Burnt Biscuits ~ A Story on Love and the 'Concept of God'

Someone just sent me this via email. 

It's a story on love and the 'Concept of God'. 

Is your 'Concept of God'... ONLY... to grant your wishes? Or is it more than that? 

I like the 'Concept of God' suggested in this story where ~ "[God is] ... the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!"

I know I'll have to get pass the 'Concept of God' because the the 'Concept of God' is only just... MY... 'Theory of Evolution'. 

Now... all I need to do is to get pass the "Concept of" and to really get to know "God". Who is HE? What more can I do to know him better? What more must I do that I have not already done? I'm limited. The ball is on HIS side of the court. Maybe it's not my time yet... but till then... I'll just have to be contented with just the 'Concept of God'... and I must say that... the 'Concept of God' does excite me... for now.

I've learnt that...

a concept is only an onset of what I feel to be real, and the 

"Concept of God" is the only think that excites me, for now.

I'm looking forward to when it will no longer be... a concept.

I know that this will happen... although I do not know when.

===.

The Burnt Biscuits (Story)

When I was a kid, my mom would prepare special breakfast every now and then. And I remember one night in particular, after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: Honey, I love burned biscuits.

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned.

He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone! You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like some people do. What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other?s faults - and choosing to celebrate each other?s differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship."

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!

Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own.

God Bless You..... now, and always....

So Please pass me a biscuit, and yes, the burnt one will do just fine.!.!.!.!

===.

Why Be Catholic ~ Today's Reading & Reflection

I find today's reflection by Jean Cheng very useful in answering a lot of my personal questions and favorite subjects which are:

• Why some converts choose to become Catholics?

• The "...universal truths and guiding principles of life."

• I am surprised that sometimes we human beings are able "...to die to our own selfishness and choose another person's happiness over our own..."

• The "...recipe to the deep joy, peace, meaning, and purpose that our hearts truly desire."

• The "...secret recipe of life..."

• The danger of falling "...into the trap of being my own god."

I just had to share. The reading was tough for me to read with so much rules. But the reflection made a lot of sense to me.

~~~

Friday in the 17th Week of Ordinary Time

Fri, 2011 Jul 29

~~~

Today's 1st Reading:

Leviticus 23:1.4-11.15-16.27.34-37

http://www.usccb.org/nab/072911.shtml

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said:

'These are the Lord's solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day.

'The fourteenth day of the first month, between the two evenings, is the Passover of the Lord; and the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of Unleavened Bread for the Lord. For seven days you shall eat bread without leaven. On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you shall offer a burnt offering to the Lord. The seventh day is to be a day of sacred assembly; you must do no work.'

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said:

'Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:

'"When you enter the land that I give you, and gather in the harvest there, you must bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest, and he is to present it to the Lord with the gesture of offering, so that you may be acceptable. The priest shall make this offering on the day after the sabbath.

'"From the day after the sabbath, the day on which you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You are to count fifty days, to the day after the seventh sabbath, and then you are to offer the Lord a new oblation.

'"The tenth day of the seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast, and you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord.

'"The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tabernacles for the Lord, lasting seven days. The first day is a day of sacred assembly; you must do no heavy work. For seven days you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. On the eighth day you are to hold a sacred assembly, you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a day of solemn meeting; you must do no heavy work.

'"These are the solemn festivals of the Lord to which you are to summon the children of Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices and libations to the Lord, according to the ritual of each day."'

~~~

Today's Reflection by Jean Cheng:

from ~ http://thecatholicwriter.com/oxygen/2011/07/friday-29-jul-universal-truths/

You must… you are to….

A very good friend of mine, who is not Catholic, recently told me that she has been attending Mass every Sunday. Surprised, I asked her why she decided to. Her response was one filled with much wisdom and humility. Without a regular commitment to a religion, she realized that she had begun to decide for herself what was right and wrong. Over time, however, she began to question whether her standards of what was right and wrong were in fact true. By justifying to herself all her actions based on her own guidelines, she realized that she had become her own god.

Being a deeply spiritual person, even if she has not subscribed completely to a particular religion, she believed that there is a set of universal truths and guiding principles of life.  Whenever we live according to these universal truths and principles, we experience deep joy and peace. For example, whenever we are able to die to our own selfishness and choose another person's happiness over our own, while we may experience initial discomfort, we also experience a great sense of inner joy, peace, and meaning. We learn to care more for others and add value and meaning to their lives. Consequently, we love ourselves more, knowing that our hearts have grown bigger. Contrastingly, whenever we act selfishly and demand that others meet our needs, even when these needs are initially satisfied, we will not experience lasting joy and peace. The initial satisfaction quickly wears off and before we know it, we continue demanding for more.

My friend and I both strongly believe that there is a greater universe beyond the one we presently live in. Whenever we act based on the principles of that universe, and not the cut-throat economical principles of our world, we find that deeper peace, joy, meaning, and fulfillment that our hearts were made for.

Therefore, while today's first reading might initially appear to be a set of oppressive rules, they are merely God's ways of helping us to know these universal truths and principles. They are His loving ways of giving us the recipe to the deep joy, peace, meaning, and purpose that our hearts truly desire.

~~~

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to be open when anybody – regardless of who he/she may be – challenges my way of life and provides me with Your recipe to the deep meaning, fulfillment, peace, and joy that my heart desires. Help me to recognize moments when my heart is closed so that I will not fall into the trap of being my own god.

Thanksgiving: Thank You Holy Spirit for constantly whispering the secret recipe of life to me. Help me to let go of my pride and fears and be more open to Your guidance in my life.

~~~

Heaven ~ by Unknown Poet

As usual, I get things sent to me via email and I don't like forwarding something that might be construde as spam to others... but here's a funny poem about Heaven. I hope you like it.

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Heaven ~ by Unknown Poet

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.

'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JUDGE NOT!!

Remember...
Just going to church
doesn't make you a Christian
any more than
standing in your garage
makes you a car mechanic.
Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!
Now it's your turn...
Share this poem.

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I Believe & We Believe ~ The Apostles' Creed

Credo
I Believe
We Believe
The Apostles' Creed
Catholic

Here's a side by side comparison (click on image to enlarge) ...

The Apostle's Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again. He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.