Past.... Present....Future

It’s inevitable that prices will change with time, the bigger issue is the ability of consumers to keep up. We all know that the price of everything is affected with the cost of fuel however the rise in prices in most items is not proportional. It annoys me to pay five dollars more for something, but I forget about it in a few minutes. I lead a somewhat simplistic life, I have my spending vices, but I know that $100 just can’t do what it used to do. I really wonder how families, especially families where money was tight before, are making out now.

It’s no wonder why there are so many angry people out there, everything is about staying afloat. How do you make that $500 dollars last until you get paid? Food, clothing, shelter, fuel, bills and this does not include the occasional indulgence; people are living a nightmare to survive. Worrying about making ends meet must be so stressful, feeling defeated, inadequate, a failure. Then we have those who are living in some sort of bubble it seems living so outside their means. They say they are suffering, many really are but you cannot compare you not being able to buy the most expensive pair of shoes or outfit to those who cannot meet their basic needs. Keeping up with the Jones Syndrome as I call it but he who dies with the most toys is still dead.

There are so many people working, trying to make their lives and their families just a little bit better but the limitations that are being placed on them, the bar just keeps rising and rising, seeming somewhat impossible. I’m talking about those who did not inherit money, did not sell their values or rape the land and will not swindle their fellow man to get rich. These are the ones that are being affected most. I am not talking about not sacrificing and saving for a rainy day, but when Governments and the “experts” tell us to live without this or that, how can you tell a man who works hard to provide for his family, abides by the law etc not to take his family to see an occasional movie or take them for a simple treat like ice cream??

So what are we to do? One of the biggest problems worldwide is that agriculture is devalued. It is more cost effective to take land that is suited for agriculture and use it for namely housing. Penny wise they say, take land, cheap land and build houses, hotels, industries on it and sell them for exorbitant amounts of money. It’s more like pound foolish, you cannot eat money. And the biggest solution is population control, try to make a law as to how many children a couple should have and make Abortion and Euthanasia legal. Kill the unwanted.

The experts say substitute one food for another but the substitute is just as expensive or costs more. They thought that genetic engineering would have solved the food problem because it should have been able to produce a lot of cheap food, but that is not the case. We surely can’t eat or drink technology. With the rise in prices, we have so many things to consider when making purchases today the one up I can see is that it is forcing people to think about what really makes them happy. Does the bigger home, the bigger car, the extra car, the priciest brands in food, clothing, appliances etc etc, does having these things make me happy?

It is said that the present is the past in disguise, so if the price of bread once caused so much change ( The French Revolution), what future is hiding behind our present?

What Would You Do?

If you walked into the grocery store
Seeing a mother so sad
Who had not enough money
To feed the child she had
Would you reach into your pocket?
Or walk away in haste
Knowing half the things you bought today
Would probably go to waste
What would you do
Tell me, What would you do?

If strolling down the sidewalk
You see an elderly man
Knowing his legs can barely move
He's walking as fast as he can
Having proudly served his country
Receiving this injury in the war
And yet, for You and I,
He would have given so much more
Would you help him cross the street,
With the gentleness of your hand?
Or would you walk on past him, as fast as you can?
What would you do?
Tell me, What would you do?

If walking in the park one day
You come upon a child
Knowing they are handicapped, their communication mild
Would you sit and talk with them, or share a caring smile?
Or would you go about your way,
With no acknowledgement at all?
What would you do?
Tell me, What would you do?


If driving down the road one day
You look over to the side
Seeing a family in their car
With the hood open wide
Would you stop and ask them, If they need help or a ride?
Or would you keep on going,
Because you would not take the time?
What would you do?
Tell me, What would you do?
What do you think, The Lord would ask of you?

Author unknown

Happy Birthday Mawieeeee!!!!!

Today is a very blessed day. It’s the day that the good Lord blessed us all with Marie. The birthday person gets gifts on their birthday but I feel like I have been given the gift of Mawie. God blessed me with a gem, someone so special and so beautiful, thank you God! Words cannot express what her friendship means to me, always being there for me, always there to lend a shoulder to lean on, always there to give you that boost that you need sometimes, will correct you when wrong, will always encourage you, always love you, always be there and to know that she lifts me up in prayer, what a friend, what a blessing!! I don't know what I did to deserve it all but I am humbled and so very thankful.

Woooohoooo sis 21 again!!! LOL!!

So to my dear sis Mawie,

May the Lord continue to guide and bless you
and keep you in His most tender embrace.

May your birthday bring
You as much happiness
As you give to everyone
Who knows you

Happy Birthday dear Sis!

muah!!!

Luv ya, luv ya, luv ya!!

The choice

He placed one scoop of clay upon another until a form lay lifeless on the ground.

All of the Garden's inhabitants paused to witness the event. Hawks hovered. Giraffes stretched. Trees bowed. Butterflies paused on petals and watched.

"You will love me, creation," God said. "I made you that way. You will obey me, universe. For you were designed to do so. You will reflect my glory, skies, for that is how you were created. But this one will be like me. This one will be able to choose."

All were silent as the Creator reached into himself and removed something yet unseen. A seed. "It's called 'choice.' The seed of choice."

Creation stood in silence and gazed upon the lifeless form.

An angel spoke, "But what if he..."

"What if he chooses not to love?" the Creator finished. "Come, I will show you." Unbound by today, God and the angel walked into the realm of tomorrow. "There, see the fruit of the seed of choice, both the sweet and the bitter."

The angel gasped at what he saw. Spontaneous love. Voluntary devotion. Chosen tenderness. Never had he seen anything like these. He felt the love of the Adams. He heard the joy of Eve and her daughters.

He saw the food and the burdens shared. He absorbed the kindness and marveled at the warmth.

"Heaven has never seen such beauty, my Lord. Truly, this is your greatest creation."

"Ah, but you've only seen the sweet. Now witness the bitter." A stench enveloped the pair. The angel turned in horror and proclaimed, "What
is it?"

The Creator spoke only one word: "Selfishness."

The angel stood speechless as they passed through centuries of repugnance. Never had he seen such filth. Rotten hearts. Ruptured promises. Forgotten loyalties. Children of the creation wandering blindly in lonely labyrinths.

"This is the result of choice? the angel asked.

"Yes."

"They will forget you?"

"Yes."

"They will reject you?"

"Yes."

"They will never come back"?

"Some will. Most won't."

"What will it take to make them listen?"

The Creator walked on in time, further and further into the future, until he stood by a tree. A tree that would be fashioned into a cradle. Even then he could smell the hay that would surround him.

With another step into the future, he paused before another tree. It stood alone, a stubborn ruler on a bald hill. The trunk was thick, and the wood was strong. Soon it would be cut. Soon it would be trimmed. Soon it would be mounted on the stony brow of another hill. And soon he would be hung on it.

He felt the wood rub against a back he did not yet wear.

"Will you go down there?" the angel asked.

"I will."

"Is there no other way?"

"There is not."

"Wouldn't it be easier to not plant the seed? Wouldn't it be easier to not give the choice?"

"It would," the Creator spoke slowly. "But to remove the choice is to remove the love."

He look around the hill and foresaw a scene. Three figures hung on three crosses. Arms spread. Heads fallen forward. They moaned with the wind. Men clad in soldier's garb sat on the ground near the trio. They played games in the dirt and laughed.

Men clad in religion stood off to one side. They smiled. Arrogant, cocky. They had protected God, they thought by killing this false one.

Women clad in sorrow huddled at the foot of the hill. Speechless. Faces tear streaked. Eyes downward. One put her arm around another and tried to lead her away. She wouldn't leave. "I will stay," she said softly, "I will stay."

All heaven stood to fight. All nature rose to rescue. All eternity poised to protect. But the Creator gave no command.

"It must be done...," he said, and withdrew.

But as he stepped in time, he heard the cry that he would someday scream: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He wrenched at tomorrow's agony.

The angel spoke again. "It would be less painful........"

The Creator interrupted softly. "But it wouldn't be love."

They stepped into the Garden again. The Maker looked earnestly at the clay creation. A monsoon of love swelled up within him. He had died for the creation before he had made him. God's form bent over the sculptured face and breathed. Dust stirred on the lips of the new one. The chest rose, cracking the red mud. The cheeks fleshened. A finger moved. And an eye opened.

But more incredible than the moving of the flesh was the stirring of the spirit. Those who could see the unseen gasped. Perhaps it was the wind that said it first. Perhaps what the star saw that moment is what has made it blink ever since. Maybe it was left to an angel to whisper it:

"It looks like ... it appears to so much like ... it is him!"

The angel wasn't speaking of the face, the features, or the body. He was looking inside - at the soul.

"It's eternal!" gasped another.

Within the man, God has placed a divine seed. A seed of himself (A seed of choice). The God of might had created earth's mightiest... And the One who had chosen to love had created one who could love in return.

Now it's our choice.

Max Lucado

ANZAC's & Village of Villers-Bretonneux

At the small primary school in the French village of Villers-Bretonneux is an inscription which reads ''N'oublions jamais l'Australie'' (Never forget Australia).

''Many people may not remember what happened but no one will ever forget, not here, our nations are tied for life,'' says Frenchman Alain Martin, on a plateau surveying thousands of white headstones, many marking the graves of Australian soldiers, just outside the village.

On April 24-25, 1918, the village became the site of the world's first tank battle between the British Mark IV and the German AV7s.

But it was the heroics of Australian troops who won the day and were to forever to be remembered, with a dogged storming of the German trenches that eventually liberated Villers-Bretonneux.

The Australian push, led by a former bank clerk from Queensland, Brigadier-General Bill Glasgow, resulted in the loss of more than 1200 Diggers and for that the town vowed never to forget the sacrifice and to forever honour the men from a nation few locals knew anything about before the battle.

Most Australians know the Anzac legend as being that of the slaughter of Diggers in Gallipoli in western Turkey between April and December, 1915.

The tragic event epitomised the futility and brutality of World War I for Australia but also created a legend and ethos that today defines what it means to be Australian.

Three years later, almost to the day, another battle raged that perhaps only this year will gain the recognition and commemoration it deserves.

William Glasgow was as famous for his daring on various battlefields across the world as he was for being the man to defy the British military masters and, in the process, probably saving thousands of young lives.

At the very least, he saved his men. At the very most, he won a decisive battle that some historians have since claimed swung the war in the Allied favour.

The brigade fought many battles in the ensuing two years but it was at Villers-Bretonneux that it gained an almost mythic status.

The village had been captured from the British by the Germans with an attack using tanks for the first time. The British 8th Division believed the entire Allied line south would fall if the town was not recaptured and numerous attempts were made.

For the British, the village area represented one of its biggest defeats in military history, with 21,000 troops captured in the first 24 hours, including up to eight battalion commanders.

Thousands of others were slaughtered and the remaining troops were about to be pushed back across the Channel.

Then two Australian divisions, the other led by Brigadier-General Pompey Elliot, were moved into position. Glasgow inspected the proposed battle ground where his mainly Victoria-based troops would fight and die, before seeing British 8th Division commander General Heneker.

The men instantly clashed on the proposed tactics of where to begin the push and how.

''Tell us what you want us to do, sir, but you must let us do it our own way,'' Glasgow famously declared.

He also wanted to start the battle at night but the Briton preferred early evening despite the fact the Germans would see the soldiers amassing on their lines.

''If it was God Almighty who gave the order, we couldn't do it in daylight,'' Glasgow exploded at the British officer before they settled on a compromise of 10pm.

''The villagers could be heard calling from one house to another `Les Australiens' ,'' he recalls. ''A few minutes later . . . they began unloading their carts and their furniture was carried indoors again.

An old man said (to an Australian soldier), `pas necessaire maintenant vous les tiendrez' (we don't need to run; you will hold them).''

The fierce attack was a success and the flouting of the rules was later seen by historians as one of the most impressive operations of its kind that occurred on the Western Front.

