Beautiful Day - Cotton Pickin Kids

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IzpXmwGKQ4

My President - Forgiato Blow x Justin Holley "Official Video"

Daily Supplication

 In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit we begin; amen.

My intercession for your sons and daughters, Lord - You know what each one needs. So I lift us up to you now...

For Francis, and all the priests, bishops, deacons, and religious; and for Your Church all over the world, especially where there is persecution, scandal, or war. For the children of Israel, and peace in the middle east. 

I pray for every woman considering abortion - that  You would change her heart and mind, that she would know there is a better way. 

I pray for the repose of the souls in purgatory, and for all those who have gone on before us.

I pray for every child, and every one who does not yet know You; for every parent, every spouse, every marriage, and every family - that your peace would overwhelm.

I pray for those traveling today and those who work with their hands, the blue  collar people: police, fire, rescue, mechanics and caregivers, all our military - bring them home safely.

I pray for the one who has no one to pray for him, and the one struggling to pay their bills or put food on the table for their babies.

I pray for the homeless and the helpless, those struggling with addiction or retardation.

I pray for President Trump and his family, and for all the elected officials and leaders at the state, local, national, and international level - that they would make decisions which please You.

I pray for John Martignoni, the Bible Christian Society, and men of good will everywhere, and for all the EWTN ministries and their people all over the world.

I pray for Pastor Bob, Pastor Paul, Pastor Dan, Kurt Kramer, Wrecker Don and Jim Styeart, Paul and his family, Brian, Ryan, Matt, Josh, Kris, Ray and Kristi, Jack (RIP), Doug, Christ, Creston, and George, those guys I sat at table with, those chas I served with, all the cursillistas from #97, and the team and candidates and their families for all the upcoming cursillo weekends.

For Brent, Ashley, Kylie, Travis, Jackson, Juniper and Harlow; and I ask for healing for Juniper. For Scott, Cyndi, Peggy, Kayla, Zack, Faith, Tyler, Sandy, Jay, her brothers' family, Gary, Faith, Jim, Chris, all our neighbors, Michael, David, June, Brian, Shawna, John, Ron, Ed, the Georges, Shawn, the maintenance guys, Joanne and all their families.

For Marty, Denada, their kids, Walshie and his family, Tony, Doreen, Liam, Aidan, Roger, Sheri, Benjamin, Kevin's brother and his family, John Paul, Brandon, Joe, Homeless Joe, Amber, Andrew, Wendy, Samuel, Steve, Tosha, Edna, and the Whitmore Lake guy.

I pray for Gwenis, Kim, Patti, Michelle, Kristin, Beth, Joe, Diane, Mary, our new 3/4 teacher, Roma, Kristy, Mike, Carl, Adam, Joe, Ewa, Andrea, Mike and his wife, Father Rokus, Leo, Mary Ann, Bill, Chuck, Deacon Gerry, and all the good folks at Holy Spirit.

I pray for Bob and Jan Urbanic, Gordy and his family, Chris, Yin, and Constantino, Mr and Mrs Wilson, Corine, Father Fride and all the good folks at Christ the King.

I pray for Debbie, Ron, Father Tom and all the good folks at St Patrick, and for Father Matthias and Father Miguel and all the good folks at St Patrick.

For Sean, Jacob, Hart, Evan M, Oliver, Jack, Charles, Sophia, Anna, Dana, Jena, Emma, Hannah, Meka, Kaidon, Matthew, Luke, Joey, Chloe, Adam, Alex, Chris, Scarlet, Izzy, Coco, Hutton, Anthony, Lauren, Collette, Hunter, Giulia, Marlowe, Autumn, Keira, Madeline, Abigail, all our kindergarten buddies and 1-4 scholars, and their families.

For Ron, Tommy, Tim, Buttrey, Walt, Bill, Jonathan, Beth, Termors and Fournier and all their families, for Tommy, Shelley, Vic, AJ, Ninny, Peggy, Neph, Warman and all their families, for Bonnie, Phyllis, Amy, Deb, Cheryl, Adam, Mary Joe, Mary Anne, Sheena and all their families, for the Notrons, Ceces, Sherwoods, Charlicks, Allens, Boyes', Stamms, Crocketts and all the good folks at West Highland. 

For Deb and Kim and Denise and Merideth and their families.

