Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7



Tuesday, August 14, 2012

(8/14)...streaming




It has been brought to my attention that yesterday's post may be missing that greatest of all virtues, charity. I apologize if I have left you with a bad taste in your mouth, for surely unkindness is not a tasty morsel.

Just for the sake of clarity, my disagreement with Cardinal Dolan does not mean I don't love him, as though Our Lord loved them, He disagreed with the sinners. I do disagree, but I don't disrespect him. I don't disrespect the office of the presidency either, though I have a hard time with the man in office, as I have my doubts if he even respects the office.

Anyway, my apologies. I don't badmouth Cardinal Dolan here or anywhere, so please don't think me uncharitable. I'll try to keep the politics to a minimum, as I realize I can get rather fired up. This link was left with me, and you may read it if you are interested. It is Cardinal Dolan's defense of his invitation to the president. I can see his point, but I still disagree. I don't think it is an act of hostility to not invite the president. I think it is a message.

I agree with the cardinal that  there is some benefit to "inviting folks of different political loyalties to an uplifting evening, rather than in closing the door to them." I just happen to disagree as to the specific doors that should be opened. Invite them to a quiet evening behind closed doors, not out in the public, with the cameras flashing, opening the proverbial door to all kinds of questions as to motive and outcome.

My daddy used to say, "You draw more flies with honey than you do with vinegar," and I have always found that to be true. But there's a time and a place for drawing flies. And if the fly is going to lay maggots in your honey, do you really want him?

Charity, yes, charity...clearly the cardinal has me on this one. I'll be a long time in purgatory.


At the end of our life, we shall all be judged by charity. -- St. John of the Cross




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Faith and I went to the orchard to buy peaches this morning and the basket of peaches smell like heaven. Really, don't you think heaven could smell like ripe peaches? I can't eat them because of IC and the smell is making me rather nutty. I am going to blanch and slice about half for freezing in just a short while. Then tomorrow I think I'll make something yummy to share with my neighbors and family. Maybe a lovely peach pie. Is there anything better (other than blueberry maybe)?



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Tomorrow afternoon I have another doctor's appointment. Is there any end to her healthcare woes, you wonder? Sadly, not in sight at the moment.

A couple weeks ago I had blood work done and apparently something interesting showed up. I tested positive for some markers indicating autoimmune disease. I have already been referred to a rheumatologist and my appointment is in September, but tomorrow my GP will give me an idea as to what the markers indicated.


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Today I sat down and started planning school. I think we have all the books I ordered, so I have no more excuses to not plan, except that I don't want to. Fortunately "want to" isn't necessary on my part and I will do it. I used to love making lesson plans, and it bothers me more than a little that my heart's not into it. Is it my health? My age? The years under my belt? Fifth grade? Maybe all of the above? What do you do to "get into' planning your school year?


~~~~~


A couple weeks ago I read about a film that I reserved at Netflix, and after reserving it I went a little crazy reserving similar films -- they are all about the medical community and how doctors so very often let us down. Actually not really doctors, more like the big business of healthcare. The first film I watched was First Do No Harm. It might have been a made-for-tv movie but it was good and had an interesting outcome. It's about a mother who fights the medical community to treat her son's epilepsy with diet.

The second I watched last night -- Living Proof, the story of the man who discover Herceptin, a drug that has saved hundreds of thousands of breast cancer patients. Harry Connick Jr played in it as the doctor who worked tirelessly against a big pharmaceutical company to let his drug go to FDA trials.

Both films were very moving, and very real in terms of the healthcare community and what really goes on.

Up next is Damaged Care. Stay tuned.


Now I'm off to blanch my peaches. See you soon. By the way, Happy Feast of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe.



8 comments:

  1. Sending up prayers for you as you head to the doctor tomorrow. Hope that all will be well.

    In a completely unrelated matter, have you ever baked bread in a Pullman pan? I had a bit of technical difficulty with mine...bread rose above the pan only 1/2 hour into the rise, so I wound up baking it without the lid and it was HUGE (and not as airy inside as I expected--no big holes.)

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  2. Thanks, Barb. I have baked in the pullman. I put the lid on during the rise, leaving it open just a crack. The bread will fill in all the corners of the pan, and be rather firm, depending on the recipe.

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  3. Praying for you (with all this doctor stuff and the direction our country is going in . . . we have to keep up the good fight). Love and prayers!!!

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  4. P.S. I would love peach cobbler . . . I love love love peaches plain as well.

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  5. I read your post on Cardinal Dolan and thought it was good, but didn't comment since I read it on my phone. I think the choice could go both ways, and since I trust Dolan, I'll just assume that he knows what he's doing better than I do!

    Good luck at the Dr. Saying prayers for answers!

    Peach pie is delish. I'll take peach or blackberry. Blueberry, notsomuch. But no one in my family likes pie except apple which is the most boring of all.

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  6. Thanks for the help! Hope all went well today. As to the whole Dolan thing, it's a struggle for me, too. So hard to know the best course. And there's nothing wrong in expressing our own struggles. I don't think we grow if we don't struggle.

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  7. Didn't forget you. Was praying for you today. Hope you got some answers, and some help at the doctor's office. --- Rosemary

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  8. You continue to be in my prayers, Barbara. Those peaches *look* heavenly. :) I do like peach and blueberry pie, but my favorite is apple and pumpkin. Actually my #1 is pumpkin pie. It's peach season here, too, so I've been really aching to bake something peachy. Maybe a peach stone fruit tea cake. Yum!

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I appreciate your comments -- sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself!