DIY Home Blessing

Every year, we bless our home. Or at least we try. This year, we were a week late. It’s a beautiful tradition, inspired by the Book of Exodus, that you can do with your kids.

First, find some chalk. If you’re house is like ours, there’s a piece of chalk somewhere. Under a couch cushion, under the kids bed, in the garage, on the driveway. The list is endless.

According to Aleteia, a priest traditionally, blesses chalk on the Feast of the Epiphany by saying the following prayer (from the Roman Ritual):

Bless, + O Lord God, this creature, chalk, and let it be a help to mankind. Grant that those who will use it with faith in your most holy name, and with it inscribe on the doors of their homes the names of your saints, Casper, Melchior, and Baltassar, may through their merits and intercession enjoy health in body and protection of soul; through Christ our Lord.

Being the head of the household, I usually bless the chalk, then while marking the doors 20 +C +M +B 21 with chalk, I pray the blessing.

Bless, + O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility, goodness and mercy, the fulfillment of Thy law, the thanksgiving to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. And may this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ our Lord.

20 +C +M +B 21

As the article in Aleteia clearly states, [t]here is no “guarantee” that a home marked with Epiphany chalk will be protected from all illnesses, it does remind us that God is the giver of all gifts and he can lead us into good health. The spiritual needs of the family should always be in the forefront of our mind, knowing that God will lead us through every dark valley — and from the looks of things, it may take us all of 2021 to climb out of the dark valley of 2020.

Thank you to Aleteia for reminding us to bless our house again this year. The steps and prayers below come directly from their website. So, please, support them by visiting their website.

I hope you take the time to bless your home. God bless!

James is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, The Christmas Save, and two children’s books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!  

As a writer, James has been featured on The Inside Success Show, Bob Salter (CBS Radio),  Mike Siegel, Mancow, and more.  

Beyond writing, James worked with At-Risk youth in Southern California for over six years.  His contributions to the classroom — featured on local television and in the LA Daily News and the Los Angeles Times’ Burbank Leader — earned him the honors of “Teacher of the Year”.    James was also twice honored by a CASDA Scholar as the teacher who had the greatest influenced that student.   As an educator, James also appeared twice on America Live with Megyn Kelly. 

Today, James lives in New York where he continues to teach — and write.   Besides his books, you can follow his musing on this blog Corporation You.

To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

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How to Raise Boys to be Strong Christian Men

The other day I came home and learned from my mom that my seven-year-old misbehaved for most of the day.

By the time I arrived home from work, my wife had already disciplined him and served up a consequence for his behavior before darting off to work. So, instead of hearing what happened from my bride, I sat him down and asked my son what happened.

After hearing his confession, I asked him what consequence he received for his actions.

“Mommy said I can’t watch T.V. tonight,” he confessed.

“Wow, you must’ve been pretty bad,” I replied.

Yes, he nodded.

Later that night, we prepared and ate dinner. After we cleared off the table, I plopped down on the couch to relax and turned on the television, forgetting all about the incident. As his big bro and I were scrolling through the selections on Prime, I noticed my seven-year-old son was pacing in the hall.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, having forgot that he was punished.

“I’m not allowed to watch T.V.” he said with a sigh, “and I don’t know what else to do.”

“Go read a book,” I sternly added, pretending to have remembered.

“Okay,” he pouted and went off to his room.

With that, I kindly asked my mom if she would mind keeping him company. She quickly agreed to read with him, impressed that he first honestly confessed and then voluntarily forfeited television without having to be reminded. I was impressed, as well.

Later, when his mom arrived home from work, I called him out of his room and praised him in front of her, for accepting his consequences. I also came clean and told him that I had forgotten that he was punished, then boasted to my wife that her reminded me.

Together, we praised him. “You are definitely on the path of becoming a strong Christian man” I added with a sense of pride, then we sent him off to bed with hugs and kisses.

Full disclosure, as a father, I don’t know what I’m doing to bring about such an amazing behavior.

The only thing I may do differently than other dads is that I constantly remind my boys that it’s my job to make sure they grow up to be strong Christian men.  I also share with them with my hope that on the day that I open my eyes in Heaven, I will find my entire family standing at my side — along with their families.

