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Jesus is the Reason for the season. We know this to be true if we are Christians.

God gave Christ; Christ came to give His life for us. If He lives in our hearts, we possess this God-giving characteristic within us. To me, this season is about giving.

One of the Christmas movies that I watch, and I watch almost all of them every year, is called Secret Santa.

Each Christmas, the “big city” newspaper, the Indianapolis Sentinel, runs a fluff story. This year, the editor wants Rebecca to do the story on Secret Santa. The Secret Santa who resides in the humble hamlet of Hamden, Indiana. The one who anonymously gives a large monetary gift to a member of the community in need.

But Rebecca is tired of reporting fluff stories and doesn’t want the assignment, until she realizes that she can prove herself by making the story more than a fluff piece.

Setting out for Hamden, she’s eager to discover the man or woman behind the gift giving, but bad luck meets her along the way: her car breaks down, she can only get lodging in a home for the elderly without internet, and nobody wants to help her unmask the mysterious Christmas benefactor.

In her search, she meets the citizens of the town and those in the nursing home, gets to know them, and opens her heart to them.

Making wrong guesses about Secret Santa throws her boss into a panic, and Rebecca is resigned to the decision to return home defeated. However, just before leaving town, she discovers the true identity of Secret Santa, but she doesn’t guarantee him anonymity. Saddened, Secret Santa continues to work in his workshop.

Reading the article in the Sentinel, Secret Santa smiles as he reads aloud the last paragraph and is reassured that his secret is still a secret...

“He asks nothing in return, save one request that the secret he has kept so faithfully remains just that, a secret, for it is in his anonymity that Secret Santa sends a message to us all: giving in its purest form expects nothing in return.”

And there’s the gist of it all, the heart of the matter: giving in its purest form expects nothing in return.

Do you give and not wait around for any accolades? Any thanks? Any back-pats?

If you have a heart that is willing to give, then the next time you are in line at the grocery store, why not pay the bill for the woman with a baby on her hip and food stamps in her hand? When you are shopping at the mall, pay for the shoes of a teenager of a different race. Pay for the gas of one whose car is held together with bumper stickers. Pay for an elderly person’s medicine at the drugstore. Pay for the meal of those in the car behind you in a drive-through restaurant and maybe put a note with it. Buy gift certificates or pre-paid credit cards and give them to whomever the Spirit leads while you are out shopping.

Find someone to whom you can play Secret Santa. Make a mortgage or rent payment for a struggling single mother or father. Leave groceries on a widow’s doorstep. Buy Christmas presents for a battered wife and her children living in a shelter.

Use your imagination. Better still, listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit; He will tell you who needs a gift.

Proverbs says...

“Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.” (Prov. 22:9 NLT)
“He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done.” (Prov. 19:17 NIV)
“He who gives to the poor will not lack, but he who hides his eyes will have many curses.” (Prov. 28:27 NKJV)

Remember, we are never more like God than when we love others by giving to them...

...and expect nothing in return.



***A portion of the above is taken from my upcoming book, Ready or Not...Here I Come!

Have you ever thought about what people would say about you at your funeral?

Today, I went to a funeral. A very precious friend’s husband died.

As I sat and listened to the trembling voices, soaked in tears, and the preacher’s words of tribute, I heard the same reiteration of accolades and honor. My friend’s husband was a special man who had suffered a massive stroke over ten years ago.

After many struggles to adjust to barely being able to take care of himself and to make himself understood, he finally made peace with his bodily condition and praised the Lord the rest of his days. From his wheelchair, he touched many people with his worship and with his deep love and care for his family and others. He was a true encouragement to all who knew him.

With his dying breath, he praised the Lord…with his hand raised to heaven. He will be sorely missed. He was a balcony person.

Balcony people are upstanding people, encouragers who…

*are kind, caring, and giving
*draw others up to greater heights
*compliment and complement others
*build others to attempt notable tasks
*instill others with belief in themselves
*cheer and clap for others when they are down.

They are tank refillers. They fill our hearts’ empty reservoirs with words that offer comfort, peace, love, and care.

