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  Do you know anyone who thinks we are not a divided country? Whether it be based upon political, moral, or religious beliefs, we seem to be a society in disagreement. It is as if everyone walks around with blinders on, refusing to see anyone else’s opinion as valid. With that discounting of another’s opinion, we express disrespect. Well folks, it is time to dispel disrespect. Time to Dispel Disrespect I recently had a Facebook exchange with some people who did not like my post on  Freedom Comes with Responsibility . In that post, I expressed that we all have the freedom to use our intellect and reason and make decisions. I used the wearing of masks to combat the coronavirus as an example. Well, did I get an earful, from those who elect to not wear masks! Now, I could have gotten into an argument with these folks, furthering the division between us. Why? Because, in this post, I recommended wearing masks. When we choose to argue, for the sake of arguing, then ultimately, we risk showin

                                                      After 38 years of marriage, I have noticed that somewhere along the way I started speaking in terms of we, as if we share one thought or make one decision. Let me explain. Awhile back when I was talking to my husband about something ordinary—saving coupons—I caught myself saying, “Are we saving coupons for this store?   We don’t like them, do we ?” I spoke as if we were so unified that we shared one thought, as if we think with one mind.   I’m not sure when that started because I just noticed it the other day. Now don’t get me wrong, we do often think alike, but we have plenty of separate ideas as well.   While we don’t always speak as if our brains are completely fused, I did have to laugh when I realized what I did. The thing about the covenant of marriage is that it does take two people and God to make them one—and they do, indeed, create a unique union. Not necessarily in the way I’ve described above—when makin

Last Tuesday, August 4, 2020, something exploded in Beirut. It was around 6:00 p.m., Beirut time, 15:00 UTC. By Wednesday afternoon, I'd read that the blast killed at least 100 folks and hurt some 4,000. Upwards of 100 people were missing. My guess was that the body count would increase. I was right about that, sadly. By Monday, August 10, the acknowledged death toll had passed 200. I don't know how likely it is that search and rescue teams will find more survivors. Some of the good news is that there were search and rescue teams. And that many folks in Beirut "...rushed to the blast location ... to offer support and assistance...." More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

  Do you ever feel like your fears have the upper hand? Do you wish that you could approach life differently, where your fears take a back seat and you excel at achieving your dreams? If so, then it is time to wrestle fear with Fortitude! Wrestle Fear with Fortitude To get the upper hand on our fears, we need to embrace the virtue of Fortitude, a gift of the Holy Spirit. Fortitude is there for the asking and the Holy Spirit is ready to give it to you. The  Catechism of the Catholic Church  defines Fortitude as ensuring “ firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. ”  1  This virtue enables us to conquer fear, with grace and strength. We will never have enough courage and bravery to tackle our fears if we first... Read more... 

                                                    weightplan.com Yesterday we went out to the cemetery to pull crabgrass and put new seed on my mom’s grave.   She died last September and we continue to address the mess. Because her grave and my dad’s are both on a hill, we are constantly in a battle to prevent water trenching its way across the soil when we get rain,   and getting a decent grass covering. Fingers crossed our latest attempt will be successful; the cemetery’s attempt at seeding appears to have been unsuccessful. As we know, in order for any seed to grow, it takes a lot of care during the initial days of planting.   Sunshine and water are essential because the seed must break open in order to grow.   It must die in order to produce. Jesus understood this well.   In fact, we find him talking about it in the Gospel of John (Chapter 12, verse 24).   Why?   Because he knew that in order to give us new life, he would need to go through the whole dying process him