The upcoming Election

I'm sure everyone is drowning in conflicting ads about which person to vote for or which prop is the right one to go through and become law. I won't add to your stress by giving my opinion on who to vote for or what is the right prop to choose. I can only suggest to do what I have been doing and research and verify some of the facts. I have found what might be true one place is not true where I live. Here is an example. We have all heard the ads about prop 8 and how it will or will not effect education. So I did a bit of research. The two things that got me to thinking something was not right was when they said in Massachusetts kids in second grade will be taught about marriage and on the opposite end the superintendent from the L A unified school district said that its not taught at all. What I found is this, different states and cities for that matter have different ways of doing things, it's not a across the board type of deal. In the city of Burbank family type classes are not taught till high school, the same with the Los Angeles school district. So if you really want to know how to vote, do lots of research, then let your heart, your conscience and maybe some prayer lead you in the right direction.

We are not alone

These are very scary times we are all in right now, the economy on a downward spiral, drastic weather changes, a change in leadership, all very scary things happening at once. I'm sure many us are going through many stressful things in our own lives, money, work or lack thereof, but if you noticed at the beginning I said "we all" meaning you are not the only one going through these hard times. The only way we will get through all this is faith in God and trust in our friends and family. Be a rock for someone, be the one to give them strength and you can be sure that you will realize that we are not alone.

The Olympic Spirit

I want to first take this moment before I began my blog topic by apologizing for the recent lack of posts. To be honest nothing has motivated me to post or draw anything, until today. I don't think it's fair to you or myself to force myself to write something or draw something unless I feel committed to it. The Olympic Spirit, what does that mean, is it about a protester trying to snatch the Olympic Torch from someone, who has probably waited all their lives for this one moment, or is it a political leader exposing how his country is not going to attend because of who is sponsoring the games this year.No, that is not the Olympic Spirit, and though the cause may be justified the Olympics are not a political venue. This is suppose to be where all the nations check their attitudes and animosities at the door and as the advertisements say "where the World comes together". I don't care how right or just the cause, the Olympics need to be above all that. I can't began to tell you how infuriated I was when I would see over and over again protesters trying to yank the Olympic Torch from some innocent runners hand. Its so contrary to what they are advocating, they are using a venue that promotes peace and unity to further their own political agenda of social justice. China certainly does have social justice issues to correct, but this is so not the way or venue to promote this. Lets keep the Olympic Spirit as it was meant to be Peace and unity for the World.

Would it really matter?

I was reading an article the other day in regards to the DaVinci Code and what a controversy it made because of the ideas that it put forth, being that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had a child. The other thing was it questioned Jesus' divinity, which if I remember correctly was never done in the book. When I read the book, which I enjoyed very much it made me think, if Jesus did have a family what effect does it have on my faith. I found that to me it made no difference at all. I found that if those facts were ever proven to me it just made the idea of "Family" that much more of a powerful idea. I mean even if he did have a family, he still did all the things we know him for, his ministry, his miracles, and finally his dying on the cross, which makes his own personal sacrifice that much more important! I can't speak for anyone else but myself but if anything my faith was made even stronger. In the end it comes down to one fact, he sacrificed himself on a cross for our sins so we may have a new life. So would it really matter if he was married and had a child, not at all!

The Journey Begins

Today is a momentous day in our families lives, our son Michael is graduating from High School. Now begins his journey on the path of life. It can be scary, it can be exciting it can be any number of things for different people. It is sort of like stepping out of childhood and into adulthood. Now is a time to increase ones learning towards a career or simply going straight into a job. The choices seem endless, but as we all know we all go through it and survive. It's also a transition for us as parents as well, our children become more independent and maybe not needing us as much as before and maybe even moving out or going to a college out of state. So we as parents also go through a lot of emotional changes. All in all it's an exciting time and no amount of words can express how proud of my son that I am. I hope you will join me in wishing him well and keeping him in your prayers because now truly The Journey Begins.

Be Still...Be Quiet....Be With God.

Have you ever just sat still for a minute and just listened to the sounds around you, did you say something like, " I didn't know we had songbirds in that tree" We miss so much when we rush and run all around. It's the same way with our relationship with God. We are so intent on our destination that we miss how we even got there or what we even saw. Sometimes we think if we do lots of things in our Parish we are doing a good thing, but it's important to remember that we also need to be served and to do that we need to be still... be quite... and be with God. Take just twenty minutes and sit still and be quiet and don't try to actually listen to anything just sit and let things come to you and appreciate all you hear or smell, even that noisy leaf blower, imagine if you were deaf and could not hear it, so count your blessings and remember, be still... be quiet... and be with God.

