tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post3705691761906585893..comments2023-10-10T09:10:43.247-05:00Comments on Christ's Faithful Witness: What Do We Do When Prayer Doesn't Seem to Help?Lawrence and Susan Foxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-88176583585983006322013-10-13T19:38:42.932-05:002013-10-13T19:38:42.932-05:00Bill S said: "The thing is that I believe tha...Bill S said: "The thing is that I believe that, if God truly is what we think he is, he understands our unbelief and does not get angry at us for having it. Jesus did not berate Thomas for doubting the others. That's the way I like to think he will be to me if he is real." <br /><br />I agree with you 100 percent Bill. Susan Fox<br /><br />Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-21621401231922506422013-10-13T19:37:04.256-05:002013-10-13T19:37:04.256-05:00Actually, Bill, you are mistaken. Neither Jesus, n...Actually, Bill, you are mistaken. Neither Jesus, nor I, nor the Catholic Church said homosexuals are sinners. The Church said it is a disorder. In order for it to be a sin, you would have to be a practicing Christian, have full knowledge of what you are doing, and know it is a wrong against God and your fellow man, and you would have to act in absolute freedom. Researchers have found that most homosexuals are sexually abused as children. That takes away your freedom big time. Could it be they are not sinning? That's why the Pope said he didn't judge someone in that lifestyle. You can't judge from the outside. God bless you.SusanLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-91146500750425913512013-10-13T05:43:24.900-05:002013-10-13T05:43:24.900-05:00Susan,
Even the kindest Catholics like yourself w...Susan,<br /><br />Even the kindest Catholics like yourself will say that homosexuals are sinners but then again we are all sinners. That's a start, but it doesn't go far enough. The homosexuals who harmed their kids, physically, psychologically or both, sinned by doing what they did to them. There are screwed up heterosexuals that do just as bad or worse things to their kids. Of my two sons, I would have to say that the gay one comes closer to being a saint than the straight one. I would go to either one's wedding and love either one's children as my grandchildren. <br /><br />I simply must ignore Church teachings on this matter. Having said that, I am enjoying a renewed friendship with Jesus, my "imaginary friend". In my mind I told him that I don't believe he really exists but can look at him as that. In my mind he laughed and said "OK Bill, whatever blows wind up your skirt". That is something a co-worker used to say and I think of Marylyn Monroe on the subway grate when I hear it. <br /><br />The thing is that I believe that, if God truly is what we think he is, he understands our unbelief and does not get angry at us for having it. Jesus did not berate Thomas for doubting the others. That's the way I like to think he will be to me if he is real. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976342950011924171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-14126417591550913852013-10-13T03:30:31.874-05:002013-10-13T03:30:31.874-05:00I was reading Matthew chapter five today, and I th...I was reading Matthew chapter five today, and I thought of you: "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall have their fill." That's you to the T, Bill, and the Catholic Church believes that too. God bless you. Susan<br />Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-13509441782393342722013-10-13T03:30:18.629-05:002013-10-13T03:30:18.629-05:00Dear Bill, Sorry I got the passage wrong in the Bi...Dear Bill, Sorry I got the passage wrong in the Bible. John 8: 1-11. Jesus didn't say, I forgive you to the woman caught in adultery. Remember they brought her forward and wanted to stone her, and they wanted Jesus to make a mistake, deny the law, so they could turn him over to the authorities for blasphemy. So literally Jesus needed to condemn the woman and call for her stoning if He wanted to live. But what did he say? "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." That's the answer to your dilemma about your son -- "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." That is essentially what Pope Francis has been saying. So what happened? Jesus returned to writing in the dirt. And one by one they all slunk away beginning with the eldest. That is none of them were without sin. Finally Jesus was alone with the woman, and Jesus said, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one Lord" So He responded, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again." <br /><br /> Bill, the church does say homosexuality is a disorder. I don't live an ordered life either, do you? It's part of the human condition. Adultery is a disorder also. We don't promote adultery, but we are all the same. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. No one can. The Holy Spirit is the Author of Order. Not weak human beings. God bless you. Susan<br /><br />Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-74280560180361118182013-10-12T21:56:19.078-05:002013-10-12T21:56:19.078-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-6085597708678268912013-10-12T21:51:19.018-05:002013-10-12T21:51:19.018-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-89187367687577172612013-10-12T17:30:07.184-05:002013-10-12T17:30:07.184-05:00And remember how Jesus forgave the woman caught in...<i>And remember how Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery, and told her, "Neither do I condemn thee."</i><br /><br />Susan,<br /><br />Gays do not need forgiveness because they are not doing anything wrong. The Church has the problem. Not the gays. <br /><br />Thank you anyway for not being overly judgmental and for your kind words. I wish people could admit that the Church is a human institution and screws up too. It screws up every time it condemns gay marriage. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976342950011924171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-17273402576575459382013-10-12T15:30:26.117-05:002013-10-12T15:30:26.117-05:00Dear Bill, I am sorry you tried to end your life, ...Dear Bill, I am sorry you tried to end your life, but glad you have decided to accept Jesus as your invisible friend. Divine Mercy is an excellent place to go. Jesus said, the greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My Mercy. Always best to take Jesus' Mercy now than His Justice later. The only thing the Church has said about homosexuality is that it is a disorder, but Pope Francis, you know, has said he does not judge anyone ... and if someone is trying to work out his salvation in fear and trembling, he will not judge him by his inclination or disorder. That was very reassuring to many in the gay lifestyle. And remember how Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery, and told her, "Neither do I condemn thee." God bless you. SusanLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-34735554603162370942013-10-12T07:02:09.882-05:002013-10-12T07:02:09.882-05:00Susan,
Thank you for your suggestion. I haven'...Susan,<br /><br />Thank you for your suggestion. I haven't told you yet about my "incident". I tried to end my life by running plastic tubing from the exhaust into my car but was stopped by the police who were called by my son when I sent an email to my family saying where I could be found. Unknown to me, the tubing was forced out of the pipe by the exhaust. I finally realized it and put it back in twice until it finally stayed. But by then the police had arrived and put me on oxygen and sent me to the hospital by ambulance. I was committed to McClean, one of the best psychiatric hospitals in the world. It was like being on a cruise. Everyone was so nice and even the sickest people were entertaining in their own way. I am now going daily for outpatient counseling. I have decided to put my trust in Divine Mercy and look at Jesus as my "imaginary friend". That is all the faith I can muster up for now. <br /><br />I will say more at a later date. Right now I am working out at the Young Men 's Christian Association known as the Y. And I am going to breakfast with Linda and Stephen, my gay son. Whatever faith I muster, I will not accept the Catholic attitude toward homosexuality. It is vile and ugly. God bless.<br /><br />Bill. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976342950011924171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-65670510671181126902013-10-11T19:41:58.992-05:002013-10-11T19:41:58.992-05:00P.S. Bill, you can also remove the part that is fr...P.S. Bill, you can also remove the part that is from you. That is only let your wife see the body of the article I wrote. God bless you. Susan FoxLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-40038321560708627332013-10-11T19:40:26.641-05:002013-10-11T19:40:26.641-05:00Dear Bill S., I had a suggestion. Why don't y...Dear Bill S., I had a suggestion. Why don't you print out my article, this one, "What Do We Do When Prayer Doesn't Seem to Help?" and leave it laying around for your wife to see. Maybe there is something in the article that might help her. You can cut off the blog's address if it comes up on the print out, so she won't know where it's from. Just a suggestion. God bless you. Susan FoxLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-58653628726279676132013-10-11T14:22:17.298-05:002013-10-11T14:22:17.298-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-58600087931053808002013-10-11T14:21:39.102-05:002013-10-11T14:21:39.102-05:00Dear Bill, Glad you are back on line. I'm sorr...Dear Bill, Glad you are back on line. I'm sorry to hear you were hospitalized for depression. God bless you, friend.