Great Wisdom from the hearts of the women in my life

I know that many of you receive my blog by email and so many have expressed the desire for more messages. I am deeply touched by your desire to read and listen to anything I have to say. I am just a woman who has some incredible friends whom I trust and rely on for love and support. Many of my friends also write blogs, and I am often truly blessed by what they write as well. Sometimes what I write here is in relation to something they themselves have written about. I truly believe that it is God at work. It isn't a coincidence when you read some of your friends writings, devotions that I subscribe to and my daily readings in scripture and the subject is all connected together with each other. I see that as God speaking in a big way into the hearts of all of us. Today I was reading the blogs of my friends and found such a moment.
Many of my messages (before I went to this blog format) were born out of the scriptures and books that God was placing before me. My ability to surrender to God completely and trust in Him came out of many moments where His presence in my life was my only life line. Once that came about, He poured His love into me by reminding me through His word and the books I was reading. The list of books is long...but so cherished....Books like:
Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge (about discovering the secret of a man's soul)
The Heartache No One Sees by Sheila Walsh (this book was the turning point in my life to becoming a beautiful woman again.)
Do You Think I Am Beautiful by Angela Thomas...( a single mom of 4 kids struggling to trust God in all things including who she is as a woman.)
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (what an eye opener into how I love and recognizing who others love)
When Wallflowers Dance by Angela Thomas (encouraging me to continue in holding onto hope of some day finding love through the intimate relationship with God.)
The Beautiful Ache by Leigh McLeroy ( showing me where God is when dreams don't come true.)
Your Scars are Beautiful to God by Sharon Jaynes ( reminding me of how precious I am to God and to embrace my scars along the journey of life and to move forward with hope in my heart.)
Recently I just finished reading :
The 5 Languages of Apology by Gary Chapman
Boundaries Face to Face by Dr. John Townsend (how to have that difficult conversation you've been avoiding)
And of course then there are the scriptures God gave me to share.
Well, today God showed me a reminder of His love, and examples of how to love. I guess Love is the word of the day...now I am not just mentioning Love in the context of romantic love...I am talking about all loves.
When I was getting ready to travel to Ukraine, the three of us woman who were going put out heads together and decided to put on a women's conference with the women of the church in our village. We wanted to bless and encourage them. The three of us settle on three topics. Karen spoke on Faith. Mavis spoke on Hope. Which left Love for me to speak on. I was overwhelmed at this assignment from God. I had struggled my whole life with that word. Truly believing most of my life that I was unloveable. But God is bigger...and in the last 5 years He restored my faith not only in Him but in love. So here was my opportunity to share this with women thousands of miles from my little life here in Forest Lake. The scriptures God placed on my heart were as follows:
Jeremiah 31:3...The Lord appeared to us from afar saying,
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with everlasting kindness."

Isaiah 54: 10
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
yet only my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace by removed
says the Lord who has compassion on you.

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you
He is mighty to save
He will take great delight in you
He will quiet you with His love
He will rejoice over you with song.

I thought I was going there to share with these women about love and walking in love...but what God did was show me that love can cross language, culture and distance. At the end of my little message, I was overcome with emotion at how much I loved these women...many of them elderly...and I placed my hand over my heart and then drew it out to them and shouted "I LOVE YOU!!" And these women instantly did the same back to me. I was touched and will never be the same ever. Every time I saw any of these women, regardless of where we were...they would hug me and shout..."I love you!" I left some of my heart in Ukraine several days later when we left to return home. I have struggled with that experience since I have been home. Most of the time I can't even get words out before I crumble into tears. And yes...the tears are present now. But my heart and soul is warm. So today as I read Amanda's blog and Jennifer's journal...I was compelled to share some of my experiences on love as well. Both of these women are special in my life. Amanda is my best girlfriend and Jennifer's life was altered and devastated the day a criminal decided to run her husband (Officer Shawn Silvera) down and kill him. Shawn was one of the officers in our service area and I had the priviledge to interact with him on many occasions. Both of these women's stories are filled with great and deep heartache and devastation...and in the midst of this...they gripped tight the hand of our Lord and although they question life at times...they continue to hold on to Him. I am blessed that I have them in my life. Unfortunately it was at a great price that Jennifer was brought into my life. I have spoken with her a few times...but I read her continually. She wears life on her skin. As does Amanda...as I do as well. I life to think of it as being transparent in this life...truly be real.
If you look on my blog you will find Amanda's blog...it is the one in Italian. And Jennifer's is there as well. But I decided to include a writing of Jennifer's for you all...and for me. It is listed below.
It is with absolute trust in my Lord that I shout today..."I LOVE YOU!" to each of you!
Lorrie Michelle Durbin






