Friday, September 4, 2020

Walking in the Good Works Prepared Beforehand for YOU... learning to let go and not say "yes" to everything


Sometimes it’s hard for me to walk in the good works that God has prepared beforehand for me to walk in. Not because I don’t want to do good things, but rather because I want to do too many good things... or I want to do someone else’s assigned “good works” because I honestly think I could do it better. I know how prideful that sounds, and it truly is just that! I’m not claiming that this is right thinking, but nevertheless, I’m embarrassed to say that it’s what I think sometimes.

I’m a “yes girl” (plus I’m single without a family), so I get asked to do a lot of things— things I enjoy, things I don’t want to do, things I don’t know anything about, things I could do with my eyes closed, things I invest almost my entire life into, things that only take up an evening... the list goes on. And when I’m assigned any sort of task, I take on that full responsibility, often carrying it with me much longer past the intended time. This is also pride, because it’s really a control issue. And for a long while, I thought it reasonable for me to think, feel, and behave this way because, well, “It only makes sense that I can’t trust the next person to do it like did it!”; “How could they possibly do it better?!”; “Besides, if I don’t do it, who will?” ...and other haughty sentiments.

What I didn’t realize is that my thoughts, words, and actions were actually communicating something MUCH more contemptuous than even the above confessions... what I really believed in my heart is that God isn’t reliable or powerful enough for me to entrust all of these “things” to Him. I didn’t believe that He would be able to carry out His sovereign plan without me.

Go ahead, read that again... you read it correctly the first time: I. Thought. I. Was. Better. Than. God.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t walking around with those exact words ringing in my head, but the explication of my arrogant thoughts is the exact same! And you know what? The enemy has been whispering these same lies since he slithered over to Eve in the Garden. Unfortunately, just like her, I fell for it and took the fruit. 

Through a continuous series of events in my life that the Lord has sovereignly ordained to draw me to the foot of the cross, He humbles me over and over again. He kindly directs my eyes to Christ, sends His Spirit of Truth coursing through every cell of my body, and tells me this:


I AM the Lord your God, there is none like Me.


I AM the Creator of all things. 


I AM the Sustainer of all things. 


I AM the sovereign Lord who is faithful to fulfill every promise I have made in My Word. 


I AM responsible for and fully capable of carrying out my plan. 


And I have chosen you...

...to be My own.

...to be a part of My plan.

...to be obedient.

...to walk in the good works I’ve prepared beforehand for YOU to do.

...to submit yourself to MY will.

...to carry out MY good pleasure.

...to serve in MY Kingdom.

 

Whoa!! Reality check! Much like Job was told to “gird up his loins” before the Lord God basically flattened him with Truth, I have come out on the other side raw, hurting, and frail... but strengthened by the arm of the Lord and humbled by His Word.

Sometimes, things still happen that threaten to jerk me back into the thinking that I am better... and my flesh relishes it. But Jesus has given me His Spirit, so I can be victorious in dying to myself and living for Him!

REJOICE WITH ME OVER THIS TRUTH!

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:10

Thursday, August 2, 2018

Please stop saying, “Your time will come!” ...and other annoying things that singles don't want to hear.


Married people have often told myself and other singles that we will not get married until we are content in our singleness. 

I would like to humbly submit that this is said in error. 

Let me explain... first, I do want to stress that contentment in Christ is absolutely paramount to having Jesus be Lord in your life and that every believer, regardless of his or her marital status, should be satisfied in Christ alone. Second, I also want to say that I do understand that when married folks share this “bit-o-wisdom” with us single women and men, I know that it is well-intended. 

BUT, if I may, I am suggesting to you that this statement (and viewpoint) actually facilitates a works-based mentality that is more harmful than helpful in most cases. The Spirit doesn’t require us to attain a certain state or “level” before He grants us with any spiritual gift. The “gift” of singleness described in Scripture is the same word— “charisma” —that is used elsewhere in Scripture in reference to the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, discernment, prophecy, marriage, etc. We can’t earn any of these gifts any more than we earn salvation. EVERY gift is all of grace. 

