Netflix has stolen my ignorance

Netflix has stolen my ignorance, and I'm not sure if I want it back or not. I have become a little bit addicted to Netflix documentaries. It all started last month with my research into the environment and finding the St. Francis Pledge. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, you can read all about it here. So, from there, I became hungry for information on what I can do to help. So, naturally, I looked into documentaries. There's SO MANY available on Netflix it's ridiculous. After learning all that I have about chemicals, the food industry, consumerism, healthy living, and being good to God's creation, my entire view of society is altered. So much of my life up till now was seriously destroying what God gave to us. It's bad for everything around you, and it's bad for your soul. So, I've decided, to ruin all of you're ignorance as well and spread the word on what we can do better to treat our bodies and our planet, the way I believe God intended. Below I will share with you the docs I have watched so far and why I feel the message is important. 

Food, INC.

Why I feel it's important: It exposes how horribly treated our food is. I'm not saying that for moral purposes we should all become vegetarians, I'm saying that meat is fine, God gave us many of these animals for food. However, they are still his creatures and it is for US to treat them with respect. Animals give up their lives to nourish us, we should be thankful to them and treat them with respect and humanity. The things I learned about the treatment of animals and the additives to the product have horrified me. The poster does not lie. You WILL NEVER look at dinner the same way.

Farmageddon

Why I feel it's so important: Did you know that there is a WAR on MILK? I sure didn't. But there is. Have you ever heard the term, "Raw Milk"? It means, straight from the cow. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the bible talk about milk? Moses was led to the land full of milk and honey, yeah? So it seems to me that milk was drank back in those times, before processing and altering the foods. So, how on earth is milk from a properly fed cow BAD for you? God isn't stupid, he doesn't make mistakes. There is NO REASON why we need to process and add anything to our milk. But, to drink milk straight from a cow is actually ILLEGAL in many states. Not just that, but when you hear about GMO's and Monsanto you're blood might just boil a bit.

Tapped

Why it's important: Bottled water is one of the biggest lies our society is fed and this doc exposes it. Did you know that bottled water companies that bottle and distribute in the same state are NOT FDA regulated? *Jaw on the floor* Did you know that many bottled water companies gather their water from MUNICIPAL (that means public) SOURCES? *yikes* These facts, and many many more, about the companies and what they are doing to harm many of the US's rural areas and the chemicals in the plastic bottles PLUS what the plastic manufacturing plants are doing to people who live near them, is enough to make you feel like a horrible person for drinking bottled water and make the switch to something better.

Hungry for change

Why it's important: Tons of valuable information about healthy living, the food you eat, and positive attitude. Great information on transforming your life through all the NATURAL things GOD provided for us!

Food Fight

Why it's important: Exposes the origins of the processed, flash frozen, additive FULL food craze and how it's damaging our world and bodies. Also talks about GMO's and how it's created more food than folks to consume thus creating over stuffed grocery stores full of utter crud food.

Ethos

Why it's important: One word...CONSUMERISM! This doc shows how our society has trained us to want more and more and more creating a demand that drains our resources, and seriously damages other countries through the purchasing of products linked to child labor, slavery, sweat shops. and more.

WHEW! That's a lot, right? Well,.if you're anything like me, you're wondering what to do with all this and what you can do to help create a better life for yourself, your children, your family. Well...here's some things you can do to make a difference in how God's creation, animals, people, and yourself are affected by you're choices.

Farmers Markets: Buy in season, locally grown, fruits and veggies from you're local farmers market. Many of them even accept food stamps. 

Kosher Butcher or Local Farmer: Transition you're meat purchases to a kosher butcher or a local farmer. You will ensure that the meat you are getting was treated with respect during it's life and that there is no additives to the product. Don't forget to ask the diet the animals where fed ensuring they were fed a natural diet and not a corn based feed. This has a huge impact on the quality and taste of the meat as well as the overall health factor of the product and the animal.

Water Filter: Instead of bottled water that is full of chemicals, over priced, and usually ends up a landfill of some kind, use a water filter. They have ones you can put on your faucet, pitcher's for your fridge, even reusable bottle sized ones so you can have delicious filtered water wherever you go. You'll thank yourself later and so will God's creation. 

Milk and eggs: If raw milk is legal in your state, give it a shot. If it makes you nervous, boil it first. My suggestion is to buy both your milk and eggs (as well as any other diary available) from a local farmer. This will ensure that there is no additives to the milk or the chickens and that you are receiving a clean natural product from an animal who was treated in the loving manor God intended. If raw milk is not allowed in your state, you can still buy organic whole milk. Remember that, fat-free, 2%, reduced fat, etc are all ques that something is full of additives and heavily processed.

