Last Week's Food Pantry Update

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know that this is very late, but we left for Atlanta immediately following the food pantry ministry last Tuesday. As John mentioned yesterday, we were able to help 53 people in 25 minutes before we ran out of food. We joked that Troy needed to enter one of those bagging competitions...he has gotten very fast! Joann has been coming each week since God broadened our scope. She is blind and comes with a neighbor. On Tuesday, she had her neighbor find me and asked specifically that we pray for her. She is going to Moffit to seek treatment for very advanced cancer. My heart broke for her. We were so busy, I didn't get the chance to ask her if she knows the Hope-giver. I have been regretting the missed opportunity ever since. I can't wait until Tuesday! I hope that some of you will find the time to come help so that we can take advantage of every moment we get to spend with each person who comes to us for help...like John said anyone can hand out food. We have so much more to offer!

Weekly Food Pantry Update

Today, we were able to help 49 people. It is very rewarding to see faces that were guarded in the first few weeks walk in with smiles and warm greetings. It is amazing how people react to being called by name and shown kindness. What a simple thing to do that goes such a long way. This morning I was able to talk with Melody. She said she is the mother of seven but only has 5 children still living. One of her sons is having a second heart surgery on Thursday. Can you imagine her fear? When I told her that we have faithful family members who would present her requests before the Lord, she thanked you. She also said that she prays to St. Jude for her family, and I was reminded how much these people need Truth spoken into their lives. Jesus is her only hope. I pray He will continue to give us the opportunity to tell her that and show her His saving, healing grace.

All the Bloggable Things

So, here are a few things from this week...

1. I have the wonderful opportunity to work with the food pantry ministry at the church, and I usually send out a weekly update about how things went with some of the prayer requests of the people who come to receive food. I am going to start posting those here as well for 2 reasons. I will see them everytime I look at the blog and those of you who read this can be encouraged about the way God is working. Here is this week's:

We were able to serve 34 people on Tuesday morning before we ran out of food at 9:20. There is such a need for this ministry and God is richly blessing me for being a part of it. This week Annette came for the first time. She brought her husband and two little girls with her. She filled out the form that we ask everyone to fill out during their first visit. When she was finished, I asked her if she had any prayer requests and told her that we have several faithful family members who would receive and pray for her requests. Her whole face softened and she said "Oh yes, please pray for us. We have had a rough couple of months and are trying to get back on our feet." What an amazing opportunity to be the hands and feet of God in a lost community! These are the people Jesus would hang out with if He were here.

2. I was driving to a dr,'s appointment when I passed a strip mall. The largest sign was for a gentlemen's club (aka strip club). In the grass in front of the strip mall, there was a female maniquin in a sweatsuit. It had no head. I am sure it was meant to advertise some other store in the strip mall, but I thought "that pretty much sums it up, huh?" A strip club does to women what that maniquin implies...a body with no head...personality...feelings. hhhmmmm

3. Allergy skin tests hurt!!!! I got like 100 shots today. If that is an exaggretation, it is only a slight one. I am so sore.

4. Two of my favorite people joined facebook this week. My best friend from 8th grade, Christee, and a new dear friend, Shannan. I love connecting with people even if social networks seem impersonal.

5. Not sure if this is bloggable or not, but T is lucky he made it out of this week alive. He has been in a funk. Quarrelsome and disjointed. I think things are going on in his brain that aren't bloggable. Pray for him!

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

1. Come Thou Fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

2. Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

3. O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

So I am a contemporary worship kind of girl. I like modern praise and worship, but you can't deny the power of the words of some hymns. Whoever wrote Great is Thy Faithfulness or Holy, Holy, Holy or Victory in Jesus...man, those guys knew how to praise! So, yesterday driving to church I heard a beautiful version of Come Thou Fount I was mesmerized.

The line that I couldn't get out of my head was "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love" Wow. Isn't that how we feel so much of the time? What is interesting is the deeper you get with God the more you feel the tendency to wander. When we first meet Christ and begin the process of becoming more like him everyday, it is easy to make a list of the things that we need to stop doing (maybe not so easy to actually stop). When we rid ourselves of obvious sin, He doesn't stop expecting us to change. That is when He gets into our business and asks us to really commit to being completely Christ-like. Even nominal Christians will stop drinking or using foul language or whatever. It is hard to transform or renew our minds...our thoughts and feelings... The 'prone to wander' feelings become as much sin as the act. Jesus says that adultery is committed when we lust and murder when we hate. What sin my thoughts have gotten me into! UGH!
But this hymn is so obviously about victory. When I heard the song on the radio (SpiritFM), I was so struck but the one line that I didn't get that at first. I had decided to share my thoughts on that one line so I looked up the lyrics to the rest of the song. They are profound. What an amazing prayer. "Tune my heart to sing Your grace." Can you imagine a heart filled with the grace of God? "Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise." When you truly examine the mercy freely given without end...if you aren't praising, you don't get it (the big picture, not the mercy. He freely offers that to all of us - just one reason to praise). "Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God; He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood." The greatest display of our sweet Savior's love. "Let that grace now like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to Thee." Grace is what allows us to be loved by a holy God. Isn't it amazing...truly awesome that He knows us intimately and still wants anything to do with us. He knows that we are prone to wander even though we love Him. What a God we serve!