''Without Glasgow's strength holding his point against the pressure of a hierarchy of commanders, the effort would have been futile.'' Bean claims.

''In the whole of history, we cannot find an army more marvellous in its bravery, and in the war there was none that contributed more nobly to the final triumph.''

French Field Marshal Ferdinand Foch added: ''Although our task was never easy, it was made less difficult by the patriotism and the passionate valour of the Australians, which served as an example to the whole world. That wonderful attack of yours at Villers-Bretonneux was the final proof, if any were needed.

''You saved Amiens. You saved France.

'Our gratitude will remain ever and always to Australia.''

Laughter Is The Best Medicine LOL

Victor and the Yucca Plant

One of my favourite comedies of all time is 'One Foot in the Grave.' Luckily for me on satelite TV there are re-runs so every night I ROAR with laughter at the antics of Victor Meldrew and his long suffering wife. This video only runs for 2 minutes so please DO watch and have a laugh LOL!

In fun

Marie heehee!

Is The Church a Democracy?

The Catholic Church has never been a democracy, not in the past, not in the present and not in the future. In fact the Church does not change to suit the times in this 'anything goes' generation. Most of the acrimony comes from a failed understanding of this essential fact, some may not agree with everything the Church does, but that does not give anyone free license to dissent nor question the Churches authority.

Catholic Church doctrine and Dogma's are not to be disputed; they are to be accepted with filial obedience to the Vicar of Christ and the Magisterium, anyone who does other than this would have to consider themselves above the Church. This can also be a problem within the Church as some Priests and Religious embrace a spirit of liberalism and try to introduce a 'new doctrine' to the Catholic Church. They do this by trying to make Jesus seem as if he is no different from all of us, they emphasise Jesus humanity and either disregard or totally ignore Jesus Divine Nature. In their efforts to make the Church and Jesus more relevant they have in affect made both `seem' irrelevant, for why worship a `man' who is `just like us'?

The modernistic trend in the Church cannot be solely and entirely blamed on our Priests or Religious, it is also to be shared with equal responsibility with the laity. We cannot complain about bad liturgical practices, if we maintain our silence in the presence of the Priests who espouse this `new(false)Doctrine'.

The true enemy of the Church is apathy and timidity of soul, when in fear of repercussions or a loss of popularity the laity maintain their silence, thereby giving the Priest its sanction to do as he wishes.

In matters of Liturgical correctness, whether it be in Latin or in the required language of the persons country ie; Norvus Ordo is not based on a `perfect language' but on a `perfect intent', that seeks to give all Honour, Praise, Glory to the Trinitarian God, through Worship and thanksgiving and receiving of The Eucharist & through the Sacraments of the Church. To suggest that the only valid Mass is the Latin Mass is faulty in that it disregards the Popes authority to proclaim what is True and acceptable in forms of Worship. For if language is the source of the problems encountered by many Latin Mass observers, then should the Mass not be said in Aramaic, as was spoken by Jesus and the Apostles?

In defense of the Norvus Ordo Mass, while many dispute its validity they are in essence being disobedient to the very Church they proclaim to obey. There has not been one Pope who has negated the Norvus Ordo Mass therefore those who do proclaim it as illegitimate must understand the implications of such faulty thinking. If the Norvus Ordo Mass is considered illegimate then all those who have received the Sacraments of the Church must be considered null and void including the Sacrament of Baptism and Marriage. What are the repercussions of this? That those Baptized are really not Catholic? Or that those who have been married are not legally married? This is why it is essential that we proclaim what the Catholic Teaches, rather than what we 'think' it should teach.

We need to truly recognise the `signs of the times' and then with prayer, speak the Truth irrespective of the cost to oneself, for what comes first, self preservation or Salvation?

Written by Marie

St. Augustine-Quote

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

The Mengele Syndrome-Abortion & Science

"This man is completely carried away; everything he says and writes has the mark of his egocentrism; this man is capable of trampling on corpses and eliminating anything that is an obstacle. I cannot understand how there are so many people in Germany who do not understand him, and cannot draw conclusions from what he says or writes. Has any of them even read his horrifying ‘Mein Kampf’?"

