How have we gotten to the point (again) where it is perfectly acceptable to hate the Jews (Israel) and to paint a portrait of them that is totally distorted and ugly? I have to believe that there is something beyond simple human ignorance or prejudice that allows so many mindless mobs to chant and rage and protest against Israel. I look at the level of venom and hatred and blindness in people as they speak about Israel and what they are "doing" to Hamas and I know that it is being stirred up by much darker forces.
I want peace in the Holy Land like everyone else. But I want there to be TRUE peace. I've come to believe that the only way we can achieve this is for a mass conversion to Christianity on the part of the Palestinian people. The Jews will never be treated with the love and dignity they deserve as long as there are Muslims who believe that every Jew must die simply because he/she is a Jew. Haven't we already seen that type of mentality play itself out once before? I pray history will NOT repeat itself.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
An Introduction to Dawn eden
watch this video interview with Dawn Eden http://airmaria.com/?sn=53&vp=2470&prefx=rovr&plyrnb=1&ttl=Roving%20Reporter
Dawn's blog is a must read as well...
Dawn's blog is a must read as well...
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas Program at School
Morgan was our Blessed Mother. She was so thrilled to get to play that role. I only wish that the school would do a better job all year long in developing that desire to be holy!! Our children should be longing to be saints and our Catholic schools should be just the perfect place to encourage and promote holiness and piety. It's a real shame that so many schools are wasting such a golden opportunity to impart the Faith in a real and powerful way. We need to be Catholic through and through and not just places that put on a good "show" for the Holidays. Sometimes I really DO MISS homeschooling...there's so much I love about it...but then there's so much I hate about it too!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sidebar Videos Make Me Laugh
I just did these dancing Santa videos...Ok I'm way too easy to please 'cause they really do make me laugh out loud! I need to laugh right about now...now's the time of year when I eat way too much junk (like candy and cookies etc) and then feel depressed about it and obsess on my weight and then head for the candy to make it all feel better...AAAAAAAAhhh!! So I enjoy looking at my family and myself included in a more humorous light - it keeps it all in perspective - don't take yourself so damn seriously Kris!!! ENJOY!!!!!! the Holiday Season! and worry about the rest after the New Year!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Remember The Forgotten
I have a special place in my heart for the russian orphans I saw in a Diane Sawyer show a long long time ago. I walked awat from that show a changed person. I read everything I could find on the subject and tried to watch more documentaries on the matter. The effects of communism on the Russian people are long lasting and far reaching...there are so many unwanted and rejected children there. The orphanages are filled and are very poor. The staff cannot adequately care for the children. They suffer alone and are often turned out to the streets to find work as prostitutes and comfort in drugs when they are never adopted out....the thought of all those little faces, those dear sweet little arms that so desperately need to hold onto someone and know that they are loved. I can't imagine the fear and the lonliness and the feeling of being so unlovable. I t sickens me that we live in a world where we waste so much money and so much time on nonsense when there are so many children that DESERVE to be loved!!!
Anyhow I found this Christmas story over at domestic church.com and I thought I'd share it. Here it is...
"For Always" - A Russian Christmas Story.
by Will Fish
presumed to be public domain
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear for the first time the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.
Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel (cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia) were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States.
The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat--he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.
Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately--until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay.
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?"
And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me."
"So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him---for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. Then little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him--FOR ALWAYS.
Anyhow I found this Christmas story over at domestic church.com and I thought I'd share it. Here it is...
"For Always" - A Russian Christmas Story.
by Will Fish
presumed to be public domain
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:
It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear for the first time the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.
Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word.
Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel (cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia) were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States.
The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat--he looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger.
Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at his completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately--until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger.
Then Misha started to ad lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay.
Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.
So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?"
And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me."
"So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him---for always."
As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. Then little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him--FOR ALWAYS.
And here's some stats...
“On the state of the children in the Russian Federation”, 20034 million Russian children were born out of wedlock in the last 10 years. 400,000 illegitimate children were born in 2002, a 40 thousand annual increase.
Committee on the Rights of The Child in Ukraine, 2002Children in orphanages lack food, medical care, and suitable facilities. Mortality in orphanages is dramatically high. They have been called "death houses". At the beginning of 2000 it was determined that the financial situation of institutions for children with special needs had worsened and most of these children would be denied education.
The CoMission for Children at Risk, 2002About 15,000 Russian orphans leave orphanages each year, once they are 16 to 18 years old. Of these, 5,000 are unemployed, some 6,000 are homeless, around 3,000 resort to crime, approximately 1,500 commit suicide, and roughly half the girls are forced into prostitution.
The CoMission for Children at Risk, 2002About 15,000 Russian orphans leave orphanages each year, once they are 16 to 18 years old. Of these, 5,000 are unemployed, some 6,000 are homeless, around 3,000 resort to crime, approximately 1,500 commit suicide, and roughly half the girls are forced into prostitution.
Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, 2000After leaving their orphanages:
50% - fall into a high-risk category
40% - become drug users
40% - commit crimes
10% - commit suicide
50% - fall into a high-risk category
40% - become drug users
40% - commit crimes
10% - commit suicide
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The world needs MORE images like this
found this at an unusual blog (not one I frequent) but I had been doing a search on MAry's maternity and Mary nursing the Christ child and I found this...
