Wanna bet?

Hello www, Some heartfelt prayers for the following people: PW, whose mother has gone to be with the Lord; Jesus, may P feel your presence beside her and take comfort in knowing You walk with her during this difficult time in life, and always; Lord, please help us find a cure for cancer; for all marriages, newlyweds, engaged couples (you know who you are!), and single people - for an openness and awareness to God's guidance and love in our lives; for all children - for their safety, for their health, and happiness; special intentions for CO, BG, NA, SC, JL, VV, ON, JR, JI, VG, PJ, DB, CB, OF, SN, AE, BK, JD, and LH-ES - You know our needs, Lord, Your will be done; for anyone who I said I'd say a prayer for - and for those who have no one to pray for them - may God hear their prayers, and if it be God's will, give them their heart's desire; for peace in all families, and, as always, our gratitude to You, God, for the constant outpouring of blessing on our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. I like going to places I shouldn't. !!! Casinos. I happily stood amidst a mildly uncomfortable, cold atmosphere, where dimmed lights and the ding-dinging of slot machines pushed against me. At the core of my amusement the sense of sin - no, sinning - loomed. Remember when a Catholic is born our guilt is securely attached to our souls. The Great Guilter - GG - as I affectionately call my 76-year-old mom - ingrained in me at an early age that 'having fun causes woes.' Mom means no harm, literally, with this notion; she wishes for me what all parents want for their children: the preservation of good thoughts, kind actions, and pure, clean love: naivete, basically. Sadly there is no innocence in a casino. We play for greed and power - out of stupidity. I spent $7. Spent? I should have just torn open the lid of a huge garbage can and tossed my money in it. This is the woe my mom is warning me against. A whole dollar, all of it, lol, went to a fancy-silly slot machine. $6 was lost faster than a flash from a digital camera in a Black Jack game. Those $7 could have been exploited wiser, perhaps on a poker game. Kidding. After I lost on the Black Jack game, I walked away wondering what I could have done differently, or if I even had a chance to win. I am no psychologist, but maybe that's how addictions begin - a tiny, seemingly inconsequential action - $7 lost, big woop - can turn a person with a more vulnerable personality into a full-blown, I'll-pawn-all-I-have, I-know-I-can-win gambling addict. Sometimes temptations comes to us and sometimes we go to temptations. I read somewhere on a dream interpretation web-site that if a creature, monster, anything awful, is chasing you, you are to stop running, confront it, and ask it what it wants. I believe this advice is also applicable to our real-life demons. Christ was tempted in the desert. We can expect to be lured by sinful occasions as well. With God on our side, though, we will have the courage to ask our monster, "What do you want?" and with God's grace respond to the answer in a life-affirming way. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhddddddddddddd bless!