Isn’t September absolutely the most awesome month of the year!!
It’s a month of beauty, a month of change, a month refreshment!
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So, just what is it about September that makes it so great? Let’s explore…
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Ever wonder what’s under that thing
you’re carrying your new bride over?
Well, that thing is called a threshold.
And, you just may not want to know exactly what’s under it.
And if it’s YOUR house, just maybe,
you might be needing a new one.
So let’s look at one way that can happen,
without buying a whole new door!!!
Whispers to the Wind is dedicated to those Quotable sayings
we often hear used in the routine of our day.
Did we know that they came from the Bible?
Did we know where they came from in the Bible or
what their original reference was?
Every day the Church reads selections from the Old Testament, the Psalms
and New Testament. And in them, we often hear those Quotable sayings.
Sometimes they speak directly to OUR hearts, like Whispers in our ears.
And sometimes they may just pass us by,
like Whispers to the Wind.
Are we listening?
Come, beloved, listen to the Whispers,
and discover
LIFE!
. . . updated daily . . .
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After the wind there was an earthquake –
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire –
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. . . .
1 Kings 19:11-13
– Date –
(Feast Day name)
– Selected Quote (in blue italics) –
followed by a short reflection…
As a supplement to the Life of Mary Our Mother series (which fits in at “The Visitation”), I’ve put together a short clip on The Canticle of Mary, the Magnificat.
This is Mary’s song of Praise and Thanksgiving to God presented during her visit with Elizabeth, who, at the
time was pregnant with John the Baptist.
So, not only was our prayer “The Hail Mary” conceived at this visit, but this beautiful exaltation of Mary’s and God’s love was delivered as well.
From the Gospel of Luke 1:46-55
Please don’t miss the NOTE below…
As Part 2 continued the drama of Mary from the growth of the young Jesus into a man, His ministry, passion and death, Part 3 moves on into the Hope. Now that Mary has endured the sword spoken of by Simeon at Jesus’ dedication as an infant, Life must go on.
Mary is taken in and cared for by John the apostle.
She is there at Jesus’ resurrection, at Pentecost to receive the Holy Spirit, at His ascension and in the missionary growth of Church. It is that very same Sacred Heart of Mary that is constantly guiding and leading us back to Jesus. It is Mary reminding us of the Hope for Eternal Life that Jesus promised in His Kingdom. And it is Mary reminding us of our own personal call to follow His Way. To love one another. To pray for one another. To forgive, as He has forgiven. As Mary has been seen by many around the world, whether we are witnesses or not, she is always there in our hearts. For she is and always will be “Mary Our Mother.”
Thank you again for taking of your precious time to meditate and pray and remember with us. May our Loving God bless and keep you always,as we are TFICL!
_________ NOTE ___________
SIDE NOTE: If you’ve come here because someone in your country (including the U.S.) has decided to BLOCK any of the 3 parts (which were separated due to size), please try the “Series” video, which has all three combined. It’s longer, but at least until they block it, you will have access to all 3 parts. Thank you for visiting and God’s blessings always, beloved! “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Series”
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Link to “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Part 2“
Link to “The life of Mary Our Mother – Part 1“
Link to “Magnificat“
Link to “The Birth of Mary – The Mother of God“
As Part 1 covered the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary from her conception through the Nativity of Jesus and into His early youth, Part 2 continues the drama. We see the growth of the young Jesus into a man, His ministry of teaching, healing and proclaiming the Good News of God’s redeeming Love (“the Kingdom of God” among us) and how Mary is 100% engaged with her Son.
Then we watch as she must endure the torturous passion of her only beloved Son, leading to His gruesome death by crucifixion. She recollects both the sorrowful and joyful events of Jesus’ youth. And as the old man Simeon, whom she met in the Temple at Jesus’ dedication predicted, “a sword will pierce
Mary’s heart” – as she witnesses the unjust suffering of her Son.
But Hope WILL prevail, as all the writings of the Prophets and Jesus himself promised. That hope and more – we will visit in Part 3. So for now, enjoy Part 2 of “The Life of Mary Our Mother.” And we’ll be back again shortly. God Bless!
Link to “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Part 3“
Link to “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Part 1“
SIDE NOTE: If you’ve come here because someone in your country (including the U.S.) has decided to BLOCK any of the 3 parts (which were separated due to size), please try the “Series” video, which has all three combined. It’s longer, but at least until they block it, you will have access to all 3 parts. Thank you for visiting and God’s blessings always, beloved! “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Series”
Well, after a year in the making, I’ve finally gotten better (enough) at WordPress and YouTube to scrunch down my 35 minute “Mary Our Mother” video into 3 x 10-11 minute parts. Part One has just been uploaded on YouTube. The videos are called, “The Life of Mary Our Mother.”
