Ministry Update from Dawn

Lois’ Lodge Ministry Update November 20, 2008

Can you believe it’s almost time for Christmas?

I remember when I was twelve, wishing with all my might that I was a teenager. My grandmother wisely cautioned me not to “wish my life away”. She said before I knew it I would be old like her and wonder where the time went. Well, I wouldn’t consider myself old quite yet, but I am wondering how the time slips away so quickly!!

Right now I feel the Lord impressing me to slow down just a bit and be intentional about how I spend my time and resources. There is no better way to invest what He has blessed me with than to reach out to others – sharing myself, my time, my money, my family and other resources.

I challenge you to do the same - Take a break and evaluate. And let me know what He impresses you with. I’d like to be encouraged by hearing how God is speaking to you.

Praise!
The Fall Banquet of Hope was held on November 6th. The Lord filled the ballroom with 355 people who wanted to learn about His work in the lives of women, babies and families. Many new friends were made and support was raised as a result.

Someone has met the need for copying. Thank you to Qwik Copies on Kings Drive!

Prayer Requests!
We have 3 expectant moms due in December. Please pray for their unborn babies and the incredible miracle that they are about to experience. This baby might have been conceived outside of God’s will – but life is always a miracle!

Also, pray for our staff as they deal with a house full of pregnant young women - 3 due in one month!

Please pray for the family relationships of our clients. The holidays have a way of spotlighting relational breakdowns. Join my in committing these issues to the Lord, who is able to heal and restore.

Please pray for the mother-in-law of a staff member, who is having major health issues and is no longer able to care for herself, and pray for the family who is caring for her.

Also please pray for the son of a staff member who is having medical problems.

How YOU Can Help – Ministry Needs!
We are in desperate need of a team to rake leaves, pick up sticks, and weed the yards at our 4 homes.

Catering is needed for our Lunch & Learn on the 3rd Friday of each month. We are looking for someone who can donate a light lunch for these events. Attendance varies from 6 to 15 people.

Donation Drive Needed. We need paper products including bathroom tissue, paper towels, copy paper and postage stamps for the administrative office.

We also need donations of the 100 calorie snack packs and bottled water. We use these for participants in our classes at the Mom Shoppe Learning Center.

I’m looking for secret pals to encourage our program staff with words of encouragement, notes and very small gifts. A 3 month commitment will encourage someone who gives tirelessly to ministry of our clients.

If you have any questions, comments or are able to meet any of the mentioned needs please contact me.

Learn More!
If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about Lois’ Lodge we offer 3 events to help...

Lunch & Learn – 3rd Friday of each month at noon. This one hour presentation provides a history and ministry overview along with a tour. Lunch is complimentary but reservations are required.

Volunteer Orientation – 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30pm. This one hour orientation includes an overview of the ministry as well as volunteer program. A tour is included. Please let me know if you are coming.

Informational Coffee – Beginning with the new year we would like for some of our ministry friends to host an informational coffee/dessert in their homes. Invite your small group, friends, and neighbors to learn about Lois’ Lodge. A representative will come and do a presentation. This is an informational meeting only, not a fundraiser. If you are interested in hosting one please contact me.

I pray that you have a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday. May God bless you and use you to bless and encourage others!


With Gratitude,
Dawn Guptill, Development Coordinator
Lois’ Lodge
www.loislodge.org
704.376.8550

Post Adoption Group Encouragement

Birthmother Support Group Meeting Coming Up!
Holiday Tea
When: December 13, 2008, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Where: Pregnancy Resource Center
If you have questions or need directions please contact Meg at 704-995-6435
Bring anything you want to share or just bring you!
RSVP to Meg at pagegroup@yahoo.com or by calling 704-995-6345

PS: Next meeting will be February 14th at the Dilworth United Methodist Church on East Blvd., Charlotte
We will be having a card party.
We can make cards for our birth children, sweethearts or anyone else.

Video For Dads

Obama's Speechto Planned Parenthood

Baptist Press 10/24

Transcript of Barack Obama's speech to Planned Parenthood July 17, 2007


"It's been a little over five months since I announced my candidacy for president of the United States of America and everywhere we've been, we've been inspired by these enormous crowds. We had 20,000 people in Atlanta, 20,000 people in Austin, Texas, 15,000 people in Oakland, Calif. And I would love to take all the credit for these crowds myself, to say to myself that it's just because I'm just so fabulous, but my wife says otherwise. Michelle, I think, confirms that these crowds are not about me. It's about the hunger all across America for something different. It's about the sense that we can do better -- that we've come to a crossroads, that we're not pointed in the right direction.

"And as I look out over these crowds, and they are a wonderful cross-section of the country -- male, female, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native-American, disabled, gay, straight, old, young -- what I'm heartened to see is particularly the young people who are getting their first chance to be part of a larger movement of Americans. I see young women who are Ariana's age and younger, and I think about my own two daughters, Sasha and Malia, and sometimes it makes me stop and it makes me wonder: what kind of America will our daughters grow up in? What kind of America will our daughters grow up in?

"Will our daughters grow up with the same opportunities as our sons? Will our daughters have the same rights, the same dreams, the same freedoms to pursue their own version of happiness? I wonder because there's a lot at stake in this country today, and there's a lot at stake in this election, especially for our daughters. To appreciate that all you have to do is review the recent decisions handed down by the Supreme Court of the United States. For the first time in Gonzales vs. Carhart, the Supreme Court upheld a federal ban on abortions with criminal penalties for doctors. For the first time, the courts endorsed an abortion restriction without an exception for a woman's health. The decision presumed that the health of women is best protected by the court -- not by doctors and not by the woman herself. That presumption is wrong.

"Some people argue that the federal ban on abortion was just an isolated effort aimed at one medical procedure -- that it's not part of a concerted effort to steadily roll back the hard-won rights of American women. That presumption is also wrong. Within hours of the decision, an Alabama lawmaker introduced a measure to ban all abortions. With one more vacancy on the court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a woman's fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe vs. Wade, and that is what is at stake in this election.

"The only thing more disturbing than the decision was the rationale of the majority. Without any hard evidence, Justice Kennedy proclaimed, 'It is self-evident that a woman would regret her choice.' He cited medical uncertainty about the need to protect the health of pregnant women, even though the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found no such uncertainty. Justice Kennedy knows many things; my understanding is he does not know how to be a doctor.

"He dismissed as mere preferences the reasoned judgment of the nation's doctors. As we've seen time after time these last few years when the president says otherwise, when the science is inconvenient, when the facts don't match up with the ideology, they are cast aside. Well, it's time for us to change that. It is time for a different attitude in the White House. It is time for a different attitude in the Supreme Court. It is time to turn the page and write a new chapter in American history.

"We know that five men don't know better than women and their doctors what's best for a woman's health. We know that it's about whether or not women have equal rights under the law. We know that a woman's right to make a decision about how many children to have and when -- without government interference -- is one of the most fundamental freedoms we have in this country. We also know that there was another voice that came from the bench -- a voice clear in reasoning and passionate in dissent. A voice rejected what she called, quote 'Ancient notions of women's place in the family and under the Constitution, ideas that have long been discredited.' One commentator called the decision in Gonzales, 'An attack on Ruth Bader Ginsburg's entire life's work.' And it was. But we heard Justice Ginsburg and we know what she was saying. She was saying, 'We've been there before and we are not going back. We refuse to go back.'

"We know it's not just one decision. It's the blow dealt to equal pay in the Ledbetter [v. Goodyear] case. It's the blow dealt to integration in the school desegregation case. It's an approach to the law that favors the powerful over the powerless -- that holds up a flawed ideology over the rights of the individual. We don't see America in these decisions -- that's not who we are as a people. We're a country founded on the principle of equality and freedom. We're the country that's fought generation after generation to steadily extend that equality to the many not restrict it to the few. We've been there before and we're not going back.

