Bob Crowley said:

I don't know of any reason why you would not be able to marry the lady in question.

Your first wife committed adultery which is sufficient grounds for an annulment anyway as far as I know.

You validly married your second wife in the Catholic Church, but she has since died. As the vow states, marriage is "till death do us part".

As far as I can tell you are now free to marry the lady you are interested in.

But to really put your mind at rest, talk to a priest. They know the ins and outs of canon law as it is part of their training.

PS - I notice one of your other posts has to do with the Eucharist. If you still haven't sorted that one out, then I'd suggest you talk to the priest about that as well.

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Not sure why my prior reply doesn't show up but here goes nothing...

I do not believe Adultery in itself was grounds, it was the pattern of adultery and what they called intention against fidelity. I.E. she had zero intent to be faithful in marriage before or during...

My second wife and I married in the Baptist church, although as I understand it the Catholic Church considers it a valid marriage that was terminated by her passing.

The annulment from my first wife has been granted, still waiting on the final letter but to my understanding she did not nor would she have any reason to appeal / contest it...

Lastly the issue with the Eucharist was explained by someone here in a manner that actually makes perfect sense... (Sorry Father Bob... )

Working through the Catechism in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz and he is answering most of the sticking points well...

Day 144, so I have a long way to go and at least for now, I have some serious questions that need to get resolved...


For what it's worth. The whole marriage / divorce / annulment thing is not high on my recommendation list. Going through this process does open up a lot of old wounds, but as they say, light is the best disninfectant...

Did they miss seeing the videos?

Noone is FOR violence, yet they found themselves creating what led to Officials having to defend against their own life,
So id like to seriously ask Clinton and Obama
( who i respect very much) why not support
The Officials who are out in the streets
Advocating for Peace and finding themselves
In danger for their own lives?

Why wouldnt these brilliant men advocate
Citizens to stay home and allow them to
Do their jobs, btw, are for our Security!

Always in His Presence said:

And there are some who think the issue is incompetence

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Yep.
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John Bauer said:

A redemptive-historical hermeneutic really brings the Old Testament to life, including the creation account.

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True, though I am cautious about imposing frameworks on the entire text, though I do see value to them.

Last night was a wonderful night. My son felt well, was laughing and talking to friends and I am very thankful for it. Tonight he is feeling bad again. Please once again pray for my son Jakeb. Please ask God to heal him mind and body and give him happiness. I'm so sad. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you.

GodAndChocolateVanilla said:

Hi bella!! @bèlla

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Thank you answering and for your transparency. I want to preface my comments with a scripture I'd like you to keep in mind.

"The Light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it]."

When I read your post that's what came to me and the scripture was followed by a quiet acknowledgement which said, that's the problem. Before I touch on the what in relation to your statement I think it's important to begin with the who instead. Your light has overcome the hardships you've faced and if you read your posts you'd see it. No matter what's said or done two things remain. Your love and trust in God appear unshaken and your resiliency will probably land you on The New York Times Best Sellers List or a stage or both. ;-)

Like the boxers of old you keep coming back. You're laughing, smiling and happy about simple things. This is the difference between victims and overcomers and you're in the second group although it may appear otherwise. Much like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz you don't see yourself clearly or realize you're carrying what you need to move ahead.

You're not a victim nor do you behave like most in your situation. You don't speak of him too often or look for sympathy or pepper the board with prayer requests. Your problem isn't your primary talking point which says a lot about your heart. And the light within you is your saving grace and the reason he hasn't broken your spirit and he can't. You keep bouncing back.

You can't break the cycle until you see yourself. If you believe you're powerless you'll fail to draw upon your strength and lean into the Lord's instruction. You're asking why he does what he does but that's the wrong question. The real question is why you? Why has he chosen to afflict you and return repeatedly? Like a bee with honey he's drawn to the light although it angers him. And that's your solution.

Do not diminish the joy of the Lord. Amplify it every way you can. Fill your space with worship music and create a playlist for the start of your day, another that gives you energy for tasks or makes you want to jump around in celebration and a third for the evening that helps you relax with gratitude for His goodness. Three lists and three weapons. Once you set them up start playing them in that order. You don't have to listen all day but pay attention to the effect and journal about it later. After a week has passed review your entries and look for changes. What has improved and what has fallen aside?

I'd like you to read the piece I've attached. I found it long ago and the words were memorable and I never forgot them. This is the reason you'll nurture your light so you don't fall prey to the unnecessary cycles the author describes before the truth takes root. Only the truth sets us free and it's my hope the mirror I'm holding before you will enable you to take a step in the right direction. And when you doubt click your heels just like Dorothy.



