We finally found that God had in plan to sell our home in Maroa in May, and find a wonderful home just 3.4 miles from the clinic! That will keep the gas prices much more under control.
We are still praying, and expanding our ministry with Theology of the Body, and the Lighthouse Catholic Media CD's. The mission will change, as God shows us, and will then see how that works for the Kingdom of God.
:-)
That is our goal. Please pray for us that we follow what He wants us do to.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thanks and exciting news
We want to thank everyone who expressed condolences to us regarding Kelly's mom's passing. The prayers and support have been unimaginably welcomed.
And felt.
We also still took our little weekend away in Milwaukee, and it was a lot of fun. The kids got to play in the water lagoon, and we almost got to see the Basilica.... if not for the rain/ and time of day. :-)
And we will get the chance to be back in Milwaukee in December for a presentation on God's Plan for a Joy Filled Marriage.
We look forward to that.
And felt.
We also still took our little weekend away in Milwaukee, and it was a lot of fun. The kids got to play in the water lagoon, and we almost got to see the Basilica.... if not for the rain/ and time of day. :-)
And we will get the chance to be back in Milwaukee in December for a presentation on God's Plan for a Joy Filled Marriage.
We look forward to that.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Cat petting himself.
This is a great video of a cat who pets himself.
I hope this is more fun that not watching Tiger Woods.
I hope this is more fun that not watching Tiger Woods.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
I only want to see Tiger golf
So, why should we care about Tiger?
Unless you are the Dali Lama, you have at least heard of Tiger Woods. Even women whose husbands do not follow golf have heard of him.
Most people know him not just for his golfing abilities but also for when he made headlines when his car crashed over Thanksgiving weekend in 09, and it came out that he was cheating on his wife.
But, why should that matter? He was not hurting me, only his family, and the women with whom he was having affairs. You might think, "I just like watching him play golf. It's none of my business, right?"
Aren't those of us who say "What happens to Tiger's family is his business, I just want to see him play golf again", doing the same thing Tiger did with his family and the women he had affairs with? He was using them for his own pleasure, without respecting their dignity as human beings.
We say we want to see Mr. Woods, not because we feel compelled by his story, his longings, dreams, hurts and frustrations, but because we want to see him take over and win a golf tournament.
The golfing world is the same - they only want Tiger back because they are losing money. They just want to use him for their selfish reasons.
The sponsors also only want him to make money for them. They distance themselves when his 'image' is not helpful to them, but will take him back if he 'cleans up his image'.
But, the reality is that we can not control someone else, we only have charge of ourselves. In my own house, I have tried to manipulate my wife to do what I want....... you can guess how well that worked....and how that felt. And then later, how I felt when I realized what I had done.
We can tend to 'use' another person all too often in our world today, because we have grown up in a culture that teaches us that this is love. But, in reality, it is the opposite of love. Contrary to popular belief, the opposite of love is not hate - it is use. When we use someone as an object for our selfish pleasure - whether sexual pleasure, entertainment, or any other use, we do not love them. They are just a 'pawn' in our game of life.
We never like it when we are used that way, do we? That inner soul that knows we should not be used is what Pope John Paul II calls "the true dignity of the human person". That true dignity means that we are never meant to be used in this way. Every one of us is unique and unrepeatable. Imagine that - there are today 6 billion people alive, and going back 2,000 years, then 6,000 more, there have probably been 100 billion people on Earth. Even with all of these people, there has _never_ been anyone like you... ever.
God gives us unique gifts to be shared with each other- for His glory. But, we must never use another human being as a means to get to that end. When we do, not only do we hurt the dignity of the other person, we also hurt ourselves. We may not know it at the time, but we eventually we will.
That's why we should care about Tiger.
Unless you are the Dali Lama, you have at least heard of Tiger Woods. Even women whose husbands do not follow golf have heard of him.
Most people know him not just for his golfing abilities but also for when he made headlines when his car crashed over Thanksgiving weekend in 09, and it came out that he was cheating on his wife.
But, why should that matter? He was not hurting me, only his family, and the women with whom he was having affairs. You might think, "I just like watching him play golf. It's none of my business, right?"
Aren't those of us who say "What happens to Tiger's family is his business, I just want to see him play golf again", doing the same thing Tiger did with his family and the women he had affairs with? He was using them for his own pleasure, without respecting their dignity as human beings.
We say we want to see Mr. Woods, not because we feel compelled by his story, his longings, dreams, hurts and frustrations, but because we want to see him take over and win a golf tournament.
The golfing world is the same - they only want Tiger back because they are losing money. They just want to use him for their selfish reasons.
