40 Days for Life Spring Campaign

40 Days for Life is not doing a Spring Campaign in Fort Worth this year. :( I still plan to spend time in prayer against abortion during the next 40 days.

The campaign starts today and goes through Easter. There are 135 towns participating this time. You can click here to see if yours is one of them. I was really glad that I participated in the one during the fall. Go public and spend some time praying for abortion to end in your community.

Both Barrels

Tammy at Education Conversation came back from a week with no posts with both barrels loaded. She has some strongly worded thoughts about the State education of Christian children that is worth reading and pondering if you are brave enough.

Meanwhile, Montana has gotten out its word pistol by joining six or so other States with sovereignty bills. Here are some of the interesting (to me anyway) parts.

8 (4) That the federal Constitution and Bill of Rights delegated to Congress a power to punish treason,
9 counterfeiting of the securities and current coin of the United States, piracies, felonies committed on the high
10 seas, offenses against the law of nations, slavery, and no other crimes.
11 (5) That all acts of Congress that assume to create, define, or punish crimes, other than those
12 enumerated in the federal constitution and Bill of Rights, are void and of no force.


That all acts of Congress that abridge freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the press
21 are not law and are void.
22 (10) That power over the freedom of the right to keep and bear arms was reserved to the states and to
23 the people, allowing states the right to judge how far infringements on the right to bear arms should be tolerated,
24 rather than allowing that exercise to be defined by Congress.

(21) That any act by the Congress of the United States, Executive Order of the President of the United
18 States, or Judicial Order of the United States that assumes a power not delegated by the federal Constitution and
19 Bill of Rights diminishing the liberty of this state or its citizens constitutes a nullification of the federal Constitution
20 and Bill of Rights by the government of the United States, which would also breach Montana's "Compact With
21 the United States". Acts that would cause a nullification and a breach include but are not limited to:
22 (a) establishing martial law or a state of emergency within a state without the consent of the legislature
23 of that state;
24 (b) requiring involuntary servitude or governmental service other than a draft during a declared war or
25 pursuant to or as an alternative to incarceration after due process of law;
26 (c) requiring involuntary servitude or governmental service of persons under the age of 18 other than
27 pursuant to or as an alternative to incarceration after due process of law;
28 (d) surrendering any power delegated or not delegated to any corporation or foreign government;
29 (e) any act regarding religion, further limitations on freedom of political speech, or further limitations on
30 freedom of the press;

Really the whole thing is interesting and I encourage you to read it yourself. The question that remains to be seen is whether they are actually going to follow through with actions.

As I mention in a comment on Tammy's blog (mentioned above). . .
It is hard enough to write these things. It is harder still to say them aloud in front of people. And hardest of all is to take action.

State Sovereignty

Several states are in the process of considering state sovereignty bills. These bills basically remind the Federal gov. about the 10th amendment and lay claim to it. Here is Arizona bill HCR2024.

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people"; and

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and

Whereas, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

Whereas, today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

Whereas, many federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not usurp; and

Whereas, Article IV, section 4, United States Constitution, says in part, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government", and the Ninth Amendment states that "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"; and

Whereas, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

Whereas, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring, that:

1. That the State of Arizona hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States.

2. That this Resolution serves as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.

3. That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed.

4. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each state's legislature and each Member of Congress from the State of Arizona.

Now while I would say that this is a good start and very Constitutional, it will take guts of steel to follow through on. It is one thing to say these things. It is another for a State to refuse to obey the Fed. gov. I hope that more states come to their senses and get on board.

I found number 3 particularly interesting. What if States started refusing to do things that they didn't want to do and the Fed. Gov. had no Constitutional business trying to force them to do?

Makes me want to go read the Constitution and see exactly what has been left to the States. It has been a while since I've read it.

Movies

My husband and I recently watched Fireproof. The DVD was a gift from my mother. It was really great. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend that you do. In the bonus features, was a clip that really caught my attention. It was for a movie called Come What May. I had never heard of this pro-life movie until I saw it in the bonus features. I am excited to purchase the movie when it comes out in March. Here is the story line from the website.

The Story
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." (Psalm 139:13)

With his mother a lawyer and his father a professor, Caleb Hogan has grown up understanding the importance of stating his case, backing it with facts, and choosing what's right ... Come What May.

This ability has served him well in his internship at his mother's law firm and it has guided him to the college with the best Moot Court team. But has it prepared him to deal with the collision-course elements of the most important legal issue of our time?

When does life really begin?

Coming face-to-face with the realities and legalities of the abortion issue—both in preparation for the National Moot Court championship and as his mother prepares to argue a high-profile case before the Supreme Court—Caleb must decide what he truly believes.

Wherever he lands will have consequences. If he takes the pro-life argument, he stands to lose the most important competition of his life—and the support of his mother. If he follows his mother's lead, he could win the coveted title ... but lose the heart of his teammate Rachel in the process.

Along with her professor and classmates, Rachel not only understands the strength of the pro-life arguments, she believes them to her core. Life, from its beginning, exists to honor God. For Rachel, that plays out in her Moot Court arguments and in her daily life.

Can Caleb find that same conviction? Can he win the heart of Rachel in the process? While compromise might be the easiest solution, it could also be the most dangerous.Come What May is a vivid reminder that choosing what's right is never easy ... but it's always worth the cost.

It doesn't hurt that this movie is set in Patrick Henry College. Now I have never been there and graduated from college a long time ago. But from what I can tell Patrick Henry is an awesome college that is bent on producing Christian leaders in areas that many people think are worldly such as law and journalism.

Bravo, "Lia"

LifeSiteNews has a story high-lighting a 12-year-old girl who has taken a bold stand for life.

12-year-old "Lia" of Toronto has become a star at her school and on YouTube with her five-minute pro-life speech, crafted for a school competition. Despite discouragement and outright opposition, Lia's presentation was so well done that she reportedly won the contest she was told she would be disqualified from, due to the "controversial" message of her speech.

Here is the clip from YouTube.




So bravo, Lia.

Avoiding the Light

We are having a series of lessons on 1 John at our church. The last one was on 1 John 1:5-10. Here are the verses in the NIV.

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

Our preacher pointed out ways to know if you are avoiding the light which I thought worth sharing.

1. Avoiding the Word.
2. Avoiding Christians. (Lack of accountability)
3. Ignoring the Spirit.
4. No Self Examination.

Another point made was that confession means agreeing with God's call. He compared it to agreeing with an umpire instead of being the idiot in the stands arguing and complaining.

Anyway, food for thought.

It also reminds me of my plea to American Christians to prayer prayers of national confession.

Porkarama and Promises

Caffeinated Thoughts has an excellent post about the "stimulus" bill. It includes this YouTube video.