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 all forsaken, take me, Jesus, take me now. All to Jesus I surrender, make me, Savior, wholly Thine; may Thy Holy Spirit fill me, may I know Thy pow’r divine. All to Jesus I surrender, Lord, I give myself to Thee; fill me with Thy love and power, let Thy blessing fall on me. All to Jesus I surrender, now I feel the sacred flame. Oh the joy of full salvation! Glory, glory to His name! I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” [1]

Recently a friend was sharing this story. He had asked another man what surrender really means. This other man said to him, “Do you have a check book? Take it out and sign a check.” My friend did so. Then the man said, “Now give it to me.” As most of us would do, he held on to the check. How could he have given this man a signed blank check. Then the man said, “When you can give me that check, then you will know what complete surrender is.”

Let’s look at the definition of surrender [2] :

1. To relinquish possession or control of to another because of demand or compulsion. 2. To give up in favor of another. 3. To give up or give back (something that has been granted). 4. To give up or abandon.

In the sense of surrendering our life to God and using the first definition, to relinquish possession or control of, surrender means to totally give up your life and everything you own – to give Him total control over everything that happens. As the song stated above, “ALL to Him I FREELY give.” That’s not an easy thing to do.

All you have to do is give your life to God and trust Him. “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV

The act of surrendering to Jesus as Lord is not just words we repeat. Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21 NIV. Surrendering to Jesus as Lord is giving Him total control of our life.

Giving Him control of your life is like driving down the road with another person. If you are driving you are in control. But when you realize you don’t know where you are going and give the other person the “wheel to drive” then the other person is in control and you accept the route that person chooses.

To surrender our lives to God is to abandon all that we know and learn to trust in Him. If we surrender our life to God then we would be giving back to him something he already gave to us. Everything we have has come from Him. He provides for our finances, our shelter, our food. He provides for our health and our well-being. 2000 years ago He even provided us His Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sins.

Sometimes we go through things in life that don’t seem fair. They might even seem as if God is “out to get us” or “God is mad at us.” Those things happen mostly for us to learn something. In the times of severe financial crisis or loss of a job we learn to trust him more to provide our every day needs. Maybe He has a better job for you somewhere else. In times of health problems we learn to trust him more for healing. Maybe you are supposed to “slow down” a bit.

Some of you reading this might say, “I’ve already given my life to God.” But have you surrendered it to Him? Have you really GIVEN it to Him? Could you write God a “blank check” on your life?

Whether you have given your life to God before or have never done it at all, you can surrender your whole life to Him right now.

You can say a simple prayer like this one:

“Father, I know that I have done things that are not right – I know I have sinned. I believe that Your Son, Jesus, came to die on the cross as the sacrifice for my sins. Please forgive me for the things I have done wrong. Come into my life and be the Lord of it. Help me to be the kind of person You want me to be.

Lord I surrender my whole life to You. I give You control to do things the way You want to. Help me not to get in the way of Your plans. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

[1] © Public Domain, Judson W. VanDeVenter and Winfield S. Weeden
[2] ©1994, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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 our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd with which He reaches down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs, who, like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He usde three small stripes for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as the Candy Cane – a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the real meaning is still there for all those who “Have eyes to see and ears to hear.” We pray this symbol will again be usde to witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love that came down at Christmas.

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 Will and Peace.

This simple little symbol,
Christ left for you and me
To help us spread his Gospel
Through all eternity.

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 be fast has now become slow
We then look around and what use to be high has now become low.

In the winter of our lives
What used to be tight is now very loose and what use to be loose is now too tight
Then the things that seemed so wrong now look a little right
But I guess that’s because we need a lot more light.

We look in the mirror and find that we have lost a little hair
The next thing you know it’s a struggle to climb the stairs.

Days become faster and nights become longer
While we lay there and pray,
“Dear Lord, in the morning, please let me be stronger.”

But as we enter the winter of our lives
One thing we can be assured of
Each morning as we rise
God will always be there as we open up our eyes

Although we are in the winter of our lives and have lost a little hair and we struggle so climbing those stairs,
God’s love for us will stay the same
And we thank Him that it will always remain.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn’t play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s and then putting a big “F” at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Teddy’s off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise. Teddy’s first grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners…he is a joy to be around.”

His second grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.”

His third grade teacher wrote, “His mother’s death had been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn’t show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren’t taken.”

Teddy’s fourth grade teacher wrote, “Teddy is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.”

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy’s. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, “Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to, and her bracelet looks beautiful on you too.” After the children left she cried for at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy.

As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her “teacher’s pets.”

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he’d stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor’s degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer-the letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story doesn’t end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he’d met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did.

And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she wore the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson’s ear, “Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.”

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, “Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn’t know how to teach until I met you.”

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 relationship with God. We have to admit that no relationship can work unless there is trust.

