Dear Carol,

I was blessed by the testimony of your post.  It was an encouraging 
thought to remember that no one took the place of Jesus to complete 
the ministry given Him by His Father.  I understand how it may be 
discouraging to you, to go to a place where hardness of heart is 
evident, and I'm so sorry your back and neck are hurting you with 
difficulty in singing.  But you and Mike are filling up where Jesus 
left off in His earthly ministry, and what an honor is yours.
I pray that your Christmas day with you and Mike will be a glorious 
time of worship unto the Lord, and rejoicing over His Grace in your 
lives.  And I know that your meal will be absolutely delicious as you 
eat it in the Name of Jesus, feeding on Him as you feed on the food 
for your earthly bodies.
God's blessings, and a very very Merry Christmas.

There will be no one here on Christmas day, but on the 26th, two of 
my three daughters will be here with their families, and that will 
make more than a dozen of us.  No, I have no flurry of engagements to 
engage in before that day.  I just don't do much of that kind of 
thing any longer.  I love to sing, and have been worshipping the Lord 
in song, singing unto Him my love for Him, with thanksgiving for all 
that He is to me.

In His wonderful Love,
Helen

Earlier you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>Well, we're nearing the end of another Sunday which has been quite a 
>busy one.  We went to take carol service at another establishment 
>where elderly people live.  It was all a bit hurried, 
>organisationally, and folk were tired from lots of Christmas type 
>engagements.  With some reluctance, Mike and I sang again, as we had 
>at the ladies' lunch.  I just felt, "God, rain down your Spirit on 
>that place and those people".  There seemed a hardness there and it 
>was a real effort for us to go out and do it again.  Somehow I kept 
>thinking, "Why don't the young people go out and about and do these 
>things, as we did when we were young?"  Then I remembered that 
>nobody else would go in the place of Jesus to die for us, and that 
>made it worthwhile for me, even if the going was tough.  With 
>additional pain in my spine and neck, as well as difficulty in 
>singing, this was not one of my easier and most enjoyable 
>assignments.  Now Christmas will soon be here.  Mike and I will stay 
>home together.  Please pray I'll be able to make our meal enjoyable 
>to us both and that we'll have a good time, even without any family 
>and probably no friends around either.
>
>What are you all going to be doing?  Do you have a flurry of 
>engagements still to do beforehand?
>
>My love and prayers are with you all.
>
>--
>Carol - Reading, UK
>
>To you, o Lord, I lift up my soul;
>In You I trust, o my God.  . . .."  PS25:1-2 NIV.

"Trust is my learned confidence in who God is, not in what He does."