So I am totally geeking out about this. Like, in a BIG way.

Can we all at least admit that nothing has been built back better since this last election? If everything rises and falls on leadership, and I believe it does, America is in big trouble.

But we don’t have to sit and be silent about it. We can educate ourselves on hot-button issues while building lasting bonds and looking for ways to take local action. And that is what the Independent Women’s Network seeks to do.

IWN is the latest arm of the Independent Women’s Forum, the leading national women’s organization dedicated to developing and advancing policies that are more than just well-intended, but actually enhance people’s freedom, opportunities, and well-being. They use their platform and voice to educate and advocate for women.

And I am soooo on board with everything they are doing.

I didn’t have much if any, interest in politics or public policy growing up. When I married my husband almost 25 years ago the Democrat versus Republican conversation never came up. I grew up in a conservative household but didn’t know it until I was well into adulthood when my dad gave me a copy of Dennis Prager’s book, Still the Best Hope. I discovered two things while reading this book: being a conservative means possessing common sense and turns out my husband was and always has been a conservative. A brown, immigrant, conservative. He’s one of The View’s favorite oxymorons.

Then came the 2016 election. When I heard President Trump announce his candidacy something in my spirit leaped. I knew we had the wrecking ball our government desperately needed. I was a fan.

As a former evangelical church staffer for over 10 years and a lifelong committed follower of Jesus Christ, I came out as a MAGA fan. And I could not believe the backlash! I mean, I expected some for sure. I’m not completely naive. But nothing prepares you for Believers trying to preach political sides to you while literally denying the system of justice God laid out for us in scripture (which most have never read). When challenged with the Word and sent a personal invitation to discuss over coffee… crickets.

Even pastors and their wives. It was quite literally sickening.

I asked for feedback from people I didn’t agree with. All it did was prove their agenda was not to walk in love. Note to self: never ask for feedback from people who do not genuinely love you. And NEVER ask for feedback from those who are motivated by reparations, victim mentalities, or who look to define racism in places it doesn’t exist.

I lost friends and followers. Good riddance.

And then the great divide we all witnessed… church leaders who stood in support of Trump at complete odds with those who opposed him. Oh, the irony! The irony was two-fold. The irony that some of our most prominent male and female Christian* leaders were dreadfully offended at Trump’s pride and arrogance was astonishing because I’ve literally never met a person who accused someone of pride that did not themselves walk in pride.

AND…

The current state of America is due IN FULL to the failure of church leaders who have gone before us. Full stop. They brainwashed us in religion (yes, the evangelical churches too) and failed to stand up to government overreach for YEARS. Then, when the going got tough they buckled. The reality is this: anyone who voted for anyone other than Trump was gravely deceived and unlike the Sons of Isaachar, they didn’t understand the times (1 Chronicles 12:32).

It’s amazing how these worldwide traumatic events have caused a long walk through the institutions. We see how fragile the church is, how sick the educational system is, how corrupt both the Left and the Right truly are, and how passive the average American is.

But no more. We are waking up and fighting back. A grassroots tribe of conservative thinkers is on the move and the Independent Women’s Network is a leading part of this movement. If you are in the greater Phoenix area, contact me here for more information. If you are in another state be sure to check the IWN website for local chapters you can join or maybe even start your own!

Here’s the thing: when you know the truth you don’t have to be afraid. When you have a group of like-minded women who are for you and who get you, your confidence will build exponentially. We can’t run the race alone and we certainly cannot be among those who sat back and complained while the world literally fell apart around us and we lost all our freedoms.

I refuse to answer to God for that.