My facebook status...a year ago

 

As many of you know, one of my top role models in life is Bob Rice. We hare a lot of the same faith walk and I really look up to him...some may say obsessed. But anyway about a year ago  he had a blog that had this:

"I wish Catholics would:
-Drop everything and pray five times a day like Muslims
-Know their faith like Mormons
-Love the Bible like Protestants
-Have the evangelistic zeal of Jehovah’s Witnesses
-Think of themselves as “God’s People” like the Jews
-Love the Eucharist like we should
Wouldn’t that be somethin’?"

 That was it just something to think about I guess. And I sat their and read it and thought wow, that would be something...I should make an effort to  do these things...So I made it a goal and my facebook status....they have a side bar thing and I am sure you all have noticed it...they will post your status from a year a go....it occured to me...WOW, that was a year ago. and I look at that and I feel like I have done a few of these things. And already did a few of them at the time and still do. But I have a challenge for all of you...Do These things  now that life teen is back this would be a great time to pick back up, maybe you lost a little bit of your zeal from the summer fun. Maybe you missed mass a handful of times. Now is the time to pick it up and start anew. The way of being God's people is this way, to PRAY, LOVE THE BIBLE, KNOW THE FAITH, TEACH THE FAITH, THINK, AND LOVE THE EUCHARIST! 

 That should be your goal no matter what your age is!

Where were you when the world stop turning?

Today marks an aniversary of the largest terroist attack since Pearl Harbor. And I just want to share my thoughts and emotions from that day. I was in 5th grade in Mr. Germono's class and we were doing math...well I was counting down the mintues till Gym class. I didn't see any tower hit live, because of our age the princeapal decided not to allow any teacher to turn in on. But they all knew it happened. I found out during lunch when a friend of mine Stephen Fynn told me because he was with the tutor and she told the whole class of nine kids what had happened. It had felt like the world litterly stopped for the rest of the day. Who did it?, Why did they do it?, and How are we going to act upon them? were all the questions in my head. My parents didn't pick me up, We live in Green Ohio not DC, NYC, LA, Houston etc, etc. All Mr. G was allowed to tell us after lunch was "Mr. Booth doesn't think you are old enough to watch the coverage. Even if I disagee  he gets the final say. I have to listen to him. But  yes we were attacked, and don't be surprised if parents are picking up their kids." A week later Mr. Verdee ( the school counselor) came around and talk to every class. So when I got off the bus. I ran home, my mom was crying on the couch glued to the tv as well as my sister. We watched every second of coverage. My dad came home and we watch bombs get dropped on Afghanistan. I didn't go to bed till about midnight because I was not going to miss anything else.  So that is where I was 10 years ago room 16 in Green Intermediate. I remeber hearing about the flight 93. All of those passangers are true American Heroes in my mind. They fought and didn't just sit around and wait to die. Then by an act of God their plane when down in a field. Not on a school, or work building. and then plane that went down on the pentagon. Most people see 9/11 as the planes hitting the world trade centers but that is not the case it is all 4 planes and the many people who lost their lives.

Our Country was given a kick in the @$$, we were told to wake up in not the nicest way possible. So we returned it right back.  So people don't agree with the way That President Bush handle the situation on his end. But I do, I think the man had one of the toughest Jobs in America and one of the toughest presidencies in American History. I want to add one more thing.

I will NEVER forget, God Bless America! 

~Bobby

After the Fact some great music came out, and it is really how I became super interested in Country music. So I will post a few videos for you all to enjoy. and a video of all the live coverage on that day.

be a lovewell

So usually it isn't that hard for me to do another blog. But how much I know the KFCD's blog meant to a lot of people. It was a very well written piece....and since I am no journalist to me I have a lot of personal attachment to some thing like that...So I wanted to let as many people experience as possible. But I think pretty much a month later it is time to put some thing else up.

 At the fest Mercy Me was one of the Key note performers for the day. They did some amazing songs, and I really like Mercy me, but I am not a super fan. I didn't have any of their Cd's I didn't even know the band member's names. But I do know I can only imagine, hold fast, so long self. Prob. 3 of their biggest hits. So when it came time for them Me and 4 teens (Sarah Schlosser, Taylor Mattingtly D-wal (Dan Wallace), and Nick Carson) and 1 recent graduate (Megan Schlosser) went down to the Most Pit. I mean “Most Pit” in the smallest sense of the word...basically it is just a bunch of people standing by the stage. Mercy Me had a very awesome Set. They did a lot of awesome songs of course the hits, but some new stuff and some covers like Won't back down by Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers. Which is one of my fav. Songs but I never saw it as a song that you could make a Christian song. It was awesome. A video of them doing the song is posted at the bottom. Bart the lead singer also did a talk about how we are loved, no matter what is going on in our world. We have a God that loves us. Midst the Tragedy like what has happened to our economic situation as a Country, The 30 some troops that died, what happened in London just yesterday and today and all of those who died in Copley this past weekend. We have a God that sees past our imperfections and loves us. He created us in his image. But we still need to change, and though we talk about it as Christians all the time. How we need to take action and make a revolution. But it is just words...I want to challenge you all my readers...how ever many I have. I want you to do some thing nice for some one everyday and spread the love. Lets start a revolution. Pray for some one for a week, listen to your parents, make some one laugh, give some thing back to your community. Something, lets inspire the upcoming generations. Teach them how to act so we don't have a bunch of MTV cutouts that think it is ok to get pregnant at 15, or act like some one on Jersey Shore. Lets show them the way Christ wants us to love. Fr. Joe said some thing profound to me at our Catechists meeting yesterday. We are all on the same team, we are all fighting the same fight. No matter if you teacher pre school, or Life Teen. We are fighting against MTV, Justin Beiber, Grand theft auto, World of War Craft, Little Wayne and Beer (I LOL'd at that one). So lets fight the good fight against these things, and instil the positive values of Catholic Christian life.  go to Mr. Lovewell.com...and sign up join the movement :)

What I learned at VBS....