Once you've implemented worship into your daily routine you're ready to bring in prayer. True breakthroughs begin with us. Not the other person or the source of our hardships. I rarely pray about problems. That's countercultural I suppose. But the vessel is the starting point and the more we emulate the Father the easier it will be to address our mountains like the Son. In other words, it's through doing what He says that we're able to follow Christ. We learn obedience from our parents after all. Relate to God as your Father and much like children do, tell Him everything good and bad and your walk will get easier.

I want you to spend some time praying for yourself. One month of uninterrupted focus on you alone. I'm going to recommend a resource and I'd like you to pray one or two entries each day. And answer one question in your journal as well. What have I learned about myself today? His mercies are new each morning and ripe for discovery if we look closely.

That is your prescription for hope and homecoming. You must come back to the woman God created you to be not the person others defined. Did you notice I didn't say become her? Because she's already there! When He knit you in your mother's womb everything you were destined to do was endowed. All you need to decide is who gets the glory of your workmanship. The Father who loves you or the one who craves your demise.

I didn't say you could be a best selling author or speaker haphazardly. That's what the devil is trying to stop by crushing your spirit. If he can break you now the victory is lost and the souls who need your message will never hear it. If the one who walks beside you isn't an ambassador of light what remains? He may not be consciously working with the evil one but he's the greatest weapon he has to prevent what follows. Your testimony is the door to your liberation and that time draws near.

I want you to read these articles on the spiritual gifts of writing, faith and mercy. I'll include the fourth on music with a caveat. I don't see it in the sense of becoming a singer but more along the lines of a lyricist or psalmist like David. It wasn't included with the trio and is something that comes forth later on. Writing and speaking are first.

The book I want you to read is The Power of a Praying Woman by Stormie Omartian. You can find it at the library or if you like ebooks sign up for Hoopla Digital and check it out there. Don't worry about anything you see on that page. You are the focus for a month and the foundation must be sure before other things are taken on.

In respect to your response, do all you can to remain silent. Don't argue or defend yourself. Put his messages on mute and direct your attention to the Lord through prayer and worship. If he says something upsetting say this aloud. Father, you know his heart and mine. Forgive us for our sins and the pain we've caused one another. May Your will be done in his life and mine.

Keep affirming that. It removes the situation from your lap and places it where it belongs. If you meet his insults with prayer you'll, force the Lord's hand and heap coals of shame upon his head (Proverbs 25:21-22) in the process. Let the Lord fight on your behalf and He will if you stay out of it.

And since you're fond of music I leave this as a gentle reminder lest you forget all I've said. God bless you dear one.

~bella

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Richard T said:

Some great answers here. it sure can be hard for anyone to distinguish between God's voice that are filtered through their emotions. Perhaps you feel that you do not deserve the truck? Regardless though I think that God is stretching your faith, that the truck is just great enough that you are having a hard time believing in it. Little steps like that do occur, in a sense that is part of God training us to expect more and more, and just when you get the vehicle as far as God wants, he may set you up for some other test of faith in a completely different area. The good news though is that through the whole process you are maturing. I do hope you enjoy the truck. It sounds like a true blessing.

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Yeah! Ive talked to two separate pastors now about it and both independently said that it doesnt sound like God to them. So im going to assume theyre right lol. The truck has been fantastic!

I wanted to wait a little to reply, to try avoiding obsessive reassurance-seeking as much as possible. I gave myself until today before posting about this again.

In answer to your question Mari17, no, I don't think it is. I had this thought that it might become worshipping the beast if I thought it was, but then I got to thinking that I don't really believe the intrusive thoughts I have. Honestly, I don't want to worship the beast. It doesn't seem like worship is something you can do if you don't want to. It seems pretty obvious when you think about it.

I think it's beginning to get a little easier to tell what's my OCD brain and what is my normal thinking.

DragonFox91 said:

Salad bars are my favorite! The good ones have every kind of topping you can think of. Is that the word, topping. It's probably not so healthy but it sure is good

You like game shows, Game Show Network was my favorite. We didn't get it but my grandma did so we would watch it there.

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It worries me a great deal when people aren't eating salad at home. It's not exactly a luxury item. I could understand if the question were "Name something that people order in a restaurant because it tastes better than preparing it at home." But that's not what's being asked.

Aryeh Jay said:

It's not that the government doesn't trust the people, just people who vote for Democrats.

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Well, once that that type of “behavior” is (officially) frowned upon, everything will sort itself out.

He served as President of Criswell College, Academic Dean at Midwestern Baptist Seminary,
Dean of Boyce College, and Chairman of the Board at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
He was the President and CEO of National Religious Broadcasters (NRB).

What we want is not the same as who we are.


“I couldn’t help seducing my best friend’s wife. It’s just my nature.”

“I’m a hothead. I admit it. I was born that way. Deal with it.”

“You say I’m a liar, but I say you’re a loser. I’m good at lying, and I play the game with whatever nature gave me.”

“I’m a woman in a man’s body. Stop denying my reality.”