Live the Questions Now
“I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves...Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now...the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.” —Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), excerpt from Letters to a Young Poet
Okay…it’s not often that I will ever tell my readers what they must do. But, please if you are reading my blog today…please print the quote above and tape it somewhere for at least a week. Read it over and over until you are convinced.
Doesn’t this fit us all? Don’t we all walk around this world with some type of unresolved question or hurt inside of us?
Don’t search for the answers. What breathing space this gives us.
Love the questions themselves. What strength this gives us.
Live the questions now. What permission this gives us.
Live everything. What life this gives us!



Isn't that awesome!! Love, Lorrie

To My Heroes

This is a poem I wrote while Matthew was deployed to Iraq two years ago...this is my tribute to my heroes!!!!
A Soldier's mother's heart runs very deep.
Lorrie


My Soldier

Dedication to (for all those who have and will serve.)
Hero,courageous and mighty.
Noble and faithful to the cause.
Heart beating with conviction.
Hunter ready for the kill.
My soldier.
Hunted,cold and hungry.
Stalked by pain and suffering.
Fear chills your bones.
Rage boils your blood.
My soldier.
Haunted, broken and bleeding.
Eyes shadowed and stark.
Lost in hell.
Desolation sinks into your soul.
My soldier.
Hero, hunted and haunted,
Here's my love shining bright.
Cling to me and I will bring you home.
My soldier, let me heal you.

LorrieDurbin

How You Live

Good Morning everyone...yep it is not evening 0730 AM and I am up writing. I woke up about an hour ago...with songs playing in my head...yes...that does happen to me often...that is what happens when you are a singer and song is anchored deep into your heart and soul. So I turn off some music...this morning was the newer CD from Point of Grace. I love their harmonies...probably because my favorite way to sing is in harmony...for some reason God blessed me with the ability to hear the harmony tones in a song and sing them, sometimes before I can even learn the words I am humming the harmony of a song. I am thankful for that gift...and try to use it to give God glory...hope someday I will hear Him say...You did well with what I asked of you!
Anywaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy...last night I wrote a little blog about seeing beauty...and that we are all beautiful...all the words pouring from the deep wells in my heart. This morning, I am compelled to write again...wow!!! I hear daily the difficulties people are facing today. I see the struggles, the heartaches and the disappointments. I feel them on my own skin as well. But I can't seem to shake this one song....so I am sending it to you all...someone needed to hear the words...and I truly know it wasn't just placed on my heart for me alone.

HOW YOU LIVE
(verse 1)
Wake up to the sunlight with your windows open,
Don't hold in your anger or leave things unspoken.
Wear your red dress,
Use your good dishes,
Make a big mess and make lots of wishes.
And have what you want but want what you have.
And don't spend your life looking back.

(Chorus)
Turn up the music,
Turn it up loud.
Take a few chances,
Let it all out.
'Cause you won't regret it looking back from where you have been.
'Cause it's not who you knew,
And it's not what you did,
It is how you live.

(verse 2)
So go to the ball games and go to the ballet.
Go see your folks more than just on the holidays.
Kiss all your children,
Dance with your wife.
Tell your husband you love him every night.
Don't run from the truth, 'cause you can't get away.
Just face it and you'll be okay.

