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I was five years old when my dad stole a tiny piece of my candy corn. After making the Halloween rounds with mom I sat at the kitchen table with my haul laid out before me. Deciding to open my favorite treat first, I placed each candy corn neatly on the table. Starting from the left with the largest piece I continued by size until on my right was the smallest one. It was my favorite and I was saving it until the end.

Without warning my father swooped into the kitchen, grabbed my tiny favorite and ate it.  I burst into tears. He dropped to his knees, wrapped his arms around me and asked what was wrong. I told him the tiny one was my favorite. He said he took the smallest one because he wanted me to have the big pieces.

The next day my dad brought home two packages of candy corn. We sat across from one another at the kitchen table lining up each piece. After all the pieces were laid out he gave me the smallest one from his package and I gave him the largest one from mine. Fifty four years later the memory of that exchange with my father is still a sweet treat within my heart.

This week, be thankful for all the pleasant memories you have of your life. Regardless if the relationships you had with your parents and family are positive, or not, find the memories that are positive.  Feel gratitude for those times because by concentrating on the positive you will create more positive in the present, and future.

 

Today, I was reading an article on the website of a leading news organization written by a seasoned investigative journalist and decided to look at the string of comments.  As a public figure and someone devoted to integrity and God I have been trolled on a few occasions over the years. But, I was taken aback at the number of hateful comments made against the man’s fact based reporting by people who voluntarily identified themselves as Christians.

Yet, I was not really surprised. Over the past several years I have noticed a growing incongruence within the political and religious arenas in the United States between some who call themselves Christians and behavior that is anything but Christ-like.

Maybe these people attend a congregation where the vilification of those

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God gave us two ears for a reason. So, one of the most loving things we do for other people is to listen to them to understand. Not just respond.

Listening to understand is actually feeling what is being said in your heart. You feel each word being spoken. You keep your mind quiet. You don’t interrupt. You don’t think of a response while someone is speaking. You hear them with your heart.

Listening to understand is a skill that takes time and purposeful concentration to master. However, God gave us the ability to listen to one another as we want to be listened to. So, we certainly can choose to become a master listener because when we do, we are able to connect with other people in ways that make our heart sing. And our differences become less important. And our world becomes better.

My cousin, Kathy, was tragically killed in an automobile accident when she was 29 years old. It was a horrible time in all of our lives. But to honor my cousin’s memory I don’t focus on the negative.

What I remember about Kathy is how much she loved sailing. Whenever I see a sail boat I get a warm feeling in my heart. It’s like she is saying hello.

I believe the best way to honor our loved ones who are gone is to think of them warmly with love.

By Tim Moody

I had lunch recently with my friend Andy Morrison. Andy is in his early 40s and has Asperger’s Syndrome. Asperger’s falls within the autism spectrum of developmental disorders. The condition involves the development of basic skills such as communication and socialization. In people with Asperger’s these skills are delayed and complex in their functions. People with Asperger’s may display eccentric behavior, a preoccupation with specific subjects or rituals, a limited range of interests, and most noticeably problems with social skills.

Andy struggles with all of these difficulties. But one major difference is his vast intelligence. He is a voracious reader with a photographic memory. He fully understands language, has a phenomenal vocabulary, and an encyclopedic mind. I learn from him every time we meet.

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There seems to be a perception among some people that because I have a spiritual page and am devoted to God I am not supposed to speak about politics. I am not supposed to take a side. I’m supposed to turn the other cheek or remain silent and just watch while negative and evil consumes us.

Well, Jesus certainly took sides. He spoke up against those in political and religious influence who abused their power over others. He would be doing the same thing in a huge way today! That gives me the courage to do so also.

It’s time we understand we are in a battle between good and evil. This fight

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By Tim Moody

Sociologist Theodor Adorno once wrote that “Triviality is evil.” That might very well be an appropriate epitaph for our nation. We may actually see the end to a great experiment in freedom, creativity, ingenuity, genius, and a once civil society known as America. And it won’t be from a terrorist bomb.

Triviality certainly fits our current political climate. It describes much of religion in America today. It explains our economy and the shredding of fairness in the workplace, in the giant corporate arena, and in the wild untamed monkeyshine behavior of Wall Street and its gang of banks.

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Regina’s Spaghetti/Lasagna Sauce

Ingredients for Sauce

2   pounds ground turkey (optional but browned and drained of excess fat)

2   28 ounce cans Hunt’s tomato sauce

1   28 ounce can Hunt’s petite diced tomatoes (drain, pick out peels)

1   6 ounce can Hunt’s tomato paste

1   6 ounce red wine (I fill the empty tomato paste can)

8    ounce pack whole white button mushrooms (remove end of stems, wash, slice and cut into small pieces)

8    ounce pack whole Baby portabella mushrooms (remove end of stems, wash, slice and cut into small pieces)

1    large yellow or white onion (sliced, diced and sautéed in olive oil until translucent)

1    4.5 ounce can diced black olives

8    cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used garlic in a jar or dehydrated soaked in warm water)

3    bay leaves

1 tsp.    Ground fennel (overflowing tsp.)

