Tag-Archive for ◊ Jesus ◊

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I received the link for this awesome song in an email this morning and just had to share it. I am including below the story behind the creation of this song and I hope you enjoy it.

About the Song

“While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, “where’s the line to see Jesus”?

My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends. He sent the song off to Nashville without much response, except for a Christian song writer who suggested adding a bridge at the end of the first chorus.

My dad then asked if I wanted to record the song to see what we could do with it. I listened to the song, made a few changes to the words to make it flow better, and we headed to Shock City Studios. It was at the studio where Chris, owner and producer, rewrote the 2nd verse and part of the chorus… with goose bumps and emotions high, we were all hopeful and felt like we had something special. The demo was recorded in just under 2 hours and sent off again to Nashville … still no response.

Then 2 weeks before Christmas last year, my cousins Greg and Robbie decided to do a video to see what we could accomplish on YouTube. The first day we had 3000 hits and it soared from there. We received e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages from people all over asking for the music, CD’s, iTunes, anything… we had nothin’.

After a couple of meetings with Chris following the amazing response, we got serious. We headed back into the studio this past spring… this time with guitars, drums, bass, pianos, choirs… the real deal….. and here we are today.

Getting iTunes set up, a website put together, and loving that thousands upon thousands of Christians have come together…. remembering the true meaning of Christmas.

Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults cannot understand. Hopefully Spencer’s observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you. Merry Christmas everyone.”

I hope you and your family have a blessed Christmas and that 2011 will be a prosperous year filled with all your favorite things.

Judy

Category: Children, Christian, Christmas, family, holidays, home, Inspirational | Tags: Christian, Christmas, Jesus, true meaning of Christmas | Leave a Comment

Are You Sharing The True Meaning Of Christmas?

Author: Judy Conway

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This time of the year can be one of great excitement, joy or depression. It all depends on what is happening in your life. Are you sharing the true meaning of Christmas?

To people who do not have financial worries this time of the year is truly joyous. It is a wonderful feeling going to the stores and looking for gifts for your family and friends. It is a great feeling to pull out your list and checking it twice of all the notes for what people in your life have mentioned they would “love to have” throughout the year. Your smile widens at the thought of them opening your gift.

But, there are those people who are wondering if they are going to be able to make their next mortgage payment and how they are going to buy food to feed their children or themselves. This can really cause depression at this time of the year. I personally know how it feels not to be able to buy gifts for the people I love. You can come through the month of December feeling like a failure and very, very sad.

Maybe you have experienced dealing with a less than congenial sales person or cashier. Instead of rewarding their less than appropriate attitude with one of indifference I end up asking myself what could be going on in their life. Are they feeling badly watching all the money that is being spent and wishing they only had maybe twenty dollars that they could spend on a gift for their spouse or child? Cashiers in grocery stores may be wishing they could afford to buy the makings of a traditional Christmas dinner.

Even if you are in the position of not have enough money to splurge on Christmas with the gifts and all the decorations, I am sure you can find something to be thankful for. Healthy children, a spouse that loves you and is by your side, a job, or even a part-time job …. These are just a few blessings.

I can remember one year after I was divorced that I did not have money to buy my girls Christmas gifts. They “needed” new nightgowns and that was the only gift I could wrap and put under the tree. In addition to the wrapped nightgowns under the tree, I sat down and wrote each of my daughters a note telling them how much I loved them and how important they were to me. I told them that I was sorry I could not give them more but I was giving them the greatest gift I had … ALL of my love! And I hung the notes on the Christmas tree.

So as you are going through this hectic time I hope you will try to have compassion for the less fortunate people around you. And for people you don’t know an outstretched hand, hug or simple Merry Christmas could do a great deal to lift that feeling of depression.

Many years ago I wrote the following and every year around this time I like to share it. I hope you will take a few minutes from your busy schedule to read it.

The title is, “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!

Reach out and help that one person others may look at as repulsive. Maybe before the economy took the dive it did that person was a corporate CEO. Take a minute and ask yourself, “Are you sharing the true meaning of Christmas?”

I wish your and your family a blessed Christmas,

Judy

Category: Christian, family, holidays, Inspirational | Tags: Christmas, family, gift of love, gifts, Jesus, true meaning of Christmas | Leave a Comment

What Does Sacrifice Mean to You?

Author: Judy Conway

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: Image via Wikipedia

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
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