The Last Frontier

Will Someone You Love Have a Helen Keller Moment?

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 21:14:00 +0000

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. At birth she was a perfectly normal child, but at the age of nineteen months she suffered an illness that left her blind and deaf. This is a tragic story, but if it had not been for two remarkable women, no one but family and a few friends would have ever heard Helen’s name.

Helen’s mother loved her little daughter desperately, and wanted to help her live as normal a life as possible. Helen’s father and half brother were less sympathetic and wanted her institutionalized. Finally, Helen’s mother persuaded her husband to contact the school for the blind to find a teacher for Helen. That teacher was Annie Sullivan, who was immortalized in the 1962 film The Miracle Worker.

The film depicts the obstacles Sullivan faced in working with a child with whom she could not communicate and gives the audience insight into the seemingly hopeless situation. Yet, Sullivan never stops “teaching”, using sign language to spell into Helen’s palm the names for all the ordinary objects that Helen encounters each day. However, all of Sullivan’s efforts make no impression on the child until one day, after a particularly trying episode in which Helen throws a horrible tantrum and wrecks the family dining room, Sullivan once again takes Helen to the pump to fill the water jug and spells the word “water” into her palm over and over again as the water splashes across Helen’s other hand.

In that moment, Helen finally “gets it”. She understands for the first time that the spelling into her palm is not just a series of random touches—each touch has meaning. And in that moment, a whole new world opens for Helen. She was lost in a black, silent existence until a nineteen-year-old nearly blind “teacher” used everything she possessed to save her.

I began this post with a question: “Will someone you love have a Helen Keller moment?” That question may seem odd since you probably do not have a loved one who is both blind and deaf. However, the chances are good that you are close to someone who is unsaved and is, therefore, both blind and deaf to the all that God has for him.

Helen’s mother loved her and hoped that she could avoid institutionalizing her, but she did not know how she would be able to avoid it. When Annie Sullivan came into Helen’s life, however, she came with a different perspective. She had been institutionalized as a child, and she knew first-hand the horrors of life in an institution at that time—the rats, the substandard food, the cold, the abuse—and she wanted desperately to save Helen from that life.

Everyone needs an Annie Sullivan; if you have a loved one who is unsaved you can be his or her Annie Sullivan. If you are a Christian, you know the horrors awaiting those who die without Jesus so do not be put off when that person you are trying so desperately to reach pushes you away. Pray for him or her daily; witness to him or her every time you have an opportunity—both with your life and with your lips. And never give up, because you never know at what moment everything will fall into place and your loved one will “get it”. You never know when all that you have invested in him in time and prayers and a life lived as a good example will suddenly break through and deliver him from the dark, silent world of sin that that has separated him from God’s love.

During this Christmas season, remember all that Jesus has done for you, beginning with that humble birth in a manger, and share that story with everyone who will listen. Even if those you love do not experience their Helen Keller moment for many years, every time you “spell into their palms” you bring them one step closer to that day when it will all come together and bring them into the light.

Joyce Swann is a nationally-known author and speaker. Her newest stories, The Thanksgiving Gift and The Christmas Cake, are available individually and in the box set The Holiday Collection.

When You Pray and Pray for Your Children and Nothing Changes

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 20:40:00 +0000

What do you do when you pray and pray for your children and nothing changes?

Most Christians pray regularly for our children. We pray for their presents, and we pray for their futures. Perhaps, precisely because we spend so much time praying for them we can become very discouraged when those prayers appear to go unanswered. likewise, when things are going well for them, we may pray less because we tell ourselves they "don't need it".

I find that, from time to time, praying from a fresh perspective can help every parent/prayer warrior become more focused and more committed. 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.

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 crowns 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.

In answer to the question, "What do you do when you pray and pray for your children and nothing changes?" You keep on praying. God is not deaf, and He is not slow. He hears your prayers and is moving in your children's lives--even when you cannot yet see the results.

Watch Joyce host KSCE-TV's United with Christ and hear her talk about her novel, The Warrior, the story of a prayer warrior who changes the life of a stranger through prayer.

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, has been downloaded over 50,000 times on Kindle and is also available in paperback. For more information visit her website at Frontier 2000 or like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/frontier2000mediagroup.

Why I am Still Thankful

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 19:44:00 +0000

I first posted the following blog one year ago following the 2012 election. I am posting it again this year because I believe that we are now seeing the miraculous ways in which God works to bring about His plans—even when it seems that we have been defeated. One year ago I would never have imagined that in November of 2013 we would be witnessing the death of Obamacare and the rise of men in Washington who are standing for liberty and the principles laid forth in the Constitution.
This year I am still thankful for what God has done and is doing in our nation. Please join me in thanking Him for His constant provision:

Why I am Thankful this Year (from 2012)

This nation has just experienced what I consider to be the most disappointing presidential election of my lifetime. Millions of Christians probably agree with me because millions of us prayed and fasted and talked to everyone we knew about the importance of this election. We did everything we knew to do to make certain that our candidate was elected—and we lost. Yet, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I am aware that I have much for which to be thankful.

First, I am thankful that Christians are beginning to appreciate what a wonderful gift God has given us in allowing us to live in these United States. I remember a time when politics was considered a “dirty business” in which Christians should not involve themselves; as a result, Christians did not discuss politics or political issues. I am grateful that Christians now realize that it is both our privilege and our duty to involve ourselves in the political process and to make certain that men and women of integrity are elected.

Second, I am thankful that God’s ways are higher than our ways. Many of us, including me, prayed the verses from II Chronicles 7:14, If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Most of us, including me, thought that God would allow us to win the election and that things would begin to get better. In light of the events of November 6, however, I now believe that God is doing something far greater than we had envisioned. I am seeing post-election Christians stand up and say, “Enough! We want our country back, and we won’t stop working until we get it!” God does not want to slap a Band-Aid on our land—He wants to heal it.

Third, I am thankful that God is always faithful. He admonished us to humble ourselves, to pray, to seek His face, and to turn from our wicked ways—and we did. We spent hours on our knees praying for ourselves, our neighbors, and our nation, and we can be absolutely certain that He has heard those prayers and that He will keep His promise.

