Fran's Blog

IS GOD TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING...???

Tue, 21 May 2013 07:00:19 -0700

I don’t know about you, but recent weather events and other catastrophes (earthquakes, volcano eruptions, sunamis, meteor events, droughts, floods, Benghazi, Boston, etc.) have gotten my attention...

Of course, God has always been the one I try to keep first in my mind and my life...!!!

Now, I’m not going into that area of THEOLOGICAL confusion about why good people suffer, I’m merely suggesting that many in today’s ‘MATERIAL WORLD’ are out of focus on the real important things and are missing out on the BLESSINGS God wishes to bestow on those who love Him...!!!

Of course, GOD DOESN’T CAUSE EVIL OR THESE RECENT TRAGEDIES...It’s not in His ‘JOB DESCRIPTION’...

THE EVIL ONE, however, may have a lot more to do with these tragic events than we give HIM credit for...Of course, his MO, THE EVIL ONE AND HIS LEGIONS, is to try to convince us that HE DOESN’T EXIST...

Through the mass media, particularly Madison Avenue (high tech advertising), and even through former believers, SATAN has many helpers these days...SIN IS VERY POPULAR...Even fashionable in some circles...

IS GOD TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING...??? If so.......WHAT...???

We need to face these events with HUMILITY AND PRAYER...Humility, by humbly going before the Throne of God and acknowledging our great need for Him in our lives, and Prayer, by lifting up the suffering and dead and their families and friends and imploring GOD’S MERCY ON ALL...!!! Please read the last verses of Hebrews 4...!!!

Also keep in prayer the many first responders and rescue workers that labor tirelessly at every turn...!!!

Don’t forget to tune in Friday for my regular Fran’s Friday Forum post on this same BLOG...!!!

DAYLIGHT SHAVING TIME...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 17 May 2013 05:07:33 -0700

The days are getting noticeably longer and the ‘BEARD’ of large government is getting much too long...!!!

It’s time to SHAVE...!!!

It seems that democrat and republican alike are reluctant to decrease the size of government...

Are they trying to achieve the building of an empire...???

Well, I and many others have had enough...It seems that big government creates more problems than it solves...AND at an exorbitant expense to the taxpayers...whose ranks are decreasing as we speak...!!!

What better time than now to reform and simplify our tax code...get rid of the IRS, which, unfortunately is scheduled to grow disproportionately larger because of Obama’s health care act, and simplify the entire system...!!!

Even locally, the school boards seem reluctant to cut manpower rather than protect programs which benefit students...while the local boroughs and townships find new ways to suck fees out of their citizens...

Trust me on this one...I came from an era where class sizes were 50 and above, discipline was both preached and practiced, and money for extracurricular activities was highly scrutinized...and before building codes were enacted there weren’t as many homes that fell into disrepair...

IN OTHER WORDS THERE WAS ACCOUNTABILITY AND FRUGALITY...AND...COMMON SENSE...

The old adage: ‘WHEN TIMES GET TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING’ seems to have been twisted by our modern day elites...into...’WHEN TIMES GET TOUGH, GOVERNMENT GETS GROWING’...

That just doesn’t cut it...

What does ‘cut it’ is shaving off a lot of ‘DEADWOOD’...remember that word...??? The BEARD OF GOVERNMENT HAS GROWN TOO LARGE AND SCRUFFY...!!!

Have a great weekend and PRAY THAT GOD CONTINUES TO BLESS AMERICA...!!!

ARE MEN AND WOMEN EQUAL...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 10 May 2013 04:16:21 -0700

ARE MEN AND WOMEN EQUAL...???

The debate on this question has yet to be answered to the satisfaction of EVERYONE...

Yes, our Constitution says so...at least that we were created by God as equals, and as such we were given certain inalienable rights by that same God...LIFE, LIBERTY, and THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS...as equals...BUT...

I asked myself recently how is it that so many of our serial murderers, rapists, terrorists, burglars, abusers, and others seem to be almost exclusively...MEN...!!!

But then I thought of ‘suicide bombers’ in the middle east...a MIXTURE of men AND women...

AND then I thought of the 55 million women since 1973 that have aborted the babies in their wombs (or the removal of the products of conception as some refer to abortion)...

THE REALITY OF THAT hit me square in the head.......WOMEN KILLING MEN AND WOMEN...MOTHERS KILLING potential mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandchildren, future scientists, nurses, doctors, ministers, priests, presidents, teachers, etc...

NOW...SCIENCE is fairly conclusive that LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION...The infant in the womb shares much from its mother and father.......but.......he/she has its own distinctive DNA, blood type, heartbeat, fingerprints, and BLOOD...

We know from history that science does not hold the answers to all our social problems and dilemmas...and science really can’t answer the question posed by the title of this post...

BUT...religion CAN...JESUS ‘SO LOVED THE WORLD’, came to earth, took the form of one of us, died for the sins of all mankind...thereby proving...

