FREE CHRISTMAS GIFTS!!! ("The Everyday Special", always a great deal!)

Hey guys, I have some awesome news! I know how you can get your own free Christmas gift, and all you have to do is ASK! This is the best ever. The catch is that you cannot get the gift for anyone else, you can only ask for yourself, but there is enough for everyone who asks! It's like unlimited supply or something but there is a time limit and I don't know when it is - SO ACT FAST! I got mine a while ago and it is like nothing I have ever gotten before - guaranteed to be irreplaceable, but always renewable. Mine turns out to be pretty comforting and it gives me something to look forward to when I'm down. It gives me strength for another day and allows me to forget all the rotten things I've done in the past. It let's me know I am never alone even when my friends won't take my myspace surveys or comment me back ! It let's me know I don't have to worry about any economic crisis or who won the elections. Isn't that great? I have the assurance of brighter days ahead, even though it seems rough now. It makes me pretty important, too, like royalty!
Have you figured it out yet or are you still curious? Weeeeelll, ok here's the details. It is the promise that one day I will be walking on streets of gold and singing with the angels in Heaven. It is the promise that, if I only ask (and mean it), The One who created the heavens and earth and who knew me in my mother's womb, will not remember the really stupid choices and dumb, ignorant things I did in the past. All those tests I cheated on *gasp*, bad thoughts in my mind, and late nights out doing stuff I knew I shouldn't have been doing.......they are gone, done, and forgotten. AND along with forgetting all the bad stuff, He helps me do the right stuff! I can't tell you what peace and confidence comes with it too. It is for anyone and everyone. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK!
Oh yeah, the time limit. There is a person somewhere on this planet, maybe not even born yet, I don't know.......but there is a person who is going to be the LAST PERSON to ask for the gift. When that person accepts the gift then time is up. Who is the last person? Is it you? Please hurry and get it while you can, don't wait until it's too late! And tell your friends. There is no way I can have accepted this gift and not tell all my friends and family, I love you guys! I want you to get in on it too!
This most wonderful, perfect gift that I have done my best to describe to you is the gift of salvation from the Lord. And really, it's not just a Christmas gift. I got mine a looong time ago, I think in the summer time. And I put it on a shelf and forgot about it, almost lost it , too! Man, that was not a good thing to do. So I got it out again and started learning about it and using it. It has made the most unbelievable difference in my life. Jesus, Son Of The Most High God, came to earth to be born in a lowly manger. He lived a humble life and ended up being the most famous and talked about person that ever walked the earth (sorry Barak), and didn't just die on a cross. He was ridiculed, beaten, whipped, bloodied and bruised, then He died on a cross. And He rose again, from the grave, and ascended to Heaven. The only perfect person to ever walk the earth, and he humbled Himself to be an unblemished, perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Wow. Someone thinks YOU are worth that. He would have done it for 1 person or for as many as our national debt is x 1000. That's a lot.
I can tell you why I believe it too. Of course I've heard about "baby Jesus" since I was little. And I always had a certain reverence for the Bible. But the major thing is that I can see it all coming true. Right here, in our time, before my very eyes. So it makes me think we are running out of time. That's why I want to get the Word out. Economic crisis, terrorism, wars and rumors of war, pestilence, horrific tsunamis and other weather, and famine. It's all there guys.
If you believe, just ask. You don't have to say a flowery, fancy "thee" and "thou" prayer. He knows what is in your mind and in your heart. Just be respectful and sincere. Repent, confess that you are a sinner and ask for forgiveness. Ask for the Holy Spirit to live in you (man, that is an awesome thing!!) Ask for help in your daily life and to show you a better way. Be faithful. Say your prayers and read your Bible. 'Cause how can you live as a Christian if you don't know what the Bible says a Christian is, huh?
Oh yeah, and for anyone who says that they are "ok" because they believe in God, well, the devil does too! For goodness sakes, the devil is IN the Bible!
I love you guys and I want THE BEST for you! I guarantee there will never be anything better than this gift, the gift of salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

