Inner resources will save the day . . .

You must learn day by day, year by year to broaden your horizon. The more things you love, the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant about, the more you have left when anything happens.

- Ethel Barrymore

Do the math . . .

Debt added by the previous 43 United States Presidents - combined -

1789 through 2008

6.3 Trillion Dollars

Debt added by President obama

One term

6.5 Trillion Dollars

Leave it to Father Fessio . . .

Father Fessio has always been outspoken but he certainly made a point in a remark he presented at a recent rally protesting the obama mandate:

At the rally, Father Joseph Fessio of Ignatius Press told the crowd that when Obama was elected, “some people thought they were voting for a Messiah.”

“Last month, he performed a true miracle,” Fessio said. “He united all of the Catholic bishops in the U.S.”

Back to the Kitchen - Chocolate Cranberry Chip Cookies

I like mixing and matching flavors and it is always surprising what ingredients actually work well together . . . if only someone would try. This is a chocolate/fruity cookie that appeals to grown ups as well as children. As usual, it is a mix and match one in that being creative with your own choices won't hurt the outcome one bit.

Chocolate Cranberry Chip Cookies
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened - not melted
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup of chocolate chips, melted (measure the chips and then melt them.)
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside for now. Beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, extract, and cinnamon, and beat to thoroughly incorporate. Add the melted chocolate chips and mix. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients until well combined but don't over mix. Stir in by hand the white chips, walnuts, and cranberries.

Either vegetable oil spray the baking sheets or use parchment paper. Parchment paper works best for me. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about two inches apart to allow for spreading. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Let cool slightly before removing the baked cookies to a cooling rack.

For an extra-festive look, you can drizzle a glaze over the cookies.

Beautifully stated by Archbishop Robert Carlson - had to share!

Will You Stand With Me?

Archbishop Robert Carlson -  My brothers and sisters, we stand here today because of an alarming and serious matter that strikes at our fundamental right to religious freedom. The federal government – which was formed to be ‚of the people, by the people, and for the people‛ – has decided to tell some of those people that we are free to hold our faith, but we will be required to deny it in practice. We are here to let the government know that we will render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but we will NOT render unto Caesar what belongs to God!

In late January, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that almost all employers — including Catholic employers – would be forced to offer their employees health coverage that includes contraception, sterilization and potentially abortion-inducing drugs. This is in direct contradiction to the teachings of the Catholic faith.

Recognizing this as a grave threat to religious liberty, many people spoke out against the Mandate.

In response to this reaction, President Obama’s Administration announced a so-called ‚compromise‛ in early February. Now, instead of the Catholic Church being required to pay for contraception, sterilization and potentially abortion-inducing drugs, the insurance companies will be required to provide those services free of charge.

We need to say loud and clear: Mr. President, there’s no such thing as a free lunch! Contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs aren’t free. Someone has to pay for them. If the insurance company has to provide them, the cost will be passed on to the consumer one way or another – that’s how the economy works!

In other words, the so-called ‚compromise‛ didn’t change anything. Catholic employers – and the Catholic Church itself – will still be forced to pay for things that directly contradict our faith. Apparently we are free to believe, but not free to put our beliefs into practice. In other words, we have freedom of worship, but not freedom of religion.

Our ecumenical brothers and sisters are standing with us today as co- sponsors of this event, and I welcome them – the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, the Missouri Baptist Convention and the Assemblies of God USA. Their witness today says loud and clear: this is not about contraception. This is about religious liberty. Today, the government is telling the Catholic Church how to define its mission; the government is telling us which of our ministries are or are not ‚religious;‛ the government is telling us what teachings we can and cannot act on. Our ecumenical brothers and sisters know that if the government can tell the Catholic Church those things today, then it might be their heads on the chopping block tomorrow. They are here so that we can say together as one body: we will render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, but we will NOT render unto Caesar what belongs to God!

Most often the sacrifice required of us has been the ‘white martyrdom’ of a life that is faithful to the Gospel rather than faithful to the culture. But the time has come when we must be prepared for extraordinary sacrifices as well. And that’s precisely what Jesus himself promised us and told us to expect:

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them:, Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. (Mk 8:34; Mt 16:24; Lk 9: 23)

I am convinced that taking up the cross is the way to life. I am convinced that ‘before the cross there is no defense.’ I am convinced that Jesus won victory on the cross, and that he will win victory in us if we take up our cross and follow him.

Will you stand with me and say ‚Jesus, I will take up my cross and follow You‛?

Will you stand with me and say: Mr. President, we cannot comply with this Mandate. We WILL render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar; but we will NOT render unto Caesar what belongs to God. Mr President: restore our religious freedom!

Brothers and sisters: we must be prepared to suffer for our convictions.

But our faith tells us – and history shows us – that suffering will make our witness grow stronger. With that conviction, let us recall the words of EITHER Saint Paul to the Romans OR St. Peter:

I urge you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you, as if something strange were happening to you. But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when His glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you… whoever is made to suffer as a Christian should not be ashamed but glorify God because of the name. (1 Peter 4: 12-16)

Interesting history since 2008 . . .

Back in the stone age days of my school years, we were taught that everyone in the United States was protected under our Democratic government. We were unified in our Constitution but we had the right to worship as we saw fit as long as everyone was respected. The respect since the 2008 election seems a little one-sided to me. I wonder how the Catholic voters that brought Christians to this point in our country feel about that crucial vote now? After talking to a liberal in-law recently, sad to say, she was still intellectually blind to the situation and said her vote in 2012 will remain the same as her vote in 2008. A sign of the lowering of standards when politics come before matters of Faith. Even sadder are the people who don't research their vote before casting that ballot.

