Be still and know that I am God. . .

Psalm 46:10

Fear can paralyze. Imagine, or remember, that feeling. No option seems good. No path seems safe. Hope is absent and fear abounds. The only response is to freeze and wait. Now, visualize that same situation except this time as you are frozen with fear, you find yourself safely veiled in God's shield of love.

God will protect us from any harm. Any situation seems less daunting and impossible with God at our side. He truly is our shield and He he asking us to be still in His love.

Good Morning!

When I was in high school I received a letter from Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas. He opened with "Good morning." The greeting seemed funny because he didn't know what time of day I would be reading the letter. However, if it was afternoon and I hadn't had a good morning yet, then I guess it was about time! Good morning!

FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH



17 They said to Him, "We have here only (1) five loaves and two fish."
18 And He said, "Bring them here to Me."
19 Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (2) blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds,
20 and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full (3) baskets.
21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children. Matthew 14:17-21

In Father Art Fazier's (North Platte, Nebraska) homily, he described a woman who must have asked God a similar question. What can I do? What do I have to give? How can I possibly make a difference. Through God's grace, she realized that she could do something. She could make quilts. Every year, she made a quilt and raffled it at the church picnic. With her gift and God's guidance, each raffle raised several hundred dollars for the church.

We all have gifts from God. God asks us give up our gifts to Him. When He blesses them and returns them to us, they will prove more abundant and glorious than we can imagine. Feeding 5,000 with five loaves and two fish is incredible. With God's help, our gifts can also be miraculous.

Life Rules

*Be "Great!". When someone asks me how I am, I try not to say "Fine." I
usually say "Great!" or "Wonderful!" or "Lovely!" I know from experience
that simply saying it leads to believing it. And believing it makes it
real.

*Build Memories. I always tell people that when you get to the end of your life and look back, all that you will really have are memories. You should live life to "build memories."

*Ten Year Rule. I also have a "Ten Year Rule" that helps me maintain
perspective and priority. If I won't remember it in ten years then it is
less important that something that I will.

*Give Life. I firmly believe that it is my job to always be "life giving." Many little things that we say and do can be life taking, so it is important to focus, in every relationship but especially with a spouse, on giving life. I believe that God is Love, and God came that we might have Life, so Love is Life.

*Forgive. It is much easier to say it and not really do it than it is to do it whether it is said or not. When we don't forgive it eats us. When we carry that kind of stuff around with us, it is harder to be life giving.

*Pray. God is omniscient so everything that we do can and should be prayer. Everything that we do should give glory to God. From our work to our relationships with people, everything that we do should be praise. The greatest and most easily neglected prayers are prayers of thanks. I have a wonderful life and I need to thank Him for all the things that make it wonderful.

*Be Humble. Every person is God's handiwork. Every human has unique gifts and talents. I can give life by recognizing them in people. I can give life just by remembering someone's name. Most of the "stuff" that I have that I might be proud of could be gone in a flash. I need to avoid focusing on myself and always try to elevate the people around me.

*Serve. Jesus washed his disciples feet. This image is so profound! This example maps the road to personal fulfillment. Even with all of our
accomplishments and successes, we can feel empty. Service to another fills the void.

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) is one of my personal heros. He was an amazing man. He stood fast atop a concrete set of beliefs. He taught us a lot about economics, and he reminded us to live the American dream. Nancy Reagan said, "Ronnie felt this was his greatest accomplishment—finding a safe ending to the cold war. And his other great legacy, he felt, was giving our country back its optimism." Her article in Time magazine is fantastic. http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101040614/rmemories.html

Thank God for Ronald Reagan. He set a course that I pray we will stay. May he rest in peace, but may his vision for out great country endure.

God bless,

Matthew

P.S. Here are a few quintesential Reagan quotes:

**We who live in free market societies believe that growth, prosperity and ultimately human fulfillment, are created from the bottom up, not the government down. Only when the human spirit is allowed to invent and create, only when individuals are given a personal stake in deciding economic policies and benefitting from their success -- only then can societies remain economically alive, dynamic, progressive, and free. Trust the people. This is the one irrefutable lesson of the entire postwar period contradicting the notion that rigid government controls are essential to economic development.
September 29, 1981

**There are no such things as limits to growth, because there are no limits on the human capacity for intelligence, imagination and wonder.
Address to the University of South Carolina, Columbia, September 20, 1983

**[G]overnment's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Remarks to the White House Conference on Small Business, August 15, 1986

**Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Speech near the Berlin Wall, 1987

**It was leadership here at home that gave us strong American influence abroad, and the collapse of imperial Communism. Great nations have responsibilities to lead, and we should always be cautious of those who would lower our profile, because they might just wind up lowering our flag.
RNC Annual Gala, Feb. 3, 1994

**Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere."
FORTUNE, September 15, 1986

**Abortion is advocated only by persons who have themselves been born.

**I hope that when you're my age you'll be able to say, as I have been able to say: We lived in freedom, we lived lives that were a statement, not an apology.