My Dearest Angels,

         What a blessing it is to have Christmas as a time to commemorate the birth of our beloved brother and Savor, Jesus Christ. I can think of no greater time than this for celebration! Christmas is recognized for gift giving, music, gathering with loved ones. It sets the stage for gratefulness and for serving others as Jesus taught us to do by his example on earth.

When our seven children were young and our budget extremely tight, we put together small baskets of whatever canned goods we could piece together for Christmas meals to be gifted to families who could use them. At times we had very little to give, but I wanted my children to learn the spirit of giving so we “scrounged” around together to find what we could. Oddly enough, our pantry always seemed to have what we needed!

We baked cookies and made sweet breads to take to the lonely, we visited the elderly in nursing homes and sang carols to them. They got a kick out of hearing the kids sing and many of them joined in harmony with us, too. These were joyous occasions, our gifts were small but they were what we had to give, and we will never forget those years.

Today we are blessed to give more, and we do. A few years ago, my family bought a restaurant and though most restaurants in that area were closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, we decided to keep this restaurant open to feed the lonely and poor. We sent out the word that our meals were free, then busied ourselves to cook and serve complete turkey dinners with every trimming including pies of every kind. People filled the restaurant from noon until eight and when they saw us preparing food in “to go” boxes, some were so moved they left to return with winter coats, gloves and scarfs to add to our delivery to the needy downtown. After our delivery, we washed tons of dirty dishes and cleaned into the early morning, and though we were exhausted, we were filled with utter happiness because we gave what we could.

My love and prayers are with you through the Holidays to be pillars of strength to those you find in need. Great or small, you have something to give that you will be blessed ten fold for. Share your understanding of God’s unconditional love. Encourage people to have hope through their trials and losses. Reach out to the hungry, the hurting, the homeless, the lonely, no matter your circumstance. With any sacrifice there is a blessing in return!

God bless you.
Have a Blessed Merry Christmas.
I love you,

What Can I Share? Or
What Have I Been Given?
by Sonia R. Rogers

In thinking on this, my first reaction is a tear, not feeling what I have is enough. Monetary abundance has been limited and with my tendency toward agoraphobia it is very hard to be in many public places. What have I been given? My sons are so very far away and most friends are too. Oh my, this sounds like a list of complaints, yet I feel incredibly blessed!

What have I been given? We ought not to compare ourselves with others. That is a set-up for discouragement at best! We each have been given exactly what we need for our purpose, for our growth, for our ability to progress spiritually—which will bring us greater love and joy. We want to be grateful for our stations in life, thank the Heavenly Father for his blessings, notice his hand in our lives—for in so doing, we open the way for further blessings.

The Universal Law of Giving and Receiving dictates that we share what we have been given. I can see Betty holding out her hands, one is clutched, closed; the other hand is open, ready to receive; and I listen to her explain:

“When you receive love or knowledge, you pass it on, and thereby leave yourself open to receive again. If you hold on to it, you don’t leave room to receive; you don’t need it, because you don’t use it…Knowledge without revelation is dead; knowledge held on to goes nowhere and helps no one. But the knowledge that we reveal to others takes on a life of its own, and allows us to receive more knowledge to share.” –The Awakening Heart - pages 206-207  

What have I been given? For that is what I must share. Love—a miracle of love, that tiny glimpse of God’s purest love has expanded my tiny heart. I thank the Lord that after coming from a broken childhood, lacking in love, that God saw fit to bless me with compassion and love! I can be a conduit of his love, letting his love flow through me to others: a smile, an encouraging word, even just a sincere eye-to-eye glance as I thank someone for their service, and wish them a good day. Not easy for me to do given my fears, but it is what I have been given to share!

One of the most loving gifts we can give another is to pray for them, inviting the greatest blessing of all into their lives, God’s blessings, his help, his eternal wisdom and love. Since joining WAVES I have most definitely been given a gift of prayer! I gained this gift by studying Betty's books in the EBTL Study Forums and by joining WAVES in prayer and it is one of the most precious gifts I have been blessed with.

