A link to Part One is at the bottom of this page.
Two months before God spoke to me, two months before I made that call to the adoption agency; I found myself at a Planned Parenthood clinic. It was a mixture of innocence and ignorance.
Planned Parenthood packaged and sold itself as “educational” and as “women’s care”. So well, in fact, they were welcomed into two (2) private Christian schools where I attended. Later, while in public high school, a friend informed me that I could get cheap or free female exams by going to Planned Parenthood. Therefore, it seemed to me that was a logical place to go for a pregnancy test and medical “care”.
To say that my appointment that day was an eye-opening experience would be an understatement. When I got beyond the irritation, I was completely dumbfounded. Thankfully, what I lacked in on-the-spot thinking and eloquent speech, was made up for my by stubbornness.
In the exam room, the nurse practitioner made no secret about being disgusted with my pregnancy. As she gave me confirmation of the pregnancy, her face soured more as my face brightened at the news. She was just rude. And it was the roughest exam of that nature I have ever had. Throughout the exam, she had this lecturing tone although I am not sure what she said because I was only concerned with the new life growing inside me. She concluded the exam by telling me, “Your boyfriend is cheating on you.” Somehow, I managed not to laugh out loud.
My next stop on the lecture train was the Nurse Counselor’s office…or disaster clutter area. She closed the door (which had a large glass window) and proceeded to fill out her forms. After gathering some information from me, she asked, “So what are you going to do about the pregnancy?”
This is where the dumbfounded cloud perched above my head. Honestly, it seemed like a silly question for her to ask. With an are-you-serious half-laugh, I responded, “I guess I’m gonna have a baby.”
Well…here is where I got an education. I had “choices”. She told me I could have an abortion. She shoved my immediate dismissal aside. For the next forty-five (45) minutes, she lectured me on the virtues of abortion. I do not have any recollection of what she said because I closed my ears. I was not about to kill my baby and I resented her droning on as if I could be persuaded.
Somewhere in the middle of her abortion sales pitch, she mentioned adoption…once. I said, “Oh, I could never do that.” And she quickly went back to abortion.
Finally, in apparent frustration, she gave up. On my diagnosis paper, she wrote, “Mother chooses to parent.”
Story Links:
Unplanned Pregnancy – Part One
Part 3 coming soon!
Unplanned Pregnancy – Part Two March 29, 2009
Unplanned Pregnancy – Part One March 19, 2009
In September of 1991, at the age of 18, I discovered that I was pregnant. Yes, I was unmarried. Yes, the pregnancy was unplanned. No, abortion was not an option. And adoption, well, although I had the utmost respect for those who had made that decision, I could not imagine how I could bear the pain of giving up my own flesh and blood.
There are many details, especially here in the beginning that I must leave out to tell the story. As a details person, this goes against my nature, but I fear that too many details will obscure the story I need to share. And I do not want you to miss the real story.
Being pregnant did not change the relationship between my boyfriend and me. We were moving forward with our life plans. However, circumstances did change. I wound up selling my car and flying cross-country to stay with my sister for an undetermined amount of time.
Over the course of the next few weeks, the baby had given me a new perspective. I had tolerated some awful things and believed some unfathomable lies. That world unraveled as the view of my role as mother and protector of my unborn child etched onto my heart. It was as if I had been lost inside myself for several months…fading away…and the baby gave me a reason to reclaim myself. By the time I left my sister’s in Alabama for my parents in Arizona, I had ended the relationship with my boyfriend. In his defense, he did not walk away quietly, but not for any heroic or paternal reasons. And the more he persisted, the more I resisted.
My world was nothing dramatic as I settled in my parent’s condo. I did not have any big plans or even any grand ideas of what would happen next. At home, no one pushed, urged, or strongly encouraged me to do much of anything. I have no idea what was even going through my parent’s minds because they never told me. We never spoke about the future or even about the baby. They worked all day and I just sort of existed, hung out, watched TV, etc. Oddly enough, even at three (3) months gestation, I still had not seen an OB.
