The mother who once thought she desired to take the life of her unborn baby now risked her life to save her. Satan has repeatedly tried to destroy this precious little baby, but God has other plans. 

I seem to never face smooth, quiet stretches in life. There is always something on the verge of exploding. Maybe you can relate. Izzy’s story is one of God’s providence and Hope, and inspires me.

Cling to your loved ones, flee from evil, and summon help from the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:29 

Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Isaiah 43:2 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Is Your Faith Real?

One of the moms I work with just discovered there may be problems with her unborn baby. This particular mom tried to abort that baby multiple times, but God always miraculously intervened, often using Cities4Life counselors to promote His message. When I received the text that her baby had tests that indicated potential severe problems, I worried. The mother had come to faith after we shared the Gospel with her. However, given how she had tried so hard to abort in the past, would her new faith sustain her choice for life?

She texted me while I am in the desert visiting my folks. I have spotty cell phone reception and brief time with my folks, so could not return the call. What would she do with this worriesome news?

She said it doesn’t matter.  She will love her baby no matter what! This is exactly what God would have us do and the basis of faith. If you cannot trust God in the struggles in life, is your faith real? Here is one of my favorite verses about that in tribute to that wonderful, brave mama!

Habakkuk 3:17-19 

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. 

A Person’s A Person No Matter How Small

One of our wonderful Cities4Life sidewalk counselors stood shivering beside me in the cold damp day, facing the abortion center. The sun peeked out momentarily and then disappeared behind the rain clouds again.

“It was here for one hot moment, and then gone!” Courtney said. She told me that in the summer, being on the sidewalk counseling women to choose life had been a comparative breeze. As winter rains and chills hit, she said she asked herself, “What were you thinking???” She said this in jest. She is one of our strong team members and very committed to being there each week. 

However, as demonstrated in the photo at the top of this blog, it took me two cups of tea, a blanket, and a couple of hours to warm up after our morning on the sidewalk. One woman chose life and there were very few abortions for a Monday. That was all encouraging, but winters are not easy on our teams.

The day before, Sunday, our pastor had preached a fabulous message about trusting God no matter what. I took notes, as I always do. Later that day, I received a text from a mother who has tentatively chosen life over abortion, but she is still struggling. My pastor’s message was perfect to encourage her. I have recorded the texts with her below, hoping it will encourage others who are similarly struggling.

Mama: Haven’t had much time to think.

I did receive your email. 

Thanks.

Vicky: You’re welcome. I know you know that God loves you, that God’s word is clear about the precious life of the child you carry, and that if you trust in him you will find peace.

In fact, that is what our sermon was about today.

It was from Philippians 4 and how PAUL was able to find peace even while in prison. He understood that contentment only follows when we follow God and that no matter what our circumstances are, we can find peace when we are in sync with God.

And without that, we will never find contentment.

Philippians 4:13 is the verse that says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me“ but in the context of the entire book, ‘we can do all things’ means being able to trust God no matter what our circumstances are. That is where true contentment lives

Mama: Thank you 🙏🏾 

Vicky: As I was listening to the sermon, I knew that it was true because through my breast cancer, despite terrible circumstances, I supernaturally was able to trust God and I found peace in the midst of all that horror.

Trusting God is not easy when our circumstances are hard, but it is the only way to finding life, hope, and peace.

I have been praying that tomorrow you will see your baby’s heartbeat and that will give you the strength you need to follow God. But even if you don’t see the heartbeat, I am praying you will have the strength to follow God.

And I am envisioning His mighty everlasting arms encircling you and leading you and comforting you.

Mama: Thank you. 

This is so hard because I honestly don’t want to be pregnant. 

Vicky: You’re welcome. Please send me the photo of your baby if they find it on the ultrasound. I know it is hard, but I also know it is an enormous gift.

The things that have stayed with me my entire life are when I did the right thing that was sacrificial. Those are the things I am the most proud of...

In the end those are the things that have brought me the most joy.

Mama: So true.

Vicky: I love your heart. I know you texted me because you need reassurance.

I know you can do this through Christ who strengthens you.

And your baby and the witness of this struggle and how you overcame evil to follow God will be the saving of many lives. I have no doubt.

Did you ever read Horton Hears a Who? By Dr. Seuss ?

Mama: I haven’t. 

Vicky: I would encourage you to go online and read it. It is the story of tiny little people who inhabit a tiny little speck of dust and no one can hear them shouting when they were on the brink of destruction. But Horton the elephant hears them and no one believes him. His refrain throughout the book is “a person’s a person no matter how small.“

He finally convinces the world not to destroy the  speck of dust because on it reside little people who no one can see and no one can hear except Horton, but they are of infinite value.