Fourth, I am thankful that other Christians continue to join me in praying for our nation. I pray several times a day that God will heal our land and help this nation become the nation that He created it to be and that He will bless Israel so that they can live in quietness and peace. Twitter and Facebook attest to the many others who are holding this nation up before God in their daily prayers. We are praying for healing and revival that will cover the earth.

Fifth, I am thankful that God has a plan for this nation and His people that is far greater than anything we could ever envision for ourselves.
As we approach Thanksgiving I hope that all of us will remember to thank God not only for what He has already done for us but also for what He is now doing for us and what He will do for us in the days to come.

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.

National Park Service Video Praises Islam’s Contributions to Women’s Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 21:13:00 +0000

Yes, you heard me right: The National Park Service has produced a video, at taxpayer’s expense, praising Islam’s contributions to women’s rights. The video states that Muslim women have enjoyed a whole bunch of rights not held by Western women until the 19th and 20th centuries, BUT Muslim women have enjoyed these rights since the 7th century. That list of rights includes:

The right to be involved in politics
The right to earn and keep their own money
The right to work outside the home
The right to own property
The right to divorce
The right for a woman to choose whom she marries.

Are you jealous yet? Before you rush down to your local mosque and convert, I would like to make you aware of some of the rights of Muslim women that the National Park Service left out.

Last Sunday, I had the privilege of hearing Nonie Darwish speak in person. Darwish is an Egyptian woman who was a Muslim from birth until she was thirty years old. At that time she converted to Christianity, although it meant becoming an outcast to her family and friends. She is the Author of “The Devil we Don’t Know” and the president/founder of Former Muslims United and Arabs for Israel.

Darwish did not mention the National Park Service video, but during her presentation she repeated several times that she could not imagine why any non-Muslim woman would EVER convert to Islam. She talked about the horrors of life as a Muslim woman and provided the audience with a list of some of the Sharia laws that are a major threat to our Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. Darwish’s list included 42 laws, but for this blog I am sharing only those that deal specifically with women’s rights.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am, therefore, listing some of the rights Islam gives to women that the National Park Service forgot to mention. Darwish has noted on this list that these laws are found in the mainstream Islamic Sharia Book “Reliance of the Traveler” which has the stamp of approval by all Muslim religious leaders in the Middle East, including Al Azhar University.

There is no age limit for marriage of girls. The marriage contract can take place any time after birth and be consummated at age 8 or 9.
A husband has the right to beat his wife and does not have to give a reason either to her family or to the police.
Rebelliousness on the part of the wife nullifies the husband’s obligation to support her and gives him permission to beat her to keep her from leaving the home.
Divorce is only in the hands of the husband and is as easy as saying: “I divorce you” and becomes effective even if the husband says he did not intend it. Perhaps, the National Park Service should have listed a woman’s right to divorce as a woman’s right to BE divorced by her husband.
There is no community property between husband and wife and the husband’s property does not automatically go to the wife after his death.
A woman inherits half of what a man inherits.
Parents have the legal right to perform female genital mutilation on daughters (al-Misri, Reliance of the Traveler, Chapter o4.3)
A man has the right to have up to 4 wives and the wife may not divorce him even if he is polygamous.
Marriage is a buyer/seller contract whereby the dowry is given in exchange for the woman’s sexual organs.
A man is allowed to have sex with slave women and women captured in battle, and if the enslaved woman is married, her marriage is annulled.
The testimony of a woman in court carries half the value of that of a man.
To prove rape, a woman must have 4 male witnesses.
A woman loses custody of her children if she remarries.
A rapist may be required to pay only the bride-money (dowry) without marrying the rape victim.
A Muslim woman must cover every inch of her body, which is considered “Awrah,” like a sexual organ. Not all Sharia schools allow the face of a woman to be exposed.
A Muslim man is forgiven if he kills his wife at the time she is caught in the act of adultery. However, the opposite is not true for women since he “could be married to the woman he was caught with”.
There is no retribution for parents or grandparents for slaying their daughters, even though Islam abolished killing infant girls. This is significant in supporting honor killing of daughters.

I would like to know how our federal government justifies spending our money producing pro-Muslim propaganda. I dare say that if a Christian group were to ask the feds to produce a video extolling the benefits of being a Christian woman, the Christians would be turned down flat and probably undergo an extensive IRS audit.

Our government is waging a war against Christians, and it is time for us to stand up and tell our representatives that we have had enough. They are fond of saying that under the Constitution we must have complete separation of church and state. While that is arguable, those are the rules that our government imposes on Christians. We must demand that they make these rules apply equally to all religions.

The Planner, the prequel to The Chosen, is Free on Kindle September 25-28th.

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.

Lost

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 21:47:00 +0000

On November 17, 2006, the Kim family left San Francisco to make a road trip to spend Thanksgiving in Seattle with family and friends. After spending a pleasant holiday weekend with loved ones, the Kims began their trip home. James Kim had his heart set on staying at the Tu Tu Tun Inn at Gold Beach in Oregon. Although it was already late and their two daughters, Penelope, age four years, and Sabine, age seven months, were asleep in the back seat, the Kims decided to make the five-hour drive to Gold Beach. Kati Kim called ahead for reservations.

After a quick meal at Denny’s, the Kims headed down I-5 to Gold Beach, but they soon made a wrong turn. Before long, they realized that they were on the wrong road, but they agreed that they had gone too far to turn back. Kati consulted the map and found what she thought was a short cut to Gold Beach. As a result, the Kims made another wrong turn. Satisfied that they would arrive at Gold Beach in record time, Kati went to sleep, and while she slumbered, James made yet another wrong turn that took them up Bear Camp Road—a road that should have been blocked by a gate to prevent motorists from entering during the fall and winter months.

Kati awoke to find that they were hopelessly lost on a precipitous mountain road that led to nowhere. Snow was falling, and black bear were patrolling the forest. Terrified, James and Kati agreed to spend the night in the clearing where James had parked the car. They tried to call 911 but were unable to find cell phone service in the forest. When daylight arrived, the Kims decided to stay where they were and wait to be rescued. They remained in their car for three days, huddled together for warmth, with the engine idling and the heater running, until they finally ran out of gas. In a desperate attempt to save his family, James then took the tires off their car and burned them in the hopes that someone would see the smoke and rescue them.

