DECEMBER 2014 Letter LIVING WELL

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. Dr. Seuss

The Grinch found out that people were still joyful, even without the presents, the stockings, and the trees. Yes, Christmas does not come from a store; it does mean a great deal more!

MORE

You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at His birth. Luke 1:14

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.... Luke 2:10

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Matthew 2:10

...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

JOY of CHRIST

The JOY of Christmas cannot be separated from the JOY of Christ. He brought JOY but also anticipated the JOY of the resurrected life! Without Christ, we have no joy and no hope.

Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares. William Barclay

We give gifts at Christmas out of the overflow of a joyful heart for what He has given each of us with THE GIFT of eternal life. 

YOU

We wish we could adequately express to each of YOU the joy of our heart for YOU and YOUR support of the Lord’s work through LIVING WELL. We pray that each of you will have a joyful Christmas as YOU and YOUR FAMILY reflect on the time Christ came to earth to live in the same way that YOU do. 

Because of YOU, we can continue to minister to couples similar to this one. Rejoice with us in this reconciled marriage. 

RECONCILED

After 7 1⁄2 years, we found that we were not following God’s plan for our marriage. We rarely spent quality time together, and focused on our kids instead of each other. We found that we were growing apart instead of together, and allowed distractions in our marriage. We were not looking to God during our struggles. 

Our sessions at Living Well have taught us more about ourselves, each other, and our relationship with God.... We learned to always put each other first, and how important “oneness” in marriage is.... Thanks to Ed and Donna, we now have a better understanding of God’s word and how it relates to our marriage. Thank you to Living Well for giving life to our marriage.

INVEST

As we approach the end of the year, we ask YOU to seek God about how He wants you to invest in His Kingdom. Our budget depends completely on tax-deductible donations. [TO DONATE]

We are not going to Zambia in January this year. The Lord showed us through a number of ways that He wanted us to stay here, rather than go. We still believe that He is leading us to return with another team in June. Will you go with us? 

We love and appreciate YOU and YOUR support of what God is doing! 

Our love in Christ,

Donna and Ed Edwards

P.S. Please join us in praying for God’s provision for 2015! [TO DONATE]

The water that I will give him will become in him

a well of water springing up to eternal life.

John 4:14b

Living Well is a life source, not a life style.

The Getting of Givng

To love as God loves takes a sacrificial attitude. We sacrifice our own desires for the sake of others.

Jesus said the attitude of giving brings the real blessings in life. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
We do not need scientific research to validate what God says in His Word, but it is great fun to watch the rest of the world discover what we already know.

Scott Stanley and others have researched the topic of sacrifice in relationships. Some of what they have found:

"When defined in healthy ways, there are a number of studies that show that sacrifice for one’s partner and relationship is associated with all sorts of good things in a relationship—especially in marriage."

“Giving is a good sign in a potential partner because it is connected to things that build a strong foundation in relationships. Our take on some of the findings in our research and that of others is that sacrifice is one of the ways that partners send signals to each other about the nature of the commitment between the partners.”

Jesus said that it is better to give than to get because we derive greater joy from it .... one of those great paradoxes of life! We spend most of our life trying to get satisfaction, fulfillment, fun, and materials "things," so that we can be happy. But the feeling never lasts. But when we spend our time giving from what God has given us, we have a joy that will last.

John Piper says, "The biblical mandate to husbands and wives is to seek your own joy in the joy of your spouse."