Merry Christmas from a Duck Dynasty Supporter

All,

Before I share with you my rant about Duck Dynasty, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  I am thankful for all of you flattering me, by reading this blog.  I am up to almost 5000 views.  I am truly humbled.  Thank you all and have a great Christmas season.

Alec Mayer

I am sure many of you have heard about the A&E network suspending Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty, for what is essentially his religious convictions.  There are some things I have boycotted, a restaurant, a television show, but never have I boycotted an entire television network.  Below is the email I just sent them expressing my disappointment in their decision and what I expect in order to watch their network again, no matter what show is on.

Dear A&E Executives,

 

I have been a longtime fan of the A&E network.  I enjoy the many shows that you produce and air.  Some of my favorites are Storage Wars, Shipping Wars, and Duck Dynasty.  I have never written a letter like this, but I feel that it is time, for I am tired of my Christian beliefs being trampled on.  I am tired of people, who know nothing about my faith, screaming the loudest as if they know what my faith is about.  It is time that you hear from the silent majority instead of catering to the loud minority.

 

I will be somewhat shocked if you are still reading this letter.  It is with great disappointment that you have suspended Phil Robertson, indefinitely, from your television station, for standing up for his religious convictions.  While I do not know Mr. Robertson, personally, I do believe he is a Christian man in his words, and hopefully his actions.  While we are all sinners, and nobody is perfect, I believe Mr. Robertson is a man of God.

 

Suspending Mr. Robertson for his Religious beliefs goes against the First Amendment of the Constitution.  While I would hope you already know that, in my line of work, I always find it is best to be clear in all situations.  Our country, founded on Freedom of Religion, is suffering greatly because of actions, such as yours.  Every time a person’s religious convictions are trampled on, by another group, it pulls us father and farther from the Constitution.

 

I want you to know that I am not joining any boycott, or aligning with any particular group.  I am sending this letter as a concerned citizen.  I am concerned that your catering to a small, but loud, group of people, based on their beliefs, all while trampling on a silent but large group of people because of theirs.  I am not asking you to cater to my large group, for as a Christian man that is not how I choose to do business.  I choose to vote with my choices, as I am sure many others will do as well. 

 

I choose television shows based on my beliefs.  I choose not to watch shows, nor do I allow my children to watch shows that destroy the meaning of family.  I am not a hunter, or “redneck” as they often refer to themselves, on Duck Dynasty.  I would have never watched this show if not for my friends description of the Christian values of the show.  I did latch onto it and now it is one of my favorite shows.  Because of your decision to suspend Mr. Robertson, I will not longer watch your entire network.  This fan will no longer watch about 4 programs because of the way your network has trampled my Christian beliefs.

 

Do not get me wrong.  If you have a show that supports the LGBT or GLAAD lifestyle, I would not write you to, I would just choose not to watch that program.  I find it disappointing that you did not stand up for the right of Christian values and tell the complainers, if they do not like it, choose to watch something else.  It is my experience that when you cater to one group and turn from the rest, the catered group will stay long enough to get their way, and then move to the next task at hand, leaving you high and dry with nobody.  It kind of reminds me of the way that Satan works.

 

I wish you all the best of luck and would hope that you come to your senses and allow me to be part of your programming in the future.  I assure you it will not happen until there is an apology for your reaction to Mr. Robertson and the entire Duck Dynasty company, and an apology to the entire Christian community. 

 

I wish you all a Very Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year.

 

Alec Mayer, disappointed and no longer fan

Hope, Change and Adoration...

I am sure there are many people that are not going to read this particular blog entry because of the title.  Hope and Change are two things that have been racing through our society the last 10 years.  Hope and Change is associated with President Obama's campaign, and has been all the rage for quite some time.  I wish you all will give me a chance to prove otherwise.

I start this blog with the definitions of Hope and Change.  Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.  Change is defined as to make or become different.  Both of these words have very personal meanings.  Both words have a meaning that affects the individual personally.  My idea of a certain thing to happen(hope), might be different than yours.  My idea of to become different(change) will most certainly be different than yours.

