Joyce Swann's Blog, page 2
July 24, 2013
Fractured Liberty
With the exception of the Stars and Stripes, for Americans nothing symbolizes Liberty more than the Liberty Bell. Yet, in examining its history we find that, like Liberty itself, the Bell has frequently been the source of controversy.
In 1751 the Bell was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Assembly to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges—Pennsylvania’s original Constitution. The Charter was remarkable in that it contained views on religious freedom, Native American rights, and the idea that citizens should be included in making the laws.
No one knows when the first crack appeared on the Bell, but the final wide crack that rendered it unusable occurred on Washington’s Birthday in 1846 when it was rung to commemorate the occasion. The Philadelphia Public Ledger published an account of the incident in its February 26, 1846, issue in which it stated, “It gave out clear notes and loud, and appeared to be in excellent condition until noon, when it received a sort of compound fracture in a zig-zag direction through one of its sides which put it completely out of tune and left it a mere wreck of what it was.”
Although the Bell was never rung again, it became a symbol of the anti-slavery movement, and after the Civil War it traveled across the country to bring unity to a divided nation. A replica of the Bell toured the country in 1915 to promote women’s suffrage.
The Bell was produced by Whitechapel Foundry where it was inscribed with Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” It arrived in Philadelphia on September 1, 1752 but was not rung until March 10, 1753. It was cracked by a stroke of the clapper when it was hung to try the sound.
John Pass and John Stow, two Philadelphia foundry workers, were given the cracked Bell to be melted down and recast. They added copper to the molten metal to make the new Bell less brittle, and the new Bell was placed in the belfry on March 29, 1753. When the Bell was rung, however, the consensus was that too much copper had been added and the resulting tone was not acceptable.
Pass and Stowe were ordered to break up the Bell once again and recast it. Finally, in June of 1753 the final Bell was placed in the Statehouse Steeple. Isaac Norris, one of the members of the Assembly who had originally commissioned the Bell, was still not pleased and ordered a new bell from England. Upon its arrival, however, the new bell was deemed to sound no better than the Pass and Stow Bell, and the Pass and Stow Bell remained in the Statehouse.
Prior to 1846 the Bell was rung frequently to call the Assembly together and to summon people for special announcements. Perhaps the most notable of those occasions was on July 8, 1776 when the Bell tolled to call the citizens for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Ironically, this same Bell that has served as a symbol of freedom for many American causes has also been a source of irritation for others. In 1772 a petition was sent to the assembly stating that the people in the vicinity of the State House were “incommoded and distressed by the constant ringing of the great Bell in the steeple.”
A few weeks before the British occupied Philadelphia in October of 1777, the Bell was removed and hidden in the floorboards of the Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to keep it from being seized by the British and melted down to be used for cannon.
The story of the Liberty Bell is the story of Liberty itself:
Liberty has always been guarded by the Church, and in countries where the Church ceases to value Liberty, Liberty is soon lost.
Liberty is a sweet sound in the ears of some, but to others it is an affront. To those who do not value freedom, Liberty is the sound of great distress, and they will always petition against it.
Liberty is never perfect. It has flaws, and it requires special care to keep it intact. It must be protected and cherished, but it must never be discarded. Its value is incalculable; it is a thousand times better than the next best thing.
Liberty unites and heals. Those who love Liberty will always come together—even after they have gone through the most difficult times. When Liberty moves across the nation, the result is a united citizenry.
Liberty calls to people everywhere. It declares independence; it summons its citizens to war; it brings people together to make good laws and reject oppressive legislation; it advocates for the oppressed.
Liberty is a gift from God. He admonishes us to “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” It is our duty to hold onto it, and defend it, and value it. When we do, the sound of Liberty rings throughout this land and brings hope to the whole world.
Joyce Swann is the author of Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
In 1751 the Bell was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Assembly to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges—Pennsylvania’s original Constitution. The Charter was remarkable in that it contained views on religious freedom, Native American rights, and the idea that citizens should be included in making the laws.
No one knows when the first crack appeared on the Bell, but the final wide crack that rendered it unusable occurred on Washington’s Birthday in 1846 when it was rung to commemorate the occasion. The Philadelphia Public Ledger published an account of the incident in its February 26, 1846, issue in which it stated, “It gave out clear notes and loud, and appeared to be in excellent condition until noon, when it received a sort of compound fracture in a zig-zag direction through one of its sides which put it completely out of tune and left it a mere wreck of what it was.”
Although the Bell was never rung again, it became a symbol of the anti-slavery movement, and after the Civil War it traveled across the country to bring unity to a divided nation. A replica of the Bell toured the country in 1915 to promote women’s suffrage.
The Bell was produced by Whitechapel Foundry where it was inscribed with Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” It arrived in Philadelphia on September 1, 1752 but was not rung until March 10, 1753. It was cracked by a stroke of the clapper when it was hung to try the sound.
John Pass and John Stow, two Philadelphia foundry workers, were given the cracked Bell to be melted down and recast. They added copper to the molten metal to make the new Bell less brittle, and the new Bell was placed in the belfry on March 29, 1753. When the Bell was rung, however, the consensus was that too much copper had been added and the resulting tone was not acceptable.
Pass and Stowe were ordered to break up the Bell once again and recast it. Finally, in June of 1753 the final Bell was placed in the Statehouse Steeple. Isaac Norris, one of the members of the Assembly who had originally commissioned the Bell, was still not pleased and ordered a new bell from England. Upon its arrival, however, the new bell was deemed to sound no better than the Pass and Stow Bell, and the Pass and Stow Bell remained in the Statehouse.
Prior to 1846 the Bell was rung frequently to call the Assembly together and to summon people for special announcements. Perhaps the most notable of those occasions was on July 8, 1776 when the Bell tolled to call the citizens for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Ironically, this same Bell that has served as a symbol of freedom for many American causes has also been a source of irritation for others. In 1772 a petition was sent to the assembly stating that the people in the vicinity of the State House were “incommoded and distressed by the constant ringing of the great Bell in the steeple.”
A few weeks before the British occupied Philadelphia in October of 1777, the Bell was removed and hidden in the floorboards of the Zion Reformed Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to keep it from being seized by the British and melted down to be used for cannon.
The story of the Liberty Bell is the story of Liberty itself:
Liberty has always been guarded by the Church, and in countries where the Church ceases to value Liberty, Liberty is soon lost.
Liberty is a sweet sound in the ears of some, but to others it is an affront. To those who do not value freedom, Liberty is the sound of great distress, and they will always petition against it.
Liberty is never perfect. It has flaws, and it requires special care to keep it intact. It must be protected and cherished, but it must never be discarded. Its value is incalculable; it is a thousand times better than the next best thing.
