Matthew 16:24 (sacrifice, Olympics)

* Welcome God every morning before work by taking ~5 min to read this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which has snippets from Living Faith (livingfaith.com). All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

Jesus said to His disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Matthew 16:24

Living Faith snippets: "Jesus states...If you lose your life for my sake, you will find life. If you cling to life, you will lose it. Our faith leads to and through the cross. We must understand that our discoveries and faith do not necessarily make things easier. Like Peter, we are gifted with occasional insights and sometimes we fail. But also like Peter, we have no excuses. We must speak out for the sake of, and act upon, the word of God." by Philip J. McBrien (author The Word Of The Lord)

Sister Francelle devotion: Her devotion is titled "Olympics" and provides a great faith perspective on competition. The Living In Faith Exchange Runners (LIFERs) should definitely read this...as we prepare for the Pikes Peak Ascent/Marathon (16/17 Aug) and Chicago Marathon (12 Oct). sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com

Pat nuggets:

* I recently received this question. "Are we 'allowed' to invite others into the Life Devotions Group? I just wanted to check before I started asking a few others if they'd like to join. Let me know. Thanks!" Absolutely invite others (Mark 16:15)...I will gladly add them to the distribution list!

* Baptism (congrats!): Josie Prevett

ProLife news: http://www.lifenews.com/.

Feast Day (St. Dominic): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Dominic

Our Prayers: Abortion, chastity, our enemies/our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, dementia, cancer, prisoners, Liz Curry (Drew, 2 yr old, kidney tumor surgery), Deb Kayser (rotator cuff and hand surgeries)

* New: Jomary Chenet (young daughter Jolie recovering from surgery)

Faith Quotes:

* While visiting my big brother Joe in Bloomington, IN last month (directs homeless shelter), I noticed this quote from Mother Teresa on his desk. "Faithfulness not Success."

* Jean Noon said the following in a recent email. "The basis of my faith journey has been, above all, understanding LOVE. Love is really the same as contemplation – seeing clearly, without judgment. Centering prayer, a way to contemplative living, helps me practice the disciplines needed to love. My strongest desire is to love as God loves."

Through Christ Our Lord,

Pat

Phil 4:13

* Today's Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml. Reflection on readings at http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, thereby changing us & helping others. Wayne Watson lyrics, “When God's people pray, there is hope reborn, there is sin forgiven, and miracles you can't explain await!” "If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead & see Him."

* Defend the unborn: 'Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die' (Prov 24:11). 'Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you' (Jer 1:5). 'It is a great poverty that a child must die that you might live as you wish' Blessed Mother Teresa. Prayer to End Abortion. Ask Blessed Margaret of Castello for her prayers to end abortion.

* Evangelization: Let's make room for non-believers (be a friend, make a friend, lead friend to Christ) and perpetual re-evangelization of self and those near us, by way of daily prayer (relationship) and following Christ's example of selfless love, mercy, and service.

Let's joyfully live out the Good News and gladly tell others about it (Mark 16:15)!