As I persist in love and prayer, my fears will heal. Perhaps soon I will find myself at that soup kitchen, or handing out those socks to the homeless or caroling in a rest home somewhere! Ah, I will look forward to this! In the mean time, I will love!

The Savior said: "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:34-35) I want to be a disciple of Jesus, and as I love others, I am! And to Betty he clearly expressed, "If you love, all else will be fine.”

It is my hope and prayer that each of us feel God's hand in our lives and thank him for our blessings as we share them with others, becoming a conduit of his everlasting love! What a blessed world this will be!

Sincerely and with much love!
Sonia Rae
Director's Assistant

Filling the Manger with Good Deeds and Love
By Renee Lynch

That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:4

Every Christmas season when I was growing up, my family did something called, "The Last Straw". The idea was to make baby Jesus the softest crib in the world. We did this by filling a little manger with straw, one piece at a time. Each week we placed our names into a hat and drew a name. We secretly did as many kind things for that family member as we could, without being caught. With every special deed, we put a straw in the manger as a measure of the good deeds we did for each other. My mother explained Jesus would recognize His bed by the love we put into making it soft. Our hearts were overflowing with excitement and awe on Christmas Eve when we placed baby Jesus in the softest bed filled with our good deeds and love!

My mother passed away Jan 2005; but not before putting in her "Last Straw". For Christmas, she gave each of us a typed copy of the story so the family tradition would carry on.

Too Blessed to Say, "No"
By Eri

When sharing abundance, one helpful hint I recently discovered for myself is to not just think in terms of donating money or food (though these are extremely important and should be given if possible), but also to ask: “where has God been leading me recently? Learning about computers? Collecting seashells? Writing poetry? Growing dandelions? Is there some way I can start giving to others somehow, in small ways, through these new avenues that have opened up?"

--Hey, you never know where it might lead!

---

“The Night Has Been Glorious!”
by Ann Stotts

 

Christmas 2008 we shared service to our community. Three nights before Christmas, Fountain Hills streets are lit with luminaries. My sons & I were among hundreds of volunteers. on December 22nd my son, Sean, & I bundled up and worked quickly through our ¾ mile candle lighting stretch. Rain came with night along with cars honking and people who yelled, “thank you!“ Bill, my other son, joined us the 24th on Christmas Eve. We were given a new route of 5000 replacement candles. We worked ceremoniously as a team. I replaced old candles with new, Bill lit candles while Sean puffed out bag tops.

Jesus! Light of the world. He came that we might have life & more abundantly. Sharing Christ’s light tangibly lifted a town to the heavens in praise to our Heavenly Father for the birth of His precious son. To “shine like stars” in the universe as you “hold out the word of life”(Philippians 2:15-16 NIV).

Awe, reverence and humility surrounded our royal newborn King at His birth. In the words of Russian composer-Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky: “The night has been glorious! . . . The moon shone brightly. Stillness, perfume of flowers, and those wondrous, indefinable sounds that belong to night—ah God, how beautiful it all is!”

Tithing Over the Years
by DeeDee & Larry Evans

Abundance is the ability to give to others from what we have and having enough for our family. Having gratitude that God has blessed our family with employment during this great recession has helped us to help others. Tithing our paychecks has been something Larry and I have done faithfully over the years. We talk and pray, asking God to show us who to bless. This abundance that we give to others are the first checks we write each month. Time is so limited for us, however, we have money to give right now...that is a good problem to have! We have taught our daughter to do the same. She gives to foundations in need that help wildlife. Larry and I have given to our local homeless shelters and food banks (meals on wheels), as well as an orphanage in India. They are always so grateful!

The funny thing about giving faithfully is it becomes a habit. God has blessed us in other ways, meeting our needs when we fall short. For instance, we had a problem during the worst snow storm this year when about 3 feet of snow fell. Our garage door would not open and was stuck 1/2 way up. I could not get my car out to go to work, and I didn't want to leave the house unattended. A friend of Larry's son came over that morning and installed a garage door opener that is SO smooth and works perfectly. He only charged us for the parts...what a blessing! Another thing that has happened this month was our freezer that we store our meat in is getting old and the motor was going out. Another friend moved into a new home and doesn't have room for his upright freezer, so he just gave it to us!

