Good Vibrations

Last week our local newspaper had a status on their Facebook page asking for people who go to yard sales to respond to them for an upcoming article.  I e-mailed them about our stuffed animal safaris for Operation Christmas Child.

This week I was contacted by Dana Massing, the religion editor, for more details about our hunts.  Dana has been a good friend to OCC locally, and I was excited to think we might be included in the yard sale article.

But I was surprised yesterday morning to find a stand-alone article in the Erie Times-News about our stuffed animal safaris with a plea for donations included.  You can read it by clicking here.

All day long yesterday my phone sat on my desk vibrating.  Already I have had 37 calls from people wanting to donate stuffed animals.  Some are older folks who only have one or two to donate and some are parents of children who have bags full.  But every one counts.  I can't wait to see how many God brings into our ark from this one media opportunity.

Good vibrations.

Decision Perspective

Ah, the above is such good advice from the writer of Hebrews.  I've been a bit discontent because I have decisions to make--about a bridal shower for daughter #2, about travel plans to visit daughter #3 in Chicago to celebrate the completion of her residency in ob/gyn, about travel plans to visit daughter #1 in NYC just for fun.

These are great events but they still require planning that I hate.

Today as I was contemplating the choices, I tried to get some perspective...

After all...the decisions I face are downright trivial compared to those faced by the majority of mothers around the world today.

Many face choices like whether to make cakes of clay for their children to eat to try to ease the hunger pains, even though they will give them no nutrition.  They need to decide whether to buy food for the short term or invest those few precious dollars in school supplies so their children can attend school.   They have to choose whether to send their children to work in dangerous sweatshops just for the hope of enough money to get another meal or two.

Yes, my choices are pitifully unimportant next to those.

Still I cling to the truth of I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."

God cares even about my trivial problems.

So I pray...for my silly choices and for the mothers who are making hard choices that I, by God's grace, have never known.

Help us all, God, to get Your perspective.

Bearing Burdens

I'm ready to leave for work but I just have to quickly blog about this picture I just received on Facebook.  This is our nephew, Ben Martin, carrying his sick brother's heavy pack for miles on the trail.

Jim's sister, Brenda, and three of her children--Ben, Brooke, and Brice, are on a 500 mile pilgrimage on the El Camino de Santiago--a trail from Paris into Spain.  Brian (their husband and father) went to be with the Lord last Christmas and they have set out on this journey as part of their healing process.

I love this picture because it summarizes God's call to us to bear one another's burdens.  I think of how many have done this for me in my Operation Christmas Child journey.

So many have come alongside me--with prayer, with encouragement, with contributions of time and finances.  This picture of Ben inspires me to remember that and to devote myself anew to becoming a burden bearer.

If you're reading this, will you take a minute to pray for Brenda and her family--especially Brice who is sick right now?

Thanks for bearing our burdens.

Shoe-pendous

Previously I wrote that I'm collecting new shoes for our Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes--purchased with money donated by a friend in my small group.  This dear man saw one of the pictures I posted of someone wearing shoes made out of an empty 2 liter soda bottle and God put it on his heart to donate money for shoes.

My goal has been to collect at least 250 pairs and today God blessed me with 17 more.  I saw the hint from the "Clip With Purpose" facebook page that Big Lots had 90% off the clearance price on hats and gloves.

It was raining and I'd just gotten settled into my recliner chair after school.  I almost talked myself out of going out to check the store because I figured everything would be gone.

I'm so glad I went, though.  There were no gloves or hats--only 3 scarves on the shelf.  But then I spotted these nice fleece lined shoes with hard bottoms.  Regular price was $12.00 for each pair, but I got them for 60 cents each.   So now 17 more children will get a chance to have their feet covered.

It doesn't end there.  I alerted Heather Rogers who lives near the east side Big Lots and she scored 60-70 more items there--mostly gloves and some hats.   I love good, cheap items, don't you?

So far God has blessed us with a total of 113 nice pairs of shoes for a total cost of $185.90.

Nothing short of shoe-pendous!

Meandering to Meadville

Today Heather Rogers (my Operation Christmas Child Church Relations Coordinator) and I took the show on the road again.  We drove to Meadville for an OCC Celebration Event there.

The day was gorgeous--maybe too gorgeous for people to want to come to a meeting--but we had 14 shoe box enthusiasts who joined us to hear more about the ministry and get geared up for making an eternal difference in the lives of thousands of children again this year.

Pictured above is our faithful Relay Center Coordinator, Cindy Woolstrum, who hosted the event at Meadville CMA Church.   She is holding a copy of the certificate we presented to each church who packed 100 or more shoe boxes in 2012.

Here are Cindy and Heather flanking the sign announcing year-round volunteer opportunities with Operation Christmas Child.  It's a privilege to serve the Lord in this ministry and I'm so blessed to be associated with it.  I think people should be beating down the door for the chance to join our team.  But they aren't!

We didn't give out any applications today but we're still trusting God to build our team in His way and His time.

Meanwhile, today was a joyous time of celebration as we praised God and shared ideas for increasing gospel opportunities from our region.   It's amazing to realize that if each participating church in our three-county area would just pack 20 more boxes we'd reach our goal of 5,000 more boxes for a total of 45,000 in 2013.  It would take so little to reach so many more children with God's love.

And so many children are still waiting.  If the 100 million Operation Christmas Child boxes packed over the past 20 years were all put together they would only reach 5% of the children in the world right now.

Jesus said we need to become like children to enter the Kingdom of God.  And who could be more childlike than children!

My mind is meandering down trails of ideas for getting a gospel opportunity to more of these sweet waiting kids.

Mistaken?

A week ago last Friday I got an e-mail from a wholesale supplier offering a list of items to be bulk purchased for just 10 cents each.  I've been praying for fillers for our Operation Christmas Child shoebox packing party so I was excited about the possibility of getting thousands of good filler items in one order.

I prayed and I talked to my husband (no advice there, except "whatever you think") and I asked my facebook friends for prayer.

I had to make a quick decision as the sale was only good for one day so I took the chance and purchased 3500 crayon/pencil sharpeners and 2800 radios with batteries.  I asked the seller to be sure the radios worked and he said he'd check.

Today the order was delivered and God answered prayer for them to be delivered after I got out of school on a gorgeous day.  Pictured above are the two pallets waiting for me to unload and store them in the container.

I really like the crayon/pencil sharpeners--

they're a good size and will be a really useful filler.

Now, about those radios--

I've been looking for bigger fillers this year so I can make sure our boxes are nice and full.  These radios will take up some space but they also take up a lot of space in the storage container, too.  They come with AAA batteries that are not expired but several that I looked at had some corrosion on them.  And I couldn't get this one to work.

As I hauled all those boxes, I couldn't stop thinking that maybe I'd made a big mistake in this purchase.  But, by God's grace, I determined not to worry about it.  If it was a mistake, I'll learn from it and move on.

When I got home and tried new batteries in the radio it works perfectly with great sound.  Not bad for 10 cents (well, closer to 14 cents when you add in shipping).

But how am I going to check 2800 radios to be sure they all work?  Maybe I'll be looking for a good deal on AAA batteries.

On the other hand, God may have a purpose for these.  I do know He is omniscient and He is in control--

and about that I know I am not mistaken.

T minus 5 Months

Five months from right now I will be basking in the glow of God's goodness after another Operation Christmas Child packing party.  Lord willing, by the evening of September 28, 2013, there will be another 21,000+ packed shoeboxes on a truck ready to be sent to give a gospel opportunity to needy kids around the world.

Today my husband and I loaded another carful of stuff into the storage container and within the next few days we have two pallets containing 6300 filler items being delivered.

Space is already getting tight in the container.  We've tried to strategically use every inch, but we have more variety in different sizes of boxes than we had last year so it hasn't been as easy to keep it organized.

Right now we have only 2500 stuffed animals and we're praying for 19,500 more.  Where will they go?  Maybe God will bring them all in during the week before the packing party so we don't have to store them?  Who knows--He always has good plans for us.

And so we rest on His promises and expect His provision and cherish your prayers....

While we wait.