Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - December 08, 2022


Ep 721 ｜ Covid Jab or Death, Drag Queens or Bust ｜ Guests： Kirk Cameron, Chrissy & Lee Hicks


Episode Stats

Length

39 minutes

Words per Minute

175.38077

Word Count

7,005

Sentence Count

496

Misogynist Sentences

9

Hate Speech Sentences

10


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 A 14-year-old girl in North Carolina is being denied a life-saving kidney transplant at Duke
00:00:06.200 Durham Medical Center because of her parents' refusal to give her the COVID vaccine.
00:00:11.720 Chrissy and Lee Hicks say Dr. Dan Chang and Dr. Eileen Cy Chambers, as well as a committee at
00:00:18.460 the hospital, are telling them that their child must get a vaccine that she does not want or need,
00:00:24.800 or that they will not perform a surgery to save her little life. Chrissy and Lee are Christians.
00:00:33.280 They're an army family. They adopted Yulia and her brother from Ukraine early last year.
00:00:39.280 They love her as their own flesh and blood, and they are begging for help for their daughter.
00:00:46.140 They are with me today to tell their whole story. It is emotional. It is unbelievable. But we have
00:00:53.380 the power right now to raise a respectful ruckus and to rally around them as the body of Christ and
00:00:59.200 help as much as we can. Also, after talking to the Hicks family, we will talk to Kurt Cameron.
00:01:04.820 He is here to discuss getting barred from at least 50 children's libraries for their story hour.
00:01:10.660 They all denied his request to read his new book at a story hour, which is about the fruit of the
00:01:15.660 spirit. And of course, this must be because Kurt Cameron made the mistake of wearing men's clothing
00:01:21.860 while reading rather than putting on makeup and fishnets. We will also discuss his new movie about
00:01:29.060 adoption. So two conversations to do with adoption today, and both conversations in their own different
00:01:35.720 ways remind us that this world is not our home, that the hope that we have does not rest here,
00:01:42.260 and that we have a lot of work to do to shine light in the darkness while we are still on earth.
00:01:50.400 If you love this podcast, please leave us a five-star review wherever you listen. Subscribe on YouTube,
00:01:55.580 like this video if you haven't done that already. Just a reminder, we've got lots of Christmas and
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00:02:13.180 you can click there 20% off using code Allie20. As always, this episode is brought to you by our
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00:02:36.880 Chrissy Lee, thank you so much for joining us. If one of you could tell us a little bit before we
00:02:49.380 even get into the story about your daughter, if you could just tell us a little bit about who you
00:02:54.080 are. Chrissy, you can answer that. Well, my husband's retired military. We've been a military
00:03:00.920 family living all over the country and the world. We have 11 children. Three of them are adopted for
00:03:06.860 eight of them are biological children. And we're a homeschooling family. We're into swimming and
00:03:13.420 football. Yeah. And you have found yourself now embroiled in a new story, a controversy with a
00:03:21.440 hospital, Durham Duke Hospital Medical Center. And it is about your 14-year-old daughter, Yulia. Is that
00:03:29.940 how you pronounce her name? Yes. And she has a genetic kidney disorder. She needs surgery.
00:03:36.860 And the hospital is saying she cannot get this surgery without getting the COVID vaccine. Is that
00:03:42.180 correct, Lee? That is correct. And in fact, the hospital actually plays semantics with us.
00:03:49.160 We probed them on the requirement to have the vaccine shot. They said it's not a requirement. It's
00:03:54.780 actually a recommendation. But if you don't follow their recommendation, then we won't get the
00:03:59.680 kidney transplant. So that makes it a requirement. But they just keep playing semantics with us on that
00:04:06.460 topic. So tell us about what this process has been like. When did you guys find out that she needed a
00:04:13.320 kidney transplant for this disorder? So we got Yulia and her brother, Vanya, in January of 2021. They had
00:04:22.720 been through two other families in America. We had three-hour notice to pick them up from the airport.
00:04:29.620 And we brought them to our house because we knew of them. We knew Yulia had a kidney disorder. But
00:04:35.980 they kind of fell off our radar. We adopted another girl from the Ukraine. That's how we knew who they
00:04:40.900 were. So we took them to Duke immediately because I didn't know how long it had been since she'd been
00:04:46.000 seen. And then we started being seen by Duke in January of 2021. And how quickly did they tell you,
00:04:55.360 all right, she's going to have to have this kidney transplant? We already knew she needed one. What the
00:05:01.700 issue was is dialysis. So she needed to go on dialysis basically immediately. Her kidneys, I think, were at
00:05:07.480 like 13% function or something when we got her. So but they would not do the dialysis port until she had