April 2008 – Obama speaks disrespectfully of Christians, saying they
“cling to guns or religion” and have an “antipathy to people who aren’t
like them.”

February 2009 – Obama announces plans to revoke conscience protection
for health workers who refuse to participate in medical activities that
go against their beliefs, and fully implements the plan in February
2011.

April 2009 – When speaking at Georgetown University, Obama orders that
a monogram symbolizing Jesus’ name be covered when he is making his
speech.
May 2009 – Obama declines to host services for the National Prayer Day
(a day established by federal law) at the White House.
April 2009 – In a deliberate act of disrespect, Obama nominated three
pro-abortion ambassadors to the Vatican; of course, the pro-life
Vatican rejected all three.

October 19, 2010 – Obama begins deliberately omitting the phrase about
“the Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence – an
omission he has made on no less than seven occasions.
November 2010 – Obama misquotes the National Motto, saying it is “E
pluribus unum” rather than “In God We Trust” as established by federal
law.

January 2011 – After a federal law was passed to transfer a WWI
Memorial in the Mojave Desert to private ownership, the U. S. Supreme
Court ruled that the cross in the memorial could continue to stand, but
the Obama administration refused to allow the land to be transferred as
required by law, and refused to allow the cross to be re-erected as
ordered by the Court.

February 2011 – Although he filled posts in the State Department, for
more than two years Obama did not fill the post of religious freedom
ambassador, an official that works against religious persecution across
the world; he filled it only after heavy pressure from the public and
from Congress.
April 2011 – For the first time in American history, Obama urges
passage of a non-discrimination law that does not contain hiring
protections for religious groups, forcing religious organizations to
hire according to federal mandates without regard to the dictates of
their own faith, thus eliminating conscience protection in hiring.
August 2011 – The Obama administration releases its new health care
rules that override religious conscience protections for medical
workers in the areas of abortion and contraception.

November 2011 – Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin
Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial.
November 2011 – Unlike previous presidents, Obama studiously avoids any
religious references in his Thanksgiving speech.

December 2011 – The Obama administration denigrates other countries’
religious beliefs as an obstacle to homosexual rights.
January 2012 – The Obama administration argues that the First Amendment
provides no protection for churches and synagogues in hiring their
pastors and rabbis.

February 2012 – The Obama administration forgives student loans in
exchange for public service, but announces it will no longer forgive
student loans if the public service is related to religion.

Quotes to bring a smile to the morning . . .

"An intelligence test sometimes shows a man how smart he would have been not to have taken it."
-- Laurence J. Peter

"The average, healthy, well-adjusted adult gets up at seven-thirty in the morning feeling just plain terrible."
-- Jean Kerr

"Nothing fails like success."
-- Gerald Nachman

"Anarchy - it's not the law, it's just a good idea."
-- Unknown

Wondering about attitudes and gratitude . . .

Events in your life should shape you. Your personal history should guide your decisions. I guess if you leave God out of the mix, the outcome can be warped. When our current president was conceived, it was to an unwed college girl. He survived in the womb those nine months simply because abortion wasn't legal then. Why doesn't gratitude for his being filter through in his push for harsher and harsher legislation towards the unborn? How can he deprive another unborn child of the benefit that saved him? They have all kinds of 'million' something or other marches on Washington DC. Perhaps, we should organize a million Masses said for Obama campaign.

Easy Noodles and other cooking ideas . . .

My college daughters do a lot of their own cooking at school. Cafeteria food helped them make this decision. Keeping this in mind, I have been passing on hints and ideas as I think of them and they felt I should share them with the world! Okay, for starving students and harried  mothers, here are a few of my ideas for staying full and productive while away from mom's home cooking.

Easy Noodles
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs

Beat up the eggs a bit and mix them into the flour. If the dough is too sticky or waterly, gradually add more flour, a tablespoon at a time. You want a workable dough not a lump that will last a lifetime! If the dough is too dry, use another egg and add it just a bit at a time.

Flour a surface and knead the dough until it is workable. Roll out as thin as you can get it, cut into strips and place on waxed paper. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add 2 teaspoons of salt, and one tablespoon of cooking oil. Add the noodles and keep stirring until the water comes back to a boil. Cook about six minutes, drain, and add to soup, broth, spaghetti sauce, etc. The noodles have lots of protein, are cheap to make, and taste good.

Side note: You can also deep fry these noodles for a tasty, crispy snack. Again, very inexpensive but impressive!

Chicken Soup
Several pieces of chicken, whatever is on sale.
One onion (the ends cut off and sliced in quarters. Don't worry about the skin)
Salt and pepper to taste.
16 ounce package frozen, mixed vegetables

Fry the chicken pieces in the bottom of a large pot until a bit browned. Add about six cups water, onion, salt, and pepper. Simmer for a couple of hours or in a crock pot for six hour until chicken is falling off the bones. Separate the meat from the bone and pull out the onion solids. Taste for more seasoning, add the vegetables, heat through, and eat. Hint: Homemade noodles taste very good with it.

Fast Apple Scrapple Dessert
4 green apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
Cinnamon & sugar

Melt the butter in a large pan and add apples. Stir and cook until apples start to get tender. Mix the flour and milk. You want a runny but not too thin a batter. Pour over the apples and continue cooking and stirring until the batter starts to brown. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar and cook a few minutes more to get the sugar to start melting in a bit. Eat!

Makes it sound so simple . . .

It's important that people should know what you stand for. It's equally important that they know what you won't stand for.

- Mary H. Waldrip