What is in Your Heart?
What is in your heart? Let me take a guess. Primary is your love for faith, family, and freedom. It’s what gives you definition and meaning, and it’s what North Dakota Family Alliance fights for on your behalf every day of the year. You’re aware of all the work that was accomplished in past legislative sessions and the many wins God bestowed upon all of us. I’m here to tell you that those are wins for faith, family, and freedom.
I’m sure you’ve heard the adage attributed to Pastor Billy Graham, “Give me five minutes with a person's checkbook, and I will tell you where their heart is.” If what truly matters most to you is faith, family, and freedom, you should support organizations that represent those values. North Dakota Family Alliance does just that.
You always have the opportunity to help underwrite our work by going to our website and donating, but Giving Hearts Day is almost here and represents a unique opportunity to financially support our organization. As the name implies, it’s all about giving from the heart. This year, Giving Hearts Day is this Thursday, Feb. 10, and I’m happy to report that North Dakota Family Alliance will be a full participant.
One reason many people give on this day is that donations are matched dollar-for-dollar, and the good news is that we have once again raised matching dollars, thanks to generous donations by ministry partners. As a result, all gifts over $10 will be DOUBLED, up to our match threshold.
It’s very easy to give to NDFA on Thursday: just click this link and you’ll go right to our donation page. It’s that simple. Giving Hearts Day only lasts for 24 hours, from 12:00 am through midnight on February 10, but did you know that you can also schedule gifts to NDFA ahead of time! You can click right now and donate, and then on Feb 10, the gift is transferred to us at NDFA! And no worries, the match will still apply to all these scheduled gifts as well.
We’re very excited to be participating in Giving Hearts Day. When your heart is filled with love of faith, family, and freedom and you give accordingly, you are making a difference. Giving to our organization will allow us to continue to stand with you and help advance these values here in North Dakota.
Thank you in advance for your participation. Together, we can make a difference!
Courage
Twice this past week I’ve been presented with the subject of courage. In one case it was a video about courage to stand up against government overreach; in the other it was a brief conversation about the courage to proclaim that we must build our lives on the foundation of Christ, despite what society wants. Both types of courage are fundamental to who we are as Christians and citizens. At this point you’re probably thinking, “OK, so courage is good. No argument there”. However, not all courage is created equal, and I want to talk about a type of courage that is exceedingly difficult: courage to stand against society.
As humans in a fallen world, our natural tendency is to move in the direction that society moves. We are all products of our culture and generation and clearly identify with certain aspects of society. We may be eying the next new car that rolls off the assembly line, which is a product of our collective societal desires. Perhaps we buy a new pair of jeans because they are more in fashion. Or maybe we listen to a certain song because it hit the top 20 list this week. None of these societal things are necessarily bad, but it suddenly changes when society opposes your deeply held beliefs.
As Christians, we are both in society and not part of it at the same time – a dichotomy that is often hard to reconcile. This means that we need to be able to function in society to influence it for Christ, and to a certain extent, allow some latitude if we find ourselves influenced by it, provided our values stay intact.
We may declare that we will have the courage to stand fast when our values are threatened, but will we? More importantly, will we even recognize the assault on our values for what it is? And where is that line in the sand we will defend at all costs?
If something directly challenges our values, it’s easy to identify and gives us a chance to exercise that courage. That’s still no guarantee of how courageous we will be. We all like to think of ourselves as a Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Christian in the Colosseum, or Daniel in the lion’s den, but most of us will never have to make those kinds of choices.
However, society can be a sly and dangerous thing, and often does not come at us with a full-frontal assault. Instead, it validates choices that conform to its values. It asks you to give a little on one of your values here, and then a little there. No big deal. But be careful, it knows how to wield a stick as deftly as it does a carrot. “Conform or be cast out”, as the song goes.
There are immense pressures on Christians these days through the media, entertainment industry, and perhaps most of all through our federal government. I do not overstate the situation to say that they seek to break down your faith, your values, and the foundation of this country.