(bridge)
Oh, wherever you are and wherever you've been,
Now is the time to begin.
So give to the needy and pray for the grieving
Even when you don't think that you can.
'Cause all that you do is bound to come back to you,
So think of your fellow man.
And make peace with God and make peace with yourself.
'Cause in the end there's nobody else....
Cause it's not who you knew and it's not what you did..
It's how you live.



Don't miss out on life....don't miss out on love...don't miss out on God....take the chances to live even in the midst of the challenges of life...the heartaches of love and the mystery of God....
God's peace and love to you all...
Live your life through your heart and soul dear hearts!!
Lorrie Michelle Durbin

The Beautiful

Over the last few years I have found myself getting a little outraged by what society labels as beautiful. Today we are mislead by the propaganda of the news media, entertainment culture and the elite wealthy about what beauty is, who is beautiful and how you can get beauty. It is ridiculous and irresponsible to allow the "world" to dictate to us what beauty is.
When I was growing up, I believed a lie someone told me about myself and instantly the reflection of myself in the mirror became altered. When I look at pictures of me as a little girl I have often been surprised at what a beautiful child I was. I remember being the child who was always daydreaming...off somewhere on a little adventure . I remember that most of those day dreams where actually times of being caught up in admiration of the many beautiful things around me. Yes,....I usually got in trouble for day dreaming. Whether it was by my parents or teachers...most adults felt it necessary to "Bring me back to reality". I was thinking about this today while sitting in the front of the ambulance covering for another service. I found myself remembering times when my mother would come outside of our home to find me laying on the front yard gazing at the sky...and it didn't matter if it was spring, summer, winter or fall. She always asked me..."What are you doing...." and I would answer 'just looking". She would just shake her head and try to redirect me into doing something else. I am sure there were times she probably thought something just wasn't quite right with me....here she had a child who loved to day dream. But I wasn't just dreaming...I was seeing . I was seeing all the beauty in my little world. From the many different colors of blue in the sky (because the sky isn't just one color of blue...lay on the grass sometime and watch the blue sky for awhile...you will see!), to the crayon box of colors of leaves on the trees in the fall. Those times where incredible!! What a peace and joy I felt. Looking back at those times today I found myself thinking about how sad it is that we are too busy to notice those things now. And I am not just talking about us adults....children today rarely have the time to see the amazing beauty of our world because they are so busy doing activities. I believe that when I suffered what I thought was the loss of my beauty that day so very long ago...that I became a studier of the beauty around me...as if in an attempt to figure out how to become beautiful again. It took until I was 42 years old. Now don't get me wrong...many people over all those years would tell me I was cute or nice looking. But what I saw in the mirror every day was someone NOT beautiful....and cute and nice looking is not the same as beautiful. Everyday since I was 42 I have seen beauty in my mirror. My world is once again a place filled with day dreams and color. So today, as I was basking in the sunshine streaming into the cab of the ambulance, and felt the embrace of the heat from the sun, I was reminded again to day dream...to look at the beauty around me...to not listen to what society tells me is beauty...but to just look at the magnificent world around me....all the colors, all the sounds, all the things that touch and effect us....all beautifully made. I am truly thankful for all those years of daydreaming...I saw the little details of creation that make things beautiful...and it filled me with a yearning to find my beauty again....and I did.
I yearn for more moments of daydreaming. Days spent sitting in the woods listening to the whisper of the leaves, and marveling at the multitude of color making up the grass. Nights spent lying on my back, watching the sky pop with light...if you look long enough you will notice that the stars are not just white...there are other colors.....sunsets over mountains and oceans...and the smell of dusk settling in to night. That is beauty. When we take all of those things in, when we treasure those tiny moments of beauty...it makes a lasting imprint on our hearts and souls...and we shine even brighter. Take a moment to look in the mirror. Don't focus on the wrinkles, or acne or gray hair or any of the other things you believe to make you imperfect. Look at the color of your eyes. No one else in the world has the same color as you...sure there are people with blue eyes or brown or green...but there are tiny flecks of light in those colors that make your eyes unique. Look at the color of your lips...no one has the exact color or shape of your lips. What about your hair...the colors, the texture, the feel....and that goes for those who have less hair than others too....or more gray hair than others...not one strand is exactly the same color as another...there is nothing boring about any of us...we are all beautifully made. Who says you have to find beauty in a magazine or on TV or the movies....it is in the very world around you and in you every single day.
So don't look so strangely at me when I comment on your beauty.,...you see I have had years of watching the beauty in this world...I know beauty when I see it...every little facet of it!
Lorrie Michelle Durbin