00:05:15.860 a stable social environment. And so we had kind of felt that God was tugging us anyways to adopt these
00:05:21.840 two children. And so we were able to get the adoption through in 90 days, which is miraculous in
00:05:27.080 and of itself. All right. And so this was beginning towards the middle of 2021, correct? Correct. So her
00:05:36.240 port was actually put in July of 2021. We adopted her in April. She had the surgery to place the port in
00:05:42.100 July of 2021 and then started dialysis at home in August of 2021. So the majority of her care is
00:05:49.100 done at home. I do her treatment at night, every night. And at that point in 2021, when you brought
00:05:56.620 them to Durham Duke Hospital, did they say anything about her or you guys needing a COVID vaccine?
00:06:04.400 At that time, it was not. I don't think they even had it for children yet until maybe March or April
00:06:11.820 of 2021. So as soon as it became available, I was at an appointment and the nurse practitioner said,
00:06:17.900 OK, it's available now. Let's give her the shot. And I said, no, we're not going to take it right now.
00:06:23.080 We don't feel comfortable. And so she said, OK, but you just remember no vaccine, no transplant. And I
00:06:29.320 said, well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Wow. And so through the next 16 months,
00:06:33.420 occasionally they would bring it up to us like, you know, you need to get the vaccine. And I said,
00:06:37.440 well, we'll talk about it when we get to transplant. Right. And so that was the only
00:06:43.420 response. But at that point, I'm sure that you guys were troubled by this, knowing the prospect
00:06:49.940 that, I mean, she would be getting a transplant or needing a transplant sometime soon. And so what were
00:06:56.840 the kind of behind the scenes conversations like, Lee, did you talk about, OK, are we going to have to
00:07:03.400 move or what were you thinking kind of the process would be?
00:07:07.820 No, I thought. So at that point, we were in up until about a few weeks ago, we were hopeful that
00:07:15.140 the doctors would not we would go and do a transplant without it. We understood that there
00:07:20.120 were other patients that had received a kidney without the vaccine, the COVID-19 vaccine. So we
00:07:26.180 were hopeful that the doctors would see would allow us to go ahead and go through the surgery
00:07:33.500 without the vaccine. And it wasn't until just a few weeks ago that when we had our final
00:07:37.960 workup for a unit to get her surgery, that the doctors then at that point in time said,
00:07:46.260 hey, you're going to have to have the vaccine in order to get to hit the kidney.
00:07:50.760 And that was that was a doctor lead. That was the director of the program.
00:07:55.720 And so we talked to her. We also talked to infectious disease doctor, and he said it was
00:07:59.820 not a requirement. It was it was just a recommendation and that he wished he could
00:08:04.200 make a requirement, but it couldn't. And so we were hopeful at that point in time that we would
00:08:08.440 still be able to get the kidney without the vaccine. And what did they say when they're telling
00:08:14.540 you this? And obviously you're saying, no, we're not going to do this. What what did they say to try
00:08:20.220 to persuade you? What did they say their reasoning is why this child needs a vaccine in order to get
00:08:27.740 a life saving surgery? So the other thing I want to just add real quick before I answer that question
00:08:34.460 is that Yulia already had COVID and she recovered from it in I believe it was January of 2022. It was a
00:08:40.880 24 hour. She had a little bit of a cough, sniffles and a fever. She did test positive for COVID,
00:08:48.020 but she got over in 24 hours. She was completely 100 percent. A lot of kids do. Right. Right. And so
00:08:54.620 when they were telling us that we needed to get the vaccine, I said, well, can we test her titers to
00:08:59.380 even see what her natural antibody level is? But of course, we were shut down that they're not going
00:09:05.020 to do that. Dr. Chang said, I don't know if you've heard the call that national file recorded and put
00:09:09.900 out said that it was it's better to have natural immunity with the vaccine immunity, which has been
00:09:17.220 proven false also. But they're trying to tell us that they want to boost her immunity as high as
00:09:21.960 possible before she gets the transplant. But what we've been saying is like, well, before kids could
00:09:27.260 get the vaccine and they got transplants, what did you do if they got COVID? And they said, well,
00:09:32.040 we had treatments. And I'm thinking, why can't we just do the same thing? Like we're choosing to not
00:09:37.320 take this vaccine. If she gets COVID, why can't we still use those same treatments?
00:09:53.320 And so when they are met with a question like that, what is their response just kind of to shut
00:10:01.160 you down? You have to have the vaccine. Yes. So they just repeat the same line. They're not even
00:10:06.040 really trying to reason with you. Did you feel like these doctors, Dr. Dan Chang, he's a pediatric
00:10:12.860 infectious disease specialist. And then Dr. Chambers, did you feel like they were being kind
