I played the piano for the “singin’” at the care home again today.  We did many of the patriotic songs, some sung with gusto, and a Navy man and a Marine were singled out for a little attention when their military anthems were sung.

I was blessed.  And I’m so hopeful that each person there, either singing, unable to sing, or choosing to just listen, was blessed as much as myself for being there among them. 

At what age would someone choose to silence those voices?  One lady has a muscular dysfunction that limits her ability to move any part of her body, as much as I can tell.  But she’s always there, with as much of a smile as she can manage, and she pays attention to whatever is going on. I hope music soothes her.

My special person was glad to see me, and we conversed a bit.  She has a spirit of acceptance and peace.

Pray today that the elderly will be always allowed to live their full life-cycle.  Let them be as Barzillai who in his great age was called a great man.

Topics:  Pray for any legislation promoting planned suicide, that it will be rebuffed.
Pray for Peters Shinn’s Cherish Life program and all that will be available for churches to use to promote the cherishing of LIFE.

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

True freedom for the Christian (and available for all individuals in the entire world) is in Christ, in His Spirit.  No longer shackled by following the rules of the law as in the Old Testament (old agreement), we are free to live in the Spirit following Christ’s rule of love, His law of love, as we seek to let the Spirit guide us where the law could not.  Hallelujah, what freedom!

But it can be difficult.  Perhaps it would almost seem easier to always have the guidelines; the white stripes along the outside of the pathway of our lives, letting us know where the edge is; the solid yellow stripe down the center of our lives’ roads, across which we dare not creep. 

But though possibly more difficult, we follow a different set of guidelines, those written upon our hearts, unseen.  Herein lies a different type of freedom, a freedom unfettered by those pathway markers.  There is freedom to move around within outer boundaries that only God knows in our lives.  We can’t just ourselves look left or right and think, “That is too far,” or “I should not go there,” which is easy.  But it’s Christ Who figures out the difficult unseen rights-and-lefts.  Staying close to Him always keeps us in the center of our lane; he doesn’t allow us to edge over that outer boundary or into the oncoming traffic.

The freedom in the womb should be the same.  LIFE and liberty.  Babies are entirely free to do as they wish, but they are contained within the boundaries of the womb, in just the right environment.  They stretch, kick, listen, suck, and roll.  Until an unauthorized invasion occurs for entirely too many – even one being too many. 

Violence in the womb.  The ultimate in boundary-crashing.

Pray today that babies may truly be free for as long as God chooses to hold them in their mothers’ wombs.

Topics:  Pray for conviction from God to be entirely STRONG as women approach places of abortion, that His boundaries for life may be kept.

Pray for the Prayer Pivot for Life, that it may reach millions within the next month, in this month of celebrating freedom.  No one EVER EVER can keep us from praying. 
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It is up to those of us who seek to allow God to work in us and through us to be the advance guard of these freedoms.  We should also be the rear guard who protects from behind, who “has the backs,” of our army-of-battle for God.  The rear guard not only stands between the soldiers and a chasing army, but it has a view of all that goes on between the advance guard and the rear. 

The freedom to live, of course, is the most basic of all.  LIFE, liberty and happiness-attempted.  Our nation’s citizens are free to seek the freedom we have been promised in our country’s documents.  It is a big responsibility to use our freedom to advance freedom.  Let us not let down.

Pray today that Christians will see their freedom as a license to promote freedom.

Topics:  Pray for Christians to never take for granted the freedoms we have.

Pray for Christians to blaze the path that never yields to the side roads no matter how important other issues or battles may seem.  We must steadfastly use our freedom in the Spirit in the march for LIFE.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!”

Of course we want God to “preserve” us.  We want to be protected, maintained.  One way of preserving is to “pickle” for use sometime in the future.  A cucumber-becoming-a-pickle does extend its life, and it doesn’t need to be eaten as soon.  My mother used to make brine sweet pickles in a large crock.  It took time.  Those cucumbers were made different not immediately, but through a process of being submerged in brine and spices over a period of days.  The spices imbued a sweet aroma. 