This year Vacation Bible School is officially over...the last Chord was played, note sang, snack ate, craft made, game played, and child picked up. This year we did an entirely different program we wrote our own...and Called it Kids For Christ Days/Camp (depending who you ask :)...well anyway a lot of hours were but into writing/argg. songs and skits. Figuring out the games, crafts and snacks...and it has all been really fun...Instead of doing saints this year we did the parables, namely the Sower and the seed, The good Samaritan, the labors in the vineyard, the parable of the talents, and the prodigal son....the words for the day were Learn and Grow, kindness, hope, share, trust/come home...It was a great topic to cover and me being the bible geek that I am was in heaven. The kids seemed to love it as well many of them said they wish it would go all summer long. Which I can see why, they get to have fun all day, get to have see all of their friends all day, and they get to learn about Our Faith all day.  The skits were AMAZING and all written by Ann Schlosser. And she did amazing they all were straight and to the point and helped even me understand the parables....I had an amazing band put together of Ben Garton, Chris Garton, Matt Andreski, and Jordan Seman....and we rocked we had drums, bass, guitar, keys, and an amazing voice. But yet again it wasn't about the music this years word(s) for me was Fellowship, trust, love, honesty, Patience and hope.  I had fellowship with my band mates from rocking your grace is enough to just soloing on guitar as Benny G did a sweet drum beat. It was an amazing setting with a stage and a full band...I don't know if any pics were taken but man it was awesome when it came to that. I learned what trust really means and how to give trust back. I had grayson again this year but he was a bit more of a handful (see bottom) but I still loved every minute of it. And at the same time I had to give the trust back Jen was giving me with her son. And trust she trusted me with him. I learned love because I can say that I really did and do love watching Grayson, I see his whole family as a part of my ever growing extended family. I will be bold enough to say I see Grayson, Gianna, and Gabe as my siblings and I can feel a real connection...I learned Honesty because Matt was brutally honest all of the time no matter what it was...which was the best thing for me because I need to know some times I am wrong...and I am not perfect. Just see the bottom for pacence you will understand...and Hope...well there was a lot of hopeful moments through the journey. It started with being hopeful that everything would go well seeing as how we changed music no early that 5 days before....then I was hopeful that Gianna wouldn't drop my guitar because she carried it everyday from music to church across a parking lot... :) Also I can't say thank you enough to our AMAZING VBS director Tara Snyder. She was amazing through the whole process letting people have some creative freedom and not be a control freak about everything and want to micro manage. During the week she was even more awesome and relaxed and then gave Birth to Jack the new baby! He also did a great job of not coming early :) It was truly a blessed week...It was weird though at the same time because Michelle wasn't there  and usually she helps but she had summer classes so she couldn't it was quite unfortunate and I missed her at times but she had to be in class so one year wasn't too bad...but she better never do it again...but there is one more reason why it was so amazing. 


I honestly could write a whole blog on Grayson from this week, but I am going to try and condense it. This is the last year I will have to watch Grayson during VBS so it was bitter sweet in the end really.  Because It is awesome he will get to participate in all of the actives and get to make some new friends. But I will miss having him with me all day in music and such. This year it has been completely different...Last year was easy, I could carry him around he wasn't potty trained, and he was just happy to sit there.  This year he is in his terrible two's, can talk, walk/run, and is potty trained,.and doesn't get wiped out at 11:45 like last year.  He is also very bashful. But he came around about mid week. Then he just didn't stop but I loved every minute of it. I learned even more this year...Like how awesome kids really are. I started to understand what the plan of meeting this amazing family is. How people can see how well things go through out a week. Even to the point of people asking if Grayson was my son or if I was even related in any sort of way. Which I am not to my knowledge but look at the picture above and you can see the resemblance...it is kind of freaky, and it doesn't help responds soooo well to me...and I seriously have grown very fond of him to the point that I feel like I am that adult male figure that he or any person needs in there life...and it is a great feeling. Apparently Gabe, Grayson's older brother told people I was his big brother (meaning that I was Gabe, Gianna, and Grayson's Big Brother). and then I explained to his friends family isn't just blood it is some thing you feel inside of you. It is amazing feeling to know that a child would feel that way. It gave me a mixture of warm fuzzies and goose bumps.  but it is a much more mental feeling of what Family really is. That is some thing else I learned and observed over time in my life. Some times your Family is not just your biological family, but it can be much more. Look at the 12 Jesus Chose some of them were really family and others were the scum of the earth but all were apart of the family of 1st Christians. When I talked to Jennifer about this she really liked the idea it seemed of me taking on that role and I am very fond of that role as well. So we will see what happens.  Anyway this was a great week! and I can't wait for next year's planning to begin...
AMEN!

~Bobby

21

When you turn 21 there is one thing every person who is 21 (for the most part) looks foreward to and that is being able to have a drink and not have to worry about being caught...or having your 1st drink ever...So when I turned 21 just like everyone I was looking foreward to this. But I wasn't going to get wasted and have a hang over the next morning just a drink or two. So I did...this isn't going to be pointless. Most people I know who are crazy and Christen they would say "Wo Wo Way Wo" that is a sin. But it isn't when you become of age drinking a beer or any other adult beverage is not a sin because out Goverment has decided that 21 is a fair age that we are responisble to drink. Other countries don't have an age. It is just apart of their culture. But here in the States we do, so we obey the laws of our God and Goverment. the Sin becomes when you get drunk. In the bible it states in
Eph 5:18 "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit"...When are of age you have to have the self controll like all things. That is the lesson. So yes I had a beer or two...but nothing crazy. I even had to work on my birthday at night so I couldn't really party it up anyway...
 Just Remember Jesus didn't turn the water in to Moutain Dew!

