Dear Presidential Candidates,

You don't know me ... but I know you. I have listened to your speeches, I have read your editorials, I have watched you on the morning news shows and I have even listened to you on radio a time or two.

You don't know me, but I am someone who matters. My vote matters in this presidential election and there will be millions of other Americans who are looking for some of the same values and convictions that I am looking for in a candidate. 

I want you, Mr. and Ms. Presidential Candidate, to be quiet for a minute and to listen to me. You can do it ... take a deep breath and read something that is being written from the heart of America. Remember that I matter ... what I believe matters ... what I desire matters ... it matters very, very much.

1. My vote will go to someone who holds moral values that are birthed from faith and not from the culture. The culture changes ... it shifts ... it is inconsistent. My prayer is that the next president of the United States of America will embrace and promote a value system that is birthed from a faith that is bigger than him or herself. My deepest prayer is that this faith will be consistent with the principles found only in the Bible.

2. I want someone who desires to be president not for prestige nor for power but whose very life has been built upon principles that are valiant and noble. I want our next president to be compelled to live in such a manner that hell shakes and heaven roars. I hope that the man or woman who is elected this year will realize that he or she is not living to please the electorate but is living to honor God. I hope that your heart trembles at that last statement, Mr. and Ms. Presidential Candidate.

3. I hope that you understand that someday your knees will indeed bow in complete adoration at the throne of the mightiest King who has ever lived. You will answer to this King for every word that you speak, for every heart attitude that you embrace and for every action you choose. If you think that Megyn Kelly or George Stephanopoulos are difficult to answer ... just wait until you arrive in the Throne Room! Oh! You didn't know that was part of the job? Let me inform you that you will indeed be sent to the Throne Room some day after your temporary stay at the White House. Oh, yes, you will be arrive at the Throne Room ... whether you get to stay there or not is entirely up to you.

4. Be a leader! Stand up for what you believe in! Say it succinctly and powerfully! Don't pander to the pundits and don't mollycoddle the minorities. Be a force to be reckoned with and stare down those who try to distract you from living a life of honor and righteousness.

5. Care about people. Care about the common man. Care about me. Be a servant of the finest kind and have goodness in the depth of your soul. Care about mothers and babies ... care about the working man and the college student ... care about my parents and grandparents. We all matter to America, and so we should all matter to you.

6. Don't belittle the other candidates. My father taught me, "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." It was good advice then, and it is great advice now. If you have to step on someone to make yourself look better, perhaps you are not as great as you think you are. Why don't we create a new generation of political leaders who keep their criticisms aimed at policies and principles and refuse to berate a man or a woman made in the image of God? Imagine that for a moment. Just because a candidate mocks or belittles you, you don't have to act in like matter. I think that the Bible has something to say about this, you know. It's called, "Turning the Other Cheek." It's called, "Loving Your Enemy." I happen to believe that God's ideas are better than our ideas, don't you?

7. Care about the unborn. Life matters. My vote will go to a man or a woman who believes that life begins at conception. And that's all that I have to say about that.

8. My money is not your money. My money is not the government's money. I don't mind paying necessary taxes, but please remember that my money is not yours. That's all I have to say about that.

9. Please care about the American soldier. Care about his family and how we treat them while he is away defending our country and how we treat them when he comes home.

10. I will vote for a man or a woman with the leadership abilities of Moses ... with the power of Peter ... with the heart of Esther ... with the wisdom of Solomon and with the vision of Abraham.

So if you want my vote, and the votes of millions of others like me, you better think about who you are and what you believe in, Mr. and Ms. Presidential Candidate. Because it matters ... it matters very, very much.

Carol McLeod is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. She has written five books, including No More Ordinary, Holy Estrogen!, The Rooms of a Woman's Heart and Defiant Joy! Her most recent book, Refined: Finding Joy in the Midst of the Fire, was released last August. Her teaching DVD The Rooms of a Woman's Heart won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award for excellence in religious programming. You can also listen to Carol's "A Jolt of Joy" program daily on the Charisma Podcast Network. Connect with Carol at justjoyministries.com.

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