40 Days and Nights for our Nation

Some of you may watch Glenn Beck already and be familiar with his call to pray and fast for 40 days and nights for our nation, but if not, I highly encourage you to check out his pledge. I recently started watching his show with my hubby, and while he isn't Catholic (yet; I really think he will be someday), he is quite inspiring and informative when it comes to national and world issues. He is not afraid to tell Americans that we must pray for our nation, remain faithful to God and to Christian ethics, and to call us to action.

Recently, some scary things have continued to happen in our country. The "Black Panthers" have been speaking out about how they think even "white babies need to die." The U.S. Dept. of Justice has just dropped a case against them for harrassment outside of a polling place, threatening people with clubs and other weapons, if they didn't vote for Obama. Their mindset comes from people like Jeremiah Wright, and others who our president names as his biggest influences. President Obama himself signed an executive order, giving himself the right to assassinate any American citizen that he sees as a terrorist threat. Seeing as how Congress and the Senate have let every other item on his liberal, communist agenda pass, I'm guessing they won't be stopping this one. It's a shame, but our country really has strayed from the ideals of our founding fathers.

In an attempt to fire up Americans to return to our roots, and celebrate the personal virtues of those who've fought honorable for our country, there will be a rally, on August 28, at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. to begin "Restoring Honor" in America. These are the very steps where Martin Luther King spoke about true liberty and charity. Glenn Beck will be speaking there along with others, including Sarah Palin.

During the next 40 days and 40 nights, leading up to the event, Glenn is urging Americans to join him in taking a pledge to pray and fast for our country. He is recommending 3 things based on the 3 cardinal virtues (does this guy sound like he'll be Catholic soon enough, or what?):

1. Faith - to PRAY, on your knees, every night for our country. Pray for our leaders, our citizens, and re-establish or build further, your relationship with God.

2. Hope - since Hope stems from truth, do not lie for the next 40 days and nights, and hopefully you create a habit of extinguishing this altogether. This includes lying to oneself, or those little "white lies."

3. Charity - which begins at home. So, take at least one day each week and do something nice for every member of your family. Write it down, and do it. Also, realize how blessed we are to live in this nation, and be grateful. Take notice of the things in our lives to be grateful for, particularly the gift of living in the greatest country the world has ever known.

I will be signing the pledge, because our country needs it, and my soul could use some prayer and fasting as well. I encourage you to join me, and offer 40 days and 40 nights for our nation.

Nighttime Humility

I spent the early part of this week celebrating my little one's first birthday. I love him to pieces, but this year has been very difficult. It is easy for me to point everything that has gone "wrong" to one problem: my son's inability to sleep.

Before I became a parent, I was fully prepared to trade sleeping in for 6AM Saturday morning cartoons. I knew that my newborn would wake up at night to feed. I understood that there would be teething bouts all the way through toddlerhood, where my husband and I would have to console our aching baby for a few nights in a row. What I did not expect was that one year later, I would still be awoken every hour. I did not expect that I would spend half of my day trying to sooth my baby to sleep for naps and throughout the night.

It is a good thing that I did not know, because sometimes I wonder if I would have had the courage to get on board. I have spent many hours complaining, crying and praying, "Dear Lord, why won't my baby sleep?" There have been many days when I even felt that this situation was bringing me to the point of depression. How could I possibly go on physically, mentally, spiritually with this never ending fast from sleep?

Well, it is a year later and I am still here. No, he is not sleeping much better yet, but I've accepted this fact (on most days). More importantly, I have learned that my son's sleeplessness and my body's sleep deprivation are not the problem. The problem all along has been my lack of humility.

Humility in its truest sense, is the recognition of our relationship to God. To be humble we must always remember who He is, and who we are. God made us to love, worship and serve Him. We do not become saints by doing what we want, or what we think God's will should be, but by doing His will for us in the everyday circumstances He sends us. Every minute of our day is from God, and it is up to us to offer it back to him prayerfully and dutifully. In my case, staying joyful despite getting fewer zzz's is a pleasing act of humility to God.

When we lack humility, we often feel resentful, depressed, frustrated and angry with situations. Our responsibilities become burdensome and our daily crosses become very heavy. Sacrifice seems meaningless, and love lacks in our lives. If we remember however, who God is to us and that each moment IS His will for us, we feel that we can find joy and meaning in our suffering. Even if for the rest of my life I never sleep longer than an hour, I will be at peace because I will be surrendering to God's will.

Another beautiful thing I've noticed specifically about sleep is that it is one of our basic needs. God created our bodies to NEED rest. Similarly to discomfort felt from fasting, my exhaustion can serve as a humbling reminder in itself for me of how much I depend on God, because He made me this way. By "fasting" from sleep, I take attention away from myself and draw my rest and replenishment from a different source: God.

Humility reminds us that God is in charge. We might not understand His will, but it is by following Christ's example and surrendering everything to the Father that will lead us to heaven. Now, please remind me to reread this post daily-- because forgetfulness is a side effect of sleep deprivation and of humanity.