God is GREAT, Beer is GOOD, and people are CRAZY,
Bobby

(Fr.) John Corapi

I remember the first time I heard this man speak...It was late and my Mother almost had a heart attack (not literally) about how she had to watch this priest give a talk...Now I do like listening to talks given by Priests and I do love listening to Certain Priests give talks Like Fr. Larry or Fr. J(ohn) the "Official" Life Teen Priest. But I never have been obsessed...anyway so Listened for a few mins. and I realized this guy isn't my favorite priest in fact I don't like the way he is approaching his ministry...Just not for me sort of thing...When I heard about his problems and acustations I was sort of struck then as the case has developed it seems like he was going to stay quite and let it go see what happens and rely on GOD to take care of it...But as the course of everything took its course he aparently felt as though that he wasn't being treated fairly. Because there are certain rules they have to follow. Now In his speech he said nothing about The Eucharist. He just saw the writing on the wall and said screw it, I can do it myself. But when you look at the saints what made them saints. Their pure obedience to the Church and her ways. Many of them were told no, shot down by their bishops and Mother Superior, or even imprisoned for their work. They kept on keeping on It seemed to me that he is trying to take the high road over the Church and he also critized the church by saying:

 

"Unfortunately, the process used is inherently and fatally flawed, but the bishops have the power, apparently, to operate anyway they see fit. I cannot give a lengthy explanation of what has transpired, but I can tell you that the most likely outcome is that they leave me suspended indefinitely and just let me fade away. They can’t prove I’m guilty of the things alleged because I’m not, and they can’t prove I’m innocent because that is simply illogical and impossible. All civilized societies know that. Certain leaders in the Catholic Church apparently do not."

As I some times do here is an excerpt of Bob Rice's blog about the subject:

Yesterday, John Corapi announced on his website that he believes that there is no way he can receive fair treatment by the Church regarding this accusation, and that he is leaving the priesthood. He described his thought process as the following:

In the final analysis I have only one of only two viable choices:
1. I can quietly lie down and die, or
2. I can go on in ways that I am able to go on.

He’s missing an obvious third option: 3) Spend time in solitude in a life of prayer as you wait in hope for the situation to be positively resolved.

There are many stories of saints who were censured by their religious superiors unjustly, or even imprisoned! What made them saints was their obedience to the Church and faithfulness to God.

Look, I’m not suggesting it’s easy, and if he is unjustly accused it’s quite a cross to bear. But Jesus was also unjustly accused. And this is a man who has spent his life trying to model Jesus for others by what he says and does.

John Corapi has left the Church and is trying to make it seem like he is taking the high road by doing it. He is confident that some authorities in the Church are out to get him and that he can’t get a fair result. What he didn’t mention is that he’s complicated the investigation by filing a civil suit against his accuser because by accusing him she’s breached a non-disclosure clause that he makes people who work for him sign (which also makes you wonder... why would you need people to sign such a thing in the first place?) He didn’t mention that his religious superior reached out to him and offered him to be a quiet part of the community while this gets resolved, but he never even responded to him.

And he didn’t mention was anything about the Eucharist.

A few hours after hearing John Corapi’s announcement, I was leading worship for Eucharistic Adoration with 1,900 teenagers. Christ was moving powerfully that evening. Lives were changed. Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. John Corapi used to hold that presence in his hands, and he’s thrown it away because he feels his “ministry” is more important.

On his website he mentions that he feels that his ministry will grow larger because he’s no longer a Catholic priest. What he doesn’t realize is that his ministry only existed because he was a Catholic priest.

I’m praying for him, and I’m praying for the many who might follow him out of the Church. I’m also praying for myself and all the people I know who are in ministry, that we might never make our ministry our identity and forget that it’s not about us, but about Him.

I will keep  praying for John as he does his ministry and I pray that people don't leave the church over this but they do everything they can to stay Catholic. I also pray that he is doing his ministry for the right reasons not just to prove a point.  I support the Church and I know that Priests are people to. Mistakes are made and things happen. But that is no reason for him to resign as a Priest. My hope is that he doesn't keep criticizing the church and her view and that he moves on with his Public Ministry.

Stuff

Well, Hello there...I haven't seen you in a while...I mean this screen on my computer....It has been a long time since I took the time to blog. Mostly because I have been super busy with school. It is over now and I had a really good semester with a 2.64 gpa, and I don't have to take any classes over. So now it is summer and I have a few goals for this Blog.

1. Try to link what I do here link with all of my Life Teen stuff. i.e. X-treme 4 Jesus Bible Study.

2. Less about me more about God. This has always been a goal of mine and it is always a work in progress

anyway those are my goal 1 really gives this blog a point.=)

So just some quick updates that God has granted me to do:

1. the VBS formally known as Heroes Camp is changing completely and being called "Kids for Christ Days" with that said NOTHING is canned or pre-done so I have been working hard on getting stuff done for that music wise. It has really been a chance to write songs and not just "write" songs but give them a purpose and a place...So far I have a theme song done and one day song written...The only other things I have to do is work on the style of the songs, hold a few practices and chose another song or 2 for mass...

2. St. Mary's Music Ministry "Passion" another endevor I have been on for now about 2 months is playing guitar in St. Mary's band Passion. I was invitied by Marie to come and jam...then later that practice to join the band, if I had time. I wasn't sure if I would do it but I have stuck with it and I love it at this point. It is great to give God my talent to praise him. It has its hardships but everything seems to be going pretty well. I fit in great which is always very important while your in a music ministry band...

