This summer over 300 copies of The Road that Takes Me Home have been included in gift bags distributed by a ministry that serves wounded military members and their families.

Operation Float a Soldier serves wounded military members who have been wounded in battle, many who suffer very serious wounds, from missing limbs to major burns. It is their goal to give these brave men and woman the opportunity to take a break from grueling rehab at the hospital, and enjoy a day of fun, fishing, floating and fellowship.  As the soldiers are healing in body, mind and soul this ministry endeavors to be a part of that healing process. They provide a great day of adventure on Canyon Lake that includes: boating, fishing, a wonderful Texas brisket lunch, some water sports, and relaxation.

Emmaus Christian Fellowship finds great satisfaction in helping ministries like Operation Float a Soldier.

More than a few people have requested additional copies of The Road that Takes Me Home to give as Christmas gifts in 2011.  Having been greatly impacted by the songs themselves, they are eager to share them with both believing and non-believing family and friends.

One couple from the San Jose area of California used the CD as part of their street evangelism. Just this past Saturday morning, they set out with their children ready to engage people in San Jose’s annual Christmas in the Park.  This
December-long event is filled with festive decorations and varied activities for individuals and families.  It draws a lot of people.

Francesca and Jose approached people asking them if they would take a Christmas quiz. This was meant to show them how little they actually knew about Christmas:  its origin and why it is celebrated.  They reported many interesting conversations where they were able to engage people in one-on-one evangelism.  When each encounter was done, they’d share The Road that Take Me Home CD as a “thank you” gift for taking the time to talk with them.  Francesca reports that many were grateful that someone took the time to speak with them.  She would end the encounter by saying,

 I do want to thank you too for listening to me. I have a gift for you! A friend of mine made this CD. Joyfully I gave them a copy of The Road that Takes me Home by Dorothy Schwartz. I also gave them each a copy of the Christmas Story. I told them to share them with their families. They received the CD and the story and said they would share them.

This is exactly what we envisioned when we began this project in late 2010 giving Christians tools to reach the lost.  Thanks to the generous donations of those who see the value in sharing the Gospel through music, we have CDs on hand to provide ministries, families, and individuals a means to help them share the Good News of Jesus Christ!

Take advantage of our special — 6 CDs for a donation of $50 and make use of this great tool to share your faith!

A trucker from Texas likes The Road That Takes Me Home CD so much that he plans to share it with other truckers on his regional route at truck stops.  He has this to say about the initial song Lamentation:

The words, ”wretched man God hateth thee” in such a song really kind of echoes down into the belly where it reaches those tough to get places.

A street evangelist in North Carolina calls Lamentation his favorite song on the CD and is contacting a video producer to see if he might want to use it in the production of evangelism videos.

Many ministries are finding this CD useful in helping to further their mission, as are individuals who’ve discovered that it is a helpful “prop” inopening up discussions about the faith with others.   If you would like to obtain some copies for your ministry activities, contact us.

Since the release of The Road that Takes Me Home, some have commented on the strong nature of the first song, Lamentation, concerned that it presents a harsh picture of God.  Rather than debate that perspective, I thought I’d share some feedback from a woman in Texas who gave the CD as present to a friend who is the mother of two small girls.

That mom and her 4 ½ year old daughter were listening to the CD together.  The little girl gasped when she heard the lyrics of the first song — God hateth thee — and said, “Mommy, she said the hate word.” (This was significant because this child has been taught that hate is a very strong word and shouldn’t be used for things she dislikes, such as food etc.) Her mom explained that God hates those who sin against His law. Since the mother was aware of the fact that the CD is being used to reach out to post-abortive women to help them see their need of repentance, the mom used this as an opportunity to share with her daughter the reality of abortion — that there are some people who don’t want their babies and then murder them.

Later on in the grocery store while they were shopping, the 4 ½ year old walked up to a complete stranger and said, “Excuse me. Do you know that some people don’t want their babies and kill them?” Needless to say, the mom was a trifle embarrassed. However, when their shopping was done and they were back in the car, her daughter requested, “Mom, can we listen to that first song again?”

The mom called the friend who had given her the CD as a gift and let her know the impact the song Lamentation had on her little girl. She commented that it was a pretty tough song, but it proclaimed the truth that God hates those who lie, who murder, and who violate His law.  She was amazed at the impact it had on her daughter.

The beauty of The Road that Takes Me Home CD is that after that first song, the rest of the songs proclaim God’s mercy to those who repent, believe, and walk in the faith of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said, Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it (Mark 10:15).

From one listener….

“I’ve been thoroughly enjoying The Road That Takes Me Home CD. I loooove the first song, Lamentations. Oh, the first time I heard it, boy, it convicted me. And of course the song right after was so fitting. All the songs are wonderful. It’s like listening to the Gospel being sung in 20 minutes.”

One pastor upon listening to the same song commented, “You sure tell it like it is, don’t you?”  And, of course, that was our intent.  How can one truly appreciate the salvation through Jesus Christ if one does not appreciate one’s total inability to save oneself.

We encourage you to obtain a copy of the CD and share it with those you wish to reach for Christ.

Reformed Heritage Church of Los Gatos, CA, has graciously added an ad  for our CD The Road That takes Me Home at the beginning and end of their 1/2 hour radio program Abounding Grace, which airs weekdays at 8:30 pm PST on KFAX AM 1100 .

We are hoping that other churches around the country will partner with us to reach women and men with abortion in their past and connect them with local pregnancy centers for post abortion counseling.

