Food for Thought

Feast of Saint Justus of Beauvais

This was sent to me by a friend (Thanks Jack!)

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave.More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?....

We just call him, "TV." He has a younger sister now. We call her "Computer."

I wrote Jack back to thank him for this reminder. He replied, "A lot of food for thought. I however am not of the "no TV in my house" school of thought. A TV set like a computer, like a machine gun, is an INanimate object. It cannot do ANYTHING by itself, and it can be used for good or evil. TEACH your children to THINK for themselves and only BAN something when they can't abide." I agree. In fact, we do not have cable, but do have a TV and watch it (we are LOST fans). But, I will admit I get lazy at times, and this is a nice reminder. Thanks again Jack!

South Dakota's Pro-Life Vote

Looks like Missouri has a comrade in arms. Let's not forget about our friends up north. This came in my inbox this morning.

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Let's pray for the people of South Dakota up over the next several weeks as the November 7th vote on the state's 100% pro-life law approaches. Polls are polls, but God can change hearts. Please pass this on to others and ask them to pray specifically for South Dakota in the coming weeks in preparation for November 7th's vote.

For those who can help in other ways: www.voteyesforlife.com (They have quite a nice campaign going on. Only if this passes in SD do any of the others states remotely have a chance of their own.

Lord, pray for the people of South Dakota up to you as they prepare to vote on the state's abortion law. Please soften their hearts so that they may receive the pro-life message in the next few weeks. Help them understand that You are the Author of Life, at all times, in every circumstance. Convict their hearts so that as they enter the voting booth on November 7th they cast their votes for life.

For those who have closed their minds and hearts to the Truth, place people in their lives as witnesses. Let the stories of the women exploited by abortion, the voices of the children spared death at the hands of an abortionist, and the testimony of those who have seen the destruction of abortion firsthand move them. Give them the courage to change their minds and vote YES on November 7.

Finally, we ask for abundant blessings on our pro-life friends in South Dakota.
Give them inestimable strength, endurance and wisdom in the coming weeks.
Let their light shine bright. Let their message of hope and love draw their fellow residents to them. Bless each one for their selfless efforts to protect the least of these---the preborn.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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Stem Cell Research Vote - What is printed on the ballot is misleading - For or against, be sure you know what you are voting on!

This is a HOT topic in Missouri right now. Whether you are for or against, you have the obligation to know exactly what you are voting on. What is actually printed on the ballot is VERY little - there is only so much room on the ballot. What is printed on the ballot, is very misleading to what the WHOLE Amendment says!

This may be a Missouri issue, but only for now. The nation is watching this closely. What happens when we vote in November, will have an influence on what other states will do. PLEASE pray for us! The supporters have MILLIONS of dollars - we are outspent. BUT, we can out-pray them!


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JILL STANEK, October 11, 2006 http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52389


Consider the iceberg, of which only the tip is visible.
Such is the SHORT Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative to be voted on next month. Beneath it looms a titanic constitutional amendment.

Amendment Two, as it is called, is a proportional Titanic. At five pages and 2,000 words, it is half the length of the entire United States Constitution. Its opening paragraph - conveniently omitted from promoter Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures' website - lists 45 sections of the Constitution of Missouri it would incredibly delete or change.

Amendment Two is also a linguistic Titanic. Crafted by researchers and groups with financial stakes in its passage, it is packed with convoluted legal and scientific jargon chopped up and buried in various places so it really says the opposite of what they say it says.


Why would Show Me State voters - of all voters in the land - agree to drastically alter their own Constitution to ends no one can predict, all to force speculative science experiments on themselves forever? Even without knowing Amendment Two's specifics, doing so would seem schizophrenic.

And specifically, Amendment Two is full of lies. Here are four whoppers:
1. "No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being."