It has  been an amazing to be able to use my musical gifts in the church...it has always been a goal of mine, I have used it before during heroes camp..but now doing it full time on Sundays has been a great gift. There is something about praising Jesus through music that is amazing!

Easter +

Today is the day! We have been spending 40 days praying, fasting, and giving alms. Now we awaken with the Risen Lord. We can now obtain heaven; we now are truly Catholic. Some times I wonder what the sandhedrians were thinking at this one moment, the temple was cumbled and built back up in 3 days...The Man they had put to death did all of those things. Come back for more later ya'll I don't have a lot of time to b

~Bobby

p.s. happy easter

Lent

So I know lent is like almost over, at least 1/2 over...I want to talk about the end that we are all coming to. Now we all gave some thing up probably. And at the end of Lent we will prob. eat, drink, listen to, do...Whatever we gave up...There is nothing wrong if you gave up eating meat all lent to have a big strip steak at the end. But that isn't what lent is about. It isn't about arbitrarily giving up meat not realizing what and why you are doing it and having a full rack of ribs. It is about realizing the sacrifice.  I gave up listening to Bob Rice... mostly because people don't think I can do it, and I didn't really know if I could do it. Since I do Play him a lot during Life Teen, but a lot of that is because When I was making WMV's that is what I had that I could find. So most of it is because of a dare, and a lot of it is because it is a challenge. I also want(ed) to get past my personal stuff, and become a lot more organized...This has been the biggest challenge(giving up b-r) and now it is starting to get to me....I want to listen to and praise to Bob Rice I want to worship to Bob Rice...But Christ died and so I made the sacrifice to not listen to my favorite artist. At the end of Lent I will be more grateful and my musical horizons opened...this doesn't mean I won't play him during praise and worship through lent...because that is 1 a Sunday, and 2 It isn't exactly just for me...but for the group (i.e. Days of Elijah)...It hasn't been at all easy and Not fasting on the Annunciation didn't help. But it was a major feast day and He had a new song on his blog that just rocked and fit so well into what I was feeling during lent. It made me really want to listen to him
:(...there are just 3 more weeks, and I am sure it is going to challege me but that is not even a drop in the bucket compared to what Christ did on the cross.

Sprechen Sie Jesus? (Do you speak Jesus)

 I was on LifeTeen.com and i came across this artical. what got me to it was a link in german Sprechen Sie Jesus? meaning i really don't know but it was thing

Dieses ist mein Körper; dieses ist mein Blut meaning this is my body this is my blood. the artical exerpt will get into more detail and i will inculed the link to the whole artical.

4 years ago I posted a blog about an article found on Lifeteen.com I thought it was amazing and I want to talk about it again. Just because I can...This is an blurb  from the article sadly it isn't on the website anymore...
 

"Although I had no idea what this local priest was talking about in his homily I knew exactly what was happening a few minutes later when he lifted the host and then the cup up and prayed, "Dieses ist mein Körper; dieses ist mein Blut." "This is my body; this is my blood."

It was the words of consecration and in German or in English I understood what was happening; Transubstantiation, at consecration the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus. Jesus was truly in my midst right there in Cologne, Germany; just like He is there when I attend a mass in California, Louisiana, or Arizona. Wherever and whenever the mass is prayed, one thing always happens - Jesus shows up, no matter what language is spoken. And that is why I am Catholic."

When I think about this it makes me feel very  full inside. Because my friends think about it, We are the only people who can say this about our faith. It is truly Universal. If you go the chapel service in Akron and then go to Christ Community church service (not even 10 mins away from one another) it is drastically different the style, the preacher will preach on something completely different, and the music won't even be close to the same.  But as Catholics when you go to mass whether it is at Queen of Heaven, St. Mary's in Mass. Ohio, Nativity, St. Francis, St. Paul's they are all the same. You could go to the Mass in Texas and it is going to be the same. Isn't that amazing? I am in awe of it. How can over 1.1 billion people be on the same page every week, every Mass, and fully in belief... There is only ONE and it is US the CATHOLIC CHURCH amazing, huh?

How to....Study the Bible

It has come to my attention that people don't know how to study the bible....I will try to get across how I study the bible. Mind you I am not the end all be all on how to study the bible, but you could try my way there are many different resources you could use, there is a book called the bible in 365 days where they do some thing like what I am going to show you but it is a daily bible study that takes about 20 mins to go through daily... Here is my way of studying the bible see if it works for you see if it works for you:

A few things you will need

1 A Bible (If you are Catholic I would say use a Catholic Bible (translation New American Bible, NAB)

2 A Notebook of some kind

3 A pen/pencil ( I prefer pens)

4 A place where you can study your bible where you won't  be bothered

* Optional Catechism of the Catholic Church, this will help you see the church teaching on say "Being Saved", or "predestination" This will help your journaling...If you don't have a CCC or a Catholic Bible Come see me...I will hook you up =)...You may also want a diconary to define some terms you come across 

Now that you have gathered all of that stuff lets talk about how you pick a verse or a book to study. This can be the most daunting task. There are 73 books in the Bible and some are easier to study than others because of the writer of the book.  Lets Just start with some thing easy Romans.

Take at least 5 mins and pray if you need a prayer to open do this one:

Lord I come to you to study your word. YOU  Inspired the writers to put these words down. Open the eyes of my hear to see your words and  your meanings. I come humbly to you asking for the virtues of Wisdom, Understanding, and wonder & awe. In your name I pray AMEN!

I like to spend time looking at the 4 W's (Who, What, When, Why)...Most of this info is found int he Introduction of the Book.

Who is writing and Who is he writing to?

What is He/She (95% of the time He) writing about, What is the Significance?

When is the writer writing, year...Time period?

Why is the writer writing this letter/Book/Gospel

After I explore all those things I actually read the verse(s)

1st time: Just read it for what it is worth (just read what it says)

2nd time : Read it for context clues what is the writer saying

3rd time: Read it to understand, write what you think the writer is saying

Journal for a bit:

What do you think the writer is saying.

What do you feel about what he is saying

Write what you feel after you read this

Now Lets try it,  are you ready?

 Get all your stuff together....and

Lets Do Romans Chapter 2:1-2

Start with all of the back round info the 5 W's

Who is writing and Who is he writing to?

 St. Paul is writing this book to the Romans of Rome in Italy. What do we know about Rome: It is one of the Greatest empires of all time it reached from Great Britain to India   (see Map)

Rome (the city) was a place that had all kinds of sin, it was a place where pagans lived and where early Christians were martyred.

What is He/She writing about, What is the Significance?

 He is writing to introduce himself as a Christian (because remember Paul was Saul) to the Christians of Rome. It is his 1st letter it has also been the reason why a lot of Catholics believe what we believe.

Paul's Letter to the Romans is a powerful exposition of the doctrine of the supremacy of Christ and of faith in Christ as the source of salvation. It is an implicit plea to the Christians at Rome, and to all Christians, to hold fast to that faith. (from the intro of the letter to the Romans)

When is the writer writing, year...Time period?

 We don't exactly know when it was written, we know that it is after he was converted (see acts 9). We also know that he wrote it while he was leaving the holy land and finishes it after leaving Corinth (a city state in Greece). 

Why is the writer writing this letter/Book/Gospel

To inform them that they are living against God in what they do, and trying to get them on the straight and narrow path

Now it is time to read the verse:

1.) Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.  For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.

We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true.

* You can journal in between readings, at least I like to:

  What I see from these verses is that Paul is talking about Judgment, and how the Romans judge others who sin, but they do the same things.  And how though they judge God is the judge in the end.

2.) Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.  For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.

We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true.

3.) Therefore, you are without excuse, every one of you who passes judgment.  For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things.

We know that the judgment of God on those who do such things is true.

Paul is saying that we are not the Judges and we are all going to be judged on the same level not one person will be on a different level it is all one level. It also says how "you judge another you condemn yourself since you, the judge, do the very same things." So when we judge others we condemn ourselves or in simple terms it is a sin to Judge others.

(Journal)

It is that easy, that simple it is a really easy formula to use to study the bible. The whole processes should take at least 20 minutes to a half hour to work all of this out.  Make sure that your Notebook is clearly only for your Bible Studying or religious writings. Also remember That you want to stick with one book and then move to the next if you are going to study the bible traditionally. That way you won't be spending time in Romans & then go to Philippians.

~Bobby =)

 

Seriously a month....Famous or Forgotten?

No I didn't give up blogging for lent, but often times it is a struggle to blog...It is a time thing, a who reads this thing, what do I have to say, and a Looking for my audience thing.  One thing I have come to realize in the many years I have been blogging is that I am not "famous", this isn't about me, and God is my guide...

I want to address each of these things I have learned (in a 2 part series):

1. I am not always the most humble person, I try to be. And I know this is never about me, it is about Christ. But some times I tend to think, wouldn't it be great to be "famous" speaking at Stuby, being a youth minister other y.m.'s look up to, and Getting paid the "Big Bucks"....My whole life I have dreamed about being famous in some way whether it was as a athletics star, video game champ., speaker, rock star,  or  Analyst...I think we all dream about that. What are we though we are creatures born to die, it is a simple fact. I think the reason we all want to be "famous" is because then we don't think we will be forgotten.  Look at the so called famous who have died. No one remembers them for that long, in 2009 there were a lot of "famous" deaths. Micheal Jackson, Farrah Fawecett, Patrick Swayze, Bea Arthur, Les Paul,  Edward Kennedy... the list goes on and on. But how long did Hollywood or the main stream mourn the deaths a week, 10 days at the most...Back at the 2010 Oscars they forgot to put Farrah Fawecett in the montage that they do of all the people who had passed in that year. I also think how long did the familes mourn or did they use it for a publistiy stunt. How long did the family mourn the death some of them 10 mins, the funeral, some maybe still might be mourning the death. But When I heard MJ died I was on my way back from stuby  thought WOW, the world has lost a great musician, producer, dancer, singer...But all in all I didn't cry, it didn't  effected me as a person.  I probably thought it was a publicity stunt and he would come back in a year. Now this isn't the main stream I should make that clear I personally think the Jackson family is very misguided, but I am sure it has happened more. 

Life would be great to be a speaker, it would...BUT I am much happier in a parish doing the ministry I am called to do, and if I ever get a chance to be THE guy...I will be grateful and if I am just on CORE for a long time I will be grateful as well. If youth Ministry ever becomes about you in my opinion it is best to leave it for awhile. That is also my philosophy on blogging, music, anything you do...if it gets to be about your personal gain then it is time to step away, or maybe "take one of the team." I think as people we get rapped up in ourselves way too much, what about me, me, and me...I think that is why we have so many men addicted to pornography, so many women worried about vanity to the point of plastic surgery , so many kids that don't know how to share...I could go on and on about all of those things, but I won't. I will say what would our great grandparents/grandparents say a perfect example is that Michelle's mom got a new Rolex "time piece" I call them watches.  Now personally I think it is a nice watch, and Michelle's grandma look at her and just scoffed. Michelle's grandma is 88 years old, she grew up during the depression, WWII and was a parent in the late  50's...So we are talking about some one who was taught to conserve and not spend a bunch of money. That generation wasn't worried about being famous, having a lot of money, or  having a big house. They just wanted to live in a small house, have money for the simple things, and be remembered by their family. 

two is a lot like one; therefore I am going to jump to three in the next blog

~Bobby

Very Full Filling

Do you like the pun, because I do....seriously this past weekend QofH had yet again another retreat. I love when it is retreat time, some times I think it is what I live for. I was some what nervous about this one though, because we had not really planned a lot of things, and I didn't do AV stuff until Thursday and Friday night. Which is not good because I didn't get any sleep...epic fail, and I am not very proud of that fact. anyway...The retreat was Full Filled: being full with Christ. We had a medieval Camelot theme. And it was awesome. Just enough, not too much and didn't look hokey. It was an Epic retreat. So I will recap from the start. 
Love hurts, we are going to have to make tough choices and Love is not always easy. God's love will prevail though.  
We need to turn to God Because Our Hearts are restless unless the rest in him, bottom line. We need to go to confession to get the oil off and be fully filled with Christ. 


We need to trust God, not just that things will be changed and we will be challeged but that HIS plan is far more important than ours. 
Pray for your brothers and your sisters in Christ, it is more than just saying it is doing. Meet share your struggles with one another. 
We need  to make Christ the center of our lives, he is omnipresent, or present everywhere 
We are broken vessels. Do you see what God sees, can you see Christ in others?
This Retreat is not a Graduation, but it is just a beginning a new beginning I WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN....as long as there is no B.O. ...LOL..




That is just a short recap of the weekend bullet points. But some times that is all we need to look at those and remind ourselves what was learned. Our King of King; Lord of Lords is here he is present, and he loves us we are beloved sons and daughters in Christ! We are made for greatness! We are Beloved! I know we all wish we could stay on the Mountain a little longer, but we have to come down and show what great thing we learned. We cannot build tents and stay on the top. But we can keep  running the race, and participate being religious is not something we can do as a spectator, it is some thing to do. Remember Mr. Feeny's last words "Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good" I have my own words of wisdom:
 PRAY, LEARN, Participate in the sacraments,  and You are Made for Great things DO THEM!


~Bobby 

Revolution

This is prob. the best blog I never wrote. I went to mattmahermusic.com and this was posted, Matt himself posted it....I felt that I should share it with you.
revolution.... 
is a scary thing. 
for everyone involved. 
When i say that word, you might think of many things. What does that word even mean? The Latin root word is revolutio, which means "a turn around"....the word was first used In astronomy and related fields to describe when one body moves around another ("orbiting")....later it changed to describe rapid social change that happens in a short period of time. 
One body orbiting around another. rapid change. Interesting.........
In less than 15 years, i have watched the internet and telecommunications fundamentally alter the way that people process and perceive and relay information, culmination in the advent and summit of social networking. 
Yes, i believe we've reached the summit. Why do i believe that? Well, because at this point the only thing that will change is how more integrated it gets into your life. Maybe a webcam in your glasses, or a chip in your head that allows you to interact more....but the concept of being connected isn't going to be any more revolutionized. 
So the revolution has happened. But whose side of it am i on anyways? Am i on the side that's counter cultural? That is about "real" connections with people? Or am i just riding the surface with everyone else....
Take the new MTV show, "skins". It's a horrible portrayal of a teenagers life in America today. The irony is, it's based on a show that takes place in England, lol.....so much for continuity....anyways, a parent's group complains, because it's basically a mild form of child pornography, and MTV doesn't back down. 
Then Taco Bell pulls their advertising money, and all of a sudden, there's talk of canceling the show. Why? Because in our culture, the revolution will be televised as long as there's money behind it - as long as there's scandal. 
So what's the revolution there? That money still wins? So i guess nothing is new under that sun....
Take another revolution - the ones happening in North Africa...
I got in an argument two nights ago on twitter, because i retweeted this statement;
"Hey Egypt, hurry up. You only have three more days until America loses its attention span"
An acquaintance (who i humbly admit was kinda right) accused me of being insensitive to the situation, and not being the best steward of my platform of having 14,000 twitter followers. At first, i thought, "wait a second. I didn't ASK any of those people to "follow" me....and if i can't be honest, then why should i waste anybody's time just tweeting always inspirational (almost on the verge of trite) 140 character encouragements. 
So we argued, and i apologized, because i didn't do the best job of respecting their arguments. 
Later that day, Kenneth Cole (a popular clothing designer) tweets, "People are rioting in the streets of Egypt. They must have heard about our spring collection"
So yet again, how commercial America is choosing to bring about "revolution" really isn't revolutionary at all. 
So what is revolutionary? Is it movements like the rise of Fascist Germany in the 30's, or Communist Russia at the beginning of the 20th Century? A bunch of people following an ideal, following someone? Is atheism truly revolutionary? To join the ranks of doubters and non believers who go all the way back to the beginning of civilization? Is humanism revolutionary? to think that man is called to just "self improve" and evolve to a higher state of being with each other and the world around us? 
What about love? 
What Jesus did at the cross was revolutionary. Unheard of. One laid down His life for many. Even for those who don't even believe in Him. So we could lay down our lives for others. One body orbiting another. Rapid change......
Is the Church truly living and breathing with the revolutionary love of Jesus at the center? I am seeing it in Christians forming living chains around Muslims as they pray their prayers peacefully. Not the hired thugs in support of a dictator (who has been supported by our Government)...that is revolutionary. 
How are we to support the revolution here? Certainly by not ignoring it. But real revolution doesn't start with political rallies; real revolution doesn't start on twitter. Real revolution starts with the human heart, rising up against oppression inside yourself. You're trying to find a place to be really free - from everything thrown at you, just so you can be yourself and not an image of what you think everyone and everything wants you to be. 
God, start a revolution in my heart. Let it pour out into everything i do; and inspire those around me to do the same. 


~Bobby 

March For Life

Hi Friends,

I want to say a few words about the March for Life. OK maybe a more than a few. The March for Life was more than just going on Monday and Marching on our Nations Captial. It was a time for me to find where I stand on the front lines or in the background. It started Saturday Morning, We left for DC at about 6:30 and had a great trip! I could not sleep at all, mostly because when I get a little sleep I stay awake. It was a great trip, along with a trip to the Holocaust Museum. Which I couldn't really appreciate , because of time. But I did get to see all of the Major memorials in our Country. On Sunday we had mass at a hotel, which included music by tony Melendez, which is not not as good as Bob Rice. It is a close second.  Then the sessions started.  I learned So much from all of the speakers. going in I knew I was pro-life...but the question was am I going to act  on being pro-life. Now I know after listening about the battle that is being fought. That I need to be on the front line and storm the beach with all the other pro-lifers. I went to many breakout sessions that talk about things like starting a pro-life group to Overpopulation and how it is a myth. 

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Now to really talk about the March, I heard a number like 18,000 so lets go with that. 18,000 people marched to tell our government that we don't want abortion to be legal and that it should be illegal. We went from the American History Museum to the Supreme Court.  I saw amazing things. Like People chanting, people praying, people with Signs that read things like "I AM PART OF THE PRO-LIFE GENERATION!"  One of the most amazing things I saw was  a group of about 200 singing "Hail Holy Queen" with a statue of the Virgin Mary. I met Congressmen Renssci, Rob Portman. And the Couple who started the March for Life!  I saw amazing things that words can't exactly explain. Beyond just what I did. Seeing a pregnant mother, or a family with a young child touched my heart in ways that can't be explained. 

My status from when we got back: 

"we came, we marched, we now have a long road of prayer for then end of killing inocent babies...people in general. That is the challenge to every one to do that went. sure it is great to march and be know be covered on news networks...be seen by people and chant chants. But what are you doing when the doors are shut are you prayers to stop it. If not NOW is the time God Bless my brothers and Sisters."

 Another Pro-Life quote I love comes from Bob Rice (go figure)   "

"It starts with us. It starts with me. I don’t think everyone who is pro-choice is evil. They are as much my brother and sister as the unborn child I’m trying to speak for, or the elderly person who is “useless” to society, or the prisoner on death row.

I want to view everyone, whether they are pro-life or pro-choice, Catholic or Protestant, Christian or atheist, young or old, black or white, or guilty or innocent, as my brother and sister. And maybe my example can help them do the same."

Now it is the time for action sure it is great to march, but a march won't abolish abortion. PRAY will though. The Bible Says "With God all things are POSSIBLE" (Mathew 19:26)

Tonight I sit hear with a few thoughts, like thank God that the march was last weekend, because now there is a bunch of snow in DC. That I am totally blessed that my parents chose life. and that Obama, Obama...you had a Pro-Life Momma!

Peace to you all 

Bobby

Cloud the "best dog ever"

Yo whats up, 


Today is the 1 year anniversary of having to put my dog Cloud down. Now sure some of you might just say, awwwe I am so sorry to hear that. But some times that isn't what I want to hear. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I woke up and the house it smelled really bad. 


I thought today is probably going to be the day.  I had known for months that he was sick and needed some kind of medical care, we didn't have the money. I cherished  everyday that we had left together. My dog oddly enough was like my best friend, always there with me. He used to just know when I was having a bad day he would just sit by me. Talk about a best friend, he made sure I would wake up in the morning. But that morning he didn't even bark, I knew something was wrong. When I smelled the dog poop I knew something was wrong. and I saw him that morning and well I knew it. So I still went to school (now I don't think I shouldn't have). I kissed him on the head one more time like I always did before I left. When I went down the drive way I let the flood gates loose so to speak. 


Went to school didn't pay attention. I had to stay on campus to go get a passport, and that took longer than I expected. I had to wait for my aunt and was freaking out the whole  time. I rushed home and went like 95 on the highway at one point. It felt just at the time. Got home and park my car side ways on the driveway and my dad told me all I could say is I know. I got in the car and just petted cloud until we got there. Then I picked up my dog, held him, and bathed him in my tears. When we got there after we did everything you do when you go to the vet. I couldn't say or do anything besides cry, and pet Cloud. a week before I said goodbye to him and did that whole thing, because I didn't know he was going to last. 
I remember going home and going downstairs, I sat there for 3 hours just crying, praying and wondering. I cuddled with the blanket I carried him in the vet with.  


My dog had a lot of personality Cloud was the only dog I had ever seen smile.  He was a dog that would just make you smile by watching him. 


Here is to Cloud "the best dog ever" How missed you are, 


Bobby 

Goodbye (Emotionally Charged blog)

Some times I write a blog because I love to write them (even if almost no one reads it). Other times I write them because I have a thought, or a teen asks a question about something. Other times it is emotionally charged. This is emotionally charged.




1st off this isn't goodbye to this blog, it is good bye to some one. My last living grand parent. My Grandma Violet died when My mom was 19, My Grandpa Mechling died when I was 7, My Grandma Rosile died when I was 12, My "step" Grandma died when I was 14. The Only real Grand parent left (that I have contact with) is my Grandpa Al. He has recently lost his sight and quit swallowing  I don't think he could read anyway (at least that is the story)...


Anyway, He is really sick with skin cancer. And is living his last days. I have had a heck of a lot memories with him in my life. So I thought I would share a story or two.


The 1st one is just a funny story, when my sister was in 1st grade her class did some kind of a play. I don't remember much but what I do remember is a brought a stuff animal/puppet. It was a Zooble Zoo Character. I wasn't allowed to have it during the show for some reason, so it sat in a clothes basket for the whole show. I watched this "play" and I was waiting to get my stuffed animal. At the end of the show my grandpa stuck in in his jacket and hid it. I remember finding it very, very very funny as a 4 year old. I also remember he came to a lot of our school events as a young child open houses and such. He always seem to have a smile and a joke or a story to tell...some thing to talk about and of course old rail road stories.


Another story I remember is one night when I was around a freshman in high school my grandpa spent the night at my house. My dad was at my uncles so it was my mom, sister and I with my grandpa. All night we stayed up and I don't think I fell asleep until 6 am. My grandpa had me rolling about stories from his childhood, One in particular: He was staying at his grand parents house and their was this girl. He was about 11 and she was 13ish....and well he was walking by a bush and she grabbed him and touched his "peeny wennie"...he when home and told his grandpa and his grandpa asked what he did and he said he ran away...I still laugh about referring to your...as a peeny weenie.


There are hundreds of stories I could tell you...but those 2 are 2 really good ones, at least I think so. 


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If I had to write a eulogy for my grandpa it would go something like this:


My grandpa was a kind man, He always a joke and a story. I want to share a few laughs that I had with my grandpa, one time at the lake house it was just about the last night and I was getting stuff together and looking for Michelle and he said the pirates got her...now I was tired and not thinking clearly so I just went down by the beach and then I found out the joke was on me...who came up with it all, you guessed it. Grandpa....when I walked back up the stairs and saw that Michelle was right there I just laughed.  You all might remember his hunting habbits, I will never forget another year when he brought his old pictures but it was one that you have to click to go to each slide. It prob. was from the 60's and no one new how to use it.  When it was found out we spent the rest of the night looking at all these old pictures that for some reason Grandpa was not it any of them...and he didn't take them. Well, then we found out that he had the pictures taken so he would know what happened while he was hunting. There are many other memories I have like when I was real young I would hug him and then he would say "You broke my neck" and then I would proceed to try and "fix" it with an invisible screw driver. Now As I am here I think about all those years and all those days leading up to Grandpa's passing. I remember talking to him the last time, and all he could say was I love you, and that is all I could say. But everything else seemed so insignificant to say. It was like that is all I had to say, that was all that was left. I never remember saying those words in the past few years, and to say that. That was it,  and it felt like it was enough. I have spent a lot of time thinking about all those good memories I have, from all those years.  One year I will never forget it, during vacation we spent the whole week waking up to go see the coal car drop the coal. Every day the would say we aren't going to be doing that today. But everyday he insisted we had to go see this. 
Now I want to share some stories I remember being told, one of which has always been my fav. When my mom and siblings were little they went on a drive with my grandpa, this guy wanted to race them in the car. Now full well knowing where a cop car was right around the bend. So my Grandpa said the first one to turn right down the road wins. and they were off, my Grandpa slowed down right before this guy whipped around and a cop car got him right there. And as they drove past they all just looked out the window and waved. A few more great things about my grandfather is that he had a laugh that would make you laugh. Some times at the stupidest things, like a leaf falling from a tree, only he could find humor in that. I would be amiss if I didn't talk about his love for guns, a proud card carrying member of the NRA, his proudest moments in life I think were when he taught his grand kids how to shoot, I can remember the first time I hit the bulls eye dead on with his bb gun from when he was a boy, the look on his face was so proud that I could shoot and hit the target perfectly. He would get that look no matter what it was, whether it was shooting, school, music, sports. He loved it even if we weren't that good. I think my family would remember all my failed attempts at singing, but every time he would look at me and say that was FANTASTIC! He was a hopeless romantic, who admired love, and he could tell when it was really real.  He had a love for the rail road that no one else could match, everything about it. I remember being young and he got these videos from the store, then he wanted to watch them so he sat everyone down, and we had to watch all these shots of trains...He had a smile from ear to ear on his face. Everyone else looked bored and just wanted it to stop.  But he insisted we watch every single video. Grandpa lived a very storied life. He always had one to tell. I loved talking history with him for hours it would go on it wasn't just a short talk. It was about every piece every side, every thing. i remember just talking about the Bazooka gun, and how Americans got a hold of a Nazi one and modeled ours after theirs. Because it was easier to use. He loved to show his love for his family. I am sure he could go on and on and on about each grand kid, everything he was proud about. It didn't matter he would talk your ear off about it.


I really feel like the readings explained my grandpa, He ran the race, it wasn't at all easy but he finished...and he never complained. That is one thing I will never forget he could be having the worst day ever, but he would still give a smile.



Learn How to live, and you'll know how to die; learn how to die, and you will know how to live- Morrie Schwartz

The Road Less Traveled

This past couple weeks have been more than busy, between work, getting ready for school, and Life Teen Starting back up again, along with an Underclassmen Bible Study I am taking the lead and starting on with some great friends. We have a retreat coming up, and conformation going on...I have been thinking lately about the Road Not taken. It is a Poem by one of my favorites Robert Frost. 

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I love the message of that poem. You never know, some times that road that we seldom see taken is the better one to take.  There is a tough choice of our teen leaders and some retreatens from on of our Local Schools, Winter Formal and Our Spring/winter retreat are the same weekend. I feel for our Seniors and I understand the struggle.  My Senior year winter formal, or My last retreat I could experience. 

I feel that in that situation I probably would of chosen retreat, but it would of been a huge struggle. I think I would of also gotten a lot of encouragement from Michelle to go on retreat. The way I see it is yes memories are important, but don't forget what you have learned in past years. You want to finish, Finish the race.  You might have bought your dress, Ironed your suite, ordered the corsage or boutonniere. But don't let all of that make your decision. This is YOUR choice! This is apart of discernment. Take it from me, some one who has gone the distance; Who ran with you when you were younger.  Just don't be afraid to take the Road less traveled,  I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

~Bobby