Liberty unites and heals. Those who love Liberty will always come together—even after they have gone through the most difficult times. When Liberty moves across the nation, the result is a united citizenry.
Liberty calls to people everywhere. It declares independence; it summons its citizens to war; it brings people together to make good laws and reject oppressive legislation; it advocates for the oppressed.
Liberty is a gift from God. He admonishes us to “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” It is our duty to hold onto it, and defend it, and value it. When we do, the sound of Liberty rings throughout this land and brings hope to the whole world.
Joyce Swann is the author of Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
July 18, 2013
How You Made Your Child Unemployable
Most parents believe that they have an obligation to teach their children to obey the law, follow the rules, and work hard. They assure them that if they do these things they will be able to get a good job and move up in the world. However, we are now living in the Obama Administration where people wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people and where all the rules have changed.
This week one of my daughters was applying for some jobs posted on-line. She has a master’s degree and years of excellent work experience, but the job market has slim pickings, so after she applied for the more desirable positions, she looked at the postings for Macy’s.
After she completed Macy’s on-line application, a screen appeared with a Tax Information Survey that the applicants are also required to complete. The questions on this survey are as follows:
Are you receiving food stamps and/or receiving benefits from the SNAP Program?
Are you receiving Social Security Supplemental Income Benefits—NOT survivor’s benefits.
Have you been released from prison in the last year?
At first glance these questions appear to be a vetting process for weeding out employees who might not be a good fit for the numerous corporations, including Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot, who use this survey as part of their application process. In fact, it is nothing of the kind.
The Tax Information Survey is designed to determine whether an applicant is in a category to allow the employer to receive a tax break from the federal government as an incentive for hiring him/her. Since the benefits to the employer are significant—that is if you don’t consider the possible downsides of hiring convicted criminals and the chronically unemployed—it is pretty much a given that if you are not on welfare or an ex-con, you do not qualify. After exploring this situation further, I actually discovered that one major corporation in El Paso has a loss mitigation department made up entirely of ex-cons and parolees.
Am I the only one who finds this new way of screening potential employees outrageous? I never thought that I would live to see the day when having been released from prison during the last year was a pre-requisite for employment. But, all of that aside, what is the real issue involved here?
It seems to me that the Obama Administration does everything possible to punish American citizens who struggle to support their families and work long hours so that their children can have better futures. The hardworking, honest people who built this country with their blood, sweat, and tears have been thrown to the curb in favor of those who have broken and continue to break all the rules.
It is time for us to get serious about our elected officials. Next year we will have an opportunity to elect men and women to both houses of congress who still believe in the American Dream, who still believe that honesty and hard work are virtues, and who still believe that in order to have a great America we much encourage our children to become great Americans.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
This week one of my daughters was applying for some jobs posted on-line. She has a master’s degree and years of excellent work experience, but the job market has slim pickings, so after she applied for the more desirable positions, she looked at the postings for Macy’s.
After she completed Macy’s on-line application, a screen appeared with a Tax Information Survey that the applicants are also required to complete. The questions on this survey are as follows:
Are you receiving food stamps and/or receiving benefits from the SNAP Program?
Are you receiving Social Security Supplemental Income Benefits—NOT survivor’s benefits.
Have you been released from prison in the last year?
At first glance these questions appear to be a vetting process for weeding out employees who might not be a good fit for the numerous corporations, including Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot, who use this survey as part of their application process. In fact, it is nothing of the kind.
The Tax Information Survey is designed to determine whether an applicant is in a category to allow the employer to receive a tax break from the federal government as an incentive for hiring him/her. Since the benefits to the employer are significant—that is if you don’t consider the possible downsides of hiring convicted criminals and the chronically unemployed—it is pretty much a given that if you are not on welfare or an ex-con, you do not qualify. After exploring this situation further, I actually discovered that one major corporation in El Paso has a loss mitigation department made up entirely of ex-cons and parolees.
Am I the only one who finds this new way of screening potential employees outrageous? I never thought that I would live to see the day when having been released from prison during the last year was a pre-requisite for employment. But, all of that aside, what is the real issue involved here?
It seems to me that the Obama Administration does everything possible to punish American citizens who struggle to support their families and work long hours so that their children can have better futures. The hardworking, honest people who built this country with their blood, sweat, and tears have been thrown to the curb in favor of those who have broken and continue to break all the rules.
It is time for us to get serious about our elected officials. Next year we will have an opportunity to elect men and women to both houses of congress who still believe in the American Dream, who still believe that honesty and hard work are virtues, and who still believe that in order to have a great America we much encourage our children to become great Americans.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
July 12, 2013
The Right Crisis
“We are on the verge of a global transformation, all we need is the right major crisis...” David Rockefeller, Club of Rome executive member and proponent of Agenda 21.
As David and his liberal elitist cronies, who want to take over the world and reduce the rest of us to lives of squalor, have discovered it is hard to create “the right crisis” in a country where we have the best minds, the best educational opportunities, the best housing, the best medical care, the most abundant food supply, and the most generous people on earth. Therefore, in order to have “the right major crisis” in the United States it must be created through a sustained program of propaganda that promotes phony science, falsified statistics, and the baseless threat of an unavoidable global catastrophe. Using these tactics, that group of elites who aspire to control the world are focusing their efforts on reducing the United States to a third world economy and a third world military power by instituting policies that will take away our food, our energy, our housing, our medical care, our jobs, our higher educational opportunities and our armed forces under the guise of “protecting” us from the horrors that are sure to come if we do not comply with the restrictions they choose to impose.
If those who are promoting these ideas actually believed they were true, they might be excused as being merely stupid and, therefore, dangerous if allowed to remain in positions of power. However, we have ample proof that those who have devoted themselves to promoting Agenda 21 by creating the false threat of global warming, a.k.a. climate change, do not believe a word of it. They have simply invented the notion that, as Barack Obama said in a speech in South Africa a few days ago , if people in third world countries “have big houses, air conditioning and cars, the world will boil over.”
The great irony is, of course, that while telling the world—including the United States—that we are a bunch of hogs for wanting to drive our SUVs, eat as much as we want and be cool in the summer and warm in the winter, he lives in a 53,000 square foot mansion courtesy of the taxpayers and flies off in a private jet furnished by the American people to spend 100 million dollars on his South African vacation.
For anyone who has difficulty believing that a body of educated, respected, prominent individuals would conspire to lie to the entire world in order to create “the right crisis” I have included a few of their comments concerning climate change:
“Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. It’s global warming. It’s ruining our country. It’s ruining the world.” Harry Reid, U.S. Senate majority leader.