God is faithful and always knows our needs before we do, making a way for us every day. Thank you God for meeting all of our needs and overseeing your children. We love you!

DeeDee and Larry

Helping Another
By Erin Fly

What does sharing God's blessings mean to me? I like to share God's blessings in the small ways, whenever possible. Making a point to smile at someone, even if it is a person I usually find conflict with. I believe all relationships can be healed, and all people can work hard together to form a community. I constantly set my conflicts aside, and smile at people, ask them if they need help with anything. If a person needs help (whether I've asked or not) I try to make a point to set aside my tasks at hand, no matter how busy I am, and help them. I always figure I could be doing no better work than helping another person, so all other work can wait.

I also try to be diligent about praying for others. God reminds me this the most when I am struggling with personal conflicts. He points out that others must be too, and that I can take advantage of my struggles by learning how others may be struggling. I try to pray for others whenever I feel personal concern in my heart, or whenever I feel or hear the concern of others. When someone seems to randomly tell me they are confused about something, or in a tough spot, or whatever, I tell myself that is God's way of telling me to pray for them. I try to remind myself to do so, and hope to help heal the world in this way :)

I Like to Share All My Blessings
By Jody Toerber-Clark

Sharing the Abundance of the season. This is what I am reminded of. I like to share all that I am blessed with through the year. It starts at Thanksgiving. My family and I start by being thankful for all our ‘stuff’, our lessons we have learned, the friends we have made and so on. As Christmas approaches we share our love through the traditional Christmas letter and cards, and gifts. We take this time to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and to give freely, whether by words, thoughts or of our ‘stuff’. Each year my husband and I see the understanding in our children, Abbigail (7) and Ian (6), as they assist more with the season of celebration of God’s Abundance. It is a warm and cozy time of year for the soul and we as a family make it our boosting off point for the following year to continue to spread God’s love to others.

Love all of you!

Jody

We can never out-give God. I am constantly reminded of this as I look at my two beautiful girls who are thriving in every way. I believe my blessings are the result of God's loving hand in my life as, despite my many imperfections. I attempt to walk in His ways.

For a while now, I've tithed ten percent of my income to give to the poor. This year I was a bit tempted to spend some of that money on a vacation. Then I noticed how lovely the weather has been in Chicago, and how expensive airfares were. I started to feel reluctance in my spirit, and realized how much more poor people need to eat than I need to tan my hide in Florida! So off went the check. And --was this a "coincidence"? -- the next day our realtor called to say some people were interested in buying my Dad's house which has been on the market for only six months.

God's desire to bless us is "full to overflowing", Betty said, so we must challenge ourselves to share fully, even sacrificially. We can share money, prayers, material goods, our words, our time, our presence, or anything we have. What rejoicing there will be in heaven when we meet all the people we have helped!

Love Lucy

Be a Ray of Hope
By Pam Katchuk

God has blessed me with the gift of optimism. My heart tells me that true abundance is achieved by sharing this gift. It takes no money, no special training, rather only a small amount of effort to help lift up someone who is struggling. Sometimes a smile, a shoulder, or a kind word of encouragement is just what we all need, so I strive to share them with others whenever I can. And in return, I receive blessings back a thousand-fold. It’s the best feeling in the world to know that I have helped someone struggling with fear, sadness, and discouragement.

I personally feel blessed that many people have touched me throughout my life in ways they don’t even know of and created this optimism in me—how can I ever thank them? Life is so much easier and more meaningful now that I try to see the positive lesson in any situation.

It’s so important in this world, which can be so difficult and cruel, to be a ray of hope to those who suffer. I pray that through example and being the change I wish to see in the world (Gandhi) I am able to add a little sunshine to the lives of my earthly brothers and sisters. Sending you all love, hope and smiles!

