Archive for » September, 2009 «

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 | Author: Heather

God has laid a concern for the unborn on my heart.  He has also laid a concern on my heart for another group of the weakest and least in our society, our elderly. Go to any nursing home in your area.  When you walk into the lobby, you will see folks sitting all around, staring out the door, hoping to see someone they know walk in.  I go to a nursing home in my area, not to work in any particular position, but just to sit and visit with people God has brought into my life.  I did not know them prior to starting to visit, except for one gentleman, but met them when I started coming to sing with my stepmother as she plays the piano.  Now, they are my dear friends.  We chat and visit, study the Bible, and pray together.  Some may seem confused at first, but the longer you talk with them, the more oriented they become.  Some can’t answer me or even tell me their name, but I never fail to get a smile from them.  I pray each day that I will be able to do something to bring hope and cheer to their day. 

There is a song I love that talks about us being the Body of Christ.  If we are the Body, why aren’t His arms reaching, His hands healing, His words teaching, His feet going, His love showing the Way to eternal life?  I would add, why are there so many lonely souls crying out for love and companionship in our nursing homes, and no one to sit and spend time with them?  I  urge all to join in just visiting and making friends, then don’t stop!  Keep going!  You will grow and benefit so much!

Stand Up for the Gospel! Reach Out to this hurting world! Care for the least among us!  Put your name on the List and show the world we are strong, only when we are in Christ!!!

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 | Author: Heather

I received this announcement, and wanted to share it with you.  Let’s all take a stand for the weakest among us! Stand Up for those who need our protection and need to feel the love of Christ through us!  Get on the List.!

Dear Friends for Life,
 
The following is the prayer and intention to end abortion that was started by David Bereit.  There will be a special prayer intention for 40 days.
 
I hope that you will all join in this special daily prayer. 

 

For Life,


Mary Ellen Van Dyke


Executive Director
Vanderburgh County Right to Life
20 NW 4th St.
Evansville, IN  47708
Phone:  (812) 474-3195
Fax:  (812) 474-3196
e-mail: 
mevandyke@protectinglife.com


Vanderburgh County Right to Life protects life through education, services, and advocacy so that in law and practice every life is valued.

 

 

DAY 7 INTENTION
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May we have a heart and a zeal to save the poor and release the oppressed.
 
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SCRIPTURE
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The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
 
– Luke 4:18-19
 
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REFLECTION by Fr. Terry Gensemer
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This passage is a very familiar one. It has been preached on many occasions, even made popular in books and songs. Though the quote is about Jesus, all Christians take this commission seriously as a directive on how to reach the world with the gospel.
 
We, like our Savior, are to bring the good news to the poor, the broken hearted, those in captivity, those who cannot see, and the oppressed.
 
The commission given to us in this passage is clearly a charge to care for those for whom God cares the most. I wonder though, whom do we look for to be touched by the Holy Spirit as we go out into the world?
 
Who are the poor, if not those unborn children who have been abandoned by their parents before they ever leave the womb?
 
Who are the broken hearted, if not those unborn children whose only example of love is having their mother take them to an abortion clinic to be destroyed, or the mother of a child who has been deceived by everyone around her into believing that what she is doing is best for her and her child?
 
Who are the captives, if not those unborn children who are bound over to death by the “choice” of abortion?
 
Who is more blind than an unborn child in the darkness of a womb that has become a waiting room for their death?
 
And who is more oppressed than those unborn children whose oppression has been legitimized by their government, their church and even their family and loved ones?
 
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PRAYER
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Lord, You empower us with Your Spirit to do your will in the earth. Send us to the poorest, the most broken, the most captive, the most blind and the most oppressed in the world, the innocent pre-born children in their mother’s wombs that are scheduled for destruction. Help us to bring them healing, liberty, sight and justice through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
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People participating in the 40 Days for Life vigil watched as a young man who appeared to be in tears walked into Planned Parenthood with his girlfriend and her mother.
 
When they left some time later, he was most certainly crying — and obviously quite upset.
 
I’ll let one of the prayer vigil participants pick up the story…
 
  I watched him head down the street, alternating
  between wiping the tears from his face and punching
  the buildings in anger and frustration as he passed
  them. Eventually he headed back toward the parking
  lot. As he approached, I went to him first. All I
  could think to say was that I was so very sorry for
  his loss. He began to cry again.
 
  Then a truck pulled up leaving the parking lot with
  his girlfriend and her mother inside. The girl’s
  mother yelled at him to get in and cursed him as he
  opened the door. He had one foot inside, then
  stepped back out and closed the door. As she drove
  away he promptly sat down on the curb and cried
  like a baby. Three of us sat down beside him — all
  men — and cried with him.
  
