tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90676809770897007262012-02-16T03:11:49.491-08:00Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-10204932475558799682011-07-05T17:51:00.000-07:002011-07-05T18:25:42.719-07:00

The big news of the day was the Casey Anthony jury finding her NOT GUILTY of the murder or even manslaughter of her two year old daugher, Caylee nearly 4 years ago. As a parent, the thought of any parent who murders their own innocent child is revolting and we, as the public are always wanting to seek vindication for those children who are needlessly taken from us. The finding guilty of a

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-2568623609803628812011-06-17T19:36:00.000-07:002011-06-17T20:09:41.236-07:00

As I sit in my hotel room in Dallas on a business trip, one of the things that I wanted to take time to do is to post a new entry to my blog since it has been several months since my last posting. There are many things that I wanted to write about, then as I was outside enjoying my pipe, thumbing through my TWITTER feeds, I saw the headline "FR. JOHN CORAPI LEAVING PRIESTHOOD" http://bit.ly/

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-89233354061412827662010-12-17T20:00:00.000-08:002010-12-17T20:58:50.623-08:00

So have you ever heard of Jesus and the House of Bread? Probably not. It truly sounds like a parable that was in one of the gnostic gospels, but actually it wasn't. It was in the Bible, yours and mine....sort of.In this Christmas season we all pay attention to the Birth of Christ, but do we realize how much symbolism was actually contained in Our Lord's birth? If you take a close look, you will

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-47926575573999514742010-10-26T20:22:00.000-07:002010-10-26T20:26:22.828-07:00

I want to begin by saying that there are so many inflections and intonations that are lost in email, so please do not read anything that I may write as harsh, as that is not at all in my heart. As I briefly mentioned in my previous email I have been in the Catholic Church for 6 years now and came from a previous life in a non denominational/charismatic/Pentecostal background. The story of how I

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-44424524626446694352010-09-30T21:43:00.000-07:002010-10-08T08:33:38.490-07:00

There has never been a more controversial book written in the history of the planet. To some it is holy, to others it is simply a book of fairy tales and stories that the world would be better without: The Bible. It has also sold more copies than any other book in history and probably a large percentage of homes have at least one copy, or at least a portion of it in them.In the light of the

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-67226850383260094952010-09-27T20:31:00.000-07:002010-09-27T21:46:25.215-07:00

A FaceBook friend sent me this question earlier wanting to know my take on the issue on women priests based on this article:http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100927/us_time/08599202151900So there are a couple of questions in this. CAN women be validly ordained as Priests in the Catholic Church? If the answer is NO, is that discriminatory?Let's talk about the first question. To fully understand the

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-48327076580780359342010-05-12T13:53:00.000-07:002010-05-12T19:40:56.527-07:00

Christianity--2000 years old. What is the point? Is there really one?It is my opinion that a large portion of western Christianity, especially in the United States has forgotten the point. Now, granted, they wouldn't believe me, or even accept this statement, but they have. You can only make this statement if you take a panoramic view of the Christianity from before it's inception to present

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-9839208329123809382010-04-12T21:18:00.000-07:002010-04-12T22:25:41.647-07:00

When I came into full communion with the Church on Easter 2006, the American Catholic Church was reeling from its own scandal with the American Catholic Clergy and their abuses. There is no way to excuse it, belittle it, or wish it away. The fact that it happened is horrendous and inexcusable. There is really no way that this should have happened in the Church of Christ and gone on for such a

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-2210731998261711662010-02-16T18:23:00.000-08:002010-02-16T20:12:49.090-08:00

Tomorrow morning will I will take my family to Mass to celebrate the beginning of my favorite time of the Liturgical year: Lent. I am not sure what makes this time of year so special to me, but it is. It has many meanings for me, most importantly every year I celebrate Lent I remember that it was about this time in 2oo6 that I was getting ready to be fully received into the Catholic Church. If

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-81420816405756382352009-10-10T11:53:00.000-07:002010-02-17T07:56:03.908-08:00

"In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth"That is how history of all time opens, and also probably where the confusion begins for us all. I have been pondering Creation lately and how we all got here and what a miracle it all is.....and how much we don't know and probably never will. The question is how much do we REALLY know about how the earth began, how much we can discover and

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-42130969540052850482009-10-07T20:14:00.001-07:002009-10-07T21:53:26.278-07:00

