A hairbreadth away from Glory?

Yesterday morning my Mom and I, were at the Building For Women in Duluth MN, to plead for the lives of unborn babies (sidewalk counsel) with Jim Tuttle of Pro-Life Ministries of Duluth. I saw a lady walking toward the building, who I figured must be a client. Before I could talk to her or approach her with literature, she snapped open a knife. She waved the point at me saying, "Don't come near me!" I stayed where I was and said, "Please don't kill your baby, fear God." She walked past into the courtyard, so I moved to the fence corner to continue counseling. She then turned around, came up to me and held the point of the knife at my throat! The thought flashed through my mind, "What if she stabs me?" and then, "That's ok." God gave me great peace as I looked into her angry eyes and said, "Fear God. You need to fear God Ma'am." She turned around, and began to walk through the court yard again. My Mom, Sarah, who was standing at the other end of the fence, called out to her, "We love you, and care about you, don't kill your baby." The women turned and waved the knife at her yelling, "I'm certified crazy, that's why I'm doing this!" She then went into the building.

Jim Tuttle called the police and they arrived very quickly, seven squad cars strong. Several went immediately into the building, and shortly came out with the women in handcuffs, she was crying. They interviewed us, had us write reports, and told us that this is a felony offence. My Mom told two of the officers that we feel very sad for the women who did this, and we will be praying for her. One of the officers looked shocked at that.

A local TV newsman showed up and interviewed us. We were able to give glory to God for His protection and testify that God says, "You shall not murder." I explained that we are living in a culture of death, and if they believe it is fine to kill babies in the womb, what would be the difference killing someone out of the womb? He wanted to know if this would change my mind about coming out to talk to the abortion clients. I said "No, not at all! I am excited that God protected me." My Mom told him that we care about the women who did this, forgive her, and want her to know that if she came to Jesus Christ and was saved, God would completely change her.

God allowed this all to happen for a reason, and I greatly desire that His name be glorified through this incident. Our God is worthy to be praised! Psalm 91 was going through my head... "He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." (Psalms 91:1-2) Praise God for His mercy, not only on me for protection, but also in the fact that this lady still has her baby!

As the police were leaving, a young women ran into the building very quickly. After a few minutes she came out onto the sidewalk, and seemed to be waiting for someone. My Mom talked to her, and she turned out to be the friend of the women who had just been arrested. Not knowing what had just happened, she had come to support her friend, but was told that her friend had left the building quickly. They didn't even tell her why or in what state she had left! So we were able to minister to this women, her name is, Melissa and her friend, who had been arrested is Michelle. My Mom shared the gospel with her, gave her a Bible, and asked if we could visit Michelle in jail. She agreed that it might be possible.

Please pray for these two women. I do forgive Michelle, and pray that she will be saved, she needs Jesus. Only God knows what He will do with this situation, we pray that He will be glorified!


EDITED to add:

Here are some news articles covering the incident:

LifeSiteNews: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09112603.html

WorldNetDaily: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=117119

LifeNews: http://www.lifenews.com/state4602.html

NorthlandNews: http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/72989782.html

At The Abortion Clinic

We were at the abortion mill yesterday to plead for the lives of innocent baby girls and boys. 16 mothers, 1 turn-away (which means, one left before having an abortion without giving us the reason. She could have changed her mind...we hope so!...or she may have been too far along...or had taken RU486, a chemical abortion....or any other number of reasons). As I showed one mother a baby model and spoke to her about the gift God has given her, she took the model...thinking that I was offering to her. She then walked toward the building and threw the model in the trash before going in. I called out, "Don't throw away your baby! Fear God!"

That was not a cheap baby model, so I asked one of the "escorts" if he could retrieve it for us. Being the "kind" man that he is, (very intentional) he looked in the trash for it. When he failed to find it, the two women "escorts" with him, took the trash inside and looked through it with a ....coat hanger....we thought they were kidding when they said that, but they were serious. Here they were digging through the trash looking for a baby model, with a coat hanger, a symbol of death used often by the pro-death people. How ironic. They "did not" find it. Perhaps that mother had thrown something else away, and carried the model with her to the waiting room...we pray so.

One vehicle pulled in with a "Jesus fish" bumper sticker. As the young mother made her way to the building, my brother Michael said to her: "Jesus said, '"As much as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me."' So if you abort your baby, it is like you are killing Jesus." She did not respond, and he continued. "Jesus also said, '"A thief comes to steal and destroy, but I come to give you life."' At this she made a bad hand gesture.

It is terribly sad that the modern church of America has made Jesus look like a "cool guy" who will be our best buddy to keep us out of the hell that the mean God wants to send us to. In America it's "cool" to be a Christian. What happened to the true gospel? Jesus said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." (Luke 9:23) and "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12) It sure wasn't "cool" to be a follower of Jesus when he was hanging on the cross, and it certainly has not been "cool" in the worlds eyes, to be his follower ever since. So why is it suddenly "cool" in America? Is our country more spiritual than all nations before us? OR are American churches preaching a false gospel, one that omits God's holiness, wrath, anger, judgment, and commandments, and is therefore expectable to the world? It's ok to be saved from a mean God way up there, if you don't have to give up your sin, your life and turn your back on the world. No longer do people seem to care that Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15).... (What I am NOT saying is that we are saved by keeping commandments i.e.. saved by works. I AM saying that someone who has truly been saved by God, will bear good fruit. "You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (Matthew 7:16) "Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith." (2 Corinthians 13:5) etc.) They do not understand that we are the ones with the problem, we are sinners, filthy, rotten, disgusting in God's eyes. Jesus is righteous (without sin), pure, and holy (set apart, different), He died for us bearing our sin as if He had done it, and God punished His own son for our sakes. People believe that "yes it is wrong to have an abortion, but God will forgive me." They don't get it!!! So we warn them of their error, and pray that God will open their eyes. God is the only one who can cause them to see and understand the truth, because they are blinded by the lies of satan.

I praise God that we were able to lift up the name of our Lord Jesus on the streets. We pray that He was mightily glorified, by our singing, praying, and proclaiming His Word to the lost. He is worthy to receive all praise!

A trip, and Where are God's People?

It has been far too long since I have written on here! I have been very busy canning garden produce. We had a hard frost several weeks ago which sent us scrambling to bring in all the green tomatoes before it hit. With my Dad and brother's help, we managed to pull all the plants and box up the green fruit. Now they are ripening, so I have been canning almost every day. We are also making and canning applesauce, chutney, various jellies, and ketchup.

Two weeks ago my Grandma who lives with us, had a mini stroke. Thankfully it did not do too much damage, but she needs to have an operation on her carotid arteries soon. Wednesday last week, my brother and I took her down to IL. to visit family and attend a cousin's wedding. We were able to see our Uncle & Aunt from WA, who we have not seen in a long time. It was a great time.

The bride and groom! Josh & Cathy

My cousin Danielle and I

We also visited with our brother Dan, sister-in-love Basia, and their two boys, Kristofer and Noah.

Hanging out with Kristofer

Cutie!

We had a little extra bit of time on Friday, so we drove down to an abortion mill in Chicago, and did some sidewalk counciling. It was a late term killing center...we saw mothers great with child going in there to kill their little ones. . . . . Soon after we arrived, one young woman came out crying. My brother asked if she had changed her mind, and she affirmed that she had. Praise God! There were no other sidewalk councilors out there when we arrived, no one obeying Proverbs 24:11-12, just some catholics praying their repetitious prayers. Where are God's people? What are you doing?
This is a gospel outreach, not just a humanitarian effort. God commands, who will obey?

Pleading for souls, and lives.

Michael and I came back on Saturday, my Grandma stayed down there for a few more days. One of my Aunts is bringing her back up here today. The surgeon thinks that it will be safe to wait a few weeks to have the surgery...I hope he is right since there is danger of her having a major stroke that would leave her paralyzed. Please pray that that won't happen!

God really impressed upon me how much He protects us. Driving around the Chicago suburbs for four days, made me realize that ANYthing can happen, it is only God who keeps and protects us. We do the best we can, drive the best we can, but ultimately God keeps us safe. If anything does happen, it is because He has allowed it, and it is for our best.

Keep seeking God with all your heart, and praise our Lord Jesus Christ always!

God is Worthy to be Praised!

We were at the abortion mill today. The gospel was clearly given to the eleven mothers who went in to destroy the lives of their little ones. We read the Word of God out loud, and sang praise to our Lord Jesus Christ because He is worthy. What a joy to lift up His name!

I was able to preach for some time to a group of eight woman who gathered in the "gated" area. There were two mothers in the group who seemed to be sobered as I shared with them on sin, righteousness, and judgment. One loud woman came over to tell me that she had an abortion once because "the baby was not right", and when I expressed sympathy and regret that she had done that, she said that she was not sorry. She also said that she had "Jesus in her soul". At which I began to share that God does not forgive those who will not repent. She called me a "Bible preacher" and wished I would stop. Glory! What a name to be called!

As we prepared to leave, a couple came out. We asked them if they had changed their mind, The woman answered, "Yes". Praise God! We rejoice, and give glory to God! They would not stop to talk, but drove away, and she waved. Please pray for them, that God will convict them of sin and save their souls.

Our God is great, and worthy of all praise and glory!