Popular culture drums into us the theme that each person’s nature is different. So far, we are oddly selective. For example, the idea of a promiscuous nature is greeted much more warmly than the idea of an adulterous one. Still, if we can have different natures, then how can we be measured by the same natural law?

People are different. From the fact that their personalities are different, though, it doesn’t follow that their natures are different. The virtues are good for all human beings; the vices are bad for all of them. If, for example, I have stronger inclinations to philandering, bad temper or drunkenness than you do, that doesn’t show that I have a different nature or a different virtue than you do, but that I have a character defect. If so, then truly “affirming” me wouldn’t mean encouraging my disordered desires, but encouraging me to keep them in check.


When it comes to drunkenness, most people get this. We don’t say I have a “drunk nature” so that I should get smashed every day; instead we encourage sobriety. Unfortunately, when it comes to certain other areas of life, we don’t get it. To mention just one of them: We call it mean and “judgmental” to encourage sexual purity, because “each person has a different nature.” You may be a one-woman man, but for all you know I’m a 64-woman man. Don’t judge me, bro.

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PastorMichaelDelBrown said:

One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: Why Paul’s Words Still Divide the Church
By Michael Del Brown
Few biblical phrases are quoted more confidently—and examined less carefully—than Paul’s declaration in Ephesians 4:5: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” The verse is frequently invoked to promote unity, yet paradoxically, baptism remains one of the most divisive practices within modern Christianity.
The division is not merely denominational. It is theological. And at its core lies a fundamental question: Which baptism is Paul referring to?
For many believers, baptism is assumed—almost instinctively—to mean water baptism. It is treated as a universal ordinance, binding on all Christians in every age. But when Paul’s writings are examined on their own terms, a striking tension emerges—one that the modern church has often overlooked.
In 1 Corinthians 1:17, Paul makes a statement that should stop us cold: “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel.” This is not a casual remark. It is a deliberate distinction. Paul separates his gospel commission from water baptism in a way no other apostle ever does.
If water baptism were essential to the gospel Paul preached—if it were the outward sign of entrance into the body of Christ—his words would be incomprehensible, even irresponsible. Yet Paul doubles down on this distinction throughout his epistles.
In Romans 6, Paul speaks of baptism not in terms of ritual, but reality: believers are baptized into Christ’s death, buried with Him, and raised to newness of life. The agent of this baptism is not water, but the Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul is explicit: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”
This baptism is not performed by human hands. It is not administered by clergy. It is not repeated, recorded, or photographed. It occurs the moment a person believes the gospel of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. It is inward, spiritual, and effectual.
By contrast, water baptism—while commanded in Israel’s prophetic program and practiced under the kingdom gospel—belongs to a different context. John’s baptism was explicitly “for Israel” (Acts 13:24). Peter’s call at Pentecost tied baptism to repentance and covenantal restoration (Acts 2:38). These were not abstract symbols; they were covenantal acts rooted in Israel’s national hope.
Paul never places water baptism at the center of justification, salvation, or church unity. In fact, when the Corinthians began forming identities around who baptized whom, Paul rebuked
them sharply. His concern was not improper administration, but misplaced emphasis. The cross—not the water—had become secondary.
This distinction matters because theology shapes practice. When churches conflate Israel’s ordinances with Paul’s gospel, confusion follows. Salvation becomes something supplemented rather than received. Assurance becomes fragile. Unity becomes institutional rather than spiritual.
Paul’s gospel proclaims a finished work. Christ’s death was sufficient. His resurrection was decisive. The believer’s identification with Him is complete—without ritual reinforcement. To insist on water baptism today as a requirement, or even as a normative expression of obedience, risks obscuring the very sufficiency Paul labored to defend.
This is not an argument against baptismal history or against sincere believers who practice it. It is a call to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Scripture does not flatten God’s unfolding purposes into a single undifferentiated system. Distinctions are not divisions; they are clarifications.
The tragedy is that Paul’s unique apostleship—to the Gentiles, with the revelation of the mystery—has often been absorbed into a broader narrative that was never meant to contain it. When that happens, the church loses sight of what makes the body of Christ distinct: not ritual continuity, but spiritual union.
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism” is not a slogan. It is a doctrinal anchor. And according to Paul, that one baptism is the Spirit’s work—not man’s ceremony.
If the modern church hopes to recover true unity, it must begin where Paul began: not at the font, but at the cross.

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And I am FASCINATED by those that quote Eph 4:5 that reads ONE. // HEIS. LORD , ONE //. HEIS ,FAITH

ONE // BAPTISM.

# A AND do you all know that there is ONLY ONE // HEIS , FAITH in Rom 16 :26. Having. been made known to
\
all the Gentiles for OBEDIENCEOF FAITH

And whose FAITH IS IT , by keeping. the LAW or are you IMITATORS. of Paul in 1 Cor. 11:1.

