Lumina - a ray of light after abortion

In Praise of His Grace

Years of living in a great abyss

Denial shielding from the child I miss

No freedom ever, to know loving bliss

For fear of finding the emptiness

 

A shell of a person, I acted out a part

In order to cover my deadened heart

I searched for peace, but I found none

Peace left my life with the death of my son

 

But You God, loved me more in this loveless place

And you sought me out to instill your grace

You invited me to trust you in my misery

And you promised me mercy to set me free

 

Fully aware of my faults and the sins that were there

You came to me in my darkest despair

You showed me your love helping me to break through

No human could do it, it had to be You

 

For only your love could mend the distortion

The shame, grief and lies that come with abortion

Yes, only Your loves deep enough to break through

And replace all the pain with the love that is you

 

My life is in praise of Your life now within

That has caused me to flee from occasions of sin

I shutter to think where my life now would be

If You had not given your mercy to me.

 

Juno ??

Anyone who has seen this film will be a little loss at the focus of the quote below...talk about being self centered...as if everything were about their agenda

"Indirect in its underlying condemnation of abortion on request, the film is a far more costly blow against abortion rights than anything the anti-abortion crowd could possibly hope for or ever produce"

So goes this article http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2007/12/31/juno-misses-chance-to-address-abortion-honestly

I find it amazing that abortion on demand is so high on the altar of some people that they are freaking out about this film..as if the writer  was plotting the whole time they wrote the screen play to threaten abortion rights...PLEASE!

I did a little research on the author:
He(Arthur Shostak Phd) is the principal author of Men and Abortion: Lessons, Losses, and Love (1984) (out of print), and many related articles. He has spoken at NAF Conferences, and appeared on many radio talk show discussions of men and abortion. would not surprise me if  he is PA himself...

Hope for Life

From Operation Outcry

April 17-19 for Hope for Life in Dallas, Texas.  The 17th will be our Dallas fundraising banquet and you are invited to be our guests, the 18th will be the start of the Heatbeat conference and we will have the march on that day.  The Heartbeat conference concludes on the 19th.  We will be sending out notices soon.  This gathering is all post-abortive women who will be marching together celebrating that the Supreme Court upheld the partial birth abortion ban and that they are listening to women hurt by abortion.  If you have other post-abortive women in your groups and ministries, be sure and let them know about this great opportunity.

Here is the info f or the conference http://heartbeatinternational.org/Trainings/2008_Conference/2008Conference-Hotel.htm 

New Petition Initiative To Stop Coerced Abortions

New Petition Initiative To Stop Coerced Abortions Less Vulnerable to Misrepresentation   Group Announces Filing of New Initiative In Hopes of Securing More Accurate Ballot Summary from Carnahan St. Louis, MO (January 28, 2007) – Last month, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan approved for circulation a petition by the Stop Forced Abortions Alliance which the Secretary's 100-word ballot summary describes as an act "banning abortions." Dissatisfied with the ballot language, Stop Forced Abortions has filed a new initiative with the Secretary of State's office.  The new initiative now explicitly states that "It is not the intention of this law to make unlawful an abortion that is otherwise lawful."  Other changes contradicting the Secretary's summary were also made. According to Paula Talley, one of the groups organizers, the new language should preclude any further misrepresentations of the initiative as a ban. "Our initiative is properly titled the Prevention of Coerced and Unsafe Abortions Act," said Talley, "All it really does is allow women to hold abortion doctors liable if they fail to screen for evidence of coercion or other risk factors.  But you didn't see any of that in the ballot summary Carnahan issued for our first initiative filing. She wrongly describes it as making certain abortions illegal. In fact, it makes nothing illegal. " Controversy over the initiative erupted last November. Fully ten days before the group's first initiative was made public, Planned Parenthood and NARAL began issuing news releases describing the unpublished initiative as a radical ban on most abortions.  When Carnahan's office subsequently issued ballot language which also described it as a ban, the Stop Forced Abortions Alliance raised the concern that Carnahan had leaked the initiative language to Planned Parenthood in order to subject it to preemptive attacks.  According to the Stop Forced Abortions website, the leak and and ballot language made it appear as though Carnahan had “conspired with Missouri's largest abortion provider to construct a ballot title which falsely characterizes the initiative as a ‘ban.’" According to Talley, “This is a very pro-woman law. If it had been in place in 1980, I would have been spared the years of grief and depression which followed my own unwanted abortion,” said Talley. Talley says she was pressured into an abortion which went against her moral beliefs by her employer. She also says she was at greater risk of more severe emotional reactions to the abortion because of her prior history of sexual abuse and depression. “The abortion counselor never asked if I was being pressured nor did she inquire about my psychological history,” said Talley. “If she had, she should have known that in my case abortion was contraindicated. This law would help to prevent other women from being victims of negligent pre-abortion screening.” “It achieves this end simply by correcting a loophole in the law that currently denies women right to redress for negligent screening," Talley adds. "The only people who can oppose this legislation are those who care less about protecting women than they do about protecting the abortion industry’s profits.” According to the Stop Forced Abortions website, as many as 64 percent of women having abortions feel pressured into them by other people. The group argues that most abortion providers have "abandoned any effort to screen for coercion and other risks in order to reduce costs and maximize profits." In a 22 page report titled Forced Abortion in America the group describes cases of women pressured, coerced, and violently abused into submitting to unwanted abortions.  The report is available at www.stopforcedabortions.org. ### A copy of the new initiative language is available for viewing at www.stopforcedabortions.org

