Overcoming Obstacles in Our Lives

By Pam Durham

      C.A.R.E. Director

Jeanne walked into the group for the first time.  She came because someone reached out to her at church and invited her; she even asked if she could pick her up.  This lady was warm and felt safe.  But Jeanne didn’t want to make her go out of her way, so she drove herself. 

Jeanne doesn’t have many friends. She is a loner for the most part.  She has a few friends, but no one she considers close.   She feels judged; she doesn’t believe anyone really wants to get to know her nor does she want anyone to think she is trying to infringe on an existing friendship.  All her life, she has had to be on her own, never having anyone she felt she could trust except Jesus.  But she so desperately wanted to be accepted for who she was.

 

In a way, this is my story.  I’ve struggled with feeling rejected most of my life.  Many things play into this feeling…sexual abuse, unprotected childhood, feeling rejected by my mom, no good father image, and my strongest gift – prophet, telling the truth (sometimes to those who don’t want to receive it).

I’ve been a Christian since I was 16.  When I was 15 I went to my pastor and asked him for help to stop the sexual abuse.  He did help, he confronted my step-father who did stop.  For the first time in my life (since 1 year old) I was free from sexual abuse.  But not free from the damage.  I asked for forgiveness when I asked Christ into my heart, which he, of course, did.  But that also did not free me from the damage.  Fortunately, when I was about 25 I met with a Christian counselor and walked through a lot of the strongholds in my life.  Finally, freedom began.  Wow, what a weight that was lifted.  I could physically feel the difference.  I had a taste of freedom and have never stopped pursuing it. 

Strongholds are legal ground that has been given over to the enemy.  They begin by believing a lie. The lies feed a need for security and identity.  The lies are varied, designed for each of our weaknesses.  Some of the big ones are fear, lust, greed, bitterness, rebellion, etc. that create a spirit of independence.  We believe the Spirits of deception who are blocking us from hearing the truth.  Remember though, it began with us believing a lie.

 

As committed Christians who have a personal relationship with the Lord, we more easily will move through our strongholds.  BUT, we have to want to.  Many times God presents us with the truth, but we don’t want to hear it, or we don’t believe it, or we are afraid to move forward.  God is such a loving Father that he continually will bring us around to it again and again until we break it down.

One of the major areas that Satan wants us to stay in bondage to is rejection.  He knows if he can keep us believing that others don’t like us or that we are not as good as they are, etc., he can keep us from reaching our full potential for Christ.  My husband and I were in a situation where I had confronted a church board because they decided to do a 180 degree change on some things that affected us.  I was upset, but was careful not to make any personal comments toward them even though some of them were doing that to us.  I personally sought out each board member and asked for forgiveness if I had offended them.  They each assured me they were not offended.  But, one or two of them proceeded to spread rumors indicating their lack of forgiveness.  In a time of prayerful soul searching, I asked God why they were rejecting me.  I can still vividly hear his response, “They are not rejecting you, they are rejecting me through the truth you spoke.”  From that time on, my ability to be hurt or offended by someone’s rejection has been greatly diminished.

Another stronghold that Satan uses to great lengths is the lie of secrets.  He tries to tell us that if people knew our secrets, they wouldn’t want to be around us.  But secrets are one of Satan’s greatest tools against us.  He wants us to stay afraid and bound by them.  Once we have true freedom from rejection, we can also have freedom to share our secrets.  Now the rejection isn’t about you, but about them.  If someone rejects you for your honesty, they are struggling with their own secrets or with their concept of God and his forgiveness.

Once we learn how to tackle these areas, we are free to reach out to others.  We are free to be used by Jesus to meet someone else’s needs.

Some of the ways I have worked through these types of issues is through forgiveness.  Understand that forgiveness is a lesson in itself.  Also, through taking my thoughts captive and bringing them under the submission of the Lord.  Also, choosing to believe what God says about me – who I am in Christ.

 

Now, back to our introduction story.  When Jeanne arrived, what do you do?  What would you like to be able to do?  Is there something you need to be freed from that would hold you back from reaching out to Jeanne?  Pursue freedom and break those strongholds.

Adoption is a GOOD Thing!!

