The widow... and salt and light...

     Today's readings are full of richness. I thank God for providing this daily bread.
     The first reading tells us the story of the widow and Elijah. The widow and her son had nothing. They were about to eat sticks, and die. But Elijah told her not to be afraid... that if she would first prepare something for him to eat, God would sustain her. It was true, of course. Give of what you have... even if that's all you have... and God will take care of you, as promised. Trust in God.
     Today's Gospel tells us that we are the salt of the earth... but if salt loses its flavor, what is it good for? Nothing. It will be cast out and trampled underfoot. 
     Jesus also tells us that we are the light of the world. We are not to hide our light, but to let it shine forth before others, so they can see our good deeds and glorify our heavenly Father. Be who you were created to be... salt and light.
     Salt and Light. Obedience in faith. Blessed are we.

John Wooden... a legend for a reason...

     When I heard that legendary basketball coach John Wooden passed away... the radio host I was listening to was comparing different media accounts of a little slip of paper that Coach Wooden had kept in his wallet, and had treasured for nearly his entire life. Words to live by. A perpetual to-do list that his father had given him when he was just a boy. 
     This passage comes from ESPN...

Even with his staggering accomplishments, he remained humble and gracious. He said he tried to live by advice from his father: "Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books -- especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day."

     ESPN had printed the list in its entirety, but the New York Times had edited out all references to God, prayer, and the Bible...     

“Be true to yourself. Make each day a masterpiece. Help others. Drink deeply from good books. Make friendship a fine art. Build a shelter against a rainy day.”

     As I did my research, I found that many other media outlets had also taken out any references to Wooden's needing anyone but himself.
     I'll admit that while I was focusing on the negative of a God-less media that tries so desperately to further a culture incapable of embracing God in ordinary life... I suddenly was surprised at my real discovery. A story so touching... of a man whose life was grace-filled and lived simply... full of devotion for his wife, and for the Lord.
     Legendary basketball coach, and devout Christian, John Wooden. Successful. Devoted. Grateful. He knew which words to live by.
     Read this touching overview of his life, from Christianity Today.

The Word...

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1: 1- 5) 

     I hate to even mention Nancy Pelosi in the same post with this beautiful image of Jesus Christ, but she started it. In case you missed it, she spoke to a Catholic audience last month about how her faith guides her policy decisions. Unbelievable. Nancy, pay attention... "What came to be through Him was life, and this life was the light of the human race... the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." 
Read the article from Catholic Online here.

Who said it ~ Democratic leaders or Communist Party USA?

     Take the quiz and see if you can tell the difference.
     Sent to me by my sister on the west coast, from today's Daily Caller... Thanks for sharing.
     The Marxists have taken over. Better buckle up, America. Remember in November.

Benjamin Franklin

This past episode of Glenn Beck's Founder's Friday featured Ben Franklin...

"Benjamin Franklin practically defined Americanism: duty, innovation, personal responsibility, self-improvement. He was so rooted in common sense, that if he were alive today he'd probably be the grumpiest of grumpy old men and with good reason. Today we restore the history of one of the greatest Americans ever to live."

Watch Glenn Beck weekdays at 5pm & 2am ET on Fox News

Matthew serves for the first time... Some very sweet encouragement from his cousin...

     Last weekend, my ten-year old son served on the altar at Mass for the very first time. Way back in the spring, he had been ambivalent about serving, because, although he knew it would be a good thing to do, he was a little afraid that he wouldn't know what to do... and there he'd be... standing up there... with everybody watching.  
     Well... after weeks of very fine training, he knew exactly what he was doing.  And he was so glad he had decided to serve, after all. I was glad, too.
     He served at the 12 noon Mass, celebrated beautifully by Monsignor Kane... Trinity Sunday. He seemed reverent, but relaxed. He mentioned ahead of time that he felt a little nervous. I told him that the Holy Spirit would be with him... and even if it weren't perfect, it would still be worthy. It was.
     His cousin, my sister's daughter, wrote him a letter from their family.  She is eight years old, and recently received her First Communion.  This is her letter. It will forever be a keepsake...

Matthew... You were great. We really enjoyed seeing you be the altar server. It must feel good to be one. You did a great job being an altar server. We love you!! That was a brave thing to do. It is possible to do, because of you. That's why God made you so gentle and caring to others. You are a wonderful altar server for your cousins and family. You are a great example for your cousins. That was the right job for you, because you did it perfect. We trust in you that you can do it. We are proud of you. God is proud of you, too. That was the bravest thing that I saw in my life. Your parents should really be proud of you. You are the nicest cousin in your family, and Grace, too. I'm glad you'd help the priest with the body of Christ and the wine, so the priest can bless it. You were born right, to become an altar server in Christ.

     How sweet is that. Very well said... with love.

Just say no to (more) government-run journalism...

     So... now the Federal Trade Commission wants to "overhaul" the news industry. Hmm... I think the tyranny is nearly complete.
     This article, from the Washington Times, tells more about the federal government's plans to tax certain new media outlets and devices, in order to subsidize the old media... and to establish government-funded (aka government-run) news organizations, and an Americorps for reporters. Heaven forbid the American people be free to discover the truth.