Follow the frog and shop fair trade: If you want products that are made by people who are paid a sustainable wage to send their children to school and aren't slaves or forced child labor, consider the source. Here are some places to consider going to for things like coffee, chocolate, and even "craft type" items. All of the products are organic (natural) and better for creation as well as human rights.

The Catholic Relief Services (fair trade): http://crs.org/

Serrv: http://www.serrv.org/

Rainforest Alliance: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/green-living/shopthefrog

I hope that everyone who reads this takes the time to get more educated and makes the effort to be good to the gifts God gave us. His creation, his creatures, his people, and yourselves. 

-Blessings

Homosexual Desperation and Hypocrisy

Can someone please explain to me why the LGBT community is so desperate for total and unequivocal acceptance? Why is it so impossible for them to say, "Hey, I'm Gay, you don't like it, and that's OK."

Let me tell you a story: I came from a family of mental illness and addiction. For years I continued to drink and smoke marijuana as an adult despite my family telling me it was a bad idea and despite having a diagnosis of being bipolar. I made some poor choices during my drunken states and missed out on some of my middle child's infancy. My family didn't approve of my lifestyle choices and they told me so. They never once pretended to accept the sinning I was doing. But it never, at any point, stopped them from loving me. THAT is loving the sinner and hating the sin.

Being Catholic, there's one thing I have learned beyond a shadow of doubt. Not very many people like Catholics, except other Catholics. Not only do we have a bad rep (which is largely and nearly exclusively based on misconception and ignorance) but we also seem to be a huge easy target. When people talk badly about Christians, 9 out of 10 times, they're talking about Catholics. How many pregnant nun jokes around Halloween? How many Pope joke memes on facebook? Do you see us all pouty and whiny demanding everyone love us and support us no matter what? No. We accept that others don't agree with us and we move on. We don't NEED everyone to love us. We love ourselves and we love each other.

The moral of this story is:

Feeling that how someone is living their life is wrong and refusing to placate them or tell them it's OK when you don't feel it is, is not hate, it's love.

If you really feel that there is nothing wrong with what you are doing, then you don't need anyone else's approval. Let alone, you shouldn't need to BEG for it.

Also, if you're going to put out there that everyone should be equal and have equal treatment, then practice what you preach. It seems like you either have to be part of the LGBTQ lifestyle, agree with the LGBTQ lifestyle, or be bashed as hateful and ignorant.

I'm proud to say that I'M A CATHOLIC, AND ME AND MY CHURCH DO NOT AGREE WITH THE SIN OF HOMOSEXUALITY. BUT IF YOU LIVE THAT LIFE OR SUPPORT THAT LIFE YOU ARE STILL MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST AND I LOVE YOU. I WILL NOT TELL YOU IT'S OK TO DO WHAT YOU DO BECAUSE THAT WOULD MAKE ME A HYPOCRITE. BUT I WILL NEVER TURN MY BACK ON YOU.

-Blessings

The St. Francis Pledge - Fighting for God's Creation

There have been many times in my life where I have felt pulled and drawn to certain things. Like something was letting me know, "Hey, you! Get with the program and care about this!" Well, it's happened again.

For a couple months now I have felt a hunger for knowledge and information on how I can be better to the environment, to God's Creation. Now, if you knew me, then you would know that the environment isn't something I normally would have given a hoot about. Is it important? Yeah. But have I ever felt like a save the environment, reduce my carbon footprint kind of person? Not even a little bit. Which is why, it's been strange feeling this urge, this hunger, to educate myself more and to somehow be more involved in preserving this gift from the Lord. That's were my story begins.

Yesterday morning, I was bored and procrastinating on my household duties so I decided to look into things. What I discovered, is that the Catholic Church, MY CHURCH, has an official stance on global warming (also known as climate change). The stance is that Vatican employed scientists have without a doubt concluded that it IS, in fact, an issue and that we ALL need to STAND UP and do something about it.

After this, I started looking into what I can do to change things. What I can do to make things better. That's when I stumbled upon The Catholic Climate Covenant. From there, I learned of the The St. Francis Pledge. The pledge, as seen on the website, is this:

PRAY and reflect on the duty to care for God’s Creation and protect the poor and vulnerable.

LEARN about and educate others on the causes and moral dimensions of climate change.

ASSESS how we-as individuals and in our families, parishes and other affiliations-contribute to climate change by our own energy use, consumption, waste, etc.

ACT to change our choices and behaviors to reduce the ways we contribute to climate change.

ADVOCATE for Catholic principles and priorities in climate change discussions and decisions, especially as they impact those who are poor and vulnerable.

I am so pleased to have signed this pledge and to have decided to do my part in helping to make God's Creation a better, healthier, happier, place!

If you're interested in things you can do to make a difference, please visit this link.

-Blessings.