The Government CANNOT Shut Down Patriotism. I love our Veterans!!

I'm grateful for the congressmen and women who stood up and made possible for this event to happen. It was a prescheduled event and these veterans won't be able to wait for another opportunity. 

Don't cave, congress. 

Stand up and CLOSELY follow the constitution. 

You represent the will of the majority and you know what that will is. Listen to us and do the right thing. We don't like to be forced to buy or do anything that is against the constitution. 

Every day REALLY is a bonus. I'm going to use my time, my day today feeding my relationship with my husband by completing projects that he has wanted done. I sure love that guy. Thanks, Veterans, for making my TODAY possible. 

Never Found the Needle Nose Pliers but this was much Better!

I needed to unclog the vacuum the other day so my husband said to look in his desk drawer for some needle nose pliers. I didn't find the pliers but I came across a quote from a book that my husband has kept typed up on a piece of paper.

"Let me tell you something that you haven't learned yet, something you haven't learned yet, something you learn only by living awhile. As you get older, you find that life begins to wear you down. Doesn't matter who you are or what you do, it happens. Experience, time, events--they all...steal way your energy, to erode your confidence, to make you question things you wouldn't have given a second thought to when you were young. It happens gradually, a chipping away that you don't even notice at first, and then one day it's there. You wake up and you just don't have the fire anymore.

Then you have a choice. You can either give in to what you're feeling, just say 'okay, enough is enough' and be done with it, or you can fight it. You can accept that every day you are alive you are going to have to face it down, that you are going to have to say to yourself...that you are going to do what you have to because otherwise you are defeated and life doesn't have any real purpose left...How did I manage to keep on going?...It's not so hard really. You just have to get past the fear."

-Terry Brooks, author

"The Elf Queen of Shannara" pp. 164-165

The "fear" that one needs to get past can be anything...the fear of failure, not measuring up, etc. I know that when I'm feeling depressed I say to myself, "Alright, enough of this. I don't want to feel this way anymore." And then I do what I need to do to combat it. And it works every time! 

WARRIOR against Depression

***(I began this post several months ago and it's been in my drafts folder)...

My oldest said something today that about broke my heart.

We were watching the news when a segment about suicide came on. 

I'm the type of mom who likes to preview the things that my children watch so I shut the TV off (I was paying attention to how what she was watching affected her and gauging her reaction I made that decision).

My daughter looked at me and said, "I hope that you find a cure so, you know, you don't die at age 54 [like that dad did]."

She was holding back a lot of emotion as she said it.

(This was a little insight to what is going on in that cute little head of hers)

I gently held her face in my hands as I told her,

"I am a warrior against depression.

 This is something that I will have for the rest of my life

 and I am okay with that.

I know that I was a fierce warrior in the war in heaven (you can read more about that here, here, or here) against the adversary. My Heavenly Father knew and trusted that I would be able to face dark feelings that depression brings. I know that I will be able to help thousands of people here who also face what I have."

A couple of days ago she was giving the family prayer and she prayed, 

"Please bless Momma, that her depression will go away."

Lou Lou, my depression is not going to go "away" but I will be strengthened and empowered to be a valiant warrior in my battle against this disease.

So, my readers...

REMEMBER that you too are FIERCE warriors in your daily battle. Know that your true strength lies in your trust in your Savior, Jesus Christ. Don't you dare give up. There are so many family members and friends on the other side in heaven and here on earth who are rooting for your success.