Julia Learns How To Vote Wisely

Purchase the book here!

Since we are heading into primary season in our region, I thought it would be timely to share this story with you and offer you my thoughts on this great little book that was sent to me by a friend of the author. {sheepishly admitting that it was QUITE a while ago}

This darling little book is full of Scriptural advice, simple explanations and engaging illustrations as little Julia walks through the month before a big election. As a momma to three very fashion-minded girls, I especially enjoyed the cover illustration of Julia in her too-cool-for-school voting ensemble!

The story starts with Julia's bedtime conversations with Mom about what the family will be doing for the coming month. Her parents open up a lovely age-appropriate dialogue and spend the whole month sharing their basic principles for civic responsibility. I loved, particularly, that the message was boiled down to this: Seek Biblical Truth first. Then seek and pray for a candidate that you feel most closely represents the Biblical Truth in which you believe. It really honed the focus down to God's Word and HIS heart for the privilege that we have as citizens to use our voice in the election process.

As I read through the story and conversations that Julia and her sisters have with their parents, I appreciated anew the simplicity of a citizen's participation in the process and the importance of choosing wisely. I also really liked that the book doesn't tell Julie WHAT to believe, only that she must consider what The Word says and that she need only measure the issues she faces against the standard of that Word to find the answers she seeks. That's such a great lesson for our kids - beyond even the message of how to vote.

I really enjoyed the book and Li'l Empress enjoyed the idea that her voice will "count" some day when she gets the privilege to vote. I've always made an effort to include my kids in the conversations of election seasons and usually bring them into the voters' booth with me. This book helped "pull it all together" for Li'l Empress when we voted together last fall.

If you are a politics-junkie or news-junkie like I am, or if you are looking for additional resources with which to teach your children about the election process, this great little book is for you! And if you are a home-schooling family looking for another resource for your civics or social studies curriculum, I even more highly recommend the story.

*I was sent this book free of charge in exchange

for a fair and honest evaluation.

Go. VOTE.

Much has been made on both sides of the political aisles about the importance of today's historical elections. In my view, none of it is an exxaggeration. This is likely one of the most important events that our nation stops and marks in its march to the future. And this particular election carries weight for our future that few other elections in history have borne quite so heavily.

I don't much care how you vote, frankly.

I don't much care why you vote the way that you do.

However, I do care very much that you vote.

Your right to do so didn't come easily. Nor did it come freely.

It is an honor and a privilege that should be exercised with great respect.

Get out and vote. Encourage others around you to vote, too. Don't bother getting "into it" with them about the particulars of their personal leanings. You won't likely change their minds at this late date. But you CAN encourage them to SPEAK their minds by pushing that poll button. And you should.

It's one of the most precious rights we have. One that sets us apart from many other nations and many people around the world. Don't take it for granted. There's really NOTHING more important for you to do today. Period.

************************

OH! And don't forget, comments to the give-away for my 1,000th post close on Wednesday morning. So go back one post and read up on how you can participate. You won't be sorry!!!

Tune in tomorrow, 

when the three winners

of our 1,000th post

give-away will be announced.

Save The Adoption Tax Credit

I rarely discuss political issues here on the blog. I choose to keep things here on the lighter side of life most of the time, because, frankly, I choose to keep my eyes and mind focused on the positive and the uplifting. I think we'd all agree that there's enough to drag us down out there on the internet. I don't really need to add to it and if I'm being frank, much of what I might have to say regarding political issues would have the tendency to bring out the snark. If not in me, then I am sure in others. I choose not to go there.

But this issue, currently going before the Ways and Means Committee in Washington, is important to me. And I'd like to encourage you to educate yourself about it and the issues surrounding it. There are several really great resources you can use to do that and I've listed them below. But what I really want to encourage you to do is to ACT upon what you learn once you read up on the topic. And I've added a "form letter" of sorts for you to do just that.

