Fran's Blog

TIDBITS OF WISDOM...Fran’s Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 06:37:02 -0700

I’M SURE THAT OVER THE YEARS you have run into many TIDBITS OF WISDOM...!!! SOME YOU SAVE...others you may have forgotten, and some just knock you off your feet...WELL... AT LAST SUNDAY’S HOMILY (read: Catholic Sermon), these words clearly jumped out at me: “LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN LOVE IS PRESENT”...And they have been bouncing around in my mind all week... SIMPLE WORDS THEY ARE...BUT with profound implications... FOR EXAMPLE, WHAT IS LOVE, where does it come from, how do you get it, what do you do with it...??? USING THE WORDS FROM THE HOMILY AS AN ANALOGY...What is little...a seed...how does a seed grow...by watering it and caring for it...THEN WHAT...??? IT BEARS FRUIT...!!! MY CATHOLIC FAITH has taught me that everything starts with GRACE...AN UNMERITED GIFT FROM THE GOD WHO LOVES US...GRACE IS THE SEED OF LOVE...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND WATERING AND CARING FOR THAT SEED WHEREVER YOU GO...AND LITTLE WILL BECOME MUCH...!!!

BUSYNESS vs BUSINESS...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 25 May 2018 05:58:12 -0700

WHEN MARY & JOSEPH FOUND Jesus IN THE TEMPLE after SEARCHING FOR HIM for a few days, JESUS RESPONDED, “DID YOU NOT KNOW I MUST BE ABOUT MY FATHER’S BUSINESS...” LUKE 2:49...!!! THAT STATEMENT BY JESUS expressed clearly HIS MISSION IN LIFE, and THE ONGOING MISSION OF ALL OF US STILL SEARCHING FOR HIM... SOUNDS SIMPLE...Doesn’t it...BUT... OFTEN WHAT DETERS US FROM ACCOMPLISHING OR ACHIEVING OUR MISSION AND GOALS is THE BUSY-NESS OF THE WORLD we live in...!!! NOW...The world’s BUSYNESS is evidenced by CONFUSION, CONGESTION, CONTENTION, CONVENTION, and many other sometimes perhaps seemingly worthwhile activities...which clutter our daily schedules... THE WORLD...THE FLESH...and...THE DEVIL are the sources of our difficulty, and if we are to reduce their influence on our lives we must take up the proper ‘TOOLS’ to contend... PRAYER...GOOD and GODLY FRIENDS...SCRIPTURE READING...FREQUENT RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS...AND THE HUMILITY TO SEE OURSELVES AS WORTHY, YET SINNERS, CONSTANTLY IN NEED OF GRACE AND FORGIVENESS...ARE THE TOOLS IN OUR WORKSHOP...!!! IN ANY EVENT...If I make this seem simple I apologize...FOR THIS IS WHERE OUR TRUE BUSINESS COMES INTO PLAY...WORKING OUT OUR SALVATION WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING...DOING GOD’S WILL, NOT OUR OWN...THAT’S A GOOD THING...!!! IT HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID: ‘IF YOU’RE TOO BUSY TO PRAY...YOU’RE TOO BUSY’...!!! HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND...AS WE KEEP THE TOOLS IN OUR WORKSHOP WELL SHARPENED...!!!

JESUS AND LAUREL/YANNY...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 18 May 2018 06:55:03 -0700

BY NOW...all of us have been saturated with the LAUREL/YANNY ‘DEBATE/VIRUS’... AND WHETHER YOU HEARD ‘YANNY’, ‘LAUREL’, or ‘BOTH’...the point is... WE CAN ALL LISTEN TO THE SAME WORD(S), but WE DON’T ALL HEAR THE SAME MESSAGE...!!! AND AS A PRACTICAL MATTER, isn’t this the reason there are thousands of Christian denominations...ALL POINTING TO THE SAME BIBLE...??? WITHOUT GETTING INTO THE WEEDS ON THIS...A PARTICULAR PARABLE IN SCRIPTURE MAY SHED SOME LIGHT ON THE MATTER... IN A DIALOG WITH PETER, JESUS ASKED: ‘Who do people say that I am’...PETER RESPONDS: ‘Some say a prophet, some say Elijah, and some say John The Baptist’...AND JESUS THEN ASKS PETER: ‘But who do YOU say I am’...PETER RESPONDS: ‘You are the Messiah, The Christ, the Son Of The Living God...’ JESUS’ ANSWER EXPLAINS THE CONUNDRUM of LAUREL/YANNY...’Flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven’... HOW MANY TIMES IN SCRIPTURE do we hear JESUS INVITING, ‘Come, FOLLOW me’... ONLY BY CHOOSING TO FOLLOW JESUS, AND OBEYING THOSE IN AUTHORITY TO INTERPRET what we can’t fully understand on our own...ARE WE COMPLYING WITH JESUS’ final directive, ‘GO OUT TO ALL THE WORLD AND SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS’...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND and LET US ALL CHOOSE TO PUT JESUS FIRST IN OUR LIVES SO WE CAN CLEARLY HEAR AND UNDERSTAND HIS MESSAGE...!!!

