Great Thought for Advent

Enclosed is an amazing excerpt from Michael O'Brien's book Father Elijah,

"the Pope always talks about hope, and maybe that was his big grace. He taught us to hope when everything seems lost. I thought about that last December during my trial. I always had a secret dislike of advent, because it's such a crazy time of year, but I really enjoyed it this year, if you can imagine anyone enjoying a liturgical season while he's being sent to jail for something he didn't do, were not supposed to be like the ancient pagans who watched the coming winter with a terror stricken obsession, not supposed to, but funny how the deathly vapors seep into your heart without you knowing it, During Advent I learned to kick it out, I learned to gaze into the growing dark with Spring in my eyes. Impossible, yep, but Christians should always Keep an icon of the impossible in their hearts!

Favorite Movies and Books

Right to the side of the Blog, I have put a list of my favorite movies and books. Bill Bennett said something on his radio show the other day that really struck me- Culture is way more important than politics, because culture shapes politics. It should be a goal of every Christian, to promote the movies and books of our culture that are healthy and do the most to uplift the spirit.

Wild at Heart

I was so proud of my son Joseph on Saturday morning, I took him for some indoor rock climbing, and the story is pretty funny. The place was packed, because it was raining, and Josephs climb lasted about 15 minutes, which is an eternity. He was determined to make it to the top, but had to stop, regain his footing, strategize before moving on, so after a while people just start watching him climb, and a crowd was starting to form. He told me later, that he was tempted to quit. But he wouldn't stop, and finally he makes it to the top, and hits the buzzer, and the Rocky song starts playing, and the whole place starts clapping, it was an amazing Father/Son moment, because I could see in his face how proud he was that he didn't quit.

That wall is a lot like the economy right now, we may have to re-group, catch our breadth, and re-strategize, but we have to choose to "die climbing" (That was a quote in an indoor mountain climbing gym). We can't quit. We should climb with perseverance, knowing that "this too shall pass", we will find greener pastures on this icy mountain. Plus, this is the key for this blog, we need to be cheerful while we climb, knowing that our Father in heaven sees us on that mountain, sees how hard we are trying, and He will never let us fall. You can see my hand in the first picture above, I am an imperfect father, but as a father, I loved watching my son climb, and I would never let him fall! The perfect Father in heaven, knows every hair on our head, so we can with abandonment, with daring, and with joy in our hearts climb towards that loving Father!

Fireproof

My wife and I finally went and saw the movie Fireproof, we have been talking about seeing it for weeks, and we finally went. The funny thing about it, was that we have been reading the book, which the movie is based on for a while, but have never made time to see the movie. It was excellent, because it was true! Anyone watching the movie knows that if they would surrender to God, to give him the wheel, He will take over and do incredible things, and as my favorite writer Matt Kelley says, you will become the "best version" of yourself!

The great truth of this movie is this, "to not be led by your heart, but to learn to lead your heart! " That is the source of so much of our hurts, individually and as a culture. We hear and think- "Follow my heart", its almost the worlds only absolute truth. The problem is, its not true, it will only help if your heart is leading you to the right place. But sometimes our heart deceives us. We all know so many times, where we loved someone or something, and it wasn't good for us! It wasn't right. That proves that "following your heart" is not always right! The perfect example is, a married man "falls in love" with another women, so he "Follows his heart" and cheats on his wife. This happens everyday, on big and small "loves".

Here's the key to happiness, "Lead your Heart". That is the true motto- "To lead your Heart". How do we know where to lead our heart, we need to know that Love and Truth are always connected. If a Love is not True, then its not Love. (The married man "loving" another women), Truth is not present!, so its not Love. The counter is also true- You might have Truth, (An Authentic Relationship), but as St. Paul says, "without Love, it is nothing,"

Lastly, the thing about Love that should give us so much Joy, is that its a Choice! I always say this, God is so Good, and so Holy! He is not going to create this amazing thing- Love, and just watch as only the lucky few can find it. That would be cruel. This movie and this book should give us so much consolation, because Love is for everyone! We only have to make the decision to Love, and give our Heart!

Joy in the Night

I was bummed last night that my guy John McCain lost, and I was more bummed that as a people, America elected the most radically pro-abortion President in history. However, I am not one to sulk, and I am moving on to try and change hearts and minds about the beauty of Life, even when its tough!

I was given a gift though last night at 3:00 am in the morning, and that was my youngest son, our baby, decided to pee on me as I was changing his diaper in the middle of the night, and he laughed and laughed about. He was laughing so hard that I had to start laughing as well. I thought here we are in the middle of the night, in a bad economy, having just made a huge mistake on a pro-abortion candidate, and to the mind of a child, LIFE IS STILL THE BEST THING GOING!

That's the point, we need to become children of God! To Sing in the Darkness, even if your getting peed on! LOL. Never forget Nietzche quote, "The reason Christianity doesn't advance is because Christians don't sing,".

Please View before Voting

The beauty of this youtube, is that its Barrack Obama talking, its not some quotes in an e-mail. I found his words creepy, and cold. Especially the quote about if his daughters ever get pregnant, he doesn't want them punished with a baby. For starters, nobody should ever use there kids as an example to make a political point. Secondly, a child is never, I repeat never, even in the worst of circumstances a punishment. A child is and always will the worlds greatest treasure. They are the worlds teachers, that we are better off with joy and simplicity, than we are with power and material gain.