The wonder of Life

Life is amazing!  God knits us together in our mother's wombs and it boggles my mind to think about it...I mean really, how does He do it?  A fertilized egg to hands and feet and hair and chubby cheeks and bones and skin and heart beats... I love the wonder of it all.  And this week we got to welcome a new precious girl into our extended family when my niece Leah gave birth to Cunera Grace Marl...without question the incredible workmanship of our loving and gracious Creator!  Just look at her and join us in praising God:

 Don't you just want to kiss those little chubby cheeks?

Okay, kissing the forehead will do...good job Mama.

Of course we all took turns holding her and loving on her.  Here are a few more pictures of me and my peeps doing just that:

 My beloved hubby, best friend, lover, true companion, and much more...I'm sure glad God made him!

 yep, I got a turn too, a pretty long one actually:

 

We are still oohing and awing over here...we're so, so, so happy she is on the outside where we can begin to enjoy her on a regular basis.  And we think the number nine may prove significant at some point in her life because she was born on the 9th, in room 9, with 9 people in the room at her birth, weighing in at 9 pounds even in the 9th hour of the night...how is that for a little fun trivia?

And sticking with the theme of life, we joined many others in downtown Portland to be a voice for life today as the blood of innumerable little ones continue to cry out to God.  Yes, not every little one He knits together gets to see daylight and be loved on and oohed and awed over.  The lies that fill our land in the name of women's rights and the blood shed occurring daily against the image bearers of our God yet in their wombs ought to move us to action and prayer.  Yet we think "why bother if I'm not the one doing it","why lift a finger if it isn't affecting me"... oh, may God have mercy and may He grant us repentance!  I thank the Lord for the Pregnancy Resource Centers and all those who do pray and act, sharing the truth in love, reaching out with compassion to those who are being pressured from without and within to kill their babies, sharing the gospel and advocating for the lives of those God has knit together to bear His image in this world.  Today was a good day of gathering with such folks!

I am so proud of the Under His Wings team!  Eight kids ranging in age from 6-10 raised $5,256.67 this year for the PRC.  I pray that God will continue to grow their hearts to do battle in their generation against abortion and for life, for the glory of His name. And I pray more people will come to see this as a national problem because our land is covered with blood that cries out to God and He hears...what will YOU do this year to make a difference?

 Here they are being presented a certificate for being the number one fund-raising team in their age bracket...Lars Larson, a well-known radio talk show host was here to hand out the awards this year!

 And Larry Gadbaugh, the PRC CEO, was kind enough to pose with them too...thanks Larry!

A fine looking army if you ask me!