Dear Sibs, I cannot believe we have reached December already and what a year it has been! It was only April, when I said, "soon it'll be Christmas", and here we are. What a journey, we have had. This month I thought we could reflect on the course we have taken which will aid in our understanding of where we will be going in 2007. We started the year looking at walking in truth regardless of the outcome. As the bible says, "the truth will set you free". Following this, we moved onto the type of deposits that are made in our lives. Do we have negative people sowing into us or positive? Remember, what goes in, will come out. Then we explored the potential impact of living in tomorrow, a day that is not promised. If that was not thought-provoking enough, we checked ourselves regarding getting too complacent when making decisions. The complacency lies when we do not consult God the Father. Then came the month we said goodbye to a servant of inspiration, AJ, remembering that in everything there is a season (Ecclesiates 3). The summer started with us looking at the impact of sunstoke (the enemy's firery darts) which can be avoided by drinking plenty of water (Jesus Christ). We were reminded to not judge or else the same measure will be used against us and that there is power in your praise. Finally, we were reminded to love our neighbour. It's on this last reflection, that I remind you of the most important spiritual gift we can possess is love and there is no greater love than our Heavenly Father sending his son to die for us. Remember, Christmas (albeit not the month of Jesus' birth) should be a time shared with loved ones and to remember the most precious gift God has given us. Walk into 2007, in love. See you next year Chantal       Prudently or Faithfully?     I was reflecting on certain circumstances of friends and family when it dawned on me that there was a distinct driving force which kept them going in their respective circumstances. This caused me to contemplate my own driving force.   Classically, prudence is considered to be a virtue, and in some Christian traditions, one of the Cardinal Virtues. The word comes from the Latin prudentia - "foresight, sagacity". It is often associated with wisdom, insight, and knowledge. In this case, the virtue is the ability to judge between virtuous and brutal actions, not only in a general sense, but with regard to appropriate actions at a given time and place. Distinguishing when acts are courageous, as opposed to reckless or cowardly, for instance, was an act of prudence. This is why it is classified as a "cardinal" which is to say "fundamental" virtue. Although prudence would be applied to any such judgment, the more difficult tasks, which distinguish a person as prudent, are those in which various goods have to be weighed against each other, as when a person is determining what would be best to give charitable donations, or how to punish a child so as to prevent repeating a misdemeanor.   Conventionally, prudence is the exercise of sound judgment in practical affairs. In modern English, however, the word has become increasingly synonymous with cautiousness. In this sense, prudence is a reluctance to take risks, which remains a virtue with respect to unnecessary risks, but when unreasonably extended (i.e. over-cautiousness), can become the vice of cowardice.   On the other hand, faith is commonly known as a belief, trust or confidence not based on logic or reason, but in a person or inanimate object. According to the Word, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 1:1 KJV).   Which category do you fall in? Do you walk in prudence or faith? If it si faith, then the question is faith in what or whom?   In the words of Eli Stanley Jones, a 20th century Methodist missionary and Theologian, “Very often when I haven't faith in my faith, I have to have faith in His faith. He makes me believe in myself and my possibilities, when I simply can't. I have to rise to His faith in me…With faith in His faith you can do anything- anything that ought to be done…" Faith is not merely your holding on to God; it is God holding on to you. He will not let you go! As Walt Whitman puts it, "Not until the sun refuses to shine, do I refuse you." Then keep saying to your soul, "In quietness and in confidence shall be your faith." (Isaiah 30:15).”   Peace & Love Chantal