“The data doesn’t matter. We’re not basing our recommendations on the data. We’re basing them on the climate models.” Professor Chris Folland, Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research
“I believe it is appropriate to have an ‘over representation’ of the facts on how dangerous it is, as a predicate for opening up the audience.” Al Gore, former Vice President of the U. S. and unsuccessful presidential candidate.
“It doesn’t matter what is true, it only matters what people believe is true.” Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace
“The only way to get our society to truly change is to frighten people with the possibility of a catastrophe.” Emeritus professor Daniel Botkin
“Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?” Maurice Strong, founder of the UN Environment Programme
“My three main goals would be to reduce human population to about 100 million worldwide, [since the earth’s present population is approximately 7 billion people, that would mean killing off about 6 billion, 900 million people] destroy the industrial infrastructure and see wilderness, with it’s full complement of species, returning throughout the world.” Dave Foreman, co-founder of Earth First
And, finally, this quote from Stephen Schneider, Stanford Professor of Climatology: “We need to get some broad based support, to capture the public’s imagination…So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements and make little mention of any doubts…Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest.”
Apparently, those who espouse global warming and warn us that if we continue to eat and breathe at our current rates, we will eventually set the world on fire, did not take into consideration the American Spirit—that indefinable quality that made this country great. They did not consider that we are an optimistic people who refuse to retreat in times of danger. They have forgotten the Minutemen and Valley Forge and George Washington crossing the Delaware—or, perhaps, they are just victims of their own revisionist history that says we have never been a strong, committed people.
Whatever their thinking may be, they have very much underestimated the American people. When they set out to create “the right crisis” to bring about the subjugation of the American people, they also created the perfect storm for patriotic Americans to stand up and say, “You will not take our country! You will not take our freedom! You will not take our way of life!”
Through the assault on Liberty that we have witnessed in this new millennium, we have recognized that we can no longer be complacent. Americans who were never politically involved are voting and attending political meetings. We are becoming informed and speaking out in defense of Liberty. We are signing on-line petitions and contacting our elected officials to let them know what we expect of them. And we are sending a message that any elected official who fails to protect our freedoms will be unemployed when the next election cycle comes around.
Apparently, the one-worlders thought that if they could scare us we would surrender and fall in line behind them. They were wrong! All Americans alive today were born into freedom, and we are not about to allow a few elitists to rob us of our birthright as United States citizens. They set out to scare us; instead, they awakened us.
We have always had to fight to stay free. We fought two wars with Britain on American soil. We fought in Europe and Asia to remain a free nation. We have always believed that we have a way of life that is worth fighting for—worth defending. We did not flinch when some of the world’s greatest military powers had real guns pointed at our heads. We will not flinch when a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals with their pseudo-science point their fingers at our heads and threaten us with destruction.
Freedom is not dead. We will find candidates who will turn back legislation meant to enslave us. We will write, and talk, and read, until we have uncovered every evil plan that they would set into motion. And then, we will go to the ballot box and throw out all who work to overthrow our system of government.
When the Agenda 21 proponents set out to create “the right major crisis”, they never imagined that they were creating the right crisis to wake up every freedom-loving American and band us together into a force for liberty that they cannot stand against.
Read Joyce's novel, The Chosen, free on Kindle through Sunday July 14th.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
As David and his liberal elitist cronies, who want to take over the world and reduce the rest of us to lives of squalor, have discovered it is hard to create “the right crisis” in a country where we have the best minds, the best educational opportunities, the best housing, the best medical care, the most abundant food supply, and the most generous people on earth. Therefore, in order to have “the right major crisis” in the United States it must be created through a sustained program of propaganda that promotes phony science, falsified statistics, and the baseless threat of an unavoidable global catastrophe. Using these tactics, that group of elites who aspire to control the world are focusing their efforts on reducing the United States to a third world economy and a third world military power by instituting policies that will take away our food, our energy, our housing, our medical care, our jobs, our higher educational opportunities and our armed forces under the guise of “protecting” us from the horrors that are sure to come if we do not comply with the restrictions they choose to impose.
If those who are promoting these ideas actually believed they were true, they might be excused as being merely stupid and, therefore, dangerous if allowed to remain in positions of power. However, we have ample proof that those who have devoted themselves to promoting Agenda 21 by creating the false threat of global warming, a.k.a. climate change, do not believe a word of it. They have simply invented the notion that, as Barack Obama said in a speech in South Africa a few days ago , if people in third world countries “have big houses, air conditioning and cars, the world will boil over.”
The great irony is, of course, that while telling the world—including the United States—that we are a bunch of hogs for wanting to drive our SUVs, eat as much as we want and be cool in the summer and warm in the winter, he lives in a 53,000 square foot mansion courtesy of the taxpayers and flies off in a private jet furnished by the American people to spend 100 million dollars on his South African vacation.
For anyone who has difficulty believing that a body of educated, respected, prominent individuals would conspire to lie to the entire world in order to create “the right crisis” I have included a few of their comments concerning climate change:
“Coal makes us sick. Oil makes us sick. It’s global warming. It’s ruining our country. It’s ruining the world.” Harry Reid, U.S. Senate majority leader.
“The data doesn’t matter. We’re not basing our recommendations on the data. We’re basing them on the climate models.” Professor Chris Folland, Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research
“I believe it is appropriate to have an ‘over representation’ of the facts on how dangerous it is, as a predicate for opening up the audience.” Al Gore, former Vice President of the U. S. and unsuccessful presidential candidate.
“It doesn’t matter what is true, it only matters what people believe is true.” Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace
“The only way to get our society to truly change is to frighten people with the possibility of a catastrophe.” Emeritus professor Daniel Botkin
“Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?” Maurice Strong, founder of the UN Environment Programme
“My three main goals would be to reduce human population to about 100 million worldwide, [since the earth’s present population is approximately 7 billion people, that would mean killing off about 6 billion, 900 million people] destroy the industrial infrastructure and see wilderness, with it’s full complement of species, returning throughout the world.” Dave Foreman, co-founder of Earth First
And, finally, this quote from Stephen Schneider, Stanford Professor of Climatology: “We need to get some broad based support, to capture the public’s imagination…So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements and make little mention of any doubts…Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest.”
Apparently, those who espouse global warming and warn us that if we continue to eat and breathe at our current rates, we will eventually set the world on fire, did not take into consideration the American Spirit—that indefinable quality that made this country great. They did not consider that we are an optimistic people who refuse to retreat in times of danger. They have forgotten the Minutemen and Valley Forge and George Washington crossing the Delaware—or, perhaps, they are just victims of their own revisionist history that says we have never been a strong, committed people.