This public education effort is sponsored by the Stop Forced Abortions Alliance.

Stop Forced Abortions Alliance
c/o Elliot Institute
PO Box 7348
Springfield
IL 62791
United States

Signed by deception

My friend Colleen who is the NYC Coordinator for Silent No More, attended the book signing of abortionist Susan Wicklund's book "This Common Secret" in the city a couple of weeks ago.

Of course, Colleen went because she was curious about what Susan would say in her talk.
Anyway, at the end  of the night  Susan and Colleen spoke, and Susan gave Colleen a signed copy of her book which Colleen then passed on to me.

I could not help but think of the  fact that I was touching a book that the hands of a abortionist who has taken  the life the  many unborn touched...a women who  sees herself as some kind of savior to the womens movement because she continues to  perform abortions.

Perhaps what  struck me the most is that she signed the book for Colleen (Who by the way wanted nothing to do with it).

It says:
"We just need to all talk and listen and support each other in whatever we believe."
How in the world would she ever think we can support each other...we are not talking about beliefs...we are talking about lives...the lives of unborn babies and the lives of the women who are destroyed by abortion. Nice try, but no way....

Women Who Have Had Abortions Cite the Following Reasons

The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "Reasons Why Women Have Induced Abortions: Evidence from 27 Countries" Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 24 (August 1998).  The Alan Guttmacher Institute, "U.S. Women Who Obtain Abortions: Who and Why?" Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 4, (July/August 1988).

I completely think the last 2 are much higher...but then, who would believe the Guttmacher Institute (an arm of Planned Parenthood) anyway...check it out

http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/abortion/whyabortions.shtml

Embracing Life

Some of you may know Charnette Messe.  Before moving to Florida she and her husband Thomas were very active in life issues in the New England area. Instead of going on myself about charnette I invite you visit her site http://www.charnettemesse.com/home.html where Charnette's words can do her more justice than anything I can say.

I came to know Charnette through Father Juniper, CFR, who introduced us because we both had experienced abortion. We quickly hit it off and became friends. Charnette had been diagnosed with late stage breast cancer which she believes was a direct result of an abortion she had when she was younger. After learning of her cancer, she found out she was pregnant and against all advice brought her pregnancy to term and delivered a beautiful baby boy, Christian Vernon Messé! Christian was a wonderful addition to a beautiful family and welcomed by sister Gabby!

Charnette became active in Silent NO More and has been a brave outspoken voice of the link between breast cancer and abortion bringing the message to countless women. She is a brave faith filled women that I am blessed to  know.