Exodus 261 "The Dwelling itself you shall make out of sheets woven of fine linen twined and of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim embroidered on them.2 The length of each shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width four cubits; all the sheets shall be of the same size.3 Five of the sheets are to be sewed together, edge to edge; and the same for the other five.4 Make loops of violet

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-24706950140869179032009-09-19T12:24:00.000-07:002009-09-19T13:15:12.920-07:00

This is about the third blog that I have started in about as many weeks, so I am hoping that I can make it through it completely. If you are reading this now, then you can assume that I did make it.Before anyone goes any further in reading, DON'T do it before you read this story from the Pensacola News Journal athletic about Frank Lay and the lawsuit brought against him for leading a prayer at an

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-12107577244246149042009-08-03T20:23:00.000-07:002009-08-03T22:05:12.180-07:00

So as I was driving into work last week, I was listening to a story about the city of Bloomington, IN. Apparantly they either have or had buses with advertisments posted on them by a local group of athiests that stated: "You can be good without God." Up front, I don't have a problem with athiests wanting to place their signs on the sides of buses or billboards. This is the country that we live in

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-14903920300649835692009-07-24T19:13:00.000-07:002009-07-24T22:41:48.881-07:00

I am not a conspiracy theorist and I am proud of it:I do believe that we DID actually land on the moonI am not worried about aliens and Area 51I don't believe the President Bush intentionally struck the World Trade Center on 9/11I don't necessarily believe that President Kennedy's assassination was in "inside job"I don't believe the US government has secretly been back to the moon, andI DON'T

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-55576753110469455582009-07-14T17:03:00.000-07:002009-07-16T12:47:54.003-07:00

So now, I guess I am jumping into the fire with this post. There are so many teachings I did not understand about the Catholic Church when I was not Catholic, many of which were out of just plain ignorance and some out of misinformation that I was given; and the teaching of purgatory was one of those. I remember thinking: "There is no way that purgatory can be a valid teaching, it is not spoken

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-87780652132531328312009-07-12T12:44:00.001-07:002009-07-12T13:09:15.765-07:00

OK....So I just read this article in Newsweek that states that our new President more closely represents American Catholics better than the Pope. Here is the link, so if you want to read it prior to reading further, here you go:http://www.newsweek.com/id/205961The summary of the article is that because our President holds a view of allowing abortion, gay marriage, the status of women in the

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-32424703811068282622009-01-13T18:12:00.000-08:002009-01-15T19:58:55.601-08:00

"I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word,so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one"-John 17:20-22So I want to back up for a little bit to December, 2003, I believe. I

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-82149095028174209372009-01-06T13:51:00.001-08:002009-01-10T11:12:28.956-08:00

Where a lone man may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken. --Ecclesiastes 4:12Wow....I know that I have written much in regard to how I came to embrace the three fold cord of Sacred Tradition along with The Magisteruim and Sacred Scripture, but to me, once I realized how they all work together, it seemed as though I was finally able to rest. I was not

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-3304050564169390922008-07-18T18:54:00.000-07:002009-01-05T22:20:55.959-08:00

May 2005. That is when I began my meetings on a weekly basis with Msgr. Reed. Now if you know me, you know that I generally am well prepared for situations...most of the time. This was no exception. About a week earlier I remember going to WalMart to buy a miniature recorder and a pack of tapes. (I know that we are in the digital age....but I am frugal). The night before I met with Msgr I stayed

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-51017694253816151572008-07-16T17:53:00.000-07:002008-07-16T21:43:35.256-07:00

Wow.....So the doctrine of Sola Scriptura at that point was no longer valid to me, I knew that it was no longer a valid basis of my Christian faith. At this point I know that many people who read this are screaming HERESY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I well can understand, I was there. But is it REALLY???? What is the foundation and basis of our Christian faith. As we are followers of our Lord, what did

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-22104213927808680412008-07-14T08:33:00.000-07:002008-07-14T10:11:02.261-07:00

Wow! It is hard to believe that it has been well over a month since I last hit the BLOGGER. Life is busy with a family and things are really well. It is good to take a step back sometimes and look at what is really important in life.I really want to continue and be able to put into a written format what really happened to me during my conversion to the Roman Catholic Church. So far what I have

