Not Knowing the Things Even the Birds Understand

Our morning speaking for the babies on the sidewalk of the abortion center was filled with interesting events. First, a Vietnamese couple who spoke no English approached me. I used Google Translator on my phone and was able to convince the man to bring his daughter out of the abortion center. Not bad for people who don't speak one word of each other's language. His wife however screamed at him, and the daughter never came out.

I called out to one man, thinking he was a boyfriend of one of the women aborting, and he said, "Go screw yourself!" (However he used more colorful language which I won't repeat.)
"I'm pretty sure that is anatomically impossible," I said.
He didn't laugh. It turns out he was one of the "pro-choice" escorts. 

Then, a woman who was opposed to abortion left her baby with us so she could go convince her friend to leave the center. After about an hour of holding the baby and passing her about to several of our counselors, certain I had just adopted a child, the woman returned. Her friend came with her. The new volunteer (!) and I convinced the friend not to abort and to come on our mobile ultrasound after she got her money back from the center. A "pro-choice" escort, standing nearby told the woman, "I am glad they are offering all these wonderful services to you, but if you still want to abort because of your life situation, I am here for you." (I had a hard time holding back my gag reflex with these words.)

An hour later, the women came out briefly to tell me the abortion center at first refused to refund, and then said they had to wait six weeks for a refund. I had to leave before they came out again, but am praying they remained strong against the intense pressure to abort I know they endured in there.

One car drove out and the woman passenger told me she had changed her mind... but her boyfriend (who was glowering in the driver seat) was trying to coerce her to abort. Later, one of the pro-choice folks told me, "We always ask if the women are being coerced."
"Really?" I said, "Well you missed one."

It was really too late for me to kayak after I got home and ate a late lunch...but I decided it didn't matter. I HAD to commune with God in the beauty of His creation. It's been two weeks since I last kayaked. I missed the river terribly and the peace it always brings me. My kayak is in my car ready to go at any moment, so I dashed to the river.

The river was very high, and the current was unusually strong. It was not easy kayaking. But along the way, I saw nesting herons in the treetops. Their babies were so big that their nests were very crowded.  It could not have been very comfortable for the mother herons, each squashed in a nest with two babies who were nearly full size. It must be very difficult to catch enough fish to feed such large nearly grown birds.   

What good mothers, I thought.

This is the way the world was designed to be. A mother's nest and a mother's womb were both meant to be places of safety. It was heartening to see the young herons. I'm so glad there weren't any other birds up there trying to convince the herons how much easier life would be if they just tossed those babies overboard.
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Jeremiah 8:7

Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord.

Deliverance From Evil

I was on a run yesterday morning when I got the following text from a young woman who had almost aborted her baby last week. She met me on the sidewalks of the abortion center and told me a major obstacle for her in keeping her baby was she knew her mother would be terribly disappointed in her. She was unmarried, young, and living at home. How could she tell her mother she was pregnant?

"Would your mother be more distraught in knowing you were pregnant, or in knowing you had aborted her grandchild without even telling her?" I asked.
The young woman agreed perhaps her mother would be more upset by the latter.

The text she sent to me was to thank me for arranging a 3-D ultrasound (free of charge through Cities4Life supporters) and a baby shower (courtesy of Truth and Mercy Pro-life Ministries, a partner with Cities4Life.) The best part of the text that made my eyes fill with grateful tears was the last sentence:
My parents actually know now too; they said they were very thankful for you and your organization.

What if we hadn't been there? Not only would the baby have been killed and the young mother despairing and living with that fact for the rest of her life, but the unborn child's grandparents would never have had the opportunity to tell their daughter they loved her despite her failures, and they were grateful she had spared their grandchild's life.

At the recent LoveLife Charlotte conference, Daniel Parks, the Cities4Life director, and I presented  the need and role of sidewalk counselors at the abortion center. One man asked us, "Why do so many women flock to the abortion centers instead of the churches?"

Daniel's answer was a good one, and one I think every parent should consider. All the way back to Adam and Eve, when humans disobey God and fall into sin, we do not run to God...we run away. We hide. We don't dare face the only source of forgiveness or help because of our shame.  Daniel suggested that every parent be sure their children know the morals and standards of Godly behavior, but also make it clear to them that if they mess up, they must never fear coming to their parents for help, forgiveness, and love.

The young woman almost killed her baby, which she didn't want to do, out of fear and shame. What a terrible tragedy abortion is in all instances, but especially when driven by such misguided motivations!

