The "Hand of Hope"

Have ya'll ever seen a picture that made your heart just melt? I did last week. But, before that... a little background information...

I just started volunteering at a pregnancy center here in town. I found out about it at a girls' conference this past February. As part of the Masterpiece conference, they had an evening coffeehouse setup with booths and information tables from different ministries where we could get involved. As I walked by one table I overheard an older lady talking to a couple other college girls about her ministry's need for homemade quilts and baby items. My ears perked up and I stopped to listen in. :)

The more I found out about Hope Pregnancy Center, the more I got excited about possibly volunteering with them. My summer in Africa taught me that I really do like the behind-the-scenes service; I do enough front-lines stuff and I need a break and I need to serve those who I will probably never see again and cannot do anything to repay me.

My research into VVF and women's health issues in Africa as well as the book "Half the Sky" (EXCELLENT READ!) showed me the huge needs women facing crisis pregnancies are going through. And I'm realizing that crisis pregnancies are more than girls that were stupid/got themselves into trouble. And the more I talk to people who are Pro-Life, the more I get frustrated by the fact that most people only care about the baby and overlook the intense needs the mother has!

So, as soon as I got back into town and realized that lovely bus 26 drops off right by Hope, I went to see how I could volunteer. I left with a dauntingly thick application that requested 2 recommendation letters, my salvation testimony, and an interview scheduled with the volunteer coordinator.

Then I went through a weekend with 14.5 hours of training. And then a 3-hour video on "abortion apologetics." And now I'm in weeks upon weeks of training and shadowing counselors before I will be able to counsel clients. But it's all good.

Some people have asked me why I volunteer at Hope. That's a really long conversation, but here are the top reasons:

• if I was facing a crisis pregnancy--whether because of pre-marital sex, just having moved to a new country (there are a lot of international graduate students/families here in College Station), needed some financial assistance, or just needed a Christian woman to talk with--I would want to have somewhere like Hope
• I'm accumulating tools for my "toolbox." More people skills, more counseling training, more knowledge about controversial topics, and more opportunities to pour into people.
• there's nothing like being able to offer an expectant mother a handmade baby blanket
• it's one little life at a time
• it's meeting someone at probably their greatest need so far and introducing them to Someone who will truly never leave them, will truly forgive them, and will truly provide for them
• it gets me off campus and out of my bubble of college life and into the community

So anyway... about the picture. During training we were discussing under what circumstances/if ever abortion was acceptable and how the marvels of modern medicine were making many of those pre-natal complications irrelevant reasons for abortion. Then we heard the story of Samuel who was diagnosed with spina bifida and in 1999 underwent pre-natal corrective surgery. 

And if you ever doubt that the little one inside is an independent and viable life, let this picture speak for itself... and see if it melts your heart.

The Hand of Hope

(photo copyright Michael Clancy 1999, http://michaelclancy.com/wordpress/)

Ready... or lonely?

(from satelliteofyou.tumblr.com)

I think I've said something similar to this to at least three different girls in the last two days.

What is it with being lonely and automatically assuming that falling in love will solve that loneliness? Yes, being lonely sucks.

But why, oh why do we girls force ourselves to find a guy, force ourselves to wonder if he could be the guy, and force ourselves to be overly excited about something so simple as saying hi to a nice guy in class? Why do we do this to ourselves instead of waiting for our heart to be ready. Instead of waiting for life to be ready. Instead of waiting for him to be ready. Instead of waiting for God's path to be ready. Why do we force it?

Here are some of my loneliness busters... I'm the type of person to--instead of focusing on me--find ways to work with others. Which is all well and good until I realize that I have just been making busyness a loneliness buster in and of itself... and who needs to be even more busy?

I love my espresso maker--foamed milk is the best.
I love falling asleep in the sun--catching the last rays of warm summer.
I love journaling--being forced to come up with words and attempting to lay events out in a sensible manner helps things make sense.
I love working out--hearing your headbeat in your head makes it hard to focus on anything else.
I love girlie movies--anything from Twilight to Pride & Prejudice.
I love blood-n-guts war movies--it's hard not to laugh at the gratuitous amount of fake blood and incorrectly treated injuries.
I love my laptop--some would argue I love it too much.
I love quietness--gives my mind a chance to actually stop and sit still.
I love my Bible--underlined and highlighted in so strange a manner that no one else could decipher the system, but it's worth the world to me.

What does your heart do when it's lonely?

This is going to be good.

I came across this last week... have to say that satelliteofyou has some beautiful photos.

Fall is going to be good. The pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks has made its blessed return, football season is in full swing, the University Dining Services is selling caramel apple cider at the on-campus coffee shops, long-sleeve Ts are coming out of boxes, the Christmas season is soon approaching, it's not quite cold enough to stop wearing Chacos, I'm no longer sweating buckets walking across campus, the cold air wakes me up on my way to my first class of the day (and then it warms up by noon so I can shed the sweater), I'll soon be 21, pumpkins are on sale at the grocery store, the crockpot is getting good use...

It's gonna be good. It feels like waking up. It feels like coming back. It reminds me of a favorite Sara Groves song, "It Might Be Hope." 

<

You do your work the best that you can

you put one foot in front of the other
life comes in waves and makes its demands
you hold on as well as you're able

You've been here for a long long time

Hope has a way of turning its face to you
just when you least expect it
you walk in a room
you look out a window
and something there leaves you breathless
you say to yourself
it's been a while since I felt this
but it feels like it might be hope

It's hard to recall what blew out the flame

it's been dark since you can remember
you talk it all through to find it a name
as days go on by without number

You've been here for a long long time

Hope has a way of turning its face to you
just when you least expect it
you walk in a room
you look out a window
and something there leaves you breathless
you say to yourself
it's been a while since I felt this
but it feels like it might be hope

Browsing history...

What are the eight sites I visit the most (according to Google Chrome)?

1) Facebook (no comment!)

2) A&M Library Homepage (I love their "Get It For Me" service that emails me .pdfs of ANY research article from ANY publication in like the last 30 years. Makes writing-intensive classes a whole lot easier)

3) KINE 433 homepage  (Exercise Physiology class)

4) A&M Email (this must be checked at least 3 times a day so as not to miss important class information, changed meeting times and locations, and to keep up with RA information)

5) A&M ResLife Homepage (my one-stop resource for everything related to being an RA!)

6) A&M Transportation Services Homepage (bus route maps!)

7) Pandora (my A*Teens station is my favorite... let's just say that listening to it for the last year has allowed me to screen out all the random artists and songs and I'm pretty happy to be reminded of my childhood!)

8) Google Calendar (wow... I think I need a secretary to keep my life perfectly scheduled. But alas, since I am a poor college student Google must suffice)

I think I could also add Gmail, YouTube, IMDB, xkcd.com, and blogger to that list... 

It comes down to priorities. You know how pastors always say that if you want to find out what is an idol in your life just look at where your money goes, where your mind goes when you daydream, and where your time goes. I guess you could include browsing history in that list.  :)