In actuality, Amendment Two would force cloning on Missourians.
Crafters knew people overwhelmingly oppose cloning. So to authorize cloning while maintaining they were not, they simply changed the definition of cloning to say a clone isn't a clone unless implanted in a mother's uterus.This is like saying you are not you unless you are in your house. If you leave your house, you are no longer you. You are a thing. And if you are caught outside your house, you can be dissected and sold for parts.Crafters said while they banned cloning, they endorsed "somatic cell nuclear transfer." This is like banning the killing of humans but endorsing the killing of Homo sapiens. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is cloning. Google "somatic cell nuclear transfer" or its shortcut, SCNT. Look it up on Wikipedia. The embryonic stem cell/cloning industry's dirty little secret is they need to clone to stand any chance of making good on their hype. While embryos are unique humans with their own genetic codes that would make treatment matches difficult, clones are human replicas that would provide exact matches.

2. "No human blastocyst may be produced by fertilization solely for the purpose of stem cell research."

They want us to believe Amendment Two would make it illegal to create embryos just for experimentation. But another part of the amendment authorizes researchers to purchase embryos from in vitro fertilization clinics, which it would permit to create "any number of human blastocysts" Ask any Missouri university student about the recent proliferation of college ads offering big bucks for eggs by in vitro clinics, and recall the middleman concept.

3. "No stem cells may be taken from a human blastocyst more than 14 days after cell division begins."

They want us to believe Amendment Two would make it illegal to grow embryos older than two weeks for experimentation. The loophole is the amendment's dishonest definition of blastocyst, so while researchers may not grow embryos in petri dishes more than two weeks, they may grow embryos in uteruses indefinitely.

4. "No person may, for valuable consideration, purchase or sell human blastocysts or eggs for stem cell research or stem cell therapies or cures."

They want us to believe Amendment Two would prohibit the sale of embryos and eggs. The loophole is the amendment instead would let people and businesses receive "reimbursements for reasonable costs" not just for buying and selling but also for "processing, disposal, preservation, quality control, storage, transfer . and lost wages to the donor."

Why the push for Amendment Two?

Among other things, Amendment Two paves the way for Missouri public funding of embryonic stem cell/cloning research. This would:

1.. Let researchers keep patents for themselves, which they would have to share with private investors;
2.. Eliminate the need for results, which private investors demand (and is why they're not investing), and force accountability for wild promises;
3.. Let researchers keep any profits for themselves, which they would have to share with private investors.
Amendment Two also forbids legislators from overturning it.

If you don't believe me on all this, read and understand Amendment Two for yourself. And if you can't understand it, why would you vote for it?


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Victory won....victory lost? But the war is not over!

Feast of Saint Reparata




As you may know, Missouri has a huge vote coming up on stem cell research (which I oppose strongly! - By the way, I am all for ADULT stem cell research which has been PROVEN, but that is NOT what this amendment is about). My grandmother, whom I dearly love, was on the fence. I have talked to her about it, but it was my 13 year old son who finally convinced her - he even got her to put a sign in her yard (she is not a "sign" person). ...or so we thought..........

Yes, the "Vote NO" sign is still up, but today, he noticed she has two more signs in her yard, one of which is for Claire McCaskill! She is SUPPORTING the amendment! AND she claims to be CATHOLIC!!!!!!!!! In fact, she even says it on her "about" page" on her campaign;s website - even naming the churches she is a member of! And she supports ABORTION! Oh my! My heart hurts!!! When she says she is "Catholic", even mentioning the parishes she belongs to, well, that can be confusing - know what I mean?!?!?

This is why it is confusing when a so-called "Catholic" supports abortion, etc -

"1- If Claire is such a great Catholic, why doesn't she get married in the church now that her druggie X is dead and start attending Church regularly.2 - How did the Notre Dame High School, a private Catholic girls school in the city have $21,000 to be one of Claire's largest contributors. Something stinks here. Catholics have become the most selectively hypocritical group that exists"

(taken from http://thesource.typepad.com/thesource/2006/09/catholic_and_de.html)

Rally Time!

