...tis the season...

[linnettejane]

(email)

Psalm 55:22 --- you really need to read this:  'Friends are God's
way
> of
> taking care of us.'
>
> This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:
>
> I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic
on
> Colorado Blvd.,and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I
barely
> managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not
be
> blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow
> truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw
a
> woman walking out of the quickie mart building,and it looked like she
> slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump,so I got out to see if she
was
> okay.
> When I got there,it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than
that
> she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark
> circles under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I
> picked it up to give it to her. It was a nickel.
>
> At that moment,everything came into focus for me: the crying woman,the
> ancient Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car
> seat), and the gas pump reading $4.95.
>
> I asked her if she was okay and if she needed help,and she just kept
saying,
> 'I don't want my kids to see me crying! So we stood on the other
side
> of the
> pump from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things
> were very hard for her right now. So I asked, 'And you were
praying?'
> That
> made her back away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy
> person and said, 'He heard you, and He sent me.'
>
> I took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so
she
> could fill up her car completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the
> next door McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift
certificates
> for more, and a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the
car,
> who attacked it like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and
> talking a little.
>
> She told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City . Her boyfriend
left
> 2 months ago and she had not been able to make ends meet.. She knew she
> wouldn't have money to pay rent Jan. 1, and finally,in desperation,
had
> called her parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They
> lived in California and said she could come live with them and try to get
on
> her feet there.
>
> So she packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they
> were going to California f o r Christmas, but not that they were going to
> live there.
> I gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for
> safety on the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, 'So,
are you
> like an angel or something?'
>
> This definitely made me cry. I said, 'Sweetie, at this time of year
angels
> are really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.'
>
> It was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And, of
> course,you guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got
me
> home with no problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I
> suspect the mechanic won't find anything wrong.
>
> Sometimes the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter
> of their wings.
>
> Psalms 55:22 'Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain
thee. He
> shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.'
>
>
>    Here is my prayer:
>
> 'Father,I ask You to bless my relatives, friends
> and email buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of
your
> love and power Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit this
very
> moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there
is
> self doubt, release a renewed confidence throug h Your grace. In
Jesus'
> precious name, Amen.'
>
>
> When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say,'Jesus, could You
please
> get
> that for me?  Thanks.
>
>     

 

[linnettejane]

(email)

This is what Christmas is all about...

Better bundle up - the goose bumps will freeze you!!  One of my favorite Christmas stories.  I think I need to read this every year at Christmas.  I can't count the times I've read this one and I always cry.
 
Pa never had much compassion for the lazy or those who squandered their means and then never had enough for the necessities.  But for those who were genuinely in need, his heart was as big as all outdoors.  It was from him that I learned the greatest joy in life comes from giving, not from receiving.                                         
                 

It was Christmas Eve 1881.  I was fifteen years old and feeling like the world had caved in on me because there just hadn't been enough money to buy me the rifle that I'd wanted for Christmas.  We did the  chores early that night for some reason.  I just figured Pa wanted a little extra time so we could read in the Bible.                                       

After supper was over I took my boots off and stretched out in front of the fireplace and waited for Pa to get down the old Bible.  I was still feeling sorry for myself and, to be honest, I wasn't in much  of a mood to read Scriptures. But Pa didn't get the Bible, instead he bundled up again and went outside. I couldn't figure it out because we had already done all the chores. I didn't worry about it long though, I was too busy wallowing in self-pity.  Soon  Pa came back in.  It was a cold clear night out and there was ice in his beard. "Come on, Matt," he said. "Bundle up good, it's cold out tonight." I was really upset then. Not only wasn't I getting the rifle for Christmas, now Pa was dragging me out in the  cold, and for no earthly reason that I could see.  We'd already done all the chores, and I couldn't think of anything else that needed doing, especially not on a night like this.  But I knew Pa was not very patient at one dragging one's feet when he'd told  them to do something, so I got up and put my boots  back on and got my cap, coat, and mittens.  Ma gave me a mysterious smile as I opened the door to leave the house.  Something was up, but I didn't know what..                                                           

Outside, I became even more dismayed. There in front of the house was the work team, already hitched to the big sled.  Whatever it was we were going to do wasn't going to be a short, quick, little job.  I could tell. We never hitched up this sled unless we were going to haul a big load.  Pa was already up on the seat, reins in hand.  I reluctantly climbed up beside him.  The cold was already biting at me.  I wasn't happy.  When I was on, Pa pulled the sled  around the house and stopped in front of the woodshed.  He got off and I followed. "I think we'll put on the high sideboards," he said.  "Here, help me."  The high sideboards!  It had been a bigger job than I wanted to do with just the low sideboards on, but whatever  it was we were going to do would be a lot bigger with the high side boards on.                                                       

After we had exchanged the sideboards, Pa went into the woodshed and came out with an armload of wood - the wood I'd spent all summer hauling down from the mountain, and then all Fall sawing into blocks  and splitting. What was he doing?  Finally I said something.  "Pa," I asked, "what are you doing?"  You been by the Widow Jensen's lately?" he asked. The Widow Jensen lived about two miles down the road.  Her husband had died a year or so before and left her with three children, the oldest being eight.  Sure, I'd been by, but so what?                                                   

Yeah," I said, "Why?"                                               
 
"I rode by just today," Pa said. "Little Jakey was out digging around in the woodpile trying to find a few chips. They're out of wood, Matt..."  That was all he said and then he turned and went back into  the woodshed for another armload of wood. I followed him.  We loaded the sled so high that I began to wonder if the horses would be able to pull it.  Finally, Pa called a halt to our loading, then we went to the smoke house and Pa took down a big ham and a  side of bacon. He handed them to me and told me to put them in the sled and wait.  When he returned he was carrying a sack of flour over his r ight shoulder and a smaller sack of something in his left hand. "What's in the little sack?" I asked.  Shoes, they're  out of shoes.  Little Jakey just had gunny sacks wrapped around his feet when he was out in the woodpile this morning.  I got the children a little candy too.  It just wouldn't be Christmas without a  little candy."
                                                       

We rode the two miles to Widow Jensen's pretty much in silence.  I tried to think through what Pa was doing.  We didn't have much by worldly standards.  Of course, we did have a big woodpile, though most  of what was left now was still in the form of logs that I would have to saw into blocks and split before we could use it.  We also had meat and flour, so we could spare that, but I knew we didn't have any money, so why was Pa buying them shoes and candy?  Really,  why was he doing any of this?  Widow Jensen had closer neighbors than us; it shouldn't have been our concern.