What about putting these words in a different context? 

Instead of putting my hope in a political system, or the leaders of an organization, I choose to put my Hope in the God.  Lately, I have had my struggles.  I have been overwhelmed with all aspects of my life.  Things had been building and building.  I tried to dodge the bullet, so to speak, put out the fire, etc. and they all came upon me at one time and I could not handle it anymore.  So I took drastic measures.

In the Catholic faith, we have Eucharist Adoration.  It is a time where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, in a monstrance, and people will sit and pray before the Sacrament.  We believe that the Eucharist is the actual body of Christ.  We believe that Christ is actually present.  In our parish, we can adore Christ, just about every day of the week.  There is at least one person, but usually more, in adoration every hour from 6AM-9PM.  I, for the first time, willingly decided to attend Adoration and share time with God.  For those that follow my blog, you know that me spending time in deep conversation with God, is a huge struggle.

Anyway, I decided to spend some time in prayer, in our Adoration chapel.  I went looking for answers to some of my issues, but really, looking back in hindsight, I went because God had humbled me.  I had just about enough of trying to do things my way, that I decided to attend the chapel to listen what God wanted me to do.  I went looking for answers, but really I was searching for Hope. 

Well, as you can imagine, after stumbling through the process of having a conversation with God that went something like, "God, I am not worthy to be in your presence.  I know that you are always there for me, but I have pushed you away to do things my way, so I am not worthy...." I prayed for guidance.  I asked for direction.  I asked if I am doing the right things.  It wasn't until a couple of days later, that I realized I was going to God looking for Hope, a desire for a certain thing to happen.  I needed to change and I needed it very soon, or I was not going to make it based on the path I was on.  I hoped that God would redirect my path, towards His kingdom.

Well wouldn't you know it, after some time in Adoration, being humbled by God, getting down on my knees and begging forgiveness, I started to notice change.  Now, I am not talking about the change like some people might think.  For example, I did not ask for the winning lottery numbers and they magically appeared.  I am talking about a change in my path.  I knew the path I was on, was not leading me anywhere I wanted to go.  I need a change in direction, a change in understanding.  I need something to be different.  I have tried and tried to change on my own, but that clearly wasn't working.

So I ask... Where do you go for Hope and Change?  Do you get it from your boss, your local political leaders?  After the most humbling experience, I have decided no more.  I will place my Hope in God and allow Him to Change me.  True Hope and Change can only come from God.  I know that we think we can change things, or hope for anything, but true hope and change can only come with the guidance of God, whether or not we decide to give Him credit is a different story.  Need something to change in your life, put your hope in God, and be ready for the changes to occur. 

Do you want to see a Change?  Are you comfortable with where you are, or do you want more from your life? Do you allow yourself to hope, after (possibly) being disappointed by who/what you placed your hope in before? Placing our hope in God is vulnerable and makes us dependent, two qualities that we as human beings tend to run away from like a disease..."I can sustain myself, I can make myself happy, I can fix what is wrong"...To hope in God means that we have to WAIT on God. Are "you" willing to hope?

Who would you take?

 

 

Imagine a bus.  Not the necessarily the bus above, just your typical, everyday bus.  Imagine you owned this bus and could take anyone you wanted on this bus.  Who would you pick to ride on your bus?

  

I give you this image because of our recent guest priest, Fr. Mike.  Fr. Mike is a missionary priest for Food for the Poor.  I know it is a little early for a side note, but when you hear missionary priest, it is typical for them to ask for money for their mission, not Fr. Mike.  Fr. Mike came to thank us for donating to Food for the Poor, last year, and of course to ask again, but not via second collection.

 

Fr. Mike's group is responsible for those living in poverty on some tropical island.  While he was visiting, Fr. Mike's guide told all the priest from this mission to get on the bus, for they were going to the dump.  Yes, the place where household trash is discarded.  Fr. Mike talked about driving into this dump and finding a colony of about 500 people.  This colony survives on the trash that is thrown in the dump.   They might get food, build shelter, get clothing, etc.  Imagine someone, in our country, going to the dump to get the basic survival needs.  I believe this is for another blog.

