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Hello Friends.
This will be
my last mailing for 2007. Please
don't forget our Earth Angel charities
this year---Midway School in Apopka,
Florida, and JoAnn Cayce Charities in
Thornton Arkansas. Every little bit
helps, and we do appreciate your love
and concern. I'll give you feedback
the first or second week of January.
The radio interviews that I've been
doing are all posted on my website:
click
www.joanwanderson.com and then
click Upcoming Events. Check to see
if a radio host in your town is
featuring me and my angel stories, and
call in with a story of your own! And
yes, you can still order autographed
copies of my books and get them in
time for Christmas, but the days are
getting shorter, so don't delay!
I wrote the following story for the
December issue of Woman's Day. It's
already one of my favorites. And
PLEASE don't miss the link from the
Texas radio station that follows it.
I thought this little boy's words
summed up the meaning of Christmas in
the most beautiful way. May you all
be blessed. Thank you so much for
your encouragement and your faith.
Sunny Marie Hackman, of Lakewood,
Colorado, tries to stay organized,
since she's a popular speaker, writer,
traveler, volunteer and hostess. But
each year as Christmas approaches,
even she feels overwhelmed by all the
extra activities. That's why, a few
Novembers ago, Sunny Marie concluded
that she could indeed "do it all" if
her family agreed to one condition.
"No extra people here on Christmas
Eve," she warned her husband and three
kids. "I want just our
family—Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Bill
and Aunt Mickey---something low-key
and relaxing." The family shrugged.
Sure, if that's what Mom wanted.....
Sunny Marie planned every detail of
their Christmas Eve feast. That
evening the table sparkled, and
wonderful aromas drifted through the
house. All the cameras were loaded,
and musical instruments tuned, in case
anyone wanted to pick out a song. It
was going to be perfect as soon as
Victor, their college-age son,
arrived. Then the phone rang.
"Mom." It was Victor. "Is it okay if
I bring home a guy I met on the bus?"
Sunny Marie wanted to scream. Hadn't
everyone promised to let her have one
evening just the way she wanted it?
The stranger was probably down and
out, someone who would cast a grim
shadow on her happy plans. But it was
Christmas Eve. "Bring him home," she
told Victor, sighing.
John was in his mid-forties,
nondescript and shy. "Conversation
was a little stiff," Sunny Marie
admits. Hardly the warm and intimate
evening she'd planned. But when
dinner ended, John went over to the
guitar and played a few Christmas
carols. Then he switched to the
piano, and began a medley of "Jesus
Loves Me" and "Amazing Grace," done
with a sweetness she had never heard.
Slowly the realization dawned. She
had done the right thing tonight,
making room for John. But there had
been no love in her heart. And wasn't
love the meaning of Christmas?
She looked up and John's eyes met
hers. In his gaze was
everything---awareness, tenderness,
yes and forgiveness too. He knew, she
realized. But how?
The song ended, and John stood. "That
was my gift to you," he told her
quietly, and picked up his jacket.
Sudden tears flooded her eyes.
"Wait!" She grabbed her camera as did
the other guests. "Can we take some
pictures of you?"
John smiled. "You can," he said, "but
they won't turn out."
Sunny Marie understood. She had been
given a glimpse of Christmas in
another place, and it could never be
the same again. "I've seen an angel,"
she told her husband later that
evening, still in awe.
He wasn't sure she was right. But
later, when everyone's photos were
developed ----and John's image did not
appear in any of them---he had to
agree.
And finally.....
A remarkable phone call from a
Nebraska 13-yr old boy to a Houston
radio station KSBJ FM 89.3. So
profound, the station has it posted on
their website. Click below.
http://www.ksbj.org/eblogs/morningShow/
Then go down just a little bit to "Sky
Angel" and click again. Don't miss
it.
© 2007 Joan Wester Anderson
For more stories of God’s
love, check the Where Angels Walk website at
www.joanwanderson.com.
Look at the Archives page too!
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About the Author: |
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Author and lecturer Joan Wester Anderson was born in Evanston, Illinois. She began her writing career in 1973 with a series of family humor articles for local newspapers and Catholic publications, and was a monthly columnist for two national magazines during the 1980s. She has published more than one thousand articles and short stories in a variety of publications, including Woman's Day, Modern Bride, Virtue, Reader’s Digest, and the New York Times Syndicate.
Her 15 books include WHERE ANGELS WALK, TRUE STORIES OF HEAVENLY VISITORS, which was on the New York Times best-seller list for over a year, has sold almost two million copies and been translated into fourteen languages. Published in fall, 1994, were the sequel to ANGELS, titled WHERE MIRACLES HAPPEN, and for children, AN ANGEL TO WATCH OVER ME. Both books were written in response to suggestions from readers, and were followed in rapid succession by three more in this series. FOREVER YOUNG (Thomas More Publishers), the life story of actress Loretta Young, was published in November, 2000. The actress had read the angel series, and requested Anderson as her biographer. The two became close friends. Anderson’s most recent book, IN THE ARMS OF ANGELS (Loyola Press) covers angelic activity primarily during the past decade, including stories of hope from the 9/11 and Columbine School tragedies.
Anderson has appeared on national television programs including "Good Morning America," "Oprah," "20/20,” “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw" and "Mother Angelica Live," and was featured in such documentaries as "Angels--Beyond the Light" (NBC), “Angel Stories” and "Stories of Miracles” (The Learning Channel), and many videos. She was a story consultant for the television series, IT’S A MIRACLE, lectures in cities across the country, and has been interviewed on hundreds of radio talk shows.
Anderson is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and a former adjunct professor at Harper Community College in Palatine, Illinois. She and her husband live in suburban Chicago, and have five grown children and three grandchildren. |
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