No Dead Body....A Good Day

The good news is there were no dead bodies. However, I didn't know that when I spotted a kayak wrapped around a rock in the middle of the class 2 rapids. But that came later in my magical day on the river. I had decided since the river was low and I would scrape a lot of rocks runnng the rapids that instead, I would kayak upstream against the current. I knew I would only be able to make it as far as the class 2 rapids since I cannot go upstream against them.

I was having a great time. The river was empty. That is when you see all the critters, so I love going midweek when no one else is about. I saw kingfishers, herons, and osprey. And then I saw two river otters sunning on a rock! I have never seen otters in the Catawba. They were adorable and I was overjoyed. I saw an eagle too but he was way high above me playing on the updrafts.

I had fun in the rapids that I was able to paddle past. I'd paddle upstream beyond them, then I would swing around and ride the current. It was SOOO much fun.

Then I saw the boat, a blue kayak in the middle of the rapids. I tried to go upstream so I could then kayak back down and get a closer look, but I was not able to paddle against the strong current. So I got as close as I could, but with great trepidation.

"Oh please Lord, don't let there be a dead body there."

I did not see a dead body floating anywhere nearby. The kayak cockpit faced me and appeared to be empty. No one was standing on the rocks calling for help. I kayaked back to my launch site where a park worker flagged me down.

"Did you see a kayak on the rocks?" he asked.
"Yes," I said, "Did you find the kayaker?"
"No. Did you see anyone?"
"No...I looked and I didn't see anyone in the kayak or nearby."
"A rescue team is coming," the park worker said, "Would you wait here to talk with them?"

So I waited and shortly the rescue team showed up. They asked me some questions, and then headed down the bike path beside the river with their emergency equipment. I decided to kayak back to the rapids just in case I could be of use. They managed to wade across the rocks, using an oar to steady themselves and pulled the kayak out of the river. It was pretty mangled. Praise God, the kayak was empty. No kayaker was stuck on the rocks beneath the raging water.

I returned to shore, pulled my bike out of the car and rode up the path. They were securing the kayak to their cart.
"Do you think someone drowned?" I asked.
"No," they told me. "There was moss on the kayak. It has been in the water a while. It was probably drifting in the river sometime and the high waters from the hurricane carried it down here."
"If I had been stuck on the rocks, could I have made it to shore?" I asked.
"Call us and we will rescue you," they said. Gallant men! "But if the dam is letting out water, you would have a hard time walking against the strong flow."
"I never take that route over the rapids," I said. "I always steer far left where it is slower."
"That's what you should do," they agreed.

As I biked onward, I thanked God that when they lifted the kayak from its rocky tomb, there were no dead bodies. I have been reading the book of Mark, and paying close attention to the chapter about the empty tomb. Can you imagine the relief of Jesus' friends when they saw the tomb was empty? No dead body. And then to hear the words, "He is risen."

In a small way, I felt the relief of that moment.
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Mark 8:31 

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Selfishness Disquised as Anti-Discrimination

The Utah Supreme Court is trying to determine if use of the terms mother and father is discriminatory. Yes. This is no joke. A quote from the Salt Lake Tribune: “I can assure you that a lot of other states where this question will arrive will fight it,” Yale Law Professor Douglas LeJamie said, "because in some places, terms like “mother” and “father” have been used specifically to bar gay couples from parenthood."

The two men who want a child born by a surrogate mother (oh sorry...can't use the term mother...how about 'fetal incubator'?) are fighting this case so that any combination of people who want a child will have equality before the law. Please tell me...is anyone looking out for the best interests of the child? Is it only about me, me, me...no matter the consequences? 

People can make any choice they want in life but when an innocent third party who has no choice in the matter is thrust into the mix and must live with the consequences, their best interest MUST be considered. In a well-documented, extensive research study, children of same-sex couples fared worse than children of heterosexual couples in 77 of 80 outcomes measured. At a statistically significant level. Click HERE for article. This article provides specific counter arguments to the few studies that show any other result. Research with comparative studies of randomly chosen participants who have no knowldege of the hypotheses being tested overwhelmingly shows that children thrive far better in intact homes with mothers and fathers. 

It is NOT hateful to state facts. It is not discriminatory to point out a common sense biological truth that children are produced by a mother and a father and that is by design the ideal environment for a child to be raised.