To learn more about what the Adoption Tax Credit is (specifically HR 4373, The Making Adoption Affordable Act of 2012) head to Creating a Family. The highlighted post is a "primer" on the credit and the proposed changes. But the site itself is chock full of great information to educate yourself.

To learn more about keeping up with the activities surrounding HR 4373, head to this blog post and follow the suggestions at the bottom of the post.

If you are active on F@ceb00k, you can "like" the "Save The Adoption Tax Credit" page for regular updates, ways to share information with others, and contacts for finding your representatives in Washington to urge them to act as your representative in this issue. While you are on FB, consider joining the Creating a Family site there, too. Again, great information and great support for all issues related to building strong families.

Finally, if you desire to contact your representative(s), below is the letter that I sent on behalf of The Boss and I. I am completely fine with you using my words, using my letter as a jumping off point, or as an example to share with others. I just want you to strongly consider doing SOMETHING with what you know.

Dear Representative XYZ:

I am writing to you today to ask you, no, to urge you, to please consider throwing your whole-hearted support behind the proposed HR 4373 Making Adoption Affordable Act. Currently it is before the Ways and Means Committee, with cosponsors, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO) and Steve Rothman (D-NJ).

As one of MANY adoptive families within your district, we are living first-hand the joys and blessings of one finalized adoption. And we are well on our way toward our second adoption. We are blessed to be able to fill our home with the love of this beautiful sweetie God has sent us and are anxious to meet the next one He is preparing for our home. As a citizen of a nation that is built on the institute of strong families, it is our strong opinion that the kind of support that HR 4373 offers for building healthy families is in the VERY BEST interest of our nation. We hope that you agree and will consider representing us well over this issue.

Again, we urge you to speak out to your peers in the legislature, support the act, and represent families like us WELL by supporting HR 4373, Making Adoption Affordable Act.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
The Gang's Momma and The Boss

Thank you for taking some time to read this. I sincerely hope that you will consider speaking out in one or many of the ways listed above. This issue is near and dear to The Gang's heart and affects many, many families that we know and love.

It's a Good Speech

If you haven't heard about all the furor regarding the President's planned remarks for the public school students of America on Tuesday, Sept. 8th, you must have been vacationing at some lovely remote island for the last week! It's been crazy: our local paper is LIT UP with folks sounding off about the radical left and intolerant right and the "propaganda" and other such nonsense. I even jumped in to the conversation, speaking up for a parent's right to preview curriculum and be informed of content in advance. Boy, did that stir up some of the commenters! I can't believe how hateful and heated some members of our community have become.

If you haven't read the text of the speech yet, really, you must go here and read it for yourself. In my opinion, it's a fine speech. Our school district is recording it and giving parents the opportunity to review it for themselves. Some folks (without even previewing the speech, I might add!) are even planning to request that their students be allow alternate activities for the duration of the speech. I'm not bothered by any element of it enough that I'd remove my students from the assembly at school, but I am planning to talk with my kids about it around the dinner table on Wednesday night.

It's a good speech. And it will be an awesome opportunity to talk with my kids about why we work hard in school. And why we strive for excellence in all we do. And what a blessing free education in this great nation of ours really is. . . It's a good speech. You should read it. I'm glad I did.

Make Your Voice Heard!

This link will take you to a message that should concern us all. Whatever your own personal political leanings, you have a right (and in my humble opinion, a responsibility!) to make your thoughts and feelings heard on this very important issue. I cannot stay silent. I hope you don't either.

The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 1890

US suffragist (1815 - 1902)

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Martin Luther King Jr.
US black civil rights

leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968)

Keeping Informed!