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for you have created all things, and for your pleasure they are and were created.
(Revelation 4:11)

Operation Save America 2009

One week from today my brother Michael and I will, Lord willing, be leaving for a week long mission trip to Las Vegas. There we will join a group called Operation Save America (OSA), this is a gospel oriented gathering of believers to expose and reprove the works of darkness. We stand with signs at abortion clinics, street preach, share the gospel, have rallies every night, and overall seek to glorify Jesus. Michael and I went in 2007 when the event was held in Birmingham Alabama, and that was an amazing and edifying experience. But now...Las Vegas....? This is going to be interesting.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a God ordained trip. I really don't know why He wants us to go, and what He wants to do or teach us there, but God IS sending us. It began with Michael wondering if there was the slightest possibility for us to go. Truthfully the answer was no. There was no way we could go, we simply do not have the kind of finances it takes to travel that far. But we decided to pray about it. We told the Lord that if He wanted us to go, He would have to send us, because it seemed impossible, and we covenanted not to ask anyone for financial support. Within a few short days, Mr. Tuttle, (a friend and brother in the Lord and the head of the pro-life ministry in Duluth) informed us that he intended to buy our tickets to Vegas! Whoa! Step by step God has opened the doors and we are now packing for that "impossible" trip. Needless to say we are a wee bit excited, and looking forward to seeing what God does.

I don't know if I will be able to post until we get back, we'll have to see how things go, but I do intend to tell you all how it goes. Please pray for us.

Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name forever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. (Psalms 72:18-19)

...Edited to add...
Read about the trip here:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7 and 8

Sad News

Today we were at the abortion clinic again and were deeply grieved to see the young mother from last week who had changed her mind, come back to get an abortion. She would not talk to us, but another sister (not the same one from last week) talked with us, and seemed to agree that abortion is horrific, yet she went in and paid for her sister to kill that precious child. God sees.

There were eight who went in for an abortion today, one in particular saw the pictures of babies in the womb, and began to weep. The two men with her tried to stop my Mom from talking to her, but she heard, and God is able to give her courage to come out in the face of great odds.

We are grieved, but yet are praise God that He is working and moving in ways that we cannot see.

Thank you so much for praying and please do continue, our God is a God who answers the prayer of His people.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in any of his thoughts. His ways are always prosperous; your judgments are far above, out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he sneers at them. He has said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. He sits in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places does he murder the innocent: his eyes are secretly set against the poor. He lies in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lies in wait to catch the poor: he does catch the poor, when he draws him into his net. He crouches, and lies low, that the poor may fall by his strength. He has said in his heart, God has forgotten: he hides his face; he will never see it. Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand: forget not the humble. Why does the wicked renounce God? he has said in his heart, You will not require it. You have seen it: for you behold mischief and spite, to repay it with your hand: the poor commits himself unto you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till you find none. The LORD is King forever and ever: the nations are perished out of his land. LORD, you have heard the desire of the humble: you will prepare their heart, you will cause your ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. (Psalms 10:4-18)

A Report, Showing God's Mercy

It is hard to believe that it is July already!

Yesterday we were at the abortion clinic again, pleading for the lives of little babies.

There was a young woman who stopped briefly to listen, as my Mom (Sarah) counseled her to keep her baby, offering help and showing her pictures of developing babies and of babies killed by abortion. She took the literature and walked on, but missed the gate, walking to where I stood. I approached her smiling and asked, "Oh, did you see those pictures?" she said "yes."

"What do you think of them, have you seen them before?" she said "yes."

"Then you know that your baby is a precious person." she said "yes."

"You aren't going to kill your baby, are you?" Slowly she shook her head yes.

"Why, why? How can we help you? We can give you lodging, anything you need, we have done it for others. Can we help you?" she said, "No, nothing." By this time she had found the gate and began walking through the court yard. So I called out to her, "You need to know that you will have to answer to God for what you do to your baby. We have told you and you do not have an excuse now. Fear God." She threw the literature in the garbage and went in the door.

Oh, how we prayed and cried out to God for her. At such a young age to be already so hardened! It seemed impossible that she would change her mind now, but we have a God who delights to do the impossible!

Another young woman stopped to talk to my Mom, it turned out she was the sister of the first girl and had tried to talk her out of the abortion, but without success. My Mom gave her literature and prayed with her, she agreed to try again to talk her sister out of killing her child.

Ten or fifteen minutes later they both came out smiling, she had changed her mind! Praise God! We were so excited! We gave her a gift from the ministry which includes a one hundred dollar gift certificate and talked briefly with her. Please pray for this young woman, the battle is not yet over. Pray that she will continue to have the courage to keep her baby, especially since she seemed shaky on her decision. Pray for her, and her sister's salvation, that God will open their eyes to see Jesus.

Spared from Destruction!

Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed for destruction. Proverbs 31:8

On October 28th last year, a little girl was appointed for destruction. Her mother had been lied to and believed her to only be a blob of tissue, yet this precious girl was fully formed and only needed time to grow. She never guessed that within a couple of hours her life would painfully be snuffed out. Yet God intervened. He sent my Mother and Lori, another Sidewalk Counselor to talk with Dana, to show her pictures, proving that her baby is a person. Dana changed her mind about getting an abortion and on May 21st gave birth to her little girl...