Moreover, none of us are told that we will be given all of these gifts! Right now, I (and others) have the “charisma” of singleness. Perhaps one day we will have the “charisma” of marriage... but perhaps not. It does us no service to hear, “your time will come,” or, “one day... you just wait!” when in fact, no one knows if that is at all in Abba’s good and sovereign will for our lives! Our hope cannot be placed in the possibility of a future marriage. 

We are single today because that is exactly what our Abba has apportioned to us today. 

I am only saying all of this as an encouragement to my married brothers and sisters who are trying to encourage us single brothers and sisters... let’s all direct each other’s eyes to be fixed on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, the One in whom our hope should lie. 

Some practical ways you can love and encourage the singles in your life:

-Pray for them regularly, and let them know that you do! (I hope that you do this for all of your friends- single and married alike!)

-Invite them into your home and include them in your families. 

-Men, if you’re able, offer to help single women with home repairs or other things that may be a bit more difficult for them to accomplish alone. 



-Lastly, when your single friend has a hard day and wants to “vent” about his/her singleness.... listen. The pain and emotions that are at times associated with singleness are real. Share your own stories of wrestling with your current life circumstances if you’d like! But always end by pointing his/her eyes to Christ for satisfaction.

Oh, and in case you're wondering, that photo is of myself in 1 of 12... that's right, 12... bridesmaid dresses I own ;)

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Have you prayed about it as much as you’ve talked about it?



I like answers. And I like them to be quick answers. Because of this, I often go to my friends, mentors, or family to talk through things because I KNOW they'll answer me right there on the spot. Not that it's a bad thing to talk to those you love and trust about things, I totally am an external processor, but my fear of God not responding how or when I want Him to is what has kept me from running to Him first with everything. 

He's been speaking to me about this a lot lately. Did you catch that? He's been SPEAKING to me about this. Abba is not silent! The problem is that we are too busy to sit in silence to listen to Him. 

It takes time. 

It takes quiet. 

It's uncomfortable. 

Think of it this way- when you're at a nice restaurant, you are presented with different courses throughout the meal. Each one comes at the right time, when you're ready for it, and you drive away from that place feeling full and content (strictly speaking in relation to food here haha). 

What happens when you go through the drive-thru somewhere? Sure, you're given some quick food, but [usually] you are driving away from that place with your food and your hunger is still not satisfied until you get home and are able to tuck in to that meal (which is usually not that good for you anyway haha).

What would happen if we began treating our time with Abba like that of dining at a fine restaurant? Enjoying His company, waiting on each course... rather than seeking fast-food answers from other people? 

I'm just guessing here, but I THINK we would be a whole lot more satisfied! 

Friends, our Creator, our Savior, our Confidant... He WANTS to spend time with us. And you know what? We make time for who we want to spend time with.

No excuses. 

Do me a favor, would you? The next time I come to you asking for advice, wisdom, or even just a listening ear... would you serve me well by first asking if I've talked to Abba? I already love you more for saying "yes!" ☺️

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Acres of Hope: Singleness and the Hope of what's to come



I talked with a friend last night about how we are both single and would prefer not to be. We spoke of the difficulties we experience watching others whom we love be swept off their feet and carried away by these incredible men of God. We spoke of how lonely it can feel. How it can cause us to ask the "why?" question a lot.

But what we ended on wasn't frustration. In fact, we spoke quite a bit of how Jesus has swept us off our feet, and how He continues to pursue us, and how because we are not distracted with husbands and children, we are able to focus our attention on our intimacy with Him in the way that Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 7. And you know what? It's been a slow, hard lesson to learn, but I've finally come to the point of thanking Abba for all of my single years. Now, that doesn't mean that my desire for a husband is gone. But what it does mean is that one simple yet profound Truth has surfaced in my heart that I've always tried to stuff down and all of a sudden these past several years make sense to me now...

If Abba had given me a husband when I asked Him to, I would have made him my god. 

At first, that reality came like a strong blow to my chest. "Me? Make someone else a god? Never! God, You know me! You know I love You more than anything!"

I raged.

It took some time, but somewhere along the way, when I finally shut up and let Him allure me into the wilderness and speak tenderly to me, I heard His sweet, soft, True, non-condemning voice... 
"Yes. I DO know you. And I know you perfectly. Better than you know yourself. Can't you see that I've gifted you with this time? Can't you see how I've lavished My love on you, how I've never stopped pursuing your heart to make it more like Mine, how I caused My Spirit to make you yearn for Me? Can't you see how without this time, you would have never learned to love Me above all else? I love you. And you know that well. And you trust Me. Because we've spent all this time together."

