Why do you Think Abortion is your Only Option?

Hello my Dear Sisters of this World,

I was out running errands this morning and saw a sign at the St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Mango, Florida. It was talking about abortion and remembering the lives of the babies and their mothers. It made me think a little about this issue. I have participated in fasts and lots of prayers for this to stop but it's obvious that abortion is here to stay. I truly doubt it will ever go back to being an illegal practice, doesn't mean I will stop praying that it does, but I just think that it will never change.

However, a thought came to me, I call it inspiration, and it said we need to convince women that there are other options. If we can't make the practice of abortion go away then let's help women see the other choices they can make and why it is the best thing to do. Threats and making someone feel horrible about themselves hasn't worked, so there has to be a better way.

Lets look at this for a moment.  We should ask ourselves the question why does a women decide to do this? I can think of several reasons but I may not say them without it sounding hateful and I certainly do not hate these women who choose to do this. We can't walk in their shoes but we can show them that the other options can bring a sense of happiness in making a choice to let the baby live.

The Lord has commanded us not to take another persons life, it is a sin when we break a commandment and this is a commandment. But we can choose to avoid the sin by looking at the other options that are available when a baby is not the best thing for the mother at that time.

 “Thou shalt not … kill, nor do anything like unto it”  (D&C 59:6)

What are the options? Of course the best option is for the birth mom to keep her baby but sometimes that is not possible. So we have to think of other options with her. One choice is to have the child and give it up for adoption. Adoption is not a horrible thing. Have you ever seen a woman who is unable to have a child of her own. Her heart is so broken every time she see's a new baby. She knows that she may never hold a child of her own. Do you know that by making a choice to give her the baby will bring joy to so many people. It will bring happiness to the new mom, the baby, and giver of the life! That's a lot of good that is being done.

There are programs available where the birth mother can choose who she wants her baby to go to. That is awesome to be able to choose the home the baby will be raised. Some people are even good about letting the birth mother be involved in the child's life as well, now that is amazing. What a good heart on both sides.

 Life doesn't have to be filled with hatred and ill feelings towards one another, make any situation a good thing. The birth mom goes on with her life and still get's to see her child grow and the adoptive mom gets to raise a baby as her own. Peace (long sigh) of heart and mind. To me that is the only option. But there are other options, the key is to not make abortion an option.

We have to show love and not judgement to the birth mom, she needs moral support and sometimes financial support. What are we willing to do to avoid the decision of abortion? That is something that is between you, the birth mom and Heavenly Father. When we include Him in our decision we always choose the right one, doesn't mean life will be all wonderful and perfect, but it does mean it will be the right one and everyone will be blessed for it.

Now perhaps you are thinking about a very young girl, or a victim of rape, or even a mother who's life is on the line. Those are good examples of the fight today. People use those instances as a valid reason to have legal abortion options. But as I always say when we give in to something for the benefit of good, it gets abused and turned around so itis used for bad.

But even with those situations I would think the baby is worth fighting for as well. No, I have never been in that situation, nor have I known anyone that was ever in that situation but I would try to help the mom to see that the baby is a victim as well. We all experience challenges and trials in our lives but it's what we do with them that makes or breaks us. So if a person is raped, no matter the age, the mom can get help to get her through the tough times she will have in carrying the child. It will not be easy and it is a hard choice to make, but in the long run it can give the personal healing power to her soul.

As for the health of the mother, that is a tough one too. I think one of the saddest things in life is when a mother dies and leaves her young family. I'm sure it is one of the most unfair things in life. But God'd plan is one that we do not always undersand. The choice in all these situations is between the mother and God; we can not judge. We can only try to help no matter the choice.

I had a young friend who was pregnant and she did not want to be. I remember her calling me and asking for advice. I tried and tried to talk her out of the thoughts of abortion. She was a Christian but she was just so overwhelmed with grief. She had  broke up with the young man for a good reason but she did not want to raise a child alone. I was so heartbroken when she told me she had the abortion, but I couldn't let her see my disappointment in her decision.  I had made a lot of wrong choices in my life so I was not in a situation to judge her decision, all I could do is let her cry on my shoulder and be her friend.

