What happens behind the scenes at Option Line? 

We know that Option Line is ready to answer that call for help (or text, or chat, or email) 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but have you ever wondered what exactly that looks like? Petra, one of our professional, compassionate consultants walked through how she used The LOVE Approach in a phone call with a nervous father who wanted to know how to convince his girlfriend to get an abortion. While the technology has changed and improved over the last 20 years, the way we love and offer life-affirming help hasn't. 

Established in 2003 and celebrating 20 years of life-saving help, Option Line is the only fully staffed, bilingual pro-life contact center in the U.S. Since we first answered the call, we’ve served more than 5 million people who are desperate for answers in an unexpected pregnancy. Option Line makes these critical connections with women at-risk for abortion and in turn connects women to a local pregnancy help organization in their area. We provide calm, reassuring guidance as we introduce the various true options women have available to them.

Our primary goal through Option Line is to encourage and empower those who reach out to us by offering trustworthy guidance through personalized care. We accomplish this goal by communicating directly with over 1,000 men and women each day at our contact center via phone, live chat, texting, and email.

If you're wondering, this video isn't an isolated event at Option Line. Just check out below some responses to post-chat surveys from our contacts. As we celebrate Option Line turning 20 this February, we reflect on the good that comes when we love well those reaching out for help.

"Dalia* was very kind and helped calm some of my nerves about my situation."

"I really needed to know the facts and this is the first person to explain things to me clearly! THANK YOU!!!"

"Athena* was amazing she really helped me see what I need to do and what’s the best option for me."

"Rose* answered everything I wanted to know! I was so scared, but Rose* changed my mind on things!!!"

"Ashley* was lovely to chat to. Helped me to not feel so worried."

"This site is extremely helpful it put my mind at ease and Ana* was such a nice women she answered my questions right away."

"I`ve been on other sites and they charge you for an answer which [Option Line doesn’t] and is very understanding if someone is not used to this or has difficulties/disabilities."

by Andrea Tosato and Giovanna Sedde

Movimento per la Vita Italiano is the main prolife reality [network] in Italy. With more than 300 pregnancy help centers and over 60 maternity homes in the whole country, they offer everyday a substantial help to women that are facing a difficult or unexpected pregnancy. Most of their clients reach them through an online chat and a phone number, SOS Vita: an emergency line (sosvita.it and 800 31000) available 7/7 days and 24/24 hours. Collateral to these, they organize meetings to spread the culture of life, especially among the youth population. For them, each year, they realize a contest, Premio Internazionale A. Solinas, based on a dossier on which youth from schools and universities need to make an elaborate [presentation] focusing on the main bioethics’ issues. In the past years, the first [prize] winner won the participation to the Heartbeat International Annual Conference.

MPV has a strong and enthusiastic group of young people, the “Equipe giovani”, that organize meetings all over Italy, involving friends and schools.

Particular attention at MPV is given to communication and to define a precise style: every volunteer is trained to be effective and to be welcoming and offer the love that people in need deserve. MPV has a website, different social network, an e-learning program and… 10.000 people who work every day on the side of the women and unborn. Thanks to these numbers and instruments they can help women and save an average of 8.000 babies from abortion!

“We like to see ourselves as a family: most of us are volunteers that have in common the love for life. A family that has no borders: we are very grateful for the friendship and the support of Heartbeat International and all their affiliates: they give us always new ideas, willing to do better and a hand is always ready for when we are in need.”

Dr. Giuseppe Grande, Secretary General of MPV, has a few words of his own to share below!

Greetings from MPV!

by Jor-El Godsey, President
Heartbeat International

Magnificent Malta and sensational Sicily were international destinations in the final quarter of 2022. It was a joy to visit, firsthand for the first time, the important work of Life Line Network pregnancy help outreach including a pregnancy center and maternity home.

Sensational Sicily served as host for the 2022 Movimento per la Vita (MPV) annual conference that in turn, hosted Europe’s One of Us gathering. Along with connecting with our long-time friends at MPV came an opportunity to hear from and network with leaders from around Europe.

The dramatic changes in U.S. laws with the overturning of Roe v. Wade now make the United States able to restrict abortions more like Europe has done for decades. However, this puts more impetus on local pregnancy help center (PHC) service locations. Heartbeat has begun replicating a 2021 U.S. study of PHCs per capita (500K population) with an examination of the Europe PHC location distribution. The map below is an early representation of what we know about the density of PHCs in Europe. The darker the color of the country, the more PHCs per capita in that country. 

