Sanctity of Life

I got to share at church yesterday about my experience of volunteering at A Woman's Choice Resource Center, which is the local crisis pregnancy center. Here is what I said.

Before I had a baby of my own, I had the privilege of volunteering at A Woman's Choice Resource Center (AWC). The main location is on 1st and Market streets which is on the same block as the abortion clinic. AWC also has a counseling center on Trio Ave. and Necole's Place is on Elm. street. I want to share how I have been blessed through volunteering there, ways that I have seen God work through the ministry of AWC, how you can get involved, and how you can pray.

Since I was about 8 or 9 years old I have had the desire to volunteer in a counseling center. My mom volunteered at a pregnancy center and she would take my brother and me with her and we would do homework or play while she taught classes to the women there. For some reason seeing what she did there put a desire in me to want to do something similar. I finally got the chance to do that when Joshua and I moved here. So God has blessed me by fulfilling the desire that I had to serve in a pregnancy center.

I have also been blessed through serving at AWC by being trained how to counsel women who are in a variety of different situations. It was a growing and stretching process for me to learn how to listen to women and speak truth to them. Another blessing I received was having opportunities to share the gospel with many of the women I spoke with.

A few of the ways that I have seen God at work through the ministry of AWC is that this month they were raising money for a new ultrasound machine and God provided all the money that they needed to purchase it! Women do change their mind about getting an abortion. I don't have any specific stories that stick out in my mind. But there were a few women who after talking with me, seeing a ultrasound decided to wait a week and think things over. Some of them came back and talked with other counselors and ultimately decided not to abort their baby. Another blessing of God is that women have accepted the gospel and have gotten plugged in to Necole's Place, where they have had the opportunity to be discipled.

Ways that people can get involved!
~Do sidewalk counseling and praying. This means go stand outside the abortion clinic and pray and speak to those who are willing to listen.
~Volunteer at one of the centers. Answering phones, counseling, organizing donations, caring for kids at Necole's Place, teaching classes or Bible studies at Necole's Place or cleaning. That's just to list a few things. Go here for more ideas on how you can get involved.

How can you pray?
~Pray that God would continue to change women's hearts about abortion and their need for the gospel.
~Pray that churches in Louisville would faithfully and boldly proclaim the gospel.
~Pray that AWC would continue to have money to stay open and keep providing services to women.
~Pray that the workers at AWC would remain faithful to speaking the truth compassionately.

Amelia's 2010 Reading List

I told Joshua last night that one of my new years goals was to have a reading list....His response was "Make it attainable." He knows me well! I haven't had a chance to ask him is he has any goals for this year. My guess is that since he is starting the PhD program, he will not have an extensive reading list. My guess is that it will be his goal to read one book that is not for school reading. But since this is his first semester as a PhD student we have yet to find out what his reading load will be like.

Anyway, in no particular order here is my reading list. I asked for suggestions from facebook friends and got some good ideas. I decided that I needed to put some books on here that I have wanted to read for a while or ones that I have started and then stopped. And we have about 5 books shelves so figured that I had plenty to choose from that we already had!

1. What is Art? by Leo Tolstoy
2. Eugenics and Other Evils by G.K. Chesterton
3. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
4. Pleasing People by Lou Priolo
5. Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp
6. The Courage to Be Protestant by David F. Wells
7. A Help to Domestic Happiness by John Angell James
8. In My Place Condemned He Stood by J. I. Packer, Mark Dever, J. Ligon Duncan, and C. J. Mahaney
9. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
10. Marriage and Family in the Middle Ages by Frances and Joseph Gies

So there it is!

On a different note. I am way behind the times but I figured out today how to put podcasts on my MP3 player and now can listen to those as I run! I have a sermon by John Piper, a Cartalk episode, and Radio Lab episode ready to listen to!

Free Tortured for Christ Book

If you haven't read this book, about the founder of Voice of the Martyrs you should order your free copy here. You can also send it to friends who have never read it either.

Snow Pictures

New Year's Resolutions

I worked at the hospital New Years Eve. I try to find interesting things to talk about with my patients while I'm in the room with them. I asked one patient if he had any resolutions for the new year. He said, " I gave those up 20 years ago." He's not the first person that I've heard remark condescendingly about new years resolutions. In my short life I've vacillated between should I or should I not make new years resolutions. I've been cynical about making resolutions because I've thought, "How contrived and constricting to make a goal to do...(fill in the blank)", or I've said to myself, "it's not spontaneous enough" or I've just thought it's cheesy to have grand and lofty aspirations at the beginning of the year that mostly don't get accomplished. But I think I'm changing my mind.

I think part of the reason so many are so cynical about making goals and resolutions to change is because they have failed so often in the past. But is that a reason to not try again? I was really encouraged by this post on the girltalk blog. One reason we don't reach all of our goals is because we try to do it on our own, apart from strength from God. But that should not stop us from trying again, asking humbly for help from One for whom nothing is impossible. Whether people specifically recognize it or not, I think people give up making goals because they realize they are weak, lack motivation, and are given to failing.

So why make goals? My father in law had a great post on making goals. I would encourage anyone to read it.

I am going to make goals for this year because I see ways in which I can use my time more wisely. So my goals will be an effort to evaluate how I spend my time and look for ways that I can spend it better. I am also going to make goals that will hopefully challenge me. I also want to make goals that are measurable and attainable. As I've stated before, I can have the tendency to make really lofty goals. I also think that I will get more accomplished by having goals. I think that evaluating where you are and what you want to do may help identify things that have or could become idols in my life. I think I will have more freedom by disciplining myself to accomplish certain goals.

I have been reading "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" by Donald Whitney. In it he talks about how discipline brings freedom. I had to think about this one for a bit because it goes again my free natured self. But it's true. He used the example of someone who is able to use scripture throughout their prayers. The freedom to know and use scripture in prayers comes from the discipline of memorizing scripture on a regular basis. That is just one example but the of freedom through discipline has many applications.

So with God's help I make resolutions for the coming year. With His help I will keep them. I am sure I will not keep all my resolutions because I am a weak human, but I will try. Here they are:

1. I will only watch LOST and 1 hour of other TV a week. (I watch too much TV and love it too much)
2. I will train for a half marathon that is in April. (Physical activity is good, it's something I can do with Joshua and Daniel and I think it's attainable)
3. I will read through the Daily Bible. (I have never read through the Bible in a year)
4. I will memorize the scripture that is suggested to be memorized for small group and bible study. (I am lazy about memorizing scripture, but this is worth working on and totally doable.)
5. I will read Daniel's Bible to him every day. (I want to get into the habit of reading Scripture with Daniel)
6. I will make a book list to read through this year. ( I have time to read, I like to read, and I'll read more if I have a list)
7.I will wait 15 minutes after eating a first helping of food to decide if I am still hungry and want more. (I eat fast and feel hungry and then eat more only to realize that I'm not really hungry and am then too full)
8. I will attempt to have someone over for dinner once a week (This has been something Joshua and I have wanted to do and have not done a good job at, so we'll try again this year.)

So, I think that's it for this year. I might add more. We'll see. What do you think about making resolutions? What are yours if you've made them? If you don't make resolutions, what is the reason?

Snow!

Yesterday it snowed here! I was at work so Joshua took Daniel outside for a few minutes, but the camera batteries were all dead, so when Daniel gets up from his nap, we'll go out and play and hopefully get some good pictures.

Daniel and I went to the track again to today and ran 2 miles in 20 minutes! Not bad I think for a second run!

Pictures to come...

miniMarathon Madness

Two years ago Joshua ran the Derby marathon and I got inspired to consider running a half marathon. Needless to say last April was not a good time to try and run one as Daniel was 3 months old. But this April I think is a good time to attempt it! So, with 100 something days left until the Derby Festival miniMarathon I officially started training today! Joshua tells me often that I need to make attainable goals--I think this one is attainable. I tend to make really grand, crazy goals and don't end up finishing them--like making the goal to read through an entire encyclopedia set. Or making the goal to bike on a stationary bike to equivalent of riding from Maine to Washington! I think I got to the middle of the "A" encyclopedia and I rode about 200 miles. So is it madness to run 13 miles? Quite possibly. But I think this goal is reachable!

Joshua is going to train with me so we are going to be pushing Daniel in the running stroller. Daniel likes going on walks so he should be content to "train" with us!

It's been in the 20s here so today I went to the seminary and ran on their track, which is on the 3rd floor and an inferno! Note to self: No more wearing running pants...it's gotta be shorts. I'm following the training schedule that is on the Derby Festival run website. So today Daniel and I embarked on a 2 mile track run. It wasn't too bad...I haven't really run since the beginning of December so it was a little slower than I would like, but hey, there's room for much improvement!

Part of my madness is in how I'm trying to get two college friends to come run it with us! You know who you are are girls...you should do it!

I was reading a friend's website today and he was talking about training to run a half marathon and possibly a marathon and doing it raise awareness/money for a worthy reason. So that got me to thinking. A friend from church had already talked about maybe getting our small group to run it together and raise money for a specific person...So I thought of that again today and I think it's a good idea. I'll have to talk to a few people and work out details before I'm sure if this specific idea will work, but I think it might.

i work tomorrow and I'll practically walk a marathon (not really), but there is no way that I'm coming home from work and running. So Friday it's another 2 miler and Saturday it's 3.