Sunday

 "Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."

-Buddha

 Never lose the opportunity to see something beautiful for beauty is God’s handwriting.- Ralph Waldo Emerson

 Be certain that in the religion of Love there are no believers and unbelievers.

LOVE embraces all.

Rumi

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens."

~Jimi Hendrix

There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into light.

 Rumi

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence but it comes from within. It is there all the time.

~ Anna Freud (December 3, 1895 – October 9, 1982)

 (Q) Will you give a prayer for meditation for this body?

(A) MAY THERE BE DONE IN ME AND THROUGH ME THAT WHICH THE LORD SEEST I HAVE NEED OF, THAT I IN HIS WAY MAY BE OF THE GREATER SERVICE AND THE GREATER CHANNEL OF BLESSINGS TO OTHERS. USE ME, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, OF THE SON, IN THE WAY THOU SEEST BEST. ~ 

Edgar Cayce

"Although we live in the colony of time, we owe our allegiance to the empire of eternity."

-Martin Luther King Jr

Something Yummy for Saturday

Texas Applesauce Peanut Bread (Submitted by Ellen Cole)

1           Egg, beaten 1  cup    Applesauce 2  T       Cooking oil 2  cups  Flour ¾ cup   Sugar

3  tsp   Baking powder ½ tsp   Cinnamon ¼ tsp   Allspice ½ tsp   Soda 1  cu p  Salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Procedure

1   In large bowl place egg.

2   Add applesauce and oil

3   Mix slightly.

4   Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice and soda.

5   Add chopped peanuts (kind without red skins) and mix well.

6   Add flour-peanut mixture to egg mixture.

7   Stir until just blended.

8   Turn into greased 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

9   Bake:  350°

Soft Ginger Bread (Submitted by Ruth Cole Jackson)

1  cup  Sugar 1  cup  Molasses ¾ cup  Sugar 1  tsp   Ginger 1  tsp   Cinnamon

1tsp           Ground cloves 2tsp            Soda 2½       cup Flour 1cup           Boiling water 2                 Eggs, well beaten

Procedure

1   I large bowl mix sugar, molasses, butter, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, soda, and flour together.

2   Add 1/2 cup boiling water in cake.

3   Dissolve soda in other ½ cup.

4   The last thing before baking, add 2 well beaten eggs.

5   Bake:  325°

Beauty is where you find it!

Along side and abandoned two story brick building I found what I think are some beautiful things!  The plaster on the side of the building had fallen off in places, an old rusty kind of fence was leaning against the wall, and among all the rust, decay, and squalor were gorgeous blossoms of color in white, magenta, and bright orange.  That combined with the wood grain of the old and worn boards, and the delicate flowers made me take notice.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed shooting it.  Remember, beauty is where you find it, and sometimes it is in unsuspecting places!

Found For Friday

 Senior Sex

The husband leans over and asks his wife, "Do you remember the first time we had sex together over fifty years ago? We went behind the village tavern where you leaned against the back fence and I made love to you."

Yes, she says, "I remember it well."

OK, he says, "How about taking a stroll around there again and we can do it for old time's sake?"

"Oh Jim, you old devil, that sounds like a crazy, but good idea!"

A police officer sitting in the next booth heard their conversation and, having a chuckle to himself, he thinks to himself, I've got to see these two old-timers having sex against a fence. I'll just keep an eye on them so there's no trouble. So he follows them.

The elderly couple walks haltingly along, leaning on each other for support aided by walking sticks. Finally, they get to the back of the tavern and make their way to the fence The old lady lifts her skirt and the old man drops his trousers. As she leans against the fence, the old man moves in.. Then suddenly they erupt into the most furious sex that the policeman has ever seen. This goes on for about ten minutes while both are making loud noises and moaning and screaming. Finally, they both collapse, panting on the ground.

The policeman is amazed. He thinks he has learned something about life and old age that he didn't know.

After about half an hour of lying on the ground recovering, the old couple struggle to their feet and put their clothes back on. The policeman, is still watching and thinks to himself, this is truly amazing, I've got to ask them what their secret is.

