A Pocket Guide to the Bible by Scott Hahn Book Review

Book Review

I have always considered myself to be knowledgeable about the Bible. I have attended several Bible study classes throughout the years and felt I have had a good handle on the in's and out's of the Bible. However, Scott Hahn has continued to amaze me with his knowledge. A Pocket Guide to the Bible is a well written booklet that basically is a road map to this great book God has given us.

Scott is able to take his superior knowledge of the Bible and break it down for those, like me ,that don't think on such a high level as he does. He encourages the reader from the start to realize that the Bible is "not a dead letter, but a person: the 'Word of God . . . living and active." (Heb 4:12).

He breaks down the Bible so that the reader can understand why there is an Old Testament and a New Testament. He explains terminology throughout the book so that the reader understands just actually what the words mean and how it relates to God. For example, he explains that testament is an English translation of the Greek word diatheke, which means "covenant." With this knowledge, a beginner to the Bible can easily see that these sections are the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Thus, a better understanding of the Bible has begun for the reader.

He explains that each Testament is broken down into types: law, history, wisdom, and prophecy. He also informs his readers that the books of the Bible are not in chronological order, but according to type. He states,"Once you know the broad organization, you'll be surprised how quickly you can find just about anything you're looking for." He is right. After putting his remark to the test, I have to say that it is much easier to put my finger in the right place when I open up my Bible.

He goes on to discuss the many people who wrote the Bible and emphasizes that the books of the Bible may have been written by man, but they were inspired by God. He states,"Inspiration means more than just God's help, approval, or agreement. It means God's authority, his authorship."

He also gives a the main idea of individual books of the Bible; thus, helping the reader have a more clear idea on what they will be reading. He points out to his readers," The whole Bible is really the story of God leading His people back to Him."

Another wonderful thing about this book, it explains to the reader that there is a difference between a Catholic Bible and a Protestant Bible. Some of you may ask why I would mention this, but there are many Catholics out there who don't realize that we have seven more books. It also explains why there is the difference. This pocket guide is helpful to the reader no matter what level of Bible understanding he/her may be at. I was delighted to read this book and once again, learn from Scott Hahn.

This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on A Pocket Guide to the Bible.

Please keep my Aunt Frankie in your prayers!

Cast Your Burdens on the Lord
Cast your burden on the Lord, Only lean upon his Word; You will soon have cause to bless His eternal faithfulness. He sustains you by his hand, He enables you to stand; Those who Jesus once has loved From his grace are never moved.
Hymn by Anon

Please keep my Aunt Frankie in your prayers. She has arthritis in her knee which causes her great pain. Living with chronic pain can cause a disruption in one's life and limit them on what they can and cannot do.

I pray that Aunt Frankie will "cast her burden" of pain to the Lord and trust that He will help her as she bears her cross.

Thank you to my cousin, Cathy for bringing me this prayer request.

Blessed be God forever!!!!!!

Doing what is right!!!!!!!

If you continue to what's right, what's wrong and who's wrong will eventually leave your life.

---David Blunt
I have decided today that I will use more wisely my most valuable resource, my time. I will spend less useless time worrying to preserve this resource to spend on the things that matter most: loving my family, my friends, and my neighbor.
I am going to stop worrying about who is right or wrong and just settle for what I feel is right for my life and for my family.
I will no longer let others to influence what I think is right and continue to do what I think is right even if it may cost me friendships within my family or circle of friends.
Having people who are negative in my life tends to lead me down the negative path as well.
Today, my time will be spent being positive and seeing only the good and only doing the right thing.
Blessed be God forever!

A Pocket Guide to the Bible By Scott Hahn Book Review

I have always considered myself to be knowledgeable about the Bible. I have attended several Bible study classes throughout the years and felt I have had a good handle on the in's and out's of the Bible. However, Scott Hahn has continued to amaze me with his knowledge. A Pocket Guide to the Bible is a well written booklet that basically is a road map to this great book God has given us.



Scott is able to take his superior knowledge of the Bible and break it down for those, like me ,that don't think on such a high level as he does. He encourages the reader from the start to realize that the Bible is "not a dead letter, but a person: the 'Word of God . . . living and active." (Heb 4:12).



He breaks down the Bible so that the reader can understand why there is an Old Testament and a New Testament. He explains terminology throughout the book so that the reader understands just actually what the words mean and how it relates to God. For example, he explains that testament is an English translation of the Greek word diatheke, which means "covenant." With this knowledge, a beginner to the Bible can easily see that these sections are the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Thus, a better understanding of the Bible has begun for them.



He explains that each Testament is broken down into types: law, history, wisdom, and prophecy. He also informs his readers that the books of the Bible are not in chronological order, but according to type. He states,"Once you know the broad organization, you'll be surprised how quickly you can find just about anything you're looking for." He is right. After putting his remark to the test, I have to say that it is much easier to put my finger in the right place when I open up my Bible.



He goes on to discuss the many people who wrote the Bible and emphasizes that the books of the Bible may have been written by man, but they were inspired by God. He states,"Inspiration means more than just God's help, approval, or agreement. It means God's authority, his authorship."

He also gives a the main idea of individual books of the Bible; thus, helping the reader have a more clear idea on what they will be reading. He points out to his readers," The whole Bible is really the story of God leading His people back to Him."

Another wonderful thing about this book, it explains to the reader that there is a difference between a Catholic Bible and a Protestant Bible. Some of you may ask why I would mention this, but there are many Catholics out there who don't realize that we have seven more books. It also explains the why there is the difference.

This pocket guide is helpful to the reader no matter what level of Bible understanding he/her may be at. I was delighted to read this book and once again, learn from Scott Hahn.

This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on A Pocket Guide to the Bible.

Courage

Life only demands from you the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible

-not to have run away.

Dag Hammarskjold

Markings

I have learned in the past few weeks the strength of several people I know. I have seen some of these people be very strong and I have seen some of these people shrink into the corner. I think in order to have strength one must have hope. In order to have hope, you MUST have faith that God is in control. Without God, nothing is possible. He gives us strength when we turn to Him and by turning to Him we show that we have hope in Him.

What more could we ask for?

Blessed be God Forever!

Melissa's Funeral Mass

Melissa's Funeral Mass was absolutely beautiful this morning.

The Church was filled with sunflowers and many, many people (young and old) who loved Melissa.

My sons, Thomas & Joseph, served the Mass while I was asked to read the Second Reading.

I have been contemplating returning to being a lecture and perhaps this was God's way of saying it was time.

I am now on my way to the luncheon.

Blessed be God Forever and ever!

Loving God

God did not tell us to follow him because He needed our help, but because He knew that loving Him would make us whole.

---St. Irenaeus

What a beautiful thing to do!!

#links



I saw this on View from the Pews. Marie, you are an awesome person and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting this. God bless you greatly for your love to others. You have been such a supportive and loving blogger friend!

Please take the link to Marie's site and see what she has put on there for Melissa!

Blessed be God Forever!

In Memory of Melissa

Melissa loved Sunflowers. I know at the funeral home for the visitation and at the Church there will be lots and lots of Sunflowers. Today, I remember Melissa and her courageous battle with the pictures of these Sunflowers. May you be enjoying all many, many sunflowers now Melissa!

Blessed be God Forever!

Difficulty with a person

If you are having difficulty loving or relating to an individual, take him/her to God. Bother the Lord with this person. Don't you be bothered with him/her-leave him/her at the throne.

--Charles (Chuck) Swindoll

I read these words this morning and realized that this was God meant for me to read today.

I am going to put this in practice as of now and then pray, pray, pray for those people that give me difficulty. I will also pray that if it is I that is bringing about the difficulty that God will reveal this to me so that I may change to make the situation better and become a better person for it.

I will also pray today for all of you who may have a difficult person or persons in your life.

God is Good!

Blessed Be God Forever!

Don't forget your rosary today!

Prayer

Jesus,

I ask you to bless

with love, joy

and miracles

someone who is most in need

of your love today.

Amen

May the Glory of God be yours Melissa!

Melissa was received into the Communion of Saints last night before midnight.

I will post more details later as I am made aware of them.

Please pray for her family and give God thanks for ending her suffering. Thank God also for the life of Melissa Hackney and how she brought so many of us together through her need of prayer.

Thank you on behalf of her family and myself for all your prayers, thoughts, and kind words.

God is an awesome God and He should be thanked greatly for all the gifts of life He gives us no matter how long or short those lives are.

Blessed be God Forever!

Melissa's struggle will be coming to an end.

It is with a heavy and sad heart that I must inform all of you prayer warriors that Melissa will be ending her struggle soon.

