Everyone loves something new.  When you buy a new toy for a child, it does not matter if that toy is less expensive or smaller than the old one he had, you can see the excitement and the joy in his face as he gladly accepts the gift and rushes to have a go at it.

When a man buys a new car, you can see a childlike expression on his face as he talks about the features of the car and what makes it fantastic.  When a woman does a new hair or buys a new dress, she can’t wait to go out and hear compliments from people about the dress or how nice her hair is.

The fact is that we call love something new. This is why there is always a sense of anticipation when a New Year is about to unfold and people gather together to celebrate the coming of the New Year with fireworks and celebrations.

Guess what? God loves new things as well! How do I know this?  The scripture confirms it. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 – NIV)

Notice that there is an exclamation mark at the end of that scripture.  It reveals excitement as a result of something new.  When a man comes into Christ, heaven is excited; God is excited. The Bible confirms that heaven throws a party any time someone gives his life to Christ.  (Luke 15:7)

In Africa, when a child is born to a family, the news is spread from one family member and friend to another.  Decades ago, young people were sent with the news of the newborn baby and will even travel long distances bearing the glad tidings.

What is so important about the ‘New’?  It is because the ‘New’ signifies change.  When a man has been going through a lot of hardship and tough issues in life, he yearns for something new; he desires a change.  Even for those who have relatively comfortable living conditions look forward to something new. No one wants to remain static, every one wants something new.

As we desire change and hope for something new this year, we need to ask ourselves the big question, what new thing does God want me to do?  We no doubt have asked Him all we want to achieve this year.

Many have written lists of things they want God to help them accomplish. There is nothing wrong with that at all, in fact God encourages us to trust Him for these things and He has promised that if we trust Him, He will indeed do it for us.

Seeing that we love new things, shouldn’t we also seek to do something new for the Lord?   I hear some readers think aloud, what new thing can I do for Him? Well, I am sure that there would be something we haven’t done before that would please Him. For instance, how many people did you bring to Christ last year? How many people did you minister help and encouragement to in the last year? Why not look for a different ministry group in church to assist, especially the ones no one want to be part of? You never know who will be challenged and encouraged by this.

For some of us, a change of attitude is a new thing God will appreciate.  Some Christians are so spiritual that they practically separate themselves from the unbelievers around them. They show hostility and contempt to their neighbours rather than the love of Christ. Do away with the old, let the new you filled with love and blessedness emerge! That change of attitude may be all that is needed to turn your neighbours to the Lord.

God loves to bless us with new things because he knows we appreciate something new; that is how we were created.  If we are excited about something new, then I believe we should seek to do something new for the Lord so that we can in our own little way do something new that would excite Him.

Have a lovely and blessed new year.

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the owner of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in London where he works as an IT professional. He serves in the ministerial team of his local church as well as in the music ministry. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

Other things which could threaten our peace of mind is fear and worry. We worry about our past actions and what effect it may have on our future, we worry about whether our investment today will yield anything worthwhile in the future to justify the investment, we worry about the children and the pressures they might be facing from their peers or which they might be exposed to in the future. It goes on and on and one would be so amazed about what other people worry about and fear.

Problems, struggles, needs are also things which easily overwhelms the heart. There are people who can’t remember the last time they have slept in a place called home. Others have needs pulling then from one end to the other. They do not know which problem to address first. The needs cannot be arranged in order of priority because they are so many and diverse in nature.

One of the most depressing factors of today is the media. It is not often that you read good news on the pages of newspapers these days. What screams at you  on the front page is always one bad news or the other. When someone is murdered or a child is abused, you are sure to get that reported in the front page. Other events that would readily make first page include, earthquakes killing hundreds, a terrorist attack, collapsed buildings with people killed, air crash, the list goes on and on.

Good news isn’t always reported in the media with the same measure as bad news. In most cases, good news occupies just a little space in a newspaper or a quick mention in the news broadcast.

What is the way out? There have been examples of people in the past who faced overwhelming situations and came out triumphantly. They came out stronger than they were before and were better equipped to face similar situations they might face in the future. What did these people do? Let us take a cue from the psalmist in Ps 61:1-2

“Hear my cry O Lord, attend unto my prayer. From the ends of the earth, will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I”

If there is one person who went through diverse, difficult and extremely dangerous situations, it is David. Many times he was under the threat of death, was in exile for so many years and pursued  like a common criminal, he suffered hunger and deprivation many times and on occasion had his family abducted in an enemy invasion. The saddest part of it all was that in their grief, some of his people began to blame him for their woes.

