Monday, October 20 - Abortion Mill Update

            Yesterday my father and sister were able to minister at the abortion mill. I didn’t go along for several reasons, but they all boiled down to the fact that we are in a spiritual battle (every day, but being involved in a ministry like this really brings it out) and the enemy of our souls will do whatever he can to destroy us. Although I was looking forward to going and standing for life and truth alongside my father, sister, and other fellow laborers, I needed a time of refreshing and am so thankful to have been able to take the morning at home and receive the renewal that I needed from the Lord.

            Thus saying, I don’t have any first-hand updates from yesterday. I did receive the wonderful news that there were three saves, though! Thanking God for those lives spared!

            On the sad side, the abortionist yesterday was one who had not been coming for several months due to some charges against him (not specifically related to the abortion mill or his involvement there). Those charges have been dropped and he is back at the mill. Please join us in prayer for him that this situation will help to open his eyes before it’s too late.

Lessons From the Words of a Child

            On Friday, my youngest brother and I took a drive up to an orchard about forty five minutes west of us in the mountains that we get our apples from. I love my “little” brother; he has that type of personality that’s just so easy to get along with. :) The Lord used him that day to remind me of a few very important things.

            We were driving on a back road in the mountains when my brother said, “That sign said 25 and you are going more than that.” And then in a quieter voice, “But I guess you don’t have to.”

The speed limit is something that I will confess has been a journey for me. I don't go over the speed limit on purpose to be rebellious or for the thrill of speed, etc., but I have been known to go over if I am late or am just not thinking about it. For several years of driving, I never thought about it as being wrong. I say that to my shame. Then the Lord started to convict me that this was an area that he was asking me to change. I believe that the standard held out in the Word of God is that we are to obey the earthly government whenever it does not conflict with God’s higher laws. I still stumble in this area, but it is my goal to get to the place where I observe the speed limit at all times. If I’m late, I need to work on punctuality (or maybe there are other circumstances out of my control, and then I just need to trust God), but I never can use that as a justification for disobeying the laws of our government.

This could sound extreme. Not even one mile an hour over the speed limit? Yes, that is what God is showing me that obedience means. It’s okay if you think I am extreme. But I would ask you to prayerfully consider this and ask God if you drive in a way that is pleasing to Him.

When my brother made that comment, I felt pricked and replied, “If that’s what the sign says, then I do need to do it.” But even as I slowed down, I felt that battle inside. This is a back road. I haven’t seen a single car, so I’m not putting anyone in danger. I can safely go the speed that I was going. 25 is soooo slow; we’ll never get there!

Then I thought of something else just as important (or more so) as obeying God by obeying the government—my brother. He knows that I have committed my life to follow Jesus. He knows that I say that I want to obey God. And now he was watching me. How would a follower of Christ respond to this situation? What would his big sister do? The Bible says that it would be better to have a millstone hung around your neck and to be drowned than to cause “one of these little ones” to stumble. What a sobering thought. That reminded me of a poem that I once read:

A careful [girl] I want to be; a little brother follows me.

I do not dare to go astray for fear he'll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes; whate'er he sees me do, he tries.

Like me he says he's going to be—that little brother following me.

He thinks that I am good and fine; believes in every word of mine.

The bad in me he must not see—that little brother following me.

I must remember as I go through summer's sun and winter's snow

I'm building for the years to be, that little brother following me.

October 6 and 13 - Abortion Mill Update

As much as I enjoy blogging, the weeks seem to fill up and slip away without me getting many opportunities to post. So, now I have two weeks of mill updates to do in one post, and if I don’t hurry, I’ll have another one to add in just a couple more days.