As you can see, there are many opportunities available to serve in Europe through pregnancy help so that every woman has compassionate care and practical support available so that she never feels abortion is her only option. More detailed information on this topic will be available soon for Europe just like our White Paper, Pregnancy Help Centers (PHCs) in the U.S.A. - Room to Grow.

by Andrea Trudden, Vice President of Communications & Marketing
Heartbeat International

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” – Romans 12:12

As we begin a new year, we begin a new era—the post-Roe world as we choose to make it.

The dust continues to settle after the Dobbs decision on June 24, and it will continue to do so. And we continue to open our doors and welcome women and families in order to serve them with the same dignity and respect we always have. Because that is what pregnancy help is. That is what we were called into this mighty mission to do.

Since May, we have seen pregnancy help organizations in the news more than ever before. Politicians make up stories and shout baseless claims against the good work provided through pregnancy centers at no cost to communities worldwide simply because it is a cause they don’t believe in. 

Major corporations proudly proclaim they will compensate employees who travel out of state to obtain an abortion, circumventing their states’ laws on the issue. 

Technology companies like Google, Facebook, and Yelp suppress or outright ban advertising of life-affirming options like Abortion Pill Reversal^TM, labeling it “misinformation” all while expanding the promotion of mail-order abortion pills. 

We have seen attacks against our work as abortion extremists spray paint, break windows, and set fire to our buildings. And we have witnessed with admiration as our brothers and sisters pick up the pieces, paint the doors, and go back to business as usual. 

The poise of the pregnancy help movement is one of class and grace. 

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” – James 1:12

God gives us reminders of His provision through times of trial. While we have been viciously attacked from various sides, we have great reasons to celebrate! 

More women contacted Option Line last year and were connected to local pregnancy help than in the past couple of years, and, as we know, the best alternative to abortion is another person offering compassionate support. We know that more than 4,000 women have now saved their babies’ lives through the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network, and more pregnancy help medical clinics are providing this life-saving service. In addition, new pregnancy help organizations are opening their doors in underserved areas, reaching women with the life-saving support they need at a very difficult time.

This is the truth. These are the facts. So, while some may not like what we do, we will not stop. The risk is too great. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? 

And so, we endure.

“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance…” Romans 5:3

And while I don’t always remember to rejoice in the suffering, this year has given us many chances to rejoice! 

Think of the woman who entered your door with tear-filled eyes as she feared a pregnancy would permanently halt all her life’s plans. And how, with just a listening ear and a bit of encouragement, she left that same door confident that she could accomplish her dreams while being a good mom.

Picture the young mom who is so grateful for the parenting support she received at your building years ago that she still sends you pictures of her growing little one, in school now and getting so big!

Now, hear the sound of the mother who gasps when seeing her baby’s heartbeat for the first time as she squeezes her boyfriend’s hand tightly, accepting the love that God has blessed them with.

These moments – these women – are our “why.” They give us the strength and perseverance to press forward through any opposition because we know the work we do is righteous. 

And so we will continue to serve with class and grace in order to serve a loving God and help families within our communities thrive. 

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” – 1 Peter 5:10

by Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D., Board Chair

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

As we end the 5 decades when the Roe v. Wade decision “ruled” how abortion would be dealt with in our country – both on a personal level and in our laws, society, and culture – we’d like to take this moment to look back on that Roe-world. My husband and I were witnesses of it all.

I reflect here at those fifty years and the damage left behind, but also reflect on how God has brought forth good out of the evil. Because He has, we can all Take Heart!

In hindsight, we can all see the carnage left by Roe, probably at least 50 million abortions (an average of about 1 million per year) in the US, with not only the babies as victims but also their mothers, fathers, and families, plus all those who were complicit either through participating some way in the abortion or by standing by and doing nothing. Abortion became, and still is, a big, money-making business.

The carnage spread around the world as the US exported, through the United Nations and through our popular culture, the “abortion mentality.” We funded, with our tax dollars, population control and abortion worldwide, and we still do.

However, at the same time, God’s people stepped up in every area of life in our society and worked unceasingly to fight the abortion juggernaut and “overturn Roe.” That was finally accomplished, of course, in the Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022, through the grace of God and the work of the amazingly creative “movement” that also grew and developed over these 50 years.

