Miss Right to Life of Georgia - BLOG

Sweet peace.

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 13:47:33 GMT

The drive on Saturday night back to Buford from Gainesville is always so magical for me. Nostalgic, really. Because it requires so many vehicles to bring everything home, I tend to be in the car alone and the sudden silence and peace that fills my heart and soul is overwhelming. Trusting in the Lord always sounded so cliché’ and easy to me until this program graced my life. It has taught me a valuable lesson early in life, ALL things are truly possible with Christ. I would never have planned this for my life, or had the creativity to dream it up, but God not only placed it in my hands, he paved the way for me to accomplish a successful event again and again for four years consecutively. It is truly remarkable to feel used by Him.

Words cannot describe the joy in my heart as I watched each of our new queens being crowned. Their looks of disbelief and big smiles as their names were called were truly wonderful to watch. Year after year I watch young women, who are most definitely pro-life, growth even further and strong in their convictions. The women you saw standing on the stage Saturday night are pro-life, but the women you will see one year from now will not only be pro-life, they will have reasons and a platform to stand on for the rest of their lives. My hope this year is to kindle each and every flame in their hearts to grow in the Lord and his fantastic plan for their lives. I am excited to watch as these girls grow in knowledge and further understanding of this cause.

The 35 young ladies who participated in Miss Right to Life of Georgia this year joined the 134 girls from previous years that have participated in the past. These young ladies ARE our future. They are the single most impactful generation we have. As we spend the year participating in many pro-life centered events and serving hundreds of combined hours in community service, I ask each of you to keep our incredible girls in your prayers.

Blessed.

"I don't need easy, I just need possible" - "Soul Surfer"

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 03:00:16 GMT

This past Thursday night Miss Right to Life girls celebrated the end of the pageant year with our traditional "movie night". We snacked on popcorn, candy, and soda, and popped in the DVD player "Soul Surfer". Attire was, naturally, pageant t-shirt and your favorite pajama bottoms. Needless to say, we had a blast!

The movie tells the true life story of a young girl named Bethany Hamilton, who after surviving a tragic accident relies on her family and faith to guide her through a dark time in her life. It was a great movie! It was also a bittersweet end to a wonderful year with some incredible girls. As we move forward to the coming year, we are also excited about adding more girls to our organization! This night will definitely be a night to remember.

We LOVE Pregnancy Resource Center of Gwinnett :)

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:13:18 GMT

This past Memorial Day weekend, a handful of the Miss Right to Life girls, board member Ama Trear, and myself volunteered at the very 1st annual "Life Run". The Life Run was a benefit 5k for the Pregnancy Resource Center of Gwinnett.

I was thrilled to have some of the girls be able to attend this event, regardless of the fact the event was held on a holiday weekend and many were out of town traveling or had already made other plans. We had a blast!

As runners passed the 1/2 way mark, we handed out water and let them know they were almost done! :) It was really great to see so many people so passionate about the this cause that they were running a 5k on Memorial Day at 8AM! How cool is that?!

We are huge fans of the Pregnancy Resource Center of Gwinnett, and it was an honor to be able to help them raise funds for their organization. With this event they raised over $7,500! WOW! They do amazing work with mothers and babies in Georgia!

For more information on how you can help the Pregnancy Resource Center of Gwinnett, visit their website: http://www.prcg.org/

"We are in an interesting battle, whether we realize it or not" - Gianna Jessen

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:43:32 GMT

Never have I ever been more sure that the pro life values and beliefs that I believe so passionately in are true and real. So many times the devil has crept on my shoulder and whispered to me that I am wrong, that we are all wrong, and placed doubt in my mind. After last night's profound Right to Life event, I know that there is no doubt, no argument, no pro- abortion debater, that could ever sway my heart and mind.

As people walking the earth, we have never been promised anything materialistic or glamorous in this life. Does it not say in the Bible that we are indeed promised suffering? If you have not yet experienced suffering, you should prepare for it.

The rights of women (and men) in the womb have been tromped by women walking the earth, declaring they have the right to be happy, to be "baby free", to be irresponsible, the right to go to college, the right to continue their career, to be pain and suffering free. Some women even go so far as to argue that their baby has "the right to a happy and abundant life" as well, which they cannot provide it, thus an abortion is necessary. While all of the things listed above are things we desire here on this earth, are they a "right"? Are they promised to us by God? The answer is simple, "No".

It never fails for me to "get the look" from someone when I say this, but did it ever occur to women that the ability to carry a child in our womb may be our burden? Our cross to carry for Christ? Our pain and suffering? Whether the woman is seeking an abortion for convenience (more than 99%) or because of an adverse circumstance (such as rape, less than 1%), has it ever cross her mind that no one is promised a perfect, pain free, suffer free life, and that ending an innocent child's life in the womb (that already possesses a soul) is never acceptable in God's eyes? You cannot measure the future of another's life. Have you considered adoption? Putting your situation in God's hands and letting him fulfill His plan for your life, as well as the tiny soul you carry in your womb? Gianna pointed out last night that we would be amazed what God would do with our lives if we would just let him take the reins. So many times we say "Sit back God, I can do it better, I know what's best for me", while God has unfathomable plans for us that we can not even imagine.