October 6: One interaction that still stands out in my mind was with a grandmother who, along with other family members, had come to support her granddaughter in the murder of her grandchild. After getting her granddaughter all set inside, this grandmother came back out and began yelling over and over, “God forgives!” “God forgives!” “God forgives!” We told her that yes, God does forgive all who come to Him in true brokenness and repentance. But we also explained to her that God does not forgive someone in the midst of willful disobedience. You cannot walk into sin and come out the other side claiming God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness is not a pass. It is not a license to disobey Him. The grandmother didn’t listen; instead she kept repeating, “God forgives!” “God forgives!” Yes . . . so much of the time a lie is 99% truth!

October 13: This week was so encouraging after the discouragement of so many hard hearts last week and no *visible* fruit. Another lady that we minister with wrote this about this week: “Four saves that we know of! My favorite was the last one, a young man had been out in front for an hour or more listening to all the preaching, and pleading words from [another sidewalk counselor] as well. They left and told us they didn't do it, raised their hands in high fives, and were honking their horn and waving to us, thumbs up as they drove away. Relief and joy!” Thank you to all of you who were praying for us and these dear mothers, fathers, and their children! You may never know how much your prayers mean to us!

Twenty

Today I turn twenty! I’m so thankful that God will continue to be as faithful to me in the coming years as He has been over the past two decades! My sweet sister was kind enough to use her wonderful photography skills to help me document my entrance into adulthood. :-) Here are some of the results of the photo shoot.

 

 

 

 

 

Coconut Cream Pie

            I am supposed to be putting the finishing touches on my “graduation” speech so that I can begin practicing it to give the day before my twentieth birthday, but since my mind needed a break I decided to stop over here and put up a post. Now would be a good time to share one of my favorite desserts that I’ve had for my past few birthdays – Coconut Cream Pie! If you don’t like coconut you probably won’t like this pie. But if you like coconut as much as I do (which is a LOT!) then this is a must try!

Coconut Cream Pie

1 9-inch pie crust (see recipe below)

¾ cup + 2 Tbsp sugar

¼ cup cornstarch (or arrowroot powder)

¼ tsp salt

2 ¼ cup milk

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp butter

2/3 cup coconut

Bake pie shell and set aside to cool. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan. Add milk, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat, while stirring, until bubbly. Decrease heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot filling into yolks. Return all to saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla extract, butter, and coconut to mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour filling into baked pie shell. Chill at least 4 hours before serving. Optional: sprinkle coconut on top of filling before chilling.

Pie Crust

We never had much success with whole wheat pie crusts until we came across this recipe!

1 cup flour

¾ tsp salt

½ cup butter, cold

1 Tbsp egg, beaten

½ tsp vinegar

1½–2 Tbsp water, cold

Combine flour and salt. Cut butter into ½-Tbsp-size pieces and add to dry ingredients. Cut into flour with pastry blender until butter is the size of peas. Combine liquid ingredients and add to flour/butter mixture. Mix just until dough pulls together. (At this point you can proceed with however you like to do pie crusts. Some people like to chill them at this point before the next step. Following is how I do it.) Form dough into a ball and put between two sheets of waxed paper. Roll out into a circle that fills a pie plate and extends about ½ of an inch beyond the edges. Transfer to pie pan (you may need to chill just a bit before you can do this step if the dough is very limp.) Fold under extra dough along the edges. Crimp edge.

For prebaked pie shell, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line pastry with aluminum foil and fill with dry beans (this is to prevent sides from collapsing, so make sure that the beans are concentrated against the edges). Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is dry. Remove foil and beans. Continue baking for 7-12 minutes or until desired doneness is reached.

Quote for Today - Livingstone

If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be a sacrifice?

~David Livingstone

Tuesday, September 30 - Abortion Mill Update

My father and I went to the abortion mill yesterday (my sister who usually comes with us was in Vermont helping my grandparents). I’m trying to write an update about our morning now, but the only thing I can think about is how I saw the abortionist. It was about half an hour after he arrived that I noticed him out behind the building. He had scrubs on and a plastic face shield. He stood out there for a few moments before going back inside. I wondered as I watched him, was he thinking of the baby that he had just ripped from its mother’s womb? I have to stop now. This is making me so sick. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what I saw yesterday.