Although my heart is broken at the thought of her leaving this earth, my heart is also rejoicing that she will be joining our Lord in heaven.

Melissa will be taken off her ventilator tomorrow at noon (Eastern Standard Time). She has fought long and hard, but her lungs are not able to overcome all that they have been through. Her oxygen levels have dipped into the 40%'s per her step father, Jerry. This is while on the vent.

The situation is sad and my heart is broken for my dear friend, Patti. Words cannot express how I feel and how helpless I feel.

However, tomorrow at noon I will rejoice that her suffering is over and that she will be home with her grandma (Patti's mom) and Our Lord.

Please say the "Angelus" for her tomorrow at noon.

After she is taken off the vent, it will only be a matter of minutes for her to return to Our Lord and leave this earth.

Keep her family in your prayers.

Her family members are:

Patti (mother)

Jerry (Step father)

Mark (father)

Laura (step Mother)

Rebecca (sister)

Ben (brother)

I will keep you posted and let you know about the arrangements.

I spoke with Jerry and a priest was able to be there today. I also contacted our friend, Fr. Laird as well.

Please pray for this family!

Blessed be God forever!

Thank you for your prayers my fellow prayer warriors.

Melissa update

Just to let you know that Melissa's condition remains about the same per her step father, Jerry. The Palliative Care Nurse has come in to see them.

Prayers are continued to be needed.

Thank you and God Bless!

If you would like to send a card or letter of support,

please see my past posts to get the address of the hospital Melissa is staying at.

Blessed be God Forever!

LYF Melissa!

Melissa

Please say a "Hail Mary " for Melissa Hackney tonight.

Just spoke with Jerry, her step father, he has informed me that Melissa is maxed out on the vent. and the medication they put through the vent and her oxygen levels are still at 59%.

Her lungs are basically beat up.

She has beat the cancer, but due to the infection she caught her lungs are weak. They cannot turn the vent. up any more or they could blow a hole in her lung.

Patti and Melissa's father must now make the pain decision on whether to make Melissa a DNR.

Please pray that they will seek God's guidance.

They have called in a Pallative Care Nurse for a consult tomorrow.

Pray that if it is God's Will for Melissa to return to Him that He no longer let her suffer and welcome her home with open arms.

If it is His Will for her to keep fighting, then pray that he help her continue to fight.

Thank you and blessed be God Forever and ever! Amen.

Melissa

Praying for Melisa is showing how to love one another!
He is the way, the Truth, the Life. He who believes in Him shall never die!
Make your day full of prayers for those who are sick, hungry, lonely, neglected. or in some type of need. Please include Melissa in your prayers!
My Catholic friends, please pray with me the rosary today for Melissa.

Blessed be God Forever!

LYF Patti & Melissa

LYF (LOVE YOU FOREVER)

Just a sign of love for Patti and Melissa tonight!

LYF is how Patti and her kids sign everything to each other.

This is one of my favortie books and still after reading it for 17 years, I still get tears in my eyes!

Love you forever, Like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be!

God Bless you Patti and Melissa.

May God hold you in the palm of His hands!

Blessed be GOD!

We are praying and asking for God's help!

Melissa is in critical condition and in need of prayers!

Melissa is in critical need of urgent prayers tonight. Her oncologist has told her mother that he has never been as worried about her since she has entered the hospital as he is now.

Her lung situation is not improving.

Patti, her mother, has asked me to urgently ask that you pray for Melissa.

Please offer up your rosary, a daily Mass, your Eucharist, etc. for her as she fights this uphill battle.

For my non-Catholic friends, please pray for her as well.

Thank you and I will keep you posted.

Blessed be God Forever!

Please pray that God takes Melissa in His hands and heals her, but if it is not meant to be that He lets her struggle end.

Vacation!

Spending time this week with my parents, my aunt & uncle, and my cousins with their kids on the lake. We are very blessed that they will come to NY from IN to spend their vacation time with us. We are having a wonderful time!

We own three waverunners so this makes being at the lake even more fun.

We hiked yesterday to a state park with waterfalls.

What a blessing for our family to be together and show our children the importance of relationships!

Blessed be God Forever!

I pray today that all families will see the importance of spending time together and value the blessing of having each other in their lives.

Families make us complete and teach us how to get a long with the world.

Don't forget your rosary today!

I will also say a prayer for all of you and your families today as I say my rosary!

Blessed be God Forever!

#3 Update on Melissa Hackney

Just spoke with Jerry, Melissa's step dad, he says that from the scope Melissa had they found atypical cells in her lungs. They do not know if this is the pneumonia or recurrence of the lymphoma. The only way to be certain is to do a lung biopsy and at this time, Melissa is not strong enough to have that done.

It is a wait and see type situation as of now. Jerry said they are hoping to get her stronger and then do the biopsy.

They do have her heavily sedated to help with comfort and to help ease her breathing with the vent.

As always, please pray!

Thank you and God bless!

Blessed be God forever!

If you haven't sent a note or card out to Melissa, now would be a wonderful time to do so. She needs to know that we are praying for her and her family needs to see that they have support from all over the world.

Thank you!

Update #2 on Melissa

Please say a the Guardian Angel Prayer for Melissa today!
I spoke with her mom and for the time being Melissa seems to be stable.
They put a chest tube in her to help her right lung reattach.
They have also put in an arterial line to obtain arterial blood gases.
Here situation is still of much concern to her doctors and therefore, we must pray, pray, pray!

Thank you for your prayers!
Blessed be God forever!

Melissa needs our urgent prayers!

At 1 a.m., I received a call from Melissa' mom, Patti. She had my husband and I over to have a glass of wine and some appetizers with her and her husband since Patti's daughter, Rebecca took hospital duty so Patti could try to do something normal for a change. I was delighted that Patti had requested our company. We had only been for about 30 minutes when the call came. Patti needed us to take her son, Ben (17) for the night since they had to rush to the hospital (about one hour away). Melissa's lung had collapsed and that is all the details Patti had.

Could you please keep Melissa in your prayers today? She has worked so hard and now seems to be taking a few steps back. I will update you when I talk with her mom this morning.

Thank you and God Bless!

Please go to our Blessed Mother and ask for intercession for Melissa.

Blessed be God Forever!

Don't forget your rosary today!

How Catholic is your home?

I saw this quiz on Therese's blog, The Aussie Coffee Shop.

If you get time and you have never been to her blog, it is well worth the time to stop by for a visit.

She is very warm and caring.

Definitely a person worth saying hi to and reading what she has to say.

Here goes the quiz and I would love to hear your comments on it as well:

How Catholic is your home?
Are morning and night prayers a daily occurrence in your home?

Yes, they are. When we can, we do them together as a family; however, sometimes we are not all home at the same time so we do them with whomever is home and then the others are left to do them on there own. However, I never turn down doing prayers again with those who were not home during family group prayer. We are even known to do prayers over the phone with my husband when he is gone.

Do you say grace before and thanks to God after meals?

Yes, Bless Us O Lord for these thy gifts.

In fact, my 10 year old thinks it might be some kind of crime if we don't pray before meals so he is so good about making sure that no one gets away with not praying.

We tried praying after meals, but it got hard with little ones.

I try to say prayers of thanksgiving during the clean up time so I can distract myself from not enjoying that task.

Do you say a family Rosary every night?

We use to every night, but with all the activities it got hard. We do it every Sunday with no exceptions now. I say the rosary everyday and my husband joins me when he can.

Do you carry a Rosary at all times?

Funny that you ask that since I just put on my running jacket (it is sprinkling here) to go out for my morning exercise and out I pull a rosary from my pocket. I usually have some form of a rosary with me or my car at all times.

I have found saying a decade while waiting for the kids to finish an activity that I am picking them up for is a great use of my time.

Do you wear a religious medal or a scapular?

Yes, we do wear scapulars and religious medals.

.Do you read and discuss the Bible often?

I try to do this often.

Is your home dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?

We have had our home blessed and we have the Sacred Heart of Jesus picture up along with the Sacred Heart of Mary.

Is there a crucifix hanging in a prominent place?

Yes, we have a crucifix in everyone room of the house and yes, that does mean the bathrooms as well.

For me, I need all the reminding of what Christ did for me so I probably have over did it a little bit with crucifixes in every room, but it works for our family.

Do you ask God’s help in the solution of family problems?

Yes!! Who else better to ask then God and then the intercession of our patron saints and the Blessed Mother and then my prayer warrior friends.

Do you have a sick-call set for Communion or Anointing of the Sick?

No, but I had thought of it before. Thanks for brining it up again.

Do you attend church as a family?

