We didn't have a huge crowd...about half of what we expected....expecting less than half of who we invited. But the disappointment over numbers did not last long! Brooke introduced me with an amazing devotion by Joyce Meyer about God using people to do His work. The amazing thing is that devotion was true of every member or our team that put together last night! I don't know that I have ever been a part of a group of people who stay so focused on the common goal and purpose in Christ that nothing stands in their way! These ladies and Jon ROCK!!! As I shared the statistics for teen pregnancies:
- 79
percent of teenagers who become pregnant are unmarried.
- 80
percent of teenage pregnancies are unintended.
- Nearly
four in ten teenage girls whose first intercourse experience happened at
13 or 14 report that the sex was unwanted or involuntary.
- The
main rise in the teen pregnancy rate is among girls younger than 15*
- The
United State spends $7 billion each year due to the costs of teen
pregnancy.
- Only
one-third of teenage mothers complete high school and receive their
diplomas
- By
age 30, only 1.5 percent of women who had pregnancies as a teenager have a
college degree.
- 80
percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare
- Within
the first year of becoming teen mothers, one-half of unmarried teen
mothers go on welfare.*
- The
daughters of teen mothers are 22 percent more likely than their peers to
become teen mothers.
- Sons
of teenaged mothers have a 13 percent greater chance of ending up in
prison as compared to their peers.
The people were listening. I could see it in their eyes. Then Jon and Sarah Stepan shared their experience with a maternity home and the difference it made in the life of the birth mother of their son. It was moving! I finished the evening by sharing our solution to the teen pregnancy crisis. The national trend is that teen pregnancies are declining, but in Texas the rate of teen pregnancies is rising. And in our little corner of Texas, there are 6 counties in the top 25 in Texas for teen pregnancy rates. The issue is to the point that news media is picking it up sharing the fears of medical community and the schools as they fear their systems can't support the number of teen moms coming up. We believe we have the solution! And more government involvement is not it! Not because I am taking a political side of whether or not government should or should not be involved but because I have a Bible that tells me I am to be Christ to the world. I am to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and when Jesus walked this earth He was ministering and supplying the needs of the harlots, the tax collectors, the outcasts of society. So I believe I need to do the same in the 21st century. In fact, the pastor we heard this past Wednesday said it this way, "If God is going to accomplish anything on this earth during this time, it will be through you and me." Amen! Those at the dinner got it! There were tears over the heartbreak of my friend who was forced to have an abortion because her family said abort or get out and she had nowhere to go. Only to discover about three months after the abortion that she had been pregnant with twins and they had only killed baby A. Baby B was still alive. So her middle class, Christian, church leader parents took her back to the clinic for a late term abortion to terminate the pregnancy of Baby B. My friend is an amazing woman of God who has overcome these trials in her life, but her story is what God used to prompt me that N.O.W. is the time to do something!
We were giving $10,000 last night plus some checks that had been donated before the evening. I am talking off my head and from memory, not the books here, but we are at about $10,800 toward the property.
That is very short of what I had asked God for last night. I had a number that I had specifically prayed and it was big...impossible most would say, but I believed it was what God asked me to believe Him for. It didn't come in last night, but I believe it is on its way! The encouragement from those who were there last night was unbelievable! They believe in what we are doing and are committed to walking with us and sharing our vision..and while we need the actual cash to buy the property, the belief of others in what you are doing is huge when you are walking in ministry! It is an encouragement that keeps you going and keeps you believing in the next step to finish what God has asked you to do.
Before the night began I promised God that despite the outcome, I would trust Him. Can I tell you the peace in that?! No I didn't get the number I prayed for....not yet. But I totally trust that God brought exactly who He needed to the dinner last night to accomplish His purposes for last night. I trust that those who heard it are going to share with whoever else needs to hear it and the money will come in. The longer I walk with God the more I learn that I only have to do what He asks and the outcome is up to Him! We put on the dinner, we planted the seeds. Now He will water how and when He sees fit to bring about the harvest He desires. It is not mine to worry about or fret over or even be disappointed in.
Next week we will be getting a Hope's Promise page up on the Addy's Hope website so you can watch the progress. We are still praying about where and how to open the first home. Obviously we can't do anything until we have the cash to pay for it. But we can plan and keep walking in faith step by step as He gives us direction, and that is what we will do!
A HUGE thank you to the team of "doers" who made last night happen because if they were waiting on this visionary we would still be trying to decide on a font for the invitations! Thank you Robin Nash, Brooke Holland, Jon and Sarah Stepan, Stormy Johnson, Brandie Harris, and Emmy Shepherd. It is surreal that this blog post less than three months ago sparked what is now a reality! Let me just encourage all of you to walk in what God has asked you to do even if it is to "just" cast the vision! He will send who and what you need to do it! This project is walking proof of that!
