Tag Archives: counter-culture

Will the Parents Who Have Never Lost Sight of Their Child Please Stand Up?

In yet another example of our culture gone bezerk, over 236,000 people have signed a petition calling for “Justice for Harambe,” the gorilla that was shot and killed after a four-year old boy fell into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Go home, “Change.org.” You’re drunk.

Can any mother reading this REALLY tell me she has never lost sight of her child? Even for moment?

As a mother of seven I can assure you, children can be with you one minute and vanish the next. I think I’m a pretty good mom. BUT. I have “lost” my kids in Legoland, Disneyland, WalMart, church and even in my own home. (This happened in 1998. Turned out the child was up on the roof with her two year old sister in tow.) I know. You’re mad. Don’t worry. Happily, I know where my kids are at the moment of this blog post. You might be surprised to learn that three of my children have survived to adulthood. So far, the therapy bills aren’t too bad. Time will tell.

My point? I don’t think I’m the only parent who has felt the heart-stopping, sheer terror that comes from losing track of a child. Be careful when you judge the mothering of this woman. This was an accident. A horrible accident but an accident nonetheless. The zoo did the right thing. What would we all be saying right now if they had hesitated and the child was killed? What would the headlines be then?

The loss of the gorilla’s life is tragic—but in this upside-down world, we seem to be placing a higher value on the life of an animal than we do on our own children. We want to judge the zoo and the mother for taking the life of the gorilla—nevermind that it was necessary to save the life of the child.

But we don’t care about the child, do we? Not really.

125,000 human beings are murdered EVERY DAY through abortion, with a negligible number of people speaking on their behalf, but a gorilla is killed to protect the life of a child, and 236,000 people rush to his defense. All I can do is sit here and shake my head.

21% of all US pregnancies end in abortion. One gorilla is killed to protect a child and we want to crucify the parents instead of being grateful that the boy is not dead or terribly injured.

Sad situation indeed, but I feel for the parents who are being judged so harshly.

We’ve got a huuuuuge priority problem in this nation. It’s time we talked about THAT.

Target’s “Guest” Policy Is About More Than Bathrooms

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The times, they are a-changing. Every day, it seems a new surprise announcement surfaces for the American public to try and absorb, everything from political shenanigans to gender-bending news—and mandates and edicts ‘n stuff. Seems we can’t catch a break from the new social order that is rapidly being constructed around us—you know… the one our children and grandchildren are going to grow up in.

And it’s wrong, too. It’s just plain wrong. Can I say that? It’s been a few weeks and I’m still shaking my head at the fact that we now have to defend the once commonly held notion that women’s restrooms are for, well—women.

It’s a conversation that we never imagined we would be having. First it was stores, and now, predictably, it’s coming to schools.

In the interest of transparency, I’ll confess: I never really liked Target calling their customers “guests.” The term implies that the store is not really a store. A+ marketing job, Target. They know people. When you’re a guest, you feel at home, right? The term has a warm fuzzy feel about it. It invites you to let down your defenses. As a “guest” in Target, you feel safe and valued while you spend your hard-earned dollars on everything from cucumbers to calculators.

It’s part of (or it used to be) Target’s appeal, isn’t it? We’re not just customers to Target, we’re their “guests.”

Listen. Target loves ~~your money~~ you. They have your comfort and safety in mind. They do! In fact, they want all their “guests” to be comfortable in their own skin. That’s why they’re allowing any grown man who “feels” like a woman to follow your 10 yr old right into their bathrooms. That guy has feelings! Don’t you care? Come one! Have a heart!

A Target supporter told me via Facebook the other day that I need to stop worrying about it. She suggested I “learn to be the parent” and simply accompany my girls into the restrooms, past the guys, you know … and just deal with it. A good mom would never let her kids go to the bathrooms alone anyway, right? Right! But that’s not the point, and most consumers know it. Target stock is continuing to plummet in the wake of their decision.

