Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘children’

Mother’s Day & Abortion

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 9, 2011| 1 Comment »

Yesterday was not a day of celebration for those wounded by abortion.  Mother’s Day is a difficult day for the women who have an abortion in their past, for men unable to save a child from abortion, and for grandparents.  Mother’s Day, for many people, is a reminder of lost lives and denied relationships.

Abortion continues to be a heated debate in this country, but for millions of American women and for the men, grandparents, siblings, and friends in the lives of those women, abortion is  not a debate — it is a loss.  It is the loss of a son, a daughter, a grandchild.  That’s because motherhood and fatherhood — yes, grandparenthood, too — begin at conception.

Many of us know someone who has lost a child through miscarriage.  We grieve with them, offer the peace of Christ, and entrust their precious little one to God.  But abortion is a secret pain.  It is a dagger of guilt.  It is a loss that is carried deep inside and alone.

The great loss of life should pierce the heart of every one of us.  The numbers are staggering.  More than 3,000 women have an abortion every day.  These women are in our families, congregations, and circles of friends.  They are Christians who worship with us and go to Bible study with us.  I know some of these women.  At least 25 of my friends, relatives, or acquaintances have had abortions.  Seventeen of them are Lutheran.  Three are the wives of Lutheran pastors.  At least three have had more than one abortion.

Abortion has created a new mission field for the church.  There is a need to enter this mission field — but first, we must understand that we will almost certainly encounter denial, anger, self-hatred, distrust, grief, remorse, and the nature, but perhaps deeply buried, desire for reconciliation with the Giver of Life.

For those in denial, I pray my message can gently convict.  For those already convicted, I pray my message will offer hope and my behavior be welcoming.  I pray my arms remain open with the merciful love of Jesus who reconciles us all with God.

When I became a grandmother for the first time, I realized that holding my grandson was surprisingly different from holding my own two sons.  Each gaze upon the child of my child is a generational moment.  The room of my heart excitedly received my first grandchild.  The room of my life rearranged itself.

Often, when holding my first… then second, third, and fourth grandsons, I think of the thousands of other women of my generation whose arms will never hold a grandchild.  Their arms will never hold the child of their child.  That’s because when finding themselves “with child,” these women believed the lie: “make this one sacrifice and choose a better time to be a mother.”  Although the room of their hearts may have whispered a word of welcome, the room of their lives did not.

Because these women either did not hear or did not trust God’s promise, the world captured their every thought and desire.  Tossed in a tumultuous sea, these women reached toward “salvation” in the guise of a “quick and painless” abortion.

But the degrading act goes against all that is maternal and natural.  Sent away from the abortion clinic, women are abandoned to burdens of guilt, grief, and anger that threaten to pull them into cold and lonely darkness, away from the Giver of Life.

So, how do you and I respond?  Please read on to my next post . . .

Read Full Post »

Foolish Women

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Relationships, Vocation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »

“The woman Folly is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing . . . she takes a seat on the highest places of the town” (Proverbs 9:13-14).

“The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down” (Proverbs 14:1).

These verses, inspired so long ago, describe the feminist movement of today.  As a  young wife and mom, I know some of my thinking was shaped by twisted feminism.  But, my eyes were opened by a variety of experiences: my own and those of other women who had taken me into their confidence.  Today, my eyes more easily see the vivid contrasts between the woman God created me to be and the woman deceived feminists think I should be.

My library contains the work of many women who’ve left the feminist movement because it was foolish.  I’ve listed a few recommendations below.   Be prepared not only for a courageous read, but to have some of  your own illusions shattered.

All of my reading tells me that the early suffragettes would find little in common with today’s feminists.  Women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were pro-family (not anti-male) and were strongly opposed to abortion.  Compare them with the National Organization of Women (NOW), or the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), or Planned Parenthood (PP) whose women consider abortion their cornerstone.

Betty Friedan, author of The Feminist Mystique, never found joy: not as a girl, a daughter, a woman, a wife, or a mother.  Certainly she had choices, as we all do, but she chose to speak ill of everything womanly.  Rather than leave dysfunction behind and seek healthy mentors, she blamed society for woman’s woes.   She was “loud,” “seductive,” and “knew nothing” about the created beauty and purpose of women.  Knowing nothing, she “took a seat in the highest place of town” and led women of my mother’s and my generations into foolishness.  “It was easier for me,” Friedan wrote in her book, “to start the women’s movement than to change my own personal life.”