Whatever their thinking may be, they have very much underestimated the American people. When they set out to create “the right crisis” to bring about the subjugation of the American people, they also created the perfect storm for patriotic Americans to stand up and say, “You will not take our country! You will not take our freedom! You will not take our way of life!”
Through the assault on Liberty that we have witnessed in this new millennium, we have recognized that we can no longer be complacent. Americans who were never politically involved are voting and attending political meetings. We are becoming informed and speaking out in defense of Liberty. We are signing on-line petitions and contacting our elected officials to let them know what we expect of them. And we are sending a message that any elected official who fails to protect our freedoms will be unemployed when the next election cycle comes around.
Apparently, the one-worlders thought that if they could scare us we would surrender and fall in line behind them. They were wrong! All Americans alive today were born into freedom, and we are not about to allow a few elitists to rob us of our birthright as United States citizens. They set out to scare us; instead, they awakened us.
We have always had to fight to stay free. We fought two wars with Britain on American soil. We fought in Europe and Asia to remain a free nation. We have always believed that we have a way of life that is worth fighting for—worth defending. We did not flinch when some of the world’s greatest military powers had real guns pointed at our heads. We will not flinch when a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals with their pseudo-science point their fingers at our heads and threaten us with destruction.
Freedom is not dead. We will find candidates who will turn back legislation meant to enslave us. We will write, and talk, and read, until we have uncovered every evil plan that they would set into motion. And then, we will go to the ballot box and throw out all who work to overthrow our system of government.
When the Agenda 21 proponents set out to create “the right major crisis”, they never imagined that they were creating the right crisis to wake up every freedom-loving American and band us together into a force for liberty that they cannot stand against.
Read Joyce's novel, The Chosen, free on Kindle through Sunday July 14th.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
June 25, 2013
Why Dumb is the New Smart
We live in a decade where “smart” is the word of choice to describe nearly every new product or idea: smart phone, smart car, smart growth, smart code, smart communities, to name a few. All of these “smarts” have become a permanent part of our vocabulary. In fact, the word “smart” has so inundated our advertising that we tend to dismiss any product not touted as having “smart” features.
Smart communities, smart growth, and smart code are, in reality, slightly different names for the same thing: Communities that ration land usage and drive up the cost of housing, resulting in tiny expensive apartments that can be accessed only through public transportation. The idea is not new, but it has never caught on. The one thing of which we are assured when being presented with these ideas, however, is that they are “smart”.
Likewise, smart cars have been around for about ten years. The tiny (2 ½ meter long) autos are uncomfortable, unsafe, unsightly, and unsuitable for anything but short trips in town. They resemble a hideous clown car that no little boy would want to play with and no adult would ever aspire to drive. Yet, we are assured that they are a “smart” consumer choice.
Smart phones, on the other hand, actually incorporate features that most of us want. They allow one to text, phone, send emails, take photos, access the internet, etc. On the surface, they appear to be a “smart” choice. The drawback is that we now know that the federal government is currently cataloging every email, text, phone call, photo, and website that we access using our smart phones. This information makes them seem less of a “smart choice”.
Technology can never be “smart” because machines are incapable of thought. They can perform whatever tasks they have been programmed to do, but they cannot think about problems that arise in the performance of their duties and come up with new creative ways to get the job done. They can, on the other hand, go all wiggy on us and force us to shut them down and restart them so that they can perform those, and only those, tasks they were programmed to perform in the first place.
People, however, are smart. Even the dumbest person is smarter than the smartest machine because the human brain allows us to solve problems and create new innovative processes that make our lives better. The problem is that we are being conditioned to accept whatever our government tells us. If they say we are better off living in cramped, sweltering “smart housing”, then we are. If they say we are better off driving a “smart car” that cannot possibly meet the needs of our family, then we are. If they say we are better off allowing them to collect information from our “smart phones” so that they can protect us against terrorists, then we are.
It is time for smart Americans to push back the dumb ideas that our government is forcing on us to regulate every aspect of our lives. We have some really smart elected officials that are working to help us do just that—Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Darrel Issa, to name a few. But, if we are going to win the battle, we need many more smart people in government. Next year we will have a mid-term election that will help determine our futures. We must find smart people to run for office in those races. But we need to go far beyond Washington in looking for good candidates. We should be concerned with every elected official from the local school board all the way to the White House. If we don’t, dumb will permanently become the new smart.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
Smart communities, smart growth, and smart code are, in reality, slightly different names for the same thing: Communities that ration land usage and drive up the cost of housing, resulting in tiny expensive apartments that can be accessed only through public transportation. The idea is not new, but it has never caught on. The one thing of which we are assured when being presented with these ideas, however, is that they are “smart”.
Likewise, smart cars have been around for about ten years. The tiny (2 ½ meter long) autos are uncomfortable, unsafe, unsightly, and unsuitable for anything but short trips in town. They resemble a hideous clown car that no little boy would want to play with and no adult would ever aspire to drive. Yet, we are assured that they are a “smart” consumer choice.
Smart phones, on the other hand, actually incorporate features that most of us want. They allow one to text, phone, send emails, take photos, access the internet, etc. On the surface, they appear to be a “smart” choice. The drawback is that we now know that the federal government is currently cataloging every email, text, phone call, photo, and website that we access using our smart phones. This information makes them seem less of a “smart choice”.
Technology can never be “smart” because machines are incapable of thought. They can perform whatever tasks they have been programmed to do, but they cannot think about problems that arise in the performance of their duties and come up with new creative ways to get the job done. They can, on the other hand, go all wiggy on us and force us to shut them down and restart them so that they can perform those, and only those, tasks they were programmed to perform in the first place.
People, however, are smart. Even the dumbest person is smarter than the smartest machine because the human brain allows us to solve problems and create new innovative processes that make our lives better. The problem is that we are being conditioned to accept whatever our government tells us. If they say we are better off living in cramped, sweltering “smart housing”, then we are. If they say we are better off driving a “smart car” that cannot possibly meet the needs of our family, then we are. If they say we are better off allowing them to collect information from our “smart phones” so that they can protect us against terrorists, then we are.
It is time for smart Americans to push back the dumb ideas that our government is forcing on us to regulate every aspect of our lives. We have some really smart elected officials that are working to help us do just that—Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Darrel Issa, to name a few. But, if we are going to win the battle, we need many more smart people in government. Next year we will have a mid-term election that will help determine our futures. We must find smart people to run for office in those races. But we need to go far beyond Washington in looking for good candidates. We should be concerned with every elected official from the local school board all the way to the White House. If we don’t, dumb will permanently become the new smart.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
May 6, 2013
Pray Without Ceasing for your Children
I believe that it is safe to say that virtually all Christians pray regularly for their children. We pray for their present, and we pray for their future. Perhaps, precisely because we spend so much time in prayer for our children we sometimes find it difficult to pray from a fresh perspective. Today I would like to share some of the ways I pray for my children that may help other parents see prayer for their children in a little different light.
