Bring Comfort

  Having toddlers in the house is not the norm for us anymore.  We had grand babies stay with us for a week and it was a very busy time.  It was a wonderful visit.

Today, my daughter brought some children over for lunch.  The baby was grumpy and whining while my daughter was trying to prepare the meal.  I entered the room and immediately sat on the floor on the other side of the table and put my shoes on.

I made eye contact with her, but made it clear that I was on the floor to put my shoes on by paying attention to my feet.  When I could see that she was not intimidated by me, I began to pay a bit of peek-a-boo.  Then, I was able to get a little closer and in short order picked her up and brought her out of the area, but within sight of her caretaker.

She appeared comfortable.  So, I brought her to the closet and got a couple of pieces of cereal.  I ate one and then offered her one.  She took it, but held it in her hand.  We then walked around the house and after a bit, went up to the playroom where she was very pleased to play.

She was happy and ready to have lunch.

Earlier in the week, my grandson had been very upset.  He’s two and I couldn’t make out what was the matter.  I gave him a bubble bath and realized that he was just uncomfortable and maybe over heated by the wood stove in the room where he’d been. He was soon his pleasant self again.

I have long held that when we go through some difficulty or some tragedy has befallen us, we have a variety of responses that will lead us to a trajectory of our own making.  We may be aware and intentional, but I think more often we are swept away by the circumstances and it may even take intervention for us to regain our bearings. 

The Bible says, “You shall comfort others with that of which you yourself were comforted.”  I think this gets lost.  

If we don’t actively think about how we deal with situations, we could be thrown into a quagmire of despair or self pity or self destructive behavior. So we need each other.

The illustrations of the children above are to remind us of that face that when we try to approach people that need to be comforted and redirected, we need to empathize: to get into their space without being pushy, to meet them where they are, to recognize their need for security and be cautious not to breach it, to provide positive experiences, and to then reflect on how those needs were or were not met.

In those ways we can become the very person to comfort others that way we need to be comforted.  No one is perfect and we all practice this life everyday.  Let’s practice thoughtfully.

This whole discussion is why Rachel’s Vineyard works to bring healing to post abortive women and men.  The directors have been through the same or very similar situations.  They have no illusions about what it takes to bring healing to a woman who has had an abortion, because they have done the same.  

Empathy is different than sympathy.  Are you able to comfort people with empathy?

Stay Positive

Staying positive without feeling selfish is such a struggle when it comes to ministry and prolife work.

There is a time for everything under the sun: a time to work, a time to fight, a time to sow, a time to rise up, but there is also a time to rest and a time for refraining from fighting.  Everyone needs to regenerate, recreate and rejuvenate.

When I am so tired, I cannot find the words in general conversation, then I know it is time for me to rest, to back off from the overload of, mostly self imposed, deadlines and commitments.

Perhaps you are better at pacing yourself than I am.  Perhaps you are able to allow for extra time in your schedule and for periods of relaxation between events and experiences.  I have a tendency to think I will be able to space things out in such a way that times of rest and inactivity will be on my calendar, but other people see me as a person who gets things done.

So, my best intentions are usually thwarted by people on one team or another who don't realize how many teams I play on.

Most people have a job or a business that they must work at and we have family and friends and relationships within the church or civic organization that we must work at to maintain, clubs we are members of and volunteer organizations. People from each of these may at any time require attention.

I am not suggesting that you or I must cut back or even that we should cut back on any of these things, but we do have to watch out for the fatigue that comes from overextending. No one is good to anyone if they are emotionally, physically or mentally exhausted.

The holidays are especially taxing for many people.  My hope is to be able to drink in the moments with family, enjoy nurturing relationships with others and bask in the quietness in my soul.

I hope you too can be at peace, such that your strength is renewed day by day.

There are still tragic decisions being made, people dying horrifying deaths and abuses of all kinds going on in the world.  Take the baton for a season at a time and ask God to have another take in at other times.

Staying home or visiting with family or friends or just resting is not selfish.  Taking care of yourself first, you will be able to take care of others.

There is a time for rest. Maybe your seasons for work and rest alternate with seasons or maybe they are long or short, but you are here for a purpose.

To fulfill that purpose, you must be intentional. Write rest, recreation and rejuvenation into your calendar.

Happy Holidays

Heroes

We all need heroes.

Everyone needs someone to look up to, someone to trust and admire and someone who will elevate them.  For me and for many of my friends who were conceived in violence, whether parented or adopted, pro lifers are heroes. 

They stand at the gates of the killing centers to dissuade moms.  They give time, money and energy to the care centers and churches.  They open their homes and hearts on a regular basis for hurt, scared girls in distress.  They also go to legislators and lobbyists to try to save children and their parents from our modern civil rights catastrophe.

The media has a different view of heroes.  From X-Men to Jason Borne and Hanna, genetically modified or super-empowerd people are the heroes of current film and culture.  There are also super-equipped heroes like Rocketman, Batman or Ironman from movies.  

We all need heroes, but we don't all aspire to do great things.  People sometimes just want to be protected and cared for.  Too many, I am afraid.  

There isn't enough exposure of our true heroes.  When we see heroes on the big screen, we think, "They are enhanced, they have unlimited funds, they are supernatural." "I could wish all day long and not ever be that hero." That is correct.  We cannot attain what they have.  They are not real.  

