in the front seat

Be sure of our prayers for you, “that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:15). 1. RECOGNIZE THE NEAR OCCASION OF SIN Observing the world around us and knowing ourselves is key to avoiding sinful situations. 2. SIN IS WORSE THAN AWKWARDNESS This ties directly into the first point.  Most often we participate in sinful activities because we want to avoid the awkwardness of leaving.  What's worse sin or embarrassment?  Think about this one. 3. FAST This is an old form of prayer, one that we often overlook. Fasting from pleasurable things (sweets, games, snacks, Star Trek...) teaches us to control our impulses and helps discipline our desires.  Ultimately, fasting will help us avoid "near occasions of sin". 4. CONFESS REGULARLY Think of sin as weighted chain tied to your feet.  The more we sin the heavier the w...

Here’s a great quote from Fr. Solanus Casey to help start your day: “Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks — then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle.” This is a is good message to share with the people we meet today.  Jesus tells us to " Because I go  to the Father: and whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, that will I do: that the Father may be glorified in the Son." John: 14:13 Human Heroes: How to be Extraordinary Every Day | LifeTeen.com for Catholic Youth

While catching up on the news this morning, I came across a new Android app, detext .  Many applications for smartphones have an entertainment or productivity element to them.  This one is all about safety.  The creators say that it "uses GPS  to monitor for speed. When the phone is in motion, detext automatically restricts text messages, phone calls, and other apps that may distract the driver." This life saving app works on Android 2.2 and higher devices.  Parents cannot only stop texting-while-driving, they can also monitor their teen's speed.  My big question is, what happens if your teen is a passenger in the vehicle?   Detext has that covered too.  If your teen is a passenger and they receive a text, all they have to do is solve a simple puzzle to respond.  Remember you can customize these options and it's all free.

Congress announced that frozen pizza was a vegetable. The United States Congress voted to rebuke new USDA guidelines for school lunches that would have increased the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in school cafeterias and instead declared that the tomato paste on frozen pizza qualified it as a vegetable. So, the real question is, why do children want pizza, potatoes and pasta while vehemently eschewing green vegetables, beans and whole grains? This hasn't always been the case. Keep in mind that industrial food as it exists today has only been around for roughly 60 years. Much of what we take as the truth about what kinds of food kids love and hate is largely dictated by the food industry itself. The idea that kids won't eat vegetables is a construct invented by the food industry and reinforced by well-meaning parents, school lunch programs and government officials. While the food industry insists that it only advertises to children "to influence brand prefere...

Silicon Sisters , a Vancover based video game company was created by two entertainment-oriented enterprising women, Kristen Forbes and Brenda Gershkovitch for the purpose of designing video games FOR girls. Both women recognize that women and girls make up 37% of the game playing population.  And  women's   interests are largely under-represented.  Unlike most boys' games those produced by Silicon Sisters emphasis "social engineering", that is communication and relationships. " School 26 , their first game is geared toward tweens and teens, and the storyline is built around the very complicated social hierarchy of high school. You play the game as a young girl who’s a newcomer to a school. She comes from a nomadic family, which has made it difficult for her to maintain long-term friendships. As she enrolls in this, her 26th school, she strikes a bargain with her parents: If she can make friends, they’ll stay put . So the player of School 26 must help the c...