Unlikely Good Samaritans . . .

We all know the Bible story of the Good Samaritan who stopped and tended to the needs of the hapless traveler he found injured by the side of the road. By the time he got there, other people had gone by who should have helped but decided for one reason or the other that it wasn't their business. Their concept of human kindness did not extend to strangers that would upset the ordered balance of their day.

We ran into such a situation one time, years ago. My husband was on his way to pick up our son from work. A huge pickup truck decided that merging onto the freeway didn't have to take into consideration cars already in the lane he wanted to be. The self-centered, lawless driver of the truck decided that bashing into my husband's much smaller car suited his purposes . . . and he did so. The impact sent my husband's car into the middle of the busy freeway, careened it off the middle divider and spiraled it back to the side of the road. Fortunately, the airbag bore the brunt and my husband escaped with a burned arm and the scare of his life.

Immediately, he got out of the car in case it caught fire and an ambulance that happened by, stopped and put a temporary dressing on his burn before they went on their appointed rounds. They also notified the police to come and take the report. The truck driver? He didn't even stop to see if he'd hurt/killed my husband! It was a very hot day so my husband was surprised when a woman stopped and had him sit in her air conditioned car until the police arrived. The police arrived, assessed the situation, made a report, and called a towing service. The towing service not only towed the car but dropped my husband off at our home which was very much out of their way . . . at no extra charge.

We didn't realize how much of a Good Samaritan story we had about strangers being kind and the people who were supposed to be Christian, ignoring the situation until the following Sunday. We were talking to fellow parishioners after Mass and relating the car accident and showing a picture of our totaled car. One woman said, when I showed her the pictures, "Oh, I know about your husband's accident. My daughter and her family (whom we know) saw him standing in the heat by the side of the freeway on our way home." I was shocked as this woman was the one who would pray the loudest at church, was super modest and always talking Faith to our pastor. Not only does it seem she hadn't taught her daughter the basic precepts of consideration, she, herself, couldn't be bothered to call me during the week to see if my husband was okay.

To this day, it has taught me that Christian behavior isn't how long and loudly you might pray or how often the pastor tells people how wonderful you are. True kindness is found in the trenches of life where it might be inconvenient but necessary to put our a helping hand.

St. Augustine always knows . . .

"Trust the PAST to the Mercy of God, the PRESENT to His Love, and the future to His Providence." -St. Augustine

Dinner of Choice - Fast & Easy!

So many times, we come home from a hectic day and think we do not have a single thing in the cupboard/refrigerator for dinner. Actually, for a simple, quick dinner, you'd be surprised to find out that you do have the means for fixing a good meal and your family just might eat it, too.

Any Way You Want It Frittata
8 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour*
1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted
1/2 cup cooked, diced meat - your choice!
1 cup cooked rice
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely diced onion
2 cloves peeled garlic, crushed and diced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1 tablespoon cooked and crumbled bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large frying pan with a lid, sauté the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil until tender. Set aside for the moment.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and flour. Mix in the defrosted vegetables, meat, rice spices, onion, garlic, bacon and cheese.

Heat the frying pan until hot but not smoking. Pour in the egg mixture and turn down to low. Cover with the lid and cook on low for about 20 to 25 minutes or until set and cooked through. It is low and slow on this to prevent burning.

Remove from oven and let set for a few minutes and then either remove from pan or just cut wedges straight from the pan to serve. Goes well with a green salad with a light dressing.

*Substitute the all-purpose flour for gluten-free flour if you are on a wheat-free diet.

Time is Running Out . . .

 Life can be frustrating. So many 'nibbles' about adopting these sweet kittens and none of the offers pan out and the babies get older and we are being forced to make decisions!

Two families 'wanted' the kittens and then changed their minds without telling us until we followed up on it. I wonder what God has planned for the people who dumped the kittens in another neighborhood for someone else to contend with and to free up their own, selfish lives?

We figure we have to do something soon as the kittens are getting attached to us (and we to them!), but we can't keep them. We already have a cat and two dogs and a house that we prefer to keep in order for humans. We kind of already know what we have to do but dread taking the kittens to the vet to be put down. Yes, we know it is a more humane way than taking them to the less than desirable animal shelter but knowing that we are signing them off is heartbreaking.

We are giving them another couple of weeks but their prospects seem bleak and we are very sad about this.

There is always hope . . .

In a world where life has been cheapened to the point that 'Christians' will vote for politicians who promote abortion, it is so overwhelmingly wonderful to see what a tiny, unborn baby can unleash in the hearts of caring people.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/hundreds-of-families-offer-to-adopt-baby-with-down-syndrome-slated-for-abor

Take a moment and consider this: From the priest who first approached the couple with a plea for the life of their unborn baby to each and every person who passed on the message and prayed, we were a united front for good and each had a part in saving an actual life. I can only think that dealing with God's Time in all this, that this baby is a wonderful lesson to us all in regards to the sanctity of life.

Do you have real friends . . .?

http://taylormarshall.com/2013/07/do-you-have-real-friends/

This is a great eye-opener about who you keep in your life and their actual relationship to you.

Something to think about . . .

We used to have a wonderful, practical, spiritual pastor who often reminded us that we have to protect and love our children. He said that a woman who abuses a child can never be considered a mother in the true sense of the word.

Today, I open up my e-mail and there are women protesting the 20-week limitation on abortions in Texas. They claim we have to preserve 'women's health' yet even as they sport their bright pink signs, women are dying from botched abortions and this is happening more in the post Roe v. Wade days since abortion at most any point in the pregnancy is allowable somewhere. Often, you hear about doctors who stretch the truth and go past allowable dates in order to 'preserve' a woman's right.

Abortion is a selfish solution to a problem most woman bring on themselves. Women's 'freedom' has evolved into sexual freedom and the results of sexual freedom can result in a pregnancy. People today want what they want when they want it so the decision to abort the 'problem' is easy . . . and selfish. They do not take into consideration the life they are erasing in order to pursue their life of immoral abandon.

Naturally, many men buy into this because they are having short-term relationships with all the benefits and often none of the responsibility. In order to stop the teen pregnancies, we give them contraception rather than education and a moral upbringing.

It is a sad world where a young girl who prefers to remain chaste until marriage is laughed at and ridiculed because she isn't like everyone else and 'enjoying' the freedoms of today. If they start having abortions when they are in their teens, what does that do to their attitude as they grow older? How will they  feel about motherhood when they so easily destroyed babies in the past?

Like our beloved pastor said, to be a mother, you have to act like a mother and a mother doesn't ever hurt her children in anger, fear, or selfishness.

The complexity of the situation for the liberal faction is interesting. A friend has a colleague who is adamantly in favor of abortion at any time as he supports a woman's right to choose. His wife is currently pregnant yet he resents my friend  referring to the expected baby as a fetus. Kind of heartbreaking and amusing at the same time as the colleague knows his wife is expecting a baby but any woman who doesn't want to expect a baby is only carrying a fetus. Where has the moral fiber of the country gone when the status of a baby depends on if anyone wants him/her or not?