From the scripture above, we can deduce how David faced his problems. We can see how he coped with the sense of despair. The first thing he did was to cry unto the Lord. ‘From the ends of the earth’ typifies not being in the regular place of worship. You can cry out to God anywhere you are. You could be at work, on the road; you could park your car by the roadside and cry unto Him.

Finally David says, ‘when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I’. What does this rock represent? The rock represents Jesus Christ. He is the rock upon which we lean on and we are sure that we can never fall. A rock represents strength; it represents shelter and a place of refuge.

David learnt the secret long before Jesus Christ was made known to the world, that Christ is the burden remover and yoke destroyer. Whatever may be weighing you down today, cry unto the God and let Him lead you to the Rock that is higher than David, Abraham or anyone who has ever walked the surface of the earth. He is our peace!

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the owner of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives inLondon where he works as an IT professional. He serves in the ministerial team of his local church as well as in the music ministry. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

I will never forget the afternoon when Mom gave me the coins for a cone, and I went to the ice cream stand only to find that a new franchise had taken over the business.  Their product was an inferior vanilla soft serve.  I was displeased and far from polite.  I practically told them to get out of business and was further shocked when a month or so later, they did.  My thoughtless rudeness resulted in a strong guilt and regret.

Any of us can get ourselves into regrettable situations due to picky personal preferences or strong tastes.  The Bible has story after story of characters who wreaked havoc or caused themselves genuine disaster or loss because of decided and unruly personal preferences.

Esau, tired from hunting, sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup.  His hunger overtook his good sense.  Later, this same Esau, trying to please his father’s strong preferences for a certain meat dish was slow in hunting and preparing the meat.  His wily brother Jacob, urged on by his mother, disguised himself and took a more quickly prepared but tasty meat dish to Isaac and obtained Esau’s blessing for himself.

Perhaps Isaac should have just given Esau the blessing without the prior requirement of tasty meat.  Again, a strong preference plays a certain role in the outcome.

Strong desires can certainly lead to trouble.  From Eve to King David, and beyond, we see examples of desires that lead to sin.  Placing thoughtful love between ourselves and a too desired personal preference can save us from sin, sorrow, guilt, and regret.  And during the upcoming holiday seasons, such selfless love can go a long way to preserving the peace and joy of the season.

We may not get every preference we desire: foods may not be our favorite, scheduled times may not be convenient, guests and visitors may not be of our first choice, and events may not turn out as planned.  Young people may not get their desired date for an evening, and Christmas gifts may be disappointing.

Nonetheless, with thought to loving kindness and Christian fellowship, we can make choices that will please the Lord Jesus, in His season, before, and beyond.  The sweetness of unselfish love can flavor for savor even a sacrificial choice, and we may discover another Christian preference to put in the place of the tired and selfish picky preference we no longer so desire.

Mary-Ellen Grisham is the editor of Eternal Ink, a bimonthly Christian ezine. She can be reached at meginrose@charter.net andmeginrose@gmail.com

However, we still live in a dark world, so understandably, we are subjected to trials, temptations and tribulations. In all this however, we are promised victory in Christ Jesus. We are not victims, rather, we are victors because within us is a life that cannot be defeated.

What should be our attitude when life throws negative things our way? Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”

When reading the above scripture, it brought to mind the process of cooking a meal. Some meals are cooked with ingredients which on their own are bitter or tasteless. Yet after the meal is done, the aroma is enough to make a person’s mouth water. The cooking is the process which turns the mixture of ingredients into a great meal.

Everyone of us go through a process where everything happening to us are the ingredients which make us into what God has called us to be.  Some of the things are good, others are not so good. We’ve had our times of sadness and also our times of rejoicing.  At the point when these things happen to us, we can only respond to the individual events. However, God our Father sees the big picture. He knows the end from the beginning and when we trust Him, he helps us understand that the events we are experiencing is just a piece of the big picture.

Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. Scene 1, He was just a young boy who had a dream and was excited about. Scene 2, He was captured by his brothers and sold into slavery. A total opposite to the dream he   had. Scene 3, He ends up in Potiphar’s house and soon becomes Potiphar’s trusted hand.  So it looks like he is back on course towards his dream. Scene 4, He is in prison for a crime he did not commit. It looks like the end of the road but wait, there is another scene emerging¡Ä someone remembers him from the palace and he is summoned to Pharaoh. He never went back to prison but ended up being the prime minister of Egypt.

If you are going through a tough situation at the moment, do not see it as permanent feature in your life,   or see at as if it is the end of the world. Rather, see it as part of the picture because God’s ultimate plan for you is that you will have a great future that you hope for.

“For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end” Jeremiah 29:11

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the owner of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in London where he works as an IT professional. He serves in the ministerial team of his local church as well as in the music ministry. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

Someone once said, “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” Even when you are tired, sick, broke or fed-up you have to keep on keeping on; you have to be determined to put one foot in front of the other and make that day what it may not seem to be.

We get down and out, and wallow in the weight of our troubles and woes, and become blinded to possibilities that may be just lurking around the corner. Often we are standing in the midst of probable miracles, but because of circumstances, we fail to see them as such.

Writer, Margaret Storm Jameson, made the statement, “The only way to live is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle, which is exactly what it is – a miracle and unrepeatable.” So, it seems to me, we each should watch for those minute miracles that pass this way only once.

When we think about some of the mistakes we have made, sins we have commented or pains we have endured, those are moments filled with circumstances that we often find disturbing.

But, if we were to think of each minute as a miracle of that moment in time, never to be repeated in our lives again, one that could change our circumstances, thus our life, perhaps we would look at minutes and moments differently; perhaps we should strive to be constructive with the minutes of our days that God has given us.

What a difference a day of 1,440 minutes would make if we multiplied that times each day in our lifetime, and we used and viewed each minute properly as the miracle it was.

Many minutes that could have been used in positive ways, have been lost because of our self-absorbance in negative thinking or actions.

I wonder how much more of life is lost than lived, merely because we were not determined enough to find satisfaction in the day God has laid at our feet.  How many people foster anger, resentment, prejudice and malice, when love given in a miracle moment is so easily given and brings about such peace to nations, families and individual souls!

I imagine there are many miracles we missed because we failed to accept the moment for the miracle it was, the change it could bring into our lives, and even to other people around the world.

There is a saying, “Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it;” how true that is. That is true about moments, circumstances and opportunities, and miracles as well.

We must remember that life is how we look at it, our attitude in dealing with it, and the blessings from God we acknowledge are the miracles we experience along the way.

So often it is our own greed and wants from within, instead of our realization of the true need outside of ourselves, which we should be seeking to fill, which causes us to miss minutes of miracles and moments of grander.

I would challenge you to become aware everyday, upon arising, of the 1,440 miracles that will come to you, that were given you by God; will you acknowledge them or waste them, use them or abuse them. Will you exploit them to wallow in self pity, or utilize them to help another wandering soul, lovingly to become more aware of his minute miracles?

Do this and every night when you lie down you will experience a new found peace and determination to arise again watching for God’s miracles – minute miracles can change your life if you acknowledge them!

Betty King had been living with Multiple Sclerosis for many years She went to be with the Lord died at the age of 69, at her home in  Mt. Vernon, Illinois, USA, On  Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011. Betty was an author, newspaper columnist, devotional writer, freelance writer and speaker. She has publishing credits in newspapers, magazines, poetry books and anthologies.  She is author of four published books, “It Takes Two Mountains to Make a Valley,” “But-It Was in the Valleys I Grew,” “The Fragrance of Life” and “Safe and Secure in the Palm of His Hand.” She was also a member of Central Christian Church and the Roaring 20′s Club in Mt. Vernon.

In a city called Cana in Galilee, which was about four and a half miles northwest of Nazareth, a wedding took place. At that wedding, was Mary the mother of Jesus. Also present at the wedding on invitation was Jesus and His disciples (John 2:1 – 2)

At a point during the wedding party, the hosts ran out of wine.  The implication of running out of wine during a wedding feast was a serious one in the East those days. It was not only embarrassing but also humiliating to the bride and the groom.

Word got to Mary about this situation and she approached Jesus. It is apparent from Mary’s role at this wedding that these people were family, so the embarrassment of running out of wine would have extended to her as well.   She promptly came to Jesus. All she said to Him was, ‘They have no wine’.

