Take My Son !!

This was sent to me by my good friend Angie at "Love The Prim Look" and this being the Sunday before lent begins thought I would share it with you'll.......

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.
About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands.
He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'
The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift.'
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.
On the platform sat the painting of the son The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?'
There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'
But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting. Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?'
Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandt's. Get on with the real bids!'
But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting.' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.
'We have $10, who will bid $20?'
'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.'
'$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?'
The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.
They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.
The auctioneer pounded the gavel. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!'
A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!'The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over.'
'What about the paintings?'
'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings.
The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on the cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The son, the son, who'll take the son?'
Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE

ROOTED IN HISTORY!

What's your story? So what secrets are waiting to be discovered about the people who made you who you are today? Our roots influence us in ways we can't even imagine. Studying your family history actually lets you discover more about yourself....With online databases and research tools, it's easier than ever to start putting the pages of your family story together, preserving your heritage and passing it on to future generations.
Create a family tree.

You can easily create a family tree online with what you already know....Begin with yourself and add your parents and grandparents. Record each person's name, birthplace, birth date, death place and death date..If you don't know the exact information take your best guess...vague clues can lead to amazing finds...Family members may be able to help also...Go to ancestry.com and get started now....What a wonderful Christmas present this would be for the members of your family next Christmas...Keep tuned for more to come.....

The After Christmas Woes!

Are you one of the millions of people suffering from the “After Christmas Woes”? What is the “After Christmas Woes”; well I’m glad you asked. The “After Christmas Woes” is an overwhelming, burdensome feeling that come upon a person after he or she has lost their mind due to the extreme pressure that the world has placed on them during the Christmas season.
Yea I know, you are probably trying to justify your “After Christmas Woes” by saying, I get this feeling sometimes from the stress at my job or from the stress of life in general. It is a big difference when you get this overwhelming, burdensome feeling from the pressure of life because the issues of life are out of our control. Wouldn’t you agree that life has enough stress on it’s own to begin adding more unnecessary stress to it?
Well you may be saying I celebrate Christmas because it is about the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then if Christmas is about Jesus, then why do we let “The World” who has rejected Jesus tell us how we should celebrate Him? You do know the world has dictated how Christmas should be celebrated don’t you? If we were to ask Jesus how would He have us to celebrate His birthday He would probably say, if you want to honor me on my day you should keep the day holy. You should tell others about Me. You should do good to your neighbor.
Okay you say, this means I could buy my neighbors presents and gifts for Christmas. Yes, there is never anything wrong with buying your neighbors gifts. But we should not let “The World” dictate to us when we should buy these gifts. When we are under pressure to buy our neighbors, friends, siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, cousins, co-workers, bosses, mail carriers, garbage collectors, and let’s not forget our children who we give everything our little money and credit cards can buy, then this is not what Jesus meant when He said we should do good to our neighbors.
If we feel obligated to buy everyone a gift for Christmas, we are under bondage and we have allowed “The World” to dictate to us how we should honor the very person that they have rejected.
How does a person know whether he or she has the “After Christmas Woes”? Here are a few symptoms:
1)You are relieved that the holiday is finally over.
2)You spent more money than your budget allowed.
3)You feel burden when you think about putting away all of your Christmas decorations.
4)You are still stressed three days after Christmas has already passed.
I think celebrating Christmas is great. But since Christmas is a Christian holiday, I think that Christians should dictate to “The World” how this holiday should be celebrated. Jesus said, “If you love Me, then keep my commandments”. He never said if you love Me then buy everyone gifts.
Let’s not let “The World” dictate to us any longer how we should celebrate the person who died for us. After all, Jesus did say we (The Christian) should be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Let’s stop following “The World” and let’s start leading.