00:10:18.040 and understanding to your concerns? Or do you, did you feel like they were just dismissive?
00:10:25.000 Very dismissive. Very, I will say draconian about the whole thing. And that's basically what they said.
00:10:30.840 If you're not going to follow our recommendation, uh, then you're not going to get a kidney.
00:10:35.400 In fact, uh, in the appointment with Dr. Chang, I broke down in tears because I said,
00:10:39.780 what you're doing is horrible. You've put us in a terrible position.
00:10:44.800 Yeah. And so in his, the other baffling thing to us is that we have been totally, uh, compliant with
00:10:53.740 what they've asked us to do all the way through this point. So she's been the model patient. She's
00:10:59.120 not had any issues at all. In fact, they always tell us that she has, she is a great patient. She
00:11:04.940 has been doing everything we've asked, they've asked us to do. And she looks great. She looks
00:11:09.380 healthy. She looks, uh, except for her kidneys are failing. And now we're at the point where we need
00:11:14.300 a transplant because her kidneys are failing. And now they're denying the kidney.
00:11:18.280 And Chrissy, I know that it's emotional. I can see you holding back tears and I just
00:11:24.900 want you to know that it's, I mean, it's okay. It's okay to cry. We've got thousands and thousands
00:11:31.200 of moms listening right now who can at least imagine what you are feeling as parents. And can you,
00:11:39.900 I know it might be difficult. I know it's so difficult to talk when you're feeling this much
00:11:43.800 understandable emotion, but can you just tell us both of you, like, what have the feelings
00:11:48.940 been as you have tried to navigate this? And as you are facing a choice between giving her a vaccine
00:11:56.740 that she does not need and this surgery, which is necessary to save her life.
00:12:05.880 It's been stressful. Um, we we've always, it's kind of always been looming. So every time we would go to
00:12:12.080 another appointment, you know, I would really have to steady myself like, okay, it's coming.
00:12:16.280 Just be prepared for them to ask for it again. But after our big meeting where they told us like
00:12:21.280 it was mandatory, I just stopped going to appointments and they sent my husband because
00:12:24.860 the stress level was just too much. Because they would tend to bully Chrissy, uh, to get the vaccine
00:12:31.380 and continue to press and press and press. But when I go, they don't ever, they don't really impress me
00:12:35.600 at all about it. I just tell them, Hey, no, we're not going to do it. And they don't say anything else
00:12:40.140 to me. So yeah, it's just, it's just stressful situation all the way around because here we are,
00:12:46.840 this child has been, has been her and her brother. There's so much lately in the last few years. I
00:12:52.100 mean, we got a family that adopted him in 2018 and that didn't work out after about a year. They
00:12:56.380 sent the boy back to Ukraine, uh, to just go away. And then it sent her to Arizona, to another family
00:13:03.200 to kind of go away. And then that family kept her for about four months and then sent her back
00:13:07.760 after they got her brother back and, uh, after about a month. And then, so then we got, like,
00:13:14.380 so Chrissy said earlier, we got a phone call because I, uh, from someone else from the Dodge
00:13:18.180 station that I met in Ukraine, um, knew we were close to Raleigh and said, Hey, can you go pick
00:13:24.660 these two up? Cause they're going to be arriving in about three hours and no one's going to come to
00:13:28.500 get them except for the police. So sure. We, I said, absolutely. We'll go get them. Um, and so
00:13:34.460 we did, and we were just going to keep it for the weekend, try to figure out what's going
00:13:38.240 to happen. So we rearranged our lives a little bit to kind of help rectify the situation that
00:13:43.380 they were under. And now when we, of course we adopted them, uh, without hesitation really,
00:13:49.380 because we said, Hey, this is what God wants us to do. So we're going to do it. And now we're at
00:13:53.840 this point of getting a kidney where she needs it. And it's doctors are saying no, because you won't
00:13:59.060 get this, this, uh, vaccine, which has been known to hurt children. In fact, I've had some people
00:14:04.920 reach out to either myself or friends that have said, well, my child is being seen at Duke and
00:14:10.040 they haven't told me I need a COVID vaccine. And I said, well, have you been through the
00:14:13.180 committee yet? And they said, no. And I said, well, that's where they'll get you. You have
00:14:16.900 to sit before, not us, but our, her packet will sit before committee. And then they'll decide
00:14:21.800 from the criteria, whether or not she can be activated or the child can be activated onto
00:14:25.780 the, um, kidney transplant list. And that's when we were rejected solely for the COVID vaccine.
00:14:31.300 Okay. So let's see, I have a little bit of this. So October 7th, you had an eight hour
00:14:36.900 appointment at Duke to talk to these doctors. Dr. Eileen Sidechambers, the pediatric kidney
00:14:41.780 specialist was the one pushing the vaccine. Dr. Dan Chang, pediatric infectious disease specialist