An unusual statuette of Mary breastfeeding the baby Jesus shocked some with its nudity, but inspired the faith of others, including Atlanta writer Trudie Barreras. She submitted the photo above and the following story about this “marvelously sensitive and realistic perspective of the mother of Jesus.” The Jesus in Love Blog is sharing Barreras’ moving and important materials here because we support art that seeks to embody spirituality.
OUR LADY OF TRAVELS TO LIFE WITH REALITYBy Trudie BarrerasMy husband Ray and I made a trip to Monterrey, Mexico in December of 2001, traveling by bus because we were disgusted with all the “security frenzy” that had gripped air travel in the aftermath of 9/11. The trip, even though via “express” buses, was a grueling 26 hours, and we arrived at our destination, the MCC church in Monterrey, quite worn out.Shortly thereafter, I discovered a little statuette of Mary riding donkey-back and nursing the infant Jesus. This statue was in a “Christmas market” that specialized in figurines for the Nativity scenes that are very much a part of the Mexican culture. Most of the other figures were much more “traditional.” Indeed, this one was completely unique, representing a “perspective” I’d never seen before. Gazing at the face of the Mother, I was gripped by the thought: “This is Reality.” I reflected on my own extreme exhaustion after a 26-hour trip in a relatively comfortable bus, and wondered how a woman could have carried a nursing infant all the way from Israel to Egypt.I felt it was very important to obtain this statuette, and bring her back to Atlanta to share with the various spiritual communities of which I am a part, including First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta and the Excel retreat ministry in which I participate. I christened her “Our Lady of Travels to Life with Reality,”or, in Spanish, “Nuestra Señora de los Viajes á la Vida con Realidad.” I believe that others who meditate on the meaning portrayed by this representation may experience some of the same thoughts that have come to me. There is, of course, much more to this story, and anyone who wants to dialog with me about it is welcome to contact me by e-mail at: tbarreras@bellsouth.net.Sadly, when I attempted to share “Our Lady of Travels” with my own community at First MCC of Atlanta by placing the statue in our small meditation chapel, someone was apparently offended by the breast-feeding, and fashioned a “poncho” for her out of Kleenex! My pastor regretfully suggested that I should probably take her home. Fortunately, most of the other venues to which I have brought this marvelously sensitive and realistic perspective of the mother of Jesus seem to have responded with a sense of blessing and not of shock.
Posted by KittKatt at 2:05 PM
Labels: art, censorship, Jesus, Madonna, Mexico, naked, spirituality, travel, women's spirituality
1 comments:
Yvonne said...
Er, well obviously Mary would have breastfed Jesus.The style's a bit kitschy, but I think Mary should be celebrated as a real woman.MCC people shocked by breastfeeding? Oh please! Is there no refuge for sanity in the Christian community???
2:15 PM
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OUR LADY OF TRAVELS TO LIFE WITH REALITYBy Trudie BarrerasMy husband Ray and I made a trip to Monterrey, Mexico in December of 2001, traveling by bus because we were disgusted with all the “security frenzy” that had gripped air travel in the aftermath of 9/11. The trip, even though via “express” buses, was a grueling 26 hours, and we arrived at our destination, the MCC church in Monterrey, quite worn out.Shortly thereafter, I discovered a little statuette of Mary riding donkey-back and nursing the infant Jesus. This statue was in a “Christmas market” that specialized in figurines for the Nativity scenes that are very much a part of the Mexican culture. Most of the other figures were much more “traditional.” Indeed, this one was completely unique, representing a “perspective” I’d never seen before. Gazing at the face of the Mother, I was gripped by the thought: “This is Reality.” I reflected on my own extreme exhaustion after a 26-hour trip in a relatively comfortable bus, and wondered how a woman could have carried a nursing infant all the way from Israel to Egypt.I felt it was very important to obtain this statuette, and bring her back to Atlanta to share with the various spiritual communities of which I am a part, including First Metropolitan Community Church of Atlanta and the Excel retreat ministry in which I participate. I christened her “Our Lady of Travels to Life with Reality,”or, in Spanish, “Nuestra Señora de los Viajes á la Vida con Realidad.” I believe that others who meditate on the meaning portrayed by this representation may experience some of the same thoughts that have come to me. There is, of course, much more to this story, and anyone who wants to dialog with me about it is welcome to contact me by e-mail at: tbarreras@bellsouth.net.Sadly, when I attempted to share “Our Lady of Travels” with my own community at First MCC of Atlanta by placing the statue in our small meditation chapel, someone was apparently offended by the breast-feeding, and fashioned a “poncho” for her out of Kleenex! My pastor regretfully suggested that I should probably take her home. Fortunately, most of the other venues to which I have brought this marvelously sensitive and realistic perspective of the mother of Jesus seem to have responded with a sense of blessing and not of shock.
Posted by KittKatt at 2:05 PM
Labels: art, censorship, Jesus, Madonna, Mexico, naked, spirituality, travel, women's spirituality
1 comments:
Yvonne said...
Er, well obviously Mary would have breastfed Jesus.The style's a bit kitschy, but I think Mary should be celebrated as a real woman.MCC people shocked by breastfeeding? Oh please! Is there no refuge for sanity in the Christian community???
2:15 PM
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Monday, December 8, 2008
Anti-Abortion / Pro-life Short Film (Third Born)
one of the most cretive and forward thinking videos I've seen... THIS is the kind of pro-life material we need to develope and get out there...
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