Quote of the day:
Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one Who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference. - Max Lucado Think about it: Colonel Gracie was aboard the ship The Titanic on his way home. His wife was at home and couldn’t sleep. She felt something was wrong and began to pray with all her heart for her husband. Finally she felt peace at 5:00 in the morning. During that time, The Titanic had its accident and was slowly starting to sink. After helping others get into life boats, not thinking of himself, Colonel Gracie then sank down deep in the icy water along with the ship. But not for long, as suddenly he came to the surface of the water and found himself near an overturned lifeboat. He and others nearby climbed in, happy to get out of the cold water. Soon after, at 5:00 in the morning another life boat came over and helped them all make it to the shore. That is the moment when his wife at home, with no idea what was happening, felt at peace that all was well, because she prayed.
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Quote of the day:
Think about it: Ted and Dorothy were a young couple who bought Wall Drug, a drugstore in a small town in the western United States, in 1931. In those days, a drugstore was like a convenience store and sold a wide range of beverages and products, so there was a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the town had only 326 people, all of them poor. Business was bad, and they barely made enough to keep afloat. But they believed that they had a calling: they were making friendships, providing medical care, and feeling that they were becoming a part of community life. They decided that they would give it five years, and if the store didn’t succeed by then, they would try something else. Finally, one afternoon toward the end of the five-year timeframe they had set, Dorothy was trying to get her daughter to take a nap, which was nearly impossible with all the noisy traffic passing by. That was the moment she had the idea: What do those travelers need? They must be hot and thirsty, so why don’t we put up some signs and offer them free ice water? They followed through with her idea, and to their surprise, it worked! People came for the ice water, but they also bought what they needed while stopping by. Ted commented, “Since then, we’ve never been lonely for customers. The next summer we had to hire eight girls to help us, and a few years later, up to 20,000 customers would visit on a hot summer day.” From its humble origins, the business has grown into a tourist attraction, with a hotel, traveler’s chapel, art gallery, live performances, an 80-foot dinosaur, and a whole lot more. In recent years, Wall Drug took in more than $10 million and drew about two million visitors to a remote town whose population has never exceeded 800 people. The state governor commented the following about Ted’s success: “He’s a guy that figured out that free ice water could turn you into a phenomenal success in the middle of a semi-arid desert way out in the middle of someplace.” Their son has taken over the business, and over the years, the store has faced many challenges, but they have met each one with the same spirit of creativity and hospitality that made them a success in the first place. And yes, they still give free ice water, because people still get thirsty. -- Curtis Peter van Gorder My parents were intent on me going to university to become an intellectual. I felt called to be a missionary but I had to fulfill my responsibility to them first. In university while studying I had to work at 3 jobs to pay for my studies—babysitting, sales representative in a children’s shop, and a secretary in a bank so I didn’t have much time to study. Before every exam I prayed and the Lord would help me by giving me inside info.
Sometimes it was right then and sometimes it came later in dreams, but He would show me what the exam was going to be about. The first time it happened, my fellow students were amazed and often asked me what the next subject would be. We got 30-40 choices from one subject and the test would be on that one chosen subject. The subjects of the test were picked at random. Knowing what the test was going to be helped immensely as I only had to study that one subject. I called my friends and told them Jesus told me what the subject of the test was going to be. And they said, “You are totally crazy!” Yet they were happy to get the right information no matter what its source. This happened 50 times over a 4-year time period and each and every time the Lord showed me. It was the gift of prophecy put to practical use. Quote of the day:
Think about it: The very first person to reach the status of billionaire was business magnate John D. Rockefeller (1839–1937). He first became a millionaire when he was only 23, and he was a billionaire by the time he was 50. In fact, with a net worth estimated at $418 billion in today’s dollars, he is widely considered the wealthiest American of all time, and the richest person in modern history. But at the age of 53, he became ill. His entire body became racked with pain and he lost all the hair on his face, head, and body. He could literally buy anything he wanted, but he was in such agony that he could only digest milk and crackers. An associate wrote, “He could not sleep, would not smile, and nothing in life meant anything to him.” His physicians predicted he would die within a year. One night, he lay awake thinking about his life and accomplishments and pondering the fact that he would not be able to take any of his successes with him into the next world. He had always donated a portion of his income to good causes, but he now decided to focus the time he had left on giving away the bulk of his wealth to hospitals, schools, and mission work. But perhaps the most amazing part of Rockefeller’s story is that as he gave back, his health was astonishingly altered. While it had looked as if he would die at 53, he actually lived to be 97. He was a man who knew how to set goals and reach them, but it was when he committed his life to kindness and generosity that he found happiness in his true calling. While you and I may not have billions or millions to donate to causes or to share with those in need, we can learn from Rockefeller’s lessons and find peace and joy in doing our part to be generous with our resources and time to make a difference. Dear Readers,
I pray that you have a very wonderful and meaningful Christmas. It has been a privilege to share the things I’ve shared with you this year. I pray that we have another wonderful year together growing in God’s love. This is my Christmas and New Year blessing for you. May you know the Christ of Christmas as… The God who sings over you and with you in Joy. The God who rejoices over you and with you in love. The God whose mountains and hills break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of His fields clap their hands. The God who walks beside you, delighting with you as He directs your every step. May you know this Lord of Love as… The God who compassionately comforts you as a Father in all your troubles. The God who strengthens your inner man by His Spirit that is always with you. The God who is your strength, your refuge, and a very evident and present help. The God who is your shield and protection when you are under attack. The ever present God who is eternally your peace. May the blessing of joy abide WITHIN you… May the blessing of peace rest UPON you… May the blessing of love flow out THROUGH you… May all the blessings of the Lord be yours at Christmas and in the new year. God bless you, Coach Dana
Author Unknown
“Christmas time, it goes so fast, it’s here and then it’s gone” is a line in a Christmas song. For people working with Christmas products or publications, as I do Christmas starts in summer, if not earlier. But what got me really into the Christmas mood last year was when at the end of October I decided to put the many Christmas stories I had posted on my blog into a brochure with Christmas praises, Christmas quotations, and pictures for people who prefer to read on paper. Stories that tell of awesome things God has done for other people are always inspiring, uplifting, and most importantly, faith-building. And so it was for me again, even though I knew the stories already. A portion of the text reads:
Thinking about Christmas through working on this brochure inspired me to decorate my apartment with evergreen twigs, little light chains, and silver stars. And what is Christmastime without Christmas songs? They make for great praise times, singing as unto the Lord. This all doubled my Advent time and it felt great, in spite of the much work it involved. I was able to finish the first brochure by the end of November and mailed it beginning of December. What a victory that was! In mid-December I was able to get the second brochure done and mailed it together with my wishes for a “Merry Christmas”. I wanted to visit the Christmas market downtown on the fourth Advent Sunday. To my surprise, I met my children and their mates on the train; they also wanted to go to the Christmas market. I had not planned to see them that day, but what a nice time we had with this surprise meeting. Only God could have arranged such a “coincidence.” The next day I went again to the Christmas market, this time to ask people if they knew why Christmas is such a merry time and to give them tracts and to give families with children a picture brochure with the Christmas story from the Bible, which most received with appreciation. I had a great time, and it made me feel like I had given Jesus another present for His birthday. On December 24th I could do no more than take a rest. In the evening I put my manger scene on my desk and listened to beautiful music. I sang along with Christmas songs on YouTube. Then I listened to stories reminiscing on the birth of Jesus. I can’t put into words how it made me feel, celebrating Jesus coming to earth with just the two of us—Jesus and me. I felt His closeness and was moved in the spirit several times. I could feel His longing for us to have such times together more regularly. Singing more Christmas songs reminded me of how I had had different songs as favorites throughout my lifetime. As a child I especially liked three songs that were not in the repertoire of songs sung in my not-very-religious family. They talked of the request of shepherds for everyone to come see Jesus, of bells that never rang as sweet as at Christmastime, and of the snow that falls gently, making the forest glitter in Christmas beauty, and to rejoice, for the Christ-child comes soon. Such songs told me that there is more to God and Jesus than my family had experienced, and I wanted to know about it. In later Christmases, as I got older, I started to like Christmas songs that put scriptures to song. What increased this desire, as I would express it today, was my