00:14:47.140 said he highly recommended it, but that it was not mandatory. Correct. And that families had
00:14:53.080 gotten transplants without it. Um, but when it, so then, but on November 9th, so you were hopeful,
00:14:59.960 but on November 9th, you got an email from Catherine Thomas, a wellness coordinator stating that
00:15:04.060 what vaccines Yulia needed, the first email was what they recommended. Then in a second email,
00:15:09.040 the verbiage changed to what she must have or what was required. Then November 10th, as you were just
00:15:14.700 saying, Chrissy, Yulia was presented to the committee. Her packet was presented to the committee
00:15:19.820 and then denied because of, uh, the lack of the vaccine. So are they essentially saying that it's
00:15:27.900 better for her to die from kidney failure? I mean, I don't want to put words in their mouth,
00:15:34.060 but they're denying us a kidney because we won't get the vaccine. That is supposedly not a requirement,
00:15:38.980 just a recommendation. And HPV. Yeah. They also want her to have the HPV, which we haven't really
00:15:43.960 talked about that one much, but that's completely unnecessary. Totally unnecessary. And also has
00:15:48.660 potential side effects. So for the people who say, well, gosh, why don't you just get it? Obviously
00:15:55.220 it's a matter of life and death for your daughter. Why not just get the vaccine and just comply? What
00:16:01.780 do you say to those people? I can't, I can't in good conscience. No, it's, it's, it's, it's
00:16:09.040 uncomfortable. Actually, the whole thing is just, if we don't have the right to choose what we decide
00:16:15.620 is, is injected into our body, then I think we've lost all of our rights. We're no longer
00:16:21.420 in charge of our own body. Now it's up to the government to decide what, or the medical community,
00:16:25.740 what's, what's going to be injected in our body. We have no choice of it anymore. And said that this,
00:16:31.140 I don't understand. And this is what frustrates me the most. And I don't understand.
00:16:34.180 You know, we looked at it, we said, this is a risk that we're willing to accept. And I even told that
00:16:39.620 to the Dr. Chamberlain, I said, this is a risk we're willing to accept. Why can we not have the,
00:16:44.240 the, the kidney? And she basically said, because we're putting her staff at risk,
00:16:49.520 but I'm not sure how that's possible if they've got the vaccine.
00:16:51.980 And boosted. Exactly. Right. So they're vaccinated, their staff is vaccinated and boosted,
00:16:58.160 but apparently that is not enough because your daughter who has already had COVID might potentially
00:17:05.100 maybe be infected with COVID at the exact same time that she is having her transplant. And then maybe
00:17:12.340 give it to the staff there who not only have been vaccinated and boosted, but are wearing the masks,
00:17:17.740 which we've been told a million times are so protective. They're completely foolproof.
00:17:22.480 So none of that is enough. We have to put your daughter at risk who is already at risk in a lot
00:17:27.440 of ways because of her low kidney function. We have to give her this risky vaccine because
00:17:33.120 all of the adults in the room apparently aren't willing to take the risk of potentially getting a
00:17:39.100 cold. That's what's going on. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And I just, in good conscience,
00:17:44.340 I'm sorry, I broke down earlier. We can't, we can't give her this vaccine. I know
00:17:47.540 that God will make a way for us. There will be someplace else in this country that says,
00:17:51.320 come here, we will give your daughter a vaccine. I mean, give your daughter the transplant and it
00:17:55.620 will be harder on our family. It will be logistically a lot harder, but we're willing to take that,
00:18:00.440 take it on to not be forced to give her a vaccine. Yes. Well, I just have to believe that it is
00:18:07.720 the providence of God that she, that Yulia was passed around, unfortunately just
00:18:14.200 breaks my heart that she was given to one family, sent back, given to another family,
00:18:20.740 sent back. She's given to you all. You all didn't even plan this. God planned it. And he knew that
00:18:27.480 you were the exact parents that were going to protect her, that were going to show her what the
00:18:34.380 gospel is. I mean, we are adopted by God when we did nothing to deserve that. And God keeps us even
00:18:41.020 when it is difficult. He protects us and leads us beside still waters, even when we want to go
00:18:48.860 astray. And in a similar way, you are with your daughter through difficult times to when people are
00:18:55.800 trying to pull her in different directions and give her, and you are trying to give her that which is
00:19:01.340 good. So this is a picture of the gospel. And I have to believe that God is using something so evil
00:19:07.980 for his glory and to show people what the love of Christ looks like through adoption.
00:19:16.060 Amen. Can you tell us? And if you, I hope one day somebody that you all get to meet Yulia,
00:19:22.320 she's the happiest child. Like you would never guess that she's been through what she's been through
