Luke 21:4 (God's heart, our gratitude)

Welcome God every morning before your 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

For those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood. Luke 21:4

Living Faith snippets: "[We] saw moments like these every day when we visited the streets of Calcutta. Homeless families sharing what little they had with other destitute families. John literally took the shirt off his back and slipped it over the head of one of the children. His impractical, shirtless presence reminded us that in this sea of need we could still contribute what little we had." by Fr. Mark Mossa

Christian ID: "How would unbelievers recognize a Christian in the world?" By our love! Let's share things we can do to glorify God and love neighbor. When someone sneezes, say "God bless you." When asked for prayers, offer to pray with them on the spot. When asked about your weekend, tell about your faith activities. When someone takes the Lord's name in vain (2nd commandment), ask them gently to please not say that (hopefully they will ask why...and we will share our faith!). When asked your favorite food, say the Body and Blood of Christ.
* NEW: In preparation for Thanksgiving, Paige's public school teacher asked each student to say one thing they are thankful for. Paige said, "Jesus."

* NEW: This past week during lunch, Angi's coworker said, "the best part of Obama's election is that he is pro-choice." Angi gently said, "that is the worst part. Life is the foundational issue." The coworker acted surprised (didn't respond). Angi said something out of love for God and neighbor (coworker and unborn babies). Let us strive to love one another to God's Truth!

Pastor Don Bird devotion: Read his devotion titled "Gratitude" at http://pastordonbird.blogspot.com/. A few snippets: "Gratitude is the lens from which we look at the world. If our hearts are not filled with gratitude, we only see a receding economy, our broken relationships, the faults of others, and a world full of violence, pain, and despair. A heart filled with gratitude doesn't ignore these things, but is able to look past them to an ongoing good work of God. Remember, we are told that He works for the good of all those who love Him. (Romans 8:28). We have to work at seeing the good in people, situations, the world, because the bad and the negative seem to be right in front of us. But, the more we work at being grateful, the easier it becomes to proclaim the goodness around us. Recently, I receive the following from Timothy Merrill...[a list of attitudes to be more soul-full in response to our current economic crisis...can be applied to any situation]. No matter the crises, the difficulties, the challenges of life, there is much to be grateful for."

ProLife news: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ and http://www.priestsforlife.org/
* Scott Casmer shared this reference for the text of the Freedom of Choice Act: http://www.nrlc.org/foca/FOCA2007S1173.html. "There is some very misguided legislation in here."

Our Prayers: Prayer to End Abortion, chastity, our enemies, our troops, natural disasters, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, loss of loved ones, lack of faith, illnesses/injuries, Lynn Bishara (aunt Mary with cancer), Stephanie Spader (for babies with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome), Joe Hourigan (special intention & Silbi/Sabu), Gina Prevett (Renee with brain tumor), Kay Castle (funding for Welcome Home Warriors), Tom Albrecht (health/faith of parents), Joe Castle (medical concerns)

* Let's pray for courage to build relationships and talk about ProLife. Let's pray that We The People of America will shine Christ's Light and build a culture of Life (Matt 5:16).

Feast Day (St. Andrew Dun-Lac and Companions): http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=540

Faith quote: Jean Noon shared..."The heart of God is so abundant in love and its goodness is so infinite that all can possess it, without anyone's share diminishing. Infinite Goodness cannot be exhausted, even if it fills all the souls in the world. God does not pour a smaller quantity of His love into a soul because He pours out His love into an infinity of others; the power of His love is not diminished by the multitude of rays that He spreads abroad, but remain ever overflowing with its immensity." St. Francis de Sales

Through Christ for ProLife,
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.'
* Fasting: Let's fast from things that takes our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, judgment, gossip, excessive video games, etc) and take on things that fix our eyes on Jesus (selflessness, kindness, compassion, forgiveness, patience, understanding, caring, helping, listening).

* 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 lie as you wish' Blessed Mother Teresa.
* Evangelization: Let's make room for unbelievers (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)!