<br />Bill, You have to read the article. I quote the Regnerus Study that finds that children raised by gays are 4 times more likely to be raped, 10 times more likely to be "touched," more likely to identify themselves as anything but straight once they grow up. They also suffer from attachment disorder. I was dealing with a group of gay people at the time, and asked them for the name of one adult raised by gays that was happy about the situation, but they couldn't produce any. They produced a lot of bogus news stories based on the reports of gays or their young children. Instead, if you will go to http://www.dawnstefanowicz.org she has numerous stories from adults raised by gays who report the horrors of the situation. These adults are still very fearful to say what they are saying because I found spots where they had withdrawn their testimony probably due to persecution from their families or gays. Children -- while they are being raised by gays -- are not reliable sources of information. Dawn herself said she could not out her parents until they were both dead, and right up to her father's death, she was playing the part of happy daughter for the outside world. You should read her book. You'd understand their quandary better. And while from a justice point of view I'm sure it would be nice if they could raise children, the problem is that it is not nice from the child's point of view. They get abused. It is an injustice to the child. That's why the article is called "A child's right to Mom and Dad."<br />Bill I was a newspaper reporter for 12 years, and I learned how to do an objective, showing both sides piece, but when the evidence is overwhelming or there is no true evidence to the contrary, then I am not afraid to take a stand. I didn't use religious sources on this one. I used secular sources. That bi-sexual raised by lesbians, Robert Lopez? His position was identical to one that might have been taken by Pope Benedict, but I didn't even look up what Pope Benedict said on the matter. I don't know what the church teaches on gay adoption except by hearsay. I didn't research that at all. God bless you. Susan FoxLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-41370727809617071452013-10-11T08:20:03.492-05:002013-10-11T08:20:03.492-05:00Hi Susan,
It's so great to be able to blog ag...Hi Susan,<br /><br />It's so great to be able to blog again. Yes, I know that didn't sound like me but that was me. Wouldn't you agree that if some gays are capable of raising foster children and they do quite well at it, that there should never be a law against them doing it? Why should they lose their freedom to do so? I don't know the splits between successfully raising children and unsuccessfully raising them, but I'm sure there is a split of some sort for heterosexual couples and another one for gay couples. As long as there's some people doing it right, then we can't have laws prohibiting everybody from doing it. I was hospitalized last week for depression. One of the people I met was a lesbian who is married and wants to have kids. There is no way I would ever want to deprive her of that opportunity, especially after having to gotten to know her. This world is very hard on homosexuals but it is changing and some people don't like to see the change. You should try hard not to be one of those people. <br /><br />When I get a chance, I would like to tell you about my hospitalization. But right now I am attending an outpatient program and I don't have much time but at least I have my iPhone back. I will tell you however that I have turned to Jesus. The rest will require more time than I presently have. Take care and God bless.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976342950011924171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-23308438127019530152013-10-11T02:21:36.038-05:002013-10-11T02:21:36.038-05:00Dear Bill S. Hope you are doing well and you get t...Dear Bill S. Hope you are doing well and you get this message. Someone has left a message at another post. This one: http://christsfaithfulwitness.