Heartbeat Press - September 2024 Edition

A Moment in Time - The Voice of a Culture Saved from Death 

    On a warm, slightly breezy spring day in 2019, dozens of Pro-Lifers milled around behind the curtain of a large out-door stage in New York City. A hundred more stood out front, waiting for the next speaker who was scheduled to appear that day...and Christina Bennett took a moment to breathe and offer up a silent prayer before stepping out from behind the curtain. She wasn't nervous. She had spoken at enough of these events to forgo any pre-speech jitters, but every time she spoke she was reminded of just how powerful her message was. Like everyone here, she cared deeply about the fight for life. But, unlike the majority, this fight was extremely personal to her. She had to convey the depth of this cause every time she spoke, a feat she knew she could only accomplish with the Lord's strength, not her own. 

    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 

Heartbeat Press - August 2024 Edition

Back to School, Back to the Frontlines - Being a Pro-Life Light Wherever You Are

    Students! Don't panic just yet, but the beginning of your fall semester is right around the corner! It's less than half a month away from some of you. Tires screeching. Panicked screaming. "Oh the humanity!" While I asked you not to panic, many of you just did and, just as quickly, mentally skimmed a list of rapid-fire questions meant to help you prepare for the school year. Questions like, "Where did the summer go?" "Can't I have just one more week off?" "What's my class schedule?" "Am I even signed up for classes?!" "Am I ready to deal with deadlines, professors, and hard work again?" Take a deep breath. More than likely you are exactly where you need to be in order to hit the ground running in September. But it is my hope that parsing through those questions will also spark a few more (sort of school-related) thoughts for those of you with Pro-Life convictions - thoughts that live up to the understanding that being Pro-Life is a demeanor that shouldn't stop once you walk through your university doors. 

    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).

9. Recommend Pro-Life movies to friends (Bella, Look Both Ways, Lifemark).

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 

And We're Off!

Bon Voyage, Everyone! 

As of 10:00 this morning, the nine other members of the missions team and I are airborne and headed to Trinidad!

While it won't be a straight shot (we have two layovers, one of which is very long), we will get there eventually. Once we land in Trinidad, we hope to get right to work, working hand in hand with our Trinidad counterparts, experiencing a new culture, and using the skills we developed when planning for this trip. The team is well oiled and ready to go and, while I haven't asked each of them, I'm pretty sure everyone on the team is just as excited about this trip as I am.

We're all hoping to get something out of this trip. Something more than a cheap souvenir, something that lasts longer than a week, a sense that we did good work. While I don't know how this trip is going to go, I do know that God is going to do some amazing work over the week. From the very beginning, I could feel God working on the team, I could hear him working in everyone's hearts, and I just know that, no matter how scared, nervous or shell-shocked the team gets, we're ready to do God's work.

Please consider praying for the Trinidad team as we embark on this great adventure. Pray that everyone can work together well, that we stay open to what God has planned, that God would speak through our words and actions, and that we leave a lasting impact on the people we meet. Yet let them not remember us, but rather what God did through us. Pray for open hearts and minds, willingness to repent and believe, and for God to work through one small group of fallible humans.


Photo Credit: Etsy