Oh, He's right. He's right! I would have so quickly put my trust in a husband. I would have worshipped him as my redeemer from my single years. As my first love. As my lord.

There was much repentance, but it was followed with much grace.

If and when Abba does choose to gift me with a husband, I now know Who my first love really is. I know Who my Redeemer is. I know Who my Lord is. And I know that because of His Spirit, I can trust that He will carry out to completion the good work He has started in me.

I do not write all this to say that I am rid of my desires and totally 110% captivated by Jesus and I'll never cry again when another friend gets engaged. No, I will still struggle. And I will still need my friends to remind me of Truth and to point me back to Jesus as my Hope, not the possibility of a future husband.

But the difference is that stillness in my heart. It's that realization that I truly am fully known. And that the motto I preach to myself every day is true...

Jesus is better. 



Saturday, December 31, 2016

2016: A Year of God's Favor


2016 has been quite the whirlwind of a year for me! This time last year, I was in Kansas City, Missouri visiting my Williams family when Abba started speaking to me through His Word in the story of Abraham. When God promised Abraham that he would be the father of nations, it was 25 years before He fulfilled that promise by giving Abraham his son, Isaac. What patience and faith Abraham had! (Although he did make a few wrong turns... good thing he's not the one in control ;)

I turned 25 this year.

As I communed with Jesus after studying His Word that night, I felt like the Lord was telling me that this would be the year that He would fulfill some of His promises to me. I had no idea which promises they would be, (although I did have hopes), but I knew that He had spoken and I knew that I could trust Him. The journey that soon began after this sweet time with Jesus is one that I truly will never forget.

This year, God has blessed me with my dream job of being on staff at a crisis pregnancy center that enables me to actively fight for the lives of the unborn while caring for their mothers and lead women who have experienced the pain and trauma of abortion to the healing hands of Jesus.

He moved me back down to the Columbia area, which is where all of my family lives.

He reconciled, through the power of His Holy Spirit, several of my relationships with family members that I've been praying about for years. Praise Yahweh!

He lead me to Three Rivers Baptist Church, where I have already been able to grow in my love and knowledge of my precious Savior, as well as form several new friendships in the body of Christ.

He gifted me with a house to call my own, and I'm praying that He will be glorified in it!

He allowed me to be accepted at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a desire I've always had, and I will begin online courses in the spring to pursue my Masters in Theological Studies.

All of the joyous things that you just read about were coupled with some heavy heartaches along the way, but looking back I can see His hand in it all along. I found myself questioning God on several occasions because everything seemed to just be in chaos and confusion. I doubted my ability to actually hear my sweet Jesus.

I yelled, I begged, I wept.

But when I stilled myself before the Father, He assured me of His sovereignty and His grace.

He comforted, He directed, He fulfilled.

Friends, Abba gives good gifts. Even when they don't make sense or they don't seem like what you want. They're always good.

I am so thankful for a Savior who continues to pursue me, teach me, grow me, love me. All I'm praying for 2017 is that He does more of that--- and the beauty of it is that I can rest in the promise of Philippians 1:6, knowing that He has already answered my prayer!
"He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus."

And you know what? I'm praying the same for you! And for those of you whom He has not begun a work in, I'm praying for this to be the year of your salvation.

2017, let's see what you've got! Whatever it is, it'll all be worked out for God's glory and my good (Rom. 8:28).

Soli Deo gloria!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Shattered Time- 2014


Well, 2014 has been quite the journey for me. I took a break from blogging to focus on what all the Lord was teaching me, but now I am ready to share that with whoever wishes to read.

First and foremost, Abba wanted me to learn to love His heart. This is not something that He showed me how to do all at one time, nor is it something that I have "mastered." But over this past year, I believe that I have seen more of Jesus' heart than I have ever seen before, which was crucial for Him to teach me anything else this year because I needed to let go of the desire to be able to explain everything logically and grab hold of the comfort that I can't, nor should I desire to, lest I think myself like Eve with the desire to know all as God does.

