Do Not Debilitate Yourself

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” –J.K. Rowling

(This is part two of a post discussing negative reactions.  Here's part one if you haven't read it: React)

We’re in such an advanced technological age where nothing is long lasting.  Cars, iPads, iPods, tables, computers and almost anything technological are always changing and updating.  Updating doesn’t mean we fix our current possessions and make them better.  It means we drop we have to buy the latest and greatest. 

                So now we’re so used to dropping what we have when it is broken, outdated, or problematic that we tend to do the same thing with our very lives.  When something bad happens in life, we tend to “drop” the lives we have now and pick up the next false sense of comfort we can.  Essentially we discard our lives for a pseudo-reality: one that will last as long as our technology today. 

                So here’s the list of the negative reactions we take in life that are often debilitating and unnatural to our ultimate end. 

                Withdrawal—Withdrawing is essentially a complete stepping back from something which, in this article’s case, would be a negative event in our lives.  When we withdraw we are, in a way, trying to step back from reality by drawing away from the problem.  We are in denial of the negative that exists and step away from it in the hopes of just happening to step upon some false reality where the problem doesn’t exist.  This never lasts long.  Hence the common phrases like “then reality hits” or “and I woke up.” Withdrawing from the problem withdraws from reality, so we become like weakened shells or shadows of our true selves until we finally accept the reality we have. 

                Guilt—Guilt is the inability to forgive ourselves usually due to the blame and responsibility we put on ourselves.  If we can’t forgive ourselves, then the guilt will always weigh us down.  Obviously when something weighs us down it makes it difficult to move,  so guilt makes us immobile.  Maybe the guilt is merited but perhaps it isn’t.  In any case, long-lasting guilt makes us think our actions are unforgivable unmovable—and we become immovable ourselves; we debilitate ourselves. 

                Anger—I do not mean a just anger toward somebody at fault, but a strong resentment and begrudging that inhibits anyone from being able to forgive.  Anger can be just at times, but if you hold onto it for too long it festers and becomes a hurt—an emotional scab of sorts.  Whenever the topic is brought up, or a touchy subject reminds us of those negative memories our emotional scabs are being pulled open; we bleed our anger. 

                Just anger calls for justice, but justice (or our conception of justice) cannot be attained for many reasons.  Who do we punish for an accident?  How can we punish our parents for something they did not understand or already regret?  How can we punish somebody who has already been tried?  Who do we punish for a biological deformity?  These “justices” cannot be answer and either we live in a perpetual scabbing/bleeding out cycle or we form a false sense of justice that goes beyond the justice given; either we are emotionally bled dry (and how can we move on if we are bled dry?) or we seek revenge.  Both of these are debilitating and unrealistic. 

                Inconstancy—inconstancy is the opposite of decision.  It is irresoluteness.  But by being irresolute, we naturally cannot move forward.  How can we when we’re stuck in our own place without any desire to move forward?  Hence we are again immobile and weakened, lacking the future goods we can receive in life. 

                Envy—Resentment at those more fortunate than others.  This is not to be confused with jealousy, which is a self-reflection of our feelings or attitudes toward another person.  Instead envy wants what the other person has, or that the other person did not have it; you desire for a worse off life for the other person.  Until we can see the fortune in our lives (and there is fortune in everyone’s life) we will live life in perpetual envy of others.  We will never be our true selves, but only disfigured imitations of those better off than us. 

                Despair—All hope is lost.  We give up on hope and figure that nothing can solve the problem, or that nothing good can stem from it.  For example, with death we hold on too strongly to the object of the death and not the life that was lived before and the desired life to be lived afterward.  By despair we never find happiness, because nothing even matters.  This usually leads to withdrawal, and we are again nothing more than shadows. 

                Depression—Depression is often the result of all of the other reactions combined.  But this is harder to tackle because there may be many other biological factors for depression.  Still, there are other biological factors that can make us happy (which will be discussed later. 

                So we know how these negative reactions can be debilitating and prevent us from moving on to our greater goal.  How can we convert our negativity to positivism?  How can we make a habit of reacting positively?  I’ll write about this next post!  If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, etc. lemme know!  Remember, life is beautiful and life is good; look for the beauty and you’ll find it without much difficulty!

Thanks and take care!

 -Dameo

React

There are two types of people:

                                                Those who say: “If only you knew.”

                                                And those who say:  “Here’s why.”

Take a look at your life and consider: what moments have shaped your life the most? 

 Oftentimes the most beautiful things come from factors that might be deemed painful and negative.

Subjecting graphite to high pressure/ high temperature (HPHT) environments gives you a diamond.

Erosion gives us beautifully-smooth rocks, glass, and touristic views such as the Grand Canyon.

Extreme acidic and basic cleaners make everything sparkle. 

Pearls come from oysters reacting to irritants. 

Even our creation started from dust.

Our lives work in the same way:  most negative events that occur in our lives are the shapers of who we are.  This can result in something beautiful, like a diamond, or we can let the negative events shape us into something worse…

And so, we have two types of people:

               

                Those who say, “If only you knew my story.” 

                And those who say “Here’s why I am.”

These two types aren't necessarily that different from each other.  After all, the theme in this article is “past” and we all have our fair share of a past (whoa!) that always leads into our person today.  This isn't a new concept; we've got loads of quotes on it:

"The past is never dead.  It's not even past." -William Faulkner
"Study the past if you would define the future."  -Confucius
"Scars have the strange power to remind us that our past is real." -Cormac McCarthy
"The past isn't passed.  It's still shaping the present." -John Green

But while our past may have shaped who we are now, the affect could have been positive or negative.  Certainly, the affect could not have been neutral by the simple fact that we are emotionally neutral in life (at least, I have not yet encountered entire societies composed of robots or of  Keanu Reeves). 

Making diamonds, smooth rocks, and even our creation from dust are all examples of naturally harmful and negative environments creating something beautiful. 

But we are beyond nature.  We are beyond nature in that our senses, emotions and (most importantly) will can make us react differently to these negative events in our life.  Still, they will always affect us. 

If I cut my hand off, I can react a number of ways—all of which would involve frantic screaming—but my hand will always be a hook or wooden hand in the future (I’d choose hook). 

So we know that while we all react differently, we are all still affected, and that affect—coupled with its reactions—make up our character today. 

In chemistry, we have negative reactions and positive reactions.  In humanity, we have the same thing.  People can react negatively by withdrawal, guilt, depression, despair, anger, and inconstancy.  These negative reactions often keep one at his same place; they prohibit moving on to build character or—at least—from truly becoming our true selves as we were designed to be: happy. 

On the other hand, those who react positively—through patience, fortitude, empathy, and forgiveness (of self and others)—can continue through life and build better character that is geared toward their own happiness. 

Later, I will discuss how these negative reactions are debilitating (and leave us a shadow of our true selves), how we can grow from negative to positive reactions, and how to combat future negative events in our lives.  

Thanks for stopping by and reading.  If you have any questions or comments and would even like something related to be discussed I will be happy to reply! Hey, you can even leave a comment just to say hey back! 

Take care,

Damien 

Continuing Martin Luther King's Work

As a holy man, Dr. Martin Luther King asked men to seek God and to find God's love so that--in loving God and finding God's love--we can love all men without barriers of any kind. 

 Today marks the day of an important man in our life--Dr. Martin Luther King.  Even after his death, Dr. King serves as an historical example of living, serving, and even offering life for the life of others.  His emphasis on civil rights has saved the hardships, toils, and even lives of many people, and has continued to do so.  If the great Dr. King were to still be alive, he would have continued his fight for true civil rights--his fight for life in the midst of destructive humanity; Dr. King would have especially fought for the lives who had no voice.  He would have fought for the unborn.

It can be easy to say that Dr. Martin Luther King accomplished his goal of providing civil rights for everyone, but we hardly ever ponder what he would have continued to do had he still been alive.  We can get a good guess from his niece, Dr. Alveda King.  Dr. Alveda King was living in Birmingham when her house was bombed by anti civil-rights members.  After a few more incidents, including being jailed during the Chicago Open Housing Movement, she joined her uncle, Martin Luther King, in protesting civil rights abuses.

Dr. Alveda King knew her uncle through firsthand experience.  She knew him as an uncle, colleague with a same goal, and as a great reverend and minister.  With all these in mind, she knows that Dr. Martin Luther King would have kept up in his pursuit for civil rights for all members, including the unborn. 

