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Peace I leave you, my peace I give you."- Jesus
Hope this finds you all doing well. I am so excited for spring....it is such a happy time when the tempature starts to rise and the trees begin to bud. I can't help but think a new springtime is around the corner for our country. Everywhere I turn, people are struggling in some area of their life. As I pulled into the bakery the other day with tears rolling down my eyes because of some struggles we have been having in our business, I looked up at a large American Flag waving in the air. The stripes were beginning to come unraveled and I thought to my self that that was exactly what is happening in our Nation. Our Nation is becoming unraveled. Everything that our country was founded on is slowly passing away. And I am a firm believer that the unraveling of this great nation began in the home. "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." As mothers, we can help change the society by the way we live our life and raise our families. We have to stand up for what is right and not back down to what society calls "the norm". I know we are all busy wives and mothers but we have to stay in tune to what is going on all around us. We CAN NOT become complacent and okay with how things are going. We have to LIVE what we believe.....LIVE OUR FAITH. At times when I feel like I am starting to unravel, I am so thankful I have my faith to cling to. Sometimes that is all our family has is our faith and nothing else to offer. I am comforted to know at any moment of my life when I meet hard times or hard aches, I have my faith.
We can not be peace for others until we become at peace within ourselves. If we are not at peace internally, we become blinded. We become numb to what is really going on around us. Finding peace within ourselves in the walls of our home will help lead us to discern what is right and wrong that is going on outside the walls of our home as we try to raise children in this world. My favorite saying from Mother Teresa is "Charity begins in the home." We do not need to busy ourselves serving outside the home until we are at peace within ourselves and our family is taken care of to the best of our abilities. Once we find peace and run a tranquil home, then our service in the community will be the best we have to offer. So many (and I have been guilty of this) run and run and run around serving here and serving there and having a schedule packed full of activities which leaves our family and home in the dust. I have never been so happy and at peace by concentrating on the five souls entrusted to me....my husband first and then our four children. I am not able at this moment in my life to concentrate on anything else. I want to be my husband's oasis and I want (mind you I said want...not always the case) to be Jesus' extended hands to my children. I am so happy to say that nothing else matters in my life at the moment than those two things and ofcourse keeping an orderly home. Anything after this is a bonus. I had the most amazing revelation the other day in my kitchen.....that when I wake up in the morning I have one thing I
have to do....and that is be peace and love for my family. Everything and everybody can wait if that is all I can handle that very day. This mindset has really put things into perspective on what is important and what can wait or is unimportant. On the path to finding peace....it is my daily prayer for God to help me have peace in my heart but it also is a process. For me it took "detoxing" from technology and other things/people that stood in my way to finding peace. I have slowly come back around to technology....we got a TV back in our living room (ugh) and I am back to having email, etc. but I now try to have a balance and do not let it consume my life. So I encourage you to start today on the mission to find peace. I believe once the home becomes more peaceful our nation will be more at peace....and this starts one home at a time.
Anyway, with all that said, I want to urge all of you to start praying hard for our (hopefully) next leader for our nation. I am voting for Rick Santorum. I think his strong values on the family and faith among many other things is exactly who we need to turn this country around. I attached a few utube videos that you can watch. Somebody the other day was talking about a priest's homily on how we should be praying for the conversion of the individual who will turn the country around. I thought that was powerful. The time is now or never. We are in a time like no other and as mothers, it is time to stand up for what we believe, for what is right and for most of all our faith.
Blessings to you all this lenton season.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7LyoAEIskw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRmfKLYRRV0&feature=relmfu
