My Pro-Life Journey

Growing up I certainly don't ever remember hearing anything about abortion. If it was mentioned in church, it was certainly never talked about in my family or anywhere else that I would have been. It wasn't until I was out of college that I actually started to hear about it. Before our first child was born I worked in a doctor's office. I remember a young lady (maybe in her very early 20s) coming in who had marked on her registration papers that she had had 5 previous abortions. She was very pretty and full of energy; not someone who appeared to be bogged down by her past.

One day the topic of this young lady and her number of abortions came up. There was a nurse assistant there who was pro-life and she expressed her opinion that this was wrong. Me, being the ignorant person I was on the subject, started asking her questions. It wasn't that I was pro-abortion, it was just that I really didn't have any opinion on the subject. After some further discussion she asked me how I could not have an opinion. I didn't have an answer for her. I went home and thought more about it. I will never forget the day that I bounced into work and told her, "Guess what, I finally decided that abortion is wrong and that the government shouldn't be allowed to say it's okay!" I'm not quite sure what I expected from her, but at least she was gracious and just smiled and said she was glad I had come to that conclusion.

Fast forward a few more years and two children later. I hadn't spent any time after that last conversation thinking much about the abortion issue. I was pretty much entrenched in my "2 kids only, I want a career" mentality.When my second daughter was about six months old, I had a very powerful conversion experience - one that left me convinced that anything related to an anti-life agenda was something I could have no part in.

I began to read and research my faith like a starving person looking for food. It was at this time that my husband and I started to wonder what this all meant for our family. We had to take a crash course in NFP so that we had some time to adjust to all of this new information and try to figure things out. A good friend of mine who was very instrumental to my conversion, suggested, among other things, that we sign up with the Living Rosary association. By signing up, my husband and I would each be assigned a decade of the rosary to pray every day for certain intentions in conjunction with others around the world. When I got my assigned decade in the mail, I wasn't too surprised to see that it was the third Joyful Mystery - the Birth of Jesus. We both agreed that God was calling us to more children.

In our opinion, God reaffirmed our ideas about increasing our family size, as well as cemented the thought that we were to be involved in the pro-life movement, by blessing us with our third child on January 22nd of the following year. We consider her our conversion child, and the one who got us involved in pro-life activities.

As time went on and our family grew, getting involved in things became more difficult. I was involved with our parish pro-life group and we did a couple of events throughout the year. Our biggest surprise was getting kicked out of the annual Kiddy parade held during the town's summer festival. They kindly asked us not to bring our political agenda to the parade (we used to do all kinds of obnoxious things like had out balloons and pencils and stuff)!

I used to feel bad about not being able to head up different pro-life events, or keep up with all the phone-tree alerts that I came across, but then it dawned on me that in our own way, we were still spreading the pro-life message. As our family grew and we made more of a scene every time we left the house, I found solace in the words of St. Francis: Preach at all times. Use words when necessary. Our willingess to be open to life was a big part of spreading the message! I know it's tough to raise a lot of children in today's world, but just remember the message that you carry with you to evreyone who knows you, or even just sees you (and no, it's not "You must be insane!).

So that is where we are at. We try to get involved in things whenever we can. Now that the kids are getting older, it's getting easier because we can get them involved even if we can't be. This past fall they participated in passing out pre-election flyers to local churches and, at the last minute, we sent our eldest on a bus to Washington DC for today's March for Life. A big step for all of us. I just pray that everyone returns home safely!

Our pro-life commitment is a big part of our family and our education. Even if you can't be formally involved in committees or planning events, you can still do a lot to spread the word. With the internet, it has become even easier. No more phone calls, just send an email. Pass on important alerts with the click of the mouse! Alleluia! And, if you can do nothing else, you can pray! Pray the rosary, pray novenas, offer up those late-nite nursings for the unborn. The possiblities are endless and the graces you receive will be abundant!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Unborn, pray for us!

God Bless!

Post Inauguration Thoughts

I have been mulling over a few thoughts about what we saw yesterday during the swearing in and the President's speech. I had it all put together in my head until I checked my email and saw this video:



I think that says enough.

I would also like to ask that you join me in praying every day for the conversion of our new president. With his charisma, he could do A LOT of good. Watching him yesterday say, "So help me God" gave me chills. I feel it is our responsibility, as Christians, to pray for his conversion.