That short and precise statement shows a lot about the existence of a close and deep relationship between mother and son. She did not need to say too much or go into a long winded story of what went wrong, who was at fault and what implication it would have on the family’s reputation if the situation was not addressed. She simply said, ‘They have no wine’ (John 2:3)

From the response of Jesus, it sounds as if He was reluctant to do anything about the situation. He knew what His mother wanted Him to do as can be deduced from his statement, “Is it any of our business, Mother-yours or mine? This isn’t my time. Don’t push me” (John 2:4)

To me, as I read this exchange, it sounded like the typical banter between a mother and a child who understood each other so well. Mary simply walked away telling the the servants, “Whatever he tells you, do it”.  This reminds me of how my mother used to ensure I do certain things even when I was reluctant.

Jesus gave instructions for some water pots nearby to be filled with water. The servants obeyed as Mary told them. The result was that from not having wine, they now had six pots full, each containing 20 – 30 gallons of wine. Not only did they have wine in abundance, the new wine was of much better quality than the earlier one they had.

At another event, Jesus had just finished preaching. The meeting ended quite late,  close to the time of the Passover feast. Jesus knew that the people would not have enough time to get back to town and prepare for the feast. He therefore requested that bread be bought for the people to eat.

The disciples, unlike Mary, did not understand how a crowd of over five thousand people could be fed with their limited resources. They asked the question, “Two hundred silver pieces wouldn’t be enough to buy bread for each person to get a piece”.  Andrew also added his own doubts after identifying a boy who had five loaves and two fishes.

At that point Jesus requested the people to sit in groups, blessed the five loaves and two fishes and the result was that there was not enough to go round, there was leftover of twelve full baskets!

The following day, the people who had been fed by Jesus, began looking for him. They discovered he had left and traced him to Capernaum. When they saw him, they asked, ‘Rabbi, when did you get here?’ Jesus answered, “You’ve come looking for me not because you saw God in my actions but because I fed you, filled your stomachs—and for free” (John 6:25 – 26)

There are so many in the church today who are seeking God, not because they seek a relationship but because of what they can get from Him. Many of them soon become disillusioned after they have waited for a while, waiting for the miracle to happen. Just like those people were looking for Jesus from one place to another, there are many today who are looking for God’s miracles – His acts, from one ministry to another and even from one religion to another.

Seeking God because of miracles has drawn many into deception and unfortunate ends. I recently read in the news about a couple who went to a church because they needed a miracle baby. They got one but later lost the child in a legal battle when it was discovered that the children were not theirs. The judge said the woman had been subjected to great psychological and physical trauma and deceived into believing that she actually delivered the child miraculously.

God still works miracles but the miracles are to draw us to Him and to help our faith grow. When we begin walking with Him and learning His ways everyday of our life, the miraculous becomes something we know He is able to do, even though we don’t see it happening when we expect it to.

Focus on God’s ways and you will find yourself walking in the miraculous.

Steve Popoola
(c) 2011, Biblepraise Fellowship Online

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the owner of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in London where he works as an IT professional. He serves in the ministerial team of his local church as well as in the music ministry. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

All our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer.

Oh what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer

This was the hymn we sang in Church one Sunday morning. It was not a new hymn for me since I had been singing it from childhood. That hymn however, meant more to me on this particular day than it ever did. I have therefore decided to share my thoughts on this hymn with you today.

Jesus is the true definition of friendship. He is a friend who stands by His word. One of my favourite scriptures is John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. This is a great encouragement to the Christian! Whatever you are going through right now, the Lord is saying, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”. Such is the ultimate example of friendship. A friend who is absolutely committed to staying by your side through thick and thin. What a friend we have in Jesus!

A friend is a burden bearer. Jesus bore our shame and reproach upon the cross. He didn’t bear it in private, no; He bore it in the open. The whole world looked upon Him as He died the death reserved only for criminals. He became cursed that you and I may be set free from the curse of the Law. “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” Isaiah 53:5

It is possible for us to have friends who will encourage us, who would be there for us as much as they can. There are however, limitations to what they can do. Sooner or later, our friends will have to leave and then, we are back grappling with our problems. There are also times when our friends can’t seem to understand what we are going through. No matter how hard you try to explain, they just can’t appreciate the situation. Even when they do understand, there is a little or nothing they can do about it. The problem at times is that because people have not experienced what you are going through, they cannot appreciate how you feel.

