If Necessity is the Mother of Invention, Duct Tape is its Godparent.

It's June. June means that its time to roll out the Intex pool for Austin. When you're five and a halfpint, a ten foot pool is a big affair. At this stage in your life, you can just about do laps in the thing.

I love this pool. The geniuses who designed it created what's ostensibly a non-rigid structure, the Goodyear Blimp of pools. The inflatable ring at the top serves to provide its initial form. Then, as the pool fills, the ring floats on the water to the point where it reaches capacity. It has a small filtration system that can also hold the chlorine tabs, preventing your one thousand gallons of water from becoming a soupy aquatic mess. The pool would be perfect were in not for the inflating of the ring.

Last year, it took close to ninety minutes to inflate the ring using a combination of lung, pump and air compressor power. This is not a fun way to spend a hot, humid afternoon. It was at this moment where the old Deacon had a brainstorm.



I'd seen sites on the web built to celebrate feats of Redneck Engineering. Some things were ingenious while others were deathtraps. So then, with the idea in place, it was off to the garage to retrieve the leaf blower, a funnel and the sacramental item linked to all redneck engineering efforts... Duct Tape.

The idea worked like a charm (refreshing as these things apparently go awry most times). I was careful to start the blower on its lowest speed, not knowing how the narrowed aperture would affect the blower motor. The motor was tweeked up to around 50% power output with no issues. The ring that took nearly ninety minutes to inflate last year was fully inflated within four minutes. Gotta love that Duct Tape!

Empowerment, Growth & Maturity

Its a beautiful Saturday morning here in Suburbia Majora. Its the type of day for gardening, yard work, and a soak in the pool. Thats not happening here, as family has dropped in from out of state and Mrs. Catbird and I are playing docent at a local museum.

I've been thinking this week (a novel exercise?). I had a front row seat at an event that, though very uncomfortable to watch, caused me to think about personal empowerment within the family of Faith. I want to touch on this in the post(s) that will follow this one. I'd like to consider empowerment versus toxic disempowerment.

Thursday Reverie

Meet Emmanuel Goldstein, 2011

I have to confess something, something that drives me absolutely bat-scat crazy. Its the fact that the chattering class on the left has consistently, and falsely billed Mr. Orwell's cautionary tale, 1984, as a story of Conservative Totalitarianism. This is a misrepresentation of facts that could, if you'll have it, come right off the pages of Mr. Orwell's opus. Mr. Orwell, like many idealists of his generation, were caught up in the socialist fervor that held the world in sway in the early decades of the last Century. But when socialism began to show itself as the hellspawn it is, Orwell began to sound the alarm in works like Animal Farm, and the seminal 1984.

In 1984, we're introduced to a shadowy boogeyman named Emmanuel Goldstein. Goldstein has been made a pariah-enemy of Oceania, one so odious that daily at a prescribed time, all production stops in order that "two minutes of hate" may be directed against Goldstein.

The longer I watch the rotting cancer of socialism spread through our Republic like a caustic acid, the more I see the unfolding of Orwell's dystopic vision unfold. The mainstream media has become to the Cult of O, what the Ministry of Truth was for Big Brother. By and large, these blatherskites have become an official organ of Amsoc. I think a hallmark of this their fetish for "Palin loathing".

Mrs. Palin's meteoric rise to prominence in the summer of 2008 sent the left, and in particular, feminists into a protracted apoplectic spasm. This is curious as in my life, I've seen only a handful of women capable of this. I've looked at the rage from many angles and have reached a possible explanation; Mrs. Sarah Palin has successfully accomplished what the feminist has failed to do for all of her best effort. She has proven to be a successful wife, mother, entrepreneur, and leader. She has accomplished this without the need to sacrifice her children on the altar of success, or castrating her husband. Too, no fetuses were harmed in the making of Mrs. Palin. For all of her best efforts, a FOIA request has been made with the State of Alaska for her e-mails. Knowing the purity of their motives, this cynical move has been done in a feverish effort to further marginalize the Grizzly Mama.

