Sugar snow,
The Christmas kind,
That drifts in sparkling mounds.
Upon the hill...against the house,
Leaving traced patterns,
Across the frosted pane.
Photo Credit: Pinterest
20 December, 2024
12 December, 2024
The Hush
The hush of a college commons,
Late on a Wednesday night.
Is held by steady breathing,
And the soft falling snow outside.
A world of its own making,
Made up of quite minds.
A feeling of focused melancholy,
And the anticipation of homebound trips.
A week before Christmas break,
A holy calm ensues.
The hush of a college commons,
Filled with the hopeful few.
Photo Credit: Art Station (pinterest)
29 November, 2024
Heartbeat Press - November 2024 Edition
Britney and Jamie Lynn - A Tale of Two Sisters
Unexpectedly pregnant at sixteen and unsure of how parenting a child would affect her relationship, career, and celebrity standing, Jamie Lynn recounted that, once the news of her condition broke, everyone around her was less than thrilled that a baby was on the way. Foregoing encouragement, tabloid magazines (that live on celebrity "mistakes") declared that the young star had "ruined her career" and had behaved life white trash. Fans agonized over the story and friends and family jovially suggested that an abortion was in Jamie Lynn's best interest. In retrospect, abortion would have been the "smart" option had Spears wanted to maintain her glitzy flashbulb-illuminated life. Going through with the procedure would have been extremely "easy" given its promotion by everyone in her inner circle. And Jamie Lynn's own sister, Britney Spears, had gone through the same problem with her own unplanned pregnancy in 2000, eventually going through with a chemical abortion, thought later writings by Britney revealed that it was a coerced decision.
But, young as she was, Jamie Lynn still saw the inherent value of the child slowly growing inside of her and, more importantly, recognized it as a human being, a beautiful daughter, who was not a curse but rather a great blessing despite the surprise of her existence. Battling the "Abortion is the Best Option" crowd and the relentless media, Jamie Lynn kept her daughter, never regretting her decision once. In fact, raising Maddie has enriched Jamie Lynn's life a hundred times over. The choice wasn't easy, with the constant media bombardment and her realization that she had to grow up very fast in order to be a proper provider for Maddie. But, by all accounts and with years of hindsight, raising an unexpected daughter gave Jamie Lynn a greater life's purpose than a decades-long career would have given her. And the unwavering love that forever links mother and daughter has healed many scars both of them had and would receive.
When contrasted with the reality older sister Britney Spears had endured, the miracle of Jamie Lynn and Maddie's lives becomes even more profound. Many things have played a role in the downward spiral that has been Britney's life. The world-famous star was exposed to the damages of fame at a very young age, existed in multiple abusive relationships (with boyfriends, husbands, and her own father), and has suffered from untreated and aggravated mental health problems for the majority of her adult life. The abortion she submitted herself to at the age of nineteen is not the only instigator of her tattered existence. But, it was coerced, kept secret for years, and horribly bloody (mirroring the experiences of hundreds of women who endured chemical abortions alone in their bathrooms with the full knowledge that they had ended their baby's lives). Detailed in Heartbeat Press's February 2023 edition, Britney's abortion may not have been the end or even the beginning of her problems, but it was certainly a huge contributor to them, especially since the star endured it uncomforted and has never (to the knowledge of this newspaper) delt with the emotional fallout of an act that eats everyone who goes through with it from the inside out.
At its core, the story of Britney and Jamie Lynn is a comparison between the two ways an unexpected pregnancy can play out and the way each impacts a woman for years to come. Jamie Lynn resisted an abortion even though it was difficult, which necessitated the postponement of her career plans. But, ultimately, she has experienced a fuller life and has a beautiful daughter to go through every up and down with. In contrast, Britney was forced into an abortion and has endured the physical, emotional, and lonely scars of the procedure her entire life without much comfort from her "flourishing" career and fame. Case and point? Children do not ruin the lives of their mothers. They are often the greatest blessing ever given, the destruction of which is more damaging than anyone wants to admit.
29 October, 2024
Heartbeat Press - October 2024 Edition
Dead Eyes - Windows to Troubled Souls
Have you ever looked into someone's eyes only to see nothing looking back at you? Not a thought, not a hope, no soul to speak of...simply an empty vessel? As the description above suggests, this type of creature is something you would normally only expect to encounter in a gothic, black and white horror movie (see anything Universal or Hammer House of Horror ever made), accompanied by special effects and precisely-timed jump scares for the best entertainment. Yet, more and more, this type of creature can be seen in the real world and is more common then anyone may realize. You only need to look into its eyes to identify it. The abortion doctor is one of these creatures. As melodramatic as this sounds, one look into the eyes of any abortion-committing individual proves my point, as even the deepest of stares reveal only a beady emptiness and a total lack of empathy that stretches to the black pits of these individuals' souls. Abortion history also proves my point.