Just to clarify, the Roe v. Wade decision, handed down by the Supreme Court on Jan. 22, 1973, essentially said that abortion as a choice was somehow covered in a “right to privacy” (that was not written down in our Constitution). It said that abortion was “between a woman and her doctor.” It could only be regulated somewhat, but only for the woman’s health in the second trimester, and, in the third trimester it had to be allowed for the “health” of the mother. A companion decision, Doe v. Bolton, extended that to “mental health” so, essentially, abortion was legal during all 9 months of pregnancy.

At first, pro-lifers who had begun to form into groups and get involved in educational and political efforts during the 5 years prior to Roe (when activists were trying to pass laws legalizing abortion state by state) were devastated. It seemed that we could do nothing to stop abortions. The number of abortions surged, and infant adoptions (the primary choice in an unexpected pregnancy for unmarried women before Roe) dropped dramatically.

But the good news is that the pro-life movement began to develop dramatically after Roe. My husband and I joined the movement with a phone call to our local Right to Life chapter, found in the phone book, on January 22, 1973. Apparently, thousands of other people were motivated to do the same, year after year!

The first strategy proposed to “overturn Roe” was to amend the Constitution with a Human Life Amendment but that proved divisive (even with the growing pro-life movement) and never gained traction in the first two decades after Roe.

Amazingly, creative legal minds (in cities, counties, and states) also began trying to “chip away” at what was at first thought to be a “right” with no restrictions. The first effort that I remember was the Akron (Ohio) Ordinance, passed by a city council in 1978. It included parental notification, a waiting period, rules on fetal remains, and other common-sense provisions. Although it was finally declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1982, it pioneered other examples of the “incremental approach” to fighting and limiting abortions, including the 15-week limit to abortions in Mississippi (because the unborn child can feel pain then) that eventually was the basis of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that brought us into the post-Roe era.

Meanwhile, during the five decades of Roe, other “arms” or branches of the pro-life movement, developed a laser focus on many other priorities: on prayer, especially in front of abortion clinics, on civil disobedience, on regulating abortion clinics, on education – debates at first, then entire programs and curricula for schools and churches, on websites, social media, and other vehicles of popular culture -- film, music, art, literature, and more!

And I have saved the “best” (in my opinion) for last – the pregnancy help movement! The five Roe decades brought to life all of YOU reading Take Heart! You are an essential part of one of the 3,000 pregnancy help centers across our nation that are now saving thousands of babies and mothers per week from abortion, offering love and support, offering hope and healing to those who have had abortions, providing for the health and safety of new families, providing pro-life medical care on many levels, housing homeless pregnant women and helping them get “on their feet” again, providing help to trafficking victims, sharing the Gospel, linking to churches, social services, businesses, and “movers and shakers” in your community, and doing even more!!!

Between 1968 and 1973, before Roe, a couple hundred (at the most) pregnancy help centers existed in the USA, thanks to the Lord working through our pioneers – especially through Heartbeat (then called Alternatives to Abortion, founded in 1971 to link and grow this network).

The original housing services were limited (girls were housed in private homes and then small group homes). The centers were small, all volunteer, many operating out of the offices of pro-life OB/GYNs (who had to send urine test samples to laboratories and get back the results in a few days!). Some volunteers manned hotlines and met with girls and women who thought they might be pregnant on park benches and at restaurants. From these small seeds, a mighty network has grown! (Read much more about our growth over these 50 years in The Power of Pregnancy Help: The First Fifty Years)

One of the best fruits of the Roe era, in my opinion, has been the unity developed among Christians called to this work, especially among Catholics (the first to “answer the call” in the late 1960’s and 70’s) and Evangelicals (who joined the movement in massive numbers in the 1980’s). We experience it within Heartbeat and see that we are always better together!

God’s people never gave up and never gave in over the last 5 decades. Some of God’s pro-life warriors have passed into eternity already, but so many others have taken their places, and the work goes on!

Our battlefield has changed post-Roe. Once focused on a national field, we now must include all 50 states, plus our cities, counties, townships, and neighborhoods. We are back to where we were, in one sense, when the battle was raging in the states from 1968-73, right at the grassroots level.

At least one other thing has clearly changed – while pregnancy help centers have been under “attack” since the 1980’s (in the media, by local and national legislators and courts), the attacks have now become more angry and more physical, fueled by fear of the loss of a “right” to abortion and the woundedness of those who have experienced abortion or are part of Big Abortion. And in the midst of it, we should rejoice. It is our effectiveness that makes us a target, and the enemy has certainly taken notice.

So Take Heart as we continue to serve those taken in by the lie of abortion because in many ways, our work is beginning again.

“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. When is the Heartbeat International Conference?