Think I’ll see how popularity of Part One goes before I upload the next one. Besides, even with a little better upload speed on my Century Slow server, it still takes about 5 hours to upload in HQ. And from the looks of Part 1, HQ was definitely worth it!
So for anyone who happens to wander upon my little website,
Here’s Mary Our Mother – Part One!!!
Link to “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Part 2“
Link to “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Part 3“
SIDE NOTE: If you’ve come here because someone in your country (including the U.S.) has decided to BLOCK any of the 3 parts (which were separated due to size), please try the “Series” video, which has all three combined. It’s longer, but at least until they block it, you will have access to all 3 parts. Thank you for visiting and God’s blessings always, beloved! “The Life of Mary Our Mother – Series”
As we enter this most HOLY Season of the year,
in the midst of the ‘Holy Triduum’ –
Holy Thursday (the Lord’s Last Supper),
Good Friday (Passion and death of our Lord),
Holy Saturday (Meditation on the death of Jesus as he lay in the tomb),
followed by
Easter Sunday (Jesus’ resurrection and our salvation),
we also welcome New Life in the change of Nature’s seasons,
a refreshing New Life of our own (after a cleansing and purging Lent), and
even New Physical Lives in the birth of our grandchildren and children.
“Exactly what is this Word, EUCHARIST
and why should it matter to me?“
It’s been described as “a sacrament of Love,
a sign of Unity, a bond of Charity,
a pledge of Future Glory given to us . . .”
Do we believe?
Do we have the Faith that it takes to . . .
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Sometimes sad, sometimes joyful,
sometimes disappointing, sometimes miraculous!
A Journey from Creation through today
presented through the media of Sacred Scripture
in Art, Beautiful Prayer
and Music . . .
Funny, as I was ironing my white, dress shirts, which are worn much less frequently any more, I thought I invented a new word to describe Continue reading
One day we woke up to a -12ºF temperature reading
outside, here in Columbia, MO.
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And I thought, there’s got to be something positive about that. We just can’t be the coldest place on earth today. So I quickly jumped on our ever knowledgeable internet and discovered that,
yes, there is somewhere colder . . .
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In Oymyakon, Russia it is most definitely colder than mid-MO.
Today they were reading -64ºF. Now that’s cold!!!
My sister Carol lives on the mid-west shore of Florida and she is an avid butterfly fan.
She offered to share some of her most recent photos…
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Now I know that Carol knows the names of most of these butterflies. Anyone interested in helping in the naming, please feel free to comment.
We have this wonderful perennial plant in the weed patch – flower garden in front of our house. It grows all summer long with succulent-looking leaves, until early fall when it makes these beautiful violet flowers.
Over the years it has gotten quite large and I’ve known in the past that it generally attracts lots of honey bees. This year I’ve found something quite different and extraordinarily beautiful – Butterflies. In this particular sighting, we had about 7 or 8 of the colorful lepidopterans fluttering around and sucking nectar so intently that I was able to catch some pretty awesome shots of them, very close up, without disturbing their activity. If anyone out there knows the name of this succulent flower – I’d be happy to learn something new. Hope you enjoy our “Butterflies.”
Interesting how nature feeds upon itself and how sometimes even nature can be fooled by imitations. As part of my business, I drive a rather unique and distinctive vehicle.
It’s color had, I’m sure, been selected because of its ability to draw attention. One might call it fuschia. Although if you look up the color fuschia in Google Images, you’ll find a range of colors from pink to purple.
Now the interesting fact that I’ve discovered here, besides the human attraction to the color of my van, is the enormous attraction it draws to mother nature. And maybe you’ve observed this with your car too, so my color theory may be all hogwash. (let me know) The first thing I noticed was that birds would perch on my side view mirrors and peck at themselves – I would guess, thinking it was another bird in there… Odd, I thought. Then I would find all kinds of butterflies loved to flutter around my van. They especially seemed to like the yellow lettering. Hmmmm.
Lately, however, every time I reach home after a drive and just before entering the garage, there is this horsefly who flies circles around the van. It’s kinda like your dog rushing up to greet you after work! He (she) used to go as far as visiting us inside the garage, but has since learned it’s a lot safer outside. So now, once the car is parked, our new pet will quickly leave us. We’re happy! But the neatest occurrence happened the other day. After backing into our garage (an old habit from our Buffalo, NY snow days) I shut the engine off and stayed a few minutes to finish a really good song. As I was sitting there in the car enjoying a brilliant sunny morning and the entrancing harmonies of Ludovico Einaudi, I was visited by a rapidly passing hummingbird, who stopped mid-garage door opening to see what was in there. After a quick peek, he/she left and moments later brought along a partner. Now, the two of them were hovering outside the garage door, pondering what this big “fuschia” thing was, just in front of them. I imagine it would be comparable to us discovering a chocolate birthday cake 90 ft in diameter and 20 ft high! And yet it wasn’t quite enough, this quick peek, for one of our bedazzled, needle beaked darters. That particular hummingbird actually flew into the garage and right up to my window to catch a closer glimpse. I guess when she noticed that the fragrance of this gigantic flower was more like engine oil than a real fuschia flower, she finally woke up to reality and quickly buzzed off. But I’d bet she still dreams of that monstrous fuschia she’ll someday see in birdie heaven.