00:19:26.440 because she just keeps going with a smile on her face. She doesn't just keep going. She's happy
00:19:32.120 and joyful all the time. Right. Amen. She's an amazing, amazing child. I'm so thankful for that.
00:19:38.660 And I do believe that she is going to have an incredible testimony and that possibly God can
00:19:43.540 use this story to make a change across the country because I'm sure Yulia is not the only one
00:19:48.680 who is facing this kind of ultimatum. So I know people can obviously pray for you. They can try
00:19:55.940 to follow your story. But if you're looking at other hospitals to get this surgery, it's probably
00:20:02.520 going to be expensive. And as you said, it's going to be logistically harder. You guys have 11 children.
00:20:08.420 So tell people how they can support you. I know people are just looking for ways to kind of buoy you
00:20:15.800 during this time. So we had a friend set up a give, send, go for us. It's give, send, go.com
00:20:22.180 backslash kidney for Yulia. It's with a Y Y U L I A. And we were advised to, you know, increase the
00:20:29.420 amount that we're looking for because we do have, we are, we have retained a lawyer. So we're going to
00:20:34.260 have legal expenses on top of all the travel. And we have vowed that whatever money is left over,
00:20:39.140 we will help another family in our same situation. Yes. Well, thank you so much for being willing
00:20:45.360 to tell this story. As you know, it's hard. It's difficult to do. It's very emotional.
00:20:51.340 You're talking about your daughter facing death. And, um, I can't imagine. I just can't. It's a,
00:20:57.740 it's a parent's worst nightmare. And I hope that this wakes people up, but I know that there are
00:21:04.880 going to be millions of people praying for you. Um, thank you so much. We can feel the prayers
00:21:09.740 already. I feel like, um, we just know that there's a way, like it's hard, but we just know that
00:21:14.600 there's a way forward. Yes. And I believe that too. And I'm going to be praying so hard for you
00:21:19.120 all. And I hope that we can stay in touch and I can stay updated on this. Um, thank you guys for
00:21:24.980 taking the time. Thank you so much.
00:21:39.660 Guys, evil is among us. I mean, if we didn't already know that the medical industrial complex
00:21:46.940 and the power that it has, I mean, it would only get worse by the way, with government run healthcare,
00:21:54.820 you think this is bad. It would only get worse with that man. Systemic changes need to be made,
00:22:01.020 but right now we just need to focus on this family. So please try to help them as much as
00:22:05.120 you can. I know that we're going to try to help them as much as we can in my family too. We're
00:22:09.320 talking about a life here and just the emotions that were behind their words, how much they truly
00:22:15.860 love their daughter. It's such, again, just a beautiful picture of how much God loves us and
00:22:22.380 he has adopted us Gentiles. And so it is the perfect depiction of our redemption, um, as Christians as
00:22:29.380 well. And here to talk to us about the beauty of adoption, the importance of adopt, uh, adoption
00:22:36.320 and the redemption that is inherent in that, um, is our friend, Kurt Cameron. We're also going to
00:22:42.340 talk about this story that has blown up over the past couple of days that he was a denied entrance
00:22:49.280 into the story hour. I mean, I guess not entrance, but his request was denied by 50 libraries across
00:22:55.620 the country when he said, Hey, I would like to read my book about love, joy, peace, and patience,
00:23:01.500 you know, things like that. And they said, of course not, you're not a drag queen. So he's
00:23:06.220 going to talk to all of us, uh, about that. He's going to talk about all of that to us today.
00:23:12.240 And so without further ado, here is our friend, Kurt Cameron.
00:23:17.660 Kurt, thanks so much for joining us again. Um, first let's just talk about your movie came out
00:23:23.520 in August life, Mark. What is this movie about? Why'd you make it?
00:23:28.200 Well, thank you again for having me on the program. I'm glad I passed the test the first time
00:23:31.620 and I got, uh, I got another invite. Yeah. It's barely, just barely.
00:23:36.780 Well, thank you. And thanks for highlighting life, Mark. This is a true story. It actually
00:23:42.660 is based on a story of a young 18 year old girl who changed her mind on the abortion table.
00:23:48.740 Uh, she was experiencing, um, that moment of panic, not knowing what to do with this unplanned
00:23:54.860 pregnancy. And so she and her boyfriend, um, did the only thing they thought they could do.
00:23:59.240 They hid the pregnancy. They went to the clinic. She changed her mind. And then she actually gave
00:24:04.600 birth to this baby boy, placed him for adoption, thinking she'd never see him again. 19 years later,
00:24:10.240 she has a chance to reconnect with him. She thinks he probably hates her for abandoning him,
00:24:15.260 but the opposite is true. He gives her this big hug and says, thank you for the loving choice that you
