Pictures from "Welcome to the Pro-Life movement in St. Louis"

As promised! Enjoy!

Sidewalk counselors pass out roses, along with information, to women as they drive up to the clinic.
Very effective!

Not as intimidating as the fence in Bryan, but still definitely a barrier to reaching out to these women.

This was one of my attempts at discreetly taking pictures of the encounter.

Definitely one of my favorite sidewalk counseling pictures EVER!

Keep up the great work, Coalition for Life St. Louis!

Welcome to the Pro-life movement in St. Louis....

Its been awhile since I was last motivated to post something on this blog, but my experience yesterday definitely merited some kind of recognition. I think I am going to come out and say it and I hope people don't freak out (too much)....

I almost got arrested yesterday.

Yes, as hard as it is to believe, there was a very real moment yesterday when I was pretty sure I was going to get a close look at the St. Louis police department, and not in a good way. But, let me tell you the complete story and maybe you'll get a better idea of why this merits a blog post.

As soon as I found out I was moving to the St. Louis area, I knew I would need to get connected with the local 40 Days for Life leaders so I could continue counseling women at Planned Parenthood. I was able to get in touch with the local executive director of the Coalition for Life St. Louis. Yesterday, after things had settled down a bit, I headed up to the Central West End Planned Parenthood to meet with the director and pray at the clinic.

Volunteer outside of the St. Louis Planned Parenthood. Photo courtesy of Coalition for Life St. Louis.

When I arrived, I met with Brian, the executive director, and he started to share with me how sidewalk counseling worked at this location and the things that CFL St. Louis was doing to help women in the area. I couldn't help but notice that there were a couple police cars present and a few officers conversing in the parking lot of Planned Parenthood. Brian said that PP had probably called them and that he had noticed an upswing in police presence the last couple of weeks.

Very soon after this, a large St. Louis Metropolitan Police van pulled into the parking lots. You know the kind I'm talking about, the ones they bring in when they are about to arrest a bunch of people.

It looked like this, minus the crime lab part

I must have looked nervous, because Brian looked over at me and said, "It looks like we might be taking a ride in a truck today." I was probably in denial and so I didn't immediately pick up on what he was saying. After asking him to clarify, he replied, "I think we're about to get arrested." I don't remember what my actual response was, but it was somewhere along the lines of, "are you KIDDING me?! Why?!? We're just standing here!" I then threw out, "I don't want to get arrested! That was definitely NOT on my lists of things to do today!" Brian's response was something like, "but wouldn't that make a great story!" Great story, indeed!

After a few tense moments as multiple police officers had a pow-wow in the parking lot, the van pulled away and left. I knew at this point that I was probably ok, but there were still several police officers there, so we still weren't sure what was going on. Eventually, about four or five police officers approached Brian and explained their presence at the clinic that day: we had a sign that violated two city ordinances. As they walked over, Brian asked me to snap a few pictures (hopefully I will be able to post a few of them here soon). As I tried to indiscreetly take a few pictures, Brian was "arrested," released on the streets, and asked to leave the premises. We also had to take the sign down. If you ask me, this response seemed a bit heavy-handed. Among the volunteers that day (about 10-15) half were my grandparents' age and the rest were quietly standing and praying. Did the police really think that many officers were needed to deal with a sign out of ordinance? And since when was a bad sign an arrestable offense? Apparently I have a lot to learn about Missouri law enforcement.

I have been praying in front of an abortion clinic for five years and sidewalk counseling for almost as long, and I have never had a negative experience with law enforcement. The Coaltion for Life in Bryan had a wonderful relationship with the Bryan P.D. and so I guess I was unprepared for encounters with a not-so-friendly environment. I was pretty spoiled in Aggieland. Brian's parting words to me before he left the sidewalk summarized the experience very well... "Welcome to the pro-life movement in St. Louis." Well, all I can say is that I am glad I am here and I can't wait to continue standing for Life with my new friends at the Coalition for Life St. Louis!

For Life (2012)

The Power of Forgiveness- An October Baby Review

I have never written a movie review before, so just bear with me a bit as I make my first attempt. :)

Before reading this, you should watch the trailer to get a little bit of context:

Leaving this movie, my head was full of so many emotions, I had a hard time sorting them all out. I felt joy at the movie's message and conclusion and sorrow at the pain that makes this kind of film necessary in the first place. Most of all I felt thankful for having a loving and merciful God who blesses me beyond belief.