Perhaps we’re like sweet pickles to God, changed by the process of being submerged in His Word and in Himself.  He Himself makes us sweet.  But we have to go through the submersion process before we’re useful.

In seeking change for LIFE, let us renew our intention to be drowned in the Word and to undergo His unique processes in each of our unique lives.  Then we will be of the most value, having been changed, preserved, for special usage. 

Pray today for HUGE God-changes to occur in the lives of those who care about LIFE.

Topics:  Pray for Peter Shinn’s financial support for his ministries through Pro-Life Unity and beyond.

Pray for the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to open hearts toward God.

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!”

If we are faithful, the Lord will preserve us.  But we must not act in pride.  But how can pride even enter the picture with regards to those of us standing for LIFE?  It seems as though we often are ignored or besieged with negative comments against us or what we do.  Pride isn’t usually associated with all of this. 

But! . . even so, pride can take up residence.  It’s part of our human nature to have pride; pride in a task well done, yes, but also silly pride about ourselves or our accomplishments. 

It must not be.  It’s easy to think that it’s my efforts or my project that is going to end abortion – or it’s easy to think that what others are doing is not nearly so important as what I’m doing.  According to this scripture, God doesn’t view as faithful those of us who practice haughty pride.  We don’t want this!

We want our God to preserve us because of our faithfulness and love.  Pray today that we “lifers” will want only the love and preservation of God, to the task.  Pray for a humble spirit in all we do, whether in the life-cause, or otherwise.

Topics:  Pray for Christians to always honor God with credit for our accomplishments.
Pray that financial backing will come for all pro-life endeavors, whether national, international, or just at home in hearts who care.

2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!”

To all who fight for babies in the womb:  Let your heart be courageous.  Love God.  Ask for strength and use it.  Wait.  And wait.  God is never late.  Those who wait will rise up and fly like Eagles (Isaiah 40:31).

But look around you.  “Watch therefore, praying at every season” (Luke 21:36).

Then you will know the times (“My times are in your hand,” says the psalmist [Ps. 31:15]).  And you will recognize Him when he arrives, right on time.

Pray for awareness to recognize God when he makes Himself especially apparent to you.

Topics:  Pray for God’s wisdom to envelope and cover each and every person who loves Him. 
Pray for pro-lifers to recognize God’s plans in their lives.

Whether we are oppressed or just feel that we are because of circumstances and the attitudes of those around us, we know that God is our hiding place.  We put our trust in Him.  We have to place our trust in Him because no other can be to us what He is or Who HE is. 

When things look bleak for created life , we turn to the refuge of God, and from that refuge we can regenerate and renew our intentions and efforts, strengthened.

Pray today for strength to abound to those who are disheartened today, from the Place of Refuge.

Topics:  Pray for President Obama to see Life for what it is:  Created and sacred.

Pray for Vice President Biden that he will see Life for what it is:  Created and sacred. 

We don’t know all of the meaning of this, that we human beings were created in God’s own image.  But we do know that we are very impressive creations because we are created in his image, whatever that means. 

Perhaps in some way we are like him physically, although no one has ever been able to look upon the form of God—(John 1:18 --“No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.”).  We know that God has emotions such as we have—(Ezekiel 7:8 – “Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: . . . ”) and purposefulness—(Isaiah 55:11 – “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”)

But however we are made in His image, each child, each middle-aged lady, each elderly man, are created by him – and God thought enough of us to make us like Him.  How awesome.  This is what makes us impressive, no matter our shape, intellect, or appearance.  It’s because we are made by Him.

Pray today that more and more people will realize this and accept it.

Topics:  Pray for grandparents everywhere, especially for those who are bringing up their children’s children, and especially for those who are bringing up their children’s children because their own children did not abort the unexpected grandchildren.

Pray for grandfather especially, if they are involved in grandchild-upbringing, that they may be positive influences of love and caring as given by God.  Pray God will help them to bring up these little ones well, these little ones made in the image of our eternally-loving God.