 

Anyway, Fr. Mike said as the bus entered the dump, a group of people will follow the bus, running along side of it, in hopes to get the best of whatever is about to be dumped.  His visit was no different, with the exception of Juan.  Juan, a child, was the first one seen by those on the bus.  Fr. Mike told the driver to stop the bus and let Juan on the bus.  Juan was so shocked, that there was a long pause before getting on the bus.  All the while, the bus was filling with flies and a stench that was about unbearable.

 

After a long visit to the dump, it was time for all to get back on the bus.  Fr. Mike started to say good-bye to Juan, but not without asking questions.  Fr. Mike asked Juan the best part of his day, and of course Juan said, riding the bus.  Juan felt like a normal person, one that comes into the dump and not a person that lives in the dump.  By this time, my eyes were starting to fill with tears.

 

We live in a world of possessions.  Many people are judged by the things they have, not who they are.  I imagine myself on that bus.  Would I have the courage to ask the driver to stop and pick up Juan?  How many times have I driven by someone stranded on the side of the road?  How many times have I lived in fear that if I stop, the consequences could have unpleasant results? 

 

Thanks to Fr. Mike for reminding us we all deserve to be on the bus.  Thank you for reminding us that whatsoever you do...  Thanks for the reminder, that when we work for God, we honor Him and are protected by Him. 

 

So again I ask, who is on your bus?

Pope Francis' Five Finger Prayer

As many of you know, I have struggled with my prayer life.  If you read my last post, there are many different reasons I struggle.  I have shared this personal struggle with my staff, and I have challenged them to not allow our students to be in the same boat, as an adult, that I am.  It is easy to teach children the rote prayers, but one of my teachers shared with us Pope Francis' Five Finger Prayer and I must say, I love it!!!  Leave it up to my great staff, to come up with ways to be teachers of prayer instead of teaching a prayer.  I hope you like this.

POPE FRANCIS' FIVE FINGER PRAYER

Looking at the picture above, you will see the five fingers.  Below is what each finger represents and could be taught to a child, very quickly. 

     1.  The thumb... The thumb is the closest finger to you.  So start praying for those who are closest to you.  They are the persons easiest to remember.  To pray for our dear ones is a "sweet obligation."

     2.  The next finger is the index.  Pray for those who teach you, instruct you and heal you.  They need the support and wisdom to show direction to others.  Always keep them in your prayers.

     3.  The following finger is the tallest.  It reminds us of our leaders, the Presidents, Kings, Governors and those who have authority.  They need God's guidance.

     4.  The fourth finger is the ring finger.  Even though it may surprise you, it is the weakest finger.  It should remind us to pray for the weakest, the sick or those plagued by problems.  They need your prayers.

     5.  And finally we have our smallest finger.  The smallest of them all.  Your pinkie should remind you to pray for yourself.  When you are done praying for the other four groups, you will be able to see your own needs, but in proper perspective, and also you will be able to pray for your own needs in a better way.

What a terrific start to teach our children to be effective people of prayer.  While it is not necessarily putting us in a deep conversation with God, it is allowing us to move our children to the next step in an effective prayer life. Again, nothing wrong with teaching the rote prayers, it is a must, in my opinion.  But now it is time to move on!! 

May the Lord continue to bless Pope Francis with the wisdom to be our teacher...

 



 





Somebody teach me...

I have to say I am embarrassed.  I am embarrassed because, as a Catholic School Principal, I just admitted to my staff that I do not feel comfortable with prayer.  I am not comfortable because, like anything else, I was not told what to do.  Much like school, we tell our children what we want them to learn and the students gain the knowledge that they need to pass a test or quiz.  It is how we are trained.  And since I was never "taught" how to pray, I have zero confidence in my prayer life.

There are many reasons people do not pray, they do not have faith, nobody ever showed them, nobody ever taught them to do it correctly.  You can rest assured, I have used everyone of those excuses and more. 