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-childs-right-to-mom-and-dad-why-kids.html<br />They claim to be Bill S. Did you post that comment? Susan FoxLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-92218381937470825682013-09-25T00:01:12.732-05:002013-09-25T00:01:12.732-05:00But I digress. here is a thing I wrote tonight whe...But I digress. here is a thing I wrote tonight when I was explaining confession to a non-Catholic, and talking about the Pope's letter. The person I was talking to was worried because the pope said he was a sinner, and she wanted him to know he was forgiven: "In the Catholic Church we are washed in the Blood of the Lamb in the Sacrament of Confession. It is like being able to talk directly to Jesus. I never see a priest in the chair across from me. I see Our Lord. We believe that once our sins are shed in the Christ's Tribunal of Mercy, then God does not remember them. Mother Angelica told the story of walking on the beach. She was very troubled by her sins. A drop of water from the ocean landed on her hand, and she heard the Lord tell her to throw that drop of water back into the ocean. She did. Then he asked her to go find that one unique drop of water in that big ocean. She couldn't. And so He told her the same is true for her sins once they are thrown into His Ocean of Mercy. You can't find them any more. I had a priest friend with a very close relationship with Christ, and he was talking to Him, and saying, "Remember when I committed such and such sin." Jesus said, "No I don't." Father got quite angry, "You are God you know everything and you don't remember that sin I committed!" And then he remembered that he had confessed it. It's not that God doesn't know. It's simply that God choses to forget. God bless God in his mercy and his saints. The pope understands that his sins are forgiven, but the world tends to think of the pope as perfect, walking on water. So for a pope to say, "Hey, I am a sinner too" is startling to the world. However, in my comment I was saying that the first pope, St. Peter, also recognized he was a sinful man. Also St. John said if we say we are without sin, then we are liars. But just because we know we are sinners doesn't mean we don't know that we have been forgiven as well. I like to call myself the sinner who has been forgiven much. And what did Jesus say when he was dining at Matthew, the tax collectors house. He heard the Pharisees saying, "This man dines with sinners and tax collectors." Jesus said, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:30-32) That is the problem with the pro-gay movement in the world today. They do not recognize they have any sin. That position gives rise to scare tactics and intimidation of Christians. But ironically, what the these beautiful Jesuits and the pope is saying that one on one, we need to see Jesus Christ in each person regardless of his views on those hot button issues of gay marriage, abortion and contraception. To be able to see Him in the enemy comes from a repentant and forgiven heart. What if the pope was like some individuals in the gay movement, who say they are without sin. Then he would be a liar. Right?" God bless you. Susan FoxLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-22518078500257476032013-09-25T00:00:59.165-05:002013-09-25T00:00:59.165-05:00Bill, the deacon was telling you what the Catholic...Bill, the deacon was telling you what the Catholic Church believes. It's true once your sins are confessed, there is no way on earth anyone will ever know them. Even God forgets them. That's why when the priest sex abuse was revealed, it was a sign that there was a lot of unconfessed sin out there. It's not new. I'm reading St. Peter Damien's Book of Gomorrah from the Middle Ages, and he is railing against clergy sexual abuse of their penitents (read young men). He further is very upset because they would have their gay relations, and then absolve each other or absolve their penitent in confession. I think the Church passed a rule that was an invalid confession after he wrote the book in the Middle Ages. Whoa. what Lucifer will put in our minds next! I got a kick out of reading the thinking of some involved in the scandal just past in the United States. They literally taught that gay relations did not violate a vow of celibacy because celibacy was a vow not to marry a woman! I've seen the same logic from the gay movement on the Bible. They actually have literature showing that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was not homosexuality. They do some acrobatics with the translation, and they say when the men of Sodom demanded to have those two angels, who looked like young men, they were requesting heterosexual sex with the men, not homosexual sex. Online talking with some who believed this translation, I mentioned that the context doesn't work for that translation because Lot was so upset that they wanted his male guests that he offered to give them his virgin daughters instead (also horrible). Lot clearly believed they wanted homosexual sex, and he believed that was so horrible that he offered his daughters instead. <br />Second part of this post is next. Susan<br />Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-87812570228743314982013-09-24T08:30:35.418-05:002013-09-24T08:30:35.418-05:00Your wife is your salvation.