The little people call out, “We are here, we are here, we are here.”

But only Horton can hear them.

Your little baby is calling out to you, “I am here. I am here. I am here.”

He is counting on his mama to hear him.

A person is a person no matter how small.

Mama: 💕

Vicky: Rest in the knowledge that if you follow God, he will empower you to do everything you need to do.

Mama: Thank you , Thank you.

*********

As I sat sipping my hot tea, I read my Bible. I wanted to read about Mary when the angel of the Lord told her she was chosen to carry baby Jesus in her womb. I have read that story thousands of times, but something new leaped out at me. Perhaps it was due to the intense battle the mama in my texts above has been waging. I have spent several days trying to help her see the humanity of her child and how deeply God loves that baby.

Look at this verse:

“You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:14-15‬ ‭

Do you see the amazing truth here??? While yet unborn, God filled that baby, John the Baptist, with the Holy Spirit! This speaks so powerfully of how God clearly sees the unborn as precious souls that He loves, He values, and for whom He already has a plan and purpose. 

A person’s a person, no matter how small.

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Why Do We Ignore What We Know is Right?

“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

‭‭James‬ ‭4:17‬ ‭

Yesterday a car immediately stopped in front of the abortion center. The driver had an appointment to abort in a few days. She said she really didn’t know why she was driving by. She had multiple abortions in her past, one quite recently. She was astounded herself that she was back. She felt compelled to drive by. She agreed to pull over and talk as long as I understood it was just to talk. She would make her own decision and she did not want to be pressured. She just wanted to talk.

As her story unfolded, I felt great sorrow for her. She asked repeatedly why all this terrible stuff was happening to her. Why had she felt compelled to drive by today? Why had she felt so bad after the last abortion, purposely gotten pregnant, and now wanted to abort this one? Why was God doing this?

I asked her if she wanted me to answer, because I felt I had an answer. I told her I was unabashedly pro-life, and loved Jesus and that would frame my answer. She said she wanted to weigh her options. As long as I understood it was her decision, she wanted to hear what I had to say.

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, you know what I had to say. First, it was no accident she had been compelled to drive by and meet me. The amazing irony is she knew me! Before the last abortion she had gotten my name from the Cities4Life  pamphlets we hand out at the abortion center and had called me! She had chosen to abort despite all I had to offer back then, but of course, never told me. I told her God was giving her a clear message, a clear direction. She agreed she knew God was speaking, she knew abortion was wrong, she knew her choices had led her to dreadful places. She agreed that the only times in life when she had felt good about her choices were when they aligned with God.

One would think no more would need to be said. When HELP Pregnancy Center RV and mobile ultrasound technician arrived, we showed her her baby on the ultrasound though she was too early to see much clearly. We told her about the vast array of resources in our network of supporters and partner ministries. I specifically addressed her two major obstacles and before she left sent her an email with the resources to help her.

Still, she said she felt conflict in her heart over what would be best. She was leaning towards a choice for life. Nonetheless, I am not certain at all of what she will do. However, I can think of nothing else we could have offered. Now all we can do is pray.

But as I pondered the interaction, I thought of my own life and how often I had disregarded God and my conscience to do what I wanted to do. Like that woman, I ignored what I knew was the right thing to do and pursued the path I wanted. That attitude ALWAYS led ultimately to despair.

The scourge of abortion is not because people have lost a sense of right and wrong. It is because they don’t care if it is wrong. If it conflicts with self-interest, righteousness is expendable.

This Thanksgiving, my prayer is that all of us would truly understand the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf...that the magnitude of His suffering reflects the absolute abhorrence God feels for our sin, for our rebellion against Him...the depth of His love that yearns for us to return to Him that He would provide such a personally painful way back to Him....

...And that we would be filled with gratitude to Him, the savior of our souls and the only light that will dispel our darkness.

***************

* the woman described in the story is NOT the driver of the car pictured above. That photo was from another day in front of the abortion center.

                   

                                 

Cities4Life

Turning a Life Around at the Abortion Center

“If you and your Cities4Life team had not been there, my baby would be dead.”—Izzy, mother

Yesterday, several thousand Christians from almost 200 churches in the Charlotte area gathered with Lovelife Charlotte to celebrate life and pray for the end of abortion. I had dashed home from a week out of town caring for my new grandson. I wanted to attend the event and be on the sidewalk with our Cities4Life team in front of the abortion center to offer women tangible help and the hope of God. I was exhausted as it has been twenty years since I have been caring for an infant full time. God has a good reason for ending fertility in the aged.

