Today is Christmas Eve, and my two year wedding anniversary. With all of the hustle and bustle of shopping I have barely slowed down to realize the importance of either day. Today is the day when one of the greatest men of all times was born Jesus brought hope in to the world. He healed the sick, made the blind to see, and the lame to walk. What a miracle to have lived in that time and been able to witnesss such happenings. Do you think miracles such as these occur in todays world, where we seem to have forgotten Jesus and all that he stood for? I believe if we look hard of enough we will find the same miracles occuring everyday in our lives. We just don't recognize them as miracles. We call them amazing coincindences or chalk them up to something other than what they are or worse we don't even notice them at all. Miracles are all around us. Have you ever stopped to look at the people in your life and realize what miracles they are. The grandmother who loves her grandchildren in a way that a younger parent can't. The wisdom she has gained over decades of raising her own kids and how she is able to gracefully pass that wisdom on to her children as time passes. How about the miracle of a spouse. The person that stands by you no matter what. The person that helps you pick up the pieces when everything seems to be falling in around you. The person that encourages you when you need it most. The person that provides security and stability in the life of your family. Aren't these people, in fact, miracles also? Maybe they never made the blind to see but they have made you see by providing a clearer a vision of who you are and who you can be. They are the fabric of your life. Wouldn't we be blind without many of the people in our lives who impact us everyday? I would be more than blind without my mother, father, husband and children. Each of them has uniquely brought my path into focus and helped to create the person that is me. I am surrounded by miracles everyday!

I have had the opportunity to read "Ask and it is Given," by Esther and Jerry Hicks. This book gives amazing insight into the law of attraction. It states that whatever you think about expands which is not new concept for newagers, but it teaches you how to change your predominant thought patterns into what they call downstream instead of upstream thoughts so that you may more effectively attract that which you want in your life. In other words if you can't completely let go of thougth patterns that you have held for so long, you can start by thinking thoughts that are a little more in line with where you want to be. For example, if you think that you need more money and you think that you don't have enough money, it may be hard for you to polarize that thought by saying that I have plenty of money because it is so far from where you have been so long. However, you may start with small downstream thoughts like appreciating the small things in your life like the great meal that you just purchased or the fact that you were able to pay some small bills previously that week. Start small and expand and expand and expand until your thoughts are completely downstream and you can say with full belief "I have plenty."

How do we stay motivated in a job we aren't content with? Is it even possible? Are all people unhappy with what they do on a certain level? Do we all dread going to work on Monday? Do we all dread going back to work after a vacation? Is that normal? Should we be excited to go back to work? I hear that some people love what they do so much that they jump out of bed in the morning eager to go to work. I wish I could find that kind of passion in my work or find work that makes me that passionate! I don't expect to be happy and content all of the time in my work but since I do spend 65% of my life at work or at some work related activity I would like to be content at least 80% of the time. I've read dozens of articles on how to find your passion but I still dont' know what I am passionate about. My dream now would just be to be a stay at home mom and wife. Taking care of my family, my home and myself would be a dream come true!

With the presidential election at our doorstep and the inability to develop a liking for either candidate I was forced to make a decision of whom I would cast my vote for. I have been a moderate conservative for most of my voting years. I have always supported our republican candidates steadfastly and never shuttered an eye at who I would vote for. Until this election year, everything changed, for the first time in American history we had a female, and African American and a war hero running for president. For this reason, I knew the decision would be a difficult one and I was torn; who would get my vote and why? After the democratic and republican conventions were over and the nominees were announced I began watching the news daily, listening to the issues, and scrutinizing each candidate in an effort to make my decision. I soon became frustrated by both candidates; with all of the rhetoric and waffling back and forth on the issues. Tax cuts for the rich, redistribution of the wealth, health care for all, health care for some, to drill or not to drill. Over the course of several months my frustration turned to disappointment and I couldn’t even bring myself to watch the news. Over the last few days however I realized that I must make a choice, a choice that I believed to be the best choice for the future of our nation. A choice that is most in line with my fundamental values. It was then that my thoughts led me straight to the issue of abortion. I am a mother of four and I have always opposed abortion. Rewind: Over the summer I had the opportunity to read some interesting material on the abuse of livestock in slaughter houses. You may be thinking, what does this have to do with abortion? Well, after hearing the kind of treatment that many animals suffer I decided that I could no longer eat beef or pork in good conscience. How could I sit and eat a steak when I knew of the abuses that it suffered leading up to its slaughter. If I am against this treatment and I still eat the meat, then I am not who I say I am. You can’t be against and for something at the same time. Now how can a person that refuses to eat meat due to mistreatment and exploitation of the animal be for the killing of an unborn child? Isn’t a child worth more than a mere cow? That is when I realized that I couldn’t cast my vote for Barrack Obama? Barrack Obama is a vegetarian, and has been quoted as saying “I invite all Americans to join me in a bright future free of cruelty and exploitation, free of the blood of innocents killed only for our pleasure. It is time to end the exploitation of farmed animals on American soil.”
Wow, I thought…such passion for a farm animal…by the way a passion which I share with Obama, but how can he or I stand for the rights of animals and ignore the rights of “innocent” human beings? Now we can argue the issue of abortion endlessly…Is a fetus living or not? You can get into the science of the whole issue, but I think that the issue is simple and the American people know in their heart that abortion is wrong. Look at it this way… FACT- a fetus develops a heart beat around 25 days of pregnancy. Now how many women out there knew they were pregnant at three weeks, and even if they did by the time they made the decision to have an abortion and then schedule an abortion they would be well beyond 25 days of pregnancy. Now I can’t tell you what to believe or think, but if something has a heartbeat I would say there is a good chance that it is alive!!
My point is not to argue abortion but to point out insanity that is going on in our nation. “I’m a vegan, I don’t eat meat, that might hurt the animals but it’s ok to harm an unborn child.” In America we shouldn’t have to deal with consequences of our actions, we can just kill them.” Are you kidding me??? How can we grow and learn from our mistakes if we never suffer any of the consequences from them? We have turned into a nation that is for everything and against nothing.
Now, you may think I’m insane for letting this issue be the deciding factor in who will receive my vote and that’s ok. I can’t tell you what to believe think or feel but if you are undecided you may need to sit down as I did and think about who you are and what you believe in before you fulfill your civil duty of voting. This isn’t a decision I take lightly nor should anyone. Ideally I thought it would be great to have an African American president, and unlike McCain who is a little dry and boring, Obama has charisma, but I can’t let charisma or the lack there of decide who will hold the reigns of our great nation. Before you go to the polls on Nov. 4th don’t leave your values at the door, think about who you are and what you truly believe in and then cast your vote with pride, knowing that your vote will be counted and it is in line with you inner most values and beliefs!