Posted in Faith
|
I couldn't decide which to put first and really it depends on your view of the schism of 1054...or some where around that time. I've been thinking alot about this unification. As a Byzantine Catholic, moving closer to accepting Orthodox Christianity, I have mixed feelings. Of course my Catholic friends seem to know little about the differences in the 2 denominations and my Orthodox friends seem to be very much against it. I really don't feel comfortable voicing my opinion to any group I belong to as someone might be offended, so I write it here, to get it off my mind so I may move on to more important mundane mom thoughts like "Did my 14 yr old wet the bed or was someone sleeping with her last night?" "How old ARE the cheereos in the plastic container in the back of the cupboard and would it be ok to tell the children I just bought them?" First, I like the Creed saying the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. I don't like how it GOT in the Creed, but I believe it. I believe it should be there. I believe there are many great truthes in the Roman Catholic Church. I believe birth control is wrong. I believe we should trust God when it comes to bearing children. I personally, struggle with doing what I believe is right, but that doesn't change what IS right. I believe the Eastern Orthodox have the proper view of Mary, the Theotokos. I know Catholics don't worship Mary, but somethings just don't seem "right". Eastern Church celebrates the Circumcision of Jesus on New Years Day, Roman Catholic celebrates Mary. Immaculate Conception is hard for me to accept, Mary becoming Immaculate at the moment she said, "Yes" to God makes sense. I can look to Mary as fully human yet the Christ Bearer when I pray the prayers within the Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christian Chruches. I had a hard time as a Roman Catholic though I wanted badly to have a relationship with Mary and to feel comfortable praying the prayers of the Roman Church. I KNOW the bells and smells of the Eastern Churches are important, not to God but to man. It brings us TOTALLY into worship of God. It brings to us some connection to Heaven here on Earth. Chanting, in any language is truely praying twice! Seeing my prayers rise to God as the incense rises to heaven gives me peace and confidence. And some Catholic Churches have come back to these practices. SO, how do I feel when there is talk of unity? Scared. Scared for ALL of us. What if the "Big Guys" (I almost said the Big Hats, get it? LOL) What if our Bishops get together and we unite and then they mesh together all the things *I* don't like? What do I do then? Also, I know what the Holy Bishop, Pope of Rome has to work with, I AM Catholic! We are strong willed. Don't be messing with Mother Mary, calling her new things like Theotokos! Come into our Church and bring in fasts much stricter than we have had in a long time! No way! But then, so are the Orthodox strong willed! You put the Holy Spirit to proceed from the Father and Son without our OK a thousand years ago! You were always doing that, bossy Catholics and we aren't going to let you get away with it ! So why, with all the Bishops of both Churches have to deal with, do they try to unite us? Can they not leave well enough alone? Can they not just say, I'm right, you are wrong lets just care for the sheep that come our way and not be bothered with one another? What if our Bishops are working to unite because, in prayer, they feel God leading them? Are they not our leaders, blessed and ordained from God? Does not God have the final say? And those thoughts make me feel my arguements above are weak. Weak in the sense that God IS in control. The Holy Spirit was involved in their Ordinations. They ARE human and make mistakes, but I do believe they WANT to do the will of God so God blesses and guides them. And this next thought is the one that drives me crazy! After the schism of 1054 we have the Crusades against the Muslims. I've always wondered why we Christians didn't win. Why we don't have complete control over the Holy Land. I think it is because we split. Had there been a united Christian Church under the leadership of all the Bishops, I believe we would have been blessed and won the Crusades. And all that leads me to my next personal, and crazy thought: If we unite the TWO Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Churches into ONE, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic church there may come about peace in the Middle East. The Muslim religion would fall and we would be closer to doing the Will of God. There I said it. If we unite the jhad will end and there will be peace in the Middle East. All we have to do is confess that we are wrong to be divided, to have ever divided. We have to ask forgiveness of one another for ANY wrong commited and work toward unity. Not for the Roman or Eastern Churches satisfaction, but because God is calling us to unite. He is a God who blesses forgiveness and repentence. And as siblings we need to repent, do penance and forgive. Ok, call me crazy and pray for me, but don't get mad at me. I'm only human. I'm sure someone with much more knowledge of all this will comment and clear up all the things I said wrong. Let me say with all honesty, forgive me and thank you for your correction. I am just pleased I have had the chance to get the thoughts off my chest. Now, off to bed as tomorrow is busy busy mom stuff! |
