{"id":15503,"date":"2016-08-14T22:02:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T22:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app-45117\/"},"modified":"2016-08-14T22:02:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-14T22:02:00","slug":"why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/","title":{"rendered":"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket.<\/p>\n

On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming quotes in blue and black and red ink to inspire him throughout his day.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because 25 years ago, Tom Riles had a bad attitude.<\/p>\n

After being rejected for a job scraping gum off the sidewalks with a powerwasher in his then-hometown in New Jersey because of his attitude, Riles realized something needed to change.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy attitude was way out of whack,\u201d he told CNA. \u201cAnd then somebody gave me a book called \u2018The Power of Positive Thinking\u2019 by Norman Vincent Peale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peale, a Christian, encouraged readers to write down inspirational quotes to reference throughout the day in order to change their thinking and ultimately their lives.<\/p>\n

Since following that advice, Riles, now a 67 year-old grandfather of 10, has never been the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cI trained myself to use these positive affirmations to bring me into God\u2019s presence throughout the day, and when we\u2019re in his presence, we experience peace and joy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Riles wants to turn the idea of his index cards into an app that people throughout the world can use.<\/p>\n

Four years ago, Riles started using his smartphone to schedule alerts with affirmations throughout the day. When Riles told this to his friend from church, app developer Aaron Horvath, he suggested they create an app.<\/p>\n

The pair launched a Kickstarter campaign<\/strong><\/a> last month to raise $30,000 to build a free mobile app that will send out positive messages and affirmations, at a frequency that the user selects.<\/p>\n

\u201cTom is proof that technology is not just for over-caffeinated millennials,\u201d Horvath told The Orange County Register<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cIf you have an idea, a passion and funding, there are no boundaries in the world of technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The name for the app is OnPath<\/strong><\/a>, because of how the quotes can bring a person back into the presence of God and keep them on the right path throughout the day, Riles said.<\/p>\n

For himself, Riles said his cards help remind him of God both during ordinary, daily life and before big events, like when he was taking a test to become a captain of a fishing boat on the Jersey Shore. His daughter used them before she took her boards test to become a nurse.<\/p>\n

And fifteen years ago, when Riles was diagnosed with a serious blood disorder, he was able to recall the presence of God even in the midst of a life-altering diagnosis.<\/p>\n

During a routine physical, Riles found out that his body was producing too much blood. Having never donated blood before \u2013 \u201cI was always too busy and I hated needles\u201d \u2013 Riles had to have some of his excess blood taken out immediately.<\/p>\n

While sitting in the recovery room snacking on the typical juice and cookies, Riles saw the nurse discard the blood, which he thought might have been used to help other people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw they threw my blood in the garbage, I almost choked on my Lorna Doone, and I said what are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

But because Riles\u2019 blood contained too many red blood cells, it had to be discarded.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I got down on my knees at that moment and I said Lord Jesus, I want to thank you\u2026for bringing me to this point in my life. I don\u2019t even know what\u2019s going on yet, but through your mercy and your love, you will bring good out of this to others.\u201d
\n\u00a0
\nEver since, Riles made it his mission to organize blood drives and inspire others to donate blood.<\/p>\n

\u201cFifteen years and 200 pints of my blood in the garbage can ago, and through the grace and mercy of God, I am still alive\u2026and God is inspiring me through these affirmations and scripture passages to speak to other people who are inspired to donate blood to save other people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process of building the app has just begun, Riles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a village to build a mobile app,\u201d he said. He still needs backers to reach the necessary funding of $30,000, as well as additional quotes and, of course, prayers so that all goes according to God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m asking people to send me some quotes that have been meaningful to them, that have given them peace and joy and drawn them closer to Christ over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

A couple of Riles\u2019 favorites include:<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe I am always divinely guided, I believe I will always take the right turn in the road, and I believe God will always make a way where there is no way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also loves Philippians 4:13: \u201cI can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riles said he\u2019s been very humbled to be involved in the process of creating an app at his age \u2013 \u201cMy kids think it\u2019s a hoot. When I\u2019m on the computer it\u2019s like watching 4-hour paint dry.\u201d<\/p>\n

But every time he\u2019s tempted to think \u201cWhy me?\u201d he changes his tune to \u201cWhy not me, by the grace of God?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the grace of God, this app will be getting onto the phones of people all over the world so that when they get these affirmations, it will become a tool for bringing peace, joy and abundant blessings that come from being drawn into God\u2019s presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tom Riles. Credit: Leonard Ortiz\/Staff Photographer\/The Orange County Register.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket.<\/p>\n

On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming qu…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-us"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket. On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming qu...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket. On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming qu...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-14T22:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Tom_Riles_handwritten_affirmation_cards_Reprinted_with_permission_credit_Leonard_Ortiz_The_Orange_County_Register_CNA_81216_.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/\",\"name\":\"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-14T22:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-14T22:02:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket. On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming qu...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app","description":"Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket. On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming qu...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app","og_description":"Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket. On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming qu...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2016-08-14T22:02:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/size340\/Tom_Riles_handwritten_affirmation_cards_Reprinted_with_permission_credit_Leonard_Ortiz_The_Orange_County_Register_CNA_81216_.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/","name":"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-08-14T22:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-14T22:02:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Orange County, Calif., Aug 14, 2016 \/ 04:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- For twenty-five years, Tom Riles has carried a stack of index cards in his shirt pocket. On the cards, in his neat, all-caps handwriting, Riles scrawled scripture verses and affirming qu...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/why-these-cards-inspired-a-catholic-grandpa-to-build-an-app\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why these cards inspired a Catholic grandpa to build an app"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}