- Kermit Gosnell, previously covered in Heartbeat Press' October 2022 Edition, had no humanity behind his eyes, only an inky blackness that sucked inward indefinitely. Years of legally-committed murder and deftly-hidden serial killer behavior rotted his soul, eventually leading to his imprisonment without possibility of parole, but not before hundreds of children and at least one woman met their ends at the hands of the former doctor.
- Dr. Josef Mengele, the Holocaust's notorious "Angel of Death," who experimented on captive Jews during World War II, escaped The Nuremburg Trials of 1945 but went on to apply his "talents" to "women's healthcare" in Argentina. Operating out of back-alley clinics and keeping a low profile, Mengele preformed abortions and also had empty eyes that were ever-glinty in the pursuit of his trade of death. Mengele never faced justice for his crimes, Holocaust or abortion, and, like many abortionists, never showed remorse for his intentional ending of human life.
- Even Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood's founder and golden child, covered in Heartbeat Press' October 2023 Edition, had ebony eyes that whispered of the deadly intent the woman had. Her work alone irreversibly bolstered abortion in the USA and led to the corruption of the 1940s Women's Movement.
Every one of them willingly destroyed life and every one of them had dead eyes reflecting the absolute blackness of souls that were willing to murder children and destroy mothers in the name of "good," "progress," or "healthcare." But more than the act, the optical calling card (still seen in doctors today) is solidified by the explanation for it, expertly summed up by former abortionist, Dr. Anthony Levation. When asked if he saw humanity in aborted babies, the doctor remarked, during a panel discussion for Live Action News, "Did I know those were human being? Absolutely. I...didn't...care." That is what abortion does to those who commit it. It kills their souls and leaves them with nothing behind their eyes but the depth of their sin.
But my purpose here is not to demonize these individuals. Their actions are theirs to answer for with or without my condemnation. Rather, my heart cries for each of these monsters because, behind their dark souls and horrendous acts, I can also see the children of God they were meant to be before they sold themselves to evil, as strange as that fact is to realize. Consider for a moment that, under the rot and decay of mechanically-committed murder, the heart of a Child of God, one capable of great good, is still softly beating behind the hollow eyes of every abortion doctor. They just have not yet encountered the all forgiving, world rocking, grace of God. A grace He offers for every sin...even theirs.
Like every gothic horror monster artfully presented with crackling lighting and foggy stars illuminating their dark eyes, these modern monsters are capable of redemption. If they weren't, Abby Johnson, Dr. Bernard Nathanson, and Dr. Noreen Johnson wouldn't have the awe-inspiring testimonies that make them Pro-Life powerhouses today. A complete soul change is possible; it is God-timed, but until it occurs I encourage you to remember Jeremiah 33:8 and meditate on God's plan for everyone's redemption. As foreign as it sounds, I encourage you to pray for the modern monster that is the abortion doctor. Pray that their hearts would begin to beat again and that the blindness would fall from their eyes. God has a powerful plan for each one of them; their redemption stories just haven't started yet.
Photo Credit: Dr. Health Clinic.com
22 October, 2024
Leaves
Never has death smelled so sweet,
Or bestowed such music on still, attentive ears.
And yet the leaves live this contradiction,
Every fall.
Would that man could do the same.
Photo Credit: Renee Kurilla
29 September, 2024
Summer and Autumn
Autumn's glassy fingers have come over the sun,
And rush to wave good bye
To his love, the Summer, as she slips away.
Allow them an embrace of chilly warmth at the horizon.
Summer flees the chill of her love,
Though his embrace is crisp and dear of old.
A parting caress is all she can give his cheek - stay...
"Until next year my beloved."
Photo Credit: Vincent Mallie
Heartbeat Press - September 2024 Edition
A Moment in Time - The Voice of a Culture Saved from Death
Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, Christina Bennett almost didn't make it to her birthday. If you were to ask her about it, Bennett would point out that this nearly happened because her mother, a young, single, lower-middle class, Black woman was part of the key demographic Planned Parenthood geared its abortion propaganda towards. To this day, the nation's biggest abortion provider routinely targets "disadvantaged" groups, reasoning that they need access to abortion more than other demographics and providing guilt-free murder enables the company to engage in essential social justice. In 1981, Bennett's mother fell for their highly-polished sales pitch.
