The Angel Tree

For the last few years we have participated in a program called The Angel Tree.  You go to the Christmas tree and pick out one or more gift requests from the tree.  This year we got two little boys, a 7 year old and a 10 year old.  We did our shopping at Costco and primarily Walmart.  I had a ball.  I could just imagine their little faces waking up on Christmas morning having some of the things they wanted from Santa.  Thank you to God that He provided us with the ability to do this.  I know He will see the smile on their faces on Christmas morning and I know it will make Him smile.  


What little boy wouldn't want a radio controlled red sportscar?  We also got the other little boy a cool radio controlled F-150 truck but I forgot to get a picture.  

Legos...who doesn't love them?!  Hours of creativity and fun.   And one of the little guys wanted a skateboard so I found this kit at Wal-mart where you make your own skateboards. 

I hope he likes his tool set and pads to ride his skateboard were definitely a necessity.

A cool skateboarding helmet.

A Tony Hawk helmet...even I thought this was cool :-)

Walmart has some great little boys' clothes.  I was impressed.

Little pajama sleep pants.  So cute.

I just thought these sleep pants were so cute.

Aren't these starter lite jackets adorable?!

Rob picked the shoes out and I was impressed.  They were nice.

Love these shoes.

Loved this starter set.

Isn't this little suit adorable for church?

Rob found this ultra cooooool skateboard at Costco.

The 10 year old's gifts wrapped and ready to go.

The 7 year old's toys ready to go.

Everything I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from a Jigsaw Puzzle

1. When things aren't going so well, take a break. Everything will look different when you return (Mark 6:31).

2. Be sure to look at the big picture (John 4:35). Getting hung up on the little pieces only leads to frustration.

3. Don't force a fit (Philippians 2:4).

4. Perserverance pays off. Every important puzzle went together bit by bit, piece by piece (Exodus 23:29).

5. When on spot stops working, move to another (Ecclesiastes 11:6). But be sure to come back later (see #4).

6. The Creator of the puzzle gave you the picture as a guidebook (2 Peter 1:3).

7. Variety is the spice of life. It's the different colors and patterns that make the puzzle interesting (Acts 10:34-35).

8. Working together with friends and family makes any task fun (Nehemiah 3:1-32).

9. Establish the border first. Boundaries give a sense of security and order (Proverbs 22:6).

10. Don't be afraid to try different combinations (Luke 5:4). Some matches are surprising.

11. Take time often to celebrate your successes--even little ones (Philippians 4:4).

12. Anything worth doing takes time and effort. A great puzzle can't be rushed (Galatians 6:9).

--As printed in MercEmail, Steve Higginbotham, Editor

God and Satan One-on-One

Pray, My child. Ask and you shall receive.

No, you won't, said Satan, for God deceives.

Children, be patient and serve only Me.

But if you serve God you are slave, not free.

For you I created the moon, the stars, the lakes.

Yes, but look what total devotion to God takes.

When you're in trouble, I'm always by your side.

No, Satan replied, that is when your precious God

always hides.

Every prayer of yours I always answer.

Ha, mocked Satan, and where is the cure for cancer?

I am Alpha and Omega, most powerful and high.

Then why do Your children serve ME until they die?

The tides roll in and out at My command.

And I suppose You want them to believe You made

every single grain of sand?

I love them with a love that shaped the universe.

Then why do they concentrate on my kingdom and believe

their circumstances could be no worse?

I hold on wanting none to perish eternally with you.

I will use every trick at my disposal to assure they never

know You.

Satan, there's one thing you've forgotten.

Come on, God, there's nothing that can save Your precious

man from his sin.

Step forth, My Son, and show Satan Your hands and feet.

Satan looked and suddenly he could feel Hell's fiery heat.

Jesus looked into Satan's eyes and said, "The ones who love

Me will know it was for them to the cross I went."

But Satan never replied - he was only deathly silent.

Donna Whatley

The C Word

The 2008 year was a tough one for us. I was in such intense pain. I could not sit down without it feeling like I was sitting on a sharp knife. I could barely walk and, in time, my left leg would not work at all. One doctor told me I had a fracture. Another told me I had something else. Then, one day in August I went to the emergency room and a doctor I had never met before in my life came in and told me in heavily accented English that I had multiple myeloma cancer. He said I had a mass on my left hip the size of a football. He told me this in the same manner he would have told me where the womens' restroom was. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I was in pure shock. I NEVER thought I would get cancer. I guess we all think that, don't we? But somebody has to make up those statistics.

The cancer destroyed a bone in my hip. Some physicians thought I wouldn't walk again. I made the decision that I wouldn't read about my cancer. I didn't want to know what awful things it could do to my body. I didn't want anyone to tell me about my cancer. I decided just to talk to God and to read the Bible. The only information and words I was interested in was what He says. I knew my cancer was incurable (but they are getting closer each day :-)!) and I could tell by the looks I got from those who came into my hospital room that things looked bad. In the worldly sense, I was behind the eight ball. I spent two months in the hospital totally bed bound with 10 days of that in intensive care. Although the physical pain was something that still to this day amazes me that I made it through, the mental pain was on a level that I had never experienced before. When you are stuck in a bed with your pain and your thoughts it is a battlefield of near torture. One moment you think you may die and the next you have hope again. For me and my family this was a time of going to hell and back. But we made it through. God never left my side. So many things happened along the way that only God could have orchestrated. He was so loving, so kind, and so faithful.

Yes, my life does run over as many of ours does. It runs over with stress, clutter, fear, but my life runneth over with the love and devotion of my faithful Father. Just remember, there's nowhere and no place and no time that He isn't there.