Yes, but with little ones it can be tough. There are times when we must split the who goes to what Mass, but a the majority of the time we are there together.

Do you go to Confession regularly?

We use to go a lot and then life got so busy and that really is no excuse. We are working going on more frequently. Once a month is our family policy, but our deaconis encouraging us to go weekly.

Do the children attend a Catholic school or Catholic religious instruction program?

My oldest graduated from Catholic elementary school and now teaches Religious Education to the 8th graders in our parish and he also teaches confirmation.

My younger son attends R.I. at our parish, but I don't count on them to teach him. My husband and I are his primary instructors and then we have our litte ones that we teach.

Do you have religious instruction at home?

Yes, we take it serious that we are our children's primary religious educators.

Are there Catholic periodicals in your home?

Yes there are many!

Do you have a crib at Christmas?

Yes

Do you send out cards that indicate Christmas is the birth of Christ?

I usually send out a card that is a picture of my children with some type of inscription relating to the Christ child.

Does Christmas mean the coming of Christ or a chance to get gifts?

Coming of Christ!

.Does Easter Sunday mean the resurrection of Christ or new clothes?

Resurrection

Do you ever invite lonesome or needy people into your home?

We do try to do this with some of the elderly at our parish. However, lately we have not been so good about this. Thanks for reminding me to work on this.

Do you ever provide a basket of food to a needy family, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas but during the rest of the year?We donate to our parishes food bank project. I also will cook more than we need and drop the extras off to an elderly man from our parish since I know he has a hard time cooking since his eye sight is poor. Does that count? I also try to make meals for those who are sick or have sick in their families. I also make meals for those with new babies or newly adopted children in the home. Does that count?

I also try to donate my oldest son's clothing to other teens by giving them to the guidance department at his school so they can distribute them to those they think need them.

Thanks for this quiz. I made me realize that I have a lot to work on.

Blessed be God forever!

How do you fair on the quiz???

Don't forget your rosary!!!!!!!!

Address for Melissa Re-post

Just thought I would re-post Melissa's address for those who need it to send her a card of encouragement and let her know that you are praying for her.

Again, thank you so much for your faithful prayers.

Your prayers mean so much to her family and myself.

I know that your prayers are being heard.

Please mail them to:
Melissa Hackney
c/o Strong Memorial Hospital
601 Elmwood
Rochester, NY 14642

Blessed be God forever!!

Don't forget your rosary today!

This just in on Melissa Hackney!!!!!!

Melissa is struggling again and so we need to storm heaven for her.

Doctors do not know if she definitely has pneumonia, but tells her mom (Patti) that she has ARD (acute respiratory disorder). She is now on three different antibiotics and she is 81% oxygen on the vent.

Your words of encouragement are still needed (she my previous post listed below on where to send her a card letting her know you are praying for her and giving her encouragement).

She also needs our prayers!

Thank you my dear prayer warriors for your prayers. You are all faithful servants of Our Lord.

Blessed be God forever!

Don't forget your rosary today!

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Melissa needs us to pray!

Melissa might have pneumonia and her vitals are unstable. This information came from a text message I got from her mom this a.m. She will update me when she has more info. In the meantime, please say a rosary for her. She has fought so hard that we need to hang in there with her so she does not give up.

Blessed be God Forever!

Prayer request for my dad!!

Please keep my dad, Jerry in your prayers.

He recently has found out that he has COPD. He will be having a CAT Scan done soon to further exam a questionable chest x-ray he had the other night in the ER.

Please offer up a "Hail Mary" for him. I know your prayers will bring him much comfort, as well as comfort to my mom and my family. Thank you my dear prayer warriors for your prayers for my dad in advanced. We have stormed heaven many, many times for those in need of our prayers so I am confident that storming heaven now will be well worth the effort.

I will keep you posted on how things go with my dad.

Oh, my mom could use a few prayers as well. She is having an ultrasound done and a follow up mammogram after having a mammogram done already. We are confident it is nothing to be concerned about, but a few prayers would not hurt the situation as well.

Blessed be God Forever!

Don't forget your rosary!

Melissa Hackney needs our encouragement!

We have stormed heaven for Melissa with our prayers (and we still need to continue doing this) and now I come to you to ask that we storm Melissa with our words of encouragement.

She is still in Pulmonary ICU and struggles with some issues with her left lung.

Patti (her mom) says that she is drinking well through a straw now. In fact, she says that Melissa is like a camel. Each time she puts the straw up to her mouth, she just drinks away.

Patti is seeing progress in Melissa. For example, Melissa can move her forearm. However, this is frustrating for Melissa since she wants to move her entire body. Patti is able to see progress because of what Melissa was not able to do a month ago, but Melissa only sees frustration. It is going to be a slow rehab process and our prayers are helping.

However, we need to flood her with encouragement.

I am asking each of my fellow prayer warriors and anyone who can to send Melissa a card, drawing, picture, note, or a child's drawing with words of encouragement. Let her know in your words where you are from and that you have been praying for her.

I think it would be absolutely amazing to flood her hospital room with hundreds of cards. I think she would be so excited to see how much everyone has been praying for her and how much everyone thinks of her.

Please mail them to:

Melissa Hackney

c/o Strong Memorial Hospital

601 Elmwood

Rochester, NY 14642

Her mom will read them to her and then put them on her wall for her to see that all over this world people are praying for her.

Thank you for taking the time to do this!

I know it will make a difference in the rehab progress for her.

God bless you all and today I say a "Glory Be" for all of you in thanksgiving of your friendship to me, to Patti and to Melissa.

Blessed be God Forever!!!

Happy Birthday America!!!!!!!

Kathy's Birthday

“Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world.”- Author Unknown

Happy Birthday to my dear friend of many years and blogger at The Daily Grotto, Kathy.

She is a faithful servant of the Lord and that is why I thought the quote above was perfect for her special day. She is a gift to this world and from the moment we meet, she made a difference in my life.

She showed me how to not only how learn more about my faith, but how to live it in each and every moment of my life in the Faith.

She also introduced me to Opus Dei and a few years later, she helped me become a cooperator with the help of your friend, Nancy.

Her contributions to my life had made such a difference not only in myself, but in the lives of my family.

God certainly used Kathy as the instrument to help me live life according to His plan.

Kathy to you I sing:

"Celebrate God with your heart,

Celebrate God with your voice,

Celebrate God in all that you do,

and He will be with you.!"

Today, I ask that each of you to a "Hail Mary" in honor of this amazing woman's birthday.

Thank you Kathy for all that you do for others, especially me.

May God bless you with another year filled with a strong Catholic faith, joy, passion, love, hope, charity, and the strength to handle the times when life does not go our way (or better yet when our Lord asks us to carry our crosses for Him).

Blessed be God forever!

Mercy

Joseph: Why are we here on earth? Why did God put us here?

Me: To know Him, To love Him, and To serve Him.

Joseph: I try to do these things, but I am not always good at it.

Me: I try to do these things as well and I am not always good at them either.

Joseph: Really?

Me: Really!

Joseph: Wow!! I thought you did everything right for God.

Me: Thank you for thinking that. I feel honored that you see me this way, but I don't do everything right for God. I probably do more wrong than I do right. I always mention to God at night to forgive me "For what I have done and what I have failed to do."

Joseph: Do you think God listens to that?

Me: Of course He does! He is full of much mercy that I feel reassured that as long as I keep trying each day to know Him, love Him, and serve Him that He will over look my shortcomings.

Joseph: What are shortcomings?

Me: The things that make me not so perfect or the things that keep me from always doing things the way God wants me to.

Joseph: What did you do today that was a shortcoming?

Me: I was impatient with your sister when she would not cooperate with me at bath time and I felt sorry for myself that I have had little sleep and was tired.

Joseph: Good thing God is full of mercy or you might be in trouble!!!

Indeed Joseph, good thing God is full of Mercy or I would have lost His favor a long time ago.

I forgot to mention to him before he went to sleep that I pray for him and his siblings each night and each morning that God engulf them with His mercy.

I know I need His mercy continuously so praying for my children to receive it seems like only the natural thing to do.

My husband and I set down a long, long, long time ago and wrote out our goals in life.

Our number one goal was to get our family to heaven.

Each day, I pray that we can continue to come closer to this goal as a family.

My sweet Joseph, God is full of mercy, love, and compassion.

For this reason alone, we must show others mercy, love, and compassion.

If, as a family, we continue to work towards this goal of getting all of us to heaven and God keeps supplying us with His MERCY, we should be able to show that a family that prays together does stay together!

I should probably mention that a family that shows mercy, love, and compassion to each other is also a family that lives more peacefully with each other as well.

Blessed Be God Forever!!