Back in my old room, in the extremely uncomfortable cheap bed, which had replaced my waterbed (now in storage) when, I had moved out about eight (8) months prior, I began praying every night. It did not take me long to see that this pregnancy was a gift from God. I did not understand it all. It made no sense why God would even want to rescue me while I wallowed in sin; defying everything, I knew. And I certainly could not explain how God would give me a gift through the sins I had committed.
One morning in November 1991, I was waking up to yet another day of my pregnant existence. Though I was yet unaware, today was a pivotal day. Today would change everything in my life.
There in the quiet of my room, barely a thought running through my head yet, I heard it. I know it was real and afterwards I heard others describe it in the exact same words. I heard the inaudible voice of God.
With love and gentleness, God spoke to me. He told me to pick up one of the phonebooks lying bedside my bed to find an adoption agency.
Had I doubted for one minute that it was God speaking, I would not have done it. However, there was something so undeniable about Him speaking that I did not hesitate even one second to do as He was instructing me. One thing I knew for sure, my mind had never entertained adoption.
Many times, I had envisioned God as intolerant and impatient. That day, that pivotal day, my view of God changed. He did not tap His foot impatiently as I flipped through the adoption agency ads…repeatedly. Instead, He lovingly waited for me to decide which number to dial.
I do not remember the exact day this took place, nor do not remember the exact words spoken between the adoption counselor and myself on the phone. What I do remember is God filling me with His peace from that day forward.
Unplanned Pregnancy – Part Two
“Contradiction, Please…” March 5, 2009
If you are unfamiliar with the quote used for the title, it comes from the movie character Charlie Chan. He’s unrelated to my topic, but when I needed a title I thought his famous line fit better than my original title of “Persecution VS. Lame Excuses”
Our family has enjoyed the ministry of Creation Science Evangelism . When we rented Dr. Kent Hovind’s video series The Creation Series through Netflix, we had no idea that he had been arrested and imprisoned by the federal government on tax issues. This did not change our opinion of Dr. Hovind. Before I obtained any information on the matter, I was already convinced that this was a spiritual attack spearheaded by the willing anti-Christian people in our government. They went after Dr. Hovind because he spoke out about churches selling their free speech rights for tax benefits under the 503(c) designation.
What I find especially irritating is that we have a man in the White House who has presented nominee after nominee who have FAILED to pay their taxes. Are B. Hussein’s friends in jail? Were they even fined or penalized? Did the IRS hound them? Were they deemed a “threat to society”? Is their property being seized by the federal government? — That would be a big fat NO! While REAL crooks roam freely and are even occupying space within our government, hard-working individuals like the Hovind’s are sent to prison. In fact, Dr. Hovind was sentenced to 10 years in prison. 10 years! while B. Hussein’s crooked friends never face a single fine or penalty let alone the prosecution they deserve!
Wishing there was something I could do for the Hovind’s, I decided to share this info in my blog. Below is a link to the legal information and updates. There’s even a FAQs at the bottom that helps explain things. Please read this and share it with others. I’m sharing this because I feel compelled to do something…anything…and if this is all I can do, I needed to do it.
Kent Hovind Legal Updates
Also, if you feel so inclined, I have included the addresses for both Dr. & Mrs. Hovind for anyone who wants to send them a letter of encouragement.
- Kent Hovind #06452-017
FPC Edgefield D-2
PO Box 725
Edgefield, SC 29824
- Jo D Hovind #06453-017
FCI Marianna
Satellite Camp
PO Box 7006
Marianna, FL 32447
My Letter To Sen. Mel Martinez – 3.5.09 March 5, 2009
Dear Senator Martinez:
RE: http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=90767
I regret that I am writing to express my disillusionment and disappointment with your statements regarding presidential eligibility and negating our US Constitution.
You are quoted in the above article as saying “And, (Obama) has now been duly elected by the majority of voters in the United States. Throughout both the primary and general election, concerns about Mr. Obama’s birthplace were raised. The voters have made clear their view that Mr. Obama meets the qualifications to hold the office of president,”.