For Stan and Rita (RIP), Stan, Charlotte, Kathy, Justin, Dana, Aaron and their kids, Joey, Mary, Caleb, Eleanor, Stosh (RIP), Stacie, Carter, Parker, Charlie, Ryan, Emma, Mary Ann, Dean and his family, Courtney, Rusty, Drew, Mason, Meggie, Jake, Quinn, Cameron, Deacon, Kacie, Alex, Harper, Brett Michael.

For Moni and Bob and his family and Jon, Jay (RIP), Jen and her family, Joslin and Liam, and I pray they would grow up to know and love You, and serve You all the days of their lives, and spend eternity with You in heaven.

For Pam and Ken and his family, Kenny, Kendall, Marshall, Robert, and for healing for Aunt Pam.

For Carolyn and Doug and for healing for Doug's mom.

For Terrence and Jeanie and her family, Ty, Sophia, Trent; for Kevin, Justin, Coret and her family, Tori, her baby, Kailey, Claire, Kristine, Cameron, Mike and his wife and mom.

For mom and dad, Jeff, Dawn, Josh, Christie, Cathy, Jeff, Francisco, Nicole, Owen, Kim, her husband, his kids, Dante, Sydney.

For Aunt Doreen, Vicki, Dave (RIP), Dana, Gray, Wendy, Adam, Jason, Matthew and his wife, Gerald, Tiffany, Laura, Elizabeth, Mackenzie, Bob, Jim, Ed, Janis, Sharon, Sandy, Jim, Amy, Aaron, Jake and Jack, Shirley, Diane, Jesse and her family and Kenny's family.

For Nancy and Ruben and his family especially baby __; for Ray, Ricky, Bel, Alex, Beni, Mack, Carlos Cheyenne and her family

For Gary and Mary and her family - for their intentions and their marriage and for healing for Gary; for Josh, Taylor, Theo James, Ty, Jeremy, Lauren, Owen, Nicholas, his dad and his family, Ariel, Isaiah, and Alexander.

And I give you this day.

Give me the grace to do what I must - to do the right thing always.

I give you all my thoughts, words, deeds, imperfections, failures, joys, irritations; every conversation I have, every person I encounter, every opportunity to love.

Thank You, thank You, thank You.

Endless praise, glory, honor are Yours.

✠ In the name of the Father, Son, and holy Spirit.

Amen

Our LJ, in his second game of the season

 

 Prayer before Holy Mass by Saint Thomas Aquinas 

Almighty and ever-living God, I draw near to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. I come sick to the physician of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the light of eternal brightness, poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. 

So I ask You, most generous Lord: graciously heal my infirmity, wash me clean, illumine my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness.

May I receive the Bread of angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with such reverence and humility, such contrition and devotion, such purity and faith, and such resolve and determination as may secure my soul's salvation. Grant as I may receive not only the visible, sign of the Lord's Body and Blood, but also all the reality and the power of the sacrament. 

Grant, most kind God, that I may receive the Body of Your only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, which He received from the Virgin Mary, and may receive it in such a way that I become a living part of His Mystical Body and counted among His members.

Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see Him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with You forever and ever. Amen.

 Hot; humid; sweat pours, brace sags, bees race, Dr Pepper warms ...

And Georges Baldner, great great great Grandfather of us, from Bas-Rhin Alsace, has finally been found, God be praised!

Ash Wednesday 2023

 

And one of my favorite hymns ever. The bass G starts the first measure on '1' and the singing begins on '2'. Beautiful. 

CHRISTmas Eve 2022

 Oh there is so much to relay; where to begin?!?

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! After the recent storm we have not lost power and both of our vehicles are running well! We are both on the mend and Moni's ankle is almost good as new, God be praised!!

We didn't have school yestreday, Friday the 23rd, due to the coming event and winter storm warning. The cold is here (down to 0 last night, and only 5 above now), to be sure, as are with winds (sustained 20-25 mph, with gusts up to 60), but the snowfall accumulation we so feared never manifested (maybe two inches total; drifts up to five or six inches, and the sidewalks blown clean already). We are blessed!

Thankful we are for the many gifts from staff and students and their families - oh how God showered us through the many folks of Holy Spirit this CHRISTmas! Thankful and humbled we are.

