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I realize this dark cold part does not apply to all parts of this country, or other parts of the world, however I do have friends in Australia and the hype and build up, the anticipation, if you please, is the same there also.   We have managed to Americanize (commercialize) Christmas for the entire rest of the world --- with the same devastating effects that occur in the months afterward here.

We spend MONTHS preparing our homes, both inside and out.   We hear Christmas ads beginning in JUNE and JULY.   We take out Christmas club accounts at our banks in January, just so we can afford all the baubles in December.   Most rehearsals for Christmas productions whether Christian or secular, begin WAY before the snow hits the ground here in the Midwest. It is all hurry, hurry, rush, rush............then after January 1^st........CRASH!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUT GOD HAS GIVEN ME A PLAN FOR MY LIFE I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU.

This plan is two-fold.

1. Get a prayer buddy --- partner --- accountability person --- comrade --- it doesn’t matter what you call them, GET ONE (sort of like what Woody says in Toy Story about getting a moving buddy......if you don’t have one, GET ONE.)

My Bible tells me "For where TWO or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20.   Sometimes I need to ask myself if I believe that.   Is the Bible true? Can God lie?   Then if the Bible IS true and God can’t lie, what does that verse mean? You mean if I pray with just one other person, God is right there with us?   WOW, what power!!   I also understand and KNOW that I can approach the throne of grace at ANY time by myself and Jesus is there interceding for me (I Tim. 2:5)

There is also the verse in Gal 6:2, "Bear ye ONE ANOTHER’S burdens".   In Matthew 5:41, Jesus says, "And whosever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."    Roman law at that time was such that any person in authority could ask a citizen to carry his bags for one mile.   Jesus simply stated that if we were asked to do that, we should not only go one mile, but two.   Probably where the saying, "Go the extra mile" came from.   The word "bear" in the latter verse means   "carry" ........simply carry each others burdens.......not if you feel like it, or if you have time, or when you want to.......just carry each others burdens.   So if we put these two verses together, we see a beautiful word picture of not only someone carrying someone else’s burden one mile, but two.

I understand the verse in Galatians 6:5 to read, "For every man shall bear his OWN burden".   The word "bear" in this verse means "to put upon oneself to be carried", meaning I am responsible for my own burdens.   But adding the verse in Galatians 6:2, puts everything in a different light.   We need to carry our own burdens, but sometimes those burdens will get too heavy for us to carry by ourselves, and then we can ask OTHERS to help us carry those burdens. Or if another person SEES that our burdens are becoming grievous, they might want to just step in and help us carry the load.

When making arrangements for a Prayer Buddy, make this a two way partnership.   Don’t just call them when you need them, make arrangements to have that person contact you and check on YOU.....PRAY with you....over the phone, via email, cell phone, regular phone, a visit in a coffee shop, anyway that you can think of.   There are plenty of methods of communication in this day and age.

It is difficult for most of us to initiate a conversation about our own problems, especially if they are personal, or if they are something Satan has used as a stronghold of silence with us, so he can have more power in our lives.   But there is something about someone asking US if we are ok......do we need any special prayer cover??? Ladies, if we uncover those needs to the light of day it is AMAZING what God can do.   Satan CANNOT abide where there is light, and if you have uncovered a need to the light of day, and to the marvelous light of Jesus Christ, Satan WILL flee and your problems will be more easily solved.

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