[judy]

two things

First I will be honored to pray for Brendan Walsh.

Second, Curious, you have me curious....but I will say that I appreciate your presence on this forum, your wisdom is very comforting, and your words are well communicated. Thank you

God Bless

[Curious]

You are welcome Judy.

In My Prayers

Curious

[Pippy]

Mary!! Thank you so much!!! I will definitely give you my address in a PM tomorrow as tonight I am so tired! I decided to get on the forum because like Judy, I am curious about Curious!!! So Mary, thank you so kindly for willing to send me the book. I in return will send you something. I know exactly what. I will PM you tomorrow for sure. And Curious, thank you for thinking of me and suggesting to Mary to mail me the book. I feel it is meant to be. I am seeing every day how more and more God and all of Heaven is working in my life...I think I know how God may utilize me but it still is in conceptual form now. It feels like it is drawing nearer and nearer yet it will be sometime before it comes about. Then again, maybe I'm wrong but I feel it inside me strongly. We'll see. God bless you both and everyone else! Pip

[Curious]

Dear Pippy,

God is already using you powerfully right now. The rest is a matter of pasturising and homogonising, just as it must be for all of us. We live in very special times and God is raising up very special people.

I have a read a lot on the forum about "Chastisements" but "chastisement" is not what God is about. God's work is about purification for those who believe in Him. Purification is necessary to rid us of pride and allow God more room to work through us. We all have pride and when we feel we have not then we have it more, somebody once suggested writing a book called "I'm Humble and I'm Proud of It" What a bumer.

In a world torn by hatred,anger,resentment,greed, there must be a witness of power because there are so many millions of words. God wants that witness to be a witness of power, His power. We are all He has got and He will demonstrate His power through us if we let Him. In the process we will be purified (Pasturised and Homogonised) but we will also understand what the Scripture means when it says that "Wherever evil abounds, My Grace more abounds" As for Chastisement I will let the enemies of God be more concerned about that.

Many Blessings on you Pippy


Curious

[joanbenoist]

Praise be Jesus and Mary! I wanted to share with you my conversion story. I just got back from my second trip to Medjugorje and would like to share with you what happened to me 16 long years ago, after my first trip to Medjugorje. I believe that Medjugorje and our Blessed Mother have changed my life forever. Thanks for allowing me to share with you my witness.

How to begin? It all started about 16 years ago when I visited a small village in Bosnia. (it was then Yugoslavia) A place called Medjugorje. The very place where at the time I didn't realize, would be the beginning of a life change for me. My mother sent all of her 10 kids there. (not all at once) I went with my sister and her husband. My husband wanted nothing to do with it. He said to me "Mary, a miracle has already happened, you are only brining one suitcase" hee hee.

I was always a good catholic girl, but could have been better. For one, I didn't know how to say the rosary. I learned fast, because every time you turned around someone was suggesting we pray it. I wasn't too keen on the idea but never one to stir up the pot, I went along. At one point I said to myself "If I have to say one more Hail Mary......" you get the picture. LOL. You see I was 7 months pregnant at the time and quite a trooper I think. Climbing mountains. Hiking all over the village. Going to church every free second we had and freezing my butt off. I drew the line at fasting though, I rationalized I was pregnant and God would forgive me. (it was Nov early Dec. when I was there) Everyone decided to go to confession so I went along. How bad could it be. After waiting in line for 2 hours, it was finally my turn. The priest said to me. "No English" I said "that's OK" he still wouldn't hear my confession. so I figured I would go at another time. I had waited nearly 15 years already. Yikes! That evening a priest came to my room and said someone told him I wanted to go to confession. To this day I don't know who that priest was. Anyway, I ended up going to him (face to face) yikes! I was on a high after that and even stopped complaining about praying so much. hee hee.

