Monday, September 22, 2014

Hello out there! I haven't had much time to blog so I wanted to check in with y'all
and see how everyone is doing? I'm the campaign leader for the upcoming 40 Days
for Life in San Angelo, TX. I have been busy planning the Kick-Off Rally that will
be on Wednesday, September 24th from 6:30pm-7:30pm in the Cathedral courtyard.
I'm really looking forward to it. Sacred Sound will be providing the praise and
worship music, and the Guadalupana's are furnishing the cookies. We are going to
have a lot of side walk chalk so that the kids can trace their handprints on the concrete
slab and everyone can write positive, pro-life messages. It will be a great family
praise and worship evening filled with upbeat music!
The fall 40 Days for Life Campaign is from 9/24-11/2/14. We will have a prayer vigil
each and every day from 7:00 am - 7:00 pm in the courtyard. All pro-life people
are invited to come and pray for an end to abortion, and to pray for the mothers and
fathers, to pray for families, and to especially pray for the unborn.
I have brochures for our local pregnancy help center, for adoption agencies, and some
brochures and prayer cards from Rapahel's Refuge. We will also be taking donations
for items most needed at our pregnancy help center.
I'm going to close with the prayer from Raphael's Refuge prayer cards. This prayer is
for those who have lost their baby due to a  miscarriage, stillbirth, and any type of
early infant death, or childhood death.


                             Parent's Prayer for a Departed Baby
                   Holy Spirit, creator of life and love, thank you for
                             breathing life into the soul of my baby.
                        Heavenly Father, thank you for letting me play
                                     a role in my baby's creation.
                           Lord Jesus, thank you for my baby's love.
                              From my empty arms, I place my baby
                            into your arms, to be held for all eternity.
                                                       Amen


www.40daysforlife.com
www.40daysforlife.com/sanangelo                       Have a great week!
www.pregnancyhelpcenter.net
www.raphaelsrefuge.org                                                  Bye for now, Sharla
www.hopeafterabortion.com





Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Hello out there! It's a beautiful, overcast day here in San Angelo, TX. We were blessed
with rain overnight, we are always thankful for the rain out here! I just got home
from helping out with the Sack Lunch Ministry, our parish, Sacred Heart Cathedral provides
for the homeless and other people in need. Our parish is in the downtown area and we give
out sack lunches Monday - Friday from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm. We fed a lot of people
today, we gave out over 80 sack lunches. You never know how many people will stop
by, we usually hand out between 40 -80 lunches a day. In the summer, we hand out
more because kids are home from school. Everyone is always so appreciative. I only
help out twice a month, some of the other volunteers are there almost every day.
After we cleaned up and locked the doors I went over to the parish office and visited
with the secretary about the details for the kick-off rally we'll have next Wednesday
evening for the 40 Days for Life Campaign. I bought two candles and walked over
to the sanctuary. I love being in the sanctuary during the day when no one else is in
there. There is no way to describe the peace I feel when I kneel down to pray. It's so
quiet in there, light comes through the stained glass windows and it's beautiful. I look
up at the huge crucifix hanging on the wall behind the altar, a reminder that my Jesus
died on the cross for all of our sins. I walked down the side isle towards the back where
the shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe is, I was going to light my candles and say a
prayer, but I noticed that all the candle holders were already full. I smiled and sat my
candles on the floor and knelt down on the kneeler. When I saw all those candles
burning it was a visual image to me of faith. Every person who lit a candle and knelt
down and asked Mother Mary to pray for their special need, who lifted up their
prayer to God, what a beautiful sign of faith. I prayed for everyone who lit a candle,
I prayed for my family and then I softly sang the Hail Mary so overcome with emotion,
and the peace I felt at that moment. God is always with us, sometimes we need to step out
and away from all the noise in today's world to feel His presence. I'm so thankful
that I took the time to spend a few quiet minutes alone with God and was able to
witness the faith of His prayerful people.
I brought my candles home with me, they'll be lit later on, and every time I pass by
and see the flicker of the light, a prayer of peace for all of you, whether near or far
will be on lips and in my heart.
                                                God bless you all, Sharla


"Lead me Lord lead me Lord by the light of truth, to seek and to find the narrow way,
be my way be my truth be my life my Lord, and lead me Lord today."

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Babies are Babies No Matter How Small...............Please God Help Us Save Them All!

