Life Is a Gift

hmmmm, biology reveals a lot

So, I only have a few minutes so I’m only going to leave a couple thoughts to get you thinking.  Basically, the child in the womb can be hurt so easily by bad habits.  Maternal malnutrition can cause schizophrenia and intrauterine growth restriction, which is where the baby will not grow to the proper level.   Smoking causes women to have a greater incidence of stillborns, miscarriages, pre-term babies, and tubal pregnancies.  Mothers who smoke during the pregnancy often lose their baby to sudden infant death syndrome since the breathing center in the baby’s brain is not fully developed, so the baby forgets to breathe.  Still, the guy doesn’t get off the hook either, even he doesn’t smoke anywhere near the woman.  The man will have a decreased amount of vitamin C which will cause DNA damage to his sperm.  This will in turn cause babies to intrauterine growth restriction, hydrocephalus (water on the brain) and Bell’s Palsy.  Obviously alcohol has extremely negative effects.  I’m not going to go into details, but women drinking during pregnancy is the #1 cause of retardation in the United States.  Use of cocaine causes bleeding in the brain and wholes in the brains of babies.  So, mothers and fathers, take care of yourself.  Keep yourself healthy so your baby can be healthy.

For Young Mothers

I have a few words of encouragement from John Paul the Great to give to all young mothers.  I know it must difficult, but God will see you through.  Keep Mary as a model, she went through this, cling to your heavenly mother in this time.

 John Paul the Great: “This woman of faith, Mary of Nazareth, the mother of God, has been given to us as a model in our pilgrimage of faith.  From Mary, we learn to surrender to God’s will in all things.”

Words From Psalms

I was reading my Bible over Christmas break when I came across a verse in the book of Psalms that struck me.  (I love the book of Psalms, so I’m always reading that part of the Bible)  These verses really speak about the value of the child in the womb and the bearing of those children.

 ”Lo, sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of th womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth.  Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them!  He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” ~ Psalms 127: 3-5

Abortion Statistics

I found a bunch of abortion stats.  Read them to see the truth.  Either go to my ‘Reality Check’ page or click here: http://lifeisagift.wordpress.com/realitycheck

Spiritual Adoption

I recently spiritually adopted an unborn child. I encourage everyone to do the same. All you have to do is say a small prayer each day for a child in danger of abortion. Here’s a bit of background info + the prayer:

“To help stop the anti-life push in the world the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen encouraged the spiritual adoption of an unborn child. This is done by praying that one particular but unknown child’s life be spared abortion and be allowed to continue to live.

To help accomplish this, it was recommended, an individual say the following daily prayer for a period of one year.

‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion.’

During your earthly life this spiritually adopted child of yours will be known only to God but in the world to come it is hoped that you will meet the child whose life was spared by your prayers and spend eternal happiness with them.”

~Don’t forget to name your child!! (;

The Journey in the Womb

The journey in the womb is so beautiful, intricately woven by God.  Take a look at the growth you went through in your mother’s womb… 

“At no time in your life does more growth and change occur than in the first nine months before birth.  Here are the amazing milestones of that time in your life:

1st Day: Conception: Of the 200,000,000 sperm that try to penetrate the mother’s egg cell, only once succeeds.  At that very moment, a new and unique individual is formed.  All of the inherited features of this new person are already set – whether it’s a boy of girl, the color of the eyes, the color of the hair, the dimples of hte cheeks and the cleft of the chin.     Size of baby: → .005 in.

18-20 Days: The foundations of the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system are laid.     Size of baby: → .008 in.

21 Days: The heart begins to beat, unsurely at first, gaining strength day by day.  The heart beats 70 times per minute at first, reaching a maximum of 170-190 at seven weeks, and slowing a bit to 160-180 at 9 weeks.  A day later the eyes begin to develop.  The earliest stages of the ears are now present.

42 Days: The brain is now divided into 3 parts – one to experience emotion and understand language, one for hearing and one for seeing.  Joints begin to form.  Mother now misses her second period.

44 Days: Facial muscles develop.  Eyelids begin to form, protecting the developing eyes.  Elbows take shape.  Internal organs are present, but immature.  99% of muscles are present; each with its own nerve supply.  Electrical activity is detectable in the brain.

7 Weeks: Spontaneous movement begins.  The baby begins to develop a whole collection of moves over 4 weeks including hiccupping, frowning, squinting, furrowing the brow, pursing the lips, moving individual arms and legs, head turning, touching the face, breathing (without air), stretching, opening the mouth, yawning, and sucking.

8 Weeks: The baby is now well-proportioned, about the size of a thumb.  Every organ is present.  The liver is making blood, the kidneys function, and the heart beats steadily.  The skull, elbows, and knees are forming.  Of the 4500 structures in the adult body, 4000 are already present.  The skeleton of the arms adn legs and the spine begins to stiffen as bone cells are added.

10 Weeks: The number of connections between nerves and muscles has tripled since last week.

12 Weeks: The baby swallows adn responds to skin stimulation.

4 Months: Teh child can grasp with hands, make a fist, swim, and turn somesaults.

7 Months: Eyelids open and close, eyes look around.  Hands grip strongly.  Mother’s voice can be heard and recognized.

9 Months: The chld triggers labor and birth occurs, an average of 264-270 days after conception.  And not until the baby has gone through all these events on the inside do we see the new child on the outside…”

        –Precious Feet–

~Be sure to check out photos! ~ http://lifeisagift.wordpress.com/picturegallery

Pro-Choice Vs Pro-Life: A Different Perspective

This is the story of a woman who had 5 abortions before she finally realized the evil. 
She discovered the truth of what happens inside abortion mills: it’s for money, they don’t really care about women, the truth is never told.  Read Yvonne’s story.  It’s shocking, but it’s true.

Go to my ‘Reality Check’ page at http://lifeisagift.wordpress.com/realitycheck or go to the Illinois Right to Life: http://www.illinoisrighttolife.org/ProChoiceVsProLife.htm

Save a Life

Many people say they are pro-life and then do nothing about it.  Simply saying ‘I’m pro-life’ is not enough.  You need to stand up for what you believe and come out and work to save the lives of the innocent children who are being torn from their mothers’ wombs.  These two articles inspired me.  I hope they touch your heart.  Read ‘A Different King of Lifeguard’ and ‘A Voice for the Voiceless.’  Go to the ‘Inspiration’ page on my blog or click here: http://lifeisagift.wordpress.com/inspiration.  Open up your heart to calls of the dying.

New Book From Father Pavone

Hey World!!  The awesome Father Pavone has a new book out titled Ending Abortion, Not Just Fighting It.  Father Pavone is an amazing man.  I haven’t read the book, but I have heard him speak.  I definiately recommend listening (or in this case, reading) whatever he has to say. You can get it at priestsforlife.org/donate!!  (:

A Thank You to the Brave

I just wanted to honor all mothers today for having the courage to give their child life.  Thank you for accepting the gift that God gave you.  I pray that you have been blessed by that child.  I pray that one day I too will have the courage to become a mother within a marriage blessed by God.