Folly — the woman captivated by modern feminism — has not built a house, but “with her own hands tears it down.”

Did the women who followed Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem find contentment?  Did they help women adjust attitudes away from “me” toward others?  Did they raise — or lower — the standard for women?  For men?  For children?   Did they help younger women find joy in their beautiful design or turn them against their created nature?  Did they soften or harden hearts?  Did their demand for an “equal playing field” produce victory — or defeat — for family and society?

All that I see (and that’s no exaggeration) tells me that the foolish women of the modern feminist movement opened the door to promiscuity and “friends with benefits,” girls less protected by boys and men, depression, increased vulnerability to STDs (how cruel not to tell young women that their very anatomy makes them more susceptible to sexual diseases), mothers turning hearts against their own children, an explosion of weary and lonely single moms, and no-fault divorce.

Had it with Folly?  Then, turn to Wisdom.  Wisdom is Jesus Christ.  Look up all the verses in Scripture that describe Wisdom.  The wisdom of Jesus Christ is life-changing.  Problem-solving.  Creative.  Hopeful.  Pregnant with promise.

Was feminism a mystique or a mistake?  (Read Diane Passno’s book Feminism: Mystique or Mistake?)

Who distorted what the early suffragettes believed?  (Read Christina Hoff Sommer’s book Who Stole Feminism?)

Did our own mothers forget — or refuse — to tell us something?  (Read Danielle Crittenden’s book What Our Mothers Didn’t Tell Us)

Is modern feminism built on a lie?  (Read Suzanne Venker and Phyllis Schlafly’s new book The Flipside of Feminism)

Read Full Post »

Leading Children… Where?

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) is sponsoring “Day of Silence” this April 15 in some public schools across the country.  To where… and what… does this group want to lead our children?

Some call this a “hijacking of the classroom.”  Others label it “political propaganda.”  Take note of the name of this organization.  How deceitfully it shapes impressionable minds to believe that any and all sexual preferences are “normal.”  The question hangs heavy: “Will there be a ‘Day of Silence’ for Biblical manhood and womanhood?  For traditional marriage?  For “equal, but different”?  For abstaining ’til marriage?

What is the destination determined for our children by GLSEN? 

There is only one voice I know of that tempts and stirs up doubt.  It is the voice that asks, “Did God really say . . . ?”  That voice is hissing in the ears of our children today.  Did God really say He created humans: male and female?  Did God really say He made male to fit with female within the faithfulness of marriage?  Did God really say behaviors can bring blessings or curses? 

Is this event being planned for your school?  (The national date in 2011 is April 15, but some schools observe Day of Silence on a different date.)  Learn more by visiting Day of Silence Walkout.

Read Full Post »

Fanciful… but Dangerous

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Identity, Life issues, Relationships, Vocation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2011| 1 Comment »

“Not a Scientist” has offered ezerwoman the opportunity to hear from someone of a contrasting worldview.  I don’t know “Not a Scientist,” but I am grateful that he’s interested in dialogue.  This society needs more of that.

Twice, “Not a Scientist” has commented on my post, “Questions to Help Us Think (4-4-11).  My pastor and son have also joined in the discussion.  This is a good thing.  That’s part of the reason why I’ve put myself out here — in blog world.  Some say, “Linda!  You’re a target.”  There is no fear in that.  Not if I’m a target for well-thought out words that may — or may not — agree with my worldview.  We should be doing more talking.  Explaining.  Researching.  Challenging.  We should practice building our lives upon what we think and know to be true rather than upon fickle feelings and emotions. 

To “Not a Scientist” I offer the following:

You and I see the world through very different glasses.  Our worldviews boldly contrast.  

