Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow--

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Anonymous-

Today's Quote

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  

Margaret Mead

Mother's Day Proclamation (Repost)

Julia Ward Howe (1819–1910) was an abolitionist and a feminist.  She composed her Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870.  It was a call to women throughout the world to come together and bring the end of war. Sometimes when I read about these great women who fought so that we women of today have freedoms once deemed impossible, I feel tears well in my eyes.  Julia is one of those ladies and her Mother's Day Proclamation still holds meaning for today. 

Arise then...women of this day! 

Arise, all women who have hearts! 

Whether your baptism be of water or of tears! 

Say firmly: 

"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies, 

Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, 

For caresses and applause. 

Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn 

All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. 

We, the women of one country, 

Will be too tender of those of another country 

To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs." 

From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with 

Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm! 

The sword of murder is not the balance of justice." 

Blood does not wipe our dishonor, 

Nor violence indicate possession. 

As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil 

At the summons of war, 

Let women now leave all that may be left of home 

For a great and earnest day of counsel. 

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. 

Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means 

Whereby the great human family can live in peace... 

Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, 

But of God - 

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask 

That a general congress of women without limit of nationality, 

May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient 

And the earliest period consistent with its objects, 

To promote the alliance of the different nationalities, 

The amicable settlement of international questions, 

The great and general interests of peace.

Julia Ward Howe

Alert

Today, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) are re-introducing The International Violence Against Women Act. 

One-third of all women will experience physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. From domestic violence, to bride burnings, to rape as a weapon of war, the potential of too many women and girls is being threatened by gender-based violence.

With more than 270 schoolgirls still missing from Nigeria and threatened with a life of violence and slavery, this is a defining moment for the U.S. and its commitment to making the world a safer, freer place for women and girls.

From Women Thrive Worldwide

Daily Acceptance Prayer

I accept myself completely.

I accept my strengths and my weaknesses,

my gifts and my shortcomings,

my good points and my faults.

I accept myself completely as a human being.

I accept that I am here to learn and grow,

and I accept that I am learning and growing.

I accept the personality I've developed, and

I accept my power to heal and change.

I accept myself without condition or reservation.

I accept that the core of my being is goodness

and that my essence is love,

and I accept that I sometimes forget that.

I accept myself completely, and in this acceptance

I find an ever-deepening inner strength.

From this place of strength, I accept my life fully and

I open to the lessons it offers me today.

I accept that within my mind are both fear and love,

and I accept my power to choose which I will experience as real.

I recognize that I experience only the results of my own choices.

I accept the times that I choose fear

as part of my learning and healing process, and

I accept that I have the potential and power

in any moment to choose love instead.

I accept mistakes as a part of growth,

so I am always willing to forgive myself and

give myself another chance.

I accept that my life is the expression of my thought,

and I commit myself to aligning my thoughts

more and more each day with the Thought of Love.

I accept that I am an expression of this Love.

Love's hands and voice and heart on earth.

I accept my own life as a blessing and a gift.

My heart is open to receive, and I am deeply grateful.

May I always share the gifts that I receive

fully, freely, and with joy.

Author Unknown