Sunday, March 24, 2019

My Granddaughter's Picture - Worth 62 Million Words!

Hello out there! - Five years ago - March 22, 2014 - I started my blog. I had no idea what
I was doing. I just knew that I wanted to get my pro-life/pro-adoption message out in
the world somehow. I wasn't on Facebook, I had a flip phone, and I never thought that I
would use social media. I wrote letters to the newspaper but I knew that wasn't enough.
I had been thinking about starting a blog for awhile so I checked out what other bloggers
were doing. On that Saturday morning, five years ago, I remember saying, "This is it,
today is the day!" I called my best friend, Becky (Sis), from Odessa and she helped me
as much as she could over the phone. My daughter and daughter-in-law came over and
helped me set up the rest. I wrote my first post - a lot has changed since then.
The following is my first post:


Hello out there, my name is Sharla and I was adopted at birth. I started this blog to help promote adoption as a life option. I was adopted from Ft. Worth, TX 50 years ago. I was blessed with wonderful parents, and a protective older brother. I've been happily married for almost 31 years now, and my husband, Jim, is an amazing man. When we got married I was blessed with a 6 year-old stepson, whom I love as my own. My husband and I were then blessed with two more children, a son and a daughter. We have eight grandchildren, six girls and two boys, all between the ages of 9 months and 8 years old!


This blog is going to be positive, full of life, and informational. I'm excited to get started.
I will post links to pro-life web sites, talk about good books, and share stories about my crazy, wonderful life!


I'm five years older, Jim and I have been married for almost 36 years now,    
and we have been blessed with two more grandchildren.
The girls still out number the boys four to one; eight granddaughters and two grandsons,
all between the ages of (the youngest) turns four this week and the oldest who turned
thirteen in January.
I naively believed when I began writing stories for my blog that I was really going
to make a difference. I've met amazing people during this five year journey.
I have learned to pray like I never had before. I've learned to roar like a lion and I have
cried buckets of tears.
I won't ever give up and neither will all the people who work so hard to defend the most
innocent among us. We will continue to be the voice of the voiceless.
But I have to say that the so-called "Reproductive Health Act" that passed in New York
on the 46th anniversary of Roe-v-Wade was like a kick in the gut. How, how in the world
did that evil bill pass?


I've written letters to the newspaper, representatives, and bishops. Two of the bishops
I sent letters to in New York did respond back to me. They are appalled by the passing
of this bill and they have spoken out against it.


My grandchildren have grown up with their "Pro-Life Nana and Pa" and their pro-life
parents. One of my granddaughters who is in the seventh grade, at a public school,
drew a picture for her art class. The teacher asked them to draw a picture about something
that is going on in the world right now. She was reading the letter I received from the
Bishop of Brooklyn, Bishop DiMarzio, and asked me what my letter had said.
I told her that I sent a letter to all the bishops in New York and how I described the scene
I saw on the news when the bill was passed.
"Pa and I watched in shock and horror as we witnessed the celebration that took place
in the courtroom when the bill to kill an unborn baby up to birth was passed.
People were clapping and cheering and giving each other double high fives."
I went on to tell her that they lit up the One World Trade Center in pink to celebrate.
She just couldn't believe it.
This is the picture my granddaughter drew and turned in. She made a 100. By the way,
I asked her what the other students had drawn - they had all drawn pictures about
pollution. Our children and grandchildren are listening to what we say.


Please speak up - This is what happens when people are silent and afraid to voice their opinions.
Abortion is not women's healthcare. Adoption for the human babies! Come on! It is time to roar like a lion!

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Scripture, Reflections, and Prayers

Hello out there! It is a beautiful and bright sunny day!
Just a quick post about a reflection I read in one of my daily devotional books.
My friend gave me this book, "Pro-life Reflections for Every Day" written by
Father Frank Pavone. Catholic Book Publishing Corp. out of New Jersey printed
it. Each day contains a scripture verse, reflection, and prayer. We have been out
of town and although I packed this book I wasn't able to find it yesterday. Today
I read yesterday and today's reflections. I am going to share the scripture and
part of the reflection from March 16th with you.
March 16
Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us.        Ephesians 5:2
The following is from the second paragraph of the reflection:
Love says, "I sacrifice myself for the good of the other person."
Abortion says, "I sacrifice the other person for the good of myself."
I realize that many women feel pressured to have an abortion. Maybe they don't
have support from the father or their parents and it is a decision made out of
fear not because they truly want to have an abortion. That is why it is so important to
tell people about the help that is available to them. We also need to teach our youth about
the miracle of conception.
We need to speak up about responsibility. Today's young men and young ladies need
to be taught about their self worth as a human being, created in the image and
likeness of God, and not as an object to be used or exploited sexually.
It is really hard to listen to someone explain why they just don't care;
those who fall into the category of the reflection I shared.
The following is an example:
I listened to "Catholic Answers Live" the other evening on Guadalupe Radio Network
as I ran some errands. The two hour call in program was for pro-choice people to
call in and have a conversation with Trent Horn, who is a popular author and speaker
on many topics but especially pro-life. One of his books is, "Persuasive Pro-Life"
and the sub title is "How to Talk About Our Culture's Toughest Issue."
I heard different people's views and many of the callers were open to discussion and
some really didn't understand and appreciated his informative response. There was
one young woman who called in and it was obvious from the beginning that she
didn't care about dialogue at all. Her response has stayed with me and really bothered
me. I think that is why the scripture and reflection I shared with you today really
jumped out at me. She stated that her "right to happiness" is why she is pro-choice.
There was nothing you could have said to that young woman that was going to
change her mind. He spent quite a bit of time trying to help her understand but to
no avail. I have learned that there are some people who do not want to know the truth -
they don't care. I pray for them, that their eyes be opened, their hearts softened.
I really feel sorry for the young woman and I pray that God will touch her heart
and open her eyes to true peace, true happiness.
I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed day.
Hug your spouse, hug your kids, and thank God for a new day!
Reach out to others - the more we help others the less we worry about ourselves.
I pray that I will be always be more concerned about the needs of others rather than what I
want or need.
                                                                                   Bye for now, Sharla