Take the mindset of I want what I want whether it is better for someone else or not and you have millions of babies slaughtered in abortion. In this case, the innocent third party who has no choice in the matter must DIE with the consequences.

When is someone going to yell the emporer has no clothes?
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2 Peter 2:1-3

But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Exodus 20:12 

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Faith Bolstering

Look at this wonderful picture! This is our Tuesday sidewalk team! The sidewalk is bursting with folks speaking LIFE! This isn't even a picture of our full team -- two other team members had not yet arrived, one was absent, and I was taking the photo. LOOK at all these blessed volunteers, eager to speak out for the lives of little unborn people doomed to die at the abortion center unless someone intervened.

The ages ranged from senior citizen grandparents to a thirteen year old. I spoke with the wonderful woman who brings a carload of the young people each week. She told me, "They cannot wait to come. No matter what else is going on, they never want to miss their day out here."

Those young people have a knack for getting cars to stop and take our literature. Maybe it is their fresh young faces and exuberant optimism. Meanwhile, the grandparents in the group speak to the abortion-minded women with gentle wisdom, seasoned by a life of experience loving and following God.

All ages, all different approaches, all used and valued by God. One baby we know of was saved. I hope other women changed their minds after we left. However, as God says in many different ways in His word, The horse is prepared for the day of battle but the victory belongs to the Lord. Proverbs 21:31.

We are called to prepare and to obey God's command to enter the fray, no matter our age, our gender, our desire, our agenda. However, the victory belongs not to us but to God. This is an incredibly freeing truth. It is NOT all about us, our wonderful personalities or charming cleverness, which is a good thing since were that so, it would feed our arrogance or fuel our despair. Instead, it bolsters our faith. The glory and results and praise belong to God.
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John 17:20-22 

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,

A Day of Destruction with a Glimmer of Hope

One of our Cities4Life volunteers had this flag on the back of his truck. In the background of the picture are two of our other volunteers. All these wonderful people stood in the wind and the rain on the sidewalks of the abortion center yesterday to speak for the babies who cannot speak for themselves.

One woman stopped her car and told me her mind was made up. She would abort. She said she believed in God, but didn't know what He had to say about abortion. I told her He uses the same word for born and unborn babies in the Bible, calls Jesus a 'baby' in the womb, and describes John the Baptist leaping for joy in the womb when Mother Mary arrives with the unborn baby Jesus. God says He sets before us life and death, blessings and curses, therefore choose life that you and your offspring will live. He says thou shalt not murder, and that we are to protect the innocent and defend those being led to the slaughter.

The woman was silent for a moment, contemplating.

"Well, but I can't do anything to save anyone else," she said finally, "I have to save me."

"Yes you can. You can save that baby in your womb. Tell me where in the Bible it says saving yourself while taking the life of innocent others is honored by God."

She could not. Nor could she list any real obstacle to having the baby. She just didn't like children. She took my literature, but in the end, I think she went through with the abortion. She knew it was wrong, she knew it disobeyed and dishonored God, she knew she would stand before the judgment throne of God and have to give an accounting of this action, and she knew she would regret it. 

How again is abortion a choice that helps women?

There was one potentially saved baby. The woman left before the abortionist, waved to us, smiled and seemed happy, but she did not stop to confirm her choice. We pray that baby was one less human destroyed on 9/11, a day that has seen far too much destruction.

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2 Peter 3:3 

Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.

James 4:7 

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Speaking in the Storm

We are on the far edge of Irma's winds, but it is still supposed to hit 50 mph gusts, with danger from tumbling down trees and power lines. Driving is not encouraged. However, the abortion center is open. I guess I will try my best not to be blown away and will head over to join the rest of my committed and brave Cities4Life team. Maybe the mere sight of people on the sidewalk who care enough to show up in such weather to speak for the babies who cannot speak for themselves will encourage mothers not to abort.

The babies in the womb don't know there is a hurricane wreaking havoc with our world. All they know is the peaceful safety of the womb. For now. Honestly, they have every right to expect safety and peace in their mother's womb. Maybe if we show up, that peace will last beyond the next few hours...

Last night, I read a post on Facebook by someone asking if God is omniscient and powerful, why does He allow or possibly even cause the devastation of the hurricanes? Does that show God is good? I cannot answer that, not fully. I do know God is good. The first part of the question is harder to answer. I know the weather was perfect in Eden before humankind walked away from God in sin. We didn't want God's protection more than we wanted our own will and our own way. God handed us over to it.

