Another year is coming to a close. With it is another opportunity for us to make New Year’s Resolutions, some we keep and some we don’t. One resolution people seem to make is to “surrender” more of their life to God.

Have you thought about what surrender really means? When I think of the word “surrender,” I think of the song “I Surrender All.”

“All to Jesus, I surrender, all to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, In His presence daily live. All to Jesus I surrender, humbly at His feet I bow, worldly pleasures … Read more

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would be a witness, so he made the Chrismas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy: white to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the Foundation of the Church and firmness of the promises of God.

The candy amker made the candy in the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as … Read more

There’s a pretty little legend
That I would like to tell
Of the birth and death of Jesus
Found in this lowly shell.

If you examine closely,
You’ll see that you find here
Four nail holes and a fifth one
Made by a Roman’s Spear.

On one side the Easter Lily,
Its center is the star
That appeared unto the shepherds
And led them from afar.

The Christmas poinsettia
Etched on the other side
Reminds us of His birthday
Our Happy Christmastide.

Now break the center open
And here you will release
The five white doves awaiting
To spread Good … Read more

The cold of winter has come upon us. We know that the seasons must change and therefore the temperature will change.

There are other winters that come into our lives as we grow older.

This was written for the residents at the Palmer House at UPMC when the Women’s Aglow Chapter of McKeesport went out to minister to and just share a little time and love with them and I thought I would share it in “The Well” with all of our wonderful readers.

When we come into the winter of our lives
We often find that what use to … Read more

There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn’t play well with the other children, that his clothes … Read more

Grace and peace be unto you in the name of our Father and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well in the past few issues we have dealt with believing and walking in our salvation and then we came to the place of trying to rest in knowing that God still loves us in spite of who we are and what we do. Now we want to look at the last phase that I spoke of in the beginning and that being trust.

All of this that we have been dealing with is really about relationship – growing in our … Read more

Well, He still comes into a crowded world. It was crowded then, but it’s more crowded now. We lead such busy, jostling, cluttered lives – and they’re even more so at Christmas. We come home loaded with bundles of gifts of love for others, but we get impatient and blow our horns at the cars ahead of us. Hardly time enough to buy a tree, we frantically wrap the last of the packages just moments before we’re to tear them open – so we can rush off to somewhere else and back again exhausted.

Here we are at Christmas again … Read more

Written by: Ellen Poisel

Ellen Poisel’s ministry, Prayers United for the Abused, began as a single whispered prayer for God’s help. Today, there are thousands of prayer partners who pray daily for both the abused and the abuser. What follows is a recounting of how the ministry grew as Ellen returned to her home state of Wisconsin for a school reunion.

I was so excited when I received an invitation to attend my school reunion. I had no idea what God had in mind for me, so I just trusted that I would be able to go and that … Read more

MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT:

As its third anniversary approaches, the work of the Prayers United for the Abused ministry remains the same – to pray and have others join in prayer by becoming Prayer Partners. What started as a tiny whispered prayer has grown to a swell of thousands. There are Prayer Partners in at least thirty states as well as overseas. The ministry has spread to prisons such as Statesville Correctional Center and Dwight Women’s Correctional Center, both in Illinois. Women’s shelters, including Lambsfold in Joliet and Womansplace in McKeesport, are now part of this growing partnership.

The abused and the … Read more

Well, we are back again. Another month has gone by. Seems as if these months are going faster.

We’ve included a pledge card again this mailing because not too many came back last month. Please prayerfully consider pledging a donation to this ministry. Many thanks to those of you who already sent one in. Please send them in by December 25th as we are trying to prepare our budget for 2001.

One of my previous pastors had told our congregation one Christmas that since we all believed in tithing that we should consider tithing to Jesus, as a Christmas present, … Read more