"I have worked on these issues for decades now. I put Roe at the center of my lesson plan on reproductive freedom when I taught constitutional law -- not simply as a case about privacy but as part of the broader struggle for women's equality. Steve and Pam will tell you that we fought together in the Illinois state Senate against restrictive choice legislation -- laws just like the federal [partial-birth] abortion ban that are cropping up. I've stood up for the freedom of choice in the United States Senate and I stand by my votes against the confirmation of Judge Roberts and Samuel Alito.

"So, you know where I stand. But this is more than just about standing our ground. It must be about more than protecting the gains of the past. We're at a crossroads right now in America -- and we have to move this country forward. This election is not just about playing defense, it's also about playing offense. It's not just about defending what is, it's about creating what might be in this country. And that's what we've got to work together on.

"There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield.... [T]he first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing that I'd do.... That's why I think it's important for us obviously to get not only a Democratic White House as well as a stronger Congress to protect these rights."

McCain's Speech to Nat. Right to Life

Baptist Press 10/24

John McCain's Speech to the National Right to Life Convention July 3


Following is McCain's speech:

"Thank you for inviting me to address the 2008 National Right to Life Convention. I'm sorry I'm not able to be there in person to address you. More than 200 years ago, our nation's founders declared that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, and that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was no accident that they cited life as the first and most basic right, for without recognition of the right to life, we are not guaranteed any other rights. Sometimes all wisdom asks of us is that we recognize common sense. But sometimes wisdom, as to all other virtues, requires courage.

"Wisdom suggests that we should be willing to give an unborn child the same chance that our parents gave us. But it takes courage in this political climate to insist on the protection of unborn children, who can't vote, have no voice, and can't reward you with support and donations. Wisdom suggests that when federal judges impose their social views on the citizens of every state, the result is going to distort our politics in harmful ways. But it takes courage to insist that the courts have to return to their proper role.

"I will look for accomplished men and women with a proven record of excellence in the law and a proven commitment to strictly interpreting the Constitution of the United States. I will look for people in the cast of John Roberts, Sam Alito, my friend the late William Rehnquist -- jurists of the highest caliber who know their own minds, and know the law, and know the difference.

"I have been pro-life my entire public career. I am pro-life because I know what it is like to live without human rights, where human life is accorded no inherent value. And I know that I have a personal obligation to advocate human rights wherever they are denied -- in Bosnia or Burma, in Cuba or the Middle East, and in our own country, when we fail to respect the inherent dignity of all human life, born or unborn. That is a personal testament which you need not take on faith. You need only to examine my public record to know that I won't change my position. I've been proud to serve our great country in the military and in Congress.

"Throughout these years I have always believed that the most important duty of our national leaders is to protect human life. We protect human life from violent extremists who would destroy it to produce a cruel ideology. We protect the lives of the most vulnerable, whether they are the unborn, the elderly or the disabled. It is a privilege to defend Americans in war and in peace.

"I'm proud to stand with you in defending the sanctity of human life and in supporting mothers and children under the most challenging of circumstances.

"I'm proud of my wife Cindy, who brought our daughter Bridget home from Mother Teresa's orphanage in Bangladesh, and blessed our family with the gift of this blessed child of God. I am as thankful for her as I am for all of my children and am glad that we were able to give her a home and a better life.

"My friends we confront a difficult question when we address the issue of abortion. The American people are compassionate people, who cherish life and liberty. They love life, and they have an instinctive compassion for those who confront difficult circumstances. We believe that the best way to respond to such situations is to demonstrate our love and support for the mothers and children who are at the center of such challenges. The pro-life movement has done this for decades by participating in and supporting thousands of pregnancy care centers that help women and their children meet these challenges.

"In November, the American people will choose a new president to lead our country during very challenging times. I will proudly defend my record of protecting human life during key debates on domestic and international policy. I am proud to have supported a ban on partial-birth abortion and legislation that would protect children who survived an abortion procedure.

"On the very first day, after the Supreme Court upheld the ban on the hideous practice of partial-birth abortion, a bill was introduced in Congress to codify this practice in every one in the United States of America. The same legislation would strike down the Hyde amendment, named after our great friend and champion of human life -- the incomparable Henry Hyde -- and would also strike down every other federal and state limitation on abortion funding. This legislation, with has been co-sponsored by my opponent, would also strike down every parental notification law enacted anywhere in our country.

"The American people have come together to say that partial-birth abortion offends our national conscience, that taxpayers should not be forced to pay for elective abortions, and that states should be allowed to enact parental notification laws. And those who oppose these protections of human life, unable to prevail in legislatures, hope to appoint to the federal courts jurists who would reject this political consensus, and impose on us abortion policies that offend the conscience of man, many Americans.

"My friends, I want to thank you again, for your commitment to a cause that is greater than us all -- protecting human life, and helping women and children, wherever they need our support.

"May God bless America, and your unselfish efforts, on behalf of all His children."

Weak Christian Support Could Enable Obama Win

LifeNews.com 10/25

Poll: Weak Christian Support Could Enable Pro-Abortion Obama to Beat McCain

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- If Barack Obama, described by pro-life groups as the most pro-abortion presidential candidate since the 1973, becomes president pro-life voters may have themselves to blame. New polling data shows evangelical Christian voters, typically the most pro-life voting group, failing to strongly support John McCain. A new survey from the Barna Group, a Christian research firm, finds evangelical voters preferring McCain over Obama by a 63 percent to 23 percent group. While that's a strong lead, President Bush pulled in 85 percent of those voters in 2004 when he won a narrow victory over pro-abortion candidate John Kerry. Barna looked at self-identified born-again Christians, who do not describe themselves as evangelical. The support McCain over Obama by a scant 45 percent to 43 percent margin, which is within the survey's margin of error. In 2004, 62% of this category voted for Bush. Overall, the Barna survey shows 60 percent of faith voters support Barack Obama while only 49 percent backed Kerry in 2004. The lack of support for McCain's candidacy from these voters who compose a large segment of the Republican base helps explain why McCain has been unable to have a more solid hold on states Bush won in the last two elections.

Lois' Lodge Mom Shoppe

Are you pregnant?
Do you need Baby Items? Household items? Personal items?

Lois Lodge Mom’s Shoppe gives you an opportunity to learn more and earn the item you need!

We offer classes to educate women about pregnancy, parenting, finances, resume writing, interviewing skills, cooking and cleaning skills, health care, safety and first aide. We also provide individual counseling in budgeting, furthering education, and job readiness.

By attending these classes you have an opportunity to earn coupons to use towards the items you need.

There are several ways to earn coupons:
Meet with counselor to set up class plan (worth 5 coupons or Maternity Clothes)
Attend the weekly evening class
Do Independent Studies
Do class homework
Attend Church and bring in Bulletin
Memorize Scriptures
Save Money – Must be able to provide account statement
Bring in current pay stub

Lois Lodge has a limited selection of Maternity Clothes for those needing clothes.

Baby Items Available (all items subject to availability)
Diapers
Wipes
Clothes
Bedding
Pack & Plays
Cribs
High Chairs
Exer Saucers
Car Seats
Strollers
Formula

Household and Personal Items are also available. Check out the Mom’s Shoppe to see all we have!