Taylor LeAnne

God has a purpose for this little one to be alive, we pray that He will use her to glorify His name. This was the first time our family has been able to hold a baby that God has directly used us to save, we are so thankful and we are praising God!

Two weeks later...Dana, her son Nolan, and Taylor

"He that goeth forth and weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Ps. 126:6

Dana seems to be seeking the Lord, and we are praying for her salvation. Those of you who pray for us should know that you have a part in this as well. God is answering prayer!

My brother Michael also wrote about this Here.

If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?
(Proverbs 24:11-12)

(Pictures used with permission)

An Update on Happenings Here

I have been busy, busy, busy, with transplanting tomatoes and herbs and studying Spanish. The plants are going from their seedling soil-less mix to potting dirt and there are a lot that need to be transplanted. I have way too many tomato plants and herbs this year, so I hope to sell some at our local farmers market. I have begun to study Spanish in earnest and that is taking up most of my computer time, but I love it.
Here are some recent pictures, first in the "growing room":

In the foreground are cabbage seedlings.

Out side we have some things growing happily:

Garlic, planted in the fall.


Peas


Pepper Mint
and
Chocolate Mint
I love this stuff, it really tastes like chocolate mint!


Daffodils
and...

Kittens! This is Maria.

Mother's day was a fun day as we had my sister and her four children over. There were three mothers to celebrate! I decided to forget about being an adult for a while and played with the children...it is 1841 and we are pioneers out west, we have finally arrived at the place we wish to settle. There are no cars, planes, phones or computers. Sorry, no flame-throwers either! Oh no, lookout here come some Indians! Actually, we can't understand their language, if we want to trade with them we will have to make them understand by signs....you get the idea, we had fun. :-)

The three Mothers!

The three Stooges..oops, I mean Devin, Ashely and Brittany. :-)

and Matthew
in Grandpa's truck. He is taller than me now!

On Tuesday last week we were out at the abortion clinic bright and early as normal. It had been especially impressed upon us to make sure we share the gospel as we talk to the mothers, pleading for their babies lives. It is wonderful to open our mouths in praises to God as we stand on the streets. We sing hymns, read the Bible, pass out gospel tracts and pray, pray, pray, while we wait for the mothers to come. Spiritually, it is a lot of work! This Tuesday my Mom talked to one mother who said that she was "undecided" about getting the abortion. My Mom talked to her about her baby and told her that God has created her and He has created her baby. She asked this lady what she would say to God when she stands before Him to give an account of what she did to her own child. My Mom asked if she could pray for her, to the which she agreed and afterward gave my Mom a big hug and left the area. A little later we saw her drive away and she smiled and waved at us! We praise God for this life spared from the pains of death and pray that He will draw this dear lady to Himself for salvation.

As we were preparing to leave, a young mother and her mother came out of the building smiling and crying (this is always a good sign!). When asked if they had changed their mind, they said Yes! Praise God again! This young mother said that she was not sure what made her do it, but she asked to see her ultra-sound and changed her mind when she saw her baby. They were both so excited, the Grandma of the baby said, "he looks like me!" and "we're going to have a baby!" They were very happy to receive the gift of a diaper bag with baby things and a $100 gift certificate, (we try to give these gift to all those who tell us they have changed their mind). We also gave them a Bible and gospel tract and my Mom was able to share the gospel with them.

You should have seen us after all this happened, we were so excited and praising God! What a joyful time that was, but it was damped by the thought of the seven other mothers who did not come out.

Later on that same Tuesday we went to UMD to hold gospel signs and pass out gospel tracts. There were several good conversations that took place, we pray that God will turn the hearts of these young people to Himself. Steve brought his two daughters Amoriah (3) and Maylea (almost 2) and they helped pass out tracts as well. People enjoy taking tracts from these adorable little girls. Though we were saddened to see how many young women would harden their heart and turn away from that little out-stretched hand. This is most likely because they have had an abortion, since the statistics show 1 out of 3 woman in the US have had an abortion.

Here is part of the crew, my Mom is taking the picture and Josh was somewhere else.

Yesterday abortions were done again and there were thirteen mothers who went in. None said they changed their mind but one did leave early. One pedestrian passing by on the sidewalk began yelling at my Mom. She was very angry that we talk to the mothers who are going to kill their children, she kept saying "I see how things are, you are in your own little box and don't see what is happening." This made my Mom call to mind John 9:39-41, so she asked, "You say you see?" The lady answered "Yes, I see!" My Mom said, "So, you are blind." The lady soon left, but this was a sad reminder of the state many people are in. They believe themselves capable of sight and reason, but do not know that a veil of blindness is yet over their eyes and heart. Proverbs 28:5 Evil men understand not justice: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.

