"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." Saint Francis De Sales

Friday, May 24, 2013

My Slow Takes (Vol. 98)


1. The Women’s weekend closing was a rejuvenating event for me. Fifteen women each told their experience and how it changed their spiritual lives. There were many tears, laughter and loving support from the Cursillo family in attendance. Dee and I enjoyed being part of their “Fourth Day.”

2. Lord please help the people recovering from the devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma, the survivors, family & friends, for the souls of those who are now with You.

3.      "My child, when you come to serve the Lord,
         prepare yourself for trials.
         Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
         and do not be impetuous in time of adversity.
         Cling to Him, do not leave Him,
         that you may prosper in your last days.
         Accept whatever happens to you;
         in periods of humiliation be patient.
         For in fire gold id tested,
         and the chosen, in the crucible of humiliation.
        Trust in God, and He will help you;
        make your ways straight and hope in Him."   Sirach 2:1-6

One of my brothers in Christ attended a memorial honoring veterans past, present and future. He himself is a veteran and the occasion brought back memories of those he knew that are now with our Lord. His heart is filled with sorrow and his mind wonders why he is here while others he served with are not. We tried to explain that there are no finite answers to his questions. I suggested that, in their memory, he should consider living his life trusting in our Lord and doing the best he is capable of being. Please say a prayer for him and all the other veterans who sacrificed for us.

4. Great news Jennifer! Ignatius Press is an excellent publisher. “You have chosen...wisely.”

5. This day in 1960, the song, “Cathy’s Clown” was the number one hit on the music charts. It was written and sung by two of my favorite singers Don and Phil Everly. 


6. “A Look at Life from a Deer Stand” is a book written by Steve Chapman. He is an expert hunter, writer, singer, husband and father. The book is about his hunting experiences and how they relate to spiritual and daily life. He keeps everything simple but his messages are strong and inspiring. I recommend reading, even if you are not a hunter. 

7. Memorial Day has become the day that starts the season of summer. What is more important is that it is a day to remember those who died while serving our country. Please take a moment to say a prayer for them. 



Read other "Takes" at Conversion Diary.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

My Slow Takes (Vol. 97)


1. There are times when I receive an email that asks me to forward it to a number of my friends after I finish reading it. I am told that good things will result as a reward for my fulfillment of this duty. If I fail to comply I may be un-American, unfriendly, non-religious or be visited by three spirits the night I delete the received email. Email myths is the term I use to refer to these annoyances. My friends and family know that I don’t respond to these types of emails. However, they still arrive in my inbox and I continue to read and delete.

“Your DailyTripod, Delighted When They Heard” touches on the subject to religious emails. It is nice to know that I am not alone.

“There is a prevalence of messages that people send out which basically say repost this or you don’t love Jesus.  I just have to wonder if Jesus really cares about what is on Facebook or if he would rather we get off our computers and go out into the world and do the works?  So I am going to sign off, not post the message and head to do some volunteering this weekend.  And no…I am not going to send that message to 25 friends or post it on Facebook or re-tweet it on Twitter. De colores!”

2. The Central Virginia Cursillo Women’s Weekend started May 16. Their “Fourth Day” is Sunday, May 19. Please pray for the candidates and team members.

3. The following, from "Your Daily Tripod, Bear Witness," has a beautiful reflection that is perfect for the Women’s Weekend.

“On the weekend, we make ample use of prayer partners.  Teams use prayer-partners to get to know each other in formation.  We have prayer-partners in the community offering “Palanca” for the candidates and the team.  We have members of the community providing hands-on service to the weekend.  We have a prayer clock where we can be assured that members of the extended community are praying for the weekend around-the-clock. 
As the weekend progresses, another feature which becomes evident to the candidates is that every time a member of the team gets up to “bear witness” in the model of St. Paul, another member of the team disappears.  It will be revealed that this member is up in the chapel praying for the brother/sister who is delivering the witness talk.
Jesus reveals in John 17 that he is our eternal prayer-partner in two complementary manners.  First the Father is in Him and He is in us.  Second we are in Him and Jesus is in the Father. This unity is what we achieve on a weekend between the team in formation, then between the team and candidates and then between the weekend and the community.  This is most powerfully expressed in the Palanca notes and other actions and prayers that take place before, during and after the weekend.”

4. This seasons final episode of NCIS aired this week. The “bad guy” was Richard Parsons, a DOD IG Investigator. He was after Gibbs but failed. The bad news is that I get this “gut” feeling he’s still going to be around.

The ending scene provided something to think about. It should be an interesting new series next season.

5. My neighbor has Pittsburgh signs on his lawn promoting his confidence that they will win the Stanley Cup. With my teams out, I’m not sure who to cheer for. Maybe I’ll wait until we get to the final paring.

6. The Cicada’s are out and making a complete nuisance of themselves. They are making their typical loud noise and seem to be everywhere. Some interesting information on them at Wikipedia.

7. Hug your children today, hug your husband, hug your wife, hug someone close to you. No special reason, just a beautiful thing to do.




Read other "Takes" at Conversion Diary.

Friday, May 10, 2013

My Slow Takes (Vol. 96)


1. Dee and I went to Buffalo, New York for her Uncle Tony’s funeral. His oldest son Tony read a beautiful eulogy and captured his Dad’s love of life and faith in God. While we were there we stayed with Dee’s cousin David, Uncle Tony’s youngest son. The photo below is of me standing in front of the outside kitchen and bar. This is a relaxing place to watch football games on Sunday afternoon.


2. Our church group traveled to tour Historic Oak Ridge Estate and taste some wine at Veritas Winery. Both are located in Nelson County, Virginia just south of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was a gorgeous day and we learned some interesting facts about the Estate and wine making.

The Chapel
The Old Oak Tree
Looking out over the winery
3. Last weekend was the annual Town Point Virginia Wine Festival. It is held on the water front in downtown Norfolk. A beautiful setting with over 30 Virginia wineries, plenty of live music and food. Our friend Pam has a vendor tent where she sells her hand painted wine glasses. Dee and I worked with her husband Tony and her sister Beth. Although it didn’t seem like work as we laughed and enjoyed the festivities. 

Pam's tent, complete with Pam, Beth, a customer and Tony.
Pam's "Sea Shell" wine glasses.
4. This week has more photos than I usually post, but I wanted to share them. The following are rain drops using a sophisticated digital camera. They were taken after a rain shower. I don’t know where they originated from. A friend of mind sent them by email to me. It shows God’s beauty and His love of this earth.









5. The following is from Melanie Rigney at “Your Daily Tripod.” Please take time to read the entire blog.

“Millions, maybe billions of words have been written about the dogma of the Holy Trinity, about how Christians believe in one God existing in three persons, distinct in their origin and yet one God. The Fourth Council of the Lateran would put it this way: “It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds.”

6. The “Flawed Disciple” is still writing and provides and interesting outlook on Heaven.

"There are a number of instances throughout the Bible when we are encouraged to not be afraid. And of course being afraid is a natural (human) reaction when we are confronted with the supernatural...or as Rudolf Otto aptly described it, "the wholly other.""

My outlook is that I am not afraid, just not in a hurry. 

7. Wednesday, May 8 was our 42nd wedding anniversary. It's amazing that she has kept me around so long.

Me and my Earth Angel, Dee

Read other "Takes" at Conversion Diary.