# B. And Eph 4:5 reads ONE // HEIS BAPTISMA and just check. the Greek text and all will see BAPTISMA

IS USED 22 TIMES from Matthew. to 1 Peter 3:2

#C THERE IS BAPTISMOS

# D BAPTO

# E. BAPTISM

# F. BAPTISMA

# G BAPTIZED

# E SPINKING

# F. WASH

# G AND why did John BAPTIZED Jesus and never heard that one and if you say to fill all. righteousness you

have. not answered IT !!

dan p

July 1, 2026 will dawn, and with it shall come either joy or sorrow; the Church shall either rejoice in her greater unity with the new bishops, perhaps even with the participation of a consecrator delegated by the Pope, or she shall be wounded further by deeper division. Iam hora est – now is the time to make a difference.

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Self-hatred is a crushing experience. A friend once told me that when his father was teaching him to shave, he said, “the hardest part of shaving every day is looking at the man in the mirror.” For those who struggle with self-loathing, that daily encounter can be profoundly painful. What, then, are Christians to do when they find themselves hating who they are?

First, we must clarify that self-hatred does happen. Some are confused by Paul’s statement in Ephesians 5:29, “For no one ever hated his own flesh.” Paul is speaking proverbially. Like the Proverbs themselves, he uses universal language to communicate a general truth. Generally speaking, people seek their own preservation. Yet in our fallen world, self-loathing — though not universal — is tragically real.

So how should a Christian respond?

First, look up


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What if I hate myself?

What are Christians to do when they find themselves hating who they are

www.christianpost.com

Hentenza said:

The Jim Crow laws did end though but some live their lives like they never did. My point is that is time to stop living in the past. The most we emphasize our differences the more racism occurs. Some folks are hell bent on emphasizing our differences.

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Nice to say, and I even thought it for a long time, but the last 15 years have taught me the past doesn't die any earlier than the people who lived it, and it's luck if it dies even that quickly.

At a difficult time for America, Super Bowl advertisers asked viewers to take care of themselves and others — and maybe even crack a smile.

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If you want healthy food, experts say to eat what’s local, organic and in-season. Those foods benefit the planet too, because they are less taxing on the soil and they don’t travel as far.

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Trump voters urge him to tone down the rhetoric and focus more on domestic issues, especially clearer pathways to legal status for law-abiding immigrants, healthcare reform, curbing waste and fraud, and lowering US debt.

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China’s Food Safety Report reveals Pesticide Contamination, Food Additive as Major Concerns
China’s most recent government-led food safety report has revealed pesticide contamination, microbial contamination
and excessive food additive content as the major concerns.
Read more

Food safety in China: Current issues and policy responses​

Despite the Chinese government's ongoing efforts to enhance food safety regulations, the growing occurrence of food safety scandals highlights the need for additional measures.

China has seen many food safety incidents. In 1988, in Shanghai, a hepatitis A outbreak occurred due to the consumption of raw clams leading to infection and hospitalisation of many people. Another incident was the Chinese milk scandal, in 2008, wherein the infant-milk formula and other foods got contaminated with melamine, affecting 300,000 children with kidney and urinary tract infections. This led to establishing the new People's Republic of China Food Safety Law which states in Article 19 that ‘Food safety standards are compulsory standards. No compulsory standards other than food safety standards shall be formulated for food products.’ Despite this, there have been multiple food safety scandals in the past two decades; the most recent one being the unsafe conditions at Wuhan’s animal market spreading the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reason for such a high number of food-related incidents remains the lack of monitoring and regulation by the government and the lack of ethics by food companies for profits...
Read more

chevyontheriver said:

Nobody wants THEIR ox gored.

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Gore Clinton?
(Wasn’t the ticket the other-way-‘round?)

An interesting reference for those interested.
**************

The Moon landings were faked. Apollo 11 didn't happen. Humans never set foot on the Moon. Heard all this before?

Conspiracy theories surrounding the Moon landings have proved worryingly persistent in the 50 years since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took their first small steps on the lunar surface.

NASA's landmark achievement is still being challenged.

Despite there being a wealth of information online debunking these conspiracy theories, the cries of hoax continue. Why?


"We find ourselves awash in an ocean of information online," National Space Centre Discovery Director Profesor Anu Ojha said during a 2019 lecture in Greenwich.

"There has been more data produced in the last two years than in the whole of human history. This information ocean is getting more turbulent every single day," he continued. "The only tools we have to navigate through this maelstrom are the critical thinking skills that we are trying to develop in people as scientists."

So how can science help to debunk Moon landing conspiracy theories?

Conspiracy theory 1: shadows in the Moon landing photos prove the images were faked​

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Logically an aging population might indicate a higher homicide rate.

"Don't (anger) old people; "life in prison" isn't that much of a deterrent for them." - George Carlin