To say that I feel blessed is an understatement. Guiding Star is an amazing support system for women in the Cedar Valley with such warm, uplifting, and kind-hearted staff. I feel extremely lucky to have this type of service available to me in the Cedar Valley. I started seeing Dr. Pranger at Fiat when I was pregnant as a first time mom. I was surprised to find out that Guiding Star would be offering free pregnancy support throughout my pregnancy, as well as postpartum care after baby was born. Each time I came in for an appointment, Grace would stop in to my room. Even if it wasn't one of the 'scheduled' weeks to meet with GSCV, she would still come say hi and see how I was doing. It is so hard to find that type of genuine care, concern, and support. Not only was I getting my medical care, but I was also getting emotional and spiritual care from other women/mothers who wanted to support me and lift me up. I also met with Danielle, and her presence alone is such a calming spirit to an anxious pregnant woman in her 3rd trimester. She spent time giving me words of wisdom and answering my questions. It felt like having coffee with friends - sharing stories and not rushed at all. After baby was born, I got a sweet text message asking how I was doing. Grace even got me set up with a lactation consultant and scheduled the appointment for me so I didn't have to take the extra time to call. It was so kind, and once again, I felt so lucky to have this service connected to my physician's office. I wish all first-time moms could experience this!"

November 1, 2022 my husband and I lost our first child at 10 weeks. This trauma left me hopeless, scared, depressed, and lost. I was given a folder at the hospital with some information on Guiding Star Cedar Valley and as soon as I had energy to make a phone call, they were one of the first calls I placed. I was assisted with getting a mentor, who I met one night after work. It was a safe place and person whom I cried with, I talked with, and after that "meeting", I knew i was going to be ok, but I needed more. I then received information on the Miscarriage/Infant Loss Support group that was to start very soon after our miscarriage. I remember the first class, I think I spoke up right away. I had so many feelings and emotions inside of me, that I had been releasing to my husband, family, and close friends, but this group and environment was different. I looked forward to each class, I actually was hoping for more. This was a place where I could ask for help, get feedback, receive words of encouragement and know still, we were going to be ok, my heart was going to heal, and this loss was going to take time to heal. I have told my friends and family about my experience and how it changed my life. I had never experienced this type of loss before and I didn't know where to go or where to start to begin the grieving process. My heart will continue to heal, I will continue to grieve and process "life" but today, it is easier because of Guiding Star Cedar Valley. I have hope today and when I still get emails from Danielle, I smile and feel grateful for her, Guiding Star, and that group. My husband and I are grateful and blessed to be soon-to-be-parents (again) this October 2023. So, was this care life changing to me and my family? ABSOLUTELY!!! I think back to if I never made that phone call, if I never had that contact information, what would life be like now for me and my family and my relationship with others... this is care that needs to be shared, needs to be passed along to others. If it can change/help me, it can do that for so many others. In a way, this class saved me and my heart. I am beyond grateful and thankful for Guiding Star Cedar Valley and will continue to share my story and continue to share my experiences with Guiding Star Cedar Valley.

The Guiding Star Project is the ideal environment for fostering what Blessed Pope John Paul II called a "culture of life." By using a natural and holistic approach, centers like these can coordinate services and offer women ethical medical care and family support, counseling, and education spanning the natural life cycle. After years working in a clinic that viewed new life as inconvenient and expendable, it is refreshing to learn of an innovative and life-affirming project like this that can truly guide mothers and families toward a healthier, holier life together.

Imagine a place where women’s life-giving and life-nurturing abilities are embraced and supported, where natural law that acknowledges the sanctity of all human life is integrated into services and supports, and women, men, children, and our families and communities are further strengthened. Can you imagine it? I can. And it looks like the Guiding Star Project. As an abortion survivor, I can only imagine how different my life, my biological mother’s life, and truly my entire family’s lives could have been, if only someone would have been there to support them 35 years ago, when instead of walking through a life-affirming center’s doors, they walked through the doors of a hospital for a saline infusion abortion. I can only imagine how different our lives could have been if only a comprehensive health center, like the model that the Guiding Star Project has boldly envisioned and is prepared to help organizations and individuals implement in their own communities, would have existed. My life, my biological parents and their families’ lives may not have been able to be impacted by the presence of life-affirming services and supports and comprehensive health services, but other lives, other families, can be served in a way that my family was not. That’s why I am so impressed by the Guiding Star Project’s vision for bringing about a culture of life through nationwide holistic, comprehensive centers, offering life affirming services. Thank you, Guiding Star Project for offering the vision to better serve the needs of women, children and families, and provide the opportunity for individuals and organizations to use their resources wisely to make a difference and create lasting cultural change!

Guiding Star has been a light to us when we have looked for education, care we can trust, and direction in finding ways to celebrate and care for the bodies God has given us. We happened upon Guiding Star through a flier hanging on a bulletin board at our church, then heard about it through a friend, then decided to try a class. The Intro to Womanhood class was incredibly, surprisingly, and refreshingly honest. It honored the natural rhythms, goodness, and "superpowers" of the human body, while ultimately honoring the person: body, mind, soul, and spirit. Living in 8 states and receiving care in those states, never have I felt as holistically and honestly understood and valued as a human as I have here. I felt comfortable with the content of the Intro to Womanhood course, and was grateful that the information was presented in a way that allowed the girls to feel positively about the changes their body will undergo, as it reinforced the beauty of the way we are created and the goodness of each of us. I appreciate the accepting, encouraging, and helpful atmosphere at Guiding Star, while also respecting privacy, respecting individuals as they are with their own beliefs, and welcoming thoughtful questions and ideas. I appreciate the value Guiding Star adds to the Cedar Valley as a leader in holistic women's health, top-notch education for youth, women, and families, and healthcare I trust for my family. If you have not yet visited Guiding Star, it is worthwhile to stop in, to see a supporting, holistic atmosphere that starkly contrasts with the sterile and sometimes impersonal healthcare atmosphere that people may experience in a typica healthcare setting. Thank you, Guiding Star!

The mission of the Guiding Star Project is essential to revealing the beauty inscribed in woman. She has a genius all her own, and when any woman is diminished, the world suffers a particular privation. Congratulations on a fine project!

The Guiding Star Project is a wonderfully bright spot in the dismal world that is today's version of "women's healthcare." They encourage women to trust themselves and their bodies, all while working hard to provide a safe environment to teach women the necessary skills they need to stand up for themselves and their families and become Guiding Stars. In a society that tells women they need to be broken in order to be "fixed," GSP reminds us that we are perfect just the way we are.