Rosebud

Now for those of you who have never seen Citizen Kane and don't want the end spoiled, please by pass this entry. The other day I came into the later half of the movie Citizen Kane, I had always heard of it but just never caught it on amc. I can now see why it was so popular, the movie is of the highest order. What I was struck by was the end of the movie, everyone is trying to find out the importance of the Kane's last words "rosebud" and I believe unless you have watched the entire movie you won't understand the significance of his last words. I did a little research into it and found like the word the answer was simple. It was the only happy memory he had of his childhood and playing with his sled in the snow. In the final scene somewhat similar to the final scene in the first Indiana Jones movie you see this wide shot of a massive warehouse with what seems like miles and miles of crates of things kane had collected over the years, the warehouse is just massive! Then as the camera comes in closer you see a man tossing things into the furnace of things that could not be sold at auction and their in the furnace is tossed his sled whose name was rosebud. So at the very end of this man who had virtually everything and I mean everything, his last words were of the only thing that gave him happiness in this world, the sled from his childhood. That really got me to thinking about what is really important in life. It's not the collecting of "things" or even "wealth" because these are only like a band-aid and their happiness if any is only temporary. I think their is a real lesson here in that it's the simpler things in life that are more valuable and more dear to us than all the wealth in the world.

Take a moment....Talk to God!

I realized this week, between trying to help my son get some things done for school, and with his prom coming up we've been rushing around non-stop and taking no time to just sit and breath. I know we all tend to do that because of the way the world is and we put so much importance on the things that are driving us crazy or stressing us out we forget to simply take five minutes to have a short conversation with God. I took a moment closed my eyes and just sat still, you will not believe the change I felt in simply taking a quiet moment and letting God get a word in. So remember, nothing is so important that you can't just take at least just five minutes and let God calm you, get a good book, maybe even the Bible and just read for five minutes, take a moment and let God talk to you.

Going it Alone...Not always a good idea

We sometimes have a tendency to say "oh I'll take care of it myself". More times than not we end up working harder or just making the situation worse. Take my little friend Pendragon to the right here, he decided that he did not need any help taking on Darkness by himself. I'm thinking he might have made a slight miscalculation. Sometimes thats what we do as well. It's so important to be open and flexible and to accept help wherever it comes from, God's help comes in many forms. I know it's hard to ask for help, it may even be embarrassing, but trust me it's better than getting into a situation like Pendragon did. So next time you think about going it alone, don't, ask for help.

King David was a Dancing Fool!

I had always read that if there ever was a big celebration in ancient times, King David always led the procession dancing and cavorting wildly. In any place of worship you will always hear about the choir or the preaching and even how well the instruments did on the music, but you never hear much about the dancing. In our church we are blessed with some wonderful liturgical dancers, they are like swans gliding upon a lake in perfect harmony. They never retract from the service and they only add to the beauty of it. We all worship in different ways and each of us has a gift to share with their own community to bring Gods love in all his many ways. So whatever community or religion you are in and if you are lucky enough to have dancers go up to them give them a hug and say thank you for sharing your gift, and remember, King David was a dancing fool too!

Be Watchful..but do it Mindfully

Our children are our most precious people in the world and we must protect them, but we have to do it with the utmost responsibility or else it turns into a witch hunt and those we may have once trusted may now be damaged. Unfortunately the atmosphere we now live in makes that as difficult as fighting in Vietnam where the soldiers could not discern between the villagers and the Viet Cong. Sometimes that resulted in innocent villagers being killed. These are some of things we must keep in mind as protectors of our children, discern what is going on, hear what is actually being said and in what context and who is saying it. I know now it is difficult to tell friend from foe with all the stories in the media but please try and maybe just maybe the right people will be accused instead of the person who just made an honest mistake.

Intermission..Shameless Plug

Hello all, I just wanted to let all who visit here that my first God Tail is available through Lulu.com, The Fox who wanted to Fly. Please feel free to visit Lulu and see the free preview of it. I believe it will bless those who read it.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel..yes, it's God

Sometimes we all get in those ruts of bad luck where everything seems to happen at once. It even starts to make you think, "is God punishing me?" I know it must seem that way and you start to question what you did wrong. Well keep in mind a couple of things, God is a loving God, and he is a forgiving God. He is also there to show you the way to the light at the end of the tunnel, it may take a bit but there is a light at the end. As long as you can keep the faith and put all your trust in God, he will always help you no matter what the situation is, you just have to believe with your whole heart and mind that God is the light at the end of that long tunnel.