There have been many...<i>Your wife is your salvation.</i><br /><br />There have been many signs that what you say is true. She wants me to talk to the priest who ran the Cursillo in 2009. I really don't want to do it. <br /><br />At that Cursillo, I was very troubled about having cheated so many times. I feared that when we both got to the afterlife, she would know all there is to know and I would be in trouble. I had a private session with a deacon who assured me that, having confessed my sins, it was like I never committed them. I don't buy that, but I don't buy the whole idea of an afterlife anyway, so what difference does it make?<br /><br />I have a long story that I feel the need to tell but I can't do it right now. It has to do with what you said about my wife being my salvation. It consists of multiple small miracles and shakes my atheist faith, if there is such a thing. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976342950011924171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-80301518086859760162013-09-23T19:25:18.913-05:002013-09-23T19:25:18.913-05:00Dear Bill,
I'm really glad you told your wife....Dear Bill,<br />I'm really glad you told your wife. She should understand how you feel. I go down in the healing services too. But Lawrence doesn't and he's still a devout Catholic. I think God respects our free will in those situations, and if you don't want to go down, you won't. There are times I told God I couldn't go down because I had a small child with me, and He didn't let me go down. However, if you have been in a good Catholic healing service, and nothing weird happened according to the people around you, that's a good sign because I know it's been in the back of your mind that there might be some kind of possession thing going on. And I've seen priests in healing services involved in an exorcism. They always told the lay people around them not to touch the possessed person (Satan likes to travel). The priest made the possessed person go up and down off the floor without touching him (while the person seemed to be unconscious) and without the person being aware of what was taking place. I asked Larry why Satan was so dumb that he'd bring a possessed person to a healing service with a priest having a charism like that. Larry said they can't help it. <br /><br />I've known two people who were possessed, and neither one of them seemed to know they were possessed. The book to read on this issue is "An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Gabriele Amorth, and if you are still interested read, "An Exorcist: More Stories" also by Fr. Amorth. He was the chief exorcist in Rome. This book will help you understand that one visit to the exorcist or the "ladies in the Rectory" rarely is enough to dislodge Satan. If one is possessed, Satan has been given permission to occupy that person either by the person himself or by his parents/grandparents. If he has the right to be there, it is not easy to get him out. God respects free will, and gives authority to parents. Only the possessed person (or his parents)can remove the permission he or his parents gave for the possession. Some cases took 10-20 years of exorcism prayers before the devil was out. Remember the apostles came back from their missionary journey and asked Jesus why they couldn't get a demon out in His Name, and Jesus said, "That kind takes prayer and fasting." That book I gave you on Healing of Families is a back door way to get rid of him without fireworks. You simply remove whatever permission you or your parents gave to him to enter your family. Frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession is also a great means of exorcism. I personally wouldn't go to the ladies in the Rectory. I would only allow a priest to lay hands on me because of what is written in the book of James (If you are sick get the priests/elders to lay hands on the sick.) A lay person may lack discernment and can get possessed themselves. Then they lay hands on other people, and you are very vulnerable in that situation. A priest has holy orders. Even if he were possessed he can't hurt you by virtue of that sacrament. These two books will tell you that Rome began a training program for exorcists several years ago, and every diocese in the world is supposed to have one trained exorcist. Who he is is a secret. But if you contact the Chancery (the headquarters for the local Catholic diocese) they can make an appointment for you. A trained exorcist can determine if a person is possessed or not. The proper role of a lay person in an exorcism is to be in another room praying. It is called deliverance prayer. Lay people should not lay hands on a possessed person. <br /><br />Yes, it is your depression speaking. Your devout wife is your salvation. God bless you. Warmest regards, Susan FoxLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-56913400773195684022013-09-23T07:21:23.532-05:002013-09-23T07:21:23.532-05:00This Saturday I finally told my wife that I was at...This Saturday I finally told my wife that I was atheist. But I softened the blow by showing her a book that I was reading entitled <i>From Atheism to Catholicism</i> by Kevin Vost. <br /><br />She pointed out how she gets knocked out, or whatever you call it, by the Holy Spirit at healing masses, which I don't. If that isn't proof that God exists, then what is? It's funny, one would expect that living as a Catholic would be difficult but for me it is much more difficult living as an atheist. It is particularly hard having such a devout wife. I often think of the women that I knew who were not religious and wonder what it would have been like if I had married one of them instead. I think that is my depression speaking. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976342950011924171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-34607142845041968752013-09-21T21:37:17.949-05:002013-09-21T21:37:17.949-05:00"However, I have read a lot of books that hav..."However, I have read a lot of books that have made me doubt my faith and now I'm stuck with no God and no material success." You are not stuck with either. God will take you back in an instant, and if you can get help for your health, you could be productive again. Bill, Jesus said that the greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to my mercy. That means the farther you feel you are from Him, the closer He comes. God bless you. Susan Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-41390646146089383702013-09-21T19:59:28.437-05:002013-09-21T19:59:28.437-05:00Bill, I can see that you are beginning to understa...Bill, I can see that you are beginning to understand that religion was not your problem, but what was it about material success that was so important to you? I mean it must have been a very powerful thing in your life in order for this one angst to lead to electric shock treatments. I really think it must be something deeper that material success represented. No one would go through the suffering you have endured in order to achieve material success.<br /><br />Also before you changed your beliefs to atheism, was there some sort of rivalry with your brother over who was right? And did you feel like you had to prove 'Catholicism." Given that your brother was an atheist was there some terrible suffering in your mutual childhood that led you both to reject the Catholic Church? Split personality disorder comes when there is terrible abuse in childhood.<br /><br />By the way your issue has never been addressed. Electric shock treatments and drugs do not heal. They simply suppress the problem. You cease to be a problem to the health care provider, so he feels successful and can wash his hands of you, but you yourself are left to suffer with the dilemma that originated the crisis. You are struggling with it still.<br /><br /> I was physically down to nothing in 2010 after I had heart surgery. The best I could do in exercise was 10 minutes walking a day. That was an excellent choice as now I do Aqua Zumba, Pilates and Swim Aerobics. I am overweight as well, and the worse person in these classes. People remember me because I am the one doing a terrible job of it. They come up to me afterwards and say, "It will get better." But I have been doing it for some time now, and it just depends on what kind of day I'm having physically. After I exercise I feel terrible. Other people feel good, but hey, I figure it's better than death. What I'm trying to say is one can come back from near death and dismal unhappiness, and by taking little steps every day, one can still have a happy life. I do worry that I don't accomplish much but thanks to the fact that I am talking to you, one of the fruits of your trolling apostolate, I now am trying to thank God for everything I do accomplish -- even if it is only brushing my teeth. God bless you. Susan Fox<br /><br />Lawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-42761109958128378242013-09-21T10:36:59.837-05:002013-09-21T10:36:59.837-05:00I felt great after Cursillo. It was when I saw the...I felt great after Cursillo. It was when I saw the material success of other less religious friends and my failures that a change came about in the way I felt. I began to think that the reason that I have not striven for the same was due to my being religious. But now that I am not, I have not become more driven to achieve material success. However, I have read a lot of books that have made me doubt my faith and now I'm stuck with no God and no material success.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06976342950011924171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7066465714745281883.post-68080957325810768902013-09-21T03:40:26.440-05:002013-09-21T03:40:26.440-05:00Bill, you mentioned your struggle with not doing t...Bill, you mentioned your struggle with not doing things, but I also don't "do" things really. One might look at my life and say it is a waste. I wrote about this in "The Bon Vivant: How to live the Good Life in a Bad Economy." http://christsfaithfulwitness.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-bon-vivant-how-to-live-good-life-in.html<br />Really, the implications for your life in this article is that maybe you won't do the chores, but just by being cheerfully present to your family, you will be living a fulfilling life. Maybe you are setting the benchmark for a non-wasted life too high. Susan FoxLawrence and Susan Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11526624376697144718noreply@blogger.com