Welcome Message

Welcome to my blog about Catholic life and family values.
This blog will center around the beauty of Catholicism and how to raise families, evangelize our faith, and fight the ongoing spritual battles that challenge us daily.

You are invited to share your wisdom on these pages with all the readers. Together we will address important life and faith issues and how to enhance our Catholic identity.

Key areas that you will find me addressing regularly will be about important Catholic doctrine and beliefs and how they help us raise strong Catholic Christian families. My hope is that you will learn, enjoy, and be challenged by my posts. You may be informed, amused, or even annoyed, but I hope it will in some way improve your Catholic faith.



Thursday, September 27, 2007

Gloria is the right name

Have you heard about Gloria Strauss? If you’re like me, you’ve been either listening to Tom Curran’s radio program, Sound Insight, or reading Jerry Brewer’s column in the Seattle Times about this amazing young lady.

Gloria Strauss died last Friday after a 4-year bout with an insidious form of cancer. Jerry Brewer, a sports reporter for the Times, began covering it probably because her dad is the basketball coach at Kennedy High School in the Seattle area. It turned into a front page journal that chronicled Gloria and her family. I can’t do justice to the incredible faith journey this was and the lives Gloria touched in this short blog post. Suffice it to say that the faith Gloria placed in the Lord and the immense power of prayer is a lesson in humility, faith, trust, and love for all of us. I urge you to learn more about Gloria Strauss.

To read Jerry Brewer’s journal in the Seattle Times, click here.

To listen to Tom Curran’s interview with her parents, click here.

This week will be the culmination of the celebration of her life. Please keep Gloria and her family in your prayers. I have a feeling we are all in hers!

Blessings,

Dan

Monday, September 24, 2007

The Blondie Rule #2 – Lessons from my dog – The rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated



Last month (August 20), the Blondie Rule #1 dealt with overcoming “analysis paralysis”. This month, you will learn how my dog has taught me about perseverance.

The famous quote by Mark Twain listed in the title surely applies to Blondie. In late December of 2004, she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in her gum. The veterinarian had taken as much out as possible, but sadly reported that she didn’t get it all. At the time, Blondie was 13 years old and all the treatments were very invasive and costly. We opted to do nothing, except make our friend as comfortable as she could be for the remainder of her life. She was given a death sentence of 2 to 3 months.

Fast forward to today and Blondie is 16 ½ and those 2-3 months are almost 3 years. The cancer has come back and spread some. In fact, just a few weeks ago, she was looking so bad and struggling so much; we began mentally preparing for her to pass on over the weekend. She fooled us again. It’s been almost a month since that day and although I can’t say she’s going on strong, she perseveres and lives to fight another day. Sooner than later we will have to make that difficult decision when her quality of life erodes. Based on how she devoured her breakfast this morning, we’re not quite there yet!

Blondie reminds me that not every day is going to be better than the day before. Some days can bring frustration, pain, and struggle. But persevering, “grinding” out the tough days, and living to fight another day should be our mantra, too. Blondie didn’t understand the diagnosis she was given in December of 2004. She just kept living every day, even when some days weren’t as good as others.

I know I have days where I grouse and complain about things. Blondie reminds me that I need to get over myself and realize that struggle is a necessary part of life; it makes us stronger. Instead of trying to be the person my dog thinks I am, I guess I just need to be more like my dog!




Dan

Friday, September 21, 2007

So Long Cy

Do you remember when you met someone who had an impact in your personal and professional life? I’ll never forget meeting Cy Wyse. Cy was a mountain of a man in his early 70’s. He had been an outstanding basketball and football player in his youth and you could tell that although he was older, he had been an imposing figure. He had the biggest hands I’d ever seen and a powerful grip. He introduced himself to me after my first basketball practice at North Kitsap High School. He asked permission to watch practices, not to critique me he carefully stated, but to watch his granddaughter, who was a junior on the team, play. I agreed and that was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Over the course of the next seven years, Cy became a friend and mentor. Now don’t get me wrong, he certainly had his opinions, but he was steadfast in his belief that the coach was the coach, and his or her word was law. Cy was always courtside at our games, even after his granddaughter graduated. He was always available to offer me sage advice, mentor me, and listen when I just needed to vent. He would invite me over to his house for some lemonade that his lovely bride, Alma would fix for us. I don’t think I ever got out in less than two hours! His stories and wisdom were priceless.