GOD LOVES US ALL...!!!

HAVE A GREAT MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND...!!!

THE CULTURE OF DEATH IS ALIVE...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 03 May 2013 07:53:00 -0700

Even though the MASS MEDIA isn’t exactly covering the GOSNELL case like professional journalists should, any searcher of TRUTH can’t help but be focused upon this great tragedy of social humanism...and right in our own neighborhoods...!!!

Actually the details of the case are so disgusting that a peace loving person is apt to shy away from following its progress on a day to day basis...

I was such a person, but out of a sense of guilt or fear of being exposed as an uncaring soul I decided to read the GRAND JURY REPORT on GOSNELL (I purposely leave out the title DOCTOR when referring to him because he deserves such disrespect)...!!!

And for any of my friends out there, I advise you NOT TO READ THAT GRAND JURY REPORT...

It contains such graphically disgusting and inhumane activities perpetrated on the weakest and most vulnerable among us that I couldn’t even explain it briefly to my wife without WEEPING PROFUSELY...

May GOD HAVE MERCY ON HIS SOUL and any who are engaged in like activities...!!!

What this case has done is underline how horrific a thing abortion can be to both mother and children...

It is time as a society that we let go of our OSTRICH MENTALITY that excuses the killing of 55 million babies and ruined the lives of scores of young women as if they just go away peacefully into the atmosphere and quietly cease to exist...

For example, in NEW YORK CITY alone, 40% of all pregnancies end in abortion, where the WOMB IS NOT SAFE for 40% of unborn babies...

TRUTH BE KNOWN...’BACKALLEY’ abortions are still being performed, but now they are done under roof and out of sight...EVEN OF OUR GOVERNMENT REGULATORS...!!!

I wish I could have written a more upbeat post, but I just had to share these thoughts...FOR THE BABIES AND THE MOMS...especially in this MONTH OF MAY dedicated to MOMS AND MOTHERHOOD...!!!

Have a great weekend and GOD BLESS ALL MOMS, living and deceased, and ALL THE PRECIOUS CHILDREN that they delivered to and for ALL MANKIND...!!!

SPRING FEVER...AND OTHER ALLERGIES...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:33:24 -0700

I apologize for the lateness of this post...!!!

No, I don’t have SPRING FEVER, but my allergies, which took almost 70 years to perfect, are kicking in...BUT...

That is not why my post is late either...

I was just released from the local hospital after a procedure to insert a stent into one of my coronary arteries to relieve a partial blockage...

What a way to celebrate a twentieth wedding anniversary...!!!

The good news is that THE LORD got me through yet another physical crisis, and the medical professionals said my chances of stretching my lifetime at least another ten years have increased by 80%...!!!

Well, SPRING is finally popping forth in our area...I’m surprised every year by the many diverse ways SPRING announces its coming...sometimes early, sometimes late, but always renewing and exciting.

Another thing about SPRING is how each year a particular species of life seems to ‘strut its stuff’ a cut above the usual...sometimes the dogwood, sometimes the azalea, sometimes the forsythia, and yes, even sometimes the COMMON LOVED AND HATED DANDELION...!!!

Well, have a GREAT WEEKEND, and enjoy all those pretty yellow flowers popping up through the lovely green grass of SPRING...!!! AND seek THE LORD in His beautiful CREATION...!!!

THE 'PALINDROMIC' POPE FRANCIS...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 06:08:37 -0700

A ‘PALINDROME’... is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of symbols or elements, whose meaning may be interpreted the same way in either direction...

A few examples: The girl’s name, ‘HANNAH’, the boy’s name ‘OTTO’, and the numerical sequence ‘12345654321’...and for the ‘studious’ Collegians among us: ‘Campus Motto: Bottoms up, Mac’...

And so, it struck me that our recently elected POPE FRANCIS was elected on March 13, 2013...31313...a particularly meaningful palindrome for students of numerology...as the numbers ‘1’ and ‘3’ carry with them much theological significance...

Now there is much to research or study in this, but this blog and this blogger are not going there...

Suffice it to say that God’s work or more precisely The Work Of The Holy Spirit overlooks no small detail...’GOD SO LOVES EACH OF US’ our hairs are counted...

And due to that quality, there are many ‘MIRACLES’ in our lives that are overlooked or plainly missed...WE NEED TO BE TUNED IN...

Pope Francis is TUNED IN...That is apparent just in the few public discourses he has made in just a little over the first month of his papacy...

I continue to pray for him...because these times and this world sorely need a HERO...especially one who exudes HUMILITY, COURAGE, and TRUTH...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

Fran’s Friday Forum...WERE THE MAGI REGIFTERS...???

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 06:53:14 -0700

WERE THE MAGI REGIFTERS...???

Over the recent Easter Season holidays I was watching one of the TV specials depicting the life of Jesus...