This year, Heartbeat is offering two conferences:

● A live conference is between April 30-May 2, 2025, in Birmingham, Alabama (preceded by an In-Depth Day on April 29, 2025)
● And, there will be a simultaneous Virtual Conference.*

*Details about the Virtual Conference are below. Internationals are invited to both.

Registration opens November 15 here.

2. Live Conference:

Internationals may also apply for a scholarship for the live Annual Conference registration. If you receive a scholarship to the live conference, we expect that you participate from the beginning of the conference, including In Depth Day (4/29) through the close of the conference (Friday evening).

3. How many scholarships for the live conference does Heartbeat make available?

Heartbeat typically provides 15-20 scholarships at some level to its annual conference. Demand for scholarships is generally greater than what we can provide, but Heartbeat provides as many as we possibly can, based on what the budget will allow in that conference year. Furthermore, typically, we award only one scholarship per organization. You must apply so that you can be considered for a scholarship.

4. What does the scholarship cover?

Scholarships typically do not cover visa application expenses, accommodations, or transportation. Most scholarships will cover registration for the conference only. Registration includes all hotel-provided, conference-related meals. There may be one or two meals you will have to pay for independently.

4. I can’t wait to attend! What is next?

Check to see if you are currently affiliated with Heartbeat directly, or with one of our Joint Affiliation Network (JAN) partners. Our JANs are Pregnancy Help Network, Association for Life of Africa, Be’Ad Chaim, Pregnancy Care Canada, Centros de Ayuda para la Mujer, Movimento per la Vita, Pregnancy Help Australia, Pregnancy Support Services of Asia, and ProVida. You can check your affiliation status by asking your JAN leader, and if you are affiliated with Heartbeat directly you can log in to your account. If you find that your status is in grace or expired, you will need to reaffiliate. In that case, contact the JAN or click here to reaffiliate.

5. I checked and my affiliation is current, now what?

Click here to access the online application. If you cannot access it online, you will need to fill out a hard copy application and scan the completely filled out application to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can download the hard copy application here. The application must be completely filled out, the information must be accurate, and the application must be received by December 20, 2024. If your application is not complete or you have not checked the correct status of your affiliation, the application will be rejected.

6. What about attending the Virtual Conference?

The dates of the virtual conference are April 30-May 2. Details regarding the Virtual Conference will be coming soon at this page: https://www.heartbeatservices.org/conference-2025

7. Does calling and emailing help the selection process?

No. In fact, calling and emailing several times slows down the entire process. You will receive acknowledgment of receipt of your application. After that, the International Program Specialist will review and check the information submitted for each application. With few exceptions, applications are considered on a first come first serve basis.

8. When is the application process closed?

It will be a hard close on December 20, 2024. That means that no more applications will be accepted. Do not delay if you want your application to be considered. Late applications will not be considered.

9. When will decisions be made?

Decisions will be made and emails will be sent out on February 3, 2025, to individuals who have received scholarships. If you do not receive an email saying you have received a scholarship, assume you have NOT received a scholarship.

10. Once selected, what is required of scholarship recipients?

Scholarship recipients are expected to:

● Understand English at a level sufficient for keynotes and workshops;

● Accept the scholarship offer as communicated by March 3, 2025. If we do not hear from you, we will give the scholarship to another applicant. You must provide evidence of your itinerary by March 3, 2025 as well.

● Attend In-Depth Day, conference workshops, and keynote sessions;

● Grant permission for the use of your pictures and stories to be used by Heartbeat;

● Following the conference, give feedback to Heartbeat’s International Program Specialist regarding your experience; Be able to communicate regularly via e-mail with Heartbeat’s International Program Specialist in the months and weeks before the conference to answer questions.

11. Who is the contact person for scholarship requests and questions?

The International Program Specialist, Ellen Foell. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please do NOT contact others at Heartbeat International. It will only slow down the processing of your application.

Click here to download a paper copy of this application.

HEARTBEAT INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT for INTERNATIONALS ENGAGED IN THE PREGNANCY HELP MOVEMENT

Heartbeat 2025 International’s Annual Conference is coming!

When: April 29, 2025 (In-Depth Day)
April 30 - May 2, 2025 (Conference Dates)

Where: Birmingham, AL
or Virtually (in your most comfortable chair)

Heartbeat International strives to assist individuals in other countries who serve in pregnancy help outreach offering alternatives to abortion. Our annual conferences provide the greatest opportunity for diverse training, broad networking, and inspirational encouragement to our international affiliates.

