The Courage of Elizabeth Edwards

In the Spring of last year, Elizabeth Edwards book, "Resilience", was released. During the past couple of weeks her husband has been in the news for his unfaithfulness to her and the consequences. In her book, "Resilience", she shares her reactions to her husband's confession of his affair with Rielle Hunter. She shares how she became sick enough to throw up, cried, screamed when she heard the news, which was actually long before we heard about it.

None of us can deny that she is, as the title of her book implies, a resilient and a strong woman. All of us, especially us women, were shocked to hear the news when it first came out...and could feel her pain...how a husband could do this to his wife that is battling cancer disgusted us all (I hope). I opened up a dialog on the topic, and shared some about her books, at another site, if you would like to visit, with a place to share your own thoughts entitled "Cheating Politicians Saying 'I'm Sorry', Sincere or Suspicious'"?

We shouldn't forget that on top of all of that Elizabeth Edwards has experienced in her marriage and in her battle with cancer, she has also experienced the loss of a child. Now we can read about all of the experiences that make Elizabeth Edwards the woman of character she is from her perspective. She also has another book that shares how much the support of friends means at a time like this.

We wish her the best in her ongoing battle against cancer, and living with the memories the thoughts that must come to mind now and then, wishing her the ongoing strength to forgive, and continue to bless us with her gift of encouragement.

A Week+ Late Sharing Thoughts on Abortion

I missed posting about the March for Life in Washington DC in 2010 on the 20th-24th of this month, and haven't said much about the media coverage of the advertisement that Tim Tebow will be doing during the Super Bowl sharing that his wonderful life is a result of his Mom not having an abortion, but it's something I care about...a lot.

Back in 2008, President Bush's last January in office during the March, I posted the following:

"I don't have strong feelings about who I would like to be President yet...Thompson's out of the Repub. race, Hillary and Obama are boring me with their arguments. What I do have strong feelings about is the significance of January 22, 1973, when the Supreme Court decided it was okay to kill babies. 35 years have passed since that date, and approximately 50 million precious lives have been thrown away in trash cans and other ways, and disposed of like pieces of garbage. Those that are behind the "pro-death" movement try to justify it as something that saves many woman who have life-threatening pregnancies. You can't convince me that the lives of 50 million woman have been saved, I think we all know better. Most abortions are a matter of convenience, a precious life doesn't fit into the picture right now, so it is done away with.

After all of that, let me tell you that I spent a good bit of time volunteering with a pregnancy center, trying to help young girls see that there were options to abortion, it broke my heart to see their tears, it broke my heart to hear some tell me that they had to do this because their parents wanted it, it was hard. But nothing justifies killing. Because I believe in the forgiveness God provided through Jesus, I know there is forgiveness for even something as ugly as this, but first one has to see it for what it is, wrong, and seek that forgiveness, and help stop the killing.

Millions marched in Washington DC today, many were teenagers, providing great hope for the future, and President Bush has done his part by appointing justices that are pro-life, that is part of his legacy. He has spoken to the crowds remotely each year, click here to read his thoughts (well, they used to be there, now removed under the present administration) shared more eloquently than my blunt words, thank you, President Bush.

I miss having a President who cares enough to speak boldly to the people on this issue, one who sees the value in a life, one who stands against destroying children, infants when they are at a most vulnerable age. I fear God's judgment on a Nation who does such things and doesn't see it as morally wrong...or simply does not care.

Who Won the Iowa Caucus in 2008?

Every Saturday evening my husband and I enjoy watching Mike Huckabee's show on FoxNews, and just enjoyed another evening of it tonight. As I was looked at old posts from a previous blog of mine, I came across one from early January of 2008 in which I had a link to the results of the Iowa Caucus as provided by Google Maps...do you remember who won? Yes, Mike Huckabee! Tonight he had Obama girl on, and she promises that if he runs next time around she'll do a song for him. Change just isn't come fast enough for her, she says.

Fast forward to the same date that I did that post a year later, and I shared a bit of history about George Washington. "Elections haven't always taken place the first Tuesday of November. 220 years ago today [1/7/09] the first presidential election took place. Things have changed a lot since that time, according to 'This Day in History' and other sources, only white men who were property owners were permitted to vote....and now our first black President will be [and has!!] taking the oath of office in only a matter of days.

When George Washington, our Nations first President, won the first election 220 years ago today [1/7/09], he wasn't sworn into office until April. of 1789."

Putting Politics Aside for the Tragedy Haiti

I hate what happened in Haiti, but I love how it is moving our focus outward as a Nation rather than inward. After constantly being bombarded (and these are real problems) with how bad the economy is, and how there are no jobs, health care reform, the latest election polls, and more, it is refreshing to hear people talking about giving to others.

I know not everyone can give much, we can't, but as I keep saying, a lot of people giving a little bit can add up. A majority of us can do something. If you are at a loss as to what to do, stop by and visit two sites that I've had the privilege of putting together on Squidoo - "Disaster Relief, What Can I Do" and "RocketMoms Help for Haiti".

There is a Biblical principal that teaches that we reap what we sow, may we as a Nation sow goodness.

Political History: Al Gore Concedes Election

It was a historic election...and a difficult one for Al Gore. Yesterday was the anniversary of Al Gore's conceding the election to George W. Bush, who faced one of the most difficult Presidencies in history...and also faced criticism from the minute he stepped into office. Sad. Al Gore received a Nobel Prize for his work in Climate Change, Bush received criticism for his efforts to free a Nation. Obama has now received the Nobel Peace Prize, and the stand he took while making his speech last week is appreciated.

Here is what I found in my writings on November 14th last year:

This weekend marked an anniversary of sorts, the date that Al Gore FINALLY gave his concession speech, and George W. Bush was able to take his place as President of the United States. It's hard to believe that was only 8 years ago, a lot of history has taken place in that time, but the recounts, the now famous hanging chads, that was all we were hearing about in the news until finally, that great day when it came to a conclusion.

It came down to a Supreme Court decision that left Gore feeling disappointed and defeated, and many wonder if he has ever gotten over the loss. This was a difficult defeat for Al Gore who had the popular vote, but didn't win the electoral votes, especially in the "hanging chad" State of Florida. Still, the red and blue county map of the US at that time was VERY red, in fact, it was for this past election [2008] as well.

President Bush went on the face one of the most challenging presidencies in history as far as I'm concerned, and Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on what many consider to be the controversial subject of global warming...but even if Global Warming turns out to be something that never happens, his help in making us aware of our environment is appreciated.