The Optimyst ?  ? Issue? 5 ?  Living optimistically with faith! ?  ?  ? Mark 10:27 ??“ Jesus looked at them and said, ???With man this is impossible but not with God; all things are possible with God.??? Editor's Note ? Dear Subscriber ?  So, everybody??™s talking about New Year??™s resolutions.?  I??™m not going to jump on that bandwagon.?  Years of making and breaking them has taught me that the euphoria of a new year soon wears under the power BAD HABIT! The BH word! I suppose some habits are good ??“ brushing your teeth for instance, for me, however, life was ??“ and sometimes slips back into ??“ a series of BH??™s, especially in the form of thought patterns and doubt.?  The problem with habitual thinking (and it??™s blessing too ??“ depending on the thought itself) is it is self-fulfilling.?  And why, oh why, is it so easy to fall back into BH??™s and so difficult to cultivate new ones! It??™s one of the great challenges of life! So, let??™s talk about lifetime resolutions ??“ or maybe evolutions is a better word.?  Here??™s some of my goals, if you??™d like to share some of yours drop me a line at celeste@optimystic.za.net! 1.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? To live a more spiritually connected life ??“ pray more! 2.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? To be true to myself no matter what. 3.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? To give back of the blessings I have received ??“ to my? family, community and society in general. 4.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? To TRUST and STOP DOUBT 5.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? To let God do the talking. 6.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? To never give up. Well, welcome to 2006!?  We have a bumper edition (that??™s why it??™s late) and we thank God for all our new subscribers. Please take a look at the updated site ??“ we??™d love to hear your comments and ideas!?  Trusting in God to keep us going! As We??™d like to start a News and Views section so drop us a line?  (celeste@optimystic.za.net) with your news, anecdotes or views and we??™ll publish them next edition! ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  always, God bless and.... ENJOY! In this Issue: What they mean about child like Faith Poetry Inspiration Prayer ?  ?  ?  What They Mean By Child Like Faith By Eric Engel Prv:18:2 A Fool Receiveth Not The Words Of Prudence: Unless Thou Say Those Things Which Are In His Heart" So what does that say about us? We all like to be told we??™re right. We all like to hear how smart we are. We all want confirmation. Most of us hate it when someone points out when we??™re wrong.?  If you pick up the Bible, and don??™t come away thinking yourself a fool, you??™re not paying attention. Because every book of the Bible is full of passages that show us how foolish we are. The book of proverbs particularly points out our intellectual limitations. Does God really have a fetish for identifying our flaws? Like a father who can never admit his son turned out all right? Yes and no. It all hangs on that quote from Christ: ???Mk:10:15 Amen I say to you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter into it.????  A lot of people misinterpret that to mean learning and understanding our faith is fruitless. They confuse the word ???childlike??? for ???simplistic???, but the two have very different meanings. Anyone who has children realizes that they aren??™t simple at all. But what about them are we suppose to imitate? The Father / Son Relationship Remember that Christ compares God??™s relationship with us to the relationship between a father and son. In this case, the son would be a child. And a child has to rely on the wisdom and knowledge of his father for everything he has (remember that when Jesus is speaking, the father was the common provider in the household). Providing is only one of the father??™s functions. A good father guides his son to safety, and sometimes forces him there. Why? Because a child doesn??™t always know what will harm him and what won??™t. The child thinks he wants cookies for supper??¦the father knows that this would harm him. The obedient son accepts his father??™s authority, even if he doesn??™t understand it. But the ignorance doesn??™t release the child from responsibility. The father might use his authority to lay a foundation, but expects the son to some day understand the reasons behind his actions. The father expects his son to grow and mature??¦but always realize his own inferiority to the father. Always ready to accept his father??™s direction. It??™s the same with God and us. We??™re not so much commanded to accept our foolishness (or simplicity) but to realize it and accept the Christ??™s authority when we disagree. Sometimes this means accepting the rule of Christ??™s Church, and is an act of will. Sometimes, it??™s forced upon us. Like when we face some disaster and wonder ???How could God let this happen to me???? This is what it means to have child-like faith. This is how we??™ll enter into heaven. And this is why the Bible constantly points out our foolishness. Because in the shadow of God, our own intellect and knowledge of what??™s good for us isn??™t always focused. And the more we realize it, the more it becomes our duty to gain that understanding, but accept authority until we do About the Author: Written By Eric Engel, chief editor of The Catholic Letter at http://thecatholicletter.com Source: http://www.isnare.com ?  Advertisement ?  Have you seen the new FUN STUFF section on www.optimystic.za.net? Pop in and play word cames, see the qoute for the day, get your Mass Readings for the day or look up a word in the dictionary.?  ?  ?  ?  Poetry Taken from "Ignatian Spirituality In Music" Songs for Daily Liturgy and Retreats by Ruth Scherer Leacock at http://www.leacock.com/music/index.html ?  May you walk the walk of freedom, ? ? ? and hear the cry for justice, May you bless the name of God all your days. And be the joyful presence ? ? ? of heaven on earth, As you dance the dance-- ? ? ? of living in Love. ?  ?  ?  ?  Inspiration Forgiving Clyde Corbin By Renae Patterson I? was two years old when my mother abruptly died from a hemorrhaging brain aneurysm. Less than a year after her death, my dad married a woman named Judy. Judy had an uncle whose name was Clyde Corbin. I? don??