Posted in Kitchen Cache
|
$25,000 Mexican Dish 2c Bisquick mix 1c water 2-15 oz cans refried beans 2 lbs hamburger fried and seasoned 16 oz jar of salsa 3 c shredded cheddar cheese 16 oz sour cream chopped lettuce and tomato. Mix bisquick water and beans, spread in greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle fried hamburger on top. Spread salsa and shredded cheeseon top. Bake at 350 for 30 mins. Top with sour crean lettuce and tomatoes just before serving. The Basics and More Cookbook More to come! |
Posted in Kitchen Cache
|
Breakfast
Lunch Wednesdays and Fridays we fast from Meat
Dinner Wednesdays and Fridays we fast from Meat
Snacks
|
|
Christ is Born! Glorify Him! Happy New Year! All the children have stayed awake this year. Don is out visiting with Shelle's parents. We have 2 teens visiting us and spending the night. But none of that is so unusual. No, none of this is big news. The big news is that *I* am still awake. This is the first time in a long time. Last year, since Terry would be home from work, I made the day my Retreat Day. I stayed upstairs in the bedroom praying, reading the Bible, planning, relaxing and doing spa type stuff. BTW, isn't it funny how shaving legs, plucking, waxing,facial masks and bubble baths are now "spas". When are we going to start calling it what it is......torture? Anyway, in the evening the children where making so much noise I took a sleeping pill. Last year was a good New Year. The year before I did the same and my anxiety therapist said that was not a good thing. Why did I feel the need to go to sleep when everyone else was awake and celebrating? I analyzed it extensively and came to the conclusion it is because I'm tired! After being the one who gets up in the middle of the night 364 nights a year taking care of children, pets and my husband, I'm tired. This is the one time in the year my husband has the day after off so he can watch the children and I can "ring in the New Year" with the wonderful sound of MY snoring. Thus I can start January 1st in an alert and positive mood. But just in case I was living in denial, I chose to stay awake this New Year's Eve. I snoozed from 9 to 11:30pm this year and was able to be awake, watch the ball get stuck, and blog this blog. It was fun to hear the children count down, see the littles run all around and as they were counting down my 2 yr old came to me asking me to find the hair in her mouth. It was stuck to a candy cane she found and stuck in her mouth. my pointer finger is still sticking to the keys as I type. And now, it is quiet. 12:31 am. the 2 yr old is sleeping on my lap. The teens and thier visitors are quietly giggling in their bedroom. My husband is paying a bill on line in the other room. I'm waiting for Don to come home. And a police officer is outside my livingroom window arresting a drunk woman who hit a tree. She seems ok. Her vocal chords seem to be quite strong and healthy. And while I could have started the New Year without knowledge of this woman's transgressions, it has been a good night. Let's keep her in prayer. Hopefully her year will get better. God Grant Us Many Happy, Healthy Years! dottie themisfit |
Posted in Hope
|
Here is my list of resolutions for 2007: Receive the blessings of the Holy Mystery of Reconciliation the last Saturday of every month. The entire family will go as a group and we will celebrate after with a meal at a resturant.(happy to say we did this yesterday, except for Don who will go this morning!) I will not let my anxiety and ibs keep me from going to Divine Liturgy on Sunday, every Sunday. I will visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at Notre Dame Church once a week during their times of Adoration. The Jesus prayer will be on my lips more often so I will less often say the wrong thing. That's it. I believe, if I can keep these resolutions any others will be easier to see and succeed in doing. Christ is Born! Glorify Him! dottie the misfit |
|
Matthew 7:6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." NIV version of the Bible So often I feel like a pearl thrower. I give my best, it is trampled and then I am verbally torn to pieces. Usually by someone close to me. So do I just keep quiet? Prophets gave to people and were not appreciated...NOT saying I rate up there with a prophet I wanted to try and reconnect with everyone this Christmas Break. Dh is having trouble at work and has more time off than usual. I thought we could organize and work on strengthening the family during this time. But he has so much on his mind, he just hasn't the time to work on family stuff. But not all the pearls are being trampled. Brigid~9, Tippy~7, Aine~5, Fiona~2 all put their names on the paper...well Fiona just kept yelling in a very excited tone, " Me Eat Momma, Me Eat Momma, Go Go Fiwi (pronounced FEE WEE) Go Eat, YEAH!" She must have inherited some recessive cheerleader genes that neither side knew existed. Wednesday I took my 5 yr old daughter, Aine to Eat N Park. We settled into our hugh booth and I pulled out the movable alphabet. We worked on pre-reading blends using Little Stories for Little Folks Curriculum from CHC. She did great! She filled up on hot chocolate and we boxed her pancakes & sausage. We then worked on Cuisenaire Rods. We finished discussing chores and virtues. The virtues we will work on for the next few weeks are: Pray and Obey. I am using Our Families 24 Ways and virtue cards in the CHC (Catholic Heritage Curriculum) Lesson Plans for K and 1st grade. We worked for 3 hours. Ok, I did eat and we did talk about what she does in Kindergarten. She is in a Catholic Kindergarten this year but will be home educated next year. Her brother is in the same class and the teachers are keeping them together so when they are homeschooled together next year there won't be arguements....before Aine would correct Tip who is older. This was causing lots of tension. The Sisters are very positive about home education and said they would help reinforce behavior to help with next year. Thursday, today, was Tippy's turn. Panera Bread for soup and Dr Pepper! We worked on the same topics and he seems to be a little behind. But not far at all. He worked 3 hours straight too! Loved it and can't wait to be schooled with mom next year! Friday will be Brigid's turn and Saturday will be Fiona Grace day. I hope these 2 have as much fun with me as Tip and Aine! I do love to teach and spend time with my children. God is so good to give me such great gifts! |
but what do women do when they aren't appreciated at home? When they are laughted at or when someone else is given credit for something they said? I can take the credit going elsewhere but being ignored only to have the person do it kinda drives me nuts the older I get. Then the fact that the teens are refusing to listen to me or treat me with respect....sigh. I wish they were still homeschooled. It was so difficult with their attitudes. Sigh
I had all the children who wanted to "do school" with mom put their names on a piece of paper. We drew names and every day someone gets to go to lunch with mom and "do school". The rest stay home with Dad or one of the teens. Posted in Our Lovable Pets
|
Our poor little pug, Shadi, has some sort of stone. Kidney or bladder, we aren't sure. She's been having problems since last Tuesday! We have her on antibiotics as they believe she has an infection. I know how she feels, my last 2 pregnancies brought kidney and bladder stones. They (meaning men) say that kidney stones are worse than labor and childbirth. I've had both and can tell you, childbirth and labor are more painful! Please keep little Shadi in your prayers. Here is a picture of her last Christmas:
God is so good to give us such a wonderful pet.
|
One minute she is in pain, the next she is trying to jump on the couch. 
. At least for me. I believe it is because I know stones are not living, can't suffer, feel or develop some difficulty while "passing". Babies, on the other hand, can experience difficulties, as have some of my children, so I am naturally nervous when a baby is passing through and much less worried when I'm passing a stone. 
She is dressed in boots, a scarf and antlers. She is SOOOOO good, she lets us dress her up and she just loves the children! When they start to argue she gets between them and "scolds" them. If they don't stop she will jump on the one who keeps arguing as if to say, stop it now. Posted in Hope
|
This is a time for remembering the Birth of Our Savior Christ Jesus, a celebration of New Life. New Life as in the birth of a baby and New Life as in the spiritual healing of the sick and dying. Christ comes as a baby to save the spiritually dying. To Give New Life. Not just here and now but for Life Eternal! Oh how I need to know this is true. O how I need to "sit in it"; to realize and relish this fact, that Christ came sweet and innocent to save me, a dying soul. I need a re-birth in my life,my marriage, my home educating. Everything I've wanted, hoped and prayed for seems to be gone from me. All I have is this Baby. Jesus. Emmanuel. The Christ. The One and Only Life Giver. But truly, HE is all I need. Glorify Him! If you are dying physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually; if you feel a failure in anyway, remember with me this is a time for renewal, for celebration of life, for rebirth in EVERY WAY! Ask the Christ Child how you will start anew and know he will not leave you sick and dying. He will raise you up and give you life. And should you fall sick again, fear not for he gives up his own life that we might live forever. Christ is Born! Glorify Him! The Misfit |
Though it is still offically a time for Fasting and preparing for the Coming of our Savior, I will say, Christ is Born! Glorify Him!