Today I worked from home - and finished up about 2:00 P.M. I'll have to work a couple of hours on Friday - Black Friday. This is a given when working in the IT department of a retail company.
After work, Les and I began the preparation for Thanksgiving dinner. We made homemade applesauce, and apple pie. That required peeling and coring about 10 pounds of assorted kinds of apples. We made a cheeseball and sauce for our appetizer meatballs. Les and I worked together and got everything finished by 5:00! That's all my food prep for tomorrow. Les made most of the apple pie - and it looks fabulous! I can't wait to eat it.
All that early prep was so that we could take Dad to the cemetery tomorrow morning if he wanted to go. Unfortunately, he isn't feeling well enough. His side is extremely painful, and he doesn't want to do the morphine patch because it affects his balance. He says he probably won't make it through Thanksgiving without laying down quite a bit. He sounds awful - like he doesn't feel well. Yesterday when I talked to him he started crying. He hates depending on people to do things for him. All this is very hard on him physically, and mentally.
Please pray for Dad.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Barb 1 Deer 0
One week ago (last Thursday) I hit a deer on the way home from work. Here are some pictures of my damaged car. My car was pretty banged up. Alnost totaled. The center picture shows where the deer's antler pierced the fender on the passenger side. So - looking at the car you might wonder about this blog's title. Why was I the winner? Well, on Friday I was sore and a little stiff - but the deer was stiffer (if you know what I mean)!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
Here is a very powerful Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory by Saint Gertrude the Great, Benedictine Nun (1256-1302):
Eternal Father,
I offer Thee the most precious Blood of Thy Divine Son,
Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today,
for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
Eternal Father,
I offer Thee the most precious Blood of Thy Divine Son,
Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today,
for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pain and Pleasure
You always have the ability to change your life for the better. To take the specific actions that will bring about that change, you must find the motivation within yourself to do so. To create your own powerful, personal motivation, set yourself up to do two things that come naturally. Move away from pain and move toward pleasure.
If something is painful, you will be highly inclined to move away from it. So remind yourself at the deepest level about the painful consequences of not taking action, of not making the changes you know you must make.
When something is pleasurable, you will naturally and without hesitation move toward it. Arrange to make the changes so completely and meaningfully pleasurable that you cannot help but take the actions necessary to bring them about.
When you give yourself a compelling reason to change, you will most certainly find the way to make those changes. When you clearly know why, within the depth of your being, you will figure out how, and you'll enthusiastically do whatever must be done.
Yes, you can indeed make a positive change in your life right now. Move away from the pain of inaction and toward the pleasure of whatever you sincerely seek.
-- Ralph Marston
If something is painful, you will be highly inclined to move away from it. So remind yourself at the deepest level about the painful consequences of not taking action, of not making the changes you know you must make.
When something is pleasurable, you will naturally and without hesitation move toward it. Arrange to make the changes so completely and meaningfully pleasurable that you cannot help but take the actions necessary to bring them about.
When you give yourself a compelling reason to change, you will most certainly find the way to make those changes. When you clearly know why, within the depth of your being, you will figure out how, and you'll enthusiastically do whatever must be done.
Yes, you can indeed make a positive change in your life right now. Move away from the pain of inaction and toward the pleasure of whatever you sincerely seek.
-- Ralph Marston
Monday, November 2, 2009
Pray For the Souls of the Dead
Today is All Souls Day. On this day, and throughout the month of November we are intended to pray in a special way for the souls in Purgatory,
We, the members of the Church Militant, have a vital role in obtaining the release of the souls in Purgatory. Then once those members of the Church Suffering have joined the Church Triumphant, they will pray for us while we’re on earth and when we’re in Purgatory ourselves.
It is the way the Body of Christ is designed to work, and we have to keep up our end of the bargain.
And so, I went to Mass today to pray for Mom, Ron (Joe's brother) and our neighbor, Tom , in particular, and for the deceased members of my family and Joe's family. I wrote their names in the Book of Remembrance so that the parish will pray for them all month.
I ask you, my few readers, to pray for these souls this month:
Rita Perzel
Ron Kessen
Bob and Ruth Kessen
Russel and Clara Bravard
John and Mary Perzel
Oscar and Loretta Matt
Tom Hall
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
Amen
We, the members of the Church Militant, have a vital role in obtaining the release of the souls in Purgatory. Then once those members of the Church Suffering have joined the Church Triumphant, they will pray for us while we’re on earth and when we’re in Purgatory ourselves.
