Unreality TV

If you’ve ever watched a reality tv show, you know that there is not much reality in it. The people involved are usually just looking for their moment of fame, and I hope and pray that they do not really act like this in real life.
Putting someone in front of a camera brings out their need to do or say something outrageous, to “ham it up”, or to do something they deem “spectacular”.
So why are people so fascinated with this kind of sensationalism?
Why is reality tv so popular?
My opinion is that the general public needs to know that there are people and situations that are more “messed up” than they are; people need to know that there is someone out there whom they can say “at least I’m not like that”….it makes them feel better about themselves.
Maybe they are bored with their lives, maybe they are tired of the mondaine routines that make up their days. Maybe it gives them hope for their own lives, their own trials and
struggles.

Well, while writing this piece, as Gods providence would have it, a story broke about a reality television star.
Finally, some reality on reality tv.

Reality TV Star Kourtney Kardashian Chooses Life
"I can't even tell you how many people just say, 'Oh, get an abortion.' Like it's not a big deal," says the star.

By Matthew Anderson
August 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) -
Kourtney Kardashian, the famous socialite and model, told People magazine in a recent interview that she considered having her unborn child aborted but changed her mind after reading about the traumatizing effects of abortion online.
"I looked online, and I was sitting on the bed hysterically crying, reading these stories of people who felt so guilty from having an abortion," Kourtney told David Caplan of People.
Kardashian, who is most famous for her role in the reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E!, announced last week that she was pregnant.
Though Kardashian openly supports abortion as a legitimate choice in her interview, she says that she wrestled with the decision, something she thinks not many people do.
"I do think every woman should have the right to do what they want, but I don't think it's talked through enough."
However, after researching the emotionally and physically devastating effects of abortion on women, she said, "I was just sitting there crying, thinking, 'I can't do that.' "
"I felt in my body, this is meant to be. God does things for a reason, and I just felt like it was the right thing that was happening in my life."
Further, Kardashian says she recognized that her motives for aborting the baby would have been selfishly driven. Kardashian, who with her sisters Khloe and Kim owns the clothing boutique DASH, said, "For me, all the reasons why I wouldn't keep the baby were so selfish: It wasn't like I was raped, it's not like I'm 16. I'm 30 years old, I make my own money, I support myself, I can afford to have a baby."
Disturbingly, though, Kardashian said a number of people advised her to get an abortion without much thought to the gravity of the matter.
"I can't even tell you how many people just say, 'Oh, get an abortion.' Like it's not a big deal."
Luckily she was advised by a friend to see a doctor, and the doctor encouraged her to research abortion online. He also told her that she would never regret having the child, but she might very well regret aborting it.

cast the first stone

A common objection that I have heard that turns people away from faith in God or at least keeps them from attending a Church on a regular basis is the fact that they know
“Christians” whom are no better than they are. The objectors contend that there is hypocrisy, evil, lack of faith and charity in the lives of “Christians” and their churches.
The churches are only after your money and control of your moral life.

I would have to agree that there are some “Christians” and some “churches” that are not living life in Christ they way they should. There are sinners in church!!!
There always have been, there always will be….Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners. (Mark 2:17)

I would also have to say that everyone will be judged according to their own lives. Like I tell my children, “don’t worry about what someone else is doing”, make sure you are doing what you are supposed to be doing.
To the objectors of Christianity I say, “YOU are the one that will have to pay the price in Hell, YOU will be the one suffering for eternity, YOU are the one that God entrusted your soul to.

With that said, we should also know that we are supposed to get our spouses and our children to Heaven. We should try to get others to Heaven, not by judging them, but with truth in charity. The Lord wants that everyone gets to Heaven, to be with Him.
Do not focus your attention on the weaknesses of your brothers or the weaknesses in
the church, focus your attention on the Lord.
Maybe then, others will see your example and want the joy in Christ that you have.
Maybe you will be a model “Christian” that others won’t see hypocrisy, evil, or hatred
in. Maybe then they too will want to attend church and live life the way they should.
We can only change the church and peoples view of Christianity starting one person at a time, and that one person is you.

Snap shots

I like to put family pictures on my desktop back-ground on my computer, although I’m not sure exactly why.
At work, maybe just to remind me of the way God has blessed me-- with a wonderful family and a wonderful life. Maybe also to let my co-workers into a different aspect of my life that they don’t know much about.
At home, we may do it for good memories, maybe fun times or silly looks. Maybe just because a picture is SO CUTE!!!!.

As I was at work this morning admiring my newest desktop image, I really got focusing on the moment. On the moment that picture was taken, on that moment in time that has passed and will never be (at least exactly the same) ever again.
It wasn’t that the picture was anything special or “the memory of a lifetime.”
It was just a normal, everyday picture, an action picture of us washing our car.

What struck me was looking at the people in it. The surroundings in which the moment was happening. The eyes and the expressions on our faces. I realized that this moment was maybe different for everyone. I know what I was thinking, and probably what was on the minds of my children, but, the picture seems bring even deeper thoughts, a deeper meaning.
One single second of our lives captured, seized; to study, to dwell upon, to make you realize all the moments that make up your life and how fleeting time can be.
It is surreal to look at something like that…a moment in your life that has passed, but was so real when it was being lived.
We should always remember that line from the Serenity prayer--- Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time --- we are always living moments, some memorable, some not so much, but the moments we live, are the moments of our lives that we will never get back.

I wonder if, when we are in Gods presence, and He is going back over our lives with us, it will be like looking at snap-shots of our life here on this earth.
I shutter at the thought of some of those pictures; not just the goofy ones or the surprise ones, but the ones in which He knows what I was thinking, what I was doing, what I was saying, what I was feeling.
We will all have to give an account of our lives on judgment day and the snap shots of the moments that seemed so insignificant will be there in Gods family album, awaiting an answer from us.

One-child policy

"For a prosperous, powerful nation and a happy family, please use birth planning." Government sign in Ninchin.

(From Wikipedia)

Coming soon to a country near you....
OK, so maybe the world is starting to see how wrong this policy is. China has been loosening the rules on a couple of area's but it still remains in effect for most of the country.

Imagine this;
A government official comes to your house demanding that you either pay a fine (that is more than you could make in many years) or else they are going to take your young child. Or, they find out you are pregnant and instead of going home with a beautiful baby, you go home physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally traumatized for life due to the abortion that the government made you have.
Think that it couldn't happen? Think again. Read just one of the many, many accounts of this
horrible law that was started in China, and could very easily be the norm in countries throughout the world.




Gu Chengjun, who was later adopted by a woman from the Netherlands, sits on the lap of a caregiver in Zhenyuan Orphanage in Guizhou, capital of Guizhou province in January, 2007.
About 80 newborn baby girls from a Guizhou county have been removed from their families by officials since 2001, and most have been handed over to foreign adoptive parents as orphans at a price of $3,000 each, the Southern Metropolis News reported on Wednesday.
Among the 80 families are Lu Xiande and Yang Shuiying, a poor farming couple whose fifth daughter was removed by local family planning officials when they didn't pay the appropriate fine, it reported.
Like every other father in Zhenyuan, Lu wanted a boy, who finally arrived after three daughters. His wife then gave birth to another girl, and the couple had to support five children with a yearly income of about 5,000 yuan ($732).
Shi Guangying, a local family planning official, gave them an ultimatum: Give away their little daughter or pay fines of about 20,000 yuan ($2,928).
"This is the policy", Shi said. "You pay, or you let the government take care of the baby," he was quoted by the newspaper on Wednesday.
But instead of being raised as promised, the girl was taken to the Zhenyuan orphanage and later adopted out to a foreign family, at a reported price of $3,000.
At least 78 girls have been handed over to foreign families in the past eight years. Two children with disabilities remain at the orphanage.
It's believed authorities forged documents stating the babies were orphans and adoption fees were split between the orphanage and officials.
The practice of making farmers who break the two-child policy and then fail to pay fines hand over their baby girls is now under investigation by the local public security bureau in Zhenyuan county.
Zhou Ze, a lawyer and professor with China Youth College for Political Sciences, said local family planning officials and the orphanage had committed a crime because nobody had the right to exploit a parent's right of guardianship over their children.
The fact that babies had been removed to make a profit meant it was also abduction, Zhou said.
"It is legal that they can charge fines, as the parents did violate the law by giving birth to more than one child. But that doesn't mean they can take away the child. The fines can be paid later or reduced", he said.
Tang Jian, an official of the Zhenyuan family planning bureau, said: "According to our investigation, it is true that babies who have parents were forced into the orphanage and then abroad". Under Chinese adoption law, abandoned babies whose parents cannot be found can be registered for adoption.

