I'm sure most, if not all, of you have heard about World Vision and their child sponsorship programs. If you haven't, World Vision is an organization that provides for the physical and spiritual needs of communities all over the world. They are working in war-torn, impoverished, famine-stricken countries, as well as providing emergency relief to communities all over the world.
Nathan and I decided to sponsor a child together through World Vision a few months ago. Her name is Jane and she lives in Uganda. I've actually traveled to Uganda and been to a WV program facility there while I was on a missions trip with a different organization. The staff are amazing people and really do impact the communities both on practical and spiritual levels.
Jane's community is one where HIV/AIDS is prevalent and World Vision is there helping families and the community as well as raising awareness about HIV/AIDS as well as providing assistance to people who's lives have been impacted by the disease.
One awesome thing about sponsorship is that Nathan and I are both able to minister to her by sending letters and stickers and items like that as well as providing the means for her to get an education and proper nutrition and medical care. We hope that someday we'll get to visit her.
Please consider sponsoring a child if you don't already. The sacrifice of $30 (or $35 for a Hope Child in an AIDS/HIV impacted area) isn't really that much compared to the things we buy every day. You could sponsor 2 or 3 kids each day with the money spent on coffee at Starbucks every day for a month!
You can click on the link below to get more information...
Friday, September 30, 2005
Friday, September 23, 2005
Religion
I was reading a fellow blogger's post and it got me thinking about the term "religion".
Honestly, I hate the word. Particular in Western society, the word religion has connotations of rules, rote actions, and rites that don't really carry any real meaning. To most, Religion is something people often use as a weapon to beat the brows of people who disagree with their ideologies; it is people in suits knocking on your door; it is fire and brimstone; it is the right-wingers; it is judgement and condemnation.
And I just want to SCREAM that that's not what it's supposed to be about!! So many religions in this world do fit some or all of those things. Many Christians turn our faith into many of the those things.
I don't see my faith in Jesus as a religion. It's not a dead thing to me. My faith is LIFE! It is what brings joy and salvation to my life, and hopefully to the people around me.
My faith is Jesus is a RELATIONSHIP, first and foremost. It is about joyful abandon and reckless love. It is about diving headfirst into the depths of God's love. It is about a love so deep and wide that Jesus sacrificed his own perfect life that I might live with him for eternity, so that I might have hope that this life is not all there is, that I might have joy in this life while I am here (despite the difficulties) and that I might live and abundant life in the things that truly matter. It is about sacrificing my own desires and wishes that I might be more like Christ and live in a way that shows that He is the one in control of my life. It is about the grace of God that allows me to overcome my own sinfulness and the influence of evil in my life that I might come to know God even more.
After all, if God could create the entire Universe, from the largest galaxy to the smallest electron, then surely He knows much better what to do with my life than I do.
Honestly, I hate the word. Particular in Western society, the word religion has connotations of rules, rote actions, and rites that don't really carry any real meaning. To most, Religion is something people often use as a weapon to beat the brows of people who disagree with their ideologies; it is people in suits knocking on your door; it is fire and brimstone; it is the right-wingers; it is judgement and condemnation.
And I just want to SCREAM that that's not what it's supposed to be about!! So many religions in this world do fit some or all of those things. Many Christians turn our faith into many of the those things.
I don't see my faith in Jesus as a religion. It's not a dead thing to me. My faith is LIFE! It is what brings joy and salvation to my life, and hopefully to the people around me.
My faith is Jesus is a RELATIONSHIP, first and foremost. It is about joyful abandon and reckless love. It is about diving headfirst into the depths of God's love. It is about a love so deep and wide that Jesus sacrificed his own perfect life that I might live with him for eternity, so that I might have hope that this life is not all there is, that I might have joy in this life while I am here (despite the difficulties) and that I might live and abundant life in the things that truly matter. It is about sacrificing my own desires and wishes that I might be more like Christ and live in a way that shows that He is the one in control of my life. It is about the grace of God that allows me to overcome my own sinfulness and the influence of evil in my life that I might come to know God even more.