Hello out there! This morning there was a picture from National Pro-life Alliance
on my face book page. I saved it, and you can see it if you go to the view my
complete profile. Anyway, it's a picture of a stork and the saying is:


"We're Having A Clump Of Cells!"      .................Said No One Ever!


I can't tell you how many times I've asked, "Who says I'm pregnant but don't get
excited until it's a baby?" I mean it, have you ever heard anyone say that?! Well
I hit the Like button and then I posted the following comment:


So true! Have you ever heard anyone say this? I sure haven't! I remember jumping
around saying I'm pregnant! We're going to have a baby, and from there you're already
wondering, is it a girl, is it a boy, we've got to think of the greatest name and so on....
I wonder if anyone ever does say, "I'm pregnant, but it's just a fetus right now, so we'll
think about this later, you know, when it's really a baby. So when might that be,
lets see.....the heart starts beating 18 days after conception. Come on people wake up!
There's a baby in there! Take care of this wonderful gift God has blessed you with!


Back in April, I had one post about the first 6th months of gestation, and then another
day I posted about the 7th,  8th, and 9th months. I going to copy and paste them below.
A baby is such a miracle, amazing from day one. Life begins at conception.


Day 1: Fertilization
The sperm joins with the egg to form one cell. This single cell contains the complex genetic
makeup for every detail of a new human being. The child's sex, hair and eye color, height
skin tone, etc. After fertilization, nothing new is added but oxygen, nutrition, and time.
1st Month (1-4 Weeks) Did you know that a developing baby's heart begins to beat at just 18 days? Isn't that
amazing.  Muscles are forming, and arms, legs eyes, and ears have begun to show.
2nd Month (5-8 Weeks)
By six weeks the jaw forms, including teeth and taste buds. The baby begins to swallow
amniotic  fluid, and some have been observed hiccupping.
The kidneys begin to function. Fingers and toes are developing.
At seven weeks a baby's chest and abdomen are fully formed.
3rd Month (9-12 Weeks)
The baby now has fingerprints, turns his or her head, and opens and closes their mouth.
The gender can already be determined.
4th Month (13-16 Weeks)
This little baby is growing, and will be between 8-10 inches in length, and weighs about
one-half pound by the end of the fourth month.
His or her little ears can hear their momma's heartbeat, and external noises.
5th Month (17-20 Weeks)
This little one is growing bigger, and moving a lot. Some babies have been seen sucking
their thumb during a sonogram at the fifth month.
6th Month (21-24 Weeks)
A baby's oil and sweat glands are functioning, this little one is growing rapidly and his or
her lungs are becoming more developed.
7th Month (25-28 Weeks) This little baby boy or girl now recognizes his or her mother's voice. They exercise by stretching and kicking as they grow even bigger. They can use their senses of hearing, touch, and taste. They can even open their eyes and look around. If the baby is a boy, a son, this is when his testicles descend from the abdomen into the scrotum. What a miracle a new life is.
8th Month (29-32 Weeks)
Now the baby's skin will thicken, with a layer of fat stored underneath. This helps with insulation and provides nourishment. He or she will swallow a gallon of amniotic fluid per day. The mom will be able to feel an elbow or heel, sometimes a little rear end, as her son or daughter kicks and  moves in this cramped area. (I remember that my daughter had the hiccups a lot, it was such a funny and neat feeling. I know my son was doing flips in my stomach!)
9th Month (33-36 Weeks)
He or she will gain one half pound per week, and they are getting ready for birth. The bones in his or her head are soft and flexible to more easily mold and go through the birth canal. Did you know that ninety percent of our development happens in the womb?


Babies are babies no matter how small, please God help us save them all!
                                                            Bye for now, Sharla

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Good Morning out there! I hope everyone is having a great week. I saw a picture on
face book this morning of Mother Teresa. Her quotes are always thought provoking.
This one really hit me hard today. Mother Teresa said "It is a poverty to decide that a child
must die so that you may live as you wish."


