The Father and Extended Family Refuse to #ShoutYourAbortion


I am about to share with you a letter written by a devastated great aunt upon learning that her nephew’s girlfriend, pregnant, had an abortion.

I am honored this individual asked me to share this letter with you via my blog, and I am humbled by this responsibility, for two reasons.

To begin with, this letter clearly shows the grievous impact an abortion can have on the father of that baby and the expectant family. This is a reality that is largely ignored or dismissed by the pro-choice community because the baby takes up residence in the mother’s womb. It is her body, so, they surmise, it is ultimately up to her to decide what should be done with the life of the infant. However, after reading this letter and the pain exhibited therein, I would encourage those who hold that view to reconsider that position.

Another reason I feel privileged to share this letter with you today is because it gives this baby, lost to abortion at the hands of her mother, a voice. This letter acknowledges her little life and the huge impact it had on her family. This testimony shares her name with you and shares how much she was is loved.

Let me share with you now, Aaliyah - via her great aunt’s letter and with her father’s permission.



Dear person that I am going to have to work long and hard to forgive,

To say that I am mad at you doesn't even come close to how I feel! There isn't a word strong enough or ugly enough to describe how I feel about you today!

You hurt our family deeply today. You forever ripped a precious baby that we all love from our lives. That's not all you did though, is it?

You didn't just take her away. You KILLED her!! Because of you, our precious Aaliyah is DEAD!

My sweet sister who wanted nothing more than to love her granddaughter asked me, "What kind of a person does this?!" I just don't know the answer to that because behind your sweet little smile is a MURDERER!

You are now a mother who KILLED her own child! Do you get that? Because I don't think you do!

You didn't just kill your child though! You also killed OUR child!

That little girl's daddy already loves her so much and would do anything for her. You didn't give him that chance though. He was powerless to save his daughter from her mother who wanted to kill her!

Now he is crushed! His baby girl is DEAD! Do you get that? YOU stopped her precious little heart!

They begged you not to do it! They offered you everything they could to save her life. They cried and prayed that something, ANYTHING would make you change your mind! Nothing could though, and you KILLED her!

Did you really think that your very own precious baby was going to ruin your life?! Well I've got news for you missy, that baby would have given you the greatest joy you have ever felt in your life! That baby would have loved you more than anybody in this world ever has!

I sure hope you make something great of your life. You better make it amazing. You better do something really special because that is what your baby died for! That is what OUR baby died for!

Your choice today is going to haunt you for the rest of your life. It will NEVER go away! No matter what you do from here on out you will always be a mother who KILLED her own child!

If you are ever given the blessing of becoming a mother again, DO NOT make the same mistake twice! DO NOT rip another man's baby from his life! DO NOT tear a giant hole in his heart that can never be fully repaired! DO NOT devastate another family the way you have ours!

We were all thrilled that you were having a baby. We were so happy that we were going to have this baby in our family. We all loved her so much already!

Did you know that? Sadly, I already know the answer to that. Yes! Yes, you did know that! Yet, you still chose to kill OUR baby!

Did you know that I had already bought YOUR baby some clothes? I bet you didn't! You didn't know because you never gave me a chance to give them to you!

Let me tell you about them. They are little red and white shirts that wrap in the front. They have little snaps so that you wouldn't have had to wake her by pulling the shirt over her head. One of them has little snowflakes on it because she would have been born close to Christmas.

She was going to be beautiful! I know it! On the outside you are so very beautiful. You would have passed that on to her you know?!

Oh dear, I could go on and on, but you've already heard it all. I know you have because my sweet sister tried everything she could to save her granddaughter's life. And my nephew whose child you killed, begged you not to do it. Didn't he?!

They both told you that WE would take care of that child in every way if you didn't want to. They both told you that they would help YOU in every way possible. They both told you that they would support you and that baby. My sister invited you into her home and said that she would take care of everything!

None of that meant anything to you though. None of it mattered because in the end it is a woman's right to choose! Isn't it?! Forget the father and his whole family! They don't matter a bit!

You got the right to choose what happened to your body and I hope you're happy about it! Because OUR baby sure didn't! She died without a choice!

She had a beating heart, tiny arms and legs, tiny hands and feet with fingers and toes on them. She was a person! She was a BABY and you KILLED her!

May God forgive you because I sure as HELL am not about to!

Sincerely, Aaliyah's loving Great Auntie

Daddy loves you, Aaliyah!


Please, don't #ShoutYourAbortion

When I found out I was pregnant for the second time, I was beyond thrilled.  My oldest would have a sibling. That dull ache I had for another cute little baby to hold would be satisfied. My husband hoped for a son to balance out all the estrogen in the house.

We began making preparations for our next child as soon as I got the positive pregnancy test. We started cleaning out the guest room to make room for a new crib.  We began to talk about possible names for him or her.

Then, on my 34th birthday, we got the news that our baby, then seven weeks gestation, was not developing as he or she should. And at my eight weeks ultrasound, I saw my baby again - this time with a still heart.