Your statement is dangerous to this nation. Not only have you negated the US Constitution on a very Constitutional matter, but you have condoned and approved usurpation of the US Government. This is not merely about one man, this is about every future presidential contender. This isn’t even about just one Constitutional matter either. This is about the entire Constitution and all of the laws that govern our society and country.
Honestly, I feel betrayed by you as my representative. This constitutional presidential eligibility issue with Mr. Obama needs to be and should have been already properly, legally, and effectively sorted out to the satisfaction of the US Constitution and the ENTIRE United States of America! To date, it hasn’t. It doesn’t matter how many people voted for him if he’s NOT eligible. And if he’s not eligible, he never should have been allowed to run. People voted for him because this Constitutional matter was flat out ignored by all the cowardly and sycophantic politicians.
I urge you to recommit yourself to the US Constitution and to the citizens you represent.
Email Senator Mel Martinez!
Our Personal Freedom from TV March 4, 2009
After reading Robin’s blog “Who Spends Time With Your Children?”, I realized my long drawn out comments were better off in my own blog.
I have been tv free for almost 15 yrs. It started out against my will, but I learned to find other things to fill that time (such as studying Scottish Gaelic). I was truly free from it and couldn’t believe I had wasted so much time in front of it for so long.
I grew up in a family where the tv was on from 7 am to bedtime every day. My parents seemed to live for Prime Time and my mother was addicted to soap operas. And I had my own tv (b&w initially) in the seclusion of my own bedroom at the age of 5. (It’s a good thing I could be trusted, for the most part, not to watch something I was told not to watch.) In my early teens, I received the gift of cable tv for one year. It was a household thing. It was in my bedroom exclusively. I watched a lot of Donna Reed that year. It’s no wonder I couldn’t be bothered with doing my homework. Between MTV and Nick at Night, who had time?
Our family (now) has never had access to tv in our home. My husband was tv free when we married because he had to choose between cable and food. We never acquired it because we both knew it was so full of junk we didn’t want to watch anyways and would spend just as much going to Blockbuster. Cable tv seemed pointless and so it was never invited into our home.
We do have tvs…three (3) to be exact. Only one actually gets used on a somewhat regular basis. We do watch things. We like to pick tv series that have been out for several years, Netflix them and watch them together. But our tv is on much less than the average American household. I do a little happy dance at the end of the day when I realize we never turned it on all day.
A lot of what we watch has educational value too. The things that aren’t as obvious, we use for family discussion and critical thinking.
Everything our children watch via dvd or video is approved by and/or watched with us. The dvd player is out of their reach (due to the armoire design), yet they don’t seem to care. And if you have ever rented a dvd that is all scratched up you know there are plenty of people who think dvds are indestructible…which they aren’t. So, for investment purposes, children in our house are not allowed to carelessly and recklessly handle dvds. We’re not control freaks. They are given opportunities and lessons and also know the pain of ruining a dvd that we won’t replace.
Our children have not been entirely sheltered either. They have seen real time tv at my in-laws and on vacations, so they know the difference between what the world does and how we use our tv. It was hysterical the first time they encountered a commercial and real time tv. The boys were 4 & 5, we were in a hotel, and Star Wars was on some channel. The movie was interrupted with a commercial and the protesting began: “What happened to my movie?” We explained the phenomena of commercials. Then we went out to dinner and returned. They wanted to pick up Star Wars where they had left off. Uh…sorry, that doesn’t happen. This is “real” tv. Oh boy were they mad! We laughed on the inside. They hated “real” tv and we were so happy.
As much as we may watch movies or tv shows in our modified form, this experience is much different than what either of us had growing up. TV doesn’t demand our time on it’s own inflexible schedule. We have complete control. For us, that is what it means to have freedom from tv.
Update on Bathroom Mini ReMod – 3.3.09 March 3, 2009
Bathroom is still a work in progress. DH ran into a problem when installing the new vanity, so a plumber is needed. Hopefully that will be resolved shortly…because I really hate sharing my bathroom with my kids.
