I found this video too irresistible not to share. Love to hear your thoughts on it.

Brothers and sisters, the Bishops in their pastoral letter on stewardship say "This is a culture in which destructive "isms"- materialism, relativism, hedonism, individualism, consumerism-- exercise seductive, powerful influences". With this is in mind I am reposting a blog by Seth Godin that speaks about this very topic. Click here to go to Seth's blog.

If your happiness is based on always getting a little more than you've got...then you've handed control over your happiness to the gatekeepers, built a system that doesn't scale and prevented yourself from the brave work that leads to a quantum leap.

The industrial system (and the marketing regime) adore the mindset of 'a little bit more, please', because it furthers their power. A slightly higher paycheck, a slightly more famous college, an incrementally better car--it's easy to be seduced by this safe, stepwise progress, and if marketers and bosses can make you feel dissatisfied at every step along the way, even better for them.

Their rules, their increments, and you are always on a treadmill, unhappy today, imagining that the answer lies just over the next hill...
All the data shows us that the people on that hill are just as frustrated as the people on your hill. It demonstrates that the people at that college are just as envious as the people at this college. The never ending cycle (no surprise) never ends.

An alternative is to be happy wherever you are, with whatever you've got, but always hungry for the thrill of creating art, of being missed if you're gone and most of all, doing important work.

If you have an opportunity to hear me speak on "marketing" in church, you will hear me tell you to steer clear of $5 Catholic words when speaking to parishioners. I do not intend a message or thought be dumbed down. No, I intend your message be heard. Many church goers formation stopped at confirmation and many Catholics are not showing up at all. Thus, traditional Catholic words are not heard or understood.

I found this short video to emphasize that point. It is only 2 minutes and worth viewing.

Thank you JoAnne Tomecek for the pics from my time in Timken on March 4th. This is one of the things I do for youth to help them understand stewardship concepts. One being, we all are made in the likeness and image of God. To learn more, contact the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Before

After

This article is shared with permission from Deb Ingino at mywiredstyle.com

There’s a Walmart somewhere in the Midwest.

And in this Walmart is very special gift.

You won’t find it on a shelf anywhere in the store.  You will find it at the front door.  You see, there is a greeter there who dispenses it daily.  It is the gift of inspiration.

This greeter is the brother of one of our readers.  He is a hard-working young man who supports his family by using his gift.  We learned of him a couple of weeks ago in response to the fifth chapter in our series on leadership, "Leadership Health". This young man was in a serious accident several years ago.  He suffered a debilitating brain injury.  He went through grueling medical procedures and extensive therapy, but he never gave up.

The office of stewardship has been purchasing a diocesan wide registration for excellent webinars offered by OSV. This has been a successful venture with several benefits.

• NO cost to parishes in the Diocese of Dodge City
• Flexible viewing times
• Parish Staff have an opportunity for formation during work hours versus home time

To continue this service, take a few moments to view the webinar schedule below. The stewardship office asks that 12 people take advantage for any session promoted.

2012 OSV webinar schedule CLICK HERE

Over Thanksgiving my wife and I ventured on Black Friday for the fun of it. Our day ended with a stop at a Barnes and Noble. Upon entering I made the comment “smell the knowledge”. Chris laughed and honestly, I have no idea what I meant. It was one of those thoughts that just came out. The point is not what I said, but what I felt entering that store. I don’t purchase many books at retail outlets, Amazon has very attractive prices on used and I have grown to love audio books. But, I love going to bookstores to walk around. The smell of coffee, rows upon rows of people that have poured their souls, thoughts and ideas into the wonderfully bound pages waiting for me to meander through to be challenged, entertained, angered and educated. Entering a book store I “feel” surrounded by wisdom and knowledge just waiting to be tapped. It is a great exercise for me.

The complete talk from guest lecturer Amy Myers at the ITV class September 28. Amy shared her witness of Gratitude as part of class. Check it out it is excellent. 

“Bless us oh Lord and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen” Wow!  What an awesome prayer.
I know you Catholics are used to saying this prayer at meal time, but have you ever said it in the morning?  When you take a shower in the morning or put on your make-up or get dressed.  Try it! 
“Bless us oh Lord, and these thy gifts.”  The day has just begun.  It has been given to us from God…how awesome.  He already has it planned out.  “Which we are about to receive”.    God is ready to share it with us.  The good, the bad and the ugly are gifts that we are going to receive.  How can we get excited about the bad and the ugly…well, it’s hard?  It’s a heart matter of trust and faith and believing that no matter what happens today, tomorrow or next week, these are the gifts given “from thy bounty through Christ our Lord.”  He wants me to share my triumphs and struggles with him.  I think that’s the key.  He wants us to take our day and share it with Him.  So here’s my story. Here is how thankfulness has brought a new perspective to my life and transformed my relationship with God.

Listen to The Power of Thought

On Facebook, I read again the ominous phrase “just wait until she is a teenager”. This well intentioned response was to another person, venting parental frustrations. This scenario bugs me. Number one, I do not believe venting on a public forum is wise, but more importantly, I find it nauseating how we set ourselves up for failure with our words and thoughts.

Case in point, “just wait until she is a teenager”. What do we truly say when we make the catastrophic prediction of our kids? “At 8 years old you are acting pretty jerking but you will be a total mess at 17 so this can’t be that bad”. Who in their right mind wants this kind of relationship with their kids? No one I can think of. But, are we not mentally preparing our selves for the worst when we give this kind of advice or receive it? I can say I’m out of that, I don’t want it for me or my kids. My attitude is they are the kids, and I am the adult. We will both act accordingly. I am not naïve and am well aware that kids are challenging at times, I have three, I got it. Leave no doubt though, mentally I do not want the war that most people expect before the younguns leave home.