A nice Pre-Christmas story:

This is a true story that happened to my sister-in-law a few days
ago, which I titled "A Pre-Christmas Miracle." She asked me to help
write her story because it is already spreading so quickly, that
Salvation Army wants to publish it on a national level. I truly
believe that everyone who hears this story will be blessed with a
better understanding of the true meaning of Christmas. So please pass
it along to everyone you know.

"God bless us everyone!"

Tracy M. Parish
Author, "Bible Action Stories for Tiny Tots"
Not just books... They're exciting learning adventures!
Bible Stories that have a BIG impact on little lives.
http://JonahBook.com
FREE Books for Kids! For Every two books sold, one is given away to a
less fortunate child.

CareerPlan, Inc.
Need a Resume? Call Anyone. Need Results? Call Us!
For a resume that will literally catapult itself upon the desk of
hiring managers!
Nationally Published Certified Professional Resume Writer
http://CareerPlan.org
http://ExecutiveCareerSolutions.com

----------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------
A Pre-Christmas Miracle
(by Dawn M. Bryner)

I had the most wonderfully humbling experience of my life last
Friday, and I thought it would be a shame not to share it with
everyone. It's one of those "True meaning of Christmas" stories you
always hear about, but this one was different because it happened to
me. You see, I try very hard to instill in my children that Christmas
is not about presents and getting everything they want, but instead
it is about Jesus' birth and being with family to rejoice. We
purposely make Christmas a more conservative occasion. As a matter of
fact, most of our family no longer exchanges gifts. We just get
together and enjoy the day for what it is. I am certainly not a
perfect parent, but if someone were to ask one of my kids why we
celebrate Christmas, they will tell you we are celebrating Jesus'
birthday. Ok, so here's where the "story" starts, since it's actually
about giving gifts. It's very simple, yet extremely profound.

Last Thursday, I got a call from Jacque K., Senior Advisor of the
Ambassadors of Hope (AOH). She was very upset. She called to get my
opinion on what we could do to help the Salvation Army get presents
for 35 children whose names were taken off of their Angel Tree but
had not had gifts returned for them.

All of the gifts were due back to the Salvation Army by Friday,
December 10 to ensure they could be distributed to the children on
time for Christmas. By Thursday, December 16th, Linda G. from the
Salvation Army was sure those gifts would not be dropped off, so 35
children were not going to have any gifts to open Christmas morning.
Not knowing for sure how she would get her hands on toys for these
children, she called Jacque to see if the AOH had any more gifts they
could donate, as they had already given approximately 75 toys. Jacque
assured her the AOH would be glad to help and then called me. The AOH
did have some toys to donate but not enough for the specific age
groups and sexes that were needed. So, AOH decided they would have to
purchase the toys themselves with money they were saving for a
scholarship. It looked as though everything was going to be OK after
all.

I must say, I felt so outraged by what had happened – that people
would take the names off the Angel Tree and not return the gifts for
those poor children, that I wanted to help in any way I could. I
didn't want Christmas day to arrive and know that those 35 children
would not have presents to open. So, when I talked to Jacque again on
Friday morning, I happily volunteered to be the one to go to the
store and buy the toys. At that point they had a few more toys that
had been donated, but there were still 19 children left with no
presents at all. I needed to go to the store anyway, and thought this
would be a fun project, so I went to Jacque's to pick up the money
and the list. It was at that point I found out AOH only had $120.00
in their budget for these gifts. That's not very much, considering I
needed to buy a total of 38 gifts for 19 children, but I was up to
the challenge (or so I thought.)

This turned out to be a bigger challenge than I had anticipated. It
was downright next to impossible. I did manage to get presents for
all of the kids, but I was certain I had gone over the $120.00
budget, and held by breath as I headed for the checkout. I knew the
AOH had no more money to spare so I decided if I did in fact go over
budget I was going to just have to make up the difference with my own
money. I wasn't exactly thrilled about it as I had already donated a
worthy sum of toys and had given up a great deal of my time, but I
was more worried about the children.

So I finally reached the checkout line and as I waited I started
going through my list, matching toys to the each child to make sure
everyone was covered. All along I kept thinking to myself "How could
someone do this to a child? I mean, if you're going to take a name
off the tree, you should buy that child the recommended gifts,
otherwise don't take the name to begin with. It's not like people do
not know what the names are for or what they are being asked to do."
The more I stewed about it, the angrier I became.

By the time I had waited in line and reached the checkout counter, I
was getting very upset. Here I thought this would be a lot of fun,
and it was turning out to be quite the opposite. I was so frustrated
about the people who had taken the names and not brought in the
presents. Plus, as I placed each item on the conveyor belt, I had the
mounting pressure that I might not have enough money to purchase all
of the items. All the while the toys were being rung up and bagged, I
was explaining to the checkout clerk at Wal-Mart why I was buying so
many toys and the situation surrounding it. She too was outraged by
what had happened. I told her that I was so upset about it, I was
going to write a letter to the editor and let others know what had
happened. She agreed that it was a good idea. Maybe it would make
people stop and think before doing the same thing next year.

She finally rang up the last toy, looked at the total and
announced, "It's $120.00." When she said it I immediately stopped
talking in mid-conversation and stared at her in utter disbelief. I
looked at the screen, and sure enough, amazingly the total was
exactly $120.00. Tears started streaming down my cheeks and she asked
what was wrong. I hadn't yet told her at that point what my budget
amount was, so I explained to her that AOH had given me $120.00 to
purchase the toys. She looked at me, looked at the register again,
and then said "I think SOMEONE is helping you out here."

It was undeniable. I most certainly had had some help with this. The
most humbling feeling I have ever felt swept over me at that moment,
and all of the anger drained away. My mom always tells me "God works
in mysterious ways," but I had never felt it so close to home before.
I still wanted to write a letter to the editor, but this time with a
different angle. Christmas, for me this year, is going to be a little
more joyous – not despite those people who took the names, but
because of them.

"God bless us everyone!"

Tracy M. Parish
Author, "Bible Action Stories for Tiny Tots"
Not just books... They're exciting learning adventures!
Bible Stories that have a BIG impact on little lives.
http://JonahBook.com
FREE Books for Kids! For Every two books sold, one is given away to a
less fortunate child.

CareerPlan, Inc.
Need a Resume? Call Anyone. Need Results? Call Us!
For a resume that will literally catapult itself upon the desk of
hiring managers!
Nationally Published Certified Professional Resume Writer
http://CareerPlan.org
http://ExecutiveCareerSolutions.com