To learn more about this program call: 704-376-8550

Prominent Black Pro-Life Leaders Endorse McCain, Not Obama, Over Abortion

LifeNews.com 10/20

Prominent Black Pro-Life Leaders Endorse McCain, Not Obama, Over Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In a powerful video with personal testimonials, key black pro-life leaders, including Dr. Alveda C. King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., talk about how their faith influences the policies and politics they support. These black Americans state eloquently why they support Sen. John McCain and cannot, in good conscience, support Barack Obama. A primary reason cited by these black American leaders is Obama's radical position on abortion, including the fact that Obama voted four times in the Illinois Senate against the bill that would provide health care to babies born alive after a botched abortion. Why is the issue of abortion so important to black American leaders? Black communities are being devastated by abortion which is tantamount to black genocide, they say. Some 35% of abortions in the United States are performed on African-American women, while they represent only 12% of the nation's female population. According to the 2000 Census, 14 million (17 million as of 2007) African-American children have been killed through abortion. This means that more African-American babies have been killed by abortion during the past 30 years than the total number of African-American deaths from all other causes combined, including AIDS, heart disease, cancer, violent crimes and accidents. See the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkQd8wnyQ7s

Ministry Update

Ministry Update from Dawn........

Lunch & Learn
3rd Friday of each month at noon.
Spend your lunch hour with us; learn more about Lois' Lodge through a tour and informational presentation. Lunch is complimentary. Dates for 2008: October 17th, November 21st, December 19th. Reservations are required. For more information or to reserve space contact Dawn Guptill at (704) 376-8550 or dg_loislodge@bellsouth.net

Praises!
We thank God for his work in the life of former client, Cindy. She has decided to make an outward statement about her personal relationship with the Lord through Baptism. Cindy will be baptized on October 25th.

Several women from the community have participated this month in our Mom Shoppe learning opportunities, and as a result have been able to earn needed items for themselves and their babies. We praise God that he is expanding our territory to reach out to women who need our support with non-residential services. More important than the learning opportunities and material needs, we are blessed to share a Gospel presentation with each participant.

We are thankful for small groups who have recently provided for our needs through a frozen food drive and have provided cleaning services.

We are extremely grateful to the Lord for providing for the needs of this ministry even in light of a struggling economy. Thank you to our friends who continue to give out of their love for the Lord and their desire to be a part of his work.

Opportunities to Serve
Holiday Classes - In the month of November we are looking for small groups who would like to spend time with the residents doing holiday crafts, or doing mini "cooking classes" to teach, prepare and enjoy a holiday style meal with our residents. Times are available on Tuesday evenings. Contact Dawn regarding specific dates.

Secret Pals – This is a new opportunity to encourage our staff. Secret pals will commit to pray for a staff member and send cards, prayers and very small gift items to show our tireless program staff some unconditional love. This is a 3 month commitment.

Mentors – mentors are women with a vibrant personal relationship with Christ, who commit to meet with residents once per week to be a friend and prayer partner. This commitment lasts the course of the resident’s pregnancy.

Ministry Needs!
Light Bulbs for our porch lights
Mini Blinds or pleated shades sizes: Laundry room 36 by 37(we need 1) Doors 271/2 by 64 (we need 4), Hallway-331/2 by 69 (we need 2)
New Tires for our van: a Ford E-350
Ink Cartridges: hp 56, 57, 20, 49
Reusable Water Bottles
We are in constant need of office supplies and appreciate office store gift cards to help offset the costs.

Prayer Requests!
Please be in prayer for our clients as they are making difficult decisions regarding how they should parent their children. They have the option of parenting the child themselves or allowing another couple to parent through adoption. At Lois' Lodge we encourage clients to seek God and allow him to guide them. He formed each precious child and has a perfect plan for their life.

Please be in prayer for our upcoming Banquet of Hope on November 6, 2008. Would you pray that the Lord would fill our tables with people who are passionate about joining God at work in ministry through financial support, in-kind donations and volunteerism? In order to sustain our work we need to increase awareness and support for Lois’ Lodge.

We would love to hear from you!
Do you have prayer requests, suggestions or questions?
Please contact us by phone at (704) 376-8550 or email.

President Bush Honors Pregnancy Centers

LifeNews.com 9/19

President Bush to Honor Pregnancy Center Volunteers With Service Award
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Dozens of volunteers at pregnancy centers across the country will receive distinguished service awards at a White House ceremony today. The award shows the appreciation President Bush has for the millions of volunteers, staff, board members and supporters of centers that help women avoid abortions. The President's Volunteer Service Award will be conferred on 32 Heartbeat International affiliated pregnancy resource centers and 55 volunteers who serve at the centers. Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Joxel Garcia will bestow the honors on the dedicated advocates of women and children for the significant contributions they have made to their communities. Heartbeat International President Peggy Hartshorn told LifeNews.com she is "thrilled to see our volunteers honored by the Administration."

Where to Start......

But where was I to start? The world is so vast. I shall start with the country I know best, my own. But my country is so very large. I had better start with my town. But my town, too, is large. I had best start with my street. No: my home. No: my family. Never mind, I shall start with myself.
-- Elie Wiesel

Cartoon Ridicules Palin's Faith

CitizenLink 9/18

Cartoon Ridicules Palin's Faith

The Washington Post Web site features a political cartoon that mocks Gov. Sarah Palin's faith.

Cartoonist Pat Oliphant takes aim at Palin's Pentecostal beliefs, portraying the vice presidential candidate as speaking gibberish that is incomprehensible even to God.

Kristen Fyfe, a senior writer at the Media Research Center, said this is just the latest evidence of the liberal media bias.

“They are really trying to find just about anything that they can to throw at her to make her seem unappealing or take the bloom off of the rose," she told Family News in Focus.

Washington Post ombudsman Deborah Howell conceded the cartoon was overdoing it and "readers were right to complain."

Tom Minnery, senior vice president for government and public policy at Focus on the Family Action, weighed in during today's Election Video Update.

"If this very repugnant cartoon gets wide play," he said, "it will boost Sarah Palin's popularity, strictly because of the backlash."
http://www.citizenlink.org/

Crib Notes

The latest edition of our Crib Notes Newsletter is now available online. Go to: www.loislodge.org/cribnotesseptember08.html or click on CRIB NOTES title of this blog.

Please check it out - and feel free to forward to those you feel may be interested in the work of Lois' Lodge in minsistering to women, babies and families.

Thanks for your friendship and support!

Pizza Night

Pizza Night to Benefit Lois' Lodge

Please join us
Tuesday, September 30th from 5 to 9pm
at ANZI PIZZA
7828 Rea Rd. Suite F
Charlotte, NC 28277
http://www.anzipizza.com/

Bring your friends and family!
Enjoy a great meal of pizza, pasta

When you mention that you are with Lois' Lodge
Owner Phil Mannio will donate a percentage of the proceeds from your purchase to benefit our program.
(Thanks Phil!)

Comfortable with controversy

Pastor Steve Furtick of Elevation Church has a blog which he updates often. I always look forward to hearing more about what the Lord has laid on Pastor Furtick's heart. I have watched this church closely as my sonshine goes there and I have been impressed with their boldness and creativity in reaching our community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Check out Elevation Church and Pastor Furtick's blog. Good stuff! Debbie



Pastor Steven Furtick Blog Update
Comfortable with controversy

Posted: 18 Sep 2008 07:55 AM CDT

I told our team the other day:
We’ve got to become more comfortable with controversy!

We’ve learned how to tolerate it and move past it. Now it’s time for us to learn to view it as a gift, and use it to our advantage. Controversy is a sign of progress. Controversy is a sign of impact. Controversy is a precursor to promotion. And a training ground for greater things.

If you want to be like Christ, expect controversy.
And when it comes, don’t fight it. Ride it. Pray through it. Learn from it. Celebrate it.
And watch God use it to elevate you to your next level.

http://www.stevenfurtick.com/uncategorized/comfortable-with-controversy/

Do Something About It!