I want to talk a little bit about what this movie got right, what made it special, and why I think everyone who cares about the issue of abortion or who has questions about it should see this movie.

First of all, the film was wonderfully written with a talented and passionate cast. So often when you think of "Christian" films, we picture low budget quality production and actors. This was definitely not the case with October Baby. The writing was great, the production quality impressive, and the cast was incredible. I was truly impressed by how everything was brought together. It was simply a great and entertaining movie. For that reason alone it is worth watching.

Secondly, October Baby was not "preachy." It didn't have any rhetoric or condemning language. Although it was obviously written by those with a passion for Life and with the intent of changing hearts and minds about the abortion issue, the power of this movie is that it simply told a story. It shared the story of issues and struggles that, unfortunately, many men, women, and families have gone through before. It humanized the issue, taking it from one of arguments and political talking points, and putting it into the perspective of the men and women who are affected the deepest by abortion.

Lastly, the film was centered on the idea of forgiveness. I think this is something many struggle with in the pro-life movement. I know that sometimes I have a hard time understanding what motivates a women to make a certain choice or what drives someone to work at an abortion facility. Sometimes my lack of understanding can turns to anger and I find it hard to love others the way I should. This film reminded me that we are all sinners and are all in need of forgiveness. God has been gracious enough to give me a second chance and to forgive me and, in response, I should love and forgive others in the same way, through Christ.

I left October Baby with a renewed sense of purpose and an even stronger passion to work for Life. It's amazing what an impact a simply story can have when it is full of truth, love, and hope. I pray that each of you has an opportunity to see this film and share in this wonderful and inspiring experience.

On a side note, I found the story of the actress who played the main character's birth mother to be especially inspiring. It was a great reminder that God truly works in mysterious ways and leads us to exactly where we need to be. Check it out!

Jarrod and Laura Live @ Chicken Oil!!

And now for something totally different.....

My friend Jarrod and I did our first open mic on Thursday. We had been talking about doing something like this for years and finally decided that now was the time! Here is a few songs from the end of our set. We will probably do it again soon and work on recording some stuff without all the background noise :) Enjoy!

If our God is for us... who could stand against!

This is a fantastic video created by my friend Josh of our trip to March for Life. The images and experiences he captured fit perfectly with the words of song. It was just what I needed to remind myself once again that God is on our side and that He has already won the ultimate victory! At the same time, he calls each of us to fight the good fight and press on towards the goal of a society that respects and honors life at all stages! Thank you so much for joining me in this fight!

LFL Statement on the Mandate of the Department of Health and Human Services

"Lutherans For Life stands firmly with the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the Roman Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention, other Evangelical leaders, and other religious organizations in strongly opposing the recently-promulgated Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rules requiring that religious organizations provide contraception and abortifacients to their employees.

The morality of contraception is not the issue. The issue is religious freedom as given by God and secured by the First Amendment to the Constitution. The proposed HHS rules directly infringe free exercise of religion by requiring religious groups to do what many believe God forbids them to do. Not only Roman Catholics, but many others as well, oppose contraception; and many Lutherans oppose on religious grounds any so called “contraceptive” that in reality is an abortifacient in nature and could destroy a developing human being. These religious groups, and the many individuals who support them, should not be compelled to subsidize a practice they believe to be immoral and, in some instances, murder.

The Obama Administration’s “compromise,” by which religious organizations’ insurance companies will pay for contraception, is no compromise at all and is totally unacceptable. This is a matter of religious conviction, and that which we must not pay for directly, we must not subsidize indirectly.

The Administration’s offer of additional time for compliance reflects a gross misunderstanding of our objection. This is not a matter of time; it is a matter of conscience and obedience to God. We cannot and will not disobey God, neither now nor later.

No one is compelled to work for a religious organization. Those who choose to do so are fully aware of the religious nature of the organization. Those who find the compensation package unacceptable are free to work elsewhere.

We urge the Obama Administration to repeal these proposed regulations; we urge Congress to enact legislation requiring the repeal of these proposed regulations; and we will join with religious organizations who refuse to follow these regulations if they become law. Like the Hebrew midwives of Exodus 1 who refused to obey the Pharaoh’s command to slay Hebrew babies, as stated in Acts 5:29 and the Augsburg Confession, “We must obey God rather than men.”