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

Quality Music and Books Accurately Described Because We Look

QualityMusicandBooks.com
Rick and Mary Katherine May, here to serve you!

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

Matthew 16 Who Do You Say That I Am Christian Thought Mary Katherine May

Matthew 16: 13-18 KJV

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

A Credo is a statement of belief: I believe. 
Peter's answer to the question put to him by Jesus is a credo: 

     ~Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (KJV)
     ~Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (NCV)

     ~Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (NIV)

Have you said this because you truthfully mean it and believe it?   Then...Do not judge the reality of your faith by what others think of you. Judge the reality of your faith by what you confess to be true--it's there in the Bible what defines a Christian, a follower of the One Way. 

It is in the Nicene Creed and in the Apostles' Creed. Peter said it when Jesus asked him, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." 

Trust that God knows the veracity of your Credo and go on with your life in peace.

Just thinking. Christian thought by Mary Katherine May.

On Conversion Quote from The Romance of Preaching by Charles Silvester Horne

There are so many sorts of conversion.  It is conversion when the faithless soul believes; and it is conversion when a little faith becomes a larger faith.  It is conversion when bad men become good men; and it is conversion when good men become better men.  It is conversion when hands that hang down are lifted up; and when the lame and erring feet are turned back into the way.  It is conversion when the business standards of the world are exchanged for higher and more human standards; and when the decision to do the brave and honourable thing forces itself within a worldly mind.   

...from Romance of Modern Preaching by Charles Silvester Horne. Lyman Beecher Lectureship on Preaching delivered at Yale University, 1914.

This blog post offered by Mary Katherine May.

In Faith I Look to the Heavens and Rejoice for I Know My Redeemer Lives

In Faith I Look to the Heavens and Rejoice! 

for I Know My Redeemer Lives

Free Downloadable Christian Quotes and Clipart

created by Mary Katherine May of QualityMusicandBooks.com.

Meaningful Easter Message for You Holy Week Good Friday

Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
John 6:68

A Meaningful Message for Easter
Holy Week: Good Friday
by Teri Peterson

As we go through this day, working, or running around getting ready for Easter and making sure the Easter bunny knows where we live, stop to consider that this Good Friday that we pass through is reminding us that from the wee hours of the morning until early Easter morning our Lord lay in a tomb, for us. 

There is none other in heaven, on earth or under the earth by which we are saved from our sin, and given the free gift of life and salvation than by the blood Jesus shed, poured out, for us. Blessings and an awesome Resurrection Day to all of you.