I always wondered why somebody didn't do something about that, then I realized I was somebody.
-- Lily Tomlin

Libertarian Group Condemns Sarah Palin for Not Killing Disabled Baby in Abortion

Libertarian Group Condemns Sarah Palin for Not Killing Disabled Baby in Abortion

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com
September 17, 2008

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A writer for a libertarian group has written perhaps the most scathing attack on pro-life vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin since the Alaska governor was announced weeks ago as John McCain's running mate. Nicholas Provenzo condemns Palin for the birth of her baby Trig, who has Down syndrome.

Provenzo, who writes for the Center for the Advancement of Capitalism, not only bashes her for allowing Trig to be born, but says she should have made the so-called morally justifiable decision to kill him in an abortion.

The Center for the Advancement of Capitalism bills itself as a group "dedicated to advancing individual rights and economic freedom through Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism."

"Like many, I am troubled by the implications of Alaska governor and Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin's decision to knowingly give birth to a child disabled with Down syndrome," Provenzo writes.

"Given that Palin's decision is being celebrated in some quarters, it is crucial to reaffirm the morality of aborting a fetus diagnosed with Down syndrome (or by extension, any unborn fetus)—a freedom that anti-abortion advocates seek to deny," he adds.

Provenzo advocates not only a discriminatory, but apparently a pro-eugenics view of the disabled that rivals that of Nazi Germany.

"A parent has a moral obligation to provide for his or her children until these children are equipped to provide for themselves," he contends. "Because a person afflicted with Down syndrome is only capable of being marginally productive (if at all) and requires constant care and supervision, unless a parent enjoys the wealth to provide for the lifetime of assistance that their child will require, they are essentially stranding the cost of their child's life upon others."

Provenzo goes on to condemn National Review writer Michael Franc, who sees Down syndrome's victims as "ambassadors of God" who "offer us the opportunity to rise to that greatest of all challenges."

In a rebuke that smacks of selfishness at its worse, Provenzo says, "for many" potential parents of disabled babies, "that opportunity for challenge is little more than a lifetime of endless burden."

Fortunately for Trig, Palin decided otherwise.

While as many as 80-90 percent of unborn children diagnosed with Down syndrome become victims of abortion, Palin didn't let her child become a statistic. Palin, who has deeply-felt pro-life views, gave birth to her fifth child in April and the baby was diagnosed with the condition.

"Trig is beautiful and already adored by us," Palin said in a statement LifeNews.com obtained at the time.

"We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives," she said.

'We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed," the 44 year-old governor added.

Trig was born one month before his due date, and he weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces.

ACTION: Contact the Center for the Advancement of Capitalism with your condemnation of his remarks at http://www.capitalismcenter.org/Feedback or info@capitalismcenter.org

American Idol Winner Defends Sexual Abstinence

American Idol Winner Defends Sexual Abstinence

By Jenna Murphy

September 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Jordin Sparks, last year's American Idol winner, has high standards and at this year's MTV video music awards (VMA), she fearlessly made them public.

Sparks was prompted to make an off-the-cuff statement in defense of sexual abstinence at this year's MTV's awards, following its onstage ridicule by the show's host.

The host of the VMAs, Russell Brand, a British comedian whose style of hosting the awards has been termed "x-rated" took shots at the Jonas Brothers, a group of three brothers who are well known in the entertainment industry for wearing chastity rings and for being vocal advocates of premarital chastity.

"I'd take it a little more seriously if they'd wear it on their genitals," said Brand about the boys' promise rings. Brand then joked that the brothers' decision not to have sex before marriage was "a little bit ungrateful because they could have sex with any woman they want. That is like Superman deciding not to fly and go everywhere on a bus."

A few minutes later, however, Sparks shot back from the podium: "I just have one thing to say about promise rings. It's not bad to wear a promise ring, because not everybody - guy or girl - wants to be a slut."

Sparks did not retreat from her passionate defense of abstinence before marriage in a Wednesday appearance on Fox's "Hannity and Colmes."

After being congratulated for having taken a stand on national television at the VMAs, Sparks responded:

"You know, I never do stuff like that, and so I went up there, and it was a split-second decision. And right when I got up there at the mike, I was just like, 'OK, I'm going to say it...and so I said it and it just came out," said Sparks.

Sparks comment at the VMA's was met with an audible cheer from the crowd and elicited a sheepish apology from the show's host.

"I didn't mean to take it lightly," Brand said about purity rings. "I don't want to piss off teenage fans."

However, Brand could not resist a parting shot, observing that, while he supported chastity rings, "a bit of sex, it never hurt anybody."

During her interview with FOX News, Sparks admitted that it is difficult to be a young woman dedicated to sexual abstinence while being a part of the entertainment industry.

"It's crazy being in Hollywood and making this kind of choice," she said. "You know, they're kind of just waiting to see if I mess up or something like that, so it is - it's hard…So now I really have to watch what I say, and who I hang out with, where I go, all that kind of stuff. So it does get a little bit more added pressure."

Cupcakes for Life?!?!?

Why Cupcakes?
Simply because everyone wants them!

Cupcakes were designed for children's birthday parties. We love Children and we love birthdays. We think this would be a good way to tell people that we think that every child should be allowed to have a birthday.

Bring in a tray of cupcakes for any group of people and you will find that they will flock to get them. As soon as they take a bite they will probably ask, "Who's birthday is it?"

Then you answer. "It's no ones birthday. These cupcakes represent the 50,000,000 children who weren't allowed to be born, who never had a birthday." The cake in their mouth will become dry and the moment will hopefully become quite somber. Then you say, "If you and I were aborted we wouldn't have a birthday party either."


The idea behind www.CupCakesForlife.com is to spread the terrible truth about the assault on the unborn in a thoughtful, unique, and kind way.

Cupcake Ideas
No matter what the cause is, everyone wants a cupcake!

We want you to have total freedom to dream about how to bring forth the pro-life message using cupcakes! You are going to have fun making and handing out these cakes! Here are a few suggested ideas, however they are just suggestions.

The only rules for our campaign are these:

Make beautiful cupcakes!
Give them out in the name of life!
Try to do it on October 9th 2008
Take some pictures and send them to our myspace!
Ideas for high school kids:
Bring the cupcakes to your homeroom or to your lunch table and hand them out. Then explain that for every two people in the room there is one person who was not allowed to have a birthday.

Hand the cupcakes out with plastic baby fetus's, they normally come at the size of a 11 week baby which is the age and size of the average abortion.

Hand them the cupcakes and ask people if they would like to see what an abortion looks like. If they say yes show them a picture of an aborted baby. These can be downloaded and printed from the internet. Just put the word Abortion into google and hit "images" and you will see abortion in full color. Burn an image onto a C.D. and then take it to staples to be printed on photo paper. Please don't show anyone who does not want to see it, and also don't show anyone under 13. (Note: this type of pro-life activism is not for everyone so don't feel like you need to do this to participate in National Pro-Life cupcake day.)

Ideas for elementary school kids:
Some kids are not ready to know everything about abortion; however, a mom could bake a batch of cupcakes that just say: I Heart Babies on them. The young student could go into class and tell all of his or her friends about how babies need lots of love as they slowly grow inside their mommies.

Ideas for Mothers:
Invite some teenage girls over to bake the cupcakes then in your kitchen. Educate them about pregnancy and abstinence. Then challenge them to make cup cakes that represent how they feel about the unborn. Then have them take the cakes to their school and hand them out.

If you are a mother who has had an abortion, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to invite some young girls over and share your testimony with them. Maybe your story will save their unplanned children's lives.