So here’s the question: Is this really Target’s best attempt at making their “guests” feel safe and loved and valued and protected and understood and comfortable?

Absolutely not. If it was about making transgendered customers feel safe, they would have spent the money to put in more family restrooms.

Make no mistake: Target’s eyeing a much bigger target.

Target doesn’t care that this puts women and children at risk in the most vulnerable of scenarios. This is not about accommodating the transgendered community. It’s about forcing anyone who senses there is something inherently wrong with men pretending to be women to “get over it…” and if they have to sacrifice yours or your daughter’s or your wife’s safety in order to make their point, they’ll do it.

This is so NOT about bathrooms. It’s about social engineering. It’s about a large corporation saying they know better than the people who are so fortunate as to be seen as guests in their stores.

And, it’s another nail in the coffin of what God says family was created to look like: marriage between a man and a woman; a father and a mother raising children. We are, by design, male and female. The LGBT movement you are seeing in the culture today has one aim: to further destroy “binary” of male and female, and ultimately, change the culture forever. As the family goes, so goes the culture.

Bottom line? I’m not buying it. And I don’t just mean what Target is selling, I mean what they’re selling. I’m not buying their perverted new social order. I’m not buying their arrogant attitude—but Target is a private company. If they want to put their “guests” in danger to make a political statement, that is their right.

The public schools are another matter entirely. Most of you know we have homeschool our kids—and after the ~~President’s~~ king’s edict last week, you could not pay me to put our kids back into a government school. Target is one thing. I’ll vote on that one with my wallet. But our kids—our kids! Mr. President. You would pull funding from American schools to make a political point? Really?

Yes. He would. Why? Because this is not about bathrooms. It’s bigger than that. It’s about ushering in a new era where those who believe in the traditional male/female “binary” are shunned and marginalized.

There comes a time when ordinary people need to stand up against dangerous ideologies. I hope you won’t let fear keep you from protecting your children, wives and daughters. It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to say NOT ON MY WATCH. It’s okay to tell President Obama that you don’t want to participate in his social agenda. We’ve got kids to protect. I expect to see a huge surge in the number of parents choosing to homeschool because of actions like this. If you’re thinking of homeschooling, take it from a mom of seven who has been doing it nearly twenty years. You can do it. If you’re on the fence about homeschooling, now is a good time to take the plunge.

Here are five things I wish I’d known before I started homeschooling.

Oh, and Target, I don’t want to be your guest again—so you can take your comfy-cozy, calibrated collaboration with the left and keep it.

I choose my kids. We’re losing a lot more than our right to privacy. We’re losing our voice. We’re losing our freedom.

#notonourwatch

Join the boycott against Target HERE

Target CEO digs in; refuses to hear pleas from worried consumers

Why You Should Teach Your Young Children about Preborn Life

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When my son, Ben, studied the Holocaust during World War II, he was appalled at the evil he read about. The idea that a society could set about to cause the wholesale eradication of human life hurt his heart.

It’s easy to look back in history and scorn the evil of the past, isn’t it? The Holocaust was clearly a horrific evil, ending the lives of 6 million Jews, and an additional 5 million non-Jewish people.(1) Though we teach our children about the Holocaust as a way to honor the victims, we primarily teach it so that we won’t repeat the tragedy.

Today’s Holocaust

It’s easy to assume that the horrors of the Holocaust are behind us, yet today we are seeing the loss of human life on a massive scale. Just as in Germany, governments around the world are funding, facilitating, and even requiring death on unimaginable scales.

Does that sound like an exaggeration?

In 2014, there were 977,000 abortions in the United States alone.(2) That’s 2,677 a day, at a rate of 2 babies dying each minute. Those numbers are painful, but not quite on par with the destruction of the Holocaust. However, there have been more than 58 million 873 thousand abortions in the US since 1973.(3) Since 1980, we’ve seen more than 1.4 billion abortions worldwide.(4)

In the US, we’ve outpaced the Holocaust by more than 5 times the number of dead. Worldwide, there are more than 128 times the number of dead as those killed during the Holocaust.

