by Christi Roselle | Jun 30, 2016
Playboy recently released its “Freedom Issue,” a whole volume of essays, interviews and articles written with the purpose to discuss the current state of freedom in the United States.
Chelsea Handler, a comedienne with a B list Hollywood rating at best, contributed to the “Freedom Essays” portion of this publication with a piece titled “My Choice,” in which she discusses the topic of abortion.
What does she consider her choice to be? The choice to have two abortions within a year at the age of 16.
She claims she was a troubled youth with a hard family life. She admits the abortion wasn’t her idea but praises her parents for taking her and for “finally acting like parents” – as if taking your child to kill her own is a gallant and honorable act.
Chelsea later excuses her actions by proclaiming she would have become a bad parent. I assume this is an attempt to lead us in thinking hers was a merciful act.
After she confesses her personal tale, she proceeds to rant against Christians and efforts to repeal Roe v Wade, as if this would set America back. This woman actually thinks abortion rights protect women. She poorly tries to claim repealing Roe v Wade is akin to repealing the right to vote. The most ridiculous attempt at supporting the right to abortion is her comment, “If there is a God, I highly doubt he wants everybody to go through with their pregnancies.”
She wraps up this horrifically silly pursuit to tackle the serious topic of abortion by the trite assertion of “I’d love for someone to tell me what to do with my body. I dare you.”
The fact that the continued fallacy of claiming abortion involves the right of a woman to control her own body is still propelled shows how little abortion supporters truly understand what abortion entails physically. It is insulting to women to claim a woman cannot have control over her own body unless she has the right to kill her unborn child. What abortion supporters lack the most is facts.
And what we have lacked the most as Christians is to not let more pregnant 16-year-old girls know there are other options besides a life of parenthood or abortion. We cannot keep the celeb du jours from being ignorant mouth pieces for the pro-abortion lobby.
What we can do, though, is take proactive actions within our community to promote life. Support a crisis pregnancy center. Teach kids that abstinence is the only true birth control. We need to be supportive of families that are willing to foster or adopt babies by having more Christian programs willing to facilitate this process.
Let’s show pro-abortion supporters, like Chelsea Handler, that between the debate of freedoms for “right to abortion” and “right to life,” only one is an inalienable right.
by Christi Roselle | Jun 9, 2016
My oldest daughter recently became a high school senior. Life suddenly has become more real and definite.
When we were younger and new parents, like most during that time, my husband and I were broke. We lived paycheck to paycheck, struggling to provide for our children while still giving our little ones a stable home.
The days flew by, as he worked and I stayed home to raise the kids. I became active at the church. So active, in fact, I was there almost every single day between teaching in our weekday program, taking Bible study classes, in addition to all the other programs a large church offers for young families.
The years flew by. We opened our business, a 24-hour emergency service. My husband worked more. We bought a house. We had another child. I went to work for a hospital for a couple of years, became less active at church. Left to go back home full time, became active at the girls’ school. My husband worked more. We had our last child. Bought another house. And suddenly, eighteen years had passed by since we began our family. What happened? We had merely blinked.
In the midst of life, life happened. And I feel like we missed it. We missed the Kodak moments. We missed the Hallmark commercial greetings. We missed the French connections. Okay. That last one was a stretch. But you get the picture. The perfect life was lost while living it.
And now. We only have one more year as a complete family before our daughter will be gone. As I was prematurely mourning this natural process of time, it dawned on me. I am constantly looking to the future while struggling through the present.
I wake up every morning and wonder what it has in store for me, while going through my checklist of “must dos”. That checklist rarely includes the Kodak moments. The Hallmark commercial greetings are usually quick salutations between the chores of whatever holiday is occurring. And the French connections…..well. We did host a French foreign exchange student last year, so I suppose we met that one.
The point is I hadn’t created the “perfect memories” for my family. I felt as if I have failed as a mother. We only have this brief time on earth, and I’ve wasted it for my children. There is no legacy that has been bestowed.
I asked the girls what were their favorite memories as a family. Road trips was the number-one answer. They varied after that. One enjoyed our thunderstorm parties, which consisted of nights on Mom and Dad’s floor in sleeping bags watching movies.
My 12-year-old said she liked when we go swimming together. Our second born, who is extremely precocious, mentioned our unity as a family in disliking her older sister’s former beau. That last one took me by surprise and was a bit disturbing, but hey, a family that spurns together, stays together, right?
As in all times when seeking sage wisdom, I went to the Bible. The Bible is full of stories about families. Interestingly enough, very few of them involve family vacays. Very few of them involve reflection of childhood memories. God is not interested in us creating Kodak moments for our children. The Lord desires for us to be good to our children and to raise them up in His ways.
Do Hallmark commercial greetings reflect the God’s glory? And upon further review, The French Connection was actually a movie about drug smuggling.
Our Christian legacy we leave our children isn’t built upon the commercialized view of the “perfect life”. Our Christian legacy is in how we behaved when life happened. It is in how they see us handle crises.
How we handle joy. Our work ethic. Our leaning on Him for all things. Our ability to admit when we are wrong. Our love for them and our love for Him. Our Christian legacy to our children isn’t about a perfect life. It’s about a Godly life.
Life is definite. Life is real. But life is not idyllic. Every moment shouldn’t be frame-worthy for our progeny. In the end, what our children really need is Godly parents.
All the rest is simply….of this earth.
by Christi Roselle | May 5, 2016
Dear Loving Family,
Mother’s Day this year comes at a hard economic time for our state. I would like to make a few inexpensive gift suggestions that would be perfect:
- If you see something empty, whether it be in the refrigerator or in the shower. Please throw it away. It would be greatly helpful for me to know what our family’s shopping needs are.
- A flushed toilet is so much more pleasant to see when one is in need of it.
- Speaking of which, when the toilet paper runs out, nothing would please me more to have the person who uses the last of the roll replace it with a new one.
- When towels are in need, use only one and hang it up immediately after. If the grime isn’t too much, it may be used again tomorrow, and less laundry means a happier earth.
- You may notice the dishes piled up in the sink? If you see this, it would be so helpful to do a load for dear old Mom. My chauffeur duties may have kept me from being able to keep up. If you are unable to because there is already a load in, would you be ever so kind as to unload it for me? That would be a treat that would make my heart soar.
- Trash is picked up every Monday morning. We do not need to only take it out Sunday night. I would be humbled to have you help take it out on a daily basis. That includes the cat litter.
- When going in and out of the house, please wipe your shoes or better yet, remove them. The floors (and my smile) will shine like never before.
- Note specific to dog: You are the only male dog in this house. Please give me one day free of marking your territory. It’s yours. We know.
- If I happen to hand you your folded laundry and ask you to walk from the laundry room to your room and put it up, please don’t throw it down somewhere in between. You would give me joy to place it directly in your designated drawers, and you would be amazed that you actually do have clothes.
- When we go to church, it would thrill me to have each of you dressed appropriately to worship our Lord. This means no jeans, t-shirts, or ratty tennis shoes. No, we shouldn’t be judged upon our looks, but humor your mother by allowing her the delusion that her kids can clean up nice every now and then.
- Anything homemade will definitely bring tears of happiness to my eyes. If you need to use my scissors, they belong in the bin in the kitchen.
- Last but not least, being your Mother is the most amazing gift I have ever received. Each of you are a blessing from God. But remember: “Cursed is anyone who dishonors their…..mother” (Deuteronomy 27:16).
by Christi Roselle | Mar 3, 2016
We are failing our kids in education.
Sex education, that is. The common curricula cover sexuality, sexually-transmitted diseases, abstinence, abortion, birth control methods, physiological/biological changes of human sexual development, and there is now a push for alternate sexual preferences to be taught as a part of sex education. But do we teach them why humans have sexual intercourse? What is the ultimate purpose of procreation?
Life.
Procreation was the process God gave us to continue our species by creating new life. That is the primary purpose of that human act. As soon as a sperm fertilizes an ovum, a new human life begins. One that is completely unique. Yet, the secular world balks at the phrase “life begins at conception.”
For years, the pro-abortion lobby has fought to remove all terms of humanity or life regarding a preborn baby. There is no scientifically-based reason to deny the term. It is scientifically correct. Life, in fact, begins at conception. For humans, for animals. Even for plants. At least those which reproduce sexually.
I am amazed, though, how many people, adults even, fail to be educated on this basic knowledge. In different discussions I have joined on the topic of abortion, I have heard many “scientific points” attempted to be made to excuse why abortion is okay. The number one attempt is “a fetus is not a human being.” The second is “a fetus is a parasite.” The third is “it is only a clump of cells.” How can we convince people that life begins at conception when so many do not even understand basic biology?
If you are unsure of why these “scientific points” are incorrect, let me speak to you.
“A fetus is not a human being” – A fetus is a human in the stage of human development. He/she was determined to be a human at conception when the sperm enters the ovum and the process of meiosis begins fusion of the genetic structures. This is when the new DNA is determined which creates a new separate human who begins the stages of human development.
“A fetus is a parasite” – A parasite is an organism who feeds on another living species called the “host.” It is to the detriment of the host, most often ending in death. A fetus is a human in the stage of human development. Human development requires a period of time (approx. nine months) in the uterus of a female (the mother), in which the human receives nutrients and protection from his/her mother. Both the fetus and the mother are human. They are the same species. They are both performing their biological purpose in human development. The biological changes a woman goes through during pregnancy allows for her body to tend to her baby’s needs while in utero.
There are some women who have a hard time with pregnancy. Some women do die during childbirth. These sad circumstances are not the normal human developmental process, however, and should not be used as a reasoning for abortion.
Finally, “it is only a clump of cells” – This one is a vague comment. Yes. At every stage of prenatal development, a human is “only a clump of cells.” Humans, in general, are “only a clump of cells.” What is important is what those cells are and what they entail. They begin differentiating into specific tissue cells immediately. Tissue means complexity and purpose. It means metabolic change. It means physiological change. It means Life.
We, as adults, can shed various tissue cells without any harm. We have plenty. Even a fetus can be harmed if he/she loses certain tissue cells. Each cell is THAT important for that human in that stage of development to exist.
I was pleased to read recently that the Oklahoma state legislature is considering a bill declaring that our state will place childbirth above abortion and would begin an education program, teaching the public that humanity begins in utero and that life begins at conception. This is a much needed lesson for our society.
But the neatest part of the science of human development is that even before it was fully discovered, the Lord told us.
“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart” (Jer. 1:5).
by Christi Roselle | Feb 3, 2016
I am going to admit it. I am a Martha. I tend to make myself busy in any situation. I find tasks for distraction during crises. I volunteer to be a worker for most gatherings or events to avoid the socially awkwardness I never quite grew out of from middle school. When given tasks, I want to complete them as soon as possible and move on the next one. But in the past few years, since my last child was born, I have somewhat stepped back from all of this “doing.”
Almost all of my responsibilities solely revolve around my household. I am a stay-at-home mom of four. We run our business out of our home, so my work is at our home computer in our home office. I help with a Marine Reunion group that is national, so all of that work is out of our home. Essentially, I have become a homebody. I have a newfound empathy for agoraphobics.
Spending so much time behind the same walls constantly has made me acutely aware of some things. The dishes are never done. The laundry is never done. The trash cans are never empty. The house is never completely clean. At least not for more than an hour before it all starts over again.
How can one be task oriented when the tasks never end? Where is the satisfaction of completion? When do we see any finished results that we can sit back and enjoy? This life is like a carnival carousel sans the fanfare of horses, lights, and music.
In the story of the two sisters, Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), Jesus has come to visit their home. Martha has become frustrated with Mary, who had chosen to sit at His feet and listen to what He had to say. When Martha calls to Mary to come help with the preparations and entreats Jesus to intercede on her behalf, Jesus tells Martha “Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.”
When I first heard the parable of Martha and Mary, I felt frustration at Jesus’ response. Why does Jesus seem to praise Mary and admonish Martha? I understood His point that Mary needed Jesus and was doing what she needed. However, Martha was doing the work that needed to be done. The work that made it possible for Mary to sit at the hand of Christ and worship Him. After all, we all know those Marys who “Mary” just a bit too much. Why did Jesus make this all about Mary and not thank Martha for her efforts?
But in my recent revelation about the dishes, I went back and reread the full story in the Bible. I had somehow missed the part where Jesus states “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.”
Jesus wasn’t making His message be about how Mary was the “right” one. He wasn’t admonishing Martha. He was encouraging Martha to step off of the carousel.
We still need to attend to our daily tasks. No, the dishes never will be done. Nonetheless, when we need Jesus, when He is speaking to us, the only thing we need to do is sit and listen.