The CDs have arrived and we are very excited with the initial feedback.  Already a couple of local churches are sharing our Post-Abortion Outreach Project with bulletin inserts and complimentary radio spots.

If you have any personal connections with pregnancy centers, please direct them to our website where they can obtain information as to how to make use of the CD recording in promoting their post-abortion counseling  and other pregnancy-related services.

For those who would like to help us continue to supply centers with the CDs free of charge, please consider making a donation at the donation page in order to get your own personal copy as a special Thank-You Gift.

The Road That Takes Me Home Team

Last fall, as my 35th wedding anniversary was approaching, my husband, as is his custom, asked me what special gift I wanted to mark the occasion. I coyly asked him how much he wanted to spend. He came back with, “I don’t know – $250 – $500?” to which I replied, “That’s not enough.” He looked at me with a bemused expression knowing I had more to say.

I explained that what I really wanted was funds to produce a CD (with our daughter as the vocalist) and I needed considerably more than that.” He looked and said, almost holding his breath, “How much do you need?” When I told him I needed about $3000, he gave a grave look and said, “I don’t think so. I think it should be $3500.”

Thus began the journey to put together a creative and artistic team that would result in The Road That Takes Me Home. As I began to promote the idea, it took a bit to get people to understand that the CD would not be for sale, but would be used to assist pregnancy centers around the region and eventually the country to promote their post-abortion counseling. The idea was simple: place the CDs where women were likely to receive them in a private, non-threatening setting and attach an invitation for them to participate in counseling services geared to help them deal with the unfinished business of a past abortion.

The CDs are due to arrive within days and the first shipments will be delivered to the pregnancy centers in our area. For those who would like the help advance this outreach project and obtain a copy of the CD for themselves, they should go to the donation page on the website.

I’m grateful that my husband cared enough about me and this very important outreach to stretch his thinking (and his wallet) and agree to this very worthy endeavor. And, I might add, I sort have spent my 36th and 37th anniversary presents in advance, and my husband is still smiling!

I received a call the other day from a woman who had watched ECF’s Post-Abortion Outreach video announcing The Road That Takes Me Home CD project. This project is designed to connect women who have abortion in their past to pregnancy counseling services especially geared toward post-abortive women.  She shared with me her surprise at the effect it had on her.

This woman had her abortion at the age of 19, and now, 41 years later, after watching the presentation, realized that her multiple marriages and subsequent divorces, her addiction to her career, and her inability to trust men, all stemmed from that fateful decision of her youth. The music had touched a part of her that had been deeply buried, and she shared her renewed desire to finally get right with God on this devastating event of her past.  What was especially rewarding was to hear her express the resolve to remain silent no longer about her abortion, but to be a witness to the negative, long-term effects it has had on her life.  I was speaking to a woman who had received the gift of hope.

There are women and men, just like this individual, who need to deal with this sin of their past.  The Road That Takes Me Home is a way to present this need to them in by means of an excellent music recording, and direct them to ministries that can provide the help and healing they desire.

Please share our site, www.TheRoadThatTakesMeHome.com and ECF’s Outreach Video so that we can connect to those who need to hear this message of hope and forgiveness.

Please, also, consider a donation so that you can have your own copy of the CD (or acquire the download) as our thank-you gift, and to share with others.  Our goal is to fund this outreach project with donations from those who appreciate the music and are behind our mission.

I have been solidly in the pro-life camp for over 28 years.  I could discuss the subject with authority: handling objections to when life begins, delineating the atrocities of those who perform abortions, and the economic and social harm this legalized practice does to society.  I had no difficulty clearly identifying abortion as something the Word of God classifies as murder.  However, after watching Life after Abortion I became aware of a major component of this issue to which I had been blind.

Abortion is a sin that is not so easily admitted in public.  The recovering alcoholic, the repentant adulterer, even the born again convict get the kind of pats on the back that post-abortive women don’t receive.  Why?  Because most keep this sin hidden and tucked away, despite years of walking the Christian life.  The shame and agony haunts them and ends up being a defining aspect of who they are, much to their detriment.

We all know the statistics of the number of abortions since Roe v. Wade; yet, there are an equal number of those who took the life of their unborn child.  After watching this film, I realized that I must know many of them.  They are my co-workers, friends, relatives, teachers, and fellow Christians.  Have I been accessible?  Have I been a safe person to share this most desperate act in their past?  Or, have I failed to focus on the significant number of people around me who are desperately hurting?

Life after Abortion gives a window into the lives of women and men who have lived through the hell of abortion.  Far from being preachy, it provides these individuals with a chance to really tell their stories.  No narration, no commentary, just people telling surprisingly similar stories about a very dark time in their lives.

By the time the DVD was over, these women were so real to me that I felt as though I had become their friends. Their honesty about their sin, coupled with their appreciation for the forgiveness they’d received in Jesus Christ inspired me to share this film with as many people as possible.  I immediately ordered a number of copies and donated them to my local pregnancy center, gave copies to my pastors, and began to share it with other women.  After watching the film, I felt equipped to be a listening ear and a helpful friend.

This DVD was the inspiration for the CD The Road That Take Me Home to be used as a means to connect those with abortion in their past with pregnancy care centers to deal with the lingering shame and guilt that gets addressed in their counseling programs.

Your donation will allow us to use this music to acquaint women with specially trained pregnancy center staff who are eager to share with them how they can be free them from the bondage of their past abortion(s).