I am glad that I pushed through my fatigue to be there.

As I arrived on the sidewalk, few others were yet there. The sun was just peeking through the trees. It was frigid. But the worship team for the Lovelife Prayer March was already singing. I was a good distance away from the stage, but I could hear them. As cars carrying abortion-minded women began streaming in, the sounds of praise music to God drifted across the crisp blue sky. One car slowed down at the entrance to the parking lot. The young woman driving the car looked at our small team, then drove on. I don’t know if she ever returned, but I pray that in that moment, God spoke to her and she decided to heed His call to save her precious child.

Later, I was called on stage to hold a beautiful baby girl and stand beside her mother. It was a great and humbling  honor to do so. I had been the one privileged to slip our literature into the hands of the conflicted mother, Izzy, as she drove into the abortion center parking lot a year ago. She read the literature, God spoke to her heart, and she left. Three months later she called me as my name and phone number was on the literature. Cities4Life, Lovelife Charlotte, and countless loving Christians in our network have helped her. She is one of the most grateful women I have ever met, and it is a delight to see her blossoming in her role as a mother and as a child of God.

At the end of the Lovelife Prayer March yesterday, she asked if the pastors there would gather around her. She wished to dedicate her precious child to the Lord. Right there. Next to the abortion center. 

What she had once intended as a place of death transformed now in her heart as the place of life.

And that is my prayer. May this place of death be vanquished and replaced by life. May the promises of God so overwhelm the pressures of the world that women would flock to HIM, not abortion,  and Satan and death would be overcome 

                                   

                                      in their lives, 

                                                              in our city, 

                                                                                in our nation, 

                                                                                                        in our world.

*****************

Genesis 50:20 

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Romans 8:28 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Hebrews 12:11 

For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 10:24 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Where Am I and Where Am I Going?

I met a woman in the elevator of the Assisted Living Home and asked her how her day was going. She said she wasn’t really sure. I asked her if she was coming to my art class. Again she said she didn’t really know where she was supposed to be. I could tell it disturbed her that she didn’t know where she was or where she was supposed to be going. 

I told her I thought she would enjoy the art class and I was on my way there right now. If she’d like, I would take her there with me. She wasn’t sure about that, but because she wasn’t sure about anything, she agreed. As we approached the art classroom, she looked down the hallway and asked me what was there. I told her some of the residents had rooms along the hallway. She asked if she had a room down there. I told her I did not know but that in all likelihood a nurse would be showing up at some point in the art class and we could ask the nurse. With a troubled look, she followed me into the art classroom. She sat down and repeated that she didn’t know why she was here or what she was supposed to be doing. I told her my name again and that I was going to teach her how to draw a cat today; would that be OK ?

She nodded, a little dubiously, and picked up a pencil. Again she said she didn’t know what she was supposed to do. I told her when the rest of the class arrived, I would teach her step-by-step how to draw a cat. Then I sat down to chat with her while waiting for the others to arrive.

I asked her if she had children. She said she did but she could not remember what they did, how old they were, or where they lived. Again, she grew upset, knowing that she should remember these things. I asked her what her favorite season was and she instantly said, “Autumn” . I agreed with her and we talked about the beauty of the autumn scene just outside the window. There was a tree lit by the sun, shades of orange and yellow and gold. 

The rest of the class began arriving. I went to the front of the room to finish setting up. The woman asked each person as they sat down if she was supposed to be there. Again I returned to her and reassured her that she was indeed supposed to be here and I promised her that she would be able to draw a lovely cat. I figured I would have to guide her even more than I usually do with the elderly residents. The confusion in her expression broke my heart.

I began the class and the woman fell silent, drawing. As I circled around the room checking on everyone’s drawing each step of the way to be sure that no one became lost, I was shocked to see that she had stayed up with me and had drawn very well the steps thus far. She no longer asked anyone why she was there or what she was supposed to be doing. She watched me intently, and drew each shape carefully as I demonstrated on the Art board at the front of the class.

The hour whizzed by as it usually does. Many of the residents reminisced about cats that they had owned. One man told me of a disturbing memory that he had never forgotten of a cruel child in fifth grade throwing a kitten against a tree. He said that that memory still lingered and he couldn’t understand how people could be so cruel even to this day. 

As we drew the tail, I asked if anyone knew what the purpose of a cat’s tail was.

“For balance!”one woman said proudly.

“That’s right,” I said, “So why do you think God designed a Manx cat with no tail?”

Silence from the class.

“Why?”another woman asked.

“I don’t know, but I am sure there is a reason.”

“Amen,” said one of my new art class members.

