Casting Crowns - Just Another Birthday

LOVE this song, and LOVE this video!!!! =) Hope that y'all enjoy it as well!!

~Olivia~

Guest Post

I am so excited to be sharing this with y'all....Katie is one of my very dearest friends... I asked her a little while ago if she would write a guest post for V.O.T.I....hope y'all enjoy it as much I did!

 

 

Many times I've thought this very same thing.  "I'm not a legal adult.  What difference can I make?"

Well, I want to tell you that I was wrong.  We, as teenagers, and even children, have a lot of influence.  More than we realize.  Sometimes the smallest act can make a big difference.

So take your stand.  Write a letter against abortion.  It could be just the thing to convince a voting adult.  Let's save the unborn children together, because they're worth fighting for.  Be the voice of an innocent baby.

Katie

Opportunity

Happy Saturday Everyone! ;)

So I was looking at the blog’s stats last night, and wow! God has really blessed us with readers from literally all around the world! It is mind boggling to me that God is allowing us to reach out to people from all over this planet. What a blessing!

As I was reading the stats last night, God really impressed on my heart that I have an opportunity right here at my fingertips! You see, I’ve been praying that God would shine through my life and allow people to see Him in me. This blog is the perfect opportunity to shine for Jesus. I have the chance to witness to people right here on this blog! What an opportunity!

I hope that everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 5:16

P.S: Please don’t forget-March 5 is our sendout date! It’s coming up quickly, so let’s start working on those letters!

Jamie Grace "Lead Me"

 "You lead, I'll follow, Your hands hold my tomorrow,
Your grip, Your grace, You know the way,
You guide me tenderly,
When you lead, I'll follow,
Just light the way and I'll go,
Cause I know what you got for me is more than I can see,
So lead me on, on, on and on,
Just lead me on, on, on and on."

~Olivia~ 

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told....

Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man

lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

What's today about? Are you living for the chocolate-the flowers? Maybe you're hoping for a sweet card from the one you love most, or maybe some other nice gift. I love Valentine's Day and what it means, but peoples, we MUST remember what love is! It's not a dozen roses, it's not a box of candy. Love is Jesus. Love is the cross. Love is the Salvation God provided when He allowed men to nail Him to a tree. Love is Jesus taking my sin away and bearing God's wrath for them. Love is His nail-pierced hands, His open arms that invite the sinner to repent and live a new life!

Isn't love beautiful?

Olivia's Edited Letter

 Hey everyone,

  This is my edited letter that I am going to be sending in to USA Today.. I have a problem, however. I have about 30 words over the limit. I looked up the limit USA Today has for submitted articles, and articles with a max of 300 words has the best chance of being published. I have gone over my letter many times, and can't figure out what I can cut out, so if you have any tips for me, I would very much so appreciate it!! =) Thanks!!

~Olivia~

  Abortion –a harsh and cruel practice accepted as the norm today-kills more than 42 million babies worldwide and 1.37 alone in the US every year.  It has become a massacre of innocent babies that are living in the womb; God created these precious children with a purpose and it is not anyone’s right to take that life. There is neither justification, nor excuse to kill a child in the womb. 
  Many women think that that baby inside them isn’t alive. This in and of itself is sad. The fact that some people actually believe this makes me angry. Think about it. If brain activity is  a sign of life, why is it that people consider a baby in the womb dead when the baby has brain activity after just a few weeks of development. 
   Hosea 12:3 says, "And he took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God." I love this verse because it clearly shows that the baby was alive in the womb.
   What strikes me is when teenage girls get unwanted pregnancies they turn to abortion because they think that they have no other choice: "I'm too young," "What will everyone think of me," "I didn't want this to happen," or "I didn't mean for this to happen." If this is the case, why did they put themselves in the position to get pregnant in the first place?
   Birth defects are often a reason for an abortion as well. How can anyone love that baby any less just because of a birth defect? He is still a human being, and is still created by God, who has a special plan and purpose for his life.
   Just remember, you have to live with the decision to kill your own baby. Before you take your child’s life, ask yourself this question: Can I live with this decision for the rest of my life?

 Written by: Olivia J. Bresnahan (16)

http://voicesoftheinnocent.blogspot.com/

LEGAL Homicide

This is an essay that I had to write for an English class....feedback is welcome! :)

-Emily- 

                                         Legal Homicide        

     Thirty-nine years ago, America made abortion legal. 1973 was the beginning of American acceptance of this horrific procedure. Abortion and murder both involve the destruction of human life, however, the former, is considered perfectly legal. Many Americans consider abortion to be acceptable because they believe the unborn child is not alive. They believe the baby in the womb is nothing more than a clump of cells. This is not true. The baby inside his mother’s womb is most certainly alive. Abortion is murder because the baby is more than a fetus: he is a person. Every time an abortion takes place, a murder is committed.      

      An unborn child exhibits life from conception. One of the most obvious signs of life the baby portrays is growth. The moment a baby comes into existence, he begins to grow. After a mere 4 weeks of life, the baby’s backbone, arms and legs, and sensory organs are beginning to form (Turner and Rhodes). During the next eight months, the baby continues to grow as his body develops and prepares for birth. Growth is an obvious sign of life since non-living organisms do not grow. Based on this evidence, one is able to conclude the unborn child is indeed alive.

