Let’s Roll!

Don’t you love it when you feel like the Lord has given you direction in your life, and then gives confirmation through another person? That is what happened to me today.

First, I will explain the title of this blog post. “Let’s roll” were the last recorded words of Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer, who 20 years ago last Saturday, along with other brave men and women on the plane, attacked the high-jackers and caused the plane to go down into a field, instead of the intended target which was likely the Capitol. Todd Beamer was a strong and brave man, as were the men and women who fought with him. This post is about getting strong so we can be in shape to fight another enemy…the enemy of abortion…which is really the devil.

Last week my 27 year old son got very sick with Covid. He was hospitalized on Thursday and spent a night, scared, alone and struggling to breathe while I was 2,000 miles away on a family trip to Idaho. I have never felt so helpless. He called me from the hospital and just wanted me to stay on the phone with him, but the service was not good and we kept getting disconnected. They were afraid of blood clots in the lungs, and he was waiting for the CT scan when our call was cut off for the last time at 2 am. After that, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t get any information from the hospital…it was 4 am in Pittsburgh and everyone here was sleeping. No one could go to be with him. As one of my sisters offered to stay up and pray with me, I told her that the helpless feeling I had reminded me of being in a dream. You know the kind of dream where there is some sort of danger and you want to run, but your legs just won’t move? It was then that I felt God gave me the insight to see that the sense of “not being able to run” was really an image of my weak spiritual state! I believe that my weak state has at least partially been caused by neglecting to fast, along with my recent reliance on a nightly wine spritzer (or two), for comfort and relaxation. God helped me to see that in my current condition, I am not strong enough to resist the attacks of the enemy during this terrible time of spiritual warfare that we see happening all around us right now.

I could be wrong, but I have felt for a long time that God gives a special protection to His children who are fighting in the trenches of the abortion battlefield. But I wonder if our family members could possibly be targeted by the enemy, as retaliation against us? At that moment I told my sister, “That’s it…I am going back to fasting two days a week and giving up alcohol again!” I fasted for my son the next day, and many of our 40 Days for Life team members prayed. The scan showed no blood clots in the lungs and he was sent home with oxygen. (Please pray for him as he is still struggling to keep his blood oxygen up and is getting discouraged.)

The reason that I decided to share all of this with you is that I wonder if maybe you have also allowed yourself to become spiritually weak through worldly comforts? If we weren’t about ready to begin a very difficult and dangerous mission of fighting the enemy right at his own doorstep for 40 straight days…then it wouldn’t be such a big deal to be a little out of shape spiritually. But the truth is that we are a big target for the devil when we show up in front of an abortion clinic without our spiritual armor on. And if he can’t get to us, he will try to get to our family members. That is why I believe we MUST FAST if we are able!!! Jesus said that some demons can only be cast out through prayer AND fasting. It is important.

I don’t like fasting, and I have not fasted for at least two years…but my decision to begin again was confirmed when I listened to a podcast by Fr. Richard Heilman’s U.S. Grace Force today. God confirmed the word that he gave me on Thursday through Fr. Heilman. In the podcast, Fr. Heilman and Doug Barry were talking about the military term “Hardening the Target”. Doug Barry explained that to “harden the target“, you first need to evaluate and determine where the weaknesses are, that the enemy could possibly have access to. Then, once you have determined your weaknesses, you need to do whatever is necessary to strengthen those areas. For me, my weakness is food and alcohol. For someone else, maybe it is too much social media or frivolous entertainment. Point is, whatever your weakness is, if we don’t “harden the target“, we will be easy pickings for the devil as we put ourselves “out there” for 40 days on the sidewalk. So, today I went onto our 40 Days for Life fasting calendar and took two days each week. I noticed that we have MANY empty days where no one is signed up to fast.

I would encourage anyone who can fast from food (bread and water or liquids only) for 24 hour time periods to sign up HERE.

JOIN US AT ONE (OR BOTH) OF TWO KICK-OFF EVENTS:

Today (Monday), Join us for a “Bringing Pro-Life Pittsburgh Together” kick-off event at St. John Neumann, Bovard Hall, 2230 Rochester Road in the north hills at 7 pm. Come meet representatives from many pro-life organizations, hear local pro-life speakers and enjoy a time for socializing and networking with other pro-lifers!

This Tuesday we will be fighting the evil of abortion in the most powerful way possible, by bringing Jesus Christ Himself to the sidewalk! Join us at Epiphany Church at 7 pm for a kick-off Mass with Fr. Chris Donley presiding, homily by Fr. Tim Deely and many of their brother priests concelebrating at the altar! (About 25 priests have said they plan to be there!) Immediately following Mass, at 8 pm, we will have a Eucharistic Procession to Planned Parenthood, where we will pray before the Blessed Sacrament there on the sidewalk. I hope you will join us for this spiritually strengthening evening! May Jesus remain on that sidewalk through all of us during each of these 40 days!

If you need some encouragement to participate in 40 Days for Life, here is a video that Fr. Frank Pavone made just for the participants of 40 Days for Life! Watch it HERE!

Finally, please help us to fill the empty hours on the sidewalk! We currently have filled only 97 of the 240 2-hour time slots with church groups! If you can gather a small group from your church to adopt a time slot, please contact Fran Morrow at franmac98fmc@gmail.com to get signed up. Here is the link to view the church schedule as of today: Church_Group_Schedule_Fall_2021-2.pdf Take a look and let Fran know when you can come!

If you are able to fill some hours as an individual prayer volunteer, please contact Donna Goss at gdgoss620@gmail.com or you can sign yourself up at 40 Days for Life

Lastly, our most urgent up-coming needs on the sidewalk are as follows:

The last day of the 40 Days for Life 365 program is this Tuesday, and we have a final need for a volunteer! From 1:30-3:00 we have no one to stand with Linda. Also, from 3-4 we need someone to be with Conrad. Please reply to this email if you can help, or contact Jen at pghsaland365@gmail.com.

The first Monday of our fall 40 days is September 27th and is also the day of the March for Life in Harrisburg. Many of our 40 Days for Life team members are planning to attend the march, which leaves a need for prayer volunteers to be in front of Planned Parenthood! We especially need someone from 1-3 to be with Priscilla, from 3-5 with Dan and from 5-7 with George! Please reply to me if you can help with one of these time slots!

Thank you for your help! Without you we would not be able to continue 40 Days for Life! I will see you on the sidewalk anytime from September 22nd through October 31st! May God be with us!

Your sister in Christ,

Nikki