Don't get me wrong, I have the rote prayers down(Glory Be, Hail Mary, Creed).  I know them like the back of my hand.  To be honest, I probably could not write the prayers down on paper, because they are so rote in my head, that I do not have to think about them.  I am talking about the deep, spiritual prayer life with God, that I often hear about.  I do not have the skill to sit down and have a conversation with God.

As stated before, I have told my staff that I wish someone would have taught me to pray.  I wish someone would have sat down with me and explained the whole idea of having a true relationship with God, via prayer.  Instead, my parents have done exactly what I have done to my children, and taught me the rote prayers.  The rote prayers are great, but how do we get to that spiritual relationship?

Being a cradle Catholic, I have heard the gospel's over and over and over and over.  The only way I am going to hear a gospel for the first time is if they write a new gospel.  Guessing that is not going to happen.  However, I am amazed at the number of ways a priest can give a homily on the gospels.  

So here I sit, a couple of weeks ago, praying before Mass, and asking God for this, that and the other.  I am sitting there wondering if what I am doing is correct.  I am praying for guidance on how to teach my children to pray so they do not have the same feelings, as an adult, that I am feeling.  Well, low and behold, if there was ever a doubt God has conversations with me, it was brought to an end at that Mass.

In the Gospel, the disciples asked Jesus, "how do we pray?"  Jesus give the answer that becomes "The Lord's Prayer."  Wow!!!  Here I sit, asking God to help me become a better person of prayer and then he gives me the perfect prayer!!  God is GREAT!!!

The thing that is best about this prayer is that it is the perfect prayer.  Imagine, God giving us the perfect prayer, coincidence, I don't think so.  The "Lords Prayer" is the perfect prayer because it has the four parts of a successful prayer.(wait, there are four parts to the perfect prayer???  This is just what I have been looking for). 

The four parts of any prayer should consist of petitions, thanksgiving, forgiveness and adoration.  While I might not say "The Lord's Prayer" every time I pray, I can guide my prayers around those four things.  Some examples that I have done lately are as follows:

Heavenly Father- Starts by adoring Him and recognizing Him.
Thank you for.....- Listing all the things I am thankful for in my life, or just that day.  The most important thing I thank Him for is the death of His Son, Jesus, who died for my sins, so that I can have the opportunity to follow Him and receive forgiveness of my sins.
I want to pray for...  Here I list all those that I believe need prayer.
I ask that you help me...This is basically the spot I ask for forgiveness of my sins and to help me overcome the situation that is leading me to sin.

You see, I just prayed the perfect prayer.  I accomplished all four task in my prayer.  I must say, up until the last couple of weeks, my prayers were all about me, and I knew that it wasn't right.  It cannot always be about me and I knew that, but it was better than nothing.  Now that I know the four basic, yet important, parts of prayer, my prayer life has changed.  It is not about me, it is about the deep, personal conversation with God.  Even when I am asking and not always listening, it is about the relationship.

Imagine that, the Bible knew the answer all along.  How many more times is God gonna hit me in the head before I just turn to him in the first place.

We all have baggage....

What does one do on vacation when it is raining?  Write a blog...

Last weeks gospel was from the book of Luke.  The story is the one in which Jesus was recruiting followers.  Many of the followers were giving reasons as to why not to follow Him immediately.  One said, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."  Another said, "I will follow you, but first let me say farewell to my family at home."

Jesus is very blunt with both of these followers.  The first He says, "let the dead bury their dead."  The second, He replies, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind..."  Both of these responses are refering to the non-believers as the dead.  The family members that do not believe are also dead.  Many might think Jesus is being tough on them.  This is showing, more and more, the world today, the all about me, or the what's in it for me mentality.

The one thing I got out of the sermon was baggage.  What baggage am I holding onto that is keeping me from His eternal kingdom?  I could sit here and list item after item, but I think we all get the picture.  Holding onto earthly things will only keep us from reaching that eternal kingdom.