Today I am meditating on this scripture: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..." 2 Corinthians 5:10-11

It hit me that here we are given a very good reason to share the gospel, the terror of the Lord! If we take verse ten seriously, than how much do we have to hate someone to not share the gospel with them?! (in the words of an atheist who said, if the gospel is true than that is what he would ask.) and yet so often I let opportunities slip by without a word. Oh Lord, teach me to have the terror of the Lord!

Miscellaneous Musings

Today turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, just perfect for...cleaning our the garage! Not the most fun thing to do, but very necessary when your garage looks like ours, I will kindly spare you the details. :-)

Our back yard.

This is "Joyce" my cat and I.

These pictures were actually not taken today, but the day was a lot like this!

I am looking forward to the fast approaching time when I will be able to start my vegetables indoors. Up here we cannot plant outdoors until June. I like to start my seedlings, eleven to fourteen weeks early, in order to give them a good start and hope for produce more quickly.

I am finally sewing the jumper I had cut out long ago and am really enjoying it! The fabric is a type of blue denim and the pattern has four pleats, which I absolutely love. I will have to look for more patterns with pleats or make some up myself, I don't think it would be too hard to add pleats to a regular dress or skirt pattern. Anyone with experience have suggestions?

We were at the abortion clinic again on Monday where seven mothers went into the building to destroy the lives of their babies. One girl was probably just fourteen or fifteen and seemed very scared, but her mother was with her and so she did not stop to talk with us. How can a mother do that to her daughter? Perhaps it was for rape or incest, but killing the innocent child does not take away the pain and trauma, it only makes it much, much worse. The adults in that girls life will have to give an account of their actions before The Judge of all the earth some day, that thought alone should cause them to tremble.

We went to the UMD again for a couple of hours. My Mom had a good conversation with a young atheist who, after hearing the gospel, accepted a Gospel of John saying that he will read it and consider what he had been told!

One guy walking by, began to curse and swear at Josh and Michael and then at our Lord Jesus. Josh answered with, "God bless you." and Michael with, "Thank you for the blessing!"

Another guy walking by spit at Josh and Michael. These things really are blessings!

"Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:11-12

And:

"But I say unto you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to them who hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them who despitefully use you." Luke 6:27-28

My Grandma is now in physical therapy and is slowly recovering. This is a hard time for her as she cannot remember things very well because of the trauma from the operation. It is frustrating to her, as I am sure it would be to anyone. Thank you so much for praying and please do continue to pray for her salvation.

Colossians chapter One has been a great blessing to me lately, what a packed chapter! One thing I keep thinking about is verse eleven: "Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."

It is one thing to learn patience, another to learn longsuffering, but "patience and longsuffering with joyfulness"?! Wow! I need to be abiding in Christ Jesus so that He can produce this fruit in me. In Him all fullness dwells, He is the one I want to be around. Since we become like who we hang around, I want to 'hang around' Jesus, to be in fellowship with Him all throughout the day. I must confess that my thoughts often wander to less important things, then I realize with a start that it has been several hours since I consciously spoke with my dearest friend. Oh why, do I do this? I love to be near Him and I love talking to Him and yet I find my mind wandering. Oh, may He draw me closer to Himself! How patient He is with me, what a kind and compassionate Savior. "Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust." Psalm 103:13-14

Thank you Lord Jesus.

I have been training my dog Abby, here are some pictures and a video! I am using a "tug" which is a piece of burlap type material used to build drive and focus. As you can see, Abby thinks that this is all a game and to a point, it is at this time. Eventually we will get into more advanced training.

Day of Mercy - Part One

As I stood on the streets at the abortion clinic early Tuesday morning with the other saints gathered there, I felt God strongly impress upon me, that today is a day of mercy. Second Corinthians 6:2 came to mind, "Now is the day of salvation." God broke my heart for the young mothers caring their precious children into that wicked place to kill them. They have been deceived and blinded by the enemy of our souls and only God can lift the veil which is over their eyes. That He does not should cause us to realize that His judgment has come upon our land. He has given them the reprobate mind which He promised in Romans 1:28 and they have lost their natural affection and "The love of many has grown cold", as in Matthew 24:12.

There were fourteen mothers who went in. One young Mother's Mother was walking with her to the building and as I began to speak about the baby she said, "Don't start!" then kept up a constant flow of words which I ignored as I walked along side them pleading for the baby's life. The older woman stopped and grabbed my arm saying, "Do you know what you are doing?" I answered, "You are not the one who will live with, what she will have to live with." As they walked away from me, I began to cry and continued to plead for the baby. My Mom talked with them as well. After they had been in the building for a while, the older woman came out and I said to her, "Ma'am, the innocent blood of your grandchild will be on your hands. When you stand before God on judgement day, you will give an account for everything you have ever said, thought and done and the innocent blood of your grandchild will be on your hands." She gave no reaction but I hope and pray that God will convict her and save her soul before it is too late.

