Advent Stations - Second Station - from The Magnificat© Advent Companion 2021

 

The Covenant Begins

 Old Testament Scripture: Genesis 18:9-11; 21:1-3

 “Where is your wife, Sarah?” they asked him. “There in the tent,” he replied. One of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him.

Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her menstrual periods. The LORD took note of Sarah as he had said he would; the LORD did for her as he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated. Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him.

 Meditation:

 We all desire to have an effect on the world, to make it a better place, or to leave some mark by which we may be remembered. The desire of Abraham and Sarah for a child, for a son, was even more than that – it was a desire to cooperate with God’s creative order in the generation of a new human life, a person who would share their life and come to know and love God. When they had almost given up hope, the Lord surprised them, the Lord fulfilled this desire. In our own life, sin creates a barrenness of soul, it keeps our actions from being truly fruitful and meritorious in God’s eyes. However, God is not deterred, for He would not have permitted the Fall without a loving plan to draw good out of the ensuing brokenness and to give us the Savior, in Whom we receive eternal life. In the second Advent station, we look to God as the source of all life. We place our trust in Him, for we are children of His promise.

 New Testament Scripture: Romans 9:1-9

 I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the holy Spirit in bearing me witness that I have great sorrow and constant anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and separated from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kin according to the flesh. They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen.

But it is not that the word of God has failed. For not all who are of Israel are Israel, nor are they all children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but “It is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. For this is the wording of the promise, “About this time I shall return and Sarah will have a son.”

 

Prayer: Almighty God, Lord of all life: You fulfilled the longing of Abraham and Sarah, blessing them with new life. You revealed Your Name to their descendants, making of them a people to be Your own. By sending Your own Son to become man, You gave us the One with the Name above every other name, the great and powerful Name which saves. May all people, by joining in the worship of Your holy Church, come to know and revere the Name of Jesus and receive all that You have promised. We ask this in union with the Word made flesh. Amen.

 
 
O come, O come, great Lord of might
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times did give the Law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The Three Little Pigs

Jack Arthur Hansel and Gretel long version

Advent Stations - First Station - from The Magnificat© Advent Companion 2021

The Creation of Adam and Eve

 Old Testament Scripture - Genesis 1:26-28

Then God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground.'

God created man in His image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them.

God blessed them, saying: 'Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the ari, and all the living things that move on the earth.'

Meditation: Creation is something only God can do. no other being, not even the highest angel, can bring something out of nothing. God created the world and crowned it with human live out of His own infinite goodness; He was not looking to acquire something but only to give something: His life, his beatitude, his love. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, believed the devil's lie and turned away from the One Who already wanted them to be 'like gods', and the One Who had made them in his own image. An out of fear and shame they hid from the Very One Who forgives, the One Who says, 'Behold, I make all things new.'  But God writes straight with crooked lines: 'O truly necessary sin of Adam, destroyed completely by the Death of Christ! O happy fault that earned so great, so glorious a Redeemer!' (Easter Exsultet). This first Advent station directs us to glorify God for the wonderful gift of existence, and even more so for our redemption, for we are made new by Jesus Christ, the new Adam, born of Mary, the new Eve.

New Testament Scripture - Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be His people and God Himself will always be with them [as their God]. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain. [for] the old order has passed away.'

The One who sat on the throne said, 'Behold, I make all things new.' Then He said, 'Write these words down, for they are trustworthy and true.'

Prayer: Heavenly Father, when Your Son became Man, you mad it possible for us to enjoy a destiny even greater that the earthly paradise, for you call us to eternal life with you in heaven as your sons and daughters. May we always stay free from discouragement and shame by remaining close to You. We pray especially that husbands and wives, and all who are preparing for marriage, will persevere in their Christian vocation to become and raise saints together. Give them the grace to manifest to the world the love between Christ and Church. And may we all persevere in Your grace so that we will reach our eternal home, our eternal family with the blessed in heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

O come, thou Wisdom born in heaven's height
Come peacefully, Thy people set aright,

To us the path of knowledge show

And help us in that way to go

Rejoice, rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
 
 
 
 
 

Recipe #7: First Snow of the Season Chili

 At the prodding of my beautiful wife, and instead of the spaghetti I so wanted to make, allow me to present another version of one of our favorite winter classics. 