Later, while contemplating the scene showing the visit of the Magi, the three wise men from the East who came to Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth bearing gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh to be bestowed on the newborn ‘King Of Kings’...it dawned on me.......THE MAGI WERE ‘REGIFTERS’...

For those of you who don’t know about ‘REGIFTING’....... It is the ancient and often frowned upon art of giving to someone else a gift that was originally destined to be yours...After all, if Jesus were really THE KING OF KINGS and the Creator of all matter, then hadn’t those precious gifts of the Magi originated in the heart and mind of OUR CREATOR...JESUS HIMSELF...???

The difference between our regifting and the Magi’s is that theirs were given in Love and Faith and returned to their RIGHTFUL OWNER...It’s like that with all the gifts given to us by OUR CREATOR...They are all meant to be given away...In fact, Love isn’t Love unless it is given away...

Recall all those gifts we have received at Christmas time which have been collecting dust under our beds, in our attics, or in our junk filled garages never to be used or enjoyed that could have been given away...

O God, giver of ALL that is good, help us to be good and faithful stewards of ALL you have given us...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

Fran's Friday Forum...TIME TO CRY UNCLE...???

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:26:56 -0700

I don’t believe in QUITTING...I don’t admire QUITTERS...I believe in 'STICKTOITIVENESS'...!!!

That’s a word coined by the fantastic Sisters, Servants of The Immaculate Heart Of Mary, who formed me during the first eight years of my primary education...!!! To those wonderful Sisters I am eternally indebted...

But...The Sisters also reminded us often of God’s MERCY, and the need to keep HIM first in all things...

And now, the more secular our nation becomes, the more we NEED GOD’S MERCY...

Yes, we have brought our Country to the point of NO RETURN...

Our only HOPE now is THE MERCY OF GOD...!!!

No longer do I have faith in politicians, educators, academia, governments, media types, and the like...They have tried and failed...

Soooo...Is it time to CRY UNCLE...???

Noooo...What is needed now is HUMILITY...and large doses of it...IT IS TIME TO CRY 'FATHER'...

Humility comes from GOD...it is simply defined as TRUTH...

TRUTH can only be found in GOD HIMSELF...and tempered with His DIVINE MERCY...Where no one who asks is denied...!!!

Lord, have MERCY on our land, and lead us to THE TRUTH...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

WHY HOLY WEEK...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:26:16 -0700

Every year Christians are given the opportunity to celebrate the season of lent, a time of ‘sacrifice’ or reconciliation, culminating in the celebration of the EASTER MYSTERIES...The suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST...

The intent of our celebrations is not to reenact or recrucify Our Lord, but to commemorate, or bring to memory, those events of Jesus which accomplished once and for all time the salvation and redemption of the universe wrought by HIM...!!!

It is necessary, from time to time to renew or rejuvenate our Faith by such practices...

Recall how Peter, who himself denied that he knew Christ three times, unlike Judas who despaired and committed suicide, wept bitterly over his denial of HIS FRIEND, JESUS, and sought Jesus’ forgiveness...

It seems that Peter had a knack for ‘knowing’ that Jesus was closeby and capable of making ALL THINGS RIGHT...

And ultimately Peter exercised perhaps the greatest gift next to salvation that Jesus gave us...FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS...

In the spirit of Forgiveness and EASTER JOY, then, let us all prayerfully and reverently celebrate these SACRED MYSTERIES...May Jesus Christ Be Praised...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND and A GREAT HOLY WEEK...!!!

WELCOME POPE FRANCIS...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 06:53:56 -0700

These days of March, when we are reminded of the coming of spring as daylight lengthens and the winds of March signal the advent of warm weather and blossoming flora, also remind us of the final days of lent, winter, and the ongoing need of renewal, revival, and restoration...!!!

In the midst of all this ‘NATURAL’ changing, we have recently witnessed a changing of the guard in the Roman Catholic Papacy...

An unusual changing inasmuch as the change did not involve the death of our former Pope Benedict XVI, but his renunciation of the office and decision to remove himself voluntarily from authority over the world’s over 1.2 billion Catholics...

With the same humility and courage, our new Holy Father, Francis, will assume the oars of THE BARQUE OF PETER to steer our SHIP OF FAITH onwards and upwards as we continue to spread the good news that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD to a world hungry and thirsty for REDEMPTION...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

CHANGING TIMES...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 06:32:24 -0800

Change in most forms makes us uneasy...!!!

Human nature seems to be comforted by the STATUS QUO...!!!

Even if we suffer physically, mentally, spiritually, or emotionally, sometimes we seem to be able to tolerate these rather than welcome change to heal us...

I think the reason for this, for people of faith, is that WE BELIEVE IN AN UNCHANGING GOD...

Not a God Who can’t adapt to our needs or supply His graces to us, but a God Who is in CONSTANT AWARENESS of His Creation...

Respecting man’s free will, yet always desiring to establish a loving relationship with all people because of His great love for EACH ONE OF US, He is constantly sending out ‘Tweets’ calling us to CHANGE and become more like Him...

Here is His PHONE NUMBER: ‘Call to me, and I will answer you; I will tell to you things beyond reach of your knowledge.’ JEREMIAH 33:3

Yes, it is that simple...GOD LOVES US...THAT NEVER CHANGES...

Our response to Him: CHANGING TIMES...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

Fran's Friday Forum...MORE IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER...!!!

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:19:07 -0800

It was sometime in the early 1950’s...I’m not sure the exact date...BUT...

We were the first home on the block to get a TELEVISION...A General Electric table model with about a 10 inch screen...of course it was black and white television and we received only 3 broadcast stations...There was NBC channel 3, ABC channel 6, and CBS channel 10...Really...only channel 3 and 6 came in acceptably clear enough to watch without eye strain...channel 10 was a hit or miss toss up (depending on weather and antenna angle)...!!!

Dad and Mom often reminded us that the TV set, which weighed a ton, cost a whopping $500.00...corrected for inflation and today’s economy that would translate to about $5,000.00...maybe more...!!!

Of course programming was NOT 24/7...It began with a playing of The Star Spangled Banner at around sunrise...and gave way to a screen full of ‘snow’ after a similar playing at around 11 PM...!!!

Fast forward to year 2013...we have an infinite number of channel selections, High Definition color and 3D...screen sizes up to and in excess of ‘real size’, audio equalling the best concert halls, and 24 hour programming, not to mention DVR and internet offerings...!!!

In 1950, we all trusted any of the newscasts that were offered regardless of network...Today, you don’t know who to trust, if at all ANY...!!!

In 1950, telecasters upholded standards of morality, some written, some just understood, that made common sense...Today, even ‘state of the art’ PORNOGRAPHY is available...and even preferred by some...!!!

Looking back, there was a fair amount of trivial entertainment offered and not in brilliantly realistic color...you could take or leave much of what was offered...Today, money and sex seem to be the driving forces behind most programming, and ‘state of the art’ techniques are employed to GET YOU HOOKED...!!!

You can fill in the gaps in development between 1950 and now, but you will probably arrive at the same conclusions I have...MORE IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...KEEP GOD FIRST...!!!

GRAMMATICALLY SPEAKING...Fran’s Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:21:57 -0800

The message for today is KEEP HOPE ALIVE...!!!

I recall my early days in grade school when the dedicated and persistent nuns drilled into us the basic fundamentals of GRAMMAR...

Over and over we would diagram sentences distinguishing the various elements of the structure of our ENGLISH LANGUAGE...NOUNS, VERBS, SUBJECTS, OBJECTS, PREPOSITIONS, PARTICIPLES, ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, CONJUNCTIONS, etc...

I remember back then, and for many years after, thinking, ‘WHAT USE IS ALL THIS’...’WHY DO I NEED TO KNOW THIS’...‘WHO REALLY CARES ABOUT ALL THIS’...‘WHAT A WASTE OF TIME’...

I was wrong...THEY WERE RIGHT...!!!

As I look back on my life, I have been all of those elements at some time or another...YES, I have not only been NOUN...a person, place or thing...I have been VERB...when I was active...OBJECT...when I was ridiculed or called out for something...CONJUNCTION...when I made connections between people or places...PREPOSITION...when I was the why, what, or where...

In my actions I have been both ACTIVE and PASSIVE at times...

I can now thank the GOOD NUNS, not only for instructing me in GRAMMAR, READING, and ARITHMETIC, but for the FAITH, HOPE, and LOVE they instilled in us...

LET US KEEP HOPE ALIVE BY PUTTING OUR FAITH INTO ACTION...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

A GENTLE MEDITATION...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 06:01:32 -0800

I have often spoke of the late Pope (now BLESSED) John Paul II’s references to THE CULTURE OF DEATH...

For true Christians, that means our work is to convert our society into a CULTURE OF LIFE...

But...It occurs to me that THE CULTURE OF DEATH is ‘married’ to a CULTURE OF MATERIALITY, and the two of them make an unholy and irreligious alliance which attacks every vestige of CHRISTIAN MORALITY...

Communism, Pragmatism, Statism, Relativism, Hedonism, and other isms all contain elements of those two cultures opposed to CHRISTIANITY, and indeed, any other religion which seeks to follow the one true God of the Jews and Christians...

We must always keep God in the CENTER of our lives, Trust in Him to deliver us from evil, and keep always in the front of our minds the admonition and HOPE contained in that part of our CREED which reminds us ‘TO BELIEVE IN ALL THAT IS SEEN AND UNSEEN (VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE)’...And as we grow in age and Faith we recognize how vast is that reality of the UNSEEN AND INVISIBLE...

MAY THE LIGHT OF CHRIST SHINE IN EVERY DARK CORNER OF OUR LIVES AND LEAD US TO KNOW HIM AND FOLLOW HIM...THE TRUTH HIMSELF...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

PHILOSOPHY AND PRAYER...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:42:46 -0800

Last week’s post created an exhaustive comment string of well thought out and informatively created questions and comments...from both sides of the ‘gun’ issue...!!!

This week’s post, I thought, should be a kind of refreshing ‘mind break’, a kind of retreat from the front lines, a respite, a ‘laying down of arms’ for the purpose of renewing and rejuvenating our minds...AND SO...

In that Spirit I invite all who read this to meditate or think about the difference between a person’s PHILOSOPHY and a person’s PRAYER...

From the dictionary: PHILOSOPHY, 1. a pursuit of wisdom, a search for general understanding of values and reality by chiefly speculative rather than observational means: an analysis of the grounds of and concepts expressing fundamental beliefs 2. all learning exclusive of technical precepts and practical arts.

From my own definition: one’s gut feeling or attitude or beliefs about life...!!!

*******AND*******

From the dictionary: PRAYER, 1. an address to God or a god in word or thought; an earnest request.

From my own definition and the nuns that taught me: The lifting up of the mind and heart to God at the invitation of God...!!!

From a child’s viewpoint: Talking with God...!!!

*******NOW*******

Let me digress to one of my favorite and often quoted Bible passages on this Blog:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all your ways be mindful of Him, and He will make straight your paths.

*******THEN*******

If there IS a God, and using the gift of FAITH bestowed upon me by Him at my Baptism and nurtured over the years through His Holy Spirit, IN GOD I TRUST...

It is not my own intelligence that ‘gets me through a life that I only know little about’, but THE WISDOM AND DIRECTION OF THE ONE GOD OF ALL CREATION...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND as I pray:

Thank you Lord, God of all creation...for the gifts of FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, and ACCESS TO YOU...for the gifts of LIFE, BREATH, and HEALTH...for the gift of PRAYER through which we can COMMUNICATE with you...

Help us, Father, to put you first in our minds and hearts, and TRUST YOU IN ALL OF OUR WAYS...!!!

GUNS & AUTOMOBILES...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:57:43 -0800

In the wake of the tragedy in Sandy Hook the ‘KEYSTONE COPS’ in Congress are scurrying around using that chapter of Connecticut violence and misfortune as a ploy to rush through their ideas of just legislation to lay the ax to the head of the second amendment rights in the United States Constitution...!!!

Remember when one of their leftist henchmen suggested, "We should ‘take advantage’ of every tragic event’, or Never let a good Catastrophe go to waste"...

We hear repeatedly about ending ‘GUN VIOLENCE’.......Why just ‘GUN’ violence...why not ‘ALL VIOLENCE’...beginning with BULLYING in our schools and ending with MASS MURDERS and all the injustices that are violent in between...

Automobiles in the wrong hands can contribute to a lot of violence...you need to be instructed in the proper use and respect for a machine with such tremendous power...then you must have a 'DRIVERS LICENSE' (Unless you drive one illegally)...

Guns, similarly, can have as much or more significant power to do harm, and so need to be handled with extreme care and respect...

Making guns illegal will do little to prevent a potential criminal from obtaining them...as evidenced by the high rate of crime and gun violence in our major cities...!!!

Should we disregard any attempt to get to the root of the problem...???

By no means...background checks before gun purchases, restrictions on sales to mentally impaired persons, proper instructions on the use and respect of firearms in our schools, yes, in our schools...these things make sense...they are not politically motivated, but are aimed at attacking the ‘VIOLENCE PROBLEM’ at its roots...and have no political or hidden agendas...!!!

BOTTOM LINE HERE.......We have the right to keep and bear arms as protected by the second amendment of our Constitution; there is no such right to own or operate an automobile protected by that same Constitution.......The leftists or STATISTS, whatever you choose to call them, are out to GET RID OF THAT TIME HONORED SECOND AMENDMENT...!!!

*************************************

TODAY in Washington D.C. the annual ‘MARCH FOR LIFE’ will be conducted...

Despite what the secular media report, there will be over 100,000 people marching...Old & young, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, members of all races and cultures will be represented...members of blue states and red alike, and even some from other countries will show their concern and solidarity for the ‘RESPECT FOR LIFE’ from conception to natural death...

Our legislators would do well to PAY ATTENTION to what is said, prayed, and celebrated at this event...

Only THE TRUTH can truly mitigate VIOLENCE in ALL ITS FORMS...!!!

Thank God for the precious GIFT OF LIFE...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

Fran's Friday Forum...FISH AND CHIPS...!!!

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 06:40:07 -0800

When we were in grade school the nuns reminded us that ‘FISH’ was brain food, and even today nutritionists encourage the eating of fish as beneficial to good health, and if YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT...

LISTEN UP...

