Preborn needs your help to provide affordable ultrasounds for pregnant women
Dr. Jessica Peck: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, preborn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword BABY or visit preborn.com/AFR hello. And welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show, prescribing hope for healthy families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends, and welcome to my favorite time of day. My favorite. It's not my favorite day of the week, but it's a great day. Anyway, I'm so glad to have you here. Thank you so much, whatever you're doing, wherever you are. And thank you so much for joining us. It is so exciting to have you here with us in the new year, a new year filled with new possibilities. And even just last night over the weekend, I was talking with my husband just about the year on the horizon and looking at it and thinking, there are so many things that will happen that we don't know about. There will be great things. There will be exciting things, and there will be hard things, there will be tragic things. There will be. There will be trials that we will face. And we may not know what tomorrow holds, but we do know who holds tomorrow. And I don't say that as cliche. I say that as a foundational truth that I am clinging to because I feel like, collectively, for the last five years, we've just been kind of hanging on to hope that maybe next year will be better. Maybe soon things will calm down, maybe inflation will get better, maybe global politics will simmer down. Maybe things at home will be better.
Dr. Jessica Peck: And we just keep looking for that better tomorrow. And we're missing the blessings that God has for us today. So as you're looking at this January, and we're starting into the stretch of it where it feels like it's very bleak and there may not be much to look forward to as we look forward to spring. Don't miss the blessings that God has for you today. He absolutely has blessings all, all the everywhere around you. And there is always something to be grateful for. Always.
Dr. Jessica Peck: And I am grateful for you. And I pray that you'll join us on our journey for 52 habits for healthy families. We just started Friday, we just started with praying and we're continuing that this week. We'll. Every Friday we'll talk about a healthy habit to help strengthen your family. Because I'm convinced that healthy families can. And I'm talking about emotionally healthy, relationally healthy, not perfect, but striving towards healthiness, making your family as healthy as you can. I believe that healthy families can navigate anything that comes your way. And one of those things that can come the way of families is pain in starting a family. And we are talking about National Sanctity of Human Life Month that is happening now in January. And we've got an exciting program for you today to talk about some resources that are available. One of those resources that I want to make sure you know about, we promoted on the show before is the Stand magazine. Now, this is published by American Family association. And you can get it print, you can get it online. They even have audio version. It's pretty amazing. They have a feature where you can go online and you can listen to these articles, even read to you. There's the Stand radio that is formatted, that formats the magazine into a radio format for you. And when I went to check my mail yesterday, I had this paper copy because I'm just going to confess I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. And I'm really a, paper and pencil kind of girl, much to the chagrin of my husband. He doesn't know why I won't transition to everything electronic. But I. I really love it. So there's something for everybody. But I love the Paper magazine. And you can subscribe to the Stand, you can get a free trial and see how you like it. And I encourage you to check that out the Stand magazine at American Family association. And you can just do a quick Internet search and find it. But this issue is Life a gospel issue. And there are a lot of articles in here about the sanctity of human life. And when we think about the sanctity of human life, there is a foundational truth from scripture. And every human life bears the image of God from the moment of conception through every stage of life. As a nurse, I have been there when life has just begun, when life is just a flutter in the womb to when life is just a flutter at the end. I have been there through that and just had such a privilege of witnessing those miraculous moments of human life. But every human life bears the image of God. Whether you're walking through infertility or miscarriage, adoption, caregiving, aging, God's word calls us to cherish and protect life because God is the author of Life Itself. And that's a beautiful truth. And so today, I am really excited to have Anne Cockrell here with us, and she is one of the co hosts of Hannah's Heart. Now, I have frequently featured Hannah's Heart, and. And that is a podcast, a radio show that's broadcast from American Family Radio. It, is a weekend show, and you can check it out. I have asked you, as my listeners before, to share this with someone you know who is struggling. This is impacting so many more families than we know. And during the Sanctity of Human Life Month, we want to talk about those families who do cherish life, but maybe are struggling in something related to infertility or miscarriage or child loss or trying to go through adoption. Hannah's Heart has built a very beautiful, vibrant community. This is not just a radio program. This is a lifeline for so many families. And for me, as a pediatric nurse who has worked with, with families of childbearing age for my whole entire career, I know so many families who are struggling with this. And this is such a ray of sunshine as Anne is as well. And she is here to talk to us today about Hannah's Heart, about the conference they're having about national sanctity of Human Life Month. We'll be talking about all the things. Anne thank you so much for hopping over from Hannah's Heart and joining us here today. We always are grateful to have you here.
Anne Cockrell: Oh, my goodness. Well, thank you for having me. That was such a sweet introduction. I don't deserve all that, so that was. That was really, really kind. Jessica, you.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, you absolutely do. You deserve all of that and more. You have encouraged me so much. Your personal story. And, you know, Anne, I know we have featured you before, but I know we have new listeners, too. And so just tell us a little bit. Remind us of the. The key moments in your story that have brought you to Hannah's Heart. And tell us about that program in this ministry that you have.
Anne Cockrell: Oh, man. well, it started, let's say my story of why I would want to be involved with something like Hannah's Heart, began in, 2017. So a few years ago now. but I was diagnosed with something called pcos, polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. And long story short, after about four years, we, hey, this just isn't going to happen for you. Like, you will more than likely never have a biological child. You know, you're going to need to do ivf. You know, that is what Will look best for you, more than likely. And so I was encouraged to go all the way to Texas and live in Texas for a few weeks. And the more my husband and I had prayed about it, it was just like this. This just doesn't feel right, you know, as bad. We're talking about four years now of, negative pregnancy test after negative pregnancy. At that time, five miscarriages. And so, that was a lot to happen in four years. And during that time, we were also fostering three kiddos at the time. And, one has become my son. And we are just so thankful for him and for his story of how he joined our family. But at the time, yeah, we were still longing for a biological child. But, tell this story because it's so vivid in my memory of I was washing clothes one day for three of those kidd in our house. And finally it was like the Holy Spirit met me there and was like, hey, you need to say that you're going to be okay. You're going to be okay, Anne, if you don't have a biological baby, because your love for the Lord needs to mean more than your desire of a child. And it finally, I mean, it just took me to my knees there at the washing machine that day. I mean, the Lord can meet you anywhere, right? And the washing machine was it that day for me. and yeah, that was my first time to truly mean it with my whole heart. To be able to say, God with my knees on the floor in this laundry room and my hands up in the air, I love you more than that. My desire to have this bad, to have a baby. And, the craziest thing happened. I ended up pregnant a few months later. And my Janie girl is here today to living and breathing and loud. And so, we are so thankful for her. long story short with Mark, he was in foster care for right at two years. And we, had had him in our home since he was two days old. And he, like I said, he's our son. And he is a very vibrant, five years, five year old. Oh, yes, he is. He is very, very, very vibrant and very, very smart. And we are so thankful for that little boy. He has taught me more in his short life than I have learned in my whole entire life. And so, and so has my Jane. You know, she, just seeing the Lord's goodness come through them in different ways because obviously there was different connections and different, you know, levels of relationship throughout, their relationship with Mark. Because here in Mississippi, the goal for foster Care is reunification. It is. The goal is not adoption. And I think we all, you know, need to take the time to really realize when a child is adopted, that means their family just broke in half, you know, broke into pieces. And so, that really hit, you know, at first it was like, yes, we want to adopt him. We want to adopt him because we loved him so much. but then when it actually happened, it was like, oh my goodness, this boy's fam. I mean, this sweet baby that I love with my whole entire heart. His family just got broken into pieces. And so that's where foster care. I would encourage anyone to get involved. I believe as Christians, you're supposed to be involved in some way or another. Rather, that's taking meals to a foster family or. Or babysitting for a foster family or making sure that kiddo that just joined that new family for a little while has enough clothes because sometimes they come with absolutely nothing. we need to be involved. But, ah, that, he became. He became ours illegally. And there's so many different ups and downs of foster care, but it is a broken but beautiful, beautiful, thing whenever you have, new family members. And the other two kiddos that were in our home at that time, they went back to their bio mom and we still keep in touch with them and do holidays with them and they come for their birthday and we celebrate and for VBS every year. And so, that's what I mean by like you goodness. When you get involved with foster care, you know that your heart more than likely will get broken in some way, shape or form. But oh my goodness, at the blessings that you receive as you're taking care of someone else's child. It is a very, very sacred gift and a sacred role that I would not want anyone to take for granted of that role that you're playing in that sweet baby, no matter how old baby's life, when they need a mom and a daddy.
Dr. Jessica Peck: But you know, Anne, I really. As you're talking, I just think about all of the things that you've just now shared about your story. All of the things I know about your story. I think about, you know, the program we had yesterday, even with Terri Marcroft talking about adoption and. And all of these things. But you have experienced everything. You've infertility, adoption, foster care, child loss. I mean, everything. And you know, and I think the beautiful thing about it is that you are still sitting here smiling. You're m. Still speaking from a place of hope. You're still speaking From a place of gratitude. And that is really important for people to know. So when you're hosting Hannah's Heart, you have walked these roads. You have lived experience. It's not like you just stepped in and said, okay, well, I've never experience any of these things, which God calls people to do that for sure.