We have a whole bevy of balcony people, those leaning over the brink of heaven to cheer us on. “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on?” (Heb. 12:1a Msg)

*David and Jonathan were balcony people for each other.
*Barnabas was a balcony person. He introduced Paul to the other apostles.
*Paul was a balcony person for innumerable people. He wrote to the Thessalonian church that he had sent Timothy, “our brother and fellow worker, God’s minister, to visit you to strengthen your faith and encourage you and to keep you from becoming fainthearted in all the troubles you were going through.” (1 Thess. 3:2a TLB)

Everyone needs a balcony person at one time or another, one who will come alongside of us to lend an ear for listening, a shoulder for crying, a boost when down, or a clap when lacking courage.

Do you have a balcony person in your life? One who cheers you on, who lifts you up when you are down?

Will others at your funeral say you were a balcony person to them?

Hope you enjoy this Thanksgiving story...

The dark, gray skies overhead threatened an early snow. Rushing shoppers, all bundled up to ward off the cold, crowded the sidewalks, lost in their to-do list for Thanksgiving. Oblivious to their surroundings, no one noticed a small, shivering boy standing in front of the shoe store, his nose pressed against the window, barely dressed and only flip-flops on his dirty feet.

However, one man did see him and stopped, dead still in his tracks, causing others to bump into him. He didn’t notice the bumps and grumblings, but he did notice the small boy because he had a son about the same age. Thinking how he would feel if this were his son standing there, barely clothed, the man quietly slid next to the boy, the man stood there for a moment, and then said, “They have some nice shoes here, don’t they?”

“Yeah,” came the soft reply.

“Which ones do you like?”

“That pair over there…the cool running ones.”

“Oh, I’ll bet you can run fast, can’t you?”

“Yes sir. I sure can. Like the wind!”

“You know, I have a little boy just about your age.”

“Oh, yeah? I’ll bet he has shoes like that.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, he does. But I have an idea.”

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“How ‘bout I take you into the store and buy you that pair of shoes?”

The boy stood there motionless. After a few moment, with tears in his eyes, he looked up at the man. “You want to buy me shoes?”

“I sure do. Your feet must be freezing and I’d love to buy them for you.”

The boy couldn’t even answer. The man took the boy by the hand and walked into the store. Finding the manager, the man described the pair of shoes and asked the manager to please get a pair in the boy’s size, along with some socks. Then, he said he and the boy would be in the restroom and would he please bring the shoes and socks in there.

The manager gathered the shoes and socks and, upon entering the men’s restroom, found the man on his knees washing the young boy’s feet.

“Can’t stick dirty feet into clean, new socks and shoes, now can we?”

The young boy just stared as the man lovingly washed away all the accumulated street-dirt and gently dried his feet.

Feeling he was intruding on a very special moment, the manager quietly placed the shoes and socks on the floor without saying a word.

After placing the socks and shoes on the boy’s feet, the man stood up, and with hands on his hips, said, “Okay. Let’s see how they look. Walk around.”

The little boy couldn’t move. His feet felt glued to the floor. He looked up, tears now streaming down his little face, and said, “Mister, are you Jesus?”

The boy’s words took the man’s breath away. So overcome with emotion, the man could barely speak. Finally, he muttered, “No, son, I’m not. But I know Him very well. And this is a gift from Him.”

“This is the greatest Thanksgiving ever. Would you tell Jesus thank you for me?”

“Well, let’s go for a walk and I’ll tell you how you can do that yourself.”

If you heard a precious voice, one from another country, begging for Bibles and help for the lost, what would you do?

Many missionaries and servants of God have heard these precious calls for help and are trying to respond, ministries that have taken on the burden of caring for and giving to brothers and sisters in Christ.

I have come to know several people in the last few months who are basically working on their own, those who feel like lone voices in the wilderness:

* M300Ministries
* Surrender40
* @TweepleFund
* and Letters for the Lord Prison Ministry.

These are just a mere representation. These people share the same deep desire: to present salvation to the lost, seeing that they grow spiritually, and to meet the varied needs of those who lack, wherever in this country or around the world.

They hear those begging voices and try to respond. Some of these ministries have no one to champion them, no one to be their cheerleader. Therefore, they do not receive the funds that they so desperately need. These people give unselfishly of their time and, when others do not give financially, they reach deep into their own pockets to help alleviate the needs.

So, I’m here to cheer for them…
Go, work-ers! Go, work-ers! Go, work-ers!

I know the economy is the pits right now. It’s difficult for everyone. But giving even a small amount like $5 helps these ministries and so many others. Each rivulet of resource runs into another, which runs into another…until there is overflow!

We are very fortunate in this country, even when we have meager surroundings and limited resources. We are so much more blessed than two-thirds of the world, and yet, we whine when our new shoes pinch our feet!

The early church was very concerned about giving to those who preached the gospel and meeting the needs of those believers among them and in other cities.

Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, “Right now you have plenty and can help them. Then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way, everyone’s needs will be met.” (2 Cor. 8:14 NLT) That is how the Kingdom works. God wants us to be a channel, a pipeline, a distribution center. He does not want us to be a storage tank!

It is not the size of the gift that matters but the condition of the heart. We give out of what we have, whether a little or a lot, “For if the [eager] readiness to give is there, then it is acceptable and welcomed in proportion to what a person has, not what he does not have.” (2 Cor. 8:12 Amp)

In this sense, Jesus remarked of the widow’s two mites, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has thrown in more than all of those casting into the treasury. For all threw in out of that abounding to them, but she out of her poverty threw in all, as much as she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12:43-44 Received Greek Text) She gave all she owned to the Lord.

Where have we placed our love? The disciple John said, “If someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won’t help him - how can God’s love be within him?” (1 John 3:17 TLB)

Paul then urges us, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal. 6:10 NKJV)

I’m learning to be a better cheerleader. My hope is that you will be inspired to be a cheerleader as well in whatever way you can to help whatever ministries the Lord lays on your hearts. And may the Lord bless you!

With many drops in the bucket, it can overflow!

Poverty kicked in my front door one day and made himself at home. He remained an unwelcome resident for many years. Embarrassment rode in on his coattail.

His friends heard of his new home and, like a troop of vultures, congregated in my living room, chasing away all my friends. He invited Depression and Tears to be his all too frequent guests. Hunger became his constant sidekick while Lack and Need acted as his devoted followers. Deprivation became a thorn in my side.

They all loved to laugh at me.

Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever had lack thrust upon you? Or have you ever overspent and gotten yourself into a mess? Has your job been threatened or lost?

As the economy has taken a nosedive, causing many to face unemployment, the chance of lack knocking on more doors has become increasingly feasible.

So, if job loss comes knocking on the door of one of our friends or neighbors, what do we do?

How do we, as Christians, treat that one whose life has been depleted of home, car, or other belongings? Are we supportive and encouraging? Are we sensitive to their feelings? Do we offer a helping hand? Or are we negative in our responses, ignoring them as if they were contagious?

Paul said, “Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another.” (Rom. 13:8a Amp) If God is love, what is the essence of His love? Giving! So, if our hearts are filled with the love of God, we will desire to supply the needs of others, to imitate Him, in whatever way we can.

Giving brings a reward.

Solomon wrote, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and He will reward him for what he has done.” (Prov. 19:17 NIV)

When Jesus instructed the multitude on the mount, He said, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38 NKJV) This scripture is not restricted to money; it encompasses all of life. In whatever way you give, it will come back to bless you. However, we do not give to get.

What can you do to help someone experiencing financial difficulties? If you cannot afford a monetary gift, why not give the gift of your time? Here are a few suggestions…

* Leave groceries on a widow’s doorstep.
* Pay for an elderly person’s medicine at the drugstore.
* Baby-sit for the couple who are working multiple jobs.
* Pay for the gas of one whose car is held together with bumper stickers.
* Make a mortgage or rent payment for a struggling, single mother or father.
* Buy Christmas presents for a battered wife and her children living in a shelter.
* Write a note or letter of encouragement and tell them you’ll be praying for them.
* When you are shopping at the mall, pay for the shoes of a teenager of a different race.
* Buy gift certificates or pre-paid credit cards and give them to whomever the Spirit leads.
* Pay for the meal of those in the car behind you in a drive-through restaurant and maybe put a note with it.
* The next time you are in line at the grocery, pay the bill for the woman with a baby on her hip and food stamps in her hand.
* Use your imagination. Better still, listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit; He will tell you who needs a word of encouragement or gift.

What else can you do to help others? If you have any suggestions of things you have done or of thoughts you might have, please share them.

~Lord, may I not hinder meeting the need of anyone by mismanaging the funds you allow in my life. Nudge me however sharply is necessary to get my attention that I might do what I can to help someone in need. As I give out, replenish my lack that I might supply others’ needs once again. Amen~

~~Blessings, Lynn~~

We’ve been looking at friends…what is a BFF, what does friend mean, covenant friend gift, and what is hospitality. This is the last in the series. And you’re wondering what the heck It’s a Wonderful Life has to do with this post, right? Well, let’s see.

