Monday, December 17, 2012

12 Pearls of Christmas - Day 3 (Sunday)

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!



Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.


(Also - There are a total of "12 Posts" for the 12 Pearls of Christmas! If you would like to read ALL of the posts, there are 2 ways to do this.
1. Click the HOME button and scroll down. You will come across some posts.
2. To read "ALL" the Posts, look in the LEFT side-column under Archives. Click on December. Go down the list looking for the 12 Pearls of Christmas Posts. Some of them start off with that wording, and then some of them may start off with the Day 1, or Day 2, etc. Keep looking and you will find ALL of them!
3.  Remember, there are '12' posts in total. This post happens to be #3, so as of today, we have '3' posts - yet there will also be future posts, too! Future posts would be posts above this, such as Day 9, Day 10, etc. It may take a little looking around, but you WILL find them! Enjoy them all! We have WONDERFUL AUTHORS who have written some WONDERFUL Posts you will enjoy VERY much!! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading these as I have posted them! I have some favorites that will stay with me forever! If you come across some you would like to share, feel free to do so!
4. ***URGENT*** Most of all, make SURE you ENTER for a chance to win that STRAND OF PEARLS!
5.  Next year, (hopefully Margaret McSweeney will do this again?!) if you want to come back and read these Posts again, click on 2012. ALL of the Months of the Year will pop up. Remember ALL these Posts are in the month of December, and in December ONLY! (Also, next year I will do the Posts differently. I will use '1' LINK and '1' LINK ONLY! I will have a button on the side, and instead of linking it to Margaret McSweeney's blog, I will link it to MY POSTS. Her blog is in every post already, so you can access it from each post already. I think it will be MUCH easier to do it that way than the way I did it this year. If YOU have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments section! Thanks!

Enjoy! Good Luck, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to ALL my Readers and ALL of these Authors, too! Thank you, to ALL the Authors who have written these Posts! These have been wonderful stories to read, to reflect on, and to enjoy! GREAT job done by all! THANK "YOU" for adding to our wonderful season!
Remember: Jesus is the reason for the Season!
Laurie)




We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items (books, a gift pack, music CDs) from the contributors! Enter now on Facebook or at the Pearl Girls blog. The winner will announced on January 2, 2013 at the Pearl Girls blog.



If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.



***
Who is Mr. Carbunkle?

By: Debora M. Coty



In a dream this November, I was playing Clue (remember that board game from your childhood?) with three friendly strangers. We were each moving our pieces from room to room in the mysterious mansion trying to figure out who-done-it.



So far we knew it wasn’t Miss Scarlet in the parlor with a candlestick . . . or Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with a wrench.



With a voice bursting with sudden enlightenment, the player to my right announced, “Why, it’s Mr. Carbunkle!*”



My other two opponents and I looked at one another in bewilderment. Everyone knew there was no such character in this game.



It seemed my lot to state the obvious. “Who is Mr. Carbunkle?”



The words continued to ring in my head as I sat straight up in bed. I must have spoken the question aloud to jerk me awake so.



Who is Mr. Carbunkle?



And then I knew. I knew just as surely as if the Almighty had sent me an e-mail titled, “Hey, Deb, here’s your answer.”



I had been praying for several weeks about how Papa God would like me to use my writing tithe this year. It’s been my custom, for the nine years I’ve written professionally, to give away each December (anonymously, if possible) ten percent of that year’s income from my writing ministry to someone the Lord designates.



The sum isn’t really all that much in the grand scheme of things (contrary to popular belief, Christian writers don’t get rich), but it’s enough to bless somebody in their celebration of Christ’s birth with the knowledge that their Heavenly Father knows about their needs . . . and cares.



I thought about the only Mr. Carbunkle I knew—the one who attends our church, a quiet, unassuming man who’d been out of work for more than a year. I confess that I knew about his plight but hadn’t really given it much thought—or prayer—lately. Although he never complained, I knew his family must be struggling.



So Mr. Carbunkle it is.



You know, there are lots of Mr. Carbunkles out there who would be blessed mightily by a love-gift from you this Christmas. It doesn’t have to be money; it could be help with yard work, or home repairs, or a loaf of banana bread, or best of all, a gift of your time. Thirty minutes of your undivided attention for a lonely soul who needs to know Papa God knows his or her needs … and cares.



Who is your Mr. Carbunkle?



Don’t have a Clue? I know someone who does. Just ask Him.



*Name changed for privacy


***
Debora Coty is an occupational therapist, a piano teacher, and a freelance writer. She's also involved in the children's ministry at her church and is an avid tennis player. Debora began writing to fill the void when her last child left for college, and it has since become a passion. Debora has a real knack for getting across sound biblical concepts with a refreshing lightheartedness as attested in her monthly newspaper column entitled "Grace Notes: God's Grace for Everyday Living." Look for Fear, Faith and a Fist Full of Chocolate in February of 2013.

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