How You Can Help

Perhaps it seems strange to hear about abortion on The Busy Mom. What does this have to do with you? There are a lot of approaches people take to end abortion. Prayer, petitioning outside clinics, voting pro-life, raising awareness on social media and in person, and working in the political arena–all have merit, and are all important. I’m going to suggest an approach to add to that arsenal–one that will take longer to grow to fruition, but may be wonderfully effective.

In the United States, 18% of abortions are performed in teens under the age of 20.(5) Nearly one in 5 of all abortions is undertaken by a teen. 40% of those teens don’t tell either parents about the death of their baby.(6)

What if we educate our children about preborn life now? As a part of our bedtime reading, what if we incorporate science and Scripture that teaches our children the truth of preborn life? Let’s tell our kids that a baby’s heart starts beating two weeks after conception. Our children need to know that God planned each life in advance, and that He lovingly forms each baby in the womb.

Maybe we can’t change the culture of death that we live in. Perhaps we can teach just one child–or four, or twelve–about the value of human life from its conception. If we do it together, perhaps we can turn the tide in favor of life. Life that is ordained by a sovereign Creator.

Giveaway ~ Ends 4/20/16

This new resource from children’s author Danika Cooley may help. Wonderfully Made: God’s Story of Life from Conception to Birth (Christian Focus 4 Kids, 2016) is a science- and Scripture-filled picture book for kids ages 5-11. The book is told from the perspective of a mother (you!) telling her child about his or her development in the womb week-by-week. You can learn more about Wonderfully Made and download free resources for a Wonderfully Made unit study: posters, Scripture memory cards, and a fetal development lapbook over at the Wonderfully Made book page.

Another way you can make a difference is by supporting Save the Storks. Save the Storks partners with pregnancy resource centers all over the nation to provide them with powerful tools and training so they can more effectively reach and serve abortion-minded expectant mothers.

Together we empower these mothers to choose life for their unborn babies.

We accomplish our mission by making the highest-quality and most beautiful mobile medical vehicles available. These Stork Buses allow our affiliates to go where abortion-vulnerable women are likely to be, such as in front of abortion clinics and on university campuses.

Stork Buses allow our affiliates to go to women who need their services, rather than expecting those women to come to them.

Heidi has taken a stand against abortion for as long as I can remember, because it matters. She knows it’s overwhelming to think about the problem on a large scale, but knowing you can do one or two things really does make a difference. What will you do today?

Void where prohibited by law. Must be at least 18 years of age. This giveaway is in no away associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest. No purchase necessary for entry. Odds are determined by the number of entries. Selected winners will have 48 hours to respond to email notification to claim their prizes or another winner will be drawn.

(1) The Holocaust. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust
(2) (Updated 2016, February 5) US Abortion Statistics. Retrieved from: http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/us_abortion_statistics/
(3) Number of Abortions – Abortion Counter. Retrieved from: http://www.numberofabortions.com/
(4) Number of Abortions – Abortion Counter. Retrieved from: http://www.numberofabortions.com/
(5) Guttmacher Institute. (N/A) Induced Abortions in the United States. Retrieved from: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states
(6) Guttmacher Institute. (N/A) Induced Abortions in the United States. Retrieved from: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/induced-abortion-united-states

So You’re Thinking of Having Another Baby?

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I have three amazing daughters, ages 12, 9, and 7. The oldest is very creative, independent and a good leader. When she was born, she immediately had a curious look in her eyes. Everyone commented on how alert she was even at one day old. I remember holding her in my arms at the hospital as she quietly took in the world around her with those thoughtful, pensive eyes. She is still that way today; always thinking deeply and longing for friends to connect with on the same level.

