Dear Mike,
Judging from the hundreds of e-mail messages I get
daily, you like to hear stories about babies saved
from abortion, and you like to see pictures of 40
Days for Life in action. So, today I bring you both!
Kristina and Michele in Syracuse, New York were
praying in front of Planned Parenthood when two young
women stopped to talk. One of the young women said
she was pregnant and going to Planned Parenthood for
an abortion.
Instead, she was encouraged to visit a pro-life
pregnancy resource center where she was offered a
free ultrasound. "Long story short," said Kristina,
"the girl decided against having the abortion. Praise
the Lord!"
"To all those who are there with us in spirit and
praying at home, we thank you from the bottom of our
hearts," Michele added. "It is because of your
prayers and God's love and mercy that this young
woman's baby was saved."
You can see a picture of some of the 40 Days for Life
participants in Syracuse at:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=315
Sandy in Toms River, New Jersey reported that a young
couple drove into the abortion center parking lot.
The woman got out and walked towards the clinic; the
man stayed in the car.
A counselor asked if the young woman needed any help.
She told the counselor she was pregnant and couldn't
take care of another baby because she already had a
young child. The woman went back to the car, looked
at the pro-life literature she was given, and then
entered the building.
An hour later, she left the clinic and went back to
the sidewalk to tell the counselor she had decided to
keep the baby.
"I am convinced that all the prayers and sacrifices
being offered to God since the start of the campaign
had a part in this miracle," Sandy said. "In a
spectacular display of religious unity in our belief
in the sanctity of life, a group of women from the
Pentecostal Church of Grace and Peace prayed at the
front of the clinic while a group of Catholic women
prayed by the entrance. This is what 40 Days for Life
is all about!"
To see a picture of the faithful people taking part
in 40 Days for Life in Toms River, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=315
Melissa in Charlotte, North Carolina found out
firsthand that because of its widespread
availability, abortion can even tempt people of
faith. At the 40 Days for Life vigil, she met a woman
who was at the clinic to schedule an abortion.
"She broke down crying and revealed that she was a
Christian, who had fallen into sin," Melissa said.
The child's father, a married leader in her church,
was pressuring her to have an abortion. "She knew it
was wrong, but she didn't know what to do." She had
spoken to her pastor, but had not received any
definitive counsel.
Still, it was obvious the woman knew the truth; her
car had a "let God have his way" sticker and the
bible was sitting on the passenger seat. "We hugged
her and listened to her as she poured her heart out
and wept on our shoulder. After baring her soul,"
Melissa said, "she chose life!"
Melissa asks for your prayers for this woman. "She
has a very difficult road ahead and she is obviously
going to be ostracized by those closest to her for
making the decision to carry this child to term."
To see a picture of the 40 Days for Life team in
Charlotte, standing alongside a mobile ultrasound
unit, go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=315
Those are just a FEW of the stories of at least 123
lives saved so far by your prayers and participation
in this 40 Days for Life.
I can't wait to share even more stories and pictures
with you in the coming days!
Here's today's devotional from Randolph Sly of the
National Pro-life Religious Council...
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DAY 13 INTENTION
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For all fathers who are terrified of being fathers.
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SCRIPTURE
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A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is
God in His holy habitation.
-- Psalm 68:5
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REFLECTION by Randolph Sly
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I had a friend many years ago who confided in me that
he was terrified of being a father. He and his wife
already had two children when this revelation came
forth. "I never knew my father," he explained, "and I
have no idea what a father is supposed to do."
We continued to share about this, as well as pray
together. He began to see he had a father's heart for
his children. His biggest problem was not a
limitation on love but not knowing how to act out
this love.
One day we talked about the verse quoted at the top
of this page. I shared that he did know his Father...
not his biological father but his Heavenly Father,
who had rescued him from a life of destruction not
many years before.
"How did your Heavenly Father guide you?" I asked. He
talked about the ways he had seen God's love offered
to him and the way the Lord had used circumstances
and the Scriptures to mold him and mature him. "Well,
the Lord wants to do the same thing through you for
your children. Be available to His love and available
to your kids. You'll do fine."
How wonderful it is to know that God takes a personal
interest in each of us, many times using His faithful
people -- the Church -- as channels of this love. No
one is fatherless who lives in the Lord. His fatherly
care begins at the moment of our conception, as it is
written, "you knit me together in my mother's womb"
(Psalm 139:12), and continues to be poured upon us
throughout our lives.
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PRAYER
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Heavenly Father, we thank you for caring about each
of us so deeply. Help us to see and know you as our
Father in heaven each and every day of our lives.
Your loving hand also rests on every child today
carried in its mother's womb. May they be born into
this world and come to know fully and personally your
endless love. We ask this through Jesus Christ our
Lord, Amen.
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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
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To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends:
http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2009day13print.pdf
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For Life,
David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life
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