Presidential Perspective

The first quarter of 2015 has been an amazing time of witnessing the power of God’s Spirit at work at First Choice for Women. We have seen lives changed, including a recent decision for Christ! We learned that the Knights of Columbus are providing us with a brand new digital ultrasound machine! We had a tremendous response to our Life Ambassadors Launch Party, with over a dozen churches represented! And recently, several of our Ball State University students have volunteered to lead a Diaper Drive at Marsh Supermarket so that we can continue to distribute thousands of free diapers to new mothers and their babies. The Spirit of God is active and moving at First Choice for Women and I give God the praise!The way to describe what I am feeling is best expressed in a Bible story located in Luke 7:11-17. In Luke’s gospel, it is written that Jesus and His disciples were making their way through the village of Nain when they came upon a funeral procession. A widow had recently lost her only son and several people from the village were carrying the casket of the dead son toward a place of burial. Luke records that when Jesus saw this grieving mother, His heart “was broken” and He reached out and touched the boy’s coffin. Immediately the dead son sat up and began to talk!What I love most about this story is the reaction of the crowd. In verse 16, we read that the crowd became “quietly worshipful” and then “noisily grateful!” (The Message Bible). I love this particularly translation. In other words, the people were in awe! They were speechless having just witnessed God’s Spirit at work. And when the reality of a dead boy being resurrected became apparent to all, silence gave way to the noise of a grateful people giving praise and thanksgiving to God!As I shared at our recent Life Ambassadors Launch Party, every time a woman makes a decision to keep her baby, the staff and volunteers of First Choice become “quietly worshipful” and then “noisily grateful!” As we meet new friends who choose to get involved in the ministry of First Choice, either as a prayer partner, a recurring donor, a volunteer, or perhaps a Life Ambassador, we all become “quiet worshipful” and then “noisily grateful!”Easter reminds us all of the resurrection of Christ. Christ has made it possible for all of us to carry in our hearts the Spirit of God! As we serve others through the power of God’s Spirit, we are actually participating in God’s ministry of leading others from death to life.  Perhaps you have never thought of your commitment to First Choice for Women in quite this manner? I pray you will! When you give generously of your finances, you are helping us to keep the doors of this ministry open to women and their newborns. When you give of your time, you are making it possible for us to build relationships with women who need to know that God has a plan for their life and for the life of their baby.We hope that you will consider taking a moment to share with First Choice your decision to become a recurring donor to this ministry, or to start volunteering, or perhaps even to be a Life Ambassador helping us tell the story of First Choice in your local church or organization. We need your help!  We have seen donor support drop since our fall banquet and February brought with it several additional expenses as we move forward in faith to launch our ultrasound program. We would greatly appreciate it if you would consider a special gift this month to assist First Choice!Let’s embrace the opportunities God gives us to unleash the power of His Spirit in our lives by serving others. As we do, I pray you’ll experience what it means to be in awe of God; to be quietly worshipful, and once you realize that God has used you to make a difference in the life of a young mother, or a baby, I pray you will be noisily grateful as you give thanks for the story God is telling as you administer His grace to those in need. Thank you for helping to bring life to those who need it most.