The Chosen (24 page)

“I am also honored to dedicate the Nathan O’Brien chapel in this hospital. Father Nathan O’Brien was
my
father’s
close friend
and an ardent
defender of the right to life
f
or
all people. In 2017
he was executed without trial as a domestic terrorist in one of the federal government’s secret prisons.
We are able to stand here today because of the sacrifices of Father O’Brien and countless others who willingly faced imprisonment and death rather than choosing to live in slavery in a godless society with no regard for the most basic human right—the right to life.
My father died at the age of ninety with my mother holding his hand. She joined him in heaven last year. Together they survived the darkest period in our country’s history and lived to see freedom re-established.

“Today is an especially appropriate day for this dedication. Tonight at sunset, we will celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. As a
n infant
I was sent to live in Israel while my mother fought to secure my father’s freedom. During th
at time
, I celebrat
ed Hanukkah
in the very land where the
F
estival of Lights began.
My Aunt Karyn
learned
firsthand what it means to live in a nation that has had to struggle every
day
for its very right to exist.

“After my father was released from prison and our family was reunited, every year at Hanukkah Dad told us the story of how in 168 B.C. one family, the Maccabees, stood against tyranny and oppression, and armed with courage and faith, fought for freedom agai
n
st an unimaginable evil. Then, as he lit the Me
n
or
r
ah, he reminded us that Hanukkah is a picture of the coming of the Messiah. The pure,
uncontaminated olive oil from the flask sealed by the high priest which gave light to the lamp
s
tand for eight days
represented the Holy S
pirit,
who
in
less than two
centuries
would bring forth Jesus, the Light of the World. And then he would say to us,
‘
In the days of the Maccabees, cleansing the temple was essential so that people could be restored into a relationship with the God of the Universe. But now we live in the Age of Messiah, and He rules and reigns in the hearts of every person who is willing to receive Him. The Ma
c
cabees received the privilege of witnessing the miracle of Hanukkah because they were willing to stand again
s
t injustice, tyranny
,
and blasphemy and to fight and even die
to
defen
d their
faith. The same God who rescued His people then is at work today, but it is only when we
stand up and say that we would prefer to die
rather
than dishonor God, that we see the Holy Spirit rise up to fight for us.
’

“Evil stalks every generation. Whether that evil succeeds is determined by us. To defeat evil does not require a huge force of people—all that is required is that a handful of people who know and fear God stand up for the truth. The Maccabees were just one family, but they fought for the laws of their country
,
and the
y
set their people free.

“My children and I are the direct descendants of the Maccabees. We are the Chosen from among the Chosen. Like
Esther, we know that God has put us here for just this time to stand in the gap in prayer for our nation and for the nation of Israel, to hold back tyranny
,
and to fight against the spirit of AntiChrist as it appears in every generation. Our legacy is to
fight for the laws of our country and to
tell everyone who is willing to listen that freedom is available through the one true God and Jesus Christ, the one He has sent.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S

Joyce and Alexandra Swann are mother and daughter. Joyce homeschooled her ten children from the first grade through master’s degrees.  She is a well-known author and speaker on the subject of homeschooling. For nearly a decade she was a popular columnist for
Practical Homeschooling
Magazine. She now blogs regularly on parenting, homeschooling, and Christian lifestyle issues.

Joyce and Alexandra have co-authored two other novels,
The Fourth Kingdom
and
The Twelfth Juror
,
both of which were published in 2010.  Joyce’s personal story of her experiences raising and educating her family is chronicled in
Looking Backward: My Twenty-Five Years as a Homeschooling
Mother
,
published in February of 2011. Her novel,
The Warrior
, which tells the story of one woman’s ten year prayer vigil for a man she has never met, was released in May of 2012. She is also the author of two children’s books,
Tales of Pig Isle
and
The McAloons
, which began as stories that she told to entertain her grandchildren.

Alexandra is author of
No Regrets: How Homeschooling Earned me a Master’s Degree at Age Sixteen
and
Writing for Today.
  She has been self-employed for over fourteen years and was the 2011 Chairwoman of the Board of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  She writes a regular blog,
Paying for Protection
, about the consequences of over-regulation and over-reaching government. Her novel
The Planner
, which is the prequel to
The Chosen
, was published in June of 2012.