Psalm 119:76 (a push and a prayer!)

Let's welcome God today by reflecting on this Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (archive, Facebook), based on Living Faith. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

Let your kindness comfort me, according to your promise to your servants. Psalm 119:76 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "We emerge from darkness many times. Like that trip through the birth canal, we never make it on our own. We come from mothers and lots of others...self-creation is the myth; everyone needs a push and a prayer to reach the light. We can dig ourselves in deep before we remember to look up...every pit opens onto the sky. We wanted it all, and we failed...but it's surprising how well what is broken catches the light. Groans give way to gratitude." by Jeanne Schuler

Pat's nuggets:

* A push and a prayer...reminds me of parachute jumping when I was a cadet at the Air Force Academy (1990). I wasn't sure if I could get myself to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, so I asked the jumpmaster to give me a push. I provided the prayer(s)!

* Over the weekend, I caught a movie scene where a young woman went to her Mom for support with her unplanned pregnancy. For support, the Mom said her other daughter "had it taken care of and now she has a real baby." This message is echoed throughout our culture...the baby is only "real" if you want the baby. We know the baby is always real and wanted...just ask the line of parents waiting to adopt.

* Last Tues, Oprah visited with nuns and did a nice job presenting their vocation. This show was very insightful for our daughters Paige (9) and Grace (6). Here is a 3 min recap video. For those who know St. Amata Veritas (Betsy Ellenbecker), she gives a humorous answer at 2 min 30 sec.

* Lent starts with Ash Wed this week. Jim Cromer shared this funny/encouraging Lent-prep music video, This Time of Forty Days..."There's a little black spot on your head today!"

Faith Challenges: Let's generously share the LIFE Group by forwarding a devotion or using our Facebook Group "invite people to join" link. Maurine McManus-Ulmer, Andrew Carroll, Wade Humphreys, Natalie Hourigan, Amanda Barbee, Pastor Jenny Hallenbeck, Nancy Hallenbeck, Dawn Penning-Westlake...welcome!

* NEW: In preparation for Easter (Lent), let's give something up (fasting) and take something on (service). Consider giving even just one hour of prayer in front of your local abortuary (foot of the Cross) in support of the 40 Days for Life campaign (17 Feb - 28 Mar). What is the value of Lenten sacrifices...and what sacrifices do you have planned? To encourage others, consider commenting on our Facebook Group.

Counter-Culture News: LifeSiteNews, Vatican, American Family Association, Priests for Life

* Let's never forget the horrific reality of abortion (images), #1 cause of death in America (23% of pregnancies). Let's courageously share ProLife Truth to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace, rebuilding a Culture of Life for setting the unborn (and parents) free!

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together...and closer to God (see prayer/fasting footnotes).
* Prayer to end abortion, Peters family (JP), Haitian earthquake victims, Lynn Bishara (both sons are having tonsils removed on Wed)

* NEW: On this President's Day, let's pray that our Presidents will allow the Constitution to protect all, including the unborn.

Faith Quotes:

* Nancy Hallenbeck shared: "Do Good, Do No Harm, and Stay in Love with the Lord." by Rueben Job

* Chris Shannon shared: "Look back and Thank God. Look forward and Trust God. Look around and Serve God. Look within and Find God!" author unknown

Through Christ our Lord,
Pat

Phil 4:13

* 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, pornography, bitterness, criticalness, 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 a 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 (Matt 28:19).

Daniel 1:12-15 (deployment bag packed?)

Let's welcome God today by reflecting on this short Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which is based on Living Faith. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then see how we look. After ten days they looked healthier and better fed than any of the young men who ate from the royal table. Daniel 1:12-13, 15 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "Insecurity is really nothing new. We exist in a state of radical vulnerability...all of us, all the time. Live long enough and you will surely lose something you believe you cannot live without. And then you will go on living. How? Oddly enough, it helps to begin by saying thank you for whatever is left. Gratitude takes practice. It is a discipline, especially when we are hurting. It teaches us that we can thrive on vegetables, even when we are used to feasting like kings. Thank you, God, for everything I have left." Karla Manternach

Pat's nuggets: Today's Living Faith snippets focus on gratitude, coinciding nicely with Thanksgiving this week. I am grateful for our LIFE Group which encourages us to defend the unborn and compels us to have a living faith. Happy Thanksgiving!

