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What Does Sacrifice Mean to You?
Author: Judy Conway
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World War II, images of different aspects of t...
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What does the word  “sacrifice” conjure up in your mind?  What Does Sacrifice Mean to You?

To our military personnel sacrifice is giving up their personal lives to fight for our country. It means leaving spouses, children, family members and friends, and sometimes it means never coming back. That is truly an enormous sacrifice.

The spouses of these individuals are faced with the burdens of maintaining a household and the needs of their children single handed.  Although my husband did not go into the military, I was divorced and left to be a single mother for two beautiful daughters.  I know first-hand what this entails.  It is not an easy task.

It seems recently there has been a lot of mention on TV programs about World War II and those that lost their lives.  Mention has been made of all of the medals they won and what heroes they are.  But what a void remains in our hearts for those that never returned home.

I was barely born during World War II, but I do remember the Viet Nam War.  I remember holding my breath as my husband’s draft number came within two of the cut off.  Our daughters were just babies. I lived in fear of losing him.

We do not even have to relate the sacrifice to war.  How many people serving our communities as police officers, firemen/women have lost their lives to save the lives of others?  Sacrifice is a daily part of our lives.

Another sacrifice that was brought to my mind was those who lost their lives under the cruel rule of Adolph Hitler.  Lisa Kudrow was on the TV show, “Who Do You Think You Are”, and traced her ancestors.  She learned the fate of those who were stripped of their clothing, executed and pushed into the pit of destruction.  Imagine if you were a child who had escaped and were watching this from a distance.  The horror of seeing your parents or family members lose their lives in this fashion is incomprehensible for sure. There was a joyful discovery in locating her father’s family members who are still alive.  This brought tears of joy to my heart.

We are faced with various degrees of sacrifice in our lives.  With the economy the way it is many families have been faced with losing their homes, cars and other possessions just to have money enough to buy food and feed their children.

Single mothers go without food themselves so that they children will have food to eat.  Homeless people go without shelter, food, clothing never losing sight of the hope of finding assistance.

As parents we sacrifice our desires to fulfill the needs and wants of our children.  These are joyful sacrifices, as far as I am concerned.  We are truly blessed to have these children, if only for a short time.

With Easter approaching my thoughts and heart are awakened thinking about the supreme sacrifice that God made for us.  Sending his son Jesus to show us the way and then Jesus’ supreme sacrifice of dying on the cross to save us from our sins.  I am sure you will agree that Jesus’ sacrifice can never be duplicated.  I am forever grateful for Jesus and the cross at Calvary.

As a final thought, I recently heard it said that the greatest gift of love is not what someone is willing to give, but what they are willing to give up …. This is a true sacrifice.

I hope that your sacrifices will be few and your lives absent of want and filled with His many blessings.  Ultimately, I hope you will never have to ask, “What Does Sacrifice Mean to Me.”

 

Judy Conway
Email: judyconwaymarketing@gmail.com
http://fullservicemarketingtools.com
http://homebusinessinatlanta.com
Skype ID: judy.conway

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What do Holidays mean to you?
Author: Judy Conway
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Holidays are just around the corner. What do holidays mean to you? They all mean something different to each of us. Before we are caught up in the chaos of Thanksgiving and Christmas let us all take a deep breath, sit and take a quiet moment to search our hearts and decide what these special days mean to us.

We all have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. The God who sits on the throne of our hearts, our families, loved ones, friends, the lives of our people in the military service, and the list goes on. It means more than turkey, all the trimmings and Grandma’s favorite pumpkin pie.

Remember those who have lost their lives for our freedom and have left families and loved ones with memories of their lives. There are those who have lost their jobs or encountered financial difficulties. A meager turkey sandwich, or no meal at all could be their meal of celebration. These people will be thankful just for having survived another day. As we give thanks let us keep each other in our prayers. Reach out to those in need. Think of ways we can bear one another’s burdens.

Now on to Christmas. With economic conditions as they are this is going to be a very stressful time for many. I hope the following will give some encouragement. This piece was written many years ago during a very difficult time in my life. I had been divorced after 12 years of marriage when my husband chose a different lifestyle, lacking financial support and feeding my 2 children on $10.00 a week. By the grace of God I am here today to help others in whatever way I can. I am recently retired and can’t financially help others, but I can be that gentle touch, or caring shoulder to cry on and show them that they are loved, not only by me, but by Jesus.

THE GREATEST GIFT

As the last faint sounds of Christmas carols fade off in the distance, and the water begins to chill around your ankles as you soak your aching feet …. What will you really recall about Christmas? What was the greatest gift?

I honestly believe that if a poll was taken as to the true meaning of Christmas, “receiving/buying gifts” and “Santa Claus” would rank as the most often answered.

Will a smile of love and appreciation cross our faces in the midst of scurrying around to find a bigger and better present for sister Sally than what brother Joe will give her; hunting down the fullest and tallest tree, and decorating our dwellings. Will we remember the real purpose of this Holiday Season, the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Will we stop to ponder about that baby in the manger and how His life and death has brought meaning to our lives? His life was an example of the way we are to live. He loved us so very much that He was obedient to the end, even unto death on a cross.

We seem to get so caught up in the materialistic outlook of life we lose touch with the most important gift we have to give, not only at Christmas, but every day of our lives. That gift is the gift of love. Not love as the world knows it, but as Jesus Christ lived it. Instead of, or in addition to, decorating the outside of our dwellings, we should decorate the inside of our “temples”. We should take Christmas out of our pocketbooks and put it back in our hearts!

Have a blessed Holiday and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season! ~~~

You are loved for the person you are and your love for others. Especially during these hard times you don’t have to “buy” your way into someone’s heart and wonder how you are going to pay your credit card bills. True love cannot be bought!

I hope that you will have a blessed holiday season. A loving hug or a special phone call will mean so very much to the people whose lives you have touched. You are a special person who is loved without a present in your hands.

Happy Holidays!

Judy Conway
Skype ID: judy.conway
http://joinjudyconway.com/make-money-with-foreclosure-cleanouts.html

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