I learned to ask Him the simplest of questions instead of reading a theological book to answer them for me. One way that the Lord taught me to do this was when I began nannying the most precious 1 year old little girl and 3 year old little boy. At the adventurous age of 3, you can imagine that this little boy has had LOTS of questions for me about all kinds of things, ranging from "why do I have to brush my teeth?" to "what happens when people die?" When he started asking me questions about Jesus, life, and heaven that I did not know how to answer without using big theological terminology, my heart was broken. I thought, "If I can't explain the Gospel to a 3 year old, then what good am I?!" I was forced back onto the lap of my Abba, asking Him the same questions that this little boy was asking me, to hear what HE had to say about them. Sitting in the arms of my Daddy, hearing Him declare over me the simplest yet most profound Truth that He loves me and truly wants what is best for me, so much so that He sent Jesus to die in my place so that He could have a relationship with me, humbled me in such a way that I have never experienced before.

The stained glass of proper doctrine was shattered as Jesus crashed through it with open arms... for ME! Me. How can that be true? How can it be that the perfect God-Man could even stand to be around me with all of my sin, because clearly I am not perfect! This concept was, and still is to some extent, so puzzling for me. It's actually quite funny how the Father used the movie Interstellar to make this Truth come alive in my heart (side note, if you haven't seen it, go see it right now! I promise I won't spoil it for you in what I am about to say). Time is a big theme in Interstellar, and after watching it I was so curious about the concept of time. We measure everything in some form of time, whether it is actual minutes, hours, and days, or how many times you have to fail at something before you succeed. Either way, the basic principle of measuring in time is that it is always moving forward; we can never go backward, never stand still, and never jump ahead.

So how did time start? Going back to the beginning, where Scripture tells us that I AM was before time even began (Ps. 90:2), God created the heavens and the earth and established time for us humans. He created the sun, moon, and stars, by which we measure our days. He created a space-time continuum that we can barely understand, which makes it an even greater mystery how God transcends that continuum (Ps. 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8)! But oh, am I glad that He does transcend time, for that very fact is what allows His patience with my sinful heart. Because Jesus is God, He is eternal. This eternal aspect of Christ is what made His sacrifice on the cross efficient for the atonement for the sins of His people, because His blood covered the past, present, and future sins! But not just that, when He rose from the dead and defeated darkness, reigning in righteousness, that same righteousness that has now been given to me also transcends time! So, outside of this world, where I measure everything in time, I am also eternally positionally righteous before the Father. WHAT in the world?! Even though now during my "time" I am sinning, outside of time that sin does not exist anymore because it's been paid for, so the God of all the universe who cannot be in the presence of sin and who transcends time, ENTERS IN to my time in life and is still walking with me, has still given me the Helper, that is His Spirit, who stays with me at all times. Why? Because He cares. It is as simple as that. 

The concept of time had to exist here on earth in order for God to transcend it so that He could still be present with us in our sin. 
If that doesn't blow your mind, then I don't know what will!

This very real Truth is not meant to be interpreted as an excuse for abusing grace. Jesus still calls us to strive for holiness and has even given us the Spirit so that we can do that, as He is transforming us to be more like Christ. Although time does not affect God, He has designed it to where time does affect us... that is why over time, wounds are healed; over time, we change; over time, we become more like Jesus. So with my time, I want to do more than just the normal day-to-day. The child inside of me has been awakened, and she wants to GO! Where? I have no idea. But I know that with the little time God has designed for me to be here on earth, I don't want to waste it, especially when there are people who have never had someone step into their time and love them in the name of Jesus.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." Ecclesiastes 3:11


Image credits belong to this site.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Birth control: an abortifacient

Let me begin by stating that I am well aware of the fact that this will not be a post that many will agree with. And let me follow that up with stating that I am in FULL agreement with everything that the below article, written by Randy Alcorn, states.

Many of my friends have gotten married over the past year, and I have several more who are preparing for their marriages now. Birth control became a hot topic among friends- "Which one is the most effective?", "How much does it cost?", and "When should I begin taking it?" were all popular questions. Because this is not something that I had ever needed to think about before, I decided to do some research. The below article is one that I feel adequately sums up all of my research and clearly states that birth control is an abortifacient.




Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?: A Short Condensation

Please note that this condensation is from an older version of Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?. Go to the book page to read the complete text of the updated 10th edition, published December 2011.

Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions?
“The Pill” is the popular term for more than forty different commercially available oral contraceptives. In medicine, they are commonly referred to as BCPs (birth control pills) or OCs (oral contraceptives). They are also called “Combination Pills,” because they contain a combination of estrogen and progestin.
The Pill is used by about fourteen million American women each year. Across the globe it is used by about sixty million. The question of whether it causes abortions has direct bearing on untold millions of Christians, many of them prolife, who use and recommend it.
In 1991, while researching the original edition of my book, ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments, I heard someone suggest that birth control pills can cause abortions. This was brand new to me; in all my years as a pastor and a prolifer, I had never heard it before. I was immediately skeptical.
My vested interests were strong in that Nanci and I used the Pill in the early years of our marriage, as did many of our prolife friends. Why not? We believed it simply prevented conception. We never suspected it had any potential for abortion. No one told us this was even a possibility. I confess I never read the fine print of the Pill’s package insert, nor am I sure I would have understood it even if I had.
In fourteen years as a pastor I did considerable premarital counseling, I always warned couples against the IUD because I’d read it could cause early abortions. I typically recommended young couples use the Pill because of its relative ease and effectiveness.
At the time I was researching ProLife Answers, I found only one person who could point me toward any documentation that connected the Pill and abortion. She told me of just one primary source that supported this belief and I found only one other. Still, these two sources were sufficient to compel me to include this warning in the book:
Some forms of contraception, specifically the intrauterine device (IUD), Norplant, and certain low-dose oral contraceptives, often do not prevent conception but prevent implantation of an already fertilized ovum. The result is an early abortion, the killing of an already conceived individual. Tragically, many women are not told this by their physicians, and therefore do not make an informed choice about which contraceptive to use.”[1]
As it turns out, I made a critical error. At the time, I incorrectly believed that “low-dose” birth control pills were the exception, not the rule. I thought most people who took the Pill were in no danger of having abortions. What I’ve found in more recent research is that since 1988 virtually all oral contraceptives used in America are low-dose, that is, they contain much lower levels of estrogen than the earlier birth control pills.
The standard amount of estrogen in the birth control pills of the 1960s and early ‘70s was 150 micrograms.
After the Pill had been on the market fifteen years, many serious negative side effects of estrogen had been clearly proven. These included blurred vision, nausea, cramping, irregular menstrual bleeding, headaches, increased incidence of breast cancer, strokes, and heart attacks, some of which led to fatalities.[2]
In response to these concerns, beginning in the mid-seventies, manufacturers of the Pill steadily decreased the content of estrogen and progestin in their products. The average dosage of estrogen in the Pill declined from 150 micrograms in 1960 to 35 micrograms in 1988. These facts are directly stated in an advertisement by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation in Hippocrates magazine.[3]
babyPharmacists for Life confirms: “As of October 1988, the newer lower dosage birth control pills are the only type available in the U.S., by mutual agreement of the Food and Drug Administration and the three major Pill manufacturers.”[4]
What is now considered a “high dose” of estrogen is 50 micrograms, which is in fact a very low dose in comparison to the 150 micrograms once standard for the Pill. The “low-dose” pills of today are mostly 20-35 micrograms. As far as I can tell, there are no birth control pills available today that have more than 50 micrograms of estrogen. An M.D. wrote to inform me that she had researched many pills by name and could confirm my findings. If such pills exist at all, they are certainly rare.
Not only was I wrong in thinking low-dose contraceptives were the exception rather than the rule, I didn’t realize there was considerable documented medical information linking birth control pills and abortion. The evidence was there, I just didn’t probe deeply enough to find it. Still more evidence has surfaced in subsequent years. I have presented this evidence in detail in my 115-page bookDoes the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? I will now summarize that research.
The Physician’s Desk Reference (PDR)
The Physician’s Desk Reference is the most frequently used reference book by physicians in America. The PDR, as it’s often called, lists and explains the effects, benefits, and risks of every medical product that can be legally prescribed. The Food and Drug Administration requires that each manufacturer provide accurate information on its products, based on scientific research and laboratory tests.
As you read the following, keep in mind that the term “implantation,” by definition,always involves an already conceived human being. Therefore, any agent which serves to prevent implantation functions as an abortifacient.
This is the PDR’s product information for Ortho-Cept, as listed by Ortho, one of the largest manufacturers of the Pill:
Combination oral contraceptives act by suppression of gonadotropins. Although the primary mechanism of this action is inhibition of ovulation, other alterations include changes in the cervical mucus, which increase the difficulty of sperm entry into the uterus, and changes in the endometrium which reduce the likelihood of implantation.[5]
The FDA-required research information on the birth control pills Ortho-Cyclen and Ortho Tri-Cyclen also state that they cause “changes in...the endometrium (which reduce the likelihood of implantation).”[6]
Notice that these changes in the endometrium, and their reduction in the likelihood of implantation, are not stated by the manufacturer as speculative or theoretical effects, but as actual ones. They consider this such a well-established fact that it requires no statement of qualification.
Similarly, as I document in my book, Syntex and Wyeth, the other two major pill-manufacturers, say essentially the same thing about their oral contraceptives.
The inserts packaged with birth control pills are condensed versions of longer research papers detailing the Pill’s effects, mechanisms, and risks. Near the end, the insert typically says something like the following, which is taken directly from the Desogen pill insert:
If you want more information about birth control pills, ask your doctor, clinic or pharmacist. They have a more technical leaflet called the Professional Labeling, which you may wish to read. The Professional Labeling is also published in a book entitled Physician’s Desk Reference, available in many bookstores and public libraries.
Of the half dozen birth control pill package inserts I’ve read, only one included the information about the Pill’s abortive mechanism. This was a package insert dated July 12, 1994, found in the oral contraceptive Demulen, manufactured by Searle. Yet this abortive mechanism was referred to in all cases in the FDA-required manufacturer’s Professional Labeling, as documented in The Physician’s Desk Reference.
In summary, according to multiple references throughout The Physician’s Desk Reference, which articulate the research findings of all the birth control pill manufacturers, there are not one but three mechanisms of birth control pills:
1.      inhibiting ovulation (the primary mechanism),
2.      thickening the cervical mucus, thereby making it more difficult for sperm to travel to the egg, and
3.      thinning and shriveling the lining of the uterus to the point that it is unable or less able to facilitate the implantation of the newly fertilized egg.
The first two mechanisms are contraceptive. The third is abortive.
When a woman taking the Pill discovers she is pregnant (according to The Physician’s Desk Reference’s efficacy rate tables, this is 3 percent of pill-takerseach year), it means that all three of these mechanisms have failed. The third mechanism sometimes fails in its role as backup, just as the first and second mechanisms sometimes fail. Each and every time the third mechanism succeeds, however, it causes an abortion.
Medical Journals and Textbooks
In an article in the research journal Contraception, Drs. Chowdhury, Joshi and associates state, “The data suggests that though missing of the low-dose combination pills may result in ‘escape’ ovulation in some women, however, the pharmacological effects of pills on the endometrium and cervical mucus may continue to provide them contraceptive protection.”[7]
Note in some citations “contraceptive” is used to refer to an agent which in fact prevents the implantation of an already conceived child. Those who believe each human life begins at conception would see this function not as a contraceptive, but an abortifacient.
Reproductive endocrinologists have demonstrated that Pill-induced changes cause the endometrium to appear “hostile” or “poorly receptive” to implantation.[8] Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) reveals that the endometrial lining of Pill users is consistently thinner than that of nonusers[9]—up to 58 percent thinner.[10] Recent and fairly sophisticated ultrasound studies[11] have all concluded that endometrial thickness is related to the “functional receptivity” of the endometrium. Others have shown that when the lining of the uterus becomes too thin, implantation of the pre-born child (called the blastocyst or pre-embryo at this stage) does not occur.[12]
The minimal endometrial thickness required to maintain a pregnancy ranges from 5 to 13mm,[13] whereas the average endometrial thickness in women on the Pill is only 1.1 mm.[14] These data lend credence to the FDA-approved statement that “changes in the endometrium reduce the likelihood of implantation.”[15]
Dr. Kristine Severyn says:
The third effect of combined oral contraceptives is to alter the endometrium in such a way that implantation of the fertilized egg (new life) is made more difficult, if not impossible. In effect, the endometrium becomes atrophic and unable to support implantation of the fertilized egg.... The alteration of the endometrium, making it hostile to implantation by the fertilized egg, provides a backup abortifacient method to prevent pregnancy.[16]
Researchers have repeatedly and consistently pointed out this abortifacient effect of the Pill. To date, no published studies have refuted these findings.
Dr. Walter Larimore is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine who has written over 150 medical articles in a wide variety of journals. In two major medical journal articles, he has addressed the issue of the Pill’s capacity to cause early abortions.[17] In 2000 Dr. Larimore and I coauthored a chapter on this subject in The Reproduction Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality, Reproductive Technologies and the Family.[18] In the same chapter, four Christian physicians present their belief that the Pill does not result in early abortions. We respectfully suggest that their case is not based solidly on the medical evidence. (In February 2001 Dr. Larimore was brought on the staff of Focus on the Family, as a broadcaster and “an ambassador to the public on medical ethics, procedures and practices.”)
What Does This Mean?
As a woman’s menstrual cycle progresses, her endometrium gradually gets richer and thicker in preparation for the arrival and implantation of any newly conceived child. In a natural cycle, unimpeded by the Pill, the endometrium experiences an increase of blood vessels, which allow a greater blood supply to bring oxygen and nutrients to the child. There is also an increase in the endometrium’s stores of glycogen, a sugar that serves as a food source for the blastocyst (child) as soon as he or she implants.
The Pill keeps the woman’s body from creating the most hospitable environment for a child, resulting instead in an endometrium that is deficient in both food (glycogen) and oxygen. The child may die because he lacks this nutrition and oxygen.
Typically, the new person attempts to implant at six days after conception. If implantation is unsuccessful, the child is flushed out of the womb in a miscarriage. When the miscarriage is the result of an environment created by a foreign device or chemical, it is in fact an abortion. This is true even if the mother does not intend it, and is not aware of it happening.
Despite all the research, including much more presented in my full booklet, there are those who insist that these contentions are incorrect and should not be taken at face value by those concerned about early abortions. In the case of the Pill manufacturers, those who say their FDA-approved assertions are false should, in my opinion, prevail upon the FDA to change their statements, and not simply ask people to disregard them.
Confirming Evidence
When the Pill thins the endometrium, it seems self-evident a zygote attempting to implant has a smaller likelihood of survival. A woman taking the Pill puts any conceived child at greater risk of being aborted than if the Pill were not being taken.
Some argue that this evidence is indirect and theoretical. But we must ask, if this is a theory, how strong and credible is the theory? If the evidence is only indirect, how compelling is that indirect evidence? Once it was only a theory that plant life grows better in rich, fertile soil than in thin, eroded soil. But it was certainly a theory good farmers believed and acted on.
Some physicians have theorized that when ovulation occurs in Pill-takers, the subsequent hormone production “turns on” the endometrium, causing it to become receptive to implantation.[19] However, there is no direct evidence to support this theory, and there is at least some evidence against it. First, after a woman stops taking the Pill, it usually takes several cycles for her menstrual flow to increase to the volume of women who are not on the Pill. This suggests to most objective researchers that the endometrium is slow to recover from its Pill-induced thinning.[20] Second, the one study that has looked at women who have ovulated on the Pill showed that after ovulation the endometrium is not receptive to implantation.[21]
Arguments Against the Pill Causing Abortion
I have received a number of letters from readers, one of them a physician, who say something like this: “My sister got pregnant while taking the Pill. This is proof that you are wrong in saying that the Pill causes abortions—obviously it couldn’t have, since she had her baby!”
Without a doubt, the Pill’s effects on the endometrium do not always make implantation impossible. I have never heard anyone claim that they do. To be an abortifacient does not require that something always cause an abortion, only that it sometimes does.
Whether it’s RU-486, Norplant, Depo-Provera, the morning after pill, the Mini-pill, or the Pill, there is no chemical that always causes an abortion. There are only those that do so never, sometimes, often, and usually.
Children who play on the freeway, climb on the roof, or are left alone by swimming pools don’t always die, but this does not prove these practices are safe and never result in fatalities. We would immediately see this inconsistency of anyone who argued in favor of leaving children alone by swimming pools because they know of cases where this has been done without harm to the children. The point that the Pill doesn’t always prevent implantation is certainly true, but has no bearing on the question of whether it sometimes prevents implantation, which the data clearly suggests.