Cy passed away on Wednesday (September 19) and he will be missed by a large extended family, including the community he worked so hard to build. He was a champion for the youth, spending countless hours mentoring students, coaching athletes, and lobbying to gain increased parks and facilities. Cy was a good friend and mentor to me and I’m eternally grateful. I will miss him.

So who is that someone that has had an impact on you? Maybe the better question is - whose life have YOU impacted? We’re only on this earth a short time. Being a mentor and friend to someone else is not only a nice thing to do, it’s incumbent on all of us because someone did it for us. The best thing I can do in thanks for Cy’s generosity to me is to give that back to someone else. What about you? Whose life can you impact in a positive way?

Dan

Monday, September 17, 2007

Are You Prepared for the Unexpected Test?

I’m teaching my first class for the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research tomorrow in Seattle. The class is for Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR) and I’m at the stage of the process to teach the first half of the class. Presenting in front of a group has never been an issue for me; however there are a couple areas that have me nervous.

I’ve got a brand new laptop and projector with great slides that my daughter, Mindy helped me put together. The problem is I’ve never used either in a formal presentation, so I spent all Saturday night making sure I knew how to connect the laptop to the projector and make sure I knew how to use the wireless mouse and laser (I’ve never had control of a little red dot on a screen, but it’s pretty cool). Still, using new gadgets for the first time in a live presentation always makes me a little uneasy. You never know what challenges you will run into with the configuration of the room, the positioning of outlets, or a just Murphy showing up and imposing his law on you.

I’ve tried to learn from experience to bring extra things just in case – batteries, dry erase pens, Kleenex…you never know what challenges you will have to overcome. Most importantly, those people in the class are counting on me to teach them well enough to pass their test.

Are you well prepared to meet those unknown challenges in your faith life? What challenges do you face on a daily basis? Maybe the better question is, do we even recognize them as challenges? One of mine is to make sure I pray the Rosary daily. I have to admit, some days I miss because life happens, I’m tired, or (I hate to admit this) I just didn’t feel like it. I know where those excuses come from…the one person that doesn’t want me saying the Rosary…the Devil. The Devil doesn’t tempt us by just popping in and say “Hey there, I’m the Devil and I’m here to tempt you today!” He is much more subtle; placing excuses in your head for not doing whatever it is that you know is right for your spiritual life. Those are really the temptations we need to be cautious of…the ones that prompt us to take the easy road. We have to remember where that easy road leads. Christ proclaims that to follow Him is a much more difficult road and sometimes we have to do things we don’t want or feel like doing, even if it is difficult or distasteful. Think of Christ carrying His cross and being crucified for our sake. Difficult and distasteful are HUGE understatements. It was a road that had to be taken, even though he was tempted Himself by the Devil not to take it.

Be prepared for the temptations or challenges you face daily by raising your awareness of what temptations are. Persevere and do what is right in your spiritual life, even if you don’t feel like doing it or it’s not convenient. Pack your spiritual briefcase with those extra items you may need because you never know when your next challenge will come.

Vivat Jesus,

Dan

Saturday, September 15, 2007

My newsletter is coming, my newsletter is coming...

Just a reminder that my new e-newsletter debuts this week! If you haven't had a chance to subscribe yet, please click here, and type in The Catholic Dad in the comments section. Don't miss it...subscribe today!

I'm working on a web site and some other neat things over the coming months. You won't want to miss a thing, so keep reading this blog!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Remembering 9-11...


If you are like me, you will never forget where you were the moment you heard of the attack on New York and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. I was getting ready to take my kids to school when a neighbor called in and told us to turn on the TV. Not having been around during Pearl Harbor, 9-11 will the "Day of Infamy" for me and my generation.

Many of you know who Father Corapi is and with what truth he speaks about our faith and the world. I subscribe to his newsletter and read a great article he wrote about September 11th entitled "Six Years Later - The Approach of Midnight". With all attribution to Father John Corapi, please take a moment and read his article below. May God Bless and have mercy on all the souls who lost their lives that day and on their families left behind.

Dan

SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 SIX YEARS LATER, AND COUNTING

SIX YEARS AGO ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 TIME STOOD STILL IN A SPASM OF BLACK SMOKE, DEATH, AND DESTRUCTION. IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE, BUT NOW IT HAD, PROVING DEFINITIVELY THAT IT COULD HAPPEN. AN ERA ENDED. INDEED, WE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME.FOR A TIME, IT SEEMED TO THOSE STILL POSSESSED OF ANY ABILITY TO SEE SPIRITUAL THINGS AT ALL THAT PERHAPS THE WORLD MIGHT CORRECT IT’S BLIND AND HEADLONG FLIGHT OVER A PRECIPICE AND INTO A MORAL ABYSS. PEOPLE RUSHED TO CHURCHES, SYNAGOGUES, AND MOSQUES. THERE WERE LONG LINES FOR CONFESSION IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES. OTHERS MADE THEIR AMENDS WITH GOD AND EACH OTHER IN WHATEVER WAY THEY COULD, NOT SURE WHAT WAS NEXT, NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES.

THE VERY HEART OF THE PORNOGRAPHY AND ABORTION INDUSTRIES SUFFERED A NEAR FATAL CASE OF CASH REGISTER ARREST. CLOSE PROXIMITY TO DEATH TENDS TO BRING REALITY INTO FOCUS.TIME HEALS ALL THINGS, IT IS SAID. YES, AND IN THIS CASE EVEN MOMENTS OF MORAL LUCIDITY AND SPIRITUAL CLARITY WERE “HEALED” AND REPLACED BY BUSINESS AS USUAL. MANKIND HAS A SHORT MEMORY DESPITE THE CONSTANT REMINDERS OF HISTORY.IN THE SIX YEARS SINCE 911 HAS A SOCIETY CRIPPLED BY EASE, DEBILITATED BY POLITICAL CORRECTNESS, AND CLOSE TO DEATH FROM THE MORAL MALAISE THAT HAS PLAGUED IT FOR DECADES LEARNED ANYTHING?APPARENTLY NOT, FOR TODAY EVEN MOST RELIGIOUS LEADERS ARE LOATH TO LINK 911 WITH THE REALITY OF SIN. THE WORD ITSELF HAS BEEN EXILED, MUCH LIKE GOD HIMSELF, FROM OUR SCHOOLS, OFTEN EVEN FROM CHURCHES, AND, INDEED, FROM OUR VERY CONSCIOUSNESS.THE FACT IS THAT WE REAP WHAT WE SOW. WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND. THE GREATEST NATION ON THE EARTH HAS THE GREATEST MORAL RESPONSIBILITY. INDEED, “TO THE MAN GIVEN MUCH, MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED. TO THE MAN GIVEN MORE, MORE WILL BE REQUIRED.” WE WERE ENTRUSTED WITH THE WELFARE OF THE WORLD, AND ALL TOO OFTEN THE TRUST WAS BETRAYED. UNDER THE SPECIOUS PRETEXT OF FREEDOM—WHICH WAS REALLY LICENSE—WE BECAME PURVEYORS OF PORNOGRAPHY, ABORTION, GREED, DECEIT, MURDER AND MAYHEM.THE CLOCK IS TICKING AND MIDNIGHT IS APPROACHING. ILLUMINATED BY THE FALSE LIGHT OF AFFLUENCE AND EASE, SUCCESS AND POWER, WE BECAME BLIND TO THE DARKNESS, AND YET MIDNIGHT APPROACHES, WITH ALL OF THE CERTAINTY OF TIME ITSELF.HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING IN THE PAST SIX YEARS, OR ARE WE YET MORE BLIND, MORE DEAF, MORE STEEPED IN SIN? ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. 911 WAS A WARNING SHOT FIRED OVER THE BOW OF A SICK SOCIETY. THE WARNING HAS GONE LARGELY UNHEEDED.THE CLOCK IS TICKING. MIDNIGHT IS APPROACHING. PRAYER IS NOW THE ONLY THING THAT WILL AVAIL CHANGE, SO PRAY MY DEAR FRIENDS, PRAY LIKE YOUR LIFE AND THE LIFE OF ALL YOU HOLD DEAR IS AT STAKE.FOR IT IS, IT IS.GOD BLESS YOU AND PROTECT YOU AND YOURS,


REV. JOHN CORAPI
SEPTEMBER 11, 2007SIX YEARS LATER, AND COUNTING

Monday, September 10, 2007

Let Your Dawgs Out and Play


Who let the Dawgs out?

That’s my daughter Kelli and me enjoying a beautiful day in Husky Stadium where our Dawgs were beating up on Boise State. We ended their 14-game winning streak and most importantly, got off to our first 2-0 start since 2001.