Do we have the courage to stand against the tide of social relativism, or never kneel to those in charge who want to destroy our values? North Dakota Family Alliance will do everything we can to protect your deeply held beliefs, and we will always try to be courageous, but we can’t do it alone. We ask for your continued prayers, calls to action, and financial support to enable us to courageously fight for your values.
There is a lot on the line, folks, and the other side is not going to give up. Go ahead and buy those new jeans, get in your new car, and play the latest song on the radio. But know this, whether you are driving into the fight or away from it, is what makes all the difference.
Courage, then, is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty. - Samuel Adams
“Gender Affirming” Hormone Treatments for Kids
A recent NBC News article proclaimed Hormone therapy linked to lower suicide risk for trans youths, study finds and it referenced its source as The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ young people. While I can see the benefits of more research on this subject, I was curious about the base study and its implications. Hang on, here we go. Base study
The study was a survey and, in these cases, often the most important thing is to review question design. However, I could not find the full set of 142 questions published anywhere. So, while we have no complete set of questions, for the sake of discussion let’s assume that the survey questions had no inherent bias and were appropriately vetted.
What about the analysis itself? It appeared to be well thought out and methodologically thorough. However, one thing gave me pause. In the Limitations portion of the paper it notes, “causation cannot be inferred due to the study’s cross-sectional design.” It does reference other papers that come up with similar results to bolster its case, but that does not mean they make this study correct. That was concerning.
What else do we know about the study? First, despite a one-sentence disclaimer at the end of the paper and a conflict of interest statement at the beginning, the survey was still obviously conducted for The Trevor Project. I’ll let you make of that what you will.
Second, individuals 13 to 24 years old were surveyed and asked about depression, anxiety and other mental health states. These were young people who wanted to receive hormone treatments and either did or did not receive them. For the group who were denied the treatments, the study suggests they were more depressed.
Think about that for a moment. For those of you who have ever had a teenager in this age range, what happens when they don’t get something they really want like a car for their 16th birthday or a later curfew? They get upset, moody, often angry, and it “negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act” (American Psychiatric Association’s definition of depression). Do you see where I’m going with this?
Third, even if the findings in this study are correct, this type of study does not support giving hormone treatments to kids, and yet that is where we are headed as a nation. The ability for a child or youth to make life-changing decisions is simply not there, given that key decision-making parts of the brain aren’t even fully developed until at least 25 years old. Further, some professional medical organizations identify the onset of puberty as early as 10 years old, which would then imply that using puberty blocking drugs for “transitioning” at this early age is a potential course of action. In fact, there are already cases of children in our country receiving these puberty blocking drugs for transitioning purposes as early as 12 years old.
So, what are the takeaways from all this? Why am I picking on this one study?
As I mentioned, the way the study was conducted had merit, but its self-admitted causation limitation prevents one from drawing reliable conclusions. Therein lies a significant problem. Organizations like The Trevor Project and the media will use it to draw conclusions and bolster arguments for hormone treatment for kids. This is particularly true for The Trevor Project, since it’s their study.
The next thing to emphasize is that a parent has to step in and simply say no to a child who believes they should be another gender, and as a result, wants to make this type of life-altering decision. If that same child reaches adulthood and then decides to take transition-related hormone drugs, that is their choice, but this decision should not be driven by a 12-year-old.
So, here’s the point in all this. Dangers lie ahead if we continue down this path of encouraging and justifying life-altering hormone treatments to kids who may be experiencing depression for a host of reasons other than gender confusion. Further, it behooves us to regularly “look behind the curtain” when the media make huge assertions like this.
We don’t let our young children decide who they might marry, what their vocation will be, what religion they may believe, or where they will live as an adult. We talk with our kids about these ideas and consider all the options, so they can decide when they are an adult. In other words, we parent. No matter the child, it is our responsibility to help them make informed decisions, and that doesn’t mean affirming a life-altering decision by the same child who comes home with string art for your wall.
