One Day I'll Mount Up With Wings Like An Eagle
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Nov. 23, 2009
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Now Serving...
| In my younger days, I worked a variety of jobs in the food service industry. I’ve waited tables, tended bar, and even flipped a hamburger or two as a short order cook. I’ve worked in a greasy spoon diner, a cookie-cutter chain, an elegant, and expensive, dining “establishment,” and even a real-life version of the neighborhood bar where everyone knows your name. I’ve served singles, couples, families, and friends. I’ve served salad to students and beers to bikers. Even a celebrity or two has graced my tables. Yet, in all that time, and after all those people, I have never served a group of people who were nicer or more grateful for that service than the people I served last night. Last night, I served dinner at alocal homeless shelter.
Let me take a moment here to back up and explain how I ended up serving pieces of cornbread to total strangers. The women’s ministry of my church, Warehouse 727, wanted to do something in the community. We knew we wanted it to matter. We just didn’t know what to do. We’re a pretty diverse group and trying to agree on something was near impossible. However, we noticed that whenever the call went up for food, the Women of Warehouse delivered! These ladies can cook! Abundantly! Pot lucks and picnics are a veritable feast with each lady trying to outdo the next. We’re discreet about our passion for feeding people, but it’s there. So, we took that passion and decided to bring dinner to Pinellas Hope, a local shelter that houses roughly 280 homeless people. What an unforgettable experience! Eighteen ladies stepped up to cook and serve chili, cornbread, and cookies to the residence, and boy, did we have fun!
Honestly, I didn’t think we’d pull it off. We’re a pretty small church. Where were we going to find enough volunteers to cook and serve almost 300 people? Money is tight for everyone these days. Most schedules are even tighter. Yet, in spite of my doubt, God smiled. Everyone ate their fill. In fact, most people returned for second, thirds and even fourths! Yet, there was still enough left over for lunch the next day. Talk about loaves and fishes! I never get enough of seeing Him in action!
Remember a paragraph or so ago when I mentioned I’m a food service veteran? Anyone who works in the food service industry knows that Tipping is not a city in China. It’s their livelihood. Even though I haven’t worked in a restaurant for a few years, I remember the importance of that little something extra at the end of the meal. However, I knew I was going into this to serve others as selflessly as I could, and I didn’t expect to receive anything. Well, I was wrong about not receiving anything. I was tipped, abundantly!! These men and women were some the nicest, friendliest people I have ever met. I don’t know any of their stories yet, and I suppose that doesn’t really matter for now. They thanked us, joked with us, laughed with us, and blessed us. They complimented the food outrageously, and even asked if we’d come back again. But more important, God was there. You could feel Him in that kitchen, watching over the least of these. It was an evening of fellowship not only with the Women of Warehouse and the residence of Pinellas Hope, but also with the Lord. To me, tips don’t come any bigger than that, and all I did was hand out some cornbread!
I’m not going to tell you about how this experience made me more grateful for my home and family. I won’t promise to never whine again over my ugly kitchen floor that starts to move if I use too much water when mopping or the “artistic” appearance of the outside of my home (three sides are blue but the front is white. Don’t ask.). And I won’t blather on about how much more thankful I am for the miracles God has performed so that I can stay home and teach my children. Just knowing there are 280 people out there who need a homeless shelter should be enough to stir all those feeling. No, I’m not going to go on about my own epiphanies. What I will tell you is that if God sends the opportunity your way to serve “the least of these,” take it. When we serve as He would have us do, He shows up as only He can do, and He makes sure you know it!
If you are in or near Pinellas County, Florida, please, look into serving dinner atPinellas Hope. Just click on their name anywhere in this blog to go to their website. If you are not in the area, find a shelter in your own area and, of course, check with your church. You might be surprised by the unpublished needs in your own church. I’ve also included another resource that can help you find a place to serve in your area. There’s a website called Volunteer Match that can match you with places that need volunteers in your area.
Thank you for stopping by! I hope the holiday season inspires you to serve the needy in your community. Better yet, I hope that you don’t stop!
Betty |
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Nov. 23, 2009
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Give Them a Voice
We were so blessed to have Robert Brock and his family and friends at church yesterday to present a message about the persecuted church and join with us in our worship service. While he prepared the audience that this would be a difficult message to hear, we were to bear in mind this truth: we win!
People don't like to talk about the persecuted church. Who would, except a persecutor and Satan?
A Christian is compelled to be a witness for Christ. That witness sometimes must testify of troubling situations, including the plight of our family in Christ. Over and over again, our speaker reaffirmed what Scripture teaches: that we win with Christ, and that we must exhibit a tremendous forgiving love for those who would persecute us, sharing the Gospel with everyone. Story after story revealed that the persecuted church doesn't cave in---they reach out with love and the hope of Jesus to those that hurt them!
Most of what he presented was not new to those of us who are regular readers of the Voice of the Martyrs monthly free magazine or www.persecution.com . Pictures, stories, and camera phone videos of actual persecution were chilling. That look of , "I had no idea!" was plainly evident on many faces, even as it was on mine when I read Tortured for Christ more than nine years ago. One would think that such stories would be reported, they are so appalling. One would like to think that such inhumanities are worthy of at least as much air time as celebrity clothing and scandals.
Indeed, it is a shock to realize that the evening news hasn't reported the demolition of Christian churches in foreign countries, the jailings and beatings of Christians who have committed the atrocious crime of not renouncing their faith. There are no headlines on the news about Christians kept for months in shipping containers in Eritrea because their government won't recognize the validity of their faith.
It should come as a shock to us to hear about the refugees in Sudan, the FARC Marxist guerillas that gun down Christian ministers in Colombia, the mob riots in India where Hindus and Communists fight each other and use Christians as scapegoats, and the most hated group of people in the world--Palestinian Christians.
We should be shocked enough to hit our knees and pray for them daily, hourly if we can.
We should be so shocked that we permanently leave the "church as social club" lifestyle behind and forsake luekwarm Christianity forever. Especially in my area of the country, where church can often be more of a habit than a conviction, we need to recover the passion for Jesus, the lost, and ministering to those persecuted in Christ's cause.
We should be so moved that we not "shoot the messenger" who tells us about our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ, but ask ,"What can we do to help?"
Well, here are some simple ways to learn more.
1. Go to the Voice of the Martyrs website and sign up to receive their FREE monthly newsletter and a FREE copy of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand's book, Tortured for Christ.
2. Bookmark these sites and sign up for e-mail newsletters [if available] : www.persecution.com, www.persecutionblog.com, and www.compassdirect.org .
3. Invite a VOM speaker to address your group, church, homeschool co-op or Sunday school, by going to www.vommeetings.com . You can also sign up to be notified of meetings in your area at that site, too.
4. Share! Give away your newsletters to friends, sign them up, invite them to a VOM meeting, email articles, blog about what you've read, talk about it with friends, share with your pastor, but somehow SHARE!
That's what Voice of the Martyrs is all about. Give them a voice---yours. |
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Nov. 23, 2009
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Christmas Shopping With DoeHill Homeschool
Posted By
Ginger Atkins
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I'm an affiliate for Christianbook.com, mainly because it's my favorite place to find Bibles, Christian books, homeschool supplies, etc. I just visited their Christmas shop and it is oo-la-la for an avid reader like myself. They also have lots of music, Advent calendars, home decor, and other goodies, too.
Enjoy and thanks for shoppping with Doe Hill Homeschool and CBD! |
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