When my middle daughter was born, she let out a cry that was so heartbreaking and pitiful sounding! It was like a high pitched moan that went up and down and up and down, kind of like a siren. A cry that I would hear many, many times over the years! She is my sensitive daughter. So, tears are naturally part of having that sensitive spirit. But, with that sensitivity also comes an abundance of LOVE. She is like a wellspring with unconditional love bubbling out of her every day.

My third daughter was a surprise pregnancy. I think I may have cried when I found out I was pregnant! Let me tell you… having an infant, a 17 month old and 5 year old daughter is tough work! And this baby was unlike either of my other two girls. When she was born, she let out a ROAR that was quite aggressive. I called her my “baby dinosaur” because of what her cry sounded like. It’s interesting because just like my middle daughter’s pitiful cry as a baby represents her sensitive spirit, my youngest’s roar represents her aggressive personality. Not only is she aggressive, she is also very dramatic about EVERYTHING. When she is physically hurt from falling down or stubbing her toe, everyone within a mile radius hears about it from her shrill crying that lasts FOREVER. When she is mad, you better get out of the way and give her some space to cool down, or before you know it you find yourself yelling even louder than her. (Sorry, Lord!) When she is happy, she can practically squeeze the breath out of you as she embraces you in a hug that lasts FOREVER!! She is my passionate child and I love her to pieces. But, oh, what a journey we have been on together.

Since my third daughter was such a challenge, I spent most of those first few years feeling anxious and overwhelmed. In fact, I tried to convince myself that I was done having kids. About six months ago a member of our church that my husband pastors shared a dream he had about us. He said that in the dream, Chip and I were moving into a big nice house. Our oldest daughter was grown and moved away and our other girls were in their late teens…. and we had 3 BOYS! YIKES!!! Well, that planted a little seed in my head about possibly having another baby (NOT that I want triplets).

Around the same time as the dream was shared with us, my girls and I joined a homeschool co-op. Soon, I found myself surrounded by little red headed boys (I have red hair and was hopeful for a red headed baby but have never had one). Little by little, I started having more thoughts of having a baby. I thought I was crazy at first and that the thoughts would pass. Well, they didn’t 🙂 In my spirit I kept hearing the words, “LIFE… NEW LIFE.” I would go to take my birth control, put it down, walk away, come back, put it down. I heard the words, “You are keeping him from coming.” Then, I found out that my middle daughter had been praying for a few months that she would have a baby brother!

I am now 9 weeks pregnant with our 4th child. I spent the last 8 years convincing my husband we were done having kids, only to find out that my husband knew I would eventually change my mind. I was actually growing comfortable with how independent my girls have become. So, knowing I am about to enter the baby season all over again, makes me a little nervous. But, I know this baby is going to be a huge blessing to everyone around him/her. I am excited to meet who God is developing inside of me!! And, I am looking forward to savoring every moment with this new little one, and this time mothering with a peaceful spirit instead of an anxious and overwhelmed one.

Do you have a story like mine? Or are you still wrestling with being done, yet not really done? I don’t think I’m alone.

Dear Christians, Who Are We Living For?

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Well, here’s something I’ve learned: the entertainment industry has Christians around the throat. It’s the new “sacred cow” that we dare not touch. When I was a kid, it was the church worship pastor and his horrible “rock music.” When I was growing up, sacred cows were things like organs and hymn books. Methinks we have been focusing on the wrong things!

Recently, I posted a warning to parents about the movie, “Deadpool.” You can see it here:

So, there I was, just casually listening to the radio while I put my makeup on this morning when I heard an ad for the…

Posted by The Busy Mom on Saturday, 13 February 2016

I was shocked and saddened by the responses I received over something that I assumed Christian (and non-Christian) parents would appreciate. Then next day, I posted a reply:

*WARNING* EXHORTATION AHEAD:On Saturday, I casually posted about the new comic-book-turned-movie “Deadpool.” I was…

Posted by The Busy Mom on Monday, 15 February 2016

Today, a Christian woman messaged me, upset at what she perceived to be my “judgmental” attitude toward other Believers with regard to areas of personal freedom. She went on to list several verses she hoped I would read about not judging others because then would understand that she is “free” in Christ to watch whatever the heck she wants to watch.