On day seven James left the car to try to find help. He began walking down the road on which they had come, but, once again, left the road to take a “short cut” through the woods. On day nine, Kati and the two girls were rescued and taken to the hospital where they recovered. James eventually died of hypothermia, and on day eleven rescuers found his body in Big Windy Creek lying on its back in a foot of icy water.

This horribly tragic story provides a good parallel for what is currently happening in our country. We are headed down a dangerous road, and if we continue on this course, it will soon be too late to turn around. When my children were young, I told them that everyone makes some bad choices, but when we realize that we are on the wrong path we must stop and immediately start making better choices. We may not be able to undo all the damage that has already been done, but, in most cases, if we stop as soon as we know that we are on the wrong road, the damage will be minimal.

I wish that all Americans would hear this message: Stop stressing about the current problems that we face as a nation. Stop saying that we have gone too far for things to get better. Stop predicting that everything will get worse and worse until all hope is gone. We have the power to turn the car around and go back to responsible fiscal policies that will revitalize our economy and allow Americans to go back to work. But if we are not willing to start making better decisions and get involved in our political process and rid both houses of Congress of the legislators who are accelerating the car forward into a wilderness of wrong choices America will not survive.

If James Kim had turned around when he and his wife first realized that they had made a wrong turn, they would have, at worst, lost an hour or so of driving time. By returning to the point where they had gone wrong and getting back on the proper highway, the family would have been spared days of trauma, and James would not have lost his life. As in driving, in political matters it sometimes seems more expedient to continue on a road to nowhere than to turn around. Even when we can no longer delude ourselves that our current road will get us where we want to go, we try to compensate by simply taking another wrong turn. If we take enough wrong turns, it may become impossible to find our way back to the highway.

The choice is ours. We can continue on our current road to disaster, or we can start making better choices. We can find strong Conservative candidates who will stand up to the Washington D.C. elite and refuse to allow more wrong choices; we can start paying attention to the 2014 elections that can enable us to take both houses of Congress; we can get behind the candidates who are willing to turn the car around and hold them accountable for their choices. Get informed. Know your candidates. Make your voice heard. Today is the day to begin. Tomorrow may be too late.

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.

My Take on the Ashton Kutcher Video

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 21:30:00 +0000

On August 13 Ashton Kutcher delivered a speech at the Teen Choice Awards that caused quite a stir among conservatives. From Glenn Beck to Rush Limbaugh to Sean Hannity, everyone was singing the praises of this unlikely hero. I did not watch the awards show, but after seeing the video of the speech posted on virtually every conservative site, I reluctantly played it for myself.

I must admit that I was surprised to hear what Kutcher had to say on the subjects of “opportunity”, “being sexy”, and “living life”. The advice was mature and well-thought-out. If a young person were to take it to heart, he or she might make better decisions that would, ultimately, result in a better life for that individual. I do, however, see a few problems with Kutcher’s speech. The first is that the “Two and a Half Men” star obviously did not write the speech, which was clearly a shout-out for Kutcher’s new movie, “Jobs”, that was released within days of the Teen Choice Awards. Of course, there is nothing wrong with using a speech writer; it would be ridiculous for us to expect a celebrity appearing on a national show to write his own dialogue. It was a very good speech and accomplished exactly what it was intended to do (even including direct references to Steve Jobs), and Kutcher’s delivery was spot on.

Nevertheless, I am amazed that some of the smartest people on the planet are buying into the notion that Ashton Kutcher sent America’s young people a message straight from his heart that lines up perfectly with old-fashioned American values. Kutcher began with opportunity saying, “I believe opportunity looks a lot like hard work.” That statement is well put. In fact, it is such a good comment on opportunity that it has been around in various forms since the early 1900s and is frequently attributed to Thomas Edison who is credited with saying, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Now, I am not suggesting that the comment should not have been included, but I would have liked to see him credit the source.

Kutcher then moved on to “being sexy”. He said, “The sexiest thing in the entire world is being smart and thoughtful and generous. Everything else is crap.” I am certain that parents everywhere leapt to their feet and cheered when they heard this statement, but I had a hard time believing that Kutcher meant a word of it. If he believes what he says, why did he and Demi Moore tweet a photo of themselves in bed together on their fifth wedding anniversary? If “everything else is crap”, why did he appear naked on Ellen DeGeneres’ show on September 11, 2011 to promote his role on “Two and a Half Men?” By Kutcher’s own definition those actions would be nothing more than “crap”.

Finally, Kutcher moved on to “living life”. He said, “When you grow up, [you accept that] the world is the way it is. Your life is to live your life inside the world.” Then he went on to encourage America’s youth to build a life for themselves outside the mainstream instead of simply accepting the life that someone else may think is good enough. Very good; very Steve Jobs.

In a time when we see so many celebrities promoting the most foul behavior, Ashton Kutcher’s speech was a breath of fresh air. I have no doubt that he has applied the virtues of hard work and seizing opportunity to his personal life. I do wish, however, that he would practice what he preaches about “being sexy” and set an example for his young fans with his actions as well as his words.

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.

Why Would Anybody Want to Be an American?

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 20:31:00 +0000

As an American-born citizen whose parents and grandparents were also American-born citizens, I cannot imagine why anybody would NOT want to be an American. I grew up in an era where patriotism was the norm. School children would lock arms and walk around the school grounds chanting, “Hey, hey, get out of our way; we belong to the U.S.A!” Our elementary public school song books included “America the Beautiful”, “My Country Tis of Thee”, and “The National Anthem”, as well as the official songs for each branch of our military. As a third and fourth grader I would feel my chest swell with pride as I, along with my fellow students, sang these songs to the top of my lungs.

We all knew that it was the greatest thing in the world to be an American. As I grew older, I still believed that being born an American is a gift like no other. Often, I would feel an overwhelming sense of awe at having been so privileged. At the same time, however, I understood that while people from other countries might appreciate many things about America, they also had ties to their own countries. Even if they chose to live here, they might want to retain their citizenships from the countries of their births. Yet, there are many who want not only the privileges of living in America but who also want to BE Americans.

