January 22nd 1973

January 22nd 1973. The court ruled that a fetus does not have constitutional rights.  In other words, on that very day, abortion became legal.

It's been more than 40 years since this decision, and since then over 55 million babies have died. 55 million. That's 5 times more than people who died in the Holocaust, and 55 times the amount of American soldiers who have died in every war that the United States has fought. *

According to Bound 4 Life, a baby is aborted about every two seconds. In America, about 24% of all pregnancies end in abortion. 80% percent of women who have the abortion report belonging to a religion. A sad 27% percent of those women are Catholic. 

In a way, this is the new Holocaust. 

Webster-Merriam dictionary defines holocaust as 

"A thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life..."

At that time, Jews were not seen as people with rights. Today, unborn children aren't either. Millions upon millions died in the gas chambers, and millions more die in the womb before they have a chance to speak for themselves.

Many people argue that it is the woman's choice. Yes, woman do have choices, but they cannot choose to end another's life, no matter how young someone is. Yes, they have control of their body, but only theirs. How many people realize that that "lump of tissue" is actually a growing miracle? How many people know that a baby that they decided to kill could've grown up to do amazing things? They could've been the first woman president, or a doctor who cured cancer. They could've saved someone's life down the road, or become a model for everyone. Millions of children have never had the chance to play in the rain, or go to school. Some will never see the light of day, or the stars at night.

These children were robbed of their chance to live, all because many people cannot see that there is a life growing in the womb.

So, what can we do? 

Look out for a Pro-Life group at your church, youth group, or school. 

Wear a button, bracelet, or t-shirt promoting the Right to Life.

Pray at a local abortion facility.

Pray daily for lives of the unborn, and their mothers. 

Even though it may seem like we aren't getting anywhere, we are. I believe that if we keep our complete trust in God and ours hearts set on Him, we can win this. :) So put on your helmets and grab your shields. Are you ready to fight?

All through Christ,

Maddie

*This is a rough estimate. 

New Year's Resolutions | 5 Tips to Get You There

First off, Happy New Year everyone! I hope you enjoyed the last bits of 2014 as much as I did. I don't know about you, but I was really looking forward to a new year, and a new start!
New Years Resolutions. The easiest things to write down, but the hardest things to actually follow. I don't think I have even followed through with at least one resolution. Horrible, I know. Most of the time the resolutions are the same, like getting closer to God, or eating healthier, or being kind to people. But after a few trial and errors, I realized sketchy and vague resolutions aren't really going to get me anywhere.

1. The More Specific, the Better

What I like to do, is write down a really broad goal, and then write down more specific ways to achieve them underneath. For example-

Get Closer to God

-Pray for five minutes every morning and evening
 -write for my blog at least once a week
-Take an hour for God on the weekends

I feel like the more specific you are, the more you will work on it. If you have a really worked out and detailed plan for yourself, you feel like there is more to accomplish, rather than just "getting closer to God." 

 

2. Involve others

Who isn't inspired by other people cheering you along? Tell people your goals, and ask them to help you along the way. Even better, swap your resolutions and together you can inspire the other to keep up on their goal. You can make a routine- every week text, call or talk to each other about what you did good that week, and what you can work on.

 3. Get Inspired

I recently invested in a nice planner for 2015. Yes, it was a little pricey, but it is well worth the money! If you get a nice planner, it will inspire you to stay organized and in control of your events. I totally recommend using some money to buy yourself something that will keep track of your goals, events and thoughts during the year. My planner is great, it is kind of like a mashup of a journal, calendar, and activity tracker in one! (My planner is created by a brand called Mint Green and I got it at Walmart) So treat yourself in the beginning! If you invest in something bigger, you will feel more inspired.

This blog post is very simple, yet inspiring.

I love Inspiration walls. They are so great and well- inspiring! Just grab some magazines or print off some of your favorite quotes, and glue them to cardboard. Make it colorful, and make it yours. If it doesn't inspire you, don't put it up there! I recently renovated my room, and I have a whole wall dedicated to quotes. One of my favorites is, "If you feel like giving up, remember why you started." I think that quote will be my mantra for the year.

Another way of keeping inspired is kind of based on that quote. I have already started to work on exercising a little more so I'm not weak, and so I can be more fit for dance. I really pushed myself the first day, and then when I was being lazy the next day I was like "Do you really want all that hard work yesterday to go to waste?" Push your self more and more, and the finish line will become a little sweeter.

4. Have a mantra

I think that if you pick one main quote or Bible verse for the year that you can reflect on, it can really help you to keep inspired and keep going. You want to go deeper? Pick a virtue or quality that you admire for someone else, and stay focused on it. Every month you can choose a different virtue, while still staying true to your verse. Type it out, print it big and hang it up in a place where you will see it every day.

 

5. Make it reasonable, but make it worth it.

A lot of goals we make for ourselves sound swell the day that we make them, but then a week later we realize it is close to impossible. In some cases, it is just your brain and the Devil talking, but in some cases, it is true. Make sure that you can actually achieve the goals. However, you don't want to make some small, easily obtainable goal. The perfect goal is something that you can reach with hard work and dedication.

Want some ideas? Here are some of my New Years Resolutions (following #2 :) )

 

1. Be healthier

- look and feel healthy

-follow my routine every day (I wrote out a routine)

- judge by feeling, not by weight!

-eat the serving size

 

2. Prayer Routine

-Five minutes every day

    * Bible and Morning Offering

-Five minutes every night

    *Thanksgiving, Supplication, People to pray for, and Help

 

3. Stretch three days a week

 

4. Do something that scares me

    -big or small

    - every day

 

5. Post every week for Blog

     - hopefully every Sunday, but at least every week

 

6. Pray to and through others

-the Holy Spirit

-Confirmation saint (Teresa of Avila)

-Other saints

Also, one other helpful hint is make sure you check up on your goals again! Write them down and put them in a place where you can easily revisit them. Make sure you write down what you think you can achieve and don't change them!
Good luck to all, and have a great New Year!

All through Christ,

Maddie