Today, I head back out to the abortion center with my wonderful team of volunteers. I will share this young woman's text with them, because sometimes the work out there is not easy. It helps to be reminded that the horror of abortion involves more than just the mom and the baby, and by our presence on the sidewalks, we can actually change the lives of an entire family. To God belongs all the glory, but we get to share in the joy.
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To volunteer with us, please email me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com . We are in need of weekday morning volunteers.
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Psalm 82:3-4

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

A Little Girl Who Is Here Because of Pro-life Sidewalk Counselors

This incredibly brave woman agreed to speak at a LoveLife Charlotte conference yesterday urging people to volunteer to help abortion-minded moms choose life. She was a mom who almost aborted her baby...twice...but was convicted by the message of Cities4Life sidewalk counselors, and instead chose life. Valerie spoke to the general gathering and then was interviewed by me at a smaller 'breakout session' for those interested in volunteering on the front lines of the abortion battleground- the sidewalks of the Southeast's busiest abortion center.

My last question to Valerie was, "What would have happened to your daughter if the sidewalk counselors hadn't been there the day you went to the abortion center?"

There was a long silence as Valerie gazed at her precious little girl, and her face contorted. Then she said quietly, "She wouldn't be here."

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Please contact me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com to volunteer and shadow an experienced sidewalk counselor. Our greatest need is on weekday mornings. There is no greater joy than holding a child saved from abortion through your efforts.
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Matthew 18:14

So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

A Prolife Message with a Twist

One of the pro-choice folks out at the abortion center (where I speak on behalf of the babies) is a dog lover. I noticed she has dog decals on her car. While she has been extremely angry with me in the past since our world views are diametrically opposed, when I approached her to ask about her dog decals, she softened instantly. I told her I too loved dogs, and one very special dog had completely captured my heart. She went from cussing at me, to listening to me intently.

I shared my story of my beloved rescue dog, Honeybun, and how we snatched her from the jaws of death only to have her turn vicious when her health was restored. Then I told my new friend,"D", about the incredibly difficult year of trying to save Honeybun. Everyone told me to have her euthanized. No one thought she could be redeemed.

But I couldn't give up on her. Over that year, there were two overwhelming messages from God: nothing is irredeemable, and don't give up. I am an animal lover and believe all life is precious. The experience with Honeybun led me to write my first book, I'm Listening with a Broken Ear,  and was the spring-board to my career as an author. When I told D this, she asked where she could get my book.

I was flabbergasted. This was someone that has come so close to me with raging anger and vile words that I was afraid she might assault me. Not only was D true to her word, but each day when I saw her on the opposite side of the abortion battle at the sidewalks of the abortion center, she told me about how much she was enjoying my book. She would tell me where she was in the plot, and I would share some tidbits about that specific time in the true life journey.

Then a car would pull up to enter the abortion center lot, and I would pause mid-sentence in my discussion with D to beg the woman to come on our free ultrasound and look at her baby's beating heart. D would tell the woman to drive in to the center and ignore me as I was only there to evangelize and take her on a "fake ultrasound" RV.

D rescues and loves border collies. During one of our discussions between our battles on the sidewalk, D told me she would love to make signs to guide women into the abortion clinic, but she couldn't draw at all. I told her I am an artist, but much as I loved her, I would not draw her such a sign.

"But I would draw you a dog," I said.

That night, I went home exhausted. I'd been at the abortion center nearly the whole day. A woman had decided to come on our RV just as my Cities4life team was preparing to leave. I will always stay if it means a baby might be saved! The woman saw her baby on our "fake ultrasound", and chose life.

After finishing counseling, the paperwork, and some errands, it was almost dinner time when I finally settled into my recliner at home. I just wanted to relax, but the discussion with D would not leave my heart.

I pulled out my watercolor set and painted D a picture of a border collie. Then I searched the Bible for dog references looking for one that would not offend D, but would still say what I hoped to say. I found this one from Ecclesiastes, and wrote it on the back of D's picture:

I thought that passage made the point that it is in LIFE that we have hope. There is no hope in death.

Yesterday, D was training a whole new group of pro-choice people. I can't imagine the terrible things she was saying about our group who speak so vigorously offering hope, help, and the Gospel to the abortion-minded women. I knew she viewed our mission in a different light than we did. I walked over to the group who eyed me suspiciously. It was like crossing enemy lines in the midst of a raging war.

"This is for you," I said, handing the dog painting to D.
She looked at it, and threw her arms around me. "I love this!" she said.
Later, she passed by me as I was calling out to women and stopping cars (which drives her bonkers) and told me, "I liked the verse on the back."

When women see their babies on the ultrasound, they overwhelmingly choose life. It is why the abortion center is so careful to turn the ultrasound screen away so the mothers cannot see their babies. The ultrasound image makes the humanity of the baby unmistakable. It is hard to harm someone when her humanity is so clearly revealed. Through our mutual love of dogs, I think D and I saw a little past our divergent world views to each other's humanity.

