Silent No More Gathering at The Arch St. Louis, MO.

 

 

"We discover gladness when we leave the prison of pride and repent of our rebellion." - Max Lucado

Justice - When you get what you deserve

Mercy - When you don't get what you deserve

Grace - When you get what you don't deserve

"You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever." Psalm 30:11,12

It is hard to put into words what yesterday was like for  me.  Very emotionally draining but uplifting at the same time.  I wish I could share the video with you all but our battery gave out on us less than half way threw and Josh is not the most skilled photographer, he didn't even get a picture of me holding my sign or giving my testimony.  But that is ok, these pictures some what convey what it was like to be there.  Isn't the one of LillyBea holding a sign awesome?! I have e-mailed some of the other ladies asking if they too had pictures to share.  I want to make one of those animations with them all, as seen on my side bar.  I want to try and get the audio off the video I do have of me giving my testimony  but the sound quality is not that good.  Maybe after I get the animation together I will just do a ABP message retelling what I said.

I was honored to be able to stand, with the full support of my family with other women to tell the Truth of how our abortions hurt us and that women deserve better and there is help for post aborted women and other choices available for those who may be thinking of abortion.  People from all over MO came, as far as Kansas City!  A rather large youth group came also, all the way from Chicago! WOW, I think that is so amazing!

Thank you sooooo much for your prayers!  As people of the "church" where in the comfort of their homes or at other gatherings for the Super Bowl we were down at the Arch, in the cold and wet being salt and light for Jesus.

The morning started out emotional for me at church.  During praise and worship we sang a song with the lines, "Come bless our land as we seek you and worship you"  I could not sing along with that song, I started crying and fell to my knees praying.  How can we ask the Lord to bless us when we are callus to the blood shed on our soil?  How can we ask him to bless us when 4,000 innocent children a  day are being sucked out of their mother's womb and we are sitting in our churches signing?!  Sadly I am starting to agree with some as they predict a judgment is coming and it starts at The House Of The Lord.  I went to the bathroom to take one of the children and also to clean myself up a bit and one of the ladies who knows me pretty well was in there.  When I was crying in the sanctuary she was one of the people who came and hugged me and she had commented in the bath room that I felt hot when she did. She thought maybe I was getting sick.  I told her no, just nerves about later today and how I could not sing with that song.  She was in children's church last week and didn't hear my announcement about it so I told her just what was on my mind and what I was doing later today.  She agreed that yes it is a sad thing but we are living in The End Times (her husband is one of the pastors and the authority on End Times teaching at church) and things are going to get worse.  I agreed with her that we are living in the end times and yes things will get worse BUT we are the light and we are not to let our hearts wax cold. 

I was having a hard time sitting listening to the message on who God's Heroes are.  His heroes are those who work behind the scenes, who may not be up there preaching or doing all these works, but those who serve.  An example he used was those who help Saul escape a city in a basket or the one who won Billy Graham to the Lord or the one who just prays for others or donates funds to enable ministries to do work.  While this is all true, and a very good message I may say, Satan was attacking my thoughts with things like, Who is your hero here, who is there for you, all those save one you asked to come to your event bowed out.  How can you sit here with these hypocrites?  Yes I was letting bitterness swell up but I shut it down, realizing it is not about ME and mayhap my place in this church is to be the voice for the unborn and wake those who are asleep to this blood shed up. But it is hard not to be bitter when some rather go to a Super Bowel party then to an event talking about the TRUTH of abortion.  I am letting that go and trusting God to do the work, knowing that bitterness only eats at ppl and produces bad fruit.

I told thefriend from my church that did come and support me and stood with me that she was my hero (referring to the message that was given) and thanked her.  She is so sweet and shrugged it off saying, that is what friends do.  I know she will have big rewards awaiting her in Heaven.

When we parked our car at the Arch grounds it was raining pretty good. We were a bit early so we waited in the van for awhile. The children where getting  ancy, wanting to get out and look at the Arch, so I suggested we pray as we waited. Let's ask Jesus to make the rain stop for a little while, so we don't get all wet I told them.  It was precious to hear my Lilly, my 4yrd say simply and totally trusting, "Jesus, please make the rain stop for awhile."  Sophia wanted to pray too, so Lilly helped her and had her repeat her words.  No sooner than they said Amen, the rain started to let up and with in a few minuets it had stopped.  It is so true that if you need prayer, ask a child to pray for it, for their faith is greatest!  It was affirming to Lilly that Jesus did hear her prayer when the rain stopped and held off till almost the end of the event.  I also know it was prayers from my friends here and my prayer group and those at church who said they would pray too where heard.  AGAIN I SAY THANK YOU!

It went well beside being sabotaged on the sound system.  We were promised an outlet to plug in our sound system but the electricity was shut off and we could not get a hold of the people responsible for turning it on. I may of sounded more angry then I was because I had to YELL out my words instead of use my normal tone and some of the ladies you could barely hear at all because they are soft spoken by nature.  The most effected part of it all was the signs and us standing off the street for those passer bys to see them.  I was surprised there was as much traffic and visitors to the Arch as there was but I know God brought those who needed to receive this message.  Many people gave thumbs up and honked in support.  A school bus has passed with a load of teenagers and one of them shot me the peace sing.  But the ones that stick out the most to me are the ones who looked but turned their heads away quickly and sped up.  There was one who was behind a car that had slowed down to read what the sign really said, she looked too but when she saw what it said she sped up and passed the other car that was slowed down.  I can't say for sure, but I think she is the ONE who I was there for, the one who really needed to see the sign and I am praying for her.

For me, even if the gathering was not on a massive scale but if we effected just ONE person threw it all we did what the Lord had sent us to do. Channel 11 News was the only news outlet that showed up and they did have us on at 9 o'clock with just a 10 second blurb, but the signs were clear and they did not twist or try to spin as I was afraid they would.  That particular station runs commercials for one of the big clinics in our area.  Ofcourse they don't have anything on their website about it or the clip along with the other stories they ran that night, but I know some one was supposed to see that broadcast.

I know this is running long but I have to just say how my heart broke along with each women's story. Essentially each of our story is the same but some where effected deeper and more physically. How many of them really where not given choices and where pressured into it.  The abuse, the drugs, the depression, the suicidal thoughts, lack of self worth,the relationship problems, all the symptoms they had of Post Abortion Stress. One couple there could not have children because of her abortion, another women was there who just had one back in August and the most heart breaking and shocking for me was she was retelling how the councilor was a Christian and showed her scriptures and lied to her about how this was right in the eyes of the Lord. Other ladies told of how they felt like cattle lead to the slaughter, the coldness of the clinic workers. One shocking story was how the abortionist made sure the container where the baby parts where sucked out was right next to her so she could see it fill as it came out of her body and then he told her "See that, that is your baby" Even men got up and told their side of how they were hurt because of the part they played in the destruction of their baby. But the uplifting part was at the end of each story was how the Lord help each person heal, how he broke threw  the walls built up because of the hurts of abortion, how he has enabled them to speak of it openly now.

http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/

http://www.clothedwithjoy.org/index.html