We offer a limited number of financial scholarships for internationals who apply and are accepted. We invite individuals such as the key leader/executive director, staff member, volunteer, counselor, and/or board member who is currently serving in an international pregnancy help organization to apply. Eligible pregnancy help organizations are life-affirming non-governmental organizations, e.g. pregnancy resource centers, medical help clinics, maternity housing, and non-profit adoption agencies that hold values consistent with Heartbeat International. We also invite individuals demonstrating a strong and verifiable desire to open a new pregnancy help effort in their country/region and learn more about the pregnancy help ministry. All scholarship applicants must be affiliated with Heartbeat International, either directly or through a joint affiliation network partner.

Preference is given to those:

(1) affiliated with our international partners (Pregnancy Help Network, Pregnancy Care Canada, Pregnancy Help Australia, Centro de Ayuda para la Mujer Latinomerican, Association for Life of Africa, Movimento per la Vita, ProVida, Be’Ad Chaim, and Pregnancy Support Services Asia) and
(2) those that access available local/regional training, especially those provided by our joint affiliation partners. We will verify affiliation, good standing, and attendance at trainings with these organizations and (3) direct affiliates in good standing with Heartbeat International. If you have received a scholarship in the last three years, please do not apply. Only one scholarship may be offered to any organization.

Each scholarship is granted with the expectation that the recipient will use the conference experience to strengthen their ministry or to lay the groundwork for a new ministry. Scholarship recipients are therefore expected to attend In-Depth Day, all keynote sessions and workshops, as well as the closing banquet. International scholarship applicants should be somewhat fluent in English. Heartbeat conferences are presented in English and translation is generally not available.

WE'RE SORRY. WE'RE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATION SUBMISSIONS.

Questions may be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

by Jor-El Godsey, President
Heartbeat International

There is something beautiful about the simplicity of nativity sets that feature the Holy Family – Joseph, Mary and, of course, Jesus. While the real story is Jesus – Emmanuel, God with us – both Mary and Joseph are key individuals cast in critical roles for this most historic moment.

But I prefer the nativity sets that feature all the supporting cast surrounding the story of Jesus’ birth. With the Holy Family are the shepherds, the wise men, the angels and the animals. Each of these recognizing the wonder and miracle of God becoming man. Putting one of these in the front yard, under your Christmas tree, or on your mantel can take up quite a lot of space with all these different characters.

All those characters are part of the story. Of course, God did not need any of them to fulfill His grand mission. But He chose to select them to appear in this greatest story ever told. From the awe of the shepherds at the announcement to the humility of the kings of the east bowing before a newborn child, each reflects a part of the story that is recorded for the generations that followed. They each contributed something to the narrative that we can draw from, relate to, and apply in our lives.

In a way, our pregnancy help world has a similarly large group of supporting cast for each person we encounter that chooses life. In a sense, like the Christ Child, the children we get to see born are miracles of God that we have been invited to play a part in. Even though the Star of Bethlehem itself isn’t positioned over the births we’re involved with today, the light of Jesus illuminates the path toward life for each and every one.

We probably won’t gift frankincense or myrrh in our layettes, but we will supply key necessities for the support of the baby in those early days, weeks, and even months. And we’ll definitely throw in some swaddling stuff for good measure.

Like Mary’s yes to God, “…let it be to me according to your word...” (Luke 1:38b), we say yes to the Holy Spirit in this calling to champion life within the womb. Or we’re like Joseph who “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him,” (Matthew 1:24); we do what has been spoken to us from on high. Did Joseph really have any other options than to listen to the angel? I mean, wouldn’t you?

As nativity sets abound this special time of year, remember that you are part of the supporting cast in the story that God is writing each day in our ministries. So take heart! The joy of this particular season is with us all year long and in every family we serve and every child we see born.

by Jonathan Clemens, ThM, PA-C

We should all be familiar with the parable of the sower. It appears in all three synoptic Gospels in substantially the same form. Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8 all have the same soils in the same order. It’s often mistaught in churches, so much so that most people think it is a parable about how to be good soil. That is a culturally nonsensical interpretation: farmers didn’t change soil in the 1^st century, they made do with what was there.

As modern Americans, we look on the parable of the sower through the lens of modern scientific agriculture that reshapes the earth to conform to our farming methods, and a lens of discipleship that makes spiritual growth substantially our personal responsibility. The sower does nothing modern: he simply scatters seed, without any attempt to control where it lands. Our modern efficiency cringes to think that seed actually landed on the packed earth of a walking path: after all, couldn’t the yield per seed be increased by focusing only on the good soil?

