By Rebecca Hagelin
I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately. Gone for over 15 years now, I can still see her smile and feel her all-encompassing warm embrace. Mom was vivacious, generous and brilliant — and she had a delightfully zany sense of humor. Boy, how she could make me laugh!
As my hubby and I pulled up to the front door of the fancy five-star steakhouse that a friend had given us a gift certificate for, we were shocked by the sign that awaited us.
Throughout history, Jews suffered tremendous persecution, frequently enslaved and treated brutally. They constantly watched and waited for the one who would come to conquer their enemies once and for all, as was promised to their forefather Abraham so many years earlier.
We were having an 8 a.m. coffee with family in their home on the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam when the music started. Ringing through the morning, as happens every day here and on U.S. military bases around the world, was the melody of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
America is in the midst of a huge, sordid sex scandal. As horrific as it is to have so much alleged sexual harassment and abuse coming to light, worse still is the reality that we should not be surprised. For several decades American culture has been fed a steady diet of highly sexualized Leftist movies, television shows and advertisements.
Veterans Day has always held a special place in my heart, partly because ours is a military family. My father was a physician in the Army, my father-in-law was a gunner in World War II. My husband is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and served in the 6th Fleet. Now my son-in-law proudly serves as an officer in the U.S. Air Force.
With the awful reality of a new and frightening type of terror attack being perpetrated in the streets of our country, my mind returns to the recent memory of a more peaceful day. On that evening, the gentle breezes rustling through the palm trees was matched in melodious beauty by the crash of the waves against the shore.
We now live in a society where women are no longer treated like ladies, and where we are discouraged from acting like ladies too. From the loss of chivalry to the prevalence of pornography, from the increase of sex education at younger ages to the crude tone and verbiage of our discourse, it is painfully clear that the general is right.
Sunny skies belied the danger posed by the swirling satanic storm headed our way. As my husband nailed the last of the hurricane shutters on our Southwest Florida barrier island home, I felt a deep sadness. Taking in the image of the beautiful and peaceful property one last time before we evacuated, I resigned myself to the reality that it might be completely destroyed by the impending hurricane.
My friend just found out that she is pregnant for the first time, and she and her husband are ecstatic. The new mom had an ultrasound a few days ago, and the doctor determined that the raspberry-size baby is 8 weeks old. My friend got to listen to her baby’s heart beating strong and fast — thump-a-thump-a-thump — 164 beats per minute.
Even as I write this column, Charlie’s mom and dad continue to beg for the life of their son. They are fighting for him as God ordained parents to do. They are cuddling Charlie as they are able, adoring and immersing his tiny body in comforting, warm love. Despite the fact that his prospects for a long life are dim, and despite the fact that he will never meet the court’s standards for “normal,” he is loved and cherished by his family. Each hour of his life has value and meaning — not because of what he can or cannot do — but because God said it is so.
Emma Moran lived through 117 years of wars, inventions and changing civilizations, and was undoubtedly loved by many in her native Italy. She was also the last verified survivor of all humans born in the 1800s. Yet life rolls on for the rest of the world, not affected in the least by such a tremendous human feat.
As a Christian and an across-the-board conservative author, I write about a variety of topics: economic freedom, national security, international relations and social issues. My Christian faith informs all areas of my life, and it enables me to share wisdom that is much greater than my own.
It’s easy to mistake the means for the ends and in doing so, to settle for less than we were intended for. For example, we all feel pressure to be productive and to use our time wisely, but if we’re not careful, we will, as Peter Drucker says, manage for the sake of management instead of managing for the sake of results. There are many stories in the Bible that reflect this part of human nature — our tendency to miss the point, which in biblical terms is often known as sin. One of these stories comes from the Gospel of John, and another, from Genesis.
Rebecca Ann Sedwick was only 12 years old. But she hurled herself off the top of an abandoned building last week in Florida in order to free herself from the daily torment of her peers. The bullies’ weapons? Words. But their cruelty toward Rebecca didn’t happen on the playground, in the lunchroom, or next to the school lockers. It happened on social media, in particular through an app called Ask.fm. The app allows users to send anonymous comments to others over the Internet, making it a place where bullies flourish.
Minorities crammed into impoverished areas in inner cities should not be having so many babies. And, of course, these minorities (including most of America’s immigrants) are inferior in the human race, as are the physically and mentally handicapped. We should require mandatory sterilizations of those less desirable and promote easy access to abortion. And since sex should be a free-for-all, we must provide birth control and abortions to teenagers too. It’s all for the greater good and for a more intelligent, liberated, healthier population.
Sarah is a beautiful three-year-old. She loves Honey Nut Cheerios, nursery rhymes, and playing on the playground. But lately, it almost breaks her mother’s heart to see Sarah out there with the other kids. Newly diagnosed with autism, Sarah’s playground time is less a time of carefree play and childhood “firsts” and more a marker of how quickly ‘normal’ has slipped away.
A new mom, my friend found herself drowning in marketing materials from unsolicited experts of every kind. It started even before her daughter was born. Doulas, childbirth educators, lactation consultants, parenting coaches, home organizers and child experts - my friend thinks she doesn’t stand a chance if she doesn’t read/use all of them.
Most parents hope that their children will grow to adulthood and find and marry a good spouse. But it’s becoming increasingly difficult for young adults to date in ways that lay a solid foundation for a strong marriage.
Her face looked haggard and she had aged 10 years, it seemed, in the months since I last saw her. I knew “Joanna” through friends. Although we saw each other infrequently, we enjoyed sharing the highs and lows of our lives and our children. This time, she looked so awful that it was clear something was not right.
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Connect With Rebecca Hagelin
Rebecca Hagelin has championed faith and family values in Washington, DC and around the nation for some 30 years. She speaks and writes to encourage and educate parents on how to combat the negative affects of the pop media culture on their children. Her weekly column, co-authored with her daughter Kristin Carey, "Faith and Family: Hope for Every Generation" appears in The Washington Times, Townhall and other national news sites and publications. Rebecca also owns a boutique marketing company that specializes in creating and directing national talk radio marketing campaigns. She previously served as The Heritage Foundation’s Vice President of Communications and Marketing, and as Vice President of Communications for WorldNetDaily.com. In 2006, Concerned Women for America named her as one of the nation’s “Top Ten Evangelical Women”, and in 2007, The Claire Boothe Luce Policy Institute named her one of 12 "Great Conservative Women". She is the author of the acclaimed books, Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That's Gone Stark Raving Mad, and 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family. The latter book will be re-released in late April. The newly updated version is entitled, "30 Ways in 30 Days to Protect Your Family" and will include reflections from her daughter, Kristin, as well as a bonus new chapter on marriage. Rebecca serves on several boards including FamilyTalk. She and her husband (of 30 years!) Andy, have three grown children, and live on Little Gasparilla Island in Florida.
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