Dallas March for Life

Today I participated in the Dallas March for Life. This is the first time I have participated in a march of any kind (except band). It was very interesting and I was glad that I went. It started outside the Catholic cathedral in downtown Dallas. There were lots of people of all ages. I would say that the majority were Catholic. From there we walked to the courthouse where Jane Roe filed her case that became the infamous Roe vs. Wade. There was a time of prayer at the site. Then we walked to a first baptist church building and had lunch and looked at pro-life booths that were set up in the atrium. It was estimated that about 5000 people participated. I can verify that they took up about 1/2 a mile of 3-lane road. The reaction from the people in cars was mostly pleasant with several honks and thumbs up. The whole march was escorted by the Dallas police. I really enjoyed eating lunch and getting to meet and chat with other pro-life people. I am also looking forward to looking over the information that I got from the booths. I took some pictures that I will try to share, but right now I am having trouble up-loading them.

Rewards

I occasionally tell my children if you do "x" you will receive "y" as a reward. For example, my son is currently reading a book on the high end of his reading ability for a guinea pig harness. (for his soon to be purchased guinea pig) The whole reason that I told him about the reward was to motivate him to tackle something he would have not likely done on his own.

That got me thinking about rewards in the Bible. Here are some examples from Jesus' teaching:

1. Giving to the poor in private will be rewarded by God (Matthew 6:4)
2. Receiving a righteous person will receive reward of righteous person (Matthew 10:41, Mark 9:44)
3. Reward from Jesus based on what you have done in this life (Matthew 16:27)
4. Suffering for Christ will receive great reward (Luke 6:24)
5. Doing good for enemies will receive great reward (Luke 6:35)
6. Faithful servant in charge of many things (Matthew 25:21)
7. Do well before the king comes back to be entrusted with more when he returns (Matthew 25)

I am sure that there are more, but you get the idea.

So my question is this:
Why do so many Christians believe that it is wrong to work toward a reward? I understand that we should be motivated by love. But if God didn't want us to think about a reward at all then why mention it? Jesus does rebuke people for working toward a reward from people. But I can't remember anywhere that teaches against working toward a reward from God. I think God mentions rewards so that we will work toward them. What do you think?

Of Conjoined Twins and Pink Iguanas

A couple in England is expecting a set of dicephalus conjoined twins. This means that they share at least part of their torso and their legs. In a quote from a LifeSiteNews article the mother, Lisa Chamberlain, said, "Some people might look at me and say 'You're going to give birth to a freak' but I don't care because I feel blessed." Mrs. Chamberlain and her husband are practising Catholics. I am glad that they have the courage to stand against their doctor and family and give these babies a chance at life. (OneMom also has a post about eugenics that shows how many different kinds of "abnormalities" we are willing to snuff out. I imagine that Rex's mom [see post below] would have recommended by many doctors for abortion. This issue hits close to home. My mom was advised to abort me because she had an x-ray when she was only a few weeks pregnant and didn't yet know it. I am vey glad that she told the doctor no way.)

And we have yet another animal that supposedly evolved millions of years before its island home existed: the pink iguanas on the Galapagos Islands. Once again ICR has the story in more detail.

Rex

I just finished an inspiring book. Rex is a book about a blind autistic musical savant told from the perspective of his mother, Cathleen Lewis. I really enjoy books about people overcoming extreme obstacles with the Lord's help. This is definitely one of those books.

Rex starts life blind due to a malformed optic nerve. He makes great progress until autism becomes apparent. He refuses to eat (living on protein shakes). He becomes hyper-sensitive to sound (running water, light switches, etc.) and touch. By the end of the book he is a tween who can travel the world playing music, has begun to make friends, and has learned to ski. Throughout all of his trials joy shines through in a way that many people envy.

The transformation of his mom is also amazing. The story starts with a career-minded newlywed and ends with a Christian single-mom who is devoted to her son and can praise God even for his difficulties. She was a person who depended on mental abilities to survive and understand the world. Now she looks through the lens of faith. She was an unchurched, irreligious woman whose heart softened toward God before God made any breakthroughs in her son's ability to cope in this world. Now she has a strong faith in God in part thanks to her brother who had the guts to say that maybe God had allowed this to happen for his glory.

I recommend this book. It is a great story of two transformations.