As you can imagine, everyone wearing purple in Husky Stadium was ecstatic and looking forward to next week’s match-up with perennial power Ohio State. Visions of bowl games, Pac-10 championships, and Jake Locker touchdowns were dancing in all of our heads.

The funny thing was while we were driving home and listening to the post-game show on the radio, a guy called in and wanted to be the voice of caution. “We’ve seen this before. We can’t get too excited. They’ve let us down in the past”. My response was the same as the reporter. “SO WHAT!” Why can’t we enjoy this time and revel in it, especially since we haven’t had the chance to in about half a decade! Isn’t part of the love of sports based on those highs and lows we experience following and rooting for our teams? Isn’t that what makes sports special? For every New York Yankees, there has to be a Chicago Cubs right?

That got me thinking…which can be a dangerous thing. How often do we do that in our lives? Whenever things are going well, are we too cautious waiting for the other shoe to drop? Don’t want to have too much fun in anticipation of a letdown? Conversely, when we are grinding through a tough time, do we look forward to the time when the tide changes, knowing those good times are around the corner?

Life is an adventure and a journey. I liken it to a round of golf. Through 18 holes there will be some very tough times and some great holes. And, for most holes, you will be on an even keel or at least “grinding” as Tiger Woods would say. Rejoice in the birdies in your life. They don’t always come around as often as we all would like so enjoy. Grind through those double-bogeys, knowing that your next par may be on the next hole. And, most importantly, enjoy the round and who you are playing with because you never know when that may be the last one. Game on!


Dan


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Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Mother Teresa - A Saint for Our Generation

Today is the Feast Day of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Though not canonized YET, her feast day marks the date of her passing from this world 10 years ago. In honor of this day, I will share an article I received this morning from American Minute with Bill Federer. He says it better than I can...

Just five days after Princess Diana was killed, Mother Teresa died SEPTEMBER 5, 1997.

The daughter of an Albanian grocer, she joined an order at age 18 and began working in the slums of Calcutta.
Starting the Missionaries of Charity, which care for the blind, aged, lepers, crippled, and dying, Mother Teresa stated:
"I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene...I serve because I love Jesus."
A Nobel Prize recipient, 83-year-old Mother Teresa spoke to 3,000 attendees, including President and Mrs. Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 3, 1994:
"I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself, and if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"
Mother Teresa continued:
"Please don't kill the child...give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be aborted and to give that child to a married couple who will love the child and be loved by the child."
--

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Dan

P.S. If you're interested in learning more about Blessed Mother Teresa's life, click here to visit a web site hosted by EWTN.

Monday, September 3, 2007

What you can learn from Wii®din

We just bought the new Nintendo game Wii® on Saturday and boy, is it a hoot! How many of you have Wii®? For those of you scratching your head and wondering what the heck is Weedin talking about, let me explain. Wii® is basically a PlayStation ® console where you can play video games on your TV. It’s a wireless game that needs YOU to do all the motions in order to make the characters on your TV move. So, if you’re playing golf, tennis, baseball, boxing, or racing cows – you perform all the actions. No more sitting like a lump on a chair with a joy stick, now you have to get up and move with Wii®.

First of all, as a family Wii® provided us hours of fun, raucous laughter at each others follies, and (unbelievably) great exercise. We were all pooped at the end of the evening. If you don’t believe me, go try out the boxing trainer and tell me you don’t work up a real sweat.

So, what can we learn from playing Wii®?

Ironically, the Gospel on Sunday was about humility. My daughter Kelli and I were competing in several games, namely boxing and shooting (not people – mainly space ships coming to take away little characters that look like us). She was regularly beating me (pretty soundly) in all the games that required speed, reflexes, and agility. It’s a humbling thing to be beaten by your 17 year old daughter in a boxing match! Although I was stronger (measured by the speed of your punch), she was quicker, delivering more blows.

The lesson in humility dovetailed beautifully with the Gospel reading. One of the areas of work I need is in humility and sometimes my kids give me a wake up call. Do you think God does that to us? Whenever we start to get a little big for our britches, maybe God gives us a little piece of humble pie (in my case a game of Wii®) to bring us back down to earth. What was the last dose of humility you received? Maybe the more important question is - what did you do with it?

Dan

P.S. My new e-newsletter will debut the last week of the month. If you haven’t already subscribed, please click here to sign up on my Dan Weedin Presents web site and type in “The Catholic Dad” in the comments section. You will soon be able to see a brand new web site just for The Catholic Dad soon. Happy Labor Day!