People also often argue, “The blastocyst is perfectly capable of implanting in various ‘hostile’ sites, e.g., the fallopian tube, the ovary, the peritoneum.”
Their point is that the child sometimes implants in the wrong place. This is undeniably true. But again, the only relevant question is whether the Pill sometimes hinders the child’s ability to implant in the right place.
Imagine a farmer who has two places where he might plant seed. One is rich, brown soil that has been tilled, fertilized, and watered. The other is on hard, thin, dry, and rocky soil. If the farmer wants as much seed as possible to take hold and grow, where will he plant the seed? The answer is obvious--on the fertile ground.
Now, you could say to the farmer that his preference for the rich, tilled, moist soil is based on theoretical assumptions because he has probably never seen a scientific study that proves this soil is more hospitable to seed than the thin, hard, dry soil. Likely, such a study has never been done. In other words, there is no absolute proof.
But the farmer would likely reply, based on years of observation, “I know good soil when I see it. Sure, I’ve seen some plants grow in the hard, thin soil too, but the chances of survival are much less there than in the good soil. Call it theoretical if you want to, but we all know it’s true!”
Some newly conceived children manage to survive temporarily in hostile places. But this in no way changes the obvious fact that many more children will survive in a richer, thicker, more hospitable endometrium than in a thinner, more inhospitable one.
(In other publications and in a much more detailed fashion, we have discussed these and other lines of evidence, with hundreds of citations of many scientific studies, as well as researchers and experts in numerous fields. We encourage interested readers to look more deeply into these studies and arguments. [22])
Despite this evidence, some prolife physicians state that the likelihood of the Pill having an abortifacient effect is “infinitesimally low, or nonexistent.”[23] Though I would very much like to believe this, the scientific evidence does not permit me to do so.
Dr. Walt Larimore has told me that whenever he has presented this evidence to audiences of secular physicians, there has been little or no resistance to it. But when he has presented it to Christian physicians there has been substantial resistance. Since secular physicians do not care whether the Pill prevents implantation, they tend to be objective in interpreting the evidence. After all, they have little or nothing at stake either way. Christian physicians, however, very much do not want to believe the Pill causes early abortions. Therefore, I believe, they tend to resist the evidence. This is certainly understandable. Nonetheless, we should not permit what we want to believe to distract us from what the evidence indicates we should believe.
I have mentioned my own vested interests in the Pill that at first made me resist the evidence suggesting it could cause abortions. Dr. Larimore came to this issue with even greater vested interests in believing the best about the birth control pill, having prescribed it for years. When he researched it intensively over an eighteen-month period, in what he described to me as a “gut wrenching” process that involved sleepless nights, he came to the conclusion that in good conscience he could no longer prescribe hormonal contraceptives, including the Pill, the Minipill, Depo-Provera, and Norplant.
ProLife Answers to ProChoice ArgumentsConclusion
The Pill is used by about fourteen million American women each year and sixty million women internationally. Thus, even an infinitesimally low portion (say one-hundredth of one percent) of 780 million Pill cycles per year globally could represent tens of thousands of unborn children lost to this form of chemical abortion annually. How many young lives have to be jeopardized for prolife believers to question the ethics of using the Pill? This is an issue with profound moral implications for those believing we are called to protect the lives of children.
This article is a very abridged version of one that appears in Appendix E of Randy Alcorn’s book, ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments and has been reprinted with permission. While the basic argument is stated here, much of the documented evidence has been left out due to space constrictions. An even more thorough treatment (with 139 footnotes) of this subject can be found in Randy Alcorn’s 197 page book, Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? For more information, see http://www.epm.org/ or contact EPM at info@epm.org or 503-668-5200
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This is the very reason that even when I am married, I will not use any form of chemical birth control. Some may call that extreme, but I am not willing to play "Russian roulette" with my baby, never knowing if I caused my body to abort my child or not. Life or death is not an issue to consider lightly. My goal with this post is simply to get the word out about what the birth control pill actually does, praying that as more women learn about this truth, they will choose to say "no" to the pill.

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