My 22nd Birthday Give - Away

"I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22..."

Yes, I'm turning 22 - next week, actually.

And this is what I want for my birthday - 

To give birthdays away

To those precious little ones whose actual, literal birth-day

is in jeopardy...

Because their mother is considering abortion.

How am I going to do this?

There's a really awesome organization called Save the Storks,

and this is what they do:

With these buses, pregnancy resource centers are able to go straight to the heart of the issue of abortion, by reaching out to abortion-minded mothers with a message of hope - that they have a group of people who will support them in their pregnancy , and that there are other options besides abortion. Most of all, they are reaching these women with the ultimate hope - the hope of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This is why I'm so passionate about Save the Storks -
The pro-life battle is changing every day. This year, more and more abortion clinics have closed their doors - praise the Lord!

But check this out:http://www.numberofabortions.com/

This link shows a page that counts the abortions being done worldwide today.
Watch those clocks.
They are updated to the latest statistics.
It's not really slowing down.

Last year, when I started this campaign, I was struck with this truth.

It's the mothers.

 They are the ones we need to reach the most with the truth about abortion.

And it would not matter if there was an abortion clinic on every street corner,
If you are reaching out to her with the truth - that what she carries is no clump of cells, but a precious human life, perfectly formed.
If we are showing her love and compassion, and support for her pregnancy.
If we are sharing with her the hope of the gospel!

So please - join me in this fight by donating to my campaign for Save the Storks!
Every dollar you give goes to saving these precious, innocent lives!

My dream goal is to raise $100,000, or enough to buy a Stork Bus for a city!
I know that sounds like a lot of money, and it is - but all I would need is

1,000 people to donate $100.

Or 5,000 people to donate $20.

Or 10,000 people to donate $10.

And actually, less than that - because I've already donated almost $1000!

There's almost 1,000 people that go to my church alone! And with God all things are possible. :)

You can donate directly online at the Save the Storks page: https://savethestorks.com/donateform/
*PLEASE* write "Birthdays for Babies" in the comment section, so I can track how much I've raised!

Or you can contact me through the Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/BirthdaysforBabies

We're also on Instagram: @birthdaysforbabies

Thank you thank you thank you! :) 

Your donations would mean the world to me - really the best birthday present I could ask for!

Let's save some storks! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms out there who chose life: I want to say thank you. I am convinced that you have the hardest job in the world. I want you to know that you are changing the world. I think this song says it all :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkjGYaIYXPg *

To all the moms out there who gave up their child(ren) for adoption: I want to tell you that you are so brave. I know the choice you made did not come easily. Thank you for giving your child life. You could not have given a better gift.

To all the moms out there who didn't choose life or are victims of coerced abortion: I want you to know that you are still loved, valuable, and precious. There are people who want to help you and want to see you live the fullest life. Please don't suffer in silence anymore. Today could be the day the healing starts.

To all the moms out there who are considering abortion: I want you to know that you don't have to face this alone. You and your baby are so loved. Even though your baby is not born yet, you are already a mom. There is a beating heart- a life- inside you. I have heard of many women who regret their abortions, but I have yet to hear of one who regrets giving her child life. I'm not saying that the choice for life is an easy one- but I believe with all of my heart that it is the right one.


Moms, we love you and can never thank you enough for all you do!! ♥

Happy Mother's Day,

Ashlyn



*Buy One Heartbeat At a Time on iTunes

What Women Need

This past week, the president of Planned Parenthood stated that what women need for Valentine's Day is abortion.

Needless to say, I disagree.

What women need?

Hope. Help. Healing. Compassion. Grace. Truth. Love.

Be a voice. Be a light. Let's give women what they really need.

Dear Planned Parenthood:

Dear Planned Parenthood:

I hear today is your 97th birthday.

Amidst all the shouts of celebration, do you know what I hear?

A baby's cry. A mother's tears. A lost generation weeping.

The cute little cupcake and catchy slogan you advertised today doesn't quite show that, does it?