Class ended and all the residents trickled out clutching their picture of a cat and pumpkins.  As usual, all of them were saying they were surprised that they had done this picture since they had never drawn a cat before. 

The last one to stand up was the woman I had met on the elevator. She had drawn a very beautiful cat. I held it up and said, “Are you surprised that you were able to draw such a beautiful cat?“
“Oh no,“ she said with a big smile, “I drew quite a bit in my childhood.”

She asked if she could keep her picture and I assured her she could. Still smiling, she followed the group out of the room. I heard her ask someone where she was supposed to go now.

I was grateful that for that hour of art class, she had remembered who she was and why she was there and a piece of the joy she had known as a child those many years ago.

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Nothing is impossible with God

Contending with God at the Abortion Center

I was training a new volunteer up the street from the abortion center when a car stopped for me. The woman was so interested in what Cities4Life could offer that she asked if she should pull over. 

“Please!” I said.

She felt she had to abort as it was “not the right time for a baby.” However, as soon as I began sharing the truths of human development in the womb, her eyes teared. 

“Do you believe in God?” I asked.

She nodded, and now tears flowed freely.

As I explained all the resources we could connect her with that would help her, she texted on her phone.

“I’m going to talk to my boyfriend,” she said.

“That is great,” I told her, “But I would suggest you sit here and do so. The closer you get to the abortion center, the stronger the pull to abort becomes.”

“I am turning around,” she said. “I won’t go in.”

I prayed as I moved away from her car. To my delight, she turned her car and left. She did not return. Praise God for a baby saved from death.

Later in the day, another woman talked to her boyfriend who convinced her to come on our RV.  They began walking towards us. One of our counselors told our ultrasound nurse to get ready for a client. Shocked, I watched the “pro-choice” escort scurry over to the couple. She spoke for ten minutes. We suspect based on past conversations we overhear that she was telling the couple we lie, not to trust us, and she should just go get the abortion. Her body, her choice.

To our collective dismay, the woman turned back and went in the abortion center. The boyfriend glanced back at us, then followed her in. 

A lot of what happens on that sidewalk is disturbing but perhaps the most disturbing is to see the “pro-choice” people actively DISSUADE a choice for life. It reveals the truth of who they are. We all felt sick to our stomach.

The couple came out a short time later and drove away. They did not have time to have done an abortion. God knows whether it was a baby saved, or only a reprieve. However, the sight of the “pro-choice” escort encouraging a couple to kill their baby still hangs heavy on my heart. The spiritual battle between good and evil played out before me.

A young man, only 19 years old, volunteered with us yesterday. He watched this sorrowful drama unfold and our mutual grief as the woman returned to the clinic. As we dispersed, he came to me and said, “I really feel God calling me into this ministry. I’ll be back next Monday.”

A young heart inclined to God. Balm on a difficult day.

Join us? Click Here for information.

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Isaiah 49:25 

  

For thus says the Lord: “Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children.

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For latest book in pro-life series, click HERE.

Are We Listening When God is Shouting Loud and Clear?

I stood up the street from the abortion center as usual, encouraging drivers on their way into the clinic to stop and talk with me. We have so many resources that can help women reconsider their situation. Cities4Life is not only committed to spreading the truth about the baby’s humanity, God’s clear word on the precious sanctity of human life, and the horror of abortion, but also provides tangible help to reduce the obstacles the woman faces. To that end, I was waving at a car approaching me.

I am always surprised when the driver stops. This woman smiled at me and rolled down her window. Her car was an expensive, immaculate vehicle.

“Hi,” I said, “Are you heading to the clinic?”

She nodded.

“May I give you this?” I asked, handing her our literature. “We have all kinds of resources that can help you so you do not need to choose to abort your baby. On that RV right there, we will do a free pregnancy test and ultrasound, and then discuss how we can help you.”

“Oh thank you,” she said, taking the pamphlet. “But I can’t have this baby. You see, I have two children already.”

“Well actually you have three,” I said. “The baby in your womb is your third child. Do you love the two other children?”

“Oh yes,” she answered.

“You will love this one just as much. Did you know if you missed your period, that little baby’s heart is already beating?”

She looked surprised. Now she switched gears.

“I can’t have this baby...there are health issues I might encounter if I have another child.”

“We have a doctor that will give you a second opinion on that for free,” I said.

At that very moment, I got a text from one of our counselors down the street. It said, “Dr. Harrison and his family just showed up to pray!”

Dr. Harrison is a very busy man. I don’t see him on the sidewalk often. He is the incredible man who pioneered Abortion Pill Reversal protocol, and the very doctor who provides second opinions that I had JUST told the woman about.

