Three months from right now, Lord willing, our 2014 Operation Christmas Child packing party (slated for October 3 & 4) will be over and there will be 23,000 filled shoe boxes packed in cartons and waiting on the truck(s) for pick-up. Praise God!
The hardest part so far this year was determining whether God wanted us to do another large packing party or not. The waffling back and forth gnawed away at my soul.
But at Easter time the core team made the decision to move ahead and since then I've had more peace. Sure, there are moments when my breath catches and I wonder for a brief time how it will all come together. For the most part, though, I'm trusting our El Shaddai to make this happen again for His glory.
In fact, this week I'm starting to practice TIA (Thanksgiving In Advance.) I am making a concentrated effort to thank God each day that He has already accomplished all the details of this packing party and it is COMPLETE in His eyes.
Since yesterday we got another 300+ major clothing items for our boxes, so after going to a movie my husband and I stopped at the storage container to stash and reorganize. We're getting ready for the next round of blessings.
I have exactly three more months to practice TIA so please hold me accountable. Together, let's practice Thanksgiving In Advance for God's answers to all our prayers and the prayers of people around the world.
Great things he HAS done!
Thank you for sharing the idea of TIA. I plan to use it as my packing party grows nearer and nearer.
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