We should mark today as an examination point.  We should ask ourselves how much we love God--God who gives us our humanity.  We can seek this answer by looking at how many self-made barriers stand between our selves and members of other groups--members of a different race, gender, religion, social class, political class, and of the womb.  How human are we? 

Our purpose is to serve God, not ourselves.  This we know from our conscience, from our desire to seek deep and meaningful relationships with purpose.  This we know from our desire to be happy and at peace.  Seek God and find God's love for others.  Then, imitate God's love and spread it to others.  Dr. Martin Luther King sought this and fought to break down the barriers between members of a different race, and we should continue his work on all the spectrum of civil rights.  We should continue his work of finding our humanity through God.  

For Those with Qualms...Mary

  A sad misfortune falls upon many Christians when the name of Mary—in reference to the mother of Jesus Christ—is mentioned.  Most hear the name without any special or high regard, quite unlike the apostles, Paul, or the prophets.  Some may even mutter under their breath that Mary must be devalued in reference, or else one may be nearing idolatry.  There are even fewer, though, who see Mary in the light that Catholics see her.  It is in this light that I am proud to have an example of one who wishes to see us with her Son, Jesus Christ
In our day and age, we have become a person striving for deeper intimacy with life.  This is done so much, to the point, that we lose the meaning when we riddle ourselves—via facebook, twitter, and the like—with deep quotes that have the potential of impacting a moment in our life, but are headed or even implanted in self-taken photos that desire nothing more than attention.  Imagine someone posting a picture of her (or his; guys can do it, too) new haircut with the caption:

“It is harder to judge yourself than to judge others.  If you succeed in judging yourself, it’s because you are truly a wise man.”
Or
“We’re best friends not because we don’t fight, but because we forgive each other.”

Okay, okay.  I’m apt to quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery often, so forgive me.  Still, no one is going to comment on the quote; the quote is lost in the photos and all the comments about the new look. 

Better yet, think of anything with the caption, YOLO.  “You only live once” they say, but this means that you can do whatever the hey you want.  It no longer means, “think of the Big Guy upstairs and the long run you’re taking.  Is this what you really want?”  But what am I getting at? I rant. 

As we strive to become deeper within ourselves, it is a comfort for Catholics to know that our faith is built upon the deepest religion in history—extending from the time of the Jews and Christ’s foundation on the rock, which Peter built it, to now.  We’ve got it deep, and that’s where I’m going at, with Mary. 

Mary’s life was not just blessing to us because of her fiat (Luke 1:38), it is a continual blessing to us.  Her acceptance brought us Life.  She brought us Christ, who is Eternal Good, and who saved us from eternal death and damnation.  Her fiat brought forth the Means of redemption.  If Jesus is eternal, then it would go without saying that His mother is also eternal as His mother.  As she is eternal, her fiat remains a continual and eternal blessing.  Everyday her fiat is revisited when we think, speak, or feel Christ’s identity within our lives.  If we don’t think, speak, or feel His identity, her fiat is still revisited when Christ forgives us for not thinking, speaking, or believing in His identity. 

              

Here’s some deep for you:

                Eve rejected God’s will, bringing us death, disease and danger. 

                God said He would put enmity between the woman and her seed against Satan’s.

                Her (or her seed’s) heel would strike the Serpent’s head. 

                Life over death.

                Mary accepted God’s will, bringing us Jesus Christ, our source of life. 

                Jesus redeems us from eternal death, disease, and danger.

               The Serpent’s head is crushed.  Life over death.

                            Mary, with her acceptance, is the new Eve.  

                            The Perfected Eve.

Some may scoff and say we’re worshiping the wrong person.  Others may agree only to a certain extent.

“So what,” they can say, “ Isn't she just one of the lucky ones? She’s nothing special; she wasn’t a perpetual virgin (as Catholics believe).  Isn't this just a string of coincidences that were bound to happen so somebody anyway?”

Let me propose some answers.
 Catholics, at least the Catholics that know what they are doing, do not worship anybody but the one God.  Nobody else.  Nadie.  Nein.  Only God.  When we refer to Mary, we refer to her with honor, grace, and esteem.  This is how we would for any high-esteemed person in this world but—c’mon here, people—this is the mother of God we’re talking about!  As Catholics, we try to imitate Christ.

How would Jesus Christ treat his own mother? 