My heart longs to be more faithful. My head knows I won't be. I love Him so much for loving me anyway.

You do all things well.

Goodness, I needed encouragement today about what is going on in our country. I cried taking my son to school when I saw a bunch of Obama supporters (I had a very stress-filled day so the crying may have been a by-product of those things but still). I just cried out to God. My exact words were "You can fix this. You can change this. Make this turn out right."

I just checked the Living Proof Ministries blog - like I do at least twice a day. Thank you Lord for providing the encouragement I needed. I have been reminded so often in the past few weeks how present God is in our lives. He sees us. He knows. Here is what I read:


Psalm 118:24

A few things I'm so thankful for on this election day, regardless of the outcome:

*We live in a democracy where we have the right to a vote and a voice. We have the God-given responsibility to use both wisely and in the way that best reflects what God conveys through Scripture.

*God "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will" and "according to the plan." Ephesians 1:11

*Not only does God work out everything in conformity with His will, He has promised to work out everything for the GOOD of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

*God sets up kings and deposes them and gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. Daniel 2:21

*We, the beautifully diverse family of God, are never - not at any time - powerless. Nor are we ever victims of a system. Believing prayer takes us through doors we'll never be invited to enter and into judges chambers we'll never grace. Take a look back at Genesis 18 once again with astonishment over the dialogue between God and His servant and friend, Abraham. Rejoice that God is ever mindful of a faithful remnant. The Judge of the Earth will always do right.

*Even if persecution should await believers in Christ or harrowing circumstances hound us, God will use hardship to bring unity and purity to a people who need it desperately. The best of circumstances do not always produce the best in the Bride of Christ.

*The living God is firmly established upon His Throne and there at His holy feet we can always find grace and mercy in our time of need.

*No matter what happens today, we are GOD'S elect. He has elected us to show His heart and to walk in His ways in the culture that surrounds us. We are called to walk in the challenging balance of grace and truth.

May we be filled with Christ's Spirit today and our mouths given to praise and to believing, receiving prayer. God IS faithful and He has us firmly in His hand. We will not fear. We will not doubt. We will not hate.

"Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders." Deuteronomy 33:12

I remain your servant,
Beth

I am so reminded of the fact that He does all things well. It calls me to praise.

Life After Church

SO, I am reading the book Life After Church. It is written by Brian Sanders whom I know and very much respect. He was on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship while I was involved first as member and then as a student leader. Some of his teaching from 10 years ago, not only do I still remember, but it still affects my walk with the Lord. I would definitely say he thinks out of the box. He is a profoundly moving speaker...one of my favorites and I have heard many. He is thought-provoking and in love with Jesus. I am trying to say that I would put myself under his teaching in a heartbeat. In fact, I did. Troy ordered the book to read through with Justin and as soon as the box arrived at the church, I stole one copy...(it helps to work in the church office...I will get it back for Justin soon.)
The premise of the book is that there are people who hunger for Christ who feel called to leave the church. He was one of them. He is affirming that call. He is offering hope to people who feel it necessary to pursue Christ outside of the current church culture.
So, I am about half way through the book and just like a close mutual friend described...it is very Brian. My problem with it then is I love the church. Not just my church. I love church. I have been part of bad churches...ones Brian would say are better off people-less. I am currently part of an amazingly healthy, good church that I love. I just don't find myself agreeing with him on the issues that leavers have. I guess that just makes me not a leaver. Brian says that leavers leave because they want deep teaching, or questions answered, or feel irrelevant. He says people want purpose and need to feel like when they give, it is used by God. Maybe being married to a minister helps because I am heard (whether my husband likes it or not). But I think also a lot of the reasons Brian mentions that people leave could be avoided if you find a healthy church and get involved. Join a small group. Come to Sunday School. Help with the homeless or with the food pantry.
I am looking forward to the hope in his book. I can't wait to finish it.