The above quotation is from Pope Pius XII who seemed to be the only man in Europe to understand Adolf Hitler's intentions from the beginning! This begs the question how was a whole nation deceived?

They were deceived because in the end people will believe what they want to believe and truth has very little to do with it. Adolf Hitler was not born with the title 'Der Fuhrer' neither was he born a monster, he became both of these in his short life. He was able to convince a Nation that genocide was the answer to all their perceived 'problems', how could he do this? Because the nation was ready to be seduced and they were.

The next step in Hitlers demonic plan was to convince the German people that murder was the ultimate solution to all their problems. But Hitler was cunning, he knew that the German peoples had to be de-sensitized towards murder, that it would become acceptable, but this had to be done little by little and drip by poison drip. Using stealth and seduction Hitler did precisely that.

Hitler began a programe of forced sterilization of those who were deemed 'mentally deficient.' After this success, he began the move towards enforced euthanasia of those deemed by the Nazi's as unfit to live, approximately 60,000 Germans died using this legal method of murder. These orders were made law and carried out from 1935 to 1939 before Hitler began the Mass extermination of the Jews.

Another ground breaking move made by Hitler was to legalize abortion as he stated with these 'enlightening' words, "In view of the large families of the native population, it could only suit us if girls and women there had as many abortions as possible. Active trade in contraceptives ought to be actually encouraged in the Eastern territories, as we could not possibly have the slightest interest in increasing the non-Germanic population." Should we be too surprised that almost 70 years later most Western countries also embrace that 'theory' and have put it into affect? That 'catholics' are also embracing this 'enlightened' way of thinking and like the Nazi's, genocide has also been sanitized into more acceptable terms such as Pro-Choice, and the baby is called a 'cell'. We are in this day and age living the Nazi ideal, some simply don't know it yet, they are too busy supporting this genocide of the innocents.

As the Germans threw out the Crucifix and embraced the Swastika should we not feel alarmed when within our own countries there are organizations which are attempting to ban the Crucifix from all Government buildings and institutions? Some have also taken the step to have the Ten Commandments removed. Who is frightened by the Commandments of God? Only those who are breaking them!

Just as in Nazi Germany it becomes dangerous when a country accepts evil as a good, and murders it's most vulnerable citizens, rather than live by their Faith which opposes murder.

In our own day we are living the 'Mengele Syndrome' where abortion is now legal in most Western countries. Where scientists perform experiments on human embryo's, as well as trying to create human life in a test tube. Is there not a move to use euthanasia as a viable alternative to end human suffering as well as dispose of those who are born with disabilities?

Have we not become what we hate?

When you listen to and vote for politicians who embrace the Pro-Choice platform you have become the enemy. You have been seduced into accepting murder as a right. When did God cede Power to man?

The most scary aspect is, that Adolf Hitler was not born evil, yet he became it. The entire German people were not born evil, yet they supported it. The worlds population at that time were not born evil yet they ignored it. When evil knocks at your door will you recognise it's dark message? Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI warns us with these wise words, "The more one understands the holiness of God, the more one understands the opposite of what is holy, namely, the deceptive masks of the devil"

How did Hitler murder over 6 million people, because he could. The question is did we learn from history or are we repeating it?

Written by Marie

Do You Hear Him?

Do You Hear Him?

The man whispered, "God, speak to me,"

and a meadowlark sang.

But, the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, "God, speak to me,"

and the thunder rolled across the sky.

But, the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, "God let me see you."

And a star shined brightly.

But the man did not see.

And, the man shouted, "God show me a miracle."

And, a life was born.

But, the man did not notice.

So, the man cried out in despair,

"Touch me God, and let me know you are there."

Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.

But, the man brushed the butterfly away...and walked on.

The man cried, "God, I need your help!"

And an e-mail arrived reaching out

with good news and encouragement.

But, the man deleted it and continuned crying....

Dont miss out on a blessing because it isn't

packaged the way you expect.

Expect the unexpected

Anon