Jesus said, “I have called you friends.” (John 15:15) If we consider Jesus our friend, do we consider His friends to be our friends? Do we consider how we should treat His friends?

This may give us something to think about. A friend sent my husband an email with what I will loosely call a joke that went something like this: A man died and went to heaven.

When Peter greeted the man at the front gate, the man asked Peter, “What’s the difference between heaven and hell?”

Peter replied, “Come along with me. I’ll show you.”

So, Peter led him to the first room and opened the door. When the man stepped in, he immediately inhaled the great aroma of stew cooking. As he looked around, he saw emaciated and unhappy people standing around a pot of stew and others lying on the floor. The man noticed that all the people had a 36 inch spoon strapped to their arms and, when they dipped their spoon into the stew, they could not bring it to their mouths.

How sad, the man thought, that they are all inhaling the wonderful aroma of this stew and, yet, could not eat the stew because of the long spoon.

Peter then took the man to the next room. Opening the door, the man’s nose detected the same wonderful aroma of stew. However, all the people looked healthy and happy, yet, they all had a 36 inch spoon strapped to their arms.

Why, he wondered. Then he saw it. As each person came to the stew pot, they dipped their spoon into the stew…and fed each other!

Sobering thought, isn’t it?

Do you remember who was called the richest man in Bedford Falls in It’s A Wonderful Life? Nope, it wasn’t crotchety, old Mr. Potter. It was financially-challenged George Bailey.

While the bank examiners and the sheriff search for George, believing he has misappropriated the bank’s $8,000, he wishes he had never been born. After an encounter with Clarence, the second-class wingless angel, George experiences not having been born. After finally coming to the conclusion that he really does want to live, he dashes home.

In the meantime, Mary has spread the word of George’s dilemma with the bank examiners and dozens of townspeople come to his rescue, bringing all the spare change and dollars they can find. As George’s hero brother arrives and raises his glass to toast his big brother, Harry pronounces George the richest man in town.

Why? Because he had so many friends that he had helped.

At the end, George opens the book Clarence has left for him. George reads the inscription Clarence wrote, “Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”

No matter how much money you make during the day, no matter how many deals you close, how many hamburgers you turn, how many diapers you change, how many letters you type, how many garbage cans you empty, how many stocks you trade, or how many patients you treat, at the end of the day, after brushing your teeth, putting on your jammies, pulling back those cozy covers, crawling into that comfy bed, and laying your tired ol’ head on that puffy pillow, the heavenly measurement of your success for the day is not how many zeros you added to your checkbook. It is this:

Did you bless someone today?

At day’s closing, ask yourself…

* Did I love someone?
* Did I encourage someone?
* Did I use my gifts to the Father’s satisfaction?
* Did I make a difference in someone’s life today?
* Did I give willingly and generously, even out of my lack, to meet another’s need?

Would someone call you the richest person in your town?

~~Blessings, Lynn~~

Have you ever been homeless? In this economy, you might be close to experiencing it. I’ve been close to it…three times.

The dictionaries all give the same description…having no home, lacking permanent residence. However, the condition of being homeless implies different things to different people.

Some see the homeless, who sleep under a viaduct or in a cardboard box as a make-shift shelter, as those who refuse to work, choosing to spend their time in a bottle.

Others sometimes see them as poor or mentally ill people who, sadly enough, are unable to maintain a work life to support himself/herself, much less a family.

With the current upheaval in the financial world, this segment of society will probably be growing by record numbers. Many are being ejected from their homes on a daily basis. Many have had the proverbial rug pulled out from under them, leaving them with no place to turn for shelter but their cars.

Therefore, this concept of the homeless is reforming, and, because of this, the perception of some toward the homeless needs altering as well.

What will your attitude be toward them? One of disdain or contempt (which means to think unworthy of notice or response), or will it be one of favor, love, and respect, thinking you could be one or two steps away from the same thing? Will it be a hand-out or a hand-up? Or no hand at all?

Though we, too, may be affected by this crazy economy, isn’t there something we can do without in order to help someone else? That’s what I’m going to figure out.

My heart has been so touched by a young homeless girl and her mother. I’m a giver at heart, and when I see someone in a desperate situation, my natural reaction is to help. However, my bank account usually disagrees with me! And this saddens me deeply. So I pray. Not that prayer is my last resort, not by a long shot. Prayer is always my first action, but I always desire to do more.

