“He Is The
Gift…”
“For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Himn should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
…John 3:16
Search your hearts and the scriptures and DISCOVER
anew the gift that has been given to us by our eternal, loving Heavenly
Father. Ponder these truths and fill
your soul with the spirit that is CHRISTmas.
Make the Savior your living, loving friend and EMBRACE Him as
your own. He loves you—so much that He
died for you and experienced excruciating pain in your behalf. Who does that for His friends? Only Jesus Christ.
“Go Tell It On The Mountain,” SHARE
the Good News, that Jesus Christ truly was born in the remote village of
Bethlehem (“House of Bread”) in the meridian of time. So many Christmas’s have come and gone; so
many believers have celebrated His birth; so many miracles have been witnessed;
and still there remains only a handful of followers committed to keep His
spirit alive in the hearts of men.
Don’t let the trends of this world
disillusion any of you. Re-kindle the
flame that was the light for the whole world—born that happy morning, laid in a
manger so lovingly and carefully by His young mother, Mary.
And the angels sang: “Glory To God In The
Highest, Peace Upon Earth Among Men.”
Yes, as you celebrate yet another Christmas,
repeat “Glory To God In The Highest,”
Take a few quiet moments, surrounded by your family or friends, or even
if you are alone., Make Christmas Eve a
“Silent Night—a Holy Night” and as you read once more in Luke the marvelous
story of old, envision the father, mother and child and rejoice and sing
:Hallelujah!”
2014 With
The Mickelson’s
BLESSINGS:
This
was the year for health issues for Dean, followed by an increase in blessings. In June, Dean had yet another Cornea
Transplant. Between us, we have had
upwards of 15 eye surgeries!. Why we both haven’t gone blind by now
is a miracle. God has been so good to us
and has preserved our vision through the gift and faith of great doctors and
your prayers.
Speaking of health, I made a commitment,
both to myself and to my Heavenly Father, that I would take control of my ever
increasing weight—and I lost 30 pounds!
I feel better than I have in ages.
No more shortness of breath, no more knee, back and hip pain, and my
energy level is out of the park. I have
been so blessed by God and I know when we do as we are commanded and counseled
to do, blessings follow.
Skin
Cancer has returned to my face and it is pretty general. After consulting with my Dermatologist, I
have scheduled “Blue Light” treatments for the end of the month. He has assured me that because these are
pre-cancerous conditions, this is the best course of treatment. He does not want to “cut on my face any
more!”
TRAVEL:
Traveling is a love that Dean and I have
in common. We both love to see the
beauties and wonders of the world. Our
journeys have taken us this year to some of our favorite places. We visited Bend, Oregon twice—once for a
short ski trip, and once to attend a debut concert of a dear friend of
ours. In May, I took a solo trip to Salt
Lake City, Utah to fetch my sister, Chrisie, for a much needed trip to Phoenix,
Arizona to visit our dear, sweet sister, Patricia. Both of our hearts were both warmed and
broken at the same time as we observed for ourselves her deteriorating
condition and a battle with dementia.
She is our baby sister, and much too young to have such a
diagnosis. Hal is doing everything in
his power to find answers and help curtail its progress. I love that little girl! Just being with her for a few days brought
back so many happy memories of her childhood and the love that I instantly had
for her when she was born. I was 18 years
old, and I felt like I could have been her mother!
That same trip took me to Provo, Utah,
where I spent a week visiting with my daughter, Debi and her family, and
helping to celebrate (early) my daughter, JerriAnne’s “50’th” Birthday! It was a wonderful respite.
In August, Dean and I made a trip to
Tacoma, Washington to visit Dean’s Dad.
We try to visit him as much as we can—just to check up on him, you
know! On the way, we took a couple of
days in Astoria, Oregon at a 100 year old Bed and Breakfast to celebrate our 15th
Anniversary. Astoria is a quaint old
time town and happy to report Dad is doing just fine! We also spent an early Thanksgiving with Dad
and enjoyed the reminiscence of many blessings together.
Last, but far from least, was our Davenport
Family Reunion, held October 11th in Tooele, Utah. We spent the week in Park City. The reunion was one huge, memorable success,
with brother, sister, children, and cousins that I hadn’t seen in decades. What an amazing heritage I have. Thomas Davenport and John Pidding Jones
really started something! Their
posterity numbers in the thousands.
God provided the way and gane us the
ways and means so that we can enjoy this beautiful earth. Every trip we take reveals to us the wonders
of this earth and God’s bounteous beauties.
FAMILY:
Billy, the traveling troubadour cellist
returned to Europe in July. He reports
that he had an amazingly wonderful and successful trip there. He came home to us in September. He has criss-crossed the United States more
times than I can count and has taken his music to Europe four times. Fans all over the world love him.
On his return this time, his career is
taking a new turn. He is doing some
tracks for short films, has gotten his name placed on a prestigious artists
list and has already seen his career approaching that amazing corner of new
opportunities.
God works in mysterious ways and blesses
our efforts when we give Him credit for our gifts and talents. He certainly has blessed our Billy.
Eliot has settled down in Colorado Springs,
Colorado. After his B.A. degree in Music
Composition and continued passion about furthering his education of such, he
has landed a fulfilling full-time job as a Para-Technical for the Timberview
Middle School in Colorado Springs. He
loves the interaction with their top-notch faculty and the students he serves.
And so, it seems as though he is never
slowing down. He continues working at
Starbuck’s as a Barista-meister in his “spare time.”
The Henderson children (really,
mom…children?), well “all grown up children” are each thriving in their own
little corners of their own little worlds.
Kim remains in California with hubby Kenny, watching her own family
grow; Mark is still a hard-working stair builder living in Southern Utah where
he keeps an eye on the activities and growth of his family; Debi, my active
sports maniac still lives in Orem, Utah with hubby Brian where they care for a
thriving business and entertain their growing family; JerriAnne still lives in
Provo and is finishing her final year for her Master’s Degree in Specialized
Education with a focus of the Blind; and Heather lives with her hubby, Rich in
Las Vegas, Nevada where they are managing the many varied activities of two
growing children.
God has blessed our lives with so many, many
family blessings.
SYMBOLISM…
…In His
Gifts
He gave us rain…
Symbolic of the Living Water—
Even Jesus Christ’s blood.
He gave us the earth…
Symbolic of His Kingdom—His footstool—
Where we can dwell with Him forever.
He gave to us stars in Heaven…
Symbolic of the light to lead the way—
When we are lost,
We can be found again.
He gave us the seasons…
Summer for us to plant seeds of truth
Into our lives—
Fall for us to enjoy the harvest of “what we
have sown”—
Winter for us to rest and reflect
On the meaning of our lives—
Spring for us to be re-born
To a new life, a new beginning.
He gave us mountains.,..
Symbolic of our journey—
Always climbing upward.
He gave us the seashore…
The symbol of washing us clean
With the waves
As they break upon the shore.
And the best gift was His life…
The resurrection leads us to our own
Everlasting life.
1 comment:
That was truly beautiful Mom! You are the best at writing ! And my goodness that must have taken you a long time to write those two posts! Great work!
Love you!!
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