We got home and things went back to normal, I knew I needed to get that wonderful feeling of prayer back again. So I decide to take Life in the Spirit. It was about a 2 month course. On one evening they had some guy from Ireland come and speak to us about his life and the life changing things that happened to him. It was very touching. So much so that I (please don't think I am crazy) heard Jesus speak to me. I know it sounds crazy. (try typing it out) lol. woops let me back up. They were taking up a collection for this guy. he travels all over the country, sharing his story. I had not a dime on me. So this is when I heard a voice, which I discerned to be Jesus, tell me to give him my signet ring. I was like. What?, ya right. and I ignored the voice, (Jesus?). Then I heard it again. Well, then I thought OK what if it is Jesus speaking to me. I don't know why this guy would want my ring but OK I'll be obedient. So I dropped it in the basket. Later I saw a couple of the people who put the talk together looking at it. I said nothing and forgot about it. It was a big thing for me to give up that ring. My parents had given it to me as a graduation gift. It was very pretty. (gold with my initials on it) Whenever I looked down and saw that ringless finger, I decided if I had regrets about it I would just think how much I love Jesus, and everything would be OK.

Well, a couple of months went by and things of course went back to normal. On one particularly hectic day. My kids were literally driving me crazy. They had been fighting all day, messing up the house. Etc. (I worked the second shift so when my husband got home he took over for me) on and on. At that point in ours lives my husband wasn't into going to church or doing anything of the sort with the kids. Ages 4, 2, and 1.

I had had it!!!!! So I went into my bedroom and (I think I slammed the door) knelt in front of the Crucifix and prayed to Jesus to please help me. To show me that I was being a good mother, good wife, and basically doing everything I could to be a good Christian. In Medjugorje, I remember a priest telling us to go home and dust off our bibles. (mine was dusty!! lol) I opened up the bible at random and looked down and this is the first thing that I read. Sirach 17:17 "A man's goodness God cherishes like a signet ring, a man's virtue, like the apple of his eye."

The book of Sirach has held a close place in my heart ever since. When my son was sick we needed to make a decision on whether to operate of not. So I again prayed about it and got a word in Sirach (not me going to Sirach either) just opened up the bible. I came to Sirach 38: 1-8. Basically telling me to trust in the physicians ability to help us. God gave him that gift.

And finally, when my father past away. (Oct 16, 2002 one of the Feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.) after suffering with MS for 26 years. (He was only 65) The priest asked me to do the 1st reading. Yes, Sirach again. Sirach 3:2-7, 12-14 It was particularly hard to read because at one point it talks about "even if his mind should fail, be considerate with him" He didn't know me when he died. MS is a very cruel disease. It affects everyone differently. But my consolation is that I am sure my Dad is in Heaven with all the Angels and saints looking out for us. May God Bless you all (especially after reading my ramblings) Feel free to share this story with anyone you feel may need it.

Your Sister in Jesus and Mary,

Mary

[Pippy]

Thank you, Curious!! I have to go soon(take my daughter on some errands). I liked how you used those 2 words of pasturised and homogonised)coming from the great dairy state of Wisconsin, it connects! And you are so right about chastisements vs. purification....you are very wise! It is a pleasure to have you on this forum...Pippy

[Curious]

Hey Pippy

You are a mom and a shepherd. Cool

Curious

[starbright]

Dear curious,

I don't mean to be rude so please I hope this doesn't come across as rude

But in the States people call their mother 'mommy'

In the UK it's 'mummy'

And in Ireland it's 'mammy'

I thought you came from Ireland but you are saying 'mom'!

Are you American living in Ireland?

[Curious]

Dear Starbright,

It depends what age you are and what part of Ireland you come from. In Donegal and Dublin City they call their "Mother" "Me Mammy" (nicer with the accent)

In the south they say "My Mom" when speaking to others (mainly in the locality)

If you have been to college or in some way have progresssed in status in your community, you will usually call your mom "Mother" when speaking to others.

When jeuveniles or your average teenager from a working class backround speaks of his mother, he may well refer to her as his "Ma"

While there is a common thread running through all these referals, the bond differs depending on the status also of the "Mother"

Some "Mothers" are bossy and they are usually spoken of as "My Ma" Other mothers are overprotective and they are usually referered to as "My Mother" Still again there are those who adore the very ground their children (especially the boys) stand on, they make sure their shirts are ironed, shoes polished,food to their sons liking and so on. These are mom's.

You may notice that all references to the title of Mother,"Ma",Mom, Mammy, Mam, are informal

There may be a cultural difference in the USA.

Does this help


Curious

[Pippy]

I love the last few posts!! In the mid-west(the states), we say "mom" most of the time. I love to call my mom..."Mammy" and "Momma Seat-ta" and when I'm in a really goofy mood I call her "Mommie"....I rarely if not at all call her.."Mother". But some other mid-westerners do call their moms by the name of "Mother"...I don't because it's just not me. I have heard the youth call their moms.."my old lady" Pippy

[Curious]

Hi Pippy,

Isn't this fun? what a lot of this tells us is that, eventhough many countries speak English we don't always mean the meaning.

For example; in Ireland it a tremendous honour for a mother to be called homely (This means that she is nurturing and a good mother and host). In the United States homely would be quite insulting.

In Ireland some men call their wife " the old lady" this may be especially noted when men are speaking with men over a few pints of Guinness. When the wife comes on the scene she is immedietly refered to as "me auld darlin" as a term of endearment to please her.

Curious

[starbright]

I've heard a number of terms for a wife...how many of these are British particularly I don't know, but-

her indoors
the wife
the other half
my better half
the old lass
my trouble and strife (this one is cockney rhyming slang)

and for women in general -

lass
lassie
girl
old girl
love
darling
flower

Also I was thinking about what you said about our meaning not always being the same. I remember reading somewhere that if a British person says 'I'm mad about my flat' it means that they are really enthusiastic about their new apartment, whereas in the States it means they are really angry about their flat tyre!!

When I was in France for a while when I was studying French as a youngster, I remember that the lecturer split the British and American students for the purposes of translation because the slang was so different
that it gave a different copy

[starbright]

I'm sorry, I've got you all off-topic once again

[Curious]

Hi Starbright,

I really appreciate that explanation Starbright. In consideration of the same , I feel it would be good to be aware of netiquette when we reply to others, use lots of smileys to ensure emotion is projected and we are not misunderstood.

I was also thinking of the term used for Internet. I propose that Christians should always refer to the Internet as the "Net" ie Peter, casting,catch,fisher of men. As opposed to "World Wide Web" that refers more to being trapped or caught ie like spider. This I believe is the beginning of the Christianization of this powerful means of communicating and evangelizing.

Other ideas are welcome.


Curious

[Pippy]

Star, you get an A+ for observations! And I love the term you said that a man calls his lady when he calls her "flower"(I have never heard of that)but it sounds so beautiful and fragant! I love to garden and flowers are so beautiful. I would simply LOVE to hear lads address their lassies that way! (whenever I hear lassies I think of Lassie...the famous dog with it's own show in the 50's or 60's). My dad calls my mom...wiffy or wiffles. I love that!!! But sometimes my mom calls my dad "your a man with a paper a--" But that's only when she's giving him "trouble and strife" Pippy

[starbright]

Pippy you always make me laugh. And you show that you read people's posts by quoting them, which is excellent

[Pippy]

Thanks, Star...I sometimes wonder where my brain is...I don't know how I come up with some of the stuff I do???? I do not act my age alot of the time! Pips..........glad to make you laugh as it is good for the soul!!

[starbright]

That's okay, I don't act my age either. Ages aren't for acting!!

[William]