  Eventually, he began to talk. He was probably in
  his very early twenties. He told us that his
  girlfriend did not want to keep the child because
  she feared they would not be able to provide for
  him. He asked her how she could destroy a life
  based on a hunch. He told her this child had a
  heartbeat and a soul and deserved to live. He even
  tried to convince her to, at the very least, put
  the child up for adoption.
 
  I was struck by the fact that this young man knew
  all this simply because his heart told him it was
  true. He was wise well beyond his years and he was
  hurting terribly.
 
  I was struck by the clear reality that fathers have
  so little to do with whether their own children
  live or die. I also couldn’t help but notice that
  despite the high volume of Planned Parenthood
  volunteers around, none of them approached him.
 
  Before I left him, he stood up to hug me. All I
  could tell him was what I truly believed — that
  today, his child knows that his/her father fought
  for it. That to his child, he is a hero and that
  someday he would know that also.
 
Please pray for this young man and others like him.
The tragedy of abortion is real and happening every day. No one knows that better than he.
 
I sincerely hope this young man comes to embrace the exceptional advice he was given; but that will most certainly take time. I cannot even begin to imagine the anguish.
 
This is a first-person account of what abortion does to fathers. Who knows how many others have walked in his shoes, as there are more than a million abortions every year — and more than 50 million since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that opened the floodgates to abortion on demand.
 
Let’s pray even harder!

Thursday, September 24th, 2009 | Author: Heather

For those who do not use credit cards or paypal, you can still add your name.  Simply send a check or money order, with your name/names, life verses, etc written specifically and plainly, to the following address:

Iamnotashamedthelist

PO Box # 77

Norris City, Il. 62869

Thursday, September 24th, 2009 | Author: Heather

I spend a lot of time visiting friends in a local nursing home.  As time has gone on, the Lord has brought many wonderful people into my life through this.  All are lonely, and struggle with discouragement as they suffer deterioration, loss of control and abilities, and miss their families and loved ones who have died.  I spend much of my time trying to encourage and strengthen their faith, and just to be a friend.

One day, I was reading the Bible to a friend along with my pastor.  There was a woman nearby who was asleep in her chair.  I attempted to speak to her and welcome her to our study.  She opened her eyes, but did not respond.  She could not even tell me her name.  However, while we were reading, she suddenly began to speak, saying, “Even if I was the only one, Jesus still would have died for me!”  Then, she began to recite several scriptures word for word.  After this, she would not speak, and could not tell us her name.

I learned two most valuable lessons from this little lady.  The first concerns the value of memorizing scripture. Proverbs 7 tells us in verses 1-3 “My son, keep My words and store up My commands within you.  Keep My commands and you will live; guard My teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tabet of your heart.”  From this woman, far advanced in dementia, I learned that, if we “write” God’s word on “the tablet of our hearts” through memorizing scripture, then nothing can steal it away from us; not age, dementia, or physical frailty.  The government may come in one day and take our Bibles, but what is stored in our heart is ours forever.

The first lesson was immediate.  The second lesson came later as I pondered the events of the day.  In this day and age, with our debates over use of healthcare dollars, many would question this woman’s quality of life, and would probably think that she could make no significant contributions to society (I use this new age’s language here).  She was unable to walk or sit up, and someone had to bathe, dress, and feed her, and attend to all bodily functions.  She was so advanced in her dementia that she could not even tell us her name (which I later found out was “Phoebe”).  What good was her life?  Well, God used this woman to teach me perhaps the most valuable lessons I have ever learned in my Christian life.  My second lesson:  God has a plan and a purpose for all of us, and He has placed us in just the right situation to accomplish His will, if we are willing.  He can use anyone to accomplish His will, even a nursing home resident far advanced in dementia.  We are ALL here for a reason and we ALL have a purpose, even if we can’t see it or understand it.

I have tried to thank Miss Phoebe, but I don’t think she understands.  No matter; when we are both home with Jesus and whole in body and mind, I will thank her then!

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 | Author: Heather

Sorry to any who have tried to add your names to The List.  There were some problems with paypal that have now been resolved, so everything is once again up and running.

This website was created, I believe, in response to my prayers for God to show a way I could work from home, continue to assist my husband in contributing to our household, fund some very important mission projects, and most of all, give me time to participate in full time ministry.  I believe that this site will glorify God, and will inspire and spur on Christians to change our country and our world, as they realize they are not alone or in a small minority.

  I hope to receive your comments and prayer requests, and look forward to knowing your life verses and how God is working in your lives! Let’s get this list going, and show the world that we stand up in the security and knowledge of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!  Let’s shine His light on the internet and show the world WE ARE NOT ASHAMED!

In His Name,

Heather