Unexpectedly pregnant and unsure what she should do, Bennett's mother scheduled an abortion, believing it was the only option left to her. She had no support system to speak of, so the facade of care oozing from her neighborhood Planned Parenthood offered a sickly-sweet shoulder to cry on and a "comforting" voice to assure her that the decision she had made, no matter how she might wrestle with it, was the right one. But, when her appointment day arrived, Bennett's mother couldn't shake a nagging feeling of hesitation. She wasn't sure she wanted to go through with the abortion, but as she sat in the doctor's office half-listening to the laundry list of pre-procedure paperwork being rattle off by a facility counselor, she had no time to ask herself what she actually wanted.
Stepping out into the hallway for a moment, Bennett's mother found herself suddenly overcome with a rush of sadness slamming into her like a wave, causing her to drop to her knees to release great rolling sobs in a desperate attempt to relieve even a small amount of the pressure building inside. She didn't know what she wanted and she had no time to change her mind. What if she made the wrong choice? It was there, in that moment when Bennett's mother was only aware of her own grief, that a soft hand placed itself on her shoulder, causing her to meet the determined gaze of an older African-American woman kneeling on the floor in front of her. "Do you want to have this baby?" the woman asked. Bennett's mother could only stare at the woman through tear-stained eyes, but, almost unconsciously, found herself nodding yes. "Then the Lord will give you the strength of walk out of here." In the holy hush that followed the woman's words, two lives changed forever. Amid a severe onslaught from the abortion doctor, Bennett's mother left the neighborhood Planned Parenthood and kept the baby who would grow up to be a powerful voice in the Pro-Life movement.
Christina Bennett knows she should have died that day, and she has never stopped praising God for allowing her to live and share her story with millions of people. Building on the facts mentioned above, Bennett's platform focuses on the "Black Experience" with abortion, namely that it is the culture most targeted by the abortion industry. Research reveals that 16 million Black babies have been aborted since Roe's installation in 1973 (360 every day). Black women (15% of the childbearing population) receive 33% of abortions. And the abortion giant, Planned Parenthood, was founded by a racist who unapologetically promoted the extermination of the Black community through eugenics. And yet abortion is still promoted as a necessity "graciously" given to the Black community.
Bennett disagrees. Social justice does not demand the deaths of the innocent as payment for forward movement. The destruction of children and, by default, their mothers' hearts cannot build a brighter future. And the Black community doesn't need abortion to thrive. In fact, it has routinely proven it is more powerful when building its next generation. "This is an extension of the Civil Rights Movement," Bennett proclaimed on that spring day in New York City. This time it will be characterized by the saving of lives instead of a fight for equality. As such, it's time to pick which side of history everyone is going to be on.
Resources: YouTube.com, CURE
Photo Credit: Focus on the Family.com
29 August, 2024
Heartbeat Press - August 2024 Edition
Back to School, Back to the Frontlines - Being a Pro-Life Light Wherever You Are
That being said, know that standing up for what you believe in is never easy. All throughout history, but especially in our modern, ultra-self serving society that says everyone must conform to majority morals or be ostracized, separating yourself from that majority to say, "This is what I know to be right and will defend for the sake of those who are in need," takes real determination and a not-insignificant amount of grit.
But I want to encourage those of you who have decided that your Pro-Life beliefs are worth hanging onto, even if it means carrying them into a setting that does not show great appreciation for them. By choosing to consider how you can live out your beliefs in front of your peers, you have not only separated yourself from those who prize convenience over truth but you have also answered a call placed on your life that was woven into your heart long before you ever felt it stirring. It's a calling cherished by God. It is much bigger than any nay-saying crowd. And, whatever you do to answer it, that act will matter much more than anything you do in college, your first year as a post-grad, or for the rest of your life.
As a Pro-Life college student, you've been given the unique opportunity to shine the light of life into a place unreachable to many others. How amazing that you have been asked to speak to you fellow students about the truth that life is precious, or to come alongside your friend with an unexpected pregnancy to show her that there are better options than abortion, or to minister to a post-abortive classmate who needs comfort and someone to point her towards her first steps of healing. How much more powerful are these acts coming from someone who fights the battle for life from the frontlines, a soldier who sees the hurt clearly enough to go to her own people with the truth and love to heal it, who has the right answers to the questions everyone's asking and doesn't withhold them for fear or majority judgment. That is the opportunity you have been given. Care to take it?
Finally, remember that however you choose to live out your Pro-Life convictions, your contribution does not need to be loud, complicated, or bombastic. In fact, many of the most effective ministries are small, relationship-based works of heart that seek first to honor God in what they do. Consider your strengths and how God would have you use them to build your testimony. In this way, you can add a unique talent to the Pro-Life movement and, more importantly, can proudly say you know you did your very best in what God asked you to do. Why not start by looking over the simple starter Pro-Life acts listed below and considering which ones you can bring back to school this fall.
1. Read Pro-Life books (knowledge is power).
2. Collect contact info for local Pregnancy Resource Centers (to pass along if needed)
3. Prayer walk around your campus.
4. Ware a "Precious Feet" pin (powerful conversations have been sparked by less).
5. Join or start your school's Pro-Life ministry/chapter
6. Leave Pro-Life material in your school's commons/re-room.
7. Gather friends to pray outside nearby abortion clinics (they are often close to colleges).
8. Wear Pro-Life t-shirts and jackets (consider becoming a Pro-Life brand ambassador).
10. Draw Pro-Life chalk art around campus.
Resources: Students for Life of America, Heartbeat Press September 2022 Edition, Heartbeat Press' bi-weekly "Pro-Life Challenges"
Photo Credit: LNN: Levy News Network
29 July, 2024
Heartbeat Press - July 2024 Edition
Pro-Life Spiderman - A Unique Perspective On A Cause
The wind whistled past Maison's ear as he reached up to find his next rung of support a full arm's length above his head. Feeling the chilly air pick up speed all around him, he found that next grip quickly but carefully, and pulled himself up to meet it face to face before settling firmly into a stabilizing position: feet planted wide apart, knees steady but not locked, shoulders squared with the rest of his body. In this position, perched atop a skyscraper hundreds of feet above the ground, Maison took a moment to self-assess, body and mind.
His fingers were sore. Not horribly so but enough to be noticeable. Realizing this, Maison chuckled to himself. He'd never get used to it. Even after years in this extreme sport, repeatedly exercising the muscles in his hands to cling to small edges for extended periods of time, his hands still cramped at the halfway point of these long ascents, leaving him with a reminder of his own limitations. Limitations he was constantly pushing because he couldn't be satisfied staying stagnant. Logically, Maison knew he would one day reach the end of his ability - a place or skill he just couldn't move past - but he quietly hoped that end would come slowly and only after years of work. After all, he had so much more he wanted to do that just couldn't happen on the ground. Not that any of that mattered now. Maison never liked thinking about the limits of what he could do and up here, at the top of the world, there was no time to dwell on it. Not with his most recent goal so close at hand.
Banishing dread and the feeling of burning muscles from his mind, Maison looked straight up to see endless blue sky and big fluffy clouds sailing by in the buffeting wind. Another hand hold, identical to the one he now clung to, was almost within reach, as was the next one, and the one after that. "Less than half way to go," he thought. With a final push he would be at the top, his goal would be reached, and a woman would get the help she so desperately needed. But it all relied on his ability to make it all the way up.
Steadying himself for the final leg of the journey, Maison chanced a glance down. He wasn't afraid of heights (his task would be physically impossible if he was), but it never ceased to amaze him just how high up his was every time he made a climb. Pedestrians (hundreds of yards below) looked like ants, fire trucks and police cars (all here for him) sat miniature-sized with their flashing lights resembling tiny battery-operated Christmas toys, and even sky scrapers that matched the one he hung from looked small as he watched their floors climb into the sky alongside the identical ones next to him.
Up here, in a place only birds and planes could fly and only God could walk, all of it was so small, unimportant. It struck Maison just how miniscule the whole world seemed when compared to his reason for being up here. Maison smiled to himself as he turned his gaze from the ground to look up at the sky once more. That reason was bigger than anything going on on the ground and it was bigger than him. He was just a tiny part of a bigger cause, doing what he could with what he had been given but, as Maison reached up to grab his next hand hold in pursuit of his goal, he couldn't help but be a little proud of the unique part he had been given to play in God's bigger picture.
Maison DesChamps, aka Pro-Life Spiderman (first covered by Heartbeat Press for the In the News section of our March 2024 Edition), has been professionally free climbing for years but only began applying his talent to his Pro-Life beliefs in 2023. He's a hero to some and an agitator to others, but one thing is certain: he has wholeheartedly taken up the calling that God has put on his life, as well as the courage of his superhero namesake.
Routinely climbing incredibly tall structures, including the Salesforce Tower, the Ritz-Carlton, and the Las Vegas Sphere, to raise the public's awareness of Pro-Life work, DesChamps also performs his stunts to raise money for expectant mothers in need through the Pro-Life charity Let Them Live. He's never fallen, has plans to climb again, and has been arrested several times. But even that has not caused DesChamps to waver in his mission because he recognizes that he has been given a powerful calling and a unique position from which to proclaim the simple truth that, Life is Precious And Worth Protecting.
