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Santa's Christmas Prayer
The sleigh was packed,
the reindeer were fed,
But Santa still knelt
by the side of the bed.
"Dear Father," he prayed
"Be with me tonight.
There's much work to do
and my schedule is tight.
I must jump in my sleigh
and streak through the sky,
Knowing full well
that a reindeer can't fly.
I will visit each household
before the first light,
I'll cover the world
and all in one night.
With sleighbells a-ringing,
I'll land on each roof,
Amid the soft clatter
of each little hoof.
To get in the house
is the difficult part,
So I'll slide down the chimney
of each little heart.
My sack will hold toys
to grant all their wishes.
The supply will be endless
like the loaves and the fishes.
I will fill all the stockings
and not leave a track.
I'll eat every cookie
that's left for my snack.
I can do all these things Lord,
only through You,
I just need your blessing,
then it's easy to do.
All this is to honor
the birth of the One,
That was sent to redeem us,
Your most Holy Son.
So to all of my friends,
lest Your glory I rob,
Please Lord, remind them,
who gave me this job."
(THANKS JIMLAS ) I've never made a fortune and it's probably too late now,
but I don't worry about that much I'm happy anyhow.
And as I go along life's way I'm reaping better than I sow,
I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflowed.
Haven't got a lot of riches and sometimes the going's tough,
but I've got loving ones around me and that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings and the mercies He's bestowed,
I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflowed.
Oh, remember times when things went wrong my faith wore somewhat thin,
but all at once the dark clouds broke and sun peeped through again.
So Lord, help me not to gripe about the tough rows that I've hoed,
I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflowed.
If God gives me strength and courage when the way grows steep and rough,
I'll not ask for other blessings - I'm already blessed enough.
And may I never be too busy to help others bear their loads,
then I'll keep drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup has overflowed!!
HE ANSWERS PRAYER (THANKS JIMLAS) One day in 1960, I woke up one morning with six hungry babies and just 75 cents in my
pocket. Their father was gone. The boys ranged from three months to seven years; their sister was two. Their Dad had never been much more than a presence they feared. Whenever they heard his tires crunch on the gravel driveway, they would scramble to hide under their beds. He did manage to leave $15 a week to buy groceries. Now that he had decided to leave, there would be no more beatings, but no food either. If there was a welfare system in effect in southern Indiana at that time, I certainly knew nothing about it. I scrubbed the children until they looked brand new and then put on my best homemade dress, loaded them into the rusty old 51 Chevy and drove off to find a job. The seven of us went to every factory, store, and restaurant in our small town. No luck. The children stayed crammed into the car and tried to be quiet while I tried to convince whoever would listen that I was willing to learn or do anything. I had to have a job.
Still no luck. The last place we went to, just a few miles out of town was an old Root Beer Barrel drive-in that had been converted to a truck stop. It was called the Big Wheel. An old lady named Granny owned the place; and she peeked out of the window from time to time at all those children. She needed someone on the graveyard shift, eleven at night until seven in the morning. She paid 65 cents an hour, and I could start that night.
I raced home and called the teenager down the street that baby-sat for people. I bargained with her to come and sleep on my sofa for a dollar a night. She could arrive with her pajamas on and the children would already be asleep. This seemed like a good arrangement to her, so we made a deal. That night when the little ones and I knelt to say our prayers; we all thanked God for finding Mommy a job. And so I started at the Big Wheel. When I got home in the mornings, I woke the baby-sitter and sent her home with one dollar of my tip money, fully half of what I averaged every night. As the weeks went by, heating bills added a strain to my meager wage. The tires on the old Chevy had the consistency of penny balloons and began to leak. I had to fill them with air on the way to work and again every morning before I could go home. One bleak fall morning, I dragged myself to the car to go home and found four tires in the back seat. New tires! There was no note, no nothing, just those beautiful brand new tires. Had angels taken up residence in Indiana? I wondered. I made a deal with the local service station. In exchange for his mounting the new tires, I would clean up his office. I remember it took me a lot longer to scrub his floor than it did for him to do the tires.
I was now working six nights instead of five and it still wasn't enough. Christmas was coming and I knew there would be no money for toys for the children. I found a can of red paint and started repairing and painting some old toys. I then hid them in the basement so there would be something for the children on Christmas morning. Clothes were a worry too. I was sewing patches on top of patches on the boys’ pants and soon they would be too far gone to repair.
