Tag: Church

Why Banning Abortions Isn’t Going to Solve the Problem (And Some Ideas on What We Can Do Instead)

Published on by BrandiLeave a comment

Abortion has been a controversial topic for as long as I can remember, and I see posts in my news feed several times per week either for or against the morality and legality of abortions. I have thought and prayed about this topic for quite some time, and after hearing the news about the legislation in New York, and after becoming a mother myself, I feel that I can no longer be silent.

In responding to our heartbreak over this new law as well as the ones already instated, it’s so easy to say, “Ban abortions!”

But making abortions illegal isn’t going to solve the problem (remember prohibition?). Making abortions illegal will result in women getting illegal, often unsafe abortions, which could result in the loss of even more life.

I know some will say that if a woman was willing to take the life of her child then her life deserves to be taken as well, but as a follower of Jesus I simply cannot stand behind that. Her life matters, too. She was made in the image of God, too. Just like her baby.

So what do we do?

I think that we should start with the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. We know that school sex-ed programs that teach abstinence-only do not work. As a Christian, I believe in waiting until marriage to have sex, but not everyone believes this way, and I realize that.

Girls and women should know how their bodies and their cycles work so that they know when they are likely to get pregnant. They should also know about all methods of birth control (condoms and hormonal birth control aren’t the only ways to go).

Additionally, we should have more resource centers that get girls and women access to prenatal care, adoption agencies, and resources for how to care for their young babies if they choose to raise their child themselves (programs like this do exist!).

Are these things going to prevent all abortions? No. They aren’t. And that breaks my heart still. I wish this weren’t even an issue in the first place, but it is. And because it is, we have to do something about it.

And, church, one last thing. I know that we want to save the lives of these precious little babies, but putting up crosses in the church yard talking about the lives taken from abortion isn’t helping. All it’s doing is shaming any woman who has ever had an abortion, and shame never brings people to Jesus. Love does.

I believe every person is made in the image of God, starting at conception. When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, she was the size of a poppy seed, but that little poppy seed was my baby. My heart breaks for all of the babies who never get the chance to experience life on the outside of the womb due to an abortion. Yet hate is not going to get us anywhere. Being compassionate and reaching out will not get us to a place where abortions are unheard of and forgotten, but I believe it will get us somewhere.

So I’m going to sit here and snuggle my sweet girl, praying that hearts change in our country and looking for ways to help extend compassion to women and get them the resources they need.

With love,

Photo credit:

unsplash-logoMegan Menegay

*Also, I realize there are some circumstances that require an abortion out of medical necessity, such as an ectopic pregnancy in which both the mother and baby will die. However, I don’t believe that aborting a child due to potential birth defects should be considered “medically necessary.” Their life, even though it may be lived differently than yours, is still life, and all life is sacred.

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The Past Few Weeks

Published on by Brandi1 Comment

So this post is probably going to be a lot of rambling, but that’s how I talk anyway so it’s fitting! So much has happened recently and God has taught me so much.

The first thing that He has really shown me He did in a pretty cool way. First, my pastor preached an amazing sermon on fearing the Lord and being obedient (Watch the Sermon Here). The same day, my reading in Exodus 3 pertained to fearing the Lord (I blogged about it, Taking off our Sandals). As if that weren’t cool enough, from then – two weeks ago – until this morning even, my readings in Exodus and Psalms have been talking a lot about fearing the Lord and obeying Him. I also randomly decided to read 1 John, guess what that talked about, too? So God has definitely been trying to tell me something here. Through, the sermons and my readings, God has really shown me that knowing Him, fearing Him, and obeying Him go hand in hand in hand. Following God’s commands isn’t a burden, it’s a blessing. When we try to do things our way, we get entangled in sin, and it starts to destroy us. When we do things God’s way, we prosper. It is only then that we are truly free.