WEEK IN REVIEW...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 11 May 2018 05:04:36 -0700

TAKING FRIDAY OFF...!!!...Not really...but it’s been a hectic week...!!! One son graduating last Saturday from Penn State with a B.S. degree...Proud that he accomplished it in just 4 years...!!! Older son living at home finally picked up his wheels after 2 weeks in the shop for engine repairs and new clutch... Got temporary broken tooth repaired Wednesday...setting up for future planned dental work... ZERO TURN mower broke down just as I prepared to mow our 2 acres...electrical problem...!!! CELEBRATED ASCENSION THURSDAY at WEDNESDAY VIGIL MASS...NOW... Headed upstate to help youngest son pack up his ‘stuff’ as he finishes his second year of college...to return home and his summer car wash gig... UNWINDING while ENJOYING the peaceful 2 hour drive through the beautiful and colorful Spring Pennsylvania countryside...!!! HAVE A GREAT MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND...CELEBRATING ALL MOTHERS and GRANDMOTHERS...LIVING AND DECEASED...!!!

MUSTARD SEED FAITH...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 04 May 2018 06:25:55 -0700

YESTERDAY, was our NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER...!!!This tradition goes back to the founding days of our nation...BUT... MAYBE SOME OF US have forgotten how to pray...SO... GOING BACK TO BASICS...If ‘PRAYER’ can be simply defined as ‘CONVERSATION WITH GOD’...THEN... IF WE TRULY BELIEVE or at least HOPE, or even in desperation cry out... IN A CONVERSATION WITH GOD...WHO WOULD DO THE MOST TALKING AND WHO SHOULD DO THE MOST LISTENING...??? HUMANLY SPEAKING IT’S relatively easy to come up with a typical ‘LAUNDRY LIST’ of petitions or needs to place at God’s feet, but, IF GOD IS TRULY PRESENT doesn’t HE ALREADY KNOW OUR NEEDS...SO... THE CHALLENGE BECOMES ‘mustering’ up enough faith to TRUST HIM IMPLICITLY...AND LISTENING MORE THAN SPEAKING...AND...IT DOESN’T TAKE A LOT OF FAITH (mustard seed size)...!!! A GOOD EXERCISE TO START OR HONE UP ON THIS WEEKEND...!!!

ZERO SUM or WIN WIN...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 27 Apr 2018 06:02:09 -0700

ZERO SUM is a mathematical representation of a situation in which each participant’s gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other participants...in other words...or more simply stated: a group or team is only as effective as its smartest member...BUT... IN CONTRAST...A WIN WIN situation geometrically effects its team or group by cumulating or adding together the gains of its members and offsetting in the same manner any losses...THUS: WIN WIN...!!! A TEACHER I had in High School...described WIN WIN in an odd and somewhat comedic fashion but perhaps more easily understandable and even more lucid: “TWO HEADS are ALWAYS better than one, even if ONE IS CABBAGE”... I’ve never forgotten that and have used the quote many times usually as a lighthearted quip...!!! IN EVERY JOB OR POSITION that I’ve held, It has always been my contention that if I taught and mentored someone with ALL THE KNOWLEDGE that I HAD...then, ultimately they should EXCEED MY COMPETENCE simply by adding their own intelligence and work experience to mine...THUS WIN WIN...NOT...ZERO SUM...AND... WHEN APPLIED to a GROUP OR TEAM, POSITIVE RESULTS ARE INEVITABLE AND TO BE EXPECTED...!!! THINK ABOUT THIS OVER THE WEEKEND AS WE ALL WATCH THE MIRACLE OF SPRING WEAVE ITS MAGNIFICENT BEAUTY, ART, COLORS, AND SHAPES IN A BURSTING ARRAY OF GOD’S CREATION...!!!