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Birthdays, Faith, Family Time, and Prayers

Hello out there - I hope y'all are doing well! My mind is like that rotating circle thing
when it takes forever for a link to pop up on the internet - thinking, thinking, thinking!
This is going to be one of those "jump right in post" no order, just what pops up first.
Jim and I went to the Adoration Chapel on Monday morning. He is always able to sit
in one spot and pray, pray, and pray. I move around. I pray from my heart, I pray the
rosary if I have time, I read the scripture readings for the day, etc. After I read the
readings, which really touched home, I whispered (we were the only ones in there but
you are supposed to be quiet and respectful) "Jim! Stop praying for a minute and let
me read the first reading to you." He turned his head and looked at me and whispered,
in a loud whisper, "No!" to which I whispered back, "Fine!" I just wasn't able to
concentrate on my prayers that morning. We've had a lot going on lately and one
Monday after he prayed for a while and I prayed for a while we just talked about
everything. I love that we go to the Adoration Chapel together. It doesn't matter if
we pray together, pray side by side - each praying our own prayers, or if I'm walking
back and forth praying the rosary while he is kneeling in prayer. The awesome thing
is that we're together.
Sometimes when I sit down to write a post, like tonight, I'm not sure what I want to
say but I know that something is weighing on my heart. I just start typing and sharing
things that have happened during the week. Jim and I are truly blessed and thankful
for so many things.
This past Sunday we celebrated one of our youngest granddaughter's birthday at
our home. She is now four years old! She was so excited and looked precious in her
birthday dress covered with bunnies and her headband made up of flowers and bunny ears.
I had bought pink, fuzzy bunny ears for our four youngest granddaughters to wear.
A fun family celebration; seven adults and nine children. She wanted chicken nuggets
and cheese balls and a chocolate cake with M & M's. My daughter-in-law decorated
the cake to look like a bunny face - very cute! I made pigs in a blanket to go along with
the chicken nuggets and cheese balls and we also heated up left over lasagna and made
garlic bread! Wow! What a menu - something for everyone! A pie crust that was fixing
to be out of date was quickly whipped into another yummy dessert - spread melted butter,
sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake. The motto in our home is "If you are still
hungry when you leave - it's your own fault!" Thanks be to God, we always have more
than enough! As everyone gathered in the kitchen I reminded them we needed to say
Grace. I wish you could have heard all the voices as we prayed out loud, from the
smallest to the tallest, "Bless us, O' Lord and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive
from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen. I immediately said that I should have
taped the prayer. A loud, unanimous exclamation was made that I could do that at the
next family get together! Those are the moments I will always cherish in my heart -
my small kitchen seems to grow when everyone is home; love and laughter fill the
room, food and prayers, parties and bunny ears, a chorus of Happy Birthday as candles
are blown out - Yes, we are blessed! I took lots of pictures - I always do!
We are waiting on a test result right now. I know that everything will be okay but
sometimes I'm not as strong as I think I am. Jim is my soulmate - he is truly my better
half - so I would appreciate it if you would say a prayer for him.
                                                                             Bye for now, Sharla

Saturday, March 9, 2019

Articles, Blogs, and Tweets - Oh My!

Hello out there! The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day!
It's been almost two weeks since I've written a post - my last post was about
finding your voice and speaking up for what you believe in. I started my blog almost
five years ago - my first post was March 22, 2014.
This will be post #406 - Hundreds of stories from my heart. Some are hard to read because
the truth isn't always easy to hear. Some are just down to earth, everyday life, fun posts:
You might be Catholic if...
You might be a welder's wife if...
You might have ten grandkids if...
Yes, I have a redneck birdbath and a real bird bath too...
People probably realize I'm pro-life because...
Others have helpful links and information that has hopefully been passed along. I write
stories about my faith, my family, our lives. All of my stories have been written to share
the message of life, faith, family, hope and of love. Lots of love!
I've written countless letters to our local newspaper, local leaders, etc. I got on Facebook
three months after I started my blog - something I never thought I would do. I've done
all of these things, taken these steps to "do my part" - "be a voice for voiceless" - hoping
and praying that babies will be saved from abortion.
Last year I signed up to be on Twitter - I didn't know what I was doing and just didn't
take the time to figure out how to get my "Tweets" out there. I still had a twitter account
but just didn't mess with it.
Last Saturday night, Jim and I watched the "Gosnell Movie" - Jim had not wanted to because
he knew that it would just upset me. I cried and I could see Jim's jaw clench throughout the
movie. We are both glad we watched it because it just made us all the more determined
to get the pro-life message out there. We stayed up late discussing how to move up to
the next level. We had talked about me doing some video blogs aka Vlogs, and also
adding some podcasts to my blog site and on You Tube. That is in our plans for the
not so distant future. But that night - one week ago - I looked up the Gosnell Movie
and some saw twitter comments. I clicked on my twitter account and just started tweeting.
I'm still not sure how I did it but I actually started having discussions with a lot of
people from Ireland. Isn't that amazing? I've been tweeting a little bit everyday and
I even have some people that "retweet" what I tweet!
Oh, by the way, you can find my "tweets" on Twitter  Sharla Ynostrosa @AdoptedBlessed
My message for today is...Don't give up! Keep on trying because the unborn babies need
you and their mothers and fathers do too!
You created my inmost being;
You knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am wonderfully made;
awesome are Your works.
Psalm 139:13-14