Prayerbreaks Unfolding

The photo was taken last year when we were home for a bit. I know it looks a bit sinister, I'll admit - but it was the first photo that caught my eye and it is now
12:30AM Oklahoma time and I've got to get to sleep!

My 50th Birthday is officially over and I can't believe I didn't
call my mom to thank her for HAVING me! Go figure!

I got all caught up in an overhaul of our subscription website.

It seems like our new outreach called PrayerBreaks
is about to grow wings.

For those of you who have not visited www.prayerbreaks.com
this would be a good weekend to take a look.

For those who HAVE seen the site,
this would be a good weekend to take ANOTHER look.

This has the potential of freeing me up to
write more music and stories and, well, it was
a great way to spend this Solemnity of the Annunciation.

Pray for us as we present this effort to God.
Even after nearly fifteen years it is sometimes hard to trust
- but God keeps showing us over and over again.

This month is no exception!
Thank you for your prayers and do be sure to stop by
www.prayerbreaks.com and have a look, give a listen, and
enjoy a simple prayer break!

Tomorrow I go on personal retreat - thanks be to God.
I feels great to be fifty with no cancer, have the blessing of
a wonderful wife and family, AND I get to go on retreat!

Can't beat that!

Michael

Facebook reflections and no cancer! Hello again!

Wow. After not posting for a such long time, how do we re-start the conversation(?)
Okay we both know this is not really a conversation. I 'yak' about life on the road and you kindly listen and sometimes add a thought or two...

This cloud caught my attention during a flight a month or more ago. Maybe it can represent our racing (or flying) so fast and how it seems we might be slowly making our 'descent' to a calmer pace.

Since I last posted here, I began using Facebook to give daily/weekly updates and am wanting to bring the focus back here. Why?

You might be interested to read some of my observations about Facebook:
1) It can help you contact old classmates (I'm talking elementary school!)
2) It can be a way of being up-to-date with a gazillion other people.
3) For all the 'connecting' it can be a HUGE waste of time.
4) It might even harm real-life relationships.

Real story: One woman saw a 'friend' from Facebook who she had not seen in a year or more. The friend said, "Oh, I already know everything that is going on with you, so we don't have any catching up to do." And, believe it or not, they did not have a conversation. So, to all of you who are not on Facebook, I apologize for not posting here. This Lent I turn my attention back to our home on the web.

For the last two months we've been planted here in Arizona. Every weekend I drive to a parish nearby and invite parishioners to "mean the prayers we speak, intend the gestures we make, pray the songs we sing and pray the mass with love..."

I turn 50 years old this month and as of January I am cancer-free. Thanks be to God. There. I did it. I have re-started this blog. Glad to be home again.

As usual, there is more news. Please visit www.prayerbreaks.com to hear the latest song ideas and reflections for Lent. Blessings!

Tribute to Gabriel

Our daughter Therese likes this towel because it makes her look like a flower. It is amazing to think only four years ago she was in her mother's womb like the unborn baby we were praying for in my last posting here.

After the father of the baby texted the mother regarding two families who wanted to adopt and after the grandfather of the baby offered $10,000 to the mother if she would spare the life of his grandchild - she chose to go through with the abortion. A flower meant to blossom on earth will now only be seen in Heaven.

The father named his child 'Gabriel'.

I am hoping to write a song in honor of Gabriel's memory even as I pray and ask you to pray for the young mother who let a confused culture persuade her that a 'problem' was being solved. She will need many prayers to begin the long path of healing and forgiveness. Both are hers for the asking. That is what mercy is for...

We do not give up speaking for those who have no voice. We do not stop making a place in our hearts and in our culture where new life is welcomed and given a chance to grow, unfold, and add beauty to our world.

All of your potential on this earth will be missed little Gabriel. We will not let the world pretend your life did not matter - it mattered very much to us.

Urgent Request!

Click on this image to enlarge, read, AND PRAY a prayer I composed this morning.
This was written on behalf of a young man, a young woman, and their unborn child who is scheduled to be aborted by 12 noon today (central time zone)

Along with this prayer I beg God to end the insanity of our culture that actually pretends a human being has not begun to grow in the womb. An unborn child, by any name, is still an unborn child.

Minutes after I posted this on my Facebook page, I received an email from someone who knows a family desperately wanting and hoping to adopt a baby.

This is NOT an unwanted baby!

God has shown such mercy to our nation -
why won't our nation show mercy to this unborn child?

At least those of you reading this post can.
It is a matter of life and death.

Right now.

Today.

Amen.

Dec. 27, 2009 - Feast of The Holy Family

My father proposed to my mother while they were kneeling before the tabernacle. Humble beginnings of a holy family.

My parents would be the first to agree that holy families are not perfect. Every once in a while I ask my father and mother, "How did you keep your sanity with twelve children?! And they always answer the same way: "By God's grace."

Every family is on the same path heading toward holiness or corruption; the difference lies in which direction we are facing.

Turn homeward you weary, turn homeward you sorrowing, turn homeward you wounded - turn homeward to God's own heart.

O Source of all healing and peace, enfold every family in your heart. Heal, strengthen, revive, renew, refresh, and draw every family along the path of holiness. Amen!

Health Update: Pray and don't worry!

Yesterday during my yearly eye exam the doc said it looks as if the cancer may be active again. So my caption for the goofy picture was going to be: "I have a lot of work to do and my eyes just aren't cooperating!" The second picture captures the joyful peace we have and I know saying that only confirms our insanity for some - but Mary and I are okay with that! Life is too short to spend trying to fit into some kind of mold for others - don't you think?

Thank you for the prayers via email. Thank you. This time my motto will probably be "God is good and all will be well."

I hope to see an oncologist here in Arizona day after tomorrow. I'll post updates here.

NOTE:
We DO have health insurance for the cancer situation so we do not need any donations for that - thank God! But the two split tires on the RV some of you received emails about are another story! All of us are experiencing monetary setbacks - so God bless those of you who have already sent a year-end gift to Holy Family through this website! Big and small they all add up! THANK YOU for that encouragement!

Praying for our Veterans

What a perfect day to start posting to this blog again. Thank you veterans for your sacrifice. We remember you as we pray for you and your loved ones.

Here is a picture I took of a veteran this morning. I did not know there was going to be a parade until I saw the flags, soldiers, marching band, and crowd moving across an intersection just ahead of me. I thanked this man for his sacrifice for and service to our country then asked if I could take his picture. His face says it all.

Today I also recall a homeless veteran named "Mr. Jack" who we met on the streets of San Antonio years ago. Though homeless, Mr. Jack still had an amazing spark of hope in his eyes. Just the memory of him still touches our family today. He compels us to remember that every homeless person is a person, has a name and could relay a story that would inspire us, make us weep, or both.

We pray for all veterans but especially those who do not have a place to call home in the land they fought to defend. Please God give us grateful hearts and inspire us to show all veterans the respect they deserve.

We have some big news to share about our discernment regarding a unique outreach to military families in the US and overseas. We will share more about that very soon here - but for now, let this day be about those who too often are overlooked by our fast-paced culture.

God bless every veteran this day and everyday. Give them peace of mind, hopeful hearts, and assurance that their sacrifice for us was not in vain. Amen.