The Downy (and a few Hairy) Woodpeckers have  been our most faithful customers these past few days. Second price in attendance goes to the Darkeyed Junco and House- and Chipping- Sparrows! Pigeons, Black-capped Chickadees, and Tufted Titmice have all been visiting as well, along with a fortunate Hawk - not able to identify the variety - showing God's design for nature in our little yard. 

Looking forward to 11 pm Mass during the Night (with Pre-Christmas Music at 10:45) tonight, and our lasagna dinner tomorrow. We have the thermostat up to an unheard of 78 degrees in an attempt to thaw our pipes - no water for us so far to-day!

Compass issues, new glasses, and overdrawn checking accounts round out our end of the year high- (or low-) lights. My mom and dad's Lions are beginning play for their 8th win of the season, a feat only accomplished four times since 2000.

Prayer

 ... committing to You and inviting You into this day, Lord God, almighty Father. Offering all our joys, hardships, pains and frustrations, blessings, fear, worries, our whole beings to You.

And praying for Francis and all the priests, bishops, deacons, religious and their families, and Your Church all over the world, especially where there is persecution or scandal. Praying also 

For Bishop Earl, Father Karl, Father Bill, Father Joe and Father Joe, Father Tom - for courage for him - , Father John, Father Miguel, Father Ken, Father Jim. For every woman considering abortion that You would change her heart and mind, that she would know there is a better way. For the repose of the souls in purgatory, for all who have gone on before us. For President Trump and his family, and for all the elected officials and leaders at the state, local, national, and international level - that they would make decisions that please You. For the sick and the dying, for those in hospitals and those in prison. For every child, every parent, every family, every marriage; for those traveling to-day and those who work outside, the blue collar folks: construction workers, caregivers, nurses and doctors, police, fire, rescue, all our military - bring them home safely. For those suffering from addiction or retardation; for the homeless and the helpless. For the one who has no one to pray for him, for the one struggling to pay the rent or truck payment, gas, electricity, ... For the men of Livingston County - that we would turn our hearts to You; for our great State, our Nation, and men all over the world - draw us to You! For Monica and all our family and friends - that You would forgive their sins, give them a desire to know You more intimately through the truth and fullness of the Catholic Church, protect them and keep them safe, heal their body, mind, soul and spirit, give them peace in their hearts, and let them know how much You love them. For Marty, Denada and their kids, Tony, Doreen, Liam, Aiden, Roger, Sheri, Benjamin, Kevin, his mom, dad, brother and his family, for John Paul, Brandon, Joe, Sam, Steve, Amber and Andrew, and Wendy and all their families. For Ms Laura, Mrs Mackmiller, Ms Wilson, Ms Hager, Mrs Mcgint, Mrs Thornburg, Mrs Dewan, Carl, Mr Tuworek, Leo, Mrs Rivet, Ms Art lady, Mr Computers, Mr Schultz, Dr B, Andrea, Ewa, Mary Ann, Debbie, Sparty man, Sean, Hart, Jacob, Oliver, Jack, Evan, Charlie, Anna, Sophia, Dana, Jena, Emma, Anthony, Lauren, Collette, Hunter, Hutton, Miss Coco, Miss Izzy, Miss Scarlet, Kaidon, Luke, Matthew, Hannah, Meka, Alex, Chris, Chloe and Joey and all their families. For Brent and Ashley, Kylie, Travis and Jackson, Juniper and Harlow, Scott, Cindy, Zach, Faith, Ty, Sandy, Jay, her brother and his family, Faith, Jim and Chris, the nice lady and her family, David, Michael and his mom, all our neighbors down that way, June, Brian, Shawna, John, Ron, Ed, the Georges, Shawn and Joanne and the maintenance mean and all their families. For Bonnie, Phyllis, Amy, Cheryl, Deb, Adam Mary Joe and all their families, for Tommy and Shelly, Vic AJ, Peggy, John, Michele, and their families; for Ron, Tim, Buttrey, Walt, Bill, Jonathan, Beth, Tommy, Termors, Fournier and their families; for the Nortons, Cece's, Charlicks, Sherwoods, and all the good folks from West Highland; for Deb, Kim, Denise, Meredith and their families; for the local folks we see at stores and shopping centers. 

For Stan, Rita, Charlotte, Stan, Beth, Kathy, Joey, Mary and her family, Eleanor, Caleb, Dana, Andrew and their kids, Stosh, Stacie, Carter, Parker, Ryan, Emily, Mary Ann, Dean and his family, Courtney, Rusty, Drew, Mason, Meggie, Jake, Quinn, Cameron, Deacon, Kacie, Alex, Harper, Brett M, Moni, Bob and his family, John, Jason, Jen, Joslin, Liam - that those kids and beautiful grandkids would grow up to know and love You, serve You all the days of their lives, and spend eternity with You in heaven - for Pam, Ken and his family, Kenny, Kendall, Marshall, Robert, Carolyn, Doug and his family, Terry, Jeannie and her family, Ty, Sophia, Trent, Kevin, Justin, Coret and her family, Torri, Kaylie, Claire, Camron, Kristine and all their families.

For mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, aunt Sue, uncle Elt, uncle Skip and their families, Jeff, Dawn, Josh, Christy, Cathy, Jeff, Francisco, Nicole, Owen, Kim, Mario, Dante, Sydney, Uncle Bill, Aunt Nancy and her family, Brad, Brenda, Blake, Brooke, Kelli, Doug, Marin, Cookie and the other daughter, Steve, Frances and her family, Charlie, Anne, Mary Ellen, all the Fuches and foxes and our other cousins; for grandma and grandpa, aunt Arlene, aunt Doreen, uncle Butch and his family, Vicki Dave, Dana, Gray, Wendy, Adam, Jason, Matthew, Gerald, Tiffany, Elizabeth, Mackenzie, Laura, Ray and Emily, Jim and Ed, Mel and Grace and Bob, uncle Art, aunt Dorothy, Janis, uncle Fred, aunt Delores and Donna, Sharon, Sandy, Jim their kids and grand kids Jake and Jack, Aunt Grace and Uncle Harold, Shirley, Diane, Jesse and her family, Kenny and his family. For Nancy and Ruben and his family especially baby Sullivan, Ramon, Alexander, Ricardo, Belle and Eli, Benjamin and Mackenzie, Carlos, Cheyenne and her family. For Gary and Mary and her family, for Joshua, Taylor, Theo James, Ty, Jeremy Breeze, Lauren and her family and Own, for Nicholas, his dad and his family, for Ariel, Isaiah, and Alexander.

And I give You this day: my every thought, word, action, decision, work, play, rest, EVERYTHING!

Thank You, Lord.

Come Holy Spirit;

come now;

come as You wish.

Amen

2022 Graduation!

 A blessed time yestreday celebrating my youngest nephew Ricardo's graduation! 

We were at mom and dad's in Westland; the weather cooperated, and my sister had done up a wonderful taco bar for dinner. It's always good to see family and friends - those kids grow up so fast! There were collages of photos of Ricardo through the years  and Ric did get the Elvis taking a knee figurine he was hoping for! 

Ricardo below, with his freshman buddies :-)

God bless you all, in this next chapter of your lives.

This day I am thankful...

Dearest Father~

Thank You for another beautiful summer day! Thank You for getting me up this morning, and getting me to work safely. Thank You for my job. Thank You for our vehicles. Thank You for loving us so much. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for Your Spirit. Thank You for Your Church. Thank You for Your Word. Thank you for Father Tom and Father Miguel and Father Matthias. Thank you for organists and choir and maintenance folks and secretaries and school teachers. 

All praise and glory is Yours!

 

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow!

My wife's Compass is at the shop, denying a simple diagnosis to the mechanics who are trying to determine the cause of the erratic temp gauge. As a result, we are sharing one vehicle, for the first time (for more than a couple days) in a long time. The 09 Escort we bought last spring has been a faithful ride to and from work, and for our (much more scarce of late) Saturday morning drives exploring the beauty and wonder (and bargains) of this Great State. What a Friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear.

The other day, when my sweetie was backing in to our drive I noticed that the driver side brake light was out. Then when driving, it was the tell-tale quick turn signal when making a left that confirmed the issue. I know you can get pulled over for the gross infraction of no brake light, and so I added this to the Stuff I Need To Worry About list (which has been growing exponentially, it seems). 

 'Would I be able to access the bulb?', 'Would I have to have someone do this job, that used to be so simple on older cars?' 'In case I could in fact access the bulb, would the spare 1157s I have kept in my vehicles for years be the correct replacement?'

So as I began my morning errands, I started praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. I have found this morning ritual to be supernaturally comforting to me, if only to keep my mind on Jesus, and not on my worries. What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer.

I had temporarily put the light out of my mind, as I was on my way to our Kroger for a couple things, until I was turning left onto the Michigan Highway 36, off of Merrill Road. As I signaled, the hyper-fast click click click was my reminder, but I was thankful that it was Saturday, I was not on my way to work, and I had all the time I needed to check this out. 

I parked in a good spot, and opened the back gate. Praise the LORD! The housing assembly was held in place by two cross screws, and my fishing tackle box sure enough contained the right driver for this job. In another box I keep in the vehicle was an emergency set of sockets and pliers, along with a package of two 1157 bulbs. Would they fit? I was amped at this point to find out.

Screws out, the housing compartment slid out like it just went in yestreday, and with a quick (lefty loosey) turn of the bulb, it also came out of the housing, black as a burnt hamburger bun. God be praised! again, it was a match for the replacements I had carried for hundreds of thousands of miles, just in case. :-) Quick pull on the old one, quick shove of the new one it, quick righty tighty turn of the bulb in the compartment, and the box slid right back into place. Two screws finished the deal, the entirety of which took all of four minutes. Oh, what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear. All because we don not carry, Everything to God in prayer.

Thank You, Father, for Your provision, and not just when I see it working out as I would like it to. Thank You, for knowing what's best for us, and for loving us so much. 

 

😱Amazing “Rocky Top” Osborn Brother's |Cotton Pickin Kids

Wagon Wheel - Darius Rucker version cover by Cotton Pickin Kids

Country Connection: Country Music Artists Sing “Wagon Wheel”

Recipes Number 18 and 19: Yellowstone Taco Salad and Cowboy Cookies

Every once in a while  I receive an email containing something excellent and worthy of note. Yestreday one came from my sister with a recipe for 'cowboy cookies', which I admitted I had never heard of. The recipe was quite simple enough, and I only needed to pick up a couple of items on the way home to make it work. I had planned on doing my taco salad on the grill that night as well, so it turned out to be one big kitchen and deck extravaganza.

I actually made the cookies first, while I was prepping for the salad; that way the house smelt pretty good before I got the neighborhood smelling like barbecue :-)

For the cookies:

1 c softened butter

1 c granulated sugar

1 c dark brown sugar packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking SODA

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking POWDER

2 c AP flour

2 c oats

package of chocolate chips

I creamed the sugar and butter in my stand mixer, then added the eggs, then soda, salt, powder, flour and oats. When all was quite incorporated, I added the chips. Some recipes call for walnuts and coconut. I will rarely put nuts in anything I bake; I will NEVER put coconut in anything I bake. Period.

This recipe did six trays of 11 cookies each: 350 for 10-12 minutes. 

Yummy. I had already eaten several by the time I lit the fire for the grill.

I moved on to the meat for our salad; in my decades-old ten inch cast iron skillet the ingredients: about a pound of ground turkey, onions, bell peppers, and seasoning. (I have no camera, sorry - photos would be nice here.)

Lean ground turkey

Mexican oregano

chili powder

cumin

paprika

garlic powder

onion powder

ground black pepper

a bit of jarred salsa

corn chips

shred colby jack cheese

served with sour cream and guacamole

I cooked the meat, vegetables, seasoning over lump charcoal until the meat was done - about a half hour at about 250, and then added the salsa at the end of cooking. I brought in the pan of meat, and in the kitchen built the salad.

On an old cookie sheet, I placed my 11-inch springform pan. In this I layered busted up corn chips, meat mix, and cheese - twice. I topped it with some chopped green onions and put it on the grill over indirect heat, with the lid closed. I left it in there until the cheese started melting and the whole concoction began to settle a bit - maybe another half hour, while I did the dishes from the cookie bake. 

I spooned up a wedge and topped it with just a dollop of sour cream, and a bit of homemade guacamole. After all the cookies, I could only eat one bowl of this fantastic dinner, but I did find room for several more cookies while we watched Yellowstone later. 

Thank you, Jesus, for a fun night, for the time we could be together, and for always providing for our needs. We love You, too.

Roe v. Wade has been overturned. God be praised!

As the lunacy in this great Nation continues, Lord, please give us the grace to fight this fight well. 

I praise You for Your goodness.

I praise You for Your Word.

I praise You for Your Son.

I praise You for Your Spirit.

I praise You for Your Church.

I praise You for the glory of Your Creation.