So, as the couple passes, he says to them, "Excuse me, but that was something else. You must've had a fantastic sex life together. Is there some sort of secret to this?"

Shaking, the old man is barely able to reply,

"Fifty years ago that wasn't an electric fence."

Why was the sand wet?

Because the sea weed!

 Drive By

A guy broke into my apartment last week. He didn’t take my TV, just the remote. Now he drives by and changes the channels. Sick bastard!

 SEX

Condoms don’t guarantee safe sex anymore…A friend of mine was wearing one when he was shot by the woman’s husband.

 Easy Jet

Paddy calls Easy Jet to book a flight. The operator asks, "How many people are flying with you?" Paddy replies "How do I know! It's your plane!"

 How does a snake dress up for a wedding?
He puts on a boa tie.

 What type of building is made from snake skins?
A shed.

 What do you get when you cross a snake with a daytime talk show host?
Cobra Winfry.

 What do you call two snakes on a car?
Windshield vipers.

 What do you call a dinosaur with a extensive vocabulary? A thesaurus.

 England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool .

 I used to be a banker, but then I lost interest.

Bonus  -  Enjoy --

fly in amber .

"fly in amber a strange relic or reminder of the past"

The oldest known (fly and mites in amber) dates 230 million years ago and was discovered in Italy in 2012.

But I don't want to talk about insects and tree resin.  A fly in amber also relates to things which (seemingly) do not change.  Organizations and institutions that remain fixed while the world moves on.

It is interesting to me all the flap over one remark made by Pope Francis about how it is "not for me to judge" gay people. He went on to say " The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem," Pope Francis explained."

They left that remark out when reporting on it.  As the Catholic Reporter online reports there is more to the story. It concludes..."the media should not run rampant and suggest that the Church is softening a position, which is certainly is not. The problem is that the mainstream media does not understand Church teaching on the subject and rarely does. In fact, many Catholics need instruction on the matter.

Pope Francis merely explained a basic teaching found within the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Yes, those who struggle with same-sex attraction are very welcome in the Catholic Church, but immoral behavior and sexual deviance are as wrong as ever, and all people, straight or gay, indulge in such behavior at mortal peril."

The Catholic Church is like a "fly in amber" - as much as we would like for it to change I don't believe it will.  I applaud Francis for his leaving the trappings of the office behind, for his connection to people and the poor and for his willingness to communicate. However, he still has many, many archbishops and priests who are more than willing to "explain" his remarks and he is not repudiating them. That signals a static church unchanged in dogma since the time of Constantine. (and yes, I know that is an exaggeration)

Unlike the United States of America who has a government with a built in change with every election.  The church will remain the same.  Many churches do that.  They feel that they have the only pathway to heaven and they frighten their members into submission with statements like "indulge in such behavior at mortal peril."  And no matter what the Pope may say his church certainly does judge. They also use a tool called excommunication and have done so on politicians who do not vote the way they want them to.  They use made up places such as purgatory and hell to frighten the members of their church and grant them indulgences to "get out of jail free" (there I go again). 

I believe in God as exemplified and taught by Jesus Christ.  I believe he named himself as "I AM" to Moses.  I believe that God is the force of oneness that unites all of us and indeed all creation.  And I believe God is Love.  That is my fly in the amber which does not need to change.  The Roman Catholic and other churches are a different type of fly in the amber. They are not "given by God" but are human inventions and unless they are willing to change and grow with humanity they will be left behind by those who are.  They did finally recognize a heliocentric solar system but not until after Galileo has spent the remainder of his life under house arrest. Read about it here.. They apologized in 2000. 

As for the fundamentalists who regard the word of the Bible as the inerrant word of God...I think as I heard someone say the other day on a TV show they need to "Thump their Bibles less and read it more."  And read it with understanding of the historical times it was written in and its ultimate message.

'Nuff said.
Adddendum,  Except there is always more.  This morning I read this excellent article which I hope you will take the time to go and read... When does our hope for Francis become denial? It was in the National Catholic Reporter.

Rabbit, Rabbit -

Puppy