For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

James 2:10 (NIV)

"The Syrians are not allowing civilians to leave. Anyone who gets on the street, if they are not hit by a shell, they are sniped," she told the U.K.'s ITN television news.

"There are snipers all around Baba Amr on the high buildings," Colvin added. "I think the sickening thing is the complete merciless nature … they are hitting civilian buildings absolutely mercilessly, without caring. The scale of it is just shocking."

(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46477679/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/)

Iran has issued what could be the final execution order for Youcef Nadarkhani, the Christian pastor who was found guilty of renouncing Islam.

Nadarkhani has been waiting in limbo for this verdict for months. After turning down four separate chances to convert to Islam to save his life, Iranian officials delayed their sentencing, leaving the pastor to await his fate inside a cell in Iran's Gilan province. But now, Nadarkhani could be executed within days.

 (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/303034/20120222/iranian-pastor-yousef-nadarkhani-execution.htm)

Father, we watch as the evil spreads. We ask for your divine intervention and assistance. We pray for your mercy and grace. We ask. Because we're desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

If you've been investigating the writing world for some serious time, you've discovered there are multiple opinions voiced by professionals concerning every aspect of publishing, writing technique(s), voice, style, and marketing. The primary problem you've noticed is the difference in and frequently opposing opinions of the people in the biz. These differences show the multi-faceted and in some cases rigid opinions of those supposedly "in the know".

In a small way the professionals have become their own versions of politicians. By that I mean in some cases they've gotten out of touch with the readers. After all, it's readers who set the trends. And when a novel surfaces from one publisher which ten others rejected insisting readers won't buy this kind of story, and "this kind of story" goes on to sell millions of copies, publishers scramble to incorporate more of those stories, flooding the market with this "new" trendy literature.

If you've tried to diligently follow the advice, recommendations, and suggestions of the pros from conferences, blogs, and miscellaneous sites of publishing professionals, you have either wound up frustrated or published. If you've been writing for any length of time in the realm of fiction, you've learned that all published literature is not created "equal". A publishing contract is not the absolute guarantee that what you read will be well-written. The only guarantee that comes with that novel is somebody liked it enough to publish it and figured they could make a few bucks off the book.

As you consider what to do with your stash of unpublished novels, you now must consider the value of ebook publishing. Will it work for you? Even though it can fall into the category of self-publishing, it's far more economical and profitable if you sell books. It's subject to the same potentially negative stigma assigned to self-published books, especially if it's your first novel and not released by a royalty publisher. If you ever want to be considered "worthy" of publication, regardless of how you choose to do it, you've got to put your best effort into it. If you produce a poor product, you'll group yourself with the novices who gave self-publishing a bad rap in the first place.

If you're called to be a writer, you develop the talent you've been given. You don't settle for average if you can help it. You keep progressing, keep trying to one up your last effort. You read and study the information, but you recognize all the curve balls the industry can throw at you. You consider all of your options while investing your passion into words that will touch readers in myriad ways.

And both in the beginning and at the end you ask the Lord to help you choose wisely, your intent and purpose to follow Him.

Father, we want to follow you, to please you, to bless you somehow with our obedience in doing what you have for us to do. Help us, Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.   

They have lied about the Lord;

they said, "He will do nothing!

No harm will come to us;

we will never see sword or famine.

The prophets are but wind

and the word is not in them;

so let what they say be done to them."

Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

"Because the people have spoken these words,

I will make my words in your mouth a fire

and these people the wood it consumes."

Jeremiah 5:12-14 (NIV)

Morning Bell: Obama’s Continuing Assault on the Constitution

Mike Brownfield

February 14, 2012 at 8:39 am

With tens of millions of Americans watching, Barack Obama stood at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2009, with his left hand on the Bible and his right hand held aloft, swearing to God and country that he would preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet despite that pledge, President Obama has time and time again taken actions contrary to the principles of the founding document he swore to uphold, setting forth on a heretofore uncharted path of unconstitutionality that will fundamentally change the character of this Republic for the worse, not for the better.

Last week, America erupted in protest against one of those actions — the White House’s determination to force all insurance plans to cover, at no charge, contraceptives, abortion-inducing drugs, and sterilization as part of Obamacare. That mandate includes employers like Catholic hospitals, Christian schools, and faith-based pregnancy care centers, all of which must offer the coverage, regardless of their beliefs. This assault on the First Amendment’s protection of religious liberties met with opposition from all corners, prompting the president on Friday to address the American people and pledge his commitment to protecting religious liberties by offering an “accommodation” to these institutions — forcing insurance companies to offer free contraception so religious institutions don’t have to.

The trouble is, that “accommodation” was merely hypothetical and Obama’s commitment to protecting religious liberties was illusory. Obamacare’s anti-conscience mandate did not change in a final rule that was posted later that day. And even if the president’s hypothetical became reality, Heritage’s Jennifer Marshall explains that the religious liberty problem still remains:

It does not disentangle religious employers, since insurers will shift the burden back to religious groups through higher premiums in one form or another. Nor does it address the potential religious liberty concerns of other employers or individuals.

This is only the beginning of the problems Americans will continue to see as the Obamacare ‘essential benefits’ package takes shape. The anti-conscience mandate is a warning sign for us all of how one-size-fits-all health care requirements will trample religious liberty as well as individual liberty.

Yesterday at The Heritage Foundation, Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) spoke of his opposition to this latest Obamacare mandate. Afterward, in an exclusive interview with Heritage, Blunt called the move a “genuine assault on First Amendment freedoms” and dismissed the president’s proposed “accommodation” as nothing more than an “accounting gimmick.” “This is not about cost. It’s about the Constitution,” Blunt said. “And if you can decide this no longer offends me because I don’t have to pay for it, I guess your concern is financial all the time and not faith-based.”

Unfortunately, the president’s disregard for the First Amendment is not his first assault on the Constitution. Earlier this year, President Obama cast aside our government’s fundamental separation of powers when he made four unconstitutional appointments without bothering to seek the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate, as the Constitution requires.

Yesterday, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), who was among the first to warn about the consequences of the president’s unilateral action, spoke at Heritage about the ramifications of those appointments. In an exclusive interview, he explained that today, more than a month after the illegal appointments, a new director is running the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three members of the National Labor Relations Board are conducting business — all in blatant violation of the Constitution.

“He’s reading the Constitution in a way that’s manifestly wrong,” Lee explained. “It’s contrary to the text. It’s contrary to tradition and practice, and it’s contrary to logic.”

“This is not a partisan issue for me. I would be equally outraged if this were a Republican president doing this same thing,” Lee added. “Once this gains some momentum, this practice could be very destructive to the Senate’s prerogative of advice and consent. This is a power that doesn’t belong to the president. It belongs to the people of the United States of America.”

President Obama, of course, offers justifications for his actions. In the case of the illegal appointments, he says that he simply “can’t wait” for the Congress to act. In the case of the Obamacare contraception mandate, he insists he is acting in the best interest of the American people, while offering a “fair” accommodation to religious institutions. The trouble is that the president is measuring himself against his own subjective standard while disregarding the objective limitations on his power.

In a government where there are no practical limits on executive overreach, there are likewise no limits on the government’s ability to impose its will on the people. With the president’s trampling of religious liberties, the country is getting its first taste of the consequences of Obama’s unmitigated power grab. And if this power remains unchecked, there are certainly more consequences to come.

Quick Hits:

• Just a day after an Israeli diplomatic vehicle was bombed in India — an attack that Israel attributed to Iran — three explosions reportedly linked to Iranian nationals hit downtown Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday.
• President Obama wants to slash the military, and today Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey will begin three days of testimony before Congress in which they’re expected to face questions about those cuts.
• The House is considering a Republican proposal to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of the year. House GOP leadership says a vote could come this week.
• Hold on to your gas cap. The average gasoline price could soon hit $4 a gallon. Experts expect prices to rise 60 cents or more by Memorial Day weekend.
• Yesterday, President Obama released his budget for Fiscal Year 2013, and Heritage’s experts were at the ready with their response and analysis. Read more on The Foundry.

Posted in Family and Religion, Health Care, Rule of Law

What amazes you? The ridiculous lies of politicians? The flags in New Jersey at half-mast for Whitney Houston's funeral? The salaries of professional athletes?

Does anything make your jaw drop anymore?

Do you write stories to "amaze"? Do you want your words to amaze? What do you do that either secretly or overtly you wish someone would label "amazing"?

What amazes you? Anything?

Father, you're amazing. That you can love us in spite of us. That you can forgive the atrocities of sin. That you never change. That you're perfection, truth, love, the way to eternal life . . . Amazing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.