I know she has her regrets but all we can do it try to help them make a good choice and if they don't , be as supportive as we can. I will not back down on my fight against abortion and the taking of a life. I believe woman should choice to save the life of the baby and then if she can not raise it , give it to a home where it can be raised in a good environment. Prayer and reflection on the situation will only aid in the decision. May God direct our lives for the good of everyone. And may He be allowed to direct your decision in the matter of abortion whether you are the birth mother or someone who cares enough to help someone make the best choice, and that is for all life.

Would Jesus have condemned the mother? No, he would have showed her love and support. He would have done everything He could to show her the best choices. And yes, he would have been disappointed if she chose to have the abortion. But we are given the gift of freedom of choice, and with that comes consequences of our choices. Not ones that are decided by people but ones that go with choices that are made.

We have to stand as righteous women and fight against evil. The person is not normally evil but the act of abortion is. I pray that God will direct your path to doing good in this fight for life. Love as Jesus loves and help build up His Kingdom.

All my love!!!

Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman?

Proverbs 31:10-31

"Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies." Let's find out why virtue is of great value yesterday and today. What is virtue?

Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior that shows the highest of spiritual standards. For instance, its what you do when you think no is looking. It is your innermost thoughts and your actions from them.

Virtuous women focus on being righteous, doing a lot of good in the world around them. They try to be obedient to the commandments of God and help others to do the same.

I remember once, when my young sister-in-law was visiting my house, that we began talking about what makes a woman truly beautiful.  I told her that true beauty was inside her. She loved the Disney Princess's so I used that as my point of view.

We discussed the inner beauty of Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty" and Snow White. They were sweet and did good things that helped other people. They had positive attitudes that helped people to like them, etc.

I tried to show her the inner beauty that makes a woman beautiful. Then I asked her if she wanted to be known as the Queen who needed a mirror to tell her she was beautiful only on the outside or did she want to be the  princess who radiated beauty from the inside.

I heard from a woman once that said her mother told her to make herself as attractive as she could before she left home then once she left her house she was not to think of herself any more but to think of others that day and how she could help them. I agree with that thought. We should make ourselves look the best we can before we go out the door but then we need to focus on the Savior and what He would be doing if He was here among us. Then follow those steps throughout the day.

If we do that then the inner beauty will continue to grow. You can be the most beautiful woman in the world to the eye but age happens, and accidents happens, and then you become miserable because you can never gain back that beauty. But if you focus on the beauty where it really counts you will only grow more beautiful every day. This is where virtue begins, think not of yourself but of doing good for others.

Hope, the Next Attribute of Christ

 2 Nephi 31:20

What is hope?

Hope is a trust that something you believe in will be so. For example, you have hope, or trust, that when you die you will go to heaven. You have hope and trust that when you go to bed at night that the sun will arise and you will get up to greet a new day. We hope for this to be true, we expect this happen. Hope and faith go together, which you will see this week in the scriptures I plan to blog about.

When we hope in things of God we are showing faith that we trust in Him to lead and guide our lives in a way that will help us gain eternal life. With hope we can endure trials and hardships. With hope we can endure to the end.

When we go through tough times it is hope that gets us through, hope to see a better day. It helps us endure to the end which is something we must do. I have found at times that I just wanted to give up and climb in bed and forget everything but, I know that I have to stand strong in Christ and endure what I must so I make sure that hope and faith are strong in my life and help others to do the same.

We are living in a time when there is so much evil surrounding us and some people don't even see it. They see it as part of life, but we are surrounded and we have to stand firm in Christ and His plan in order to fight for the good to shine through all of this darkness. And when we do, we have the hope of a promise from out Father in Heaven that we will have peace and joy in this life and the life to come in eternity.

As righteous women, we need to shine the light of Christ for others to see and hang on to their hope of a better life. Our example is so important to sustaining our families and helping others to endure to the end. Jesus needs us to do our part by helping our brothers and sisters in this world find Him and learn to do the same. It's time to become part of God's Army and shine the Light high for all to see.

Barilla Pasta Company Stand

I just heard that the President of the Barilla Pasta company has made a stand for traditional family values by choosing not to feature gay couples in his commercials. There are many who are upset and calling for a boycott of the Barilla products. Why?

He has a right to his opinion. if he chooses not to do this it doesn't mean he hates gay people. It just means he has his beliefs and wants to stand strong in what he believes. There is nothing wrong with that. Why is it that you are good in the eyes of people when you stand up for things that don't match the teaching of the Bible but you are bad when you stand up for the good things in the Bible, like a man and woman only marriage? Looks like the scriptures are right, the day will come when bad things look good and good things look bad (Isaiah 5:20).

