Blessed Magazine December/January 2013

BLESSED MAGAZINE Empowering the Community of Believers through Fellowship and Love

December,/January 2013

Volume 1

BEYOND BOUNDARIES Tony AND SHERRY

Holiday Gift Ideas under

$15

Tithing Understanding our Role

ANOTHER SECOND CHANCE

BIRTH OF JESUS WHAT IT MEANS TO BELIEVERS

How a stranger's kidney saved my life Brother Troy Lewis

How a stranger's kidney saved my life ...And my brother's too! A true story that will strengthen your faith, build your Hope, and renew your belief in miracles!

You will become part of the story as you laugh, cry, hope, and by the end.. Praise in victory

‌‌Troy Lewis

Available at Page 2

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Blessed Magazine December, 2012

Visit us online at www.blessedmagazine.org

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TABLE OF CONTENTS www.blessedmagazine.org

08 A Second Chance True story of how a stranger SAVED my LIFE by

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Troy Lewis

10 Tithing Understanding our Role

12 True Love at it’s Best How a soon to be married couple overcame life’s obstacles through the POWER of LOVE

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Story by

Sherry Ross

16 The Birth of Jesus What the birth really means to believers

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20 Holiday Gift Ideas Gifts for under $15

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10 Understanding our Role BM

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STARTING UP AND SWITCHING OFF - AUTOMATICALLY The ECO start/stop function – now standard on the Mercedes-Benz S 350 BlueTEC

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Less than 2 years ago I was fighting to stay alive, then God saved me through a series of miraculous events. Now I sit here holding a book that God directed me to write. To show others that there IS Hope in any situation! That the sovereign creator of the universe is in control and still creating miracles today through the power of prayer!

God saved me by His Grace, then by His Mercy!

08 How Another Second Chance …God’s Story As I sit here on this resurrection Sunday, reflecting back on all of the amazing things that have transpired. I marvel at how God directed this incredible modern day Bible story through an average guy. How He prepared him to be able to share it with others through speaking. Then convicted this average guy to write the story down into a book Less than 2 years ago I was fighting to stay alive, then God saved me through a series of miraculous events. Now I sit here holding a book that God directed me to write. To show others that there IS Hope in any situation!

That the sovereign creator of the universe is in control and still creating miracles today through the power of prayer!

Acts 4:10 “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole

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I catch myself staring at a framed collage of pictures of the cast of “Cross of Love”. It was a passion drama depicting the last days of Jesus, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. I had been in this play for 9 years and cherished it. It held special meaning to me…

On Good Friday of the year 2000, I saw this play for the first time. Two days later, on Easter Sunday, I found myself in front of an altar for the first time. As God would save me

by His Grace and I would begin my faith walk One year later, I would be asked to play Jesus Christ in the same play that brought me to the Lord. I had never acted or spoken in front of people before that day. God knew this and tested my faith. So my walk continued As each new season would arrive, I would have the gift of reliving my salvation. I would share it with others after each performance and invite others to do the same. As my experience grew, so would new tests of faith, challenges, and trials

Another Second Chance …God’s Story

by Troy Lewis can be purchased at www.another2ndchance.org or through

I would always revert back to the power of prayer, but sometimes the answers were not what I expected…

After nine years of playing Jesus and being reminded of my salvation each year, this gift would be stolen by a kidney disease. In 2009 on Good Friday, at the final performance, I would be presented with this beautiful collage of pictures by the entire cast of “Cross of Love.” This ministry would come to an end for me My walk was now forced to go down a long broken path of suffering. My faith would be tested at every turn as I was the rare case in every situation. I would go on dialysis, only to find out it was killing me I have four brothers and none could help

in the most miraculous way. A thousand miles away, a stranger felt led to give his kidney for no other reason than “God convicted him to.” Little did he know that he had the rarest of kidneys and that he would not just save my life… but my brother’s too!

My walk was now forced to go down a long broken path of suffering

God waited till I was at my lowest point in life. Then gave the gift of life back to me. Knowing that I would write His amazing story that only He could have created. All to GLORIFY the “Giver of Life”!! My savior Jesus Christ!

Faith in the power of prayer and God’s direction was my only Hope!

Many people from Churches all around were praying for a miracle.

Then God answered Just as I was lying on death’s door step in intensive care, Hope showed

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1Cor 2:9″No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” Want to share your story?

Visit us online at: www.blessedmagazine.org Blessed Magazine December, 2012

Understanding our Role Many Christians today find it difficult during this economic depression to tithe because of the strain it has on their finances.

