Thinking About Who Matters and What There Is that Matters

All People Matter

IF you look as God looks and see what God sees.

Image created by Mary Katherine May.
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Most people want to be seen for who and what they are. 

Most people want to be understood and given respect because they are. 

We can't know who someone is, however, unless we know where to go to find out.

Matthew 6: 22-24

Q: When you look at someone where do you look? 

A: The eyes are the window to the soul.

Matthew 15: 16-18

Q: When you listen to someone what do you hear?

A: It is what comes out of your mouth that speaks who you are.

Matthew 7: 15-20

Actions speak louder than words: A good tree bears good fruit. 

Actions speak louder than words: A bad tree has nothing to offer.

Image created by Mary Katherine May.
Download free for non-profit use only.

Works of the Law God Works Good Fruit Bad Fruit What Does This All Mean

This blogpost opinion article by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Sunday: 28 December, 2014.  Reading the Bible, I began thinking about the Christian relationship to works of the law as Saint Paul wrote about in his letter to the Galatians, chapter 2, verse 16. Are works good? Can works be good? Who do so many confuse Christian works with the act of salvation through Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life?

Galatians 2: Know that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Works of the Law: What exactly are they? 
I wonder. So often we Christians will read along through the Bible, accepting what we see without truly understanding what it is being talked about. If we cannot understand and explain to ourselves what a passage means, how are we ever going to explain it to a person seeking out Scripture for the first time?

I think this is a very important point: knowing in our heart what God is saying does not mean that we can explain it to someone else.

Works of the Law: Is There a Definition?
Theologians cannot even agree on what the law is. Some New Testament scholars define the law as all of the Jewish requirements for life while some separate the law into moral law, ceremonial law, and the law as set down in the Torah and interpreted over time.

The Halakhah: Jewish law on this site tells us that the practice of following the laws is more than legalism and actually leads to focusing every action in life on God, the one who gave the law. Because I believe the author is correct, further explanation is needed.

Let's Be Clear About the Law
From my Christian view, I see God's Chosen People in ancient times before Christ struggling with faith as we do, attempting to follow teaching in Scripture, trying to live a Godly life. The right time had not come. There was no Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. No cross, no resurrection. When the law was given, however, it was the right time for the law.

Galatians 3:19 NIV: Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.

Think about this from another angle, the law itself can not be bad or Jesus Christ, perfect righteousness, could not have been its fulfillment. It is not the law that is cursed but rather those who seek salvation (1) by their own efforts (If we could do it on our own why then do we need God at all?) and (2) through laws that cannot be followed perfectly and thus be righteous, for true righteousness holds no imperfection. Jesus himself tells us that he fulfilled the law: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5)

And thus, in the fullness of time, Jesus Christ became man. John the Baptist called out, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! When the Pharisees showed up he used strong words, calling them a brood of vipers.  But John wasn't attacking the law, nor did Jesus, nor did Paul or any of the other disciples. What was condemned was the motivation.

The Answer: Believe
John 6: Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works that God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

Evident Faith
Jesus Christ gave one requirement for salvation: believe by faith. He also expected that once saved that the believer's faith would be evident. Scripture tells us that the evidence of faith are the fruits, the good works.  Many evangelical Christians go to great lengths to leave out good works, but in the Bible passages about them are most certainly there.

What are we to do? Deny that a lively, exciting faith is of no consequence? We cannot because it does.  If you were to come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ in the last moments of life you wouldn't have the opportunity to bear the fruits of faith, yet your salvation would be secure and Heaven would await. There are a whole lot of us Christians, however, who commit our lives to Jesus Christ well before our last breath.

Obedience and Motivation
What matters is the source.  If a man lives by following all of what New Testament Scripture tells him to do without a soul motivated by love for Jesus Christ (i.e. faith, belief), the Son of God, Lord and Savior, his actions being wrongly motivated works, would the Kingdom of Heaven.be his destiny? God knows but we cannot since we are not the ones who can judge the soul.

If a Christian woman works very hard in her church because each effort is a plus-point in her favor before God, if a pastor sets all kinds of rules for his congregation to follow and enforces them in dictator-like fashion, what then?