Anne Cockrell: Yeah.
Dr. Jessica Peck: But you have a special kind of experience. Because I know even as we're talking, these are such tender topics. And there may be even people who think, oh, I want to change the radio. And there may be even people who are thinking, I want to change the radio because this doesn't really affect me. But. And that's not true. It impacts up to one in six families. And there's so many times you may be sitting next to somebody who you don't even know is struggling. And I think that's where a lot of ministry opportunity lies. Why we're going to talk about that today. Can you give us just a little overview as to how big this. These issues are?
Anne Cockrell: Oh, man. Well, it's one in four, pregnancies that end in miscarriage. So you more than likely are passing someone every single day that you have no idea about. And I did not know a lot of people around me who had walked through miscarriage, even if it was years ago, that I have now felt comfortable to come tell me, like, hey, because of this, this ministry, I feel comfortable to say, hey, that was my son, that was my daughter, or I didn't know what gender the baby was. But I still want to acknowledge that this baby passed away. and I think that's so important. You were talking about mental health, you know, before we got started, and emotional health. And, oh, my goodness, for the people who haven't taken the time to acknowledge that loss, there to know that their emotional health and where that was, but where it now is because they've taken the time to acknowledge that loss. they've just grown so much in the Lord because of that.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Anne, we have so much more to talk about because I think there is such great opportunity here as it is National Sanctity of Human Life Month. And we're thinking about those families who are wanting to nurture life in so many different ways. We can really encourage those families who are having struggles, and we can encourage families around because you may not know what to say or what to do. When we come back, we're going to tell you what you can say or do to help yourself or help someone else, and we're going to tell you About a, conference that Hannah's heart is having. You're going to want to share this with somebody. Don't go away. I'll be right back with Anne Cockrell.
Preborn currently has clinics that do not have ultrasound machines
From Hannah's heart. Candice talks about finding out she was pregnant. Thankfully, an ultrasound provided by preborn allowed her to hear her baby's heartbeat Sealed the deal for me. My baby was like this tiny little spectrum of hope. And I saw his heart beating on the screen and knowing that there's life growing inside, I mean, that sonogram changed my life. I went from just Candace to mom. Thank you. To everybody that has given these gifts. You guys are giving more than money. You guys are giving love. PreBorn currently has clinics that do not have ultrasound machines. Would you consider a leadership gift and sponsor a machine today? These life Saving machines cost $15,000 more than most centers can afford. Your donation will save countless lives for years to come. Dial pound250 and say the keyword baby or go to preborn.com/AFR
Children of God by Third Day: Praise to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ our God and our King to him we will sing in his great mercy he has given us life now, we can be called the children of God Great is the love that the Father has given us for he has just delivered us well he has delivered us Children of God sing your song and rejoice for the love that he has given us all Children of God by the blood of his Son we have been redeemed and we can be called Children of God.
This month is National Sanctity of Human Life Month
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is Children of God by third day. And we are talking about children today. We are talking about families. Hey, listen, I want to give you just a gentle advisory that we are talking about some tough things today, but in a very gentle way. We are talking to families who may be struggling to start their family to have children, struggling with infertility, with men, miscarriage, with child loss, who are fostering, all kinds of things, medical conditions that may impact your ability to have children. But listen, don't change the radio dial. Maybe I'm showing my age by that. But we have some hope for you to share with other people who are struggling. We know that one in six families may be struggling with some form of infertility. And in this National Sanctity of Human Life Month, we know that even according to the World Health Organization, their statistics say that there are around 73 million induced abortions each year, 6 out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies and 3 out of 10, 3 out of 10 of all pregnancies end in induced abortion. And we are asking you this Sanctity of Human Life Month to commit, to pray for expectant mothers, pray for families who are facing unexpected news, pray for hearts to be transparent, transformed by Christ's love, no matter what part of this journey they're walking through. And it may be that this is your nudge, that you need to volunteer for a pregnancy resource center. You may need to take that step forward in fostering or adopting, or you may just need to offer encouragement to someone who is struggling with one of these issues. And today I'm talking to Anne Cockrell from Hannah's Heart. Hannah's Heart is such a great community. It's a radio program that's produced by American Family Rad. Find it on the weekends, you can find it on the podcast list. You can find [email protected] or on any podcast platform. And it's for families who are struggling with one of these issues that we have talked about. So broad, so many families impacted. And Anne has shared her own personal journey. She has walked this, she has lived this, as has her co host, Kendra. We've had both of them on the show before, and I want to bring it to you again because it's really important. And when families are struggling, often it's hard for the families who are struggling to talk about it because it's painful, it hurts. They may not want to share about it yet. They may just. Not that they don't want to share about it. Just, it's hard to talk about. And families who haven't experienced that struggle, they. They feel awkward, they want to help, but they don't want to say something unintentionally to hurt, well, this community can help. So if, maybe, maybe it's your adult children who are struggling with this, and maybe listening to Hannah's Heart would help give you some perspective and understand what they're going through. Maybe, maybe it's a friend that you have, maybe it's someone you know that you need to send this resource to and just say, hey, I heard about this radio program and I thought it might encourage you. That's all you have to say. You don't have to give any big speech or anything. Just send it to them. And if they never respond to it, if they don't even acknowledge it, that's okay. Just do what God puts in your heart.
Anne Cockrell shares about her son, John Micah
And Anne, we have talked on the program before, talking about National Sanctity of Human Life, Month, about your precious, precious son, John Micah. We have talked about him and the legacy that he has left. And I would love for you to share about his life and just how it changed, how he changed your life.
Anne Cockrell: Well, thank you. Thank you for saying his name. I can tell you if someone's listening and they're like, oh, yeah, I don't know what to say. If you say the baby's name, that literally just, like, means the world to that mama and daddy. because that is the biggest fear of, you know, thinking. Thinking that someone's going to forget or he's going to be forgotten, because, you know, on the outside you look like you're doing fine. And you, as a Christian, we have to learn to deal with that, you know, and we have to learn to live with the pain, but the pain doesn't ever fully go away, even though we have the hope of heaven. And I know my baby boy is perfect in heaven and right where he needs to be. But, yeah, you can't help but as a mama or as a daddy or, you know, a brother and a sister to know that that seat at the table have been filled, you know, but, yeah, I was sharing with you at one point, you know, I was already very much pro life. I've been pro life my whole childhood. I actually saw, the stand. It was called the Journal back years and years ago when I was younger. And it was an issue, sharing not pictures of babies, but of disposal sites where, behind an abortion, an abortion agency. And this. At this point, George W. Bush was in the office. And I took it upon myself to cut out those pictures from the AFA Journal and write, George Bush a letter and tell him how disappointed I was that as a Christian president, that he would allow this to still go on in our country. I did not get a response back, but that's what I mean by, like, I was very much pro life even as a child. And I didn't even know what all that meant. But when I had John Micah, he was 26 weeks, when he was born, and I never did get to meet him before he passed away, outside of my womb. But, ah, when I got to hold my baby boy and he had long eyelashes and fingernails and toenails and hair and his cute little lips and little nose, I became even more of a supporter of the pro life movement or whatever. However we want to say. However we want to say that, because I'm like, Phil, like, we talk about babies in the womb. Like, they're, you know, like, packages. Like, well, they. You want it or do you not want it? Like, here's how you can dispose of it, or, here's what you can do to take care of it. And, oh, my goodness, there's so much more than that. I even tell people someone actually had me on their podcast at one point. Not anywhere at afa, but this sweet lady, she said, what was John Micah like? And such a simple question. It totally caught me off guard because I was like, what was John Micah like? I only knew him in my womb, but I knew when he was going to move around. It was after I ate. It was at church. Church when the music was playing. It was certain times during the day. I knew when he was going to move. And so it's just like, what a sweet question for her to say, what was John Micah like? And that's how we know that these babies in our womb, they have their own DNA, of course, but they also already are forming their own little personalities. And that's how beautiful life is. They are already one of a kind, one individual before they're ever born. And it doesn't take breath outside the womb to make them that important. And so, my son, you mentioned legacy. If there's something, you know, that I can use his name for. What more beautiful thing than for more babies? You know, like, there's a diaper company now that I'm a strong supporter of called Every Life, and their whole little stanza is make more babies. Because, you know, right. I have a bag that says that now. but, you know, because. Because of the, the outlook on life now, it's like, oh, do your own thing. You need a career, you need to make more money, you need a bigger house, go on trips, you know, so not godly things. It's not bad things to make good money, and it's not bad things to take trips. But, like, we're looking at the population of, like, what, like, 1.8 babies now being born per family. I don't even know how that works. But, anyway, at, this. I don't know if I'm talking about what we should be talking about right now, but go as husband and wife, right?