We came in from the blind side of the Jensen house and unloaded the wood as quietly as possible, then we took the meat and flour and shoes to the door.  We knocked.  The door opened a crack and a timid  voice said,  "Who is it?"  "Lucas Miles, Ma'am, and my son, Matt, could we come in for a bit?"   
 
Widow Jensen opened the door and let us in.  She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.  The children were wrapped in another and were sitting in front of the fireplace by a very small fire that hardly  gave off any heat at all.  Widow Jensen fumbled with a match and finally lit the lamp.                                                             
 
"We brought you a few things, Ma'am," Pa said and set down the sack of flour.  I put the meat on the table.  Then Pa handed her the sack that had the shoes in it.  She opened it hesitantly and took the  shoes out one pair at a time.  There was a pair for her and one for each of the children - sturdy shoes, the best, shoes that would last.  I watched her carefully.  She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling and then tears filled her eyes and started  running down her cheeks.  She looked up at Pa like she wanted to say 
something, but it wouldn't come out.                                 

"We brought a load of wood too, Ma'am," Pa said.  He turned to me and said, "Matt, go bring in enough to last awhile.  Let's get that fire up to size and heat this place up."  I wasn't the same person when  I went back out to bring in the wood.  I had a big lump in my throat and as mu ch as I hate to admit it, there were tears in my eyes too.  In my mind I kept seeing those three kids huddled around the fireplace and their mother standing there with tears running  down her cheeks with so much gratitude in her heart that she couldn't speak.

My heart swelled within me and a joy that I'd never known before, filled my soul.  I had given at Christmas many times before, but never when it had made so much difference.  I could see we were literally  saving the lives of these people.                                                               

I soon had the fire blazing and everyone's spirits soared.  The kids started giggling when Pa handed them each a piece of candy and Widow Jensen looked on with a smile that probably hadn't crossed her face  for a long time.  She finally turned to us. "God bless you," she said. "I know the Lord has sent you.  The children and I have been praying that he would send one of his angels to spare us."                                 

In spite of myself, the lump returned to my throat and the tears welled up in my eyes again.  I'd never thought of Pa in those exact terms before, but after Widow Jensen mentioned it I could see that it  was probably true.  I was sure that a better man than Pa had never walked the earth.  I started remembering all the times he had gone out of his way for Ma and me, and many others.  The list seemed endless as I thought on it.     

Pa insisted that everyone try on the shoes before we left.  I was amazed when they all fit and I wondered how he had known what sizes to get.  Then I guessed that if he was on an errand for the Lord that  the Lord would make sure he got the right sizes. 

Tears were running down Widow Jensen's face again when we stood up to leave.  Pa took each of the kids in his big arms and gave them a hug.  They clung to him and didn't want us to go.  I could see that  they missed their Pa, and I was glad that I still had mine.                       

At the door Pa turned to Widow Jensen and said, "The Mrs. wanted me to invite you and the children over for Christmas dinner tomorrow.  The turkey will be more than the three of us can eat, and a man can  get cantankerous if he has to eat turkey for too many meals.  We'll be by to get you about eleven.  It'll be nice to have some little ones around again.  Matt, here, hasn't been little for quite a spell."  I was the youngest..  My two brothers and two sisters  had all married and had moved away.                                                                 
 
Widow Jensen nodded and said, "Thank you, Brother Miles.  I don't have to say, May the Lord bless you, I know for certain that He will."       
Out on the sled I felt a warmth that came from deep within and I didn't even notice the cold.  When we had gone a ways, Pa turned to me and said, "Matt, I want you to know something.  Your ma and me have  been tucking a little money away here and there all year so we could buy that rifle for you, but we didn't have quite enough. Then yesterday a man who owed me a little money from years back came by to make things square.  Your ma and me were real excited,  thinking that now we could get you that rifle, and I started into town this morning to do just that,but on the way I saw little Jakey out scratching in the woodpile with his feet wrapped in those gunny sacks and I knew what I had to do.  Son, I spent the money  for shoes and a little candy for those children. I hope you understand."                                                     
 
I understood, and my eyes became wet with tears again.  I understood very well, and I was so glad Pa had done it.  Now the rifle seemed very low on my list of priorities.  Pa had given me a lot more.  He  had given me the look on Widow Jensen's face and the radiant smiles of her three children.

For the rest of my life, whenever I saw any of the Jensens, or split a block of wood, I remembered, and remembering brought back that same joy I felt riding home beside Pa that night. Pa had given me much  more than a rifle that night, he had given me the best Christmas of my life.     

 

[linnettejane]

(email)

MY OATH TO YOU....

When you are sad.....
I will dry your tears.

When you are scared.....
I will comfort your fears.

Wh en you are worried......
I will give you hope.

When you are confused......
I will help you cope.

And when you are lost...
And can't see the light,
I shall be your beacon...
Shining ever so bright..

This is my oath...
I pledge till the end.

Why you may ask?...
Because you're my friend.

Signed: GOD