However, we have a friend who has experienced any pain and sorrow you can think of. He is the only one who can fully appreciate what you are going through. See what the writer of Hebrews says about Him. “For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” Hebrews 4:15. He knows what you are going through, and because He knows, He can help you through that situation more than any human friend you can think of!

One day, while living in Nigeria, I passed by a mosque on my way home. A Moslem cleric was preaching and what got my attention was a statement he made, which is a common phrase among Moslems. He said, “God did not beget any child, neither is He begotten. We are servants and not sons of God”. I smiled and thought, “What a privilege I have, not just being a child of God but also being called a friend of God!” Christ said, “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. John 15:15.

Another privilege we have is the privilege of prayer. God does not ordinarily owe us any obligation to do the things that we require of Him. It however pleases Him anytime we come to Him in prayer. Most times, we miss out on the blessings, the comforts, the encouragement and peace of prayer when we go around carrying our burdens. No matter how long we carry these burdens, they will not disappear; they would rather become heavier because one burden naturally has several burdens attached to it. When we however take these burdens to the Lord in prayer, what this means is that we are telling the Lord, “I cannot carry these burdens Lord, so I am bringing them to you because I trust you to deal with them in the most perfect way”.

Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus!

Steve Popoola
(c) Biblepraise Fellowship Online

Steve Popoola is the editor of Biblepraise Newsletter and the owner of Biblepraise Fellowship Online at http://www.biblepraise.org. He lives in London where he works as an IT professional. He serves in the ministerial team of his local church as well as in the music ministry. He is the Moderator/Editor of Biblepraise Newsletter. He can be reached through His email address, steve@biblepraise.org

“I remember you,” he said, reaching down to give me a hug. I was mystified.

As we talked, I found that I had known his parents while my husband and I were stationed on a missionary center overseas in the late 1970s. Tim, now 41, was in his teens at the time, and since my husband and I were newlyweds in our early thirties, we didn’t really have any contact with the high school crowd.  But for some reason, Tim still remembered us.

As we talked, I found that Tim and I had many mutual friends from that time—people he had known because they were friends of his parents, or parents of high school classmates.

He told me he was traveling through Canada and had stopped in Calgary on the way to see people who had worked in the mission at that time. He was reconnecting with his past.

“What kind of work are you doing now?” I asked, curious by this time.

“Nothing at the moment,” he said. Then he explained that he had a university degree, but by the time he completed it, his field of training was obsolete because of rapidly advancing computer technology. To support himself, he had been working at a job that was below his level of education.

As he continued, I sensed he had a need to talk. An urgent need. I was more than willing to provide a listening ear, since it wasn’t a busy morning for me.

A U.S. citizen and army officer, he told me he had just returned from a one-year tour of duty in Iraq six weeks earlier. That explained his present lack of a job.

“Wasn’t it dangerous where you were?” I shuttered to think of what he had gone through.

“Not really,” he responded. After reflecting a moment, he added, “One time I was hanging out my wash on a line, and the enemy blew holes through the ‘Porta-Potty’ near where I was standing.”

And he didn’t call that dangerous? Yikes!

Two weeks after he returned to the U.S., his wife died from complications of cancer and several strokes. From what he said, the marriage didn’t sound like a happy one, but the change was traumatic nevertheless.

“It sounds like it’s time to start over,” I said sympathetically.

He said he would like to, but first he had some of his wife’s debts to clear up. He also wanted to get a Master’s degree through financing from his time in the service. Now he was traveling around the country and had stops planned for Canada, California, Texas, Florida, and finally back to his home area in Illinois. When he mentioned whom he would be visiting, they were people I knew as well.

“They’re some quality people,” I said, noting that they were former teachers from the school he had attended overseas.

“People are known by the company they keep,” was his response.

When it was time for him to go, he gave me another hug. It had been a meaningful conversation for both of us. I was glad he had stopped because I, too, had a need to connect with the past. And I hoped my listening ear had been an encouragement to him.

The next thing he said greatly intrigued me. “I’m not searching for answers,” he told me. “I’m searching for questions.”

