Exposed by the Light

"Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.  But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light." (Ephesians 5:11-13)

The trial of a Philadelphia abortionist, Mr. (I refuse to use the title of "Dr." for this man) Gosnell, who could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering (at the very least) one woman and three babies, has been very, very disturbing.  But a lot of people in America don't know about it.  It's not on the major network news programs too much, if at all.  It's a huge story, but they're not covering it.  They don't want to air this particular "news".  Maybe they're afraid that if they expose Mr. Gosnell's deeds, some of that light might spill out onto abortion itself.  Because you can't look at this case and not see that there's very little difference in what Mr. Gosnell has done, and what many other "physicians" do under the protection of the law. 

This article explains it very well - http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/04/why-dr-kermit-gosnells-trial-should-be-a-front-page-story/274944/ - it is graphic (there's a picture of an aborted baby), it's hard to read, it'll upset you, but it needs to be read.  And we need to be upset about it - because the more voices that are saying, "Enough is enough!" the better.  This man has operated this "clinic" since 1979, and despite complaint after complaint, no one ever stopped him!  And there are more out there.  (That topic in another post)

During the trial, when Assistant District Attorney Ed Cameron was arguing in support of the abuse of corpse charges, he made this statement: "Once fetuses leave the mother, they are then due the respect that would be given any human being."  That's a profound statement.  Mr. Cameron was urging the judge to uphold the law, as any lawyer would.  But do we hear what he's saying?  Our law dictates that babies are not due the respect that would be given any human being, until they leave their mother.  Yes, that's the law of the land.  That's Roe v Wade. 

While a baby is in the womb, which should be the safest place on earth - you can use a high powered vacuum which tears the tiny baby and the placenta to pieces and then suctions them out; you can use a knife to cut them in pieces and scrape them out; you can use forceps to twist and tear the bones apart until the baby is totally dismembered and removed; you can inject saline solution into the womb, which poisons the baby and also burns off the outer layer of skin; you can give the mother chemicals which make the uterus contract much more violently than normal, often killing the baby in the process; you can have an operation, very similar to a C-section, except the cord is cut while the baby's still in the womb which causes him to suffocate, or if he's born alive, you can just discard him - he'll die eventually, of exposure and neglect. Or, you can grab the baby by the leg, pull the body out of the womb until only the head is still in, and stab that head with scissors, create a hole big enough for a suction catheter to be inserted and suction the brains out.  Now that he/she is dead, you can remove that baby's body from his mother.  You see, all of that is legal.  (Believe it or not, I didn't put everything in here - here's the link if you'd like to check it out for yourself: http://www.lifesitenews.com/abortiontypes/)

What Mr. Gosnell did was not legal, because the baby somehow managed to survive the abortion procedure, was born alive, (more to post about babies "born alive") and Mr. Gosnell "snipped" the back of his/her head with scissors, severing the spinal cord, and killing the baby.  Because he did it outside the womb, after the baby was no longer in the mother's body - it's considered murder.  If the baby is inside the womb, even if just the head is inside the womb - a matter of inches - it's legal.  No matter what it's called or labeled, no matter what the Supreme Court or Planned Parenthood or anyone else says - it's murder all around.  It's just common sense.

Cheryl Sullenger from Operation Rescue has been reporting from the trial.  This is her report from the prosecution's final, and certainly most damning, witness.  Again - not an easy read, and there is a picture of the baby boy that Mr. Gosnell tossed into a shoe box.  A picture does indeed say a thousand words...and this one is burned in my mind forever, I think.  But we have to look at it, expose it, and rebuke it.
http://www.operationrescue.org/archives/powerful-testimony-of-horrific-abortion-abuses-ends-prosecution-case-in-gosnell-murder-trial/

There's so much more...

That's it for now, though - that's enough, for now.



