Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year puzzel ... Thx Clay V!

               Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

When you finish putting it together, watch what happens.

Merry Christmas

Click here: Santa's Jigsaw

skegley.kegley@gmail.com

A veteran's thought at Christmas 2013 ... Sam Kegley

A veteran’s thoughts at Christmas 2013

I am a veteran of the Korean War time who served in Tokyo and never saw a battlefield.  I was privileged this past October, 2013 to fly to Washington D.C. on an Honor Flight due to the kind invitation of a friend from church, Bill Marland.

Since many who have seen the battlefields of the world have not returned or only did so in a wounded state, I feel so fortunate to have lived my life, now at 81.

My wife, Jeanie, was beautiful then and still is.  We have shared a steady Christian love for sixty-two years next month.  Coming home after maturing  during my two years service (Jeanie says so);  I have lived a very full life.

We had our first son, Jay Clark, in December 1955.  Six years before Jeffrey Brent was born in 1961, shortly after I obtained a BS in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Kentucky.   Later years have brought us three beautiful granddaughters and two step-sons.

Seeing newborn that you helped conceive is so special.  Certainly babies are beautiful, even boy babies.  But the euphoria is not only the mother’s.  The dreams initiated of nurturing the boys throughout their lives is still with Jeanie and me.  I’m sure our boys would like for us to “let that go”; however I assure you that we never will. 

I’ve worked hard, and so has Jeanie, but we have enjoyed all of these years.  Those families who lost their sons, daughters, husbands, or whichever, have had sadness inescapable throughout these years.  Likewise, the wounded warriors have lived less than full lives over these years. 

As we thank the Christian God, we can barely  imagine the sadness He must have felt when His son suffered the horrible torture and death  to forgive each person on earth.  We are so happy at this time of celebration for Jesus’  birth.

America, by even secular poll results, has 86 % believers in God, but our supposed government leaders have allowed the 86 % to remove so much of the cause of Christmas celebration.  Many of them are of the secular progressive crowd.  Such leaders didn’t win our freedoms they are stripping us of.  The service-people and their families who suffered so much for the freedoms of American  citizens did.  Shame on any elected person who has let “America- the last city on the hill” slip away due to their own selfishness. 

Merry Christmas!

Sam Kegley

Beautiful Story repeatyed ... Thx Carol and ClayV!

Beautiful story.... makes you understand that things happen for a reason  The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned  to their first ministry, to reopen a church  in suburban Brooklyn , arrived in early October  excited about their opportunities. When they saw  their church, it was very run down and needed  much work. They set a goal to have everything  done in time to have their first service  on Christmas Eve. They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18  were ahead of schedule and just about finished.  On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving  rainstorm - hit the area and lasted for two days.  On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about  20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall  of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high. The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor,  and not knowing what else to do but postpone  the Christmas Eve service, headed home.  On the way he noticed that a local business was  having a flea market type sale for charity, so he  stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful,  handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth  with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross  embroidered right in the center. It was just  the right size to cover the hole in the front  wall. He bought it and headed back to the church. By this time it had started to snow. An older  woman running from the opposite direction was  trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor  invited her to wait in the warm church for  the next bus 45 minutes later. She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor  while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put  up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor  could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and  it covered up the entire problem area. Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"  The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials 'EBG' were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria . The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor  told how he had just gotten "The Tablecloth". The  woman explained that before the war she and  her husband were well-to-do people in Austria When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave.  Her husband was going to follow her the next week.  He was captured, sent to prison and she never saw her  husband or her home again. The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home. That was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn  for the day for a housecleaning job. What a wonderful service they had on Christmas  Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the  spirit were great. At the end of the service, the  pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door  and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized  from the neighborhood, continued to sit in one of the  pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he  wasn't leaving. The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on  the front wall because it was identical to one  that his wife had made years ago when  they lived in Austria before the war and how  could there be two tablecloths so much alike? He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he  forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was  supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again in all the 35 years between. The pastor asked him if he would allow him to  take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten  Island and to the same house where the pastor  had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas  reunion he could ever imagine. T rue story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid  who says God does work in mysterious ways. I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for  you today, to guide you and protect you as you go  along your way. His love is always with you. His  promises are true, and when we give Him all our  cares we know He will see us through. So when the road you're traveling seems  difficult at best, just remember I'm here  praying and God will do the rest. Pass this on  to those you want God to bless and remember  to send it back to the one who asked God to bless  you first. When there is nothing left but God, that is when you find out that God is all you need. Take 60 seconds and give this a shot! All you do is simply say the following small prayer for the person  who sent this to you. Father, G od, bless all my friends and family in what  ever it is that You know they may be needing this  day! May their lives be full of Your peace,  prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship with You. Amen. Then send it on to five other people, including the  one who sent it to you. Within hours five people have  prayed for you and you caused a multitude of people  to pray for other people. Then, sit back and watch the  power of God work in your life. P. S. Five is good, but more is better. --

As time goes by ... Thx Marge R!

As time goes by ... Thx Marge R!

That last line is so true - those years have gone by so fast and will be gone before we know it. I can see that happening already.

-----Original Message-----

 "God has given us memories that we may have roses in December."

How so very fast these years have spun by!!!!

And the older I get the quicker they go..

Photographer Tom Hussey created a series of pictures that will speak to you, no matter your age, race, beliefs or occupation. The Reflection photos illustrate just how much we change in our lives and how it seems to happen all at once, no matter how many years actually go by. These will grip your soul. Reflection gives insight into the former lives of these senior citizens. Tom spoke to a veteran right before his 80th birthday. His quotes inspired him to create the series. I cant believe Im going to be 80, he told Hussey. I feel like I just came back from the war. I look in the mirror and I see this old guy. Its a universal condition at some point in your life, you look in the mirror and say, Wait a minute, how did I get this old? said Tom. The idea for doing these images was a person looking in the mirror and seeing what they remember. When you look in the mirror every day, you recognize yourself, but when you go back and look at a photo of yourself 20 years ago you say, Wow, I really have changed. You get to some milestone age 20, 40, or 80 and you cant believe that much time has gone by. Take time to appreciate every day, because these years will be gone before you know it.

God Whispers ... Thanks Nana & Marge R!

GOD WHISPERS

 

 

This is so beautiful. How many of us hear and see the things God is blessing us with

and don't relate it to His presence in our lives?

http://www.youtube.com/embed/zf_0jzPQ8lo?rel=0

Merry Christmas! ... Thx Paul C!

I will be making a conscious effort to wish everyone

a Merry Christmas this year ...

So, I am asking my email friends,

if you agree with me,

to please do the same.

And if you'll pass this on to

your email friends, and so on...

maybe we can prevent one more Christian

tradition from being lost in the sea of

"Political Correctness".

To One and All, PEACE and JOY