You may have noticed, if you are a semi-regular around here, that there is a button on my sidebar for a site called Politics for Moms. If you haven't clicked over there to see what it's all about, today is a perfect day for you to do so. The site is run and written by a dear friend of mine, who is a godly, well-spoken, and well-informed woman. She is crackerjack smart and well-grounded in the Word. In the years that I've known her, she has gained my deepest admiration and highest respect for the thoughtful, insightful way that she lives her life and pursues her faith. I say all that not to flatter her (she knows how much I love and respect her!), but to assure you that I can highly and unreservedly recommend her site as a source of solid information about today's political climate from a conservative, Christian worldview.

Today's post is highlighting an important issue that we all need to examine carefully. Please, go there now and inform yourself. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is too important to American parents to ignore. Please, keep yourself informed and act accordingly.

No Matter What

I am proud to be an American.

I am proud to be a citizen of a land that grants certain rights and privileges inherent to my citizenship.

I am proud of the fact that my citizenship allows me the honor and the choice of who to worship, where to live, and how to vote.

I am extraordinarily proud of the fact that my newest little citizen gets those same rights and privileges. Every day for the rest of her life. The alternative course of her life is unthinkable to me right now.


I am humbled by the right to raise this new little citizen and her other citizen siblings in a land of freedom.

I am humbled by the responsibility of raising our little corner of America's future in the manner that my husband and I deem appropriate.

I am confident that my first citizenship and its Kingdom carries far more weight and authority in the dealings of this world than my earthly citizenship.

I am proud to be in this season of my nation's history.

I am certain that God is sovereign and the rule of man, any man, is at His bidding and His hand.

I am honored to pray for our in-coming administration. And I will. No matter what.

For a great perspective
and a godly response to yesterday's election,
head over to my friend
at The Campbell Corner.
She said it beautifully!

I Voted, Did YOU?

I'm linking up to God's Grace In Practice, to share the voting experience I had today. Head over there if you voted and join the fun.

We got an early start today, as I had to run two of the boys to the local lab for some blood work (don't worry, they're fine, it's just screening/precautionary type tests) by 8:30 a.m. The lab was moving very quickly so after the boys finished and had their quick snack, we headed off to the local polling place.

Our polling place is my kids' elementary school. My kids particularly LOVE election days because it means no school. This year, we actually have two days off for Staff In-Service. I walked in with the boys and Li'l Empress and registered in the gym. I was pleased to see that The Boss had made it to the polls this a.m. when they opened. I wonder if he had to wait at all? I signed my name, showed my id and got my "Voter Ready" slip. Can I just say at this point that I am actually looking forward to getting my license renewed?! I cringe whenever I'm asked for i.d. When this picture was taken, I had just gotten THE. WORST. highlighting job OF MY LIFE and the blond in the picture is glaring white. Ugh. The lovely ladies verified my name, address, and voter number. It took all of 3 minutes.

I headed into the booth, while the boys walked Li'l Empress around the cafeteria area. I could hear her babbling and charming the elections workers with her smiles. I voted my straight party ticket, voted on the water works referendum (I had completely forgotten that was up in this election!) and cast my ballot. Easy peasy. Again, took all of an additional 3 minutes.

No lines, no picketers, no volunteers shoving obnoxious stickers and notepads in my face. Just a quick, painless carrying out of my right to vote.

But while I was there, I was struck anew by something my brother-in-law said on his Facebook page: this right that we often take for granted, (or worse, treat as if it's meaningless) came at a great price. My dad, my father-in-law, my great-grandfather, scores of people I love, have all fought at various times in our nation's history to ensure the freedoms I enjoy. May I never treat this right callously. Whatever my vote, may I always remember that that vote was purchased by life given in service to my country.

God Bless America.

*Updated: Just read a great voting story
over at House Mix. This is the blog of
Steven Curtis Chapman's manager
and today's post is especially great. Enjoy!

**Updated again: The Boss just called.
He arrived at the polling place
at 6:40 a.m. (sick, I know) and waited
behind about 50 people.
Not a long wait, but pretty quiet.
Apparently, he doesn't chat up
the folks around him
when he's waiting in line.
Does that surprise you?! :)