As I said, this is just one of many sad but true stories of the government choosing material wealth over the dignity of life. The quality of life becomes more important than the life of the person.
But, God told us to be "fruitful and multiply", and if you don't listen to God, you must suffer
the consequences. That's not to say that everyone is able to have children, I am saying that we must always be open to Gods plan for children in our life whether that be through natural means or through adoption. If there is serious reasons for choosing to try and hold off having children, there is NFP, which still leaves God in control of the future.

Here's China's vision of "Family Planning in China" (read entire plan here). I am just going to highlight a couple of things that might spark your interest and to get a point across.

Family planning has promoted the change of people's concepts regarding marriage, birth and family.
"looking up on men and down on women" are being discarded by more and more people at the child-bearing ages.

the reduction of family size and fewer children to support have obviously reduced the economic burden and the burden of family chores on the families and improved their quality of life.

Family planning has further liberated the female productive forces and helped improve the status of women.
Family planning in China has extricated women from frequent births after marriage and the heavy family burden, further liberated and expanded the social productive forces latent in women, and provided them with more opportunities to learn science and general knowledge and take part in economic and social development activities, hence greatly promoted the improvement of the Chinese women's status in economic and social affairs as well as in their families.

Family planning has provided women with more opportunities to receive education and is conducive to raising their educational qualities.

Combination of State Guidance with Voluntary Participation by the Masses.

The combination of state guidance with voluntary participation is an important principle China has always followed since the implementation of the family planning policy, and is the fundamental guarantee of success for the family planning programme as well.

China encourages fertile married couples to select contraceptive methods of their own accord under the guidance of the state; and offers various preferential treatments in daily life, work and many other aspects to families who volunteer to have only one child, helps them to solve difficulties in their lives and work and creates conditions for them to become better off as soon as possible.

VI. Optimization Through Reform and Development

In order to fundamentally and comprehensively solve China's population problem, comprehensive measures have to be adopted. Such measures include vigorously developing the economy, getting rid of poverty, protecting the ecological environment, rationally developing and utilizing resources, popularizing education, developing medical service and maternal and child health care, improving the social security system --especially the insurance system for the aged, steadily advancing urbanization, improving women's status, and guaranteeing the legal rights and interests of women.

So, these policies have built up womanhood??
They have improved the social security system??

Any honest, open minded person can see that, a lot of issues that this new policy was intended to take care of, have gotten worse and have put the moral lives and souls of their society in jeopardy.

....and what are the results of this policy 20 years later??

For all the bad press, China has achieved the impossible," says Sven Burmester, the United Nations Population Fund representative in Beijing. "The country has solved its population problem.
But this solution has spawned a host of new problems. China's population will start declining from 2042, according to U.N. statistics. In the nation's fast-paced cities, the one-child policy has morphed into a no-child philosophy.
"They're rebelling against all concept of family," says sociologist Li Yinhe. A record high 29% of urban twenty somethings profess little interest in marriage or children, according to a market research poll. In a once unthinkable breach of Confucian tradition, many are even refusing to care for their elders. China's graying population is estimated to peak in 2040 and the nation has no mechanism to finance its welfare.
"When we started our family-planning policy 20 years ago, we had no idea of the social problems that would follow," concedes Zhao Baige of the State Family Planning Commission. "Now we must address the consequences."
China is now faced with a decidedly First-World problem: a declining fertility rate combined with a rapidly graying population. "Instead of tinkering with family-planning policy, China needs to tackle its social welfare system," says a Peking University professor. "We need to figure out who is going to take care of our parents and grandparents."

