Dear Praying Friends:

Last month, Sainsbury's, a chain of supermarkets here in the United Kingdom, released their Christmas advertisement on national television. They made a powerful three-minute video of the Christmas Truce of the First World War that was being fought one hundred years ago.

I don't remember ever having heard of this. But in the one of the most brutal wars in all of history, there were unauthorized spontaneous ceasefires along some areas of the trenches. Some of the soldiers from opposing sides exchanged Christmas greetings and even sang hymns together.

Jesus, the Prince of Peace, came to give us peace with God through His atoning blood, and eternal life. The recognition of this wonderful fact by both sides was enough to stop the aggression for at least a few hours.

But then the overriding influence of the "powers that were" obliged them to continue on their senseless course. The current of this world swept away those moments of peace and it was back to "business as usual."

This short production is very well made, and I have found myself profoundly touched each time I've watched it, and driven to a place of prayer, longing for God's Kingdom rather than the fleeting kingdoms of men. There is such a stark contrast between the two.

Towards the end of the video the background music is that great old hymn, "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms."
   What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
   Leaning on the everlasting arms;
   What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
   Leaning on the everlasting arms.
It seems to represent the Lord's invitation to come to Him, all who are heavy laden. He is still the Prince of Peace in the midst of a world wracked by sin and sorrow.

You can click this link to watch the video. Hopefully it will energize your appreciation for this greatest of all gifts, that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." And may it also stir you to pray with renewed vigor for the world around us.

We wish you and your loved ones a very blessed Christmas, and that the true and extraordinary "reason for the season" become more deeply real and meaningful to you each day,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends and Prayers:

On this side of heaven there is no greater treasure than our own families. And it's been quite a while since we've sent out news about our children, so here's a brief update about each of them.

Peter, on the left, is the oldest at 35, and has just reenlisted as Staff Sargent for another four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. (Perhaps that explains his expression here!) He has spent most of his 12 years in San Diego and is now looking at the a likely change of duty station. Has hasn't put in any requests so will find out early next year where his next few years will be spent. It could be anywhere, and he's looking forward to a change. It was great to see him reconnect with his little brother while they were both living in Southern California.

Richard, our youngest, will be 29 in less than two weeks. After five years with Bosch as an industrial designer, he has worked for almost two years with Luxion, a 3D rendering, animation and lighting software company. He is their Global Training Specialist, and has earned the title with some serious air miles. This year alone he has been in the UK twice, Helsinki, Beijing, and many American cities as well.  Earlier this year he moved to Boston to open a small office for the company, and really likes the change from SoCal, and especially being nearer to family. His next door neighbors are his first cousin, her husband and three daughters, whom he totally enjoys. My brother is also in Boston and my sister lives in Connecticut, so it has been a blessing for him.

Our daughter Grace, 33, is now totally recovered from her emergency appendectomy in early August while working in Rwanda. Thank you so very much again to each of you that prayed for her! She has been with Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore for about two years now, and has recently been appointed the health and nutrition regional technical advisor for their Central Africa regional office. She is responsible for covering Rwanda, Burundi, Chad, Central Africa Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana. She will be moving to Bujumbura, Burundi's capital, at the end of May. She has friends there and is looking forward to living abroad again. She finds her job very rewarding and she loves to travel. Watching monkeys play just outside her office there is a bonus!

Michael, 32, is the only one of the four that is married. He lives in Hammond, Louisiana with our lovely daughter-in-law Lauren. They "took the plunge" just over four years now, and seem to be getting sweeter on each other as the days go by. Mike works at a supply warehouse for the Winn Dixie supermarket chain, and is hoping to find a daytime job doing what he studied for and worked in–computer drafting and mapping. Lauren is newly self-employed and is doing the what she loves to do as an artist. She bakes irresistible looking and delicious goodies, designs and makes knitted goods and other things, and sells them on the weekends at local markets. It is a challenge but they are both enjoying it, especially Mike who gets to wear and eat the products, but hopefully not the profits too!

Gladys and I are both so very blessed to see how the Lord has kept our kids both safe and happy. One of His promises before we left Louisiana nearly ten years ago was that He would look after them better than we ever could. His faithfulness over the years has been amazing, and a great comfort as well.

It is not always easy being so far away from them, but with today's communications the world is a lot smaller. Emails, messaging and voice and video chats have enabled us to keep wonderfully in touch. And an extra special blessing for us is that "Dicky" and Grace will be arriving here in Swansea on the day after Christmas for ten days. We are so looking forward to their visit, and are delightedly thankful for such a treat!

We wish you every blessing in Jesus' wonderful name,

Dick & Gladys

Dear Praying Friends and Saints:

Each monthly meeting at our chapel starts with the first two stanzas this beautiful old hymn written in the early 1800's by John Hughes. It is titled, "A Prayer for the Holy Spirit".

O send the Holy Spirit, Lord,
  In Jesus' mighty name,
With His workings like fire,
  O may He come down.

According to Thy great and worthy promise,
  O pour out from above
Thy Holy Spirit with strength,
  To work upon us.

What an amazing request, and perhaps a bit risky too. When people asked John the Baptist if Jesus was the Christ in Luke 3:16-17, "John answered, saying to all, 'I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.'"

This open invitation speaks of a disposition to allow the Lord to have free reign in our lives and "work on" whatever area in us that He sees fit. That's a big difference from us asking Him to work on such-and-such an area. It is His criteria and not ours—the refiner's fire! Are we ready for this? Are we willing to pay the price? Really?

What an impact we, His church body, would have in the world around us! The disciples in the early church were serious about following Jesus. In Acts 17:6 they are described as, "...These who have turned the world upside down have come here too." They were ready for what came their way as they followed faithfully in His.

Can we pray this prayer with all sincerity and be willing and ready for Him to cleanse us of our chaff? Jesus is ready at every moment. In John 12:49 He says, "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"

May His fire light up our hearts and change our lives in such a way that the people around us can see His glory in us and be drawn to the Christ our Redeemer!

Dick & Gladys

Dear Friends of Wales Awakening: