Walk for Life - Recap

Yesterday morning was our first experience at Walk for Life. It was absolutely wonderful. We were so glad to be a part of raising money for Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest. All together everyone raised over $100,000!!! Not to mention we had a great time as a family. We actually won a couple of prizes. We won two tickets to NC Theatre's show Annie. They are really great seats. Can you say DATE NIGHT! We also won a huge tin of gourmet popcorn from Palsies here in Wake Forest. It is one of those tins with three sections. These flavors are out of this world! The flavors were caramel, white cheddar, and kettle corn. Yeah that thing is almost empty and we've only had it about 24 hours or so. Here are some great shots from the event.

This is one of the coolest families ever...The Creswells...Love 'em!!

and here's our beautiful clan! Just doing our part to be pro-life...in more ways than one.

This is actually towards the end of the walk. It was only two miles, but that double stroller does not have power steering, and it was getting quite heavy by this point. But those two muscular macho men on the right, Rob and Cameron, were some awesome servants throughout the walk! They helped the stroller come down stairs and over curbs so many times! Thanks, guys! Yer perty cool!

This was such a great experience for all of us. I'm so excited about what Pregnancy Support Services is doing and wish them the best! This is certainly the least we could do for them.

November 30th Here We Come!

Ashley had her first visit today to confirm the pregnancy. There is a strong heartbeat and the baby was moving all over the place. The baby is 8 weeks along and the due date is November 30th. Which means no Thanksgiving trip to the beach this year, and possibly even Christmas. I think our family will understand.

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Sarah!

Andrew's gettin' Hitched!

Well, it's about time! My little brother Andrew is getting married tomorrow. His bride will be a lady named Sarah Patterson and we are very excited for the both of them. Ashley and I stayed up late last night baking 80 cupcakes for the rehearsal dinner tonight. I was the icing man. Yeah, it was a pretty sweet job! It was a ton of icing, though. For 80 cupcakes! I basically doubled the recipe and made three batches. The cupcakes are looking good, though. Ashley's going to be pretty tired today for sure. This first trimester has been fairly hard for her. She's been very tired and very nauseous. I took off work so she could be free to help out however she is needed. Looks like it will be a great day, though.

Sponsor Me!

I am currently participating in the 2010 Walk for Life for Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest. This organization offers a free medical service to confirm pregnancy via a pregnancy test and ultrasound after which a nurse and a counselor carefully walk the woman through the development of her baby, the abortion procedures and risks, the resources available to her for parenting (includes an in-house program providing them mentoring support and material items until the baby turns 1 year old), and the truth about the viable option of adoption.

The whole point of this crisis intervention service is to make sure the woman is FULLY informed, supported, and empowered to choose what she most desires to choose and for most women they want to choose life but don’t know how to move forward. They help her find her way forward! They help her “guy” and her family to walk through all of this with her too!

Around 12,000 women chose abortion in the Triangle area just last year which makes this service of informing and empowering them so important to me. I also love that if a woman does choose abortion that Pregnancy Support Services is a safe place for her to process her emotions and find support afterwards. They really do support the woman no matter what she chooses!

My goal is $1,000 which means I need 10 people to sponsor me with $100 or 20 people to sponsor me with $50. Would you please consider sponsoring me with a $100 or $50 gift?

If you make a credit card donation at www.PssPartners.com make sure my name is in the comments section so they know it is for me.

Thank you for helping me to reach my goal and for supporting women, men, and babies affected by unplanned pregnancy!

Jonathan (jwerdman@gmail.com)

Lost Wallets and Saved Lives

The irony of the situation struck me yesterday afternoon as my cousin's husband and I were strolling up and down St. Paul's Church Road in search of my missing wallet. How the wallet could be on or beside the road is a different story, so I'll spare you the details. What really matters is what the Lord reminded me of yesterday that was a refreshment to my soul.

We searched for my wallet because it was of great value to me. It belonged to me and contained investments that I did not want to lose, or what's worse, be picked up by the wrong hands. What struck me was this...You see, we are like that wallet. This struck me because I thought about the man who was helping me look for the wallet right then and there. You see, we almost lost him, too. Sin had overtaken his life and his family was in jeopardy. We almost lost him, but decided to let love and grace lead him out of the hole and into the light. We contacted him in the midst of his pain and let him know how much we loved him regardless of the sin that had overtaken him. And now, here we were, together again searching together for something lost.

Too many times we have an improper view of the gospel...We're standing on one side of the canyon and God on the other, while the cross bridges the gap for us to cross over and be where God is. The only problem is, that is not reality. There is a canyon. God is in fact on one side and we're on another. And there is truly a cross bridging the gap. But, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we would admit that if we had things our way, we would not run towards God, but run full speed in the other direction away from God and head-first into a life of sinful, self-serving pleasures. BUT praise be to God! He knows our sinful hearts! He provided the cross, so he HIMSELF could pursue us with HIS love, and rescue us from ourselves and the evil with which we were ensnared. Much like me seeking my wallet because it was of value to me. You and I are of extreme value to God! SO valuable in fact, that he HIMSELF died innocently for us.

So how can we let someone we love be swallowed up by sin? How can we keep silent and not love him? Aren't we glad God didn't keep silent and leave us to die in our sin, alone and forsaken? I honestly would rather lose a wallet with access to every financial account that is in my name than lose any person I love!

As we walked back towards the house, I looked at him and told him, "We can replace the wallet. We can't replace you." God is pursuing the world with his love and the world is running the other way. Sometimes the best way to remind people of God's grace is to demonstrate it.

And with that, Stephen, we love you, brother! Go and tell the world how God has rescued you out of darkness and into his marvelous light!

(By the way...I have my wallet now, but that's a whole other story.)

"He is not here!"

For most people, once they have died, their bodies will be placed in a tomb and remain there to decay. So, where is Jesus' body. I mean, he was in fact a real person who did actually die. But if that's the case, why is his tomb empty?

This is exactly what separates Christ from all other false "messiahs". He is the only one who has conquered death. His resurrection is the greatest source of hope for all the world! For what is there in life that is worse than death? If Jesus has defeated even that, then why should we worry about lesser issues? The gospel is the source of hope and joy for all those who turn from their sin and make Christ their new Master! After all, he has won the greatest battle and defeated the greatest enemy of life. I think making us into a new creation is probably small potatoes for the Creator and Savior of all of life. There needs to be no other argument for Christ's divinity and credibility than the resurrection. Which is why I celebrate Easter on a daily basis. For me, today is honestly just one more day to remember his cross. But I'm glad the rest of the world stops to at least think about it on a day like today. The real question is not will we merely think about it, but "What will you do with it now that you know it?"

How many kids do I have anyway?

How wondrously great the Lord has blessed me

To give me a quiver with my kids three.

And just when I think he's blessed me for sure,

He says, oh but wait, how about one more!