Tag Archives: thanksgiving

Thieves Steal Church’s Thanksgiving Meals; Community Rallies

A church that had their entire supply of food to be given away for Thanksgiving stolen by thieves is seeing an outpouring of support from the community.

Christ Temple Apostolic Church in Sacramento had a window into their church’s gym shattered allowing the thieves access to make off with hundreds of dollars in food donated for the church’s annual Thanksgiving meal for the homeless.

The church is known for their outreach to the homeless community despite a series of hardships. The church has had to close half their building because they can’t afford $70,000 to fix a leaking roof. The day after they housed homeless in their gym, thieves broke into the gym and stole the church’s sound system.

Now, members of the community have been dropping off food donations at the church to replace the stolen items. One man who had never heard of the church before the thefts told CBS13 in Sacramento that he brought a couple of turkeys, stuffing, cranberry sauce and a smile because he wanted to help those helping the community.

Eight Things to be Thankful For

1 Peter 1:1-8 NCV

From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

To God’s chosen people….  God planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people, which is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ.

1.     God chose you long ago.

2.     The Holy Spirit has been at work in your hearts cleansing you with the blood of Jesus.

Grace and peace be yours more and more.

3.     God blesses you richly and grants you increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear.

 

We Have a Living Hope

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s great mercy he has caused us to be born again into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

4.     His boundless mercy which gives us the privilege to be born again.

5.     Being a member of God’s family. We live in hope of eternal life.

Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings, which cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty, are kept in heaven for you.

God’s power protects you through your faith until salvation is shown to you at the end of time.

6.     God’s mighty power that will get us home safely because we are trusting Him.

This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time different kinds of troubles may make you sad. These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can be proved to be pure by fire but will ruin. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is shown to you.

7.     There is wonderful joy in the trials that test our faith because our faith is more precious than mere gold to God.

You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. So you are filled with a joy that cannot be explained, a joy full of glory. 9 And you are receiving the goal of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

8.     You love him even though you have not seen Him and you have guaranteed the salvation of your soul.

Thanksgiving

This year has been a very trying year.  Ministry in this hostile world does present its challenges. Jim and I and our family have fought some uphill battles that definitely made us stronger.  But, along with the struggles, we have had some of the most joyful times of our lives!

Our family is ever-expanding, and just this year, we have been blessed with new life in our amazing nephew, Graham, who couldn’t be more special!  We are also anxiously awaiting our new granddaughter, Olivia, who is due to make her grand appearance in December.  Her proud parents, Little Lori and Jasper, are also understandably excited!

Along with all of my amazing children, and others in my wonderful family, I especially give thanks this year for my Mom, Char.  My mother is my rock.  She has been there throughout my life to provide support, counsel, and sometimes, just a listening ear.  As the years go by, she becomes even more of a treasure.

And I thank God for Jim.  Life with Jim is truly “More Than I Could Ever Ask.”  As we dealt with the challenges of getting “Lori’s House” built and ready to save babies, Jim’s resolve never wavered.  While most men would have given up and thrown in the towel, I’m thankful that Jim didn’t give up on “Lori’s House.”

Most of all, I am thankful to God for His faithfulness throughout the generations.

Thankfulness is not just a “nice thing.”  It’s a necessary thing.  Thankfulness to God for His love, care for us, and His provision for our salvation is a major theme throughout both Old and New Testaments.

I encourage you to write down the things you are thankful for and read them a few more times this week.

Please add any other of your favorite inspirational quotes on thankfulness to the comments below so this may be a better resource for those who read it.

Psalm 69:30

I will praise the name of God with song, And shall magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 70:4

Let all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee; And let those who love Thy salvation say continually, “Let God be magnified.”

Colossians 3:15

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 4:2

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;