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Good morning and happy Wednesday, it is 38 degrees out this morning and the sun is brightly shining. One would not believe that this afternoon and evening we are being warned to place anything that "we want to keep" from the outside, inside. There are two storm cells that are on track to collide providing us with winds up to 100 miles per hour. In Utah we have tendencies to have high winds at times but they are saying this will be much like hurricane force winds. We might be in for a long night!

In prayer this morning as I sat outside enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face I asked God to bless each of you with your needs, that he take anything negative in your day and show you a way to turn it to positive. I think that so many times we get caught up in the negative and in doing so push the positive further and further away! I asked God to provide each with peace of mind that things will get better, calm of heart that you might lay your troubles in his lap and know that he is there with you and for comfort in body that pain may subside and you find solace in his arms. I have a special specific prayer for a sweet friend suffering from shingles, she has battled with them much this year and this bout seems to be more harsh than those before. She is in much pain and can only take the prescribed meds when not at work. I ask God to touch the areas that are affected with his healing hands laying them dormant in her body, provide her with relief father so that she can regain her battling strength and then take them from her body so that they do not continue to attack her. Father we love you so much and no matter what comes our way we will hold fast to your promises, we will not allow our faith to wane and we will be understanding when things do not go our way as we know that you are our lighthouse, in every storm. I ask mercy, grace, strength and your love in the name of Jesus Christ. amen. 

Today's story is one that made me so excited when I read it, to think that something that small can bring so much comfort both emotionally and financially. Yeah Rudolph!!!

The True Story Of Rudolph

A man named Bob May, depressed and brokenhearted, stared out his drafty apartment window into the chilling December night.

His 4-year-old daughter Barbara sat on his lap quietly sobbing. Bob's wife, Evelyn, was dying of cancer. Little Barbara couldn't understand why her mommy could never come home. Barbara looked up into her dad's eyes and asked, "Why isn't Mommy just like everybody else's Mommy?" Bob's jaw tightened and his eyes welled with tears. Her question brought waves of grief, but also of anger. It had been the story of Bob's life. Life always had to be different for Bob.

Small when he was a kid, Bob was often bullied by other boys. He was too little at the time to compete in sports. He was often called names he'd rather not remember. From childhood, Bob was different and never seemed to fit in. Bob did complete college, married his loving wife and was grateful to get his job as a copywriter at Montgomery Ward during the Great Depression.

Then he was blessed with his little girl. But it was all short-lived. Evelyn's bout with cancer stripped them of all their savings and now Bob and his daughter were forced to live in a two-room apartment in the Chicago slums. Evelyn died just days before Christmas in 1938.

Bob struggled to give hope to his child, for whom he couldn't even afford to buy a Christmas gift. But if he couldn't buy a gift, he was determined to make one - a storybook! Bob had created an animal character in his own mind and told the animal's story to little Barbara to give her comfort and hope.

Again and again Bob told the story, embellishing it more with each telling. Who was the character? What was the story all about? 

The story Bob May created was his own autobiography in fable form. The character he created was a misfit outcast like he was. The name of the character? A little reindeer named Rudolph, with a big shiny nose. Bob finished the book just in time to give it to his little girl on Christmas Day.

But the story doesn't end there.

The general manager of Montgomery Ward caught wind of the little storybook and offered Bob May a nominal fee to purchase the rights to print the book. Wards went on to print, "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and distribute it to children visiting Santa Claus in their stores.

By 1946 Wards had printed and distributed more than six million copies of Rudolph. That same year, a major publisher wanted to purchase the rights from Wards to print an updated version of the book.

In an unprecedented gesture of kindness, the CEO of Wards returned all rights back to Bob May. The book became a best seller. Many toy and marketing deals followed and Bob May, now remarried with a growing family, became wealthy from the story he created to comfort his grieving daughter.

But the story doesn't end there either.

Bob's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, made a song adaptation to Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy, Gene Autry. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas."

The gift of love that Bob May created for his daughter so long ago kept on returning back to bless him again and again. And Bob May learned the lesson, just like his dear friend Rudolph, that being different isn't so bad. In fact, being different can be a blessing. 

--- Author Unknown --- Submitted By Joy Hale --- Texas