  • My worldview is built on God’s Word.  Yours is not. 
  • My worldview does not blow with the wind or shift like sand.  I believe yours blows and shifts a great deal depending upon circumstances.
  • My worldview is built on the created order; thus, I know who I am, from where I come, how I’m to live, and where I’m going when I die.  You don’t appear to believe in any created order but, rather, evolving chaos. 
  • My worldview tells me how God wants men and women to live and relate to one another.  Yours, well, how are men and women supposed to live and relate to one another?  Why? 
  • My worldview offers a future of generational hope built on the backs of fathers, mothers, and grandparents who faithfully teach their sons, daughters, and grandchildren what God says about morality, ethics, marriage and family, “loving our neighbor as ourselves, and serving “the least of these.”  It appears you can entertain your fanciful and humanistic ideas only because fathers, mothers, and grandparents faithfully wove the strong fabric of this nation which you don’t seem to appreciate but certainly enjoy wearing.  
  • My worldview explains that the problems and challenges of relationships, marriages, families, and the whole of society are because of sin which opposes God’s good and perfect design.  I’d be interested to know why you think life is so difficult.
  • My worldview explains that everything — good or bad — has a consequence (you know, like gravity).  Do you acknowledge consequences and can you explain why they exist?
  • My worldview explains why I daily battle with myself and that I’ll never be good enough to save myself.  Do you sense an inner struggle between right and wrong, good and evil?  Even though you say you don’t believe in souls, what if you’re wrong and you really have one?  Where will your body and soul be after you die?
  • I can’t seem to do the good I know I should but, instead, I do the bad I don’t want to do.  This quandary could leave me in desperation.  In desperation, I might be tempted to sacrifice something in order to save myself.  But, I don’t have to.  My worldview assures me that the one and only necessary sacrifice to make me right with the Holy God was made by Jesus Christ on the Cross.   At the Cross, I can lay down my burdens, sorrows, disappointments, and failures.  Jesus forgives me.  Now, He only asks that I use His Word for life that changes lives.  Every day for me is new and filled with hope.  Mr. “Not a Scientist,” how do you start your days?  To what do you look forward?  What hope do you have?  What hope do you offer others?  (I can tell you: You have the same hope I do because Jesus died for you, too.  Can you believe it?)

You have fanciful ideas, Mr. “Not a Scientist.”  But, they are dangerous.  When I expressed concern for the two young men now “joined” in “marriage,” I did so because I am positive they have souls.  Souls that will live forever — with God or not.  I am positive because God’s Word tells me so.  If I’m wrong, there is no loss.  If I’m right, and those created and precious souls are separated from God because of sinful choices, then there is huge loss.  Soulful loss. 

Fanciful ideas, like free-falling without a parachute, are exciting — for awhile.

Read Full Post »

Questions to Help Us Think

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Citizenship, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , on April 4, 2011| 6 Comments »

Two days have passed since my hometown newspaper ran a page one story of a young man’s “marriage” to another young man.  If the headline, “Mr. & Mr,” didn’t capture people’s attention, the photos of the men kissing and signing their “marriage” license did.

Today, several members of my congregation made a request and a promise.  If I would write a letter-to-the-editor, they would gladly sign it.  As members of our community, we agree that every home, classroom and newspaper mentors children and encourages them in one direction… or another.  As Christians, we agree that we are compelled on behalf of our neighbors (young or old) and for the benefit of society to speak whatever the Word of God speaks.

Pondering appropriate words, I’m aware that some  of my neighbors will claim that it’s the personal right of those men to marry (especially in light of Iowa’s same sex “marriage” law) and that everyone should just leave them alone.  But…

  • Do we all have the right to do whatever we want?
  • When does my perceived “right” place my neighbor in harm’s way?
  • Does a newspaper have the right to print any photo or article that gets attention, even that of a curious child?
  • When two people do whatever “feels right” to them and one or both contracts an STD or HIV, do I have the right to insist that my personal tax dollars not fund their medical bills?

My hometown newspaper chose to highlight the “marriage” of two young men, ages 19 and 21.  What was the message of the lead-in paragraph: “There wasn’t any music.  No flowers or photographer.  But something else was there Wednesday that’s present at most weddings — the look in the couple’s eyes.”  Why was the reporter at the “wedding”?  Obviously, photos were taken, but for what purpose?