Another woman walking in turned around as one of our councilors spoke with her and said, "Do you want my baby?" He answered "Yes! I will adopt your baby." Standing near by, I answered "Yes!" She looked at us and said, "After it's all ripped up." Then she walked into the building.

As two other young woman were walking into the building, my Mom spoke to them about the baby. They stopped and looked at her, then the one who was there for the abortion went in while her friend waited outside for the boyfriend to show up. By the time he finally did she had heard quite allot about the baby. She and the guy walked in and out of the building multiple times, giving each of the councilors a chance to speak with them. During one of their trips they walked by me for the second time. They were not accepting any of our literature, so as they passed by me I showed the guy a picture of some aborted babies saying, "This is what abortion looks like. It is a child."
Later they walked up to my Mom and asked for directions to a convenient store, she told them where to go then handed them some literature and showed them the pictures. They were shocked to see the development of the child in the womb and told my Mom that their friend in the clinic was six weeks along. She showed them what a baby looks like at that age and they were so surprised. They agreed to tell their friend and as they walked away the guy said "Don't worry, we're not having an abortion." They came back later with groceries and went into the building. We stayed until 10:30 a.m. and they had not yet come out.
When we left the clinic we were running an errand down the road when we saw all three of them coming out of another building! My Mom went up to them and asked if they had changed their mind about the abortion. They took off running! Oh how we pray that they did not go back to that place of death.

The second part of the day I am posting as Day of Mercy-part Two.

About My Grandma and More Witnessing Opportunities

This past Wednesday we received news that my Grandmother needed to have triple bypass surgery, the next day. Her heart was so bad that the artery on one side is completely blocked and the other is eighty-five percent blocked. So, on Thursday morning she had the operation. We praise God that she made it through and is beginning to do a little better, though she is still in the ICU. She is in Illinois so we are not able to be with her, which is hard, especially for my Dad. Thankfully, my two Aunts are with her. Please pray with us for her salvation, God is able to bring her to Himself.

On Friday we were at the abortion clinic early to plead for the babies lives who were appointed to die. When one young mother and her mother parked their car across the street, my Mom went over to offer them information. The young woman rolled down her car window and said she would call the police if my Mom did not leave. My Mom told her that her baby is a person, then showed her a picture of an aborted baby. This made the babies Grandmother jump out of the car and tell my Mom that she would call the police, my Mom told her "Go ahead, I'm not doing anything wrong. This baby is your Grandchild!" Then my Mom showed the young mother, through the closed window, some pictures of developing babies. She looked at them, then began to cry. Her mother jumped out again, yelling at my Mom who continued to calmly answer, "This baby is Your Grandchild." They then drove away and they never came back, as far as we know! We hope and pray that the child was spared. God knows.

When we were done at the abortion clinic, we went to the University of Minnesota Duluth with Josh for a witnessing outreach. We held two gospel signs, while Josh and Michael preached.

One student made his own sign to protest us, which said: "Don't Worry God Loves You No Matter What". Josh had a good conversation with him and found out that he believes the teachings of a certain professor who takes all the "good out of different religions" and believes that, not the "bad". Josh was able to ask some very pointed questions showing the faultiness of that faith and expounded on the resurrection of Jesus as difference between other religions and the Bible. We pray for this young mans salvation.

Remember the lady I talked to on Tuesday the Twentieth? That short conversation had made me think more about our obedience to the gospel versus trying to make the gospel more appealing to the carnal mind. She came back to talk with me this Friday, I'll change her name to Sue.

She told my Mom and I that she is a pantheist, believing that everything is god and that god is everything. My Mom gave her the gospel, which Sue clearly could not understand. She does not believe in life after death and thinks that life is an end in it's self, because it is so "full and beautiful". My Mom explained to her that she is in the darkness and does not know it, using the example of a room that is slowly growing darker and you do not know it is so dark until you turn on the light. We told her that what she believes does not change the way things are, that in the end she will stand before Jesus who is the judge and she will confess that He is Lord. We said that people have so many ideas about the way things are, but what really matters in the end is what God says about things and whether or not we obeyed Him.

At one point I asked her, "Why are you alive? Where do you come from?"

She answered, "From my parents."
"In the beginning where did it all start?"

"With the Big Bang."

"Nobody knows who started that?"

"No, there are some theories, but no one really knows."

"God tells us what happened. He was there, He tells us what He did. You see, the Bible is a history book, written by God who made every thing."

She wondered how anyone could not believe in the big bang and said "Evolution is so beautiful."

"Millions and Billions of years of death, bloodshed and cancer, is beautiful?" I asked.

"Yes, it is."

"By what you are saying, you are showing me that you are in darkness. It does not matter what we tell you or if we are able to answer all your questions and explain everything to you, you would still not believe unless God opens your eyes. It has to be God who shows Himself to you."