First, I set aside a specific time to pray for my children. My drive to work each morning takes between twenty and twenty-five minutes. I begin praying for them as I pull out of my driveway, and since I am alone in the car with the radio turned off, I know that I have a good amount of uninterrupted time to devote to prayer. If I do not finish on my drive to work, however, I finish on the return trip.
Second, I pray aloud. If I try to pray silently, I find that my mind begins to wander, so I pray in conversational tones.
Third, I pray for my children in the order of their ages. Since I have ten children, it is easy to “leave one out” if I do not follow a system. Therefore, I begin with the oldest and pray straight down the line to the youngest.
Fourth, I pray my children’s names. I have not heard of anyone else who does this, but I think it is a great way to begin prayer for each child. As we all know, every name has a meaning, so I pray that each child will become the person his or her name declares him to be.
Of course, some names are more obvious than others. My easy prayer names are Alexandra—helper of mankind; Christopher—Christ bearer; Benjamin—Son of my right hand; Israel—One who has power with God; Gabrielle—Woman of God; and Judah—The praise of the Lord.
My other children’s names took a little more thought when I first began praying them. Francesca is taken from the word frankincense and means “free”, but frankincense was used by the Jewish priests to burn before the Lord. Therefore, when I pray for Francesca, I ask God to help her to live a life that is free from the bondage of sin, and I also pray that her life will be a sweet aroma in His nostrils.
Dominic means “the day of the Lord.” When I pray for him, I pray that he will constantly tell those he comes in contact with that Jesus is returning soon and that they must prepare the way for Him in their hearts, in their lives, in their families, in their communities, in their nations, and in the world. I pray that Dominic’s constant theme will be, “Prepare the way for the Lord.”
Victoria means “victorious”. I pray that her life will reflect victory in Jesus in everything that she does so that when people look at her they will see what it means to overcome the world through faith in Jesus Christ.
Stefan means “a crown”. This one took some thinking on my part, but then I remembered that in his first letter to the Corinthians Paul likens the Christian life to a race. He says that to win the race and be awarded the crown we must deny ourselves the things that will keep us from doing our very best. “Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside.” (I Corinthians 9:27) When I pray for Stefan, I ask the Lord to help him run his race in such a way that everyone with whom he comes in contact will be able to see that he is running his race to win the crown and that they will be encouraged to join the race to receive their own crown that God has waiting for them.
Fifth, I do not pray that God will simply bless my children. I cannot imagine anything worse than having them blessed if they are outside His will. I pray that if they are not living as they should He will withhold His blessings and will call them back to Him.
Sixth, I pray that our entire family will love what God loves, hate what God hates, and want what God wants. I pray that we will all love to go to church and that if any of us is in a church where we are not receiving proper teaching that God will put us in a church where we will hear His word preached honestly. I pray that we will all love to read the word of God, that we will all love prayer and appreciate the privilege of being able to go to God with our petitions, and that we will all love praise and worship. In addition, I pray that we will each find the way in which we can praise and worship God best according to the abilities He has given us.
Finally, I pray for revival and ask God to allow each of us to have our full part in it. He has put us on this earth to serve Him, and there is no better way to do that than to bring His message to the lost.
Remember, there is no wrong way to pray for your children. Just find a quiet place, open your heart, and allow God to teach you pray for the most precious gift He can give you. When you do, I think you will be surprised at the ways in which He will lead you and strengthen your prayers for those people you love most.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
First, I set aside a specific time to pray for my children. My drive to work each morning takes between twenty and twenty-five minutes. I begin praying for them as I pull out of my driveway, and since I am alone in the car with the radio turned off, I know that I have a good amount of uninterrupted time to devote to prayer. If I do not finish on my drive to work, however, I finish on the return trip.
Second, I pray aloud. If I try to pray silently, I find that my mind begins to wander, so I pray in conversational tones.
Third, I pray for my children in the order of their ages. Since I have ten children, it is easy to “leave one out” if I do not follow a system. Therefore, I begin with the oldest and pray straight down the line to the youngest.
Fourth, I pray my children’s names. I have not heard of anyone else who does this, but I think it is a great way to begin prayer for each child. As we all know, every name has a meaning, so I pray that each child will become the person his or her name declares him to be.
Of course, some names are more obvious than others. My easy prayer names are Alexandra—helper of mankind; Christopher—Christ bearer; Benjamin—Son of my right hand; Israel—One who has power with God; Gabrielle—Woman of God; and Judah—The praise of the Lord.
My other children’s names took a little more thought when I first began praying them. Francesca is taken from the word frankincense and means “free”, but frankincense was used by the Jewish priests to burn before the Lord. Therefore, when I pray for Francesca, I ask God to help her to live a life that is free from the bondage of sin, and I also pray that her life will be a sweet aroma in His nostrils.
Dominic means “the day of the Lord.” When I pray for him, I pray that he will constantly tell those he comes in contact with that Jesus is returning soon and that they must prepare the way for Him in their hearts, in their lives, in their families, in their communities, in their nations, and in the world. I pray that Dominic’s constant theme will be, “Prepare the way for the Lord.”
Victoria means “victorious”. I pray that her life will reflect victory in Jesus in everything that she does so that when people look at her they will see what it means to overcome the world through faith in Jesus Christ.
Stefan means “a crown”. This one took some thinking on my part, but then I remembered that in his first letter to the Corinthians Paul likens the Christian life to a race. He says that to win the race and be awarded the crown we must deny ourselves the things that will keep us from doing our very best. “Like an athlete I punish my body, treating it roughly, training it to do what it should, not what it wants to. Otherwise I fear that after enlisting others for the race, I myself might be declared unfit and ordered to stand aside.” (I Corinthians 9:27) When I pray for Stefan, I ask the Lord to help him run his race in such a way that everyone with whom he comes in contact will be able to see that he is running his race to win the crown and that they will be encouraged to join the race to receive their own crown that God has waiting for them.
Fifth, I do not pray that God will simply bless my children. I cannot imagine anything worse than having them blessed if they are outside His will. I pray that if they are not living as they should He will withhold His blessings and will call them back to Him.
Sixth, I pray that our entire family will love what God loves, hate what God hates, and want what God wants. I pray that we will all love to go to church and that if any of us is in a church where we are not receiving proper teaching that God will put us in a church where we will hear His word preached honestly. I pray that we will all love to read the word of God, that we will all love prayer and appreciate the privilege of being able to go to God with our petitions, and that we will all love praise and worship. In addition, I pray that we will each find the way in which we can praise and worship God best according to the abilities He has given us.
