Blogging for Life!

Dear readers,

Welcome to my new blog, Choosing Life! You may be a regular follower of my personal blog, Ramblings and Reflections, in which I frequently post on pro-life issues. However, after hearing Jill Stanek, a renowned pro-life blogger who gave a talk about this subject at the Students for Life of America (SFLA) conference last Saturday, I was inspired to create a blog solely for that purpose: spreading the Gospel of Life! At the conference, we were encouraged to find our own niche in the pro-life movement, and since I love writing, I think that one of my niches is blogging.

Yesterday, I asked God to give me a good name for this blog, and "Choosing Life" came almost immediately to my mind. The basis for this title is founded in Deuteronomy 30:19 (hence the URL).

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live..." (emphasis added).

That is my most favorite pro-life verse in the Bible, when God explicitly tells His chose people to choose life over death...and so, I am choosing life by keeping this blog.

I hope that many of you are new readers of my writing, and so I will tell a bit about myself. I was raised in Texas, in a strong Catholic home. I began violin lessons at the age of three, and my mom, Diane, homeschooled me from preschool through 12th grade. I also became the oldest sibling of four, having two brothers (Zachary and Jordan) and one sister (Abby). There is a ten-year gap between myself and Abby, but I remember being so delighted to finally have a sister! (And I still am delighted, by the way...and that doesn't mean that I don't love my two brothers!) After graduating from high school, I went on to pursue a Bachelor of Music in violin performance at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. I never would have dreamed that coming to Peabody would be the place I would come to actively embrace the pro-life message. Being raised Catholic, my family and I were always pro-life, and my parents even became teachers of Natural Family Planning (NFP) and attended Couple-to-Couple League (CCL) conferences, of course bringing us kids. However, I was never challenged on my views and I never deeply studied what abortion actually was. Texas was a very comfortable place in which to grow up, as we lived in a relatively conservative area.

However, the music and arts world is extremely liberal, and I soon had to begin defending my beliefs, which meant really delving into what my beliefs actually meant. I had studied certain areas, such as apologetics and morals, but I was not very educated on pro-life issues. I knew that abortion and contraception were wrong, but I didn't know the details. That all changed the summer between freshman and sophomore year, when I wrote a controversial blog post on my old Xanga account. Several friends and acquaintances, who were liberal, were very "offended" and replied with passionate and some vehement comments. That was when the fire was lit within me. I wanted to put my faith into action because of what they were saying! And so I did.

Thanks to Facebook, I remember the precise day I began my action. On July 9th, 2006, I left a post on the Johns Hopkins pro-life Facebook group, asking if anyone was interested in getting a REAL group started on campus. One week later, a JHU alum informed me that there used to be a pro-life group, called Voice for Life, of which he used to be president. He offered his assistance in restarting the group, and so he met with me and two other girls at the beginning of my sophomore year. That year, I was secretary, and the following year I became president. It was an extremely small group, and at times it was discouraging, but we sponsored activities such as a Memorial of the Innocents, diaper drives, and leafleting the campus. I know that we accomplished many good works.

I also poured my energy into other pro-life outlets. I began writing pro-life blog posts and notes on Facebook. I attended my first pro-life conference. I prayed in front of abortion facilities. I attended the March for Life. I hung pro-life stickers and signs in my room. I participated in a Face the Truth tour. I voted for life. I engaged pro-abortion friends in discussions, which is probably one of the hardest pro-life things to do. I've researched what exactly an abortion is (and I mean EXACTLY). I wear a Precious Feet pin every day, and I've gotten a few people asking me what they are, which is a great way to witness. Most importantly, I pray for the end to abortion each day.

I am not describing my activities in order to brag about everything I've done. In reality, I have not done that much compared to the majority of pro-life activists. I look at the pro-life heroes of our day and think, "Wow, that is so inspiring, and I want to be like them!" I am describing these things to illustrate that to be truly pro-life is to take some type of action. Any student or any person can do exactly what I've done, and more.

So that brings me to the point of this blog. First, I offer up this blog for the glory of God and to bring the Gospel of Life to everyone who reads this. I also write in here so that pro-lifers may be inspired and moved to do more to protect the unborn and their mothers; that people on the fence may be swayed in the right direction; and that the decidedly pro-abortion crowd will have seeds planted within them, that they may come to embrace life in all stages one day.

I heartily welcome comments from everyone, no matter what your view. I would like to promote healthy discussion and debate, so please leave your thoughts! I have made it so that anyone can comment, even if you don't have blogger or Gmail. (However, I would appreciate it if you left your name and would use Anonymous sparingly.)

My goal is to post as frequently as possible. Given my intense internship schedule, I probably won't post every day, but at least several times per week. If you have any topic you would like me to specifically address, please tell me. I would also like to feature guest writers, so if you have something you want to share on my blog as a post, please e-mail me at prolifeviolin@gmail.com and I will publish it and give you full credit!

God Bless!

Yours for life,
Malori