Dr. Jessica Peck: I love it. I already know, like, there's some texting going on. Like, say, z, did you hear this? This is our sign. We need to make more babies. I am a fan of babies. I have four babies of my own and three babies in heaven, as I have shared with you before. And my whole career has been dedicated to pediatrics, to childbearing families, and I've had the Privilege, Anne, of working a long time, many, many years I worked in a NICU and a neonatal icu. And I just thought, oh, my gosh, goodness, if people could come and be in this NICU and see these perfectly formed little babies. And actually there is research showing that the age of viability is being. Which is the age that a baby can live outside of the mother's womb is going back and back and back. And yes, there's always risk associated with that, but there's risk with any life for sure. But looking at it, at the medical and scientific technology advances, and to see these little babies that don't even weigh a pound when they're born, and to see them grow and thrive and just have a chance at life. And the thing I love about John Micah is that his legacy lives on. And you have a Bibles for Babies campaign. We have promoted this every year. We'll promote it again this July, but where we'll give our listeners an opportunity to donate a Bible to a mom who goes into a pregnancy resource center, and they will get a Bible in the name of John Micah. And I just think his life was. Was a whisper, whisper, but it was such a beautiful whisper. And every life makes an imprint. Every life makes an imprint on the world. And it's beautiful to see John Micah's living on. And that just shows us that there's so many little things that we can do. And just like you said, tell me, what was John Micah like? People love to talk about their child. They're the most precious thing in the world to them.
Another question that you can ask people who are struggling is what can you pray for?
Another question that you can ask people who are struggling, maybe you don't know what to say. Let me give you a safe question that you can ask that I encourage you to ask. I encourage you to have the courage to ask. If you know a family who's struggling, just walk up to that family and say, God has put it on my heart to pray for you. Is there any specific way that I can pray for you? And if they can't answer you at the time you tell them, call me, text me, tell me anytime, I will pray for you. And that is not. That is not something that, you know, may be potentially insensitive. Maybe they won't know how to respond. But just I guarantee you, knowing that somebody cares, somebody sees them, somebody knows, and somebody's praying for them, that's what you should ask.
Anne says Hannah's Heart is a ministry focused on infertility, miscarriage
And you know what I'm praying for, Anne? I'm praying that people will go to the conference that you are having the Hannah's Heart Conference. Tell us about this that is happening and it's not too late to join in.
Anne Cockrell: No, yeah, we are doing this full throttle this year. our first ever conference. And now. So Hannah's Heart is a ministry focused on infertility, miscarriage, that kind of thing. But if you've been following, the shows at all, you know that we discuss a lot more topics from singleness, adoption, child loss to pregnancy, centers and how we can support them. So lot lots of different topics that are actually on the show. And that's what this conference is going to be. The, theme is called Through it all. And the lady who's coming to speak, her name is Jane Johnson. She has, a few books that are out. One, that changed my life years ago. Walking through infertility is called Mercy. Like morning. Oh, my goodness, I would. And rather you're infertility or not. It's such a good devotional. but she will be speaking, at the conference. And she. This came from her mouth. She was like, I will not be just talking about infertility. That might be something that I bring up. But she was like, it is not going to be the main focus. Her passion is just to help and encourage women as they're walking through anything, through it all. rather it's a divorce that they weren't expecting or a diagnosis of like, what are we going to do now? Or a prodigal son or it's something like that. A job loss, you know, no matter what it is, the Lord's with us through it. All. Right. But then also, like, they just adopted a baby or we just had an answered prayer here. Oh, my goodness. The treatments worked. You know, so through all that excitement too, like, the Lord is there when we're mourning and when we're celebrating. Right. And so that is really what the, this conference is for. I would say. My goal is really to help women to have a community here of, like, mind women. No matter if we're talking about a 21 year old or a 60 year old. I think that we can learn so much from the generations before us, but that we're also called to be a Ruth and Naomi, to have that kind of relationship, with younger women. And so that's what I want to be. And I've had, Naomi experiences in my life. And so, yeah, that's my heart behind this conference. And we are going to have good food. Of course, you got to have food, huh? And then we're going to have some little goodies. Bags. And, some things that people. I guess you could say when. I don't know, some drawings, some. On some other radio shows, apparently they've been saying, like, you could win a car, and we're not going that far. I'm like, okay, jj. Like, let's calm down a little bit. Of course.
Dr. Jessica Peck: That would be JJ Jasper
Anne Cockrell: That would be jj. Yeah, I know it. I was like, let's. Okay, that's not true. But I wish we could,
Dr. Jessica Peck: You never know what the Lord might do.
Anne Cockrell: Correct. It's. It's more like a piece of pottery, maybe. But, anyway, I'm just looking for a good time and hopefully to let women, around our area. We have actually some people coming from Pennsylvania and from Louisiana and Arkansas, so I am glad about that. But it's definitely more of a local. A local thing to be going on.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, I love you. Just reminded me. You gave me a memory that I love. And I remember sitting in church with my granny, my sweet granny who is rocking babies in heaven now. And she, I remember singing that song. Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus. I've learned to trust in God. Yes. Some of you are. Are singing that hymn along with me, right?
Anne Cockrell: Yeah.
Dr. Jessica Peck: you know it. This program is going to be January 30th and 31st. It's in Tupelo, Mississippi, which is just a little bit. You could go into Birmingham if you wanted to fly in, or you could go into Memphis. I've done that many times myself. But I know, I know. And that. I know that someone is listening, thinking, should I go to this? Yeah. Yes, you should go. And as you just heard from Anne, it's not just for women who are struggling with infertility. It's for women who are struggling, period. And maybe in this first part of the year, in this January, you're looking out, thinking, I don't know if I can take another year like last one. Something's gotta change. Maybe this would be that moment for you. Maybe this would be that catalyst of hope.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Maybe this would be that community that you would find the message that God has for you. So we encourage you to go to afa.net/events that's afa.net/events Get on the Internet, have your kids, have your grandkids, help you get on the Internet and. Or find the phone number. We will. We will connect you with the right people. Listen, we've got a lot more to talk about when we come back. Will talk about some of the things that they've been talking about on Hannah's Heart. There is a lot that is changing. There are new laws, there are different public sentiments. There's new science coming out. So much to talk about. We'll talk about what Hannah's Heart is covering when we come back.
Abraham Hamilton III: The American Family Association's mission is to inform, equip and activate individuals to strengthen the moral foundations of our culture. Our goal is to be a leading organization in biblical worldview training for cultural transformation. We stand on the biblical truth that all human beings, including the unborn, are created in the image of God and are endowed by him with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thank you for standing with the American Family Association. When you hear this, this is American Family News. You know what follows is the truth. Your news from a Christian perspective. Hundreds of, teachers are going to have to walk into that school building and they are forced to swallow political ideology that in many cases violates their very faith and conscience. If you miss it at the top of the hour, American Family News podcasts are available at afn.net and sign up for our daily news brief at afn.net.
Indescribable by Chris Tomlin: From the highest of heights to the depths of the, sea creations revealing your majesty. From the colors, of fall to the fragrance of spring. Every creature unique in the song that it sings. All exclaiming, indescribable, uncontainable. You place the stars in the sky and you know them by name. You are amazing God. All powerful, untamable, awestruck. We fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim. You are amazing God.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is Indescribable by Chris Tomlin. And today we're talking to Anne Cockrell from Hannah's heart. This is a ministry here at American Family Radio. You can find their radio show on the weekends or on podcast format. And they walk with families who are struggling with infertility, with miscarriage and a bunch of other things. Foster care, child loss, abortion, all kinds of struggles that families face. We know that about one in six families face infertility. And it is happening more than you think. And during this national Human Sanctity of Human Life Month, we want to talk about ways that we can honor life life in all stages at all ages. And you know, for me as a nurse, I have dedicated my life to promoting optimal health, to helping families have babies. I worked in pediatrics and labor and delivery and the neonatal ICU and pediatric primary care has been the my main home for my whole life. And giving that compassionate care in life's fragile moments. And I do believe that every person is created in the image of God. God and the Bible teaches us that life begins before we can even see it. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 139 and verses 13 through 16 declares, for you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. Your eyes saw my unformed body. And I believe that the beginning of life is a deliberate act of creation by a loving God who values each soul from the moment of consciousness conception. And when you recognize that truth, you can see every life has purpose and potential. And I've often said I'm a star struck witness to sanctity of life. Each heartbeat, each microscopic development is just a, ah, jaw dropping miracle. The more that we learn, the more complex it is than we could ever, ever have imagined. And we see advances in science that can be destructive, but also advances in science, science that provide very increasingly detailed insight into the marvelous complexities at the very beginning of human life. the fetal heart forms at three weeks and begins to beat by five weeks of gestation. That in of itself is absolutely amazing. And so I am asking you, if you are listening, to do something this month. Do something to honor the sanctity of human Life month. Now that might be something as simple but powerful. Don't underestimate the power of praying intentionally. Say an intentional prayer for unborn children, for expectant mothers, for families who are facing infertility or loss, or even for children with special needs, for the elderly. For any ever. Just pray. Pray for life. You might choose to support a life affirming ministry. You might donate, volunteer, just be at a pregnancy resource center and use your gifts. Maybe you serve on their board board. Maybe you help an adoption or foster care agency, or maybe you walk with those families. Maybe you offer to pray for a family who is experiencing a struggle there. Just do something to honor human life this month. I encourage you to do that. One of the things that you might do is to tell someone about the Hannah's Heart Women's conference called Through It All. It's coming up January 30th and 31st. It will be in Tupelo, Mississippi. Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Tupelo is a charming town. Such a great place to stay, great food, great people and a great conference. It's a. And Hannah's Heart is a program, of course, for families who are walking through infertility, through miscarriage, through child loss. But this conference is for any woman who's going through anything which basically is every woman who has ever lived. And that. You can find out more about that at afa.net/events That's afa.net/events
Anne and Kendra have formed a support group for women struggling with infertility
Now, Anne, I know that you and Kendra have told me several times, both of you have said, this isn't just a radio program. It is a ministry. It is a community. And I would love for you to speak a little bit about that and talk about people who may need that community themselves or why someone might need that community and why it would be important for someone who knows about it to connect it to someone who needs it, but to. He doesn't know.
