The Battle Belongs to the Lord...but We Are Not Off the Hook

Precious Baby Saved from Abortion

The NPR hour long newscast yesterday about our presence on the sidewalks of the southeast's busiest abortion center was a surprisingly positive portrayal. NPR is not known as a bastion of conservative ideology. To listen, you can click on the link provided at the end of this sentence and then find the broadcast for April 19. Click Here.

However, there were parts of it that were hard for me to stomach without comment. The quotes in the broadcast by the owner of the abortion center were not true. NEVER in my three years have I EVER heard a lie to the mothers voiced by ANY pro-life volunteer or staff. On the other hand, I have heard several moms who came on our RV tell us the abortion center told them the baby's heart was not beating...when it was.

Secondly, it was implicated we were on our best behavior since a reporter was there. Our message and delivery of that message does not change AT ALL when a reporter is there or not there. I actually forgot the reporter had put a mic on my lapel! My focus, as always, revolves around the life of a baby hanging in the balance. The rest of the world disappears as I speak for that unborn child. Frankly, the Holy Spirit takes over and I sometimes wonder how some thoughts I voice even come out of my head! The same was true of every volunteer there. No one behaved even remotely different than how I see them always behave.

It is interesting that false allegations from the abortion center owner were made with NO substantiation and left to stand without any rebuttal opportunity from us, or the women who choose life. I was grateful that the moderator made the point that the abortion center was FOR PROFIT thus has financial interest in promoting abortion, unlike the pro-life groups who are volunteers or part of non-profit organizations and have no financial benefit at all from the mother's choice.

Next, the moderator asked if this place was "selling abortion"...or were there other options provided? We know for a fact that some conflicted women who entered the abortion center have expressed a desire to talk with us, to choose life, and to examine other options, and the pro-choice escorts have talked them into returning to the clinic to abort! Some still left and were furious over the hard-sell to abort!

Yet in the broadcast, the abortion center owner describes a wide array of options they offer, including referrals for adoption or OB/GYN doctors to provide care so women can carry the baby to term. Funny...nowhere on their web site do they mention adoption or carrying a baby to term. The only information is about abortion and the required pregnancy test and ultrasound for abortions to be legally performed. The ultrasound is NOT to see the baby so the happy couple can choose life, but included FREE in their abortion package. (Just last week a mother who chose life told us she asked the ultrasound tech in the abortion center to turn the screen so she could see the baby's heartbeat and the tech refused.)

I prayed before the broadcast that truth would be revealed. The battle over abortion is NOT between flesh and blood, but between spiritual forces of good and evil. I pray Good prevails, and believe ultimately, it DOES. Until then, it is sometimes hard to persevere in the face of what we know to be false. I try to keep in my heart that the battle belongs to the Lord. That does not relieve me of responsibility to obey His call, but relieves me of thinking I secure the outcome. I do not. God does. I am only to speak truth as He enables me and let Him secure the victory.

This is a good concept to remember no matter what battle in life you are facing. Be faithful, obey God's call, and let Him secure the victory. Good Friday, the day we reflect on the crucifixion of Jesus is a good day to remember that when the battle seems MOST lost, it is actually being MOST won.

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Join us in the battle for lives. E-mail me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com
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For an in-depth look at sidewalk counseling with true stories, this book may be helpful to you.
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2 Chronicles 20:15

And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.

Ephesians 6:12

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Zechariah 4:6

Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.

1 Samuel 17:47

And that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.”

2 Chronicles 32:7

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

Golden Years Well Spent

My art class at the nursing home was filled with new students. I wish I could show you their faces but due to HIPA laws, I cannot. They were so attentive, and so enjoyed drawing and painting watering cans. All of them told me that they were very grateful I had taken the time to help them learn how to draw and paint.

One said she was too old to learn new things. I asked her if she had ever heard of Grandma Moses. She had not.

