Muscle and Mercy

Fitness, Parenting, Sobriety, Self-sufficiency

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

“It is not the soul alone that should be healthy; if the mind is healthy in a healthy body, all will be healthy and much better prepared to give God greater service.” - St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Stew Peters @realstewpeters]

MASSIE: “The Israelis napalmed the deck of the USS Liberty and then machine-gunned the lifeboats. They were intent on leaving no survivors.”

It took 59 years for the USS Liberty survivors to even be recognized by our occupied government. God bless Thomas Massie.

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

@metathomist My wife and I know this sting as well, brother. You will be in my prayers.

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

Being a Dad rules.

[Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee]

@Portland_Sucks_ This isn’t another gospel. It’s the same gospel, as manifested through the mouth of ancient prophets who lived in the Americas.

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

@BasedMikeLee @Portland_Sucks_

[Mason-Dixon Latin Mass Society @MDLatinMass]

An 18-line Latin prayer proclaiming Christ as the Son of God, invoking Saint Titus, containing the words of Saint Paul, and carried by a man well over a hundred years before the first Bible ever existed, is the most Catholic thing you'll see today.

[JD™ @LostMyHats]

"I'm a polytheist who believes God was once a man, that He's married to a female goddess and they live on a planet called Kolob, that Jesus and Satan are brothers, that there's a potentially infinite number of gods and I'll one day become the god of my own planet populated with my celestial space babies, I deny every single essential Christian doctrine, and reject every historic Christian creed.

Now explain to me why I'm not a Christian right this second."

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

Time to train.

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

Anyway. Today is my 38th birthday. I'm glad that I got to have it, because I wasn't foreseen to be too much of an inconvenience to my parents.

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

@McJuggerNuggets https://t.co/moSuv94Fpl

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

Some of the best people I have ever met in my life are people with Trisomy 21. I played hide and seek at work with a kid just last week with it. You are both murderers. You are both weak. You are both cowards. How's your dog?

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

@EdKrassen https://t.co/moSuv94Fpl

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

Some of the best people I have ever met in my life are people with Trisomy 21. I played hide and seek at work with a kid just last week with it. You are both murderers. You are both weak. You are both cowards. How's your dog?

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

Some of the best people I have ever met in my life are people with Trisomy 21. I played hide and seek at work with a kid just last week with it. You are both murderers. You are both weak. You are both cowards. How's your dog?

[Jesse Ridgway @McJuggerNuggets]

This week, my wife and I made the very difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy due to Trisomy 21.

The choice was not made lightly. We really appreciate all of the personal stories that you guys shared with us, especially the unconditional support we received from fans with no matter what we decided.

I know some of you may be very disappointed to hear this news. We are devastated. This has been extremely traumatic for both of us, especially Ashley.

She underwent the procedure earlier this week and is on the mend. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, but emotionally we are drained.

Trisomy 21, also known as Down Syndrome, is caused by an extra chromosome. It is caused by an error in cell division, like a glitch. The odds of a baby having it is 1 in 1000.

When I first confronted this news, I was shocked but optimistic. If they’re a little slow intellectually, then we’ll make it work. I signed on to be a parent, come what may…but I just didn’t fully understand what Down Syndrome entailed.

Once we made it public, it became clear that MOST people don’t know what Down Syndrome entails (and no, it’s not the same as Autism):

50% of babies with DS have heart defects. 75% will have hearing challenges. Over 50% will have vision problems. Impaired immune function, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, delayed physical development, poor muscle tone, structural issues with face, decreased lifespan, etc…Sadly, the list is long, feel free to look it up…Down Syndome isn’t a “blessing”, it is objectively shitty from a health perspective.

I didn’t realize just how rough it is for the child, let alone the family…more often than not, they would be fully dependent on others for the rest of their life.

The miscarriage risk is also close to 50%, which made matters worse…they may never see the light of day and it puts Ashley further at risk.

We spoke with doctors, friends, family and genetic counselors and learned that up to 90% of women terminate their pregnancy after learning the baby has Trisomy 21.

This was WAY higher than I expected, I thought it would be lower given that I hear so many say they kept or would keep the baby. I believe that’s because most terminations happen privately, it feels shameful. A lot of judgment being cast.

You never think you’d be in this type of situation until it happens to you and then things change.

To all of my fans who have weighed in on this topic who have Autism, Down Syndrome or any other conditions…we appreciate you. You matter a lot and we’re glad you’re here. I commend you and your families for having the strength and courage to push forward.

As for us, we made a difficult decision that we believe in the long-run will be beneficial for our family. Thankfully, we had a choice.

It will take a little time to move on, but we are excited to try again in the future and hopefully have a better outcome.

Love you guys & thank you for understanding. ❤️

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

I've been alive for 38 years. There was a big feeling that I wouldn't live past 25. Stay in the fight.

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

Who has the ability to declare war as designated by the founding fathers of the United States, Jesse?

[Jesse Watters @JesseBWatters]

🚨 BREAKING: CONGRESS JUST VOTED TO END THE IRAN WAR 🚨

FOUR REPUBLICANS BETRAYED THE PARTY.

[Muscle and Mercy @MuscleandMercy]

@JesseBWatters Who has the ability to declare war as designated by the founding fathers of the United States, Jesse?

[Pope Respecter @poperespecter1]

June is here.

Happy Sacred Heart of Jesus Month!

[That Catholic Guy 🇻🇦 @Catholic_bro]

June belongs to the Sacred Heart of Jesus