The sponsors also only want him to make money for them. They distance themselves when his 'image' is not helpful to them, but will take him back if he 'cleans up his image'.
But, the reality is that we can not control someone else, we only have charge of ourselves. In my own house, I have tried to manipulate my wife to do what I want....... you can guess how well that worked....and how that felt. And then later, how I felt when I realized what I had done.
We can tend to 'use' another person all too often in our world today, because we have grown up in a culture that teaches us that this is love. But, in reality, it is the opposite of love. Contrary to popular belief, the opposite of love is not hate - it is use. When we use someone as an object for our selfish pleasure - whether sexual pleasure, entertainment, or any other use, we do not love them. They are just a 'pawn' in our game of life.
We never like it when we are used that way, do we? That inner soul that knows we should not be used is what Pope John Paul II calls "the true dignity of the human person". That true dignity means that we are never meant to be used in this way. Every one of us is unique and unrepeatable. Imagine that - there are today 6 billion people alive, and going back 2,000 years, then 6,000 more, there have probably been 100 billion people on Earth. Even with all of these people, there has _never_ been anyone like you... ever.
God gives us unique gifts to be shared with each other- for His glory. But, we must never use another human being as a means to get to that end. When we do, not only do we hurt the dignity of the other person, we also hurt ourselves. We may not know it at the time, but we eventually we will.
That's why we should care about Tiger.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Marriage enrichment series "Married for life"
Kelly and I have been very excited to put together a series of presentations to help with our desire to stay married for life.
Why are we so 'awwe' when we hear about Canadian geese who mate for life? Or the African Angel fish? Or the Gray wolf?
Because our desires are to have that for ourselves.
If you are interested in a 'short course' in Married for Life or the longer version for us to bring to your church and parish, send us an email at drray-at- RamirezUniversity.com or call 217-620-3743.
We are very excited about this program and we are certain this is something everyone would be interested in hearing.
Why are we so 'awwe' when we hear about Canadian geese who mate for life? Or the African Angel fish? Or the Gray wolf?
Because our desires are to have that for ourselves.
If you are interested in a 'short course' in Married for Life or the longer version for us to bring to your church and parish, send us an email at drray-at- RamirezUniversity.com or call 217-620-3743.
We are very excited about this program and we are certain this is something everyone would be interested in hearing.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Theology of the Body
It is interesting to think about how our Bodies are supposed to Image the very Love of God. As we prepare for discussions on God's Plan for a Joy Filled Marriage, (btw - next day long conference in Quincy on November 14) We were listening to our mission priest at our home parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Decatur.
He had a wonderful take on paying attention.
It got me to thinking - how often do we pay attention to things in our every day life. Don't we just go by things we see all the time and not take a second glance?
What is it in your life that causes us not to enjoy the life of God's plan for marriage?
For me, it is those every day images, and as a man, it is many times the 'sex sells' image that puts forth the beauty of God's masterpiece in woman, and degrades the image to be used as a 'thing' for my selfish pleasure.
May God continue to help me, and all of us on our journey to understanding his glorious mystery of heaven.
He had a wonderful take on paying attention.
It got me to thinking - how often do we pay attention to things in our every day life. Don't we just go by things we see all the time and not take a second glance?
What is it in your life that causes us not to enjoy the life of God's plan for marriage?
For me, it is those every day images, and as a man, it is many times the 'sex sells' image that puts forth the beauty of God's masterpiece in woman, and degrades the image to be used as a 'thing' for my selfish pleasure.
May God continue to help me, and all of us on our journey to understanding his glorious mystery of heaven.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Weekend benefits presenters
When Kelly and I went to a conference on the Theology of the Body based God's Plan for a Joy Filled Marriage, we went to enhance our marriage, not necessarily intending to be sharing the message.
Boy, be careful if you give God a little opening, he'll change your heart.
Granted we don't do this perfectly, but I am certainly coming to see the difference understanding God's plan for us has made in my life.
It is that sacrifice of self - even if everyone is against you, that IS what the 'knight in shining armor' part is all about.
Our prayer is that our ability to spread this message is not hindered to much by our sometimes agonizingly pitiful ways to try to explain this message.
Boy, be careful if you give God a little opening, he'll change your heart.
Granted we don't do this perfectly, but I am certainly coming to see the difference understanding God's plan for us has made in my life.
It is that sacrifice of self - even if everyone is against you, that IS what the 'knight in shining armor' part is all about.
Our prayer is that our ability to spread this message is not hindered to much by our sometimes agonizingly pitiful ways to try to explain this message.
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