How would Jesus treat His own Mother?  After she raised Him up and He began His work with the public, how would Christ still treat His Mother?  After His death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven, how would Christ still treat His Mother?  After her death, how would Christ still treat His Mother? 

Aren’t we supposed to mirror Christ’s love?

A: We don’t know for sure, (so we’re okay in assuming that Jesus wouldn’t mind either way)

B:  What does it matter?  They’re both upstairs so we can act whichever way! 

C: Jesus is full of love, but wouldn’t respect His own Mother. 

D: Jesus is eternal love and respect.  Let us eternally love and respect like He does.

  

“Okay, okay.  Apart from being the Mother of God and deserving of our love, what else?  She’s still not special.”  

Au contraire, she is more than just another person who happened to be Christ’s mother (wait, there still has only been one mother of Jesus, hasn’t there?). She is the New Eve—the Perfected Eve.  Not only this, but she’s the Mother of God.  Besides this, she is still a virgin. 

               

“Whoa!  How can you say that?  Look, look!  Mt. 1:25 says her hubby, ‘Joseph knew her not until she bore her first-born.’ After Jesus, Joseph knew her intimately through intercourse, it says so right there!” 

                Yes and no.  Take it seriously, because it is the Bible, but don’t take it too literally.  If you do, we’ve got a problem with Mt. 28:20 (among other verses).  The specific verse has Jesus saying “And behold, I am with you, unto (or—synonymously—until) the end of time.”  Uh-oh.  Jesus is going to abandon us, at the end of time?  Of course not!  It’s imagery, as is want in the Bible.  Jesus revealed His love for us and His dedication to us in Mt. 28:20. 

                So what does Mt. 1:25 mean?  After seeing that his virgin wife conceived, gave birth to his Lord, and witnessed Christ’s presence, Joseph was revealed Mary’s true spiritual identity.  He didn’t have to have relations with Mary to become intimate with the woman who raised his Lord. 

Take a mile in Joseph’s shoes: 

Before Mary, there was the Ark of the Covenant. 

If anyone so much as touched the Ark, they would be struck down and killed.

After that, Mary’s womb held the Most Sacred Thing in the world.

Knowing that, would you even contemplate having that womb be touched by something else?

“Christ’s birth didn’t end Mary’s virginity (or her intention to remain a virgin)

Christ’s birth sanctified it”

Catechism: 499

                Still say she isn’t something special?  Well, Mary is Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Think of it this way.  In the Old Testament, the kings had many wives; it would be impossible to have that many queens.  Imagine the chaos if each wife were a queen?  So who was significant enough to be the queen?  Well, the mother of course!  After all, each king had only one mother, so the mothers were regarded as the queens in the Old Testament. 

                Take a quick look at Mt. 1 in the New Testament, and we see that Jesus a genealogical descendent of the kings.  He’s definitely going to be the perfect king, right?  The King of Heaven and Earth?  If you answered yes, you are correct.  Who else could be the queen, but His mother?  This ties in the way Christ would treat his Mother/Queen—with decency, respect, honor, and love.

                “Well,” you may say, “we don’t need to honor her.  We can just go straight to God.”

                True, but here’s another interesting tidbit:

                In the Old Testament, queens acted as respected mediators between the people and their king.  One example of this is in 1 Kings 2:12-20.  Somebody named Adonijah went to the queen, Bathsheba, to petition a request.  Adonijah says that the king, Bathsheba’s son Solomon, “will not refuse you” and Bathsheba agrees.  Get this, Bathsheba goes to her son, Solomon. 

“There is a favor I ask of you, my son.  Don’t refuse me.” She says.

“Ask it, my mother.  I will not refuse you.” The king replies.

He could have refused, but Solomon’s respect for his queen was so much, he knew he couldn’t disrespect.

This is the same way Jesus reacted to Mary at the wedding in Cana.  She asked, Jesus said yes.  How could He refuse His own mother?  He couldn’t, he wouldn’t.  Jesus is so filled with love; of course He would listen to His mother.  Go to the mother, and you’ve gotten another aide in your request to the Son. 

“But Jesus called Mary ‘Woman.’  Surely He can’t be respectful—in the least—He’s not exactly going out of His way to be friendly with Mary.  Right?”