* To help focus our LIFE Group impact, devotions will now be sent only on Monday (me), Wednesday (Steve), and Friday (Rich). Also, to reduce the # of emails, the LIFE Group email is now set to only allow Rich, Steve and me to send out LIFE Group wide info. Please continue to send us info to consider and consolidate in the devotions: faith sharing/quotes, prayer requests, newslinks, etc. We will still send out urgent messages. This faith sharing and collaboration keeps the Holy Spirit stirred up in our LIFE Group...thank you!

* I spent last week training in a chem warfare defense exercise. The chaplain was my roommate, so I had plenty of top cover! Our deployment bags had to be packed with required items for inspection. This was a great reminder to also keep my spiritual deployment bags packed with required items (love/service, prayer/praise, gratitude, forgiveness, etc)...for God's evangelical missions now and ultimately for God's judgement day. Angi helped me pack...analogous to the Body of Christ working together for God's glory. From OBOB, "The Lord tells us to "stand erect" and hold our heads high (Lk 21:28) when the world ends. The way to have this confidence is to live for the Lord right now. If we [are] totally committed to the Lord, totally forgiven of sin, and totally forgiving of others, we can have confidence that we will be right with God at the world's end. If the world were to end today, what would you do? Saint Francis of Assisi had the right answer: "I'd do what I'm doing now." Obeying the Lord is our only security for the future."

Faith Challenges: Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (~250 of God's children)...welcome to Mickey Carlson!
* NEW: Let's take a moment to review our spiritual deployment bag checklist (love/service, prayer/praise, gratitude, forgiveness, etc). Are we packed and ready?

* NEW: Sr. Francelle's devotion: The Altar of my Heart‏.

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 to create social tension for exposing abortion's unjust peace...rebuilding a Culture of Life (Matt 5:16) for setting the unborn (and parents) free!

Our Prayers: Those who pray together stay together. Fasting ideas in footnote below.
* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/despair, prisoners, politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, refugees, addictions, persecuted believers, Peters family (JP, Rebekah), Joe (brother Mike), Doug Young (special intention), Pat Castle (health care reform bill), Joe (daughter's pregnancy), Aaron Ferrie (special intention)

Faith Quotes: Pastor Don Bird shared this quote by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, "Christianity is not a voice in the wilderness, but a life in the world. It is not an idea in the air but feet on the ground going God's way."

Gratefully, Pat

Phil 4:13

* 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, pornography, bitterness, criticalness, 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 a 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 (Matt 28:19).

Psalm 100:4-5 (attitude of gratitude!)

Let's welcome God this morning by reflecting on this short Living In Faith Exchange (LIFE) Group devotion (life-devotions.blogspot.com), which is based on Living Faith. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Col. 3:17

Give thanks to Him, bless His name; for He is good. Psalm 100:4-5 (full readings)

Living Faith snippets: "The first step of the Examen [prayer] is to replay the day in your mind and express gratitude for those things that you consider blessings from God, but may have missed while they occurred. The point of placing gratitude at the beginning of the prayer is to stress that God can really be found in all things." David Nantais

Faith Challenge: Let's all invite one person each week (John 14:6) to join our LIFE Group (>220 ProLife Christians).
* NEW: Our newest member is Kimberly Kleppin Hughes, welcome!

* NEW: During a routine military training exercise last week, a member of the chaplain's office asked me, "what can I pray for?" This was so refreshing. Let's ask someone today if there is something we can pray for...and offer to pray with them on the spot.

Pat nuggets: gratitude for Sr. Francelle!

* On 8 Sept, Sr. Francelle will celebrate her 60th year as a member of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Let's shower her with love and appreciation by sending her emails and/or snail mail between now and 8 Sept: tofrancelle@hotmail.com, Sr. Francelle Clark, c/o Presentation Convent, 1500 North 2nd St., Aberdeen SD 57401

* "The religious life is much like living in a family because it entails love, forgiveness and sacrifice," says Sr. Francelle. "It is a life of discipline, humility, prayer and denial; this is the way Jesus lived in this world." Her latest devotion: "Fear Not!" Mt. 10-31‏.

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 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 in footnote below.
* Prayer to end abortion, abused children, chastity, peace, our enemies, our troops, depression/ despair, prisoners, ProLife politicians, illnesses/injuries, jobs, natural disasters, refugees, addictions, persecuted believers, Peters family (JP in hospital), Stephanie Spader (healthy pregnancy), Adrian Hermosillo (sister Angelica battling cancer)

* NEW: A prayer of thanksgiving for Sr. Francelle!

Faith Quote: Saint Augustine said, "When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God." shared by Pastor Don Bird

Through Christ our Lord,

Pat
Phil 4:13

* 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 (Matt 28:19).