on mother's day

To breathe, to feel, to think. These are rights.

To defend, to protect, to fight. These are duties.

Sometimes people get confused about what their rights are. Off and on, I see this simplistic and illiogical little sketch: "Don't like abortion? Don't have one," attempting to assert a woman's pretended "right to choose." I'm all for simplicity, but not for stupidity, and I just have to say (in the nicest way possible, of course) that this is the stupidest piece of preschool-level argument I've heard from anyone who fancies themselves a feminist. Let's follow the course it takes:

"Don't like child abuse? Don't beat your kid."

"Don't like infidelity? Don't have an affair."

"Don't like child p*rn? Don't look at it."

"Don't like rape? Don't rape anyone."

See where this goes?

Some people will protest that these are totally different topics and can't be compared to abortion. They don't understand that about two-thirds of abortions in the US are coerced or forced onto women. The act of abortion itself is a violence toward women and children that surpasses that of even rape or molestation. They argue about health care, but they don't understand that the abortion industry cares about women's health in the same way a pimp cares about the health of his prostitutes - it is only a means to a very lucrative end for them. In either case, women are used.

It's called "choice," but it's not. It's called "feminist," but half of the babies killed are feminine. That's not feminism, that's brutal murder. Slave owners fought for their "rights," too...and fancied themselves civil rights activists, also - but they weren't, and history shows the foolishness and cruelty of their position. And yet the reality of abortion makes even slavery look like a walk in the park.

And yet women are still deceived, grasping at this "right" that reveals the very deepest identity insecurity. Being a woman isn't good enough - we must have the option to reject the very nature of what we were made for. And, oh, don't you dare tell me I was made for creating children! I was made for more than that!

Oh, were you? Then you, my dear friend, have a very sorry, skewed idea of what motherhood is - which is understandable enough, considering that many of us were raised in a time when our mothers also bucked this calling, so how are we to know any better? But it is a very high calling - some say the highest of callings - higher than working in some office, higher than having your own business, higher than finishing some degree. And, yes, higher than that bucket list.

It is the gift of being able to mold and influence the very beginning of someone's life. It is the influence you have for the next generation, and every generation after that. The other stuff is good, sure - I like having a business, I love education - but these come far short of the calling of being a mother to as many kids as God will give me to raise for the future.

Humans breathe...feel...and think. Science shows that even the smallest of us do this. We were human before we were born. Toes, fingers, faces, at nine weeks gestation. I've seen it myself.

This very day, May 11th, was Mother's Day nine years ago. I was almost twelve weeks pregnant. During a long, devastating illness I woke up at four in the morning in excruciating pain, and realized we were losing our baby. Later that morning in the emergency room I saw him...he had arms, hands, and a little, tiny nose. He - yes, he - was no mere clump of cells, but fully human. The doctor said he had probably died two weeks earlier. He had been alive, but wasn't anymore.

I had never before known how human the unborn were. And it was Mother's Day. We named him Baruch.

As humans, we breathe, we feel, we think. As mothers, we defend, we protect, and we fight. We hold monumental influence over the future.

We pursue the highest calling, and make no apologies.


originally published at Copperlight Wood

Progress?

In Which History Is Not Actually A March of Progress

reposted from The Common Room by TheHeadGirl

The Toltecs in ancient Mexico sacrificed their children to a rain god... presumably considering the exchange of their child's life worth the benefit (rain) to society.

The Vikings practiced female infanticide ~ apparently considering a daughter's life less valuable than that of a son. Better family life by killing a daughter...

Ancient customs in parts of Africa (and sometimes still carried out today) demand the murders of undesirable babies (including some with special needs). These babies are counted as undesirable for the peace and and prosperity of their families or community.

We reel at the ignorance and cruelty. We pat ourselves on the shoulder. We're too enlightened to even contemplate benefiting society by killing our children; we know it doesn't work like that.

Or do we?

A 1995 study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that a little over 17% of women who might consider abortion would be more likely to do it if the fetal tissue (ie, their baby) could be used for medical purposes.

A 1991 poll published in Time magazine found that 18% saw no problems with "conceive and intentionally abort a fetus so the tissue can be used to save another life."

Those stats, and more like them, here.

A mother is supposed to protect the life of her child no matter what society's supposed "needs" are... and we are in a dangerous, dangerous position when we forget that.

Give Me Music and Life

It is so heartening to stumble across pro-life shops while browsing on Etsy. Megan is the heart and talent behind Heart Strings 4 Life and donates a percentage of the proceeds to Pro-Life causes.

Her necklaces are made from up-cycled violin strings, hand braided (a tough task) and accessorized with various glass pendants. Beautiful Christmas present idea.

200 million

How much is 200 million?

200 million pennies would fill 9 school buses to overflowing. If you wanted to count to 200 million, and you were really ambitious and didn't take any breaks to eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom, it would take you just over 12 ½ years. But what does 200 million children look like?

Jesus’ heart was for children everywhere He went – blessing, defending, and loving them, and He calls us to do the same thing. When He called a little child to Him to stand among His disciples, He told them that they had to become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven, that whoever humbles himself like this child would be the greatest in the Kingdom…and the very next thing He said was "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:5)

Just a few verses later He says, "Beware that you don't despise a single one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father." (v. 10) Throughout the Bible, God is defending children and calling his people to defend the orphan. Over and over. God cares about the vulnerable enough to repeat Himself.