00:24:21.260 made. I love my family. I've got this great life. And, uh, the story just takes off from there. I play
00:24:27.200 the adoptive father in the movie, which is really cool for me being an adoptive dad.
00:24:32.500 And it was in theaters this summer, right after the Supreme court ruling came down,
00:24:39.600 which essentially overturned Roe versus Wade. So what are the chances first that Roe v. Wade gets
00:24:44.860 overturned, but then that a movie comes into the theaters, championing the value of life in the womb
00:24:49.980 and the beauty of adoption. That is really incredible timing that after the Dobbs decision
00:24:55.780 and a lot of people were talking about who were angry about that, well, Christians, um, aren't doing
00:25:01.800 enough. Why aren't all Christians adopting when really there are millions of Christians, not just
00:25:07.700 to adopt, but who are waiting to adopt, who would love to adopt. Yes. Yes. And that's something that I
00:25:14.680 really am excited about life Mark doing is it's, um, recapturing the beauty and the magic of adoption.
00:25:21.480 Many people don't even think of the adoption option in birth mothers often, um, sadly would
00:25:27.040 rather statistically speaking, um, abort their child, then place their child for adoption. They
00:25:32.380 think that adoption is the morally worst choice. It makes them feel like a bad mom. Like I abandoned my
00:25:38.060 baby. But what life Mark does is it shows the beautiful side of what happens. Uh, if you choose
00:25:44.580 life, there are literally lines of adoptive parents who are praying for an opportunity to raise a little
00:25:53.120 boy or a little girl. And, uh, adoption is this loving choice that not only helps a birth mother in a
00:26:02.180 difficult situation, it saves the life of a human being like my four adopted children and my adopted
00:26:08.060 wife. And it answers the prayers of these couples who are longing for children and are not able to
00:26:14.560 have them. So I just am thrilled that life Mark is, uh, now coming out on DVD. Uh, it's streaming on
00:26:22.260 pure flicks and just in time for Christmas. It's a great movie for everybody to watch.
00:26:26.500 And it's such a beautiful depiction of the gospel too. Obviously there are so many physical and
00:26:31.040 tangible benefits to adoption. And then when we think about, well, we have also been adopted,
00:26:37.780 we have also been taken in. We didn't do anything to earn our adoption. There was nothing that we
00:26:42.440 could do, but God, because of his love for us decided to redeem us and adopt us. I mean, I don't
00:26:47.780 know if there's a better earthly picture, maybe besides marriage for what the gospel is.
00:26:54.340 I loved it. It's so great to hear you say that. Um, wow. What more beautiful thing than to be
00:27:01.840 unconditionally loved and chosen by the creator of the universe? Yes. I mean, this speaks of
00:27:08.900 forgiveness. This speaks of reconciliation. This speaks of new beginnings. Yes. And that's what
00:27:14.720 life Mark is modeling as well. You know, Ali, when I think about adoption, it's crazy. You know,
00:27:21.080 sometimes like once something's on your mind, you start to see it everywhere. Like, you know,
00:27:24.920 I'm looking for a red pickup truck and all of a sudden you see hundreds of red pickup trucks on the
00:27:28.840 church. I think of the scriptures and adoption, as you pointed out is so central. It's even central
00:27:35.960 to the Christmas story. Think about a young girl who woke up one morning and found herself with an
00:27:42.480 unplanned pregnancy from Mary's human perspective. And then Joseph full of faith, love for God and for
00:27:51.120 the mother and the child adopts that baby and raises him as his own son. And as a result,
00:27:57.760 salvation, reconciliation, and a new beginning comes to the entire world. Uh, adoption is huge.
00:28:07.640 Yeah. And I'm really hoping that people grasp these themes when they watch the film.
00:28:11.900 Yes. And you know, a lot of people, a lot of Christians, pro-life Christians, after the Dobbs
00:28:16.540 decision came out, were very discouraged by the anger that they saw and some of the misinformation
00:28:23.280 that they saw about pro-life laws and the media coverage and just felt like, oh my, oh my goodness,
00:28:29.680 the darkness is much louder than we thought. And people who are now just even more outright than
00:28:34.520 ever saying that they are pro-abortion, even that they are against adoption. Can you just give
00:28:41.000 Christians some encouragement who just feel kind of the weight of the world, maybe more than ever,
00:28:46.520 now that there is even more vitriol against pro-lifers, um, because of the changes in laws and
00:28:54.420 because of the Dobbs decision, like what kind of encouragement and maybe advice for these pro-life
00:29:00.440 Christians do you have? The encouragement is these are exciting times. We don't have the misfortune of
00:29:09.980 living in boring times. Uh, you know, this is the very wake up call that the family of faith needs
00:29:17.880 that people who love God and love their family and love this country need. We've been asleep for
00:29:23.820 decades, culturally speaking. Sometimes our, our, our mind gets, it wanders off to this land of heaven