     Yet another sign of life the unborn child displays is the need for nutrition. Just like any other human being, the unborn child needs proper nutrition in order to develop properly. During her pregnancy, the expectant mother is advised to “consume one extra serving of each of the food groups” and to “drink more water, obtain more iron…. and lower her consumption of caffeine, sugar and sodium” (Turner). These nutritional guidelines are very important to follow because the mother’s eating habits affect the baby’s nutrition. If the baby was not alive, he would not have any nutritional needs, and therefore, the pregnant woman could eat as she wanted to without affecting her child.

     “All living things respond to stimuli in their environment” (“Characteristics of Life”).  This characteristic of life is seen in clearly in the unborn child. A baby in the womb can respond “to the stimulus that surrounds them including light and sound” (Pugh). Non-living organisms are not at all aware of what is happening around them, and therefore do not respond to their environment.  The baby in the womb is alive and therefore can and will respond to his environment.  

     There are people who believe abortion is a perfectly legitimate practice. They do not believe the child in the womb is alive. They believe the unborn baby to be nothing more than a pile of cells. “As a Biologist, I want to note that a 'baby in a womb' only begins to feel and to think after 12 weeks in the mother's womb. Before this period it is only a pile of cells, if you do a abortion in this period, you only kill a few cells” (Slick).  This philosophy is completely wrong. Even before reaching 12 weeks, the baby is indeed alive. He has a heartbeat. He has detectable brain waves. He can hear. He has functioning organs. He can move (“Fetal Development From Conception to Birth”). He is alive. He is a person. Terminating the pregnancy would be killing the baby. Aborting the child would be murder.

     No matter how much a person may try to avoid the truth, it is undeniable that the unborn child is indeed alive.  Scientific facts prove this. No matter how much man may fight this, it is true. The child in the womb is a human being.  Abortion is murder because the unborn child is not a fetus: he is a baby.  Abortion is murder because the unborn baby is alive. Abortion is murder because the baby is a person. 

 

                                       

Works Cited:

"Characteristics of Life." Astrobiology. Web. <http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/index.php?page=origin06>.

"Fetal Development -- From Conception to Birth." National Right to Life. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/fetaldevelopment.html>.

Pugh, Rebecca. "Essay on the Unborn Baby." Mountainbirth. Web. <http://www.mountainbirth.com/downloads/essay_on_the_unborn_child.pdf>.

Slick, Matt. "A Biologist Says the Baby in the Womb Is a Pile of Cells | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry." CARM - Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. <http://carm.org/biologist-baby-pile-of-cells>.

Turner, Anna S., and David Rhodes. Health for Christian Schools. Greenville: Bob Jones UP, 1999. Print

Turner, Anna S. Family Life Skills for Christian Schools. Greenville, SC: BJU, 2004. Print.

My cousin, Isaiah. =)

Hey everyone,

  Wednesday night at church I was frantically looking for some lesson sheets that me mom sent me to look for in our van, because she had to give them to my youth group leader, and I couldn't one of them, so I was a bit frustrated. My 6 year old cousin, Isaiah, came up to me with my back turned, "Livvy, Livvy...Livvy, you have to see this!" In my frustration, and to my shame, I replied, "Isaiah, I'm busy right now. Wait a minute."

  When I finally found the lessons, I turned around to see that Isaiah was still standing there with hands over his baseball cap that he was wearing. Smiling from ear to ear he took his hands away from his cap. Surprised, I saw his new New York Giants hat. "Oh Isaiah, I love your hat!!" I told him. He gave me a hug, and said, "I'm ready for the Super Bowl now!!" His mother told me later that night that the first thing that he said when she showed it to him was "I have to show Livvy! I can't wait to show her!"

  When I got home from church, I was thinking about it, and what I said before I saw his hat. He was so excited to show me his hat, and there I was in my frustration, snapping at him because I couldn't find some papers. It also made me think about the fact that, although they might not say anything, little ones do watch me, and observe my interests, and see what makes me excited. Isaiah knew that I would get excited to see that he had a Giants hat on because he knows that I love the Giants, and the New York Mets, and I love sports in general!!

  My point is that kids watch their older sibling, cousins, or friends, and you can't control how they will take the influence, or what they will do in the future because of the influence. But you can control what kind of influence you have on them. I don't know about you, but the fact that I have all my sibling, and cousins (I am the oldest kid in our family) it make me want to follow God more, and do better in my walk because I don't want to lead them astray. And it won't always be easy, and there will be times that I mess up, and fail, but they will always be watching the way you handle your failures. I want to be able to say to my 6 year old cousin, Isaiah, "Follow me, because I follow Christ."

~Olivia~

1Corinthians 11:1

"Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ." 

P.S.-- GO GIANTS!!!!! =)

Be yourself!! =)

  I was reading about the band, Anthem Lights, on their website, and one of the band members (I don't remember which one) had a bit of trouble with peer pressure growing up. He went on to say that the best advise that he remembers his parents giving him was "It's only cool if you do it." If you are struggling with peer pressure, I hope that this speaks to you. The you that God loves, and died for is the you that isn't pressured to do what other people do just because they're cool, and it looks good. Be yourself!! =)

~Olivia~

A Quote from Emily Dickinson

"If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain;

If I can ease one life from aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting Robin

To his nest again,

I shall not live in vain." 

~Olivia~