Maybe that’s the secret? Or maybe the secret is just having the love and support of a strong Christian woman as a wife?

I don’t know.  

Right now, I’ll take it — either way. 

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul,  and two children books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to All.   For six years, James taught At-Risk kids in Los Angeles. Today, he lives in New York where he continues to write — and teach. To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman & McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

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Halfway Memes: A Very Merry Christmas Martini

Image by Terri Cnudde from Pixabay

I often post about our family on Facebook under the moniker Our Family Circus, an obvious homage to one of my favorite childhood comic series.   The posts have grown in popularity, so I’ve decided to go back and collect some of the older ones and publish them here on this blog.  Our boys have come up with the name Halfway Memes, which I think is a perfect title for our family stories.   

Without further adieu, I present to you our family’s first in the Halfway Memes series, A Very Merry Christmas Martini.

 

“I’m making Christmas Martinis anyone want one?” my wife said.
“Can I have one?” our nine-year-old asked.
“No! It has alcohol in it,” my wife firmly replied.
“Can we invite Father Tom over, so he can consecrate it so I can drink it?” he asked with a smile.
“Sorry Bud, It doesn’t work that way!” I added, then smiled as well.

 

James Henry is also the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, and two children’s books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!  He’s also a husband to a very patient and loving wife and dad to amazing and creative boys.

As a writer and educator, James has been featured on Bob Salter (CBS Radio), Mike Siegel, Megyn Kelly, Mancow, and more.

To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at(516) 639-0988or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

WRITTEN BY JAMES. BUY NOW!

Buy Now on Amazon.com

Buy Now on Amazon.com

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Why Don’t Donkeys Go to School?

Image by Darren Coleshill from Pixabay

Recently, I had a K.I.D.S. relapse while packing for a trip to our lake camp and went into a Daddy rage!

“I guess no one wants to help me!” I shouted in frustration packing the car without an assistance.  “For the rest of the week, if anyone wants something from Dad, my answer will be ‘no!'”

Later that day, my five-year-old handed me a note.

“Can we not go to Stewart’s [for ice cream]?” 

It reminded me of a classic line my step-dad used to say — and he had many.

“You know why donkeys don’t go to school?” he’d say. “Because nobody likes a smart ass.”

Grandpa would’ve loved my little man!

 

James Henry is also the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, ‘Twas, Hail Mary series, and two children’s books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!  To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

Buy Now!

 

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The World’s Most Amazing Number

Every year, I begin the genetics unit in my AP Biology class by humbling saying, “You’re going to learn more about genetics in this class than what was taught 30 or 40 years ago in the world’s top colleges.”

These days, in high school science, students move far beyond Mendel’s peas and the genetics of Watson & Crick.  Today, we discuss CRISPR and epigenetics;  things our most creative sci-fi writers would’ve thought were unbelievable — even in fiction.

Even with the current pace of today’s technological advances, there is one breakthrough that I share with my students that many still find impossible to believe.

That is the discovery of the world’s most amazing number.

There’s many amazing numbers out there. For starters, there’s 3.14 or pi.

7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (7 octillion): The number of atoms that makes up an adult human.

2.5 million: The number of years the photons of light journeyed from the Andromeda galaxy before they hit your eye.

Absolute Zero or – 273.15 degrees Celsius: The temperature in which everything in the universe remains motionless.

Two.  The length of your DNA in meters, of one cell, if you stretched it out all the way and in diameters of the Solar System if all the DNA in all your cells were lined up end-to-end.

These are just a few.  We also have lists of amazing numbers.

There are amazing numbers in Biology; numbers cooler than Pi;  numbers in the Bible,  but none of these numbers compare to the world’s most amazing number.

You also may have heard that humans share 97% of our DNA with Chimpanzees.  Even more astonishing, we share 50% of our DNA with a banana.

Some scientists questions these amazing numbers.   However, there’s one number, in the world of genetics, that is truly amazing: Every human on the planet shares 99.5% of their DNA.

This means the difference between you and your most distant human relative on the planet Earth is most likely no more than  0.5%.    This also means…

All the division in the world…  

Every argument.  Every clique.  Every fight.  Every war. 

All the hate.  All the bullying.  All the name-calling and finger-pointing.