00:29:30.740 where everything's going to be okay. And there's no more problems, uh, forgetting that we're here to be
00:29:36.620 conduits that bring heaven to earth. And culturally we need to re-engage. So I see this as the very
00:29:42.820 pressure needed to awaken the heroes of our generation. We speak of them in the past. We
00:29:50.620 tell stories about them. We write songs about them. Uh, and we need them in our generation.
00:29:56.020 So much is at stake. We have so much on the line. We have children, we have grandbabies.
00:30:00.000 And, uh, just like coal requires tremendous amounts of pressure before the diamond is formed.
00:30:09.620 I believe that, uh, people who love God and their family and biblical values and this country
00:30:16.160 are now experiencing the pressure that we can thank God for because it's waking us up and it could be
00:30:23.800 the shining moment that we need. Uh, so I'm hoping that this is culturally transforming stuff, not just
00:30:32.200 for public schools and, uh, you know, government halls, but for the hearts and minds of people to
00:30:41.320 say, we have a rare and precious gift in this nation and we will lose it if we don't engage. So I think
00:30:48.600 God's waking us up. Mm-hmm. And the light shines most brightly in the darkness. And if we look at
00:30:54.240 the history of the church, the history of the church is not smooth sailing. It's not ease. It's
00:30:59.580 not, um, enjoying special privileges and special favor typically from government. It's very often
00:31:07.300 hostility. It's very often being on the margins, going against the grain, pushing back against the
00:31:13.280 powers that be in the cultural zeitgeist of the time. And we are simply today as Christians carrying
00:31:19.740 the torch that Christians have been carrying for thousands of years. Yes, in the advocacy of the
00:31:25.020 most vulnerable, which Christians have always done, but also in standing against the immorality and the
00:31:30.240 darkness of the day and just saying no and looking at the ways that we can put a stop to it. So I know
00:31:37.420 it's easy to think like, oh my gosh, things are worse than they have ever been. I just kind of want to
00:31:42.040 sit on my hands until Jesus comes back or just to pretend like all this darkness isn't there because
00:31:46.840 you know, we're going to heaven one day. And we forget that one of our roles as Christians
00:31:52.400 is to advance God's kingdom here on earth. And God has placed us here, not accidentally or just,
00:31:59.600 you know, arbitrarily, but because he's going to equip us to face the exact obstacles that we are
00:32:06.200 facing today. And he can do that just as much as he has done for the past 2000 years.
00:32:11.220 Oh, so well said, beautifully said. I agree with you. And the truth is, for those who say,
00:32:18.620 oh, you know, the end is near, the end is near, it's getting so bad. It's just getting worse and
00:32:22.660 worse. Well, you know, the truth is, if you were to go back 1000 years, you wouldn't have wanted to
00:32:28.520 live as a Christian back there in Europe, you wouldn't have wanted to go back 1500 years,
00:32:32.760 you know what they were doing to the people of faith back then? They were burning them at stakes,
00:32:36.840 they were sawing them in half, they were feeding them to lions, they were hiding in caves, they were
00:32:40.680 being drowned. All of these things are horrifying to us, but it was normal back then. Things are
00:32:48.480 actually much better now than they were 1000 1500 years ago for people of Christian faith. And that's
00:32:56.800 because the gospel has flourished because God is faithful. Covenant keepers win, covenant breakers lose.
00:33:03.560 Every time, you just have to stick around long enough to see the end of the story. And you can see that
00:33:09.220 with St. Patrick and how he transformed pagan Ireland. You can see that with John Knox in Scotland, Luther
00:33:15.380 in Germany, you can see that with Calvin, you can see that with the Puritans and the pilgrims, and the
00:33:20.700 formation of the greatest, freest nation the world has ever known, built on biblical principles here. So if those
00:33:26.940 people could do that in far darker times than what we're experiencing in America today, why can't we
00:33:34.660 see a great revival, a great awakening, with all the resources we have with all the churches that we
00:33:41.020 have with all the great teaching, we can, we just have to stop sitting on our hands and get involved. And
00:33:47.580 Ali, that's why I appreciate you so much because you speak to cultural issues, and you are involved. And
00:33:53.100 this is the wake-up call that I think we need.
00:34:06.920 Well, thank you so much, and I appreciate you as well. And that pushback that, you know, Christians
00:34:12.480 are engaging in is not going to be, it doesn't go over easily when you're talking about some of the
00:34:22.340 entities and institutions that absolutely don't want to see these kinds of values that we're
00:34:27.500 talking about flourish. And there was a Fox News story that I saw. And you said that you just heard
00:34:33.600 about it. I woke up to it this morning, and I didn't even have my first cup of coffee yet. I was