Anne Cockrell: Well, so we started out, yeah, just as the podcast and radio show. And we quickly learned and just saw, like, the need for community, which we already knew because we felt that way. But at the time, it felt like Kendra were, like, the only ones in Tupelo struggling with this. And obviously we know that that's a lie from the enemy to make you feel, alone in a situation like that. But we have slowly but surely formed a little support group that meets. We. We try for every month. That sometimes doesn't happen, especially through the holiday. when I say little, I mean like, less than 10 ladies getting together at a coffee shop, or we've gone to the park and had a picnic with pizza, or, people have come over to our house multiple times now. And I, mean, honestly, they just become your good friends, where you're just like, okay, this is what I have coming up. And, you know, my prayer requests look a little different now. I'm not saying, like, we're desiring. I mean, our hands are open when it comes to kids. and we have had another baby since John Micah. Her name is Nora, and she's a year and a half now. But, like, we just want the Lord, you know, to have his way in our life when it comes to that. But, the. The girls that are a part of that group or the women who are a part of that group, we do. We just pray for each other and say, hey, this appointment's coming up. This, you know, my house. We're getting ready for adoption. So they're coming to do the home study, or we're raising money for. For this, for treatment or, you know, things like that. And it has just been such a blessing to get to walk beside those ladies as they're walking beside me and loving on my babies now. and we also. A butterfly release every October. And the healing that I have seen through people. We had a couple, that came this past October at two different couples that came. One had just experienced lost in August, so a few months before that. And, the other couple had experienced loss 19 years ago. And so to see both of them do the exact same actions, but obviously at, ah, way different times of their grieving process, I hate to. I mean, it was beautiful, but also heartbreaking, obviously, at the same time. And to see those men to step up and come to a really, like, intimate setting, like, I mean, we're talking about, we're in this tiny but beautiful greenhouse a little outside of Tupelo, with their wives to a women's event. but to see those husbands cry over those babies and to hug on their wives as they're letting these butterflies go was really just a beautiful thing to get to be a part of. and so I would encourage any, anyone, honestly, no matter if you've chosen abortion a long time ago and now you're regretting that decision, or if you've had a miscarriage or a stillbirth or however your loss looks like, to take the time to mourn that loss, to name that baby if you feel led to, to, to acknowledge that loss. And so the butterfly release is a huge thing for Hannah's heart. And then, yes, we do the Bibles for Babies campaign in July because that is John Micah's bir. and so that's a blessing to be a part of, at Hannah's heart. We do encourage women. Even if you're walking through infertility, it can kind of feel crazy to go volunteer or to support a pregnancy center because, you know, all those women are possibly there. but we're begging the Lord to change those women's heart as they walk through that pregnancy center door and hopefully getting to see a sonogram or to hear the baby's heartbeat. And so I can understand how that would feel kind of hard or insensitive to ladies if you're walk through infertility to be at a pregnancy center. But like we're saying, like, every life is valuable. And, when we're getting out of the muck and the yuck of our own hurts and to look in a different direction and say, okay, she's hurting too, but just in a complete different way than I am. But I'm still called to be there for her. I'm still called to be the light of Jesus. goodness, the Lord can just use you in such powerful ways, even if it's just you, you know, bolding, bolding up and being willing to walk that door. yeah, It's.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I love, I love that thought bolding up. Like, just get bold and just do it. Because I do believe and that God blesses little steps of obedience. I really do. I believe that we just take a tiny little micro step in the Lord's direction. And as he is directing us and he blesses us, we know he can do exceedingly, abundantly more than we ask or imagine. And you know, and I know that he is a good father who loves to give good gifts to his children. And.
You talk about embryo adoption and IVF on your radio show
Dr. Jessica Peck: And that is one of the encouraging things that I have found in your ministry, because you are talking to people on a regular basis, people you're serving, and people who are stepping in to serve alongside you by appearing on your show, sharing their story, sharing their expertise. And we are talking about really some of the toughest things in life. And yet there's hope, yet there is healing, and yet there is always hope. I think that's really encouraging. And when you're talking about to the families that you're serving and you're scheduling your radio guests and your programming, what kinds of things are you seeing? Give the listeners kind of a little sampler here of some of the topics that you might cover that you might be talking about some of those things that are now. Because I think right now it's really hard for families as technology is increasing. You know, there's the question, just because we can, does it mean we should? And now more than, than ever, I'm really encouraging families to find a primary care provider. You literally trust with your life, who you trust, who respects your worldview, who shares your worldview optimally. And you have a community where you can talk about these things because there is some real ethical wrestling that can happen with some of these issues.
Anne Cockrell: Yep. And I did not realize until I got, heavily involved with Hannah's heart of the issues that you're referring to, with IVF Main. but, we, we do talk about that on the show. And, it's a sensitive topic because I think, as Christians, we know that desiring life is holy. Right. And so it's like. But now we have a scientific way to create it. But if we look at the nitty gritty of what's going on a lot of times in these clinics, it's not life, affirming, not life honoring in the long run of what can happen and does happen to these embryos. We have also talked about, something called Snowflake Adoption, which I think is just talking about jaw dropping. Amazing. And A miracle. we have a, have had a lady on there. She did the first Snowflake adoption. She has a daughter named Hannah now. And Hannah was an embryo that was fresh or a baby, that was frozen, if I'm Remembering right, for 23 years.
Dr. Jessica Peck: It's unbelievable. It's hard to wrap your mind around that.
Anne Cockrell: I think my, my jaw did drop when I was listening to this lady's story just on the phone at first, first before I had scheduled her, I was like, the embryo, she was frozen for 23 years. But honestly, she's. This lady has worked a lot on laws, regarding that. Because these embryo adoption, yes, they're sent in the mail like your Amazon package. And so it's like, okay, these are children. So we need to, you know, figure out regulations and laws to protect the, these lives more carefully than what they're being protected right now. But we have also had. I, I know of three different couples that have emailed in to let me know, hey, I had no idea what Snowflake adoption was until you had it on your program. And now here's my baby that we, adopted through Snowflake Adoption. So, I mean, like those stories, I'm like, thank you, Jesus. That is so exciting to hear. and talking about ivf, Kendra, my co host, she has talked many times about the facility, that she and her husband use calls called Rejoice, Clinic, I think is what it's called. It's in Knoxville, Tennessee. And they are very life affirming, very much, Christian based, and try to honor those lives as biblically possible, you know, as they can. they don't create, but I think the most at like three or four embryos and you have to sign something saying like, no, we plan on using all of these embryos. They do not discard. and so, yeah, just those are.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Anne, as you're talking, I know there's some people listening who thinking, okay, you lost me now. Like, I, I am lost. And some people are saying, oh yes, you are just the very beginning. That is just the tip of the iceberg. I think the takeaway for all listeners is that this is a tough space to navigate because exactly like you said, Anne, desiring life is a thing that honors the Lord and, and the way that we have the, the capabilities that we have there. Those are not always honoring to the Lord, but you don't always know that until you get in there and, and there's a trust of healthcare professionals. I say that very sensitively because I am a healthcare professional that, you know, you have all the information and, but really it is, it is hard. It's a hard line to walk to find out, how do I find out what I need, need to know? How do I know that? How do I verify this information, how do I trust the information? And one of those ways is walking in community with other people who can share information, who can share credible sources, who can share, hey, I saw this healthcare provider. You know, here's a recommendation, here's a referral, here's a source, here's a journal, all of those things. And one of those resources that we're sharing is the Hannah's Heart conference that's happening January 30th and 31st. it's not too late to go. It's happening in Tupelo, Mississippi. Go to afa.net/events and again, I challenge you to do something to observe Sanctity of Human Life month, even if that is just praying. And that is not just praying. We know that prayer is powerful. And as you do, I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
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Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Preborn needs your help to provide affordable ultrasounds for pregnant women
Dr. Jessica Peck: We would like to take a moment to thank our sponsor, preborn. When a mother meets her baby on ultrasound and hears their heartbeat, it's a divine connection. And the majority of the time she will choose life. But they can't do it without our help. Preborn needs us, the pro life community, to come alongside them. One ultrasound is just $28. To donate, dial pound 250 and say the keyword BABY or visit preborn.com/AFR hello. And welcome to the Dr. Nurse Mama show, prescribing hope for healthy families here on American Family Radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner, and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends, and welcome to my favorite time of day. My favorite. It's not my favorite day of the week, but it's a great day. Anyway, I'm so glad to have you here. Thank you so much, whatever you're doing, wherever you are. And thank you so much for joining us. It is so exciting to have you here with us in the new year, a new year filled with new possibilities. And even just last night over the weekend, I was talking with my husband just about the year on the horizon and looking at it and thinking, there are so many things that will happen that we don't know about. There will be great things. There will be exciting things, and there will be hard things, there will be tragic things. There will be. There will be trials that we will face. And we may not know what tomorrow holds, but we do know who holds tomorrow. And I don't say that as cliche. I say that as a foundational truth that I am clinging to because I feel like, collectively, for the last five years, we've just been kind of hanging on to hope that maybe next year will be better. Maybe soon things will calm down, maybe inflation will get better, maybe global politics will simmer down. Maybe things at home will be better.