The little life we had celebrated and had prayed for was gone at only eight weeks. We named her Angel.

I'm sharing this with you because as I browse my Twitter feed today, I see women celebrating the deaths of their babies to abortion. And most likely, those little lives were probably around the same gestation as my Angel.

Did you know, according to the most recent data on the CDC website that I could locate, "the majority of abortions in 2011 took place early in gestation: 91.4% of abortions were performed at less than 13 weeks gestation."

Friends, I am sickened! How can anyone find anything positive in the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion? You are shouting that a baby died. A new life was ended. Potential was robbed.

Lindy West, who appears to be at the lead of this new hashtag trend, recently said this in response to criticism that women who were shouting out abortions were, in essence, celebrating those abortions:

is merely about volume, about being in earshot. It has no inherent value judgment except for the absence of shame.  

However, if something is not shameful, that makes it something to be proud of - that is the antithesis here. Antonyms to shame include approval, esteem, honor, praise, respect, and pride. So whereas Ms. West can't understand how anyone would see the use of that hashtag in reference to an abortion as a "celebration" of that abortion, I can't understand how she is blind to that reality.

The truth is this: If you use the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion in reference to your choice to end your baby's life, you are exhibiting pride in what you have done. Own it.

That hashtag has produced chilling tweets like these:

I've never for 1 second regretted my 2 abortions at 19 and 24. & I know the men in my life haven't either.


I've never wanted to have children, so I had an abortion. I'm thriving, without guilt, without shame, without apologies.

No regrets. No guilt. No shame. Sounds like a celebration to me.

And this baby loss momma can't understand that.  Losing Angel was a dark time in my life. Something so precious within me was no longer.

Here's some perspective for those shouting out their abortions:

Your flippant shout out devalues that life I lost to miscarriage.    
And your cocky shout out is a slap in the face to those that struggle with infertility.

So, please, just stop the shouting already. You are breaking my heart all over again.

Today's forget-me-not: The sweet babies lost to abortion.

Christian Running Playlist

I am trying to get back into a running groove.

I got out of my routine of running at least twice, more often than not three times, a week when summer hit. We got terribly busy, had a trip to Indiana to see my relatives, and I got lazy. When school started back up, I swore I would get myself into my routine of running two mornings a week and then a third time on Saturday mornings, but the start of the year at a new school has left me exhausted - physically and mentally.  The end result is that, lately, I find myself not wanting to run.

This has happened to me before, and I thought I would share something simple I do when I get in a rut like this. When I need to be inspired to get my butt out the door again.

I update my running playlist!

If you are a Christian and a runner, I think you will find some of the tunes listed below would be a great addition to your run. They have a great message and a good beat!

Do you have some songs you could recommend for me as I update my playlist?

Happy running!

Today's forget-me-not: My running playlist!

1. You Make Me Brave - Bethel Music
2. The List - Matthew West
3. Who I Am - Blanca
4. Sky Spills Over - Michael W. Smith
5. Day One - Matthew West
6. Saturate - Bethany Worship
7. Awake and Alive - Skillet
8. One More - Superchick
9. All You've Done - Brad & Rebekah
10. Run - Sanctus Real

I did it!

I did it! I resolved to run a few (three) 10Ks this year, and this past weekend, I accomplished that goal.

My third, and final, 10K of 2015 was a trail run at a local park. My running buddy, Jaimee, found this race and resolved to run it as her first 10K, so I had to run it with her. There was no way I was going to let my best running buddy run her first 10K without me! Besides, she was quick to point out that we we would get a medal for finishing this race. And because racing bling is a runner's best friend, it was just another reason to say yes to this particular race over any others offered this labor day weekend. And my hubby got to join us!

Jaimee, me, and hubby makes three :-)

This was my first trail run, and it wasn't easy! The running path was at times so narrow that putting one foot in front of the other was nearly an impossibility. In other areas of the trail, roots from the trees had popped up into the path. There were tripping hazards everywhere. And to top it all off, there were a few bridges runners had to navigate.

We stopped for a quick pic. Many thanks to the runner who didn't mind stopping to take this pic for us!
By the time we got to the first bridge, we knew we weren't running this race to see how fast we could finish. The goal for this race quickly became, simply put, to finish. We were pretty focused on that goal, but we also tried to take in the beauty surrounding us as we were running.


It was, truly, a beautiful course. There were a few areas where you could actually run, but most of it was too dangerous to run quickly. We spent a good amount of time during this "race" hiking,  not running.  

Would I run this again? Probably not.  But I am glad I did it. It was a great challenge and the perfect way to end my 10K goal for 2015.  The medal I received for this race symbolizes a couple great running accomplishments for me - (1) for running this particular trail course and (2) for running three 10Ks in one year. Crossing the finish line felt great for those reasons. And crossing the finish line with my running bestie made it even sweeter!


Also sweet... My husband got second place in his age group!  Hello, Mr. Speedy!


This is definitely one of those races I'll look back on fondly.

Finished! And we got our medals!

Today's forget-me-not: Great running accomplishments! :-)