00:34:37.740 not ready for this. Yes, Kurt Cameron gets denied story hour slot for new kids book. Kurt Cameron has
00:34:44.500 called out this is Fox or, oh, wait, hang on. All right, I guess I don't have the article. So I don't
00:34:53.480 know, as you grow your book, you were passed up because of the, you were passed up for the story
00:35:01.640 hour, because this is a Christian book, I guess. Oh, I see. I see the article. I see the article now. So
00:35:07.980 it is San Diego library system. They host like drag queen story hour and things like that. But they
00:35:14.820 didn't want you to read your book. Interesting. So if you read the whole article, you'll find that
00:35:21.640 there's over 50 public libraries that denied us the ability to read my children's book about biblical
00:35:31.720 wisdom and the fruit of the spirit, love, joy, patience, kindness. Right. And yet these are the
00:35:38.380 same public libraries that claim to be inclusive and want to be about diversity. They have drag queen
00:35:44.760 story hours at these same libraries, along with name change clinics for children who want to change
00:35:51.300 their gender. But at Christmas time, we can't talk about love and joy and kindness. In fact,
00:35:56.380 I believe that public libraries ought to be safe spaces for free speech and should allow the
00:36:06.580 communities to hear ideas from all different points of view, including the ones that made this country
00:36:14.520 so unique and special. So in fact, we're getting so many emails from not only parents within those
00:36:21.920 communities, but librarians in those communities who want to host their own story hours with my book
00:36:28.540 and other books from the publisher that are championing these values that are pro-God and pro-America
00:36:35.420 in their public library. So we're sending them free books and they're hosting their own public story
00:36:43.300 hours. So we're hoping that this starts a whole movement of people to say, look, this is the stuff we
00:36:49.460 want. Stop silencing part of the public in the public square. Right. There are millions, millions
00:36:55.120 of parents. I guarantee there are far more parents who want their kids to learn about God and love and
00:37:01.580 peace, the fruit of the Spirit, than they do to watch a man dressed up as a scantily clad woman
00:37:07.280 reading to them about things that they don't even need to know about. And yet one is censored and one
00:37:13.020 is not. So that just shows the spirit of the age and what we are up against. But thankfully,
00:37:17.760 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever, as Hebrews 13 says, and that is the God
00:37:24.660 that we serve. So we have to continue to be joyful warriors for what is good and right and true.
00:37:30.180 And you are a wonderful representation of that. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful for how you do
00:37:34.740 engage in the culture and you create things that are God-glorifying rather than only complaining about
00:37:41.100 the things, as many of us do, that are not God-glorifying. So thank you. Thank you for
00:37:47.520 that. I really appreciate it. Well, that's a great encouragement to me because I don't want to be
00:37:52.280 that guy. I think that's one of the things that's made me lean into my faith and the transforming
00:37:59.320 biblical truths in the scriptures even more now than ever before, because I'm finally seeing that
00:38:05.920 as good as conservative politics are, they're advancing ideas. The truth is those ideas,
00:38:14.820 if they are not connected to the root of eternal truth and the authority of the word of God,
00:38:22.420 it ultimately is not going to get enough traction to transform society. So I want to lean into the
00:38:28.760 very root that our founders and our forefathers and mothers said was indispensable if we want to
00:38:34.740 continue to be a free republic. And that is faith in God and true morality, which we find in the
00:38:41.820 ancient Mosaic code that's worked for 4,000 years and produced human flourishing, not this woke
00:38:49.160 garbage that some are trying to replace good values with. Yep, absolutely. Well, thank you so much. And
00:38:57.500 tell everyone where they can find Lifemark. Oh, Lifemark. All right. So Lifemark, it looks like
00:39:05.360 this. It's now available on DVD and Blu-ray and you can go to lifemarkmovie.com. It's on social
00:39:13.000 media as well at lifemarkmovie, but lifemarkmovie.com. And you can pick it up pretty much anywhere
00:39:17.680 starting December 13th, Amazon and everything else. And your book that is being refused by these
00:39:25.720 libraries. And what's that called? That's called As You Grow by Brave Books, the great publisher.
00:39:32.280 Yeah, As You Grow by Brave Books. And you can just go to bravebooks.com and you can find my book
00:39:41.440 and a whole bunch of other books that are about courage and leadership and all the kinds of values
00:39:46.320 and fruits of the spirit that we talked about. I love it. Well, thank you so much. I really
00:39:50.040 appreciate you taking the time to come on. Appreciate you as well. God bless you. Keep
00:39:55.320 up the great work. Thank you. You too.