Are You Prepared If The Lights Go Out?

One of the things that keeps me up at night (of course I should have total trust in God and nothing should worry me, but having a tendency towards worry is a real thorn in my side!) is the thought that Russia could if they wanted to, hack our power infrastructure and turn the lights off.....Do they have that capability? Most probably......but a solar flare or sudden solar eruption could also cause disruptions to the electrical power grid...it's rather fragile to some extent. And of course, severe storms can sometimes cause black-outs, which I've experienced. 

So before I go to bed, I watch the Mass on TV or on my computer, I do breathing exercises and put lavender oil underneath my nose, drink my chamomile tea and repeat, "Don't think! Don't think! But does that mean I will necessarily fall asleep quickly. Nope! I wonder what's inside the head of President Putin of Russia...Is he going to invade Ukraine?.....Will we retaliate? And then will he have his team of expert hackers turn off the lights in our country or parts of it.....even for a day that would cause chaos.....

It seems news outlets have reported that the DHS has warned banks, corporations and governments offices, to be prepared just in case, President Putin decides its in the best interests of his beloved country to invade Ukraine...and then retaliate if we put sanctions against him personally or Russia, that upset him. 

I'm old enough to remember the Cold War. Diplomacy is the only way out of this mess. 

Let's pray that ego's will get out of the way and real diplomacy will save the day. 

In the meantime, you should always have gallons of water on hand, canned foods and plenty of lanterns, it's good to be prepared for every scenario.

NJA

James Webb Telescope Hopes To See The Universe's Beginnings-God's Genius On Display

 The James Webb Telescope launched on Christmas Day hopes to see into the past, our past. The $10 billion dollar telescope is not only the largest but the most expensive telescope ever built and launched.  With a price tag of 10 billion let's hope it reaches its final destination and then is able to do what scientists and engineers have built it to do.....see into the past after the Big Bang. 

As religious believers, we believe that God initiated the Big Bang and then afterwards created the "environment" for stars and galaxies to form. Matter after the Big Bang, accelerated and that's puzzling to scientists because they don't know why that happened. We know why that happened but they are trying to find out. Scientists are trying to figure it out from a scientific perspective but as believers we know by faith that God set the Big Bang into motion and then created a favorable environment for life. We live on the Goldilocks planet of Earth, (not too hot, not too cold) with the exact and necessary materials and elements to sustain life. The exact amount of carbon was necessary for life on Earth and it was there from the very beginning. Scientists and astronomers are hoping to find more Goldilocks planets in the Universe. We'll see...

We live on a beautiful, life-sustaining planet in a sweet spot in the Milky Way Galaxy because of a good merciful and generous God. 

I'm open to learning more about the Universe. I think ten billion dollars is way too much money to spend on anything but let's see if it proves to be worth the money, because that amount of money could have been life changing for poor people on Earth. But if we learn about the origins of our Universe, many will think it worth it.

NJA

UPDATE: The James Webb Telescope has reached its intended destination in space (one million miles from Earth!)..an amazing engineering feat! Pictures won't be coming until June......

Another Advent Filled With An Evil Virus Lurking

 This should be a joyous time of waiting and preparing. I love Advent and the Christmas season.  But unfortunately, members of my family and my extended family have fallen ill with the Delta variant of Covid. The virus that just won't give up its grip. It mutates and it finds new hosts. An evil virus for sure. It has caused such calamity and suffering and loss. And it's not done with us yet, I'm sorry to say. That's not my opinion but those who study viruses. 

All I can do to help is to make homemade soup. At least that gives me a purpose, so I make soup and deliver it and feel like I'm useful. And give some nutritional edge to loved ones who are sick. Tomorrow I will make "Jewish Penicillin" (Chicken Soup). Oh and of course I pray and ask others to pray. Without prayer, I could not live. I try to distract myself by reading historical novels, which I find entertaining. So I cook and I read and I pray and talk to friends.

This was a difficult week because I had workmen in my house. The worse kind of torture for me, having to deal with people in and out of the house, doing work, making noise, upsetting my peace. I have no right to complain about that but I will. My son says, I have a lot of nerve, I should be grateful I can afford to do repairs and renovations. Sure. 