“Clear the Stage” by Jimmy Needham (Clear the Stage) is one of my favorite songs. It talks about crushing the idols in our lives. It makes me think of the times when I know I should read my Bible or pray and instead I do x, or when I am reading my Bible and I’m trying to rush so I can do x. I’ve realized that whatever x is has become an idol in my life, and I’ve had to do a serious heart check. I can’t let anything come before my quiet time with God, my following His commands.

You know what else? Relationships are work, like a lot of work. More than I ever realized. There are times when my fiancé (we got engaged on May 30! YAY!) wants to call me and I’d rather read or watch Netflix (sorry, honey… 🙂 ). But that’s not the way it works. Did you know that your significant other needs, like, attention and stuff? Okay, I’m being dramatic. I love talking to and spending time with him, but sometimes I’m just tired and my book or show doesn’t require me to talk back. But relationships take work, they take time, they take – gasp – communication, and most importantly, they take you both being on the same page – especially faith-wise. So, I make sure to talk to, rotate, and water my fiancé. Wait… that’s my aloe plant… but the point is, relationships take work to grow, and if you aren’t growing, you’re dying. (Please excuse all of my cheesy jokes, I’m tired.)

Okay, one more thing to ramble about! It is such a huge blessing to have a job you actually enjoy waking up and going to. I love my job. But that’s not the main point, the main point is that whether or not you like your job, no matter what your job is, you can show the love of Christ. Now, I can’t exactly sit and talk to each of my guests about how much God loves them – the people in line behind them may start to get really impatient. But I can show Christ-like love in the way I speak to guests, in how I go above and beyond to serve them, in serving my co-workers without them asking. No matter what your job is, you can serve God, even if you never get to say His name. Show Him, serve Him, with you actions, your character, you attitude. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”  Take this piece of Scripture to heart and apply it to your life.

 

Well, lovelies, that’s all I have to say. If you made it to the end of my rambling, congratulations, you’re awesome! I’d love to hear from you lovely people! Until next time!

The Series of Hilariously Painful Unfortunate Events

Published on by Brandi1 Comment

5:30 came Monday morning just like it does every other Monday morning.  I reset my alarm for 5:45 just like I do nearly every other Monday morning.  I started to get ready just like I do every Monday morning – and that’s when things started to go bad.  I was putting on my pants as per normal and then there was this terrible pain in my hand that was not so normal.  Some how I managed to pull some muscle or sprain something in my hand by putting. on. pants.  It hurt.  Really badly.  Luckily, it wasn’t so bad that I felt the need to get it checked out – can you imagine that conversation? “What are you in for today?” “Well, I think I sprained my hand.”  “How did it happen?”  “I was putting on my pants.” Seriously, some things can seriously only happen to me.

So my day – painfully – continued and I got to church to help watch the youth leaders’ kids as I do every Monday.  I hadn’t been in the door for 30 seconds before the next Event.  One of our friends went to give us a hug and I thought he was going to hug Genelle first but apparently he was going to hug both of us.  Seeing as I thought he was hugging her first, I stayed back.  Once I realized that he was expecting to hug me too I went to hug him – about a second too late.  He went to close the hug and proceeded to hit me in the face.

Later on that night I’m sitting with one of the babies in my lap (do you know how hard it is to care for a child with very limited use of your dominant hand?).  She then decided she wanted to cuddle.  Violently.  With her head.  And my cheek bone.  Yeah, that one hurt a lot, too.

I got home that night and told my mom about my day (the pants Event amused her greatly) and she laughed and said, “I think you just need to go to bed,” and then proceeded to laugh at me for the rest of the night (granted, I was laughing at me, too).

After 19 years on this lovely planet I’ve learned a thing or two, one of which being that besides being a seriously clumsy person, I also attract ridiculous, painful situations like a moth to a flame.  I’ve also learned to accept these things, I mean, what else can you do? I laugh at myself, I enjoy life.  Even if I have to enjoy life with a pants-induced injury.  Until next time, lovelies.

Photo Credit: Lee Campbell