I am on his side. I don't approve of gay marriage and I will stand up for what I believe in but it doesn't mean I hate those who choose a different life style. I have a beautiful niece, who I absolutely love with all my heart, but she has chosen the gay lifestyle. Do I hate her or love her any less than the rest of my family, NO!!! I love her. My best friend in high school is gay but I don't hate her either. She is such a good person and a good example to me.

I actually think lesbians are strong women who know a lot about themselves. I have learned a lot from them about womanhood. But I don't think their choices are consistent with God's so I will stand for God at all times and all places.

The President of the Barilla Pasta company has the right to say what he wants and if there are those who want to boycott his products then I say to those who stand with Mr. Barilla we need to focus and buy his product to show support. Those who stand with him can also show support by blogging or commenting on facebook and twitter, or any other social media, that they stand behind him. He needs to know that we are on his side and support what he wants to do within his company.

Good luck, Mr Barilla, you have my support and I will let everyone know it!!! I will also let everyone know that I love my sweet niece, Alysha and my good friend, Barbara.  

Stay at Home Moms Find a Way

Hey!!! This is my 100th post, yea!!!! Thanks for viewing, I hope you will keep coming back.

Man, is our world in a mess. Too many of our young kids are getting into trouble, seeing a world that their young eyes should not be seeing, experiencing a world that they should never know. What happened?

I think back to a time in my life when things didn't seem to be as bad but now I know, as I read history, that my time was just starting to get bad. What things changed that caused kids to get into so much trouble, some ending up in jail? What changes happened to cause people in the world to just sit back and except what ever comes our way; to say well it's a different world now?

I believe there are many changes but the most important change began when mom left home to work for someone else instead of her family. I don't condemn women for this; I had to work outside the home while raising kids. Today's woman doesn't seem to have a choice but let's look back a little and see where the change happened.

Many studies have shown both positive and negative results of moms working or staying at home. For me, my mom stayed at home until she was divorced and had to work to support us. That was in the 60's when pay for women wasn't the best. This caused her to work longer hours for over time pay, which in turn caused us to be alone without adult supervision as much. We, my siblings and myself, were all in school but there were several hours we were alone. I was the oldest so I was left to watch over the rest, which wasn't the best of situations since I was almost raped at 11 years of age by an adult man. The Lord truly blessed me and let me escape from that situation but you can see why I am for moms being home to protect their young.

Woman's lib happened and was supposed to be something good but some of its purposes got mixed up and caused hardships on women and mixed responsibilities. There was a lot of good like getting equal pay for women doing equal jobs but as usual, things just went over board with cries of things that didn't really affect "all" women.

With mom's gone from home children are not protected, have no one to control their actions, and no one is there to care for their needs. Sure there are child care providers but that costs much of mom's pay check so that kind of defeats the purpose of mom working. Also, do you ever wonder where your kids moral values come from, perhaps you should be checking with the person who is with them the most hours of a day.

I don't want this to be about the problems of mom's not being there to raise their kids, actually, I am writing this to show another option for mom's. In today's world we see a growing change in mom's who want to stay home. I know I did, I love to work, and I loved my jobs, but I wanted to stay home with my kids so much so that I found jobs that did not take me away from home so much. One of those jobs was throwing newspapers, my kids came with me and we had some great experiences. I actually made most of my money that way believe it or not, 3 hours a day, 7 days a week but it was worth it. I made the amount of money that I would have had for our expenses less daycare costs by working out of the home. It worked for me.

Thank goodness for the Internet because many moms are creating their own home businesses. I think that is an awesome way to make it work; stay at home and make the extra money needed to help with the expenses. For those of us who no longer need to stay home, because our kids are grown, we can help by supporting these moms. I would rather buy from them so they are available to raise good, righteous, and responsible citizens, than to buy from a chain store.

Take some time to see what kinds of home businesses there are that could benefit you. I love that mom's want to stay home to be with their children. I do know the value of moms at home because I experienced my mom doing both. When she was home I could be a kid, but when she left to work, I had to become an adult and be responsible for my younger siblings. I can also see the difference in my kids because I sacrificed until they were in school, then when I started work my kids were at home for maybe a hour to an hour and a half by themselves until I was able to get home to them. It worked for us but we had to make sacrifices and that was worth it.

My kids weren't involved in a lot of after school activities, we didn't have expensive clothing, or electronics. But we had each other and were able to spend quality time together.

So I am willing to do what I can to help other mom's do what they desire. If its to stay at home and create a business, if necessary, then I will help by making purchases through their business. And if they choose to go to work then I would be glad to help find someone dependable and with the same values to watch over their kids; that helps home businesses too.

God created a family life because he knew we would all need a mom and dad in our lives to be there doing their part in raising a good righteous family. Mom's job is the principle care taker and nurturer of her children. It's hard to make everything balance in today's world. I know its a hard thing to do especially when we can't do anything but with God's help and a lot of sacrifice we can do this. And we can do this by supporting mom's who are trying to do both by being at home while making a few dollars to support their families.

Here are a few businesses that I am aware of.

Hello Sunshine Home Decor
Luv You Forever Baby Items and More
Spare Time Crafts
E Boutique
Made By Susie
La Bella Vita
Take Shape For Life
Women's Dream Team

If you would like to have your site featured on this page, please leave a comment and I will update my list!

It's a Small, Small World

Yesterday, I went to the temple in Orlando, Florida. I like to go once a month, usually the Saturday before Fast Sunday. I also like to go early in the morning so that I can get back home about the time my kids are getting up so I don't miss much time with them.

I went yesterday, early, and was in an endowment session and noticed a brother who looked familiar to me. I thought for a moment on who I thought he was but it wasn't until I saw the face of his beautiful wife that I knew it was friends that I have lost touch with over the years.

In the late 1980's we became friends but it was only for a short time because they moved. We lost touch and wondered from time to time how they were doing. In fact, it was just a few months ago that they crossed my mind as I came across some old photos of them. Anyway, I approached my friend, Ruth, and reintroduced myself to her. There was so much joy, and hugging and tears. I was so glad to see her again and to hear about her family. She commented that it is good to know that we are both still strong in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a great experience.

I pondered about that experience on my way home and thought that this must be what it will be like when we die and meet those family and friends on the other side of the vale. There will be so much joy and hugging and tears in being reunited with them again. I will never forget how I felt being so exciting to see them again.

Well, the story doesn't end here, today I found out that one of my favorite families has moved to another ward. I text the wife, Sarah, who I used to serve with in the Relief Society in our ward. She surprised me with the news about who her new Relief Society President was, it was my friend Ruth! It must be a small small world.

Ruth had bore her testimony today and mentioned that she ran into me at the temple yesterday and Sarah spoke to her sharing that they had a common friendship with me. I am so glad they are in the same ward together to look after one another. I hope they will be able to establish good friendships with each other like I have with them.

It truly amazes me sometime how things work out. My friend Ruth said yesterday that our meeting was not by chance that there must be some kind of purpose for running into one another again. I agreed, perhaps it has something to do with my friend Sarah, who knows. All I know is it's a small world after all.

Special Gifts from God

My oldest daughter shared a blog post with me yesterday from a woman who planned for and expected the perfect life and family. However, God saw fit to give her a challenge by sending her a special gift from heaven by way of her second child.

You can find this post, here.

Please read this uplifting message from her. It's long, but if you walk away without red eyes or at least a sniffling nose then you may have to rethink your values in life. It is well worth the time to read. I loved her beautiful message maybe because I too received a gift from God that was one of the most wonderful experience in my life.

My first child was this gift that I wish was still in my life at this time but I was only allowed to have her on this earth for just under 4 years. Those 4 years were full of heartache but most of all they were joyful moments filled with love. I wouldn't trade them for anything except the opportunity to have more moments like those.

I remember thinking why was this happening to me. I just couldn't understand why this was happening with my baby. I remember the first moment I realized that my baby really was sick. When I walked through the ICU in Birmingham Children's Hospital I remember thinking why is my child in here; she wasn't as sick as these other children, but she was. It was a wake up call to how precious life really was.

I am so grateful for every minute I had with her. There were some tough moments, a couple of those were stop and go moments, but the time we did have with her were the best. I learned so much from her and I will be forever grateful. I guess I can't say that enough.

But after she returned home to Heavenly Father I remember getting angry at Him. There were so many times that she had bad episodes and he could have taken her at that time but he took her at a time when she was doing so well. Her meds were under control, we saw new growth in her abilities to master minor skills because she was going to a new school, and she was trying to communicate better. I was so happy, then she was gone. I just didn't understand what happened.