So I hope Christmas will be OK and everyone will get well, so we can celebrate as a family. I can only pray it will.

I hope you have a Merry Christmas! 

NJA

Surviving the Move and Re-Learning Evangelization

 As I mentioned in my last blog post, I have moved, to be closer to my grandchildren. Moving is hard when you have a lot of stuff, many religious books, children's books etc. I've been busy unpacking but also I've found time for gardening, I'm blessed to have a rock garden in the front of my house, so I am planting in between the rocks. So many rocks and even boulders in Connecticut, I never knew that til I moved here!

Now I live close to my granddaughters and I can help when needed. I like my new Church and have already joined a Women's Enrichment Group. We are reading, "The Contagious Catholic-The Art of Practical Evangelization" by Marcel Lejeune. Not sure where it will lead, but I'm sure by the end of the book, we will all have some new ideas on how we can help evangelize.  

Come Holy Spirit Come! Being open and receptive to the power of the Holy Spirit is the only way to begin evangelization, stay with it, and bear fruit that will last. We can do nothing on our own, but with God's help, miracles can happen! Receptivity, positivity and the Holy Spirit and all will be well.

NJA

Moving Is Hard But Sometimes It Has To Be Done

 I'm very busy, too busy to write. We are moving...leaving Long Island after almost 18 years. It's a beautiful island but we're moving to be closer to our granddaughters. Granddaughters tug at your heart and it's important to be close to them. 

I have a lot of stuff. I hate moving. It's the worst. And I have a lot of books. I love the written word and its hard for me to part with my books, especially my religious books. I have given some away, and its only because it's for a good cause. Otherwise I couldn't part with them. But I am sending some books to Africa, I've been doing that for awhile. 

But most of my library will travel with me. All my Carmelite books and all the other ones too.

I love to garden and I will have a place to garden, to grow roses and plant wildflowers for butterflies and bees. 

I wouldn't be going, if I couldn't bring Jesus with me. But Jesus will come along. As He always does in my life. 

And of course, I will be near a Catholic Church, as I couldn't live without Eucharist or Bible Study and luckily they have Scripture Study there. 

So God is good. And I pray that this will be a good move for us. 

Nancy

Be A Light!

 I love quotes...I often use quotes for journaling. I vacationed recently in Mattituck, NY .....the North Fork of Long Island. Once potato farms, it is now filled with vineyards which produce award-winning wines. I love wineries, as vineyards are so orderly, useful and pleasant in the warmth of summer. 

I like this quote.....It is useful for journaling...

"You Are The Light of the World"

"Ask yourselves: 'Do I believe these words of Jesus in the gospel? Jesus is calling you the light of the world. He is asking you to let your light shine before others. I know that in your hearts you want to say: 'Here I am Lord. Here I am. I come to do you will.' But only if you are one with Jesus can you share his light and be a light for the world."  St. John Paul II

People Quick To Ask, "Where Was God?" In Aftermath of Building Collapse in Florida

 One of the rabbi's who spoke on TV, following the catastrophic collapse of the residential condo building in Florida, said people were asking him, "Why did God allow this to happen?" Of course he was quite upset as many congregants and even lifelong friends were in that building. Faith ministers and chaplains from all faiths are helping relatives and friends of those who were in the ill-fated building, to cope with the unimaginable. 

But God can't be blamed for everything. Yes, we live in a fallen world and yes there is evil in this world but God gets blamed for so much. I often find myself defending God.

As it turns out, according to a news article, God isn't to blame. People are to blame. People who didn't take warnings from engineers seriously. Engineers according to a New York Times article, which came out this morning wrote in 2018 that the building had serious structural problems with corrosion, crumbling concrete and cracking which needed to be addressed in a "timely manner." So why weren't the recommendations acted upon immediately or people warned so they could have acted accordingly?

All human error, misunderstanding, lack of knowledge of the severity of the problem? As one engineer being interviewed said, "It was like a perfect storm." There is probably more than one reason the building came crashing down in a pancake fashion, which made it more difficult to survive the collapse. 

And so friends and family of the missing, wait and pray. Very heart-breaking, no one should have to go through such pain and agony. And to think it could have been avoided........that's even worse. 

NJA