T.J.I.F.A.  


THANK JESUS IT'S FRIDAY AGAIN!  
PASS IT ON...& ON...& ON...& ON.
JANUARY 16, 2004



TJIFA WELCOMES IT'S READERS TO THE YEAR 2004 IN JESUS' NAME.  WE PRAY THAT YOU WILL FIND THE STRENGTH TO CONTINUE ON THE JOURNEY TO ETERNAL  PEACE.  

WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT WE HAVE HAD SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES THAT CAN ONLY BE ALLEVIATED WITH TIME.  THEREFORE, WE WILL POSTPONE THE NEWSLETTER'S APPEARANCE FOR ANOTHER THREE OR FOUR WEEKS.  THAT WILL BRING US TO THE MIDDLE OF FEBRUARY; HOPEFULLY BY THE VALENTINE'S DAY NEWSLETTER.  

WE ARE APOLOGETIC FOR THE DELAY.  OUR NEW LOOK WILL ALSO BE A PLEASANT SURPRISE.  

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED CO OPERATION.

LOOKING FORWARD

SEE YA FEBRUARY13, 2004.

TER



TJIFA Welcome to 2004

How many Readers are glad to be alive this New Year?  

Every Sunday that question  is asked of an Elderly group of Christians; and invariably, they will raise their little hands or verbalize their gratitude for life.  Looking around at this beautiful group of people, you'd expect that their ages would convince them that they have all of what life could offer them.  But...they always contend that they are,
"Glad to be alive!"

When you have suffered long, and the world isn't a place that you understand anymore, will you be glad to be alive?  What makes a person who is up in age, glad to be alive?  That is a question that has been pondered for a long time.  

Many people, old and young, no longer have a yearning to live.  When they hear the question, ‘Are you glad to be alive?'  They inwardly answer "How could I be?" For those of you that wonder how you could be glad to be alive; the suggestion to you is to look up!  As long as you look around you and continue to see what you don't have, you will never be glad about what GOD has done in your life.  

GOD has made you very special, and He has a powerful plan for your life.  That's why you're still ALIVE!  GOD knows what He has placed in you, and He knows it is for your good and not for  evil.   


These Elderly people have been through many trials and tribulations.  Their lives are a road map for all who care to journey this road of life.  They are living stones to the Glory of GOD and His loving Kindness and His Tender Mercies.  They are Testaments to the Goodness of GOD.  They've lost loved ones, spouses, parents, children and friends.  They've had days of hunger, famine and sword; the deep lines in their faces were etched by time, loneliness and  peril. But they're,  STILL GLAD TO BE ALIVE!  

They know something about life that we won't know, or can possibly know until we, too, have walked where they have walked and sat in the chair of contentment, where they now are seated.  


2004 brings with it a Freshness in the  realization that we, as Christians,  must know in our hearts that we are, ‘fearfully, wonderfully and skillfully made.' (Ps.  139); and within  this  knowing we'll understand the joy that accompanies ‘being alive.'      

Everyone likes something ‘new'.  A new hair do; a new car; a new book; a new home...a new year.  With these ‘new' things, there is always a desire to treat it better than the object that preceded it.  It is no difference in the advent of the New Year.  With  the New Year, there comes a lot of ‘New Year's Resolutions.'  These ‘Resolutions' are broken hours after they are sincerely declared; and with broken promises comes  the feelings of being out of control and disgust for the one whom GOD has made "skillfully" in His image. YOU!

Seek to bring honor and glory to GOD this year.  Seek to put Him first in your life.          Seek to be wrapped  up in His Love for others.  Don't allow last year's failures to crowd out the New Year's good that GOD has for you.  Ask yourself, "What does GOD want to do in my life?"  Instead of the world's counterpart which asks, "What do I want to do with my life?"  Christian, your life doesn't belong to you anymore, it belongs to GOD; and He has a well mapped outcome for you.  

Are you afraid to trust GOD with your life?  Would you rather trust a ‘New Year's Resolution?   Don't live your life and miss the best.  The best is what GOD has for you.  

My prayer for you is that in the same time span that you would have broken your New Year's Resolution, you will know that GOD's best is working in your life for you and your loved ones, and you will be like the Elderly in your answer to the question...Are you glad to be alive this day?   Your answer will also be a resounding..."YES!"   

Looking Forward

See Ya Next Time!

TER

Appreciate Life's Thorns

Thanksgiving was fast approaching and Diane had little to be thankful for. It seemed that she met with tragedy at every turn recently. In an effort to take her mind off her troubles, she went to a flower shop in search of a cheerful arrangement. She noticed a woman at the counter purchase what appeared to be a bouquet of thorns.
"Did you just sell that woman a arrangement of thorns?
Diane inquired, wrinkling her brow.
"Yes I certainly did," answered the smiling shop owner. "That's our Thanksgiving Special!"
"But how can you consider a bunch of thorns ‘special'?"
"Seems crazy I know," exclaimed Linda, "but you have to take the good with the bad to truly  know harmony. I learned to appreciate life's thorns a long time ago. When my husband passed away, I didn't know to balance my checkbook. Suddenly, I was responsible for running this. That was 15 years ago. I'm convinced that it's life's thorns that allow us to blossom."
Just then a gentleman entered the shop. "Linda, are my thorns ready?"
"Got'em right here," Linda replied, showing the man a box of long-stemmed thorny roses–minus the flowers.
"Are you giving those to your wife?" Diane asked the man.
"Oh yes!" the man exclaimed.
"But why?"
"This bouquet helps us refocus on what's important in our marriage and our lives. For us, each thorn represents a problem that we've struggled to overcome. Every Thanksgiving, we take time to appreciate the thorns that have carried us through the 40 years we've been together."
Diane thought about her problems. She realized that she could deal with bumps and bruises of life, or be consumed by the hurt caused by them. Finally she made a choice: "I'll take one of your bouquets of thorns, too!"
"Wise choice," Linda said.

Adapted from OnSunday.com

Everything still seems to fall back on the choices we make in life, doesn't it???
See you soon!   S.L.C.