DECEMBER 2012 Letter - LIVING WELL

Most of us approach Christmas with the strange paradox of excitement and dread, of joy and anxiety. We love the season - the good cheer, the time with family, the music, the celebrations. We dread the shopping, the attempt to keep the reason for the season, the family tensions, the crowds, the money we spend on gifts, deciding what to buy…..

How did we ever get caught up in the frenzy of buying gifts and spending so much money?

Most people believe that the idea of buying gifts may have started in reference to the gifts the Magi brought to the baby Jesus as recorded in Matthew 2:11, ... they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

Accounts of St. Nicolas giving money to the poor in the 4th century shaped the beginnings of the Santa Claus tradition.

The examples of giving were 1)as worship and 2)to the those in need.

What would happen if we used those examples as our criteria for giving?

Would our children suffer? Would our dads still have enough ties?

Perhaps this season we might re-evaluate how we spend our time and money to celebrate Christmas. We could look at the messages that we convey about what we value.

When thinking of the investment of prayers and donations of many during the past year, you can rejoice and praise the Lord with us in remembering how they have touched many lives. 

Some of these people include:

• 160 poor, young children in Zambia who can continue to attend school.
• A young boy named Albert who was overjoyed at hearing about Jesus and John who prayed with him in that Zambian slum.
• The marriage of a young couple was restored after almost losing it because of pornography addiction.
• A couple now has sound finances and a marriage that is stronger than ever after being overwhelmed with debt which caused intense marital strife.
• A young girl was able to unload her burden of despair from losing her parents and being mistreated by her caretakers, after hearing Karen share her own story of hardship.
• A couple can now communicate and resolve conflict for the first time after years of hurt feelings and pain in their marriage.
• A woman carrying the burden of years of abuse and pain who can now be a healthy, Christian wife and mother.

The end of the year is often a time when people consider their giving to the Lord in a special way. We are very thankful for the people who support this ministry. These end-of-the-year donations are a vital part of our budget. Please pray for God to supply our needs at this time of the year. [to donate]

You are a valuable part of our ministry! We love and appreciate you and your support of what God is doing at Living Well!

Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pray for the Lord to provide the remaining $8700 for our mission to Zambia in January.

SEPTEMBER 2012 Letter - LIVING WELL

“Find a church that offers marriage oriented classes and attend those regularly.”

We recently asked our class to tell us one important thing that they had learned about marriage. If you could give someone who was about to be married one piece of advice, what would it be? The opening quote is one of the answers. Of course, we loved that answer.

Our class actually had a lot of great answers. Another person talked about how he and his wife had grown up in good Christian homes, read the Bible, and had parents with good marriages. But after going to a marriage conference with a group that we put together, they realized that they still had a lot to learn about marriage. He was thankful for finding out what he didn’t know! He believes they are to continue to learn about marriage, in the same way he does continuing education on his job.

When is the last time you did a continuing ed class for your marriage?

Or maybe you know someone is preparing for marriage or in the beginning years of their marriage. We have a class coming soon for all of the above. We are teaching a marriage class at our office on Monday nights this fall, September 10 - November 5, 7-8:30 pm (eight classes). For more information, you can call or email us or go to this page on our website to find out more.

A couple of weeks ago, our landlord (a wonderful, Christian man) came to us and said that someone wanted to rent the room that he has been letting us use for the last two years at no cost. We use the room for our classes, meetings, and trainings. Our agreement with him was that we could use the room, which adjoins our office, at no charge, but he would continue to make it available to lease. Then, if anyone wanted to lease it, he would give us a chance to lease it first. We prayed and consulted our board. We believe that God wants us to continue to use the space. We know that God will raise up the additional $350/month for the rent for the room. Please pray with us for the Lord to touch hearts of those who will join us in continuing to provide classes and trainings.

We recently completed a series, THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY Marriages in the Bible (and what we can learn from them). We are gradually posting the complete lessons (and more!) on one of our blogs. You can read the complete series on our marriage blog.

The Wisdom Community School has a website, www.wisdomcommunityschool.com and a facebook page. [like their page here] You can now see more pictures and video of the children online. And you can see our team in action! More will be added to both in the days ahead. They have a year-round school schedule there, going to classes for three months, then taking a one-month break. They are about to start back to school for their fall semester. We are thankful for the ongoing commitment and prayers for those children.

And … save the date for our annual dinner - Tuesday, October 16!

Thank you for your continued prayer and support of the ministry of Living Well.

Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards

P.S. Please pass on info about our marriage class that is starting soon!