Do I Even Make Sense?????

Today is November 9th, 2008. It is Sunday afternoon here in Forest Lake Mn. It has been quite a day so far today. I am sitting here in front of my computer wondering if I even make sense. Sense about what you are wondering??? About me. Let me give you a little run down about today and the thoughts I have pondered, and the feelings I have struggled with today.
I got up this morning at 0500 bright and early. I felt a tug in my heart..hm...what is that about...not sure..but I knew that I felt close to tears. As one who believes in the power of the Holy Spirit, I paused...wondering if I was being led to pray about something or someone. My thoughts turned to Judi and the Outreach in Ukraine..so I prayed for God to move mightily in the Outreach...but the tug was still there. I wondered about it while letting the hot water comfort me in the shower. Okay...what is this tug. Could I be feeling a tug because of my kids??? After a quick analysis..nope...that wasn't it. Hmmmm...dressing for church...I felt drawn to the gorgeous Ukrainian scarf that Judi gave me before leaving Ukraine. Yep...I was going to bring it and wear it with my leather jacket...the purples in the scarf didn't match the purple in my blouse...but when I tried to take it off...I lost the feeling of warmth it had been giving me and I felt a chill and I wrapped the scarf around me once again. Out the door to church. It was dark and cold...yet as I drove to church I felt warm...singing will do that to you...and I was full of song this morning...so by the time I was at church my vocal chords were well oiled. Still the tug. It felt like a wrenching in my heart. As I looked over the music we were singing for worship, I could feel the tears stinging my eyes. Hmmmm...so this was a God thing. Okay...what??? Then I looked at the run down sheet that listed the songs we were singing...at the top was the sentence...International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Oh. No wonder I was so drawn to the scarf. Sure it probably does sound weird to some...but I really believe that God speaks to us and tries to get our attention. My thoughts turned to my precious loved ones in Ukraine. Singing today was such an emotional thing for me. Tears were stinging my eyes frequently. Yet, in the midst of my heart wrenching for the millions who love Jesus and are persecuted, beaten, raped, killed or imprisoned, I was also smiling about the joy I have in my heart about how God is blessing me now. I am so thankful for what God has , is and continues to do in my life. So you would think that the tug would have gone away, right? Not remotely. I am driving home from church and have to stop at Target for something and as I am driving, my thoughts turn to my book. No...not the one I am reading. The one I was writing. Yep...shortly after I started flying for North AirCare, I started writing a book...my life...what God was doing...what heartaches I was overcoming...and the new joys and hopes that I was discovering. Well, I didn't finish the book...I had come to the chapter dealing with Matthew's deployment to Iraq...and since he was still there...I wasn't about to write about him until he was home safe and sound. He came home, I didn't finish the book. So why were my thoughts turning to that stupid book that I gave up on writing? What gives??? Could it be that I was still feeling the emotions from the night before when I was talking about that deployment? I had actually talked about it a little and when I could feel the emotions creeping up...subject change...whew. Was it possible that the thoughts on the book had more to do with those feelings that resurfaced last night...hmmm...more to think about. After leaving Target, I found myself suddenly thinking about my poetry. I haven't written anything since Matthew had left for Iraq. Yet it wasn't the soldier poem that I was thinking about. It was another one...a very sad one. It was called Shattered. I wrote on poetry . com occasionally. Often times it was a way to work through a tough time, or a tough call. Many people have read them and not quite understood them...thinking I was always writing about relationships...that was far from the case...often it had to do with life, love and God. And not just about me...sometimes I wrote about the terrible things I saw in my job. Anyway...I found myself searching the depths of my mind to recall the words to this poem. I wondered as I was driving .... is this tug in my heart because I feel like the words in my poem??? Nope...that wasn't it...so what was up with this tug, the scarf, the reminder of my book that is unfinished, and the poem Shattered???? Here is the poem by the way:


Shattered
It used to stand high on a hill for all to enjoy.
A tower of beauty, radiant and vibrant.
All who gazed upon it were filled with awe and wonder.
A beacon of hope, steady and strong.
Shattered by a single stone thrown carelessly at its base.
A heap of rubble, ugly and broken.
Will no one help rebuild it?
I weep for all that's lost.

Lorrie Michelle Durbin

Yeah I know...kinda a dark poem. Well it isn't about what you might think....it isn't about my marriage that ended...it wasn't written in regards to any relationship I had experienced. I wrote this poem about dreams. The dreams that people have. Not the ones that you have while sleeping. The ones that God places in the depths of your heart..the ones that you yearn to have fulfilled. I wrote this about people who watch their dreams shatter...no...sorry it wasn't just about me...it was about everyone. Sure I have had my dreams shattered a time or two...or a hundred...but it was written thinking about people who become broken and damaged by the loss of their dreams. So...what does that have to do with everything I have written so far...I don't think I know yet. That is why I am wondering if I even make sense. So let's see if I can find the point or points God is trying to make here.
First of all..the mission trip to Ukraine changed me. It opened my heart up to be broken...a heart break of loving people that lived with so little and had suffered so greatly. Thus the tug about the scarf...God telling me to remember them , to always be the real me and never forget the lessons learned there.
Second of all, the book. Well, glancing through the chapters a short time ago...I found that I had changed in who I am from who I was in the book...I had grown, and become stronger and yet more transparent...I saw the trials God had brought me through and that He is always faithful...no matter what..God is faithful...and waiting for us to trust Him...very good! And I found myself thinking that I could probably start writing again..that there were more chapters to be written...and more could be said about my stories of life, love and hope. The tug to the book...reminding me that He has always been with me. And that He has more to add to the story of my life....more!!! That is an awesome word!!!
Thirdly, the remembering of my poem Shattered....a reminder that just because dreams can be damaged, broken or destroyed...it is better to have the hope to dream then to live in a land of a shattered life. My life isn't shattered. My life is precious and beautiful...just as I am precious and beautiful. Should any of us continue to dream, risking their destruction at any time??? YES!!! Because the story isn't over.
So have I made any sense?? Maybe...does it make sense to you?? Maybe, maybe not...but what I do know is this...I am beautiful, God has healed me from my heartaches, and my heart is still filled with the longings of those dreams deep within. Dreams I have for myself, for my friends, for my family here and my loved ones in Ukraine, for Winny ( my child that I support and pray for in Peru through Compassion Int'l), for my kids...and for those whom I love and those I will love. Maybe today's tugs were just a reminder from God that He isn't finished yet...and to keep dreaming.
Whew...got all that written...and now I am off for a nap.
Dreaming for us all!
Lorrie :)

Friends!!!!