For an in depth article on the beginnings of the myth of overpopulation go to this
site http://www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/03ruse.shtml

Single Male Online Daters Would Father Babies for Their Friends

Recent Poll Finds 80% of Female Online Daters Have Considered getting pregnant in "no strings attached" relationship; Nearly 50% of Males Would help their female friends in their quest toward motherhood
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., Aug. 1/ -- Last month, celebrity look-a-like sperm donors were all the rage, with single aspiring Mothers in Los Angeles choosing from sperm donors who resemble their celebrity of choice, which includes Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Ben Affleck doppelgangers. This month, it's all about "No Strings Attached Babies," where single aspiring Mothers ask their single guy friends to father their children, minus financial and other responsibilities. While Hollywood is full of single Moms who chose to adopt, including Edie Falco, Sheryl Crow, Madonna and Sharon Stone, single celebrities such as Camryn Manheim and reportedly, Minnie Driver, have both had No Strings Attached Babies. At leading online dating websites Date.com http://www.date.com), Matchmaker.com http://www.matchmaker.com), and Amor.com http://www.amor.com) we polled our members to find out if they would consider having a No Strings Attached Baby.
According to the results, majority of single male online daters responded that they would make like David Crosby and father a child with a gal pal. 30%, meanwhile, insisted that it must be legally stipulated that they were Fathers in name only. Meanwhile, 42.9% of single women have admitted that they have thought a lot about approaching a single guy friend to father their child.
"Majority of today's single women still want to find true love, enter into a committed relationship and have children with a life partner. Yet, as the biological clock ticks down for many single women, it's no longer stigmatized for them to choose other avenues such as adoption, anonymous sperm donation, and no strings attached babies, to become Mothers," said Shira Zwebner, Relationship Advisor for Date.com, Matchmaker.com and Amor.com. "According to a May 2009 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, out-of-wedlock births are rising, and amongst women ages 30 to 34 there has been a 34% increase since 2002. I predict that number will just continue to rise as more and more women realize they just don't need to find their soulmate to have a baby. As a result, single guys shouldn't be surprised if their single girlfriends ask them to meet for a drink and then request a no strings attached sperm donation."


So, I have 2 DUH!!!! postings in a row...must be a full moon.

I am willing to bet that the males polled were under the impression that lovemaking was involved. If that is true, then, a bunch of guys (in today's society) were asked if they would like to make love to a woman, without having to worry about the consequences.

Once again, I say DUH!!!!!....it is a sad world we live in and I am only stating the obvious.


When this poll is was taken, I assume that the term "father babies" is talking about the physical act that procreates a baby. Some people call them gigolo's others call them "deadbeat dads" and just to give a hand full of guys the benefit of the doubt, they may, in their ignorance of the truth, think they are helping these women.
God made things according to his order. If it is your vocation to married life, to having children,
He will allow things to work out for His greater glory. If not, then pray for guidance on where or what He has in store for you. Maybe God is calling you to a vocation to religious life, or to give your time and talents to your parish.
I know personally that it is not easy to wait for God's answer to your vocation and especially to finding a good and Holy spouse. He took over 35years to show me my soulmate and I had almost given up by then.
I understand that there seems to be a lack of "good men" (and women) in the world, but you can't just do these things on your own..they must be done in accord with God's directives.

I pray for women in the world who are resorting to these kinds of tactics to have a baby.
I pray for the men who are falling to the tangled web they are getting into.
I pray for the children being brought up under these circumstances.