All our contempt, rancor, fear-mongering and loathing.

Our political and social divides.

Our racial and ethnic biases. 

Every march.  Every debate.  Every protest.

Every wall that divides us  … amounts to nothing more than 0.5%.

Amazing, isn’t it?  That’s why 0.5 is the world’s most amazing number.

Think about the attention this number commands.  The power that it holds!  The energy it absorbs!  The resources it consumes! The suffering it causes.

The tears it has shed.  The lives it has altered.  It’s destructive force!

Now, just think about all the joy, peace, love and harmony we can experience in this world if we stopped focusing of the 0.5% that separates us all, and instead, focused on the 99.5% that we all have in common.

Now wouldn’t that be truly AMAZING?

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, Hail Mary series, and two children’s books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!  As a writer, James has been widely featured on Bob Salter (CBS Radio), Mike Siegel, Mancow, and more.

Today, James lives in New York where he continues to teach — and write.

To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

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Want to know what God is like … get a good friend!

I haven’t seen my college roommate since I moved my family back East. Nine years has past since then.

Of course, we still communicate through text from time-to-time.  His response time is awful … just saying. However, a few weeks ago, we actually chatted on the phone.  It’s been awhile.

It was nice just hearing his voice.

We picked up our conversation like we did when we shared a room together in college. Instead of discussing plans for the weekend, we lamented about not seeing each other. More so, we lamented about not seeing each other’s kids.

He has girls, who are full-grown; I have two boys, who are much younger.  (He was always a few steps ahead of me.)

We talked about getting together soon, but both probably recognized that a reunion wouldn’t happen — at least not anytime soon.

The conversation had to end because we both had to run.

Likewise, I received a text recently at 6:59 am from someone I knew since forever. We exchanged texts about our days working in Yakutat, Alaska for Sitka Sound Seafoods.

His last text was “Drop me a line. 2 minutes”.

We talked for 2 1/2 … hours!

Our conversation went from our days Alaska to our antics high school; from Charlie Daniels to Yosef Islam to Father McDonald back to Yosef Islam/Cat Stevens.  That lead us to Quebec City and the 1444 1/2 Bar — and on and on and on.

The conversation only ended because I had to feed my 9 year-old breakfast.

Both times, as I hung up, it occurred to me…

Having a good friend, especially one who lives a long-distance away, is much like having a relationship with God.

As with God, we probably should talk more often than we do.  However, when we do, it’s as we were at each other’s side.

And, as you know, God is always at your side.

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, Kwanzaa Klaus, Hail Mary series, and two children’s books: The Second Prince and Klaus: The Gift-giver to ALL!  As a writer, James has been widely featured on Bob Salter (CBS Radio), Mike Siegel, Mancow, and more. Today, James lives in New York where he continues to teach — and write. To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

 

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Nothing says “America” more than the Nativity Scene

Gerhard Gellinger | Pixabay.com

A few days after Easter, I was resting in my in-laws basement in Gettysburg, watching a 2015 re-run of Last Man Standing‘s Christmas episode.

Tim Allen’s character sent his two son-in-laws off to set up the Nativity scene.  Ryan, Allen’s Left-wing son-in-law, convinced Boyd, the shows lovable air-head, to create something that was multicultural, which wouldn’t often “Jews, Muslims, and Zoroastrians.”

Together, they created the “New-tivity Scene” — an empty creche with a sign that read “put your God here.”

Ironically, no place is more “multicultural” than America — and nothing say “America” more than the Nativity scene.

Think about it.

First, speaking of Zoroastrians, the Magi were priests from the East — and possibly Zoroastrians. Mary and Joseph were undoubtedly Jewish parents, as were all the Shepherds.  The baby grew up to become  one of the revered prophets of Islam — and his mother is revered universally by Muslims.

And on that Holy Night, though the Holy Family technically were not yet refugees or homeless — (they had a home in Nazareth) — they were immigrants, as are most Americans.

Further, they were definitely not a traditional family.

With all-due respect to the Holy Mother, she did not plan her pregnancy — just like many American women today.  However, she accepted her predicament giving women throughout history a blessed example to follow.  And Joseph, her husband, was not Jesus’ father; he was His step-father.  I had a step-dad, as do so many of us today.