God Bless!

Inauguration Day 2009

Welcome to Inauguration Day 2009!

Last night I discovered that President Obama's Inauguration theme is "A New Birth of Freedom". According to the Inaugural website, "A New Birth of Freedom" commemorates the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The words, echoing across 200 years from Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg address, express Lincoln's hope that the sacrifice of those who died to preserve the United States would lead to "a new birth of freedom" for the nation.

I also understand that President Obama is using Lincoln's Bible for his swearing in. With all this focus on Abraham Lincoln, we can only hope and pray that all of the novenas and masses that have been said will cause our new President to have a change of heart and truly embrace some of Lincoln's thoughts on freedom. We can also only hope and pray that the President's idea of freedom will encompass all people from conception to natural death.

If you would like to use a banner like the one above, you can go to the Catholic Information Network and check it out, as well as any of the other banners, pictures and information they have on this topic. You're free to use their images to help promote the message that Freedom should extend to everyone; even to those who have no voice!

God Bless!

O Glorious St. Joseph

Allison over at Totus Tuus had a wonderful post last week about picking a patron Saint for yourself, your family or even your blog, for the year 2009. She even volunteered to let the Holy Spirit lead her and pick one for you. I decided to see who she would pick for our family and I was so glad that she was led to pick a very dear friend and companion of our family. In fact, this saint has been the patron saint of our business for the past 11 years.
The wonderful and ever faithful St. Joseph. I can't tell you how many times the intercessory powers of this faithful saint have been called upon by our family. Many times we can even say that he sends us the answer to our prayers just the way we asked for them.

If you are not familiar with it, there is a wonderful prayer to St. Joseph from the Pieta prayer book. I've posted it before, but in honor of our 2009 Patron Saint, I'll post it again:

O St. Joseph whose protection is so great, so strong, so prompt before the Throne of God, I place in you all my interests and desires. O St. Joseph do assist me by your powerful intercession and obtain for me from your Divine Son all spiritual blessings through Jesus Christ, Our Lord; so that having engaged here below your Heavenly power I may offer my Thanksgiving and Homage to the most Loving of Fathers. O St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms. I dare not approach while He reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss His fine Head for me, and ask Him to return the Kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, Patron of departing souls, pray for us. Amen.

I'm not sure if Allison is still picking saints for people, but you can certainly pick one for yourself. I think it is a nice idea to have a different Saint that our family can get aquainted with each year. It's like bringing new friends into the family - ones that will stay for a lifetime!

God Bless!

7 Quick Takes Friday - Vol 7

Here's another 7 Quick Takes Friday. Check out Conversion Diary for more fun!

1.

We've been working with our new split schedule (Mon/Thurs and Tues/Wed) for two weeks now and I have to say that it is not that bad. The little bit of change it gives us is nice, but it is still hard to remember what schedule we're supposed to be following. The only thing I miss is the 1/2 hour I would spend every day with each child going over things. The plus is that we are able to spend more time all together and cover more subjects. While I liked the individual time, that 2 1/2 hours every day was very hard to keep up with.

2.

I found a new Bible verse that I think I will make my own. I was reading my meditation from, you guessed it, "In Conversation With God" and the topic was how we can not let problems take away our joy. The author says, "A cheerful countenance attracts men to God, showing them what the presence of God produces within the soul. This is why the Holy Spirit gives us the advice, 'Do not be downcast or look troubled, for the joy of the Lord is your strength' (Neh 8:10)" What a good verse to carry around in your head when you come in contact with all of the struggles in the world today.

3.

It always amazes me how messy two little children can make a house when no one is paying attention. We've had a relatively uninterrupted week of school and boy did it show in my house. I guess it's a good thing, though: we were all so busy and intent on learning that no one cared how many things they had to step over just to navigate around the house. For those of you who enjoy seeing my house messy, you missed your chance (we cleaned it up last night!).

4.

My husband and I were out driving around the other day while it was snowing profusely and we got to talking about how we get so caught up in getting angry at the weather - how it makes it hard for us to get to where we need to go - that we don't stop and appreciate the beauty that it brings. It was nice to spend some time that day enjoying the snow covered landscapes instead of being worried or upset about how rotten it was to drive in it.