Dr. Jessica Peck: And we just keep looking for that better tomorrow. And we're missing the blessings that God has for us today. So as you're looking at this January, and we're starting into the stretch of it where it feels like it's very bleak and there may not be much to look forward to as we look forward to spring. Don't miss the blessings that God has for you today. He absolutely has blessings all, all the everywhere around you. And there is always something to be grateful for. Always.
Dr. Jessica Peck: And I am grateful for you. And I pray that you'll join us on our journey for 52 habits for healthy families. We just started Friday, we just started with praying and we're continuing that this week. We'll. Every Friday we'll talk about a healthy habit to help strengthen your family. Because I'm convinced that healthy families can. And I'm talking about emotionally healthy, relationally healthy, not perfect, but striving towards healthiness, making your family as healthy as you can. I believe that healthy families can navigate anything that comes your way. And one of those things that can come the way of families is pain in starting a family. And we are talking about National Sanctity of Human Life Month that is happening now in January. And we've got an exciting program for you today to talk about some resources that are available. One of those resources that I want to make sure you know about, we promoted on the show before is the Stand magazine. Now, this is published by American Family association. And you can get it print, you can get it online. They even have audio version. It's pretty amazing. They have a feature where you can go online and you can listen to these articles, even read to you. There's the Stand radio that is formatted, that formats the magazine into a radio format for you. And when I went to check my mail yesterday, I had this paper copy because I'm just going to confess I'm an old fashioned kind of girl. And I'm really a, paper and pencil kind of girl, much to the chagrin of my husband. He doesn't know why I won't transition to everything electronic. But I. I really love it. So there's something for everybody. But I love the Paper magazine. And you can subscribe to the Stand, you can get a free trial and see how you like it. And I encourage you to check that out the Stand magazine at American Family association. And you can just do a quick Internet search and find it. But this issue is Life a gospel issue. And there are a lot of articles in here about the sanctity of human life. And when we think about the sanctity of human life, there is a foundational truth from scripture. And every human life bears the image of God from the moment of conception through every stage of life. As a nurse, I have been there when life has just begun, when life is just a flutter in the womb to when life is just a flutter at the end. I have been there through that and just had such a privilege of witnessing those miraculous moments of human life. But every human life bears the image of God. Whether you're walking through infertility or miscarriage, adoption, caregiving, aging, God's word calls us to cherish and protect life because God is the author of Life Itself. And that's a beautiful truth. And so today, I am really excited to have Anne Cockrell here with us, and she is one of the co hosts of Hannah's Heart. Now, I have frequently featured Hannah's Heart, and. And that is a podcast, a radio show that's broadcast from American Family Radio. It, is a weekend show, and you can check it out. I have asked you, as my listeners before, to share this with someone you know who is struggling. This is impacting so many more families than we know. And during the Sanctity of Human Life Month, we want to talk about those families who do cherish life, but maybe are struggling in something related to infertility or miscarriage or child loss or trying to go through adoption. Hannah's Heart has built a very beautiful, vibrant community. This is not just a radio program. This is a lifeline for so many families. And for me, as a pediatric nurse who has worked with, with families of childbearing age for my whole entire career, I know so many families who are struggling with this. And this is such a ray of sunshine as Anne is as well. And she is here to talk to us today about Hannah's Heart, about the conference they're having about national sanctity of Human Life Month. We'll be talking about all the things. Anne thank you so much for hopping over from Hannah's Heart and joining us here today. We always are grateful to have you here.
Anne Cockrell: Oh, my goodness. Well, thank you for having me. That was such a sweet introduction. I don't deserve all that, so that was. That was really, really kind. Jessica, you.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, you absolutely do. You deserve all of that and more. You have encouraged me so much. Your personal story. And, you know, Anne, I know we have featured you before, but I know we have new listeners, too. And so just tell us a little bit. Remind us of the. The key moments in your story that have brought you to Hannah's Heart. And tell us about that program in this ministry that you have.
Anne Cockrell: Oh, man. well, it started, let's say my story of why I would want to be involved with something like Hannah's Heart, began in, 2017. So a few years ago now. but I was diagnosed with something called pcos, polycystic ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. And long story short, after about four years, we, hey, this just isn't going to happen for you. Like, you will more than likely never have a biological child. You know, you're going to need to do ivf. You know, that is what Will look best for you, more than likely. And so I was encouraged to go all the way to Texas and live in Texas for a few weeks. And the more my husband and I had prayed about it, it was just like this. This just doesn't feel right, you know, as bad. We're talking about four years now of, negative pregnancy test after negative pregnancy. At that time, five miscarriages. And so, that was a lot to happen in four years. And during that time, we were also fostering three kiddos at the time. And, one has become my son. And we are just so thankful for him and for his story of how he joined our family. But at the time, yeah, we were still longing for a biological child. But, tell this story because it's so vivid in my memory of I was washing clothes one day for three of those kidd in our house. And finally it was like the Holy Spirit met me there and was like, hey, you need to say that you're going to be okay. You're going to be okay, Anne, if you don't have a biological baby, because your love for the Lord needs to mean more than your desire of a child. And it finally, I mean, it just took me to my knees there at the washing machine that day. I mean, the Lord can meet you anywhere, right? And the washing machine was it that day for me. and yeah, that was my first time to truly mean it with my whole heart. To be able to say, God with my knees on the floor in this laundry room and my hands up in the air, I love you more than that. My desire to have this bad, to have a baby. And, the craziest thing happened. I ended up pregnant a few months later. And my Janie girl is here today to living and breathing and loud. And so, we are so thankful for her. long story short with Mark, he was in foster care for right at two years. And we, had had him in our home since he was two days old. And he, like I said, he's our son. And he is a very vibrant, five years, five year old. Oh, yes, he is. He is very, very, very vibrant and very, very smart. And we are so thankful for that little boy. He has taught me more in his short life than I have learned in my whole entire life. And so, and so has my Jane. You know, she, just seeing the Lord's goodness come through them in different ways because obviously there was different connections and different, you know, levels of relationship throughout, their relationship with Mark. Because here in Mississippi, the goal for foster Care is reunification. It is. The goal is not adoption. And I think we all, you know, need to take the time to really realize when a child is adopted, that means their family just broke in half, you know, broke into pieces. And so, that really hit, you know, at first it was like, yes, we want to adopt him. We want to adopt him because we loved him so much. but then when it actually happened, it was like, oh my goodness, this boy's fam. I mean, this sweet baby that I love with my whole entire heart. His family just got broken into pieces. And so that's where foster care. I would encourage anyone to get involved. I believe as Christians, you're supposed to be involved in some way or another. Rather, that's taking meals to a foster family or. Or babysitting for a foster family or making sure that kiddo that just joined that new family for a little while has enough clothes because sometimes they come with absolutely nothing. we need to be involved. But, ah, that, he became. He became ours illegally. And there's so many different ups and downs of foster care, but it is a broken but beautiful, beautiful, thing whenever you have, new family members. And the other two kiddos that were in our home at that time, they went back to their bio mom and we still keep in touch with them and do holidays with them and they come for their birthday and we celebrate and for VBS every year. And so, that's what I mean by like you goodness. When you get involved with foster care, you know that your heart more than likely will get broken in some way, shape or form. But oh my goodness, at the blessings that you receive as you're taking care of someone else's child. It is a very, very sacred gift and a sacred role that I would not want anyone to take for granted of that role that you're playing in that sweet baby, no matter how old baby's life, when they need a mom and a daddy.