Finally, I pray for revival and ask God to allow each of us to have our full part in it. He has put us on this earth to serve Him, and there is no better way to do that than to bring His message to the lost.
Remember, there is no wrong way to pray for your children. Just find a quiet place, open your heart, and allow God to teach you pray for the most precious gift He can give you. When you do, I think you will be surprised at the ways in which He will lead you and strengthen your prayers for those people you love most.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
May 2, 2013
Pray Without Ceasing for the Sick
On May 5, 1995, I was run over by my own van and was hurt so badly that when the EMS worker who headed up the team saw me, he thought that I was dead. I sustained multiple injuries, including a number of broken bones, and my recovery was slow. That experience made me aware as nothing else could have how important it is to pray for the sick.
I had always been a believer in the power of prayer, and I had “prayed through” many difficult situations prior to my accident. I was, therefore, surprised at just how unprepared I was to pray for myself when I needed prayer most. If I had not lived through this experience, I would never have known that often people who are virtual prayer warriors at other times are unable to pray for themselves when they need healing.
The surgeries and medications played a big role in rendering me useless for prayer. I was not angry, and I was not having a crisis of faith, but I was unable to focus, and I could not feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Fortunately, other Christians came forward and did the praying for me that I was unable to do for myself.
All sorts of people from all sorts of places began to pray for me. Our church prayed. Mary Pride, a friend in the homeschooling community, put out the word to the readers of her magazine, and people all over this nation began to pray. Various people in El Paso whom I had never met heard about my situation, and they began to pray. Several nurses at the hospital told me that they were praying for me.
One night my daughter Francesca was visiting me at the hospital when two men whom I had never seen entered my room. As sick as I was, I remember thinking that I would not want to meet them in a dark alley. One was tall and thin with long unkempt hair and the other was short and muscular and covered with tattoos. They did not smile or make small talk. They simply announced, “We heard about you and we came to pray for you.”
Then they touched the edge of the blanket covering me as lightly as possible and began to pray aloud. As they prayed, the entire room filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit; the power was unmistakable. When they finished praying, the two men turned and left the room. My daughter finally broke the silence, “Now, that’s prayer!”
I am so grateful that God provided hundreds of people to pray for me because, if He had not, I have no doubt that I would have died. I would never have finished raising my children. I would never have seen my grandchildren. I would never have written my books. I would never have been able to share my faith with the many people who have come into my life during the past eighteen years.
The next time you are asked to pray for someone who is sick, remember that you may be standing in the gap for a brother or sister in Christ who cannot pray for himself. You may be standing in the gap for an unbeliever who will never see Heaven if he does not live so that he can come to know Christ as his savior. You may be helping someone finish raising their children or allowing them to see their grandchildren. You may be allowing someone more time to tell the world about Jesus.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
I had always been a believer in the power of prayer, and I had “prayed through” many difficult situations prior to my accident. I was, therefore, surprised at just how unprepared I was to pray for myself when I needed prayer most. If I had not lived through this experience, I would never have known that often people who are virtual prayer warriors at other times are unable to pray for themselves when they need healing.
The surgeries and medications played a big role in rendering me useless for prayer. I was not angry, and I was not having a crisis of faith, but I was unable to focus, and I could not feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Fortunately, other Christians came forward and did the praying for me that I was unable to do for myself.
All sorts of people from all sorts of places began to pray for me. Our church prayed. Mary Pride, a friend in the homeschooling community, put out the word to the readers of her magazine, and people all over this nation began to pray. Various people in El Paso whom I had never met heard about my situation, and they began to pray. Several nurses at the hospital told me that they were praying for me.
One night my daughter Francesca was visiting me at the hospital when two men whom I had never seen entered my room. As sick as I was, I remember thinking that I would not want to meet them in a dark alley. One was tall and thin with long unkempt hair and the other was short and muscular and covered with tattoos. They did not smile or make small talk. They simply announced, “We heard about you and we came to pray for you.”
Then they touched the edge of the blanket covering me as lightly as possible and began to pray aloud. As they prayed, the entire room filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit; the power was unmistakable. When they finished praying, the two men turned and left the room. My daughter finally broke the silence, “Now, that’s prayer!”
I am so grateful that God provided hundreds of people to pray for me because, if He had not, I have no doubt that I would have died. I would never have finished raising my children. I would never have seen my grandchildren. I would never have written my books. I would never have been able to share my faith with the many people who have come into my life during the past eighteen years.
The next time you are asked to pray for someone who is sick, remember that you may be standing in the gap for a brother or sister in Christ who cannot pray for himself. You may be standing in the gap for an unbeliever who will never see Heaven if he does not live so that he can come to know Christ as his savior. You may be helping someone finish raising their children or allowing them to see their grandchildren. You may be allowing someone more time to tell the world about Jesus.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
April 24, 2013
Pray Without Ceasing for the Brokenhearted
A new Krazy Glue commercial says, “We believe that almost everything in this country is broken.” Most of us would agree that there is much in our nation that needs fixing—our schools, our infrastructure, our economy—the list is endless. Yet, when compiling our lists of things we want fixed, we often forget about the broken hearts of millions of Americans that can only be healed by God’s perfect love.
It seems that every day another tragedy becomes headline news. We watch in horror as details of the school shooting at Newtown or the bombing at the Boston Marathon are made public, but almost as soon as the images disappear from our television screens, we tend to push them from our minds. It is difficult to think about the victims and their families whose lives have been forever changed by one moment of cruelty, and so we refuse to dwell on those tragedies.
Yet, God sees every broken heart and feels the pain of everyone who mourns. In prophesying about the Messiah, Isaiah says, “…the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives and to open the eyes of the blind. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come…He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of heaviness.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)
What a promise! God says that He will turn around the lives of those who suffer and fill them with beauty, joy, and praise. When we pray, therefore, we need to remember to pray that those who mourn will receive these precious gifts from God’s hand. Jesus promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, (John 14:18) but when people suffer it is sometimes difficult to remember that promise.
Therefore, when we pray for those who have known a great loss, let’s pray specifically that they will feel the presence of God’s Spirit in their lives. Let’s pray that all that God has promised will come to fruition in their lives, and they will experience the peace that goes beyond their present circumstances and draws them into a healing relationship with Jesus Christ. He and He alone can mend broken hearts, so when we pray we must remember to take the brokenhearted to Him so that they can receive the fullness of those promises.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
It seems that every day another tragedy becomes headline news. We watch in horror as details of the school shooting at Newtown or the bombing at the Boston Marathon are made public, but almost as soon as the images disappear from our television screens, we tend to push them from our minds. It is difficult to think about the victims and their families whose lives have been forever changed by one moment of cruelty, and so we refuse to dwell on those tragedies.