You claim to care, no matter what, yet you are our nation's largest abortion provider.

Abortion does not equal care.

If abortion were health care, it wouldn't take a baby's life and stop a beating heart.

If abortion were health care, then it wouldn't result in women having physical, mental, and emotional consequences, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and even suicide. 

If you cared, you would know that the right to life is infinitely greater than the right to choose.

I've already heard the argument that abortion is not the only service you provide. Quite frankly, I don't really care. As long as you continue to provide abortion services, you are not an organization that deserves to be supported.

To Planned Parenthood volunteers, workers, doctors, nurses, directors, supporters, or those otherwise involved:

I know what I have said so far seems very harsh. You have to understand that abortion is an issue that I cannot afford to not be passionate and get angry about. Millions of lives are at stake.

However- although I believe there is a place for righteous anger, I do not believe that the solution for abortion is judgment and condemnation. I believe the solution is mercy and compassion.
Why?
Because that is what Jesus Christ showed to me.

Let me back up a little- I deserve to die. You deserve to die. Why? Because we have all made bad decisions and have chosen wrong over right. That's called sin. All of us have sinned- there's no denying that (Romans 3:23). Whether it was one lie or one impure thought or one evil deed or many, we have all sinned. That sin separates us from a holy, perfect God. And because of our sin, we deserve to be punished. That punishment is eternal separation from God when we die (Romans 6:23). That is the worst kind of death.

That's the bad news, but here's the good news!

God loves us. He wants us to have a relationship with Him. He wants us to know Him and to receive all that He offers. But how could that happen when our sin separates us from Him?

He had the perfect solution.

God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. (Guess how? As a baby. And if He would have been conceived in our time under the same circumstances, I'm sure many would have encouraged his mother to get an abortion. However...I digress.) As Jesus grew up, He lived a perfect life. He never swore, never cheated, never stole. On the contrary, He healed the sick; He gave sight to the blind; He made the lame walk; He brought the dead back to life! He was absolute innocence and holiness.
Yet He died in one of the most painful ways possible- crucifixion. He was whipped with a lash made of leather and bone and glass until His back was torn to shreds. He had a crown of long, sharp thorns driven deep into His skull. He was mocked, spit upon, and stripped of His clothes. He laid on the rough, wooden cross as it scraped against his bleeding back and as they hammered a nail into each of his wrists and then through His feet. Oh, can you imagine the sound? Can you imagine the weight He felt as they stood the cross upright and drove it into the ground? He had to push against His already shredded back and force it to scrape across the splintered wood just to take a single breath. He suffered like this for six agonizing hours before He breathed His last.
He was innocent! He didn't do anything wrong! Why did He have to die, especially like that?

He didn't have to die. But He did it for you.

By dying on that cross, He took the punishment that you deserve. That I deserve.

But wait! That's not the end of the story!

After Jesus died, He was wrapped in burial cloths and placed in a tomb.  A large, heavy stone was placed in front of the opening and guards were placed at the entrance so that no one could come and steal the body.
Three days after He was placed in the tomb, some women who were followers of Jesus brought burial spices and ointments to the place that He was buried.
They were shocked to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty!
More than that, an angel of the Lord was there and spoke to them. He said, "Do not be afraid! He is risen, just as He said He would!" (Matthew 28)
Jesus didn't stay dead...He's alive! He overcame sin and death once and for all!

Now we can know God; we can have a relationship with Him! Now we can live. By entering into a relationship with God, we receive forgiveness for our sins and will spend eternity with Him in heaven.

How can you have a relationship with God? (And let me assure you that you can. There is nothing that is too great for Him to forgive!)

First, admit that you are a sinner who needs saving. Confess to God that you realize you cannot save yourself and need Him to forgive your sin so you can know Him.
Believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place for your sin and took the punishment that you deserve.
(1 John 1:9; John 3:16; Romans 10:9,10)

There are no magic words, no perfect prayer. A sincere prayer from the heart, even if stuttered, is what God wants- not some printed-out prayer that you race through as a "get-to-heaven-free card." That's not how salvation works. It's a free gift- we can't earn it. We won't ever be able to pay Him back for all that He's done.