Ideas for youth pastors:
Invite your youth to your house the night before national pro-life cupcake day and make a thousand cupcakes with them. Make sure to take the time to dialog with them why life is so sacred. Then have your youth hand them out at school.

Contact your local bakery and ask if they are willing to partner with you by giving you cupcakes at a discounted rate all with the word LIFE on them.

Ideas for Bakery's
Put the word Life on all of your cup cakes and give them out free on October 9th 2008National Cupcake day! Invite some kids into your bakery the night before to make cupcakes for school.

For more info: http://www.cupcakesforlife.com/why.html


LiveOffensively.com | Bound4Life.com | Abort73.com | RockForLife.org

PAGE- Post Adoption Group Encouragement

Birthmother Support Group Meeting coming up!
When: September 20, 2008, 10 AM to Noon
Where: Caribou Coffee, 1531 East Blvd., Charlotte
If you have questions or need directions please contact Meg at 704-995-6435.
Bring Anything You Want to Share or Just Bring You!
RSVP to Meg at pagegroup@yahoo.com or call 704-995-6435

PS: Next meeting is December 13th at Charlotte Pregnancy Resource Center.

Prolife Video Contest

Contest Inspires Pro-Life Video Activism
http://www.studentsforlife.org/index.php/videocontest/.
Students for Life
Yesterday, Students for Life of America launched the first-ever pro-life video activism contest in cooperation with Stand True Ministries and Rock for Life. The contest asks high school and college-aged students to submit homemade videos, posted on YouTube, regarding pro-life voting in the 2008 presidential election and de-funding Planned Parenthood. Multiple prizes will be awarded with a top prize offered at $2,000.

Students in U.S. high schools and universities as well as homeschoolers may enter their videos on either De-funding Planned Parenthood or Pro-Life Voting in the 2008 Election. All entries must be posted on YouTube and submitted by October 11, 2008 at 11pm ET. They will be judged in five categories ranging from creativity and originality to newsworthiness. Whether documentary style or scripted, each video must be under 10 minutes in length and entirely factual.

For more info go to: www.studentsforlife.org/index.php/videocontest/

Interesting Adoption News and Research Findings

REPORT SUGGESTS RELIGIOUS ADOPTIVE PARENTS EXPERIENCE LOWER STRESS
A study of 113 adoptive families in a rural, Southern area found that religiosity predicted lower stress in adoptive parenting and that faith was a primary factor in their adoption decisions. “The Role of Faith in Adoption: Achieving Positive Adoption Outcomes for African American Children,” by Kathleen Belanger, Sam Copeland and Monit Cheung, was published in the current issue of Child Welfare (Volume 87, Issue 2). While most families attended church weekly, the percentage was even higher among Blacks (91 percent) than Whites (78 percent), and the authors concluded that greater recruitment from African American churches and tailoring the message to key aspects of their faith would be the most effective strategies for increasing the adoption of African American foster children. To access a free abstract, go to: http://www.cwla.org/articles/cwjabstracts.htm#0803

MAJOR STUDY LINKS ADOPTION OPENNESS TO BETTER OUTCOMES FOR PARENTS
Based on data from 323 adoption triads sampled from 33 agencies in 10 states, greater openness in adoptions is linked with more satisfaction with the adoption process for both adoptive parents and birthparents and with more positive post-adoption adjustment for birthmothers and birthfathers. “Bridging the Divide: Openness in Adoption and Postadoption Psychosocial Adjustment among Birth and Adoptive Parents,” by Xiaojia Ge, Misaki Natsuaki, David Martin, Jenae Neiderhiser, Georgette Villareal, John Reid, Leslie Leve, Daniel Shaw, Laura Scaramella and David Reiss, was published in the August issue of the Journal of Family Psychology (Volume 22, Issue 4). This is the first major study on openness to include birthfathers (n=112) and reports on the first wave of data collection six to nine months post-placement. To access an abstract, go to:
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=browsePA.volumes&jcode=fam

Bristol Palin's Pregnancy Highlights the Prevalence of Teen Pregnancy

PRESS RELEASE
September 2, 2008

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kay Phillips
919) 226-1880

Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina

Bristol Palin's Pregnancy Highlights the Prevalence of Teen Pregnancy
Every 28 minutes an NC teen becomes pregnant.

Durham -The revelation of the pregnancy of Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, 17, brings the issue of teen pregnancy to the national forefront once more. "Our hearts go out to the Palin family as they deal with this difficult issue under a national spotlight," said Kay Phillips, Executive Director of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina. "This issue is too common in America today and deserves a frank look at what we can do to help teens become adults without the fear of an early pregnancy." In North Carolina, a teen girl becomes pregnant every 28 minutes.

"This is an issue that can happen to anyone, anywhere; parents need to take this opportunity to speak to their children about sex and the consequences of sex. Teenaged mothers are less likely to complete high school and less likely to go on to college. If we are committed to building a better life for our daughters, we must provide them with information about sex and how to prevent becoming pregnant, either through abstinence or contraception."

For further information and statistics on teen pregnancy in North Carolina, please visit our website at www.appcnc.org or call (919) 226-1880 for information.

The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina (APPCNC) is a nonpartisan non-profit that works with health workers and those who work with teens to prevent teen pregnancy and promote better teen parenting skills. Its services include training, resources, advocacy and information as well as community mobilization. Its services are available to all 100 counties in North Carolina.

APA REPORT DISREGARDS EVIDENCE ON ABORTION

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 14, 2008

CONTACT: Kristin Hansen, (703) 544-8742

APA REPORT DISREGARDS EVIDENCE ON ABORTION, CARE NET SAYS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde responded Wednesday to a draft report released by the American Psychological Association that claims there is no risk of mental health problems after one abortion. Delahoyde said the report will have “devastating consequences on women if health professionals follow the APA and withhold potentially lifesaving information about the risks of abortion.”

“The APA has completely disregarded credible research that shows abortion increasing the risk of clinical depression, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Delahoyde. “The report’s conclusion also flies in the face of what pregnancy centers see every day: the anguish of thousands of women and men every year – 13,000 in 2006 alone - who visit Care Net centers seeking help from a past abortion.”

“Finally, the APA’s report also contradicts what the Supreme Court recognized in Gonzales v. Carthart – that abortion holds considerable emotional health risks for women,” said Delahoyde. “In the words of Carhart, women experience ‘grief more anguished and sorrow more profound’ when they are not informed of the truth about abortion. The Court’s conclusion was based on thousands of affidavits of women who testified to experiencing ‘severe depression and loss of esteem.’”

“The APA may continue to politicize abortion, but Care Net and its network of affiliated pregnancy centers are committed to providing medically referenced and accurate information about abortion risks to empower women to make informed health decisions,” said Delahoyde. “We’ve heard too many anguished women over the years say, ‘I wish someone would have told me abortion would cause me this much grief.’ Women deserve the truth.”

Care Net is a Christian, non-profit organization that seeks to promote a culture of life through the delivery of valuable, life-affirming, evangelistic ministry to people facing unplanned pregnancies and related sexual issues. Care Net supports a network of 1,100 pregnancy centers in North America and operates, in conjunction with Heartbeat International, the Option Line call center and website that assist women in need 24/7.

At the Center Magazine

The SUMMER '08 Issue of At The Center has been posted.
Click on title of this article to access At the Center magazine.
At the Center is produced by Right Ideas, Inc., a Christian-owned research and publishing company in Fleetwood, PA. This is a great publication for those involved in prolife ministry through crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes.

Be Informed. Be Encouraged.
In this issue At the Center includes several articles to help us as we look toward the election in a few months.

