Matthew, DNA Test & Arael

Matthew Kelly states that, “life is difficult. There are problems. There are problems that we expect, and there are problems that are unexpected.” He also tells us that we should face our difficulties, don’t try to run away from them but deal with them and use them as “opportunities to grow.”

“Every difficulty in life is an opportunity to grow.

Every difficulty in life is an opportunity to grow in virtue.

Every difficulty in life is an opportunity to grow in character.

Every difficulty in life is an opportunity to become a-better-version-of-yourself, more perfectly yourself.

Every difficulty in life, at some level, is a blessing.”

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My brother shared the information from his DNA test. It showed that our French connection traveled to Quebec, Canada around 1700 to 1750. This matches what my cousins have discovered as well.

He found that we are also connected to Scandinavia. So, we could have some Viking relatives. 

Fur Traders

Vikings

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Sometimes our local squirrels attempt to get at the seed in our bird feeder. They are not successful and after a period of time give up and look for food elsewhere. This week I found one of them “studying” the bird feeder. He sat there for at least five minutes. I’m concerned that he may have figured out how to get at the seed.

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Jack Bears shared this story. He received a call from his Mom that he should come home to see his grandmother.

“So I flew home. I'd been challenged a few weeks before by a friend of mine, and he challenged me with something that made me really uncomfortable. He said that eulogies are never heard by the people who deserve to hear them the most. So he asked me to write a eulogy for my grandma, and then share it with her in person.

And so I did.

And our conversation was just . . . it was extraordinary, and I'll never forget it.”

I am thinking about some similar conversations that I could be experiencing. 

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I decided to paint an Archangel that I purchased at Historicon last year. It’s from Ral Partha, aka: Iron Wind Metals. It did not turn out as well I would have liked, but not too bad. Named her Arael after doing some research on Archangels.  What I found;

“Ariel (Hebrew: אריאל, Ari'el, Arael or Ariael) is an archangel found primarily in Jewish and Christian mysticism and Apocrypha. The name Ariel, "Lion of God" or "Hearth of God," occurs in the Hebrew Bible but as the name of an angel the earliest source is unclear.”

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Have a Blessed Easter ...

Cross Cards

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Kenny Chesney - “While He Still Knows Who I Am”

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Yard Work, Will & Spring

Dominick Albano: “Have you ever wished you would hear the voice of God? I know I have. I've had those moments in my life, where I just wish that a voice would boom out from the sky—would come down from the clouds—and tell me everything was going to be okay, or tell me what I'm supposed to do next, or tell me what I'm doing wrong.”

“How about you? Have you had those moments? Because in the Gospel this Sunday, we see one of those moments, right? We see this happen. The people are with Jesus, God's voice booms out from the clouds, and he speaks down to the people. And what happens?  Some people say, “Oh my gosh, I heard the voice of God. The angels were speaking to us.” And others, “Nah, I heard thunder. Did you hear thunder? Yeah, I heard thunder. I heard thunder.” They don't believe. They're skeptical.”

I’ve often thought that it would be a wondrous thing if God talked to me like he did to Abraham and Moses. But then, would I listen if He told me something I didn’t want to hear? Or would I run and hide like Jonah did?

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We were fortunate and had a nice sunny day to complete more spring cleanup.

Dee started cleaning out leaves and getting her plants ready for spring. The granddaughters, Eryn and Hailey, helped her by trimming and gathering the leaves for dumping.

Our son Stephen came over to assist by trimming a couple of trees for us. While he was doing that job, I trimmed bushes, put down some topsoil and dumped old mulch.

It was a fun and productive afternoon with family.

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“There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.”

Will Rogers

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The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants)

I painted this regiment, along with the 71st Foot, Frasers Highlanders, for the battles in the Carolina, Georgia and Virginia theatre. It was raised during the American Revolution to defend British Canada. The men were soldiers who served Britain in the French and Indian War and stayed in Canada. There were two Battalions. The 2nd Battalion was commanded by General John Small of Strathardle. It was this Battalion that took part in the Southern Campaign.

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Joel Fernandez, from Dynamic Catholic, shared what his mission is. It is not complicated and easy to understand. His statement on actions is excellent. If we show how we love God and others, if we show our enthusiasm about our beliefs, others will see, and some of them will want to do what we do.