God will give you wings

Have you ever looked up and wished you could fly, and zoom through the clouds? I know I have, when I was younger I wanted to be a fighter pilot. One thing that flying or having my own wings to fly signified was freedom. Freedom to do whatever came to my mind. In a way we all have invisible wings, we just do not know they are there. These are the wings of Faith and the knowledge and freedom that God will always be there, but at the same time that with these wings that God has given us, we can do anything. Once you find your wings it's up to us to help others find those wings as well, that way someday we can all touch the face of God together.

Fellowship..keeping you on the Path

I have been fortunate in my life to have come across people who have benefited my life in so many ways. We all sometimes get lost in that long road of life, but thanks to people who we fellowship with, they re-direct us onto the right path. Jesus has called us all to spread the word, to the World, not just to Catholics or Lutherans, or any one specific religion, but to EVERYONE! We do that by fellowshipping and telling our story of our personal journey with God. Take a moment to sit with someone and tell them about your journey and what you have gone through, the bad as well as the good. Don't be afraid to be who you are, a person of God, share it!

A Mother's Love

The title says it all as well as the image that accompanies it, sacrifice is another word that comes to mind when you talk about a Mother's love. Mary gave her son to the world so we all might be saved, but not to take away Mary's sacrifice, but Mothers all over the world are making the same sacrifice every day. The mother who has only two pieces of bread for three people and gives those pieces to her children. The mother who knows she can not support her child for varying reasons, gives up her child to someone who can, this was prevalent in the 1920's and 30's. The Mother who gives a kidney to save her child. The Mother who watches her son going to war, the Mother who watches her son return with an American flag draped over his coffin. This is a Mothers love. It goes on every moment of every day, they give their lives so we her sons and daughters may have a better life. Think of this the next time you see your mom and give her a big hug. Happy Mothers Day Mom!

Ever feel like Job?

I was wondering today about what picture would go good with the topic and I thought not really any I could think of, so this post will be sans artwork. You ever have one of those days where you say, "so what else can happen" and something else does. To be honest i'm not sure what to say, I could say a clique like no matter what God will take care of you, but then I remembered Job. Now talk about a bad day or a bad life for that matter. This guy had everything happen to him and I mean everything and still he did not once waver in his faith in God. I can in no way shape or form ever even equate myself to being like Job. I'm sure I am not alone in having issues or problems day to day, so I guess the best we can all do is try to think of Job and remember he never loss faith.

National Day of Prayer

How much do you pray? Is it once a day, at night when you go to bed or like most, when something is going wrong? Well I'd be lying if I said I was anything but what I mentioned, but one thing I do know when I do pray, I don't ask for anything in particular, I always tell God, "you know what I need and when I need it, just try not to take too long" I think what we all forget is praying is simply talking to God like you would anyone else. I think people assume that prayer is only used as a request line, it's not, it's a way to keep you and God close to each other. It's like calling your parents when you are away to let them know your ok or what's going on in your life, ok and maybe to ask for money, lol. Seriously though prayer is there so it keeps you close to God and keeps God close to you. Make use of it on this Day of Prayer miracles do happen, prayer makes those miracles happen.

You Can Hide...But God will always find you

God has a purpose for us all, we may not know what it is, and we may even run from it, but sooner or later God finds you. I have a friend who came over one evening to my apartment before I was married just to talk and hang out. After about ten minutes of just talking he told me he was going to become a priest! My friend had just graduated from USC school of dentistry. He had not even told his parents yet. He related to me how he had been struggling with the decision but in the end, God found him. He is a wonderful priest now and a credit to the priesthood. Instead of running and hiding, we need to try to listen with an open heart to what God wants of us and the path he has set for us. Let God lead you to that purpose that in the end will benefit others, because when all is said and done we are here to help others. So the next time you try to hide, don't bother, God will always find you at the right time.

The Perfect Family....Not!

The family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus has been revered as the Holy family, the model of what a family should be, the "perfect" family. Think about it though, were they really the perfect family in our manner of thinking, of course not. Now before everyone gets in a uproar continue reading. Lets take a look at the "perfect" family. Take Mary first off, she was a unwed mother who as we know was almost stoned according to Jewish law except for the intervention of God with Joseph, who stepped up and did the right thing. With that said, then you have Jesus himself who in contemporary terms was an adopted child. Now in most societies and even today would not be considered the "perfect" family because of the status of the family members. Yet they are the "perfect" example of a families love for one another despite their individual status, they are the "perfect" example of what a family should be for todays families. With divorce on the rise and so many other situations that put the family in danger we all need to take a longer look at Jesus' family and see how a real family coped with many of the issues families do today. So were they the "perfect" family...No, but were they the "perfect" example of a families love, absolutely.