Psalm 57:8 (putting God at the Center)

Let's 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. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast. Psalm 57:8 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "I learned that with a labyrinth, unlike a maze, if you simply keep following the path, you will come to the center. I walked with a burden weighing heavily on me and prayed as I walked. At the center, I sat quietly, feeling myself in God's presence. Placing God at the center of our lives gives us steadfast hearts. We may be traveling a rocky path or facing a terrible situation, but walk it we must. And awaiting us at the center is God who will hold us in love, heal us and show us the path out." by Heather Wilson

Rich's comments: Today's devotion about the labyrinth reminded me of my trip to Tucson, Arizona to visit the Mission San Xavier del Bac, built by Father Kino in 1700. In the church you can see the Man-in-the-Maze logo on the floor and altar. This famous logo of the Tohono O'odham nation is shown on the basket pictured with this devotion. A common interpretation is as follows: The human figure stands for the O'odham people. The maze represents the difficult journey toward finding deeper meaning in life. The twists an turns refer to struggles and lessons learned along the way. At the center of the maze is a circle, which stands for death, and for becoming one with God. Lord, I know that I struggle to walk a straight path towards You, but by placing You as the center of my life, I know that my path eventually leads to You.

Faith Challenge: Let's challenge each other to joyfully live out the Good News.
* NEW: Ask yourself what is in the center of your life? Where does your path lead?

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, American Family Association, Priests for Life
* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images)...#1 cause of death in America. Let's courageously share ProLife Truth (John 14:6) to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) and setting the unborn free!

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together. Fasting ideas below.
* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, addictions, Jason Peters (son JP), Kathy Castle (Michael Moon hand infection), Carla Neal (Harold Heard, Jamie, Joyce & all of you), Pat, Angi, & 4 cadets (safe trip to China and back)

Feast Day: St. Isidore

Faith Quote: "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." by C.S. Lewis

Through Christ our Lord,

Rich

Romans 12:12

* Prayer: Prayer connects us with God's will & His miracles, changing us & helping others. 'If you pray that God will move a mountain and He doesn’t, assume Christ wants you to climb it instead.'

* Fasting: Let's fast from things that take our eyes off Jesus (selfishness, bitterness, being so critical, impatience, 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 live 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 invite others to join our LIFE Group...Rich or Pat will gladly add them to the devotions distribution list (Mark 16:15)!