My Slow Takes (vol. 37)

1. Saturday evening was our annual church Valentine's Day party. The size of the party is about 100 - 110 and is a perfect number for the room we are in. There is plenty of food; prime rib, shrimp, a potato bar, Buffalo chicken dip, salad, and desert. We had a large chocolate machine where you can cover fruit, pretzels and other items with hot chocolate. Did I mention hors d'oeuvres?  Fortunately we also have a DJ playing music so that we are able to dance off the extra calories.

The Angels That Love Us

2. St. Valentine's Day got my curiosity going so I headed over to Catholic.org to read about St. Valentine, the person. He is the patron saint of love, young people and happy marriages. A wee bit more than chocolate hearts and Hersey's Kisses.

Randy Booth and Tuck @ Denbigh wrote about their love and I will share mine as well.


I wrote this in February of 2010, entitled, "An Angel From Above."

"We when are born God assigns a Guardian Angel to watch over us, guide us and help us to come closer to Him. I don’t know how the selection process is made, but can only wonder what went through the mind of my Guardian Angel. God calls him over and says;
“You have been chosen to watch over and guide Paul Forgette. He is no saint and will require much work.”
The angel replies, “Thank you Lord, I will take care of him.”
The I enter the world and realty sets in for my Angel. The work is hard and had to be frustrating. There were some good moments, snippets of light but they soon faded. My spiritual journey had no road to follow and required much work. Church was not a regular part of my routine. Sunday mornings were usually recovery from Saturday carousing. My other sins were easily justified and continued to multiply.
God, in his great love for me, sent me another Angel. This one was an Earth Angel and her name was Dee. She found me in a local “hang-out” writing musings and drinking beer. I had no idea that she would change my life and make me come to realize that she was a gift from God. She never considered herself an angel, she didn’t know that our meeting was a “God Incident.” Neither one of us did. We were married May 8th, 1971 and have been together ever since.
Dee’s job was no easier than my heavenly Angel. However, both of them worked long and hard. Some days I seemed to be heading in the right direction and other days I was completely lost. We attended church and raised our three sons in the Catholic religion. Dee was doing all of the work, I was just there as some type of support. She carried the burden and never once complained. She was strong in her faith and knew the journey would get better.
My spiritual journey was not a model one but Dee did not give up. Over thirty-five years of her constant gentle love had its affect. I started to understand that something was missing. I’m not sure how I came to this realization. The Holy Spirit, my Guardian Angel, and Dee all working together? I found myself paying more attention in church. I was reading, researching learning things about Jesus and what I had been doing wrong. Dee kept sharing her books, her thoughts and love. All of this culminating to my Cursillo weekend, September 23rd, 2010 at the Abbey. She led me to Jesus and I accepted Him.
Now that she had guided my journey and I was traveling in the right direction, she would make her weekend. Her love and unselfishness made sure I went first. On November 18th, 2010 she made her Cursillo weekend, also at the Abbey. She had brought me to where I needed to be and then enhanced her spiritual journey.
I am loved, I am not alone and I am blessed that I was sent my Earth Angel. She helped me to understand that I have now accepted God’s grace. I would not change anything, I will continue my journey with her as I cannot imagine what life would have been, would be, without her."  

3. This weekend is the Richmond Cursillo mens' weekend. Please pray for the team and candidates.


4. I found an article about becoming "paperless" by Jamie Rubin. He provides his reasons for going "paperless" and then provides the process he follows.I was intrigued enough to try it.


I own a MacBook Pro and run Lion 10.7.3. So, I went to Macworld to check their reviews. My budget was to stay under $100 but be able to scan documents quickly. I also wanted to have the option of scanning books. What I found was the Epson V30. It was rated 4 out of 5 mice back in January 2010. The price was less than $60 and it works great with my MacBook Pro and Lion OS. There were no problems setting it up and I have already started scanning receipts and monthly bills. It's a great start and should eliminate a lot of my "papers."


5. There has been much written about the current administration's health regulations. It is not my intent to add to the controversy. I did read the blog by Bonnie at "Learning to Be a Newlywed." It is from the woman's point of view which we men have a tendency to overlook. Please take a moment to read. 


6. I have some friends and co-workers whose project has ended. They now have to look for new positions. Please add these women and men to your prayers.