I wonder if that person on Facebook poses the same question to his fellow humans. If we, with the power and knowledge of the destructive and fatal effect of abortions where a hurricane force suction dismembers a tiny human in the womb and sucks out her suffering body to her death...are we good?
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http://charlotte.cities4life.org/

Isaiah 25:4 

For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,

Delighting in God Despite Impending Storms

Last hurrah before the hurricane winds and rain hit the Carolinas. The effects were already here. The Catawba river was fast and very high. I had my new "magic stick" installed on my bike to pull my kayak upstream. One man who saw me bike by begged me to let him videotape me. He said I would be famous on instagram.

I loved my new system. It was much easier to haul my kayak the three miles upstream to my launch site. I received lots of admiring remarks from the people I passed. You would think they had never seen someone haul a kayak behind a bicycle.

The river was definitely a challenge. However, I was not TERRIFIED.  I was just scared. That was probably a good thing since it made me keep my life jacket on. 

After making it successfully, gloriously back to the take-out point, I put the kayak in my car, and decided to walk the three miles back to my bike at the launch site. It was a glorious day and the scenery was spectacular. 

Praise God for the beauty and delight of His world. For all of you going through the storm, not only Hurricane Irma but the mental, physical, and spiritual storms that inevitably come in life, may  the beauty I photographed for this post remind you that the storms will pass and sometimes the storms even wash away things we cling to that impede our walk with God.

I discovered that to be true in my own devastating storms. It is painful to endure but in the end if you are left recognizing that you can lose everything EXCEPT God, and find peace in that, you will know a peace that can surpass understanding.
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Romans 8:18-23 

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ...

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 3:16 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Default Prayer

I could only move my fingers with pain this morning. I wondered why. Oh yeah. I had spent 3 hours assembling a "simple" tow pole on my bike yesterday. It was a 'magic stick'...I think that is how it was advertised... that attaches "easily" to the bicycle seat post, was cheap, and would pull my kayak using just my kayak cart for the wheeled support under the kayak. This was a superior idea to the my self made cart that included my old bicycle trailer in which I used to use to haul my kids behind my bike. My design was clever, if I can say that without sounding too prideful which I can't but so be it....but it was heavy. I am not getting any younger and decided to give the magic stick a try.

I had come home from the abortion center sidewalk feeling energized. We had a sidewalk filled with volunteers which gives me great joy, and four babies were saved. I am pretty sure there would have been a fifth...except for the forces that oppose us speaking our message of hope and help. Daniel, the Cities4Life director had stopped a conflicted couple. I then approached and the couple flat out told me they didn't want to abort but didn't know what else to do. THEN, the pro-choice folks who have NO jurisdiction or legal right to tell ANYONE to move their car on a public road came rushing over to insist the couple had to park or pull over. The couple was flustered, and as often happens, chose the path of least resistance in their mind and went into the abortion center. That broke my heart. The so-called "pro-choice" crowd had disrupted the discussion with a couple that admitted they had no choice to abort but didn't want to do it. I KNOW we could've helped them. I had to pray HARD not to feel bitter and angry towards the people that claim 'choice' but then eradicate it.

Anyway, I tried to focus on the four babies who still lived, and put my extra energy into tackling the "EASY" magic stick installation. Let's just say that EASY was as about as truthful a moniker as PRO CHOICE. There should be a law against such false labeling.

Now to the point of this long tale of woe. After a few cuts, very sore fingers, nearly dislocated thumb and not a few moments of temptation to sin in my gracious language use...I cried out, "Please help me Jesus." The IMPOSSIBLE screws with the stupidest design known to man finally slipped into place and I got the EASY magic stick installed. I hitched my kayak to the stick, and lo and behold, it was far superior to my makeshift kayak towing cart.

A lovely neighbor came to the abortion center yesterday to donate maternity clothes. I overheard her talking to one of our volunteers who is a new believer. She was telling him how she often prayed, "Lord, let you be my DEFAULT in all situations."

What a great prayer. See God is not my default so often. He certainly was not in my magic stick installation. It was only when I was at the end of my resources that I cried out to God. He should have been the first one to whom I cried out. Why do I so often wait?

So on to kayaking and towing with my new magic stick to the upstream park where I will shoot the rapids again, Lord willing. BEFORE I go, I will pray for God to guide and protect me.
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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.