The View Co-Host Sherri Shepherd Talks About Her Numerous Abortions

The View Co-Host Sherri Shepherd Talks About Her Numerous Abortions

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 23, 2008

Hollywood, CA (LifeNews.com) -- Sherri Shepherd, a co-host of the popular women's television program "The View," said in a recent interview that she's had numerous abortions. She says that she didn't began to change her promiscuous behavior until she became a Christian.

In the interview with Precious Times, a magazine for black Christian women, Shepherd, who is 41, said she was "sleeping with a lot of guys and had more abortions than I would like to count."

"I felt if someone killed me, it wouldn't even make a difference," she said, talking about how the abortions and other problems caused a low point in her life. "But God showed me that it would make a difference."

Shepherd upset her view co-hosts with the comments and they came up on The View at the beginning of Wednesday's program.

Shepherd says she faced significant guilt and shame about the abortions.

"I didn't know how to forgive myself and a wonderful woman at a conference told me 'Sherri, when you get to heaven all your babies are going to be there saying 'Hi Mama,'" she added.

"When I heard that I knew Jesus had forgiven me. She didn't print the whole thing and I wanted people to know that," she said. "I wasn't being flippant about abortions and I wasn't glamorizing them."

"I would like to inspire women who go through a lot of shame and guilt about having an abortion that I, too, went through it myself," Shepherd said.

Take Care Down There Video from Planned Parenthood

Take Care Down There?

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council
Washington Update

WARNING: This item contains shocking and graphic content funded by your tax dollars.

Given the recent allegations against Planned Parenthood, one would think the organization would play it safe over the next few months and try to exercise some restraint. But the plan to stay under the media's radar is failing dismally in Oregon and Washington, where the local affiliate is making a full-scale assault on the morality of the states' young people.

On its new website, TakeCareDownThere.org, the group posts a series of videos so revolting that members of my staff were visibly shaken. In one clip, a girl tells her friends that she's staying home from a party to masturbate. When her pals look shocked, she says, 'What? I like me. I like spending time with me. Tonight I think I'm going to go all the way with me.' On another video, a 'teacher' interrupts a boy performing oral sex on another boy and asks them where their condoms are. Others include videos called 'Threesome' and 'Let me do me,' and a song about genitalia that reaches a level of vulgarity that would give even crude networks like MTV pause.

This site is nothing more than an online playground for the prurient. The screen promises 'the ins and outs about the ins and outs,' but the material is highly inappropriate for adults, let alone young children. Sadly, most parents are unaware that garbage like this is targeting their kids, and even fewer realize that they're paying for it! The website is a project of Planned Parenthood of Columbia Willamette, a Title X grantee. This is exactly why FRC has prodded President Bush to change the government's Title X regulations. Each year, Planned Parenthood pockets more than $300 million of your tax dollars. One way to de-fund the group responsible for obscene material like this is to end the meshing of Title X 'family planning' funds with abortion mills. Call the White House switchboard today at 202-456-1414 and ask President Bush to separate these funds before more children are caught up in Planned Parenthood's pornographic web.

View the Video
http://www.parentsfortruth.org/

Poll Shows Distorted View of Cohabitation

CitizenLink 7/29

Poll Shows Distorted View of Cohabitation

by Devon Williams, associate editor

'One of the best ways to sandbag a marriage before it starts is to live together before marriage.'


Nearly half of American adults believe that cohabitation can be good for marriage, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll. Similarly, almost half believe living together before marriage has no effect on children.

The survey of 1,007 adults found that 49 percent believe cohabitation makes divorce less likely. Brad Wilcox, associate professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, said there is a growing body of evidence that suggests otherwise.

"People think that cohabitation is a great way to practice or test a relationship," he said. "In reality, we know that cohabitation tends to set people up for marital failure – both in terms of high rates of divorce, but also in terms of more conflict in their marriage and less happiness."

In addition, 47 percent of respondents said living together doesn't negatively affect their children. Wilcox called this is a tragedy for our nation's youth.

"Kids who are exposed to cohabitation are more likely to be physically abused, to be sexually abused, to have trouble with depression and delinquency and a number of other negative social outcomes," he said. "One of (marriage's) primary purposes is to secure an ideal environment for the rearing of children. We need to make sure that we are having and rearing our kids in the context of a marital union where there's that commitment and that trust that is going to generate good things for our children."

In a related poll released Monday by the Census Bureau, there are currently 6.4 million cohabiting couples in the U.S. That's up 1.4 million from 2006.

Glenn Stanton, director of family formation studies for Focus on the Family, said the numbers indicate pro-family organizations and scholars haven't done a good job of educating Americans about the harmful effects of cohabitation on marriage.

"The American people are largely clueless on the measurable benefits of marriage and the negative impact of cohabitation," he said. "In fact, one of the best ways to sandbag a marriage before it starts is to live together before marriage.

"We need to do a better job of helping people understand that marital status and lack of marital status really has a negative impact in the lives of people."

Minisry Needs

We are in need of individuals/churches/businesses that can help us with copying costs. With our new Mom Shoppe we are making lots of copies of great resource material which is being provided to our clients. This is information which they can access for years to come. Ideally we will locate a volunteer who can pick up items needing copying, facilitate the copying (at no cost to the ministry) and return to us to ready for distribution. This would probably involve about 100 copies a month at this time. (To increase in the future). This is a big request but we serve a BIG GOD and I know that He can provide the conviction which will lead someone to help in this way.

Also, because our copying and other related expenses are increasing, donations of gift cards to Office Max would be a huge blessing to this ministry.

Purity Ball

Source: TIME

The Pursuit of Teen Girl Purity

Thursday, Jul. 17, 2008

By NANCY GIBBS

There are some mothers and some uncles among the 150 people in the ballroom of the Broadmoor hotel, but the night belongs to fathers and daughters. The girls generally range in age from college down to the tiny 4-year-old dressed all in purple who has climbed up into her father's arms to be carried. Some are in their first high heels--you can tell by the way they walk, like uncertain baby giraffes. Randy Wilson, co-inventor of the Father-Daughter Purity Ball, offers a blessing: he calls on the men to be good and loving listeners, tender, gracious and truthful. And he prays that the girls might "step into the world with strength and passion, to lead this generation."

Kylie Miraldi has come from California to celebrate her 18th birthday tonight. She'll be going to San Jose State on a volleyball scholarship next year. Her father, who looks a little like Superman, is on the dance floor with one of her sisters; he turns out to be Dean Miraldi, a former offensive lineman with the Philadelphia Eagles. When Kylie was 13, her parents took her on a hike in Lake Tahoe, Calif. "We discussed what it means to be a teenager in today's world," she says. They gave her a charm for her bracelet--a lock in the shape of a heart. Her father has the key. "On my wedding day, he'll give it to my husband," she explains. "It's a symbol of my father giving up the covering of my heart, protecting me, since it means my husband is now the protector. He becomes like the shield to my heart, to love me as I'm supposed to be loved."

Kylie talks with an unblinking confidence about a promise that she says is spiritual, mental and physical. "It's something I'm very proud of. I plan to keep pure until marriage. It's a promise I made to myself--not pressure from my parents," she says. She speaks plainly about what she wants in her life, what she thinks she has the power to control and what she doesn't. "I'm very much at peace about this," she says, and looks out across the twirling room. "I don't feel like I need to seek a man. I will be found."

Family Ministry

Randy and his wife Lisa Wilson believe in celebrating God's design and life's little growth spurts. But the origin of the purity-ball movement was not so much about their five daughters; it was about the fathers Randy saw who, he says, didn't know what their place was in the lives of their daughters. "The idea was to model what the relationship can be as a daughter grows from a child to an adult," Randy says. "You come in closer, become available to answer whatever questions she has."