We have got to get hold of the fact that God is our source. As I recently heard a preacher say that Jesus is my shepherd and that is enough. You see our jobs are not our source, our spouse is not our source, our parents, children, fraternity, lodge, bank account, friends – none of these things are the source of our life. I can tell you with all assurance that these things will come to an end. But God is forever; He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Psalm 121 says that we are to “look to the hills from whence cometh our help, our help comes from the Lord.” The Jews worshiped in the hills of Jerusalem and they were saying that that is not where their help came from in those hills but the One that they worshiped in those hills is where their help came from.

Our trust is built on knowing that in spite of who I am and what I have done because of Jesus and what he has done and because I have accepted what he has done and I have invited him into my heart to be Lord of my life I am saved.

I Corinthians 6:11 tells us that we are “washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” Washed meaning we are washed in the shed blood of Christ, sanctified means because of what Christ has done we are set apart for the Master’s use, and we are justified, made just as if I never sinned. Isn’t that good news?

So we can rest in the fact that we are saved. What does that mean – we are saved? That means that I now have use of the free will that God gave me. I can choose to do right. I can choose to yield to the Father and be as it tells me in Galatians 2:20. “I am crucified with Christ (dead to my flesh) but nevertheless I live, for it is not I that liveth but Christ liveth in me, and the life I now live I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Italics is mine.)

I rest in the love that has been shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit. I trust in knowing, but God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

So why do I trust this? Because I did nothing to get it so I can do nothing to keep it. It is a free gift from God.

I begin to trust in the fact that God is not a man that he should lie and whatsoever he says that He will do, He will do.

It is not easy for some of us to trust in this unseen God, because many of those whom we can see we cannot trust. But remember Proverbs 3:5 & 6 says, “trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thy own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all thy ways and He will direct your path.”

As I bring this to a close remember that I said this was not a definite process or way that everyone goes. Maybe you have or are going through some or all of these stages just remember that we each go through in different ways. But the bottom line is salvation is a process. We are not changed at the moment of salvation. Our spirit man is awakened but the flesh man is still fighting the new creature.

There is only one that was perfect and that was Christ. So know that we will make mistakes and fall short of the glory of God. But there is good news. I John 1:9 says, “confess your sins, pick yourself up and keep on going in the name of the Lord.” God will never fail you.

God bless and please remember, God loves you and so do I.

Here we are at Christmas again – hoping to hear the angels singing, needing a star to follow, really wanting to kneel at a manger. We mean to adore Him with Mary, we do believe with Joseph. We want to worship with the shepherds, our hearts long to rejoice with the wise men – but somehow there isn’t any time.

It is into just such a world the angels come again and again to sing these eloquent, life-giving words – “Jesus is born, Jesus is born.”

Just as those words came and changed a barn filled with cows and straw into a shrine, a hillside dotted with sheep and shepherds into a cathedral, a sky filled with stars into a message from the Father – so they come to you, as old as eternity – as fresh as the morning – as simple as a baby – as majestic as a psalm – warm as a mother’s arms – mighty as God Himself – Jesus is born…Jesus is born.

All of the celebrations of our Christmases begin at a manger with Him.

We say “Merry Christmas” because He is our joy and our happiness.

We say “Goodwill to men” because He is our peace and our pardon.

We say “Good tidings of great joy” because He is our announcement and our proclamation.

We say “Good cheer” because He is our hope and our confidence.

We say “Emmanuel” because He is with us.

We sing “Glory to God” because His light blesses us.

All of the rituals of our lives: Christmas, Thanksgiving, commencements, birthdays, funerals, and weddings, are inexorably tied to the Christmas message: “Jesus is Born, Jesus is born.”

The light shined in the darkness and it still shines, and shines, and shines. And when our lights flicker and die – when those with whom we have long celebrated are gone – when we can no longer share needs or exchange gifts, or sing songs – it will still be Christmas because Jesus is Born, Jesus is born!

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 He would make the trip possible.

My husband and I had to work hard to find the money to cover the expenses of food, gas, air fare, and incidentals for a two-week stay in Wisconsin. I was able to stay at the homes of family and friends once I arrived there, but it was still a long expensive trip.

I flew from Pittsburgh to Midway Airport in Chicago, where one of my daughters met me. Then we were off to her home where a car for my other travels was waiting for me. However, after a closer look, we realized that the car needed some repair work before I could begin my travels. I felt that the devil was trying to upset my plans, and I prayed to remain calm.

After a one-day delay, I arrived at my sister’s home in Algonquin. We left there for our next destination, Wisconsin Dells, where we spent the night. The next day, we visited my oldest sister who had just had hip surgery. She was still in the hospital, but she was progressing well thanks to God’s love and the many prayers of family and friends.