FOOD, FORGIVENESS, FRIENDSHIP, FREEDOM...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 20 Apr 2018 06:24:21 -0700

IF WE CAREFULLY REFLECT on THE LORD’S PRAYER, there are basically 4 things we ASK of THE LORD...FOOD...FORGIVENESS...FRIENDSHIP...FREEDOM... FOOD---Notice we ask for OUR DAILY BREAD...taking one day at a time FORGIVENESS---Conditioned on the premise that WE FORGIVE FIRST FRIENDSHIP---GOD, A TRUE FRIEND ALWAYS points us in the right direction FREEDOM---DELIVERED FROM EVIL, we are free to RETURN HIS FAVOR THE CROSS, the SYMBOL HE LEFT US, reminds us first of our VERTICAL DUTY...TO BECOME RIGHT WITH GOD...and then, our HORIZONTAL DUTY...TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR(S)...WE CANNOT DO THESE ALONE...ONLY WITH HIS GRACE...That is why we say ‘AMAZING GRACE’... SCRIPTURE REMINDS US THAT when He returns IN GLORY HIS CROSS SHALL LEAD THE VICTORY PARADE...!!! WE NEED TO CARRY WITH US EACH DAY...THE CROSS...To remind us to LIVE OUR LIVES AS JESUS, OUR BROTHER AND SAVIOR, EXPECTS US...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND FILLED WITH THE LOVE OF GOD AND HIS GREAT MERCY...!!!

EYES LISTENING...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 06:28:10 -0700

Yesterday, for over 4 hours, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held confirmation hearings for Director of The CIA, MIKE POMPEO to become our next SECRETARY OF STATE...AND... NEWS THIS MORNING...indicates a desire by some DEMS to NOT FAST TRACK HIS CONFIRMATION...YET... NEVER in the 4+ hour process were all the Committee’s members PRESENT at the same time...!!! NOW...I learned years ago, and have come to firmly believe, that 85% OF ALL COMMUNICATION is NONVERBAL... THAT MEANS, in order to render a judgement or decision based on TESTIMONY, to render that judgement fair and impartial, the TRIERS OF FACT must not only LISTEN, or read a transcript, but must scrupulously observe with their EYES AND EARS a person’s DEMEANOR, FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, MANNERISMS, TEMPERAMENT, POISE, etc., in order for their ultimate decision to be RELIABLE and TRUSTWORTHY...!!! YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS...!!! NOT ONLY THAT...but many of the questions posed to Director POMPEO, were irrelevant, were politically motivated, and were intended to sidetrack the confirmation...AND ULTIMATELY obstruct or delay the process...!!! SENATORS who are complicit in this effort are shirking their duty and taking lightly their sworn obligation to SERVE OUR COUNTRY FAITHFULLY...!!! OUR COUNTRY AND THE WORLD...can least afford this inept example of LEADERSHIP and GOVERNANCE...!!! PRAY FOR PEACE, BLESSINGS ON THE USA, and POLITICAL LEADERS TO BE GUIDED BY TRUTH AND SINCERITY...HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

MODERATION FOR MILLENNIA...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 06 Apr 2018 07:28:45 -0700

IN THE DEAD OF WINTER we complained, “How very cold and blustery it is”, and soon during the height of SUMMER we will be heard to utter words like, “It is extremely hot, humid, and sweltering out here”... BUT BETWEEN these two polar opposites reside the 365 days of the year...!!! The SEASONS CHANGE, but OUR GOD REMAINS THE SAME... THE LAST 50 or so days we have been asked to PRAY, FAST, and GIVE ALMS, but the next 50 or so days we will CELEBRATE THE TRUE MEANING OF EASTER... SEASONS are a gift of God to us who are still mortal humans to GRADUALLY ADJUST, or as THE CHURCH HAS TAUGHT FOR MILLENIA: TO MODERATE... THE MESSAGES OF CHRISTMAS AND EASTER ARE BOTH THE SAME: ‘GOD WITH US’...This is the message Jesus preached for 3 years, and still seeks to impart to all those who choose to FOLLOW HIM...HE IS NEAR TO EACH ONE OF US, AND NEVER LEAVES US...!!! THE DECISION IS NOT either/or, whether to FISH OR CUT BAIT, but rather, both/and, to WALK AND CHEW GUM...Let us then HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND MODERATING OURSELVES IN ALL THINGS...!!!

CAN FAITHBOOK BE TRUSTED...Fran's Friday Forum...???

