Someone recently asked me what the point was to all these pro-life marches. We have marched a lot in recent weeks so the question is valid. I would like to submit the following 5 reasons why we should march and rumble for life.

Marching Encourages our Leaders

One of the challenges of leadership is that the higher you rise the more out of touch you become. Leaders rely on the media to clue them in on what the people think. The media makes it look like no one cares about life but a handful of cooks.

When we march we remind our leaders we stand behind them when they stand for life. We give them the courage to push for change.

Marching Changes Hearts

You should have seen the faces of those who watch pro-life marches and rumbles. 40 Days for Life has seen hearts changed and lives saved all over the world through marches and vigils.

Marching Inspires Prayer

There is something powerful that happens to your heart when you put life tape on. Somehow it makes prayer easier and it breaks your heart. I am a big advocate for praying out loud but sometimes silent prayer is powerful too.

The more we march, the more we will pray.

Marching Inspires Action

Inviting friends to a march is a great way to move them from apathy to action. From doing nothing to to doing something. Without a march it would be harder to get people to care enough about life to do something other than harden their hearts.

Marching Earns Attention

The media loves to cover events like marches and rumbles. The more we focus the attention of the nation on this atrocity the more they will be forced to take action. Martin Luther King Jr. knew this.

We must march if we want to see a change. You can’t change the world from your couch.

What do you think?

• Do you come to Pro-life marches? Why or why not?
• What would need to happen to get you to show up?
• Are you afraid to take a stand for life?
• What have the pro-life events that you have attended been like? Would they encourage you to come again?

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It’s that time of year again. Time to look back and see if we learned anything.

Here is a summary of what I have been up to during the past year.

2008 Was a Hard Year

In 2008 my business failed, my dad had a heart attack, my grandfather died and Grace and I called off our courtship. I began 2009 with an expectation that things would start looking up.

Spring 2009 – New Beginnings

In January we got a new president. I got a new job. And in February I went to Russia for a month and Scotland for a week. I learned a lot in Russia including the love of tea.

In April I started AuthorTechTips.com to help authors with technology and to help promote my new business Umstattd Media.

Summer 2009- From Belton to Austin

I moved to Austin in May. I love this town. At first I didn’t know many people and I lived and worked alone.  I would spend days without interacting with anyone aside from emails and phone calls from clients.  God found me in that solitude and began a work on my heart.

God brought healing and freedom and knit me into one of the most amazing communities I have ever been apart of. He has surrounded me with prayer ninjas and I am very thankful.

Fall 2009- New Roommates & New Projects

In August I moved in some guys from our prayer group. Namely  E.J. Rathburn, Caleb Ingles and Caleb Hobart. These guys have been such an encouragement to me.  They have also taught me everything I know about how to be a good wingman.

Our house is on Harmon Ave and we decided in a 3 to 1 vote to name our house eHarmony. The looks on people’s faces when I invite them to eHarmony always gives me a good chuckle and sometimes even a belly laugh.

In September I started PracticalCourtship.com which has been a fun project. I really enjoy reading all the comments of which there are many.

Winter 2009 – Fighting For Life

A few months Jana Robertson encouraged me to get involved in the pro-life movement. Or at up my involvement from talk to actions too. We started holding Insight Meetings at my house which are prayer gatherings where we learn about what is going on in the political arena so we can pray with insight.

We also did a big push to fight tax funded abortions in Austin. We failed to gain ground this time around but we will be back next year and the year after that and every year until life is protected and destroying life is not subsidized.

Right before the hearing my mom got sick. Very sick. She was in the hospital for  a time and incapacitated. She is still unable stand for any period of time but she is doing better.

10 Most Popular Articles of 2009

Here is a list of my most popular articles of 2009. I have included articles I wrote for Author Tech Tips and Practical Courtship since that is where most of my writing has gone.

1. 7 People Every Author Must Follow on Twitter – The popularity of this post was a fluke. The list was the left over scraps of a different post about how to get started on Twitter. Everyone wanted the list. No one wanted the guide. Go figure.
2. How to Get Twitter on Your Phone – The reason this is number one is because of google. Lots of views.
3. 7 Differences Between Published and Unpublished Authors – This is one of my most controversial posts of 2009. No one read the part at the beginning where I say that the rules are not universal.
4. 6 Things Readers Want Fro Your Author Website – This is one of the oldest articles on Author Tech Tips.
5. 7 Reasons Men Wait to Get Married - This was one of the first posts on Practical Courtship to get attention outside my circle of friends.
6. Courtship & Predestination – This is one of the most discussed posts I have ever written.
7. How to get Twitter to Update Your Facebook Status – Great time saving tips.
8. Where to Find Free and Legal Photos Online – I’m surprised this was not more popular since it is one of the most frequent questions we get.
9. 5 Things Readers Don’t Want from Your Author Blog – Every blogger needs to read this article. Not just authors.
10. The Thin Line Between Creepy and Charming – This was a fun post to write. The comments are fun to read too.
11. How to Sync Your Address Book With Facebook – Newer post but one that has helped a lot of people.

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Today I turn 24.

Please permit me to change pace a bit for a post and do some self reflection.

