complete and utter dependence

I am finding myself in a place that is hard to be, but a good and necessary place. As I look at 2009 I realize my complete and utter dependence on God. So often it is easy to feel self-reliant and 'in control' in our culture. But, today as I look back I see God' provision and His direction. I am grateful in His protection and His discipline - both for things I understand and things I do not.

For many who are praying for my upcoming trip to Ukraine, I have postponed my departure by a couple of weeks to allow friends traveling to return, additional funds to be raised and finalizing travel plans. I am hoping to leave the last week of January. Please pray with me for God's continued provision as well as His perfect timing.

Wishing you many blessings in 2009!

Sticks and stones my break my bones, but words... they REALLY hurt!

James, Chapter 3 from The Message says,

When You Open Your Mouth
1-2Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards. And none of us is perfectly qualified. We get it wrong nearly every time we open our mouths. If you could find someone whose speech was perfectly true, you'd have a perfect person, in perfect control of life.
3-5A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!
5-6It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.
7-10This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth!
10-12My friends, this can't go on. A spring doesn't gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don't bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don't bear apples, do they? You're not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?
Live Well, Live Wisely 13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.
17-18Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

Today I am wondering if my words encourage and build people up. When I'm thinking about it, focusing on my words and their impact, it's a little easier. But what about when I am discouraged, tired or rushed? How do I speak to people?

I just spent the weekend with my niece and nephew who happen to be 2 of the coolest little humans on earth. I thought a lot about words because they are like sponges. They repeat everything I say. I need to remember this when there is seemingly no one around to repeat my every word too.

Prayer for our Country

Today I expressed my dismay with the proposed abortion bailout with a friend. And she started crying... I became ashamed that it hadn't brought tears to my eyes today. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own lives and circumstances that we forget that there's a lot going on... that does effect our everyday lives.

So, friends, I ask you to pray for our country; for our current president and the president elect. And, I would also request that you take a look at www.sba-list.org or www.catholicnewsagency.com to learn more about the 50 page proposal put together by abortion groups asking for tax payer dollars of over $1.5 billion to fund the abortion industry.

There are Legislative Action Alerts on the bottom third of the Susan B. Anthony List website which allow you to learn more and also help to keep tax dollars out of the abortion industry.

I have been silent since the election. I simply cannot be silent today. The unborn babies need a voice. They need your voice too.