Yet, God sees every broken heart and feels the pain of everyone who mourns. In prophesying about the Messiah, Isaiah says, “…the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the suffering and afflicted. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted, to announce liberty to captives and to open the eyes of the blind. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of God’s favor to them has come…He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of heaviness.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)
What a promise! God says that He will turn around the lives of those who suffer and fill them with beauty, joy, and praise. When we pray, therefore, we need to remember to pray that those who mourn will receive these precious gifts from God’s hand. Jesus promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, (John 14:18) but when people suffer it is sometimes difficult to remember that promise.
Therefore, when we pray for those who have known a great loss, let’s pray specifically that they will feel the presence of God’s Spirit in their lives. Let’s pray that all that God has promised will come to fruition in their lives, and they will experience the peace that goes beyond their present circumstances and draws them into a healing relationship with Jesus Christ. He and He alone can mend broken hearts, so when we pray we must remember to take the brokenhearted to Him so that they can receive the fullness of those promises.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
April 22, 2013
Pray Without Ceasing for the Saved
We have all heard countless sermons on praying for the unsaved, praying for our country when it is on the wrong track, praying for dishonest politicians, praying for wrongs to be righted, praying for almost everything that impacts us in a negative manner. But, how many sermons have we heard on praying for the saved; praying for the godly who are living normal lives going quietly about their work and doing the right things? I, for one, have never heard a single sermon on this topic.
We tend to pray for unsaved family members and acquaintances while ignoring those who are faithful Christians. It is a little like giving all of the attention to the bad child while the other obedient children are ignored. We do, of course, pray for the saved when they are in danger—missionaries serving in dangerous areas, for instance. We also pray for the saved when they become ill or have a terrible accident that threatens their lives. Yet, we rarely pray for them with the same level of concern and the same fervor that we pray for the unsaved. Likewise, we may spend years praying for someone to accept Christ as his/her savior and then stop praying when they do.
Why is it important to pray for the saved? It is important because those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ are the backbone of this nation. The Bible says, “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) This is an interesting scripture because the Bible does not say that if there are enough people who are called by his name; it says that God’s healing of our land depends on the prayers and actions of the saved and their willingness to turn from their sins and seek God.
We should, of course, always pray for the unsaved, but after they accept Jesus we need to continue to pray for them. We should pray daily that every Christian in this world will be strengthened and filled with faith. We should pray that they will be bold in their witness and bold in their prayer lives. We should pray that our fellow Christians will be wise and unshakable in their resolve to follow Jesus.
God has always accomplished great things using a few faithful people. When you pray for the unsaved, remember to also pray for those who are fighting the greatest battles of our time on their knees. And remember, as long as God’s people are willing to seek Him and turn away from sin, He will hear us and heal our land.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
We tend to pray for unsaved family members and acquaintances while ignoring those who are faithful Christians. It is a little like giving all of the attention to the bad child while the other obedient children are ignored. We do, of course, pray for the saved when they are in danger—missionaries serving in dangerous areas, for instance. We also pray for the saved when they become ill or have a terrible accident that threatens their lives. Yet, we rarely pray for them with the same level of concern and the same fervor that we pray for the unsaved. Likewise, we may spend years praying for someone to accept Christ as his/her savior and then stop praying when they do.
Why is it important to pray for the saved? It is important because those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ are the backbone of this nation. The Bible says, “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:13-15) This is an interesting scripture because the Bible does not say that if there are enough people who are called by his name; it says that God’s healing of our land depends on the prayers and actions of the saved and their willingness to turn from their sins and seek God.
We should, of course, always pray for the unsaved, but after they accept Jesus we need to continue to pray for them. We should pray daily that every Christian in this world will be strengthened and filled with faith. We should pray that they will be bold in their witness and bold in their prayer lives. We should pray that our fellow Christians will be wise and unshakable in their resolve to follow Jesus.
God has always accomplished great things using a few faithful people. When you pray for the unsaved, remember to also pray for those who are fighting the greatest battles of our time on their knees. And remember, as long as God’s people are willing to seek Him and turn away from sin, He will hear us and heal our land.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
April 9, 2013
Pray Without Ceasing for Our Nation
The Bible tells us to pray for those in authority over us. It seems to me that most people interpret that to mean that we are to pray for God’s blessings on our current elected officials. While that is probably true to some extent, I believe that there are some important considerations that we sometimes overlook.
First, when God established this country, He gave us a brand new form of government. We began fresh with a government of elected officials who were put there to act within the framework of the Constitution and to serve the people. As soon as our independence was secured, we were able to move forward as a free people.
Second, our founding fathers recognized that if our elected officials were not serving the people and acting responsibly, we should throw them out and replace them with those who would. It is our responsibility to demand just, honest government, and when we do not get it, we need to replace those who are at fault.
Third, if we have corrupt elected officials it is our own fault. We can never say that there is nothing we can do about the mess that our government is in because we have chosen these people and given them permission to do make and enforce the laws that direct our lives.
Because of our particular system of government, I believe that we should begin to think differently about how we pray for those in authority over us. Today I am going to share with our readers how I pray daily for our nation.
When Jim DeMint announced in late December that he was leaving the Senate to become the new head of the Heritage Foundation, I began to pray for him by name. At the time of his announcement DeMint said that he was going to explore how best to “get the message out” to the American people. Therefore, each day when I pray for him I ask God to, first, show him what the message should be. Then I ask that God will show him how to get that message out. Next, I pray that DeMint will find the right candidates to promote—ones that will do exactly what God has put them there to do, no more and no less.
I then pray that God will give us the right candidates for 2014 for both houses of Congress—that He will raise up men and women of God who will be his “Daniels”. The Bible says that Daniel was “faithful and honest and made no mistakes” in the performing of his duties as one of three presidents who administered Darius’ kingdom. (Daniel 6:1-6) This is my prayer for these men and women of God—that they will look neither to the left nor to the right but only at God so that they will make no mistakes in the performing of their duties.
We will have honest, just government only when we demand it. It is God’s will that everyone be saved, but it is not His will that everyone should be allowed to serve in government. We should not pray for blessings on those who are godless. Instead we should pray that God will raise up men and women who will obey Him. We should pray that He will remove from office anyone who will not do what they were put there to do. And we should pray that our nation will become what He created it to be. Most of all, we need to understand that our nation will never reach its full potential until we choose to be governed by the godly.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
First, when God established this country, He gave us a brand new form of government. We began fresh with a government of elected officials who were put there to act within the framework of the Constitution and to serve the people. As soon as our independence was secured, we were able to move forward as a free people.
