Dear Friend of Life:
I was standing in line today at the post office, anxious to get moving and mail some important items.
But rather than allow myself to feel a bit frustrated that the line was long behind the mail machine (and the poor lady at the front of the line didn’t seem to know how to operate it!), I realized I had a great opportunity here.
I stopped to pray.
I prayed for all of our Sidewalk Advocates, our staff, our Board, our Program Advisors and their work, our donors and our supporters. I prayed for as many as I could by name. I asked the Lord to bless all of your intentions — to lead, guide, bless and protect you.
I thanked God for all of the miracles we’ve experienced to date…
- 274 babies saved (and counting!)
- 106 hopefuls
- 8 workers who have left the business
- abortion facilities teetering on the edge of closure
…and hundreds of life-changing conversations about life-affirming healthcare alternatives, chastity and post-abortive healing at abortion and abortion-referral facilities all around the country!
In short, I was incredibly grateful for the pause …and when I had my turn at the mail machine, I couldn’t believe how quickly the time went!
At Sidewalk Advocates for Life, we realize that this is His work, His mission and His victory — and that, by the power of prayer, we’ve been able to witness so many blessings! We believe that “with God, all things are possible,” (cf. Matthew 19:26) and “apart from Him, we can do nothing” (cf. John 15:5). We lean on the power of the Holy Spirit in every conversation and every interaction because we know that it’s His love that changes the most hardened hearts and minds.
But we also know that it’s because of your YES to Him that He’s been able to work through this vehicle to transform hearts and save lives. Christ has appointed you as His hands and feet, and your support, love and prayers help make this mission not only doable, but joy-filled!
So, today, I just wanted to take a moment and tell you — this Thanksgiving week — how incredibly grateful we are for YOU. We know that we cannot continue this mission without YOU, and we know that God has given YOU to us as a huge gift.
My family and I will be sitting around the Thanksgiving table this Thursday, in awe of what God has done in the past 7.5 months (since we started) through the generosity of all of you who support us. Thank you for sacrificing your time, talent and treasure to ensure that this mission continues well into the future!
And may I ask you for one thing this week?
Please pray for us! We depend on those prayers!
I ask you to join me in praying for our Sidewalk Advocates (and all mothers, families and workers they come in contact with), our staff, our Board, our Program Advisors, our donors, and our supporters.
We are a community, brought together by His love and grace — and because we love mothers-in-crisis and their precious unborn children.
Friend, I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support!
To you and yours — from the Sidewalk Advocates for Life National Team (Lauren, Jenna, Jeff & Ben) — have a very blessed and restful Thanksgiving!
Don’t forget — it’s the LAST WEEK!
Applications to bring Sidewalk Advocacy through Sidewalk Advocates for Life to your local community are open throughNovember 30! (Otherwise, we open applications again, February 2015.)
If your town or city would be blessed by Sidewalk Advocacy training, tools and support, we would LOVE to be a blessing to you and help you transform as many hearts and save as many lives as possible through God’s grace!
We provide…
- a small program manual that tells you how to set up and run SAFL in your town/city
- a comprehensive, professional 4-hour training DVD with training workbooks
- tools such as flyer templates, bulletin announcements, literature options, pro-bono legal services (through 3 pro-life legal organizations) …and more!
- full-time staff support
- a place on the Locations tab of our website, so people can find you
- a program that has a national reputation for being peaceful, prayerful & law-abiding
We know you’re busy, so we make it easy for you!
Questions about the program? Feel free to email us at info@sidewalkadvocates.org!
WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL (NOVEMBER 23-29, 2014): “GIVING THANKS”
by Lauren Muzyka, Executive Director, Sidewalk Advocates for Life
Verse(s): “Be thankful in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Reflection: One of the hardest things we face as Sidewalk Advocates (or sidewalk counselors) is the mother who — in desperate times — thinks abortion is her only option. When she’s being abused at home, threatened by an eviction notice, fallen on hard financial times, facing an uncertain future with school or dealing with the idea of becoming a single parent, suddenly circumstances seem overwhelming.
That’s why we as bearers of God’s hope and light seek to bridge the gap — to help her realize that it’s not the baby that’s the problem, it’s the situation she’s in. (Something Joanne Underwood of the CPLC of North Texas always says!) We seek to show her that a child is always a blessing and that problems are temporary. That’s why we seek to find out what brings her to the abortion facility, solve the problem and provide her on-going support. The answer is always to eliminate the crisis, not the child.
Once we show her how we can help her, her instinct is to become more maternal because of the truth already written on her heart. In fact, whether it be moments, weeks, months — or even years — later, a mother helped by peaceful sidewalk counseling will often share her incredible gratefulness that someone was there to help her rejoice in new life, in spite of her difficult circumstances.
Faith Challenge: Pray for all those in the midst of a crisis or unplanned pregnancy — that they will come to see their child as the blessing he or she is, even in difficult circumstances.
Pause to thank God for all Sidewalk Advocates and peaceful sidewalk counselors around the world who offer women-in-need great hope — and pray for all the clients they come in contact with!