It is the way the Body of Christ is designed to work, and we have to keep up our end of the bargain.
And so, I went to Mass today to pray for Mom, Ron (Joe's brother) and our neighbor, Tom , in particular, and for the deceased members of my family and Joe's family. I wrote their names in the Book of Remembrance so that the parish will pray for them all month.
I ask you, my few readers, to pray for these souls this month:
Rita Perzel
Ron Kessen
Bob and Ruth Kessen
Russel and Clara Bravard
John and Mary Perzel
Oscar and Loretta Matt
Tom Hall
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.
Amen
Pop Quiz
Recently, I've thought about studying for spelling tests all week, when I was younger. Sometimes, we'd take pretests- not for a grade, but to help us figure out what we needed to study before the big test.
That reminds me of a sermon I heard recently. The pastor was teaching from 1 Peter 1:6-
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.
In the sermon, he mentioned that he had always looked at trials as tests by God, ones that you could pass or fail, and God was just waiting to see if you could weather the trial. In fact though, the trials or tests are really for YOU to see what you are made of. It's a chance to see where your strengths are, so you can grow. Suddenly my brain clicked in to gear...
God already knows me through and through... these tests are not for His benefit... but mine!
You know how you can hear something a jillion times and then one day it's said in such a way that you just get it? In that moment, I finally got it.
The tests we are enduring now, they're preparing us for eternity... as we work out our salvation, growing toward the ultimate goal of Christlikeness... they're not so we can be judged, but so we can figure out what areas we need to study harder in! So, if I don't do well in a trial, it's not that I got an F, but I instead get the opportunity to let God refine these areas. If I lose my temper, I know I need to pray for patience. If I doubt? Time to build my faith.
And where does faith come from? Just need to consult the Study Guide (it's an open Book test, after all)~
Romans 10:17- So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So, if I go through a trial, and discover that my faith is weaker than I thought it was, I just need to read and hear more of the Word. Aha! Then, that's what I shall do! How hard is that?
I guess the reason I'm so excited about this revelation is that I guess I just never thought much about why God would test me, I only focused on how disappointing it must be for God to have me fail time after time. Now that I realize that I can use these 'practice tests' to get me ready for eternity, I can pay attention much better to what actually is happening. That way, the closer I get to eternity, the closer I'll be to Him.
God is so faithful to paint little pictures for my heart to understand. What an amazing God we serve! I get that I'm still a preschooler in the faith, but I feel honored that He takes the time to break it down to my understanding.
That reminds me of a sermon I heard recently. The pastor was teaching from 1 Peter 1:6-
So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.
In the sermon, he mentioned that he had always looked at trials as tests by God, ones that you could pass or fail, and God was just waiting to see if you could weather the trial. In fact though, the trials or tests are really for YOU to see what you are made of. It's a chance to see where your strengths are, so you can grow. Suddenly my brain clicked in to gear...
God already knows me through and through... these tests are not for His benefit... but mine!
You know how you can hear something a jillion times and then one day it's said in such a way that you just get it? In that moment, I finally got it.
The tests we are enduring now, they're preparing us for eternity... as we work out our salvation, growing toward the ultimate goal of Christlikeness... they're not so we can be judged, but so we can figure out what areas we need to study harder in! So, if I don't do well in a trial, it's not that I got an F, but I instead get the opportunity to let God refine these areas. If I lose my temper, I know I need to pray for patience. If I doubt? Time to build my faith.
And where does faith come from? Just need to consult the Study Guide (it's an open Book test, after all)~
Romans 10:17- So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So, if I go through a trial, and discover that my faith is weaker than I thought it was, I just need to read and hear more of the Word. Aha! Then, that's what I shall do! How hard is that?
I guess the reason I'm so excited about this revelation is that I guess I just never thought much about why God would test me, I only focused on how disappointing it must be for God to have me fail time after time. Now that I realize that I can use these 'practice tests' to get me ready for eternity, I can pay attention much better to what actually is happening. That way, the closer I get to eternity, the closer I'll be to Him.
God is so faithful to paint little pictures for my heart to understand. What an amazing God we serve! I get that I'm still a preschooler in the faith, but I feel honored that He takes the time to break it down to my understanding.
My Little Goblins
I did not get to Trick or Treat with Ty and Leah this year. Julie and Curt took them to a former neighbor's house to go around in their new neighborhood. I was sad - for a minute. It was too cold for me after sitting out all morning at football games. Julie sent me this picture, though.