I remember feeling at peace right after her death though because I knew I was being carried in the arms of my Savior during this time but once it was all over and I began to wake up from this dream, I began to feel the anger. It was my mother's aunt who helped me see the whole picture.

She helped me realize that we are all God's children and we were here on loan until it was our time. She helped me see that we all had our time to return home to Him, she helped me think of all the good things I had been blessed with and that it was not a punishment for anything I did wrong in the past.

And most of all, she helped me remember that we were sealed for all eternity and we would be together again; and I was promised that I would be able to finish raising her in the Millennium. I then began to be grateful to a Heavenly Father who understood the love of a mourning parent by giving us the gift of eternal families. He knew about losing children because so many of us refuse to turn our hearts to Him. He knew the heartache and planned to make it better for us as long as we did our part.

Oh, how my love for Him grew. I knew I had some heavy duty praying to do, I needed to know He forgave me for my anger. I wanted Him to know I understood and would except His will in all things and that I was so very grateful for the plan of Happiness and eternal families. I knew He forgave me for my shortcomings and weaknesses and that He loved me. I knew everything was going to be ok after that. I would still feel the heartache but I knew I was going to be ok and there were promises of eternity.

Life goes on and I am glad to have had my sweet baby girl for the time that I had her. I pray for all those who have had losses or will have losses in their lives. I pray that they will know that He loves them and that everything will be ok; that they just need to keep the faith and trust in Him that all is well. Take the time to tell all your loved ones how much you love them daily and accept God's plan for you if He sends you one of His Special Ones; for that is one of the greatest blessings ever; to know He trusts you with the care of this very special spirit.

Be Yourself!!!

Hello Friends!

Well, I am finding blogging to be quite fun. I guess if I was doing it for myself then I wouldn't be as excited about it. But...this is for all of us so I am excited and hope we can get some good dialog happening. That's the purpose, right?

Recently, my youngest son went on a church history tour to Missouri and Illinois. When he came back he brought gifts for the family. One gift he brought back, for my youngest daughter, was a plaque that said "In a world where you can be anything, Be Yourself!"

I love those words of advice. In our world it seems we are encouraged to be anything we want as long as we conform to the way the world thinks we shoud be. My children have been labeled, several times, as "not so normal" and I am fine with it because I love that they are their own person. I think we can learn from them by being whoever we are meant to be.

Who has the right to say it's wrong to be ourselves?  No one! God made each one of us unique so why not be the person we truly are? Even if others continue to label us, I say bring it on. The more unique I am, the more I stand out. I think people who stand out are meant to do big things. What are you meant to do?

I have always felt like I was meant to do something important. It coud be this blog, leading a women's organization, or even raising righteous children. Whatever it is, I need to be true to myself and not let others influence what I think or do. I need to find out who I am and continue to develop those traits that make me unique. It's those traits that can make a difference in this world and I want to challenge each of you to find the unique you, develop those traits, and stand out as an example to those around you.

We can all do great things as examples for other women that we meet in our daily lives. I want to give a shout out to the women of the world..."Be Yourself and Love Yourself!" God loves you and I love you, that gives you at least two on your side,  you can't lose with that combination. Until next time, God be with you.

Happy 4th of July

I am so proud to be an American, and, I think we are truly blessed to live in the best country on the planet. Here, we have the opportunity to become anything we want to be, thanks to those who came before us. I am so grateful for our Founding Fathers and their courage to fight and stand for the freedoms we enjoy today. However, behind any great man is an even greater woman.

As we celebrate our countries birthday I would like to suggest that we take a moment to reflect on these great women; thinking about their fears and losses as well as their successes. These courageous women are perfect examples of how we can use our feminine talents and stand for what we truly believe in. These women, and many more over the years, have assisted in the fight for freedom. And now its our turn to shine the light and fight for those precious freedoms that are in jeopardy today.

What freedoms are you passionate about? I would like to hear about the fights you would stand for. I'd also like to know how we can help.

Recently, I heard of a challenge to read the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July with our families and friends. I will be doing this with my family because I think its important for all of us to know and understand this important document. I would like to extend this challenge to you as well. If you can't read it together on this day of celebration then find a time that will work for you. Or discuss the history of how it came about.

Again, I am grateful for the strong, courageous people who took a stand for something they believed in. I would love to hear about your favorite example of a woman and her stand. If you like this blog, please pass it on so we can encourage women to continue to stand for truth and light.