Let me finish simply by saying that if the presidential election were today, next week or next month, I would not be voting for Mrs. Palin. My likely choice for Chief Executive at this moment would be Mr. Herman Cain, a bright, visionary leader with more integrity in his left foot than most. For all of her admirable traits and potential, Mrs. Palin is still a work in progress who like an early 1970's Ronald Reagan, could well develop into a leader of epic proportions.

May 5th, 2011

In a little more than an hour, I'll be in front of a Federal Building on Garrisonville RD, leading my second National Day of Prayer observance. I hope that this is the beginning of a long-standing tradition. To be truthful, it was hoping against hope that we'd be able to have this observation today, given the lower court's decision last year on the constitutionality of the proclamation to national prayer and this administration's seeming animus towards the Judeo-Christian expression of faith. But by God's grace, the lower court's decision was struck and today, faithful will be out in force to intercede for their country.

Perhaps (in my lifetime), I've seen no more darker time in our Republic's history where we are in severe need for Divine intervention (the merciful type), yet I fear that without a course correction, there will be intervention and its not going to be nice. Why? Por que? the President pretty well summed it up when he confidently declared in Cairo that "We're not a Christian Nation." When a nation forgets God, its a horrible thing. Yet I believe that there are faithful citizens of this republic, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican, and Orthodox Jew who like the men of Issachar, are watchers of the times and are in intercession for this great Divine Experiment.

Find time to lift up this Republic today.

Almighty and ever-living God, we thank you for the privilege to gather before you to intercede on behalf of our nation. We thank you too, for the burden you’ve placed in our hearts for this land, and for our fellow citizens.

As we gather, we stand in the shadow of those who’ve come before us. We gaze through history’s rearview mirror and see how our fathers sought you at the birth of our nation. We see too Lord, your providential hands that nourished and protected the young nation. In times of both plenty and peril, our predecessors knew you to be their source of provision, protection and guidance.

Today, as in other times, we find ourselves Lord, in a moment of peril and trial. Our nation is at war with an enemy who would see our way of life destroyed. We’re faced with seeming insurmountable economic woes, and a legislature at loggerheads. Surely Lord, we need your hand in such a time as today.

We ask that you might first move within our lives, that we would be used as change agents for good. We pray that we might become channels of your peace and mercy to those you’ve placed in our lives and paths. Our prayer too, as public servants, is that through your help, we will be faithful and diligent stewards of the nation and its collective trust.

This morning, we remember or friend and co-workers who have been afflicted in body, especially Wendy. Reach them in your compassionate hands, embrace them and minister comfort and healing to them and their loved ones.

We lift up those who govern and lead this nation. We ask that those elected would always place stewardship and statesmanship ahead of ambition and strife; in so that they might be sensitive to your leading. In this, that our nation might be that shining city on the hill; a beacon of hope for all nations.

Finally Lord, we seek your protection against our enemies. Not because we are deserving, but because you are one whose first principles include mercy and lovingkindness. Protect us not only from our enemies, but from ourselves that we might not only be recipients stewards of your blessings in this day, but be able to bequeath your bounty to those who will follow after us.

All of this, we ask, seek and hope for in your name.

Amen

On a Monday in May

Usama Bin Laden

Its very early on a Monday morning, and I've just learned via text that Usama Bin Laden has met his end. This is a moment that is "Sweet-bitter". This man has a sea of blood on his hands, a fact that can't be denied. Clearly, he was guilty of crimes against humanity and warranted the ultimate penalty for his crimes. Yet, he is a lost soul that has slipped into hell and a soul that is eternally lost.

We who hold the truth of the Gospel, and the Great Commission need to work harder than ever to proclaim the message that leads to eternal life. We must shout the counterpoint to radical Islam from the housetops and offer the message of eternal life.

The Sermon on the Plain -- A Catbird's Take

This one's a bit late getting posted. Just the same, your humble Deacon's take on Saint Luke's account of the Sermon on the Plain. Be blessed...
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Funeral Homily, April 2, 2011

Note: The following was delivered at West Laurel Hills cemetary in Bala Cynwyd Pennsylvania. Names have been removed.

We find ourselves gathered here today, in a bittersweet celebration of the life and memory of (The Departed). She’s been known formally (And informally by many names).

(Her) journey began early last Century at a time when men were slipping the bounds of this earth and soaring into the skies on delicate machines constructed from wood and canvas. It was a time when through harnessing the elements; they were beginning to communicate across vast expanses of Empty Ocean in the language of Mr. Morse’s Code. Daredevils could take to country roads outside of Philadelphia and travel at blistering speeds of 45 MPH in Mr. Ford’s Model T. But it was a frightening time too, as for the first time in modern history; it seemed that the entire civilized world was now at war. Just weeks prior to her birth, her nation had declared war on the central powers and entered the “war to end all wars”. (She)entered adulthood, only to find herself fleeing Europe on one of the last ships leaving as the black tide of Nazism was sweeping across the continent.

Our Lord, through his providential hand brought (Her) back to our side of the Atlantic where she would meet her husband-to-be. , Ultimately, she would find herself settled in Summit, New Jersey where her family ultimately grew to include three children, five grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. During one of her last conversations, she asked that they’d know how “she’d really loved knowing them, and expressed her wishes for their happiness, success, and joy.”

When it became clear that (Her) sojourn here was coming to its conclusion, those who loved her were burdened with the question of whether she was ready to undertake the next leg of her journey. She had spoke of her daughter(‘s) passing on a few occasions. She spoke of her desire to be reunited with (Her) in Heaven. Though she maintained a relationship with her church throughout her life, (She) knew that she’d never taken that same faith-affirming step taken by (Her daughter) which gave her, based on Holy Scripture, absolute assurance of her eternal destiny. Subsequently, in quiet prayer with a minister in the hospital, (She) declared her need for Jesus to be her savior and redeemer, and trusted in his sacrifice made on her behalf. This wasn’t a desperate act on the part of someone who was fearfully facing the unknown; (She) was a woman who had faced the uncertainty of terminal illness before. She shared that she had quietly placed her trust in Christ a few years prior when facing cancer. Though perhaps unknown to her at the time, she called upon a God who promised to “never leave or forsake her” and as the seasons were changing, He was there. This was a faith in the person of Jesus, the only Son of God the Most High. It was a faith in His promises and comforting words to those who would embrace him as their champion and redeemer. It was a trust that believed that, not only would this Jesus keep His promises, but that His sacrifice would be sufficient to wash away her sins both willful and genetic. Then the time came and (She) closed her eyes. Saint Paul spoke of this moment; she was now in the presence of the Father and the Son.

This afternoon, as we brace ourselves against the chill of this early Pennsylvanian Spring, (She) now not only dwells, but dances in the light and presence of the Holy and Almighty Trinity. This is a place of many dwelling places, prepared by Jesus Himself for all those who would trust in His promises. She rests in the presence of the Almighty, and will accompany him on that great day when He recreates heaven and earth, declaring all things “New”. Truly for (Her); this isn’t an end; it’s a beginning that will be forever beginning. Perhaps the greatest promise of all is that though (Her) spirit dwells in the presence of the Divine, a moment is coming, described by Saint Paul, where the elements that represent her earthly body will be raised and transformed to a body that will know no age, no illness, no debilitating disease or defect.

Will we see (Her) again? Can we share in the joy that she now knows? Succinctly, yes. The comfortable words that arrested (Her) were spoken for us too. Jesus, looking across an assembled crowd confidently declared:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

He further declared:

"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

Today, in the light of this Saturday afternoon, if we would place our hope in the message and the messenger, that messenger being God’s only Son, no only will we see (The Departed) once more but we’ll share in truth she trusted in and now knows perfectly.