Because of the initial and ongoing efforts of Christian suspense author Brandilyn Collins, the plight of these two has become a mushrooming story of assistance, even making national news.

If you don’t believe Christian fiction can be used for the Lord, then you need to take a look at this. Brandilyn writes, “Liz has been a reader of my suspense novels for four to five years now. She has been struggling financially for some time. Each time a book of mine released, I’d send her a free copy. Liz would always reply with a handwritten, gracious letter. She’s been wonderfully encouraging to me.”

You can catch all the updates on Brandilyn’s blog…Forensics and Faith.

Another key person is Julie Bonn Heath Marketing. You can read her posts here...JBHMarketing

You can also read 16 year old Katy’s posts on her blog, called Destination Anywhere but Here… DestinationAnywhereButHere.

When Brandilyn heard from Liz, she went straight to her resources, the people. She spread the word and many giving people have responded. So far, money has been donated and Katy and Liz have been on two local networks, CNN, and Good Morning America will air an interview with them sometime in the next few days. You can keep up to date on it all on Brandilyn’s blog.

Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.” (Phil. 2:3-4 NLT)

Has this been your attitude toward the homeless? If not, do you think it will change if your neighbor becomes homeless, or you do?

So, will you consider the plight of others, how degraded and lost they may feel and try to help rebuild their lives with a donation? Can you give them back their confidence, or encourage them, give them love, hope, and your prayers? Can you replenish another’s life in some way? Whatever you are able to do for another, I know the Lord will bless you.

~~Blessings, Lynn~~

I received a message the other day to expect a houseguest, a special friend coming for a visit, someone with deep needs. Since I love giving and love my friend, I was excited at the prospect of helping out in any way I could.

So I did what every woman would do, I started cleaning the house…

Knock, knock, knock! Yikes! I’m not ready. However, I opened the door anticipating my friend but found a dirty beggar asking for a handout. Sorry, I said. I’m busy. Try next door.

…then I started preparing special food…

Knock, knock, knock! Aha! Must be my friend! Opening the door, this time I found a member from church collecting canned goods for the hungry. Sorry, I said. I’m busy. Try next door.

…then I put out the good towels and tablecloth…

Knock, knock, knock! Now what? Irritated, I flung open the door and found a neighbor’s child collecting clothes for homeless children. Sorry, I said. I’m busy. Try next door.

After everything was finished, I was pooped so I sat down to rest. Looking at my watch, I began to wonder what happened to my friend who was in such need. Doesn’t he know I’m waiting here to help him?

No more interruptions. No more knocking. As I decided to just sit there and wait, the Lord began to whisper to my heart…

“I knocked on your door three times today but you were too busy to let Me in. I said I would come to visit because I had needs. I sent you the needs but you didn’t accept them as from Me. You received Me not. If you had responded to what I sent, you would have enjoyed sharing a precious fellowship with My people and with Me.”

Hanging my head in humiliation, I listened as He continued…

“Didn’t I tell you that when you did something for one of the least of these, you were doing it to Me? Will you turn Me away again next time?”

If He knocks upon your door today, will you open up to welcome Him as your honored houseguest? How will He appear, as the dirty beggar, the church member, the child? Or maybe as the person sitting in the back pew crying, the young father with small children and food stamps, the neighbor down the street dying of AIDS, the single mother working two jobs to feed her children?

Who will you welcome? Whose needs will you meet?

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Rev. 3:20 NKJV)

~~Blessings, Lynn~~

If God told you to give your last $25, would you give it? I tell you, GIVE IT! Trust me, I know! Years ago, during a very financially challenging time, I was at our bank, taking out about the last $25 we had to buy food.

As I walked to my car, I overheard a man talking to another man, “Now what am I going to do? The bank will be closed until Monday. I won’t have any money.” For some reason, he could not get any money from his paycheck.

Wouldn’t that make you just rush right over and give him some? God prompted me to do so, but I never found out what the problem was, because I got in my car and drove away - to my shame and embarrassment. I thought if I gave him the last of my money, how would I feed my family?

That was before I knew better how to obey the Lord, and to this day, I deeply regret it. I didn’t trust God and I never experienced His hand at work in that situation. God was trying to bless someone through me and teach me something, but I didn’t listen. Blessings were lost for both of us. Don’t let that happen to you.

“If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return. It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.” (Luke 6:38 Contemporary English Version)