Dr. Jessica Peck: But you know, Anne, I really. As you're talking, I just think about all of the things that you've just now shared about your story. All of the things I know about your story. I think about, you know, the program we had yesterday, even with Terri Marcroft talking about adoption and. And all of these things. But you have experienced everything. You've infertility, adoption, foster care, child loss. I mean, everything. And you know, and I think the beautiful thing about it is that you are still sitting here smiling. You're m. Still speaking from a place of hope. You're still speaking From a place of gratitude. And that is really important for people to know. So when you're hosting Hannah's Heart, you have walked these roads. You have lived experience. It's not like you just stepped in and said, okay, well, I've never experience any of these things, which God calls people to do that for sure.
Anne Cockrell: Yeah.
Dr. Jessica Peck: But you have a special kind of experience. Because I know even as we're talking, these are such tender topics. And there may be even people who think, oh, I want to change the radio. And there may be even people who are thinking, I want to change the radio because this doesn't really affect me. But. And that's not true. It impacts up to one in six families. And there's so many times you may be sitting next to somebody who you don't even know is struggling. And I think that's where a lot of ministry opportunity lies. Why we're going to talk about that today. Can you give us just a little overview as to how big this. These issues are?
Anne Cockrell: Oh, man. Well, it's one in four, pregnancies that end in miscarriage. So you more than likely are passing someone every single day that you have no idea about. And I did not know a lot of people around me who had walked through miscarriage, even if it was years ago, that I have now felt comfortable to come tell me, like, hey, because of this, this ministry, I feel comfortable to say, hey, that was my son, that was my daughter, or I didn't know what gender the baby was. But I still want to acknowledge that this baby passed away. and I think that's so important. You were talking about mental health, you know, before we got started, and emotional health. And, oh, my goodness, for the people who haven't taken the time to acknowledge that loss, there to know that their emotional health and where that was, but where it now is because they've taken the time to acknowledge that loss. they've just grown so much in the Lord because of that.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Anne, we have so much more to talk about because I think there is such great opportunity here as it is National Sanctity of Human Life Month. And we're thinking about those families who are wanting to nurture life in so many different ways. We can really encourage those families who are having struggles, and we can encourage families around because you may not know what to say or what to do. When we come back, we're going to tell you what you can say or do to help yourself or help someone else, and we're going to tell you About a, conference that Hannah's heart is having. You're going to want to share this with somebody. Don't go away. I'll be right back with Anne Cockrell.
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Children of God by Third Day: Praise to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ our God and our King to him we will sing in his great mercy he has given us life now, we can be called the children of God Great is the love that the Father has given us for he has just delivered us well he has delivered us Children of God sing your song and rejoice for the love that he has given us all Children of God by the blood of his Son we have been redeemed and we can be called Children of God.
This month is National Sanctity of Human Life Month
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is Children of God by third day. And we are talking about children today. We are talking about families. Hey, listen, I want to give you just a gentle advisory that we are talking about some tough things today, but in a very gentle way. We are talking to families who may be struggling to start their family to have children, struggling with infertility, with men, miscarriage, with child loss, who are fostering, all kinds of things, medical conditions that may impact your ability to have children. But listen, don't change the radio dial. Maybe I'm showing my age by that. But we have some hope for you to share with other people who are struggling. We know that one in six families may be struggling with some form of infertility. And in this National Sanctity of Human Life Month, we know that even according to the World Health Organization, their statistics say that there are around 73 million induced abortions each year, 6 out of 10 of all unintended pregnancies and 3 out of 10, 3 out of 10 of all pregnancies end in induced abortion. And we are asking you this Sanctity of Human Life Month to commit, to pray for expectant mothers, pray for families who are facing unexpected news, pray for hearts to be transparent, transformed by Christ's love, no matter what part of this journey they're walking through. And it may be that this is your nudge, that you need to volunteer for a pregnancy resource center. You may need to take that step forward in fostering or adopting, or you may just need to offer encouragement to someone who is struggling with one of these issues. And today I'm talking to Anne Cockrell from Hannah's Heart. Hannah's Heart is such a great community. It's a radio program that's produced by American Family Rad. Find it on the weekends, you can find it on the podcast list. You can find [email protected] or on any podcast platform. And it's for families who are struggling with one of these issues that we have talked about. So broad, so many families impacted. And Anne has shared her own personal journey. She has walked this, she has lived this, as has her co host, Kendra. We've had both of them on the show before, and I want to bring it to you again because it's really important. And when families are struggling, often it's hard for the families who are struggling to talk about it because it's painful, it hurts. They may not want to share about it yet. They may just. Not that they don't want to share about it. Just, it's hard to talk about. And families who haven't experienced that struggle, they. They feel awkward, they want to help, but they don't want to say something unintentionally to hurt, well, this community can help. So if, maybe, maybe it's your adult children who are struggling with this, and maybe listening to Hannah's Heart would help give you some perspective and understand what they're going through. Maybe, maybe it's a friend that you have, maybe it's someone you know that you need to send this resource to and just say, hey, I heard about this radio program and I thought it might encourage you. That's all you have to say. You don't have to give any big speech or anything. Just send it to them. And if they never respond to it, if they don't even acknowledge it, that's okay. Just do what God puts in your heart.
Anne Cockrell shares about her son, John Micah
And Anne, we have talked on the program before, talking about National Sanctity of Human Life, Month, about your precious, precious son, John Micah. We have talked about him and the legacy that he has left. And I would love for you to share about his life and just how it changed, how he changed your life.
Anne Cockrell: Well, thank you. Thank you for saying his name. I can tell you if someone's listening and they're like, oh, yeah, I don't know what to say. If you say the baby's name, that literally just, like, means the world to that mama and daddy. because that is the biggest fear of, you know, thinking. Thinking that someone's going to forget or he's going to be forgotten, because, you know, on the outside you look like you're doing fine. And you, as a Christian, we have to learn to deal with that, you know, and we have to learn to live with the pain, but the pain doesn't ever fully go away, even though we have the hope of heaven. And I know my baby boy is perfect in heaven and right where he needs to be. But, yeah, you can't help but as a mama or as a daddy or, you know, a brother and a sister to know that that seat at the table have been filled, you know, but, yeah, I was sharing with you at one point, you know, I was already very much pro life. I've been pro life my whole childhood. I actually saw, the stand. It was called the Journal back years and years ago when I was younger. And it was an issue, sharing not pictures of babies, but of disposal sites where, behind an abortion, an abortion agency. And this. At this point, George W. Bush was in the office. And I took it upon myself to cut out those pictures from the AFA Journal and write, George Bush a letter and tell him how disappointed I was that as a Christian president, that he would allow this to still go on in our country. I did not get a response back, but that's what I mean by, like, I was very much pro life even as a child. And I didn't even know what all that meant. But when I had John Micah, he was 26 weeks, when he was born, and I never did get to meet him before he passed away, outside of my womb. But, ah, when I got to hold my baby boy and he had long eyelashes and fingernails and toenails and hair and his cute little lips and little nose, I became even more of a supporter of the pro life movement or whatever. However we want to say. However we want to say that, because I'm like, Phil, like, we talk about babies in the womb. Like, they're, you know, like, packages. Like, well, they. You want it or do you not want it? Like, here's how you can dispose of it, or, here's what you can do to take care of it. And, oh, my goodness, there's so much more than that. I even tell people someone actually had me on their podcast at one point. Not anywhere at afa, but this sweet lady, she said, what was John Micah like? And such a simple question. It totally caught me off guard because I was like, what was John Micah like? I only knew him in my womb, but I knew when he was going to move around. It was after I ate. It was at church. Church when the music was playing. It was certain times during the day. I knew when he was going to move. And so it's just like, what a sweet question for her to say, what was John Micah like? And that's how we know that these babies in our womb, they have their own DNA, of course, but they also already are forming their own little personalities. And that's how beautiful life is. They are already one of a kind, one individual before they're ever born. And it doesn't take breath outside the womb to make them that important. And so, my son, you mentioned legacy. If there's something, you know, that I can use his name for. What more beautiful thing than for more babies? You know, like, there's a diaper company now that I'm a strong supporter of called Every Life, and their whole little stanza is make more babies. Because, you know, right. I have a bag that says that now. but, you know, because. Because of the, the outlook on life now, it's like, oh, do your own thing. You need a career, you need to make more money, you need a bigger house, go on trips, you know, so not godly things. It's not bad things to make good money, and it's not bad things to take trips. But, like, we're looking at the population of, like, what, like, 1.8 babies now being born per family. I don't even know how that works. But, anyway, at, this. I don't know if I'm talking about what we should be talking about right now, but go as husband and wife, right?
