Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Thank You Sponsors



I have had 4 sponsors generously donate $155 for the local Walk for Life I will be participating in on May 8th. I originally set a goal for $500, but my new goal is to reach at least $250. If I can just get 5 more sponsors to donate $20 each, I will reach my goal. The money will go directly to our local pregnancy center and will ultimatley help save lives. Your support is very much appreciated.

Sponsor Me, Support Walk for Life

Thank you and God bless!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Reflections on C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity: Book 1 Chapter 1

The Law of Human Nature

Mere Christianity is a book based on a series of talks C.S. Lewis gave in which he tried, successfully I might add, to explain Christianity in the most basic and easy to understand terms. Christianity can be explained logically, and C.S. Lewis is one of the greatest Christian writers of all time because he was able to simplify the message. In this way, he surely reached the minds of many who may not have otherwise considered or properly understood Christianity. Mere Christianity is broken up into four “Books,” each of which have several chapters. However, each chapter is only a couple pages long, so it is very easy and reasonable to read more than one chapter in one sitting. I have currently only read through the first two “Books,” but it won’t take me long to finish Mere Christianity. It is an easy read and one I think all Christians would do themselves a huge favor if they read themselves. I recommend picking up the book at your local library or better yet buying the book so you can always have it around for reference. I plan to do a brief reflection on each chapter of the book. So without further ado, below are my reflections on Mere Christianity.

The first chapter in the first book of C.S. Lewis’ masterful writing, Mere Christianity begins by simply observing people’s behavior. C.S. Lewis was a master observer of humans and human behavior. At one time in his life he thought that Christians were nonsensical, but as he began to observe people and the environment around him he began to see that Christianity made too much sense. He was able to come to this realization primarily through his own observation and common sense. To begin his explanation of Christianity, C.S. Lewis first appeals to human nature.

Every person can reason that there is a Law of Nature. For example, because of gravity we know that if a person jumps up in the air he must eventually fall back down. We know this because it is easily observable. From our experience, we have seen people jump up and they always fall back down. This is a fact that all humans easily recognize and accept as fact. What is not quite so easily recognizable but equally real is the Law of Human Nature.

The Law of Human Nature states that there is some certain standard of behavior which all human beings know about and expect others to follow. When describing the Law of Human Nature, C.S. Lewis uses the example of two people in an argument. When two people are in an argument, they are trying to convince the other that their position is right and the other person’s position is wrong. Another analogy he uses which I find particularly apt, is that of boundaries in a sporting event. Take baseball for example. Both teams agree that foul lines are necessary in the game of baseball. Both teams know that a ball hit outside the boundary lines is a foul ball. It is essential to have these boundaries to maintain the integrity of the game. They may disagree whether or not a ball is fair or foul, but they do not question that the boundaries themselves exist.

What makes the Law of Human Nature unique to simply Laws of Nature such as gravity is that human beings have the freewill to disregard the Law of Human Nature. If a person jumps up in the air, he cannot simply choose to stay up in the air, he must come down. However, a person knows from the Law of Nature that it is wrong to steal something that is not rightfully his own, but can and does willfully disobey this law and steals anyway. This freewill is what separates human beings from other animals.

Further proof that the Law of Nature exists is that when we do sin, most often times we try to explain away our sinful behavior. We have a bad temper, but only because we had a lack of sleep. That is only one example, but just about every time we sin we try to explain our behavior. The very fact that we believe we have to explain our behavior is proof that we all believe in a certain standard of behavior which we know we should live. Some things need not be taught, but are simply known. This is the Law of Human Nature which is written on each of our hearts.

The final point C.S. Lewis makes is that all of us disobey the Law of Human Nature. So, the first two essential things we learn from this chapter are that there are certain behaviors we all agree upon to be the standard way we should all behave and that we do not in fact behave that way. These two ideas are essential foundational and factual evidence for Christianity.