On Christmas Eve the usual customers were drinking coffee in the Big Wheel; these were the truckers, Les, Frank, Jim, and a state trooper named Joe. A few musicians were hanging around after a gig at the Legion and were dropping nickels in the pinball machine. The regulars all just sat around and talked through the wee hours of the morning and then left to get home before the sun came up. When it was time for me to go home at seven o'clock on Christmas morning, to my amazement, my old battered Chevy was filled full to the top with boxes of all shapes and sizes. I quickly opened the driver's side door, crawled inside, and kneeled in the front facing the back seat. Reaching back, I pulled off the lid of the top box; inside was a whole case of little blue jeans, sizes 2-10! I looked inside another box; it was full of
shirts to go with the jeans. I then peeked inside some of the other boxes. There was candy, nuts, bananas, and bags of groceries. There was an enormous ham for baking, canned vegetables, and potatoes. There was pudding, Jell-o, cookies, pie filling, and flour. There was a whole bag of laundry supplies and cleaning items; and there were five toy trucks and one beautiful little doll. As I drove back through empty streets as the sun slowly rose on the most amazing Christmas Day of my life; I was sobbing with gratitude. I will never forget the joy on the faces of my little ones that precious morning. Yes, there were angels in Indiana that long-ago December. And they all hung out at the Big Wheel truck stop! THE POWER OF PRAYER. I believe that God only gives three answers to prayer: 1. ”Yes!"
2. "Not yet."
3. "I have something better in mind." God still sits on the throne, the devil is a liar. You maybe going through a tough time right now but God is getting ready to bless you in a way that you cannot imagine. This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. Here is the prayer: Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives, and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power in Jesus’ Name. Amen and
Amen.
The Secret
Body: The Secret
One day, one friend asked another,
"How is it that you are always so happy?
You have so much energy,
and you never seem to get down."
With her eyes smiling, she said,
"I know the Secret!"
"What secret is that?"
To which she replied,
"I'll tell you all about it,
but you have to promise to
share the Secret with others."
"The Secret is this:
I have learned there is little I can do
in my life that will make me truly happy.
I must depend on God to make
me happy and to meet my needs.
When a need arises in my life,
I have to trust God to supply
according to HIS riches.
I have learned most of the time
I don't need half of what I think I do.
He has never let me down.
Since I learned that 'Secret', I am happy."
The questioner's first thought was,
"That's too simple!"
But upon reflecting over her own life
she recalled how she thought a bigger house
would make her happy, but it didn't!
She thought a better paying job
would make her happy, but it hadn't.
When did she realize her greatest happiness?
Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren,
playing games, eating pizza or reading a story,
a simple gift from God.
Now you know it too!
We can't depend on people to make us happy.
Only GOD in His infinite wisdom can do that.
Trust HIM!
And now I pass the Secret on to you!
So once you get it, what will you do?
YOU have to tell someone the Secret, too!
That GOD in His wisdom will take care of YOU!
But it's not really a secret...
We just have to believe it and do it...
Really trust God!
Just Pass It On!
Lord, show me what is in
my heart, soul, mind, spirit,
and life that shouldn't
be there.
Teach me what I am not
understanding.
Convict me where I am missing
the mark. Tear down
my arrogance, pride, fear, and
insecurities, and help me
to see the truth about
myself, my life and
my circumstances.
Expose me to myself, Lord.
I can take it.
Enable me to correct the error
of my ways.
Help me to replace lies with
truth and make changes
that last.
In Jesus name
AMEN
A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away y from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men; and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.
LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq
I wrote the words to a song for my daughter Jackie. She was killed in a car wreck when she was 15. I didn't get to say goodbye I didn't say a word As they drove away that day They were in a hurry I just watched them drive away She was laughing and talking She seemed so much alive Trying to act so grown up When she wasn't old enough to drive The phone call woke us early And we rushed to where she lay We didn't make it fast enough God already called her away Now every time I think of it It makes me want to cry I lost my little girl that day And didn't get to say goodbye I never thought of losing her Until that tragic day Three people in the car Two people walked away Some folks say it's luck or fate Some say it was God's call Some day I'll look Him in the eye And He'll explain it all You never know when Death will call Though children aren't supposed to die So every time they leave your home Don't forget to say goodbye
I also wrote a song after 9-11. It goes like this: My Daddy The little girl walked to her school Alone on Father's day The other kids walked with their Dads But hers had gone away They pointed and they laughed at her Kids are only kids of course They thought her Daddy ran away Or maybe got divorced She waited for her turn to speak And like the others had She stood beside the teacher's desk And talked about her Dad Stood alone in front of them But she held her head up high She told them of her Daddy As a tear slid from her eye Chorus: She said Daddy was a fireman And on that fateful day He rushed in to save their lives And helped others get away Daddy gave his life that day To help others make it out He did his job the best he could And I know without a doubt Daddy made his mind up then That he would have to stay He'd trade his life for others He would have wanted it that way My Daddy couldn't be here Cause he lives to far away My Daddy lives in Heaven But He's with me every day He taught me how to ride a bike And what is wrong and why we give He taught me life's important things And through me my Daddy lives Chorus: She said Daddy was a fireman And on that fateful day He rushed in to save their lives And helped others get away
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