The Year of my Christmas Miracle.

Post 567 ~ ~ ~ Saturday, 31st January, 2009.

Hello Everyone ~~ Still having a heatwave down under and most of us have had enough.
I have good air conditioning, but although it helps a heck of a lot, whenver I venture outside (as little as possible) the heat nearly knocks me over. I hope things are much better wherever you live. I did hear there was a severe ice-storm resulting in lots of folks losing their power, so I hope that is remedied very soon.

There have been a lot of folks losing power here too, because of the severe heat and there
have been some bushfires which have claimed 20 or so homes yesterday AND this fire was
deliberately lit. I cannot for the life of me understand why some idiots do this and hope they are caught and punished. I feel so sorry for the firemen fighting fires in this heat and
it would be worse where they are.

Tonight I have a lovely picture sent to me by my good friend Nancy. Thank you so much.
My good friend Patty has also posted this picture, but it is larger. So go take a look at it there

It shows the plane landing safely in the Hudson River and it it really great.


My story tonight is called "The Year of My Christmas Miracle." Author ~~ Dani D'Angelo.

I had smoked ever since I was twelve and by the time I was 16, I was given permission to smoke in the house. In those days we had no idea of the dangers of smoking. I am one of those people who does things all the way and so, when I smoked, I really smoked about 2 packs a day, non stop, and I was smoking for most of my life.

When I was in my late thirties, I got pregnant and had my two youngest children, one right after the other. When I was in my forties, I got breast cancer and had a mastectomy. The first thing I wanted after my surgery was a cigarette and during my entire stay in the hospital I spent much of my time going downstairs and outside for cigarettes. I went through eight and a half grueling months of chemotherapy and I still didn't quit smoking.

When I was about forty-five, I was just learning how hard it is trying to get by on disability payments with no child support and yet somehow I still found money for my cigarettes.

Christmas was upon me. I was flat broke and very depressed. Fortunately, one of our local churches sponsored families for Christmas and we were picked, so my children would have a Christmas after all. I was grateful. However, I was not in a very festive mood so we didn't take part in the usual Advent preparations that my children were used to that year.

On Christmas morning my little boy asked me what I was giving to the Baby Jesus for His
birthday and I was crushed because I had nothing. I hadn't even baked the birthday cake for Baby Jesus and we hadn't saved any good deeds to fill the manger with straw, like in
other years.

Yes, I was crushed but the look on his face told me he was even more crushed. The next
thing out of my mouth was not at all what was on my mind. I said "I know . . . I am giving the Baby Jesus my smoking habit. The whole thing: the cigarettes, the lighters, the cravings, the crabbiness, the ashtrays both dirty and clean, everything about smoking is what I am giving the Baby Jesus." He was delighted and ran to tell his sister.

They were filled with such joy and here I was stunned and very worried. I was obsessed with cigarettes and I had just told my son I was giving up smoking as a gift to Baby Jesus.
Was I nuts?? Coud I do it?? No, I knew in my heart that I could not give up smoking and I
also knew that this broken promise to my son, would stay with both of us for years to come. So. . . I prayed and said, "Look Jesus I am sorry for jumping the gun here but I made this promise to my child and now I need You to help me keep it."

Suddenly I was filled with a deep sense of peace but I still didn't realize that, because I had stepped out in faith (led there by grace alone) I was on my way to a miracle.

I jumped up and we all had a ball going from room to room gathering everything to do with cigarettes. There were packs hidden everywhere and five in the freezer alone. We took the cicgarettes, lighters, and ashtrays and either gave them away or threw them away.
Then I went from room to room taking down curtains and cleaning them. I washed walls, ceilings. clothing and everything I could find from Christmas morning until well into the
New Year.

Each time I would see someone with a cigarette, I would privately Thank God for taking the habit from me and ask him to do the same for them. I do that, to this day. I have never once craved a cigarette in seven years, That was one of the biggest steps I had taken on my spiritual journey because I learned through it all that we can do nothing on our own. Only with God is everything possible.

I have learned that when we step out in faith and expect a miracle that is not contrary to the Will of God then we will be given one.
That year changed my life completely. I saw firsthand what Jesus meant when He spoke about having faith the size of a mustard seed. That was the year of my Christmas Miracle.
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The first joke tonight was sent to me by my good friend Linda May. Thank you Linda.
No Speak English.