After all, if God could create the entire Universe, from the largest galaxy to the smallest electron, then surely He knows much better what to do with my life than I do.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
A postcript to "Birth Control"
I realized that I didn't really clarify that the thoughts in my previous post are my opinions. I think there are very valid reasons for women to use hormonal birth control and I don't want to seem judgement towards those that do because I'm not that way.
It's up to each person to decide, with prayer, what the best option is for them. I do wish more women and couples would consider and seriously look into natural options more, though, and I wish that the word about it would get out more as well, so I just thought I would share my thoughts.
~M
It's up to each person to decide, with prayer, what the best option is for them. I do wish more women and couples would consider and seriously look into natural options more, though, and I wish that the word about it would get out more as well, so I just thought I would share my thoughts.
~M
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Birth Control
I posted this on another blog that I have, and thought I'd post it here. I think this is particularly valuable information for Christians!
.............................................................
Birth control has always been something in the back of my mind, but I knew I would never really had to answer the question for sure until my future husband and I discussed it prior to getting married.
I have researched it off and on for a couple years and I’ve learned about different methods of birth control. One that always fascinated me was the Fertility Awareness Method (also known as Natural Family Planning, but NFP is a little different). I know a few people who have used FAM for birth control and for pregnancy achievement as well. The more I looked into it, the more I realized that it was the way I want to go.
Now that Nathan and I are approaching engagement and I'm looking into wedding stuff, I am more and more sure that I do not want to use hormonal birth control (the Pill, Depo Provera shots, etc). I talked to Nathan about it, and he's totally supportive.
FAM is a scientifically-based method (unlike the Rhythm method, which is complete bunk - and also sometimes mistaken for FAM/NFP) that a lot of people use to try to conceive, but it is also highly effective (if used properly) as birth control. It (along with Natural Family Planning) gets a bad rap because of the failure rates don’t take into account user-failure. A lot of people don’t take the time to really understand how to use it, or they aren’t really trying all that hard to avoid.
Anyway, I got a book about FAM, Taking Charge of Your Fertility (TCOYF), and read up on it and started charting. It can seem complicated at first, but it's not really all that difficult once you get the hang of it. It’s not really any more difficult than remembering to take a pill every day!
Basically, I take my temperature every morning before I get out of bed and record it on a chart. There are a couple other things I take note of during the day and record as well. For most women there is a clear jump in temperature as hormones change, combined with other signs that my body gives me, that indicates when ovulation occurs. Another thing I really like about FAM is that I have become a lot more familiar with my body and my cycle. And for when Nathan and I get married, there are certain rules (based on how long sperm and eggs can survive) that we would use to determine when we'd need to use barrier methods of birth control.
As far as hormonal birth control is concerned, I have a few reason for not wanting to take it:
1. Moral – The abortion factor. I know it’s debatable as to whether the Pill actually causes abortions or not, but I’d rather not risk it. Most types of hormonal birth control work on a one to all of a few different levels. First, they prevent ovulation from occurring at all. Second, they thin the lining of the uterine wall, preventing any egg that might have been fertilized from implanting. There’s a third, but I don’t remember offhand what it is. I believe that life starts at conception, and that conception starts at fertilization. I am not at peace at all about taking the Pill for this reason.
2. Physical – I am already prone to health issues, so I don’t want to mess with my natural hormones and screw things up even more! Additionally, my mom never took hormonal birth control, and she never had issues with fertility. My aunt, on the other hand, did use hormonal birth control and she had fertility problems once she went off it, and she also battled breast cancer later on. My family has cancer tendencies, and I don’t want to add to the risk. Additionally, there is a history of various forms of depression in my family, and I know that hormonal birth control can affect women mentally as well. I just do not want to deal with the possible side effects.
3. Spiritual – The only reason I would even use birth control of any kind is because I don’t believe that it’s in God’s plan for us to start a family right away. There are other places that he is leading us at this point in time. However, once he leads us to start a family, with FAM, we’d be able to start trying right away! We wouldn’t have to deal with the residual effects of hormonal birth control and the possibility of miscarriage.
Here are some resources:
FAM info: www.tcoyf.com
Free online charting software (designed for women trying to conceive, but also useful combined with FAM birth control guidelines): www.fertilityfriend.com
I really believe that this is a beneficial and useful alternative, and I wish I knew more people who used it. I don't know anyone in my area who uses this method (although I'm sure there's SOMEONE!). And it's unfortunate that it gets a bad rap at times, or doesn't even get mentioned as an option!
.............................................................
Birth control has always been something in the back of my mind, but I knew I would never really had to answer the question for sure until my future husband and I discussed it prior to getting married.
I have researched it off and on for a couple years and I’ve learned about different methods of birth control. One that always fascinated me was the Fertility Awareness Method (also known as Natural Family Planning, but NFP is a little different). I know a few people who have used FAM for birth control and for pregnancy achievement as well. The more I looked into it, the more I realized that it was the way I want to go.
Now that Nathan and I are approaching engagement and I'm looking into wedding stuff, I am more and more sure that I do not want to use hormonal birth control (the Pill, Depo Provera shots, etc). I talked to Nathan about it, and he's totally supportive.
FAM is a scientifically-based method (unlike the Rhythm method, which is complete bunk - and also sometimes mistaken for FAM/NFP) that a lot of people use to try to conceive, but it is also highly effective (if used properly) as birth control. It (along with Natural Family Planning) gets a bad rap because of the failure rates don’t take into account user-failure. A lot of people don’t take the time to really understand how to use it, or they aren’t really trying all that hard to avoid.
Anyway, I got a book about FAM, Taking Charge of Your Fertility (TCOYF), and read up on it and started charting. It can seem complicated at first, but it's not really all that difficult once you get the hang of it. It’s not really any more difficult than remembering to take a pill every day!
Basically, I take my temperature every morning before I get out of bed and record it on a chart. There are a couple other things I take note of during the day and record as well. For most women there is a clear jump in temperature as hormones change, combined with other signs that my body gives me, that indicates when ovulation occurs. Another thing I really like about FAM is that I have become a lot more familiar with my body and my cycle. And for when Nathan and I get married, there are certain rules (based on how long sperm and eggs can survive) that we would use to determine when we'd need to use barrier methods of birth control.
As far as hormonal birth control is concerned, I have a few reason for not wanting to take it:
1. Moral – The abortion factor. I know it’s debatable as to whether the Pill actually causes abortions or not, but I’d rather not risk it. Most types of hormonal birth control work on a one to all of a few different levels. First, they prevent ovulation from occurring at all. Second, they thin the lining of the uterine wall, preventing any egg that might have been fertilized from implanting. There’s a third, but I don’t remember offhand what it is. I believe that life starts at conception, and that conception starts at fertilization. I am not at peace at all about taking the Pill for this reason.
2. Physical – I am already prone to health issues, so I don’t want to mess with my natural hormones and screw things up even more! Additionally, my mom never took hormonal birth control, and she never had issues with fertility. My aunt, on the other hand, did use hormonal birth control and she had fertility problems once she went off it, and she also battled breast cancer later on. My family has cancer tendencies, and I don’t want to add to the risk. Additionally, there is a history of various forms of depression in my family, and I know that hormonal birth control can affect women mentally as well. I just do not want to deal with the possible side effects.
3. Spiritual – The only reason I would even use birth control of any kind is because I don’t believe that it’s in God’s plan for us to start a family right away. There are other places that he is leading us at this point in time. However, once he leads us to start a family, with FAM, we’d be able to start trying right away! We wouldn’t have to deal with the residual effects of hormonal birth control and the possibility of miscarriage.
Here are some resources:
FAM info: www.tcoyf.com
Free online charting software (designed for women trying to conceive, but also useful combined with FAM birth control guidelines): www.fertilityfriend.com
I really believe that this is a beneficial and useful alternative, and I wish I knew more people who used it. I don't know anyone in my area who uses this method (although I'm sure there's SOMEONE!). And it's unfortunate that it gets a bad rap at times, or doesn't even get mentioned as an option!
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