We traveled a little farther than I thought we would.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Are You Sure God Is On Your Side?
I'm sure you have read about Focus On the Family's "pray for rain" video that they uploaded to YouTube by now. What you probably don't know about is the National Day of Prayer group's Pray for Election Day campaign:
What exactly they are praying for can be answered by watching the two short videos placed, one at the top and one at the bottom, of the Pray for Election Day website. There is more bad juju out there than I thought.
Anyway, this "pray for our side and against others" crap got me thinking. Maybe our side, and I am always on the side that does not think God is as self-righteous and judgemental as they are, could use a hand. I figure God has a lot of prayers sent up to him everyday and that each one sent has an equal chance of being heard as every other one sent up. The problem is the number of prayers the self-righteous send up probably out number the prayers of the not so self-righteous.
So to balance things out I'm going to show all you non-self-righteous people a way for you to boost your prayers. You need a Saint and not just any Saint- the correct Saint. The one who is there to help with your specific problem. You need a Patron.
Now, for all you non-Catholics, I should point out that you don't pray to Saints you pray with them. You are asking for their help with your prayer. There are rituals connected with asking a Saint for help and I have picked the Saints that I think will be the most helpful in our situation: Saint Benedict, Saint Jude, and Saint Joseph.
Saint Benedict is the Patron Saint of Poison Suffers, including poisonous tongues. He should help with your prayer asking God to stop all the malicious lies being spread and untruths being told by some presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
What you can say to get Saint Benedict's help:
Our second saint, Saint Jude, is the Patron Saint of Lost Causes/Last Resort and since the self-righteous think that their prayers are going to put John McCain into the White House and that Barack Obama doesn't have a chance, I think we non-true believers can use Saint Jude's help.
Saint Jude needs a little more effort from you before he will intercede on your behalf. First you must write down what it is you want him to help you with on a piece of paper. Then put the paper somewhere you can see it and not forget it-bathroom mirror, refrigerator, rear view mirror in your car. Every morning for nine days you must read what you wrote on the paper out loud and then say the following:
Our last saint, Saint Joseph, is the Patron Saint of Real Estate Matters and he helps people to sell their houses and move on. I figure he can help counteract the prayers being sent asking God to keep the Republicans in the White House. People asking Saint Joseph for help will have to live somewhere close to Washington DC since you must visit the White House and bury a statute of Saint Joseph in the White House lawn. Remember to place him facing the White House and head down when you do so.
Saint Joseph is a pretty smart guy so the minute he sees you burying a statute of him he will know what you want. That means his request prayer is short and to the point:
Now, I have heard that one lady buried her Saint Joesph statue facing away from her home and the home across the street sold instead of her own. Maybe Saint Joseph doesn't have to be buried in the White House lawn, maybe burying him somewhere else facing the White House will work too. It would also be a safer thing to do.
I'm not really sure if any of this will help but as someone once said, "All prayers are answered if we are willing to admit that sometimes the answer is no."
"Throughout Scripture, we see that God answers prayer and He cares about the health of nations," NDP Vice Chairman Brian Toon said. "The 'Pray for Election Day!' campaign is an effort to remind people of faith of the importance of praying for those in leadership. We are asking people to fast and pray for the upcoming state and national elections."
What exactly they are praying for can be answered by watching the two short videos placed, one at the top and one at the bottom, of the Pray for Election Day website. There is more bad juju out there than I thought.
Anyway, this "pray for our side and against others" crap got me thinking. Maybe our side, and I am always on the side that does not think God is as self-righteous and judgemental as they are, could use a hand. I figure God has a lot of prayers sent up to him everyday and that each one sent has an equal chance of being heard as every other one sent up. The problem is the number of prayers the self-righteous send up probably out number the prayers of the not so self-righteous.
So to balance things out I'm going to show all you non-self-righteous people a way for you to boost your prayers. You need a Saint and not just any Saint- the correct Saint. The one who is there to help with your specific problem. You need a Patron.
Now, for all you non-Catholics, I should point out that you don't pray to Saints you pray with them. You are asking for their help with your prayer. There are rituals connected with asking a Saint for help and I have picked the Saints that I think will be the most helpful in our situation: Saint Benedict, Saint Jude, and Saint Joseph.
Saint Benedict is the Patron Saint of Poison Suffers, including poisonous tongues. He should help with your prayer asking God to stop all the malicious lies being spread and untruths being told by some presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
What you can say to get Saint Benedict's help:
Give us the wisdom to discover
The intelligence to understand
The diligence to seek
The patience to wait
The eyes to behold
The heart to meditate
And a life to use proclaiming the truth.
Our second saint, Saint Jude, is the Patron Saint of Lost Causes/Last Resort and since the self-righteous think that their prayers are going to put John McCain into the White House and that Barack Obama doesn't have a chance, I think we non-true believers can use Saint Jude's help.
Saint Jude needs a little more effort from you before he will intercede on your behalf. First you must write down what it is you want him to help you with on a piece of paper. Then put the paper somewhere you can see it and not forget it-bathroom mirror, refrigerator, rear view mirror in your car. Every morning for nine days you must read what you wrote on the paper out loud and then say the following:
Dear Saint Jude,
Please help us with our desperate situation,
Some are using their prayers to injure others,
We need hope and confidence
That our situation can get better
Please use your infinite wisdom and mercy,
To intercede on our behalf.
Our last saint, Saint Joseph, is the Patron Saint of Real Estate Matters and he helps people to sell their houses and move on. I figure he can help counteract the prayers being sent asking God to keep the Republicans in the White House. People asking Saint Joseph for help will have to live somewhere close to Washington DC since you must visit the White House and bury a statute of Saint Joseph in the White House lawn. Remember to place him facing the White House and head down when you do so.
Saint Joseph is a pretty smart guy so the minute he sees you burying a statute of him he will know what you want. That means his request prayer is short and to the point:
Dear Saint Joseph,
Carpenter and Father
Builder and protector of homes
Help me with my request.
Now, I have heard that one lady buried her Saint Joesph statue facing away from her home and the home across the street sold instead of her own. Maybe Saint Joseph doesn't have to be buried in the White House lawn, maybe burying him somewhere else facing the White House will work too. It would also be a safer thing to do.
I'm not really sure if any of this will help but as someone once said, "All prayers are answered if we are willing to admit that sometimes the answer is no."
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Oh, Those Small Communities
-lyric from John Cougar Mellencamp's song Small Town
School started about three weeks ago and the kids have been together enough time now to start sharing the viruses they have brought to class with them. And in this small town those viruses are spread throughout the community at a quick rate. My husband and I not having children usually means we are some of the last people to get sick. Yesterday was our turn. Ugh.
School started about three weeks ago and the kids have been together enough time now to start sharing the viruses they have brought to class with them. And in this small town those viruses are spread throughout the community at a quick rate. My husband and I not having children usually means we are some of the last people to get sick. Yesterday was our turn. Ugh.
Friday, September 05, 2008
RNC-Day 4
John McCain continued the Republican Party's theme that he is a great choice for president because he was a P.O.W in the Vietnam War. He also said voting for him would be a vote for a change. As Peter Baker points out in his article for the New York Times, (The) "Party in Power, (is) Running as if It Weren’t."
All in all the speech was just the one I expected John McCain to give after hearing all the speeches that came before but there is one thing that I must comment on:
That sent a chill down my spine. Hidden in this statement is the phrase, "......after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot...." Why do I have the feeling that a "willing patriot" is going to be anyone who agrees to whatever McCain and his party want to do? Don't agree with them? Why your not a patriot at all.
We have already had eight years of a government that, when criticised in anyway, questioned the patriotism of the person asking questions. I do not want, and this country does not need, four more years of that crap.
As Congressman Ron Paul said earlier in the week, "...they want you to believe a patriot supports what government wants, a true patriot supports liberty and the people."
All in all the speech was just the one I expected John McCain to give after hearing all the speeches that came before but there is one thing that I must comment on:
But let there be no doubt, my friends, we're going to win this election. And after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot, make this government start working for you again, and get this country back on the road to prosperity and peace.
That sent a chill down my spine. Hidden in this statement is the phrase, "......after we've won, we're going to reach out our hand to any willing patriot...." Why do I have the feeling that a "willing patriot" is going to be anyone who agrees to whatever McCain and his party want to do? Don't agree with them? Why your not a patriot at all.
We have already had eight years of a government that, when criticised in anyway, questioned the patriotism of the person asking questions. I do not want, and this country does not need, four more years of that crap.
As Congressman Ron Paul said earlier in the week, "...they want you to believe a patriot supports what government wants, a true patriot supports liberty and the people."