All you need to do is to go to http://www.fathersforgood.org/en/index.html or http://www.fatherhood.org/ to see the statistics on what happens to children who are brought up in homes without a good father.

5 of Your Friends Became Fans of a Lawsuit

Facebook has been hit with a lawsuit concerning privacy laws....hmmm, it seems ironic to me that people who put their private information on a website that is for meeting friends and networking, is being sued for the very thing they are in the business of doing. DUH!!!!!!!!!!

If you don't want people to know certain things about you, don't put it out there for the entire world to see.

Now, I understand why these people are suing, and they have pretty good reasons for it, but still....when will people wise up and learn that the world wide web is a dangerous and scandalous place to put yourself on.

I know my family has concerns about what I put on our blog, and I am very thankful that they are merciful on me and allow me to continue to do this.

So, I try not to put anything on here that is going to compromise my standing in my family as the worlds greatest husband and father....time will tell though.....

EEOC Violates Religious Liberty By Forcing Catholic College to Provide Insurance for Contraceptives

The attacks continue....
while I am not surprised that a government agency under the current administration is sticking it's nose into Church business, I am wondering "WHO HIRED THESE PEOPLE ANYWAY"?
This is the problem with not being able to ask certain religious questions on a job application.
It seems to me that these people should have been informed about Church teachings before they were hired. I seriously doubt that faithful Catholic employees would have filed a lawsuit like this.
Get prepared people, I'm sure there will be more of this to come...not only in the Catholic Church, but in all Christian demominations and institutions.


The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has ruled that a small Catholic college must include coverage for artificial contraceptives in its employee health insurance plan, raising new concerns about the need for conscience protections and religious exemptions in Americas health care policies.The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) today sent a letter to EEOC acting chairman Stuart Ishimaru, noting that it is ironic that the federal agency responsible for protecting against discrimination has so blatantly engaged in an inexcusable violation of religious liberty in its Belmont Abbey ruling. CNS also is sending a letter to all Catholic bishops in the United States, informing them of the EEOC action against Belmont Abbey College and highlighting the dangerous precedent this ruling sets to force Catholic employers to include contraceptive coverage in employee health plans. No Catholic college or other institution should be required by government to violate the Catholic Churchs clear moral teachings, said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. The apparently increasing insensitivity to religious beliefs should frighten all employers and employees. We urge religious leaders to stand in defense of Belmont Abbey College. In December 2007, Belmont Abbey College removed coverage for abortion, contraception and voluntary sterilization after they were accidentally included in the colleges insurance plan. Eight faculty members filed complaints with the EEOC and the North Carolina Department of Insurance. As a Roman Catholic institution, Belmont Abbey College is not able to and will not offer nor subsidize medical services that contradict the clear teaching of the Catholic Church, said Belmont Abbey President William Thierfelder. There was no other course of action possible if we were to operate in fidelity to our mission and to our identity as a Catholic college. The EEOC determined that Belmont Abbey has discriminated against women by denying coverage of contraception. By denying prescription contraception drugs, Respondent [Belmont Abbey College] is discriminating based on gender because only females take oral prescription contraceptives. By denying coverage, men are not affected, only women, wrote Reuben Daniels Jr. in his determination as the EEOC Charlotte District Office Director. Belmont Abbey College has been directed by the EEOC to reach an agreeable resolution with faculty. If this does not happen, Daniels will advise the parties of available enforceable court alternatives.

ABORTION PROVISIONS IN HOUSE’S HEALTH CARE BILL UNACCEPTABLE, SAYS CARDINAL IN LETTER TO HOUSE

From the USCCB website;

