Heartbeat Press - September 2022 Edition

   

How old do you have to be for people to take you seriously? A few quick answers might be, "Twenty, because you're not a teenager anymore," "Thirty, because you've lived for nearly three decades by then," "When you're old enough and responsible enough to own a home/car/business...etc." While those are all valid answers, I'll ask you this, "What about 15?" Would you normally take a 15-year old seriously? Is a 15-year old wise enough to stand up for an issue and stick by it? At what age would you start to take her seriously? Contrary to popular belief age does not necessarily breed wisdom and youth does not automatically come with immaturity. And, in the case of Lila Rose, a teenager can be much wiser than hundreds of other people many years her senior. 

    Lila Rose was raised in a Christian home and was very outspoken from a young age. She was pro-life by default, but she never did much to support the movement. It wasn't until 2003, after Lila began researching the actual process of abortion and was exposed to confronting videos showing the procedure, that she felt a spiritual stirring and knew she had to do something. At the age of 15, standing in her parents' living room, she founded an anti-abortion group, Live Action, and set to work planning effective next steps.

    Her first swing against abortion took place on the local level as she went into numerous schools and churches, giving presentations on the reality of abortion and undermining Planned Parenthood by championing the superior and anti-abortion options for women's healthcare that existed at the time. She worked tirelessly to share the truth and experienced great success, but she was just getting started.

    Three years later, in 2006, when Lila was a freshmen in college, she took her activism to the next level. She knew that there was more to this fight than what met the eye so she went directly to the source to get her answers: two Planned Parenthood facilities in Los Angeles, California. Going undercover in the guise of a pregnant 15-year old, Lila told "her story" to workers at the abortion clinics. Claiming that she had been in a relationship with a 23-year old friend, she said she wanted to end the resulting pregnancy so that her parents wouldn't find out about the relationship. Her goal in telling this tale was to expose the uncaring nature of the facility workers and the death-oriented goal of the greater Planned Parenthood organization. Everything that was said was secretly recorded by a camera on Lila's person, and Planned Parenthood and its workers did not disappoint. Lila's shocking footage clearly shows the clinic workers not only selling her abortion as the convenient option for her unwanted pregnancy, but also blatantly ignoring local laws to help her get away with the procedure. The most damning of this casual law bending comes when one clinic worker encourages Lila to lie on a medical form and claim that she is 16 rather than 15 so that local law enforcement would be unaware of a blatant statutory rape case. In addition, the workers at both facilities ignored or brushed off Lila's common questions regarding her baby and the looming abortion. "Is it really a baby at this stage?" "It's just a clump of cells, right?" "It won't feel any pain?" Each question, unanswered or met with an outright lie, just added more nails to the coffin of Planned Parenthood and stacked up damning evidence that Planned Parenthood doesn't truly care about the women who need their "help." 

    Today Live Action is a driving force in the pro-life movement and has the largest digital footprint of any pro-life organization. Lila and her team continue to run sting operations on Planned Parenthood facilities; they have uncovered numerous horrors of the industry and have brought to light some of its most sickening details. There is still a lot of work to do to completely dismantle abortion and Planned Parenthood, but Lila has said that she is eager to take it on. 

Sources Cited: Wikipedia, Live Action.org 

Photo Credit: The Atlantic 

Butterfly Wings

Butterfly wings pink and blue,
Butterfly wings just for you.
Pretty and silver bought brand new,
Shiny reflecting of the morning dew.

Butterfly wings make me sad,
Butterfly wings are special to be had.
Never before have I seen them shine so,
Radiant and pretty with youth's faraway glow.

Long ago in days gone by,
I liked to sit on the grass and watch the birds fly.
Lofty they went swooping, soaring,
Grazing the sun let loose from their moorings.

Childhood dreams dance inside my head,
Thoughts of summer days dance above my bed.
Long they've been gone always away,
Drifting and dimming like a cool day.

Butterfly wings pink and blue,
Butterfly wings just for you.
Reminders of my youth gone by,
The days of carefree winsome sigh.

Days of adulthood lay ahead,
Times unknown wait for me instead.
My days of childhood over and done,
I remember the time and, oh, the fun.

Need not despair time's not gone,
New times come like morning dawn.
Adventure awaits with life to come,
Time to sing and time to hum.

Here we go adulthood awaits,
We walk through together its shiny gates.
But always remember never forget,
Butterfly wings will shine ever yet.

Conditioning Time

The age between childhood and adulthood is a rough place for many people. It is not a hardship, but is merely a conditioning time. You are being made into the person you will be years from now. It is a test to see how you will stand up to pressure and many up-coming things. No matter how you react, you will survive because God made the conditioning hard but not so hard that you can't pull through with his help. Stand strong in Jesus and you will withstand this conditioning time.









Photo Credit: Greg Olsen

Your Own Person

When you're in the middle of childhood and being a grown up, you may feel shadowed by other people, like your siblings. You may feel you have to live up to your parents' actions. No, you don't have to feel this way; you can be your own person. Let your talents shine. Let your interests and personality glow as bright as the sun. Be yourself.







Photo Credit: Alice Popkorn

Innocence

Youth is so precious, resigned to a couple of years. Yet satan and his demons seem determined to destroy what they can. They will bring sickness, poverty, abuse - anything to destroy a child's trust in anything. Train your little ones to be strong and courageous so they can stand firm under pressure. They will become strong men and women of God if you protect their innocent youth.







Photo Credit: Nick Kenrick