Friday, January 30, 2009

It Seems

It seems that Sanctity of Human Life is attributed to fetuses, but what about all of humanity? I'm not raising an argument I am only pointing out that the sacredness and respect of human life is disappearing.

Monday, January 26, 2009

In Light of Abortion.. #2

There is also a great site Abort73

On January 21 I got this email from them.
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At about 10:00pm Saturday night (CST), roughly 60 hours before President Obama was sworn into office, the new Abort73.com went live. If you've read my accompanying blog, you know that the launch was bittersweet for me. After more than a year of steady development, I'm thrilled that the new Abort73 is finally up. At the same time, there is still much more to add, and we've had to leave some sections temporarily redirecting to the old site. I would have loved for everything to be finished before we pulled the trigger, but this is too important a moment in history to let the launch slip back any further.
Tomorrow marks the 36th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that struck down all prior prohibitions against abortion. Every year, January 22 is the center of the abortion calendar. This is when abortion gets the most attention on the national level. Yesterday, the first African-American president in the history of the United States was sworn into office. Tragically, President Obama seems more committed to the institution of abortion – an institution that has utterly decimated the African-American population – than any other president in our history. What does all this mean for the future of abortion in the U.S.? I honestly don't know, but I do know that efforts to educate this nation about abortion have never been more timely.
The fact is, presidents can generally only impact abortion on the fringes. Eight years of a president who supported abortion, followed by eight years of a president who opposed abortion, changed very little. We hear the importance of getting the right justices on the bench, but history has shown us that the ideology of the judge doesn't always match the ideology of the appointing president. And even when Roe is finally overturned, abortion would still be legal in most states. There is simply no easy executive or judicial fix, which is why Abort73 has and continues to throw all our weight into education. So long as the majority of Americans fail to grasp the barbarity of abortion, the laws of this land will never change. But as soon as that tipping point is reached, when hidden and abstract injustice becomes real to enough people, that's when victory will come, no matter who the president is!
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I've ordered a couple of their shirts. They offer flex pricing. Which is really cool, I think. They are an educational site filled with resources for us to share. It's a great tool. At least file it in your brain so you can pull info from it if you ever need to.

In Light of Abortion..

These 2 Articles are from John Piper's blog. www.desiringgod.org/blog
There is a disclaimer at the end of his articles saying feel free to reproduce and distribute the info and if you use it online post a link so I will do that for him. But I found both of these today and I thought they were good. He's got several recent articles on the blog that discuss abortion. Check it out if you have time.

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The Baby in My Womb Leaped for Joy
January 26, 2009 | By: David Mathis
Category: DG Resources

This week's sermon: "The Baby in My Womb Leaped for Joy"

Human life is a magnificent gift. No other beings in the universe continue to originate in God's image and live forever.

Despite the deceit and blindness in the world, the Christian church, throughout her history, has recognized the sanctity of human life. But the authority is not merely tradition but texts, like Job 1 and Psalm 139, which teach that it is God's prerogative to give and take life and it is God who knits persons together in the womb.

Luke 1 gives us a glimpse into the womb—and a glimpse into the inspired author's assumptions. Luke uses the word "baby" to denote not only the post-born Jesus in the manger (2:16) but also the preborn John in the womb (Luke 1:41, 44). Luke also notes that the preborn John was "filled with the Holy Spirit," a reality which the Bible only ascribes to persons.

The assumption is that the baby in the womb is a person. And the implication is that human life in the womb should be protected. The church's Savior didn't have to wait for birth to become a person; he was "Son of God" and "Lord" from conception.

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Fifteen Pro-Life Truths to Speak
By John Piper January 24, 2003



"You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." - Jesus Christ

1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion).

2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.

3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.

4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.

5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.

6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.

7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.

8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.

9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.

10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.

11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.

12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.

13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.

14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.

15.Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Inaugural Quartet

Pre Recorded. Understandable.

Excited

Tonight:


Anna and David:







and





Adam and I:






are going to







The Hat:





for








Dinner:

Rain

Since it's raining today. I'm reminded of a SheDaisy Chorus. I love the words.
Oh I wish I were the rain
Chorus:
'Cause it can fall as hard as it wants to
Gingerly drip down a lover's face
Cry for hours and weeks on end and never
Feel a bit out of place
It can feed a field
Put out a fire
And never feel the pain
Oh I wish I were the rain

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

In the Office

Someone put a coke in the freezer and left it in there overnight. This morning it was pooled in the freezer and running down into the fridge.

We have a printer that is malfunctioning and everytime it prints it goes WHHAAAA WHAAAAAHE WHAAAAT WHAWHA EEEEEEEEEEEEET. It's really great listening to it.

I currently have a receipt sitting on my desk that is stained with dried tobacco spit. C has me keep track of his PCard and so he gives me all his receipts. That one he accidentally threw in the trash where it was promptly spat upon. I keep meaning to bring a ziploc bag to store it in, but I keep forgetting.

I splashed choc milk on my light blue shirt when I was driving to work this morning. Soooo I buttoned my sweater over it. R said "What is that, a new style?" I said "No, I spilled on my shirt so I'm covering it up." The supervisor came over and was really nice and said "How far do you live?" I said "20 minutes." He said "If it was me, I would just run home and change my shirt. If I was you I would just run home and change. We aren't busy this morning and there are no inbounds scheduled." So I got to go home and change and stain stick my shirt! Wasn't that nice?

The Ghostbusters Theme Song is playing??? Why? I also heard The Little Drummer Boy earlier???

How many overweight middle aged stinky techs does it take to work on a Motherboard that they ruined last week?

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

5 Months of Adam



Today is month number 5 that I’ve been Adam Howard’s girlfriend. I don’t know who reads my blog (Hi people) but I’ll just share a bit about him.





Facts:
Adam is a student at Master’s.
He’s a 4th year Junior majoring in Biblical Studies.
He recently turned 22 (so I follow typical Ashley tradition).
He grew up in Orange County with his mom and dad and he has 3 older brothers and 1 older sister.
He got saved when he was 19 and would tell you he has lived a radically changed life from that point.
He is currently working 3 part time jobs.
1. ASB Chaplain of the Master’s College
2. Chapel Tear Down Crew
3. PR/Marketing Rep for Embroid Me…
Adam plans on planting a church in Boulder, Colorado in the next few years.

Truths:
Adam has quickly become the love of my life. He loves the Lord and pursues the Lord in ways that far surpass my own pursuits. The Lord has gifted him with being able to teach (he has other giftings as well, but I will write about those later) and so Adam has a very broad understanding of scripture and is always able to help me and guide me into understanding and applying it to scenarios of life. He has been patient and loving yet confrontational with me as I’ve sinned. I’ve hurt him many times over in the past 5 months but he has held no bitterness towards me. He is so gentle with me and affirms me in many ways that I lack confidence in. He desires to just love me and provide for me and pursue me and is working those things into his everyday life. He swooped in and uprooted me from my routine and overturned my schedules and has been so great for me. He brings me the Word and he prays with me and encourages my heart deep down. We laugh together and enjoy being together. It’s been a great match and a great bond.

Adam moved up here a year and a half ago to attend The Master’s College. Over the summer he lived in an apartment with several (like 4 or 5) guys who all attend Placerita. In the Summer, Placerita hosts Summerfest. Since all of Adam’s roommates were going to this Summerfest thing he decided to come check it out. I play the violin every Sunday night. Adam saw me playing that very violin one Sunday in July. He started praying about me. He started asking friends about me. He gradually worked info out of friends and found my blog. He spent a month pursuing me and praying about me and getting advice from his dad. Adam knew about my divorce before he even introduced himself. One Sunday night when I was over talking to Lisa, Adam came over and introduced himself. The next day I had a Facebook email waiting for me. I wrote him back. He responded. So did I. We hit it off quickly and my friend Susan Isaac told me Adam was a great guy and that she highly respected him. Coming from Susan – that is HUGE. So Adam and I started talking a bit more. We eventually went out on a coffee date and talked for 2 hours with no awkwardness before I had to dash to Sylmar to give violin lessons. After that we talked on the phone a couple times then met one night, went for a walk and ‘DTR’ed. That was August 20th.

I think the thing Adam and I have seen to be the most encouraging in our relationship is the way the Lord has answered the prayers we have prayed together or for each other. Those prayers have brought out a lot of sin and a lot of necessary growth in light of that. These’ve been some hard months but really sanctifying. And that is a blessing of this relationship. It hasn’t been all hard and trial filled though. We’ve had some good times and some fun adventures.

We’ve already accomplished one of my dreams which is: To write a song! We pulled the words straight out of Psalm 145 and wrote a song in just a few hours.
We’ve traveled to Kyle, Texas where we spent Thanksgiving with Adam’s folks.



















We’ve traveled to Orange County where we played on Adam’s brothers worship team one Sunday morning, followed by a brief dinner with the Pope.
We’ve started a journal that we keep together where we chronicle things of our relationship that we don’t want to forget about/what we’ve learned/what we’ve prayed for.
We’ve finished one semester as a couple. And are beginning our second. (It’s like I’m back in school)
We’ve laughed and I’ve cried. Maybe Adam has cried too. I know he has come close.
We’ve watched Fireproof and Benjamin Buttons.

We’ve celebrated our birthdays and Christmas and New Year.












It’s been a good season. Full of growth. Full of richness. Full of profit. Full of blessing.

We’re gonna keep going.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Did You Know?

There is wood in ice cream?



I was reading through my 'On Board' Paperwork from W and I got to this:
1. WE LOVE ICE CREAM … Because it tastes good, of course. But also because it contains cellulose (wood) fiber. As do countless other products that might surprise you — toothpaste, photographic film and insulation, to name a few. For more than a century, W has developed leading expertise that unlocks the potential within every tree to help create solutions for people and the plant — from diapers to homes. The best part? Trees grow back. We’re proud to be making the most of this remarkable gift from nature — today, and for centuries to come.

Cellulose fiber is wood. So start looking at your ingredient labels and see how much wood you are eating everyday. The average American eats 14-15 grams but we should have 20-35grams. Check out this quick read about wood fiber in your diet.



I will post about mud next.

Celestial Follow Up

Adam and I were able to see the 3 planets all at once. It was so COOL!