"Open your mouth for the mute,
For the rights of all the unfortunate.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And defend the rights of the afflicted and needy."
Proverbs 31:8-9

Spittin' Watermelon Seeds

"...since we ought to be no less persuaded, that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which heaven itself has ordained..."  George Washington, Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789

Almost 224 years since George Washington gave that speech, and it seems as if America is spinning out of control.  I wonder what the men and women who worked so hard, and sacrificed so much to create this great nation would think of us today.  Financially, on the brink of disaster; morally, on the brink of bankruptcy; politically, it seems the "land of the free" is slipping through our fingers.  What kind of America are we leaving for our children?  Will our grandchildren even have an America?

As a Christian, I know that this world is not my home.  My citizenship is in heaven, and that's where I have my eyes set.  But there's a reason to be passing through this world, and that's to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus, and glorify my Father in heaven.   And what better place to do so, than in America!  I'm so thankful to be an American!  We have been given such a blessing to be born here, and to grow up in freedom.  We have such an opportunity to do so much for His kingdom because of this great country.  But freedom isn't free.  We have to be diligent; we have to guard what we have been given; we have to keep the flame burning; we have to be good stewards of the gift.

In November, 2012, our pastor preached a series of sermons on America.  In "America's Answer" (http://www.sermonaudio.com/playpopup.asp?SID=11812184010), he said that the greatest threat to the Christian church, and to morality and ethics today is...apathy.  He said that every Christian should be involved in the goings-on of this country.  We should have a newspaper in one hand and a Bible in the other.  I totally agree.  I just want to add one more - the U.S. Constitution.  We need to know our history!  We need to know the framework that our government was built on.  We need to know what's going on in our world politically (the newspaper), and look at it Biblically (the Bible) and historically (starting with the Constitution), and act accordingly.  We are a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  I am one of those "people" and I haven't been doing my job! 

And I'm not the only one.  Little by little, this country has been steered away from God.  Inch by inch, decision by decision, we have turned our back on God and said, "We don't need You.  We don't want You.  We don't even believe in You."  That is not the way this country was founded, and we're going down the wrong road now, and it's going to get uglier and uglier, unless we turn back.  And I don't think the country can turn back, until the church in America, Jesus' church, turns back...on our knees...to God.

Something has changed inside of me this week.  I think the Gosnell trial was the last straw.  I can't be silent anymore, I can't be "busy" about my own life anymore, I can't ignore the horror of abortion anymore.  It's got to stop.  Abortion, same-sex marriage, separation of church and state - I'm educating myself about these vital issues - been doing a lot of reading, writing, thinking, and praying.  Now I'm going to start spitting some watermelon seeds.  (If you listen to the sermon, you'll know what I'm talking about).  I'm going to post about what I've learned - and I have absolutely no idea if anyone will read it, or if it will have any effect at all - I just know I have to try.  And maybe, just maybe - a couple of those seeds will take root - and make some kind of difference.  That's up to God - I just have to do what He's put on my heart to do, and leave the results to Him.

"(If) My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14

"Conflicts without, fears within"

Well, it's past 2:30 am, and I think I'm finally tired enough to go lay down, and try to sleep.  I'll sleep eventually, but for how long, how well or fitfully, how vivid and/or disturbing the dreams, and how much pain and/or discomfort I wake up in - I don't know.  In spite of that, I look forward to getting through the night, and starting a new day.  I love the mornings.  I love them even more now, because it means the night is over! :)  But I truly love the mornings.  I love the sound of the birds singing right before dawn, I love the first light of day as it chases the darkness away, I love the feel of the sun on my face when I go outside to take the dogs out, I love breathing in the fresh air, I love the promise of a new day, with every minute of it stretching out in front of me.  And I say, thank You, Father!