Hey, Starbright.... You see the # of posts you have made??? as of tonight, or shall I say, this morning 2:10 am here in Southern California..
1317.... I wish it can be frozen on this #.... As with Sirach1717... 1317 has a huge meaning for me.... And Mary, I do not think you are crazy, I have said this a few times to others I know... I think some may think I am, and that hurts... Specially the one person that all this leads too... But any how... Months ago I had the desire to watch those old movies I saw when I was a kid "The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima" & "The Song of Bernadette".... While both gave me profound messages... None compared to "1317".... You see, as I watched, I noted in my mind that the day of each month Our Lady appeared in Fatima during the year of 1917, was the 13th... ok, a few days goes by after watching the movie.... Now, here I have to take a brief turn in events, but hang in here, k.... Ok, a while back, my B-Day April 1, a conversation of the Bible came up between myself and relatives... We some how got on the subject of the #7... Well, needless to say, later I investigated the meaning of the #7... And find many, but, the most amazing is 777.... The Lord returns on the 7th seal, 7th vial, and the 7th trumpet... Ok... Then I read the messages from Medjugorje... Our Lady requests us to Pray the Peace Rosary, 7 Our Fathers, 7 Hail Mary's, 7 Glory Be's.... Ok... Now I begin to see 777 every where.... My best friend had moved to Navajo New Mexico to teach... I discover that his new phone # begins with 777... While on here doing a search for a certain business, I see one in Anahiem Hills, and the 1st 3 #'s are 777.... Well, the girl who broke my heart who got me praying like I've never prayed before works in Anahiem Hills, so I thought, wait a minute, could her # also have 777 in it.... I go to find her biz card... Which I hadn't looked at in months.... Not only did her biz# have 777 in it, but her cell # ends with 1317.... I said "woe" I just heard some one mention that 1, 3 & 7 were the great #'s of the Bible.... But then I saw it... 13/17... Fatima... Then I recalled she gave birth on October 13... "Miracle of the Sun".... Oh, but there's so much more.... WOE, I still get chills thinking of it.... The next morning after discovering this, I randomly open my Bible, and land on Matthew 13:17.... You all have to read this one... Go look now.... Oh, but it continues to get even better... I go up north to an old family friends home to connect with there daughter in learning a little more in the art of Glass etching... My art work was to sand blast the image of Our Holy Mother on a piece of glass... Oh yes, I forgot to mention... I did not know the phone number of my childhood classmate, she gave it to me, and yes, 777 was in it.... Ok, back to the sand blasting.... My friend, glass etching teacher, and I, stopped by a glass shop to pick up something she had ordered.. She asked the man if he would give us some scrap pieces of glass... He gives us 4 pieces wrapped up and ready to go... When we took out the pieces, she and I both agreed on this one piece to use... She measures it and says "13 x 17"... and I nearly hit the floor... Our Lady's beautiful image is now permanently etched on this piece of glass for ever... She's beautiful.... Ok, you would think it ends here, oh no.... The other day while on the SpiritDaily website, I read an article about Hilary Clinton and her comments on some sort of National ID # for all citizens.... Then this article leads us to Prophecy, and guess what the article ends with.... Revelations 13:17... Go read this one now.... While I was up north, I listened to this friend of mine (who also runs a gift shop) say to her husband "No one uses cash any more, it's all credit cards"...

There is still so much more that has happened to me... It continues daily... I want to tell people, but I seem to be reserved, nervous... affraid of people thinking I'm crazy, so I keep quiet.... Specially to this one girl... Not only does her phone # consist of 1317.... But her prefix is such a significant Feast Day, as is her area code.... It is so amazing... But she won't talk to me... It's heart breaking for the moment... But I know God hears me, and I know things will be different in the not to distant future, and this girl will eventually some how come to know all of this...

Wow, what did I just type.... I hope not to much..... Hope you all don't think I'm crazy.... I'm really not... All of this stuff can be verified...

Ok well, the Great Miracle of the Sun anniversary is now just 2 days away... I pray for more miracles on this day...

Take care all you good people You know, the word "Good" derives from the word "GOD"...
William

[William]

All I've got to say is you're one busy bee Starbright... Already up to 1327 posts since 2am this morning So Cal time (now 12:22pm)... Then, you were at 1317... Now ask yourself, why did William come on and just happen to read this thread late last night, when he only comes here now and then, and never this late in the eve, or early morn... I'll tell you why, I was lead here to see Starbrites 1317 post #... Which lead me to write everything above... It's obvious this person contributes many many writings to this forum... But woe, that's a lot... And you've flown right past that number by 10 posts in just 10 hours...

God is Great,
William

[starbright]

Oh I'm quite embarrassed now!! Sometimes I don't have a lot to do and I go onto the forum quite a lot on those days, that's all! I love my online friends. I think it's so cool we're all on here and can talk across cyberspace no matter how far apart we are in reality.