“My mission is to know Jesus better every day and help my wife and kids to do the same. 

To do this, we gather each night as a family to pray or do a devotional or a Bible study. 

What my wife and I really want is for our kids to remember that Jesus is the foundation of our home, and that a relationship with Jesus is the most important thing in life.

More than anything else, we try with our lives and our example to reflect the love of Christ for our kids. As Saint Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

Our actions often speak louder than words, so we try to live in a way that others can see Christ in us each day. Our goal is to be able to bring the love of Jesus to every family, every person we meet, every person we talk to, and that our kids can do the same—and that we may be a good example for them.

Please pray that we will be able to live out this mission!

What is your mission?”

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Scotty McCreery - “Five More Minutes.”

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The Times They Are A Changin' - Tracy Chapman (Thank you Jen)

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John 3:16, On Parade & Fish

Dominick Albano: “In this Sunday's Gospel, we get to hear the most famous verse in all of the Bible: John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.”

“It's been said that this one verse is like the entirety of the Gospel condensed down into one verse. It's the entirety of the Gospel, the entirety of the Bible, the whole history of salvation, condensed down into one verse. And I think the beauty in the verse is in its simplicity. I think that's the beauty of this verse. I think that's why it's so attractive and why it's so popular. It's just so clear, and it's so simple, and it's so straightforward.”

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Melanie Rigney shared this quote from Thomas Merton.

“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

   Thomas Merton

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Some heavy infantry from Todd. He continues to expand his British troops.

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These are my painted, 25MM, “American War of Independence” figures. Colonial troops are on the left and British troops on on the right.

My interests have changed to the French and Indian War. I will be putting these AWI figures up for sale along with those that I haven’t painted. If anyone is interested, please notify me. 

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Friday night is the annual Lenten Fish Dinner at our Church. Dee and I look forward to this every Lenten Season. It's an opportunity to enjoy great food, and share an evening with friends.

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Carrie Underwood - “Temporary Home.”

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Reflection, Cleanup & Jamey

Part of Dominick Albano’s Gospel reflection for Sunday, March 4.

“Distrust. Anger. We just see this richly human side of Jesus, and I think it's really important. Because even though we say Jesus was fully man, he is fully God . . . do we really believe it? And do we really believe that Jesus was fully human? I think there's times when we don't act like it because we think there's parts of our lives that are too human for Jesus. There's parts of our lives that we can't invite God into because it's just too human.”

Read all of it here.

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On Sunday we had the three younger granddaughters at our home for the afternoon. They always enjoy playing outside and God provided a beautiful day for their activities. Dee

 set a challenge for them to see who could pick up the most tree limbs, sticks, etc. The idea was that winner would receive a $5 reward. The three of them cleaned up the yard and did an excellent job. So, all three received a $5 reward.

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I took advantage of the nice weather this week and cleaned the newly fallen leaves from the high wind that came through last week. 

It would be nice if that was the end of the leaves.

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March Lamb or Lion

When March comes in gently, with soft skies of blue

And warm happy breezes and crocus buds too

March begins like a lamb, sweet gentle and kind

But you’d better beware for you’ll surely find

That the end of the month will be stormy and cold

Like a lion it’ll roar, rough, growly and bold

If March begins windy, and stormy and gray,

If it’s too cold outside, to happily play

The lion’s here first, and he’s not so nice

You should be indoors take my advice

But wonderful weather is coming they say

By the end of the month the lamb’s here to stay.

~ Author Unknown ~

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Todd finished some snipers for his Conflict ’47 British company. 

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Melissa Gille

What I believe is based on my lifetime of experiences, decisions, challenges, sufferings, and joy. My beliefs keep my life in perspective. They check my actions and influence the way that I live my life.

Here are some of my beliefs:

I believe that God is faithful.

I believe that I am meant to be truly happy in this life and the next.

I believe that everyone wants to love and be loved.

I believe the Catholic Church provides all the answers we need to understand life.

I believe that God's dreams for my life are bigger and better than the dreams I have for myself.

I believe in the importance of giving people the benefit of the doubt.

I believe in the beauty of loving my family, imperfections and all.

I believe in letting things go and letting the past be the past.

