Just thoughts...

I just learned on the Drudge report that health care bill past late last night. I'm very upset and shocked that my favorite country in the world is running toward socialism. I simply don't understand why Obama and Pelosi would use their power to bring this country down. I understand that politicians want power and try to do anything to get it, but I can't understand why, when they get that power they don't use it for the bettering of this country. I don't believe it for a second that Obama or Pelosi really care for the American people. I've heard them speak and looked at their smirks when they talk about the poor class. Friends, I lived in a socialist country and socialism doesn't work. Having the government pull the cords in all we do takes away freedom to choose, a right that we are born with and our founding fathers saw it sacred to keep. Furthermore, taking it from the rich and giving it to the poor will destroy the desire to work and make people lazy. It is simply an immoral act to take away money from those who have worked hard to get there. And there is no incentive for the poor people to work if the government will provide for them. Wow, talk about reaching our potential. What are we teaching our children about work ethic and achieving the American dream? What is the American dream? Oh, yes, you can work hard and make money, so then the government can take it away and give it to those who don't believe in hard work, or loose it in the many bureaucratic channels till it gets to maybe few who really need it. I know I'm really simplifying it, but socialism doesn't equal compassion, or consecration. The government isn't our God, even though it thinks it is. I better stop. I can't think straight when I'm fuming. Here are some quotes from a smart man:

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. -- Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them. -- Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. -- Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical. -- Thomas Jefferson

Moving on to something else. Today I taught in Relief Society. The lesson was about the fall of Adam and Eve, and we had a good discussion. During the lesson, I shared one of my favorite quotes from President Faust taken out of his talk titled "What it means to be a daughter of God." If you have a chance to read it all, it's a really uplifting talk, and here is some of it:

"As daughters of God, you cannot imagine the divine potential within each of you. Surely the secret citadel of women’s inner strength is spirituality. In this you equal and even surpass men, as you do in faith, morality, and commitment when truly converted to the gospel. You have “more trust in the Lord [and] more hope in his word.” 15 This inner spiritual sense seems to give you a certain resilience to cope with sorrow, trouble, and uncertainty.

You cannot imagine the gifts and talents each of you has. All women have appealing features. I do not refer to model-type appeal, but rather that which comes from your personality, your attitude, and your expressions. I urge you to enhance the natural, God-given, feminine gifts with which you have been so richly blessed. None of you should be so content that you cease to care about how you look or act. In his day, President Brigham Young encouraged women to get an education. This is still good counsel, but I hasten to add: in all your getting, do not lose your sweet femininity.

You sisters do not know the full extent of your influence. You sisters enrich all of humanity. All human life begins with you. Each woman brings her own separate, unique strengths to the family and the Church. Being a daughter of God means that if you seek it, you can find your true identity. You will know who you are. This will make you free—not free from restraints, but free from doubts, anxieties, or peer pressure. You will not need to worry, “Do I look all right?” “Do I sound OK?” “What do people think of me?” A conviction that you are a daughter of God gives you a feeling of comfort in your self-worth. It means that you can find strength in the balm of Christ. It will help you meet the heartaches and challenges with faith and serenity."

So, after church I'm feeling very uplifted and encouraged to start a new week with renewed strength. Later tonight, I tried to catch up with few of my friends through their blogs, and I happened to read this very interesting post in my friend Janet's blog. She was sharing few of her favorite blogs she follows and I hit on one of them, thepioneerwoman.com. I was amazed! This woman cannot be much older than me, and we had so many things in common, with the exception that she had achieved so much. She homeschools her children, loves photography, writing, cooking, interior design and being with her family. She has a fantastic blog, very organized with a lot of fun categories. She wrote a book and is trying to publish it, she taught herself photography and is an amazing photographer, and is publishing a cook book. Talk about reaching your potential. After I read some of her blog, I felt a little bit discouraged about my life. I want to achieve all those things, but life is already very busy. Oh, did I mention that she was a city girl and married a cowboy, and now lives in a ranch? Take that for busy. When I usually get discouraged because of things like this (comparing myself with others for one), I try to talk to Heavenly Father. It's not easy to humble myself, but I do it, and I'm grateful for that. After freedom to choose, personal revelation is the best gift God has given us. After my prayer, I felt His love and confidence in me. I also felt gratitude for this lady. This was new to me. I felt happy and encouraged by this woman. She seems truly a good example of what we talked today about reaching our potential. So, the moral of the story: learn from others, but love your uniqueness.

One last thought. Every night I go to say goodnight to the children, and I spend few minutes talking with each of them before I turn the lights out. It's a great opportunity to be one on one with each child and talk about their day. It's actually fun, because I ask a question about their day or whatever I can think of, and then they ask me a question about whatever they can think of, and this goes on for a little while. This post is already very long, so I'm only going to mention something Gillian said tonight. I asked her what was the favorite part of the her day. She thought for a while, and then quickly said "now." Just that word and her loving eyes made me forget all the hardships of parenthood, and be grateful I'm a mother.