And that is Jesus’s actual point: rather than attempting to control the casting of the seed — the Word — we are to treat it as a limitless resource, spreading it far and wide, because the less-than-universal occasions when it sinks deeply into good soil are worth every single failed evangelism effort. Every single brief conversion and quick relapse, every single heart harder than the path, every single entangled “it’s complicated” life: all the failures are eclipsed by the joy of all-too-rare abundant success.

Let's relate this to abortion pill reversal. As a prescribing practitioner, I talk to or text with any number of women, dozens so far. The parallel to the soils is frustrating. Some do not have rides to a pharmacy. Others request a prescription and change their minds. Others have neither insurance coverage nor money to pay for the progesterone. One had a rare medical condition that might have been exacerbated by progesterone, and so she politely declined to proceed. If you’re keeping score, the 64 to 68% success rate seems great, but in reality, there are plenty of things that keep women from accessing abortion pill reversal even when they have taken the initiative to call the hotline.

In speaking with another Abortion Pill Rescue Network prescriber in my state, he lamented that so few women actually picked up the prescriptions he called in. He has a point: many women desire reversal but do not follow through. They have their own tragedies to deal with, and I wish each of them had the support and access and resources to never feel the need to abort their unborn child in the first place.

So we scatter seeds. Nurses answer the phone, knowing that many of the moms who call will not proceed with reversal. I talk to the moms sent to me, again knowing that many will not follow through. Even with timely progesterone, sometimes it doesn’t work. Had it been too long since the poisoning of the abortion pill? Was the baby too young? We hypothesize factors leading to successful reversal, but certainty eludes us.

Likewise, we don’t know the impact of the lives saved; by the time these children who lived have their impact on the world, many of us will have long since retired or died. What we do know is that every life is valuable because all are made in the image of God.

He who knit each of us together inside our mothers’ wombs is faithful and true. He does not tire, nor should we who offer life to the unborn and a second chance at choice to their mothers.

And so, we continue to scatter seeds praying that the next lands in good soil, giving us a chance to help a new life thrive.

by Tracie Shellhouse, MCLC, LAS
Vice President of Ministry Services, Heartbeat International

Pregnancy help is a movement that needs to be particularly thoughtful about self-care. Not only do those we serve need to be supported in loving themselves, but also those serving. As we see again and again, the best way to teach is by example.

When we love ourselves and those we serve with well, we encourage clients to do the same. After all, Jesus said, “By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

Mark 12:31 goes on to tell us to love others as we love ourselves. Servant leaders must take care of themselves to take care of others. So how exactly can we practice what we preach?

HALT

No, not just stop, but be aware of these four roadblocks to living life fully. Nothing is easy when you’re Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired.

Here are ways to make sure you’re addressing these four key areas of concern.

Try not to let yourself stay...

Hungry – Eat well, take a lunch, and have ready-to-eat snacks on hand. It sounds easy, but it’s too easy to neglect these simple things, and when you’re hungry, you’re not prepared to serve well.

Angry – Take time for reflection. Determine why you’re angry, put it into perspective, and resolve or release that anger.

Lonely – Prayer partners or a personal prayer chain can be great for staving off loneliness. Take quiet time with God, keep an encouragement folder, and make sure to connect with family, friends, a mentor, or whoever makes you feel loved.

Tired – Do your best to keep good sleep hygiene. Nap, work offsite for a scenery change, and be sure to get some exercise in your day. Even taking an extra walk can help energize you during the day and help you sleep better at night.

Once you’ve addressed what made you HALT, look forward to the next moment and plan ways to rejuvenate and celebrate. Make sure you’re rejuvenating by taking planned breaks for quiet time, making your space restful, taking advantage of books, podcasts, or hobbies, and keeping yourself well. If you’re in a decision-making position at your organization, it’s worth considering making sure there’s a paid prayer day every so often, that you and your staff can arrive late or leave early on occasion as needed, that meals together are prioritized, and fun days and guest speakers are a part of the fabric of the organization.

To celebrate, reward yourself when you reach a goal with a craft, a new book, a class, whatever makes you joyful. For others, celebrate however you can with unexpected gifts, catching them doing great things and highlighting them at meetings, and just generally surprising your staff or peers by celebrating who they are.

In order to follow God’s command to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, we need to make sure we care for ourselves well. Otherwise, how can we possibly love others?