Fri, 23 Mar 2018 06:39:21 -0700

LAST WEEK’S FORUM POST was ‘CAN GOOGLE BE TRUSTED’...THIS WEEK, based on the latest news, I could have written a post ‘CAN FACEBOOK BE TRUSTED’...BUT...There is something much more important here, and much more crucial to our everyday lives...!!! SO...I would like to use a little ‘poetic license’ and talk about ‘FAITHBOOK’...OR...as most people know it...THE HOLY BIBLE...AND...SUGGEST how IT SURELY CAN BE TRUSTED...!!! OF COURSE...THE BIBLE is THE CHURCH’S ‘USER’S MANUAL’...AND...as The Bible itself suggests, EVERYTHING THAT GOD HAS DONE is NOT included therein...NEVERTHELESS...THAT IS WHY, BOTTOM LINE, we are urged to GET TO KNOW GOD PERSONALLY... WE HUMANS are TRIPARTITE...WE CONSIST of PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND SPIRITUAL COMPONENTS...Humans seem to overly concern themselves with THE PHYSICAL and THE MENTAL, evidenced by increasing interests in physical fitness and self help sources, and overly neglecting THE SPIRITUAL SOURCE...THE VERY GOD WHO GAVE US LIFE IN THE FIRST PLACE...BUT...BECAUSE HUMAN NATURE NEVER CHANGES...THE BIBLE REMAINS TIMELESS AND STILL TIMELY...!!! OUR EMPHASIS ON THINGS SPIRITUAL SEEMS TO BE WANING...and often causes me to wonder if that is at the root of much of the recent chaotic human behavior as highlighted and sensationalized by the MAINSTREAM MEDIA...and...CONFUSED EVEN MORE ON SOCIAL MEDIA... WHICH LEADS ME TO QUESTION HOW WE HUMANS ARE BUDGETING OUR TIME THESE DAYS...IT MIGHT BE MORE ADVANTAGEOUS TO OUR OVERALL HEALTH if we were to SPEND MORE TIME IN THE WORD than on FACEBOOK...AND... WITH HOLY WEEK COMING UP...WHAT BETTER TIME TO REFLECT ON OUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH AND OUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP TO OUR LORD...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, A GREAT HOLY WEEK, AND SPEND SOME QUIET TIME WITH THE LORD...GET TO KNOW HIM...HE’S ALWAYS AVAILABLE...!!!

CAN GOOGLE BE TRUSTED...Fran's Friday Forum...???

Fri, 16 Mar 2018 07:43:04 -0700

Earlier this week I did a ‘GOOGLE’ search on a religious topic that interested me... It’s not important to this post that I get into detail except to say it took me until page 33 of my ‘GOOGLE’ search to find a source that I felt confident in that could be trusted... NOW...I don’t know much about ‘GOOGLE’ algorithms, other than they exist, but I know enough about MY FAITH, thanks be to God, to trust MY FAITH and God’s Spirit to lead me away from evil and guide me to TRUTH (JESUS IS THE TRUTH, He said so Himself)...SO... Let this post be a warning to all who read this...TO KEEP YOUR GUARD UP AT ALL TIMES...LEST, as SCRIPTURE warns: ‘...EVEN THE ELECT, PERHAPS, SHALL BE DECEIVED...’ MT. 24:24 WHEN I LOOK AROUND AT THE EVENTS depicted in ‘THE NEWS’, and see how MISLEADING and MISGUIDED many are who wander aimlessly searching for THE RIGHT SOURCE FOR TRUTH...and often ending up following the WRONG PIPER... I CAN’T HELP BUT THANK GOD FOR AMAZING GRACE, and a CHURCH FOUNDED BY HIM that SUPPORTS TRUTH...JESUS HIMSELF...AND WHOSE MISSION IT IS TO KEEP ME CLOSE TO HIM...AND ON THE RIGHT PATH...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND STAY CLOSE TO JESUS...AND HIS CHURCH...!!!

HALF A LENT IS BETTER THAN NONE...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 06:49:29 -0800

SO WE ARE NOW HALFWAY Through Lent... AND WHAT COMES TO MY MIND: ‘MISS OUR I’...yes...THAT SPELLS MISSOURI... AND YES...MISSOURI IS THE ‘SHOW ME STATE’... SO THERE IS STILL TIME TO show God How much we love Him...BY... BEING OBEDIENT TO HIS WAYS...!!! THOSE LITTLE SACRIFICES WE MAKE...giving up candy, giving alms, fasting, doing quiet good deeds, drawing closer to Him in prayer... THEY ARE SOME OF THE WAYS we deemphasize focus on ourselves...and emphasize focus on others...TRUE HUMILITY...’MISSING OUR I’... IT HAS BEEN SAID, “HUMILITY IS TRUTH”...Let us meditate on that these last days of LENT by FOCUSING ON THE NEEDS OF OTHERS and LESS ON OUR OWN NEEDS...!!! HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED WEEKEND...!!!

