A Day of GIVING!!!

This past Friday was perhaps the BEST day I have had in a really really long time!!! There were many things that needed to be done at home: laundry, cleaning, packing, typing an appraisal, garage, etc. There were some things I really wanted to do: read, watch a movie, scrapbook, etc. Yet, there was a few things that I KNEW God wanted me to do!!!

LIVING WATER MINISTRIES

One of the local ministries that our church supports is called Living Water Ministries. It is a benevolence ministry that reaches out to those in our community who are in need of food, clothes, finances and most importantly JESUS!!! Each Friday, Living Water passes out bags of groceries to about 100 to 120 families in the Borger area - it is truly an amazing operation!!! Since moving here, I have wanted to go on a Friday and volunteer but it has seemed like life had a way of just getting in the way; however this Friday, I was DETERMINED that God wanted me there to help with the Thanksgiving distribution!! At the beginning, I helped with crowd control at the door - then later, I became a CART PUSHER!!!

I can't tell you how much fun I had visiting with the people as I helped them get the groceries for their Thanksgiving meal to their cars. They were truly precious beyond words!!!

After I finished at Living Water, the world would say that this mom needed to get home and get to all those things listed above - yet once again I KNEW God had a different plan!! Our Sunday School class had decided to have an Operation Christmas Child packing party with the goal of packing 100 boxes - this in addition to the boxes that had already been donated by individual families. The packing party was to be Friday night and although I couldn't go to that due to taking a certain 12 yr old to the movie for her birthday - I wanted to help get the last minute items they needed to complete the boxes! We are limited in stores here in Borger so Joel and I headed off to Pampa for bouncy balls (had already scoured Borger for them), toothpaste, and more shoe boxes.

The end result - our Sunday School Class packed an additional 128 boxes making a GRAND TOTAL OF 211 boxes for Operation Christmas Child!!!

We loved including the kids of ALL ages!!!

The end result!

While in Pampa, I was also able to do some additional shopping for a special little girl! A couple in our Sunday School class who doesn't have children of their own, had the opportunity to welcome their neice (who has been in CPS for several years) to their home on a permanent basis. So, just as we would do with ANY new parents, we threw them a shower - only for a 7 yr old instead of new born!!! I just love shopping for girls!!!

The result of my Friday - a VERY MERRY HEART!!! I had a wonderful day of just GIVING to others...I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING in the world!!! There is no amount of money, no vacation, no shopping trip, no big house, no nice car that compares to the joy of giving of yourself for others!!!