I’m searching for questions. I pondered that statement many times in the following days. What kind of questions would a 41-year-old man be looking for?

I could guess at some of them: What am I going to do with the rest of my life since it’s probably half over? Is my life making a difference? If I died today, what would people remember about me? Have I touched anyone elses’ life? Is the world a better place because I have lived?

At least those are questions I’ve asked myself over the years.

So Tim, wherever you are, I hope you do find the questions you are searching for. And as you continue your path of life, may you find the answers as well. Life is too short and precious to waste any of it. God bless you on your journey.
© 2004 Janet Seever
***************************************
The mother of two adult children, Janet Seever lives with her husband in Calgary, Alberta, where she writes for Word Alive magazine. She has had a variety of articles and short stories published in magazines and on Internet. You can find more of Janet’s writing at www.inscribe.org/janetseever and reach her at jseever1@shaw.ca

In many forms of study, the teachers will challenge and motivate their students to their greatest levels of understanding and achievement.  Part of the process usually includes methods that make the student aware of his own limits and weaknesses.  When the learner has done all he can do with his own abilities and understanding, he usually comes to the awareness that reason, effort, learning and human ability will only take him so far.

At that point, new ways of coping and knowing usually emerge.  Faith, trust in God, Bible wisdom, experience, the importance of personal relationship with the truth it brings, and even intuition and disciplined feeling begin to play a part in the growth of the learner.

For many, when they get to the “end of their rope” or encounter situations which are simply too much for them, they come face to face with God’s love, mercy, grace, and compassion.  Reaching our personal limits teaches us humility, and humility allows us to remain open to further learning and saving growth.

As Jesus taught his disciples and the crowds of people who followed him, He too frequently asked tough questions, even riddles, which were almost impossible to answer.  His tough love forced his followers and sometimes even the Pharisees to an awareness of their own shortcomings and limits.  He wanted each person to continue to grow spiritually and to become the best each could be.

Paul likewise emphasized that human knowledge and wisdom was lacking compared with the wisdom and power of God.  He frequently emphasized that we are saved by faith alone, but good works result because of our joy in salvation.

Like the disciples learned after the incident with the rich young man (Matthew 19: 25-26), we cannot save ourselves; we simply cannot earn our salvation.  Salvation is only possible with God and with the saving sacrifice of Jesus.

What a joy it is to know that Jesus makes up the shortfall of our ability and that God’s grace provides a way for us all to be “at home” with Him, eternally.  What joy to know that eventually we will see “face to face” and that all we need to know and be will be fulfilled in His Kingdom.

Mary-Ellen Grisham

meginrose@charter.net

Mary-Ellen Grisham is the editor of Eternal Ink, a bimonthly Christian ezine. She can be reached at meginrose@charter.net and meginrose@gmail.com

Gazing at her picture took me back in an instant to those wonderful times once again.  Her home was an eight hour drive from ours over mountainous roads so we could only visit during the Summer. When we arrived, though, we were always greeted with hugs, tears, laughter and love. The highlight of our visits was always the early Thanksgiving dinner that we shared.

The dining room table would groan under the platters of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, rolls, stuffing, pumpkin pies, and ice cream. After saying grace we would all feast until we  couldn’t feast anymore. My late Uncle Rich would always smile after dinner and joke that we had to visit more often because this was the only time that Aunt Charlotte ever fed him well.

In the evening I would go to bed with a full stomach and a happy heart. Sweet laughter would drift up from the front porch and into my open bedroom window while Mom, Dad, Uncle Rich, and Aunt Charlotte talked long into the night. A peaceful feeling would fill my spirit as the sounds of joy and thankfulness floated up from below to be my loving lullaby.

Those beautiful childhood memories have stayed with me to this day. They were by far the greatest gifts my Aunt Charlotte could have ever given me. They helped shape my soul and opened my heart to the love of God that was all around me. They helped me to see the kind of life that I wanted to live and share with others. I will be forever thankful to her for her wonderful lessons on living with laughter and love. I will be forever grateful to her for showing me how to go through each day with both joy and thanksgiving.

Joe Mazzella lives in the mountains of West Virginia, USA with his wife and three children. He writes articles for local newspapers but derives happiness from the joy and love he shares with others.. Joe can be reached at;joemazzella@frontier.com