There are real heroes though.  Many right in your neighborhood.  You just don't know it because they don't make stuff explode or kill all the bad guys.  The real heroes save lives and rescue the hurting, despairing and destitute.  They are nurses, doctors, firefighters, police, social workers, pastors, teachers, missionaries, neighbors and friends.  They are the very ordinary people who give to the food pantry, the Red Cross, shovel snow from the widow's walkway and foster children, giving others a safe, peaceful, happier life right here in our own circles of influence.

Be the change.  That is what makes a hero.  Do something great.  You really can.  At this time of year, when we are thinking about new beginnings, think about how you can.  Take some time to ask yourself what your gifts and talents are, what your strong desires are and what you want to see changed for the better.  Then, do something.  You will be a hero for someone, maybe for yourself.

Stand Up, Step In

I have always loved living near the East Coast.  The brisk cold water that was so refreshing as a child has become too harsh for me in my older years.  A lot of things in life are like that.  We tolerate things differently as we mature.

From childhood to my early adult years, life was filled with turmoil and various levels of stressful conflict and strife.  The drama of those days is not something I tolerate any more.  I shrug more.  People are people, full of frailty, stupidity and wrath at times, but they can also be generous, compassionate and thoughtful.

My son showed us a video experiment last night.  It was held on a college campus.  The videographer was off in the distance and the subjects were acting out a bullying scene. The goal was to test the student body to see who would respond the the attack.  The results were startling.  Many students walked away quietly, trying not to make eye contact or get involved in any way.  A few stood up for the victim.  

That was sad, but as my husband pointed out it has always been that way.  No one stood up for him in school when he was brutally harassed and beaten every week.  

What is it about minding our business that is confusing?  Where is the line?  When we see someone being taken advantage of, hurt in some way or in danger, shouldn’t we speak up?  

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I heard as a child and have told my children.  How does that play out practically in our lives?  We mind our own business first.  We work, pay our bills, take care of our family’s needs and then expand the circle as we can to help out friends and charities, sponsor a child in Haiti or an elderly widow in Bulgaria. 

That’s all fine and good, but what of injustice? There are many ways we help fight injustice.  Giving to charity is one way.  One can give to advocacy groups and others fighting for the rights of impoverished or oppressed people.  Or being a voice on social media and in person.

I offered help to people at abortion facilities for a few years.  Giving them literature and resources to get practical help, counseling for their needs to be met and so they wouldn't kill their children.  This is a readily available site for me, since I am not in school.

In school, one can be alert and step in whenever there is any bullying going on; call a teacher or another student, record the incident on your phone, step into the situation if it’s safe.

Tolerating injustice isn’t something any of us should out grow.  How do you ‘step in’?

Purposeful Movements

Sunlight peeks through the canopy of a hundred year old forest, gently piercing through to the path in front of me.  As I walk, the rocks and thicket cause me to carefully direct each step. Ahead the path splits and the light and shadows shift on my choices.  I can clearly see each, but I am not sure which one will take me to my desired destination. 

Time is important to me.  If I go the wrong way, there will be delays, boredom, difficulty and frustration.  I may even get lost altogether.  I am intentional and I don’t want to waste a moment of my life.  I appreciate the beauty of the path.  The hundreds of hues of green and the delicate movement of the foliage give me a sense of peace in knowing that  life is more than the drama I experience.  There is so much more.  In this place, I hear the sounds of the forest reminding me that the world is vast and diverse.  The tweets and clicks are peaceful.  I am not rushing, but though this is a beautiful journey, I have a purpose.

Our lives are very much like this scene everyday.  We may have hundreds of decisions to make each and everyday that are a part of our life’s journey.  We can see the options before us.  If I get out of bed early, I will be able to work on that project, do the dishes or fold the laundry before going to school. I can set my alarm, but if I hit the snooze button, I have decided not to take advantage of the time productively.  It might be a small decision, but it could lead to the need for more decisions.  If the laundry wasn’t folded, should I wear wrinkly clothes or iron?  Each of these choices hold their own implications.

Taking the time to enjoy the here and now is not always easy.  Especially when demands on our time are great. I once had the opportunity to talk with a young mother who was suffering from back pain.  As we talked about body mechanics and good or bad positions, stretching and other activities, one phrase kept coming to mind.  Use purposeful movements.

I think of that often.  It's application moves well beyond physical movements that strengthen back muscle and prevent injury.  If we spend our lives using purposeful movements, we won't waste it.

Life is precious.  You only have one. As you travel your path, are you thinking about what you are thinking about and making decisions on purpose?

How do People Vote to Kill Children?

This week in Albuquerque New Mexico the people voted to allow 5 month old babies to be killed.  True that are 20 weeks and older in the womb.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v70cQzwRxfI
 They haven't been born, but clearly they are babies and clearly they can feel and respond to their surroundings and clearly some children have been born and with some medical interventions have grown to become wonderful, beautiful members of families.

This wasn't a few people on an appointed court or panel.  This was the general public.  I am speechless.  How can this be?

Kristan Hawkins, www.KristanHawkins.com  suggests that it was the clause which allowed for fetal deformity.  In other words, if the baby isn't perfect we should be able to kill him or her earlier rather than allow them to live.