By Debi Boerckel

      Office Manager

My husband and I recently had the privilege of spending the weekend with friends of ours.  We have known them for almost 20 years, and served together at our local church for part of that time until God relocated them to another part of Florida.  Eleven years ago, they adopted their little girl.  They are amazing parents, raising her to know and love God, and to serve others.  In fact, this little one has such a servant heart it is obvious that serving is a gift that God himself has given her.  

As I spend time with this family, I am NOT constantly aware of the fact that this child was adopted.  She IS part of this family.  No less than her Mother or her Father.  She is their daughter and they are her parents.  There is a deep, deep love and bond between them – as deep a love as I have ever seen in any family.  There are mannerisms, speech patterns, and even unspoken understanding between her and her parents that can only exist in a family.

Why do you suppose adoption is so frowned upon by our society in the United States today?  Why is it that a woman would rather abort her child than place it into a loving home in the form of adoption?  So often, when we suggest the possibility of adoption to an expectant mother we hear, “Oh I could never carry my baby and then give it away.”  Some of these same women end their pregnancies through abortion.  Abortion is an attempt to eliminate a problem and return one’s life to its pre-pregnancy condition, which is impossible.  You can end a pregnancy, but you can’t make it as if it never happened.

Adoption, however, focuses on what is in the best interest of the mother, the baby, and the adopting family.  While adoption is certainly a difficult and emotional decision, there is so much good that comes from it.  As I heard recently, placing a baby for adoption isn’t giving up, it’s giving life that is full of excitement, opportunity, and joy!

As I watch my friends and their daughter, I find myself thanking God for a woman that was not afraid to do the next right thing – to make that difficult decision and impact so many lives for eternity.

The Adoption Symbol.  The Birth Family, the Adoptive Family
and the Adoptee each represent one side of the triangle and 
the heart intertwining each side of the triangle represents the 
love that is involved in an adoption.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

By Rayma Zugel

      Lead Center Director

A while back a young girl who knows me called and asked me what I did at Care Net. She had “heard” that Care Net helps girls get an abortion. She said, “No way would Rayma do that”, hence the phone call. I explained to her exactly what Care Net does, and that got me thinking, “What do people think we do here?” So I interviewed a few young people to see if they knew what we do. Here are some of the responses:

Q: What do we do at Care Net?

A: “You help women with their pregnancies, like those that don’t know what they want to do.”

Q: Anything else?

A: “You collect baby supplies for the families that can’t afford them.” (From a 14 year old girl)

I asked this young girl what I did, specifically, at Care Net:

Q: What do I do at Care Net?

A: “Mom’s come to Care Net to talk to you for a minute, and if they don’t want to keep their baby, you tell them to take their baby to the ‘baby center’ to give them for adoption.” (From a 7 year old girl)

Oh if only more people could understand what this little one already knows, that adoption is a real and good possibility for those that “can’t” keep their babies. After all, God chose us, adopted us through Christ.

“Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV)

Q: What do the people that work at Care Net do?

A: “You help babies.”

Q: How do we do that?

A: “You give them food, and diapers, and stuff.”

Q: Do we do anything else?

A: “You help first time mommies and daddies know how to take care of their babies. (From a 10 year old boy)

Q: What do we do at Care Net?

A: You help babies.

Q: How do we do that?

A: You give them what they need, like diapers, milk, clothes, food, shoes. (From a 6 year old girl)

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27 NIV).  

One child I asked responded this way:

Q: What do we do at Care Net?

A: You help women who are thinking about abortion and you help them not want to do that.

Q: How do we do that?

A: You talk to them about their babies and about God. (From an 11 year old boy)

  

Someone else asked a 16 year old girl:

Q: What do we do at Care Net?

A: “You help pregnant women in a crisis and teach them about God”

“Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children’” (Matthew 19:14 NIV)

“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” (Proverbs 22:6 NIV)

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” (Psalm 127:3 NIV)

I would say the children we know around here have gotten it right.

What do you say we do at Care Net?

It IS Finished!

By Willow Sanders, Director of Student Services

Earlier in the week I was reading and came upon a story I’d heard at least a thousand times since childhood. It’s the story of the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Luke 24 gives a glimpse of the retelling of those first morning hours on the third day.

But one line just pierced my heart as I read it again and it just stayed with me all week.