So he and Lisa came up with a ceremony; they wrote a vow for fathers to recite, a promise "before God to cover my daughter as her authority and protection in the areas of purity," to practice fidelity, shun pornography and walk with honor through a "culture of chaos" and by so doing guide their daughters as well. That was in 1998, the year the President was charged with lying about his sex life, Viagra became the fastest-selling new drug in history, and movies, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, reflected "a surge in the worldwide relaxation of sexual taboos."

Word of the event spread fast: soon the camera crews came, and so did Tyra Banks and Dr. Phil. The Abstinence Clearinghouse estimates there were more than 4,000 purity events across the country last year, with programs aimed at boys now growing even faster. And inevitably the criticism arrived as well, dressed up in social science and scholarly glee at the semiotics of girls kneeling beneath raised swords to affirm their purity. The events have been called odd, creepy, oppressive of a girl's "sexual self-agency," as one USA Today columnist put it. Father-daughter bonding is great, the critics agree--but wouldn't a cooking class or a soccer game be emotionally healthier than a ceremony freighted with rings and roses and vows? Some academic skeptics make a practical objection: The majority of kids who make a virginity pledge, they argue, will still have sex before marriage but are less likely than other kids to use contraception, since that would involve planning ahead for something they have promised not to do. This puts them at risk for sexually transmitted diseases. To which defenders say: Teen pledgers typically do postpone having sex, have fewer partners, get pregnant less often and if they make it through high school as virgins, are twice as likely to graduate from college--so where's the downside?
The purity balls have thus become a proxy in the wider war over means and ends. It is being fought in Congress, where lawmakers debate whether to keep funding abstinence-only education in the face of studies showing it doesn't work; in the culture, as Lindsay and Britney and Miley march in single file off a cliff; at school-board meetings, where members argue over the signal sent by including condoms in the prom bag; at the dinner table, where parents try to transmit values to children, knowing full well that swarms of other messages are landing by text and Twitter. "The culture is everywhere," says Randy's daughter Khrystian, 20. "You can't get away from it." But maybe, the new Puritans suggest, there's a way to boost girls' immunity.

Rules of Engagement

It was an elbow in the ribs from his wife that drove Ken Lane to his first purity ball with their daughter Hannah, now 11. Tonight is their fourth, and they are sitting in the gold-and-white Broadmoor ballroom, picking at the chicken Florentine and trying to explain what they're doing here. "My kids are on loan to me for a season; it's important how I use that time," Ken is saying as a string quartet plays softly. "There's a lot for us to talk through--the decisions she'll have to make are more complex. I want to be close enough to her that she can come talk to me. That's what my wife understood. I didn't understand the role dads can play to set her up for success."
In the face of the hook-up culture of casual sexual experimentation, he explains, with its potential physical and emotional risks, he wants to model an alternative. Even with older teenagers, many of these families don't believe in random dating but rather intentional dating, which typically begins with a young man's asking a father for permission to get to know his daughter. Lane was so stymied by how exactly that conversation would go that he even asked Randy Wilson if he could sit at a nearby table and listen in one day when Wilson met one of Khrystian's potential suitors at a local Starbucks. "We're trying to be realistic," Lane says. "I'm not ready to be like India--have arranged marriages. But there is some wisdom there, in that at least the parents are involved."This, of course, is the kind of conversation that makes critics howl. What about a young woman's right to date whomever she pleases, make her own mistakes, learn from the experience, find out who she is and what matters to her? To which the Wilsons and their allies reply: If you still think this is just about sex, you are missing the whole point. The message, they say, is about integrity, being whole people, heart and soul and body. Wilson himself has said virginity pledges have a downside: "It heaps guilt upon them. If they fail, you've made it worse for them," he said. "Who is perfect in this world? One mistake doesn't mean it's all over." Everyone here has a story, and very few are in black and white. One man is dancing with his younger daughter, wishing his older girl had come as well. She used to wear a purity ring, he says, until a boy she knew assaulted her; she took it off--felt too dirty. Her parents gave her a new one, a bigger one; it took many months and much therapy, her father goes on, before she was able to put a ring on again. "That was part of a healing process," he says, "with the message that you're valuable no matter what someone did to you."

Symbols and Substance

After dinner comes the ballet performance, when seven tiny ballerinas in white tulle float in; then seven older dancers carry in a large, heavy wooden cross, which they drape in white, with a crown of thorns. Four of the five Wilson daughters are among the dancers, and they offer a special dance to their father, to the music of Natalie Grant: Your faith, your love And all that you believe Have come to be the strongest part of me And I will always be your baby ...
Then Randy and his friend Kevin Moore stand in front of the cross, holding up two large swords, points crossed. Fathers and daughters process beneath the swords to kneel; the girls place a white rose at the base of the cross while the fathers offer a quiet blessing. Splayed on the floor all around them are half a dozen photographers looking for the right angle and a camera crew from the BBC, in a syncopation of private praise and clicking shutters.

So what, exactly, does all this ceremony achieve? Leave aside for a moment the critics who recoil at the symbols, the patriarchy, the very use of the term purity, with its shadow of stains and stigma. Whatever guests came looking for, they are likely to come away with something unexpected. The goal seems less about making judgments than about making memories.
Out on the terrace under an almost moon, the black swans have vanished into the lake. David Diefenderfer has slipped outside for a cigarette; he's a leathery South Dakotan in a big black cowboy hat, and he hands over his card. HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL: BREEDER SERVICE, it says, with a picture of a syringe. He's in the cattle-reproduction business. He's also the father of nine children by seven women.

Three of his daughters are with him tonight, including 10-year-old Taylor. I asked what purity means to her. "I don't really know," she says, and she's shy about talking about all this. "But it means you make a promise to your dad to be a virgin until you are married and not have a lot of boyfriends."

That's what her oldest half sister Juliet was taught as well; she remembers hearing how her mother got pregnant the very first time she had sex. Juliet is now 37 and has come from Reno, Nev., where she works for Microsoft Licensing. She has watched the evening unfold with some skepticism. "I think I'm finding I'm more of a feminist than I thought," she says with a sly smile. "I had a hard time there hearing about 'rescuing' our girls. I was brought up to be a strong woman. Why would I need rescuing?" It's the boys who she thinks need help these days. "It's great for girls to have a Cinderella night with Dad, but families still need a good strong father role model," she says. The role-model question is tender for her. "I didn't have that--no offense, Dad," she says, and then she looks hard at him. "But my siblings do. He really stepped up to the plate. He's a great dad now. I say that with a tinge of jealousy. I'm not afraid to admit it."
Her father hopes his kids will learn from his mistakes. "I never planned to have nine children by seven women," he says. "I believe it's necessary to instill a set of values, give them tools to make good decisions." But he won't be there to help. Juliet explains when he goes back inside the ballroom to catch up to the younger girls: "We're sort of here on borrowed time," she says. David Diefenderfer has Stage 4 inoperable lung cancer; they figure tonight is something of a gift. "He won't be at their wedding," Juliet says, looking into the glowing room, "but they can look back and remember the dance they had tonight."

A Delicate Dance

If you listen long enough, you wonder whether there is really such a profound disagreement about what parents want for their children. Culture war by its nature pours salt in wounds, finds division where there could be common purpose. Purity is certainly a loaded word--but is there anyone who thinks it's a good idea for 12-year-olds to have sex? Or a bad idea for fathers to be engaged in the lives of their daughters and promise to practice what they preach? Parents won't necessarily say this out loud, but isn't it better to set the bar high and miss than not even try?
Maybe mixed messages aren't just inevitable; they're valuable. On the one hand, for all the conservative outcry, there is no evidence that giving kids complete and accurate information about sex and contraception encourages promiscuity. On the other, a purity pledge basically says sex is serious. That it's not to be entered into recklessly. To deny kids information, whether about contraception or chastity, is irresponsible; to mock or dismiss as unrealistic the goal of personal responsibility in all its forms may suit the culture, but it gives kids too little power, too little control over their decisions, as though they're incapable of making good ones. The research suggests they may be more capable of high standards than parents are. "It's always tempting as a parent to say, Do as I say, not as I do," says a father who's here for the first time. "But it's more valuable to make the commitment yourself. Children can spot hypocrisy very quickly."
The dancing goes on past midnight, when Randy Wilson finally has to shoo people out. Many of the girls are still light-footed, merry; it's their dads who are fading, and you wonder who will be leaning on whom as they head out into the cool mountain night.

Purity Pictures To see more of Marvi Lacar's photos, go to time.com/purity
With Reporting by Alexandra Silver/New York, Carolyn Sayre/New York

Housing Need

Hebrews 6:10 NIV

10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.

Housing Needed: Our sister organization, Charlotte Pregnancy Resource Center, has hired a new employee who is in need of housing in this area. This brother in the Lord, who has served as a pastor, is currently living in a trailer at JAARS in Waxhaw and having to commute daily to the office near uptown. With the current cost of gas, this is a financial hardship. The need will be for a period of 6-12 months. It would be such a blessing if we could help this brother to locate an inexpensive or free housing opportunity near the crisis pregnancy center. Let Debbie know if you can help. debloislodge@aol.com

Dancing With the Baby Stars

Dancing With the Baby Stars - The Amazing Feats of Fetal Development

July 15, 2008

LifeNews.com

You may not think of yourself as the next Kristi Yamaguchi, but long before you could walk, you could dance. Not on the floor, mind you, but in the womb.

If you want proof of an unborn baby's dancing ability, check out http://www.yourdevelopingbaby.com/sampleChapters/7.htm. There, under the headline "Baby aerobics," you'll see a baby 15 weeks after conception, doing a unique form of hip hop.
The incredible video comes courtesy of two Harvard radiology professors, Peter Doubilet and Carol Benson, a married couple who have written an eye-catching book called "Your Developing Baby." The work includes some 250 images which underscore the humanity of the unborn child.

No Life, No Justice

No Life, No Justice
Sanctity of Life Is Foundational

July 25, 2008 (From Prison Fellowship - "Breakpoint")

Note: This commentary was delivered by PFM President Mark Earley.

Followers of Jesus are being asked by politicos, pundits, and even some pastors, to abandon abortion as a decisive and vital issue in this year's election. Instead, we are being urged to cast our votes based on other justice issues such as poverty, protecting the environment, and bringing the troops home from Iraq. There are three problems with this line of thinking.

First, the sanctity and dignity of life (which abortion destroys both physically and conceptually) is the cornerstone upon which all justice is built. All human rights are predicated first upon the right to life.

Thomas Jefferson understood this clearly when he wrote, and I quote, "The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government."

For the believer, the value of each human life, no matter how young or old, derives from the belief that all humans are created by God and stamped with His image.

The second problem with abandoning the right to life issue for the sake of others is the nature of the disagreement between candidates on these other issues. All candidates agree that poverty should be ended and the environment protected—the debate surrounds the strategies to be used. Likewise, even the strongest supporters of the war in Iraq want to bring our active combat troops home—the argument is about how, under what circumstances, and when.

But abortion is different. On this issue, many candidates are diametrically opposed. There is no common ground. Their records are clear, and the contrasts are sharp.

The third reason we cannot lose focus on protecting the unborn is that so much work remains to be done. Despite a positive shift in public opinion on protecting unborn children, despite the addition of Supreme Court justices who seem to believe in the right to life, despite the passage of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and many parental notification and consent laws, the fact remains that abortion-on-demand is still the law of the land. And the death toll continues to rise every single day.

Since the passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973, more than 48 million unborn children have perished—and only 7 percent of the women who had those abortions cited medical concerns, rape, or incest as their reasons. And those who promote abortions—they are flexing their muscle as never before. In Fiscal Year 2006-2007, Planned Parenthood took in over $1 billion in donations. They provide 20 percent of all abortions in the United States, and took in $336 million in government funds—that is your taxes!

Believers must press candidates on the right to life this year. The so-called single-issue, pro-life voters are not single-issue at all. Why? Because the dignity and sanctity of human life is a thread that connects virtually all humanitarian causes. They recognize that unless our country protects the most vulnerable of human life, all other issues touching upon human dignity are in peril—whether it is human trafficking, mental health, AIDS, poverty, victims' rights, prisoners' rights, or health care, just to name a few.

Indeed, if the life of the most innocent and defenseless among us—the unborn child—is not worth protecting, I ask you, my friend, whose is?

WIC linked to Planned Parenthood

LifeNews.com 7/25

WIC Program Blasted for Web Link to Planned Parenthood Abortion Business

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) --

Poor women and children need food, health care and education, but the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program is coming under fire for giving them abortions instead. The program's web site features a link to Planned Parenthood, the business that does about 25 percent of U.S. abortions. Pro-life blogger Dawn Eden, author of The Thrill of the Chaste, found the link at the USDA's WIC Learning Center, the official web site for the federal government's program. "That's because a hefty chunk of the $5 billion in taxpayer funds for the program designed to help feed and provide health care for low-income pregnant women, new moms, and young children go to [the abortion business]," Eden explains. Eden says the link provides more evidence of how Planned Parenthood targets blacks and Hispanics. "Considering that some 61 percent of WIC recipients are nonwhites, the government's efforts to steer them towards Planned Parenthood dovetails neatly with the nation' No. 1 abortion provider's efforts to prevent births in the black and Latino communities," she says.

ACTION: Go to http://nal.usda.gov/wicworks/Learning_Center/Referrals_healthcare.html to see the link. Then, contact the national office by sending an email to wichq-web@fns.usda.gov.

Barack Obama's Pledge to Overturn Every Abortion

LifeNews.com 7/23

Barack Obama's Pledge to Overturn Every Pro-Life Abortion Law 1 Year Old

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) --

One year ago this week, Barack Obama promised activists with the nation's largest abortion business that the first thing he would do as president is overturn every pro-life law in all 50 states. Obama said his first action would be signing the mislabeled Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). The measure, if it becomes law, would codify Roe v. Wade by making the infamous Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited abortions the law of the land. But it would go further, warns Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council. "If FOCA were to become law it would overturn hundreds of state laws that have put limits on abortion," he explains. Perkins points to a new research paper written by FRC Vice President of Government Affairs Tom McClusky and he said Planned Parenthood, NARAL and other pro-abortion groups agree with this assessment. The ACLU has said, "This [FOCA] bill prohibits such restrictions as parental notification and consent, as well as the requirement that all abortions be performed in a hospital, spousal consent, waiting periods, etc."

Lois' Lodge does not endorse political candidates and is not able to substantiate information created by other sources and posted on this blog. We just seek to share the news that is sent our way relative to prolife and crisis pregnancy issues. We welcome your comments and input.

Endorsement from Charlotte Right to Life

There isn't a week that goes by that we don't think of Lois' Lodge and the vital role they play in empowering women to do what they know is right. In an imperfect world, single moms face great challenges and we are so grateful that hands of support, such as Lois' Lodge, are now in place helping them find the courage.

Seth Dobson, Chairman

Charlotte Right to Life

Here comes the Bride!

Jessica married Matt on July 18, 2008. Debbie