You know, things don't always go as we plan, dream or hope. Many times God is
reminding us that He is in charge of our lives, not us. Maybe it's a job loss, a transfer,
not getting the house you want, or maybe it's something like not having good enough
credit for an expensive vehicle. An unplanned pregnancy definitely changes everything,
absolutely changes how you live your life, but if you stop and think about it, this baby is
a gift from God. Maybe you need a new direction. This baby will change your life for the
better, this baby is part of you. To all the men out there, no matter what age you are, if your
girlfriend or wife is pregnant, be a real man. Take care of your family, take care of your responsibilities. Love, protect and support them, be proud to be called dad, for that matter,
be proud to be a husband! Take pride in yourself and say "Hey, it's going to be ok, we can
do this." Your girlfriends, your wives, they need to hear you say, we're a family, yes this
changes everything, but for the better! Children need their mothers and their fathers, babies
are such a blessing, when did we get so off track. We need commercials and tv shows that
support family instead of the stupid stuff that's on. We need magazine covers that have good
moms and dads on the front page, happy families, not the trash that is on the rack right by
the check out stand in the stores. Men, step up to the plate as real men, and be a great dad,
be a great boyfriend, better yet, be a great husband, make the commitment that says this is
for real, this is forever! I keep seeing all the challenges on face book to raise money for
good causes, and that is great. But here is a real challenge, take care of your family. Be
there, day in and day out. The world tells you that partying is the way to go, it's a big lie.
Being part of a loving, caring family is the most amazing gift you can have, and give to
others. Put God first, find a parish home, get involved , spend time with your family.
That is something you will never regret. Ladies, motherhood is awesome, but be careful
who you pick to date and marry, make sure they want the same things in life that you do.
But especially make sure they will be good, loving and supportive fathers. This ugliness
in our world will not change unless we change. We need to get our priorities straight, we
need to put God first, family second, and everything else will fall into place.

Last night I was at Family Night at our parish. We have our religious education classes and
all kinds of adult bible study classes on Wednesday nights. Last night was the first night back
after summer break. We served chili dogs in the cafeteria, and then moved to the gym
where we had praise and worship music, the upbeat kind the kids love, with all the different
hand movements. Sacred Sound provided the music and they are awesome! The adults
(me included) also love the songs. I really like the one that goes "I say yes, yes Lord, I say
yes!" I'm not very coordinated so I have a little trouble with all the movements, but
I try! Anyway, I know that most churches offer all kinds of classes and activities, and
I really think that is a wonderful place for families to be, to grow, and spend time together.
To sum this all up, I'll say it again, a baby is a gift from God. Our lives are gifts from God,
what we do with our life, how we treat others, how we love others, is our gift back to
God. So go out, reach out and take care of each other, take care of your family.
                                                    Bye for now, Sharla

Monday, September 1, 2014

Hello out there! Happy Labor Day! Last week was an extremely busy week. I drove
one of my dearest friends to San Antonio for her doctor's appointment, I had a
catechist meeting Wednesday night, and a Parish Council meeting Thursday night.
I babysat one of my granddaughters one afternoon. Friday night, my daughter and
her family, and my son and his family came over for dinner. Everyone had such a good
time that they all came back over Saturday night as well! The grandkids have so much
fun together, and there is always plenty to eat! Some where in between, I actually
did some book work for our family business, JY Welding. My husband, and our
son (he works for us) come home for lunch almost everyday, I usually fix a big lunch
for them. Every now and then I say "you are on your own today!" Oh, and I'm also
working on the upcoming 40 Days for Life Campaign! I sent an article to the news-
paper and they published it on Friday under the Letters to the Editor section. I'll post
it at the end of today's blog. I have to go do laundry now, I just wanted to say hello,
and I hope you have a great week! Thanks for reading my blog, blessings to all!



This is an invitation for every pro-life person in San Angelo and all surrounding
communities. If you are pro-life, you are encouraged, welcome, and invited to join us
in the upcoming 40 Days for Life Campaign that includes prayer, fasting and community
outreach.


If you would like more information about 40 Days for Life there website is:
 www.40daysforlife.com
Sacred Heart Cathedral will be hosting the 40 Days for Life Campaign in the school courtyard, 20 E. Beauregard, San Angelo, TX 76903 beginning Wednesday, September 24, and continuing through
Sunday, November 2. The vigil times are 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. each and every day. This is a non-denominational event and an opportunity for people of all faiths to come together and pray for an
end to abortion. Please consider signing up to pray one hour each week in the school courtyard.
All groups and organizations are encouraged to participate. Please don’t be silent. These precious
 babies need our prayers. Their mothers and fathers need our prayers too. 
To those of you who can't join us, please pray for the unborn, please pray for an end to abortion,
 and please pray for all the 40 Days for Life Campaigns.  Thank you, have a great day!


                                                      Bye for now, Sharla