wanting to come closer to Jesus. Scriptures from Isaiah 11:1–2 and a song about Zechariah 9:9, I especially liked, because of its joyfulness, a song that is derived from Handel’s “Messiah.” In my teen years I was wandering around trying to find my place in society, but also searching for the reason for living and the way to make life worth living. On one Christmas, I went to church to listen to the Christmas Oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, which greatly moved me. It strengthened my conviction that not all “religious” people were just some “bigoted nuts” as my family felt about people dedicated to faith. With Christmas songs influencing me, is it any wonder that I found Jesus the day after Christmas? That year I was 26, and Christmas was nice, spent with family, enjoying delicious meals and presents and all, yet it still left my heart empty. But on the day after Christmas, a young man approached me on the street. He had listened to the Lord’s voice telling him to talk to me, because I needed to know His love. Not being able to resist that wonderful thought that God is love and He loves me, I received Jesus right there. Now, having Jesus in my heart, Christmas took on a new meaning, and the Christmas songs that spoke to me following that had to do with my growing in faith and love and dedication to Jesus. I learned Christmas songs in English, and I learned how joyful these songs are, such as “Adeste Fideles” (O Come All Ye Faithful) or “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” (Angels We Have Heard on High), which are sung in many different languages. I learned to sing the joy of Christmas. But later my life hit an all-time low. I was separated from my husband and my three oldest children, which had broken my heart not just to pieces but to dust. It was a fight to keep looking at Jesus and not at my misery. With my two youngest children still with me, the Lord had made it possible after the fall of communism for me to go to the former East Germany to bring the people the spiritual truth they had been deprived of for such a long time. Together with other missionaries, we lived in caravans in a campground, as there were no houses for rent. We celebrated Christmas together in an empty holiday house. On my way back to my caravan I took in the beauty of the peaceful night with the moon brightly shining, which made me sing, “O holy night, the stars are brightly shining.” What spoke to me strongly was the refrain “fall on your knees, oh hear the angels’ voices.” I felt the angels were telling me to concentrate on my dedication to Jesus and that all will be well. It took faith to accept this challenge, but what else could I do but trust, follow, and hang on to it, wanting desperately to believe that all will be well with Jesus at my side. And so it was! Some years later I was united with my children again, though they grew up fast and went their own ways, but all is well now or still will be well by faith. With my health and strength deteriorating, the Lord led me to work more online. I was able to make two blogs, one for “unbelievers” and one for Christians wanting to mature in their faith. This past Christmas, a song touched me without me being able to define what exactly it is that spoke to me. The song was “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” And it keeps on touching me, bringing me to tears and inspiring me to pray for all the people who do not know the Prince of Peace. Maybe it touches me so because it becomes more and more unbearable to watch the news and see all the bad things happening in the world. I keep looking to Jesus to keep that promised peace on earth in my heart with the hope—and my prayers—for Jesus to come soon to bring peace on earth for eternity. This idea started for us when our friend was struggling with cancer near Christmas time. We decided to secretly get a group together and deliver gifts each day leading up to Christmas. Each gift would contain the number for that day, such as, 1 DVD, 2 boxes of chocolates, 3 movie tickets and so on. People became very creative and had pizza delivered cut in the right number of slices for the day, or used the number of ounces in an item, or the number of songs on a CD, dollars on a gift card to a favorite store, whatever kept the count accurate.
This allowed many people to be involved, at a time when we were all feeling helpless to do something in addition to the prayer support we were giving. We found out that it truly blessed the family, and the secrecy added hope, excitement, and anticipation during a time when cancer was robbing them of all of these emotions. We enjoyed doing this so much that we have used the idea several times since, during cancer treatments, major operations, or loss of a loved one facing the holidays for the first time alone. It gives many people a chance to support in a fun way. Sometimes we’ve kept it a total secret, other times, knowing who was helping was very important to the person and added to the blessing. Several times, it has been at an odd time of year, and more than 12 people want to be involved, so we’ve even done the 31 days of October to help a young mom and her family through her cancer treatments. It felt wonderful to find a way for the whole family to encourage and support another person during times of need.
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AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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