All the debate about GUN CONTROL, DEBT LIMITS, RUNAWAY GOVERNMENT SPENDING, LEGALIZED ABORTION, and THE NEW HEALTH ‘CARE’ LAW, etc., contain the same flawed logic which is running rampant in today’s society in America...

We have been taken over by THE MASS MEDIA, ACADEMIA, and THE INTELLIGENTSIA of our Country...basically, supposedly smart people who think they know everything and are always right...NOW...

I’m not saying ALL intelligent people or those with degrees and advanced degrees are the cause of all of our society’s ills, because many intelligent people ‘GET IT’, but I am saying that a significant nucleus of those INTELLIGENTSIA cause much of the problem that is wrong with America today...

Basically, the guilty ones are any of those to whom I refer that don’t subscribe to this passage from PROVERBS 3:5-7.......

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”

ENOUGH SAID...!!!

************************************************

Now about ‘THE CHIPS’...

There are POTATO CHIPS, CHIPS OFF THE OLD BLOCK, ICE CHIPS, COW CHIPS, CHIPS ON ONE’S SHOULDER and others...BUT...

The ONE CHIP I refer to here is CHIP KELLY, the former head coach of the UNIVERSITY OF OREGON FOOTBALL TEAM who is now the new head coach of THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES National Football League Team...

WELCOME, CHIP, TO PHILADELPHIA...!!!

What ‘DUCK’ would not willingly leave its nest to become an ‘EAGLE’...

Much success and great football accomplishments to you and your Eagles...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

SLEEPING IN THE RAIN...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:25:47 -0800

About a week before Christmas I spent a Saturday night at a SLEEP STUDY CENTER to be evaluated for any SLEEP APNEA problems...

And at the risk of this post sounding ‘FACEBOOKISH’.......Let me continue...

Now, anyone who knows me even slightly, knows that I can sleep or ‘nap’ at the drop of a hat...ANYTIME...ANYWHERE...Day, night, sitting, standing, watching TV, reading, praying...Well...

I’m sure you get the picture...!!!

In any event, at that pre Christmas sleep study I was only able to have recorded a little over an hour’s worth of sleep...NEEDING TO NOD OFF...I simply could not get my body to cooperate in the simple chore of SLEEPING...And boy was I tired...SO...

This weekend, I get to try it again...PART TWO...

Yes, they know I have a sleep problem, now they want to show me what to do about it...ala CPAP machine, etc...

While I wish you all a GREAT WEEKEND, please pray that this blogger’s body can rest itself and GET WITH THE PROGRAM...!!!

WAR ON...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 07:46:47 -0800

I’ve lived through so many attempts to end war, that this very serious social implication to defeat all that ails us is actually becoming HUMOROUS...!!!

There has been a WAR ON POVERTY, a WAR ON DRUGS, a WAR ON TERROR, a WAR ON KIDS, a WAR ON WANT, a WAR ON GUNS, a WAR ON CANCER.......AND NOW WE ARE ABOUT TO CALL FOR A WAR ON WEALTH...

Yet we still have WARS, GLOBAL UNREST, POVERTY, DRUG PROBLEMS, TERROR, CANCER, ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE, etc.......

What we need is a WAR ON WORDS...

I’m joking, of course...what we need more than anything is peace and quiet, fewer words spoken, and a REALITY CHECK...

After many years of formal education and blessed with an above average IQ level, I finally came to this conclusion: THE MORE I LEARN, THE LESS I KNOW, AND THE LESS I KNOW, THE LESS I NEED TO KNOW...

NOW, what has pushed me over the ‘INTELLECTUAL CLIFF’, among many factors, was this passage from The Book Of Proverbs:

Trust in The Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear The Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Honor The Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. PROVERBS 3:5-10 RSV

Some of my Mennonite friends believe that ‘LESS IS MORE’...

Maybe we need LESS GOVERNMENT, FEWER TAXES, SIMPLER LAWS, FEWER BULLIES, and FEWER WORDS.......

THEN, maybe PEACE WILL BREAK OUT...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

GOOD AND EVIL...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 28 Dec 2012 06:48:08 -0800

Ever since the beginning of recorded history we hear stories based on the INCORRECT dualistic belief of Good and Evil...

Many of these stories would lead you to believe that there exist two great motivators...GOOD AND EVIL...and more often than not they are given equal time and equal effect...BUT...

That is not what our Christian heritage teaches us...

We believe in ONE GOD...Who created everything that is from NOTHING...AND especially mankind in His own Image...!!!

Therefore He, Who, by definition, is ALL GOOD is far superior than any ‘EVIL INFLUENCES’...

Evil entered the world because of God’s gift of FREE WILL...God desiring that all return to Him voluntarily, not by force or threat of punishment...but some choose to reject him by free will...

Hence, we have ‘fallen angels’...or devils as we call them...’evil men’...those who refuse to accept God and His plan of Redemption...and the results of man’s evil behavior.......wars, floods, murders, catastrophes, hate, revenge, jealousy, scandal, lies, and the rest...

Our recently deceased Blessed Pope John Paul II, often referred to ‘two cultures’...The Culture Of Life and The Culture of death...seemingly setting up again the ancient but incorrect belief in DUALISM...

But what our beloved Pope was referring to were the choices set before us...the choice between GOOD and EVIL...and in many cases throughout the world we see evidences of The Culture Of Death alive and well...and ashamedly even flourishing...

But it is still in the control of man through the blessings and Grace of our ALL LOVING GOD to recreate our world into a CULTURE OF LIFE...

That is my prayer through this post, that is the prayer of Blessed Pope John Paul II, and that should be the prayer of ALL CHRISTIANS...TO RESTORE ALL THINGS IN CHRIST JESUS...

That is why Jesus came, that is the reason we celebrate Christmas, and that is the goal of every Christian seeking to follow Christ...!!!

MAY JESUS CHRIST BE PRAISED...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR...!!!

TAKING BACK AMERICA...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 21 Dec 2012 07:24:23 -0800

For more years than I care to count now I have witnessed my Country slowly drifting away from the Country I knew as a kid and as an adult trying to establish a wholesome family legacy...

After all, that is what the good nuns of the IHM taught us, that is what our faith led us to believe, and that is what all the mentors and role models in my life suggested was necessary to ‘live happily ever after’...(remember when all good stories ended on that note)...

If it’s not already too late, if indeed we have not already entered the slippery slope, IT IS TIME TO TAKE BACK AMERICA...

At first, I saw small things slipping away from ideal, then more important things seemed to go the wrong way, then it dawned on me that the communists main tactic was to TURN EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN...yes, to cause chaos and disorder.......the very qualities that are as far from a loving God as Satan and his ‘angels’ are...until now, it seems almost certain that Satan and his henchmen are winning the battle...

Now, we know that in the end Satan loses, but it can get awful nasty losing skirmish after skirmish until there is little fight left in us...

But maybe that’s the key...WHEN I AM WEAKEST, THEN I AM STRONG...The Lord says, ”My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”...

The more government grows, the more it becomes corrupt...Public servants no longer ‘SERVE’, they rule or lord over us...Role models and mentors are virtually non existent except perhaps on the silver screens of Hollywood or Sports as memories of times past...

What we need today is mentors and role models from among 'the common people', butchers, bakers, cashiers, teachers, policemen, lawyers, businessmen, and yes, even politicians and clergymen, to step up and assume those roles that have been relegated to myth and folklore...!!!

For the time being, the liberal media and their minions have America in their clutches, BUT...

Like THE PHOENIX, we, the lowly, shall rise up from the ashes...empowered by The Spirit of The Lord, to save our beloved Country from the hands of the powerful, uncaring, mongering, vocal minority, and return it forever to our children and grandchildren, and restore the ORDER AND PEACE OF CHRISTMAS WE ONCE ENJOYED in a Country highly graced by God Almighty...

Let us begin today by believing that A BABY SHALL COME TO SAVE US...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, as I Invite each person who reads this to hop on the bandwagon of TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS...MAY JESUS CHRIST BE PRAISED...!!!

WEEPING WITH NEWTOWN...!!!

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:08:27 -0800

In 1976 we lost our 5 year old son, Jeff...!!! Jeff died suddenly of natural causes...and my life was changed forever...!!!

Jeff was a beautiful blond headed child...we celebrated his 5th birthday just 12 days before his death...A day does not go by that I don’t think of him...He was my oldest son, and it was the second sudden and unexpected death we suffered in a 10 month period...my father dying suddenly in March of 1975 of a massive heart attack...

People of Newtown, listen...!!!

I don’t know how you feel...I don’t know how you will cope with the tragedy that has suddenly befallen you...I don’t know how long it will take for you to resume anything resembling normal lives again...

What I do know.......I wish to weep with you...I wish to comfort you in your loss...I wish to pray for your healing and for your strength to endure...I wish to join in solidarity with you and all who have lost children and loved ones prematurely...

The tragedy of Newtown will be the center of media coverage, much debate, much conjecturing, and much second guessing...

All this will help little to ease your pain, reduce your feelings of guilt, anger, despair, and will help little to restore your faith in God...

BUT GOD CRIES WITH US, for those lost were truly His children...they were lent to us for a time...but their period of purification has ended...and so now they are in the arms of a loving God where they will cry no more and they will want for nothing...

We will see them again, but their faces will shine as they radiate God’s love for them and for us...!!!

Please know that we will continue to pray and lift you up for consolation, and our prayers and thoughts will effect the changes we need to take place...!!!

Trust in God, and hold fast to him...

We will all weep together with you, as God weeps with us...!!!

God bless all involved in this tragedy...!!!

KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP, LOVE BUILDS UP...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:02:25 -0800

Knowledge ‘puffs up’, but love ‘builds up’...!!! 1 Cor. 8:1 RSV

It seems a popular ‘MO’ of many of this generation to think that they don’t have to build upon the invention of the wheel...that somehow, they can redefine and/or explain most anything by themselves, on their own...without regard or recognition of those who have preceded us...!!!

This tactic, at best, is typical of an inflated ego syndrome, of course, unless there is blame to be assigned, wherein, then, previous individuals or ideologies may be cited...!!!

Like it or not, we all make progress on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, upon the accomplishments, and yes, the failures too of all who have preceded us in life...!!!

That is precisely the meaning of GROWTH...!!!

The reading from First Corinthians supports the fact that this dilemma has been with us for millennia, perhaps forever...remember, in Genesis, when Adam ‘blamed’ the snake...!!!

When God created time, he intended mankind to make progress, especially after the fall of man, and the entry of sin into our world...to make progress and grow in forgiveness, reconciliation, repudiation of our wrongdoings...and eventually become perfect, loving beings, as our Heavenly Father is perfect...

Only Divine intervention and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ have accomplished this, not our own doing lest we should boast about it...and be guilty of the even greater sin of PRESUMPTION...!!!

Of course the secularists in our society seem content to scurry around trying to rationalize away any culpability for any wrongdoing we commit...We call that RELATIVISM...!!!

In our family life, in our business life, and in our private social life we must strive to ‘BUILD UP’ and not to ‘PUFF UP’...thus we will be fulfilling our obligation and duty to SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS, particularly during this season of advent and CHRISTMAS...

May God and His Mercy and Love cover us with His Divine Protection and give us The Joy of Christmas every day of our lives...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

RETREAT...RETREAT...RETREAT...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 07:24:45 -0800

No, I haven’t given up on my fight to get THE TRUTH out...It’s merely time for THE GASPARI BOYS annual spiritual retreat this weekend...!!!

This year, much as in previous years, the retreat is not coming too soon...!!!

I don’t see how any God loving creature can go through a whole year without some mechanism to rejuvenate his/her spirit...to step aside from the hustle, bustle, and confusion of the busy world in which we live...and allow some time for The God who made us to work in our lives and keep us on the right course to our eternal home...!!!

Several weeks ago, when asked if they wanted to attend this years retreat, all three young sons and one young grandson responded with resounding and enthusiastic yeses...

And so, this weekend The Gaspari Boys will be asking THE LORD to bless our families, our friend’s families, and all those in need of THE LORD’S healing touch...(who isn’t...???)...AND...

To share some quality bonding time with each other...all in an atmosphere of peace, quiet, and excellent nourishment...Oh.......AND EXPERIENCING THE WONDERFUL PRESENCE OF THE LORD...!!!

Simply put...We will PRAY AND EAT AND LISTEN...!!!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!

PARENT TRAP 2012...Fran's Friday Forum...!!!

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 07:36:37 -0800

Earlier this week Fox News Show host and outspoken conservative, Sean Hannity, made an analogy to explain the divisive nature that was displayed in our recent election...

We are a country split right down the middle...we are like two parents...one permissive, the other disciplinarian...

After reflecting on this analogy, it became apparent to me that Sean’s analysis had some merit...

The PERMISSIVE PARENT: Liberal, progressive, experimental, inclusive, relativistic, pragmatic, self-centered, superficial, spontaneous, controlling, impulsive, narcissistic...

The DISCIPLINARIAN PARENT: Conservative, traditional, values oriented, other centric, independent, ethical, virtuous, spiritual, sacrificial, self controlled, accountable, unique...

Please realize that the above comparison invites discussion, debate, and reflection, and is not intended to absolutely and accurately define the divide that currently exists in our populace...

Any attempt to CLASSIFY our citizenry is by definition DIVISIVE...and as such, is self serving, politically expedient, and ignorant of rugged individualism...

Which for years has been the hallmark, the benchmark, and the high water mark by which EVERY AMERICAN was described and assessed...

Extending these thoughts to the present, ALL ELECTED PUBLIC SERVANTS ought to be realistically fiscally responsible and courageously transparent enough to FIX WHAT IS WRONG in our country...

You get elected as a Democrat, Republican, Independent, Libertarian, etc., but ultimately you must serve ALL and decide what is best for ALL...THAT IS THE AMERICAN WAY...

Rewarding those who agree with you ideologically, appealing to classes, citing racism, segregating the populace into economic castes, and refusing to abide by proven principles all ignore about 50% of the electorate and is morally and politically self serving...AND IS ANYTHING BUT AMERICAN...

True public service demands ACCOUNTABILITY, RESPONSIBILITY, and TRANSPARENCY...And that seems to be a lost ART in the milieu of today’s politics...

THINK AMERICAN...AND...GOD BLESS ALL AMERICANS...AND...

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND...!!!