As a Catholic man, I have been more than a little troubled by the things that have been going on lately in the media.  I am being portrayed as a man who doesn't understand the plight of those who don't believe marriage is between a man and a woman.  I am being portrayed as a person of hate and anger.  This baggage has consumed me, constantly having to explain myself and my beliefs.

Trying to remove the baggage I have, so I can get to the heavenly realm is getting tougher and tougher.  I just want to give up and seclude myself, with my beliefs, and hope that God will accept
me someday(all about me).  While I know that most of the things of this world will not get me into heaven, I want to crawl into my own world and live my life, as best I can, according to His will.

My question to you is, what are you holding onto, or looking back at, that might be keeping you from this heavenly realm?  Are you willing to forgo them, even though today's laws tell you it is okay?  It is a difficult world we live in and the battle is the Lords, so give your struggles to Him, ask for guidance.  Let go so God's peace can come into your life.

8th grade graduation speech

Part of the reason I decided to blog again was this year's 8th grade graduation speech.  I started with a poem and then added my words.  After the graduation, many parents asked me for a copy of the speech, and many of them said I should put it on my blog.  So, below is my speech given to the 2013 St. Charles 8th grade graduating class. 

Poem:  The Bottom Line

                    Face it
    Nobody owes you anything.
What you achieve, or fail to achieve
                 in your lifetime
         Is directly related to what
               you do or fail to do.
No one chooses his parent or childhood,
But you can choose your own direction.
            Everyone has problems and
                  obstacles to overcome,
But that too is relative to each individual

             Nothing is carved in stone!
     You can change anything in your life
            If you want to badly enough.
Excuses are for losers!  Those who take responsibility
                              for their actions
                    are the real winners in life.
              Winners meet life challenges head on
              Knowing there are no guarantees, and
                              give it all they've got
                          and never think it's too late
                                       or too early
                                           to begin.
                             Time plays no favorites
                 and will pass whether you act or not.

                             Take control of your life
                        Dare to Dream and take risks.....
                                         Compete!
              If you aren't willing to work for your goals,
                               don't expect other to.
 
                             BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!!

Speech:

Part One:

This first section reminds me of the many obstacles you have overcome in the many years you have been at St. Charles:  sports teams, lots of homework, higher standards.  Think back to the many goals you have set for yourselves, did you accomplish them?  If not, are you on the way to accomplishing them?  What obstacles have you overcome?

Part Two:

This second section makes me think of the life challenges you have faced in your years at St. Charles, and the many life challenges you will face for the rest of your life.  Did you meet those challenges, head on?  Are you prepared to face those challenges that are coming down the road?  When you face that challenge are you going to jump off the road and let life pass you by, or are you going to meet that challenge?  There are few guarantees in life, but one guarantee every parent, teacher, adult will guarantee, is you will be met with a challenge and I believe you all have been given the skill to meet any challenge.

Par Three:
This last section almost give s me shiver down my spine when I read it.  I feel that we have prepared you all to take control of your life.  We have prepared you to dream big and shoot for the stars.  If you do not reach the stars, maybe you can land on the moon.  As you leave St. Charles, you will have new horizons to pursue.  I hope you will chase your dreams and goals.  I hope you will take the risk.

The very last sentence of this poem is "Believe in yourself!"

I want you to think back to every teacher at St. Charles that graced your path, From Mrs. A in preschool to Mrs. G in 8th grade.  Are you thinking?  Every one of those teachers believe that you have what it takes to do whatever you want in life.  Chase those new horizons, shoot for the stars, believe in yourself, and live your dreams.  It has been my honor to have such a wonderful 8th grade class.  Good Luck in all you do.

I'm Back....

All,

Well, I am back.  Just recently, I have been asked, by many people, if I am going to start blogging again.  After much thought and prayerful consideration, I have decided to start up again.  I have noticed that I have gone over 3000 hits to this blog.  Almost 1000 have come since my post stating, "I am taking a break."  Wow!!  You all have spoken.

