Servant Attitudes in Action

I thought I would take a break from my Bible Study just for today to share some amazing opportunities to get involved with some Godly ministry options. I've had the pleasure of not only working with these organizations, but am seeing some fruit from that calling in my life as well.

As you know as believers in Jesus, we are called and commanded to help financially when we can. For most of us, that is our simple tithes to the church, but what about other opportunities like helping our your local food bank or homeless shelter with food or clothing you can donate. I read that most food banks can purchase more food if we provide them with the funds to do so, than if we bought the food ourselves. Trust me, I believe they know more about what people really need over what we can "spare" from our own pantries. Some tips to consider when making a food donation:

1. Check the food dates to verify that these are still good to use. I know many of the cans and boxes of food in my pantry are often so outdated, I fail to check the dates on the packages or cans. I didn't realize how old some of my stuff really was until I moved.

2. Consider buying a gift card over making your own selections at the grocery store, that way fresh meat or milk can be bought from the shelters to provide to those in need. This works out so well during the holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, when most shelters get everyone's left over canned goods that no one really wants to eat.

3. Consider donating what you would want to eat, not what you have sitting around in your cabinet. Cans of tuna or chicken, macaroni and cheese, pasta and pasta sauce, cereal, baby formula, and rice and beans make great options to donate.

4. Consider calling your local food bank and see what they could really use. You might be surprised at what is really in need compared to what you were going to bring instead.

Local homeless shelters are often in need of basics like clothing, bedding and baby items. Personal hygeine items are also in need. Calling ahead will provide you with some opportunities to donate what is needed in case storage for those items may pose an issue until they are truly needed. Churches and women shelters are also places you can check to donate items you may have on hand. A rule of thumb I always use, is before you throw something away, might it be reused in some way by someone who truly needs it? Consider donating it over throwing it away instead.

For animal lovers, consider donating items to your local shelters such as towels, blankets, pet food and toys. Financial donations are always welcome to help provide for these items since most of the time, donations are way down. This way they can provide what they need instead. Calling your local animal shelter can provide you with some great opportunities for the church to step in and help out as a service to the community.

Love listening to your favorite Christian station in the morning while driving to work? Consider partnering with them as a monthly sponsor. You'd be amazed at how much it takes to keep a radio station on and broadcasting in your area. If you've been blessed consider a one time or monthly donation to help.

Some of my favorite charities are listed below and would love it if you might consider helping out in any way if you feel lead. Some you may have heard of while others might be surprisingly new, but I wanted to share them with you.

Compassion International: For $38.00 you can provide everything a child needs to help feed, cloth and educate them in third world countries all over the world. You can write to them and get letters back showing how much your donations are helping to make a difference in the lives of children all over the world. It amazes me that some of these families exist on a $1.00 a day, while the monthly donation is the price of a dinner for two here. It can provide meals, health care, schooling costs and clothing to help make someone's life a whole lot better.

Salvation Army: Always my favorite! From the little red kettled bell ringers during the holiday, Salvation Army is one of the few charities that donates most of their proceeds to help those truly in need from financial contributions or donation of any items to their stores that benefit the communities that they serve. You can do monthly financial obligations or a one time donation.

Heifer International: For a donation of any amount, you can help families all over the world earn a living through buying a flock of chick, rabbits, ox, cows, goats or bees. These gifts are presented to families to earn a living, so they can become self sustaining in their communities and help others in their communities by donating offspring to create a lasting legacy that keeps on giving. Each sponsor family receives education on farming and how to care for the animals as well as any supplies they need. It truly is a wonderful program to help people earn a trade. Nepal has a great need for this right now due to the recent earthquake there to help get people back up and working again to provide for their families. In fact some times, Heifer will double your donation amount or triple it. We love knowing that by buying a goat or a flock of chickens were are helping people learn to live again!

Cup of Joe for a Joe: Green Beans coffee company sponsors these local coffee shops at our military camps all over the world where our troops are serving by offering a cup of coffee to those who are serving in our military for $2.00 a cup. You can make a one time donation, or monthly donations and each time a service member picks up a cup of coffee on you, you get an email with a personal message of thanks from them and where they are stationed. Truly a wonderful way to help support our military with some love from home. We have actually become pen pals with some of the men and women serving overseas. Here's one of the emails we recently received:

A Service Member wants to thank you for sending them a Cup of Joe!

Cup of Joe #1

Your message and gift of a CUP OF JOE was delivered to a Service Member serving at BPC Mall in Qatar. They wanted to say thanks and make sure you knew your gift was received. Please see below for their note to you:

It really feels good to get a gift from back home in SoCal! God bless you! Adam

Consider helping fund your local schools lunch program for families who are struggling to provide lunch for their child. Most can qualify for free lunch through programs offered by the state or government, but many families are struggling who can't. I know so many kids don't get lunch because they might be hurting on a temporary basis. My daughter used to share her lunch with a girl who couldn't afford to buy a lunch or bring one from home for personal reasons. As you can see, there are truly hundreds of opportunities to help and expand the reach of our churches and for those who want to serve God in profound ways. These are just some of the ones our family has participated in. Won't you share some of yours with me as well. You can even get creative and think up your own ways to help your neighborhood or community. Now's the time to show others what Godly people can do if we are willing to go out there and help!

Acts 20:25 ~ " In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "(NIV).

Hero in My Eyes

My husband is a very humble man. He will never share those moments in his life where he made a difference, but in all honesty he does it quite a bit. In fact it's one of the things that attracted me to him in the first place. Call it a heart of gold or a path way into his soul, but that is exactly what I saw and continue to see in him every single day.

See he knows all about unconditional love. The kind of love that the Bible speaks of, the kind that would never consider the risks of stepping out to help someone no matter the costs.

John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends"

I shared a mini post about this yesterday through my Facebook page because it dawned on me the importance of stepping up and stepping out as believers in Christ. In fact the message was so powerful it carried its way through the entire evening where the Holy Spirit was moving in a big way in my heart. One word Hero.

To give you the back story of what happened yesterday began as a day like the others, nothing out of the ordinary. The phone call from my husband telling me he was finally on his way home after a long day at work. A call to let me know that the clock was ticking and within an hour or so, he should be pulling up in our driveway. But that was not the call I would get.

While we were talking about our decision to attend church last night due to our daughter's illness, he told me he had just witnessed a horrible accident and needed to hang up to call 911. I agreed and texted him that he needed to help and don't worry about being late. Because that is the man he is. He would help, no matter what was involved.

Apparently the man in the SUV had blown a tire while driving in the fast lane, lost control of his vehicle and proceeded to flip his car, a couple of times, ending up on the center divider. My husband along with two other drivers stopped to lend a hand. Two of those men just happened to be an EMT and the other a Paramedic who just happened to have his medical bag with him. Between all three they assessed the man's condition, before attempting to remove him from the vehicle. After being assured it was safe to remove him, they cut him from the vehicle and freed him just as the fire department and ambulance arrived. They transported him and called his wife to ensure her he was safe and being taken to a local hospital.

My husband called when he was leaving just to let me know he was finally headed home, a bit dirty and worse for wear but happy to be able to help and to see this man alive after that horrible accident. It could have gone so much worse.

Did God have any hand in what happened? I know He did.

My husband just happened to be three cars behind him when it happened. The other two drivers just happened to be medically trained, had supplies with them, and stopped to help, the fire truck and ambulance just happened to be heading back up the freeway after dealing with another incident. Some would call it luck, I call it God's Intervention. This man aside from some scratches, would be going home to his family, not being buried in a funeral. He would live another day. Does the message end here?