Dr. Jessica Peck: I love it. I already know, like, there's some texting going on. Like, say, z, did you hear this? This is our sign. We need to make more babies. I am a fan of babies. I have four babies of my own and three babies in heaven, as I have shared with you before. And my whole career has been dedicated to pediatrics, to childbearing families, and I've had the Privilege, Anne, of working a long time, many, many years I worked in a NICU and a neonatal icu. And I just thought, oh, my gosh, goodness, if people could come and be in this NICU and see these perfectly formed little babies. And actually there is research showing that the age of viability is being. Which is the age that a baby can live outside of the mother's womb is going back and back and back. And yes, there's always risk associated with that, but there's risk with any life for sure. But looking at it, at the medical and scientific technology advances, and to see these little babies that don't even weigh a pound when they're born, and to see them grow and thrive and just have a chance at life. And the thing I love about John Micah is that his legacy lives on. And you have a Bibles for Babies campaign. We have promoted this every year. We'll promote it again this July, but where we'll give our listeners an opportunity to donate a Bible to a mom who goes into a pregnancy resource center, and they will get a Bible in the name of John Micah. And I just think his life was. Was a whisper, whisper, but it was such a beautiful whisper. And every life makes an imprint. Every life makes an imprint on the world. And it's beautiful to see John Micah's living on. And that just shows us that there's so many little things that we can do. And just like you said, tell me, what was John Micah like? People love to talk about their child. They're the most precious thing in the world to them.
Another question that you can ask people who are struggling is what can you pray for?
Another question that you can ask people who are struggling, maybe you don't know what to say. Let me give you a safe question that you can ask that I encourage you to ask. I encourage you to have the courage to ask. If you know a family who's struggling, just walk up to that family and say, God has put it on my heart to pray for you. Is there any specific way that I can pray for you? And if they can't answer you at the time you tell them, call me, text me, tell me anytime, I will pray for you. And that is not. That is not something that, you know, may be potentially insensitive. Maybe they won't know how to respond. But just I guarantee you, knowing that somebody cares, somebody sees them, somebody knows, and somebody's praying for them, that's what you should ask.
Anne says Hannah's Heart is a ministry focused on infertility, miscarriage
And you know what I'm praying for, Anne? I'm praying that people will go to the conference that you are having the Hannah's Heart Conference. Tell us about this that is happening and it's not too late to join in.
Anne Cockrell: No, yeah, we are doing this full throttle this year. our first ever conference. And now. So Hannah's Heart is a ministry focused on infertility, miscarriage, that kind of thing. But if you've been following, the shows at all, you know that we discuss a lot more topics from singleness, adoption, child loss to pregnancy, centers and how we can support them. So lot lots of different topics that are actually on the show. And that's what this conference is going to be. The, theme is called Through it all. And the lady who's coming to speak, her name is Jane Johnson. She has, a few books that are out. One, that changed my life years ago. Walking through infertility is called Mercy. Like morning. Oh, my goodness, I would. And rather you're infertility or not. It's such a good devotional. but she will be speaking, at the conference. And she. This came from her mouth. She was like, I will not be just talking about infertility. That might be something that I bring up. But she was like, it is not going to be the main focus. Her passion is just to help and encourage women as they're walking through anything, through it all. rather it's a divorce that they weren't expecting or a diagnosis of like, what are we going to do now? Or a prodigal son or it's something like that. A job loss, you know, no matter what it is, the Lord's with us through it. All. Right. But then also, like, they just adopted a baby or we just had an answered prayer here. Oh, my goodness. The treatments worked. You know, so through all that excitement too, like, the Lord is there when we're mourning and when we're celebrating. Right. And so that is really what the, this conference is for. I would say. My goal is really to help women to have a community here of, like, mind women. No matter if we're talking about a 21 year old or a 60 year old. I think that we can learn so much from the generations before us, but that we're also called to be a Ruth and Naomi, to have that kind of relationship, with younger women. And so that's what I want to be. And I've had, Naomi experiences in my life. And so, yeah, that's my heart behind this conference. And we are going to have good food. Of course, you got to have food, huh? And then we're going to have some little goodies. Bags. And, some things that people. I guess you could say when. I don't know, some drawings, some. On some other radio shows, apparently they've been saying, like, you could win a car, and we're not going that far. I'm like, okay, jj. Like, let's calm down a little bit. Of course.
Dr. Jessica Peck: That would be JJ Jasper
Anne Cockrell: That would be jj. Yeah, I know it. I was like, let's. Okay, that's not true. But I wish we could,
Dr. Jessica Peck: You never know what the Lord might do.
Anne Cockrell: Correct. It's. It's more like a piece of pottery, maybe. But, anyway, I'm just looking for a good time and hopefully to let women, around our area. We have actually some people coming from Pennsylvania and from Louisiana and Arkansas, so I am glad about that. But it's definitely more of a local. A local thing to be going on.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, I love you. Just reminded me. You gave me a memory that I love. And I remember sitting in church with my granny, my sweet granny who is rocking babies in heaven now. And she, I remember singing that song. Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in Jesus. I've learned to trust in God. Yes. Some of you are. Are singing that hymn along with me, right?
Anne Cockrell: Yeah.
Dr. Jessica Peck: you know it. This program is going to be January 30th and 31st. It's in Tupelo, Mississippi, which is just a little bit. You could go into Birmingham if you wanted to fly in, or you could go into Memphis. I've done that many times myself. But I know, I know. And that. I know that someone is listening, thinking, should I go to this? Yeah. Yes, you should go. And as you just heard from Anne, it's not just for women who are struggling with infertility. It's for women who are struggling, period. And maybe in this first part of the year, in this January, you're looking out, thinking, I don't know if I can take another year like last one. Something's gotta change. Maybe this would be that moment for you. Maybe this would be that catalyst of hope.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Maybe this would be that community that you would find the message that God has for you. So we encourage you to go to afa.net/events that's afa.net/events Get on the Internet, have your kids, have your grandkids, help you get on the Internet and. Or find the phone number. We will. We will connect you with the right people. Listen, we've got a lot more to talk about when we come back. Will talk about some of the things that they've been talking about on Hannah's Heart. There is a lot that is changing. There are new laws, there are different public sentiments. There's new science coming out. So much to talk about. We'll talk about what Hannah's Heart is covering when we come back.
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Indescribable by Chris Tomlin: From the highest of heights to the depths of the, sea creations revealing your majesty. From the colors, of fall to the fragrance of spring. Every creature unique in the song that it sings. All exclaiming, indescribable, uncontainable. You place the stars in the sky and you know them by name. You are amazing God. All powerful, untamable, awestruck. We fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim. You are amazing God.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back friends. That is Indescribable by Chris Tomlin. And today we're talking to Anne Cockrell from Hannah's heart. This is a ministry here at American Family Radio. You can find their radio show on the weekends or on podcast format. And they walk with families who are struggling with infertility, with miscarriage and a bunch of other things. Foster care, child loss, abortion, all kinds of struggles that families face. We know that about one in six families face infertility. And it is happening more than you think. And during this national Human Sanctity of Human Life Month, we want to talk about ways that we can honor life life in all stages at all ages. And you know, for me as a nurse, I have dedicated my life to promoting optimal health, to helping families have babies. I worked in pediatrics and labor and delivery and the neonatal ICU and pediatric primary care has been the my main home for my whole life. And giving that compassionate care in life's fragile moments. And I do believe that every person is created in the image of God. God and the Bible teaches us that life begins before we can even see it. One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 139 and verses 13 through 16 declares, for you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. Your eyes saw my unformed body. And I believe that the beginning of life is a deliberate act of creation by a loving God who values each soul from the moment of consciousness conception. And when you recognize that truth, you can see every life has purpose and potential. And I've often said I'm a star struck witness to sanctity of life. Each heartbeat, each microscopic development is just a, ah, jaw dropping miracle. The more that we learn, the more complex it is than we could ever, ever have imagined. And we see advances in science that can be destructive, but also advances in science, science that provide very increasingly detailed insight into the marvelous complexities at the very beginning of human life. the fetal heart forms at three weeks and begins to beat by five weeks of gestation. That in of itself is absolutely amazing. And so I am asking you, if you are listening, to do something this month. Do something to honor the sanctity of human Life month. Now that might be something as simple but powerful. Don't underestimate the power of praying intentionally. Say an intentional prayer for unborn children, for expectant mothers, for families who are facing infertility or loss, or even for children with special needs, for the elderly. For any ever. Just pray. Pray for life. You might choose to support a life affirming ministry. You might donate, volunteer, just be at a pregnancy resource center and use your gifts. Maybe you serve on their board board. Maybe you help an adoption or foster care agency, or maybe you walk with those families. Maybe you offer to pray for a family who is experiencing a struggle there. Just do something to honor human life this month. I encourage you to do that. One of the things that you might do is to tell someone about the Hannah's Heart Women's conference called Through It All. It's coming up January 30th and 31st. It will be in Tupelo, Mississippi. Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. Tupelo is a charming town. Such a great place to stay, great food, great people and a great conference. It's a. And Hannah's Heart is a program, of course, for families who are walking through infertility, through miscarriage, through child loss. But this conference is for any woman who's going through anything which basically is every woman who has ever lived. And that. You can find out more about that at afa.net/events That's afa.net/events
Anne and Kendra have formed a support group for women struggling with infertility
Now, Anne, I know that you and Kendra have told me several times, both of you have said, this isn't just a radio program. It is a ministry. It is a community. And I would love for you to speak a little bit about that and talk about people who may need that community themselves or why someone might need that community and why it would be important for someone who knows about it to connect it to someone who needs it, but to. He doesn't know.