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-43099763121160341222008-05-07T10:56:00.000-07:002008-05-07T15:39:28.969-07:00

So here I am, wading into uncharted waters and really I am the only one that is understanding what is going on in my head and I really can't let anyone else know where I am going and what what I am thinking. I had no real idea what the repercussions would be in my life and how my family and my church would respond. In regard to Laura, I had confidence in her love for me and her commitment to our

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-38210174535635346002008-05-02T15:24:00.001-07:002008-05-02T16:04:21.020-07:00

So, just to give some perspective in this whole scenario, the time frame that all this happened was approximately March of 2005. That was after September of 2004. September of 2oo4 was the date that our home was severely damaged by the onset of Hurricane Ivan, which you see to the right. Our house is right under the tip of the green arrow. Being that we were on the right side of the storm, we

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-77096172308907122752008-05-01T12:26:00.001-07:002008-05-01T16:13:54.799-07:00

So where do I go from here? I know that I can't go back to the Charismatic church and where I thought I was supposed to be was now validated to me as full of idolatry and sacrilege, from somebody that was of influence in my life and well respected in my community. It was then that I started the search. What denomination did I agree the MOST with. Baptist was out; they were to Pre-Millenial.

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-1363044833125642092008-04-28T14:37:00.000-07:002008-04-30T10:57:38.288-07:00

Now that things have settled down in the Richard's house, I can finally have a few moments to get back to some serious blogging. I had an awesome experience last week of having lunch with an old (emphasis was mine---sorry Jacob) college acquaintance who I probably haven't seen in at least 15 years. After we caught up with marriage and kids and the family stuff, the question came: " So how does

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-52908033048918727462008-04-24T14:23:00.000-07:002008-04-24T15:51:58.038-07:00

So, Here is my new blog. If any of you have met Laura and me and our girls. We automatically stand out in a crowd. If you were going to have met us in 2oo2, you would have just have seen Laura and myself. My, my, my have things changed. I wanted to dedicate this blog to the history and story of our wonderful girls.AbigailMy Abigail......We began our adoption process after the loss of several

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-75490029351266584112008-04-21T07:39:00.000-07:002008-04-21T08:37:24.723-07:00

I had grand plans for this blog, deliberating between the history of my family and our adoptions, reviewing the past week's visit of the Holy Father to the states, or expounding on a couple of last week's Mass readings, in particular John 6. However, after the events of this weekend I do need to take a couple of minutes to reflect.When Laura and I got married in Sept. '91, one of the first

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-84991616538947308952008-04-14T14:56:00.000-07:002008-04-25T10:43:07.392-07:00

Whenever you have kids, you have stories, and this past month has been the motherload of all stories.It all started about 3 weeks ago when my wife was feeding our youngest, Laura Sophia dinner. We have all had those nights when you are tired, you have had a long day and you just want to feed your kids and get them down........QUICKLY!!! So this night, Laura decided to give Laura Sophia her first

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-55901965230171554842008-04-05T07:47:00.000-07:002008-04-08T15:19:27.611-07:00

I must confess that that this blog may not be interesting to very many people, therefore I must put a disclaimer on it. I will write about many things: my wife Laura, my girls, how we came to be as a family, and some of my life experiences over the past 2o years. In addition to that, one of the things that I will probably write much about, in a serious note is my new found love that I have for my

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-17434497902391766682008-04-02T10:00:00.000-07:002008-04-02T10:38:23.215-07:00

As I have just become active in the past week or so with FaceBook, I look back over all the faces that I have not seen for almost 20 years. Can you believe it. I was just thinking about where I was 20 years ago. At this point I was about ready to graduate from High School in Midfield, AL, and I knew what I was going to do...no doubt in my mind. I was heading off to Pensacola, Fl. to Liberty

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9067680977089700726.post-34932339011591125272008-03-26T15:20:00.000-07:002008-03-26T15:36:21.012-07:00

For those of you who may or may not know me, here it goes...My first Blog. What will be on it who knows. Why am I doing this....Who knows, but it seems like a good way to get acquainted with those who I have lost contact with in the past, or (for what ever reason someone would want to) those who want to get reaquainted with me and my wonderful, ever expanding family.So.....If you see this, leave

Allan Richardshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08967323275150627831noreply@blogger.com1