fourth quarter

  " The  reformer   Martin Luther  stated that 'in chapters 9,  10  and  11 , St. Paul teaches us about the eternal providence of God. It is the original source which determines who would  believe   and who wouldn't, who can be set  free from sin  and who cannot'". [3] *   Romans 9 - Wikipedia * Preface to the letter of St. Paul to the Romans , by Martin Luther, 1483-1546, Translated by Bro. Andrew Thornton, OSB Martin Luther said in his  Preface to the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans  that it all begins with vocabulary.  I believe that Luther is correct.  the "faith" that I was taught in catholic grade school, high school and college is "religion".  it focuses more on human "interpretations" and "rules" than on "spirit" or "spirituality".  it focuses on being faithful to religion and its human (and corrupt like ourselves) leaders (priests, bishops, popes, theologians--"chatterers", as Martin L...

When I die I want to be buried in a white shirt and tie. When I was at st. ann's grade school in arlington, virginia in the 1950s boys had to wear white shirts and neckties. In high school a sports coat was added. In college--same. At work--same.  I want to be remembered during my age of innocence. Spotswood 1952 | For the group that left England in 1950 and… | Flickr  

so, how did I do?  an "F" may seem harsh, but that's the way that I see it.  I won't go into the particulars. what's the point? I know what I did and didn't do and so does God. besides, that's between me and God. however, I will say that another "F" word is a big part of my failure--faith.  do I really believe that Jesus was tortured and suffered a horrible death to redeem me from my sins? intellectually it's not so much that I don't believe as it is that I know my failures to live the life that I should have. the scale of justice is way out of balance-- not  in my favor.  but then, I'm not the Judge--God is.  years ago I heard it put this way...  Joe and Bob were buddies. they grew up together. Joe made good choices. he was a respected judge in criminal court. Bob made bad choices. he was a criminal--a repeat offender. now Bob was in court on a murder charge.  when Bob was led into court for his murder charge, he saw Joe on the ben...

much of life is "mind over matter".  "matter" is what's real: life death floods, fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, famines, disease, crime... beauty, sunrises, sunsets, children, art, music... hate, war, poverty, hunger, discord... love, peace, freedom, faith, hope, well-being, happiness... it's what we "see" and how we choose to "see" it, and react to it, that makes us who we are.

  Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (Official Video) - YouTube