I am stunned at our disregard for Christ’s clear instructions on how we are supposed to live.

CHURCH: WAKE UP! We are called to judge each other! That’s right: we’re supposed be be judging things like movies and behavior. Why? Because our hearts are prone to wander, that’s why. Because our flesh wants to drag us off into the mire and muck of movies that bring dishonor to God and quench the Holy Spirit within us. Because God clearly says that engaging in such things is wrong.

We have allowed ourselves to become desensitized to sin. We allow it in our churches and call it “progress.” We watch it in theaters and call it “entertainment.” We excuse it in others and call it “freedom.”

How far we have fallen! No wonder our nation is in such grave danger: there are no watchers on the wall. Personal holiness is no longer a priority.

This is not a gray area, men and women! Those who claim the name of Jesus should know His Word and long to bring honor and blessing to the Lord. Instead, we toy with things He died to save us from and then cry like babies if someone suggests that we might be crossing the line.

It’s time for Christians to grow up in Christ. These times need more than lukewarm faith. It’s time to seriously ask ourselves who we are living for. As Believers, our lives are to be a reflection of the One who redeemed us.

Whatever happened to “be holy as I am holy?” Whatever happened to Christians NOT wanting to be like the world? One day, we are going to give an account to the the Lord for the way we lived our lives before men on this earth—and God has made it clear what He expects.

Watching filth (yes, like Deadpool and 50 Shades of Porn) clearly falls outside of “whatever is good.”

I hope that my fellow Christians will continue to hold me to the standard of righteousness that honors the Lord because they care not just for me, but for the One who died to set us free from “the sin which so easily entangles” us.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1

Anything else is cheap grace. My Lord’s death was anything but cheap.

It cost Him everything.

Surely we can honor Him with our bodies and our minds.

Lord, Help Me be More Like My Little Girl

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Tonight, as I tucked my almost five-year old into bed, her prayer was simple:

“Dear God, please stop this abortion. Just cancel it. It’s wrong to kill babies. You can do it all by yourself. You don’t need any help—because you’re that big and that good.”

We weren’t expecting such a big thought to come from such a small girl…and a quiet hush came over the room. She trusts Him.

He IS that big, that good. We are facing many problems in our world today. Saylor’s prayer reminded me that I serve the King of Kings. The ONE who spread the heavens out like a canopy over the earth. The Lord of “heavens armies.” The One who made the seas and all that is in them.

He says our days were ordained for us before a single one of them came to be. He says we are to trust Him.

One day soon, He WILL make things right.

“Into His capable hands, I must commit the future of my children—and of all the broken things around me that I have no control over. My role is not to worry. It is to obey. It is to trust.”

Into His capable hands, I must commit the future of my children—and all of the broken things around me that I cannot fix. My role is not to worry. It is to obey. It is to trust. Lord, I do believe. Calm my mother’s heart. Help my unbelief!

Help me be more like my little girl.

—–Be Still My Soul—-
1. Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

4. Be still, my soul: The hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Text: Katharina von Schlegel, b. 1697;

The Perfect Storm: ISIS Moves On a Weak Church

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It’s raining outside, in my little corner of our great big world. The wind is howling. The leaves are everywhere. It’s that time of year. As I sit in my window, I can’t help but notice one tall tree in the corner of our yard that refuses to yield to the wind and the rain. All the other trees are bare now, but this one, this one stands defiant in the face of what is bound to be a losing fight with nature.

Most of the yellow leaves on the giant maple are hanging on for dear life now, trying to delay the inevitable. One day soon, they won’t be able to hang on anymore and they’ll give up, falling to the earth in an endless cycle that will repeat itself again this time next year.

