Winning Words 12/26/12
“Ye who now will bless the poor  Shall yourselves find blessing “   (Good King Wenceslas)  Dec 26 is the Feast of Stephen when a special effort is made to share with the poor.  This custom is told in the words of Good King Wenceslas.  A Sunday School girl played that song for us in church on Sunday.  The Prayer of St. Francis contains the words, “It is in giving that you receive.”  That’s really true, isn’t it?    ;-)  Jack

 FROM TRIHARDER:  It feels so good to give. ...FROM JACK:  "It's better to give than to receive" is one of those many proverbs that has its source in the Bible.

 FROM SHARIN' SHARON:  Appreciated reading your WW this morning. I think it's painful recognizing poverty in ourselves. Last night our daughter and her boyfriend showed us pictures of their travelling to Rio de Janeiro and a lot of the evening was in discussing the Favelas, the poor community of people living up the mountain. And what are the solutions and what kind of help would the people like. The poverty is there but I also think we felt poor in our understanding of so complex a situation and we were divided in our thinking. Rich people and poor people have such a tough time of truly making necessary changes to make this world a better place because we many times are so divided as to what to do. We come from different life experiences. Thanks for this WW. Only knowing God and that He knows us brings me comfort and consolation.////FROM JACK:  We're familiar with the saying attributed to the American Indians:  "Don't judge a person until you've walked a mile in his moccasins."....but few of us who are "rich" have been able to really identify with those who are "poor."  If we were, this world would be a different place...and some attitudes would change.

 FROM WALMART REV:   found that to be a true as well, Jack . . . often being the recipient of another's willingness to bless their pastor, I find myself uncomfortable at times, and always remind myself why it is I'm being blessed in this way.  Interestingly, for the past three years I've had three and now four individuals from outside our church and in our community in trust collectively almost $3,000 to be distributed in segments of $50.00, $75.00 and $100.00 increments to folk I meet at Wal-Mart during the Christmas season who could use an anonymous gift of money. The one gentleman who has mailed me $1,000.00 these past three years was a teammate of mine on a bowling league in Wichita, Kansas when I was in high school. He moved off to Minneapolis to attend Minnesota State University and decided to live there the rest of his life, ending up teaching college level studies. We became re-united just a few years ago. He heard about this when I wrote of it in a Christmas letter and followed up by asking if he could participate as well. It has been a real pleasure blessing and receiving the hugs and tears from those I anonymously and at random give an envelope to, wishing them a Merry Christmas!  I always ask God to reveal needy people to me throughout the year as I keep my eyes open for a Christmas blessing. I always include a list and description of those receiving an envelope back to the donors after Christmas so they can enjoy reading about their investment. It adds a beautiful dynamic to my Christmas each year. 0;-)////FROM JACK:  The Greek word for "Walmart" is, Ἀγορά, (marketplace).  The word , agoraphobia, describes someone who is fearful of the marketplace.  God has called you to overcome that fear and do your ministry there.

 FROM ILLINOIS LIZ: Like.////FROM JACK:  K

 FROM MY FLORIST:  One of my favorite hymns ... FROM JACK:  The thing I like about it is that it's a story, set to music.

 FROM YOOPER FLICKA:  Beautiful....////FROM JACK: Speaking of beautiful, we went to a beautiful Sankta Lucia breakfast at the local Mission Covenant Church.  Beautiful costumes, music and good food. ////YF:  HOW WONDERFUL TO HAVE A SANTA LUCIA BREAKFAST....I REMEMBER AT AUGIE I HAD THE BURNING CANDLES SO I COULD FEEL THE WARM WAX COMING DOWN MY HEAD AND THENMY CHEEKS....FINALLY THEY SAW MY DISTRESS...BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PUT THEM OUT..  YOU WILL HEAR THE REST OF THE STORY TOMORROW. .....REMEMBER TO TURN IN FOR HIS EXCITING STORY.  GOD  JUL ! ////FROM JACK:  Ooooh!  That's scary.

FROM EMT SINGS IN MICHIGAN:  Happy New Year!  Talk about a small world-- At the Christmas Eve service at St. John's there was special music presented and we were surprised and delighted that a special Harpist was on the program: Christa Grix, who played at our wedding. We, of course, went up and talked to her after church.  She "vaguely"'recalled the event.  She remembered Holy Spirit and you more, but that was 22 years and how many weddings ago for her!  It was a nice surprise!////FROM JACK:  I recall the occasions when Christa played her harp at Holy Spirit.  What beautiful music.  Songs by her are often played on WRJC-FM (101.9), Detroit's classical music station..

 FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  Absolutely true!!!  It is truly more blessed to give than to receive!////FROM JACK:  But, do you know who said it?