I wrote a post a few weeks ago about Obama’s statement on when he believes children should be eligible for human rights. I still stand behind what I said, but I do have some thoughts that are related.
I read a devotional this morning from a young woman who had an abortion years ago, and suffered in silence for many years. She thought God couldn’t forgive her, and she also thought that she was the only Christian who had ever had an abortion, so she felt others wouldn’t accept her if they knew.
How sad that must have been- I cannot imagine going through something like that on my own. Part of her hurt and loneliness is due to people who are pro-life and don’t carefully choose their words. When we speak out on our beliefs, we need to make sure that we’re doing it in love. We are standing up for helpless children who can’t stand up for themselves; when we do this, we need to make sure we’re not stepping on those women who have decided to have an abortion because they don’t think they have any other option.
I believe that a child is human at conception; I believe that all people have the right to live their lives, whether it’ a child who may have health, physical or mental problems, or an older person who has gone past the point when they are totally self-sufficient, and need help taking care of their needs. I believe all people are valuable, no matter what their circumstances.
I’m willing to stand up and tell anyone what I believe; but I need to be very careful that while I’m trying to save one life, I’m not destroying another. I also need to make sure that when I ask a young woman to choose life for her unborn child, I am willing to step up and help her in whatever way she needs it, so she can choose life.
No matter whether we’re pro-life or pro-abortion, we need to make sure we’re ready to stand with these women when they make their decision, and be ready to support them afterwards.
I’m going to make sure I do this – are you willing to make the same choice?

I hate seeing waste. I don’t care where I see it, I hate it. I hate that we’re a throwaway society for the most part. I belong to a group called Free-cycle (a yahoo group- check it out in your area) just because I hate to see things get thrown away that can be used again.
For example, right now I’m working on a swap to a lady who needed some wine bottles for a craft she’s working on. I don’t drink wine, but I know someone who drinks an Acai berry juice mixture, which comes in bottles that look very similar to wine bottles. So I’m collecting them and going to make sure she gets them.
Anytime I see something lying on the side of the road, my first thought is ‘can’t that be used for something?’. It’s not just the thought of landfills overflowing with usable stuff, but that’s part of it; the big part is that people are not being good stewards of what God has given us.
That goes for everything – my husband doesn’t like to eat leftovers, but they make a very nice lunch for me. I love to drink Gatorade, so I get the ones with the squeeze lid. When they’re empty, I wash them out and freeze them for my bike rides.
I save plastic butter tubs for storing leftovers and freezing soups. I save 2-liter bottles, fill them with water and freeze them to use in our coolers when we camp. I save misprinted paper and reuse the blank areas for note paper- who cares if it’s already got something on it- after I’ve used it up, I can shred it and use it for packing paper.
I feel the same way about people- just because a person isn’t perfect (and who is?), I believe they can have a purpose. Older people have knowledge and experience that we ‘younger’ folks don’t… and I don’t think children are a punishment, either. I believe the Bible is absolutely true, and I have never seen a place where God sent children as a punishment – quite the opposite. He stopped women from having children because of the choices they were making.
I know that sometimes being a parent is tough – but the rewards are so much greater than any effort we have to put out there.

I don’t usually like to make negative comments about anyone, especially out in public where it can come back to bite me, but the current presidential campaign has really gotten under my skin.
I watched the recent interviews that Rick Warren hosted with Obama and McCain. I’ve seen several folks comment in their blogs that they didn’t think church was the place to do this. I think this was a great idea – we need to be having this type meetings in all kinds of places, to encourage everyone to participate and understand what we’re voting on. I also loved the way it was set up too. No mudslinging, no arguing with each other and trying to come up with snappy answers, just each candidate having to be as open and honest as possible.
So when Obama was asked at what point did he think a baby deserved to have human rights, I was pretty stunned at his answer… most answers he gave were not short and to the point, giving him time to consider how he wanted to answer, and this one was the same way. And “above my pay grade” was the best he could do?
I think I’m going to market a t-shirt with that phrase on it… woe be unto us if we hire someone for the job of president, who thinks life-changing decisions like this are above his pay grade.

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