Feast of Guardian Angels

(Aren't you lucky! Two posts from me in one day! LOL!!!)

Yesterday afternoon was the Missouri Right to Life Annual Life Chain. We went. My son lasted the whole time (it was hot & sunny). My daughter ended up on the hill in the shade. My children worried about all of the cars that whizzed by, that seemed to ignore us. I pointed out all of the cars that slowed down. Besides, I told them, if we get one person to change their mind, then it was a success!

Oh, there was one little girl there that had a t-shirt that said "Former Embryo". I think all of us will get that shirt!

Anyway - here are my pro-lifers! BTW, my son said it should not be called "pro-choice" but "pro-murder". That's right, dear son! A friend said, "I think fewer people would not be "pro-choice" if they called it murder, like it really is."

The Unlimited Love of a Mom

Feast of Guardian Angels

Ok, so we have our indoor plants outside. Well, one day we see a caterpillar on one; the next day it was in a cocoon! COOL! Science experiment!!! LOL! We built a cage - cut out 2 windows out of a cardboard box & covered the openings with saran wrap, then put the plant & cocoon in there. I thought it had died, because it seemed it was in the cocoon for a week longer than it should have been - but I was wrong (first time for everything! LOL!) It came out this morning!

So, smart mom that I am, I thought I would take pictures. In the course of it all, the butterfly made a mad escape! In the process of stopping it, I knocked my hand onto it & stunned it. My daughter thought I had murdered it & started bawling. But once I got it back into its 'cage', it shook it off. So I take more pictures. It makes another mad dash! This time it succeeds! I have to deal with another crying episode from my daughter. She spots it in the tree. So with the help of a net, and after 3 tries with it flying onto another part of the tree each time, I finally catch it & save the day! My neighbor saw the whole thing & told her husband "Now that is love!" LOL!

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of the yet un-named butterfly.

Here is its former home, the pupa/chrysalis-


Here it is a few hours after its emergence-

The life of a klutz......

Feast of Most Holy Name of Mary

So, I am in my son's room (always a dangerous quest), when I stub my toe on a barbell. OK, "stub" is an understatement - I broke it. Imagine popping your knuckle with a jolt of electricity. I didn't go to the doc; what could he do that I couldn't? I taped the broken toe to the toe next to it and assumed I was on my way to recovery. That's where I went wrong - assuming. Last night I was carrying something up the stairs. No sooner had I stepped on that first step than I felt the snap and familiar jolt of electricity (by the way, I did not drop the object I was carrying). Yes, I had my toe taped, and yes, I had shoes on. After a few moments of deep breathing (remembered from a Lamaze class from several years ago), I finished my chore, then took pity on myself (though brief, as is the life of a mom). Even my dear son took pity on me & carried the rest of the items up the stairs for me. So now I sit here, trying to decide if I should see a doc this time - if for nothing else, than to show me how to properly tape the toe.

It seems broken bones run in the family. Three weeks ago my dear daughter broke a bone in her hand. She was walking her great grandma's dog when he decided to lunge up the back stairs, & she fell on them (but did not let go of the leash!) I thought she was being over dramatic, and gave her some ice to put on it. It wasn't too swollen, & she moved her fingers well. The next day (Friday), I thought it might be wise to have it looked at (even though she was in no pain by this time), especially with the weekend looming. The nurse practitioner did not think it was broken, but sent us for an x-ray anyway. Much to every one's surprise, it was broken! My darling daughter was quick to remind me, "And you thought I was being over dramatic!!!" She got a hot pink cast with a purple stripe (sure beats the ugly, white plaster cast I had as a child). She didn't like being limited in her outdoor activities, but she did not mind getting off kitchen duty (though her brother DID mind). She got the cast of yesterday, so all is back to normal! (Did I say "normal"? It is never normal around here! LOL!!!)