So, what does 200 million children look like? They look like what the entire population of the United States was in 1969. They look like enough kids to fill over 3 ½ million schoolbuses – and to give you an idea of how much that is, if you lined those buses up from bumper to bumper they would stretch over 20 thousand miles, or the distance from Barrow, AK to Tampa, Florida...five times.

.

Here’s the issue - In just this year, about 200 million is the number of children who will be despised throughout the world – they will either be left as orphans without a family of their own to love and care for them, or they will die as a result of an abortion. 200 million little lives with their own giftings, callings, and futures - image-bearers of the King who created them lovingly with a purpose – Who, if He were standing with them, would pick them up and say, “you look like Me.” But will they ever realize their calling? Will they know their Savior if that future is squandered on the streets of a third world country while they try to fend for themselves? Or what if they don’t even make it that far – if their life is snuffed out before birth because they were conceived in a society that deemed them inconvenient and expendable? Maybe you heard recently that 40% of pregnancies in New York City end with abortion – and for black babies, that number jumps to 60%. That kind of math is easy to visualize – six out of ten babies. These are “the least of these” that Jesus spoke of.

But He has not left them without defense. He calls us to do what He did – love, bless, and defend them. There have been pockets of His people doing this all along, but it hasn’t been enough, because somehow the numbers of unloved, uncared for, and undervalued children – image bearers of the King – have reached numbers that we can’t easily visualize.

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The calling is out of our comfort zone, but now is the time for everyone who calls themselves a follower of Jesus to step up and say, “NOT ON MY WATCH! We will stop this injustice.” Many of us are probably already doing something – but we are being called to more, to stretch our comfort zone. Maybe He is calling your attention to something new that you haven’t considered before. Maybe He’ll call you to adopt, or to help another family with the financial challenge of adopting. Maybe He’ll call you to missions or volunteering at a pregnancy center. Maybe you’ll want to be involved in the 24/7 prayer vigils for the 40 Days of Life campaign. Maybe you just know an apathetic voter who needs to be challenged. We allow God to move us in new ways, and suddenly an unfathomably huge situation has hope – because the situation is not too big for Him. 200 million children is a lot, but He wants to use His people to save them. Will we be a cruise ship, or a battleship?

Let your hands be strong! Don’t give up, don’t give in, and don’t be intimidated, because the task is ours!

Oh Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble; you will strengthen their heart, You will incline your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may cause terror no more. Psalm 10:17-18

We can say, "Not on our watch! We will defend the orphan, we will get on our knees and pray, we will open our homes, we will stop this injustice."

Look with me: We are all standing in a deluge. It's pouring down. Two hundred million raindrops are falling all around us. God has given each of us a teaspoon – not one of us can save them all, but each of us can catch some. There are clusters of people standing out in the storm holding out their teaspoons in effort to catch some of these drops before they hit the ground. They adopt. They work at Crisis Pregnancy Centers all over the world. They change diapers at orphanages, do foster care, contact their politicians, educate others about the issue and refuse to let the apathetic or the opposition around them go unchallenged. They are raising world-changers, offering financial support, being bold about the issues, seeking God for the best solutions for each situation. Many of these 200 million raindrops can be caught and given a new hope. Some will fall to the ground, lost forever. But will you hold your teaspoon out higher? Will you say, Enough! The task is ours! We won’t be quiet until this thing is finished! We will step into the downpour and extend our arms.

We will welcome the children in His name. And He will move through us, and the lives of those image-bearers will never be the same.

(previously published at Copperlight Wood)

Still here....

I apologize for the neglect of the blog over the last several months. It really has been more than this busy mother can handle. Around the time of the birth of my newest baby, I tried to fiddle with a thing or two here and lost the entire template and organization of widgets and lists and such. I just let my head hit the keyboard in dismay and had to let it go. Oh, the hours it was going to take to reconstruct it all! It was such a mess that I temporarily took it out of the public eye until I could manage something respectable.

So... here we are. Admittedly, it's still a bit of a mess, but at least there's something basic to work on.
Thanks so much for your patience and continued commitment to life!

Melody

A Woman in Need...Let's Walk the Talk

I've been following the story of Haley and Baby Brayley over at Waltzing Matilda. Brayley has anencephaly and is due to be born on September 1st. In spite of financial and medical pressures, Haley will choose life (as long as God wills it) for her precious daughter.

Her obstacles are great. Personally, she faces this pregnancy out of wedlock. Financially, she faces mounting doctor bills plus the question of how she will provide a dignified burial for her child. A search for an organization in the area that will help provide a plot, burial and headstone have come up short; so people are coming together to support her.

Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda has set up a "Donate" button on her blog and is facilitating that effort. Haley is also asking for prayers for the baby's father, Billy, who has supported her decision to honor Brayley's life.

Please support Brayley with whatever prayer or gift you can. We can talk pro-life all day long but really living it is something else entirely.

parental notification...what's that all about?

Forget about California's wild hubbub over prop 8. Here in Alaska the big vote is on Prop 2. Maybe you have something similar going on in your state.

If a child has to have a parent's permission to get a tattoo, ear pierced, see an R-rated movie, or even -gasp!- take a Tylenol at school, isn't it a good idea for them to also need parental consent in order to have their uterus surgically cleaned out, effectively murdering their child and compromising their own physical and emotional health - perhaps for life?

Did you know that most teens are impregnated by older men - statuatory rapists - and our current law in Alaska protects them? No, no, not the teens - I meant it protects the rapist. Funny, huh?

Not a bit.

Here's an article that illustrates the scenario. It's real life. Truly happened. One could even argue that there's more documentation of this than there is of our president's birthday (aw, that was too easy, I couldn't resist).