Happy Wednesday

Up To Something Psalm 25:4-10 (NRSV) Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD! Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. _________________________ Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. - Psalm 25:4 (NIV) _________________________ I started knitting some soft, pink bed socks for my mother-in-law. The knitting began well; I encountered one or two problems with the pattern but soon resolved them. After I settled back into the rhythm of knitting, another problem arose. I puzzled over the pattern, unable to make sense of it. Feeling frustrated, I reluctantly abandoned the project. What a shame, I thought, to waste that lovely wool! I searched the Internet using the words "knitting for charity" and found free patterns for knitting clothes for premature babies. Hospitals are desperate for tiny clothes. What a wonderful way to use my pink wool! I marveled at how God works. I had been a premature baby, spending the first six weeks of my life in an incubator. What better way of saying thank you for my life than by helping premature babies? God turned frustration into a means to serve. God sometimes leads us by surprising means. During frustrating times, we can find comfort in remembering that God has something good in mind for us. Dear God, please help us use our gifts to glorify you. Amen. Thought For The Day:      In frustrating times, remember that God is always up to something good. -- Elizabeth Moseley

Teach Me To Pray LORD, Teach Me To Pray

1. Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
   This is my heart-cry day unto day;
   I long to know Thy will and Thy way;
   Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.
• Living in Thee, Lord, and Thou in me,
  Constant abiding, this is my plea;
  Grant me Thy power, boundless and free,
    Power with men and power with Thee.
2. Power in prayer, Lord, power in prayer!
   Here ’mid earth’s sin and sorrow and care,
   Men lost and dying, souls in despair;
   O give me power, power in prayer!
3. My weakened will, Lord, Thou canst renew;
   My sinful nature Thou canst subdue;
   Fill me just now with power anew;
   Power to pray and power to do!
4. Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray;
   Thou art my pattern day unto day;
   Thou art my surety, now and for aye;
   Teach me to pray, Lord, teach me to pray.

Daily Smile:

In our family devotions, we did a study on King Asa, out of  2 Chronicles. Later in the day, we were reviewing what we had learned.

When asking my seven year-old what book in the Bible we find the story of King Asa, he responded, "Second Chronicles of Narnia!"

In The News:

Obama to Urge Supreme Court to Allow California Gay Marriage
President Barack Obama's administration will urge the U.S. Supreme Court to allow same-sex marriages to resume in California, the furthest step Obama has taken in favor of gay rights, an administration official said Thursday, Reuters reports. Thursday was the deadline for the administration to file a friend-of-the-court brief in a case that is due to be argued on March 26 regarding whether Proposition 8 -- California's 2008 voter-approved measure that defined marriage in the state as between one man and one woman -- is constitutional. In a brief submitted last Friday, the Obama administration also urged the Supreme Court to strike down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The court will hear oral arguments on DOMA on March 27.

Hundreds of Corporations Sign Supreme Court Briefs in Support of Gay Marriage
Hundreds of major corporations from across the country have collectively signed on two Supreme Court briefs supporting gay marriage, the Christian News Network reports. Approximately 250 high-profile corporations and general business entities lent their name to an amicus, or "friend of the court," brief that challenges the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Among those included were Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Starbucks, Citigroup, Marriott International, Johnson and Johnson, Walt Disney, the Jim Henson Company, Twitter and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. The document filed on behalf of the corporations asserts that DOMA "requires that employers treat one employee differently from another, when each is married, and each marriage is equally lawful." A second brief, signed by approximately 45 corporations, seeks to overturn California's Proposition 8, which sought to define marriage in the state constitution as between one man and one woman. The brief argues that the states that have banned same-sex marriage are harming workplace morale. Companies that signed their name to the brief include Apple, Morgan Stanley, Nike, eBay, Panasonic, Office Depot, Barnes and Noble, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Facebook.

Phoenix City Council Abolishes Gender
An ordinance passed Wednesday night by the Phoenix City Council forces the city's businesses, charities and churches to consider hiring transgendered people and requires them to recognize any gender expression, even if that means allowing a man to use the women's restroom, WORLD reports. The bill, which passed 5-3, claims to protect against discrimination based on sexual preferences in public accommodations, housing, employment and city contracts -- but it also treads on the religious freedom of business owners and organizations. "It creates a lot of potential situations that force people to violate their religious beliefs, businesses are open to frivolous lawsuits, and women and children are exposed to uncomfortable situations," said Aaron Baer, communications director at Center for Arizona Policy. Baer said these problems have already arisen in cities where similar policies have passed. In Olympia, Wash., a 45-year-old male college student was allowed to use a girls' locker room, where he exposed himself in front of young girls, and businesses in states like Oregon have been threatened with fines for refusing to serve homosexual couples. The ordinance includes a religious exemption, but the wording is weak and could be open to multiple interpretations, Baer said. Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who voted against the bill, worries the language "is so broad, the floodgates of litigation against businesses will be opened." He complained the bill was rammed through the city council without any input from the businesses and companies that would be affected.

Arkansas House Overrides Late-Term Abortion Ban Veto
The battle over abortion in Arkansas is far from over -- centering right now around the Republican-controlled House and Senate and the Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe, CBN News reports. Beebe vetoed a bill Tuesday that would ban most abortions starting in the 20th week of pregnancy, but on Wednesday, the House overrode that veto 53 to 28. Only hours earlier, a state Senate committee approved a package of even tighter abortion restrictions. Seven states have enacted 20-week abortion restrictions, based on the argument that an unborn baby can feel pain as early as 20 weeks into the pregnancy.