{"id":1596,"date":"2024-10-16T15:25:25","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T20:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2024-10-16T15:37:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T20:37:31","slug":"foundations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/16\/foundations\/","title":{"rendered":"Foundations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u201cLiving your Best Life\u201d Co-founder, Lauren Littauer Briggs, posted a wonderful blog touting the \u201cReagan\u201d movie about our 40<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;President and recounting a wonderful personal story to compliment it. If you missed it, you can read it <a href=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/2024\/10\/07\/my-personal-memory-of-president-ronald-reagan\/\">here<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The movie is fantastic! Lauren\u2019s blog made me think about how important it is to stand firm on a solid foundation in the upcoming Presidential election.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several years ago, my husband and I attended a marriage retreat. It was suggested that each couple bring something from our home that represented our marriage and to be willing to share the story in front of the other couples. I immediately knew what I would bring to the retreat. It was a small replica of Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. I told them that our Christian faith is the foundation of our marriage, keeping us grounded in both good and tough times, and Mount Vernon is the home of our first President, who solidified the foundation of our country, and reminds us of just how blessed we are to be Americans. We have visited Mount Vernon numerous times. The Washingtons had a beautiful love story, and I admire their sacrifice, their faith, and their love of country. Like our marriage, our nation is worth fighting for and we should do all we can to preserve it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"362\" data-id=\"1602\" src=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0623.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1602\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0623.jpg 640w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0623-300x170.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"448\" data-id=\"1603\" src=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0622-1.jpg\" alt=\"minture of Mount Vernon\" class=\"wp-image-1603\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0622-1.jpg 640w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0622-1-300x210.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My husband, Scott, and I love Presidential history. I also love dishes. When the twain met, it became a beautiful thing.&nbsp; Before I married my husband, years prior, I discovered Woodmere\u2019s Presidential China, and I eagerly started my collection. After we married, he added to my collection. I now own twelve place settings. I am broken-hearted to announce to my fellow dish lovers, that the beautiful Woodmere Presidential China is no longer available, and I am sad that I did not get to purchase all the designs. So, I cherish each time that I get to decorate a beautiful table for friends and family and make them feel special in commemorating Presidents for the evening. We can all thank First Lady Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison, an artist, for&nbsp;having the idea to create a permanent China collection at the White House.&nbsp;Using the China always inspires enjoyable conversation and an opportunity to reflect on our blessings as Americans.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"608\" height=\"640\" data-id=\"1601\" src=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0607.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0607.jpg 608w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0607-285x300.jpg 285w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0607-300x316.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">George Washington Presidential China<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"632\" height=\"640\" data-id=\"1600\" src=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0618.jpg\" alt=\"presidential dishes\" class=\"wp-image-1600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0618.jpg 632w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0618-296x300.jpg 296w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0618-300x304.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Thomas Jefferson Presidential China<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"606\" height=\"640\" data-id=\"1604\" src=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0611.jpg\" alt=\"White House China\" class=\"wp-image-1604\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0611.jpg 606w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0611-284x300.jpg 284w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_0611-300x317.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 606px) 100vw, 606px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Abe Lincoln Presidential China<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Between the time that President Reagan was born up to now, it seems that the indomitable American spirit and founding principles of our country are attacked on all sides and on the brink of coming apart at the seams. We are about to witness the most consequential Presidential election of our lives. While this blog site does not endorse a specific political viewpoint, I can only speak for myself in saying that when I step into the voting booth, I will be choosing policies and principles that will restore our country, over personalities. As an American, it is a pure privilege to vote, and our duty. It is my hope and prayer that you will make the effort to vote, get your friends and family to do the same, educate the young, and research the candidates up and down the ballot, and make wise decisions on who will be determining your and our future over the next four years.&nbsp; Most importantly, pray! I believe in our great nation, and I hope that our demographic of sixty-plus will show up in droves to demonstrate just exactly how it\u2019s done.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In closing, I leave you with a quote and verse from a great hymn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martha Gelhorn, American novelist, writer, and journalist (1908-1998) said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPeople often say, with pride, I\u2019m not interested in politics. They might as well say, I\u2019m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms, my future, or any future. If we mean to keep any control over our world and lives, we MUST be interested in politics.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Edward Mote wrote this beautiful hymn in 1834:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMy hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus\u2019 name. On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand; all other ground is sinking sand\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>GOD BLESS AMERICA!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"1000\" src=\"http:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Debbie-Robbins-thumbnail.jpg\" alt=\"Dark haired woman with crown\" class=\"wp-image-257\" style=\"width:177px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Debbie-Robbins-thumbnail.jpg 800w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Debbie-Robbins-thumbnail-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Debbie-Robbins-thumbnail-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Debbie-Robbins-thumbnail-300x375.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Debbie Robbins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Debbie was honored to serve as Ms. Senior America 2023. She holds a degree in Vocal Performance and has performed across the continental U.S. and abroad. She\u2019s also a talent and interview coach for Miss America Scholarship Organization contestants, high school and college bound performing arts students, and conservative political candidates. Debbie is married to Scott Robbins. They have one son, Jackson, born when Debbie was 44. He is now a Freshman at the University of Louisville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As an American, it is a pure privilege to vote, and our duty. It is my hope and prayer that you will make the effort to vote, get your friends and family to do the same, educate the young, and research the candidates up and down the ballot, and make wise decisions on who will be determining your and our future over the next four years.\u00a0 Most importantly, pray! I believe in our great nation, and I hope that our demographic of sixty-plus will show up in droves to demonstrate just exactly how it\u2019s done.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[258],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-engagement-patriotism","tag-vote"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1596"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1605,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596\/revisions\/1605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingyourbestlife60plus.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}