Many believe that God will understand these times and not hold them accountable God spoke it in His Word that He requires 10% of our earnings. So as Christians, do we continue to obey and follow this commandment through difficult times or will God indeed understand our circumstances and grant us a pardon?

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ver many decades, Christians have struggled with the task of tithing. Many struggle to understand the significance of why God spoke of tithing in the first place.

Tithing was established in God’s Word from the beginning; not to be construed as a burden to His people, but as a holy sacrifice to His Church Malachi 3:10- Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it In this passage, not only is God speaking His commandment, but He also challenges His people to try Him. Opening the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. This is a directive from the Lord of Hosts to all His people. However, even with this being spoken by God, there are still Christians today who do not obey the commandment of tithing and therefore fall short of God’s blessings and promise So why is it important to obey God’s Word to tithe? Tithing is a source of support (revenue) for God’s house (His Church). We know we could never attempt to think like God and understand His divine purpose in matters such as this, but what we do understand is that God has given us a directive and it must be obeyed or suffer the consequences.

So how must we tithe? If we earn $10, then our 10% would be $1.00. If we earn $1,000, our 10% would be $100.00. The next misunder-

standing is whether to pay gross or net? Now it is not my job to tell you that you are required to pay your tithes from your gross, because many will pose an argument.

However, it is evident that if you truly do the calculation, you would probably agree Give you an example: Your wages are $10 per hour, you work 80 hours in a two-week period, your earnings are $800, therefore your tithes should reflect $80.00. You see where I am going with this?

It seems that when God blesses us, tithing becomes that much harder. As long as our tithing is relatively small, it is easy to give. Let me ask you a question: If you were blessed to receive a bonus check from your job in the amount of $2,500, being honest with yourself, would you tithe $250.00?

Another argument I hear is “I don’t feel my tithing is doing any good” which I must reveal to you is a trick of the enemy. Reason I’m stating this so boldly is because any time there is doubt placed on anything pertaining to the Word, is nothing but the trick of the enemy. It doesn’t matter what you may think about how tithes are being used; what does matter is that you obey God’s Word.

Tithing is another example of living a blessed life in the Lord. For when we give our tithes, we are supporting God’s House (His church).

God is not asking us to give Him our 10%, but His church. Giving our tithes faithfully Story continued page 23

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12 BEYOND BOUNDARIES Tony AND SHERRY

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One thing I will never forget is when he asked me how I felt about dating a man in a wheelchair

My name is Sherry Ross and I am 32 years young. I am originally from Richmond VA where I was born and raised by my mother and father. My fiancé name is Anthony Brown but I call him Tony. He is 40 years young and he is from Florida where he was born and raised. We both are Christians. I grew up in the church and as a little girl my mother had me baptized but around the age of twelve I made the decision of my own to accept Jesus into my life. Tony also accepted Jesus when he was young. My hobbies are singing, dancing and listening to music and Tony’s hobbies are watching sports, reading, listening to music and playing video games when he’s not sick, working or going to school. It was April 14, 2011 when Tony and I met on the social network name Tagged. I was on there just fooling around meeting new people but I was not looking for anyone to be with. I had a rough past few relationships. I had prayed for God to send me the man I am supposed to be with, someone who would love me despite the baggage I carried, my many flaws and who would love not only me but my four angels. Yes I have three boys and a princess. They are my world. So anyways like I was saying I was just on Tagged fooling around. So one day I received a message from Tony but before I read the message I went to his profile just to skim it

I looked at his picture which he only had one and then I skimmed through his information. I then read the message which had me intrigued. I loved the way he introduced himself with such confidence and a whole lot of respect. One thing I will never forget is when he asked me how I felt about dating a man in a wheelchair. I told him straight up the chair don’t make the man the man makes the chair and from what he told me he knew I was the one. Now mind you I had no idea he was in a wheelchair because in his picture all I could see was from the chest up. I asked him why did he ask me that and he replied with did you read my profile and I told him that I did but I didn’t read as much as I should have. If I had I would have known from the start but hey it didn’t make a difference anyway because the fact he was in a wheelchair didn’t

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I asked him how he knows he love me and he replied I feel it in my soul

matter to me all I wanted to do is get to know the man. I loved his honesty and from then on something in me just knew he was the one. Don’t ask me how but I just knew. We spent every night and day on the phone talking to each other. I was suffering from deep depression at the time but you would have never guessed it because I was smiling like someone who had just hit the lottery...lol well I guess you can say I did! May 14, 2011 came and we were on the phone at 2:00 in the morning. I remember it as if it was yesterday and that’s when Tony told me he loved me. My heart stopped because for one I didn’t know he was going to say that and two I had been feeling the same way for a while but I didn’t want to say it and then get disappointed if he didn’t feel the same way. I asked him how he knows he love me and he replied "I feel it in my soul" even today when I ask him that same question he replies with the same response. I finally told him that I had been feeling the same way too but I was scared he didn’t feel the same way. He told me he understood and from that night we kept talking on the phone. We began to want to see each other but I thought it was too

soon to meet in person because I still had my reservation. Sure we said we both loved each other but you know you just have to be sure it’s truly love and not lust. I knew about this website called Skype so I asked him if he knew about it and he said he didn’t so that’s when I introduced him to Skype. Once we got it going him and I was so happy to finally see each other. I fell in love at first sight because now there was actually a man to put to the voice.

Sure I saw the picture but now day’s people lie about their identity. He kept telling me how beautiful I was and I kept telling him to stop lying because I was literally tore up from the floor up...lol but no matter what he kept saying it and I couldn’t do anything but blush like a teenage school girl. We continued to Skype and talk on the phone but we had to take it up a notch. We took it back to the old school we started sleeping on the phone just because we didn’t want to miss a second of each other...lol crazy right? But that’s ok he was my big teddy bear. As time continued to pass we started talking about me going to see him but my motto to every man who lived outside of Richmond VA was If you want to see me you have to

to come here because I’m not getting on nobody’s plane...lol but things changed I was now in love with this man who live miles and miles away but he couldn’t come to me because he couldn’t travel due to his illness. It would take a lot of doing for him to come see me where it wouldn’t take much for me. We talked about it some more and finally decided that I was going to be the one to travel. We had decided that in August of 2011 I was going to take the trip but as time got closer my fear kicked in even more not just for the fear of flying but for the fear of the fact as an adult I had never been out of the state of VA and I’m going to a place where I know no one.

I told Tony how I felt and he understood. He said it was ok and that we could wait until I was ready so we continued with the usual the phone and the cam. September came and I was feeling a little down so Tony a.k.a Mr. Want to play Lets make my baby smile had a dozen of red roses in a red vase delivered to me. It truly made my day because that was the first time a man had actually had flowers delivered to me. Never thought I was deserving of them and maybe that is why in my past relationships the guys never did it but Tony that man had

stolen my heart. He made me feel special and that’s when I began to know that I was appreciated and loved. It’s just sad it took me a long time to feel that way. My birthday is November 8th and all I wanted for my special day was to spend it with the man who had stolen my heart so I made plans to go to Florida on the 13th. I was so excited because not only was I meeting my True love but I was taking a huge step in changing my life.

Getting on a plane, traveling alone and going to a state where there is no one there I know. This was huge. I had so much to do before I left for my trip and one was to sit down with my children and let them know that I was taking a trip to meet the special man in my life. They were very understanding. I think it was because of the age and maturity. They also knew I had been talking with Tony for months…I don’t keep secrets from my children because I don’t want them to keep them from me. After getting them and myself prepared for my leaving I was nervous like crazy because during the fourteen years I’ve been a mother I never left my babies and now here I am leaving them for a few weeks but I had to remember they understood. On the 13th I got on the Story continued page 18

That man had stolen my heart. He made me feel special

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BIRTH OF JESUS WHAT IT MEANS TO BELIEVERS

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BIRTH OF JESUS WHAT IT MEANS TO BELIEVERS

The birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is celebrated among God’s people every year on the 25th of December. While no one really knows the day our Savior was born, what is agreed upon is that He was.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life

God loved us so much that He sent His ONLY Son, Jesus to save us from ourselves, but with everyone this is not cherished.

Santa, from the North Pole throughout history has been given a lot of credit for Christmas, but Christians understand and recognize that the reason for Christmas is because of Jesus; the Son of God Over the years since before any of us probably could remember, the world has done all it can to discredit the birth of Jesus and the purpose behind it.

Take for example, the word Christmas.

When we use the abbreviation of Xmas, we are literally crossing out Christ. This is a trick of the enemy and many Christians use this or buy greeting cards with Christ replaced by an X. Believers must be on the watch at all times to recognize the tricks of the enemy in all

things.

Giving of gifts was a symbol of when the wise men visited Jesus in the manager and presented gifts. Although we give each other gifts on Christmas, gift giving was to be unto the Lord, Jesus as a token of our gratitude.

Isaiah 8:6 – For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace Believers everywhere rejoice because of the birth of Jesus! Believers know that if God had not loved us the way that He loved us, we would be lost.

Without His Son being born among us and eventually being sacrificed for our sins, we would be lost and in danger of hell fire So, what does the birth of Jesus mean to believers?

Redemption and Ambassadorship! Being redeemed by His Son and then given the right to call ourselves the children of God (God’s Ambassadors) to eventually reign with Him in Glory Happy Birthday Jesus

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plane and I was on my way. When I got to Florida Tony’s mother and sister was waiting for me at the airport. They were very nice so nice I felt very comfortable, almost as if I had known them all my life. We got in the car and we were on our way to meet my baby. When we pulled up in the drive way Tony came around the corner in his wheelchair and right then and there reality sat it. I mean I knew he was in a wheelchair but to see it right in front of my face…wow! I went over to him and gave him the biggest hug that I could give him. During my visit in Florida he took me to IHOP which he’d remembered was my favorite place to eat, we went to the beach which is where I’ve never been before and he even took me to visit his church and his pastor. It was such an honor to have his pastor pray over us our relationship. Thanksgiving came and we had so much fun with the family. We cooked, ate, enjoyed the football game and we even played some home games. As the night ended we got prepared for bed. I was in the learning process of learning how to administer his meds and changing his wounds. I was scared at first but I got the hang of it. Having this experience with him made me want to

go to school so I would learn everything I needed to know about taking care of him. It was 2:00 in the morning when Tony woke me up saying that he wasn’t feeling good. I checked his blood pressure and it was real low. We thought he was going to be alright but unfortunately I had to call the paramedics. Once we got settled in the hospital and they ran all the tests they needed to find out what was wrong. We found out he had needed a blood transfusion. The time came for me to go back home to VA but that was not an option. There was no way I was leaving Tony while he was sick and in the hospital so I called home, spoke to my angels, told them about Tony being in the hospital and the I would be home when he was better. They said ok just as long as you’re home before Christmas. Lol! Oh how I love them angels of mine. So I stayed until Tony got out of the hospital. It was time to make plans to return home to VA and that we did but as time disappeared we both grew sad. Even though we were sad we didn’t let it get in the way of our last few days with each other. We made those last few days like they were our lasts days and they were the best. On our last night together we ordered my favorite meal: crab Rangoon, chicken

I went over to him and gave him the biggest hug that I could give him

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He proposed to me on our one year Anniversary and of course you all know I said YES!

wings, bar b q ribs, shrimp fried rice and a 2liter Pepsi. We ate and then Tony had a surprise for me. He surprised me with the plans for my very own house that he wants to have built. Plans he drew up himself. I couldn’t do nothing but cry because I couldn’t believe that someone would do something like this for me. I love this man! The night ended with me in his arms and crying myself to sleep.

The next morning we got dressed and waited for our ride to the airport.

When we got there we checked my bags in and then we had a seat. We both were quiet for a bit but our hearts spoke what words could speak.

Tears slowly fell down his eyes so I wiped them and told him don’t worry I will be back soon but inside I was dying because I didn’t want to leave him. It came time for me to board the plane and as I began to walk to the line I kept looking back just to make sure he wasn’t gone but the last time I turned to look he was gone and so was my breath, I couldn’t breathe I kept my composure and called him on his cell and asked him where he had gone and his response was “I couldn’t do it pumpkin boo, I couldn’t watch you get on that plane so I went to sit outside”. We stayed on the phone until

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I boarded the plan where I had to turn off my phone. I had a layover in North Carolina so I called Tony while I waited. I told myself I wasn’t going to cry but I did. He told me that he was shedding a few tears himself as he watched my plane leave. It came time for me to board my other plane home so we had to say our goodbyes once again. I got home, surprised my babies, told them all about my trip and then as the night ended I was back where I was before…on the phone with my teddy bear. Christmas came and so did New Year’s Eve. We both kept the spirit because we knew we were going to be together again very soon. The plans were for me to come back to Florida right before Valentine’s day but I just couldn’t wait so I got on the plane on February 1, 2011 and I’ve been here ever since. I even enrolled into Kieser University where I am taking classes online and working towards becoming a Medical Assistant.

I’ve always wanted to work in the medical field but I was scared of seeing blood and needles but with Tony I have seen it all so my fear has been lifted and I am ready thanks to my love and all of his support. He is my personal cheerleader. He proposed to me on our one year Anniversary and of course you all know I said YES! Story continued on page 22

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Blessed Magazine December, 2012

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I thank God and all of the doctors who made it possible for Tony to get the medical attention he needed

It has not been easy with dealing with the issues with his family not liking me. They have disrespected me more than I care to talk about. They told Tony that I was only with him for his money, that I didn’t love God, oh and my favorite that I am the devil. They tried their hardest to cause trouble for us both but we kept the faith that God would see us through it all. I was missing my babies and family like crazy. This is the longest I have ever been away from my babies and my family but I knew if I stayed strong that when it was time I was going to be back with them soon. The blessing in it all is that they understand everything and they are rooting for Tony and I both. My family has not met Tony yet but they have talked to him on several occasions. My brothers and sister love him and as for my father he has given Tony his blessings for Tony to marry me. So even though Tony family is not as accepting of me I’m happy that mines are accepting of him. His family has disowned him but hey he has a family waiting for him in VA. Since June of this year I have been in and out of the hospital with Tony. We spent three weeks in the hospital because he had to have two surgeries.

Found out he had an infection that

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was making him sick to the point he could have died. I thank God and all of the doctors who made it possible for Tony to get the medical attention he needed. Now we are home getting him healed. Times are getting hard since Tony’s not working. We almost lost our apartment but with our faith in God we were able to get the money to pay the rent for the month of October. Now that it’s November we don’t know if we will have enough for the rent but I tell you one thing Tony and I refuse to give up on us or our faith in God because we know that God will make a way for us to survive.

This is just another storm and like the others we will get through this one too. To be honest Tony and I have been through hell and back but when I am asked if I would do it all over again I say YES I would do it all again just to be with my True Love. Sure it’s not easy being without my babies but Tony and I talk to them daily and they know that Tony has been in and out of the hospital since June of this year. I tell you when God blessed me with my four angels he knew what he was doing. During the hard times they help me keep Tony spirits up. They talk about all of the things they are going to do with him once he and I get back home to VA. My daughter loves Tony Story continued on page 24

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ensures that there is plenty in the storehouse to aid souls.

So, now let’s talk about our finances and how it relates to our tithing role. Many feel that if they don’t make enough to pay their bills that they don’t have to tithe and God will understand and give them a by.

Example: Janice’s monthly bills total $1,800, but her earnings add up to only $1,600 of which $160.00 is her tithes. She doesn’t want to fall to much behind on her bills, so she pays them and not her tithes.

Now if Janice would pay her tithes as God has commanded, He would definitely bless her to pay her bills and then some. God is true to His Word and will always be!

lost that one as well in less than 3 months.

Everything my hands touch, seemed to go sour so quickly. I ended up going back to my original job making almost the same amount of money and at first things once again was as before. Shopping and the ability to pay my bills before they were due. However, this time, after almost 6 months, I began to pay my tithes. At first it was easy, but then 9 months later, finances took a turn for the worst.

It could have been very easy for me to say, “God I’m not making enough to pay my bills and please give me a pardon”, but I continued to give my tithes. Because of my faithfulness to His Word, God has blessed me to quit my present job and my bills have continually been paid and I was even able to take a vacation without working. Not because I had saved up money over the course of working, but because I had been faithful giving my tithes!

My Story: For years I had not thought about giving tithes. I enjoyed shopping and the ability to pay my bills before they were due. I felt that I was living okay, but there was still something missing. In 2010, I quit my job for my hand at being an entreprenuer and at first things were going well.

A week after starting my new job, I had my first client, but with that first client my life began to change for the worst. My client dismissed my services and I didn’t have another client. I had to move out of my home and ended up going back into the work force with a part-time job which was beneath my qualifications. Even with this job, I lost it after only 3 months of employment. Took another part-time job and

I can’t stress the importance of tithing enough, but what I want to do is challenge anyone to begin tithing and try God. Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Test Him- He will not let you down!

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We will finally be the family that we all are meant to be

to pieces and whenever she talks to him she tells him she loves him and she thanks him for making her mommy happy. She and I even talk about the plans for my wedding. She is so excited. So excited she said she drew a picture of what Tony and my cake would look like for our special day. I love my family. I thank God every day for blessing me with them. He may not have put us all together from the beginning but he sure knew what he was doing when he brought Tony and I together. Soon Tony and I will be with our four angels and we will finally be the family that we all are meant to be

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Blessed Magazine December, 2012

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Blessed Magazine December, 2012

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Blessed Magazine December, 2012

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