Dear Readers,

Dear Reader,

When did letter writing become a lost art? When did it become so rare to stroll to your mailbox and find a letter amongst your bills and magazines? Did it happen when email came into existence, or did it all start when IM become popular? Is MySpace our Jack the Ripper, or is Mark Zuckerberg the true killer here?

Letter writing is something more persona and meaningful than posting a quick message on someone’s Facebook wall. Now a days, all one person has to do is hit a few keys and click a few buttons and voila! You have successfully sent on electronic letter.

Yes, Facebook and email have made it easier to keep in touch with friends and family. They have also made receiving a letter a special occasion. Imagine that you just received a letter in the mail. You take your letter and sit down in your favorite spot. You get yourself all comfy and read your letter. How sweet is it to think that someone thought of you one day and, instead of sending you a short, quick email or posting something on your Facebook wall, they took time out of their day to sit down and write you a personal letter.

Full sentences. Nothing abbreviated. No emoticons. Nothing misspelled. Something written in their handwriting instead of a font made to look like it was handwritten. Someone took time out of their day to let you know that they were thinking of you.

Does this sound better than a Facebook message to you? Does a letter seem more appealing and heartfelt than that email you just sent? Does the thought of reading something without an ‘LOL’ make you want to LOL?

Help me bring back the lost art of letter writing. Write a letter to a friend or family member and sign it, “P.S. Write Back”.

Signed,

Haylie

P.S. Write Back

Lilies Among Thorns Magazine would like to send each of its followers a Christmas card this year! If you would like to receive a Christmas card, please email us with your full name and mailing address to liliesamongthorns@ymail.com  We promise to not share your mailing information with anyone besides the staff members at Lilies Among Thorns Magazine.

Did you know that someday Haylie wants to be like Paula Dean?!

A Letter~ by Rachel Melillo

I still have every single card, letter, and invitation sent to me during my life. They’re special, and I can’t bear to get rid of them. There are three that hold significant value to me—more than the rest. One is a postcard from my sister from New Zealand. Another is a letter from my other sister while she was at college. The third is a card from my grandmother.

 

I also have another collection of letters from a group of people that I’ve never met. They’ve been fashioned together in a book, organized perfectly by my Father. God, my Father, gave me a book of letters, filled with overflowing love. Who am I to ignore them? Letters of love, letters of advice, and letters telling stories of love, courage, faith, and grace.

Reading my love letter from my Creator never gets old. The same words can be taken a million different ways, no matter how many times I read it; I can still take something new from it. When someone I like or respect says something, I’ll often ponder it—some prefer the term ‘meditate’—and think about the many ways that the person could have meant it. My Father in heaven gave me a letter than has so many things hidden underneath—though the cover is appealing and attractive, the meaning behind the lines is even more incredible.

I’ve never ignored a letter written to me. Every time I get something in the mail addressed to me, I get so excited—dancing around my kitchen, squealing with pure joy. Although I’d like to say that I regard my quiet times and Bible reading times in the same manner, I’m going to stay honest and admit that I do not. But when we think about it, the Bible is a bunch of letters written to you. To you. To you. From God—the Creator of the universe.

I’d like to challenge you to mail a letter to someone. Pick up your pen and write out a chapter of the Bible to someone that you care about. The New Testament is a great way to go, since many of those books are letters to the church. Write to your pastor, your best friend, a random person that you don’t know (pick a mailbox and send it there). You’d be surprised at the impact you can make.

2^nd Timothy 1: 6-7

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.”