                Well let’s first target the absurdity of this statement.  Imagine you were a living saint attending a wedding (don’t get too entertained by the idea of being a living saint…).  Your mother came to you and asked you to do something you knew was in your power.  Would you roll your eyes and say, “omg, WOMAN! C’mon, mom!  Why should I do that?”  Or would you say something along the lines of, “you know me too well. Thanks for recognizing my abilities and being proud of your son!” and then complete the task?   What would others expect of you? 

                Exactly. 

                So when Jesus says “Woman” what does He mean?  Jesus has a way of speaking that usually alludes to something more, right?  So why should this be any different? 

                Go back to Genesis 3:15. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

                Could it be?  Could it be that Jesus was referring to something of this when he spoke at the wedding?  Could it be that Jesus was referring to Mary as the Woman—the New Eve?  If this is true, than Jesus was referring to Himself as the one who would crush Satan’s head?  The One to defeat the evil one?  Again, Mary’s fiat brings Life over death.

                Seeing how Jesus does this in other instances, could this be a possibility?  In any case, it is more of a possibility that the Son of God would publicly disrespect His own mother. 

               

We can go straight to Jesus, to God.  But we can also ask His mother to help us out.  After all, we’re the low-lifes asking God for a request.  Shouldn’t we give it to His mother so she can make our words just a little bit more eloquent? 

A pastor once told me, “If I were to walk down the street and happened to see Mary, the Mother of God on the other side, I would cross over to her and raise my hat in honor. She would then say to me, ‘do not give me the honor, but give it to God instead.’ And that’s why I wouldn’t do anything special for her.”  

I was young, afraid and too ignorant to respond wisely to him at the time, but now I would say,

“And I will do no such thing for you mother!”

Just kidding!  I would agree that Mary would show humility, just as many holy people living in this world.  But it doesn’t mean we don’t give honor and respect where it is due.  God gave us this sense of respect not so that we give it only to Him, but that we can share it with others in the hope of sharing what our whole life represents:  good, and God. 

                Here’s one last little tidbit to get you thinking…

                In today’s day and age, everyone enjoys the story of someone’s fate being handed to them.  They didn’t choose it, maybe they didn’t even want it.  In any case, it came upon them.  Think of comic books, movies, tv shows.  All those stories with the usual line saying

                “I didn’t want any of this.  I didn’t wish for this.  I didn’t ask for this.”

                                Usually this results in the likely response…

                “Yes, but fate has a way of making the best of people.  It’s a matter of you accepting your fate.” 

What does it matter to us?  We enjoy the hero; just watch any movie, any show, or read any book. 

               

                Maybe Mary didn’t ask for it, but she did not doubt when she heard the angel’s words.  She had enough faith.  Her response was the epitome of faith. 

                Mary is that hero. 

                It could have been anyone. Maybe it could have been anyone. 

                But it still doesn’t mean we don’t root for the hero.  

“Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?  Are you not under my shadow and protection?  Am I not the source of your joy?  Are you not in the hollow of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms?  Do you need anything more?  Let nothing else worry you, disturb you.”

Take care, 

Damien

Upcoming Performances

Ya'll!

I will be playing acoustic performances for the restaurant Peppermill Grill each Saturday night.  It's from 6:30 to 9:30--three hours!--so I've been doing a lot of research for songs that I can do acoustically.  It's not all of the songs I plan on doing, but here's a little peak ahead of what I will be playing those Saturday nights (preferably with a beer at my side)! 

Most importantly, I'm hoping I'll look like this when I play:

Also one star * will mean it's a song I'm not looking forward to playing, but must play to appease the mob--erhem--crowd.  Three stars *** mean that it is a song that I am really looking forward to playing!

Here you go:

1) Ring of Fire --Johnny Cash**

2) Rolling in the Deep--Adele*

3) Orange Sky--Alexi Murdoch***

4) First Day of My Life--Bright Eyes**

5) I Will Follow You Into the Dark--Death Cab for Cutie***

6) Crane Wife 1,2,3 --Decemberists***

7) Stable Song--Gregory Alan Isakov***

8) I'm Yours--Jason Mraz*

9) Ho Hey--Lumineers**

10) Last Leaf--Ok Go**

11) Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard--Paul Simon**

12) Hey There Delilah--Plain White T's*

13) Transplant Song--Tim Bluhm**

14) A Lack of Color--Death Cab for Cutie**

15) Hallelujah--Leonard Cohen**

16) Ivory Road--King Charles***

17) Pumped Up Kicks/Paradise--Foster the People and Coldplay**

18) Zombie--Cranberries**

19) Piano Man--Billy Joel***

20) Time After Time--Cyndi Lauper***

21) Don't Wanna Miss a Thing--Aerosmith***

22) Superman (It's Not Easy)--Five For Fighting**

23) Marry Me--Train*

24) Move On--Jet**

25) Sweet Caroline--Neil Diamond*

26) Sweet Child O' Mine--Guns and Roses**

27) Baba O'Riley-The Who***

28) Hey Ya--Outkast***

with more possibilities ranging from Katy Perry to Pearl Jam.  If you've got any suggestions, feel free to comment! 

Saca Suerte!

Damien

Because I'm Signed In

Right now, I'm living life.

I'm not just experiencing life, following it, or riding it. I'm actually aware of its presence and I feel like I'm living it; I'm not just with life.

Most of the time; however, I'm not living it. With God's grace and unending mercy, I'll be able to live life more frequently. After all, you can't live life without doing it God's way.

It's a good thing God is patient!

I'm glad for God's love, because living life is a good feeling

Cheers,

Damien

Family Guy "The funniest show on tv"

Not to mention the anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, anti-religious, crudest show on tv.

Seriously, I cannot stand the indecency of this show. This show is the epitome of our culture today: down with religion, up with our own pleasures.

Family Guy absolutely mocks God in every single way. I'll give a few examples I saw just by flipping through the channels.



1. Apparently Peter stole a film from two Christians (who were dressed as priests for some reason). It evolves into a high-speed race through town in which the two Christians try to shoot Peter and his wife in order to get the film back. I flipped through the channels and as I passed through it again Lois is hanging on the edge of one of the presidents of Mt. Rushmore (Peter is nearby). One of the Christians points his pistol at them demanding the location of the film. Peter points across the mountain, the Christian nonchalantly walks over the cliff and falls to his death. Lois asks Peter how he knew the Christian would do that and Peter simply replies that "Christians don't believe in gravity."


2. Just flipping through the channels. All the guys of Family Guy are at a bar making gay-priest jokes. The joke said was absolutely crude, degrading, and raunchy. Peter looks up at someone hidden off-screen and says "Oh, no offense, father." and revealed is a shirtless priest (but still with the collar) who replies along the lines that it did not offend him.



3. (The worst of them, to me. Mocking a priest is an absolutely heinous thing to do, but I abhor this simply because they singled her out.) Stewie is absolutely frightened by something. He says it was the scariest thing that's happened since Mother Teresa OD'd in his car. There's a flashback to Stewie driving a car with two gangster looking people and a sick-looking Mother Teresa. Stewie tells the guys to push her out of the car. They're hesitant. Stewie turns around and tells them to "Push the bitch out." The guys push her onto the sidewalk and leave her there unconscious.



SERIOUSLY!!!!

Think about it guys...if anyone has any ounce of decency in his heart, then it's probably happened that he's felt uncomfortable when his best friend's mom or dad is scolding his friend...or telling an embarrassing story about his friend.

If anyone has any ounce of decency in his heart, then its probably happened that this person has or would intervene when someone is being completely mocked.

But how goes it, that our culture simply laughs and applauds a tv show that degrades our faith and our loved ones. A tv show that mocks one of the most peaceful and loving people in history--Mother Teresa--for no reason at all save for the sake of humor.

A tv that mocks our Dearest Friend.

This is just me flipping through the channels; I have never watched a full episode of Family Guy. I can't imagine what other blasphemous things I would see against the pope, priests, nuns, missionaries, or simply well-to-do people.

I don't know about you guys, but with my conscience, I can do nothing but abhor Family Guy.

For the sake of our God, I cannot enjoy it.

"She (The Church) is the Irish grandmother cooking us Italian meatballs in an African kitchen while singing Polish folk songs. And she scolds as she hugs, and calls us to grow when we least want to and to reconcile our hearts in matters which, in their hour of horror, appear beyond even a breath of forgiveness. She is patient. She knows what she is about and that this work is not, ultimately, hers but God's. She lives to see us home." --David Morrison



Face the fact that, with God, we can face anything.