1st abortion is very bad for moms, more so if this is a first pregnancy. Because the breast tissue changes in the last trimester of pregnancy to get ready to nurture her child, when the pregnancy is unnaturally interrupted, the ducts have undifferentiated cells.  Those cells that were in the process of changing can turn cancerous. www.abortionbreastcancer.com 

2nd The risks for physical maternal damage is great.  Inserting instruments to remove the baby can tear or puncture her uterus.  Or depending on whether the baby was killed by lethal injection or not, ripping the little ones arms and legs off to kill him poses its own risks of damage. Just think about pulling his legs off with metal tongs, a jerk from the baby as he tries to get away could cause a tear or puncture. 

3rd The emotional damage is often far greater than people realize and you cannot get a do-over.  The emotional effects of abortion have long been studied by Dr. David Reardon. http://afterabortion.org Check out his work here. 

And lastly, they voted to Kill Babies.  I have heard so many stories about misdiagnosis and people out growing their difficulties.  Who's next?  Do we really think this will end here?  There are lots of disabled people in our nation.  What of the elderly and their declining health and utility?

As Obamacare stumbles and flails and healthcare costs rise, do you think you are safe?  What if you have an accident or sudden infection that threatens your ability to work and pay back the government elites for the healthcare services you'll need? 

Just look up World War II: The Holocaust, to see pictures of piles of bodies.  Then, look up abortion pictures to see piles of bodies.  It is the same.  It is the same.  Mass genocide. 

Haven't we learned from History?  

Real Life

What is your real life? 

This may sound like a crazy question. It may be a crazy question.  It may be the only crazy question deserving of a thoughtful answer.  Obviously, if you are reading this, you spend time on the internet and engaging in some form of social media, probably other forms of media too: radio, television, etc.

There are so many blurred lines these days.  It is hard to know who or what to believe.  It is really difficult to know what to support and what to ignore or oppose.  

For example; a group purporting to rescue trafficked children was featured on a TV show recently.  The comment tread following the clip that was posted online was full of skepticism, suspicion and distrust.  The group was asking for donations and support.  Ostensibly, to continue rescuing and broaden the scope of their work.  People didn't automatically jump on board.

Trust must be earned.  But when is it unwarranted?  President GW Bush said, "Read my lips...No new taxes."  Then soon enough, there were new taxes and his credibility went down the tubes.  President Obama said, "If you like your insurance plan, you can keep it.  If you like your doctor, you can keep him."  Now that so many people are receiving cancelation notices, perhaps the disillusionment is settling in.  This is just one of a long list of lies that have been exposed by people we thought we could trust.

We don't know what we don't know.  How often are we fed a pack of lies or an embellished truth?  There are so many alternate news sites that claim to offer the opposite of what the main stream media reports.  It would seem that we are jaded, as a nation.  Our entire country has been duped again and again.  It is hard for most people to trust anyone or anything.

It is so common for people to escape by zoning out on tv or the web, but hopefully we are aware and actively building our personal relationships.  The real people in our lives need us.  We need real people too.  We need to be real with each other.  We need to be honest and truthful.  

That doesn't mean we say every thing that is on our minds.  Sometimes we must use a filter.  That filter is a loving, thoughtful examination of what we are thinking to ask if it will help, heal or hinder.  

Speaking all things through this filter of true love will make the world a better place and it will make our lives better in every way.

Our real life is happening now.  
Are you tuned in?  

      

The Word, The Will and The Great Conspiracy

This could be a book.

I have long heard people say things like, "It is fate." or "We are predestined." or "God is in control." or "It was meant to be." All of which may be true, but not out of our control.

The Word of God has a lot to say about His sovereignty.  I believe He can do most anything.  I say most, because I believe He cannot do anything that is contrary to His own character.  He cannot lie, for example.  God is Love.  So, He won't do anything that is not ultimately loving. He may allow someone to go through horrific things and die.  He may allow a storm to take a whole village.  He may even allow a tragic diagnosis.  But in His view, which I believe to be a little broader in scope than ours, He has a vision for good in the end or for a people or individual people.

I contend that; although I believe in a Creator God who is intimately involved in His creation, He works with our permission, submission and cooperation.  We are co-workers together with God.  Our human will is enough to thwart His plan for a situation.  Of course, ultimately He can use any one else to accomplish what He wants to.  His very Word says it has supernatural power. When I need restoration, I use the Words of the Bible to restore my soul.

If you have read this blog before, you know that I am a survivor of lots of abuses.  I live well now because of my willingness to align myself with words of healing and health, encouragement and peace. My will, together with the Word, is awesome.

The great conspiracy is that old serpent, the devil's, plot to trick us into thinking that this world is all there is and that everything happens for a reason and that we have no control over our lives.  We are stripped of the power to change things when we believe this.

If we just move along the path that is in front of us aimlessly, without a destination in mind, we will miss our destiny.

Do you have a vision for your future?

Silent on the Issue

New Hampshire law is silent on the issue. NH law is silent on the issue of abortion in many respects.  

We have no protection for women's right to know what they are agreeing to when they submit to abortion.  There is no law requiring information on fetal development, no decision time requirements, no required paper trail to verify that they even get risk assessments for physical or mental health.

NH has the federal mandatory reporter law, but no oversight, no tracking whether or not minors are protected from sexual predators when they enter abortion clinics.  There is no way of knowing if sexual predators are protected by bringing minor girls in to kill the evidence of their statutory rape or even trafficking and prostituting of minors.

NH clinics are not subject to any regular medical facility inspections, they are less regulated than fast-food restaurants.  At least there are laws requiring health inspections in Denny's.  Abortion clinics are shrouded in mystery.

NH law is silent on whether or not insurance providers cover abortion. The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare doesn't specifically require it either, however there are ways around that. Each carrier decides for itself whether or not to cover the brutal murder of preborn babies.  

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, PPNE has federal tax payer money grants exceeding $1.6MM for their business in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  They employ attorneys and lobbyists to keep their business as free from restriction as possible.  

I think it is important to realize what abortion is.  I think it is really important to remember that the tiniest members of our community are killed, that women are wounded and that some people make a lot of money shedding innocent blood. www.abortionno.org depicts abortion in raw graphic images. 

NH Lawmakers, that blood is on your hands.  NH citizens, we have a lot of work to do.  

CONCEBIDA EN UNA VIOLACIÓN

Darlene Pawlik – NH

Me llamo Darlene Pawlik. Mi padre es un violador en serie.

En el año 1966, Claire tenía 16 años. Un chico nuevo de la escuela la invitó a ir al cine y, como era encantador, sus padres le dieron permiso. A la vuelta, el joven propuso que tomaran un atajo y la violó en un terraplén que había entre el cine y su casa.

Estaba tan avergonzada que no se lo contó a nadie pero, cuando advirtió que estaba embarazada, se confió a su madre aunque sin prodigarse en detalles ya que, en su fuero interno, entendía que era un asunto que les incumbía sólo a ellos. Debido a la presión del entorno social del momento se casó con el chico y vivían en la misma zona. El joven tenía una gran habilidad para camelarse a la gente pero, en realidad, era violento y su familia fría y desalmada.

Durante los dos años en que vivieron en un cobertizo propiedad de su familia la violaba continuamente pero ella no dijo nada a nadie hasta que se quedó embarazada por segunda vez. Entonces, Claire advirtió a su madre de que se quitaría la vida si no la sacaba  de allí.

Supe los detalles de mi concepción cuando era aún muy joven. Mi madre venía de un hogar desestructurado y tenía muchos problemas. Nos solíamos mudar de casa todos los años e incluso siguió siendo así cuando se casó con su segundo marido. También descubrí que mi padre había violado a otras chicas.

Mi infancia fue difícil. Mi hermana y yo pasábamos fines de semana con la familia de nuestro padre y él abusaba de nosotras incluso con la aquiescencia de su familia que, mediante amenazas, nos asustaba y nos conminaba a guardar silencio. Mi madre no era consciente de todo esto.

Fuimos víctimas de abusos durante años. Mi hermana y yo estamos contentas por haber sobrevivido, por no haber sido abortadas y agradecidas a nuestra madre que  apostó por nuestra vida. Durante mi adolescencia me escapé, me raptaron y vendieron, traficaron conmigo, me violaron y golpearon y caí en las drogas y el alcohol. Pululé por las calles taciturna y con la carencia de un padre a quién yo voluntariamente repudiaba porque era un violador. Me daba la impresión de que toda la ciudad sabía de su brutalidad.

No me planteé cambiar de vida hasta que me quedé embarazada. El padre de mi bebé era un hombre casado, un mafioso del crimen organizado. Yo para él era tan sólo un pasatiempo más, una de las muchas chicas que le proporcionaba un proxeneta. Me amenazó con matarme si no abortaba y yo que sabía que era capaz concerté la cita delante de él.

Pero aquella noche soñé con el procedimiento de un abortó y vi con nitidez que era aterrador. Así que me las ingenié para fingir que había abortado y actué como si la interrupción se hubiese llevado a cabo. Él insistió en llevarme a cenar y, aunque estaba aterrada ante la idea de que lo pudiera descubrir, tuve que aceptar. Le pedí que, después del trago que había pasado, me dejara marchar y él convencido de que había abortado,  me lo permitió.

Nuestras vidas no son menos valiosas que las que vienen de un acto de amor. Tengo cinco hijos y dos nietos. Mis hijos son personas normales que trabajan y yo misma he servido a la sociedad de muchas y variadas maneras durante los 25 años en que he trabajado de enfermera.

Rechazo totalmente la idea que tiene la sociedad de que una mujer violada debe abortar. A los violadores, como mi padre, no los persiguen y los condenan a la pena de muerte por su crimen y, sin embargo, al niño inocente fruto de esa violación, sí. A la gente le parece normal  matar  al niño que como yo o tantos otros fue concebido en una violación y esto es un sin sentido.

Es abominable animar a una madre violada a que aborte. El hijo que espera no es sólo el hijo de un violador sino que es su propio hijo. Matar a ese niño es un crimen. La mujer ya ha sido suficientemente ultrajada, su dignidad rota por un violador, para que además sea nuevamente atacada cuando se la pretende despojar de esa maternidad. Añadir al trauma de una violación la atrocidad de un aborto es incrementar su dolor. La gestación es temporal. La madre que da a luz y entrega a su hijo en adopción puede respirar tranquila porque ha hecho lo correcto.

