“Be cheerful with every gift you make… Give to the Most High as he has given to you, just as generously as you can. The Lord always repays and will do it many times over.” (Sirach 35: 9-11)
I really feel like one of the winning edges of the pro-life movement today is cheerfulness. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have truth on our side, but we also need the joy of the Lord and faith in His goodness. Because we have this unfailing joy and faith, even in our times of need and sadness, we have hope. We can be cheerful in our work for Life because we know that you can never “out-give” God! So let every conversation you have about the pro-life cause emanate with that joy. These conversations can be “gifts” to open someone’s eyes. Do not be dragged into an angry exchange of words. We can give gifts of time cheerfully by volunteering at a crisis-pregnancy center, praying outside an abortion mill, or marching in a local parade under the banner of LIFE. And gifts of treasure can make the difference between life and death for the unborn and their mothers. “The Lord always repays and will do it many times over.” Not that we undertake any of these endeavors for payment, but maybe you can use this thought to either add to your cheerfulness or encourage some to bubble up when you need it! Update on Forest View: Forest View remains closed after nine weeks. Praise God! You can see pictures from the Jericho March held at Forest View on May 4 on our website (www.NorthWestFamiliesforLife.weebly.com). Thank you, Elizabeth and Dany from Couples for Christ and St. Emily’s for sharing your photography talents! We will continue to go where the women and babies need us the most by holding our regular Thursday vigil at Dr. Goyal’s Wood Dale clinic (Advantage Medical, 203 E. Irving Park Rd) where we encounter some of the employees and clients from Forest View with love and hope. We will be there from 7:00 am until 12:00 pm this Thursday, May 30, and next, at least. We are still in great need of prayer warriors from 10:30 – 12:00 pm. Laura could really use a prayer buddy for this time! Find out what standing vigil is like at our website. If you can make it, it would be a wonderful gift! We will keep you updated about when and IF Forest View reopens! News from the last two Thursdays’ Wood Dale vigils: ** On Thursday, May 16 we estimate that THREE children were murdered by a man calling himself a doctor. ** One young couple was there getting birth control pills. We were able to give them a fact sheet about the increased incidence of breast cancer among women who take oral contraceptives. In fact, the World Health Organization lists estrogen-progesterone oral contraceptives (the pill) in the highest level of cancer-causing agents. You can read more about this link, as well as the link between abortions and breast cancer here: www.abortionbreastcancer.com/press_releases/130304/index.htm and at the home page for the Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer www.abortionbreastcancer.com ** On Thursday, May 23, we estimate that again THREE babies’ hearts were stopped and their mothers’ hearts were damaged. ** There was a SAVE! Laura arrived after the woman had already entered the clinic. However, her boyfriend Josh was walking back out to the car. Laura was able to share with him all of the resources available. He told her that they already have a 6 month-old baby and Josh himself is only 19 years old. With prayer support, Josh went back inside and came out with his girlfriend and child still safe! The young woman gave a shy smile as she took literature about the Women’s Center. We pray for on-going courage from the Holy Spirit for this couple.
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“‘I, and I alone, am God; no other god is real. I kill and I give life, I wound and I heal and no one can oppose what I do. As surely as I am the living God, I raise my hand and I vow that I will sharpen my flashing sword and see that justice is done.” (Deuteronomy 32: 39-41)
With the verdict of guilty on three counts of murder for three of the four babies Gosnell killed and one count of involuntary manslaughter for the death of a 41 year-old woman, we see a glimmer of the “flashing sword” of God on earth. Yes, He alone is the Author of Life. He alone has sovereignty over Life. Too often people make themselves a god and deem themselves worthy of life and death decisions. Convenience becomes their god. Or money. Or their reputation. Or even fear can be a god if allowed to run rampant and influence decisions. Yet, we have seen the power of God with this court case in Philadelphia and will continue to be His hands and feet on the earth. We urge you to share this news with as many people as you can, especially those who consider themselves pro-choice. You can share it on Facebook or through email. Here is a link to the NBC Philadelphia article about the verdict, so no one can accuse you of sharing biased information! http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Gosnell-Murder-Deliberations-Stretch-into-10th-Day-207178491.html Or post the LifeSiteNews article found here: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-kermit-gosnell-convicted-on-3-of-4-counts-of-murdering-babies Then say a prayer. You never know what might make one of your pro-choice friends reconsider their position and think: If killing these three babies has been condemned as murder, what makes them different from the thousands of babies killed in abortion clinics every day? Jericho March at Forest View: Thank you for joining us in our first ever Jericho March to call down the power of God at one of Dr. Goyal’s 6 abortion clinics, Forest View Medical in Des Plaines. We were blessed to have almost 100 people unite together in prayer led by Father Lalo of St. Edna’s and many super seminarians from Mundelein. Thank you! We will have pictures up on the website soon (www.NorthWestFamiliesforLife.weebly.com) . And we have some encouraging news: We contacted Forest View to ask about a reopening date and they said no date had been set. This may not seem like much, but it is a far cry from the 5 weeks they originally planned to be closed. This is now the seventh week they have been closed. Please keep praying! And join our prayer vigil this Thursday in Wood Dale (Advantage Medical, 203 E. Irving Park Rd) where we encounter some of the employees and clients from Forest View with love and hope. We will be there from 7:00 am until 12:00 pm this Thursday, May 16, and next, at least. We are in desperate need of prayer warriors from 10:30 – 12:00 pm. Laura was there by herself last week. If you can make it, it would be a wonderful blessing! We will keep you updated about when and IF Forest View reopens! News from the last two Thursdays’ Wood Dale vigils: ** On Thursday, May 2, we estimate that. FOUR unique children died at Advantage “Health Care.” ** None of the mothers or fathers would accept our help, but we called out to them with hope and love and prayed for them. None of the children died alone. We offered prayer for their souls, mourned their loss, and loved them. ** On Thursday, May 9, we estimate that SIX children’s lives were lost and SIX mothers’ lives were forever changed. ** Again we were not able to convince any of the parents to accept the gift of Life that God was offering. However, we were able to give Project Rachel brochures for post-abortive healing to two of the drivers that day. One of these young men had a beautiful picture of Jesus hanging off the gear shift of his car. He said it was not his child and he was just doing his friend a favor. I asked him to respond differently the next time a friend asks him to do this type of “favor” and instead tell her that God loves her and her child, then refuse to take part in the killing by driving. He looked at me very earnestly and said he would. Let us continue to pray for these “just drivers.” |
Our vigil update writer:
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