Because of the love I had for my father in heaven — my biological father in Heaven, that is, I didn’t make my step-dad’s role easy.  However, I can’t image my life today without his wisdom and guidance.

Nearly everybody was represented at the Nativity — except the powers of the world.

The Nativity offers the birth of Freedom: The Freedom of Religion; the Freedom from Want; the Freedom of Worship; Freedom from Fear.

There’s nothing more American than that!

Amen!

 

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, ‘Twas, and the new book series Hail Mary. For six years, James taught At-Risk kids in Los Angeles. Today, he lives in New York where he continues to write — and teach. To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman & McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

 

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The Genesis of “The Talk”

Father and Son (Source: Unsplash | Pixabay)

My boys are young — too young for “The Talk”. You know “The Talk” I’m speaking of … The Sex Talk.

Though I haven’t had to start having “The Talk”, I’ve notice my oldest is starting to get curious. So, I started planting the seeds for “The Talk”.

You can say the genesis of my talk has begun — and I started with the Book of Genesis.

First, we read a kid’s bible, Genesis 2-3. Next, we went start to the source:

1 Of all the beasts which the Lord God had made, there was none that could match the serpent in cunning. It was he who said to the woman, What is this command God has given you, not to eat the fruit of any tree in the garden?
2 To which the woman answered, We can eat the fruit of any tree in the garden
3 except the tree in the middle of it; it is this God has forbidden us to eat or even to touch, on pain of death.
4 And the serpent said to her, What is this talk of death?
5 God knows well that as soon as you eat this fruit your eyes will be opened, and you yourselves will be like gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And with that the woman, who saw that the fruit was good to eat, saw, too, how it was pleasant to look at and charmed the eye, took some fruit from the tree and ate it; and she gave some to her husband, and he ate with her.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they became aware of their nakedness; so they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles. [1]

I explained to my boys,”As you grow, there will be plenty of pieces of fruit that may look good. It’s difficult to know what’s the right and wrong fruit to eat – that’s why God gave you Mommy and Daddy.

“As you age, things will get progressively harder. However, no matter what questions you have, you can come to Mommy and Daddy.”

So, if you are like most parents of younger kids and dread the day you’ll have to have “The Talk,” take the first step now, let God do the talking — and start with the Book of Genesis!

Start early and start simple … and that’s the genesis with “The Talk”.

Source: Pixabay

 

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, ‘Twas, and the new book series Hail Mary. To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com.

 

 

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EvanTube HD … A Return of Good, Clean Family Entertainment

It’s difficult being a parent today.

No, let me restate that: It’s difficult being a protective parent today. Even when you try to watch something child-friendly, it often backfires. For example, over Christmas Break, we turned to the ABC app to watch Prep and Landing.

The content was family-friendly and quite entertaining, but many of the commercials were unwatchable. One commercial that popped up was for an R-rated horror pix that gave my oldest son nightmares. (Well, almost.) During the sequel, my wife and I had to mute the iPad during the commercial breaks and have the kids turn away until they were over.

Like I said, even when you try to watch something child-friendly … it’s difficult!  Enter EvanTube HD.

If you’re looking for fun family-friendly content, you’ve come to the right place!

That’s how the channel describes itself – and that couldn’t be MORE accurate.

It goes on to say:

Our channel is all about KID FUN! Toys, Challenges, Animals, Video Games, Science Experiments, Special Effects, Animation and Attractions!

Again, CHECK on accuracy!

If it’s fun for kids, it continues, you’ll find it here!

ANOTHER CHECK!

The star of the show is a highly articulate kid named Evan. He’s slightly older than my oldest, who has seemingly grown up with Evan – and is one of his biggest fans.

His sister, Jillian, soon started making cameo appearances and now has a channel of her own, appropriately named Jillian Tube HD. His mom and dad are now also regulars as well.

This show is simply good, clean fun!

It’s the Ozzie and Harriett of our day – and a welcomed return of true family entertainment!

 

 

James Henry is the author of Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul, ‘Twas, and the new book series Hail Mary. To contact James or book an interview, please contact Mark of Goldman/McCormick PR at (516) 639-0988 or Mark@goldmanmccormick.com

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