I am concerned for these two young men.  I am concerned about their spiritual welfare.  Are they (like so many young people today) confused about their “sexuality?”  Were they enticed by momentary feelings, flattered by attention, or empowered by a trendy social experiment?  Did the newspaper paint a bulls-eye on these young men?  If either of the young men experience emotional stress or depression, will the newspaper and community offer themselves as care-givers?  What happens if these men want to be fathers?

What lesson… what value… what hope for the future of families and children is being taught when behavior is celebrated that flies in the face of the Creator of man, woman, and marriage?

Jesus said,

Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin” (Luke 17:1-2).

Read Full Post »

Missing Persons

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »

A long time ago, I began to wonder: Would the generation that ushered in legalized abortion be ushered out by legalized euthanasia?  Maybe… because so many of the people that could have supported us in our senior years are missing.

Since 1973, over 50 million babies have been aborted in the U.S. alone.  What is the impact of so many missing persons?  So many heads to think?  Hearts to love?  Hands to serve?

There are approximately 76 million in my generation of babyboomers.  There are only 17 million of my sons’ generation.   (Can you get your arms around that one?)

Ask anyone in my family and they’ll tell you I’m not good with numbers.  But, with some 2008 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Social Security Administration, Guttmacher Institute, and National Center for Health Statistics, I’ve got some big numbers for your consideration.  If abortion had not been legalized in 1973 . . .

  • 17,250,839 more people would have been employed
  • $398,900,760,733 earned by those employees
  • $11,105,397,179 contributed to Medicare
  • $47,485,146,558 contributed to Social Security
  • 3,432,000 more retired workers could receive average monthly social security benefit check
  • 2,165,707 more people could receive Medicare Hospital Insurance

What is the economic impact of abortion?  What do 50 million + missing persons mean?  It has been said that the basis of any economy is its population, or human element.  Consider that the parents of 50 million children are not shopping for diapers, toys, or school books.  50 million children won’t require teachers.  50 million children won’t grow up to work, spend, save, marry, start families, build houses, invest wages, be innovative or use their skills.  50 million children won’t become adults who pay taxes.  50 million children won’t think, love or serve.

Perhaps, in missing these persons, we will be sorry and ask for forgiveness.  A Cross beckons us to journey from hopelessness to hopefulness.  From deception to truth.  From death to life.  When I look at my grandchildren, I see the promise.  I see heads to think.  Hearts to love.  Hands to serve.

It’s true that the consequences of our sins carry to the third and fourth generations.  But, God’s mercy in Christ is to thousands of generations that love Him.

(I am grateful to my friend, Chuck Asay,
for his editorial cartoon.)

Read Full Post »

Marriage in the Classroom

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Citizenship, Commentaries of others, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , on March 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

If the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is not defended, what might happen?

Shortly after same-sex “marriage” was forced on Massachusetts by that state’s highest court, a few parents realized their children were being taught same-sex unions were normal, natural, and the moral equivalent of marriage between a man and a woman.  These parents attempted to opt their children out of these public school lessons, but were ultimately unsuccessful in a court of law.  Two federal courts in Massachusetts, including the appeals court just below the U.S. Supreme Court, determined that, because same-sex “marriage” was legally recognized in Massachusetts, parents no longer had the right to determine whether or what their children would be taught about these relationships.  (Source: Tom Minnery, Focus on the Family)

Marriage is being attacked even as children are being taught that all choices are equal.  Here’s the thing.  Mentoring, teaching morality, and raising children is the job of parents, not schools.  Chuck Colson writes, “If we want our children to know how to behave prudently, how to delay gratification for a higher goal, how to look to the needs of others before pandering to their own passions, then we’ll have to teach them in the context of family — best of all, of course, a loving, mom-and-dad family.”

If the courts decide that marriage is just a contract between any kind or number of consenting adults, what consequences will follow?  Colson notes that “we will have, in effect, removed all restraints and social conventions surrounding not just sex and marriage but child rearing and training as well.  If morality is anything we want it to be, if it serves only our passions and personal autonomy, we’re doomed as a culture.”

Homosexual activists are working feverishly to convince educators to normalize an unnatural behavior.  But, moms, dads, and grandparents can speak with the conviction of God’s Word, science and age-old human experience.