Inside the First North Dakota Pro-Life Conference
On Tuesday, NDFA had the honor and privilege to host the first ever North Dakota Pro-Life Conference at the Heritage Center in Bismarck. In addition to our organization, we hosted:
North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford
Mario Diaz, Concerned Women for America
Christopher Dodson, North Dakota Catholic Conference
Amber Vibeto, North Dakota Conservative Advocates
McKenzie McCoy, North Dakota Right to Life
State Senator Janne Myrdal
Linda Thorson, Concerned Women for America of North Dakota
Jill Chandler, Grand Forks Women's Pregnancy Center
Jody Clemens, North Dakota Post Abortion Ministries
You can click here to see a copy of yesterday’s program.
There was much discussion around the forthcoming SCOTUS Dobbs opinion and the ramifications for North Dakota and its trigger law(s). However, in addition to this topic, the conference focused on how we as Christians might help mothers considering or having just gone through abortions. It was a heartfelt day with information, insights, and incredible stories of God’s grace and mercy.
I want to thank all the participating organizations and the time and effort they put into making the conference a success. It was a fantastic event, and one that we know will continue to grow year-after-year.
Will You Remember?
Today is Thursday, December 9. If your week has been anything like mine, it has been hectic. There is always more to do, but in the midst of all this, Tuesday passed and commemorated something important. Did you remember?
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese launched a surprise attack and bombed Pearl Harbor. It was the key event that precipitated our country entering WWII. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In the attack, the Japanese air assault destroyed or damaged “nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. More than 2,400 Americans died in the attack, including civilians, and another 1,000 people were wounded”1. It was a profound blow to our country, despite the fact that most of our fleet was not in Pearl Harbor at the time. The iconic quote sometimes attributed to Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve”. He was right.
So why is this important and why do we remember Pearl Harbor on December 7 each year? First, we clearly want to honor and pay respect to the men and women who gave their lives in this event. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. To all of them, we owe a debt we cannot repay.
The second reason to remember Pearl Harbor is simply the preservation of history. The importance of the American people to recall this event is hard to overstate. However, history accounts become distorted over time, or worse, completely forgotten. Indeed, today you can find mainstream media who talk about Pearl Harbor remembrances in disdainful undertones and focus on how it precipitated decades of American revenge on various countries.
Apparently, the concepts of freedom and justice evade them. We must not let Pearl Harbor be the victim of revisionist history or misleading conclusions.
Third, it represents something deeper in our nation’s psyche. We were founded on the concepts of liberty and freedom, and we are committed to protect them at all costs. Pearl Harbor was a challenge to whether freedom and liberty could be preserved in this world. It was a conflict of ideas: tyranny and oppression versus freedom and liberty. We were “all in”.
Finally, it is important to remember Pearl Harbor as Christians. If you look at our logo, you’ll see the words, “Faith, Family, Freedom”. There is a reason for those words, and just as importantly, their order. Faith guides the preservation and thriving of families. Families give rise to communities, communities to societies, societies to governments, and governments to the preservation of freedoms through representation.
The interesting thing about this sequence is that it can be reversed as well. As freedoms are eroded, they have grave consequences for our government, societal bonds and values erode, which negatively affect our families, and ultimately this sequence manifests itself as attacks on our faith. I don’t need to convince you of that reverse sequence, given the past year or two.
I maintain that the freedom we fought for in WWII was fundamentally an existential fight for our faith. This is precisely why we at North Dakota Family Alliance fight for all three. Faith, Family, and Freedom must be preserved if our country is to prosper and remain undergirded by the biblical principles upon which it was founded. They are inextricably linked.
Tuesday may have come and gone for you without a remembrance of Pearl Harbor, and I am certainly not one to cast stones, since I too have sometimes forgotten to commemorate Dec 7. However, I simply ask for this favor: Will you remember Pearl Harbor? Perhaps more importantly, will you remember the flag planted that day which symbolized the defense of faith, family, and freedom? We truly are a sleeping giant, but we can only make a difference if we awaken and stand for what is right.