In order to gain some insight about why people from other countries want to be Americans, I have turned to those who have recently been awarded the privilege of American citizenship. Here are some of my favorites:

A couple of years ago I heard about an East Indian man who was asked why he had chosen to come to America. He replied, “I wanted to live in a country where the poor people are fat.” I cannot imagine any American-born citizen ever giving this response because it is so removed from our way of thinking. But to him it made perfect sense.

A CNN interview on July 4, 2011, with some American citizens who had been sworn in that same day at ceremonies held in cities all over the United States is especially insightful. I was surprised to discover that an inordinate number of them held doctorate degrees and could have made a good living almost anywhere in the world. They had not chosen America because they were “poor immigrants” who hoped for an opportunity to leave poverty and squalor behind. They had chosen America for reasons far beyond the dream of becoming rich.

One man from Iraq said that after he had been in this country for only a few weeks he saw someone walking his dog. The dog was wearing socks, and the Iraqi asked the dog’s owner why he had put socks on his dog. The owner replied that the sidewalk was hot and the socks would keep the dog’s feet from being uncomfortable. The Iraqi was astonished. He said that he could not imagine living in a country where people wanted even their animals to be comfortable. He finished by saying, “People would rather be a dog in America than a human in Iraq.”

A Nigerian man who has his PhD said that he had wanted to become an American citizen because in his country people do not even have clean water. He said that he wished Americans would travel to other countries and see the way the rest of the world lives so that “we would appreciate what God has given to this country.”

Yes, God has blessed America far beyond anything that anyone could have dreamed of 237 years ago. As a result, we owe Him a great deal. Because we have been given much, much is required of us, and most of the time we have done pretty well as a nation in responding to problems in the rest of the world. We are, by far, the leader in sending missionaries to other parts of the world. We have given trillions of dollars in foreign aid, and we are the first to send relief in times of natural disasters. We are a giving, generous people. Nevertheless, some of our best-known politicians and religious leaders apologize for America. They have proclaimed that we are to blame for most of the world’s ills. Whether it is AIDS in Africa or the consumption of too many natural resources, America is to blame. We are told that we are a greedy, selfish, spoiled, pampered and altogether bad people who owe the world an apology; they then add insult to injury by offering an apology on our behalf.

I, for one, am tired of being vilified by these men who have received so much from what is undeniably the greatest country on earth. God has blessed us, and we, in turn, have blessed others. I hope that anyone who has ever felt guilty because America has so much will remember from whence those blessings came. We must always acknowledge that God is the author of our story, and we must always live our lives to honor Him and to show others the same kindness and generosity that He continues to show us. People who have lived without clean water, sufficient food and a just system of government know exactly why they chose to come to America. You never have to ask the guy who would rather be a dog in this country than a human in the country from which he came, “Why would anyone want to be an American?”

Why I Don’t Advocate a Third Party

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 19:36:00 +0000

We are hearing more and more talk about why conservatives should leave the GOP and form a third party—a Rino –free zone where genuinely conservative policies will dictate the party platform. On the surface this is a very tempting strategy. I, for one, would love to leave the Karl Roves, Jeb Bushes and Chris Christies so far back in the dust that they would become only vague memories. I would love to belong to a party where the likes of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Ken Cuccinelli, Mike Lee and Sarah Palin are making the policies; however, when I look at our current situation through the lens of reality, I must admit that such a party would be doomed before it began.

The United States has always had a two-party system. Of course, we have the occasional professional presidential candidate who, although he has zero chance of winning, runs every four years until he either runs out of other people’s money, becomes so much an object of ridicule that he is no longer taken seriously by anyone, or both. Remember Lyndon LaRouche, Ralph Nader and Ross Perot? While LaRouche was considered a nut job by pretty much everyone until he finally went to prison for charging thousands of unauthorized dollars to donors’ credit cards, Nader and Perot both garnered small followings and might have been able to make serious runs if they had worked to secure the nomination as candidates within one of the major parties.

As we look at the Republican Party of 2013 it is difficult not to be discouraged. When Obama chooses two of our senior senators as his emissaries to Egypt we naturally shake our heads in discouragement knowing that the men who should be leading the conservative charge are too busy making kissy face with a left wing president who is focused on driving the country over a cliff to get this country back on the right track.

So, what do we do? Do we buy into the “lesser of two evils” propaganda and give up our dream of a party led by conservatives? No! We do not. We treat our party the same way we treat our homes.

Imagine that one day a family purchases their “dream house” complete with polished wood floors, gleaming granite countertops, high end kitchen appliances, and spa-like bathrooms that remind them of a five-star hotel. Every day they wake up feeling like the luckiest people in the world as they enjoy the beauty and comforts of their home. But one day some distant cousins come for a “visit” and simply move in. Since they are family, the homeowners tolerate the cousins for several months. Then one day as the homeowners survey their surroundings they realize that the cousins have taken over their beautiful home. Because the cousins do not value the home, it has become dirty. The floors are covered with dusty tracks; the granite countertops are sticky with fingerprints and spilled food; the appliances need a good cleaning, and the luxury bathrooms are covered with soap scum and water spots. At that point the homeowners have two choices: They can settle for living in a house that has fallen into a disgraceful state as they surrender more and more square footage to the cousins, or they can evict the cousins and take back their house.

Our party is like that house; it has everything it needs to be just about perfect. However, we have allowed it to be taken over by those who do not value the Constitution and do not share our belief in limited, conservative government. We have allowed it to become soiled with liberal thinking and liberal policies that have rendered it unfit for our conservative family. In this case, however, we do not have the luxury of even considering living in it as it is. The Rinos have now decided to throw us out of our own house. They want us to walk away and leave our equity in their pockets. They have taken our beautiful house and covered it in filth, and now they want to drive us out into the night with nothing.

If you love the Constitution and value liberty, I hope you will join me and “just say no” to all those who have hijacked our party. It is time to evict them, clean house, and reinstate the Constitutional principles that made this country great. We can do this, but if it is to be done, we must do it now. If we hesitate, we will lose our party, but we will also lose any hope of ever having a voice in our government because the United States will always be a two-party system.

A Few Good Men

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 21:30:00 +0000

In the 1970s a Marine recruiter came up with the slogan that would forever define the U.S. Marine Corps in the minds of all Americans as a fighting unit so elite that they did not accept the unexceptional; they were interested in only “a few good men”. The Marines have the right idea. Battles have never been won by virtue of numbers of boots on the ground. They have been and always will be won by a few good men who are willing to stand their ground and fight for the principles they believe in—even when they stand alone.

Today our nation is embroiled in a battle for freedom on a scale that is unprecedented. Our battle, however, is not fought with guns and tanks; it is a battle of ideas that spring from a deep and abiding belief that ours is a unique country, ordained and blessed by God to stand against the evil forces that would enslave not only Americans but would bring every nation into subjection to a one-world tyrant.

It would appear that everyone would oppose such a plan, but that is not the case. Many people embrace the idea of a New World Order that would take away national sovereignty and abolish those rights specifically stated in the first ten amendments to the Constitution. They believe it would be easier to live with a dictator’s heel on their necks than to take responsibility for their own successes or failures. They would rather exist in a government-issued hovel eating government-issued rations than accept the responsibility for providing for themselves.

Margaret Thatcher said, “First you win the argument; then you win the vote”. We have a vitally important election coming up in 2014 that will impact on the future of our country as few other mid-term elections have. The time has come for those of us who want to remain free to take action and define the Freedom vs. Bondage debate in a way that will send the message to the average American in a clear, concise manner. If we don’t win this argument, we will not win the vote.

Fortunately, we have a few good men in the private sector and in both houses of Congress who are working to define the argument so that we will not only win the argument but we will also win the election. Today I would like to share some information that you may not know about four of these men.

Jim DeMint: After fourteen years in Congress Sen. DeMint (R-SC) resigned to take over as President of The Heritage Foundation. DeMint has spent most of his life building and running his own research and marketing firm. His experience as a market researcher and strong conservative leader led him to write in the Washington Post, “Conservative policies have proved their worth time and time again. If we’re not communicating in a way that makes that clear, we are doing a disservice to our fellow citizens.” DeMint is working to reach all Americans with “bold, positive ideas” that will further American conservative principles.

Ken Cuccinelli: Cuccinelli became Attorney General of Virginia in 2010 after serving in the Virginia Senate and working as a private practice attorney from 2002 until 2010. In his private practice Cuccinelli served as a court-appointed attorney for people with mental illness in Virginia’s involuntary civil commitment process. As a state senator he passed legislation that provided for more humane treatment of the mentally ill. Cuccinelli is a champion for Virginian’s property rights, sponsoring a law and helping to write and pass a constitutional amendment to dramatically curb Virginia’s eminent domain power. This law made it much more difficult for the state to take homes, farms, and small businesses under eminent domain and give them to another private entity for development solely to increase tax revenues, economic development, or private gain. He also brought more transparency and accountability to the citizens of Virginia by writing a law that requires that the state budget and expense details be posted online in a format that is easy to access and easy to understand. Cuccinelli is currently running for Governor of Virginia in a race that will be decided in November.

Ted Cruz: Elected in 2012 as the 34th U.S. Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz’s name has already become a household word. Even though he had never before held elected office, Cruz won decisive victories in both the Republican primary and the general election. According to the Washington Post, it was “the biggest upset of 2012…a true grassroots victory against very long odds.” Before being elected to the Senate Cruz served as the Solicitor General of Texas. He was the nation’s youngest Solicitor General and Texas’ longest serving Solicitor General. He authored more that 80 U.S. Supreme Court briefs and argued 43 oral arguments, including nine before the U.S. Supreme Court. His landmark national victories include successfully defending:

U.S. sovereignty against the UN and the World Court in Medellin v. Texas
The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms
The constitutionality of the Texas Ten Commandments monument
The constitutionality of the Texas Sexually Violent Predator Civil Commitment law
The Texas congressional redistricting plan

Rand Paul: In 2010 Dr. Paul was elected U.S. Senator for Kentucky. Paul is an outspoken advocate for constitutional liberties and fiscal responsibility and has worked tirelessly against government overreach. His first legislative proposals included cutting $500 billion in federal spending and a plan for balancing the budget in five years. Paul is also a vocal advocate for term limits, a balanced-budget amendment, a Read the Bills Act, and an audit of the Federal Reserve. In 1995, as a practicing ophthalmologist, Paul founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, which provides eye exams and surgery to needy Kentuckians. As a U.S. Senator, Paul continues to provide free eye surgery to Kentuckians in need of care.

Our list of a few good men includes many others—Justin Amash, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, to name a few, but these few are fighting the many world-wide who advocate the Agenda 21 New World Order that will usher in a one-world government. These men need your help if they are to succeed in protecting our freedoms. If you can do so, please donate to their campaigns—even if they are not from your state. The time has come to cross state lines in supporting conservative candidates who will protect our constitutional rights. After you give, remember to pray. Pray for all those who are working to defend our liberties because few good men supported by millions of prayers can accomplish anything.

Liberty Made in America

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 17:43:00 +0000

Last week I wrote about the Liberty Bell and how different aspects of its history are symbolic of Liberty itself. In that blog I mentioned that the Liberty Bell was cast in England at Whitechapel Foundry near London and delivered to Philadelphia on September 1, 1752, while we were still an English Colony, subject to English rule.

The Bell, which was inscribed with Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof,” was to be installed in the State House (now Independence Hall) Steeple to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of William Penn’s 1701 Charter of Privileges. The first time it was rung, however, a large crack appeared, rendering it unringable. The damage was sufficient so that the Bell was given to John Pass and John Stowe, two Philadelphia foundry workers, to melt it down and recast it. This was absolutely necessary because the Bell that would eventually become a symbol of American Liberty needed to be made in America.

Twenty-four years later we declared our independence from England while engaged in a war that appeared to the world to be both unwise and unwinnable, and the Bell pealed loudly to call the citizenry together for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence. This Bell that had originated in England had proven to be unsuitable for service in America and had been forged anew on American soil so that it could “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” We proclaimed a new kind of Liberty, without a monarchy, with elected officials answerable to the people who elected them. It was not, and is not, a perfect system, but it was and is the best system the world has ever known. It was Liberty made in America for Americans.

Liberty can neither be imported nor exported. We may serve as a model for other countries who want Liberty, but we cannot win their Liberty for them. When we have committed ourselves to bring democracy to other nations, the results have not been good. Usually we have succeeded in helping them exchange one group of despots for another—Cuba, Afghanistan, Iraq.

George W. Bush said that “Liberty is God’s gift to humanity”. While I believe that is true, I also believe that, like God’s other gifts to humanity, people must want Liberty before they can receive it. It is not enough for us to want Liberty for others; they must want it for themselves. We cannot simply go into other countries and dole out Liberty as if it were a giant Care Package. Liberty is fragile. It must be won by those who are willing to pay any price to secure it, and then it must be protected.

Every generation is called on to defend Liberty, and every free nation must value it enough so that they nurture it and protect it and pass it on to the next generation. The Liberty that we enjoy today was bought with a great price, and it has been secured by each generation with American blood and American treasure. Our Liberty was made in America, and the Bell that proclaimed that Liberty on July 8, 1776, was also made in America. Liberty was certainly God’s gift to America, but in order to secure it, Americans had to accept it, proclaim it, and defend it. If the day ever comes when we fail to value and defend it, Liberty will be lost.

Download Joyce Swann's Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother Free on Kindle now through August 6th.

Fractured Liberty

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:35:00 +0000

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.

Read Joyce Swann's Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling Mother Free on Kindle through August 6th.

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

How You Made Your Child Unemployable

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Thu, 18 Jul 2013 21:21:00 +0000

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

The Right Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Fri, 12 Jul 2013 21:54:00 +0000

“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

Why Dumb is the New Smart

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 21:40:00 +0000

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

Pray Without Ceasing for your Children

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Mon, 06 May 2013 16:31:00 +0000

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.

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.

Pray Without Ceasing for the Sick

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:25:00 +0000

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.

Pray Without Ceasing for the Brokenhearted

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:20:00 +0000

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.

Pray Without Ceasing for the Saved

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:16:00 +0000

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.

Pray Without Ceasing for Our Nation

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:13:00 +0000

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.

The Greatest Generation

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 15:58:00 +0000

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

Welcome to Walmart

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:29:00 +0000

As our nation’s debt nears the 17 trillion dollar mark, I have begun working on a plan to get the spending under control and restore prosperity using a common-sense approach to government. As a wife and the mother of ten children I know that when one is faced with the necessity of reigning in the spending, there is no better place to begin than at Walmart. The following are some of my recommendations for the federal government to follow to reign in their own spending. The list is not exhaustive, but I think it is a good start:

First, we should adopt the Walmart approach when making all federal government purchases. The federal government will set a price based on the fair market value that they will pay for each item, whether it is a transport plane or a paper clip. They will then publish that price and allow suppliers to apply to supply that particular item at the listed price. Suppliers will be chosen according to their ability to fulfill orders quickly and efficiently. Quality control checks will quickly detect substandard materials, and any supplier who does not meet the criteria of timeliness and quality will lose its contract effective immediately.

Next, all TSA employees will be replaced by senior citizens who will be trained by Walmart to function very much like Walmart greeters. This will save the taxpayers billions of dollars because we seniors will be willing to wear our own dockers, polo shirts, and tennis shoes that we purchase ourselves out of the money in our own bank accounts. The only “uniform” we will require will be the familiar Walmart vest with the word “Walmart” removed and the initials “TSA” added.

An additional benefit to having Walmart greeters staff the TSA is that we seniors have enough life experience to know that while the 92 year old woman in the wheelchair is almost certainly wearing Depends, she is not wearing a suicide bomber’s vest. We will, therefore, simply smile and allow her to pass without harassing her.

We also have the benefit of having been raised in a kinder gentler world where it is considered rude and unacceptable to grope a stranger’s body parts while he or she is attempting to pass from the metal detector to the boarding gate. No more stuffing of hands under the clothing of housewives while lines of would-be passengers look on to make certain that the wire the metal detector picked up really is the underwire in her bra.

My plan will also require that Sam’s Club, the big box store set up to allow small business owners to purchase various items at discounted prices, participate. Because I have lived on the Mexican border for virtually all of my adult life, I am well acquainted with the mindless inefficiency of the federal government in supplying work visas, student visas, and all sorts of other permissions that allow immigrants to be in this country legally. We who live in border towns are well aware of the dilemma of the Mexican people who are in this country legally but have never been issued a laminated card proving their legal status. Instead, they carry with them—sometimes for ten years or more—a grimy, frayed paper issued by our government that verifies their legal status while they wait to receive the much coveted laminated card.

As a long-time member of Sam’s Club, I can attest that when one applies for membership at Sam’s, they are able to complete your application, establish your eligibility, and issue a laminated card with your picture and membership number within minutes. I, therefore, strongly urge the feds to turn over all aspects of issuing these visas to Sam’s Club.

An added benefit of having Sam’s Club oversee this function is that they never lose track of their members. They send emails and hard copy catalogs to their members on a regular basis. They always know whether a membership is current, and whenever a member whose membership is coming up for renewal is shopping in a Sam’s Club, that information appears on the screen of the cash register the moment the card is swiped. The clerk then offers to renew that membership on the spot. A club that efficient will not experience the problem the federal government seems to have in keeping up with those who enter the country on visas and then simply “disappear” never to be found again.

Finally, I propose that we set up Bentonville, Arkansas, as our provisional capital. (Please note that the definition of a provisional capital is, “a town or city chosen as an interim base of operations due to some difficulty in retaining or establishing control of a different metropolitan area.) Since all training for all federal positions will, of necessity, be done at the Walmart headquarters, this only makes sense. Both houses of Congress will need to move their offices to Bentonville as well. In this environment they can be expected to make better decisions and to get their heads on straight.