LINK to article by Ray Stedman on Christian Legalism
LINK to article: What Is Legalism? on Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website.

Personally, there are times when I am not 100% where I should be motivational-wise and so I act out of obedience--because I love God and want to serve--but the right motivation is not there yet.  It has been my experience that over time my obedience changes from following a rule to an action motivated by love.

Servants of Christ
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to unto me. (Matthew 25) Actions matter but should never be confused with, or conjoined to, the saving act given free by God to all who will come. What roles does motivation have in good works that do good and the bearing of good fruit?

Matthew 7:18, 19 NIV: A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruits you recognize them.

I think that committed Christians who love the Lord, who desire to serve and cannot do enough, who are filled with the love for God, have the right motivation whether acting out of obedience or out of an abundance of compassion from the heart. It is when rules matter more than God who is Love that trouble is in the wind.

The Will of God
It is true that to know the will of God you must believe by faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Lord and Savior of the world. Christ tells us in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, immediately following his teaching on good fruit the following...

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

As a Christian, doing good works is directly tied to the will of God. And thus, many do works that are good and this is to the benefit of the world, but not all do good works as Christians, who confess Jesus is Lord, believing with all their heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10).

Christmas Give the Gift That Will Cost You Nothing Yet Is Worth More Than Gold

Blessed CHRISTmas to All!

Four Child Saints Martyred Standing Up as Christians in America

Blogpost opinion editorial by Mary Katherine May

Four children were beheaded by Isis when they would not confess to the truth of Islam.... 

...they said, 'no, we love Yasua. We have always loved Yasua. We have always followed Yasua. Yasua has always been with us.'"(source: LINK)

Do you wonder why here in America there are Christians who will not say they are Christian in public even when the validity of Christianity is being discussed? Do you wonder why Christians are under attack in America? Do you wonder if it is because the opportunity is so easy since Christians will not admit who they are? 

Do you think about this? 

It is really easy to say how terrible what happened is, feel bad, and then move on without feeling motivated to stand vocally with these little saints out of fear of...what? Someone calling you a bad name? Someone disowning you as a friend? 

It's the world permeated with evil or it is God. Black or white. No straddling the fence --either in the green pasture or the mud. We all want Obama to say something and do something, but why should he and why should we expect him to if we, as in all Christians, will not stand for Christ ourselves?

Jesus is the CHRIST in CHRISTmas Celebrate Jesus birth!

Jesus is the CHRIST in CHRISTmas!

A free download with graphic created by Mary Katherine May and music arranged by Mary Katherine May for nonprofit sharing. Inspired by the Megyn Kelly interview with Franklin Graham to Stand Up for Christ on December 10, 2014.

Thanksgiving Quote Gratitude Is the Sign of Noble Souls Aesop

Photograph taken by Mary Katherine May
Larger image below.

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. 
Quote from Androcles and the Lion
by Aesop (620 B.C. - 564 B.C.)

This blogpost offering by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com
Photograph by Mary Katherine May.

A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest. As he was wandering about there he came upon a lion lying down moaning and groaning. At first he turned to flee, but finding that the lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up to him. As he came near, the lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing all the pain. He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog. Then the lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to bring him meat from which to live.

But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the lion were captured, and the slave was sentenced to be thrown to the lion, after the latter had been kept without food for several days.

SOURCE FOR IMAGE
Europa's Fairy Book Restored and Retold by Joseph Jacobs
Done into Pictures by John D. Batten
New York: G. Putnam's Sons 1916

The emperor and all his court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. Soon the lion was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring towards his victim. But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognized his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog.

The emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story. Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the lion let loose to his native forest. (Source)

Photograph taken in Northern Minnesota by Mary Katherine May, November 2014.

To Michelle Obama and All You Other Righteous Fat Critics

Deep frying chicken wings in canola oil.

This blog post offering by Mary Katherine May.

The problem with all of this stuff about what foods to eat and not eat is that  the people who recommend them never take into account what anyone likes. 

If you like white rice and think brown rice isn't delicious because it is "nutty" then eating brown rice will not be satisfying.   

If you like dark meat chicken with the skin on then dry white chicken is going to be like eating cardboard. 

If you like white toast and don't like whole grain bread because it is all lumpy and tastes like dirt then you are not going to switch over to whole grain bread.

If you like Chinese take out food then you are not going to be satisfied by eating baked or boiled chicken meat and a few vegetables made at home.

WHAT HAPPENS is that instead of working WITH what people like the brilliant healthy skinny people create an attitude of defeat.  If you are made to eat the healthy stuff and it isn't satisfying what you end up doing is eating the healthy stuff AND THEN eating more because there is no conclusion of the satisfying eating experience. 

Guilting people into healthy eating to be healthy doesn't work.  There is more to life than sweaty exercise and food that you don't like.  Satisfaction is important, and the health people seem to never take that into account.  What health professionals do to fat people is little different than those who proselytize their religion on someone who doesn't want it because it does not a thing for them mentally, emotionally.

To Michelle Obama and all those other health nuts: 
You cannot push your ideas on others and act like people can just throw out a lifetime of their own ways and methods. I don't know a single person who likes being fat, huge, obese, or piggy porky big--but you are never going to make it work through the current way of talking and doing. 

It is the way it is.  A noble cause that is just a bunch of words with no satisfaction in the experience will forever remain alphabet letters on the page and fail.

Confusing Obama Press Conference 5 November 2014 What Republicans Want

Mr. Obama held a press conference today, sort of a post-election wrap up. He said that before making any decisions he needs to find out what the Republicans want. What??? Am I the only one wondering why after 6 years in office he doesn't know what the Republican representatives want??? 

Have the Republicans in the U.S. Senate and Congress been mute for six years?

OR

Did Mr. Obama choose not to listen to anyone but himself?

AND

Will the President of Some-of-the-People of the United States of American listen now?

When Mr. Obama doesn't listen to Republicans in the same city where he works and resides who represent the people of the United States of America, specifically Americans who believe in the Republican ideology, he has also not listened to anyone of the Republican ilk in this country.  That is shameful and disrespectful, and pathetically sad.

I listened to Mr. Obama today from beginning to end. I have listened to him many, many times from beginning to end.  Evidently him reciprocating in turn will not happen in the next two years, either.  Mr. Obama is unbelievable.

I would tell Mr. Obama to put his listening ears on, or even buy him some Q-tips to open his ears up, but it wouldn't do any good.  You see, we who disagree with anything on his agenda don't matter. Not one bit.

...Mary Katherine May

Unbelievable President Obama Says Day Care Better Than Mom Raising Children

As Obama likes to state over and over and over again, Let me be perfectly clear...Hired help as in daycare does NOT do a better job of raising children than the parents of the children. Some mothers believe that staying at home to raise their children, not being in the workplace is NOT a punishment but an important role in life.

Rather than belittle stay at home moms, they should be honored for the work they do, often without gratitude they should have, and praise them for standing firm on the priority for preparing the children they birthed to be honest, righteous, upstanding adults who contribute much to society.

It is not surprising that Mr. Obama would make this statement since his remarks in the past regarding abortion--he would want his daughters to have an abortion if they get pregnant rather than be punished for the rest of their lives--demonstrates his lack of basic human morality.

Let me be perfectly clear, Mr. Obama, a child in the womb, created not by his or her own will has no ability to punish anyone. Saying that a baby who is unable to speak for itself is punishment removes the responsibility from the responsible parties.  Again, the comment demonstrates his lack of basic morality.

I encourage Christians to pray for Barrack Obama, who desperately needs a spiritual intervention that will soften his heart and ultimately lead him to becoming a vessel of Godly compassion for those he is supposed to be leading, the Citizens of the United States of America.

Fly Your American Flag with Pride Because You Are an American in the Uni...

Angels Among Us by Mary May with Revelation 5 MP4

This video was recorded August, 2009, for The House United, a public access cable television show produced by Mary Katherine May at Northwest Community Television in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Music written and performed by Mary Katherine May.

This song is based on Matthew 24:31.  The question is asked about the angels, "Will they show me how to fly?  Let me join them in the sky? Will they see my tears of joy, when I cry out, 'Holy, Lord!'"  In the third verse, while kneeling before Jesus in heaven, the angels let me join them..."Then the angels lift me high, let me join them in the sky.  Alleluia! Is my song, praising Jesus all day long. Now forever I will be with my Savior, ever free!"  Here it is used with the reading of Revelation 5.

I scored the music to be played as a piano solo or as a vocal solo with piano or keyboard. To request a score and permission for use contact Mary Katherine May.

The text in the book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John, chapter 5, paints one of the most beautiful pictures of the meaning of faith and hope in all of the Holy Bible.

Living in the Light of the Rainbow Color Race and Living in Harmony in Tan

Mary Katherine May

Commentary by Mary Katherine May

I was thinking this evening about tan. We are all shades of tan from light to dark. I am so very tired of the differentiating between race, ethnicity, big, little, where and how we live, all of that. 

If I were important and noticed I would get rid of the labels: black, white, red, yellow. Everyone would be tan.  We cannot remove the anger and hate except through God's grace and so many reject even the possibility, yet we can do a lot better than we do.

In God's Kingdom we are not any particular color but instead filled with the light. On earth we reflect the light and I have decided that we reflect the colors of the rainbow, God's covenant and promise to the world. It is quite satisfying all the way around to think about this.

Living in the Light of God's Rainbow
Download free, please do not sell.

Mary Katherine May Posts Her List of 10 Facts About Parenting

Image created from the photo library
of Mary Katherine May

Ten Facts about Being a Parent
by Mary Katherine May

This list of 10 parenting facts is not scientific or backed with credentials of educational authority. It is opinion based upon personal experience. 

I would like to read lists from other parents of adult children.



1 Once a parent, always a parent. 
2 Death does not end being a parent. 

3 The most rewarding experience in a lifetime. 
4 The most heartbreaking experience in a lifetime. 
5 Being a parent means knowing that your heart can be broken over and over again and you will survive. 

6 Being a parent puts how much you trust God to take care of anything to the test. 
7 Knowing in hindsight what parenting involves and knowing that there is no regret. 

8 Being a parent means knowing that there are those so much more important than yourself that you would die for them and even kill to protect. 

9 Means moments bursting with pride. 
10 The greatest responsibility, impacting the future, you will ever have.

Crucify! Says the Public Media CNN MSNBC FOX Report on the Scandal of the Day

Crucify! Says the Public Media                 

Opinion Editorial by Mary Katherine May

The Roman Coliseum in America as a Means of Justice

Who are the latest to be taken down by the public media venues? Television cable stations, internet sites, print publications and radio seem to delight in publicly dissecting and ruining the Celebrity of the Day, leaving no pebble unturned in their quest.

Fox News, CNN and MSNBC, the cable news programs I surf through, claim to give you the heart of current events in a fair and balanced manner when we know the truth is that what we hear has far more opinion than fact. 

Do viewers get a false sense of reality of what people are about because of what they hear, as Mr. Obama claims? In my opinion the answer is no. Viewers watch the news stations that best suit what they believe to be true, or appear to hold their same values, wanting to hear about current events from the perspective they already hold.

Across the board of all venues, however, there is a multi-partisan attitude to include the public crucifixion, maybe thinking it in the genre social interest, in the daily line up of reported current events. It is never ending. Once one scandalous person has finally been laid to rest, the next victim’s sins begin to be aired and hung out to have their skin beaten off like an old dirty rug.

There is little talk of compassion or interest in rehabilitation and certainly no interest in justice even though indignation is claimed. The amount of time given to the victim’s sin tells the viewers that it must be far worse than any other, as though all who enter the ring of terror to add their timely wisdom were sinless.

I am reminded of a piranha feeding frenzy, of Job in the Old Testament being criticized by his three friends, of Jesus Christ being mocked on the cross, of Christians being thrown into the center of the Roman Coliseum and torn apart by lions while people yelled and cheered over the bloody body parts.

And after the party is over, then what? Where do the victims go? How do they rebuild their lives, learn from their mistakes, get help and move on? Where is the future for them and their families?   

I wonder who the greatest sinners are in this mutilation of human life: the victims or the self-proclaimed judge and jury of the people, fueled by continuous flaming of the fire by the reports perpetrated by those who decide what is newsworthy?

Drive Defensively Stay Clear of Texters Free Download Poster

Three poster signs for free download for your own use and nonprofit use.

 (You know what that means: Do not sell.)

Created by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com 

in response to current issues and topics of interest.

To download to your iphone or that kind of phone: tap and hold image, follow prompts to save.

To download to your computer right click with mouse, 

choose save or save as, name image, click save.

Drive Defensively: Stay Clear of Texters

1302x1574 pixels

Strangers Enter at Your Own Risk
Our Dogs Don't Like You

814x911 Pixels

And God looketh down upon his World.
Father of all, He proclaimeth to his errant children,
"TIMETH OUT!"

1985x1361 Pixels

Terrorists Jihadists Why the Masks Where Are Your Faces

Opinion Editorial by Mary Katherine May

These terrorists are cowards all of them. They are not brave enough to show themselves but instead what they are doing in the name of Allah is done with scarves and hats over their heads to hide who they are. If theirs is a grand and noble cause then they should show who they are because what they stand for is worthy of its efforts. Instead they cower behind disguise and do terrible things because that is the only way that people will do what they want. 

They are quickly growing in numbers because God is allowing Satan to gather those who are lost by deception. This is a spiritual, Satanic war that is going on. Whether it is leading to the end of time as we know it or if finally all who are for righteousness declare themselves and beat it down in the name of the true God of Peace whose victory was won through the blood of Jesus Christ, only God knows. 

It is a fearful time but fear will not win when we stand aright in spite of fear, not ashamed to show who we stand for by being lights for Jesus Christ. Only evil crawls into the pit of darkness because light exposes it and them for who they really are. We must pray daily and not stop praying. Pray for those consumed by this evil, pray for peace, pray for ourselves to be strong, and pray for our families.

To those Christians who rejoice believing the end is near I say that is a shameful thing. Rejoicing when so much suffering is going on shows no Godliness but is instead mean-spirited and sick behavior. 

To those Christians who believe the Rapture will spirit you away before heinous acts of terrorism and great final war reach where you are, I wonder why all the Christians who have now been displaced, tortured and brutally murdered have been excluded from this blessed event. Can you really believe that God decides who to rapture by location, as in where they live? 

There is sorrow for every lost soul and our sorrow should be no less. The rejoicing that should be happening for Christians is that though we are sinners we have forgiveness through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In this is our peace and hope. Amen.

Military Appreciation Day August 26 2014 Minnesota State Fair

Photo taken by Mary Katherine May at the 9:30 a.m.
flag raising ceremony at the 2014 Minnesota State Fair
on Military Appreciation Day.

This blogpost commentary by Mary Katherine May

Tuesday, August 26, 2014, at the Minnesota State Fair was Military Appreciation Day.  There were two flag raising ceremonies, and the three in our group--two grandchildren and I--attended the first at 9:30 a.m.  133,595 people attended the fair yesterday, yet there were barely 30 present at the ceremony, and most older in age than my 61 years.

Does that seem shamefully paltry? Perhaps not--not right, but also not unexpected. People go to the fair for fun and food.  Before I read the Tuesday schedule on Monday night I cannot say that I even knew that our great State Fair did this.  And perhaps even less right is that I am aware of only one Twin Cities television station to have filmed and reported on the event. I saw one video camera belong to KSTP.  They get a thumbs up in my book of praise.  Click Here to watch the video.

The program was short but moving, ending with taps being played in remembrance of all who have died protecting our country.  I am glad that we were there.  Having a father, stepfather, uncles, aunt, brother and others known to me who served during WWII, as well as in the Korean and Vietnam wars and now in current conflicts, it was a sentimental and tearful few moments of remembrance that our freedom isn't free.

James Carroll, WWII Veteran of the 101st Airborne Division,
the Screaming Eagles,who took part in the Normandy Invasion.
Photo taken by Mary Katherine May

Present at the ceremony was James Carroll from the 101st Airborne Division known as the Screaming Eagles who took part in the Normandy invasion.  It was a great honor to shake his hand and I doubt I will forget having done so.

2014 is a fearful time with a new kind of battle against terrorism that at present has no end in sight. I pray for peace and hope others are doing the same.  Freedom cannot be taken for granted, because if we do the privilege will be gone sooner than we think.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,
And to the Republic, for which it stands,
One nation, under God, indivisible,
With liberty and justice for all.

God bless America.  God bless brave men and women who willingly take part in preserving our freedom.  Amen.

Prayer for Peace.

Video created by Mary Katherine May for The House United, 

a public access cable television show produced at

Northwest Community Television in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

NWCT is now live streaming on the web.

The Choice: Peace or War

A video short by Mary Katherine May titled The Choice: Peace or War. Using Scripture verses and Hebrew words from the Holy Bible the question about what is each person's choice, whether to make war for the wrong reasons or to begin with desire for peace. Please check out my related video titled Prayer for Peace in the World. Produced by Mary Katherine May through Northwest Community Television in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota for The House United show 112. 

Scam Credit Card Offer Using Your Phone Number YIKES

Blog post by Mary Katherine May.

Freaky weird bizarre thing just happened: one of those credit card recording that are a scam. You know the ones--an offer too good to turn down, or press 1 to get off of our list and of course you don't. 

HERE is the uncomfortable feely part: It came from our telephone number! So I called our phone company. Phone Man Carlos says it is happening a lot. It is not hacking but the scammers can mask where they call from with your own number. 

YIKES! IT FEELS LIKE A TV CRIME SHOW!

Nothing you can do BUT you can sign up if you haven't all ready with the national Do Not Call Registry, where you can also file complaints. Phone Man Carlos said it should help. Here is the website address--just follow the directions.
http://www.DoNotCall.gov 

Prayer for Peace in the World Stop War Killing Persecution

Join with Mary Katherine May and others to pray for peace for the world, for an end to war, for persecuted Christians, for victims of war. 

Prayer sources: incommunion.org, chausa.org, and catholic.org. Music composed and/or arranged by Mary Katherine May. excerpted from The House United 112, a public access cable television show produced through Northwest Community Television (NWCT.org) in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.

Apochrypha Bible Quote from Sirach 15 God and Free Choice

Sirach 15: 14-20

When God, in the beginning, created man, he made him subject to his own free choice.  If you choose you can keep the commandments; it is loyalty to do his will.  There are set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch for your hand.  Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given him.  Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power and all seeing.  The eyes of God see all he has made; he understands man’s every deed.  No man does he command to sin, to none does he give strength for lies.  

St. Joseph New Catholic Edition of the Holy Bible. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1962

This blog post offered by Mary Katherine May.

Is American Exceptionalism Unique to America

Photograph by Mary Katherine May.
Permission is given to download and use.

Is American Exceptionalism Unique to America???

Blogpost article by Mary Katherine May.

I think it would be very odd if any country did not celebrate what makes it unique.  I cannot imagine any country fighting those who threaten the ability to maintain their own way of life as Germany, France, Great Britain, the U.S.A. have done multiple times.  I cannot imagine any country's peoples, now oppressed and ruled by another country, fighting to the death for independence and freedom to govern themselves as they now do.

Exceptionalism: A theory that a nation, region, or political system is exceptional and does not conform to the norm.

What is the norm around the globe that to which every country which governs itself conforms?  Is what is normal in the United States of America appropriate in the Philippines?  As Americans we would be the better for standing by and acknowledging each country's right to live in the manner unique to itself than to change ourselves into...into what?  The truth is we can't. No individual within a family or social culture can become what others believe they should be.  If the self-concept is flawed it is not the reality that is skewed but the perception of what really is.

Why shouldn't Americans be proud of our countries exceptional qualities??? Celebrating what is good in no way negates our faults. I find it both ironic and sad that these Americans that want to bring down national pride are at the same time very proud and loyal of their favorite sports teams. It shows how skewed their priorities are.

The Clone Kingdom
The goal of those who want to decrease in exceptionalism believe that through their benevolence the "playing field" for all will be made level and equal giving all a fair chance.  The truth is, however, that there is no level playing field.  In the work place there will always be bosses and those who work for the boss.  In sports there will always be owners and coaches who set the course for the team.  In education there will always be Principals and Teachers who dictate what the students are to do.  If there is nothing to strive for, there is no desire to gain. 

People are not clones but unique individuals, each having exceptional qualities.  Countries are not clones but unique unto themselves, each having exceptional qualities.  I balk at the notion that I should lower my standards in order to bring someone else's standard up. That is backwards.

Myth or Reality Prolife Christians Hate Women

Myth or Reality: Prolife Christians Hate Women
by Mary Katherine May

RECOMMENDED LINK to Orthodox Christianity in Public: Reflections on Sexuality and Bioethics, a talk given by Father Andrew Stephen Damick on Ancient Faith Radio, an Orthodox Christian website.

Description of Father Damick's talk: What is a person? Is our culture confused about what a person is? What is morality? What does it mean to be moral? How does sex fit in? What about homosexuality, abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research and assisted suicide? How should we as Orthodox Christians live regarding these matters? How should we talk to our family and friends about them? How should we talk to the wider society about them? Should we engage in political action over them?

People who are Pro-Life believe that every life has the right to exist. Christians and those of other religions who are named with the label Pro-life are people who believe that human life was and is created by God or a creator. As God made man, woman, people in his own image and God is holy, it is thus also true that every person has at a minimum an element of of holiness, despite how deeply that element may be hidden from view.

Human life that is created by God is human from its conception. To say that a person who is For (Pro) Life hates any life is preposterous. To say that women who are for life and that is all life must hate women is also preposterous because they then must hate themselves.

Those who are against protecting every human life, specifically life in the womb, want the general public to believe that they are far more generous and all-inclusive in respect to protecting every person's rights. The truth is, however, that they do not respect all life because they do not respect the right of innocent infants to live unless the woman chooses.

What pro-choice people want is for everyone to accept their opinion as fact, and at a minimum have the expectation that those who believe in the sanctity or holiness of life should agree to disagree, which in truth makes them complicit accessories in the killing of infants who have no voice.

The truth is that the pro-choice stance does far more than allowing women to choose for themselves how to control their bodies.

Pro-Choice means that women are put in the position of being executioner or giving pardon to the life within. 

Pro-choice offers women the freedom that men supposedly naturally have by their very nature to choose sexual relationships with no consequence. Women in this position do not gain equality as women but instead women lose dignity of personhood to gain false equality by taking on the role of men, who themselves are not acting with good moral character when they deny responsibility for their actions.

Pro-choice supporters believe that all restrictions for murdering infants should be removed so that women may decide as they will. This position in truth demeans women in the sense that it trivializes the lives of the infants they carry as well as disrespecting who they are as women. Women have the God-given ability to bear children, and women should not settle for any form of equality but that which respects their bodies.

Life and death decisions are serious. There are times when this decision is necessary, but it is not after a life has been created out of choice. Considering murder as a reasonable choice of birth control is against nature, against women, and against the sanctity of life that deems every person has the right to exist.

President Barack Obama has stated his approval of abortion on demand because he wouldn't want his two daughters, should they become pregnant, to be punished for the rest of their lives. My response is to wonder why Mr. Obama feels that the created life is to blame for his daughters' poor choices should they become pregnant by their own choosing. LINK to YouTube video of Obama statement.

The issue of life continues to be debated as heatedly now as it was decades ago. The arguments are old and repetitive, yet they are not going away. Now, with the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Hobby Lobby fresh on the national scene, passions have again risen to mountainous heights.

Make no mistake. 

There are two lives at stake in being pro-choice.

Christians who are for life are not haters of women, and that is a myth perpetrated by those who call themselves for choice. If all who do not believe in the pro-choice position were included as haters at least the choice message would be consistent, but the reality is that Christians are the only group given the hater designation.

What choice entails is debatable. For what women in everyday circumstances are choosing to do is treat themselves as less than who they are by denying the dignity of womanhood.  Women in difficult circumstances when their own lives are threatened or due to rape do have a tough choice to make, and that is where the focus of the law should be positioned.

Myth or Reality God Exists Only If I Say So

Myth or Reality: Does GOD exist only if I say so?

MYTH: Christians will often say that there is the physical world and there is God's world. There are those who want to remove God from the world and are on the surface succeeding. 

REALITY: People have attempted to remove God for a very long time and it has never happened, never will. God created the world and everything in it. It is God's world. In the Spiritual realm there is darkness (denial of God) and there is light (God revealed) but God is always here in the now. 

Denying God does not remove God but rather builds a wall of darkness around the denier. It is called a hardened heart--you don't want God, He will ultimately leave you in the dark. 

God is, God has been and God always will be in all things, everywhere. God revealed is in the second person of the Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ. What a wonder this is! Last night I went to sleep in the presence of God, this morning I awoke in the same place and every moment of this day will be with Him. Christ is in our midst. Glorify Him.

This blog post offered by Mary Katherine May.

Here Is My Beef Marie Osmond and Nutrisystem

Marie has her life back after losing
50 pounds? Really??? Where did her life go?

Here is what I think...

If you watch television you have most likely seen the Marie Osmond commercial for Nutrisystem. You have probably seen it more than once, more than twice and maybe you are as tired of it as I am. 

When Marie shows up on my TV screen I change the channel. I mute the audio. I am SO TIRED of that commercial I resent the word Nutrisystem. 

So good for Marie now that she's lost 50 pounds she has her LIFE back. WHAT?!?!?!? Where did her life go?? Is Marie so shallow that she measures her life and identity by 50 pounds? 

So good for Marie. She's making loads of money over 50 pounds. She has her life back. And now that Marie is living again CAN WE PLEASE move on????????????????????????????????????????????

One More Thing...
When you are on Nutrisystem you eat their food after you buy their food. Nutrisystem food is none other than low calorie TV dinners BUT you not only pay Nutrisystem for their lowsy TV dinners you pay them for allowing them to sell you their TV dinners.  So here is what you do: cut out the Middle Man named Nutrisystem.  Go to your supermarket, you local Target or Walmart, Sam's Club or Costco that sells food like the Nutrisystem TV dinners that not only have the same real food and loads of added chemicals to preserve them and buy your own. They come frozen and boxed.  You will probably lose the same weight if you stick with it and it will cost you less.



Thank you very much.
from Mary Katherine May

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Here Lies a Worrier Died a Thousand Deaths Harold E Kohn

Adventures in Insight
Rev. Harold E. Kohn

(from) Adventures in Insight
Rev. Harold E. Kohn, author and illustrator
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967

This blogpost offering by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Link to Mary Katherine May's book blog: Babamarusia's Christian Book Review.

Recommended Devotional Reading
Inspirational commentary offered in conversational style and accompanied by the author's own illustrations.  

From the Charlevoix (Michigan) Historical Society Newsletter, August 2003:
link: Charlevoix Historical Society Newsletter
Dr. Kohn became the minister of the First Congregational Church in 1952 and wrote eight popular books based on his sermons, lectures, love of nature, and life experiences during his tenure. He wrote a nationally syndicated column called "A Lift for Living," and was published in Reader's Digest. He illustrated all of his books and articles with pen and ink drawings, primarily dealing with birds, animals, flowers, birch and pine trees, and other scenes from nature. Dr. Kohn painted many watercolors, works highly prized by collectors.

Here Lies a Worrier: Died a Thousand Deaths (Buried but Once)
Illustration may be governed by copyright law. Restriction for use may apply.
from: Adventures in Insight, written and illustrated by Harold E. Kohn.

Links to Information about Rev. Kohn
North Central College: Outstanding Alumni Award winner 1973
Ken Pierpont on Harold Kohn

About Adventures in Insight (from dustjacket endflaps):

Front dustjacket flap from Adventures in Insight
Harold E. Kohn, author


Back dustjacket endflap from Adventures in Insight
Harold E. Kohn, author