She left then but short while after leaving she came back saying that she had thought of some more questions.

She asked, "Does God ever change?"
"No, in His Word He tells us that He never changes."

"Do people change?"
"Yes, all the time."

"Will people who are redeemed still change in Heaven?" She had earlier told us that she thought Heaven was pointless and boring.

I answered, "When we die, our bodies are changed. We will not have flesh and blood like we have now, we will be different. We do not really know what Heaven is like, it is not something we can understand or grasp with our human minds. If God told us what it is like we would not understand, it is too wonderful. We know that we will be praising God and that we will have work to do, but what it is I do not know."

She asked, "If God is all powerful, then why did He make man, since He does not need us?"

We told her that it is true that God does not need us, yet He made us for His glory. Life is not about us but about Him. We ended by saying, that we would pray that God would show Himself to her. Please pray with us for the salvation of Sue.

The thing I love about this conversation was the peace God gave me to just stay true to the Word. It did not matter to me that she said and thought it was "silly" and that it made no sense at all to her. I did not have to think up witty things to say or remember tons of facts to throw at her about the validity of the Bible. I just spoke as God led me, staying true to His Word, knowing that she would not understand unless He opened her eyes. I even told her that her reasoning proved to me even more that God's word is true because He told us that the carnal mind would not understand these things unless He opened their eyes! There is such peace knowing that it is God's work to cause her to understand, not mine! Praise God!!! I love it!

Here is a short clip of me talking with Sue:

Here is the link to our teams YouTube sight where you will find more videos of us: The Way Ministries

I'm Back!

I stayed for a week at our friends house, helping them with their two little girls and the new baby. To be very truthful, I had a wonderful time. Their two little girls who are three (almost) and 16 months are a delight to be around (most of the time :-) and baby Jesaias is such a treasure. This time has made me look forward even more (if that is possible) to the day when God brings the right man for me to marry and we have our own little ones.

I was able to be with my family on New Year's Day, which was very nice. My sister Bonnie and her four children picked me up and then took me back that night. We all enjoyed visiting with each other.

Monday night my Dad received a call from one of his sisters, saying that my Grandma is not doing well. She lives in Michigan and needs to go to her doctor in Chicago. So yesterday morning (Tuesday) my Dad took off to go stay with her until his two sisters arrive from Illinois, to take her back down with them. We look forward to my Dad coming home this evening.

My Mom, brother and I, went to the abortion clinic, yesterday morning, to plead for the lives of unborn babies. There were ten mothers who went in and we were able to be the voice of their baby to them, crying out for mercy. We don't know if anyone changed their mind. God knows and God sees.

I was reading in Psalms yesterday and chapters 70 and 71 really stuck out to me. They are beautiful psalms that we can make our cry and our prayer. One thing that I remember my Mom saying throughout my life is, "Keep praising the Lord, offer the sacrifice of praise to Him." Now as I look at these Psalms and other verses, this one thing blares out at me, Keep praising the Lord continually.

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified. (Psalms 70:4)

By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee. (Psalms 71:6)

Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day. (Psalms 71:8)

But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come. (Psalms 71:14-18)

My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long: for they are confounded, for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt. (Psalms 71:24)

By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long. (Psalms 35:28)

Throughout the Bible I see a general theme of praise. We ought to be praising Him! There are many reasons given for praising Him: for His holiness, for the wonderful works He does, etc. But the reason to praise Him which is given 43 times in the Bible is: "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 118:1) His mercy endureth forever! Wow! Among so many other things, this one is something that so clearly sets apart God from man. We cannot even come close to this record! He who's anger is furious (Isaiah 13:13), who's power is complete, yet He shows mercy forever? Hosea 11:9 has a statement that is wonderful, "I am God and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee."

Let us therefore praise Him continually and give Him thanks in and for all things. Not just for things we like but for things we do not like as well. He says, "In everything give thanks". When we praise Him, without condition, this is honoring to Him. When we give thanks for things that we see as bad, we are stating that He knows what is best. So, let us "offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually"!

On a side note, here is a recent picture of my kitten, Hope, who is growing and is very sweet. I hope she becomes a good mouser.

Can you believe it?

Another baby was saved from abortion yesterday morning!

We have gone months without any baby saves that we know of and now there are four in three weeks! This seems to closely tie into the fact that three weeks ago we began to use scripture more often, when talking with the mothers... Hmmm. : )

There were thirteen that went into the abortion clinic to kill their precious children yesterday and there was some hostility as one lady, going in, took some literature from my Mom, ripped it in half and threw it in her face, then laughed with her friends.

One young lady who had escorted her friend into that place of death, came out and I was able to talk with her briefly. I asked if she realized that the baby is a person. She said "I know".

"Then if you kill that baby, you are killing a person."

"I know, I know, but Jesus died for my sins and forgives. We all sin every day."