Every soul is important to God, and loved by Him. Every pro-choice person, much as I vehemently hate what they do there and what they stand for, is a soul that is precious to God. Therefore, they are precious to me. And as my dear Honeybun taught me, no one is irredeemable with God, and never give up.
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Should I press my luck and ask her to read my book about being a pro-life sidewalk counselor - Singing in the Darkness?
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John 15:12

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Intrinsic Value of Human Life and Conflicted/Convicted Hearts

Baby on ultrasound with drawing by me to help you make sense of it

That little baby in the ultrasound picture evoked numerous cries of delight from both her mother and father. Just an hour before this picture was taken and her parents had fallen inescapably in love with her, they were sitting in the abortion center waiting room with the intention of killing her.

When I arrived yesterday morning to the sidewalks of the abortion center, the "pro-choice" escort snapped at me as I spoke to the women arriving to abort their children.
"Don't you think they have already made up their minds??" she said.
"No," I told her, "I don't. I think most of them are conflicted."

The mother of that sweet baby in the ultrasound picture above had been to the abortion center several times. Each time, she turned away, unable to do what she thought she was determined to do. This time, again, she and her boyfriend sat in the waiting room, but she began to feel sick. Not just morning sickness...soul sickness.

She came out. I had spoken to them several times as they went back and forth from their car. I was not surprised to see her coming towards me.
"I thought you might change your mind. May I hug you?" I asked.
"Yes," she said. "At least you all are nice, and offer help. Can I see my baby on the ultrasound?"

While she was yet undecided, she knew she had to see her baby. Like many of the women who come to us, she was focused on the obstacles and struggles her unplanned pregnancy presented. I always try to shift the focus and, if possible, eliminate or mitigate the obstacles through our Cities4Life network and resources.

"If your circumstances were wonderful," I asked her, "Would the baby be intrinsically more valuable?"
"No," she said.
"And if your situation were terrible, would the baby be less valuable?"
"No," she whispered.
"The child's value is not based on our circumstances, is it? Her value doesn't change -- it is based on the fact that God created human life in His image."

Since she had already told me she believed in God, and was already convicted that He would not have her abort her baby, I knew I didn't need to say another word.

After her ultrasound, I asked what was the best plan now for her life? She paused, confused. "I don't know...I haven't planned it out yet."
"But what plan would be the best one to follow?" I persisted.
Her boyfriend smiled. He got it. "God's plan," he said.
"Oh. Yes," said the young mother.

Three women chose life yesterday. Another who had chosen life a few weeks ago came to see me. She still wore her hospital bracelet. She was terribly distraught and in tears. She was possibly miscarrying, though the hospital could not say for certain. No ob/gyn doctor was on staff in the ER.

"I wanted you to know... after all you all did for me," she said, then collapsed in sobs. She who had once thought she would want to destroy her child was now heart-broken that her baby was perhaps not going to make it.

Please pray for this sweet woman.

Another woman drove out of the clinic, rolled down her window and shouted, "I'm keeping my baby!"

"I suppose you'll keep a record of that in your book?" the pro-choice escort said with disdain.
"We will!" I said, "And we will be dancing for joy!"
I think God will too. I picture Him lifting the hem of celestial robes, and kicking His heels together.

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My vocabulary building app gives me a word a day. Today the word was fructify.
Fructify: to become fruitful.
Here is an opportunity for you all to fructify!
We need more volunteers on the sidewalks during the weekdays. Despite common preconceptions, many women who come to the abortion center are indeed wavering, still conflicted, and want a way out of a terrible decision but need someone willing to speak and offer real hope and help. If you would like to help turn conflicted hearts to convicted hearts with us, please email me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com to shadow experienced volunteers and train to be a sidewalk counselor.

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Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

I Once Was Lost, But NOW.....

As I drove home from Richmond yesterday, I listened to a Christian station I had never heard before. I tuned in during a call-in show to Bible experts who appeared to have memorized the entire Bible. I was spell-bound. No matter what the callers asked, the hosts knew a verse and reference to answer the caller's question.

Oh, to have a memory like that! Each time before I head out to the sidewalks of the abortion center where I speak for the unborn, I print copies of the verses and references that God has laid upon my heart to share with the women who flock to the center. I would love to be able to recite perfectly from memory the verses that hold so much power and hope, but alas, I cannot. I have tried. I write my favorite verses on note cards, place them beside my favorite chairs in the house, and every time I sit down, I read them and say them over and over...

Somehow, they simply will not remain in my head. The concept remains, but the words perfectly as written...nope.

Still, I have no doubt, they are in my soul.

