When I first became a PCC counselor, it wasn't unusual for me to meet with women who had children in state custody or who were battling drug, alcohol, or other addictions. It seemed as though the majority of my clients were on multiple forms of state assistance, and sometimes I saw women who could a...

One Sunday after church, two people separately alerted me that they noticed my head shaking during the church service. They observed this from the back rows and were concerned. Totally oblivious to this happening, I was amused but uneasy by their remarks. One of them, a nurse, advised me to check wi...

Pressure involves being backed into somebody else's corner. Some of those tight spots feel worse than others, yet they all have a few things in common. They're uncomfortable. We might reluctantly give in, or we may be forced to temporarily give up. Either way, pressure can be overpowering. Whethe...

Remember as a young teenager that feeling of despair when your first boyfriend 'pulled the plug' on your infatuation? Those daily phone calls, love-notes, and stolen glances behind your teacher's back screeched to a sudden halt, leaving your heart wounded and seemingly beyond repair. The agony, the ...

usually means heart-shaped love notes, candy in rosy pink cellophane boxes, and sappy love songs. Many sweethearts spend the day celebrating that mushy feeling and commemorating love. I was one of them until February 14, 1994, changed all that. A jangling phone at 8 a.m. brings me out of a deep s...

Dear Sweetheart, I picked out a little pink sweater for you today. It has lace around the throat and sleeves. If only I could see you in it right now, all dolled up. I stood there in the store and got lost in thought for a while. I could picture you running around, playing with the stuffed bunnie...

Recently, I sat in a pastor's office hoping to gain permission to hold our CPC's next post-abortion Bible study in one of the church's classrooms. Just a few days before, I had the privilege of co-facilitating the study for a second time—and the third would begin in a few weeks. I briefly shar...

For 15 years, we had talked about adopting a little girl. There was always the vastness of unanswered questions and reasons why we couldn't or shouldn't. We even went to numerous adoption informational meetings and took home packets from many different agencies—all of which were thrown away ov...