A little bit stunned I said, "Jesus is also the Judge, He does not JUST forgive."

"Yes, Jesus will judge me, not you." She answered, then walked away.

People do not fear God, they do not fear Jesus, but they desperately need to!

We are praising God for Ashley though! She was in a hurry to leave (Yea!) and only spoke with us briefly, saying that she had one child already and when she was in the clinic to abort this baby she "just couldn't do it". Praise God!

Another baby save, on Election day!

We were out at the abortion clinic this morning and there was more of a hostile atmosphere this time. First thing, a group of drunks gathered near us and began to make loud noises, laughing and talking, which is pretty distracting when you are trying to pray. One of them who called himself a "Gnostic" tried to argue with us about the gospel, calling the book of John "hogwash". We praise the Lord that Michael and Josh were able to give him good answers and questions which we pray will cause him to think.

One of the men taking his girlfriend into the building to kill their child, became very angry when told to fear God. He said "my god has horns" and many other wicked things.

Still, we were able to sing, pray and read aloud the scriptures and speak to each of the eleven mothers who carried their children in there.

I was able to walk with and talk to one young mother for the length of over a block. She listened and I pray that God used those words.

After we left, one of the Side walk Councilors, Matt, stayed for a time. A couple came out of the building and Matt asked them if they had changed their minds, they said, "Yes"!

Praise God!

We don't have any details on it yet, as to which couple they were, but we are praising the Lord. There were also a couple of other woman who came out early, but we do not know why. God does, and we leave that before Him.

Today was a beautiful day with temps rising almost to 70 degrees!
I am trying to soak up all the warmth before the cold hits.

Now, I know the elections are on all of our minds and I just want to encourage all of us to praise the Lord no matter what the outcome. He said to praise Him in all things!
Our country deserves grave judgment from the Lord and it is amazing that he has given us so much mercy. We cannot expect His mercy to continue though, just look at all the innocent blood that is being shed in our nation daily and remember what He did to Israel for doing those things. His mercy may be long, but His justice will not wait forever.
I am praying that we, His redeem, will be ready for what is coming.

God is merciful!

Last week on Tuesday we were able to help some friends move. Michael helped with the actual manual work while I was the official babysitter for their two little girls. I would ordinarily say that I had the best job of all, and don't get me wrong it was fun, but the Lord gave my Mom an incredible task as He used her to save the lives of two babies!

You see, the abortion clinic was open on Tuesday morning.

My Mom dropped me off to watch the children, then went (with Michael for a short time before he left to help with the moving,) to plead for the lives of the unborn. About fourteen mothers went into the place to destroy their child and each were asked not to do that terrible thing. God gave my Mom scripture to use and she told many of them: "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified you. That is what God says." Also exclaiming, "Don't do this, Fear God!"

When all the mothers were in, the Sidewalk Councilors (SCs) gathered around to pray. Just then, a couple came out of the building holding hands and smiling, (this is always encouraging). They were asked, "Did you change your mind?" they answered "Yes"! They received many hugs and gifts and they gave their phone number saying that we can probably hold the baby when he or she is born. They are a married couple and already have two children. My Mom asked the man "What was it that caused you to change your mind?" He answered, "It was all that 'fear God' stuff, it really gets to you."!

Praise God!

But wait, that's not all!

After that couple had taken their leave and the SCs had given heartfelt thanks to God, my Mom began to talk to a young lady who had come out of the clinic to smoke. There is a fence in front of the court yard where we cannot go because it is privately owned, so we have to raise our voices to be heard at the door where this girl was located.
Below is a view of the Building for Woman, the side walk with us SCers standing around and the fence.


As my Mom talked, the girl was smoking up a storm and finally walked over to the fence asking, "What was that you said?" She was shown pictures of her unborn child at almost twelve weeks along and was told what abortion would do to her little one. She said that she had never seen or heard those things before. She then began to say how stressed she was because she had locked her keys in her car and didn't know what to do. Long story short, they were able to get her car unlocked and she went out to coffee with my Mom and another SC. My Mom was able to give Dana the gospel and to get her contact info. We are praying that the Lord will allow us to continue to have a part in her life.

So, we are rejoicing! Praise God for what He has done and is doing!

On our normal end of life...um what is normal anymore?

We have been preparing our yard and home for winter, which includes, cleaning up the yard, cleaning off and partially turning the garden hills, canning some more, cutting, chopping and stacking fire wood, butchering some nuisance guinea hens...

and more.

It all ends up to be more than enough to keep us very busy.

And....

My brother got his drivers license! Yikes, look out world!

For your enjoyment, here are some pictures form the past month.

These two are views from my Dad's work on the North Shore of Lake Superior

Sunset

This is The Old Fort that my brother and I made when we were little.

Now our leaves are all gone from the trees and we await the arrival of... snow?!