A CASE FOR JESUS...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 02 Mar 2018 07:05:30 -0800

I apologize for not posting THE FORUM last week...Being under the with severe stuffiness and a gout flare up...very weatherunpleasant...SO... In my regular daily prayer routine I AM RIGHT NOW IN ‘PROVERBS’... AS AN ASIDE...ONE CAN READ THE BOOK OF PROVERBS ALONE...and come up with all the solutions needed to solve the MASS SHOOTINGS dilemma which have occurred in our Country...BUT... AS WELL AS READING SCRIPTURE a little each day (this way takes 2 years to go cover to cover), I supplant my routine with excerpts from St. Francis DeSales’ classic: ‘INTRODUCTION TO A DEVOUT LIFE’, and this morning I read: “WHAT IS GOOD IN US, IS NOT FROM OURSELVES”... THIS GENTLE REMINDER, that the HOLY SPIRIT lives within us, should be what motivates our every good action...!!! WHEREVER THE HOLY SPIRIT RESIDES...JESUS IS PRESENT...Sometimes we keep JESUS IN CASE, JESUS IN A CASE, JESUS JUST IN CASE, and sometimes WE MAKE A CASE FOR JESUS... AND IN HONOR OF THE MEMORY OF BILLY GRAHAM, America’s Pastor, that is THE GOOD NEWS WE NEED TO SPREAD AS CHRISTIANS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WORLD... GOD LOVES YOU...!!! MAKE A CASE FOR JESUS, AND HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED WEEKEND...!!!

HOPE LESS HATE...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 16 Feb 2018 07:49:45 -0800

In the space of a short Blog Post there isn’t enough time to fully explore any particular subject adequately...Having said that, I and millions of other Americans, are trying to get our heads around what causes incidents like the recent school shooting in Florida... Let the politicians debate ad nauseum, additional gun controls vs mental illness concerns, etc...THEY GET NOWHERE FAST...!!! A LACK OF HOPE...rooted in HATE for those who think differently than we...is the root cause of all this disgusting HOPELESS behavior...IT IS NO ACCIDENT that the symbol we use for HOPE IS THE ANCHOR...!!! Looking back at the past shootings...schools, concerts, nightclubs, workplaces, and other similar events usually where large numbers of people gather...some of the perpetrators seem mentally disturbed, some are ‘loners’, some are seemingly intelligent individuals, so when looking for a COMMON THREAD...ALL SEEM TO LACK HOPE...They have lost their ANCHOR, or never really had one... AS HUMAN BEINGS, ALL CREATED BY THE SAME LOVING GOD...OUR PARENTS BECOME OUR FIRST ANCHOR DONORS, teachers are their extensions, and caring friends, relatives, and community members all contribute...THIS IS IN AN IDEAL WORLD... WE DO NOT LIVE IN AN IDEAL WORLD...OUR WORLD SEEMS TO HAVE LOST ITS ANCHOR...AS A NATION WE ARE FRACTURED, and HAVE LOST SIGHT OF OUR GOD...HE HAS NOT WANDERED FROM US...WE HAVE DRIFTED AWAY FROM HIM...BUT... AND THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS: LIKE THAT FAMOUS PICTURE OF JESUS STANDING AT THE DOOR INVITING US TO OPEN (note there is no latch on His side)...WE CONTROL OUR DESTINY...AND IF IT SEEMS EASY OR TRITE...HE MADE IT THAT WAY TO SHOW HOW MUCH HE LOVES US...!!! AS WE PRAY FOR THE VICTIMS IN FLORIDA, AND THE CONSOLATION OF THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS...LET US NOT forget our own anchors and the anchors of those around us...WE ARE our brother’s keepers...!!! HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED WEEKEND...!!!

UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS IT...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 08:03:17 -0800

UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS IT...THEY LABOR IN VAIN WHO BUILD THE HOUSE...!!! WITH LENT FASTLY APPROACHING...OUR LORD JESUS understood these words from SCRIPTURE, and we too should ponder them... AS JESUS WAS LED BY THE SPIRIT into the desert to be tempted by the devil... PERHAPS some of us are already in the desert and WE NEED THE SPIRIT TO LEAD US OUT...!!! SO LET US TAKE ADVICE FROM PROVERBS 3:5 ‘...On your own intelligence rely not...’, and make this our LENTEN CHALLENGE...TO LET THE SPIRIT LEAD US...!!! INSTEAD OF TRYING TO GET GOD TO DO OUR BIDDING, let us humble ourselves these coming days of LENT, and BEG THE LORD TO LEAD US... THEN AND ONLY THEN WILL WE EXPERIENCE THE REAL PEACE OF THE LORD...THEN AND ONLY THEN can we become authentic witnesses of THE GOOD NEWS... REMEMBERING...UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS THE HOUSE, THEY LABOR IN VAIN WHO BUILD IT...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND, and GET READY FOR LENT...WHICH BEGINS ON ASH WEDNESDAY...!!!

