A Girl, a Guy, and a Soft Drink

Here's something you don't see every day:

Veteran's Day Prayer

I just received this Veteran's Day Prayer in an email from Autom and thought it was worth sharing: Dear Heavenly Father, In every age, You call certain persons to defend the human family from oppression, tyranny, and evil. Since our founding as a nation "conceived in liberty," countless American men and women have stepped forward to defend our country and many others from aggressors, and to liberate those held captive. Today we revere all our veterans: those who rest in honored glory, those who still suffer from the wounds of war, and those who, with us, enjoy the blessing of living in the land of the free and the home of the brave. O God, thank You for the selfless sacrifice of these veterans and of their families. Help us to remember them, to pray for them, and to care for them. Please bring all our departed veterans into Your Kingdom, and console their families with Your unfailing love. Please heal our wounded veterans through the power of Your Holy Spirit, and give to all our veterans the satisfaction of having served You even as they have served us. Thank You for Your gifts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. May we fight to keep these rights available to all. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

The Perpetual Web Rosary

Pray the rosary with others around the world via the Perpetual Web Rosary from Catholics United for Life. When you visit the page, start praying the rosary wherever the last person left off, then click the rosary as you finish each prayer. Your prayers are added to the prayers of others.

Bookshelves Arranged by Spine Color

It looks cool, but how do you find the book you're looking for? From Designverb.

Announcing Called2BSaints.com

Today's the day! On this feast of All Saints, my eighth grade class at All Saints Catholic School announces the launch of Called2BSaints.com: Called 2 B Saints is an online Catholic organization created by teens, for teens. Our mission is to give everyday information from around the world, but to also focus on Catholic events, information, people and stories. It gives a Catholic outlook on everyday life, fitting our faith into our daily events. Our mission is to show teens around the world how we can live normal, everyday lives, while also focusing on our faith in a unique way. We are here to show that even though Catholics are not perfect, we can still have God play a part in our lives. The website features weekly audio and video podcasts, news from the world of sports and entertainment, and practical advice for teens--all from the perspective of Catholic teens themselves. Students have been working in groups to produce content for the site--developing topics for articles, creating storyboards for videos, and writing scripts for podcasts. Together, they and I are learning what it takes to be a part of a multimedia web organization. We're all pretty new at this, but we have a lot of enthusiasm and passion. The model and inspiration for our site is the fantastic work being done by Fr. Roderick Vonhögen and others at SQPN, the Star Quest Production Network. We encourage you to visit Called2BSaints.com today and subscribe to our blog feed. You can also copy and paste our podcast feed in your iTunes software to listen on your iPod or other mp3 player. And if you like what you hear in our podcast, be sure to vote for Called2BSaints on Podcast Alley. Please help us spread the word by mentioning us to teens, teachers, and parents; or perhaps you'd like to add Called2BSaints to your blogroll. If you have a comment, question or suggestion, you can use the Contact Us page to send us your feedback. The more feedback the students get, the more motivated and excited they'll be to keep improving their content. Thanks in advance for your help in supporting our new endeavor. Cross-posted at Teen Literacy Tips.

New Catholic Junior High Website to Launch Tomorrow

I've been working on so many other projects, that I'm afraid Literary Compass has had to take a back seat for awhile. Teen Literacy Tips is flourishing, and I've been helping my eighth grade students get ready to launch their new web site. I'll still be posting here, just not as frequently as I once was. Please come back tomorrow for the official announcement of the site my eighth graders have been working on. They're anxious to get some real readers, viewers and listeners. Stay subscribed to get all the details tomorrow.

Teaching Humor

This email has been making the rounds lately, and I enjoyed it so much I thought I'd share it: After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said, "Let me see if I've got this right: You want me to go into that room with all those kids... correct their disruptive behavior observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages and instill in them a love for learning. You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride. You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook and apply for a job. You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior and make sure that they all pass the state exams. You want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps and communicate regularly with their parents by letter telephone, newsletter and report card. You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. You want me to do all this and then you tell me...I CAN'T PRAY?" Hat tip to Gather.com and all those who sent it to me via email.

19 Story Cross Dominates Landscape

Check out this huge cross in Groom, Texas. It was built by Steve Thomas and a group of 250 welders. Here are a few facts about the cross from this web page: It stands 19 stories tall. The arms stretch 110 ten feet across. It's made of welded steel covered with steel sheeting. There are no guide wires or extra supports keeping it up. Be sure to see the full-page description of the cross, and the beautiful pictures of the cross at night.