Psalm 27:14 (courage to be honest)

* 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).

Wait for the Lord with courage. Psalm 27:14

Living Faith snippets: “When we think of courage, we often think of battlefields, hospital rooms and courthouses. [How about] the courage to be honest with [ourselves]? Today might be a good day for us to reflect on the deeper roots of our tendency to judge others. What might be lurking there: jealousy, fear, hurt, anger, loneliness, fatigue? Loving God, give me the courage to be honest with you, with others and with myself.” by Sr. Melannie Svoboda

ProLife news: lifesitenews.com

Feast Day of St. Anthony of Padua: “After his ordination, Anthony was placed in charge of hospitality in his abbey. In this role, in 1219, he came in contact with five Franciscans who were on their way to Morocco to preach to the Muslims there. Anthony was strongly attracted to the simple Gospel lifestyle of the Franciscan friars. In February 1220, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco. Anthony meditated on the heroism of these Franciscans. He wanted to obey God’s call to leave everything and follow Him. Anthony obtained permission from his superiors to join the Franciscan order.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_of_Padua

Our Prayers: Abortion, our enemies, our troops, China earthquake, Myanmar cyclone, depression/despair, prisoners, Vicki Miller (her cancer treatment), Carlson family (sell home)

Pat

Phil 4:13

* Outreach: Let’s gladly invite those near us to join our LIFE Devotions group (Mark 16:15), providing routine spiritual connection and strength (simply forward a devotion with an invitation).

* Today’s Bible readings at www.usccb.org/nab/today.shtml.

* 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. Click for Prayer 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.