Anne Cockrell: Well, so we started out, yeah, just as the podcast and radio show. And we quickly learned and just saw, like, the need for community, which we already knew because we felt that way. But at the time, it felt like Kendra were, like, the only ones in Tupelo struggling with this. And obviously we know that that's a lie from the enemy to make you feel, alone in a situation like that. But we have slowly but surely formed a little support group that meets. We. We try for every month. That sometimes doesn't happen, especially through the holiday. when I say little, I mean like, less than 10 ladies getting together at a coffee shop, or we've gone to the park and had a picnic with pizza, or, people have come over to our house multiple times now. And I, mean, honestly, they just become your good friends, where you're just like, okay, this is what I have coming up. And, you know, my prayer requests look a little different now. I'm not saying, like, we're desiring. I mean, our hands are open when it comes to kids. and we have had another baby since John Micah. Her name is Nora, and she's a year and a half now. But, like, we just want the Lord, you know, to have his way in our life when it comes to that. But, the. The girls that are a part of that group or the women who are a part of that group, we do. We just pray for each other and say, hey, this appointment's coming up. This, you know, my house. We're getting ready for adoption. So they're coming to do the home study, or we're raising money for. For this, for treatment or, you know, things like that. And it has just been such a blessing to get to walk beside those ladies as they're walking beside me and loving on my babies now. and we also. A butterfly release every October. And the healing that I have seen through people. We had a couple, that came this past October at two different couples that came. One had just experienced lost in August, so a few months before that. And, the other couple had experienced loss 19 years ago. And so to see both of them do the exact same actions, but obviously at, ah, way different times of their grieving process, I hate to. I mean, it was beautiful, but also heartbreaking, obviously, at the same time. And to see those men to step up and come to a really, like, intimate setting, like, I mean, we're talking about, we're in this tiny but beautiful greenhouse a little outside of Tupelo, with their wives to a women's event. but to see those husbands cry over those babies and to hug on their wives as they're letting these butterflies go was really just a beautiful thing to get to be a part of. and so I would encourage any, anyone, honestly, no matter if you've chosen abortion a long time ago and now you're regretting that decision, or if you've had a miscarriage or a stillbirth or however your loss looks like, to take the time to mourn that loss, to name that baby if you feel led to, to, to acknowledge that loss. And so the butterfly release is a huge thing for Hannah's heart. And then, yes, we do the Bibles for Babies campaign in July because that is John Micah's bir. and so that's a blessing to be a part of, at Hannah's heart. We do encourage women. Even if you're walking through infertility, it can kind of feel crazy to go volunteer or to support a pregnancy center because, you know, all those women are possibly there. but we're begging the Lord to change those women's heart as they walk through that pregnancy center door and hopefully getting to see a sonogram or to hear the baby's heartbeat. And so I can understand how that would feel kind of hard or insensitive to ladies if you're walk through infertility to be at a pregnancy center. But like we're saying, like, every life is valuable. And, when we're getting out of the muck and the yuck of our own hurts and to look in a different direction and say, okay, she's hurting too, but just in a complete different way than I am. But I'm still called to be there for her. I'm still called to be the light of Jesus. goodness, the Lord can just use you in such powerful ways, even if it's just you, you know, bolding, bolding up and being willing to walk that door. yeah, It's.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I love, I love that thought bolding up. Like, just get bold and just do it. Because I do believe and that God blesses little steps of obedience. I really do. I believe that we just take a tiny little micro step in the Lord's direction. And as he is directing us and he blesses us, we know he can do exceedingly, abundantly more than we ask or imagine. And you know, and I know that he is a good father who loves to give good gifts to his children. And.
You talk about embryo adoption and IVF on your radio show
Dr. Jessica Peck: And that is one of the encouraging things that I have found in your ministry, because you are talking to people on a regular basis, people you're serving, and people who are stepping in to serve alongside you by appearing on your show, sharing their story, sharing their expertise. And we are talking about really some of the toughest things in life. And yet there's hope, yet there is healing, and yet there is always hope. I think that's really encouraging. And when you're talking about to the families that you're serving and you're scheduling your radio guests and your programming, what kinds of things are you seeing? Give the listeners kind of a little sampler here of some of the topics that you might cover that you might be talking about some of those things that are now. Because I think right now it's really hard for families as technology is increasing. You know, there's the question, just because we can, does it mean we should? And now more than, than ever, I'm really encouraging families to find a primary care provider. You literally trust with your life, who you trust, who respects your worldview, who shares your worldview optimally. And you have a community where you can talk about these things because there is some real ethical wrestling that can happen with some of these issues.
Anne Cockrell: Yep. And I did not realize until I got, heavily involved with Hannah's heart of the issues that you're referring to, with IVF Main. but, we, we do talk about that on the show. And, it's a sensitive topic because I think, as Christians, we know that desiring life is holy. Right. And so it's like. But now we have a scientific way to create it. But if we look at the nitty gritty of what's going on a lot of times in these clinics, it's not life, affirming, not life honoring in the long run of what can happen and does happen to these embryos. We have also talked about, something called Snowflake Adoption, which I think is just talking about jaw dropping. Amazing. And A miracle. we have a, have had a lady on there. She did the first Snowflake adoption. She has a daughter named Hannah now. And Hannah was an embryo that was fresh or a baby, that was frozen, if I'm Remembering right, for 23 years.
Dr. Jessica Peck: It's unbelievable. It's hard to wrap your mind around that.
Anne Cockrell: I think my, my jaw did drop when I was listening to this lady's story just on the phone at first, first before I had scheduled her, I was like, the embryo, she was frozen for 23 years. But honestly, she's. This lady has worked a lot on laws, regarding that. Because these embryo adoption, yes, they're sent in the mail like your Amazon package. And so it's like, okay, these are children. So we need to, you know, figure out regulations and laws to protect the, these lives more carefully than what they're being protected right now. But we have also had. I, I know of three different couples that have emailed in to let me know, hey, I had no idea what Snowflake adoption was until you had it on your program. And now here's my baby that we, adopted through Snowflake Adoption. So, I mean, like those stories, I'm like, thank you, Jesus. That is so exciting to hear. and talking about ivf, Kendra, my co host, she has talked many times about the facility, that she and her husband use calls called Rejoice, Clinic, I think is what it's called. It's in Knoxville, Tennessee. And they are very life affirming, very much, Christian based, and try to honor those lives as biblically possible, you know, as they can. they don't create, but I think the most at like three or four embryos and you have to sign something saying like, no, we plan on using all of these embryos. They do not discard. and so, yeah, just those are.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Anne, as you're talking, I know there's some people listening who thinking, okay, you lost me now. Like, I, I am lost. And some people are saying, oh yes, you are just the very beginning. That is just the tip of the iceberg. I think the takeaway for all listeners is that this is a tough space to navigate because exactly like you said, Anne, desiring life is a thing that honors the Lord and, and the way that we have the, the capabilities that we have there. Those are not always honoring to the Lord, but you don't always know that until you get in there and, and there's a trust of healthcare professionals. I say that very sensitively because I am a healthcare professional that, you know, you have all the information and, but really it is, it is hard. It's a hard line to walk to find out, how do I find out what I need, need to know? How do I know that? How do I verify this information, how do I trust the information? And one of those ways is walking in community with other people who can share information, who can share credible sources, who can share, hey, I saw this healthcare provider. You know, here's a recommendation, here's a referral, here's a source, here's a journal, all of those things. And one of those resources that we're sharing is the Hannah's Heart conference that's happening January 30th and 31st. it's not too late to go. It's happening in Tupelo, Mississippi. Go to afa.net/events and again, I challenge you to do something to observe Sanctity of Human Life month, even if that is just praying. And that is not just praying. We know that prayer is powerful. And as you do, I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. And I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
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Jeff Chamblee: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
Anne Cockrell, co-host of Hannah's Heart, joins Jessica to talk about their upcoming women's conference.
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