[Pippy]

Little Star, I feel the same way...tonight when my dad(if my dad gets the computer set up)I'm sure I will be up late cruisin" the forum. Little bit of info. here: I used to have the nickname "Cruisin' Susan" because as a teenage driver I would borrow one of my brother's cars and drive around with a few friends, cruising the town. Fun, huh? But I have come to love everyone on the forum too, Star.
And William...no, you are not crazy or stupid or anything like that. God gives us signs in so many different ways and always different for different people. We just have to be aware of them. I always believe when things run smoothly that God is behind them. He is the orchestra leader conducting all these wonderful things for us and as players in his orchestra we follow, we take His lead, we trust in His ability not to cause us to miss a beat. It's His Music we play and therefore, He is the One giving the signs that lead us closer to Him. I think the key to signs is that they should lead us close to Him. I think that is their true meaning. So if the signs you receive bring you closer to God then their source must be from God. And if they bring you closer to this gal you like(love)and you both do come together as a couple, then your union should, in turn, bring you closer to God. Then it's all a good thing. Now, does that make sense? Pippy

[William]

Are you kidding me? It not only makes perfect sense, it is beautiful music to my ears I understand you completely... I know that he is showing me things daily... You would not believe yesterday, or even today... I understand now, we do not take a single breath, nor a single step, without God letting us... So all things through out the day are things he lets us see, hear, feel, smell, and do.... And once this is realized, we see so much more of what he lets us, and wants us to see... It's so great...
And yes, it absolutely brings me very close to him, which I pray I will never be seperated from... And I also pray that it is his will that I and this girl are the union he destined for us... I strongly believe that it is with all that he has shown me... I have no worries.... But if it is not, I still have no worries, because it's his will that is best for me
Thank you Susan, you helped make my day...
Today is a Great Day, October 13, 1917, Miracle of the Sun, Fatima, Portugal...
You all have a Great Day Too
Bill
PS: Oh, here's one for ya, this day started out for me like this... After Mass this morning, and saying the rosary with the ladies at church, I had the oportunity to say the 4th Sorrowful Mystery.. Carrying of the Cross.. After reading it, I noticed the verse listed as it's refference... John 19:17

PSS: It is now the 3:00pm hour of Mercy here in So Cal... As I steep myself into the Lords passion, I request the total and complete conversion of JoAnn Romo, and her daughter Janet, who turns 25 on this day... I pray for their protection against evil, and pray Jesus gives them a miracle on this day so their eyes to will see what God intended for them to see.
Thanks to any of you who prays with me in this effort to save these souls.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Apostles Creed... Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for the atonement of our sins, and the sins of the whole world... For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us, and on the whole world. (5 decades) Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Imortal One, have mercy on us, and on the whole world.

Special Thanks to "The Little Flower", Blessed Kateri, Saint Elizabeth Queen of Hungary, and Saint Francis of Assisi
And of course, Our Holy Blessed Mother

[Pippy]

All right, Bill! I am glad we are on the same page! It kind of reminds me of the Old Testament in a way with the signs and numbers. I think it's okay to see them but not over do(I don't think you do)but I also live by my heart so much so that I always try to listen to it and let it dictate my actions. I pray all people do so. I sometimes think the best signs are those that come from nature!! I remember one summer where my mom was telling me about this robin and her little ones who lived in a nearby tree and how these owls were killing the babies!! I felt bad. And then one day we were all sitting out back and this very same robin came right up to us, just chirping away!! I made the off remark that she wanted us to help her. I just said it not thinking. And to this day I feel bad because I think she was wanting our attention. I think my dad finally did something about the owls or they just went away. But I feel that was nature trying to get a human's attention. That is just one way. Lil Red often sees the number 9/11 and then feels the need to pray. I like the number 333 and whenever I see it, I feel good. Now, I hope I still made sense??? Pips

[William]

Yes, you make sense to me.. Who is Lil Red? And could you lead me to the pages in the old testament regarding signs & numbers? 333 is one of my numbers also... I must have seen it 7 times today... As well as 33.. this one of course makes me instantly think of Jesus... I am trying not to over do it, and sometimes say to myself "stop it, you're getting carried away". But then I see this rapid succession of them and can't help but think, this just can't be without help from above... Tell me what you think of this one.. I happen to know that Pope Benedict was born on 4-16, and a Saint I've come to know is also born on 4-16... Ok, I pulled into a parking lot and seen this Saint's picture hanging from the mirror of the car directly in front of me, then I happened to glance at the cars license plate... The last 3 digits were 416... And this was not a personalized license plate... There's more that I see, and it is just amazing...
Ok, thank you Susan, at least there's someone out there I can relate to... Thanks for your prayers
Bill