Yes, it’s true.

Among all the large industrialized nations, America has a strong competitive advantage.

Let’s look at China as an example.

For decades, China has had the “One Child Law.”

Now, because, its workforce is getting old and unable to work, its president has just passed the “Two Children Law.”

This, of course, is intended to eventually create a young workforce.

China’s moms, however, are saying, “No Thanks, One Is Enough.”

Japan, Germany and the other industrial powers have an aging population too.

People don’t want to immigrate to those countries.

They want to come to America.

Unless you are a Native American, your ancestors immigrated here too.

So, the secret to America’s dominance as an industrial power has been and always will be immigration.

There are certain politicians here who want to stop immigration.

If that happens, it will be the “Death Knoll” of our industrial dominance!

You are on notice!

So that we can learn to love one another.

We call ourselves THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Are we?

On the news every day, I see only red and blue states.

We have the 3rd highest divorce rate behind two small countries.

We still have racial strife and ethnic prejudices.

We still have a huge population of people who don’t accept gay people.

Aren’t we, as Americans, better than this?

Let’s live up to our name, “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!”

So what if your neighbor or co-worker is a different color than you.

We have no idea the amount of suffering they have endured throughout their lives.

Why not give them a break?

Love is so much easier than hate.

As Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

LEAD US TO A PLACE! GUIDE US WITH YOUR GRACE!

If not today, when?

As of 2020, there were 8.8 million single moms in the U.S.

Unwed mothers gave birth to 40% of the children of single moms.  (statista.com)

According to Pew Research Center, the U.S. has the highest share of single parents in the world.

The two most common reasons for single parent families are high rates of divorce and non-marital child bearing.

PROBLEMS FACED BY SINGLE PARENTS:

Visitation and custody problems

Continuing conflict between the parents

Less time for parents and children to spend together

Children’s poor school performance and peer relationships

Disruption in extended family relationships (wikipedia.org)

Single moms often face financial strain and social isolation (parenthoodtimes.com}

So, there you have it, a difficult existence for parent and children.

Single moms need our support with whichever means are available to each of us.

One of their greatest needs is emotional support.

Surely, we can give them that!

If not today, when?

Yes, it sets each day, but it also rises.

It’s like all of our lives.

We continually experience ups and downs.

It is the cadence of our lives that leaps from sadness to joy and back again.

For some of us, sadness seems to linger longer.

This is understandable when the sadness is caused by a major disappointment.

Yet, like the sun, those of us in a protracted sadness, must also rise.

I say this because I’ve learned that our allotted time is short and goes by in the blink of an eye.

And joy doesn’t last a lifetime.

There are interruptions to our joy when life deals us another blow.

So, each day we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again.

That’s life!

If not today, when?

This is a very important question.

Who do you allow to impact the course of your life and the decisions that dictate that course?

Let’s look at some potential influencers:

YOUR SPOUSE OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER?

I would imagine you are greatly influenced by your life partner.

YOUR FRIENDS?

We all want to have friends and be accepted by them. This makes them strong influencers.

YOUR POLITICAL PARTY?

There is tremendous animosity and strong emotional rivalry between the two major political parties. Are you swept up in it and how great a power does it have over you?

YOUR EMPLOYER?

Your major source of financial security is in the hands of your employer. How likely are you to reflect your employer’s value system?

YOUR ETHNIC GROUP?

Are you a member of a certain ethnic group? If so, does your ethnicity greatly affect your decision making?

I think it might be a good idea to review those who influence your decisions and make changes if necessary!

If not today, when?

Where are you headed in your life?

What values are in place that will never be compromised?

Are there additional values that you will become committed to?

How about the priorities of your life?

Are they in the right order or should some of them be re-arranged?

How about the loves in your life?

Do loved ones get frequent reminders of the depth of your love for them?

How many issues in your life make you happy?

How many make you sad and can hopefully be corrected?

As I look back on my 80 years of living, I realize that a value system, priorities, love and personal happiness greatly impact “The Journey!”

It’s your journey.

Make it count!

If not today, when?

 

Large UK companies are required to reveal their gender pay gaps. But the rules are failing to address inequality, according to a new report.

The research, by the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London and the Fawcett Society, concludes that the UK’s mandatory gender pay gap reporting, which came into effect in 2017, “has no teeth” and is less effective than other global reporting systems which require a commitment to change.

Researchers analyzed pay gap reporting systems in six countries — the UK, Australia, France, Spain, Sweden and South Africa — and ranked the UK and Australian systems in joint last place for lack of effectiveness.

They assessed the gender pay gap reporting policies of each country by scoring them against 11 indicators, including accountability, transparency and enforcement. London (CNN Business)

This is obviously a worldwide problem whose time has come!

If not today, when?

The pandemic that has sickened and killed so many people has been devastating in other ways, too — primarily to America’s women.

And the setbacks may be permanent if we don’t act soon.

A new survey of 65,000 US workers from McKinsey and LeanIn.org found that a whopping one-third of women said they were considering quitting their jobs or reducing their hours.

Female workers were more likely to say that they were burned out.

And more of them were discouraged now than they were in the early, shocking months of the pandemic.

And that too many men have also failed women — as bosses, colleagues, partners and co-parents.

The factors fueling female burnout and American women’s extraordinary pandemic job losses are many and complex, but they generally fall into two areas: policy failures and personal ones.

We need to assess both if we ever want to see anything close to gender equality in this country. (CNN)

And there is a growing shortage of childcare workers.

I think the central message in the “Our Father” is the passage, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I’m assuming heaven is a beautiful place where love abounds among all its dwellers.

So, every time we recite the “Our Father,” we ask God to make the earth as nice as heaven is.

Well, that’s not happening!

We still have violence, hatred and a world where the have-nots vastly outnumber the haves.

We have injustice.

Think of the thousands of veterans who fought our nation’s wars and were so traumatized by the horrors or battle that they live on our cities’ streets while being unable to rejoin a civil society.

So, how will this world become more heaven-like?

Only if you and I do something about the unfairness and injustice we see all around us

If not today, when?

1. Shop smart. Read labels and avoid foods that have been stripped of nutrients (refined grains, for instance) or have lots of added sugar in favor of those with shorter ingredients lists. Buy frozen or fresh fruits and vegetables, cans of beans and legumes, and, from the bread aisle, items made with whole grains.
   
   Tune into your cravings. “It’s important to dig deep and see how you’re feeling, or whether or not you really are hungry, but also, what you’re really hungry for. Really satisfying a craving is more likely to keep you from going back for more.
   
   Bake less, cook more. So many people have turned to baking to relieve boredom or as a fun project to do with kids. But baking usually makes a large amount of sugary or fatty food.
   
2. Linger at dinner. Eat slowly so your brain has time to actually receive the signal from your stomach that you’re full, which helps to prevent overeating. (CNN)