Do you ever find nature so truly amazing, in so many different ways?
Expertise is knowing or doing something so frequently, that we don’t even think about what it is we’re doing, it just happens. And that, then gives us the opportunity to do something else simultaneously.
Take driving for example. We have become such experts at driving, that we can eat, or shave, or put our makeup on, or phone our daughter 1000 miles away, or even text our friends while we’re driving. Of course that doesn’t mean that we’re all experts at this – some may think they are, and unfortunately they’re the ones who often don’t do either one very well – learning the hard way that maybe a little more time is needed to improve that driving expertise first.
But there are many other things we are experts at too. Just think about what you do every morning when you get up. Funny, it’s such a routine, such an “expertise” that we don’t even think about it. So just for the fun of it, try getting out of bed on the other side. Try thanking God for another day, another opportunity to do better, before putting that first foot down on the floor. Try brushing teeth after you shave instead of before. Try going into the “other” shower door. Use a wash cloth, or maybe don’t.
You see, when we really think about it, we are experts at a lot of things.
What we do all day at work – bet a lot of other people can’t do that!
But there you are.
Now let’s expand. Just move that expertise a trifle into a new realm.
Take what we’re expert at and use it to do something – just a little different.
Wah – Lah!
So what is it that you’re an expert at?
And how can it be stretched too?
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Oh, and for those of you who visited thinking they were going
to find cats or “teasing,” here’s one for you…
(be sure to click on picture for more)
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Hello and welcome visitors.
My name is Joe and I live in mid-Missouri, USA. The shortest description of myself, as we all are, is that I am a child of God. In this short half century of existence, most of my life has been devoted to using whatever talents God has so graciously provided me with, for supporting my family through varied and exciting occupations. Well sometimes they really weren’t really that exciting, but you know, we find excitement in whatever we’re given to do!! Unfortunately, our economy has not always supported excitement and enthusiasm. So at times I’ve found it necessary to somehow or other, discover excitement or accomplishment in non-paying occupations as well. Sometimes it’s called self employment and other times unemployment, which is my current status. People often ask if I’m retired, but I prefer to classify myself as “pasturized,” as I was involuntarily put to pasture. And now I wander the fields seeking a new “shepherd” to financially support any kind of work I would happily do for them.
Beyond that basic – who is Joe – I could also classify myself as a father, husband, grandfather, Catholic deacon, chemist and teacher. Beautiful, central Missouri has been our home for the past 20 or so years. Prior to Missouri, we’ve lived in a number of places between here and the Atlantic Coast.
Occupationally I’ve had a wide variety of work experiences: from grocery store proprietor to mail clerk, from student to research chemist, to teacher, manager and business owner (multiple times). From the Chemical Professional point of view, I’ve worked in natural product synthesis, as an agrochemical synthesis researcher, a pesticide residue chemist, a metabolism chemist, a food chemistry teacher, an electronics manufacturing process chemist and a carpet dyer. I’ve taught kids from the elementary school through graduate school levels. And I still do, and most enjoy the teaching of our Faith to fifth graders, as a volunteer in our Church’s religious education program.
In whatever spare time that was ever left, I’ve enjoyed gardening, photography, bowling, computer graphics, skiing, music, religious studies and helping raise our four incredible children – purely by the Grace of God and the patience of my awesome wife, Mary Ann. We are very proud of all those kids and our (to date) four grandchildren too!!
Through it all, I’ve always been fascinated with color. The colors of the trees and the sky, the brilliance of the sea and the beauty of the eye, the way light influences the colors we see and the chemistry of it all. And then when it’s all synchronized with the harmony of music and immersed in the Wisdom of Faith, ahhh Life surely is magnificent! All to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus!
So what about you? Can you find that perfect symmetry of nature, the incomprehensible complexity of humanity, the majestic beauty of our world’s and universe’s landscapes, the indescribable aura of a beautiful personality, the spiritual euphoria of human touch, and the Wonder of God in all of Life? This is the challenge and this is His most awesome Gift! This is the true beauty of You and me!
So again I thank You for visiting. Now, come let’s explore ColorMe4Life – together!