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia urged preservation of “longstanding federal policies that prevent government promotion of abortion and respect conscience rights,” and called current House health care legislation “seriously deficient” on the issue of mandated coverage and funding of abortion. He cited his concerns in an August 11 letter to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Cardinal Rigali, Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, reaffirmed the bishops’ position that genuine health care reform that respects life and dignity is urgently needed. He also welcomed provisions in America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200) that do not preempt state laws regulating abortion or current federal conscience laws on abortion. But he criticized the bill for delegating to the Secretary of Health and Human Services “the power to make unlimited abortion a mandated benefit in the ‘public health insurance plan’ the government will manage nationwide.” He called this a “radical change” since federal law excludes most abortions from federal employees’ health benefits, and no federal health program mandates coverage of elective abortions.
Cardinal Rigali also criticized the bill for bypassing the Hyde Amendment and other longstanding provisions that prevent federal funding of abortion and health benefits packages that include abortion. He called the provisions to separate funding for abortion created by the House Energy and Commerce Committee a “legal fiction,” one that would force low-income Americans, who may only be able to afford the public plan, to subsidize abortions for others and abortion coverage for themselves “even if they find abortion morally abhorrent.”
“Much-needed reform must not become a vehicle for promoting an ‘abortion rights’ agenda or reversing longstanding policies against federal funding and mandated coverage of abortion,” Cardinal Rigali said. He added that “no federal program mandates coverage for elective abortions, or subsidizes health plans that include such abortions. Most Americans do not want abortion in their health coverage, and most consider themselves ‘pro-life,’ with a stronger majority among low-income Americans.”
“By what right, then, and by what precedent, would Congress make abortion coverage into a nationwide norm, or force Americans to subsidize it as a condition for participating in a public health program?” he asked.
Cardinal Rigali reiterated the USCCB’s long-time support of genuine health care reform that respects human life and dignity from conception till natural death, provides access to quality care for all with special concern for the poor and immigrants, respects pluralism and conscience rights, and shares costs equitably. He urged members of the House to support amendments to correct the “unacceptable features” currently in H.R. 3200 and to oppose any rule for considering the bill that would block such amendments.
The full text of the letter can be found online at: http://www.usccb.org/prolife/CardRigaliHealthCareReformLetter-08-11-09.pdf

The spiritual is always more important than the physical

We wouldn’t just hand our car keys over to our children and let them drive, not without proper training, practice, and teaching them good discernment.
Yet, we are not as diligent in other things such as freedom to roam the world wide web, what they hear in the music they listen to or what they watch on television and in movies.
Whether we know it our not, these things are helping to form their minds according to what the “world” deems important, what is popular.
The secular world continues to seep into their lives using “slight of hand” tricks to carry their souls away to uncharted and treacherous territories.

We, as parents, are the first and foremost teachers of our children. We should teach them things that will be good for their souls.
Before we teach them how to play baseball, or how to play a musical instrument, we should teach them to pray, to read the bible, to love and serve the Lord and their fellow mankind. Things that form their conscience, that instills in them a good sense of what is right and what is wrong.

Our parents may have been really strict and we don’t want to raise our kids that way, we want them to have their freedom….
Or maybe our parents let us do, watch, listen and speak how we wanted to, and we don’t want to be the “strict” parents….we want to be their friends..

We can be our children’s friends, but first we must be their parent.

We must not let “the world” form the minds of our children, we must form them in the light of Jesus Christ.
They may never be an American Idol in the eyes of the world, but they will have their proper and eternal place in Heaven.

Lost shepherd

The gates of hell shall not prevail, but unfortunately there seems to be a lot more casualties now-a-days whom are being engulfed in the flames.
I guess this story hurt more because it hit close to home, in our own Archdiocese . It is a shame because we do have a great Archbishop, many good priests, and pews full of faithful Catholics.
This guys obviously has some commitment problems, so I am wondering how seriously the marriage vow will be taken.
I cannot judge that, but has this priest said about other issues, God will sort it out.
What is one to do but continue to have zeal for our God, our Church, spread His word, live our lives according to His teachings and pray for those who fall away.
I returned to the faith after many, many years of being away, and let’s hope this brother in Christ does too.

Priest says he has ‘chosen another path'
Chibundi starts independent parishBY PETER SMITH • PSMITH@COURIER-JOURNAL.COM • AUGUST 4, 2009