I was about to tell her this miraculous news of God swinging wide open a door for her, when one of the “pro-choice” people came to the car. 

“She is not with the clinic. Just drive away, or she will never stop talking. You can’t block the road. Just drive on, the clinic is up there.”

The woman shot me a desperate look, and drove away. She kept my literature.

I quickly texted my team down the street to have Dr. Harrison call out to this woman, but by the time they relayed that to him, the woman was inside the clinic. As far as I know, she aborted her child. 

I grieved, as I always do over the death of these innocent babies. There were several things that were exposed in the encounter. First, the expensive car showed me finances were not the issue. The advent of one more child was not the issue as shown by her quick switch to a new excuse. The potential of problems in child-bearing was not the issue. She would not even entertain the idea of talking to a doctor about whatever possible health risks she supposedly might encounter. The knowledge of the fact that the baby was indeed alive with a beating heart was not the issue. 

As so often happens out there, God provided an immediate, miraculous path to follow Him rather than her destructive desire to kill her baby. She made her choice to disregard God, but it was not because God didn’t care, or God condoned it, or God left her no choice because of a desperate situation He could have prevented. The value of a living human baby did not apparently matter to her more than her own desire not to bring that child safely to term.

As always, I came home from that encounter and the memory would not let me go. How often does God speak clearly to ME, show me miraculous provision and a way out of sin... and I ignore Him? Do I pretend I don’t see Him or hear Him when He is standing right there? May God help us all to harken to His commands and His clear voice.

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John 8:47 

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Proverbs 2:1-5 

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.

John 10:27-28 

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Choking Assault on Prolife Woman - Prosecution Refused Case

ON a warm summer day, I was, as usual, in front of the busiest abortion center in the Southeast, A Preferred Women Health Center at 3220 Latrobe Drive. A young pro-life advocate who is not connected with our ministry but a lovely voice for the unborn, was watching a disturbing drama unfold in the center parking lot. A woman had been repeatedly vomiting for half an hour.  Naomi was growing increasingly upset, begging the security bouncers to call someone to help this woman. No one offered assistance.

Finally, Naomi walked quietly across the lot to the woman and knelt beside her asking how she could help. Without a word, the female bouncer who is charged to prevent violence, began beating Naomi on her back and then put her in a choke hold. I immediately called 911 and described what was happening. Quickly, the bouncer dragged Naomi in the choke hold across the lot and then threw her onto the sidewalk.

While we waited for the police, the bouncer ran away. I took photos of the red streaks on Naomi’s neck. The following day, she ended up in the hospital due to swelling and breathing issues. Charges were filed for felony assault.

The next day, that bouncer was back at her post.

This happened in July. While waiting for a court date to be set, there have been two trials of pro-life folks being prosecuted in Mecklenburg County Court. One was a pastor who told a pro-choice woman who was speaking over a megaphone to children about masturbation that she was “dead in her sins”. He was arrested and charged with threats of violence. If he lost the case, he would be thrown in jail for speaking scripture. The second was of a young man who stepped on the public sidewalk alongside a car that had stopped for him to hand the driver our literature. He was charged with dangerous interference of traffic. There was no other car in sight, by the way. I asked the policeman to define interference but he told me it was not defined, but left intentionally vague to give them flexibility.

The cases went to trial on two consecutive days. In the first case involving Pastor Flip Benham, there was no photo, no video, no proof of any threat or threatening behavior and fifteen police officers were on site watching the incident. None showed the slightest concern over Flip’s comment, quoting scripture as he always does. The plaintiff never approached a single police officer with concerns for her safety. The case was still deemed worthy of the District Attorney to prosecute. The second case was also thought to be of significant enough concern for the safety and welfare of our city to be prosecuted. 

In both cases, prosecution lost. In the second one, it was dismissed by the judge after the police officer testified. No other witnesses were needed for the judge to determine the case was ludicrous.

The very next day, after MONTHS of the evidence of the assault case being available to prosecution which included pictures, videos, at least twenty eye witnesses to the assault, hospital records, and the bouncer running from the scene....the prosecution says the case is dropped due to “not enough evidence.”

Folks, if this angers you, please feel free to call the District Attorney office of Mecklenburg County to register your concern. ( 704) 686-0700. We tried to do so and the DA office told us to call the Sheriff’s office. The Sheriff’s office told us to call the DA’s office. Are you sensing a problem here?

 If you would like to alert any media friends you may have, or call city council members, or share this blog far and wide, please do so. It sure looks to me like whether one is granted one’s day in court is determined by where you stand on the issue of abortion rather than the salient facts and evidence.

Micah 6:8 

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?