As the rain continues to fall, my eyes are drawn upward to the enormous, rhythmic sway of the tallest trees. It’s unsettling. Many of the big trees on our three acres fell last year as the rain soaked ground loosened their fragile root systems. The forest can be unforgiving. They didn’t have a choice but to fall under relentless downpours. Years of erosion took their toll as the mighty trees buckled and fell, taking smaller trees with them.

Trees with shallow root systems don’t survive very many winters. They can’t. Even big trees, no—especially the big ones—need strong, deep roots. Without them, it’s only a matter of time.

We’re not so unlike those trees. If we’re going to survive the storms of this life, we need strong, deep roots, too. But as I listen to the news and see the barrage of cyber-bullets flying back and forth between people who should know better, I can’t help but sense that the trees in my back yard are not the only things with fragile, shallow root systems in the late autumn of 2015.

The church’s roots are shallow, and the storms around us have unearthed a problem that, if left untreated, threatens to undo us from the inside-out. Years of relentless spiritual downpours have left us weak and vulnerable. Rather than shore up our root systems with the truth of God’s Word, we have given ground away to the erosion of culture, tossing aside ages of time-honored truths that we have stood on as a people for generations. Many of our tallest “trees” have fallen victim to the downpour of secular progressivism that has laid waste to our churches in recent years. Like you, I have watched as many pastors and other Christian leaders have exchanged the truth of the Gospel for a “more convenient” truth.

It is the perfect storm. Weak church… weak nation. We are a nation in spiritual crisis, and our weakness is providing the perfect storm for evil to spread.

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. ¹⁶Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. ¹⁷Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” Ephesians 5:16-17

We must be careful, because as the Apostle Paul warned, the days are evil. ISIS has found a soft target in Christians today. We are a biblically illiterate generation, profoundly weak in our knowledge of the almighty and His Word. We’ve forgotten who God says we are supposed to be: holy, set apart. And so, instead of falling to our knees in anguish over our sin and admitting our need for divine answers, we’re doubling-down on made-up theology that portrays Jesus and His great love for mankind in two extremes: passive and foolish or selfish and uncaring about human suffering.

In the wake of last week’s awful terrorist attacks, instead of turning to God, we’re turning on each other. If ISIS ever had a golden opportunity to strike at the heart of God’s people, now would be that time.

Today, on social media, for all the world to see, God’s people are fighting over which kind of compassion is more “right” … the kind that says “protect the innocent here” or the kind that says “protect the innocent there.” Every Christian with an opinion and a Bible seems set on hurling verses at other Christians. Social media is on fire. Mocking images flood our screens and numb our senses and what are we doing? We are reacting in our flesh. Me included.

We are being driven by anger and fear, and it’s exactly what the enemy wants. Yes. The enemy. Satan. He knows exactly what he’s doing and we better wake up and pay attention. The war we are in is a spiritual one. ISIS is not our enemy. ISIS is a tool of our enemy. Nothing more, nothing less.

Now is not the time to lob Bible verses at each other over a virtual fence! Now is the time to hit the floor on our knees. Collectively. This is war—and every person who claims the name of Jesus is enlisted in it. We need to come to the table together, first in prayer and then with resolve to act how God wants us to act. How will we know what that is if we do not pray for wisdom? Oh, how we need wisdom for these times we are living in. Human wisdom simply will not do. The wisdom we need can come from no place other than from God Himself.

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.” James 1:5

We need every Christian writer, pastor, teacher, parent, journalist and thought leader to come together in solidarity against the evil that is waging war at this moment against us. Our conversations must extend far beyond the fear that drives us.

We must seek the Spirit.

Now is the time to sink our root systems deep into the rich soil of the Word of God. Now is the time for unity—and the kind of unity we need is supernatural. We must not give in to fear and anger. We must beg God for His wisdom. A generation hangs in the balance.

¹⁰A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹²For we^[d] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

¹³Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.¹⁶In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.¹⁷Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

¹⁹And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. ²⁰I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.”

Ephesians 6:10-20

Heidi St. John

Speaking the Truth in Love