I had foot surgery on December 27th to correct the hammertoe that had been ruling my life for the last couple of years. With this I discovered that my husband Mike is one step away from becoming the venerable Mike. If he could he’d be taking my vitals as well. So much free time at the mercy of my recovery made for watching ridiculous shows like Hollywoods news. Rita Wilson was being interviewed and all I caught was her response, which was, “Well we have a president that gropes women, what do you expect?” The reporter had no comeback. Any good and honest reporter would have brought up President Clinton’s behavior and asked, “So you’re ok with President Clinton’s behavior while in office?” Nope, not going to happen! The arrogance of these people! This is why I will never watch another movie with these buffoons.

Another equally disturbing news feed was how different police departments are incorporating meditation, as a the new way of relaxation, thank you Oprah for opening another door to the world,  I am not a fan, I never follow what she has to say.  The word of God says “And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” Luke 12:48  Oprah needs to be careful with all the followers she leads astray.

Let’s talk about facts on meditation; this is a religion with Pantheistic beliefs. In the mantra you are calling to Hindu gods.  I do not open those doors because it separates you from the one true God; everything the enemy does starts off  innocently and then leads to bigger things. 2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3“You shall have no other gods before me. Ex 20:2-3 If you don’t believe me read the story of Father Kneemiller, www.courageouspriest.com who for years, before becoming a priest dabbled in this New Age belief. Father Kneemiller’s article on the dangers of New Age is-eye opening and I pray that you read it with an open heart.

In every Yoga pose, its meaning is praying to a spiritual Hindu god, but not too many yoga sizers are aware of the dangers attached to this practice. Back in the early seventies I too fell into the routine by watching a program on television, and participating in the excerise. When I started serving the Lord I realized that this was questionable. At that time I was a “Born Again” Christian, and when you are a baby in Christ, all you want to do is convert others, and please God. There are plenty of misguided Christians as well as Catholics who still practice these New Age religions. A well known priest, Father Jose Gallegos, an exorcist from the Archdiocese of Barcelona, Spain, warns against the practices of reiki and yoga. Now why would an exorcist warn against this?

 I tapped most of Hallmark’s Christmas movies; they are clean and offer hope. Granted they all share the same story line, and just about anyone could write the script. It’s either Hallmark or watching Game Of Thrones with Mike; just a five-minute segment was traumatizing. It was scene with a sword fight in which the victor not only slashed the opponent’s throat but savagely yanked out the man’s tongue and waved it at the onlookers. The way Mike explains this program is that it’s about real life. I walked out of the room dazed and confused.

I posted a picture on FB post op bragging about not taking any pain pills, but my pain became so intense I removed the picture. The opioids prescribed are making me sick to my stomach, my hair is developing dreadlocks and my back is out, Other than that I have no complaints. All my concerns are temporary and trying my patience, but so far I’ve only called a couple of my friends to register these lightweight laments. I cannot drive for one month, Dear Lord, help me with that trial!

New Years Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for everyone who has ears to hear the truth, and for this year to be a year of reckoning with all we have not done to please you. Keep us from temptation and guide us to hear Your still small voice, and do what is right and pleasing for You. Allow us to operate in your pure love, and let us be grateful for all you have given us. Restore health to all who are suffering, repair broken hearts and bring healing to your land. Amen!

Merry Christmas!

I prayed for a miracle this year and God granted the request. When you make a sincere effort to serve God the enemy (Satan) gets rattled. The attack on those who take their faith to another realm leaves us more vulnerable to Satan’s assaults because we are a threat to his plans.

Job is the shinning example; the evil one took everything from him, but Job never faltered because he knew to trust God. God restored everything that the enemy stole from him triple-fold.

This year the enemy tried to bring our family down, but through prayer the contract from Satan was destroyed. My trial is too personal to air on public media. The only thing that I will share is that what  seems impossible for man, God took care of, because nothing is impossible with Him. (But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matt 19:26)  I called on warriors, priests from my parish, priests from EWTN, some family members, my Bible study group, friends from my lay ministry, and my Croatian family. We bombarded heaven and petitioned for the miracle. Within a matter of five weeks the heavy cloud shifted. The cloud is still evident but non-threatening, and soon the sky, as we know it, will once again shine with the beautiful hues of  blue that only answered prayers can describe.

The more I serve God, the more Satan will attempt to distract me and try to bring me down. He cannot not succeed! Why? Because I am a general in the army of God. I take all my tactical assignments from God to fight my battles. I was promoted because of my trials, I was awarded the purple heart as a reminder of my victories not my injuries. Just as Jesus paid the price on the Cross to redeem us. I run to the Cross with every beat of my heart and beg Him for my needs. Yes, I have a blessed life but everything comes with a price. I pay my dues on my knees, and because of my humanity I doubted, but I never stopped praying.

If you ask me to pray for you I will do so until God give me the signal to stop. That is the nature of a prayer warrior.

My gift came wrapped in dried-up tears, and I am so grateful for this is the only gift I wanted. This Christmas is extra special because of answered prayer. I want to thank all the prayer warriors that came into the battlefield with me, as the victory is His. Merry Christmas!

Our first family Christmas card was sent with a 13¢ stamp back in 1977. Sonja was shy of two years and Mikos was four. I remember that we drove to Fashion Island and asked a stranger to take our picture with a actual camera. The person took two pictures and we had to take the roll of film to get it developed; there was no instant gratification, so however the picture turned out, that was the one we would use.

The Christmas card tradition continues and since our families have grown, it has become more complicated. Not everyone is excited for the annual group picture, and most of the time someone is in a bad mood, but it’s never me.

When our grandkids were younger it took a great deal of patience for me not to lose it and start screaming, but if it were not through the grace of God I managed to hold my tongue for the sake of the infamous Christmas card picture.  One year Will refused to open his eyes. In every picture he intentionally closed his eyes. Even with a stern warning Will did not budge. It took a ridiculous bribe to make Will finally open his eyes.

Our daughter Sonja insists on dressing her boys like twins, but they are not, and poor Russ, if Sonja can find a big enough shirt then the family becomes triplets. Not too many Christmases ago Sonja had the boys dressed in these really cute monster shirts. I could not take my eyes off the adorable non- threatening faces of the monsters and thought that everyone that received my Christmas greeting that year would refer to it as the monster shirt card. The same year Maddie used this as a personal modeling photo shoot, having posed for very many pictures while her brother photo-bombed her frame. Our neighbor Marisa was the photographer  and she played into Maddie’s many poses.

The Christmas card picture that is chosen every year is always the one that I look the best in; all women do the same.

Once the pictures are complete comes the mailing. You would think that after so many years I could get the addresses together but something always goes wrong. I am at the mercy of Sonja to get my labels together, as the I more attempt, the bigger the mess.  I am not really sure what happened this year, but some of you will receive cards with only first names, so I convey my sincere apologies.

We are in the third week of Advent. As Catholics we start the liturgical new year with Christmas, not in January. The word Advent is derived from the Latin word Adventus, which means coming. There are four candles on the Advent wreath, and this week the pink candle is lit, representing joy, and the happiness we will experience with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The four Sundays of Advent represent the 4,000 years of Israel’s Biblical history prior to the coming of Christ. Advent is a season of preparation, by fasting and praying for purification, so the priests wear purple for royalty and penance. Oh Come Oh Come Immanuel!

Sunday’s Advent reading is, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the people; but the Lord will arise upon you and his glory will be see upon you. And all nations shall come to your light, and kings of the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3