Recently my quiet time has been reading in the book of Exodus. When Moses lead God’s people out of Egypt, God promised to show them the way. God lead them with a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. Does God go before you when you head out on a journey? We experience this all the time. Since, we started over eight and half years ago, God continues to supply our needs.
Several weeks ago one of my customers gave us some scrap metal to sell to buy can goods. We had four buckets of different material s to sell. Crossroads Recycling put the money in an envelope for us and I just added it to the grocery cash bag. We have been trying to stretch our grocery money budgeted for one week to two weeks. So, Dan Boomershine and I, made out our shopping list and off to Aldis we went. It took us about one hour to fill four grocery carts. We had them really loaded. As we put the groceries on the checkout belt, we usually get questions from others waiting in line to pay. Are you buying for a pantry? Where is the pantry located? It looks like you have a lot. Could we give you some cash to help buy the groceries? Every question was a divine appointment to share God’s provision for us with the folks in line.
As the cashier totaled things up he said that will be $799.98. I said let’s see how much God has in the bag today. When I added the scrap cash to what we had I had totaled it at $776.00. I pulled the wad of cash out of the envelope and started to count it out for the cashier. I laid the money on the counter, as I was counting it out for him. One hundred, two hundred, then up to seven hundred now I am into the smaller bills, seven fifty, seven sixty, seven seventy, seven eighty, I looked out the amount I had written on the front of the bag, $776. I kept going seven ninety, ninety one, ninety two, ninety three, ninety four, finally I got to ninety nine and the cashier said ninety eight cents. I handed him one more dollar, I had one dollar left. The cashier’s reaction was priceless, whoa! I told him isn’t God good. He just smiled.
I told Dan I felt like the Bailey Brothers. Dan got to see God provide that day as well as the cashier and a pair of brothers, who we were able to give them a ride home and pray with. You see when God sends you out on His mission, He will not only provide what you need to accomplish the mission but use you to minister to those around you that are watching.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
A Special Gift
Each year Trish and Allen Sparks give us a special financial gift in memory of their granddaughter, Caden. I never know how God will use this gift. This year, He used it in a very special way, to give a family hope. God had me at locations where I wasn’t supposed to be. To meet people who were part of His plan. To be standing in the pantry warehouse so I could hear the phone ring. When I answered the phone, a young mom asked if we were still giving out Christmas. I had told her that our Christmas project had ended on the Saturday before. She told me we had helped her friend yesterday. We did help a mom through the Beech Grove School system. She pleaded that she had a special needs little girl age 5 ½ and a little boy, age 4. Could we please help? God knew these two families were connected. So, I got the mom’s name and address. I headed out on a fact finding mission. Little did I know that God had sent me on another life changing mission.
When I arrived at the home, Jessica answered the door. I got to meet her little girl, Kaylianna. My heart just sunk. I was expecting a family that was working the system. I saw a little girl who has a terminal birth defect, Trisomy 13 syndrome. Most children don’t live to see their first birthday and she is 5 ½. I gathered information on the kid’s sizes and I told Jessica that we would return with Christmas for her kids. Before I left, I asked where her little boy was. She told me he was at grandma’s house. He didn’t think Santa would come to their house because they had no Christmas tree. “I’ll see if we have one at the pantry” I told her. I set off on this task.
I went to South Grove and told the staff what I had discovered. How it just tugged on my heart that this could be this little girl’s last Christmas. When I shared about the little boy and the Christmas tree, they had the staff pack up the tree in the school lobby. The gals got on their coats and off to Wal-Mart we went. They asked me what their limit was. I said there was no limit. They quickly filled the shopping cart with beautiful things for Kaylianna and Atwain. We also got a sleeve of unbreakable balls for the Christmas tree, so Kaylianna could enjoy them.
They headed back to the school to start wrapping the gifts. Before I could get there to pick them up, I got a call from KFC on Emerson Ave. The manager told me that they had a food drive and had two frozen turkeys. Could we use them for a family for Christmas dinner? I told her I would be right over.
I picked up the gifts and tree at the school and thanked them for helping minister to this special family.
That evening, Paula, our son Mike and I delivered the gifts to Jessica and her kids. Kaylianna loved the sleeve of Christmas tree balls. She was so excited with the bright colors. Jessica just wept. She couldn’t believe that strangers would help her. We all gave her a big hug and prayed with her before we left. We told her that is what we do is to share God’s love.
It started with the Sparks gift; God knew where that gift was going. He knew who He was going to use to connect all the dots. He knew we would reach out to a single mom and her kids to give them hope.
What a blessing to be used each month in miraculous ways to serve our Savior as His hands and feet
When I arrived at the home, Jessica answered the door. I got to meet her little girl, Kaylianna. My heart just sunk. I was expecting a family that was working the system. I saw a little girl who has a terminal birth defect, Trisomy 13 syndrome. Most children don’t live to see their first birthday and she is 5 ½. I gathered information on the kid’s sizes and I told Jessica that we would return with Christmas for her kids. Before I left, I asked where her little boy was. She told me he was at grandma’s house. He didn’t think Santa would come to their house because they had no Christmas tree. “I’ll see if we have one at the pantry” I told her. I set off on this task.
I went to South Grove and told the staff what I had discovered. How it just tugged on my heart that this could be this little girl’s last Christmas. When I shared about the little boy and the Christmas tree, they had the staff pack up the tree in the school lobby. The gals got on their coats and off to Wal-Mart we went. They asked me what their limit was. I said there was no limit. They quickly filled the shopping cart with beautiful things for Kaylianna and Atwain. We also got a sleeve of unbreakable balls for the Christmas tree, so Kaylianna could enjoy them.
They headed back to the school to start wrapping the gifts. Before I could get there to pick them up, I got a call from KFC on Emerson Ave. The manager told me that they had a food drive and had two frozen turkeys. Could we use them for a family for Christmas dinner? I told her I would be right over.
I picked up the gifts and tree at the school and thanked them for helping minister to this special family.
That evening, Paula, our son Mike and I delivered the gifts to Jessica and her kids. Kaylianna loved the sleeve of Christmas tree balls. She was so excited with the bright colors. Jessica just wept. She couldn’t believe that strangers would help her. We all gave her a big hug and prayed with her before we left. We told her that is what we do is to share God’s love.
It started with the Sparks gift; God knew where that gift was going. He knew who He was going to use to connect all the dots. He knew we would reach out to a single mom and her kids to give them hope.
What a blessing to be used each month in miraculous ways to serve our Savior as His hands and feet
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