Time to step out on a limb. The Lord gave me a vision the other night (or, as my friend u.t. likes to say, it might have been the pepperoni pizza before bed - only time will tell). Pro-life people like me are adamant in the belief that life begins at conception. This is fundamental to our belief in the sanctity of the unborn, and to our opposition to abortion.

In spite of our strong words, we live in and accommodate to a culture which measures the age of our children from the day of their birth, rather than from conception. By our actions, we are belying our beliefs, although it's probably unintentional for most of us - we just never thought about it.

I would like to propose a grass-roots revolution in the behavior of pro-life Christians. I suggest that we begin celebrating "Lifedays" instead of birthdays. We should estimate the day of conception and tell our children "this is the day God gave you life." After all, what are we really celebrating on a birthday? The day you kept your mother in terrible pain for hours on end, or were removed surgically from her womb?

We should acknowledge that our choice to celebrate Lifedays instead of birthdays will not be a legally binding change - yet. School records and legal documents will still use the cultural norm as their reference. But just think about the consequences of our testimony if we act on our beliefs. Eventually, there may be a culture shift of significant proportion, and it could be that as this idea sinks in, school systems and other governmental agencies might acquiesce, and even support the idea. The ultimate consequences would be to re-affirm the value of the unborn child in our society, to save the lives of the unborn, and to bring glory to God.

And I'll bet Hallmark will be tickled pink to have an entirely new type of card to sell :)