HEREWITH IS MY CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOR YOU…
I have put past Christmas ‘JOY STORIES’ on this page.

Please read them, making certain they are in align with God’s written Word, the Bible.

The Bible is the only Book which is God-breathed (written by God.)

Enjoy!
And Merry Christmas! He has risen!

 

 

STORY #1
 MERRY CHRISTMAS!

“Merry Christmas! He has risen!”
Don’t forget the rest of the story !

 

Easter is my favorite holiday…  Sad to say, when I tell some people, they will look at quizzically and I believe I know they are wondering (but will not speak it), “Why?”

They should know, you should know, all you should. And we all should know, and not only know, but embrace these truths now:

 

Luke 24:1-7
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

 

Philippians 2:9-11
For this reason also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

 

EASTER is my favorite holiday because the tomb is empty! Jesus fulfilled the destiny He was always willing to follow! God never had a ‘Plan B’! Christ willingly laid down His life for the entire world! And only those who love and receive truth (to wit: the truth being the God of all) will be saved. Saved, meaning: healed, rescued, delivered, prosperous as they walk, live, and breathe for Him in His presence.

Selah.

A past Easter season the LORD God Almighty gave me this marvelous revelation! When someone says to me, “Merry Christmas!” this year, from now on until Heaven, I in turn will always say, “He has risen!” And if they balk, I will add, “Don’t forget the rest of the story!” Now I know those who are Christians should immediately, I said immediately, receive the truth that Jesus Christ is not seasonal: He is eternal!

Selah.

They should not just be pleased with this holy and truthful declaration; they should embrace it and proclaim it! And rejoice! Rejoice!

Selah.

 

Jesus Christ cannot be put in a box. He cannot be relegated to one season alone. Jesus is the reason for our very existence, our breath, our new birth…  if we overcome Satan, the world, and our very own flesh!

He has risen!

 

 

SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS FOR THIS JOY STORY:

 

Luke 24:1-7
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’

 

1 John 2:1-6
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.  Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.  But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

 

Revelation 21:6-8
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

 

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

 

Revelation 12:11
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

 

PLEASE NOTE:
Spiritual Israel (every godly Jewish person who follows the everlasting covenant God gave Abraham are God’s chosen people and His saints as well; the Church is Abraham’s seed.

 

 

STORY #2
CHRISTMAS CAN NEVER HURT!

 

THIS IS WHY…
As a Christian, uncompromising, Jesus is my everything and if I had to live on Earth alone until Heaven, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t be alone. The Lord of all never leaves me, never forsakes me – but He allows me to walk away and become an apostate if I so choose. I will not.
I am making a statement today and always on this journey: Jesus paid it all!

Selah.

Christmas is the celebration of His birth and of His gift of salvation. Salvation is not just being forgiven of my sins, it is the healing also of my body and my soul. It is my prosperity. God truly does bind up the brokenhearted. The celebration of Christ cannot hurt you. Can’t hurt anyone. Jesus came to save the sick and dying, the broken, the hateful, the doubter. He came to save you and me. He came in the form of a baby, born of a virgin.

He came.

Jesus did everything He set out to do. The Father, Christ’s and mine, was pleased. I am pleased with everything Christ and the Father and the Spirit have ever done: One God in Three Persons. The Godhead, the Deity, the Trinity, is holy, holy, holy… So do not say anything at all to me about Christmas being bad, about it being a disappointment, about Christmas being commercialized. Jesus Christ doesn’t sell anything. He gave!

 

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

If you are disillusioned in your beliefs about Christmas (again: this is the celebration of Messiah’s birth, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ) rethink your dumb ideas and change them to truth: Jesus is the King of kings, LORD of lords, Alpha, Omega, Son of God, Son of Man and His birthday, which His believers celebrate every December 25 is holy and wonderous – always!

 

IT IS OUR HOLIDAY…
HAVE A REAL CHRISTMAS!

 

 

STORY #3
MERRY CHRISTMAS…
AND happy new creation if you are in Christ Jesus!

 

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

 

For all of you (and there are many!) who are celebrating a fake Christmas: here’s what you do, accept truth:

 

God in Heaven,

I come to You in the name of Your only begotten Son, Jesus. I have sinned. I now believe and know that Jesus is fully God, fully Man. He lived a sinless life and took all of my sickness and infirmities in His body. He died on the cross for my sins. I believe and know that He was raised from the dead so I might be saved from Hell and have eternal life in Your Kingdom with you forevermore.

Jesus, I ask you to be my only Lord and Savior. Please forgive me of my sins and wash them away with Your holy blood; never to be remembered again. Please take my sickness or any health issue I have by the stripes You endured for all mankind…

I will now strive to live my life for You to my best ability and with the help of You, Holy Spirit, I strive to seek You, study You and worship You all the days of my life, which are forever, amen!

I denounce Satan and his kingdom now and forevermore!

I also ask to be baptized in You, Holy Spirit, with the evidence of this by praying in other tongues, my heavenly language.

(To receive your heavenly language – take it by faith – just as you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Simply start speaking syllables – do not say anything in your known language/s. It WILL come – just believe. Satan will tell you it is false – never listen to the father of lies. Pray in tongues every day!)

Thank You, God, for forgiving me, cleansing me, healing me in every way, staying with me and praying with me.

In Jesus name, I pray this, amen.

 

 

SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS:

 

Romans 3:21-26
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

 

Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

 

1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

 

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 

Romans 10:9-10
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

 

Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

 

1 Corinthians 14:2
For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.

 

DO NOT BE DECEIVED! You must continue your relationship as a child of God!
Live this way:

 

2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

 

Hebrews 3:14
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

 

Revelation 3:5
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

 

Revelation 12:11
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

 

 

STORY #4
Have you heard of flipping houses?

Well, this had nothing to do with that. However,  one day it was my coffee break time (7:30 AM – 8:30 AM.)

I do have a point: an excellent one, as a matter of fact.
I was settled in with a program, my crafting, and my two fur babies were nearby…

Only after a very short time of settling in, I did it; I flipped my coffee.
“And what is flipping coffee,?” you may ask. Just that.

You see, I always have fun on my coffee breaks. I take an entire long hour when Duane is at work because I get up early, I mean really early! I love it! Most of my Minnesota world is sleeping at the time I rise. It’s quiet. It’s peaceful. And it is most beautiful to me. Remember Proverbs 31 ladies? Just this part:

 

Provers 31:15
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.

 

So here I was settled; on the couch at 7:30 AM until 8:30 AM enjoying my coffee break. (Did you ever get such a one at any business you’ve worked at? I haven’t.) My delightful coffee, poured into one my boffo (and that’s a good thing!) Caribou Christmas coffee cups (last year’s model and perfectly darling!) was resting on its usual spot on my end table. Everything was in place and like the silent night – all was calm. Not bright, however, for the sun rose at 7:41 AM this day. I had eleven more minutes of dark skies (which I love!)

When lo! and behold! there came a great big mess…
A heavy mess, but not an emotional mess.  Yes, it is true! I, Ann, lover of Caribou coffee which had been poured into a past model of the Caribou Christmas coffee cup (again, boffo!) flipped her coffee!

HERE IS THE BEST THING:
I simply said to myself (and yes, I do talk to myself a lot!)“I’ll just make another cup.”

Let me take a rabbit trail of utmost importance here:

 

Matthew 22:35-40
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

 

‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  So my coffee was now flipped.

Selah.

Pause and reflect. Choose.
I choose joy!

Yes, my first choice was: “Well. I’m just going to make another cup of coffee!” ” My next choice was to clean up the mess! Boffo! Good choice! And let me tell you – the coffee in the cup was seeping on the tile by the fireplace and on the carpet in front of the tile. My delicious coffee had splattered on the wall. Boy! Did my living room smell good!

As I was making more coffee, cleaning up the mess (which I had to perfect in cleaning up the next day) I started counting my blessings. And let me tell you, more came then I thought would! You see, I wasn’t going to let this flipping coffee cup ruin (or take any fun) my relax time. My me time. I was going to be still and relax, chill.

Selah.

I thanked God the animals did not get burned with hot coffee (it was so full, I had to wait for it to cool down. I told you I had barely sipped any.) I thanked God – and to my amazement! – my coffee mug didn’t break on that tile. Not only did it not break, it wasn’t even chipped! I can’t wait to tell Mariah (one of our favorite coffee queens this!) I was very pleased I didn’t have to clean liquid off the end table, which has a glass top. That’s a bit of work! And: my clothes didn’t get mussed!

Beloved,
as I started thanking God for all the things to be grateful for in flipping my coffee, I soon became amazed at how many victories I had and how many unpleasant, and potentially harmful, things did not happen!

Selah.

So, when you’re flipping your coffee, step on a nail, break a window, or anything and everything that’s difficult, even dangerous – do this:

 

Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

 

THE OBVIOUS LESSON:
look for lessons from God in all things. Big things, little things, fun things, drag things, hard things, comfort things. He is with all who love Him and He can teach you how to have joy eternal (that would also include NOW) in His companionship!

Learn from me!

 

 

STORY #5
CHRISTMAS PAST, AN UNWANTED GIFT..

 

FOR ALL OF YOU who have many times put people before yourself to the point of not giving you, yourself, enough respect – this story is for you.

As a girl growing up without guidance from my mom or dad about why things are right, why things are wrong – like all people who ignore God -I created my own morals.

Selah.

And this is not a good place to be. Growing up I felt inferior to most everybody. I didn’t have a lot of clothes, some days I didn’t have enough to eat. I’ll never forget three days where we had no food. My dad suffered from Multiple Sclerosis. Money was tight. Braces should have been provided for me and I had always hated my smile because of my top tooth sticking out much farther than the other. I was one kid who deeply wanted braces.

Lots of troubles, lots of sorrows…

But, I wanted to get along. I wanted to be polite and respectful of people. I wanted friends. My shyness was truly painful. I never knew what to say…

In college I started (for whatever reason) having some fun with teenagers my age. I never did drugs, no one ever offered me any – probably because they knew what I would say (I was always disgusted with people who did) and I never drank. In later years I began to drink alcohol in moderation, still believing it was ugly and disgusting to get drunk.

God was always working on me and there were many things I really did well (even as a sinner, aka unbeliever.) One of those things was being respectful and trying to make friends. I was lonely.

I tried to be polite and considerate for the right reasons… I never got in trouble at school or work for bad behaviors. I wanted to have a joyful life and move on… I didn’t do things to ‘fit in’ but I wanted to be friends with everybody.

My husband and I married way back (ha!) in 1979. The only California Christmas I had was during this year. And this is what brings me to the point of my story. We moved out to Los Angeles and lived there for only about a year and a half. After all I’d gone through, I never knew I could be so unhappy just because of where I lived. But I was. I hated Los Angeles. I tried though. I really did try to accept this completely foreign way of life. Actually, when we decided to move to Duane’s birthplace, I went with the greatest of attitude, expectation, and with deep excitement!

Now comes Christmas.
And I’ll never forget it.

By now Duane and I were newlyweds. Married in September, 1979; ‘celebrating’ our first Christmas together with his family. The Christmas dinner was at Duane’s grandparents’ house (from his father’s side.) They’ve both passed and I truly am not certain what eternity either of them chose…

OPENING GIFTS:
I remember opening my Christmas gift from them. My memory tells me only Duane, his grandma, and I were in the living room even though there were about twelve people or so gathered together for this sacred holiday. I remember my beautiful red dress I wore – very Christmassy…

Upon opening this gift I was shocked! Who gives a spaghetti strainer to a woman who doesn’t cook as a Christmas gift? For a bridal shower – maybe. But a cheap (very cheap) gift – and – to a woman doesn’t cook! Seriously?

Duane and I for some reason were recently talking about this. He teased me about how I still remember. My case is, like King David, I stir up my victories, I reflect on hard times and how I’ve handled them, and most importantly, I think about what I would do differently in any bad situation now that I am holy; now that I know my worth is just as precious as every soul God has created. This is my point.

Selah.

I remember this hurt and I remember how I handled it. Even as an ungodly woman I didn’t want to be rude or hurt his grandmother. Keep in mind this as I tell you: this woman was crabby. I never liked her and I saw her as one dissatisfied woman. Most women in her generation did not work when they had young children. It was looked down on because you should raise your children and not leave them for nine or more hours a day for someone else to literally mold their characters. It was weird and unusual for her to do so. Her job wasn’t even impressive. Nothing to write home about, not a professional saving lives or souls… She was a store clerk. No. I always thought she just wanted to get out of the house. She was crabby.

As I opened my cheap spaghetti strainer (even today they are less than $10) she must have seen the disappointment in my eyes. I certainly didn’t curse, complain; nor did I correct this choice of gift. I took it. I thanked her. But in her demeanor I do believe she felt badly. She should have. Why? Because not only did she give me this stupid, cheap, strainer (remember: she knew Duane was the cook and we both worked full time) she lied. She lied because she told me she couldn’t find a tee shirt for me that had a California logo on it (she knew I loved them and wore them often, me – a transplanted Minnesota girl.) Again, I didn’t correct her, argue with her. I remained silent… You have to understand, California sells all kinds of California tee shirts in all kinds of stores. She lied…

And I let her.

For years I kept the spaghetti strainer, actually until it wore out; and every time I used it I thought about her cruelty. She was trying to make me the kind of wife she thought I should be – a cooking wife. Yet, she left her children for a mundane job; and believe me, money was not an issue for her that she needed to work. She did not.

WHAT I WOULD SAY TO HER TODAY
with that gift? I would say: “I don’t want it.” Because of her actions behind this gift, because of she lied to me, I would not even say “No thank you.”  I would just say: “No.”

 

NOTE: That is what a lot of people say to Christ about His gift!

 

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

 

Then I would purposefully change the subject…  You see beloved, she did do a mean thing. She knew I hated to cook. She knew Duane loved to. It was our choice, not hers…

And she lied.

No. Today I wouldn’t accept the spaghetti strainer. It hurt me. And I wouldn’t let Duane take it home. And I wouldn’t have had all those years of using a gift given not out of love…  I am worthy to be loved. I am worthy to be correct / rebuked. I am worthy to be cherished.

And,
I am worthy to be told the truth.

So are you!

Christmas is about the birth of the only Lord and Savior of the entire world, Jesus Christ. The Spirit never wants us to lie to get along…
From now on have a Merry Christmas by keeping God – the way and the truth and the life Head at your table!

 

 

SCRIPTURAL TRUTHS FOR THIS JOY STORY

 

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

 

Revelation 21:6-8
 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.  Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.  But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”