What is appropriate?

Hello www, Heavenly Father, bless all the eyes reading this blog: with health, happiness, and L-O-V-E. Thank you Lord for the remission of Olga's cancer and that she no longer needs chemo. Thank you for blessing Carlton with a much needed good paying job. Jesus, please change the hours he's going to work to some that are better suited to him, ie 8 - 5. But only if it's Your Will. A special intention for Bob, you know which one, Lord. In Your Name. Amen. Being single, I think I can safely say marriage is a challenging relationship. I know friendships are hard work, but I think a marriage is even harder to maintain. Having said this, please know I am pro-marriage all the way. I pray often that all marriages are strong and long lasting. Since I am single, though, I wonder about the boundaries of marriage. For example, I am good friends with a few married couples - both the husband and the wife - and I am always respectful-mindful that 'this guy is married,'; the wives of these men are women I greatly respect and admire. I do not even entertain thoughts of flirting with husbands. So for me, boundaries with husbands are a non-issue: my friendships with husbands is appropriate and even fun. But I've heard stories of women who blatantly flirt with husbands, regardless of the presence of the wife. Even if the husband mentions the wife, these women seem undeterred. Indeed there are women who pursue married men. Sometimes these women are married, sometimes they are single. What is up with this kind of behavior? AND, for women who are single and have friends that are married, what is appropriate behavior for you? Let me give you an example, if you are a wife, how do you feel if your husband watches a movie with your single/married girlfriend, when you are out of town? What if your husband were to meet a co-worker who happens to be single, or married, for breakfast? What if the single/married friend wanted to take your hubby to get his car that's been in the shop? This last one I think is inappropriate. That's a wife's duty. But marriages aren't 'cookie cutter' relationships - they don't all fit a mold - so I think a lot of these situational examples depend on the couple. I know wives who absolutely will not let their husbands meet with single or married women, on a one-on-one basis. Are these wives insecure? Not necessarily, though that may be part of the reasoning, but maybe these wives know just how precious a marriage is and will do anything to protect their bond, their covenant with God. (Let me also mention that if a wife is highly insecure about her husbands friendships (to the point of trying to control the husbands every move) with females, married or single, then there might be a greater issue that needs to be looked at, possibly in therapy.) I think wives/husbands are all too aware of how some single or married men and women aren't to be trusted with their mates. Yes, it does take two people giving 100 percent of each other to a marriage for it to work, but where do single/married females, or males, fit into the picture? I honestly believe a married couple needs to have friends outside of the marriage; now that doesn't mean they can't have friends who are single, or married, does it? And husbands, what would you think about your wife getting together with a single/married guy for a drink after work? Okay, so post your thoughts, I'm listening and can't wait to read... God bless!

More information needed

Hello www, Thank you Jesus for continually showing me You are beside me in all of life's trials and tribulations. Special intentions for everyone, whatever their needs may be Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen. Last night I saw the movie "Public Enemies," with one of my favorite actors, Johnny Depp. I liked it. I like films that are historically based, even if Hollywood does add it's touches to it, which unfortunately, is typical. It was amazing to see an airplane from the 1930's. What a wonderful piece of machinery. Nice subtle touches like that throughout the film really bring out the time it was taking place, which is 1933, two years into the Great Depression. Johnny Depp delivers a believable "John Dillinger." Dillinger is a charming and classy criminal. He doesn't hurt civilians and he only takes money from the banks, as opposed to money from the individuals who are in the banks. What I found interesting about his character was that he was a 'one woman' kind of guy. He chooses a beautiful dark-haired woman, Billie, played well by actress Marion Coltillard, to be 'his girl'. He is faithful to her. In fact, in the previews when they show Dillinger with a couple of women at a movie theatre, I am surprised. I would have thought Billie would have been with him. But the reason he can't be with Billie is because she is in jail...At any rate, I've titled this blog 'more information needed' because on first glance, when you see Dillinger with these other women, assumptions are made. Just like in life, we think that what we see is what is. When if we really take a closer look, that's not what's happening at all. But then you really need to be close to the 'characters' in your life to understand what's happening, and where every one's loyalties are, and who is in love with whom. "Public Enemies" has romance on a couple of levels: Dillinger, certainly is a romantic figure. He gives his coat to women he's used as a human shield to get out of robbed banks. He loosely ties up his victims so they can get free and back to safety. He sang to one of his captives. Then there's the romance between Billie and Dillinger. The viewer wants them to be together. They have a genuine affection and understanding between them. What are you waiting for? Go see the film for yourself, and then comeback and add comments. I'd like to know what you thought about the film too. God bless.

Vessels for the Father's Grace

Hello www, Happy Fourth of July to those of us who are Americans. Heavenly Father, bless all the eyes reading this blog and help them in any You see fit. In Jesus Name. Amen. There are some things going on in my life at the moment that I find I can't put into words, not just yet anyway, so my faithful readers will need to just bear with me as I feature a wonderful piece of homily Msgr Don Fischer, from St Josephs parish in Richardson, Tx where I attend mass, wrote in our weekly bulletin. This is from Msgr's "Pastoral Reflections" the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B. Enjoy. We are designed, it seems to me, to be instruments of bringing power and strength to the world. As God works through us, we accomplish something we cannot do on our own. If we can surrender to that, then we can open ourselves to the very simple notion that the healing and its effectiveness, the love we want to give people, is not something we produce or do. It's something that flows through us. I know if we walked up to Jesus and encountered Him in a place where we could just talk, I would want to ask Him: What does it feel like to be a figure who is able to do great things? I think he would look at me very sincerely and honestly and say, "I don't think that makes me so special because it's just coming through me; it's not me who heals people, who frees them from their sins, give them new life, or enables them to walk or to see. He would say, "It all comes through me from my Father. He's the healer. He's the one who brings life to everyone." Jesus doesn't see himself as super-successful in the eyes of the world. In fact, the truth is that the life of Jesus involved so much suffering and so much rejection that there is something in this we need to be able to embrace and understand as part of the process. The effectiveness of our living a life where we are true instruments of God's grace is to get past our egos, our self-centered sides - and to truly become instruments. God bless!