™t remember all of the details, but for some reason, my dad and new stepmother used to drop me off at Clyde??™s house to spend the night. While staying at his house, he frequently took me to carnivals and parks. He also took me shopping for toys, and ice cream. The days I spent at ???Uncle Clyde??™s??? house were fun until night fell. The demons emerged, and his house turned in to a living hell, leaving me paralyzed with fear. Clyde would wait until his wife (Ann) would go to sleep. He would then come into my bedroom, lead me into a front room, and make me perform sexual acts on him. (I??™ll refrain from giving full details.) When this started, I was about three years old; the frequency of nights spent there, was at least twice a month. Clyde was successful at making me submit to what he wanted because he quietly mumbled threats under his breath. The most frequent threats were ???If you tell your dad what??™s happening, he??™ll hate you??? or ???If you scream, make any noises, tell Ann, or anyone else, you??™re gonna be in a LOT of trouble.??? His mind control gripped me with anxiety every night I stayed in his home. When daylight arrived, Ann would awake and my fears would ease. Soon after waking, my dad would arrive to pick me up, but I was too afraid to tell him what happened. At age ten, my dad and Judy divorced. The pain of their divorce was almost unbearable (Judy was the only mother I had ever known). The divorce did become a turning point in my life though, because I realized my dad wouldn??™t be taking me back to Clyde??™s house. This realization liberated me from the fear and I was finally able to confess to my dad. My dad was hurt to find out what had happened but he never took it any further. He assured me this type of thing would never happen again and that was good enough for me. From age 10 to 19, I had no recollection of any of the events that occurred during those years of staying with Clyde. I suppose the Lord had intervened and had blocked all memories of those traumatic events. The Lord did this to preserve my sanity. At age 19 while watching a t.v. show, something I saw on t.v. triggered some of the memories from when I was a child. Within a few days, I had remembered everything Clyde Corbin ???got away with.??? Angered by the memories, I decided to track him down and give him a ???piece of my mind.??? I really wanted him to suffer for what he had put me through as an innocent child. I wanted to tell his wife Ann that her husband was a child molester and I wanted him to suffer through a divorce. Vengence was on my mind and I was determined to ???get him back.??? As far as I know, the statute of limitations had run out for me to try having him convicted, so confronting him as an adult to find out why he did those things was the only recourse I had. I located Clyde??™s phone number through my ex-step-brother, who had no idea why I wanted to reach him but gave me the number anyway. When I was finally able to reach Clyde by phone, he sounded shocked that I would be calling him. His first reaction was to ask if I had told his wife Ann. The next thing he did was deny, deny, deny. He said he didn??™t know what I was talking about and that I needed to leave him alone. I continued asking him why, but he refused to acknowledge his guilt. He said he was an old man, and that he was sick and about to die. I told him I didn??™t care if he died and demanded an answer to my ???why??? questions. He finally hung up on me. By this time, I could literally feel steam coming from my head and eyes. Infuriated, I decided to call him back to give him a piece of my mind, but he never answered the phone. Two days later, he had the phone number changed. When I was twenty- three years old, I gave my heart to Jesus and he instructed me to forgive Clyde. This was a grand task I thought, and wasn??™t sure I could do it. Jesus asked one question which changed my entire point of view. Jesus asked, ???Is it possible Clyde Corbin was also molested when he was a child???? I pondered the question and actually started feeling sorry for Clyde. For the first time in my life, I felt compassion for him. I found myself kneeling in prayer asking God to forgive Clyde for his mistakes. I also asked God to forgive me for becoming so bitter and angry. Once I finally forgave Clyde in my heart, I experienced a new freedom and peace of mind I hadn??™t felt for years. About the Author: Renae Patterson is a wife and mother of three girls (One of which has already gone to be with the Lord) and one son. When she is not taking care of the little ones, she??™s busy editing for the online magazine Christian Woman http://daily.com located at http://www.christianwomandaily.com Source: http://www.isnare.com ?  Advertisement Email Marketing when used correctly, can be one of the most effective marketing techniques. Zinester allows you to use all industry leading features at the lowest prices to increase the effectiveness of online campaigns: email list building open and click-through tracking automated bounce handling subscriber activity reports Read more... ?  Get Started Today for only 5$ per month! ?  ?  ?  ?  Prayer How to Pray the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy (On ordinary rosary beads) The Our Father Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. The Hail Mary Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. The Apostles' Creed (Text from official approved translation. See Holy Saturday Liturgy in the Roman Missal.) I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. On the Large Bead before Each Decade: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. On the 10 Small Beads of Each Decade: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world. Concluding Doxology: (after five decades) Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world. (Three times) For more information on the Chaplet of Divine Mercy visit Catholic Online ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  Information & Credits ?  The Optimyst is published by Celeste Mann, Editor & Contributing Author. Forthnightly, Monday, 12:00 PM, GMT. Subscription information This issue was sent to email@domain.com. To unsubscribe from The Optimyst, click on the link at the bottom of this message. ?