Will South Dakota be the first state to ban abortion?

The South Dakota Senate has passed a bill banning abortion except where the life of the mother is at stake. It is going to the house but since they already approved a similar one, there should be no trouble there. Here is an article from Fox News
And this one is not so updated, but it's from Operation Rescue and has information about similar bills in other states.

How many cows?

This is the story of Johnny Lingo, a man who lived in the SouthPacific. The islanders all spoke highly of this man, but when it came time for him to find a wife the people shook their heads in disbelief. In order to obtain a wife you paid for her by giving her father cows. Four to six cows was considered a high price. But the woman Johnny Lingo chose was plain, skinny and walked with her shoulders hunched and her head down. She was very hesitant and shy. What surprised everyone was Johnny's offer--he gave eight cows for her! Everyone chuckled about it, since they believed his father-in-law put one over on him. Several months after the wedding, a visitor from the U.S. came to the islands to trade and heard the story about Johnny Lingo and his eight-cow wife. Upon meeting Johnny and his wife the visitor was totally taken back, since this wasn't a shy, plain and hesitant woman but one who was beautiful, poised and confident. The visitor asked about the transformation, and Johnny Lingo's response was very simple. "I wanted an eight-cow woman, and when I paid that for her and treated her in that fashion, she began to believe that she was an eight-cow woman. She discovered she was worth more than any other woman in the islands. And what matters most is what a woman thinks about herself."

Jesus paid the most costly price to gain a bride, His church. He took all our sin on Himself and bore the punishment for every wrong thing we have ever done and will ever do. All we have to do is say yes to His offer, say that He is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead.
Every single one of us is an eight-cow woman!

February 17, 2006

Hey everyone! I’m sorry I’ve not posted in a while. Thank you everyone who has left me messages! I really appreciate hearing from you all.

I had a lovely Valentine’s Day here. We made break and bake cookies with little hearts on them. And when we came back from the prayer room, our core leaders (Sarah and Sarah Beth) had left us a note, a Dove dark chocolate and a single red rose on each of our pillows. It was so sweet. So combine that with all the chocolate April and Camila sent me and the card and cat from Katherine, and all the roses and cards other girls got from their dads or secret admirers, and you would never guess that none of us have boyfriends! Our apartment looks like a valentine’s day commercial. J It makes it very happy and cheerful.

It has been bitter cold here the past 2 days. Today the high was 25 with a wind chill of 15. I thought my face was going to crack and fall off. Good news, it didn’t! ;)
Monday was nice and warm though, I went for a nice walk with Sarah-who-knows-Ben-and-Melissa-from-Teen-Mania. It was so glorious to be out in the warmth and sunshine. But that’s all gone now.

My time here has been flying by. I can’t believe that there are only 5 ½ weeks left! It feels like I just got here.

I am enjoying all of my classes, but definitely my favorite is The Excellencies of Christ. Every night when we finish I fell so amazed and awed from staring at the character of Jesus. It’s like that verse that talks about beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord and being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18). Every night when I come away from that class I feel so totally overwhelmed by the beauty of Jesus. He is the most remarkable human ever; Fully God, fully man, unique in every way. And the more I listen to Clay and Stuart (the class instructors) talking about Jesus, the more I feel like I don’t really know Him at all. All of my thoughts about Him are too small and limiting. I don’t think I have even begun to encounter who He is. It is driving me to study the Bible more and spend more time meditating on Jesus and talking to Jesus. Every night I ask God to reveal to me more of His Son, that I would have wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus. (Ephesians 1:16-17) It is something that I know I can spend my life searching out and never come to the end of.

So enough of my tirade on Jesus. He is just too beautiful. We don’t even know, we don’t even get it!

I had dinner last night with Janet Asbury. She came up to check out a house they might buy. I am so excited for them. This is such an incredible place, there is an anointing here for training and equipping and sending out. And the things you learn here aren’t just head knowledge, so you really take it with you the rest of your life no matter where you go or what you do.

April mailed me my USAG magazines this week. I enjoyed the articles, it helps me keep connected to what is going on in the world of gymnastics.

Hey NVG girls!!! Have a great meet this weekend!!! Don’t get nervous. Have fun and do your best. And for goodness sake, stay on the beam!!! ;)

Love you all,
Amanda Joy :)

February 7, 2006

Things are going well here.
We are in the middle of the monthly 3-day global bridegroom fast. Day 2 is a lot easier then day 1. :)

We have spent a lot of time recently praying for what God's doing at Asbury College in Kentucky. Yesterday, their morning chapel turned into a prayer meeting, and as far as I know it is still going. And today a Christian college in Minnesota (North Western is what I think it is called) had a call to prayer and 400 of their students have been praying all day. So God is doing something, can't say what but we are praying that it continues and spreads.

This Thursday through Saturday is a conference. There's a lot going on right now, but I am getting enough sleep so I am keeping up ok.

Thanks to everyone who has left me a comment. It is encouraging to hear from you. I am soaking up a lot of good things while I am here. I can't wait to see all of your lovely faces when I return.

This is such a special place and time for me right now. I am being stretched and growing in so many ways. It is intense.

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.

Love,
Amanda :)