1 tsp.    Peperoncini (red pepper flakes)

1 Tbs.   Oregano leaves (overflowing Tbs.)

2 Tbs.   Parsley flakes (overflowing Tbs.)

2 Tbs.   Salt-free Italian seasoning (overflowing Tbs.)

1 tsp.     Basil (overflowing tsp.)

1 Tbs.    Brown sugar (overflowing Tbs.)

1 Tbs.    Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for sauce not browning onions)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently, then immediately reduce heat to low.

Fix lid on pot so steam is allowed to escape. Cook on low for two hours. Stir every fifteen to twenty minutes.

Turn off heat and leave on stove with pot vented to allow steam to escape if you plan to serve within two hours. It’s better if you let sauce sit in pot overnight in the refrigerator.

Reheat right before serving over your choice of pasta or a personal favorite, oven roasted ¼ inch thin-sliced red, yellow, and orange bell pepper. Top either choice with powdered Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.    Freeze the rest of sauce for later.

Additional Ingredients for Lasagna

In the above recipe substitute a second can of petite diced tomatoes for one of the tomato sauce and add these: 8 ounces Shredded low-fat Mozzarella, 1 container low-fat Ricotta cheese (room temperature) and powdered Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Lasagna noodles.

Make exact same sauce recipe with the second can of tomatoes instead of sauce.

Once sauce is cool, next day is best, lightly coat bottom and sides of deep 9 x 12 baking dish with olive oil.

Boil lasagna noodles according to recipe with 1 Tbs. olive oil in water.

Once noodles are cooked immediately rinse them in cold water to keep from sticking together.

Separate noodles and pat dry with paper towel.

Put layer of noodles in bottom of dish (I use 4 overlapped noodles for the bottom layer then 3 or 4 for each remaining layer). I use all noodles in the box.

Add a layer of sauce mixture (spread evenly to cover noodles but not too thick).

Space teaspoon size portions Ricotta cheese (so there is Ricotta in each piece of cut lasagna).

Spread grated mozzarella cheese over the layer.

Dust with powdered Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Repeat until you have 4 layers and have used all pasta noodles, mozzarella and Ricotta.

End with sauce layer and top with powdered Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (you should have some sauce left to freeze).

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Uncover and bake for an addition 20 to 25 minutes to lightly brown top.

When thoroughly heated remove from oven and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes before cutting and serving.

Each year my mom and dad’s church holds an auction to raise funds for the community projects it supports. My father is an avid fly fisherman who enjoys tying his own flies. In preparation for the auction, my dad spent several weeks tying flies as his donation. Day after day, he carefully created the tiny lifelike insects, and when he finished, he gently placed each in its own section of a plastic box. In the end there were about forty of his handcrafted flies.

Before the auction, my mom told me about my dad’s efforts. I secretly arranged with the auctioneer to be on the phone so I could bid. The big day arrived, and when it was time for my dad’s item, I received a phone call. The bidding started at twenty-five dollars. Of course, I raised that to thirty dollars. It was countered at thirty-five dollars. I quickly bid forty. Apparently, someone in the audience wanted my dad’s creations, too.

The bidding bounced back and forth between the two of us, until at sixty-five dollars I went for it and bid one hundred dollars.

“Going once . . . going twice . . . sold to the mystery caller on the phone,” I heard the auctioneer say. He asked me to hold while he put my dad on the phone. No one in the audience, except Mom, knew who was on the other end of the line until I said, “Hello, Daddy. I’m so glad I got your beautiful flies.” With that, my sweet father burst into tears of joy. He was so happy and surprised to hear it was me on the other end of the line. He turned to the crowd and said, “It’s my daughter from California.” The entire place erupted with applause.

It feels amazing to be in the position to surprise someone with a gift of kind-heartedness that touches both of you. Being kind

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By Tim Moody

Fundamentalism in religion is primarily the result of a literal interpretation of a sacred text. This is where it starts. This is how it is fueled. It is an approach where compromise is unacceptable, where the whole text has dominance over any individual passage. Consequently, in the fundamentalist’s mind, everything in their sacred text is pure, right, and infallible.

The Christian Bible, the Muslim Koran, the Jewish Torah or Old Testament, are the three primary sacred texts that are often taken by their individual groups of believers as literally true in every word. Hindus have the Bhagavad Gita but they do not worship it in the sense these other religions do their Books. Buddhists have no holy text but instead are guided by sutras or the sayings and teachings of Buddha. Rarely do you see fundamentalists among Hindus or Buddhists.

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