In Bentonville the lavish and costly lifestyles of our elected officials, which we taxpayers are currently funding, will be replaced by activities such as clog dancing, AKA Irish step dancing, quilting, and fiddle playing. A special dinner out will consist of a bucket of KFC eaten at a picnic table in a local park. We can only hope that this will help them better connect with their constituents.

Washington will remain the "permanent capital" of the United States. This will allow tourists to go to the city to tour the White House and the various monuments and museums. While other elected officials will govern from Bentonville, the president will continue to live in the White House in D.C. He will be “under White House arrest” so to speak. He will not be allowed to leave the city limits unless he is on official federal government business, such as inspecting damage done by a natural disaster or traveling abroad on official business. No more golfing, shooting hoops, languishing on the beach, or stuffing his face with lobster at Martha’s Vineyard on the taxpayer’s dime. These rules will apply to all future presidents as well.

I believe that it is time to send a message to all our elected officials, and that message is, “Welcome to Walmart!”

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

YOU CAN’T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:54:00 +0000

I believe in the power of prayer. I believe it enough to spend a significant amount of time each day praying for various people I have never met, various people I have met, family members, political situations, etc. I believe that our futures depend on our willingness to seek God with all our hearts and to come before Him daily with our petitions.

To make my life more efficient I have organized my prayers into categories and set aside a special time for each category. For instance, while I drive to work each morning I pray for my family members. It is about a twenty-five minute commute, and I make it alone with no radio or music to distract me. I pray aloud—I am sure that the people in the other cars think that I am talking to myself, but I pay them no attention. I am completely focused on praying for each child by name and each in-law by name. I then pray for each grandchild by name. With a family as large as mine, that takes some time.

Each day I also pray for our nation. I pray for men and women of God to be elected to office, and I pray that they will be strong and do exactly what God put them there to do. I pray for Jim DeMint, the Senator from South Carolina who recently resigned his office in order to take over the presidency of the Heritage Foundation in April of this year. I pray that God will show him exactly what to do and how to do it. I pray that he will be bold and uncompromising.

In addition to praying for our nation’s political situation, I also pray for revival. At first I believed that it would be better to separate these two prayer categories so that I could pray for the political situation at one time of day and pray for revival at another. However, when attempting this I discovered that it is not possible to separate the two. As I have spent more and more time in prayer, I have become more and more convinced that without revival we can never improve our political situation.

As the result of hours of prayer for our nation, I have come to believe that none of the problems we face will ever be solved unless we become a nation of prayer warriors. A better economy, more jobs, lower gas prices, and safer schools are not going to exist unless we as a nation turn to Jesus Christ. And, the truth is, even if it were possible to bring about these changes without revival, we would simply be exchanging one godless system for another.

People frequently tell me that things are worse now than they have ever been in this country. They allege that we are more promiscuous, more drugged, more liberal and less patriotic than at any other time in history. I know that this is not true because I lived through the sixties. In fact, in August of 1969 when the three days of debauchery known as Woodstock occurred, I had just turned twenty-four. I was exactly the right age to buy into the notion that Woodstock was “three days of peace and music” but I didn’t. In spite of the endorsements of the most respected educators and medical professionals, I also didn’t buy into the propaganda that marijuana and LSD were “good” for you and would help you discover your inner self and find God. Likewise, I rejected the slogan of the day that proclaimed “God is Dead!” and I never thought for one minute that Jesus was actually a homosexual hippie who hung out with his posse and just wanted everyone to be free to live however they chose.

But something else happened in 1969 that changed this nation and the world. Revival broke out and burned across this country like a raging fire. Pictures of long-haired boys and girls wearing the unmistakable hippie fashions of the day, holding their hands above their heads and praising God began to pop up everywhere. These godless, misguided young people who had spent months—and sometimes years—taking drugs and having sex with whoever happened along suddenly began to find Jesus. Of course, not all of them stayed with their new-found faith, but many did. Those former hippies now make up a very large segment of Christians in America. They are now sixty something, but they still serve Jesus, and they know that the Gospel is true because they have experienced Grace and have known the presence of Jesus Christ in their lives.

If we had not had revival in the late sixties and early seventies, I do not believe that we would have survived as a nation. We were poised to fall when God sent His Holy Spirit to burn across this land and bring that generation of young people to His saving Grace. I have seen this with my own eyes, and I know that it is true.

If we are to survive the current attack on our liberty, we must turn from our sins and come to Him who alone can save us. We must have revival because you just can’t separate the two.

When you pray for your nation, remember to pray for revival. We cannot have just government unless we have godly men and women making the policies. Likewise, we will not elect godly men and women to public office unless we have a godly electorate. If you want to see this nation become that shining city on the hill, pray for it every day, and when you pray, remember to pray for revival.

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.

Paid in Advance

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:59:00 +0000

Although she has received many invitations from both of us, my ninety-one-year-old mother refuses to live near either my sister or me. She is devoted to the tiny Kansas town where she was born and stubbornly refuses to leave. Just before Thanksgiving this year it became necessary for her and my step-father to go into an assisted living facility; I foolishly thought that faced with that prospect she would agree for them to join me in El Paso, but, once again, she refused.

Fortunately, I have two very thoughtful and kind female cousins who visit her regularly and take her places. Recently, Mother told me that she did not know how she would ever be able to repay them for their kindness to her. She said that she had “thought and thought” but she could think of no way to repay them.

Finally, I said, “Mother, you can never repay them because life doesn’t work that way. When people are kind to us, we can never return that kindness in equal measure.” I then reminded her that when her mother was in her nineties, she visited her every day and made certain that all her needs were met.

“When Bonnie and Rene are your age,” I continued, “perhaps someone will visit them and do for them what they have done for you. That’s the only way they can ever be reimbursed for their kindness to you.”

In life we cannot pay it back, and we cannot pay it forward. We pay in advance, or we do not pay at all. This is my New Year’s message for 2013: When you are thinking about your New Year’s resolutions, why not forget about the promise to go on a diet or go to the gym? Those are good goals, but we all know that those kinds of resolutions are normally short-lived. Why not resolve to treat those God puts in your path with genuine Christian love? They will never be able to pay you back, and most of them will never be able to pay it forward, but in meeting some of their needs you will be storing up a little treasure in heaven.

