Roe v. Wade - 40 years later . . .

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade when whole sale killing of the unborn was made legal. A week ago, a letter from the bishop was read from every parish pulpit. It dealt with the tragedy at the grade school with 20 children were brutally murdered. Where was the same indignation over the ongoing abortion issues? The letter had 'gun control' approval written between the lines. Where was the same desire to control the abortionist's tools of the trade?

What have we gotten from 40 years of legal abortion? We have  over 55 million dead preborn babies thrown away along with what they could have brought into this world. We have an average of an abortion every 94 seconds so by the time I write and proof this posting, two more babies will die a horrible death in the name of convenience.

I was talking to a 'catholic' obama supporter after Mass and his claim for the survival of the world was to do something about the water supply. He felt that if we slowed down the population, took care of the water problems, and then repopulated, the world would be a better place. I asked HOW he figured to take care of the population question. Abortion? Mandatory contraception? He smiled in the usual liberal complacent manner and said, "Education." With thinking like this among the Catholics . . . With the Catholic vote putting an adamantly pro-abort president in office . . . We can probably look forward to another 40 years of mutilated babies and unrealized potential being thrown away.

A friend said that we should include in our prayers a petition that the president and all anti-life people be given the gift of hearing the cries of the unborn they are allowing to die. You don't have to see the blood on your hands to know it is there.

Brave New World . . . or how bad can it really be?

Someone shared an interesting link with me this week. Some of the items covered in it have to make you wonder especially in the face of the overt actions we are 'allowed' to see happening in our government and nation. We are certainly in need of a time of prayer and reflection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyfkQkchlu4

The Challenges of Dining Out . . . and who pays?

In our family, eating out is a treat and since we all have likes/dislikes/allergies, I always felt it was up to us to decide on the eating establishment taking our own needs into consideration. If I were diabetic, I wouldn't snack at a bakery. If someone in the family was celiac, we'd avoid restaurants that specialized in pasta dishes. In other words, we would take personal care and attention to our needs and not expect a restaurant to do this for us. In this day and age, you can look up a menu on the Internet and go from there.

Today a college was successfully sued by several students because the cafeteria didn't offer enough in the way of gluten-free meals. They won and I don't find this too exceptional. If college students are living away from home and have reasonable ways of avoiding foods they can't healthily eat, then colleges should have some provisions for them. I don't know if the settlement was reasonable but the matter is settled and other colleges will probably look into this situation before they, too, are cited.

http://www.blisstree.com/2013/01/18/food/food-allergy-disability/

I think the fear now is that ALL eating establishments and fast food restaurants will now be under scrutiny and I don't think that is right. When one is enrolled and living at college, they have few choices about where to eat and some accommodations should be made for them. When one goes out to eat, they are making the choices and should not demand every restaurant to change their menu on the off chance they will get an order for specialized foods.

I have friends with foods they can't eat. What do they do? If they opt to go out to eat, they don't order that kind of food and eat around the menu offerings. Another family is on a super strict diet because of health issues. They pack a lunch or plan ahead on possible places that could meet their needs.

We recently went gluten-free for health reasons other than celiac. We don't look for restaurants to serve us specially. We just don't order items that aren't in line with what we want to eat. Some places are more accommodating about menu changes, others are not. We deal with it. We don't sit back and make unreasonable demands.

I do have to wonder about the possibility of people demanding a celiac's diet as a person with a severe case can't even be around the dust of wheat flour. How would they expect a fast food place to keep foods separate to that degree? Even with a full-service restaurant, you couldn't provide the safety that or a peanut allergy would require.

I think the world is getting to be rather spoiled. It is, however, easier to blame someone on an allergic reaction than take personal precautions to prevent one from happening.

Marriage - Husbands and their place in the home . . .

A friend shared some posts on a Catholic forum she was following. Among the many topics, one struck home for me because it seemed to adhere too strictly to the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.

 

The woman in the post was saying that we have to let men be men in all things. Husbands are the head of the home and should be in charge of everything that makes a household function. I've heard this many times from other women who think I take on too much of what belongs to my husband in these matters. They are especially shocked that although I don't 'work', I'm in charge of my husband's paycheck in as far as paying the bills, doing the bookwork, planning for expenditures, and doing our annual tax returns. I've often been told I was not being 'womanly' and was lowering my own respect for my husband by taking away tasks that should belong to the head of the household. I find some loopholes in that thinking!

 

First of all, my husband hates bookwork and when we were first married and he was in charge, it wasn't good. I, on the other hand, have a talent for bookkeeping and taxes. I enjoy the process and don't find it a particular burden. We figure that he works hard to bring home the paycheck and leaving the organization of the budget to me as, in reality, I am closer to the trenches than he is on that score. We work at maintaining a savings account, he is always aware of what is available to spend, the bills are done in a timely manner, and it all goes smoothly. My husband doesn't feel he is being usurped of his head of the household status and I sure don't want to BE the head of the household.

 

I think that although God says the man is the head of the home, women often forget that we can't hide our talents under the proverbial bushel basket. We all live according to our talents and a family thrives when all talents are utilized for the mutual benefit of the family.

 

 

Please, sir, may I have some more?

 Griff got an unexpected treat - he happily accepted a cat food tin to lick out. Obviously, Griff felt it was an item that could be refilled . . . if one asked politely.

A New Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe!

 I'm still trying out new recipes without the help of wheat flour. Wheat certainly has a baking chemistry that isn't easy to translate into a gluten-free version. I am, however, discovering there is a whole, gluten-free world out there with a multitude of recipes, ideas, and help.

I was amazed to find a gluten-free cookie recipe on the Food Network site but it was evolved by Alton Brown (a favorite chef of mine!) so I knew taking a chance would be 98.9% safe and successful. It was! I couldn't believe how the cookies came out, the texture of the dough, and the final taste. Yes, you can tell there is something different about the texture but once the cookie is cooled down and you have a cup of hot tea at hand, you have no complaints!

Want to be adventuresome, try them - http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-gluten-free-recipe/index.html

St. Pio of Pietrelcina - great quote and reminder!

“Ahead! Courage! In the spiritual life, he who does not advance goes backward. It happens as with a boat which always must go ahead. If it stands still the winds will blow it back.” ~St. Pio of Pietrelcina