I am not going to promise a weekly post, so if you do not want to check out my post every week, only to find out nothing has changed, I would suggest you sign up for email alerts.(See the right hand margin).   I hope to keep this post informative, inspiring, and occasionally funny.  As far as funny goes, I have only one rule:  If it makes me laugh, it is funny.                                         Sign up here.-------------------------------------------------------------->

Thanks for all the support over the last couple of months.  Your words of encouragement has led me back to the blogosphere.  Hope I can inspire you, inform you, or make you laugh. 

YIC

Alec

Going to rethink this...

All,

I want to thank you for the support over the last 20 blog post.  I really appreciate those that take time to read what I have to say.  I must say that I am a little surprised at the number of people that have logged into my blog for whatever reason.  I have said it before, and I will say it again, I never thought I had anything worthy of a blog, but you all have proven me wrong.

I have come to the conclusion that I need to take a hiatus from blogging.  I am taking this time off for two reasons.  The first reason being I have not been able to keep my goal of blogging once per week.  I have many ideas in my head, that I would like to share, but to be a good father, husband, principal, etc., I feel that I cannot give this endeavour the appropriate amount of time, I wish I could. 

Another reason I have decided to rethink this blog, is what I am actually blogging about.  I have been asked, by the higher ups, to remove a blog for certain reasons.  It was stated that I should keep any type of blog to my area of expertise, as not to polarize folks.   

Let me be perfectly clear, I am not mad about this.  I am not going to complain and say this is a violation of my first amendment rights.  I am not going to get into the idea of you against me, as these thing can often turn into, because I believe that when someone in a position of authority and I respect, ask me to do something I will, whether I agree or disagree.  Just to state it very clearly, I agree with removing the post.  

When asked to remove the post in question, which I did immediately, I read the post again and I must say, I was not very proud of myself.  In this post, I made an assumption.  When I hear a news story, I often take the information given with a grain of salt.  Based on my own experiences, I know the press can take liberties to spin a story and make it news worthy.  I never want to do that with this blog, and I feel, after reading the blog in question, that I was indeed doing the same thing, making assumptions.  It is for this, that I am not proud of myself and it is time for me to rethink.  The authority was completely correct, and I thank them for bringing this to my attention.

It is time.  Time for me to rethink this idea of being the blogging principal.  It is time for me to get a better handle on the task I have created and decide if I can do this with the proper perspective.  Can I continue to blog on things that I know, with the Christian perspective?  I have plenty to pray about, and contemplate, before I pick up the blogging again. 

I am humble that I have over 2100 hits, on this site.  I certainly hope you all understand the decision I have made.  I will spend some time in prayer and thought, and if the good Lord puts this on my heart, you can bet I will start again.  I know what it is like to ignore His calling for me, and quite frankly, I do not want to be in that spot again.

I will keep you all in my prayers, and I ask that you do the same for me.  Until we meet again....

YIC

Alec Mayer

This guy has the right idea

My last post was regarding the tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.  In that post, I discussed many issues related to this tragedy.  The one that is the most pressing, in my opinion, is human dignity.  We have to start teaching our young people that they are worth something.  They must know that they are loved.  If a person has dignity for the human life, they would not do the horrific things like Connecticut. 

Below is a video I saw in one of the blogs that I read.  This is a video of a public school Physics teacher that teaches his students about "love for one another."  To be honest, I am somewhat suprised that someone has not stepped up to the plate and tried to shut his message down, because he talks about his faith.  I have watched this video about ten times now and I am amazed of the topic, the personal feelings shared by the teacher, the stunning looks on the children's faces.  It just goes to show you that if we love one another, sound familiar, maybe a tragic event like this could be prevented.

Please share this with as many people as you can.  We have to start changing the thought processes of people in this world.  We have to teach dignity for human life, including our own individual lives.  Know that you are loved, by many, but most importantly, by God. 

Again, I am not the most technology savy person, so you might have to copy and paste this link into your search engine.

Thank you to Deacon Greg Kandra of The Deacon's Bench blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9bSu_Snlbsw