El mundo es muy variopinto, plagado de dolor, luchas y sin sabores pero, a la vez, lleno de bondad, felicidad y paz para quién se esfuerza en encontrarlo. Dios tiene un plan para todos nosotros con independencia de las circunstancias de nuestra concepción y de las decisiones equivocadas o acertadas que hayamos tomado. Mientras vivamos siempre tendremos la posibilidad de un cambio, de una conversión y de un mañana mejor.

She is called, Maria.

Maria, the mystery child found in squaller in Greece, has gained the attention of the world.

The couple who had her were taken into custody for abduction. The news is sketchy, at best.  At its worst, if may be hyping a story as benign as a couple who took care of a young girl when her mother couldn't.  That is the story the couple is telling.

It is curious.  At least ten families are hoping she is their missing child. If ten families are thinking this one may be their missing baby, how many missing children are there?   She meets certain specifications after all.  Just think of detailed specifics she meets in order to qualify for consideration.  Mind boggling.

Then there is the media.  One of the reporters kept calling her, "it".  She would say, "The child is at a facility, run by a charity."  "It is undergoing tests."  "It is playing and laughing."  "It has been evaluated."  How could this reporter think she should be called, "it".      

What the heck is that?  She is between three and six years old.  Is she not a person yet?  Does she not deserve the designation of a proper or appropriate pronoun?  Does she not deserve the dignity of a person?

It was a heartbreaking report, mainly because of the reporter's dehumanizing treatment of this precious little person.  It is unclear how she came to be among the people she was with.  Maybe it will be found out.

One thing is clear though.  She is a person.  She is being called Maria.  God has a special purpose for her.

The same is true of all people, born and unborn, disabled and athletic, genius and developmentally retarded, young and elderly.  People deserve respect and dignity.  We are a compassionate community.  Let us never dehumanize others by ignoring their humanity.  Every person is unique.  Everyone is special.  Everybody deserves to be acknowledged.

Do You FB?

I Facebook.

I really enjoy it.  From the cute to the controversial, I love to like and comment.  It has been a way to connect with people of like mind and it is a tool for things like missing people to gain exposure.  Some people use it for family, some for fun, some for ministry or promoting their views.  There are politicians and pundits, brokers and entrepreneurs everywhere.

I have a diverse group of Friends.  Many are from real-estate, many are pro lifers, some family, from my church, friends of my children, and political friends.  On occasion I have no idea how we are friends and some of my friends are of no consequence to me at all.  They may be friends of friends or friends of a person that I don't even know.

FB has so many positive aspects.  Community and camaraderie are important, as are dispute and discussion.  It can get pretty intimate at times with too much information shared between people in public.  I wonder if the same people would have that conversation in a grocery store or the mall.  Other times it can get so nasty.  I wonder if the isolation of the computer screen gives some people bravado that they lack in 'real life'.

I am relatively non-confrontational on my own behalf, but I can stick up for others in person and online.

FB has some negatives too though.  One is the 'last year's post'.  This could be a very old post of an event or story, even a missing person report that has long since been resolved.  It can be ridiculous to share, causing angst among real friends or just make a person look foolish.

Then there is the memes and pictures.  You have heard of photoshop, right?  Some pictures are not real.  Some pictures of people with a meme plastered on the top or bottom are not quotes!  So many times people are lead to believe that the meme is attributable to the person in the pic.  I laugh at the responses, but in some cases it can cause trouble when people believe it.  You cannot believe everything on your wall.

I think it was Ronald Reagan that said, "Trust, but verify."

So, do you FB?

Light Pushes

Light Pushes through the mist from the street lamp.  Its reach seems to be limited to the immediate area of illumination, but I realize that the light has actually reached the ground and surrounding area, diffuse and dim.

Likewise, hope pushes through my circumstances.  I read stories and watch the news about so many tragic, horrible events.  I can look at my own life and get down because of unmet expectations or difficulties. We live in a fallen world, full of strife and real evil.  Stupidity seems to reign.  Crimes of all sorts are perpetrated in view of others, cameras and for the most transient, insignificant reasons.  So much of it isn't as much evil as foolish.

Even when I have a severe bout of depression, one lasting weeks in which tears are ever present and my only desire is to lie down and not get up, one in which I find myself shrugging and shaking my head unconsciously as I try to plot out my time, trying to get through each day is a struggle, hope is a tiny light.

Anyone and everyone can get pulled under, if they look around and focus on the bad stuff.  There is so much of it and our modern media is constantly pumping out sensationalism. Drawing on our emotions is the way to get and keep our attention.  

But how do we fan the spark into a flame that will get us out of the slump?  I suggest that each of us must decide to take the measures that we need to in order to resist depression.  If that means meds or exercise, change of diet or sunlamp, supplements or counseling, we must.  There is too much to do.  We must engage.  

There are so many issues to confront for the sake of our fellow humans.  Each of us is here for a reason.  Each of us has a particular purpose and no one else on the planet is so precisely equipped to solve the problems of our time.  

You are important.  You have special gifts and talents.  You have a mission.  

Find out what it is and refuse to allow the circumstances of your life to stop you.

In pain? Broke? No time? Disabled? Depressed? Contagious illness? 

If you are reading this, no circumstance will stop you from your destiny.  

