Apron Strings Devotional 1999 Christmas Special

12/10/99
Special Christmas Edition

Good Morning....
Jesus loves You!!

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Hi Dear Friends!!

I am sending out this "Special Edition" a little early because I will be taking some time off until after the holidays. I pray this will bless you and I love you all very much!! God Bless and see ya at the beginning AND the end!
( smile )

I want to share a very special story with you. It's about my Christmas present. I didn't receive it this year or the year before. No, I was blessed with this precious bundle on December 25, 1996. One of the many things that makes this gift so special is the set of circumstances that preceded it. These circumstances greatly parallel with a story someone recently sent me. Here it is:

A little boy is telling his Grandma how "everything" is going wrong. School, family problems, severe health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks the child if he would like a snack, which of course he does. "Here, Have some cooking oil." "Yuck" says the boy. "How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Grandma" "Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Grandma, those are all yucky!" To which Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when he puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!"

-Author unknown-
Received from: iona@iona.net.com
Thanks Iona!

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Me again..

That something wonderful will ultimately be the moment when we behold Christ's glorious precious face! But, you know, pondering what I am about to share has caused me to realize that we DO get to taste a few "cupcakes" while journeying this temporal zone. My cupcake, or Christmas present came in the form of my Little Noah. Noah will be 3 years old this Christmas and we are looking forward to celebrating not one, but TWO births!

The reason this brought the Grandma story to mind is I can remember tasting a little cooking oil and a few raw eggs before Noah's birth. The cooking oil was a miscarriage I had in 1995. The raw eggs were the emotional moments that followed. But when all was said and done, I do believe that I was blessed with a whole pan of cupcakes! You see, I never really understood the emotions that accompanied a miscarriage even though I ministered to women in the past that dealt with such a thing. My own experience taught me that I had no idea what they were going through until I swallowed that cooking oil myself! Now, there is a compassion that wasn't there before and an understanding that I never would have known before. That, my Friends..is a cupcake!

Hard times are hard, and we all have our own stories about the individual ingredients we consumed and how bad it tasted on it's own. But you know something? The Lord promised us that He would NEVER leave us, nor forsake us, ( Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5 ) and even when we are digesting those horrible ingredients, He is right there using that ingredient to manifest a delicious cake in the lives of His children. Doesn't it take some time for the cake to bake? Have you ever opened the oven too soon out of impatience? I know I have.

When you know there is a cake baking in the oven, what do you usually do? You busy yourselves with other things while waiting because you know if this cake comes out before it's ready, it's gonna be purty slimy. I have a suggestion. Praise Him while you wait. Or better yet, praise Him while you are gulping down a cup of flour. Why? Simply because He is worthy to be praised, and because His Word says that ALL things work together for good, to those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. ( Romans 8:28 )

If you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, then this is you. If you haven't received Him, now is an awesome time. He is waiting to embrace you with His everlasting arms, the same arms that were stretched out on the cross unto death. And that was done just for you. You see, he swallowed some cooking oil and raw eggs too. The cake that He had in mind has a name decorated on it. Yours. Ask Him into your heart and the scales will fall off your eyes. You will begin to see through His eyes and with His heart. It's a picture that you can't ever capture with your own. And most importantly, your name will be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and you will have eternal life.

Jer 33:3
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

I realize that even though the miscarriage was devastating, "Jamie" is with Jesus and I will see him/her soon. But right now, there are more cupcakes in the making and there are more ingredients to be measured. Whatever form they come in, I can't imagine swallowing those things without Christ in my life. The thought literally scares me. I know that His Hand is on me and I am engraved in His palm. ( Isaiah 49:16 )

Another thought just occurred to me. When we are really baking a cake, we never focus on the flour itself or the eggs on their own. In the back of our mind we are anticipating that moist delicious cake that we get to frost and eat. Just remember that the ingredients are a means and not an end. So, while you are stirring up those ingredients, don't grumble. Praise Him!! The cake is on the way!! Amen? Scuse me while I go nibble on my little cupcake's ear. ( hehe, did I tell you that I actually have four flavors? Well, five counting my Sweetheart. ) Thank You Lord!! And Merry Christmas Dear Friends!! See ya after the Holidays!!

God Bless You All!!
And remember..
Jesus loves you and I do too!

In Christ!!
Carol
Justaservn@aol.com

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