Planned Parenthood, you say you support the right to choose.

Folks, God did give you a right to choose, but it's not the kind that you're thinking of.
He gave you the right to choose to live life with or without Him.
Oh, I hope you choose life with Him!
I hope this all makes sense to you!
I want you to know Him and to live.
I also want you to encourage others to choose life- both physical life for their babies and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

As an organization, I must admit that I will be thrilled if you don't make it to your 98th birthday.
As individuals, I hope you find and accept the life Jesus has to offer you.
Jesus, please open their eyes.

Sincerely,

Ashlyn

They Are Waiting

Throughout today and this week I have heard one word consistently repeated, and with a great heaviness:

Obamacare.

Socialized, federally operated medicine.
And with it, above all interests political and personal, one resounding horror has been growing and weighing on my heart and mind.
That my tax dollars will be going to fund the one thing I hate most and have sworn my life to seeing ended:
The merciless murder of innocent lives that is abortion.

This thing God has burdened my heart with.
This purpose has He set my life apart for.

And my heart was beginning to despair...
Shame on me!
I had forgotten- I let my eyes wander to the waves of wickedness around me and taken them off of Christ. I was beginning to sink, when He breathed the sweetest hope back into my soul.

He told me, reminded me-
That the Lord in Heaven laughs at the works of evil men. He sees their end, and He has the victory!
And through Christ this victory is mine!!

Oh, fellow fighters of this good fight! Fellow soldiers in this battle for the lives of the unborn! Hear this beautiful truth:
Abortion may be legal.
You may be forced to pay for it.
But if those girls are being told the TRUTH, and shown the Love of God for them and the precious life that grows inside them,
It. Won't. Matter.
If they KNOW that they carry a BABY, not a clump of cells and tissue,
If they SEE that they are loved, and their baby is loved,
That they have worth and PRICELESS VALUE in Our Heavenly Father's eyes,
And that their baby will be loved and cared for, one way or another, through motherhood or adoption,
That above all CHRIST JESUS loves them and gave Himself for them, dying on a cross to redeem them from their sins,
Many of them WILL CHOOSE LIFE for their baby!!

I have to tell you about a dream I had the other night.
I dream quite a lot, and usually pretty vividly, but this one was unlike the dreams I usually have, and I know it was from God.
I dreamed my whole life.
I could see things past, things going on presently, and some things in the future.
I saw me working for my family business, and going to a new church and making friends- all of which are things I am doing right now.
I saw me talking to old friends, and I had to let go...say goodbye, to some people. And it was hard, but the Lord was standing behind me as I did, and I felt that He had His hand on my shoulder, turning me away from those things or people I was saying goodbye to, and turning me towards a new life, and new people.
And suddenly I was standing in a brightly colored room, looking down into a baby crib.
There in the crib a baby girl was laying. She was beautiful- with large, bright eyes and dark hair, and was wearing a pink dress, with soft pink boots and a pink bow in her hair. She couldn't have been more than a couple months old, if that. Certainly nowhere near old enough to talk! But she turned and looked at me, stretched out her tiny hand and said, "Don't forget us."

My heart broke.
I had become so wrapped up in how busy my life was, that while I had not forgotten this campaign, I will confess to you that it had been pushed to my back burner somewhat lately. And while I've been feeling quite convicted about it, I still kept pushing it off and procrastinating...
And there, in that dream, God snapped my heart back to attention. And intention.
I had not stopped working, but I had ceased to be intentional.
I had not stopped praying, but I had lost the fervor and burning passion that made me start this thing in the first place.
And I need to confess that publicly.
And apologize. To the Lord, first and foremost, and then to those precious little ones who are waiting for me!
They have no voices, but I hear them.
I hear them and my heart feels their searing pain...as their lives are severed from them, and their mothers look at me with their broken, hurting souls .
Waiting for me.
To speak for them and to them.
To pray for their salvation- from death, and from an eternity without Christ!
To fight that they might know the truth and be spared!

Some of them are waiting for you.

26 Letters

Have you ever heard this quote: "Dear God, please put Your arm over my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth"? That applies to me perfectly most days. More often than not, I am mentally kicking myself for some stupid, hurtful, or thoughtless thing I said. My mouth gets me into trouble more than anything else. There are many verses in the Bible, especially in Proverbs, that have some pretty harsh words concerning what we say.

Take this one, for instance: "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." (Proverbs 10:19, NIV84)

Here's another one: "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." (Proverbs 13:3, NIV84)

Or this one, found in James: "Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." (James 3:5,6 NIV84)

If that wasn't enough conviction for you, listen to this: "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." (James 1:26, NIV84)

Ouch. Uh-oh. Yikes. Double ouch.

These verses all have something in common- obviously, they all talk about our words, our tongues, what we say, etc., but they also have something else in common.
All of these verses, along with all of the books of the Bible, all of my blog posts, and all of the words that come out of my mouth, not to mention the countless other things we use the English language for, are made up of 26 letters. Just 26.

There is power in these 26 letters...power in this gift of language that God has given to us.

Those 26 letters could encourage and inspire.
Those 26 letters could judge and condemn.
Those 26 letters could strengthen someone's confidence and convictions.
Those 26 letters could cause someone to come crashing down.

In these 26 letters, we hold the power to kill and to heal. We can make someone laugh or cause them great pain. We can initiate war or encourage peace (Ecc. 3).

The Bible speaks to this fact:
"The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit." (Proverbs 15:4, NIV84)
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (Proverbs 12:18, NIV84)
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." (Proverbs 18:21, NIV84)

Now, how does this topic apply to the pro-life debate?
Let me ask you this question- which of the following women do you think would be more likely to come to know Jesus:
1) the woman whose only knowledge of "Christians" is that of the ones who hurled insults at her and called her a murderer and told her she was condemned to hell because she had an abortion?
or
2) the woman who found love and compassion from someone who genuinely cared not only about the life of her child, but also about her?

I'm going with the latter.

It's true that abortion is murder, and murder is sin, and because of sin we all deserve to go to hell.
But while Jesus taught us to speak truth and to not tolerate sin, He also taught us to extend grace and mercy and to love unconditionally.
Consider this story found in John 8:1-11 (ESV):

"...but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"

Do you see what He did? He did not deny that her adultery was sin. He called it what is was and warned her to turn away from it. BUT He extended His mercy and love to her all the while.
As Christians, I believe that's what we all should strive for.
And, oh, the combination can be so hard to balance.
I've said before that my tendency is to put truth before love. Maybe your tendency is to put love before truth. When struggling to find a balance, I hope we will all refer back to this example that Jesus gave us and use it in our own lives to the best of our ability.

When interacting with anyone on either side of the pro-life debate, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your co-workers or your boss, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your teachers or your students, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your mom, dad, or siblings, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with your husband, wife, or kids, remember the power that your words have.
When interacting with hurting people, remember the power that your words have.

And remember how Jesus used His words and His power.

I am preaching to myself more than to anyone else...I have a lot of remembering to do.

"Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips." (Psalm 141:3, NIV84)

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14, NIV84)

You've got 26 letters. Use them for good.

Until next time,

Ashlyn ♥

Exciting News!

  
Friends, we are so excited to tell you that....


OUR FACEBOOK PAGE IS UP!


If you would, please like and share! It would mean so much, not only to us, but also to the babies whose lives will be saved through this campaign, and also to the mothers who will be spared the consequences of abortion.

You can make a difference! Head on over to https://www.facebook.com/BirthdaysforBabies and make the click! Thanks a million! :)