Word for Today, Mon, 5 Dec 2005: Christian Perfection
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Here is part three of Larry Davies' Sowing Seeds of Faith article
entitled, "... And The Real Reason for the Season Is...?", which was
published at the beginning of this week.
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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Sowing Seeds of Faith...
We set up a fund on our web site shopping cart named "Christmas Child"
so you may contribute toward providing Christmas for a family in
need. Click here:
sowingseedsoffaith.com/s-cart/form.phtml?g_intCatID=1
To read parts 1 and 2 Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Christmas.Child.Fund.htm
Part 3 "... And The Real Reason for the Season Is...?" Larry Davies
Two weeks ago, I shared a plea from families asking for
help. Christmas can be a visible reminder of who receives generously
and who gets little or nothing! Christmas was never meant to be that
way. Last week we shared a few ideas on how to keep Christ in
Christmas. We began a"Christmas Child" fund which enabled Sowing Seeds
Ministry subscribers to help our ministry provide Christmas for
families in need. So far you have contributed enough to allow us to
help four families. One of our readers from Canada sent a story to
help us all appreciate the true meaning of Christ in Christmas.
Almost nineteen years ago I loaded up an old car with two children,
two cats, a dog and all our possessions packed tightly into an 8x10
U-Haul along with whatever could be stuffed into the covered roof rack
and the interior of the already crowded car. Both children were babies
in car seats. In the middle of the night, in the midst of a terrible
blizzard we left my home city and all my immediate family because I
was running from a bad marriage and an abusive husband.
The blizzard continued throughout the night and the next day, spanning
our home province of Manitoba and the neighboring province of
Saskatchewan. Feverishly I pushed on with very few stops and no sleep,
driving endlessly through the whirling, blinding snow. By the time we
crossed through Alberta and landed in British Columbia, thirty-eight
hours elapsed and exhausted as I was, I still kept going. We literally
ran out of gas in Mission, British Columbia a town with a rough
reputation and the crime rate of a large city yet they took us in and
Mission became our home for seventeen years.
By the time Christmas arrived, the children and I were coming out of a
transition house with only a rented run-down trailer to go home to. I
purchased an artificial Christmas tree for a precious $10 but cried
night after night as the Christmas season descended upon us. The
children looked with hungry eyes at all the wonder of the shopping
malls and many gifts. I remember sitting with a heavy heart while they
wrote their letter to Santa looking at the crayon marks and the
backward letters lined up in misspelled words. My oldest (3yr old)
wanted to put the letter in the mailbox himself and so I lifted him
high with the precious letter and let him drop it in the box. As we
walked home from posting the letter, they kept asking when Santa would
send a reply or would he just bring the gifts on the joyous much
anticipated morning. At this point my heart was breaking and I could
think of no answer.
On Christmas Eve there was a knock at the door. I nervously opened it
a crack and saw four big rough looking men... but each of them was
carrying a huge box filled with food and gifts. My oldest son looked
up at the biggest man who was sporting a beard and asked: "Are you
Santa?"
In a deep gruff voice, the man answered "No but he sent us - his best
Elves - to deliver this to your baby brother and you. Santa's only
request is that you give thanks for this tonight and every night when
you say your prayers. Can you do that?"
As I type this email I still get tears in my eyes. The joy and
wonderment of that moment will never be
forgotten. Someone... somewhere opened that letter and the Salvation
Army stepped in along with volunteers from the Rehabilitation Center
for Men. I was a single mother with two babies with no job, no home,
and I was running out hope. Yet that Christmas will live on in my
heart forever.
For many years after that, we would go and select two angels off
the"Angel of Hope" Christmas Tree. We would spend hours selecting just
the perfect gift. My boys are now men but they still go to pluck an
angel from the tree. I also go because I know there are children who
may not have a great Christmas and there is also a mother faced with
the tears and fears of the day and season.
Many years have passed and we have since moved from the small town
that extended their arms to us. My boys are young men now but they
carry the memories. The kindness and love shown by the unknown people
who made our Most Wonderful Christmas will never be forgotten and my
love to "Santa's Elves" whose quick smile and twinkling eyes brought
it altogether for my family that day.
May God's peace and love be there for all but hopefully it won't stop
there! Carry God's love with you always and let your light shine
bright. Joanne L. LaRocque - mailto:jo_larocque@shaw.ca
-------------------------------
We set up a fund on our web site shopping cart named "Christmas Child"
so you may contribute toward providing Christmas for a family in
need. Click here:
sowingseedsoffaith.com/s-cart/form.phtml?g_intCatID=1 or you
can mail a contribution to"Christmas Child Fund" care of Sowing Seeds
Ministry, 47 Greenwell Ct., Lynchburg, VA 24502.
Next week: The Conclusion to, "...And the Real Reason for the Season
Is...?"
To read parts 1 and 2 Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Christmas.Child.Fund.htm
Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm
Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our
prayer team today. Check it out by clicking here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm
How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds
Ministry partner. Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm
Jesus said: "You are the light of the world--like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light
under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all."
(Matthew 5:14-15)
"Breaking the Peanut Butter Habit: Following God's Recipe for a Better
Life" now on sale only through our
website. http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/peanbutt.htm
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Brian Masinick
mailto:masinick@yahoo.com