My favorite prayer---attributed to St Francis of Assisi

I've been praying this prayer every day....in addition to reciting it each week with my church family, I pray it at least once daily on my own.


Here it is, in case any of my readers are not familiar with the famous prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is discord, harmony;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The second stanza of the prayer really applies to my life right now. In spite of others' behaviors, I should seek to be a peacemaker, a consoler, someone who understands, someone who loves UNCONDITIONALLY ,  & finally a giver & pardoner.




My Jewish agnostic Mom always told me that ' two wrongs do not make a right.' Often I am guilty of inadvertently hurting others while reacting to my own anger & hurt.  It is human nature but NOT OKAY , to punish those who are associated in any way with someone who hurt me.  My goal is to do what Christ would do even in my own hurt, to seek pardon for others who injure me.  Often in interpersonal conflicts, others are deemed " guilty by association".


No one is perfect but Christ.


Amen.

Hey you, Mr Robertson

There is some " Quackery" going on regarding Duck Dynasty's patriarch  and his views on homosexuality today. When I turned on my laptop this morning and logged on to Facebook I was saturated with comments about what Robertson patriarch said regarding his views on homosexuality.

Now don't get me wrong: I totally disagree with Phil Robertson's views on homosexuality. I Totally think his views are errant. Several of my close associates and one member of my family are GLBT. My life is enriched by having these folks in it & I would not want them to try to " change" an essential part of their identity.

 But on the other hand, I will continue to enjoy the entertainment his show provides to me. I grew up among many men who look a lot and act very much like Mr Robertson. { If y'all think rednecks are conservative, come to where I grew up & meet my hillbilly kin and friends}  One does not need to agree with the star of any " reality TV" show to enjoy the entertainment value of said shows. I've read Phil Robertson's book, and I came away from that thinking that he { Robertson} tries to do what he thinks is right. Sometimes I found myself agreeing with his philosophies, and other times I think his views are rather extreme.

The bottom line is: we need not agree with Mr Robertson to appreciate his show. Similarity, we need not agree with Chik-Fil-A's anti-homosexual stance to enjoy the occasional sandwich from that franchise.

Live & let live.

Amen.

Googled Chrome & A blonde Black Widow.

I finally gave in to they hype & installed Google Chrome as my browser. To be honest, the only reason I did so was to use the photo-editing that ONLY is supported by Chrome.

Say WHAT?!

As an aside, here is a photo { taken by Best Dude} of yours truly all dressed for Boo At The Zoo yesterday. yep---I was Marvel's " Black Widow" .

Clearly I did not choose to gamble on " wash-out" hair color---so MY version of the Marvel heroine is a blonde.

I'm a HUGE " Avengers" connoisseur & my two favorite crime-fighting weirdos are Iron Man{Robert Downy Jr just makes  Tony Stark/Iron Man even more *YUMMY* to me & Black Widow.  As a feminist, I can appreciate how BW can kick-ass along with the male Avengers yet retains her femininity.

I usually do not dress for Halloween, but since I volunteered to staff the Relay For Life of Small Beach Town on Saturday I played along as one of my favorite Avengers. 

My autism , coupled with my natural introversion, makes it REALLY hard for me to chat with strangers, especially in a busy setting such as a zoo. But I "toughened up" { OOO-RAH} & challenged myself to spend two full days { Saturday & the Saturday prior} to passing out candy at the Relay booth. Guess what? It was FUN!  My goal is to break into more social situations with more ease. Normally I am all right among people whom I know ---it is finding myself among strangers that makes me want to find a rock under which to hide.

I did well for the 5 hours I was at the zoo. But by the time I arrived home I felt mentally AND physically tired. However, I am glad that I put myself " out there" in the community . It was a lot of fun. As a matter of fact If it were not for Mass this morning I would have gone back to the zoo today.

Anyhow, I do not understand what the hype is surrounding Google Chrome. In as far as I can tell, Chrome looks & operated just like the older version of Google.

That is all for today. Shalom, y'all.

Heir Watch & other strange pop cultural fascinations by we Americans

I just do not understand the fascination that some Americans have with the British royalty.

After all, did we not declare our independence from the British throne back in 1776?

Now don't get me wrong, I am happy for Prince William and the duchess. I can also understand my British friends' fascination with Baby Royal. Yet as an American I am befuddled by my fellow & sister Americans' desire to follow the members of the House of Windsor.

Heir Watch is just one pop culture phenomena that confuses me.

Another pop culture sensation that I do not understand is the popularity of TLC's "reality TV show" _Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo" What is so special about this " beauty pageant" contestant & her parents that she's known now by her silly nickname?  Granted, I cop to watching some silly " reality TV" { for instance, I LOVE A&E's _Duck Dynasty_} But I fail to understand the appeal of a reality show starring a spoilt 7-year-old child & her parents.  But again, I still fail to comprehend the popularity of the Kardashians. Can someone please tell me why these women are famous? Thanks. :O)

While we are on the subject of strange social phenomena, can someone please explain why " Flash mobs" occur & why  so-called " spontaneous" dancing by large groups of people in a public place is done at all?

Maybe my autism prevents me from understanding why " pop culture" is so intriguing to many people?  Perhaps I will seek out some scholarly research on the sociological implications popular culture trends.  I find that I understand social & personal behavior of humans if I view it from a more scientific point of view.