Thursday, September 04, 2008
RNC- Day Three: Preaching To The Choir
Well, that was sickening. The thing I strongly dislike about the Republican Party and its supporters is the the underlining mean-spiritedness that runs through them. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and McCain running mate Sarah Palin spoke last night. Both reiterated the underlining message from the night before that John McCain was a P.O.W. in Vietnam and therefore should be president. Both use a portion of their speeches to ridicule Brack Obama, something the delegates roared their approval at, and all there seemed clueless to the fact that their message is schizophrenic. Sarah Palin said this about her reason for wanting to be vice-president:
"...to serve the common good, and to leave the nation better than we found it." Since the Republicans failed to do this after eight years in office, what makes them think they deserve another four?
I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people.
Politics isn't just a game of clashing parties and competing interests.
The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this nation better than we found it.
"...to serve the common good, and to leave the nation better than we found it." Since the Republicans failed to do this after eight years in office, what makes them think they deserve another four?
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
RNC- Day 2
(Sigh)
His fellow P.O.W.'s- John McCain was a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War so you should vote for him.
George Bush- John McCain was a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War so you should vote for him.
Fred Thompson- John McCain was a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War so you should vote for him.
I'm sorry, that is it. I am sick of all the bulldooky.
His fellow P.O.W.'s- John McCain was a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War so you should vote for him.
George Bush- John McCain was a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War so you should vote for him.
Fred Thompson- John McCain was a P.O.W. during the Vietnam War so you should vote for him.
I'm sorry, that is it. I am sick of all the bulldooky.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
He (Or She) Who Sacrifices His Conscience To Ambition Burns A Picture To Obtain The Ashes
-Unknown
I have been upset by what I see as the Republican Party's cynical pick of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate but I have not have anything to say about Sarah Palin since I did not know a thing about her. Now, in the aftermath of the reports about her teenage daughter's pregnancy, I find I do have something to say.
First, I agree with all the people who say this is a family matter and should not be a news story at all. I also agree with Barack Obama who said candidate's children should be off limits to the media.
Second, my heart went out to this poor seventeen-year-old girl. The fact that she is an unwed, pregnant teenager is now know by the whole world. When you are a teenager it is hard enough having everyone in your school or town known that you are pregnant, what must it feel like to have the whole world know? This had to be very painful and embarrassing for her.
In reply to the story Sarah Palin released the following statement:
These words in that statement jumped out at me, "We are proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby....."
From what I have read about Sarah Palin the question of whether or not her daughter would have the baby should have never have come up. She and her husband are strongly anti-abortion and that view would undoubtedly have been passed on to their daughter.
Why release a statement other than "this is none of your business" at all? And this is definitely none of our business. Unless you are using it to get your political message across. That idea made me a little uneasy.
Later it came out that Palin had told McCain's people about her daughter's pregnancy before they announced she was going to be his vice-presidential nominee.
Holy, crap! Until that moment I had not thought about the fact that Sarah Palin had accepted the role of Republican candidate for vice-president knowing that it was very likely that her daughter's pregnancy would become a news story. She picked ambition over her daughter.
And so did John McCain and the Republican Party.
I have been upset by what I see as the Republican Party's cynical pick of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate but I have not have anything to say about Sarah Palin since I did not know a thing about her. Now, in the aftermath of the reports about her teenage daughter's pregnancy, I find I do have something to say.
First, I agree with all the people who say this is a family matter and should not be a news story at all. I also agree with Barack Obama who said candidate's children should be off limits to the media.
Second, my heart went out to this poor seventeen-year-old girl. The fact that she is an unwed, pregnant teenager is now know by the whole world. When you are a teenager it is hard enough having everyone in your school or town known that you are pregnant, what must it feel like to have the whole world know? This had to be very painful and embarrassing for her.
In reply to the story Sarah Palin released the following statement:
"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents,"
These words in that statement jumped out at me, "We are proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby....."
From what I have read about Sarah Palin the question of whether or not her daughter would have the baby should have never have come up. She and her husband are strongly anti-abortion and that view would undoubtedly have been passed on to their daughter.
Why release a statement other than "this is none of your business" at all? And this is definitely none of our business. Unless you are using it to get your political message across. That idea made me a little uneasy.
Later it came out that Palin had told McCain's people about her daughter's pregnancy before they announced she was going to be his vice-presidential nominee.
Holy, crap! Until that moment I had not thought about the fact that Sarah Palin had accepted the role of Republican candidate for vice-president knowing that it was very likely that her daughter's pregnancy would become a news story. She picked ambition over her daughter.
And so did John McCain and the Republican Party.
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