Today I was called because the cancer has now spread to Charnette's brain and she has been given months to live. She has asked us to spread the word.We are all praying for Mother Theresa's intercession for a miracle.

I ask you all to please join us in praying for Charnette and her family...I know no matter what, she trusts in the Lord, but she is needed by her two small children and her husband...with God all things are possible!

American Family Radio

From Operation Outcry...check it out:

Operation Outcry will air a radio interview on American Family Radio and
which you can access on their website by going to: http://afr.net/newafr/Special_operationoutcry.asp

It is in two segments that will be heard as one complete program on air.
The show will air beginning today. 

Please pray for the people that are on the radio program and ask God to
protect them as they voice the truth about abortion.  Thank you for your
prayers and support.

The Justice Foundation 

Back from the March

Well, we made it back from the March. It was a great trip although Ruth and I pooped out early last
night after 11 hours on our feet.

I think EWTN went ok..it was hard to tell. Sr Loretto and I could not hear ourselves think as the interview was going on ...it was so loud from the stage! Still, I came home to some emails and calls so people heard.

Thought I would share some pix...

the first is Annie Devlin and Ruth...we stayed at Annies the first night...whats the glow?...hey, these are holy women! LOL..or maybe it was not a great place to take a picture

Here are Ruth and Sr Loretto as we were waiting in the EWTN tent...it was nice and warm in there!

A view of the March from the EWTN tent

and of course..last but not least, the Silent No More in front of the Supreme Court after the March

 

Women and Men Involved in Abortions Have Tremendous Impact on Debate

"These post-abortive men and women are the face of not only the pro-life movement but of the problems abortion causes".

As much as it is great that these people can tell the horrors of abortion , most Importantly I pray they are the "faces" of the mercy of God and His healing from any sin no matter what , if we are truly repentant. Without mercy and hope there would be no reason to speak...ending abortion is good, but bringing souls back to Christ is truly the way to end abortion.

by     Steven Ertelt
          LifeNews.com Editor
          January 21, 2008

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- As Americans mourn 35 years of legalized abortion, some of the men and women involved in abortion decisions say the pain and regret from the abortion has prompted them to become strongly pro-life. These post-abortive men and women are the face of not only the pro-life movement but of the problems abortion causes.

Matt Barber, the director of policy and cultural issues for Concerned Women for America told  LifeNews.com about his personal account of how abortion affects men.

"Abortion doesn't only hurt women and kill children; it can also deeply wound the men it touches," he says. "I'm sad to say that I know this from personal experience."

"Along with the realization that a woman has chosen to end the life you helped to create, comes a profound sense of loss and guilt," he explains.

Barber  talks about the kinds of daydreams he has about the baby who could  have been -- and recounts experiences similar to women who terribly  regret their abortions.

"I  can't know for sure, but I sometimes imagine my first child was a  girl," he said. Today she would have been about 22 years-old, finishing college, and, I suspect, ready to take on the world."

"Perhaps I'd be walking her down the aisle soon. I can't know. I'll never know. Only God knows. My child was torn from this world before anyone could know," he concludes.

Max  Baker, 44, also talked about the pain after an abortion in which he was involved in the decision.

"The shame and the guilt, I guess is the way that I dealt with it,"  Baker told CBN News. "Don't talk about it. We don't talk about it. We don't bring it up, but the shame was always there."

Baker and his wife Judy had an abortion before they got married. They say it's the worst decision they ever made.

"When  I laid down on that table, I knew it was wrong," Judy told CBN.             

"I   knew that I was making the wrong decision. I felt horrendous pain after the procedure. It was very painful," she said. "Then they put you in a room in a recliner and you sit there by yourself  and you contemplate what you've just done for the next hour and a  half until they allow you to go home."

Today, post-abortion groups across the nation hold retreats, Bible studies and group and individual counseling sessions to help men, women and  couples like the Bakers.

Such  sessions didn't exist in the same numbers or receive as much attention  even a decade ago and people like the Bakers and Matt Barber have emerged as top pro-life spokespeople and are helping the next generation  of Americans avoid abortions.