A Russian woman married a Canadian gentleman and the lived happily ever after in Toronto.
The poor lady was not very proficient in English, but did manage to communicate with her husband.
The real problem arose whenever she had to shop for groceries.

One day, she went to the butcher and wanted to buy chicken legs. She didn't know how to put forward her request, and in desperation, clucked like a chicken and lifted her skirt to show her thighs. Her butcher got the message, and gave her the chicken legs.

Next day she needed to get chicken breasts, again she didn't know how to put forward her request, and so she clucked like a chicken and unbuttoned her blouse to show the butcher her breasts.

On the 3rd day, the poor lady needed to buy sausages. Unable to find a way to communicate this, she brought her husband to the store. . . .

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What were you thinking?
Helloooooooo, her husband speaks English.
Now get back to your e mails.

I don't know about you sometimes.
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The next two are from my good friend Patty. Thank you for these, my friend.

Just got this from a friend (?) and had to pass it on.

FACT: 79,000,000 people are engaged in sex right now.

FACT: 58,000,000 are kissing.

FACT: 37,000,000 are relaxing after having sex.

FACT: One lonely old timer is reading e mails. You hang in there Sunshine . . . . .
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I was out walking with my 4 year old granddaughter. She picked up something from the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and asked her not to do that.

"WHY?" my granddaughter asked. "Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and it probably has germs," I replied.
At this point, my granddaughter looked at me with total admiration and asked, "Grandma,
how do you know all thiss stuff? You are so smart." I was thinking quickly.
"All grandmas know this stuff. It's on the Grandma test. You have to know it or they don't let you be a Grandma."

We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new
information. "Oh. . . . I get it." she beamed. "So if you don't pass the test, you have to be
the Grandpa." "Exactly," I replied with a big smile on my face.
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Teacher: "If you had one dollar and you asked your Dad for one dollar, how much money would you have?"
Student : "One dollar."
Teacher, "You don't know your maths."
Student: "You don't know my Dad."
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One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 and a half
years old and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had given me a little tea set
as a get well gift and it was one of my favorite toys.

Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought him a little
cup of tea which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mum came home.

My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring her a cup of tea, because it's just the cutest thing. My Mum waited and sure enough I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up.

Then she says, (as only a mother would know) :
"Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?"
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A young jackeroo from outback Queensland goes off to university, but halfway through the semester the money runs out. He calls home, "Dad," he says, "You won't believe how modern education is developing. They have a program here in Brisbane that will teach our dog, Bluey to talk."

"That's amazing," his Dad says . "How do I get Bluey into that program?"
"Just send him down here with $2000," the young man says, "and I will get him in the course." So the father sends the dog and $2000.

About two thirds through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy rings home.
"So how's Bluey doing, son?" his father wants to know.

"Awesome, Dad, he's talking up a storm. But you won't believe this.They have had such good results with the talking, they have begun to teach the animals to read."

"Read?" exclaims his father, "No kidding. How do we get Bluey into that program?"
"Just send $4500. I'll get him into that class." The money promptly arrives.
But our hero has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog can neither talk or read. So he shoots the dog. Whe he arrives home, his father is all excited.

"Where's Bluey? I just can't wait to talk to him and see him read something."
"Dad, I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just before we left for home, Bluey was in the living room, kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall St. Journal. Then he
suddenly turned to me and asked, "So is your Daddy still messing around with that little redhead barmaid at the pub?"

The father groans and whispers, "I hope you shot that bastard before he talks to your mother."
"I sure did Dad." "That's my boy."

The kid went on to become a successful lawyer.
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Enough for tonight my friends. I will see you again in February, all being well. I am not
allowed to say a month of this year has gone already. Robyn won't let me!!!

I hope you are all having a great weekend. My son John has gone riding to Sth. Australia
so I will be glad to hear from him tomorrow night, that he is home safely.
Take care of each other and enjoy your lives. My love and best wishes to you all.
Cheers, Merle.

Post 567~ ~ ~ Saturday, 31st January, 2009.
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