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

It’s a good question and one that was totally appropriate for the context of the story. Three days prior Jesus had been crucified, his followers were grieving, his body buried behind a heavy stone. Even with all they had been told, their Messiah was gone and life as they knew it was over. Or was it?

They’re asked this poignant question by what we can assume are angelic beings. Scared for sure by first finding their Master gone, and secondly by the appearance of these beings and the revelation they had forgotten. Maybe it was emotion at the loss of One so great. Maybe it was exhaustion of living through the past three days of Jesus’ life.

We’re not much different are we?

There are times in our lives when we’ve been given the road map. Told exactly the plan of execution for a season of our lives, but we arrive totally void of the knowledge given to us.  But we’re SO exhausted at dealing with this life or we’re so filled with emotions rather than Truth.  As our culture continues to speed up and it asks our young people to hurry up and grow up, we are constantly left trying to play catch up.

I can remember times when I arrived at a new venture or mission and I kept trying to drag the old with me. The old mindset. The old operating system. The old ME. I had forgotten that God was doing something new!

So like the two ladies at the tomb that day, we can find ourselves surprised by our Savior. We don’t have to hang on to the old things of the past. Yes, some things are meant to stay but others are not. Other things we’ve gotten fresh information on…we just need to walk in it!

Our every day and every moment can be a turning again, a re-orienting and redirection to the Gospel of our Lord.  It is our privilege to keep preaching the Gospel to ourselves and to one another rather than listening to condemning voices.  We get to look deeper and deeper into the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection every day so that we may live in the riches of God’s grace through Christ. 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” reminds us, Christian, that we live in the completed work of Jesus Christ—sins completely forgiven, atonement completely made, justification completely declared, adoption completely accomplished, and glory completely secured.  It is finished!

The Approaching Storm!

By Sue Chess, Executive Director

As a child growing up on a farm we learned to instinctively be aware of the weather.  Thunderstorms could roll in rapidly and become a scary and drenching experience for any of us not paying attention.  We spent our summers wading the creek, roaming the woods, the hills, and all things outdoors.  Our awareness of the sky was finely tuned to head for home or the sheltering rock overhang should we hear the rumble. 

The approaching rumble in today’s world is the emergence of things that were once hidden in our society coming to light in ways like never before.  Perhaps you heard the recent news that the Born-Alive Abortion Act failed in the Senate by a vote of 53-44.  The Senate failing to protect the innocent child should cause all of us to shudder.   But please understand, this vote was not new—they had done the same thing before.  It was just that this time the responding rumbling of citizens grew louder.  We are paying better attention. 

America is waking up and beginning to take note of the storm.  A new Marist poll (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-marist-poll-americans-make-dramatic-and-sudden-move-toward-pro-life-label-300801000.html) was just released showing a dramatic shift in how Americans view abortion.  The poll found that we are now as likely to identify as pro-life (47%) as we are pro-choice (47%).  Just one month ago, a similar Marist Poll showed Americans were more likely to identify as pro-choice than as pro-life, by 55% to 38%, a 17 point gap!

In addition to that, the poll found that Americans are in favor of abortion being limited to the first three months of pregnancy. 

We are beginning to see more clearly. What was somewhat hidden is being seen.  But if the the truism that says “Politics is downstream from culture” really is true, then we are seeing mirrored in our politics what our culture has been doing while many were not paying close attention.

Understanding that concept should help us to be encouraged.  The growing outrage among most at the fanaticism which is pulling hard to the left in our culture is not all bad—it’s the sound of battle and there can be no victory without a battle.  This is the sound of the sane among us waking up and pushing back, responding with a loud “this must stop!”  The line is being drawn and apathy is dropping away.

Take, for instance, the recent finalization of regulations blocking Title X funds from going to organizations that provide or refer for abortion.  How appropriate that these new regulations are based on the fact that abortion is NOT healthcare (can I get an Amen?).  In response, the culture of death is rising up against this pulling of easy taxpayer money—so the battle increases.  Let it!

So, while the noise of the storm is concerning, it ought not to cause us undue anxiety.  We are shifting culture.  If you doubt that, look over this picture at those in attendance at this year’s March for Life. Don’t worry about the lack of media attention to it—we know!