And I believe in the power of a good deed, simple “hello,” and random act of kindness.

What are your beliefs?

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Jamey Johnson - “Lead Me Home Lyrics”

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Thank you Jen

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Character, Abraham & Beth

Matthew Kelly promotes being “the-best-version-of-ourselves.” On Saturday morning, his “Best Lent Series,” series provided the answer of how we can accomplish this task. Character and Virtue.

“Character is something that tends to be made up of habits. You know, if somebody lies to you all the time, you tend to think of that person as being of low character. We tend to discount what they say to us. We dismiss what they say to us, very often, because they lie to us so much that we just can't even listen to what they've got to say.

And the reality is that God wants you to become a person of great character. And the building blocks of that character are virtues. The building blocks of that character are patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courage, and all the virtues that are at the core of Christian spirituality and are belittled and despised and demeaned, very often, in our modern culture.”

And so, becoming the-best-version-of-yourself means, in a very real and practical way, becoming a woman of character; becoming a man of character. And it's that character, that deep, strong, well-grounded, rooted character, that God wants to fill us with so that when life's difficult moments come along—and they come along . . . It's in those difficult moments of life where our true character is revealed, where who we are at the core, is on display for the whole world to see.”

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Deacon Steve provided some thought on the first Reading from Sunday the 25th. Genesis  22:1-2, 9A, 10-13, 15-18. His Homely always involves deep thought and today’s was no different. The question he asked is one that I have often thought about. Why would God test Abraham by having Isaac offered up as a holocaust? More importantly, why did Abraham obey without question? Abraham had an unusual connection with God, They spoke to each other on numerous occasions. Deacon Steve suggests that Abraham knew that God would not let him take the life of his son Isaac.

Genesis 22:5, “Abraham said to his servants: “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.”

Genesis 22:8, “My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.” The the two walked on together.

Genesis 21:12, But God said to Abraham: Do not be distressed about the boy or about your slave woman. Obey Sarah, no matter what she asks of you; for it is through Isaac that descendants will bear your name.”

Abraham knew God would not let him offer up his son. First, Abraham tells his servants, that he and his son will come back to them. Second, Abraham tells his son Isaac that God would provide the sheep. Third, God had already told him that there would be descendants through Isaac.

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More about Sunday’s Gospel from Dominick Albano. He talks about the “other nine apostles,” those “who didn’t get to go up on the mountaintop.” Was Jesus “playing favorites a little bit or something.”

Then he brought up a new term for me, a “holy nobody.” 

“A holy nobody is somebody who is striving for holiness, and no one ever notices. They're not some saint in the sense that everyone knows their name and knows what they did. They're not the head of some great ministry. They don't get any sort of attention for what they do. These are the people who just quietly live a holy life and don't ever really get recognition for it.

Now, I always wonder . . . if you're like a St. Bartholomew or St. Jude or one of the other apostles that just doesn't get much attention in terms of hearing about them in the Gospels, were they kind of like the original holy nobodies?”

So, I’m thinking that maybe that’s okay for me. I don’t need to be noticed, just appreciated for what I am.

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Some thoughts from Beth DeCristofaro.

“What is more difficult is to identify the “wealth” we have which causes us to not see the Lazarus’ in our lives.  These “wealths” are not necessarily even negatives.  Some of them might not even seem like “wealth”.  For example:

I live in a good neighborhood with good schools.  Do I look with unease on those who also want to live here because they are different?  I safeguard what is mine.  

My insurance covers my needs but I worked hard for it, I don’t want that to change.  If others don’t have the same insurance they can work harder and earn it.”   

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Dee and I attended a Lenten Parish Retreat at Church of the Epiphany this week. The speaker was Dominick Albano, the topic was the “Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic.” 

Three evenings of listening to Dominic Albano, talk about prayer, study, generosity and evangelization. A vibrant speaker who enlightened me about myself and my faith. 

Thank you Dominic and thank you Tracy for bringing him to our Church family. 

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“Jesus, guide me as I dismiss the constant demands of the ego and build character.”

A prayer from Dynamic Catholic.

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I posted about making creek sections for Briartun this week. Just in case you missed it, check it out here.

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Chris Stapleton - “Broken Halos.”

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