"so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."
Hebrews 9:28

Hold On To Your Faith, Forget About The Dollar

I guess you could say my faith in God is strong. I have gone through a few trials in my short span through adulthood thus far. I think my faith is evident in that I have stayed the course through church etc. I haven't denounced God's existence even though at times I don't fully understand Him. And I think my faith has even grown immensely these past few years. I admit that I have compromised my faith by some poor decision making and recklessness. But hey, we're all human, right? Through it all there has always been that knowledge, thought, or let me say, awareness that God is there. He's so much bigger, more marvelous and more powerful than the most formidable of opponents. It's a good feeling knowing He's on my side. I'll be calling on Him even more in the days to come.
My husband's son has a multi-million dollar business that is on the verge of collapse due to the failing economy. He may very well lose everything he has, and with 5 children and dozens of families that depend on the employment, that is a very scary prospect. Scary for me too, since my husband works for him.
What is happening to our money? Where has it all gone? We owe billions- trillions of dollars to other countries "that don't like us very much." What happens when they decide to call in all of our debts? There is no way possible to pay them back. How long has our country been operating in the red? Who knew or didn't know this was coming? Who is responsible?
I don't consider myself a conspiracy theorist, but some pretty wild things could very well emerge from the obliteration of the American dollar. I've heard of the "Amero", the North American Union, the NWO. I don't know what to believe because I'm no scholar. I don't believe everything the media is told to tell us. But I'm certainly becoming more aware of the things going on around me. Some things are appallingly clear. America is owned.
All I do know is that my faith in God has carried me through some rough spots here and there. And in the days to come I believe that may be the only thing that carries me through. I'm looking at unemployment, absolutely no dollar value to my being, and maybe even being labeled as a dissident because I don't want to give up my firearms. I guess things could be worse. These the most grim prospects I can think of right now. I can handle being destitute (I think) because I believe my faith can carry me through. My biggest, most horrible, and worst fear is seeing my children suffer.
I'm holding on to my faith.

I Grew Up

I am a Christian. That is just what I am. I didn't look for that name to pin on myself, Lord knows I don't like labels. But in my adulthood I have noticed that I am different from what I once was. That difference has changed me inside and out.
When I was an adolescent I didn't really know what what my family values were because they seemed contradicted. I spent a lot of time at Grandma's house, I had been taken to church off and on by my aunt, and sent to vacation bible schools while my parents had "keggers" and booze parties. I had a nice, normal home life though. There are just a few outstanding memories of folks waking up on the living room floor as I blundered downstairs to turn on the "Smurfs". I didn't know who they were, sometimes, and I never saw them again. But as I grew a bit older, around junior high, my parents must have had an epiphany. Maybe they realized that I was getting mixed signals?
In the midst of junior high my parents became regular church attendants and even became Sunday school teachers. By high school I was sent to a small, private Christian school. As I was no winner in the popularity contests and felt as though I lacked crucial social skills, I was very content to find a tiny crevasse to fit myself into there. 'Cause, you know, Christians have to be nice to me, right? So, four years of awkwardness and ridicule (on a smaller scale, of course) go by and I graduate. Free at last.
I turned 18 that summer and all hell broke loose. I started dating a man 13 years my senior (that no one else liked) and moved out of my parents home. I started my adult life with absolutely no plan. Indulging in alcohol and cigarettes was my pastime. (Praise God, no drugs, else I might not be writing this today.)I didn't go to college because I dreaded sitting in a classroom for 4 more years. Blue collar work was for me. I was strong, lean and I'll even admit attractive. But I don't know how many times I sat in my little blue Ford Ranger with a cigarette and Quarter-Pounder in hand thinking,"I know there's something better than this." You see, I knew in my heart that from what I had learned in all those Sunday school classes and vacation Bible schools, I was wrong. I once invited Jesus into my heart but I never let Him get comfy there.
I switched boyfriends only a couple of times because i like to wait until the bitter end of a relationship before blowing it to pieces. I did end up at a desk job that was pretty despise able, although it could have been a big stepping stone in the major university town.
So I ended up pregnant. I married a man I had been living with for a couple of years or so about a month into the pregnancy. I was elated to be having a child, although the circumstances were not what I would even call "ok". So a few more years of tumult went by and one more son was born.
I got divorced. I don't want to go into the details of what happened and who did/said what. Let's just say I always seek the best in people. Even as I waded through pain, strife, blood, sweat, tears, abuse, poverty, and idiocy, I searched for that one spindly redeeming quality in him that would make it "worth it". Never happened.
Now my sons are becoming school aged. I teach my oldest son, who is 5 1/2, at home through cyber school (highly recommended). We go to church regularly, 3 times a week and pray together. We are very close. I think back to my own childhood and know that I do not want the same conflicting examples for my children. I know God will always love them where they are, but why not give them a head start to finding their own way to Him? I look at them and know that I must do right by them. I must give them something better than what I was given. Not more love, I don't think that's possible. But I must give them what is right. The head knowledge of The Savior, Jesus Christ. I can't make them believe it with their heart. But I hope they won't have to go through the stint (or even a lifetime) of doubt, worthlessness, or pain as I did.
I am grateful for my parents. They have supported me emotionally and even financially during my journey "back home." Sometimes I wonder if they ever feel pangs of guilt for seeing me dabble in their childish indulgences? Do they understand that I wanted to know what I was missing out on when they would send me to a relatives house when the keg arrived? I found out. It costs a lot to learn that lesson sometimes. A lot of times it is much more than any price I am still paying.
The bottom line is that I grew up. Some people never do. I've had friends/acquaintances commit suicide, murder, deal in munitions, drugs, and become addicts. But I grew up because my parents DID see what they were teaching me. They did make a change in their lives. And they did support me when I made stupid choices according to what I had learned from them. It's not their fault. It just is what it is. And now we are all grown up.