Here I am in an ancient Russian church tower

Looking Old

It seems surprise people when they learn I’m only 24. There are two ways to take this. Either that I look old or that I seem seem old for my age. Is this caused by sorrow, weight or wisdom? I don’t know. Probably a mixture.

Looking forward to my future I wonder if this will continue or if I will linger at an age.

Thanks to Frank Ball for sending me this cartoon for my birthday

Knowing Less

I know now less than I thought I knew at 14. For instance, I thought I knew apologetics until yesterday when I preached on the UT campus. Most of the audience was hardened atheists with pre-prepared questions.

While on campus I saw an apologetisist presenting to probably 200 students who sat raptured by the eloquence of his words. He took anyone’s objection and gave a reasoned and winsome answer. He inspired me to know more than I do and helped me realize I know less than I think.

Enjoying Life

My cousin Tim asked me one Christmas if I had “destination fever.” Am I so focused on the goal that I forget to enjoy the journey?

A strong goal focus may help my leadership ability but it can also make me a miserable person to be around, especially when I am in a focused state.

My clients have taught me that the best authors enjoy brainstorming, outlining, drafting, writing, editing and promotion. Every stage of the writing process has its own joy.

The authors who just want to “be published” are miserable and often never get published.

I want to be someone who enjoys each stage of life’s journey. I am optimistic about the future but I want to also be content with where I am now.

Embracing Freedom

As a self employed single man I have a great degree of freedom. This is a season to embrace! Not a season to squander  on worry or speculation.

Blogging

Some of you have asked me why I don’t blog much anymore. I actually blog more than ever just not as much this site.

I write once a roughly week for the following sites:

• Practical Courtship
• Author Tech Tips

You can get updates to these sites by, RSS, email, or Facebook. Perhaps one of the best birthday gifts you could give me would be to subscribe and or comment on one of those sites. PracticalChourtship.com has received an amazing number of comments and I love reading them.

Repenting from Apathy

Last Sunday we had a meeting at eHarmony where we repented of apathy. I realized that I had been apathetic about finishing my book. Other folks were repenting from political apathy. Kristine, my editor, and I have committed to finish editing Digital Cancer by the end of the year.

Please pray for us as we do this because it is a lot of discouraging work.

Thanking God

I am thankful for:

• My family. The older I get the more I come to understand what a precious gift each family member is.
  • A father who speaks identity.
  • A mother who loves unconditionally.
  • A sister who can dance, laugh and sing.
  • A brother with worlds in his head that can only been seen through visualizing his words.
  • A brother with a heart for people.
  • A brother with a heart for the Kingdom.
• A job that allows me to make enough to live on.
• A community of believers who have a passion for Jesus. I get to storm the gates of hell every Monday with prayer ninjas.
• My roomates: all three of them. They are each so different and so awesome. We have funny one liners every day. Any house named eHarmony has got to be a lot of fun

My grandfather, who passed away last year.

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Last Saturday I went with some friends to the Texas Rally for Life. Here are some photos and thoughts about the rally.

I had a hard time capturing the thousands of people there in one photo.

Killing an innocent person is unjust. A fetus is an innocent person. Therefore killing the unborn is unjust.

“A threat to justice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.”
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Many of the women at the rally have had abortions and are struggling with the consequences of that decision.

I thought the people with red tape over their mouths were some of the loudest people at the march. If you ever see someone with Red Tape with the word “Life” over their mouth it means they are praying silently – crying out for our unborn children. If we do not speak for those who cannot, who will?

Note the girls sticker. Democrats for life. I believe that the end of abortion will come from the Democratic Party. Some of the Republican establishment doesn’t want to end abortion lest they loose their pro-life base. That doesn’t mean we should start voting democrat but we should hold our supposedly pro-life republican officials to a high standard to prove they are truly on our side and not just playing us.

I would guess that 7 out of 10 of the people there were catholic. I wish evangelicals would care more, but they just don’t. We will have to answer to God for our deeds done in the body. We will have to give an account of how we spent our time and our money.

An interesting change this year from the previous years I have gone was the lack of chanting. I led a few chants but mostly everyone prayed. Many of the Catholics spent the whole time reciting the Lord Prayer or doing Hail Marys. There seemed to be a growing sense that Abortion was our sin and that we needed God’s forgiveness and His mercy.

The only candidates who had any supporters at the rally, that I could see, were Ron Paul and Alan Keys. The overall lack of Pro-Life presidential candidates saddens me.

Children are not the only ones hurt by abortion. Men, Women and our economy suffer as well.

Hannah Malone, Charity Chambers and Grace Chambers marching for life.

Again I had a hard time capturing the enormity of the crowd on my iPhone. So I’ll just tell you. There were a lot of people there.

This is a booth of the New Wave Femmes a Pro-Life, Pro-Women, Pro Jesus, Pink Haired Feminists group. I don’t know much about them but they seem to be doing a great job reaching the unborn and the mother.

The sign she is holding is referring to Norma McCorvey the “Jane Roe” in Roe v Wade. She was once an abortion champion but since the trial God has captured her heart. She is now a Catholic Pro-Life advocate and leader of the Roe no More.

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