God bless!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Walk For Life - Sponsor Page

Hello all,

I just wanted to let you know that yesterday my sponsor page had some technical issues. If you tried to make a donation but were unable to yesterday, please visit my site again today. The problem should be fixed now. If you have already made a donation, thank you!

God bless!


Walk for Life

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Prayer Requests

Shelly and I both have cousins in the military who will be deployed into war zones in the coming weeks. My cousin is going to Afghanistan and Shelly's cousin will be going to Iraq. Please keep them and all our military in your prayers. May they be protected from all harm and may they come back home safe and soon.

I also ask that you pray for all those who have lost their job. Unemployment remains high and several people are losing their job and it is a great stress on so many families. Please pray for all those who have lost their job or all those who are seeking jobs. Pray that they do not lose hope and that they will soon find employment.

Amen.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Walk For Life


I will be participating in a Walk For Life event on Saturday, May 8th. This walk is to help raise money for a pregnancy center in Woodstock named The Hope Center, which is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. They are not funded by the government so all of their funds come from charitable giving or private funds. They are going to be moving into a new facility soon and the proceeds of this walk will go directly toward helping fund the move. You can learn more about The Hope Center at their website. If you are interested in sponsoring me, I have set up a page where you can make an easy online donation.

Sponsor Me Here

I am trying to raise $500. Please help me reach my goal.

Thank you and God bless!

Friday, April 16, 2010

More Planned Parenthood Lies Caught on Tape

Can anyone really be surpised by this anymore? It's disgusting to know that our tax dollars go to this deceitful and deadly organization.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

The Invention of Lying: A Brief Movie Review

The Invention of Lying is sacrilegious, anti-Christian garbage that should be avoided at all costs. The basic plot of this "comedy" movie is that there is a world where everyone tells the truth and whatever is on their mind. As a result, everyone is very direct but also very crude and rude. Not only do people have no ability to lie, they have no ability to filter their thoughts. Where this movie becomes really offensive though is when the main character Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervias) discovers how to "say something that is not." At first he uses this new "power" to steal money from a bank. He does show some restraint however when he had the ability to use it to use another woman, but the whole story is inconsistent and rarely funny. The sacrilegious part comes about when he "says something that is not" to his dying mother. You see, in this imaginary world everyone who can only tell the truth thinks that when a person dies that is the end. It is an accepted reality in this unrealistic world. So when the main character tells his dying mom that there is an after life after death, he is inventing "fiction". Of course this is a huge revelation to the people who thought all their life that there was nothing after death. This is just the first of several cases where this movie takes a swipe at Christianity. He later makes fun of the Ten Commandments, etc.

Please don't be naive and think that since this movie is a comedy it is supposed to be lighthearted and absent of an agenda. Ricky Gervais, the main actor and co-writer of this film, is an outspoken atheist. He is trying to spread an anti-Christian message with this movie. I did not know what the plot of this movie was when we rented it, but I really wish we hadn't. I rarely find a movie so offensive that I have to make a post about it, but this one was that bad. Please don't support this garbage by watching it. There are a million things I can think of that would be better use of our time. Unfortunately I sat through the entire movie. I hope that this post will prevent you from having to sit through the garbage I had to sit through.

I hope you all had a very happy and blessed Easter! Next weekend Julie will be 1 year old! We are very excited to celebrate her birthday, but we cannot believe that she is 1 year old already... well in one week of course. Please say a special prayer today for all atheists. If one thing was reinforced in my mind after watching this movie, it was that atheism is an extremely depressing way of thinking. Pray that these deceived people come to learn how foolish their disbelief in God is and that they might one day discover God in all His glory. God bless!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Obama Can't Name Favorite White Sox Player Growing Up




How embarrassing is this? The only thing worse than his first pitch at the Nationals opening day game was his answer to a very easy question by Rob Dibble. Obama gave his typical non-answer to a question. The only thing that's puzzling is that it was a softball question that should have an easy answer. It's not like it's controversial. Even a casual fan should be able to name one player on their favorite team. I find the video quite funny myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a glass of wine to drink.

Obama Throws Out First Pitch

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter!


Happy Easter! Today is a day of celebration! Jesus Christ has risen today! While Easter is a day of special remembrance of His resurrection, let us also remember his resurrection every day, and let this joyous occasion guide our lives. Below is an Easter reflection of mine.

"Jesus Christ has risen today! Hallelujah!" We hear this phrase so often on Easter, but do we fully grasp what this means? Do we understand the greatness of this event? Below in bold italics is a statement from our earthly shepherd Pope Benedict XVI speaking on the meaning of Easter.

"God exists: that is the real message of Easter. Anyone who even begins to grasp what this means also knows what it means to be redeemed."

God exists. Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection is proof that God exists because Jesus IS God. Once we understand this, we can better appreciate what He has done for us. On Friday, we felt great sorrow as we revisited Jesus' death on the cross. It is a painful remembrance of how we mistreated God. Jesus was beaten, betrayed, cursed, denied, falsely accused, scourged and ultimately crucified. Every time we sin against God, we are hammering a nail into his flesh. Despite all this, Jesus' death was necessary for our salvation because on the third day He rose from the dead. He defeated death and offered us hope of eternal life. He did this knowing full well that we are sinners. Before he died he said, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." That statement was not just for those who were crucifying him at that present time, he was speaking on behalf of you and me. Those words of forgiveness are not restricted by time. He has offered us redemption. We should all be eternally grateful for the passionate love God has for us and His Divine gift of Mercy.

Below in bold italics is the Opening prayer at today's Easter mass service.

"God our Father, by raising Christ your Son you conquered the power of death and opened for us the way to eternal life. Let our celebration today raise us up and renew our lives by the Spirit that is within us. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

Take special mention of the phrase "opened for us the way to eternal life." If you notice, it does not say that by raising Christ your Son we all now have eternal life. Jesus' resurrection is not a free ticket to heaven. He has opened for us the way to eternal life. He has given us hope for eternal life. This is a great gift that he has given to us, but we must open and accept that gift. If eternal life was promised to all, how can you explain the passion of Christ? If we are all already saved, what need is there for redemption? God sent his only Son our Lord Jesus Christ to be the light of the world. He is our great example of how we are supposed to live our lives. He instituted the church and the sacraments to help us on our life journey. These sacraments also better prepare us for when our time on earth is up. Today we celebrate Christ's resurrection. We must bottle up this joy that we feel on this day and carry it with us every day. Jesus has offered us a great gift; a gift of eternal life. The only question remaining is will you and I accept this most wonderful gift? God bless!


Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Last Supper

Every Sunday at mass we participate in the representation of the Last Supper. Today, Holy Thursday, we reflect on that very important meal when Jesus turned bread and wine into his body and blood. It was at this time that Jesus instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood. Today I pray in thanksgiving for the gifts of priesthood and the Eucharist. I pray for all our priests and religious leaders. Also on this day, we remember how Jesus washed the feet of the apostles. The washing of feet was something only slaves would do, but Jesus washed the feet of his apostles. He asks us all to wash the feet of others, to serve others.

I'd also like to mention that there is a huge prayer campaign for tomorrow, Good Friday, between the hours of 12 and 3. Catholics are encouraged to pray a rosary during that time with intentions for peace in the world and the return of moral values in our communities and our nation. I encourage those Christians who are not Catholic and do not know how to pray the rosary to take some time to pray another prayer or prayers that they are familiar such as the Our Father. Of course it is widely recognized that Jesus' death came around the 3 PM hour. If you have time, I encourage all to watch The Passion of the Christ on Friday. This powerful movie does a great job in getting the viewer immersed in the passion of Jesus and is an essential viewing during this Lenten time.

God bless!