The next day, we left for the much-anticipated school reunion. The sun was just emerging after a rainstorm when we arrived. As we greeted other classmates, happy memories began to flood over our souls. We talked of many things – of city folks that moved to the country, of families grown to include grandchildren, of what we were doing now. I talked about my prayer ministry for the abused, and I gave my classmates prayer cards to share with others, especially with their churches. I gave them an additional 250 cards for members of the community.

After the reunion, we traveled west, through an area my dad called “God’s country” where winters are cold and harsh and snow often made the roads impassable except by snow shoes. We were headed to a mission church to celebrate Mass. Father John was warm and pleasant, and Mass was celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. Father John and I talked after Mass, and I shared information about my ministry with him. He was eager to learn more about the ministry’s work with the abused. Once again, God opened the door not only to this church but also to three mission churches where Father worked as well. God reminded me that I should stop trying to count the number of prayer partners that were joining the ministry.

Tired but full of joy, we traveled to our next stop. I told my hostess that I would take her 35-year-old daughter to church since she had not been able to go for some time. After services, I shared the prayer ministry with the interim pastor, who requested ministry materials to take with her to her church in Texas.

Later that afternoon, we returned to Spring Green where my oldest sister was now home from the hospital. We shared the many blessings we had experienced on the trip so far. We read “The Well,” which I had brought with me. Both of my sisters enjoyed the publication, and they are looking forward to receiving more copies that I promised to mail to them.

Before leaving Spring Green, I shared my ministry with my sister’s priest. I gave him copies of information about my abuse ministry that I had brought with me. The more I shared, the more he wanted to hear. He told me that he would like to share the ministry with others. He writes for his diocesan paper, and he also has a mission church. He is planning to share the prayer and the work the ministry does with all those he comes in contact with.

I left there on a Holy Spirit high, glowing with joy. Thank you, my sweet Lord.

Since I was not able to keep an earlier appointment that I had made with the minister of Lambsfold, a women’s shelter, I felt disappointed. So I decided to call her, and she requested information about the ministry. She asked that I get in touch with her the next time I visit Wisconsin, and she promised to make time to see me.

Sunday was fast approaching, so we decided to go to Mass at St. Patrick’s, which was around the corner from my other daughter’s house. Father greeted me after Mass with, “Are you a new parishioner or a visitor?”

I responded that I was a visitor from St. Angela Merici Church in White Oak where I have a prayer ministry for the abused. I told him that after only two years, there are thousands of prayer partners in 28 states and 4 countries.

Father replied that he knew someone who would be very interested in the ministry. He told me to call his office to get the phone number of Deacon Peterson. I thanked him again and again, and I promised to call the very next day.

When I talked to Deacon Peterson, he listened intently as I talked about myself, the prayer ministry, and all. He questioned me, and I shared all I knew. Then, to my surprise, he told me that he is also the chaplain of Statesville Correctional Center in Illinois, one of the biggest in the state. He stated that he would also like to pass the information on to Dwight Women’s Correctional Center in Illinois.

I was overwhelmed to think that just when I thought God was done, He had much, much more for me to do.

Now that I am back home, I am busy forwarding information about the ministry to all those who requested it. I am so thankful that God is able to use me to accomplish His great work on this earth. And His message to “Stop counting” is coming through loud and clear!

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 abusers are wrapped in the mantle of God, and He waits for their hearts to surrender to Him. The prayers of our ministry are meant to assure them that God loves them. Many others have walked the way they have – but there is a better way. Please let them know that thousands of Prayer Partners pray for them. It is important to know that others care. Life begins when God becomes the central part of life. All things work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose: man is not God, and God isn’t just man – He is Risen Man. It is so very important that they know He died but lives again in each soul waiting to be accepted.

So this is why we pray – because only with the help of God can the abused leave the relationship. With our help, those who struggle can come to their own belief in our loving God. As they grow stronger, they are able to move away from the ungodliness of abuse, and we can praise God, Who is always there to help.

The lines of abuse cross every economic level, every race, every religion, and every station in life. It is this ministry’s calling to be there, to listen, and to direct all those who need help.

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, 10% of what we spent on our Christmas presents for our family and friends. Sure makes you think of the story on the pledge card this month – how small a $20 bill looks when you are shopping but how big it looks at church.

This month we added a few more people taking bundles and the 5,000 copies are nearly all spoken for. Additionally, our mailing list has increased. Praise the Lord! If you want a bundle make sure you put your request in soon as we CANNOT increase the quantity until we at least meet our budget for production expenses. When all the copies are spoken for we will put your name on a waiting list until we get the finances to increase production.

Special thanks go to “Paper Plus” in Pittsburgh (Castle Printing’s paper supplier) for donating about $200 worth of paper to print this issue on. What a blessing!

Please pray for our First Annual Essay Contest (see page 6). We pray students will be blessed, not only with the scholarship but will acquire a greater knowledge of the importance of Prayer in America.

Blessings,