Culture does not shift without a storm but vigilance and involvement is needed everywhere.  Apathy is the worst response because it allows the opposing forces to advance. Become informed, speak up, MAKE time to be involved, and pray like never before. 

There is no victory without a battle!   And God’s got this!

Join us in the Battle!

What Child Is This?

By Willow Sanders
      Director of Student Services

I think about the Christmas story a lot.

Like A LOT a lot.

Maybe it’s because I’ve heard it for years weaved in and out of my childhood. Maybe it’s because as I entered my young adult years I began to relate to it in a way I never saw before. Or maybe as I am decades in, as an adult in the world of crisis pregnancy, I see SO much more with each pregnancy appointment that points back to a time thousands of years ago that was likely just as scary, unsure, and scandalous as any day here in our center.

The time was between 6 and 4 B.C. and culture in that day wasn’t too different than today.

Okay, there are a few glaring differences, like cell phones and Uber, but the things Mary was facing...I see the same factors happening today.

Go there. She’s a girl about 15 years old. She’s taken the steps to move towards a new life with Joseph. She’s got all the dreams in her head about what life will be like. Then suddenly life changes dramatically.

SCANDALOUSLY.

She is completely freaked out at first, not understanding what is happening. I am sure in those moments with the angel a million thoughts are running through her head. Yet, in the midst of that moment, calm comes to her. She is reassured that this isn’t a bad thing and it will work out for good.

Then comes Joseph, I’m sure she realized she had to tell this guy. This man that she was about to do life with HAD to know what was coming. What would he say? How would he react? All the time, an angel already speaking to Joseph preparing his heart.

ALL these pieces of the story leading up to Jesus’ birth just floor me in reflection of the architecture of many crisis pregnancies and the work that goes on inside centers like Care Net across the country. Do you see it?

Unexpected circumstances.

Seamlessly timed intervention.

Mind-blowing acceptance pre-prepared.

A safe place when there was just no place else to go.

And in the end a child, born into a world so in need of hope, a child with a purpose.

Probably my favorite Christmas song is, “Mary Did You Know?” Like I said, what was maybe only moments must have seemed like an eternity to her. Realizing she was carrying someone so great. Someone who mattered so greatly.

I think about that for our clients too. Do they know? Can we help be that voice of reassurance that this baby matters? Can we help them find hope for his or her future? Can we be a place of safety and refuge in a difficult time? Can we remember the calculated process God used via a crisis pregnancy to explain how precious theirs is to Him? That this is no mere coincidence, but just like every birth before Him and every birth since, theirs begs the question:

What Child is This?

LIFE Hangs in the Balance

It is our prayer at Care Net that you have had a blessed season of Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

Thanks to your belief in LIFE and your commitment to the crucial work of Care Net, we’ve made an incredible impact this year!  The rescues were in abundance impacting 4,626 lives in 12 short months! 138 babies rescued from the choice of abortion, the Gospel shared 323 times, 103 rescued to salvation’s new life, 2,392 students challenged to healthy relationships, 1,610 clients received care and the message of LIFE, 137 opportunities given to embrace healing from past abortions, and 191 dads and men empowered and equipped to stand in the gap for their families.  

We are thankful to you!

However, there is still much to do! Lives hang in the balance every day making our Center motto of A Center in Every City more needed than ever.  We need to be readily available to moms and dads facing unplanned pregnancies.  Babies like Savannah (pictured below) are waiting to be rescued. 

Savannah Rayne - Born February 2018

Care Net’s year-end impact goal is to raise $100,000.00 to reach more families by applying it to the pay-off of this building and following the astounding shift discovered by our demographic analytics.   We believe every baby deserves to be rescued and raised in a confident, equipped God honoring home.  We can do this best by moving toward being debt-free, paying off the remaining mortgage, and freeing finances for a new location.   

As part of your year end giving please join many others in the spirit of the season’s generosity.  To see the Administrative Center we seek to pay off, click here for a virtual tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj0Ogbm5GUo 

Of course, anyone can give to the campaign on our regular donation page https://www.myegiving.com/carenet or by mailing a check to: Care Net Treasure Coast, 6704 S. US Highway 1, Port St. Lucie, FL 34952, or Text to Give at (772) 888-1801.

Joyfully,

Sue Chess

Executive Director