Slow movement in the right direction is still movement. Do something.

Do you have hope enough for goals each day?

What's Out Your Window?

A friend of mine commented about the neighborhood he lives in.  He said that it must be a rule to take any heated argument outside and for those involved to yell and scream as loudly as possible.

It often seems like that is what the media is trying to do with the country at large.  We all live here in this giant neighborhood of the USA with the media as our windows and doors.  So, when there is something going on we are exposed to it.  Especially when it comes to any elected officials, but often people who we consider stars or military leaders, criminals too often, other country's leaders and occasionally regular people.  We agree on a lot of things, but we disagree about a lot too.

The Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare is one of the most contentious arguments in the window right now, but it is inextricably linked to underlying issues of liberty and control.

Like my friend's neighborhood, where the people hear the exposed part of the fight, we get only so much from the windows of media.

Labels are impossible for me to use here, because the definitions are complicated and diverse, depending on who is reading.  For example; progressives are seen in the rosiest light to many and to the liberty minded, local control loving they are the enemy.

So, I simply say that I hope and pray for those who have the power to right the ship will do so.  Our country is no more "The land of the free, because of the brave."

Somehow, the current administration has survived, scandal after scandal and they seem untouchable.  We are a murderous nation and it will be worse when the ACA is fully implemented.  The law has a complete strangle hold on our country already.  When implemented there will be no liberty for anyone at all.  You and I will work to pay for unspeakable evil.

Americans already subsidize abortion.  President Obama loves Planned Parenthood.  Abortion is a horrific train wreck with tragic consequences for all.  The ACA takes a leap forward in terms of killing.  Free abortions paid for by the few people who will still work.

Then there are the bell curve care charts.  They may not kill.  They may deny care based on criteria set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services. The same people who didn't want to allow a child to have a lung transplant because she was a few months too old.

While I am not sure about whether a government shut down is the answer, the question is that important.  The strategy of shutting down parks in order to bring the entire country out to participate in the fight is intriguing.  I wonder what the test really is.

Thank God there are people thinking and not just looking out the window accepting the superficial.  Here is my view.

How Can it Be?

How can it be?

How can it be that our Government is going about doing bad?  This of course, is in direct contrast with the testimony that Jesus went around doing good. 

Spending money we neither have nor will ever be able to recover.  Giving this printed money to so many people and so many countries is ridiculous.  Of course, there are some people who need a hand up, temporary assistance is a wonderful thing.  However; it should not be a mechanism to impose a new kind of slavery on a population.  Controlling people by providing for them is a wicked, cruel trap.

Social engineering has always been around, but this silly disrespectful tactic of shutting down parks and barricading monuments is destine to backfire.

Is the administration trying to incite riots?  It seems rather similar to the Occupy movements style of radical disruption.  It might be a distraction, but imposing such misdirected, childish retaliation is lighting up the airwaves.  Many, many people are talking about how messed up this is.  What should we be looking for?

What would our Founders do?  “They are turning over in their graves.” One person said.  But really, what would they have done?  I think I will have to get out a copy of the Federalist Papers and the AntiFederalist Papers as well as some of their writings to find out.  Surely, they would not put up with this.

My friends ask how it is that they are getting away with this.  The really upset people are the honorable ones.  They are upset, even furious, but they don’t play with despots.  So, the have kept their heads, so far.  Honor and dignity, fidelity and liberty are the highest marks of character to be retained.  They watch and learn.  

What will come of this?  

What’s your issue?

My Friends, what is your issue.  Everyone has them.  

Some people have chronic illness.  Some are in terrible debt and have become slaves to it.  Some people are activists on behalf of some larger issue, like global warming or child advocacy. Many of my friends are activists.  I have listed some issues, so you can see if any of them are yours.

• Abortion to Euthanasia
• Dolphins to Killer Whales
• Animal Rights and Rescue
• Human Trafficking, Labor and Unions
• Immigration, Legal or Illegal
• Guns, Freedom or Control
• Education Reform and Opportunity
• Taxes and the IRS
• Available Health Care to Rationing
• Gays, Marriage and the Difference
• Bioethical Research and the Brave New World
• Technology Freedom or Regulation
• Modern Warfare Tactics
• Video Desensitization 
• Internet tracking and the CHIP
• Experimentation without Informed Consent
• Free Birth Control
• College Loans and Grants
• Endangered Species 
• Monsanto and Genetically Engineered Foods
• Missing & Exploited Children
• MIA Soldiers 
• NSA and Government spying 
• EMPs and Sabotage 
• Jobs 
• Disaster Preparation 
• Chemical Weapons
• The End of the World

Activist sounds violent or extreme.  I guess that is accurate. When a person is willing to set aside their own comfort for the cause of another that cannot bring them a direct benefit it may be considered extreme.  

A solution to a problem may necessitate destruction of an former system.  Is it too late?  Have we come too far?  Is there a contingent significant enough to make a difference?  I have read the back of the Book.  There is a definite end.  The question remains.  When is that?  Will we be there?

There is no other issue more important than that of the status of a person’s life.  Without life, no one cares about taxes, jobs or the economy.  No dead person wants birth control or naturally grown foods.  

No.  Life is the First Issue.  The One most important.  The One worth our time, effort and money.  

What’s your issue?