THERE IS A TIME...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 02 Feb 2018 06:12:11 -0800

EVERYONE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER has heard that famous 3rd chapter from ECCLESIASTES quoted or read: ‘There is an appointed time for everything...A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build...’ etc., From time to time it would behoove us to reread that entire chapter, and in fact, that entire book... WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE THEME OF THIS POST...VANITY OF TOIL...SELF CONTROL...SUBORDINATION TO GOD IN ALL THINGS...AND SO... WHEN WE SAY: “...and TO THE REPUBLIC...ONE NATION UNDER GOD...” THE KEY WORD besides ‘GOD’ IN OUR PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.......UNDER... IMPLIES that we are all UNDER the PROVIDENCE AND CARE OF OUR GOD...NO MATTER WHAT TIME IT IS, how old we are, what our status in life, whether we’re male or female, black or white, slave or free, democrat or republican, Jew, Christian, Muslim, or Atheist...!!! AT THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS LAST TUESDAY were represented...OUR PRESIDENT...HIS CABINET MEMBERS...THE FIRST LADY...OUR MILITARY LEADERS...SUPREME COURT MEMBERS...MEMBERS OF CONGRESS...HEROS...DISTINGUISHED GUESTS...MEDIA... EVERYONE IN THAT PLACE AT THAT TIME was UNDER GOD...AND WITH IT...CAME...A RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT AND BEHAVE APPROPRIATELY...SOME DID...SOME DID NOT...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND GO EAGLES...!!!

AFTER WE MAGA, THEN WHAT...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 07:09:27 -0800

I have been thinking recently about the above topic and praying to see it from the eyes of God and Heaven... 2 Corinthians 8:14 gives the clearest clue: “...at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality...” (NASV) NOW...some think ‘AMERICA FIRST’ is a selfish self-centered concept...BUT... THERE IS NO PROSPERITY where there is no GRACE...AND GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER... THAT IS WHAT IS SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE...IT’S ABOUT GRACE, not about GOVERNMENT AND LAWS...GRACE BUILDS UPON AND PERFECTS NATURE, and GOD CAN USE CAPITALISM...TO FEED, CLOTHE, and SHELTER IN COMFORT...THE ENTIRE WORLD...!!! PLEASE DON’T make any rash judgements about the above Scripture reading...before you ‘chew on it awhile’ and ask God to BLESS US AND THE WHOLE WORLD... YOU SEE, ST. PAUL was speaking to a small group of early Christians, but in reality God seeks to BENEFIT FAIRLY ALL HIS CREATION...The Church is much larger now and encompasses THE WHOLE WORLD...!!! SINCE GOD NEVER CHANGES...those words from 2 Corinthians 8:14 still apply...He was speaking to the CHURCH THEN and HE SPEAKS TO THE CHURCH NOW...WE ARE THE CHURCH...!!! LET GOD BE GOD and HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED WEEKEND...!!!

BUILDING VIRTUE...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 19 Jan 2018 06:34:35 -0800

If we are human we all have VIRTUES AND VICES...!!! OF COURSE, If we truly call ourselves ‘CHRISTIAN’, we should desire to follow CHRIST closely by building on virtue and diminishing our vices... NOW...no one is perfect, but we are told to STRIVE FOR PERFECTION...!!! IT IS NOT IMPORTANT to achieve perfection...it is only important that we AIM FOR PERFECTION... Years ago my daughter convinced me that mnemonic devices were useful...after much argumentation I finally conceded and have tried to incorporate mnemonic techniques into my regular life scheme...AND SO... FOR VIRTUE...I have come up with: Victory In Regard To Usual Events...and with a little help from MATTHEW KELLY’S writings...that translates into: ALWAYS DOING THE NEXT RIGHT THING... SOMETIMES it IS more important to focus on THE JOURNEY than the destination...!!! It seems much easier to grow in virtue by taking small productive steps than repeatedly attempting giant leaps...!!! We may stumble a bit at times, but we don’t crash as often...!!! SO...HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED WEEKEND as you PRACTICE YOUR VIRTUE BUILDING...!!!

LET PRESIDENT TRUMP BE TRUMP...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 12 Jan 2018 06:48:19 -0800

IT’S BEEN ALMOST a year now since Donald Trump has served as PRESIDENT...AND... There are still too many people consumed about his being elected president, and who would like to see HIM either impeached, denigrated, and/or unsuccessful...I CAN RELATE...BECAUSE... FOR EIGHT YEARS I had similar feelings about President OBAMA...BUT... PROCLAIMING MY CITIZENSHIP IN HEAVEN WAS PRIMARY TO MY GRATITUDE FOR BEING BORN AMERICAN...MY CHRISTIANITY FORBADE me to HATE PRESIDENT OBAMA...and indeed...DEMANDED THAT I PRAY FOR HIM...AND SUPPORT HIM...AND WISH TO SEE HIM SUCCEED...HUMANLY, nearly impossible, but SPIRITUALLY, feasible and rewarding... SO...I SAY...LET PRESIDENT TRUMP BE TRUMP...HATE IS NOT AN OPTION...!!! OUR SAVIOR DIED FOR HIM JUST AS HE DIED FOR EVERY ONE OF US...!!! TO FOLLOW JESUS IS to want to become like Him...THE WWJDers are right...WE MUST ACT AS HE WOULD ACT...DO AS HE WOULD DO...LOVE AS HE WOULD LOVE...AND... NOT ON OUR OWN so as to take credit for our actions, but ALWAYS GIVING HIM THE GLORY...THAT IS WHAT IS SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...AND...GOD BLESS THE EAGLES...!!!

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS...BAH HUMBUG...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 05 Jan 2018 07:01:48 -0800

I stopped making NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS decades ago... It was then that I first realized...THEY WERE A BIG WASTE OF TIME...!!! Oh, no doubt, my desire to improve over the past year was and remains a perennial instinct...as, I’m sure it does with most who read this...INSTEAD... I decided it was more practical and reasonable to take it ONE DAY AT A TIME...!!! That is when I began to notice the most improvement in my life...Oh...I’m not saying those around me would necessarily notice or certify or agree that I HAVE BECOME A BETTER PERSON...NO...But in my heart I was building a life on solid rock and not on shifting sands...!!! IT WAS THE SIMPLE THINGS THAT MATTERED... Recognizing and owning my personal flaws and shortcomings, admitting to my self and my God my imperfection(s), seeking HIS LORDSHIP over me and my sphere of influence, expressing my willingness to follow HIM daily and moment by moment, AND TRUSTING HIM instead of my own intelligence or feelings...!!! YES...No New Year’s resolutions, no preconceived notions, no goals too lofty to attain, just a simple RESOLVE AND TRUST to LET HIM MOLD ME into the best person I was intended to become...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND A GREAT START TO 2018...!!!

PERCEPTION IS KING...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 29 Dec 2017 06:48:51 -0800

YEARS AGO, between jobs, I spent a year or so selling ADVERTISING SPECIALTIES... THE INDUSTRY...THEN, was IRREVERENTLY referred to as ‘TRINKETS & TRASH’...HOWEVER... Within the industry there were PROFESSIONALS who SOLD THEMSELVES as experts in recommending PRODUCTS and METHODS that a customer could use to PROMOTE their businesses successfully using items WHICH CARRIED WITH THEM A HIGH PERCEPTION OF VALUE...SO... A ‘PEN’ imprinted with a customer’s info and logo became a ‘WRITING INSTRUMENT’...OR...an ordinary ‘KEY CHAIN’ became a ‘KEY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM’...YOU KNOW...Much like ‘GARBAGE COLLECTORS’ being referred to as ‘SANITATION ENGINEERS’...GET THE GIST...??? IT WAS ALL ABOUT PERCEPTION...PERCEPTION WAS KING...BEAUTY WAS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER...!!! IN A SENSE...EVEN IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD...BEAUTY IS KING...PERCEPTION IS KING...BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER...WITH ONE CONDITION... ONLY GOD JUDGES THE HEART...ONLY GOD BEHOLDS JUSTLY AND PERFECTLY...ONLY THE KING PERCEIVES PERFECTLY...LOOKING INTO THE HEART...!!! I wonder, sometimes, how accurate are our own perceptions of ourselves...!!! WE HAVE BEEN UNIQUELY CREATED...THERE ARE NO TWO OF US ALIKE...THEREFORE, we should go forth WITH GOD’S BLESSING...SPREADING HIS GOOD NEWS WHEREVER HE LEADS US... HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND A BLESSED AND HAPPY NEW YEAR...!!!

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LINUS...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 22 Dec 2017 06:43:44 -0800

Many of you, if you’re anything like me, thoroughly enjoy the CHRISTMAS SEASON...!!! I say ‘SEASON’ because CHRISTMAS is just too important to be celebrated in JUST ONE DAY...SO... For all of you who have favorite CHRISTMAS MOVIES to enjoy with family...or favorite ethnic food preparations to share with family members...or holiday decorating traditions...or traditional shopping excursions to finalize...or any other of the myriad CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS to perpetuate.......LET US NEVER FORGET WHAT IT’S TRULY ALL ABOUT AS BEST EXPLAINED BY LINUS of THE PEANUTS CHARLIE BROWN CLAN: NOTE: Just 'X' out of popups...DO NOT click on them...!!! MAY THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS BE WITH ALL WHO WATCH...THIS IS WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT...!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS...!!!

THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 15 Dec 2017 12:22:46 -0800

TWAS the week before Christmas...AND... I’m so into the SEASON OF CHRISTMAS that I can’t clearly compose an interesting post...NO KIDDING... BUT...in keeping with the SPIRIT OF FRAN’S FRIDAY FORUM...I’ll give it the old COLLEGE TRY...!!! BUSY AT WORK...BUSY AT HOME...BUSY EVERYWHERE...BUT getting very little accomplished...BUT HEY... Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be...aren’t we supposed to wind down from the humdrum and routine of everyday life..and gently slip into the SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS...Isn’t that what ADVENT IS FOR...??? CONTEMPLATING THE REASON we exist...The reason we are alive...the REASON FOR THE SEASON... FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD...HE... CREATED US TO KNOW HIM, TO LOVE HIM, AND TO SERVE HIM, in this world, AND TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM FOREVER IN HEAVEN... LOTS TO THINK ABOUT AS YOU HAVE A BLESSED AND HOLY WEEKEND...!!!

THE ART OF THE SHOESHINE BOY...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 08 Dec 2017 07:06:56 -0800

One of my greatest enjoyments is recalling many of the rites of passage that I was able to enjoy in my youth... AS MORE THAN A CASUAL OBSERVER OF ‘THE SHOESHINE BOY’...I can remember how many of those neighborhood ‘oneman’ operations IMPRESSED ME...!!! It may have been the first examples of a learned craft that I was fortunate enough to witness...IN FACT... UNTIL I REALIZED that SHOESHINING BOYS were merely an easy way to ‘make ends meet’ and raise some easy pocket change, and NOT a career path that most aspired to... NEVERTHELESS, watching the boys exercising their craft and working wonders on badly worn and scruffy footwear...transforming those cruddy weather worn leathers into shinier than new and gleaming works of art...could put Madame Tussauds Wax Museum to shame... AND THEY DID IT IN LESS THAN 15 MINUTES...and some, without the use of the usual cloths and brushes that are the usual tools of the trade...that’s right...they used their bare hands to apply, work in, and buff the various potions hidden in their homemade ‘shoeboxes’...producing almost miraculous results...!!! OH.......And at a cost of about 5 to 10 cents...plus a tip if their artwork highly impressed their customers...!!! I never asked how they rejuvenated their dark and waxy palms...probably with the same FELS NAPTHA brown soap everyone used back then...!!! IN ANY EVENT, unbeknownst to me at the time, those SHOESHINE BOYS helped to plant the seeds of a sound and industrious work ethic...for many years to come...!!! HAVE A GREAT AND BLESSED WEEKEND...!!!

WE NEED MORE SAFETY PATROLS...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 01 Dec 2017 06:54:02 -0800

When you try to figure out when and where things in America began to go awry...WHERE DO YOU START...??? I recall, back in 7th grade (over 60 years ago), being part of our school’s SAFETY PATROL...Of course, back in those days nearly everyone walked to school... I THINK NOW...WOW...Our school must have had a lot of confidence and trust in us to endow us with the RESPONSIBILITY that safety patrol duty entails...!!! NEVERTHELESS, it seems since that time more and more RESPONSIBILITIES have been assumed or taken back by adult authorities, school administrators, and various government branches thus denying many YOUNG ADULTS from developing PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY...!!! AND IF YOU DON’T LEARN IT IN SCHOOL, have you missed the boat on learning it in the workplace or real world...??? Back to my 7th grade story...I recall a few students being dismissed from their safety patrol duties for various reasons from ‘not showing up on time’ to ‘blatant disregard for traffic and/or safety rules’... NO ONE GOT ‘FIRED FROM LIFE’, it was a great ‘basic training’ opportunity to learn RESPONSIBILITY and EARN TRUST...AND.......learn at an early age that there may be consequences for negligence...!!! There is no moral to this story, just reflections on how this SHIP OF LIFE may have drifted off course...I’m sure you can think of many similar tales...take some time to think about it...!!! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND START GETTING INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT...!!!