Perhaps one day when you need it most, God will send someone your way who will show you true Christian love, but even if that day never comes, you will be richer for having invested your time in someone who needs to be reminded that they are precious to God and precious to you.

Read Joyce's incredible new novel about the power of prayer and God's desire to redeem every life FREE on Kindle January 4th through January 9th. Download here.

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.

This is the Story of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 21:35:00 +0000

When I was a child, all television programs were in black and white and there were only three networks—ABC, NBC, and CBS. While this arrangement did not make for particularly exciting television viewing, it made for simple television viewing. Saturday nights gave viewers a choice of watching either Lawrence Welk or Gunsmoke, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons were devoted to televised sports on all three networks.

Holidays were devoted to the airing of the same shows every year that had been made to celebrate the particular holiday at hand. When I was very young—five or six years old—Christmas programming consisted of a number of re-enactments of the birth of Christ played back to back. Every year it was the same thirty-minute programs so that even as a child I was able to recognize the various productions from year to year.

Each of these programs consisted of a badly scripted and equally badly acted retelling of Mary and Joseph finding shelter in the stable and the wise men and shepherds paying tribute to the newborn king. However, none of them attempted to tell the viewer why this message is important to modern day humans or how it impacts on our lives.

Apparently, not much has changed. This year churches everywhere will hold Christmas pageants in which children will play the parts, and the retelling of the events chronicled in the Bible will be faithfully retold. All Christians love the story, and we will be glad to be reminded of how God sent Jesus to be born in the most humble of circumstances to live among us.

I wonder, however, what impact these pageants would have on those who have never heard the Gospel. Would they leave knowing why this message is important and how it impacts on their lives? My guess is that as beautiful as the story of the birth of Christ is, those who do not know Jesus would not understand that to appreciate what happened at the birth of Jesus we must understand why He came in the first place.

Therefore, I submit to anyone reading this who may not understand the why and how of the birth of Christ, this is the story of Christmas: God sent His son to earth to live among us so that we could know Him and love Him and accept Him as our Savior. If anyone comes to Jesus, He forgives him of his sins and gives him an abundant life here on earth and eternal life with God in Heaven. The Christmas spirit is the Holy Spirit who dwells in all who belong to Jesus, and He is with us every day.

This year as we share the story of Christ’s birth with our children, I hope that we will remember to tell them why He came and how His coming is relevant to our lives.

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.

noreply@blogger.com (Joyce Swann) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:35:00 +0000

In Next, the 2007 movie starring Nicolas Cage and Jessica Biel, Cage plays a small-time Las Vegas magician whose ability to see two minutes into the future with absolute clarity, has enabled him to have a somewhat successful magic act and to supplement his income by using his psychic ability to win at the gambling tables.

When an FBI agent, played by Julianne Moore, becomes convinced that Cage actually can see into the future and that his act is not an “act” at all, the agency kidnaps him in order to force him to work with them to stop a group of terrorists from detonating a nuclear weapon on American soil.

Fortunately for Cage, while lying in bed one morning, he foresees these events and begins to mentally work out the various outcomes of a number of different actions that he might take. To his dismay he realizes that whatever option he selects, the outcome is the same—he is unable to prevent the bomb from being detonated, and his one true love, played by Jessica Biel, is killed in the explosion.

Cage finally realizes that the only way to save Biel is to leave her before the FBI takes him and tell her that he will meet her in a few weeks at a location known only to the two of them. Thus, he is able to save both his country and his true love from being blown to smithereens.

I saw Next in the movie theatre when it was released, and a couple of weeks ago, when I was channel surfing, it was again brought to my attention. As absurd as the premise is, I could not help thinking that we Americans now find ourselves in a very similar situation. As a nation we have made a series of bad choices that will result in disaster unless we can find a way to change our direction entirely. On the other hand, if we continue on our present path, no matter how hard we try to tweak the outcome, disaster is imminent.

Sadly, this country has embraced a godless, sinful world view that can end only in disaster. Whether we are governed by liberals or conservatives, unless those governing are men and women of God, they will make poor choices that will continue to break down the very fabric of our society. I am, therefore, petitioning each of you to join me in praying for revival for our nation and for the world.

I have been praying for revival since 1995, and during this time I have become focused on some specifics that I believe are key to a successful revival. Here are some of those points:

Pray for what you want God to do. Do not limit your prayers because you think your requests are too big.
Pray for world-wide revival. It is not enough to have revival in our own city or our own state or even our own country. The world needs Jesus, and we need to pray for world-wide revival. As I pray, I ask Jesus to bring revival “to the United States, to all of North America, to all of Central and South America, to Europe, to Asia, to Africa, to Australia, to Antarctica, to the Arctic Circle, and to every island nation.” I pray that “there will not be even one square centimeter of land on earth where the Holy Spirit does not fall.
I pray that this will be the greatest revival that the world has seen, thus far, and that billions of people will be saved.
I pray that those who sit in darkness will see a great light.
I pray that Islam will be pushed back for one-thousand years. When I first found myself praying this particular part, I felt intimidated, but then I realized that through Charles Martel prior to 800 A.D. and the Crusades a couple of hundred years later, that is exactly what happened. Why should we not expect it to be pushed back again?
I pray that we will see great revival in the Middle East where Christians are persecuted and killed for their faith. I pray that those people will be set free to preach the gospel and witness and worship openly.
I pray for revival in Israel. I pray that the Jewish nation will find Jesus and that millions of Jews will be saved.
Finally, I pray that God will allow me and my family to have our full part in bringing about this revival. I pray that we will be obedient to all that He has for us to do, and that we will bring many people to Jesus Christ.

Like the Nicolas Cage character, I have looked at the direction this nation is headed from every angle, and I am convinced that if we do not change paths, nothing is going to save us. A return to genuine Christian principles based on a relationship with Jesus Christ is our only hope. That return to Christ will happen only through genuine revival.

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.