Surrender the Secret

I want you to think of your deepest, darkest secret.

Now I want you to imagine yourself laying it out in the open for the whole wide world to see.

Willingly.

Abortion is a secret that thousands of women keep buried deep inside of them because they are afraid of the judgment and condemnation that they may face if they confess. They suffer in silence because they do not want to surrender the secret.

Surrender the Secret is a 10-week video series that follows five post-abortive women as they work through the Bible study of the same name. This study, written by author Pat Layton, brings women on a journey of hope and healing as they share their burdens with sisters who have similar stories and find forgiveness and mercy in Jesus Christ.



Although I have never had an abortion, I found this series to be incredibly powerful. The truths of God's Word used to overcome both the lies of Satan and the lies of the abortion industry are applicable to each of our lives in whatever difficult situations we may be facing. I also found it to be incredibly eye-opening as to how abortion really affects the women of our society.

Below, I have posted the link to the first 45-minute episode. You may already be thinking that it is not worth that much of your time to watch a show about something that doesn't even impact you directly (or does it?).
Let me put it this way- if you can give up an hour of your day to watch shows like The Bachelor, So You Think You Can Dance, or America's Got Talent, then, I assure you, you can give up an hour of your day to watch this. I promise you will get so much more out of it than out of any of those.

I have already watched this entire series one time through.
I smiled.
I cried.
I got angry.
I think I laughed once or twice (a topic this serious doesn't give you much to laugh about!).
I got all fired up for my cause.
I felt convicted.
I felt inspired.

Then I cried again.

Not only for their babies, but for them.



http://www.knocktv.com/surrenderthesecret/episode-1/

The cause with an attitude...

...the attitude of Christ! Have you ever contemplated the impact that our attitudes as pro-life supporters (and Christ supporters) has on those around us?

When Christians have the attitude (thoughts and understanding) of Christ, God is glorified and His people are blessed by Him in their service to one another and the world. 

"Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus..."
Philippians 2:1-5 (NASB)

You will notice the words in bold. These words are all in their Greek equivalent related to the word referring to the understanding of the mind and how inner thoughts affect outer behaviors.* Paul states that "being of the same mind," "intent on one purpose," and "hav[ing] [the] attitude...which was also in Christ Jesus" are important qualities for Christians to have. How important this is to remember when ministering to the world through a movement surrounded by so much hatred and negativity!

My prayer is not only for Birthdays for Babies and pro-life organizations, but for the Church (God's people). May we exhibit an attitude that boldly but gently represents that of Christ with the goal of spreading the Gospel, not challenging a world too far gone to persuade with words. 

Lastly, I also pray that this blog will not only be a place for learning about donating to the noble causes of BFB and Save the Storks, but that the shared faith in Christ and attitude of love that is spread here will inspire readers (as the founder's passion did for me) to work for the cause of Jesus Christ. 

~Addie Pazzynski

*Phrén http://biblesuite.com/greek/5424.htm

A word:

Thank you endlessly to Bethany and Birthdays for Babies for allowing me to be a part of this extraordinary operation. I am thrilled, nervous, and hopelessly behind on the pro-life movement. This will be apparent, just be patient with me. God has me here for a reason! 
Praise the Lord for His children who have shown me what obedience to Him looks like through this project! Thank you, Bethany, Ashlyn, and Lindsay for inspiring me to be a part of this through your obedience to and passion for the ways of God.

Why I am Pro-Life (#2)

I am pro-life because every child 
deserves the chance to  dance.

Happy National Dance Day!

Save the Storks!

I'd like to introduce you to the awesome organization Birthdays for Babies will be supporting.

Save the Storks is a pro-life, nonprofit organization dedicated to saving mothers and babies.
They build fleets of mobile ultrasound units, called "Stork buses", which can be parked in front of abortion clinics. They work in cooperation with pregnancy resource centers in different cities across the country; reaching out to women considering an abortion by giving them a free ultrasound, explaining that they have more options - empowering them to be able to choose life for their baby, and sharing with them the Gospel and the love of Christ.

(I encourage you to find out more about the ministry of Save the Storks on their website: http://savethestorks.com)

Which brings me to my new goal.
Originally, I was going to try to raise $21,000 for the pro-life cause.
Then I had several different people tell me that I should set the bar higher - that I should go for a bigger goal.

I prayed about it, and made the decision to up my goal.
To $100,000.

I want to buy a Stork bus.

Most people might call that a pretty ambitious goal.
But
I firmly believe
that I serve a BIG God,
and that this is a cause very close to His heart.
If He chooses to bless it, then this goal can be reached, even exceeded.

I mean, He does have unlimited resources. :)
 I believe we can raise $100,000.
We can save many, many precious lives,
and see God glorified.

So are you with me?
Let's Save some Storks! :)

Why I am Pro-Life (#1)

I am pro-life because every child deserves to have a birthday.

That's the purpose of this campaign and with God it is possible. Even if only one child is saved because of this, it will be worth it!

Why are you pro-life? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Stay on the look-out for more reasons that I am pro-life!

~Ashlyn

Thank you!

   First, thank you for bearing with me as I continue to set up this campaign and get my site going. :)

I will now draw your attention to the meter on the sidebar.

 $919.00

     I can't believe how much God has blessed this already!
Wait, yes I can. I can because I know He's behind it. It was His idea in the first place, and He is the one really putting it all together. Truth is, I feel like a very small and unworthy person for a task like this. It's a Goliath. It's the Midianites. It's a big wall.

But "by you I can run against a troop, 

and by my God I can leap over a wall" - Ps. 18:29 

I may be small. 

But I serve a BIG God, and that's enough! :) 
A huge thank you to the people whose generous and obedient hearts have made this possible! 
 

Donation Update :)

Just wanted to post a quick update - As you can see, the meter is up! :) My apologies that you can't see all of the current number. :/ Working on getting that fixed.
A big thank you to my first givers, a small group of my dearest friends and immediate family who kickstarted my campaign with a surprise birthday party and $306!! <3 You all are the best!
The total is now up to $456 - 1/46th of the way to the goal!

I am ecstatic. :)

   I'm also still praying about the specific organizations I will be giving to. I should be announcing at least one of them in the next few days, so keep checking back!

In the meantime, here's a pro-life short film sent to me by a dear friend, that gives a poignant illustration of the impact an abortion can have on the mother as well: