Back in October I went into a store and was amazed at what I saw. Next to a large Halloween display was a larger Christmas display. The birth of Jesus (which, by the way, was not in December) was to save us all from the sins of this world.

What gift would you give this Babe? This child that would become known as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. I thought back to when I was a child�on Christmas Eve we put up a tree and placed homemade ornaments on it. Christmas morning brought one gift for each of us.

Jesus is known as Redeemer, the Son of Righteousness, God with us, Friend of Sinners, Good Master, The Lamb of God. Looking ahead from the cross, He saw the holiday season of today: folks going into debt, a person getting drunk at a Christmas party and killing someone with their car, old folks all alone, with their family too far away or too busy.

HE WEPT. The Christ, The Deliverer, The Rock, wants nothing but us and our families...to give ourselves over to Him. What will we give to Jesus who gave us so much?

We wander the yards of prisons and get letters from young inmates, too young to be in prison. Going online we glimpse what is available for our youth to see, and all the trouble waiting there. One of the greatest challenges before Christians is the winning of our youth to the Lord Jesus Christ (The Righteous Judge). Not winning them to a �church,� but to the �Reason for This Season.�

There has never been a time since the Pharaohs of Egypt or the days of Herod that we have seen such an assault on our youth as we see today. Large segments of society seem to want nothing to do with our youth. You can drive across our nation and see forgotten boys and girls. Teens just drifting along, or on the streets hustling, or hanging out at bus stations and airports, among the over 100,000 young people who run away every year. He WePt.

The liquor industry wants our youth, as they fight to drop the legal drinking age to 18. (If they could they would probably make it 12.) The cigarette industry wants our kids. Pornography wants and has our youth. What about our Churches? We say, �Just say no to drugs,� but then what do they say yes to? Jesus said, �Allow the little children to come to me, and do not forbid them; for the Kingdom of God is for such as these.� Mark 10:14

On the date in December that we call Christmas, how many do you think will be watching the phone, waiting for a call? I wish it was possible that all kids who receive 10 gifts or more would take some and give to those who will have none. Instead of putting out milk and cookies, I wish families would pray and read about the birth of our Lord.

�Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul � You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.� Deuteronomy 11:18-19

We recently started remolding (to create office workspace for the Ministry) and found that all is not well with our mobile home. The folks we bought it from were not honest with us, and we need to have some serious structural work done� not only to complete the office, but because its current condition is dangerous. As much as I do not like to make this plea, the repair work will require some special donations from special folks. If you have a little extra, we are prayerfully asking in Jesus� name for a special, tax-deductable donation.

Blessings, too. As mentioned in the last newsletter, Ronna, our daughter, had serious health problems which caused a delay in getting her and Jake here, and has resulted in greater expenses. However, God blessed us with the donation of a car, a computer and computer equipment that will save hours of work. A desktop computer will be going to Ronna and Jake so they can begin helping us from Indiana. If we continue to grow in the coming year like we did this past year, then God�s blessings will direct all funding as it has over all the years past.

Some Pen Friends are Struggling. We have been contacted by a whole lot of folks who can no longer help or even write due to the economy, and so we have committed, in faith, to paying the postage for all writers that are without funds.

We ask those who can to please end the year with a special donation. If you can send stamps, we will send them to those dear saints who have been financially hurt by this State of a Nation.

As always, we provide you with a tax write-off. Those wanting to get into this year�s deductions can use credit cards on our website to beat the deadline.

It seems like thinking about the Holidays always brings thoughts of favorite foods we like to eat. One year at prison this subject came up and all the inmates started talking about their favorite foods. Later after we left the prison I started thinking about our spiritual food. The next morning at the prison I was to give a morning devotional, and I really wanted them thinking of how much we have to be thankful for, especially the spiritual blessings we have received.

Dinner is a special time at Christmas, so I went home and wrote a spiritual dinner recipe for morning Devotion:

You might want to try this recipe�you will find a Blessing somewhere.

In a day soon coming we all will enjoy something like that described above under the Tree Of Life, on the Sea of Glass. It will take a mighty effort to get all who we love to have their names written in the Book of Life.

Someone Cares is doing a mighty effort to reach our goal that �every knee will bow.� Our big prayer as we write this is that all will come to realize that �Jesus is the Reason for This Season.�

We are Doing our Best. Getting older is a part of each year. The older we get the harder it is to put all the pieces together. The mail we receive must often be forwarded without reading. Sometimes it stacks up as we run out of hours in a day. But through constant prayer everything moves forward.

Jesus is the reason. I wish to share, after much prayer, some thoughts about why we are doing what we do, and who it�s all for. After reading mail from thousands of inmates, it appears that so very often Church or Religion is put before Jesus.

Even though we started this Ministry so very many years and thousands of inmates ago, we still get excited when we hear from someone asking, �Can I join?�

In the beginning we spent time learning about prior prison volunteers. We asked the inmates what we could do to make chapel a place where men and women would want to go. It simply came down to �All Faiths Chapel,� the sign above Yvonne�s Chapel.

It is the acceptance of Jesus and His word that changed my life, brought thousands of others to Him, and gave birth to this Ministry. All our plans grow and blossom because of Jesus. We can see the results through the letters we receive, and by meeting men and women who have come to know the Lord through this Ministry and YOU.

The Glorious light. I can still remember the excitement when the Holy Spirit moved Satan out of my life. I became a Christian, I belonged to a Church, but I did not fit in. Living for years in the darkness of sin I was now exposed by the brightness of Jesus. I begged Jesus to give me a direction, and when HE said �return to prison� I could not believe it. But of course he was right.

As I write this, I am thinking for the first time of God�s sense of humor. Satan recruited me and trained me in and on his turf. God found me, showed me the Way to Truth and changed me, and then used me and all I had learned from the enemy to reach out to men and women from my same background in order to lead them out of enemy territory towards the glorious Light.

All the years I had spent �high� were turned into a natural high, and the Spirit of Christ led me (sometimes pushed me) to do the work of this Ministry; this was a great and real gift that I received. Every step of the way Yvonne was there, even though she was sometimes perplexed over the way I did things compared to her Dad the preacher.

Yvonne grew up with Jesus, but I grew up with Satan. Thank God her parents and friends taught her well, as she had to use all her talent when I slipped or took a route that was not quite straight. That word �Helpmate� is so vital, and she has certainly lived up to its meaning.

Please keep in mind as we close out one year and start a new one, there are a lot of seeds to be sown for Jesus that each of us can do in our own way, so that God may come and reap the Harvest!

Yvonne and I are praying that each newsletter in the New Year will be full of God�s Blessing through each of you and yours. Best Wishes for happiness to every household, free or bond.
Don & Yvonne