My Slow Takes (vol. 21)

1. I provided some thoughts to our sons and their wives back in August 2009. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing them. 

Don't let your children be afraid of spiders or other insects; snakes or other reptiles.

Don't let your children be afraid of the dark or lightening and thunderstorms.

Do teach your children to respect and understand nature and remind them it was created

by God.

Think positive even when things are not. Life has its ups and downs. But, somewhere there  is a positive no matter how small or insignificant it may seem at the time.    

Enjoy each and every day, don't wish for tomorrow to hurry up and get here. It will arrive and pass you by. Then you will wonder where it went. Yesterday is always gone and it will never return.

Talk to each other; don't rely on voice mail and any other new technology that will come along. Face to face conversation is the best means of communication. This is true with family, but it is just as important with friends and co-workers.

2. I watched a historical-fantasy movie entitled "Season of the Witch." It starred Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman, both actors that I enjoy watching. They played Teutonic Knights who have returned from the Crusades. Their return not necessarily being one of a welcoming for heroes. A new actor, for me, was Stephen Campbell who plays Debelzag, a priest. He did an excellent  job portraying the religious guardian of the group.

The story is based on the "Black Death" which killed millions of people during the 14th century. The plot bases the cause of the plague as a curse from a witch. In order to rid the world of this plague she must be taken to a monastery hidden in the mountains. Located there is the "King of Solomon" book which will be used by the monks to destroy the evil within the witch.

This is not a movie for everyone, but I found it to be quite interesting. A combination of Christian faith, redemption and the never ending battle between heaven and hell.

3. I don't care for the stock market nor zombies.

There are too many things going on in the world that affect the stock market. None of which I have any control over. And, it appears that greed and dis-honesty are the culprits that cause the fluctuations. According to "USA Today," we are heading into the season where the stock market is "historically" strong. Well, that is the theory, depending on who you ask.

Zombies are the "living dead." This is an oxymoron. You are either alive or dead, not both. However, I appear to be in the minority as there is going to be a third season of  the TV series "The Walking Dead." No, I haven't watched any episodes and I don't plan on watching any. 

Just my $.02. 

4. One of my friends sent me the following;

"The light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration, as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup. 
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up.. 
He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and placed in a holding cell.
After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. 
He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally....I assumed you had stolen the car.""

I laughed and then thought that although somewhat stretched, the story isn't that unusual. It is easy for us to get into situations where our faith wavers or our inner peace gets side tracked. Our lives are filled with temptations or stress from family, friend and work issues.   

Faith is a full time job that should start with prayer and devotion to Jesus. Our armor required to face each day as a Christian Knight. We need to be prepared to fight sin, no matter how insignificant that sin may seem. Small sins grow and can become too large to handle if we don't have faith. Live your faith ... show your faith ... share your faith.

May God bless your day and keep you safe.

5. Today is the funeral of a brother in Christ; Joseph. He was 84, a member of our Church of the Epiphany and a fellow Cursillista.

The following is a paragraph from the obituary that was in the "Richmond Times Dispatch."

"His real passion was helping others. He served as chairman of the Henrico County Red Cross, the parish councils of Our Lady of Lourdes and Redeemer Catholic churches, and the finance committee for the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. Beginning in 1996, along with his wife, Kay Marie, established and served in a ministry of Epiphany Catholic Church, facilitating healing for families who lost children to abortion, through Rachel's Vineyard Retreats. Joe, a man of character, tried to live his life in accordance with his Catholic faith. He was a good and faithful servant and he looked beyond appearances to see the true value in each person he met. His humor was subtle, his smile broad. He was a gentle and gracious man who is loved by family and friends. He will be greatly missed!"

Please pray for his wife Kay Marie and family.