Crime and Punishment:  I visited the Kingston Penitentary for part of my OT presentation of sociological theory.  It was one of those  experiences that changed my whole perspective and changed my heart.  I started to see how these people that were behind bars, almost half of the population have a mental illness.  They didn't know what they were doing.  Voices, hallucinations other distractions and factors played a role in doing what they did.  That doesn't make what they did right, but it does change the way that I see them, as just people that are sick and need help.  The other half are people who all their lives have been victim of hurt, abuse, have been prostituted by their parents, lived on the streets, and their maladaptive way of thinking has been learned and taught to them by their experiences.  They have never known a kind word or a helping hand, and don't know how to cope in society and act in an appropriate manner.  Both groups of people need the Lord, and need someone to feel that burden to pray and help them.  But our society stigmatizes them, placing negative stereotypes and refusing to right the negative perceptions and fears in the hearts of people.  The media glamorizes their stories making it impossible for them ever to return to society without public outrage.  Where is the justice, where is the compassion, even in our own churches.  When was the last time that you or I remembered someone having a burden to pray or serve prisoners and criminals? I know for myself I've never felt that way until now. They are still our brothers and sisters, and they need comfort, care, and ministering to with the same respect that we would treat anyone of our peers at our respective churches.

Missions:   One day, after reading about missions in one of her classes, she had an overwhelming desire to spend her life serving God in mission work.  She prayed a lot about this matter with her sister and mother.  She also went to the priest for counsel.  She asked him, “How can I be sure that this desire is from God?”  He answered:  “Through your joy.  If you feel really happy by the idea that God might call you to serve Him, Him and your neighbor, then this is the evidence that you have a call.  The deep inner joy that you feel is the compass that indicates your direction in life.”

Compassion:  Everyday, Sister Teresa had to travel across town to go to school and she couldn’t help but notice the poor living on the streets.  She began to volunteer her spare time taking care of the sick and the destitute.  Her compassion for the poorest of the poor continued to increase until she felt she couldn’t be satisfied with caring for the poor on a part time basis.  That was when she gave her whole life to this cause.   We know her simply as Mother Teresa of India.

Family:  Family vacations make a significant dent in the budget, but the constant togetherness away from telephone and television may produce benefits far in excess of the cost.  Family counselor Alma Jones reminds us that "scientific studies" show that maladjustment of children decrease as family recreation increases; also that understanding and confidence between parents and children increase as shared activities and good times together increase".  Love needs to be expressed to the ones loved, by word, action and choosing their company, and nowhere is this more essential than with children

Women:  Ephesians says the relation of husbands to wives is "parallel to the relationship between Christ and the Church.  But it is not the love required of a Husband is the main quality Paul is talking about when referring to Christ's relationship to the church.  Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.. so ought husbands to love their wives, as their own bodies. Christ's work for the church is greater than anything a human husband could accomplish, but a husband can love and give himself.  Certainly it is lovely to have a husband home to lead family devotions, share God-given thoughts on the word and bear the family up in prayer to God.  The world may also learn something about Christ's relationship to the church by seeing a Christian husband's love and sacrifice for his wife without ever being in a church.

God has given wives the opportunity to choose freely the submissive role, even as Jesus chose to be submissive to the Father... When a wife's submission becomes a harsh demand from the husband, God's order has been overthrown, and a mere human authority remains.  But when a husband fulfills his role in God's order-which is to "love his wife, and not be harsh with her" (Col.3:19) then a wife's submission to him becomes a fountain of mutual love and devotion, a thing of surpassing moral and spiritual beauty.  The reverence wives should show include that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him and love and admires him exceedingly.  The judgment, wisdom, and opinion of a loving wife is one of man's greatest assets.  It saves him from many a foolish mistake, and it is his privilege and responsibility as a husband to receive the wise counsel of his wife.. she must tell him her thoughts fully and make her case as strong as she can, never laying aside her respect but never concealing her honest doubts.. when she has done this, then she may le the decision rest with her husband, trusting God to give him good

The job of the wife :  to give her full time to her home, her husband, her children.. if she tries to understand her husband's work.. to curb his egotism while.. building up his self esteem, to kill his masculine conceit while encouraging all his hopes, to establish around the family a circle of true friends.. if she provides in the home a proper atmosphere of culture, she will be engaged in a life work that will demand every ounce of her strength, every bit of her patience, every talent God has given her, the utmost sacrifice of her love. 

"She lived very close to God.  The Bible was her daily delight, and next to God she lived only for me.  Her solicitude for my happiness was incessant.. She was full of compassion for the poor and needy.. she entered most heartily into all the concerns of the Mission. Therefore instead of blindly following custom or tradition, it seems best for woman to "choose that good part" like Mary and sit at Christ's feet to hear his instructions for each situation as it arises; then attempt to follow them in the spirit he prizes so much.