I wanted to write a short little blog today about my friends. I have been blessed with some incredible friends!
Over two years ago, I had written an email to two of my Pastor's at church in regards to my inability to make friends at church. Not the superficial, "only see ya on Sunday" kind...but deep, stink together, family kind! I was so frustrated and discouraged about that. It is hard to live away from family and raise your child on your own.
Today I can say all has changed! I have some very close friends that I just consider part of my family. Today I want to write a thank you to them and give a shout out about how awesome they are!!!
I leave Saturday for Ukraine for a short term mission trip. Lindsey is staying home. But she is not alone. Last night I sat in the foyer area of our church with most of the members of our worship team all crowded around me...some where rubbing my back( they could tell I was feeling the physical stresses of the day and the trip coming), others were imputing on how they would like to help with Lindsey, others still were giving me financial blessings for my trip, others were sharing phone numbers amongst each other in support if the need arises that Lindsey needs anything at all. There was encouragement happening, and comfort being given...and I was totally blessed!! I have an awesome family, and a GREAT friend Amanda, and these awesome friends as well!!!!!!!! As I took this all in last night I was reminded of that email I sent to Pr Travis and Pr Bob those couple of years ago...and realized that God had taken that great heartache of mine...and not only healed it...but granted me an abundance!!!!!!! So today I say thank you, I love you and God bless you, to each one of them!!!!!! Here are their names:
Greg and Amy
Tony and Beth
Laura and Paul
Donna
Laura
Jean
Stacy
Wanda
Pam
Pr Bob
Jodie
Peter
Amanda
Chantel
Mom
Dennis
Pr Bill and Melanie
Dad

and I am sure I have missed someone...and this extends to all the rest of my family, co-workers and friends I am just beginning to know!

God bless each of you and thank you for your commitment to me and Lindsey!!!!!!!!!
What an honor and privilege I have to go to Ukraine and not only work to help these flood victims, but I GET to share who God is...How much He loves them, what He has done in my life and to leave with them His message of hope and love!!!! I get to also lead worship with this team and the villagers in their church....I am soooooooo humbled!!!!!!!!!! When God called me to sing, He told me something was coming and He said "I need you to be there when you need to be there." And I have prayed that prayer of "Lord help me to be there when you need me to be there", completely not knowing what "there" or "it" was...until God revealed that to me the other night....this opportunity is the "there and it"!!! I am humbled!
Thank you all so much for loving me, loving Lindsey and praying for us....and especially for not just making us friends...but family!!!!!!!!!!
Lots of Love
Lorrie

Zephaniah 3:14-17:
Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel!Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!The Lord has taken away your judgements, He has cast out your enemy.The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save;He will rejoice over you with gladness,He will quiet you with His love,He will rejoice over you with singing.


Isaiah 43:18-19
18 " Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

Bent like the pipes under my sink!

