Be Blessed - 24

Q484

Does God grant everything we pray for?



God is always ready to give you all what you want, but you do not seem to know what is good for you and what you really want. Since you do not know what you should want and under what circumstances, it is better and easier to surrender yourself completely to God and simply ask for His Grace.

(Summer Showers 1973, pg 13)

On Santa's Team

My grandma taught me everything about Christmas. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," jeered my sister. "Even dummies know that!" 

My grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her world-famous cinnamon buns.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. 

"No Santa Claus!" she snorted. "Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad. Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second cinnamon bun.

"Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. 

"Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's. 

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church. 

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobbie Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobbie Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out for recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough; but all we kids knew that Bobbie Decker didn't have a cough, and he didn't have a coat.

I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobbie Decker a coat. I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that. I didn't see a price tag, but ten dollars ought to buy anything. I put the coat and my ten-dollar bill on the counter and pushed them toward the lady behind it. 

She looked at the coat, the money, and me. "Is this a Christmas present for someone?" she asked kindly. "Yes," I replied shyly. "It's ... for Bobbie. He's in my class, and he doesn't have a coat." The nice lady smiled at me. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag and wished me a Merry Christmas. 

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat in Christmas paper and ribbons, and write, "To Bobbie, From Santa Claus" on it ... Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy.

Then she drove me over to Bobbie Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobbie's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. 

Suddenly, Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his doorbell twice and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobbie. He looked down, looked around, picked up his present, took it inside and closed the door. 

Forty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my grandma, in Bobbie Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: Ridiculous!

Santa was alive and well ... AND WE WERE ON HIS TEAM! 



 ~ Author Unknown ~

Extreme Makeover

Let Jesus and His light fill you up and flow out of you. Continue to look into the Word and allow His light to reveal areas where you need growth. As you do this, you'll find that you are being transformed from Bozo to Beauty. Talk about an extreme makeover!


- Michelle Medlock Adams

Selfless Love Knows No Fear

When the Divine comes in human form, He moves among human beings; but He can never be affected by them or deflected from His path.  Envious people heaped insults on Jesus.  Even among his disciples, some betrayed him and deserted him.  Self-seeking people turn envious of the good and the great.  Since the prema (love) of Jesus had no trace of selfishness in it, Jesus was not afraid.  The loveless are enveloped in fear.  Love instils courage and promotes adventure.  It delights in daring.  If you follow the Master, you can face the devil, fight to the end and finish the game.

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba -

VEDA 32

The world is suffering today from too much of knowledge; virtue is not increased in proportion to the advance of knowledge. That is the root cause of misery in human society.



(From : Sai Veda, The Word of God,  sayings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Blessed Christmas 2025

 

May Swami's Divine Light Shine Bright

to Fill Your Homes;

May His Love Warm Your Hearts

till it Overflows to All Around You.

Blessed Christmas to Everyone!

Jai Sai Ram...

Sai Jewel - 24

Aware Of Truth

Truth is more fundamental than the atom.  Every atom and every star manifests the truth to those who have an eye of wisdom.  What is the special nature of man?  If he too lives and dies as any animal, how can his supremacy be justified?  His supremacy lies in his capacity to become aware of his truth.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol X, pg 126)

Faith