As Gianna Jessen spoke last night, I watched her words make an impact on every one in attendance. She revealed an undeniable testimony to us all, each and every life has purpose. An abortion is never the answer.

Along with her testimony, Gianna also expressed a genuine love and compassion, not condemnation, for any women in the audience who had gone through with an abortion in her past. Being a saline- abortion survivor herself, I found this remarkable. Gianna survived over 18 hours in the womb of her mother during a late term abortion procedure that should have ended her life. She is convinced that God's hands were on her life in that very moment, and that he was with her during the hours after her birth as she fought for her life. After seeing what an impact she has made on the world through Him, it makes it even more real what an atrocity it is that 4,000 abortions are performed in just America EVERY DAY.

4,000 souls, futures, miracles. Gone, just like that.

As Gianna said last night, "Sometimes there are things we can only learn from the weakest among us and it is our loss when we remove them from our society". A society that exterminates the weakest among them is a society condemned.

“And what arrogance, what absolute arrogance, and it has been an arguement for so long in this human place that we live, that the stronger should dominate the weaker, should determine who lives and dies. The arrogance of that! Don’t you realize that you cannot make your own heart beat?. Don’t you realize that all the power that you think that you possess you really possess none of it? It is the mercy of God that sustains you, even when you hate Him.” -Gianna Jessen

"Pageant" is a hard pill to swallow.

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:33:49 GMT

"Pageant" is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people, and rightly so. There is certainly a negative stereotype associated with the word. We all think of something. Big hair. Lots of makeup. Fake teeth. Hair pieces. Spray on tans. Fake. Fake. Fake. I get it, I really do. In fact, I used to think the same.But, I'm here to break the barrier of this stereotype that rests in all our minds. If done genuinely with a true heart of service, "Pageant" should be one of the easiest pills you've ever swallowed.

Young girls in our country are hurting, and hurting badly. Low self esteem, teen pregnancy, and domestic violence with young women in America are on the rise throughout our country. To all of us on the front lines, fighting to end abortion in this country, we have to begin somewhere don't we? What can we do? What impact can we make? The ladies in our bible study class at church are most likely already pro life. Many of our friends at work are adults whose minds are already made, pro life or not. Our family members, yeah- they're mostly already pro life too. Most grown adults are either pro life or pro choice, and feel very strongly so.

The key is to start with our YOUTH. What about our girls? Our middle school girls? Our high school girls? Where do they sit? Truth is, many of them are still deciding. And the ones out there who believe in the right to life for ALL, where can they go where they are surrounded by girls their age who all feel the same way? Are their friends pro life? Do they feel comfortable and confident defending their beliefs to their peers?

Miss Right to Life of Georgia IS a pageant program. A pageant program where score is based primarily on personal interview with three pro life judges, not big hair or deep tans. Pageant programs based on a more natural stance are popping up everywhere, and I think it's wonderful. These pageants build interview skills. They build confidence. They build sisterhood. They build soaring self esteem and worth. They build respect for others (and in Miss Right to Life's case, respect for the preborn). Young women who trust in the Lord's plan for their lives and who believe they are His, and His alone. And what do we get with young women mentored with these attributes?

Less unplanned pregnancies and fewer abortions.

That's not all you get, either. These girls have changed my life. I had high hopes for this program when it first began two years ago, but my reality is tenfold. Their hearts are unreal. They have a zest for life and for the lives of the most innocent of all- the lives of the preborn. They have made this program. The day after the pageant, they put the "pageant" behind them and begin the best of all- the PROGRAM. A program where you are surrounded by pro life girls and young ladies, just like you.

This organization impacts girls of all ages. My goal? To save one life. To sway one decision. Just one. Maybe one day one of these girls will be faced with the decision of life or abortion? Maybe they will look back to one event, one day, one person, and remember who they and Whose they are. And once you are a "Right to Life" sister, you are a sister for life.

We have WONDERFUL pro life organizations in Georgia. The most well known of course, is Georgia Right to Life, and all of its staff has been an inspiration to me- and made a huge impact on my life. They are what I like to call "Pro Life Warriors" and their efforts to end abortion are without measure. Georgia is known for being a "pro life state" but how many of us living in it's perimeters can get up every morning and say we are fighting for the right to life for all?

That being said, we can't expect them to do all the work. And "Miss Right to Life", well....that's my portion and my contribution based on my knowledge and skills to aid in this war for life. It may not be biggest or best, but it's my little part. Pro life organizations meant JUST for and centered around young girls are unheard of. There is nothing else like this out there for our girls in America, much less the state of Georgia. Where they can get together and be Christians, pro life, and be, well- girls?

Our future, and the future of babies in this nation, rests in their hands. My heart is dead set on mentoring as many girls as I can, and fostering the best environment in order for these girls to see the truth and live the truth. It is too easy to get caught up in Satan's lies, and it is my true belief that if God had his way in all of our hearts, abortion would not exist.

"Pageant" is a hard pill to swallow, but if it means we are able to impact our girls in a positive way and teach them the truth about abortion, well.... pass the glass of water.