I'm actually feeling better during the days - new medicine (not a substitute, but an addition) - it's a patch that lasts for 24 hours, and it's extended release.  So there are several benefits - it's only once a day versus five times a day for the sinemet that I take; it's extended release, so it helps smooth out the ups and downs of pills that vary in their effectiveness; and it's a nifty patch, not another pill to swallow!  I was ready to get things rolling towards DBS surgery for the other side of my brain, but my doctor suggested trying this patch out first.  It really is helping - I actually have had several good days in a row and I feel so good about what I've been able to accomplish.  I have caught up with dishes, with laundry, with grocery shopping; I have cleaned off the kitchen and dining room tables; we've actually had dinner at the table two nights in a row...I don't know how long it'll stay this way, but right now, I'm delighted!  I can't wait to wake up tomorrow morning and get started on a new day, without being so terribly behind to begin with!

The surgery will still come - as my doctor puts it, unless I get run over by a truck, I'm going to need this surgery.  (He's very forthright, and often a little sarcastic, and we - Kenny and I - love it! We have a great time at my appointments!)  PD is progressive - and it is progressing.  While my right side has the benefit of DBS, my left side, which has acquired PD symptoms in the 4-5 years since the first surgery, does not.  My left side drives the medication, as my doc put it, and my right side gets more medication than it needs, which causes more problems.  I've been pretty miserable for awhile now.  I was truly ready to go for it (surgery).

But I'm pleasantly surprised at how much the patch is helping, and we'll put off the surgery for just a little bit longer.  I have learned, though, or been reminded, of how slowly and insiduously this disease progresses.  I didn't realize how bad I was feeling, how much I was struggling - until I felt better.  Funny, huh.  And, I didn't realize how much, how disparate (I think that's the word I want - going to have to look it up before posting this) the symptoms are, that are better when the meds are working.  In other words, I still don't realize how much is affected by PD.

There's a phrase that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 7:5 that has caught my attention - "conflicts without, fears within".  The entire verse says, "For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within."  He's speaking of one of his missionary journeys, and the persecution that he endured.  My situation is nothing like what Paul endured, and he suffered for Jesus' sake - something he regarded as a blessing and honor!  But I still can relate to it in a way - rest is very difficult to come by, and sometimes I feel like PD does afflict you "on every side" because it messes with so much.  There are certainly "conflicts without" that include physical, emotional, and cognitive difficulties.  And there are fears within that try - every day - to take hold. 

At my last appointment, a few things kind of hit me hard - when the doctor was showing me the literature for the new patch, he skipped right over the "early-stage PD" section, and went straight to "advanced-stage PD", where you start and end at a higher dose of the medicine. I've had PD for nine years - that shouldn't surprise me, but it bothered me.  He also said that we're getting to the point where we've kind of exhausted the possibilities of meds - there's still surgery of course, and/or botox shots for dystonia.  Yes, "botox". I'll explain that later. Yuck.  But when I think about how I feel without meds (I don't really know how I feel completely w/o meds - don't want to), and that while this disease progresses, the meds might not be able to keep up, and that there's no guarantee that the second surgery will be as successful as the first one was...well, the fears sure can start to overwhelm.

There's also the anxiety that hits if and when I start to go "off" - meaning my meds are tapering off, and I need another dose - usually happens at least once a day.  (It happened a lot more before the patch.)  I have absolutely no control over it - I'm just hit with this awful feeling that, thankfully, I can recognize as anxiety brought on by a dip in my meds - and I take it straight to the Lord.  I ask Him to help me through it, guide me through it - and He does.  And when the real fears start to sneak into my head, I remember to take them captive in obedience to Jesus, who said not to worry about anything.  I don't worry about tomorrow or any day after that.  This is the day the Lord has made.  This day.  I don't have to worry about anything past that.  I will rejoice, and be glad - in this day.  He'll take care of the rest.

You see, the verse after 2 Corinthians 7:5 starts with one of my favorite two words - "But God..."!  Verse 6 says, "But God, who comforts the depressed (or humble), comforted us..."  Jesus said, "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me." (John 14:1)  That's a command - do not let your heart be troubled.  We are to replace the fear with belief in Him. 

I believe Him.


"For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning."  (Psalm 30:5)