Into the 7 quart Crock Pot, go:

1/2 large carrot shredded

1 large white onion diced

1 green bell pepper diced

1/2 of a beefsteak tomato diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 can Brooks Mild Chili Beans

1 can Kroger White Beans

1 can Kroger White Corn

1/4 oz can of Kroger tomato sauce

12 oz Miller Lite

2 cups of chicken broth, from a box

1 pretty good squirt of tomato paste

several dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1 squirt Dijon mustard

2 bone-in pork chops, cooked, seasoned, and diced into bite-size chunks

1 pound 80/20 ground beef, fully cooked and seasoned

1/2 pound pork sausage, freshly ground from our local Polly Market and fully cooked in a skillet

Seasoning: chili powder, cumin, Mexican oregano, paprika, garlic powder, ground black pepper

After the meat is cooked, everything goes into the slow cooker on high for the better part of the day for fullest amalgamation of flavors. At least three to four hours, and then turn it down to low for as long as you want to keep it warm. I add a couple of sliced chilis in mine when it's time to have a bowl, along with a small dollop of sour cream. Enjoy with your favorite cheese and bread.

 

 

Boccherini- (Master and Commander)

Don't Forget Your Old Shipmate - Master and Commander: The Far Side Of T...

#6 Michigan vs #8 Michigan State Highlights | College Football Week 9 | ...

PAUL BUNYON STAYS IN EAST LANSING!

 I'll say the exact same thing I said last year: once again, Sparty has over-achieved. 

Unbelievable the drama in this one, and I will not try to sum it up or make sense of it. I can only attest to the facts that I removed my brother's Spartan hat birthday gift from my noggin at halftime, and then prayed a rosary for our coaches and team members, and then quickly devoured a 64 ounce bag of Lays Cheddar potato chips. I cried every time Walker scored, and just now finished a deck-to-deck conversation with my Spartan neighbor. God is good, and we will praise His Name forever!

For the record, Michigan had drives of 22 yards, 55 yards, 54 yards, and 57 yards that ended in field goals. 

What Christmas is All About - A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Do you not just love little Linus here?? 

October 1993

 Watching Michigan at Wisconsin from 30 October 1993, and I couldn't remember the name of the Michigan quarterback in that game (Todd Collins). I began thinking back on what was going on in my life back then...

I think I had removed myself from television altogether by this point, so I surely wasn't watching too many games. I remember a conversation with my brother at about that time in my life, he told me that it was ok to watch college football - God told him so. Well, almost 30 years later, I am still taking that advice.

In the fall of 1993, I had just begun my first year teaching at the West Highland Christian Academy in Milford: advanced algebra, 'senior' math, boy's Bible, biology (the one I struggled most with), chemistry, and earth science - with those adorable 7th and 8th graders (the one I enjoyed the most :-). After school coaching for the winter season probably had not started yet, but oh was that to be an experience! 

I had been out of school for six years, living in Cousin Bob's 400 sf cottage on Bitten Lake in Hartland MI. The home had an upstairs with a shower and a huge closet; there was a front room on the main floor with nice windows that I had my desk in - for studying and correspondence. The sitting room had a fireplace, built-in wooden book cases, and French doors out to a screened-in patio partly over-looking the lake down the tree covered hill. 

I had made friends with many of the local kids in the neighborhood, and I remember many friendly snowball fights there. I did not eat the pears from the seven or eight trees on the property, and I did not fish the lake very often. I wrote music, and smoked cigarettes, and prepped nightly for my six classes. I remember being jealous of my cousin who taught AP Chemistry five hours a day in a big public school district. :-)

 

Recipe #4: Gameday Chili

 It has been a while since we had any version of chili in the Baldner home; with to-day's drippy 50's and college football the agenda, I thought it high time. The local Polly Market has these pork 'tenderloins' marked down to $2.49 a pound, but they're really two loins together mushed inside the plastic packaging to make it look like a tenderloin you could slice into chops, etc. I quartered lengthwise one of the loins and then diced it into bite size chunks, then marinated it over night in soy sauce and garlic. Oh how those two enhance the flavor of my favorite cut of protein! The last of our sweet bell peppers and a few slices of homegrown chilis round out this comfort food favorite.

To-day's ingredients:

1 lb 83% ground turkey

1 lb diced pork loin

2 small yellow onions diced

1 sweet bell pepper diced

several slices of pickled jalapeno, sans seeds

10 oz Miller Lite

1 ear of Bently Lake Farms sweet corn

1 can Kroger diced tomatoes

I can Kroger no salt black beans - rinsed and drained

1 can Brooks mild chili beans

1 squeeze of tomato paste

1 squirt yellow mustard

several dashes of Worcestershire

I started by cooking the meat, and adding to the crock pot on high everything else. I chose to not add any further seasoning to this batch, so the flavor of the meat and vegetables would be the focus.

 

I let it cook on high starting at about 9:00. Around 10 brought the first hints of that early melded flavor. By 12:30 I had to have a small bowl. Between the hours of 1 and 3 I put a good dent in the quantity. Pretty darn good.

While the chili was cooking, I warmed up the kitchen by baking a couple of our favorite baguette loafs. 

Praise be to God!

Do You Hear What I Hear

Lincoln Logs better than Legos

My neighbor is playing Jimmi Hendrix really loudly and that is an anomaly around here (the loud part, Hendrix not withstanding). I have been coming up with topics to write about of late and have not set down and done anything about it. Shame on me. It is high time.

Some folks in the neighborhood were selling Lincoln Logs for $5 and it triggered memories aplenty. I remember making cabins with windows and a sturdy green-planked roof with those - I loved how easily they would stack and fit together. These days, as I am morbidly obese and infirm, I only watch YouTube videos of Dave and Brooke doing this for real - they actually live in the homes they build - and long for the freedom and gonads to do just that. 

We have been blessed with hummingbirds galore these past few weeks, all frolicking around and drinking from our lone feeder. Male chasing male, female scolding female, one male doing the solo pirate mating dance, OH, we are seldom without our small winged chattering friends - praise be to God the Creator of all that is beautiful!

Earlier this afternoon I had my second follow-up visit with the wound and trauma folks at St Joseph in Ann Arbor. I received high marks for the daily care (thank you, Monica ;-) and for the healing progress. No more visits are necessary, they say; they do want to see a photo of the wound in two weeks. I am encouraged by the progress, and know that I must do my part to reduce the swelling in both legs.

I deposited two pounds of moth balls under our home near the bedroom, in hopes of repelling the obnoxiously loud rodent that frequents there. The naphthalene seems to have kept them out from under the bedroom, but I still hear them northward - under the second bedroom. I will order more come payday, and we will see if they are totally repelled. I have no idea what they (he/she/it) are doing, but it sounds like a morse code ticker immediately under the house. Obnoxious at 2:30 am, when I am typically trying to discern whether Lieutenant  Kendrick is showing any signs of remorse while perguring himself.

Sweetie is with Pops tonight; I have uploaded the documents requested to apply for financial aid for my recent three day 55k hospital bill. God, please provide, in Your mercy.

I have been so blessed to be able to pray daily (most days) the rosary, asking for intercession for all our family, friends, and neighbors. God is good - and I know He hears our prayers.

All in the family, Archie on Religion

Indigo Girls - 1989-08-31 Uptown Lounge, Athens, GA, USA ('Kid Fears' wi...

Pitch Perfect - Barden Bellas Final Performance (HD)

Pitch Perfect | clip - The Bellas remix Just the Way You Are

LEA MICHELE - 'AULD LANG SYNE' (NEW YEAR'S EVE)

Friday the 9th

 To-day's question of the day: Is my experience of God based more on knowing or on feeling? How might I begin to merge the two?

Wow! Two for one. Question!Question!, if you will. 

...I don't think I can offer a short answer for these. I don't even know if I can put into words an answer of any length at all... Am I making this deeper than it is??

I know, objectively, that God is. He is the First Cause. Everything that we know as 'the world' or 'the universe' was put into existence by Him. He was not created, His triune nature is unfathomable. He is. He was, and He is to come. There are none like Him. 

With respect to feelings, I must say I am cautious here. I know we are endowed with emotions and to try and separate us from these would be folly. But the emotions are not indicators of quantities of grace bestowed by God. We don't feel the best, when God is gracing us the most. It doesn't work like that. 

Feelings can be indicators of spiritual growth and even possession by the Spirit, but they aren't necessarily. Even when I feel that I deserve the weeping and gnashing of teeth Christ describes, I know objectively that I am a child of His, and He is waiting lovingly for me in the Sacraments - like the father of the son gone wild. But because I know this, it doesn't mean I will feel elated, or 'spirit-filled' or even joyful. 

To begin to merge the two, I must not be a slave to my emotions. I must remember what I know, and in the end, remember what I believe. He wants to commune with me much more than I could ever imagine wanting anything. I need to remember this. I need to remember who I am in Him, no matter how I feel.

To God be the glory.