National Day of Prayer 2023

I was raised Catholic (got 5 out of 7 of the Holy Sacraments) although I am more of a Protestant now, having no use for The Vatican or church hierarchy. Having the immense wealth but guilting ME into giving to the poor or 10% weekly to the church is bullshit. But I am always respectful to Catholic priests and all members of clergy. I do not go to any regular church services and on the occasion I do go to a Catholic Mass I do not receive Communion. I have an unwavering belief in God The Creator and his only son, my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. The one house of worship I feel any attachment to is the Grace Fellowship Church of Baltic. A small Christian congregation that worships in a beautiful old church where everyone is welcome. I always used to doze off during Catholic sermons, but Pastor Gilmartin is always interesting to listen to. He is also a friend and fellow biker, so...

Anyway, I am an imperfect human being, meaning a sinner. But I actually pray regularly. And let me tell you, prayer works. I have found myself in a couple of bad situations facing some bad outcomes that only by God's direct intervention on my behalf after some sincere and out loud prayer did things turn out OK. I won't go into details about the situations, but if you knew what I knew there can be no other possible explanation.

So on this day, pray. If you don't already... then start. Pray out loud and be truly sincere. I remember as a kid just reciting words because I had to. Now I pray because I want to, and I believe God knows the difference.

On a more secular note, today is also May The Fourth.... as in "May The Fourth Be With You." I sent my daughter the Star Wars nerd a text with a link to the following video early this morning. She replied with a photo of herself dressed up as Rey Palpatine and carrying a Baby Yoda (Grogu) backpack for school today. She said her students were going nuts!