I am sitting here in front of my computer bent like the pipes under my kitchen sink. I am so angry right now that I have been sitting here literally saying out loud...."it is okay Lorrie...some people are just lost and clueless." But needless to say...that has not abated my anger. I should probably pray for all of the people who in their ignorance do not know any better than to criticise and judge the character and integrity of others...when they A: do not know them...B: never walked in their shoes...and C: idolize themselves as the "AUTHORITY" on morality, character and parenting. Yep, you could say that someone started my fire and it is flaming!!!
Over the past couple of days, since John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, there has been an incredible amount of talk on TV, in the papers, online and on the radio about who she is, and can "SHE" as a woman lead....after all...she is a woman...a mother of 5 and her daughter is pregnant....she must be a BAD MOM!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can expect this type of discussion from a male dominated media...I see and hear it all the time. I even see and hear it in my job...."Oh they let women drive the ambulance???" or "oh...are you a nurse??" Here is one...Amanda...you and I hear this one all the time...."wow...you girls can lift this....must have eaten your Wheaties..." and we answer..."we have to take the same physical tests the guys do." and people are just amazed!
So what lit my fire??? The comments about how Sarah Palin must be a bad parent because her teenage daughter is pregnant...and that means she could never lead this country. Really??? REALLY!!! Seriously...people have been saying that. So if a woman's child gets pregnant and isn't married...that is a tarnish on her(the mom's) character...but if the PRESIDENTS of the United States....a.k.a....Bill Clinton, JFK...ect....can have flings....and that doesn't tarnish their character....what gives!!!!!
Don't get all defensive that I am slamming the Democrats either....this isn't political...it is moral!
So let me lay it out there .....I was raised a believer in Jesus Christ....was raised by parents who loved me and set up good moral values in our home. I grew up knowing right from wrong...and what sin was and that it has consequences....and yet...at 19 I was at college and met a guy...dated...had sex...bang...got pregnant. Consequences!!!! I had grown up a very intelligent young woman...who at 19... made a very adult decision...and found out that I wasn't such a grown up after all. What did my parents do....they told me they loved me...that they would support me....but that I had to now enter this phase of adulthood, parenting and marriage as an adult. And I did! Does that mean that my mother's character was bad??? That she wasn't a moral person..or that she should never be viewed as a person worthy of leadership??? All because of my choice???? Sounds a little silly when I say it like that doesn't it!
What about this...after 3 children, a marriage lasting 16 years...a divorce..and now a single mom for the last 8 years...does that make me a woman of lesser character???? I went to school full time, worked full time and raised a family full time....when my marriage ended...I still supported my children, and myself and paid my bills and was responsible...all by myself. No welfare...no food stamps....I worked. Did I struggle...yep. Was everything always easy...nope. Is is always easy in the best of marriages??? Nope. Do children always listen to their parents??? Nope. So who are these people who stand in judgement of a woman's character??? Now I am not saying that people can't or shouldn't voice their opinions...cause that would generate a whole string of nasty comments about "constitutional rights". Believe me...I get that people have those rights...cause I have to keep my mouth shut and smile and be nice (ignoring my constitutional rights) when anarchists shout their rights and throw rocks...poop....urine at people all because they have the constitutional rights to freedom of speech.(show me where is says in the constitution they people have the right to throw poop! really!!)
What I am saying is that right now there is a media storm that is leading the charge to question a woman's character and ability to be a leader...all because her daughter, not the woman...the daughter is 17 and not married and pregnant. Yet those same people will over look the moral actions of Bill Clinton or JFK...in fact...JFK has been idolized and celebrated as a womanizer!!! Hello..........are you really that hypocritical???? This is where I am now going to through in the comments of political party....people are so biased by political party that they idolize the who they think are the "Heroes" of their political party based only on that person being a liberal or conservative...and trash the moral character of those not of their "party" and make excuses for their own party's candidates...leaders...Presidents...."but they did a great job with the economy" but look at that Republican....her daughter got pregnant....bad person!!!! What is that?!
So...I got pregnant....and my mom isn't a morally corrupt woman....I am a single mom...and I am not a morally corrupt woman....(yes I sin and am not perfect but I am not a morally corrupt person...lacking any morals or values!) and my oldest daughter is the mother to an incredible two year old girl...and her and her boyfriend have lived together for 7 years....so that makes me someone who shouldn't be in a position to lead...or have authority??? Wow....the next time someone calls 911...I better just say..."no...I can't go....I can't make any decisions in authority or leadership or live saving skills...I got pregnant at 19, I am a single mom...ect..........." Now how stupid does that sound? Exactly!
Billy Graham's son, Franklin, was a drug user when he was a teenager....so that meant that Billy Graham was someone that lacked moral character and it was his fault that his son did drugs???? Really??
Laura and George Bush's two girls did some things that got them into trouble in their teenage years...so Laura and George Bush are bad parents???? Really???
Your moral character can only be judged by your own actions. Not those of your children.

Yes we all know about the double standards that exist in our world. If we have the constitutional right to freedom of speech...why not actually use it to stop the double standards instead of adding to them just because you are a supporter of another political party. Think about it....how quick are we to spout off about the things others do...or their children do...all while refusing to talk about the decisions the person we think is sooo perfect is making. We excuse who they support and defend....but trash the opponent on the lack of moral character ???? Double standard...and it is pathetic.
So that is my rant today.
Oh and about a woman's ability to lead?? Check out what the Prophetess Deborah did in the Bible. Or Queen Esther. Or Naomi and Ruth. Or some of the women of the New Testament.
That's where I look when I want an example of moral character!
Thanks for enduring that fiery rant....
Lots of Love,
Lorrie