5.

A while back we went to our first Latin Mass and I have to say that I wasn't hooked and really have no desire to go back. Well, it seems that I might be wrong about not going back because lately, everywhere I turn, I'm either reading about how beautiful the Latin Mass is or running into people who keep encouraging me to try again. It seems that what we went to was the Low Mass and what we really need to experience is the High Mass. I can't believe how many times God has been hitting me over the head with this one in the last month. We'll see what happens.

6.

I haven't had a recipe up in awhile so since I've been reading about the wonderful benefits of fresh garlic, I thought I'd share this great garlic butter recipe with you. You can put it on pieces of bread and stick them in the oven for a few minutes, or slather it all over a loaf of bread, wrap it in tinfoil and put it in the oven for about 20 minutes. Either way, this stuff is great!

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tbl grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbl minced fresh parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp garlic salt

In a small mixing bowl, cream the butter. Add the Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, oregano and garlic salt; mix well.

Enjoy!

7.

Some times you come across a prayer that just says it all so I thought I would share it with you. I have no idea where I first found it or who wrote it.

Lord Jesus, I believe you became man, suffered, died on the cross for my sins and arose from the dead. Jesus I come before you now, just as I am. I am sorry for my sins, I repent of my sins, please forgive me. In Your name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me. I renounce Satan, the evil spirits and all their works. I surrender my life to you. I invite you to be my personal Lord and Savior. Heal me, change me, make me into the kind of person you want me to be. Strengthen me in mind, body, soul and spirit.

Come Lord Jesus, cover me with your precious blood and fill me with your Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, come and grant me your grace, the power of your love and your spiritual gifts. Help me to share your love with my family, my friends, those I work with and all those I meet. I love You, Jesus. I praise You, Jesus. I thank You, Jesus. I shall follow You every day of my life. Amen.

God Bless!

The Mom Song

My niece sent this video to me and it was just too fun to not share with y'all. Boy is it an accurate portrayal of what I say on any given day. Hope you get a chuckle out of it like I did.



God Bless!

Busyness

My husband and I got in a discussion this past weekend about how far "out" into the country we would be willing to move. For example, according to our area, we already live out in the country. What that means around here is that we live on 5 acres and the nearest small town is 5 miles away. The nearest medium/large town is either 20 minutes south or 35 minutes west. Not what a lot of people would consider "living out in the country".

My thoughts were that, as a homeschooling family, it would be difficult to live out where there aren't a lot of people. Let's face it, the less people there are around you, the less likely you are to find at least ONE other family that shares your values and ideals. I have always had other homeschooling families as friends and for support and I think it would make it much more difficult to not have that.

I figured the kids wouldn't want to live too far out there either because they are used to their clubs and activities, etc. Our schedule is usually rather hectic, which is a good thing and a bad thing: I like the social interaction but all the driving makes me nuts.

My husband, on the other hand, wouldn't mind living on some secluded acreage in some relatively unpopulated area. He figures that after we all detoxed from the busyness, we would start to acclimate to the solitude and take the time to learn how to do things like gardening, hunting, hiking and the like. You know, the stuff we don't really have time for now.

Since we've had this conversation, I've been thinking a lot about it. Would it be better to keep up the activity load and just live closer to where all the "action" is, or would it be better to lighten the load and stay out in the country? Of course, God didn't leave me to figure this out alone. To help me along, today I received an email from a group called American Decency which included this story out about busyness (author unknown). Coincidence? I don't really think so.

Give it a read and then think about it for awhile. I think you'll agree with me that it is a pretty accurate picture of life today. Trying to keep up the silence and the prayer time is quite difficult when my mind is racing and my body is trying to keep up. That "out there" country life isn't looking so bad after all.
SATAN'S MEETING: (Read even if you're busy)

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.

In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church."

"We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Savior."

"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil:

"Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children."

"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice."

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly.."

"This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. "

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."

"Give them headaches too! "

"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas."

"Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about His resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."

"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."

"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. "

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus."

"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"

"It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.

Having little time for their God or their families.

Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives..

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!

Does "BUSY" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Please pass this on, if you aren't too BUSY!

IF YOU LOVE JESUS, you know what to do...
[Taken from author unknown]

God Bless!