The one beside me right now has been one I have been desperately trying to memorize for several weeks: Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

I am very close to having this one down pat.

It is a great verse. Honestly, what more do you need to know? If you have not done what this verse suggests, do it. Now. Repent of your sins that grieve our heavenly Father, confess out loud that Jesus is Lord, believe in His sacrifice on your behalf and that He conquered death once and for all when He rose from the grave...and be secure that you are SAVED. Eternally reunited with God who loves you immeasurably.

NOTHING on earth is more wondrous than this. I beg you, please do this. Now. God loves you so much and would have none of you perish. Turn to Him. You will not regret it. I don't remember the verses word for word, or the reference, but I do remember this: I once was lost, and now I am found and I would never turn back to what I once was.
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Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Embracing the Solace of God Himself

I am halfway home after a few days hanging out in NY with my cool nephew so his folks could have some R and R and attend a wedding out of town. Not only did I get to spend some quality time with Anthony, but I got to receive daily full body washes from the new puppy, Susy. I was also responsible for caring for a sweet old cat who mostly ignored me. After fifteen years of life, he earned the right to do whatever he wants. Whenever he meowed, I fed him.

So, for several days, I have not been able to write my blog. This is mostly because Susy feels writing a blog is a ridiculous reason not to play catch, tug of war, or fetch sticks. She and her little puppy teeth and ever present licking tongue were very persuasive.

While I was in NY, I got a call from my Cities4Life team. They met someone on the sidewalks in front of the abortion center where they were offering support to women to choose life over abortion. They wanted me to talk with her.  So, I called her. One thing led to another, and over the phone, I shared the gospel and she told me she wanted to ask Jesus to be Lord of her life RIGHT NOW. I closed my eyes and prayed with her to accept the incredible joy of returning to a right relationship with God, the creator of heaven and earth. Wow.

Later, I read the comments of someone on Facebook responding to one of my earlier blogs where I described the miracle and delight of several women choosing life over abortion. This person asked, "And are YOU going to raise these children and care for them till they are eighteen?" (I'm surprised she didn't ask if I was going to raise these 'products of conception', or these 'clumps of tissue'.)

This is only about the ten zillionth time I have heard that question, but each time it astounds me. Really? Because I can't raise all the children of the women who change their minds, some of whom come to know Jesus and change their lives as a result of our ministry, somehow that supports her core belief that human life is expendable in difficult circumstances. (?!)

In her world, if someone talks a teen out of committing suicide, must the counselor now provide a college education or it is best to let the teen kill himself? In her world, if I see a homeless man who is hungry and offer him a meal, must I now provide a 401K and apartment and comfortable retirement plan or I have no right to assuage his hunger? Shall I just let him die unless I can provide for him till natural death?

It is this sort of world view of the "pro-choice" movement that mystifies me. Help should never be offered, nor alternatives with real solutions to help these women change the behavior and circumstances that led to the thought of abortion UNLESS the helper can provide for that family till the day they die.

Examine the premise in that sort of thinking. It is flawed at the core. If unborn human life is expendable, where does this rationale end? If the weakest and most vulnerable human's right to life is trumped by circumstances, we are all doomed. All of us will one day be dependent on each other at some point in our life. Is our value determined by how well others can cope with that dependency? When others find that dependency annoying, is it acceptable to destroy us rather than let our weaknesses affect their lives?

We are all weak at some point in life. If you don't know this yet, you will one day. We are all flawed. We all need each other, and none of us can save ourselves from our own folly and sin. That's why we need Jesus, and that's why Cities4Life unabashedly offers the life-saving message of the Gospel to every person we can reach while ministering on the sidewalks of the abortion center. Human life is sacred not because it is wanted, circumstances are ideal, or troubles will be eliminated. Human life is sacred because God our creator made us in His image, and He loved and knew us from the moment of conception. This is the premise, the core of why we lovingly extend hope and help and the truth of human value before God on the sidewalks of the abortion center.

So it is not easy work...but I am eager to return to it after my sojourn in NY. However, I DO miss puppy kisses, and Anthony's delight when I made him an exciting new creative twist each day on peanut butter and jelly.

I was sad to leave puppy Susy, my nephew and my incredibly fun sister-in-law and brother. However, it was time to return to real life. I made it to Richmond yesterday where I was overjoyed to have a whirlwind dinner with my very busy and beloved son and his delightful wife. They have an incredibly overwhelming schedule chock full of work, church, volunteer work, and a new home. Still...they made time for me. I felt mighty blessed.

Before I head home today, I plan to walk for miles and miles through this beautiful city. I am filled with thanksgiving to God for family, puppies, and tormented souls who embrace the solace of God Himself. It was a good week.
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Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”