Do you know your purpose?

Have you ever thought about your purpose? Why you are even here? Why you are the person you are and not somebody else? What is the purpose of life? All great questions, all worth considering or reflecting on from time to time. I have a purpose, I know I have a purpose, though I may not always understand what that purpose is exactly, I know I have a purpose. Where can you find your purpose? For me I have found my purpose in God. From God I can I find purpose in many other things in my life, like my husband, my sons, my family and friends, my community. God gave me a voice that I try to use in His glory for others who cannot speak. If you are a non-believer then where does your purpose come from? Does it stem from society? From what others want or think? From within? These are real questions that people should ask themselves.  Maybe you don't have a purpose or instead you just have a dream. What is that dream, where did it come from? What happens if you do not fulfill your dream? Do you begin to feel let down? Dreams come and go, they change, but you know what doesn't change?? That's right, God doesn't change.

In my life, I was not always walking down the path I am now. Nope, it's true, I'm a sinner. I've been a failure, I've been hurtful, I've been disliked and even hated (yikes, hard to admit), I've been unfriended (whoa), and I've always just tried to be me. In my life before, I wouldn't say I was just a wanderer, but I don't know where I thought I was going. I had goals and dreams, but those changed from day to day or year to year, and there was no real fulfillment in my life. I was a pretty heavy drinker for many years, but you know what, there were never any answers in any of those bottles. Life never got better after a night of drinking, it just stayed the same. But it all brought me to where I am now, and with those experiences, to the find my purpose in life.

If we aren't living a life for the greater good or for the Glory, then who are we living it for? What is it we really value? In today's society it seems more and more emphasis is being placed on bigger, better, faster material items. People wait outside for hours for a new phone, but they cannot be bothered to help others an hour a week serving meals at a homeless shelter or donating their time to another good cause. People are more apt to watch videos online and judge others than to pray about their own shortcomings. "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter  in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?" Matthew 7: 1-4.

We need to each know our purpose. We need to help each other out, and we need to see the greater good in society. For if you do not know what your purpose is in this life, how will you know what your purpose is in the next? One way to help you find your purpose is through prayer. Not sure how to do it, no worries, there is no training. It's just a conversation between you and God. Don't give up if you feel nobody is talking back right away, you just have to keep trying. Answers will come. Remember, they may not always be the answers you are looking for right away, but they will come. Let go, and let God. Peace be with you. 

So tell me, do you vote?

Today's the day for voting! All across the country people will cast their votes for mid-term elections. There has been lots of hype regarding this election, including many hypothetical situations on what will happen. Where there be change? Will the people's voice be heard? Who will control the Senate?!? So much lies on what happens today, or does it? I for one have already exercised my right to vote, and I did it early, which is allowed here in my state. The day I voted one of the polling clerks excitedly stated there had been over 500 voters the previous day, and 300 on that day (this was 1pm). The real question in my mind is "will anything ever change?".  We go to vote with high hopes that our vote will change the current state of our elected officials, that maybe our voices will be heard and government will be "for the people". That's what it's supposed to be, right? In the Preamble it says "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America." In my opinion that means that WE all should be out there today voting, if you haven't already casted your vote, or in order to be an active part of our nation's decision making.

If you are voting, the next question is, what are you voting for? Have you taken a good hard look at what is important not only for yourself, but your family, friends, community, nation? Have you researched your elected officials running for office to see how they vote? How they have impacted the community? How they will respond to handle business within the US?

Did you know that in 1920, just a couple years before my grandmother was born, women had gained the right to vote? That's not so long ago. After years of being told we could not vote, women finally could cast their vote, so go ahead cast your vote, have your voice heard. It saddens me today that when younger generations have been asked about women's suffrage, they say how terrible it is, they do not even know what terrible means. Education is the key to defeating ignorance.

I will not tell you who you should vote for, or what side of any issue you should stand on, because that is not my business. I will continue to stand by and fight for what I believe is important, what fundamental rights I believe should be given, but it is not my business to ask you for whom you've casted your vote. I just ask that you take this right, which is not granted in every country, and you go out today and vote!

Here is the link to information about Women's Suffrage, just in case you want to share knowledge:
http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage

Have a great day! Peace be with you.

Why I am working on Grace

Grace, it is a beautiful word. Rolls of the tongue with such poise, however in life I have found that to be a person who exudes grace has been quite a difficult task. Merriam-Webster defines grace as a "way of moving that is smooth and attractive and that is not stiff and awkward," which makes me laugh out loud. I would never be full of grace in that manner, I have the unique ability to trip over flat sidewalk. I have even fallen while walking which leaves my husband laughing at me, asking if I was shot by a sniper. No, the grace I am working on is found farther down on MW's dictionary page. That is Grace that comes only from God. See, I have looked for it for years, wondered where it was, often tried to find in the worst places. I found that it was never in those places, no matter how hard I tried to find it. Instead, it was waiting for me, always just waiting for me to open my heart. For years I have fallen short of the mark, but that's okay, there isn't any shortage of God's grace, we just have to want it, look for it, work for it, and keep going.  Today my prayer is that we open our hearts and find the graces that are there, we appreciate them, we continue to do good works, and prayers for others to receive the graces they need to find that one true peace. A beautiful prayer for Grace from www.catholic.org.

Prayer for Grace 

O my God and my all, 
in Thy goodness and mercy, 
grant that before I die 
I may regain all the graces 
which I have lost through my carelessness and folly. 

Permit me to attain the degree of merit and perfection 
to which Thou didst desire to lead me, 
and which I failed by my unfaithfulness to reach. 

Mercifully grant also that others regain the graces 
which they have lost through my fault. 
This I humbly beg through the merits 
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 
and Immaculate Virgin Mary.

Amen.

First time!

Here goes nothing! First blog, well really it's my "first, I have nothing to lose because I'll just delete this later if it stinks" blog. So here I am, with lots of thoughts, and little time right now since two little darlings have just come home from school. I am hoping to fill this blog with lots of love, inspiration, and ideas. Who am I kidding, it'll mostly be ramblings that I'm pretty sure my husband is exhausted hearing about!  So this is it, my first one. Cutting it short because it's Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, or nothing, depending on what you celebrate at your house. Peace be with you.