By Lauren Schwab

I have learned to develop the mindset of asking God, “What miracles would you have me perform today? How can I be of highest service to the world?” It can be easy to wake up and instantly get on social media and check emails. I can easily keep hitting the snooze button on the alarm and wish for ten more minutes of slumber, but how could I use those ten minuets to make my day better?

There are a number of distractions in this world. Some mornings I have had dreaded wake up calls of trouble on the farm, just after praying the pigs were ok and that the day would go well. Not every morning can start with peaceful prayer and meditation followed by a Starbucks coffee and wildberry crepes from the Pancake Pantry. However, I have learned that each day is another opportunity, a gift to do more in the world. There can be a lot of negativity and disheartening if you just turn on the morning news, let alone step outside your door and face the world right on. But this is just want evil wants, to make us scared, discouraged and give up. We all have dreams, hopes and want to feel success, love and happiness. No one is immune to these feelings. It is what you choose to do than not do that will define your life.

My dad choose to be an American pig farmer and God chose me to be born to him and follow. Now I am an American pig farmer and I know I am of highest service to the world when I take care of these animals and give them the best life possible so they can one day give life to someone else. My dad always says, we are not just out to feed the neighborhood, we are out to feed the world. From the outside it can seem like we are living the dream, but we fight everyday for them. We have learned to fight for our dreams, and believe me it can be a cruel gruesome fight somedays. However, we get back up and find promise in the miracle of a newborn piglet, a memory spent working together as a family, the comfort of a full belly and fridge full of food to nourish us with for days to come. There is promise still in America. Beneath the chaos and hardships, there are people full of dreams in their hearts. My hope is to share our dream of feeding the world good food to give them the energy they need to pursue their dreams.

So when you wake up in the morning, I encourage you to meditate on your dreams, and think about how you can be of service to the world and smile at the miracles that can come about when you choose to take action. I dare you to think about the possibilities and be amazed when the impossible happen, just because you decided to get up and fight for your dreams.