It appears to be very dark out there, but darkness has never overcome the light.  (John 1:4)

Read Full Post »

Sense Isn’t So Common Anymore

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, Relationships, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

My grandparents had common sense, and generally used it.  It served them so well that they faithfully passed it on to my parents.  It served them well, too, so they shared with me.   But, whenever I’m about to use the term these days, I hesitate.  Sense isn’t so common anymore.

Tonight, while sitting at the intersection of six lanes from four directions, I looked at the traffic lights with new appreciation.  (I was also grateful for my driver’s ed instructor who had schooled me in how to properly navigate my vehicle in the midst of other vehicles.)  And yet, when it comes to healthy and safe relationships between boys and girls, there is this ridiculous notion that we should take down the traffic lights and let the children do whatever “feels right.”  (Planned Parenthood, is there something about children you don’t like?)

Oh, silly me.  I forgot that Planned Parenthood is the same organization that has helped abort 50 million of this country’s sons and daughters.  Unfortunately, the very generation that ushered in legalized abortion could very well be ushered out by euthanasia.  It’s impossible, you know, for aborted people to support 76 million aging baby boomers.

No wonder the AARP is driving Congress and pushing for national health care.  My generation forgot about tomorrow!  We were so focused on our rights, our pleasures, OURSELVES… that we didn’t want to be inconvenienced by the very people that would have generated new households, jobs, labor, goods and services, consumers, investment, innovation, new life… well, you know, all the things necessary to keep civilization moving along in the direction of hope.

Can anyone even imagine the impact of 50 million lost Americans?  Maybe, as we begin to recognize that choices have consequences, we’ll pray for Common Sense: 101 to be mandatory for graduation.  It will bring new life!

Think on this, won’t you, next time you’re stopped at a traffic light.  Then say a little thank you to those who had the common sense to put it there.

Read Full Post »

Sane & Civil Conversation

Posted in Biblical manhood & womanhood, Citizenship, Culture Shifts, Faith & Practice, Life issues, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

There are a lot of us who are afraid to speak up about “social experiments” gone bad.  Part of the reason is because we believe the lie that faith should be kept in a corner off by itself never to interact with science, psychology or real life.  But, separating faith from everyday life places civilization at risk.

Rather than letting “social experiments” — unnatural choices and behaviors — rule the day, it seems to me that we should be taking every opportunity to enter into sane and civil conversation.  In doing so, we shouldn’t be afraid of using the Word and Wisdom of the Creator.

I learned a powerful lesson last week.  A Christian who goes public with Word and Wisdom may discover that even non-believers come to many of the same conclusions as believers.  The old phrase “don’t tamper with mother nature,” while not Biblical, is logical and sensible.

God created men and women to be equal, but  not the same.  Nature agrees.  Biology agrees.  Psychology agrees.  So, whether we’re talking about girls who want to wrestle boys or two men/two women who want to marry, we’re talking about a “social experiment.”  A social experiment breaks away from what is natural.  Healthy.  Hopeful.  A social experiment may scream “equality,” but it denies the complimentary differences of male and female and, in so doing, leads civilization to destruction.

Christians are given ample opportunity right now to engage others in sane and civil conversation.  If we don’t, our children and grandchildren may suffer greatly.  Focus, for a moment, on the institution of marriage.  Marriage predates any known human government.  But, the U.S. government (specifically, the President and Department of Justice) have announced they will no longer defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

DOMA defines marriage in all federal laws as the union of a man and woman, and protects the ability of states to not recognize same-sex marriages from other states.  But, DOMA has been attacked by the very government that is supposed to protect this constitutional law.

I hope to post some sane and reasonable, but also civil and respectful, comments about marriage in the coming weeks.  Countless people out there — much smarter than me — have already offered “talking points” for those of us who want to engage our family, neighbors and co-workers in uncompromising yet gentle conversation.

For now, consider this: The social experiment of “gay marriage” goes against life itself.  I encourage you to do some research of your own.  Visit the web sites of Exodus International, Regeneration Ministries, The Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and Focus on the Family.

Then, remember.  Sane and civil conversation — using science, psychology and God’s Word — salted with kindness and respect for others is always a good thing.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts