Caution: This will make you mad

One of my friends commented on this blog on Facebook, which in turn gave me the ability to view it:

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/08/14/woman-20-weeks-pregnant-with-twins-has-abortion-last-week/

I was absolutely outraged after reading this post.  The last line upset me the most, and please allow me to explain.  The writer leaves us with this question:
WHERE IS THE CHURCH??
Let me tell you where the church is, we are out bickering about money and buildings and who is being recognized from the platform, or who is filling the pulpit!  We are spending our weeks talking about ministry and not DOING ministry!  I am just as guilty as the next person!

Let me tell you a little bit about my thoughts on abortion.  I hate it.  It is out right murder.  A baby's heart begins beating at 5 weeks after conception.  Ohio has a Viability Law, meaning that if a baby can live outside of the womb, then an abortion cannot be performed.  However, the viability testing is only performed after 19 weeks gestation.  So, an abortion doctor is the one who decides if his woman in front of him asking for an abortion has a baby inside of her that is viable.  Other states have looser laws with abortions.

What have we lost with abortion?  So much.  Maybe one of the following will appeal to you.  Christians should, no NEED, to take a stand against this genocide.  Perhaps teen pregnancies would decrease, perhaps people would be safer when it came to sex, perhaps we have aborted the cure for cancer, the cure for AIDS, the next human rights activist, the next gay rights activist, the next Mother Theresa, the next great political figure, the next great substance abuse counselor, the leader of the Democratic party, the leader of the Republican party, the list can go on and on!  We have carelessly allowed for this to go on long enough!  Why care about unwanted pregnancy when you can go on without consequences?  Did you have unprotected sex last night?  No problem!  Take this pill and we will get you on your way!  Have you decided that you want to travel the world or take that big office job?  Sweet, let's get your abortion scheduled for next Tuesday and you can bring in a travel brochure to look at while you wait!

My first blog was about showing people we are Christians by our love, and believe me, I still mean it.  What better way to show a love for all of God's creation than to stand up for those who can't speak for themselves?  If you know my husband and myself personally, you know we have a love for children, all children.  I remember thinking the night of finding out about my second pregnancy, laying in bed awake, feeling the cramping and pain that if God would just allow me to give birth to a healthy baby, I would take the pain everyday.  The cramping and pain was my body miscarrying our second child.

We have spent time perfecting the art of abortion, why haven't we focused our medical efforts on uterus donations?  If you don't want your child, I know many, many women who would gladly take not only the baby but the morning sickness, the swelling of your body, and all of the "unwanted" aspects of pregnancy.  When abortions occur, why don't we just tie tubes also?  Oh, because maybe the mother will want a baby when it's convenient for her, and we certainly wouldn't want to take away her right to have a baby when convenience comes around.

Maybe this isn't your calling, but you should know where you stand.  I hope this will give you something to think about, who are we killing with abortion? Really, it's ourselves.

Family Ancestry

Recently I have started a project for a diversity class for my major.  I am finding the second assignment to be very interesting, to write about my family culture and heritage.  It has really turned a few wheels in my head!  I started at the basics, getting family tree information from those family members that I know have been researching.  I found interesting facts like that my family in Japan owned a large tea company and my grandmother hid in a cave in Tokyo during the bombings.  I also learned that my maternal grandmother's family is Pennsylvania Dutch, which is not really Dutch at all, but German.  I encourage everyone to check out things like this for their own family.  I was never interested until I was forced to research it for school, but now I feel a deeper desire to connect to my ancestors.

This made me start wondering about my children, and how I will talk to them about their heritage.  Ben and I have not been able to have biological kids, but will be blessed to one day adopt kids, no matter if we have bio kids or not.  We have talked about how we will tell them they are adopted and when, but now I have been curious about this piece of their lives.  I grew up knowing I was a quarter Japanese and love it, and always thought that I would talk to my kids about their heritage from the time they were young, teaching them the culture and how to make the foods and feeling that connection.

I guess this is a piece of what you miss when you can't or don't have biological children, but I have decided to still pass this onto my kids.  Whether by blood or by love, they are still a part of me.  I would love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this, or other adoptive families experiences!