Common Core for an Ordered Society

Common Core is the new ‘No Child Left Behind’ and ‘Goals 2000’ from the federal government with more technology and a more brazen step on the path toward a fully ordered society.  At its extremity, this ordered society is one in which, children are allowed to be born if they are considered of worthy genetic and socioeconomic status for the ultimate good of the whole society.  

One in which those children are immediately tracked and their predispositions are recorded, retina scans are as much a part of post natal care as the requisite amniocentesis to check for fetal abnormalities and genetic deficiencies will be a part of the prenatal care.  

Working toward that end, Common Core steps up the dumbing down of US Citizens and residents, legal and illegal.  History is a grand mix of truth and fiction, full of suppositions and opinions.  Facts are less important than how we feel about the outcome. Classic contemplative thinking skills are replace with more base, animalistic exposure encouraging our young people to experiment with impulsive behavior.

Math is relative. 

Literature is sexy.

Science is theory.

Eugenics is cool.

The collective is exponentially more important than the individual.

Some districts are already exploring how biofeedback will enhance the testing experience for students.  With heart monitors and sensors attached to students during tests, certain questions will be flagged according to their importance and impact on the ultimate agenda.  Social acceptability can be measured by responses, such as heart rate, muscle tension, perspiration and temperature. Facial expressions will also be monitored to gage attitudes while answering questions.

The computerized testing will do all of the coordination of the data and dictate the required education or re-education and prescribe course corrections to guide the student in the most productive and most beneficial path for their particular community. 

With government school classrooms full of eager students ready to fall in line, led not by their teachers, who may or may not desire individual achievement over a district wide score. Instead they are mandated by Common Core Programers.  The unaware mass will move as one toward a world in which a few elitist control minions working the menial jobs designed for them to keep the few in power.

The infrastructure and distribution of foodstuffs, the production of goods and the services required to keep order and prevent upset will be fulfilled with people prepared for their preset responsibilities from birth.  The utopian society will be perfect and everyone will do what they are told because they have been screened and preprogramed to do so.

As soon as the system is fully implemented people will be appointed to be allowed to have children and others denied in order to cull the herd, to improve the breeding stock and create the best possible candidates for their respective positions. 

Innovation and creativity will be reserved for the privileged few.  Of course, that will mean less inventing, less exploring and less creating.  But just think of the peace that such an ordered society would bring: no one thinking for themselves, no one envious or striving to compete, no one fighting or slacking. Everyone will have their place. 

Everyone will stay in line, because if they don’t, “What the State has given, the State will take away.”  For those people who crave liberty will be suppressed for the good of the whole. I’m sure this will be the best society on earth, aren’t you?

There is no room for individual liberty in an ordered society.  Local control is the only way to ensure freedom.  Local control begins within each of us.  We generally call it self control.  Government schools have already contributed to make the USA into a country where self control isn’t important.  Let’s not allow this trajectory to continue.  Bring back local control to our schools, our curricula and most importantly to ourselves as individuals.  

In Case of Rape

There are stories everyday about rape.  One recently grabbed my attention.

It is the story of a 16 year old girl, raped by a married, 21 year old man.  She apparently hid her pregnancy for more than four months from her parents.  The man is in jail.  He is alive and well and the State of Gujarat, in the northwestern part of India. 

There isn’t a great deal of information in the article. So, I have questions.  The rapist was not killed, but protected and provided for by law.  Why would the same society want to kill the innocent child of the criminal?  The petition was submitted by her father on her behalf.  Did she want this?  She wasn’t found to be pregnant until she was 18 weeks along.  Surely she knew she was pregnant. Why did the doctors at the hospital ask for a judicial hearing? The judge ordered a medical exam to see if it could be done safely.  Was this girl even asked about her will?  

Thankfully, the girl and her baby were protected by the law, The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971. She suffered a rape, but will be spared abortion.  There will be a rough road ahead for her, no doubt. 

I will keep her in my prayers.  I don’t know what the culture in her circles will do: how they will treat her, if they will welcome the baby, if she will ever be able to realize her dreams.  I know that she is courageous and I know God has a hope and a future for her.  I hope she knows that too.

The rape exception is cruel and illogical.  Recently, there was a lot of debate about a bill that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks, because it has been shown that babies of this age are clearly able to feel pain.  All the big prolife groups were behind it, spending time, energy and money to make people aware and promote it to legislators.  

For a while, it was getting traction, then someone introduced exceptions.  So, babies may not be killed after 20 weeks because they can feel pain.  Somehow, though, it is permissible to kill a baby conceived by rape or incest.  Same gestational age, relatively all the same attributes, but because of the crime of their fathers, some babies are not worth protecting.

This punches logic in the face.  If only some are protected, then none are really protected.  We must fight to protect our fellow humans

with truth.  Truth is solid, it is not moral relativism, wishy washy, touchy feely.  It’s Truth.

If babies at 20 weeks should be protected because we know they feel it when they are brutally killed, then let’s be consistent. Protect them all.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/hc-denies-abortion-to-a-minor-rape-victim-on-legal-grounds-113090600986_1.html

Political Bullies

Political bullying happens on both ends of the spectrum.  My conservative friends are quick to point out that the big banks, unions and Progressives use their leverage and dubious tactics to influence legislation and public policy.

My Friends, the people on the right are sometimes wrong too.  We hope that prolife, profamily, proliberty people are always honest and congruent, but on occasion, I have found them to be misguided. 

For instance, let’s look at a prolife state senator with exceptions.  He votes for prolife legislation with caveats. “except in case of rape, except in case of incest”.  He honestly believes that abortion is a mechanism of relief for women, a confused compassion that costs the lives of millions of healthy, innocent children. The senator has influence, not just in his vote, but his peers on the Ways and Means Committee look to him for guidance on bills they may or may not have time to read or if read, analyze.  He uses his influence to pressure others to vote and promote legislation that clearly demolishes prolife logic.

True prolife logic states that human beings should not be intentionally killed.  If only some are protected, then none are protected. Children conceived from assault are no less human than children conceived with wine and roses.  Women who have suffered assault and their children are all in need of protection and provision. 

Then, we should look to the prolife organizations that purport to want abortion to end.  When they influence legislators, don’t they always use clear logic, true morality and just reasoning?  Maybe.  On occasion, they engage in the same confused compassion.  In their reasoning, some babies might be saved if a law regulates abortion.  They apply pressure on legislators by the use of voter guides.  They often give the wrong impression of true Prolife legislators who refuse legislation that includes exceptions.  100% Prolife without exceptions legislators exist.  The voter guides don't always declare exceptions.  Be aware.

Regulating abortion is not ending abortion.

Since when is it right to legislate how, when and where we can kill innocent human beings?  Oh, yeah, since the Supreme Court superseded the Constitution and Congress let it happen. The Supreme Court’s rulings have become law in direct opposition to our founding documents.  The Court decreed abortion on demand, any time for any reason.

The Court, nine men and women, bullied the whole country.  The various lobbyists now bully individual legislators.  We were a people ruled by law, now we are a people ruled by men. 

What does this mean for the USA?  Your guess is as good as mine.  

What would be your strategy?  Education?  Activism? Rebellion?  

A Short Testimony

My name is Darlene.  My father is a serial rapist.

In 1966, Claire was a 16 year old girl. She was invited to the movies by a new boy at school.  He was charming and her parents gave permission.  On the way home, it began to rain.  He suggested a shortcut.  He raped her in the sand pits, between the theater and her home.  

She was too embarrassed to say a word.  She didn’t tell anyone.  When she found herself pregnant, she went to her mom, but still didn’t fully give up the details.  In her mind, she says, we were in it together.  Social pressure required she marry the boy.  They lived in a very small community.  She thought he would treat her decently.  He had apologized, but he was violent and his family was cold and heartless. 

He raped her for almost two years before she told anyone. When she found herself pregnant again, Claire told her mother that if she didn’t get her out of there, she would kill herself.  They had been living in a shed on his family’s property.

I found out the details at a pretty young age.  My mom had come from a disfunctional home and she had a lot of problems. We moved every year, even when she was later married to her second husband.  

Mine was a tumultuous childhood.  My sister and I spent weekends with our father’s family.  He was allowed to use us for his own gratification with permission from his family.  They warned us to be silent.  The threats were very scary.  My mother was oblivious. 

We were abused for years, but we both, my sister and I, are glad to be alive.  We are glad that neither of us were killed by abortion, grateful that our mother chose life for us.  

In my teens, I ran away, was kidnapped, trafficked, sold, raped, beat up, on drugs and alcohol.  I wandered the streets, lost and fatherless, by choice because my father was a rapist.  The whole city seemed to know of his brutality. 

It wasn’t until I was pregnant that I had any desire to change.  My baby’s father was a married, organized crime boss.  I was his house pet, just one of the girls he’d purchased from a pimp.  He threatened that if I didn’t have an abortion, he would kill me.  I believed him.  In fact I knew without a doubt that he would.  I made an appointment in his presence.

That night, I had a dream of the procedure in living color.  It was accurate and devastating.  I managed to fake the abortion.  I mean to say, the evening after the appointment was to have been, I pretended that I had gone through with it.  He had insisted I go out to dinner with him.  I was terrified that he would find out, but I had to risk it.  I told him that now that I had done this, I would move away and he let me go.  He was convinced.

I began to heal and realized that my life mattered.  A person conceived in rape is a person.  Our lives are not worth less than someone who was born out of a loving relationship.  I have five children and two grandchildren.  My children have businesses, jobs, ministry.  They are all productive citizens.  I have served my community in many ways on a variety of occasions over the years.  I have been a practicing nurse for 25 years.  

The idea that society believes a woman pregnant by assault ought to have an abortion is totally repugnant to me.  Rapists, like my father, are not subject to the death penalty.  Yet, people would have me or another child killed for his offense.  This is not logical.  

Subjecting a mother to abortion is similarly abhorrent.  The baby growing inside of her is her baby.  It is not the rapists baby, it’s hers.  To pull that child out, limb from limb kills her baby.   I see it as another assault.  She has been assaulted.  Her dignity and autonomy has been violated by a rapist.  When she finds that she has become pregnant, then assaulted again and her maternity stolen by an abortionist.  To add the trauma of abortion to the trauma of rape only compounds the pain.  Pregnancy is temporary.  A woman who offers her child up for adoption can sigh and say she did the right thing in a bad situation.