The bureaucracy sees it as a problem that the Internet has introduced a wealth of information options to consumers, forcing media companies to adapt and experiment to meet changing market needs. FTC's policy staff fears this new reality... "There are reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism," the report states. With no faith that the market will work things out for the better, government thinks it must come to the rescue.

The article goes on to say...

In other words, government policy would encourage a tax on websites like the Drudge Report, a must-read source for the news links of the day, so that the agency can redistribute the funds collected to various newspapers.

     Taxing anything, by the way, is really taxing us. Funny how it always comes down to redistribution of wealth for political power, in the name of fairness. Not funny how it is really tyranny.

Funny Guy Friday... Musings from my hubby... A Trivial Pursuit

     I was driving home from work yesterday, and I heard a bit of trivia. Chris Haney died. Who is Chris Haney? you ask. He was the co-creator of Trivial Pursuit.
     The story goes that he had returned home from purchasing a game of Scrabble, one day, and was lamenting the cost. He then realized that there must be money to be made in board games. He and a friend came up with the idea of Trivial Pursuit in about forty-five minutes, and began to sell it locally. The game became such a sensation that Hasbro purchased the intellectual rights to the game for eighty million dollars. Not bad for a concept that only took 45 minutes to come up with.
    As I continued my drive, I started to think... cool story, but... I HATE Trivial Pursuit! I have lived my entire life with a few simple rules, and one of them is that if people think that you are smart, don't open your mouth and prove them wrong. Trivial Pursuit forces a person to put up or shut up. I've typically elected to shut up. And after playing the game for five minutes, it always became clear to everyone that I was a one-trick pony, as I went through various rolling maneuvers to get from ORANGE-SPORTS AND LEISURE to ROLL AGAIN, then to another ROLL AGAIN, and then another roll in hopes of again landing on... ORANGE. This strategy was often foiled when I would get a LEISURE question. How did LEISURE get mixed in with SPORTS?
    I did find that when it came to Trivial Pursuit, I had one strength, and that was reading my opponents' questions. I would psych them out with a little strategy that I had invented. First, I would read their question to myself. Then, no matter how difficult the question might have been, I would roll my eyes, and lament, "Oh my Gosh, you guys get the easiest questions." After reading the question aloud, I would then fake putting the card back in the box. This gesture let them know that they should get this in a nanosecond, and if they did not, it sent the message that I was clearly smarter than they.
    For example, after rolling my eyes and sighing, I would read... "What is the longest word in Spanish?" and then I would fake putting the question back in the box. If my opponent hesitated at all, I would pull the card back, and get further into their heads by adding a comment like "easy peasy, mcsqueezy." I am not sure what mcsqueezy meant, but it let my opponents know that I was a bilingual intellect (Scottish is a language, isn't it?).  More importantly it rhymed, and it conveyed the idea that this really difficult question was an easy question for me. Since I was so convincing in my delivery of these taunts, my adversaries would be left pondering how the educational system had failed them so miserably. Anyway, once my opponents surrendered on the question, I would shake my head and add, "I can't believe that you couldn't get superextraordinarissimo." By elevating myself, I, in turn, demoralized my opponents.
    My wife tells me that I did not invent this strategy, but that it is used every night by Alex Trebec. I don't believe that because who else, but I, has the intellect to pull this off. Perhaps Hasbro will pay me $80 million for my intellectual properties. Until then, feel free to use my technique at any time. (By the way, the question in my example is a LEISURE question, further illustrating why I hate that game.)

Armando Galarraga... Perfectly done...

     If you follow baseball the way we do in our house... then you have probably heard by now that although Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game last night against the Indians... an umpire's mistake, in the bottom of the 9th, would mean that, technically, he didn't.  
     What Galarraga demonstrated, then, was nothing short of inspirational... A character overflowing with the utmost humility and grace, in the face of crushing disappointment.
     He could have thrown a fit. He could have whined and complained that it wasn't fair. But he didn't. He simply smiled... went back to the mound... and faced the final batter of the game.
     And after the game... even after he watched the replay again and again... and he knew the call had been wrong... he chose to forgive the umpire, and move beyond himself to praise his team. 
     A perfect game... Do you know how rare that is? It should have been Galarraga's. My husband was sick about it. My 10-year old son shared in his father's disbelief. Armando Galarraga seems like a gracious and honorable guy. So, you might wonder... Why should this kind of thing happen to him?? Good people deserve to be rewarded, right??
     I think, in the long run, he will be. But for today, maybe this was a perfect way to show a 10-year old kid how to be gracious in defeat. Maybe we all need a refresher from time to time. Thank you, Armando Galarraga... Perfectly done.

Don't be fooled by Obama's "incompetence"...

     Hmm... Where have I heard this before??  Check out this article from today's American Thinker. See my post from May 17 about Cloward & Piven. Beware of the destroyer.