“For I Know the Plans I Have for You…” in 2013 (Jeremiah 29:11)

Blog written by Gideon Director, Lori Marett

With each New Year, most of us take the opportunity to look ahead, consider plans, set goals, and make resolutions. Personally, I have a list of things I’d like to accomplish in 2013. But I have to be careful with all those well laid plans – I need to leave room for God to intervene and to bless me with projects and opportunities I could never imagine, because this happened to me in 2012 and continues to spill over into 2013.

Those of you who attended Gideon 2012 were blessed to hear our Banquet & Awards Night keynote speaker, Jon Erwin, producer/director/ writer for the movie October Baby.  Jon shared how he was inspired to write the script after he had heard a woman speak about her life as an abortion survivor. Many of us have seen the movie and know what a powerful and inspiring film October Baby is, but what you may not be aware of is that this film is having a resurgence as pro-life groups and churches celebrate January as “Sanctity of Human Life” month.

*October Baby resources* 

Consider community outreach, a Bible study, or a women’s small group session with these resources http://octoberbabymovie.net/ministryresources/octoberbabyresources 

“Sanctity of Human Life” Sunday is held on the closest Sunday to the anniversary of the Jan. 22, 1973 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize abortion in the Roe v. Wade case. During the month of January, pro-life advocates will be promoting the sanctity of life through sermons, Bible studies, music, film, television, and offering information on adoption to women who are considering abortion.

While October Baby may speak to women who are considering abortion, a new television series, “Surrender the Secret” will speak to the hundreds of thousands of women who are struggling with the guilt and shame of having had an abortion. This ground-breaking television series was created by Cecil Stokes, a producer with October Baby, and can be found on KnockTV, an emerging leader in the Christian television marketplace.

KnockTV programming is currently available on-demand, 24/7, on the Internet. www.knocktv.com

Interestingly, at the time that Jon and Cecil were considering making a movie about abortion, I had been approached by producer Bradley Dorsey because God had also given him a vision to create a movie tackling the topic of abortion. At the time, I did not know that Jon and Cecil were creating October Baby, nor did they know about our film, Meant To Be. While our projects were completed independently of each other, I am humbled and honored that God is now using our works to promote the message that ALL life is precious. God has plans for each of us, a set of blue prints if you will, even for the unborn.

So as we move through 2013, know that God has a set of plans for each of us. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” It’s okay to draw up our lists, set our goals, and make our resolutions. We just have to leave some space for God to bless us in ways that we could never have imagined!

Happy 2013 and God bless!

Lori

*Gideon Networking Notes: As Jon Erwin shared during his keynote at the Gideon 2012 Banquet & Awards night, he did not know Cecil Stokes until they met at Gideon 2008. Subsequently, they became friends and felt God leading them to come together for October Baby. I would not have met Jon or Cecil if it weren’t for Gideon 2008, and now here we are in the same pro-life camp with our projects. But Meant To Be would not have been possible if Torry Martin, whom I also met at G2008, had not recommended me to screenwriter Marshal Younger, who was tied up with another script and could not write this for Bradley Dorsey. But because of Marshall’s generosity, God blessed Marshall by freeing him up to lend his talents to the script a week before MTB went into production. This is a perfect example of the body of Christ exhorting and uplifting each other and allowing God to use us to glorify Him! I’m so looking forward to the people I’ll meet at G2013!