No, God still had plans in mind. In fact, my husband arrived home in enough time to shower and change so we could make it to church on time. While we were hoping it would be our typical Wednesday night Bible Study, turns out God had other plans. The service that night was a training session for the Harvest Crusade coming to Anaheim, CA in just a couple of weeks. The guest speaker that night was Chad Williams, who shared his amazing testimony of being a Navy SEAL and how God was using him. About how no matter how much Chad achieved in his life it was still empty because God wasn't in it. When he got to the proverbial top of the mountain, there was nothing there. Because God was missing.

In fact he gave his life to Christ at a Harvest Crusade and shared how much that made an impact in his life. In fact he wrote a book about it called SEAL of God. So what is the point of all this?

You have an appointed time in this life to be born and to die. What you do with that dash in between is all up to you. God doesn't barge into your life, He waits to be invited. Without Him, you will continue to climb that corporate ladder and find it lacking. In fact the only thing you'll find when you reach the top is people trying to knock you off. But nothing will fill that longing for happiness you're searching for like Jesus will. NOTHING!

No perfect job!

No perfect family or marriage!

No amount of financial success!

It's a longing in your heart and soul for something more than what this life has to offer. It's about what Christ did for you, taking all the sin in your life, the good, the bad and ugly and bearing that weight of every single sin that would ever be committed past, present and future that day He died on the cross, because He loved us that much, that we were worth dying for, rather than letting us live a life in utter hell.

Heaven and Hell, they are real places.

And one of these days, the math is simple, we will all wind up in one of those places.

I know for sure, where I will end up, do you?

If you haven't accepted Jesus Christ into your life, if you are simply waiting for another moment, if you aren't saying yes, then by default, you are saying no.

While that man today lived because of the efforts of God and the men who were willing to stop, he may not have been so lucky. Death can happen in the blink of an eye, and if you're waiting for the right moment, guess what, it is NOW!

You didn't wind up here by accident, God has a plan and purpose for you! He loves you with a love you will never find on this earth. He loves you enough that He wants you to spend an eternity with Him and the rest of the believers in Heaven when this life ends.

The people that wind up in Hell are there by their own choice. Like I said before, God doesn't barge in, He waits to be invited and let me tell you, that once you invite Him in, your life will never be the same again. You will be filled with the love of God and you will never need anything else in your life. The climb for meaning ends with satisfaction that you are loved unconditionally and saved like the masterpiece He created you to be.

Are you ready to accept God into your life?

It's super easy and if you mean it with your whole heart, you will never have to worry about where you will spend an eternity.

Simply say this outloud and don't worry what anyone else thinks. This is between you and God. Your life is literally on the line here. The one that matters. Your eternal life.

Lord Jesus,

I know I'm a sinner, but I thank You for dying on the cross for my sins and rising again from the dead.
I'm sorry for my sin, Lord, and I turn from it now, and I put my faith in You.

To be my Savior, my Lord, my God, and my Friend. Thank You, for loving me and calling me, and accepting me, In Jesus Name ~ AMEN!

Now if you prayed that prayer with a whole heart and sincere in your soul, let me be the first to welcome you to the family of Christ. YOU have been completely washed clean and your life begins again today. Here are a couple of things that will encourage you:

1. Get a Bible and begin reading about the Lord you are now serving and part of His family now. Not sure where to start, try the gospel of John. It's a great starting point.

2. Being praying. Don't worry about how it sounds, its simply like talking to a friend, but you now have heavenly access to speak directly to God. No need to go through anyone else and His calls never go to voicemail or aren't returned. He's waiting anytime you want to talk and NO ONE is more important than hearing from you.

3. Find a church, and get plugged in and join in the fellowship so you can be encouraged and grow in your relationship as a Christian.

4. Finally, tell others about your decision. It's worth sharing your new birth and you might be surprised at who you will meet that will welcome you with open arms into the family of Jesus.

Congratulations!!! You are now a member of God's Kingdom and you are Eternal!!!