Despite his superhero status, DesChamps has never failed to give glory to God (most notably while live streaming from the top of the Las Vegas Sphere during Superbowl weekend), demonstrating that saving life is a mission that goes far beyond a group or one man's ability. It's God's prerogative that we have all been graciously gifted a part in. We just need to be brave enough to take up the task, be it on the ground, in the air, or somewhere in-between.
Sources: NPR.org, YouTube.com
Photo Credit: LuLu on Pinterest
29 June, 2024
Heartbeat Press - June 2024 Edition
Taking Up the Call - Stepping Out In God's Plan
Heartbeat Press is two years old! While I am unsure how that happened, I can say that the past two years of work, monthly publications, and news-updating have been a joy and an invaluable experience that I have been blessed to share with all of you. Heartbeat Press was born out of newly-opened eyes and a growing and unshakable conviction that I wasn't doing enough to live my Pro-Life beliefs. While I have, in a sense, always been Pro-Life (having grown up in a Christian home) and would like to think my stance on the life v. death issues was strong and clear, at the beginning of 2022 I had begun to realize that even that solid foundation meant absolutely nothing if I didn't build on it with real action. Yet I didn't know where to start.
I began mulling the problem over in my mind and, more importantly, I began asking God what He wanted me to do for the Pro-Life movement. I knew the "basic" projects I could participate in (marching in front of Planned Parenthood, donating to mother in need, etc.) but even those laudable efforts felt incomplete as I grappled with the growing sense that I could do much more, that God had given me something specific to do in the fight for life that hadn't been revealed to me just yet.
And then it struck me, minutes after reading about the D.C. Five (later covered by Heartbeat Press in our June 2023 Edition), when the news first broke in April 2022. The story outraged me as it starkly displayed the horror of abortion, only to be ignored by hundreds of people who preferred to uphold convenient injustice instead of facing painful truth. I found that I couldn't stay silent on the issue and, as my heart broke for the five murdered children, it also felt a God-spoken call to use my writing ability to shed light on it and many other injustices. Here was my part in the fight for life: a powerful, prearranged ability that God had given me and now asked that I use to do His work. I barely knew what I was doing, but I began to type stories and, just as God intended, the rest became history that I just needed to run with.
It is not lost on me how gracious the Lord has been in my life: answering my request for a revelation, giving me the ability to put down His words, and granting me ample time to focus on the work. But I also want to note that, thought my story is a blessed one, it is no different than what any one of yours could be. The Lord has placed within everyone (every single on of you) the exact same, powerful, earth-shaking calling to Pro-Life work. You may not know what the specifics look like yet, but I urge you to seek them out because they are there and eagerly await you diligence. Begin asking God what He would have you do because, as I wrote at the beginning of this edition, sideline support is easy but, when it comes to such an important issue, it is simply not enough, no matter how concerned someone is. Action has to be taken for, though sentiments are stirring, steps are what change the world and those steps are what the Lord has called us to.
Even as you begin, it is all right to be afraid. Standing up against a juggernaut like abortion is not easy and, in our day and age, the work is often thankless and heartbreaking. But the Lord never gives anyone a calling they cannot carry. His confidence that you are the right person to take up your part of the fight for life speaks to His care and, more so, His promise that He has and will continue to orchestrate every moment of your life and will be with you in your battles until their completion - a completion He has already put in place and is proud of you for. The Lord does not make errors. Not in your life or in the lives of anyone else. If, as Pro-Lifers believe, no child is a mistake, then the Lord's confidence in you isn't either. He only asks that we trust Him enough to enter into the work He has perfected us for.
Know also that you are not alone in your search for a call or your Pro-Life convictions. Thousands of Pro-Lifers have gone before you (conviction, bravery, fears and all) and thousands of others will come after you. Our fight is a fight of millions, made up of God's strengthened people, each with the same pin prick of a calling on their hearts that has (or will) lead them to do powerful things in the name of the God who gave them life and now asks that we offer that same chance to a million others. We've been given a mission. One not lightly shirked and wholly worth the effort.
The fate of tomorrow is built on our work today. The work does not need to be big and bold, loud and bossy. Instead, the work is whatever God has perfectly readied each of us for alongside Pro-Lifers from yesterday, today, and tomorrow. But we must take up our individual callings with dedication now. There will be no better time than today, so join me in taking that step (your first and my next) towards saving tomorrow...one God-orchestrated moment at a time.
Sources: Heartbeat Press: June 2023 Edition
Photo Credit: Alliance Bernstein.com
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