"She was a woman who started painting when she was  almost 80," I told the lady.
"Oh my!" the lady said.
"And she became a famous artist!"
"At age 80??" the lady asked.
"Yes! So see, you are not too old!"

God delivers a similar message throughout the Bible. For example, Caleb was 85 years old when he was told to go drive out the enemies of Israel and take control of the Promised Land. He claims to have felt as strong and capable as when he was twenty. His strength and vigor in old age seems to have been related to his whole-hearted following of God. God's purpose does have a way of energizing us beyond what we ever imagined we could do.

As part of my new job as Volunteer Coordinator with Cities4Life, I am helping develop a new volunteer packet. We thought a testimonial about one of the moms I work with would be useful. I was going to write one, but then found a document in my files from two years ago with several testimonials I had already written. As I read them, I remembered these moms who had chosen life over abortion in the midst of devastating circumstances. I remember how I felt as a brand new sidewalk counselor in front of the terrible abortion center and facing an evil that was so thick it hurt to breathe. And somehow I was expected to speak on behalf of the babies when I could hardly draw a breath for the pain of what was happening there!

But as I reread these testimonials from my first days as a counselor,  I was amazed that those women's impossible situations had not dictated their actions and they had been influenced to follow God and to choose life by ....me. Little untrained, clueless, tongue-tied, shy, and forgetful me... entering my 6th decade of life having NEVER done anything remotely as scary as this in my youth.

Whether having youthful vigor or not, our age should never limit our ability to try new things and especially, to seek and follow God. If God blesses you with many years, it is an act of gratitude to use those years to their fullest in service to Him and His people.

One woman in my art class had tremors in her hands due to Parkinsons, and struggled to finish her work. I offered to help. When it was done, I asked if I should add anything else?
"Well, you are creative. What do you think?"
"It's almost Easter, and I believe Christ died for our sins and rose again, just as we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday. Maybe I could put a cross in the background?"
The woman nodded.
I painted in a cross and then signed it for her. Her eyes glistened with tears.
"I will keep this," she said.
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Meanwhile, my folks own golden years just got brighter. My amazing sister Amy helped move them to Tucson where now they have adorable, charming GREAT GRANDCHILDREN to see every day. I suspect Amy added ten years to their lives.

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The broadcast on WFAE 90.7 FM (NPR Charlotte) about the clash between pro-life and pro-choice groups where I minister on the sidewalks with the pro-life group, Cities4Life,  will begin live at 8:30 for reporter analysis, and then an hour long discussion from 9-10 a.m. EST.  I have been told it will be available to hear all day Thursday on-line at WFAE.org
I was mic'ed much of the time by the reporter so he could catch what I said to the women. Oh Lord I pray I didn't say anything too stupid.
Click here for preview: 
http://wfae.org/post/free-speech-claims-enter-abortion-protests-charlotte-clinic
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If you would like to learn more about our ministry helping guide abortion-minded women to choose life and to choose God, please go HERE for more info, or email me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com
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Joshua 14: 6-13
⁶ Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. ⁷ I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, ⁸ but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. ⁹ So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’
¹⁰ “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! ¹¹ I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. ¹² Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”
¹³ Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

Hold On To Your Family

My folks flew to Arizona to start their new life. After living six or so decades in NY, they need a little more help with daily living and decided to move to a beautiful new place near my sister Amy. With the herculean efforts of Amy and my brother, they packed up all their belongings and winged their way across the nation with the able accompaniment of Amy.

Unfortunately, unexpected weather delayed them and forced an unplanned overnight in Chicago. Another wonderful sister who lives outside Chicago was able to meet them, get them a great hotel, and herd the exhausted threesome into a comfy room for the night. Then she returned just a few hours later to get them back to the insanity of Chicago Airport and safely on their plane to Arizona.

With relief, I gazed at the photo of them in Arizona, signing the paperwork that allows them to move into their new home. I know this has not been easy on them. Tremendous upheaval and unfamiliar adventures await them. It is hard enough to face completely new horizons in our twenties...let alone our eighties.

I pray that I am as blessed as they are however. They raised five kids and now it's payback time. At some point in the past few months, every one of their children rushed to their side to help as best as our schedule, resources, and ability allowed. I have never been as grateful to have siblings as I have been in helping my parents in their time of need.


Meanwhile, I have been deeply involved the past two weeks helping a family that is falling apart. It is a family I worked with through my Cities4Life volunteer work with abortion-minded women. No family is perfect...and some are definitely less perfect than others. But Satan would like nothing better than to destroy the family.

Hold on to your family. Do whatever it takes to heal the fractures that all relationships suffer at some point. Look to God for the model of what it means to be a family, and strive to follow His perfect plan as well as possible. Love lavishly, forgive repeatedly, model Christ-like sacrifice endlessly. This is a battle worth winning.
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Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

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.

Ephesians 3:14-15

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,

"I Hear the Baby Crying" - A Premonition

Yesterday, a woman who was very abortion minded came on the RV for an ultrasound when she was fed up with the abortion center. Two women had wanted to come on our mobile ultrasound RV parked on the curb of the abortion center, and were talked out of it by the pro-choice counselor! Ultimately, the one who came on our RV chose life and she and her boyfriend asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. She had entered the RV tearful and overwhelmed. She left smiling, and hugged me for a crushing (painful) long time.

I can't divulge many details for privacy reasons, but I will tell you one little story she shared with us. She was determined to abort and so did not tell her young child about her pregnancy. One day, long before this mom was showing any sign of the baby growing within her, she said her little five-year-old came to her and hugged her tummy.

"Mommy," the little child said pressing her cheek against her mother's midsection, "I hear the baby crying."

I wonder if this sweet woman returned home yesterday after choosing life for her unborn baby, and the little five-year-old pressed her face against her mother's womb saying, "Mommy, I hear the baby laughing."

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Three women chose life yesterday on the sidewalk of the abortion center.  Please join us, the fields are ripe for harvest but the workers are few. Go HERE for information about this life-affirming ministry.
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The radio show featuring the pro-life vs. pro-choice presence on the sidewalks of the abortion center did not air yesterday. I don't know why. The reporter did not return my call or email. However we were told it will air Thursday, WFAE.org all day Thursday on line, and 9-10 a.m. for first broadcast, 90.7 FM locally in Charlotte.
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Genesis 21: 6-7
 ⁶ And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” ⁷ She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”

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Latest review on my new book (book sold HERE) 

5.0 out of 5 starsA very nice coming-of-age Christian story.

ByLadycat on April 10, 2017

This book has good character development, with a little romance and a little mystery. Animal lovers will appreciate the education you get in Eagle rehabilitation! I didn't realize just how much I didn't know about that subject, even though one of my friends is a licensed raptor rehabilitator!
This book is squeaky clean, and the simple message makes it completely suitable for teens, new Christians, and for anyone who struggles with forgiveness.

Delighting in a Child's Delight

Yesterday, I rolled my kayak on its little cart to the Catawba River shore to launch. A little boy and girl were standing there with their dad.
"I want to go in the boat," the little girl said.
"One day when you are old enough to paddle, I will take you," he said.
The little children fell silent, looking longingly at my kayak.

I had not eaten lunch. I had dashed to the river right after church. Hubby was a guitarist in the second service worship band so wouldn't miss me, but I wanted to be back before he returned home. I was on a tight, careful, down to the minute schedule. If I could launch in ten seconds, kayak one hour, and pack up in 5 minutes, I would be home in time. I had not one second to spare.

The kids' big eyes followed my every move. I made a decision.

"Would you like a ride in my boat?" I asked, "If it is okay with your dad?"
"Is it okay, Dad?????" the children asked, jumping up and down.
He nodded.

The little boy went first. I taught him how to paddle, then held on to my tie rope and shoved the kayak into the river. He was very excited. He held the paddles upside down, so he wasn't really propelling the boat, but he was still very proud of himself.

Now it was the little girl's turn. She had cowboy boots on. I told her I had cowboy boots just like hers. I lifted her into my kayak so she wouldn't get her boots wet.

I took their pictures which I texted immediately to the daddy, who told me those pictures would go right in his photo album. I lifted the little girl out of the boat, and the two children stood on shore gripping their dad's hand.

"Thank you," they said, in their tiny voices.
"You're welcome. You did a very good job paddling."

Then I got in my kayak and they cheered as the dad pointed out how fast I went when I paddled away from shore. I would not be able to keep to my carefully crafted schedule but I wouldn't have traded those smiles on those sweet faces for anything!

I thought of the pro-choice protesters we will face today on the sidewalks of the abortion center. One of their favorite taunts is we are pro-birth, not pro-life. They claim we care only about the baby being born and then nothing about what happens to him after that. I thought of my fellow counselor who is trying to find furniture for a mom she works with as well as clothes for one of the mom's older kids. Another  pro-life counselor spent her Saturday providing a baby shower for a mom who chose life over abortion in which she will receive EVERYTHING her child will need for the first two years of life. I spent part of my day Saturday in ongoing crisis counseling with a mom of a 9-month old. Then I thought of my delight brightening the day of those little children I had never met before.

Maybe some of you believe this lie of the pro-choice crowd. I would urge you to stand with us on the sidewalks of the abortion center. See for yourself. We need more people willing to help these conflicted moms at the place where they most need to hear someone tell them they are not alone. God is there, and so are His servants here on earth eager to do His will. Please email me at vkaseorg@cities4life.com for information about Cities4Life sidewalk ministry.

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The radio report by the NPR reporter that visited us on the sidewalks last Monday will be broadcast this morning on 90.7 FM Charlotte, WFAE, from 9-10 a.m., and then rebroadcast 9-10 p.m.  It is also available to listen to all day Monday online at WFAE.org

I have no idea if it will be a favorable presentation or not. I hope it will be, but who knows? It is easy to take phrases out of context, resulting in a distorted view. Please pray that a positive portrayal of the wonderful Cities4Life ministry is presented.
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Many of my readers have requested the link to my new book in paperback when it came out on Amazon. It is HERE!!!!
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Luke 18:15-17

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Soaking up the Son

It has been a very busy week, with three days on the abortion center sidewalk,  two full days helping a mom in desperate crisis with an abusive situation, and publishing my latest novel. Amazingly, I came through it all with a few deeper, darker circles under my eyes but otherwise rejoicing over God's miracles of provision.

The abusive crisis seems to have sparked the desire for true healing on the entire family. I am praying that the early signs of true sorrow, repentence, and desire to reconcile and seek counsel and God is real and will be sustained. In a week this situation went from hopeless destruction of a family to hopeful healing and redemption. The story is not over, but God hasn't stopped working on it yet.

The new novel had a few miracles as well. Every time I send my files for a new book to the publisher, I rip my hair out in distress. I can never get the files to work with the publisher format, and usually spend days and countless revisions and uploads. This time, all files went through PERFECTLY the first time. NEVER has that happened.

So this weekend, I actually had free time. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. I had started my new novel, book 4 in the series I am writing, but after working on that a while, felt I had earned time to go enjoy the beautiful day on my bicycle.

I went on a long bikeride on the greenway by my house. Spring is springing. Trees are bursting out in buds, azalea are blooming, and turtles are sunning. I had to stop and take a photograph of the line-up of turtles on a log, all warming their little cold-blooded limbs.

What interesting thoughts that led to. All these creatures were lined up, unable to warm their own bodies, completely dependent on the sun to do that.

So am I!!!

Completely dependent on the Son.

I may have warm blood, but without the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to cover and warm my soul, I am nothing. Nothing. Unable to move through life the way I was designed. Unable to thaw my own frozen heart of sin. Unable to find sustenance and joy. It is ONLY through the healing light of the Son that I rest secure for all eternity.

Besides sending me a cascade of thoughts about Jesus, the line-up of turtles also made me laugh.
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To purchase my latest book which is at its core a story of finding God and healing, click HERE.
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John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

John 9:5 "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

Isaiah 42:6 "I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations,

Luke 2:32 A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."

John 12:46 "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

Blessings Flow When God's People Gather

I love my new hoodie to wear on the sidewalks of the abortion center. It says: Pregnancy Counselor. Since I have taken on new responsibilities with Cities4Life and now help train and coordinate new sidewalk volunteers, I am out there three days a week. The director of Cities4Life, Daniel, kindly gave me official shirts and this hoodie so I don't have to keep washing my one Cities4Life shirt.

I was there with a whole host of new volunteers Friday, and it was so good they were there. The 'pro-choice escorts' were quite confrontational and it was nice to have so much support by gentle Christians on the sidewalk speaking on behalf of LIFE. I got to practice my apologetics skill in discussion with one woman who said the unborn baby wasn't human. She said the baby "became" human when the heart started beating. I asked if she knew that happened at 17 days before most women even knew they were pregnant, before anyone here was getting an abortion. She told me not to think she didn't know these things. She claimed she was a minister but didn't believe the Bible nor that God created life.  She had no clue or thoughts on how the universe came to be, and believed in God but not that He had much of a role in creating anything. I am unsure what she ministered about. Her major line of argument with us was that we were judging others; she had told us that six times, and therefore we should shut up.

At any rate, gradually, they all left. Daniel told me he was leaving too. Would I be there long? It was after lunch time and the lot was emptying of cars.
"Not too much longer," I said.
"Now don't burn out," he warned.
"I know...I just hate leaving when someone hasn't chosen life yet..." I paused in my discussion with him to offer literature to a woman in a car leaving the center parking lot. The woman rolled down her window.
She smiled at me.
"Did you change your mind??" I asked. (If they stop and they are smiling, it is never because they just took the life of their child...)
She nodded.

Daniel grinned in the background and later told me, "No sooner did you say you hated to leave before someone had chosen life when God sent you someone who chose life."

I sure don't deserve the God I serve. These sorts of miracles of answered prayer happen all the time in that terrible place.

I asked the woman what changed her mind. "Everything you all were saying," she told me."God was speaking to me so loudly...so many signs...and then all of you and what you were saying." A very sweet counselor with six young children was on the mic right before the woman left. Her gentle message seems to have finally swayed this conflicted woman that we had been speaking with all morning.

The woman was very grateful for all the resources and material needs we could supply. I asked if she worked.
"Not now," she said, "But I am looking for a job. I want to go back to school but I can't...I don't have a car."
I gasped. I had JUST had a car offered and freed up when another mom turned out not to need it.
"I think I have a car for you!" I said.
She glanced at the cigarette she was smoking. "This is the last cigarette for me. God is talking loud and clear. I won't hurt my baby."

Oh friends! How gloriously gracious of God to show us so many miracles through our willingness to be on that sidewalk. It never fails. Miracles abound when we submit joyfully to His call.

Later that evening, the mom who chose life texted me: "Thank you for everything and you truly made me feel 100 times better today. You are a blessing."

I am wallowing in joy and holy delight. The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Will you join us? We had three new woman on the sidewalk Friday-- praying, listening, and shadowing the counselors. I think there were fifteen young children out there as well, praying, smiling at the women, reminding them of the miracle of life. Blessings flow when God's people show up. If interested, please click HERE for info, or email Vicky at vkaseorg@cities4life.com

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Nehemiah 8:10

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Galatians 5:22

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Romans 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.