Luke 1:38 (yes, God!)

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

Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Luke 1:38

Living Faith snippets: "Moved by God's grace, Mary chose to respond with loving faith to the plan God had laid out for her, a plan she did not fully understand. God promises to be with us when the events of our lives carry us beyond our ability to understand them. Our trust in God will ultimately bring us peace of mind and heart. God will certainly give this gift to all who pray for it, for without faith, our lives can have no meaning or joy." by Fr. Kenneth Grabner

Sister Francelle's devotion: Read her devotion titled "Whatever you think is what you become...‏" at http://sisterfrancelle.blogspot.com/. A few snippets: "I watched the Hallmark special, "Front of the Class." As a young boy, Brad Cohen became afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome, a neurological condition which causes one to twitch, utter odd noises and at times makes one feel out of control. In 1997, Brad was chosen "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" in the entire state of Georgia. When asked why he thought he received this honor, he said it was because of Tourette's Syndrome. Without this challenge, he felt he would not have succeeded. I wonder if each of us has a "Tourette" in our lives, some difficulty to overcome? God loves us just the way He made us! Keep on having a faith-filled Advent and you will have a beautiful Christmas!"

Pat nuggets:

* Sr. Francelle said "keep on having a faith-filled Advent." Not having a faith-filled Advent is like going to a buffet meal and not getting full. We have so many opportunities to experience our faith during this Christ focused time. At the Thurs morning Chemists for Christ Bible (CFC) Study, Joel Cain pointed out that the networks still play the Charlie Brown Christmas special where Linus tells Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas (Luke 2:8-14, see 1 min video).

* Today's verse is my favorite Christmas scripture because by definition everything good flows from our obedient, faith-filled "yes" to God (first commandment). Sr. Francelle said, "I wonder if each of us has a "Tourette" in our lives, some difficulty to overcome?" The answer to this question is "yes"...and our "yes" to God is the source of everything we need to overcome the "Tourette" (challenges) in our lives. By saying "yes" to God's love, my brother Dan is a recovered alcoholic who celebrated his 1 yr sobriety birthday on 1 Dec. Dan is now using his "Tourette" (alcoholism) to help other alcoholics find sobriety. By saying "yes" to God's love, my Uncle Mike is a recovered Vietnam Vet and now uses his "Tourette" (war trauma) to help other war veterans find peace. In a recent email, my brother Steve had this to say to my Uncle Mike. "You have been an example of God’s love to me. Your caring heart for others is second to none. Thank you for taking on the pain and suffering to become that man you are today. Frankly, I’m a better person for knowing you as a broken and shattered marine – a “bloody brother”. Thank God for the first “bloody brother” – Jesus." [See faith quote section below.]

Jesus' Christmas list: This is how we give Jesus a Christmas (birthday) gift..."whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matt 25:40). The true meaning of Christmas is to share our gifts (time, talent, treasure, faith, hope, love) with those lacking in "daily bread" and love. Who is in dire need of our Christmas gifts?

ProLife news: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ & http://www.priestsforlife.org/
* Let's pray for courage to communicate the ProLife message through Christ to those around us (John 14:6)...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16).

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, John Peak (parent's health & his deployment), Rich Reich (Grandma with health problems), Pat Castle (Kathy Ayers recovering from brain surgery, Mike Castle eye infection)

Feast Day (Our Lady of Guadalupe): http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=456

Faith quote: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C.S. Lewis

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)!