I Am All Alone...
The world may throw stones and mud, but you are not alone! God is right there in your midst. Let them throw mud and let God use it to make beautiful pottery. He is shaping and continuing to refine us to His own image.
“I am all alone.”
That is a sentence that many of us have probably said at one point or another. Maybe some of us have said it more than once. It is a phrase we hear pretty often in the work we do here at the Pregnancy Resource Center.
“I need to have the abortion because I don’t want to be alone.”
“I am the only one going through this.”
Which the phrase of being all alone is a lie. Sure, we do feel this from time to time, but as long as we don’t marinate in it. Satan loves to destroy through intimidation and isolation. I remember feeling all alone a couple of years ago accompanied with why am I doing this and why am I having to go through this. I was tired and weary. We were getting attacked online because we provide life-affirming services and DO NOT provide abortions. Silly huh? Unfortunately, it is true. Every time we have a great article about some wins and growth that has happened and the paper picks it up—I can always expect an ugly email or whatever mud people want to throw at that particular time.
I woke up one early morning in my bedroom from an alert on my phone. We were getting hammered with ugliness. Then the pity party started. The not so pretty ugly cry consumed my face—you know the one—big crocodile tears, snort crying, immediate congestion from the snot pouring from my nose. I was completely and utterly broken. Then the whys started…
“Why did you call me to this Lord? “
“Why do I have to do this?”
“Why do I have to go through this?”
On and on the whys continued, but then the crying ceased and I just sat in the middle of my bed. I opened up my bible and immediately was at peace. A huge wave of calmness came over me with a slight chill up and down my body. I knew that the Lord was right there in my midst. I had turned to 1 Peter 2:9 as if God had opened my bible and sat it in my lap and said, “Here, here my daughter. You need to read this.”
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
We (you reading this) are special because we belong to God. God takes ordinary people and because He works in us—we are special! Friend, you were chosen to lead for a reason. In the book of John 15:18-19 NKJV says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
The world may throw stones and mud, but you are not alone! God is right there in your midst. Let them throw mud and let God use it to make beautiful pottery. He is shaping and continuing to refine us to His own image. He is present to comfort His child. Let me say this again—YOU were chosen to lead for a reason. Don’t quit. Don’t grow weary of doing good. You may feel unqualified, but the opposite of that is CHOSEN.
Even Elijah felt alone. He was hiding in a cave feeling defeated. The Lord came to him in that cave asking Elijah what in the world was he doing in that cave. God had clearly spoken to him so many times before. Which the Lord has done and been there for each of us as believers. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by what is happening in the world. One truth to hold onto is that you are indeed not alone!
Something I read stood out to me and I hope it does you as well. In 1 Kings 19:18 NKJV says, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” This right here in 1 Kings assured Elijah that he was NOT ALONE. That his work was fruitful. This also showed Elijah that his quiet ministry over the years actually bore more fruit. The Lord knows those that are His.
The next time you feel all alone—remember you are not. God is right there in your midst. Endure the pain and setbacks, listen for His small still voice, and feed your faith.
Keep going and keep growing!
Family Fun 4TH of July
Riding in the back seat of our red dodge minivan as a young girl I remember always playing some kind of car game. Whether it was a car bingo game or I spy it sure made our vacation ride go by super fast. That was of course in between fighting with my sister in the back seat of the car. I would reach over and pinch her and mom would create a fake ocean in the middle of the seats. We were not allowed to cross the homemade ”ocean”.
It's not about whether you are able to go somewhere or stuck at home with your family this 4th of July. It's those simple family moments that last a lifetime. I remember the simplest of things. The simple things I do remember always revolves around the time my family invested in me.
We wanted to create some of those simple moments for you to enjoy this weekend. We have created a downloadable scavenger hunt for your kiddos to enjoy. We would also love for you to share in the comments some of your favorite summer moments with your family.
The button below will allow you to download the PDF to.print as you wish.
Thinking about making a difference in the life of another family? You can help create lasting memories for a new mom as she makes the brave decision for life. Click the announcement bar at the top of the webpage and be directed to make a life-saving gift.
Show Dad Some Love
The baby was putting on quite the show for mom and dad. You could see this sweet little baby move and jump within the womb. Tanner locked his big blue eyes on the ultrasound monitor as he watched his baby move. He looked over at our nurse at one point and asked, “Is that, my baby?”
Let’s show Dad some love this Father’s Day.
Every time I get to share this sweet story I do. Our team loves when the girls come to our Center and bring the baby’s father in with them. It is so amazing to watch them step up to the plate and do all they can to be incredible dads. Many of the men that we talk to have never had someone look at them and say positive things. That is truly sad!
We had a guy come in with his girlfriend not too long ago. I will call her, Samantha just for confidentiality reasons. Samantha and her boyfriend, Tanner were not sure if they were really pregnant. We sure were glad they found us!
Samantha was a beautiful young lady. Fresh out of high school and entering college to be a nurse. Her long brown hair glistened as she talked about her excitement about being a nurse. Tanner with his high and tight haircut just glowed when he looked at Samantha as she shared about her desires for school.
The Ultrasound
The nurse shared they were indeed pregnant and that we could perform an ultrasound that same day. Thrilled and wanting to know more they agreed. As Tanner sat in the chair beside the exam table he anxiously watched the ultrasound monitor as the nurse explained the ultrasound exam to them.
As soon as the nurse started the ultrasound exam the image of the baby was so clear. The baby was putting on quite the show for mom and dad. You could see this sweet little baby move and jump within the womb. Tanner locked his big blue eyes on the ultrasound monitor as he watched his baby move. He looked over at our nurse at one point and asked, “Is that, my baby?”
Our nurse looked at Tanner and said, “Of course, he looks just like you.” Giggling started from the dad. He could not contain his excitement. He started giggling so hard that his whole body was rocking back and forth in the little fold-out chair. Before long he had all of us giggling as we watch that precious gift of life before our eyes.
Isn’t this how we long for those encounters to be? What a joy that we get to do this work each and every day and impact the lives we see. People that give make this life-saving work possible and ensure moms and dads don’t have to worry about the cost. The cost has been paid on behalf of incredible people like you who want to make a difference.
Dads are such an important part of our lives, whether they are blood or not. Let’s show them some love this Father’s Day shall we. We have created a couple of ways we can show love to those special men in our lives.
Leave a Life-Saving Gift in Honor or in Memory of Dad
Make a life-saving gift in honor or in memory of your dad. This is a two step process.
Make your life-saving gift to impact dads we see while honoring yours here: https://youmakeherbrave.kindful.com/
Then complete the memorial form, so we can send a nice card acknowledging that you have made a gift in honor or in memory here: https://www.youmakeherbrave.com/memorial-donation
Top 5 Gifts to Buy for that Dad
Every child is a wanted child Mr. Alabama state Rep. John Rogers
Every month, it seems we have more news of a comment or act that leaves us breathless. It was just recently that a state representative faced some backlash after controversial statements he made on the Alabama House floor.
“Some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now, or you kill them later,” Alabama State Rep. John Rogers said after the Alabama House of Representatives passed what could become the most restrictive abortion legislation in the country.
Some kids? I can remember in my childhood when I found out my dad had adopted me as his own that I felt in my mind that I was unwanted. I didn’t understand the true love and mercy that was shown by my adoptive dad. I chose to believe the lie that I was “unwanted.”
Even as an adult, those lies of being unwanted seem to pop up now and then.
How have we as a society come to this point? Let me ask you, at what stage would it be okay to take my life or that of any human being who feels unwanted?
I could ramble on about the reasons why this world leaves any one of us feeling broken and unwanted from time to time. Those are certainly not reasons to kill us now.
Consider a dormant garden at the end of winter. Many would look at the hardened soil and assume there is no life that lies beneath. But really, if we take the time to break away the dried soil, we will soon discover new life. A fresh bloom that simply needed someone to come along and pull away the deadened root system.
We seem, as a world, to want to hastily brush away the problems at the surface, hoping to immediately correct the issue, in this case, the perceived unwanted-ness of an innocent child. But if we instead choose to dig in, understand, and remove the deadened roots that have made a woman believe she cannot have a child, we could help her discover new life within her and her unborn baby.
I stand as a servant for the Pregnancy Resource Center in Maryville, Tennessee, ensuring that everyone who walks through our door is loved and valued. Not only that, but that every single person who is carrying a sweet child believes their child is a wanted child, even in that moment of panic.
Fear can be a very loud voice. I know because I have been there. The excuses and justifications to end a pregnancy stack up on top of an already hardened root system of all of the ways in which our clients have been wronged throughout their lives.
We welcome these families with open arms, ready to dig in with both hands. Ready to jump into that hardened past, whatever that may be, and say, “We are here and we will always be here.”
We dig in with them. We dig deep and find that faulty root system, and take it out. What happens next? New life is what happens. Through pregnancy help ministry, we have restored the very root of life to women and their babies. We have given them hope.
Rep. Rogers, it isn’t that anyone is unwanted. It’s a lack of love, it’s a lack of compassion, and it’s a lack of action to help remedy the problem that obscures our appreciation for the gift of children. Our job is to restore our appreciation for life, not stack more dead roots on top of the hardened soil.
In pregnancy help ministry, we need people who will dig in with both hands. When women are facing unintended pregnancies, we need people who will help lift their defeated selves. When they get to a place where they are tired and want to quit, we need people who will go before them and love them and say it is worth it. We need people with a heart and desire to spend time with others.
To those looking to serve, will you dig in and help families be brave? Will you run the race with them when life gets hard? Will you reject and disprove the demeaning words of those who want to take life in the womb, on the table after birth, or at any point?
I choose to dig in. That means serving our community with love, compassion, and action. That is at the very core of the movement I want to work with. That is what our pregnancy center and our mobile medical unit are doing every single day.
The next time another person rises and says that any human being is not valuable or wanted, we will choose to keep digging. We will choose to keep showing up to the garden for those who are hurting; we will keep showing up for the broken.
That’s the garden I want to work in. One that restores those who feel unwanted. A garden that is changing our community, a garden that is changing our state, a garden that is changing our world. A garden blooming with goodness and life.e dead roots on top of the hardened soil.
We need people who will dive in with both feet and hands. We need people who when women are facing an unintended pregnancy place their hands under our defeated self and lift our heads. We need people that when we get to a place that we are tired and we want to quit that people will go before us and love them and say it is worth it. We need people with a heart and desire to spend time with others making this life journey more fun and helping each other when we feel alone.
“We need people who will dive in with both feet and hands.”
We do live in a crazy messed up world. We have all messed up at one time or other, but that is no excuse to kill now or later. Ever. It is the very reason to keep running together even though we hurt one another, but we must be perfectly imperfect to look past the hurts and hard times because we are committed to one another. When you commit to running the race and throwing off everything that hinders us and entangles us we run with perseverance the beautiful life marked out before us. What happens to that hardened soil? Someone came along and truly helped us beyond the surface and life was restored.
Will you dive in and help families be brave? Will you run the race with them when life gets hard and not quit and use the demeaning words of those who want to take life in the womb, on the table after birth, at any point. I choose to take the high road. The high road we choose is to serving our community with love, compassion, and action. That is the at the very core of the movement I want to run along beside. That is what our pregnancy center and our mobile medical unit are doing every single day. So the next time another person rises and says the very people in the world in which we live and on the way are not valuable; we will choose to keep running. We choose to keep showing up to those who are hurting; we keep showing up for the broken.
That’s the race I want to be a part of for those who feel unwanted. A race that is changing our community, a race that is changing our state, a race that is changing our world. A movement that stands out for good.
Episode 4 - A Brave First Step
Today’s Guest: A Brave Mom, Pat—served by the Pregnancy Resource Center.
Today’s Topics: Listen in as one of our brave moms shares her story with us. We have come to know Pat and her family really well. It is a blessing to join alongside families and help them see beyond the biggest fears they face.
A New York Minute
Let me encourage you to not sit back and stay silent on this issue. Let me encourage you to get involved in a loving and compassionate way to help. Here are just a few ways you can help:
Perhaps many of you are heartbroken over the law in NYC that was passed earlier in the week. From looking at social media many are outraged of New York’s celebration of taking the lives of innocent children. As I am typing this to you an average of 1.3 lives are lost to abortion every second. That is about 80 babies every single minute. This is to the tune of 115,000 babies every single day that is taken by abortion.
To make you aware this is not the only state that has such laws. Here are others on this chart at the below link: (keep in mind that this link is a research arm of the abortion industry itself)
https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/overview-abortion-laws
Viability can differ throughout states. If you haven’t seen the movie, Gosnell. I highly recommend you watch this film. It will show you the reality of abortion and what is going on behind closed doors. I think it is the time that we all unveil the reality of abortion. Then take steps on making in unthinkable in our time. It is time for us to rise up to the multi-million dollar industry. The multi-million dollar industry that is profiting off of vulnerable women in a time when they need someone to show the deepest love, TRUTH, and compassion. What they do not need is an industry who is profiting off of their decision telling them they are better off if they take the life of their child. Let’s speak to the mother they are and becoming rather than speak down and highlight their fears.
The one honest question we all need to ask ourselves is whether that which is in the womb is human. I think most of us know but how do we even talk about it. Touting gory signs and screaming murderer is truly not the answer. Not only are these women and men being victimized so are the abortion workers. I would bet many of them as children did not twirl around and say, “I want to be an abortion worker when I grow up.”
It wasn’t until a year in as Executive Director did I see the reality of abortion in a couple of ways. I read a book called, Unplanned by Abby Johnson. Which is coming out as a movie this spring. This was the first unveiling in my own life about the reality of abortion and those who work in the industry itself. My heart is for the women and men that feel they have no choice and show them that they have places like our Pregnancy Resource Center. They will know that they have a community of people that love them and is here to help not just during the pregnancy but after birth as well. My heart is also for the women and men that didn’t find us first. That ended up making that abortion decision. I pray that they find Centers like ours that will help them find healing from their past abortion. Healing that comes from our Heavenly Father that His grace is sufficient for all of us.
Let me encourage you to not sit back and stay silent on this issue. Let me encourage you to get involved in a loving and compassionate way to help. Here are just a few ways you can help:
You can volunteer your time.
You can become a monthly partner to help sustain the ministry that is coming alongside women, men and their precious baby in such a difficult time.
You can pray. Prayer is changing things! Pray that eyes will continue to be opened to the reality of abortion.
Many people say, “Abortion is such a complex issue, and there just aren’t easy answers.” The hope is that every follower of Christ and every church leader will see how the gospel comes to bear on abortion. This isn’t a left or right thing. This is a gospel passion, to speak clearly and stand boldly against abortion, both in our country and around the world.
Many of us know what the bible says but what about science when the world doesn’t want to listen to what we know in our hearts to be true. Below you can download the guide to talk about such things from a science perspective.
From my heart to yours don’t let this heartbreak of the reality of abortion die. Join arms with us and together we make our vision statement a beautiful ripple effect in our community and many others. Our vision is to live in a community where every life is sacred, valued and welcomed! Be a voice with us and help her be BRAVE.