Well, its that time of year again when our children are about as excited and happy as we will see them ever in their lives, such a beautiful and glorious sight to a loving parents heart! And as our children's dreams are filled with such joy and celebration, so are our own hearts renewed as we go about in anticipation of that wonderful morning, listening to Christmas music, waiting for a wonderful feast with family and friends, watching them burst with excitement as they tear into their own wonderful feast of new toys and gifts. No wonder our economy picks up so much steam as the anticipated day draws more and more near. Everything is renewed.

Many years ago, in ancient times, the winter solstice was held in the Roman Empire, not on December 21st as today, but on December 25. Many believe that this was why that day was chosen to celebrate Jesus Christ's birthday. And since no one knew the exact date, a memorable day was chosen to signify such a glorious birth as the son of God, the day of the rebirth of the sun. It makes sense.

The Lakota, as well as many other Native American tribes, believe the sun holds within it the power of God in a way more profound than any other aspect of nature. All of life is dependent on the sun for its very being. And through the energy of the sun, life is constantly renewed and reborn to continue into another day of living. Without the light of the sun, we could see nothing at all and would live in an unawareness of anything around us. And no matter how good or bad the person who stands under the sun, the warmth and light hit them in the same measure. It gives without condition to any who would receive of it.

The love and light of God is to be seen in this measure. That is what Jesus was born to give us understanding of, and so I can think of no better day to celebrate the birth of Christ. Aho Holy Father. We give you thanks this season for the birth of your Sun and your Son. We give you thanks for the life sustaining warmth of your light and your love. May it pass into our children's and our own lives mightily this year, and even more so into the lives of those who have less than us to remember you by.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Gods abundance is something that, as I grow, I notice and appreciate more and more. I have recently had a rough experience where God’s abundance truly shined. My parents and I almost lost our home during a flood. Yet, with all the property the was destroyed, none of the precious items, such as a painting by my 4-year-old second cousin, or my school yearbooks with countless signatures, were spared by the flood.

Not only this, but God has put angels in our lives that have offered their hearts and their homes to us. I lost my car and all of a sudden a car comes on the market we can afford and that my dad always wanted. Now he has handed me down his very nice Ford Explorer, which I always wanted! It is more than property, however, it's the true love and compassion that we have received over this time of loss. I think this will make me stronger and teach a good life-lesson on being thankful for the things in life we take for granted.

I wish everyone a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love and seasons greetings, Travis Strickland

The Star

A heavenly sign of prophecy fulfilled long, long ago.
The shining hope of mankind.
The Light, which is the Savior,
that shines in the darkness.

The Color Red

The first color of Christmas,
symbolic of the Savior's sacrifice for all of us
and of his love.

      The Fir Tree

Evergreen is the second color of Christmas, symbolizing growth, renewal, and that there is no death.
It reminds us that our lives are eternal and of Christ’s everlasting light and love.

The Bell

Rings out to guide lost sheep back to the fold, signifying that all are precious in His eyes.
The bell heralds the “good news” of God’s unconditional love for each of his children.

The Candle

A symbolic representation
of the Light of God,the Light of Christ.
Lighting another’s candle from our own offers the sacred significance of sharing our light with others.

The Gift Bow 

Shows us that we are all one and “tied” together
The bonds of love and our goodwill
go on forever.

The Candy Cane

Represents the shape of the shepherd's crook
that was used to bring lost lambs back to the fold
and reminds us that none are lost unto him.

The Wreath

Made of evergreen and a bow,
a circle that never ends and symbolizes the limitless value of love and its eternal nature… having no end.

Angels Tell the Shepherds of Christ’s Birth

And there were in the same country 
shepherds  abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,
Fear not: for, behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Saviour,
which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2: 8-11

Jesus is Our Shepherd

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them,
and the sheep follow him:
for they know his voice.

I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them,
and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life;
and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man 
pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all . . .

St. John 10:4, 11, 27-29