Second, our founding fathers recognized that if our elected officials were not serving the people and acting responsibly, we should throw them out and replace them with those who would. It is our responsibility to demand just, honest government, and when we do not get it, we need to replace those who are at fault.
Third, if we have corrupt elected officials it is our own fault. We can never say that there is nothing we can do about the mess that our government is in because we have chosen these people and given them permission to do make and enforce the laws that direct our lives.
Because of our particular system of government, I believe that we should begin to think differently about how we pray for those in authority over us. Today I am going to share with our readers how I pray daily for our nation.
When Jim DeMint announced in late December that he was leaving the Senate to become the new head of the Heritage Foundation, I began to pray for him by name. At the time of his announcement DeMint said that he was going to explore how best to “get the message out” to the American people. Therefore, each day when I pray for him I ask God to, first, show him what the message should be. Then I ask that God will show him how to get that message out. Next, I pray that DeMint will find the right candidates to promote—ones that will do exactly what God has put them there to do, no more and no less.
I then pray that God will give us the right candidates for 2014 for both houses of Congress—that He will raise up men and women of God who will be his “Daniels”. The Bible says that Daniel was “faithful and honest and made no mistakes” in the performing of his duties as one of three presidents who administered Darius’ kingdom. (Daniel 6:1-6) This is my prayer for these men and women of God—that they will look neither to the left nor to the right but only at God so that they will make no mistakes in the performing of their duties.
We will have honest, just government only when we demand it. It is God’s will that everyone be saved, but it is not His will that everyone should be allowed to serve in government. We should not pray for blessings on those who are godless. Instead we should pray that God will raise up men and women who will obey Him. We should pray that He will remove from office anyone who will not do what they were put there to do. And we should pray that our nation will become what He created it to be. Most of all, we need to understand that our nation will never reach its full potential until we choose to be governed by the godly.
Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her own story of teaching her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees before their seventeenth birthdays is retold in her book, Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother. Her novel, The Warrior, about how one woman's prayers change the lives of those around her, is available on Kindle and in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.
March 26, 2013
The Greatest Generation
On March 18, 2013, my step-father died on his ninety-first birthday. He was one of the few remaining veterans of World War II, and this fact was made even more significant because he had remained in the Air Force until his retirement in 1965.
Bill’s health had been declining for some time, but we did not believe that his death would come immediately. Therefore, when I had made plans to leave my home in El Paso, Texas, to travel to Southeastern Kansas to list the home where he and my mother had resided until they went into assisted living this past December, I had no idea that I would not only be preparing the house for sale and listing it, but I would be attending his funeral and taking care of all of the things that need to be done when a veteran dies.
My sister took a week off from her job and flew in to attend the funeral and help me prepare the house for sale. After the funeral, as the two of us went through my step-father’s personal effects, we discovered many little things about him that we had not known—nothing of importance, just those bits of trivia that contribute to all our lives. For instance, I had always been puzzled about why Bill began his military career in the Navy and had then gone into the Air Force. As my sister and I went through the paperwork to determine which government departments we needed to notify, we discovered that the Air Force had originally been part of the Navy. He had already completed several years of military service before the two were separated and he became part of the Air Force. As we examined his birth certificate and marriage license and looked at the medals he had been awarded during the war, we came across something that truly amazed me. There among his personal effects was a small New Testament with gilded pages bound in red leather. The front page said that this New Testament was presented to all military personal upon entering military service.
I could not help but think about the contrast between the attitude of our government then and now. Now our military chaplains are not allowed to pray in the name of Jesus lest they “offend” someone. Then, our government not only armed its servicemen with guns, they armed them with the word of God with Jesus Christ at the center.
Tom Brokaw coined the phrase “the greatest generation” when speaking of our World War II generation, and we tend to think that they were great because they were brave and patriotic and hardworking. But were they really any more brave or patriotic or hardworking than today’s soldiers who have sacrificed so much in Iraq and Afghanistan? I don’t think so.
I think that the reason so many exceptional people came out of that World War II generation is that they had a connection with Jesus Christ that helped them overcome almost insurmountable odds. They fought for a nation whose government had not yet forgotten that God made this country great and if we are going to remain great we will keep Him at its center. They fought for a nation that sent its men into battle carrying a Bible as well as a gun. It was that willingness to recognize that we are, indeed, a nation under God that made this country and that generation great.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
Bill’s health had been declining for some time, but we did not believe that his death would come immediately. Therefore, when I had made plans to leave my home in El Paso, Texas, to travel to Southeastern Kansas to list the home where he and my mother had resided until they went into assisted living this past December, I had no idea that I would not only be preparing the house for sale and listing it, but I would be attending his funeral and taking care of all of the things that need to be done when a veteran dies.
My sister took a week off from her job and flew in to attend the funeral and help me prepare the house for sale. After the funeral, as the two of us went through my step-father’s personal effects, we discovered many little things about him that we had not known—nothing of importance, just those bits of trivia that contribute to all our lives. For instance, I had always been puzzled about why Bill began his military career in the Navy and had then gone into the Air Force. As my sister and I went through the paperwork to determine which government departments we needed to notify, we discovered that the Air Force had originally been part of the Navy. He had already completed several years of military service before the two were separated and he became part of the Air Force. As we examined his birth certificate and marriage license and looked at the medals he had been awarded during the war, we came across something that truly amazed me. There among his personal effects was a small New Testament with gilded pages bound in red leather. The front page said that this New Testament was presented to all military personal upon entering military service.
I could not help but think about the contrast between the attitude of our government then and now. Now our military chaplains are not allowed to pray in the name of Jesus lest they “offend” someone. Then, our government not only armed its servicemen with guns, they armed them with the word of God with Jesus Christ at the center.
Tom Brokaw coined the phrase “the greatest generation” when speaking of our World War II generation, and we tend to think that they were great because they were brave and patriotic and hardworking. But were they really any more brave or patriotic or hardworking than today’s soldiers who have sacrificed so much in Iraq and Afghanistan? I don’t think so.
I think that the reason so many exceptional people came out of that World War II generation is that they had a connection with Jesus Christ that helped them overcome almost insurmountable odds. They fought for a nation whose government had not yet forgotten that God made this country great and if we are going to remain great we will keep Him at its center. They fought for a nation that sent its men into battle carrying a Bible as well as a gun. It was that willingness to recognize that we are, indeed, a nation under God that made this country and that generation great.
Joyce Swann is co-author of The Chosen, a dystopian novel about the battle of one U.S. family to restore the Constitution and stop the indefinite detention provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act. For more information, visit her website at http://www.frontier2000.net
